"Enough already with new features. I haven't even mastered the old ones yet!"
Real customer. Real complaint. Message received. I get it.
In our effort to keep Pathagoras at the fore of document automation, we've been adding new tools and spending much recent newsletter space bragging about them. But some customers understandably feel frustrated because of the focus on new stuff. We haven't discussed the program's basics in quite a while, and we change that now.
The next several newsletters will shift the spotlight back to the basic tools that made Pathagoras what it is today: a plain text, no hidden fields, simple approach to document automation. But even with this retrospective tour, I know that even our most experienced users will learn something new.
Variables and Multiple Choice Variables: Simple Variables
In its simplest form, a Pathagoras variable is a key word surrounded by plain text square brackets. E.g., [Client Name], [Spouse Address] [Child 1 DOB]. Press Alt-D (to display the Instant Database screen) and then 'Scan' to locate and then replace simple variables with personal values.
Multiple choice variables are identically defined, but the key words are separated by slashes. [him/her/them], [chocolate/vanilla/Rocky Road/banana creme pie]. When the variable is displayed onto the Instant Database screen, the choices are listed on an easily selectable drop-down list
Groups (number and gender consistency): If you use multiple choice variables such as [he/she/they] and sister terms [his/hers/theirs] and [him/her/them], you can change all related variables in tandem with the selection made for the first variable, by adding simple group name in front of each of the variables. E.g., [!client!he/she/they] . . . [!client!him/her/them] . . . [!client!his/hers/theirs]. When a value for any one is chosen, all other values will automatically change to the appropriate value. (The trick is in the position of the selected item.)
A !groupname! can be any character or set of characters (from 1 to 39 characters in length) enclosed between exclamation marks.
Another 'group' example: [!t!Testator/Testatrix] . . . [!t!he/she] . . . [!t!him/her] . . . [!t!his/hers]. (The 'group name' here is a mere single letter.)
Titles: Sometimes, you need to use the same variable (multiple choice or not) in different parts of the document, but in totally different contexts. You can add a simple title to the variable to provide context to the end user simply by typing an identifier separated from the variable by a colon. [buyer:he/she/they] . . . [seller:he/she/they]. Using titles will help the end-user identify the actor or otherwise add context for a variable. (You can use !group names! in lieu of titles. It's sort of the same concept. But when there are not multiple members of a group, titles are a little bit faster, and therefore preferred.)
Default value: If you want to assign a default value to a multiple choice variable, just type a hashtag in front of it. [Larry lawyer/#Andrea Attorney/Charlie Counselor].
Natural slashes: This happens all the time. You need to include a slash as part of a multiple choice term. E.g., 'and/or'; '1/2'. We have a solution for that. Use '/OR' as the separator (capital OR mandatory) and Pathagoras will not see the natural slash as a separator.
Navigation: Pathagoras is chock full of navigation tools. Indeed, saving you time -- lots of time -- in locating documents you need for your projects ranks right at the top of the features that most impress our users. Here's a listing of the main ones. Below is a short discussion of two of them.
Quick Links: Establish a QuickLink to let's say, your clients folder. It's very easy to do. The 'more' link at the end of this paragraph tells you how. Once the 'Clients' QuickLink is created, type 'clients' anywhere on an editing screen and press alt-G. The target folder will be instantly displayed. Want to narrow the search down more? Type "clients/johnson, john"<Alt-G> and John Johnson's folder (only) is opened. Not sure of the full spelling? Just type "clients/joh"<Alt-G> and you will get a listing of all folders in the Client parent that start with 'jon'.
DropDown Lists: At the foot of each DropDown List is an option that says 'Open Folder.' So don't guess at the location of the files shown in a DropDown List. Just go directly to it. (And if you want to navigate to a folder that you know is nearby one assigned to a DDL, use the DDL to jump-start the navigation. Same with QuickLinks.)
More to come in future newsletters Let us know if there is a basic feature that you want us to discuss/illustrate.
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