Announcing a new document re-naming feature.

    Pathagoras offers every user significant flexibility in organizing, recalling, sorting and displaying clauses. One way it does this is by offering to display either the traditional document name, or a subject that you might assign to the document.

    If you have used Pathagoras for even a short period of time, you know that a term named using the prefix/suffix naming style can be recalled instantly by simply typing its name followed by <Alt-G>. (This is so no matter the document's 'physical' location on your computer or across the network. Pathagoras maintains prefix-pointer tables that will point to the folder or glossary where the terms are maintained.)  And since you can associate a meaningful descriptor for the term using the document's subject property, you are never without an easy means to identify the purpose of a clause named with the prefix/suffix style.

    Many of you have told me that you would like to name some of your documents or forms following the prefix/suffix naming convention to gain the <Alt-G> recall power.  However, you reported that you didn't take full advantage of of the prefix/suffix naming style because it was so tedious and time consuming to change all those names for existing documents, or to add subjects for each one, one at a time.

    Not any more.

    Now you don't have to settle for using half of the power that Pathagoras offers.

    I developed, and am very close to perfecting, a new feature that will allow you to quickly edit/change the names and subjects of documents in a selected folder or the terms in a selected glossary. This feature is unlike none you have ever seen.  You will be able to do it not one document at a time, but an entire folder at a time. And you maintain complete naming control.

  Here is how it works. (What follows below are the tentative instructions that will accompany the release): (All instructions presume that you download the latest version of the program with this feature enabled.)
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To activate the renaming feature:

    (1) Click the Editing Tools entry in the Pathagoras dropdown list.

    (2) Select the green "Edit Names & Subjects" at the bottom of the front page (you have to scroll down to the bottom.)

    (3) You will be presented a choice to edit a 'folder of document' or a 'glossary of terms.'  Make a selection and then navigate to the desired source.

    (4) When you have selected the source, Pathagoras will display the names and subjects of each term onto a three column form.

• The first column contains a list of the original clause/document names. This column is sacrosanct. It maintains the link to the current document/term name and therefore cannot be 'touched.' The second column is for noting name changes.
  
• The second column provides the area for renaming the document/term should you wish to do so.
  
• The third column displays the current subject. (If no subject was assigned, Pathagoras will duplicate the name of the document in this column in case there is some text in the name that will be helpful in creating the subject.)

   Pathagoras will also generate a new toolbar that will 'float' on your screen. The toolbar provides 'Sort' buttons which allows you to sort by any of the three columns (this will help if you are using names or subjects as a sorting tool). The toolbar also has an <Apply Changes> button.

   Instructions on how to use the table are placed above the table. Read them as a reminder. (Remember: the first column -- Current Name of File (or glossary term) -- must be left intact. That is Pathagoras only link to the original clause.)
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    Using this new feature.

    In its simplest application, use this tool to correct spellings in document names. Or use it to conform the names of documents to a more standard naming convention.  Keep in mind that that, in using the table to assign names and subjects, you are simply editing a Word document. You can use any editing tool at your disposal, including:

    'cut & paste' (good for changing names to "Letter to . . ." or "Petition for . . ."; and

    'find & replace' (careful with this tho'; to avoid changes in column 1, you must highlight the section in which you want find & replace to occur.) 

    If you don't like the name or the subject of the document you originally set for a particular group of documents, change either or both, quickly and easily.

    In its more advanced (but still simple) application, you can quickly convert a group of form documents in readily recallable documents. Let's assume that you want to convert the file names in a particular folder to conform to the prefix/suffix naming convention. Follow the above steps to display the document names in the folder. If you have never edited the documents before, all three columns with likely display substantially the same contents. (Columns 1 and 2 are initially identical on purpose; column 3 show the current subject for each document, but if no subject was previously assigned, the column 3 of the table will repeat the document's name.) Provide a new prefix/suffix name in the middle column.

    HINT: Before assigning names, you may want to have the list appear in the order in a more logical order, i.e., the order in which you want the terms to display in the Clause Selection Screen or DropDown List displays. Here is a trick to make this happen. In column 2, type a simple '1' (or '01') immediately in front of the term you want to be first in the list, a '2' (or '02') in front of the term you want to appear second, etc. When you have finished pre-pending the numbers in column 2, click the <Sort 2> button in the floating tool bar. This will cause the entire table will be resorted based on the numbering you provided in column 2. If clauses are not in the perfect order, refine them. (Keep in mind that Pathagoras sorts a column alphabetically. '1', '100' and '1000' all are alphabetically ahead of '2.' So if you have a lot of files, add 0's ahead of a digit to keep the proper order.)

    Now, you actually could stop there and click <Apply Changes>. Even now you would have a better system than you had before in that your documents would appear in the folder and in Pathagoras displays in a better sort order. But let's go on.

    Pick a prefix that you can associate with these terms. The prefix can be two, three or four characters long. Your choice. The suffix must be three or four digits long, but can have addition suffix characters if you wish. Read more here about the Prefix/Suffix Naming Convention.  Down the second column, begin naming the clauses in the prefix/suffix style. E.g., wil001, wil005, wil010, etc.

    Modify the subjects as appropriate (or just leave them so that future users who are familiar only with the name can see them when 'Display by Subject' is chosen for the Clause Selection Screen or DropDown Lists.

     When you are happy with your new name and/or subject assignments, click <Apply Changes>.  Pathagoras will make all of the desired name and subject changes and 'repaint' the screen to reflect the current state of the folder or glossary. Make more changes, if desired. When totally done, close the screen. (As a practical matter, you may never be totally done. And Pathagoras doesn't care. Return time and time again to this feature and rename or 're-subject' documents, clauses and terms to your heart's content.

    NOTES: Too many terms to prepare at one sitting.  Not a problem. You can save the list as a regular document and take it home with you. Edit it there, bring it back to the office and run the changes a day, a week or a month later. Take your time.

   

This compressed "all on an editable, printable page" view of names and subjects provides unmatched ease for both renaming clauses and for assigning/reassigning meaningful subjects to your terms. Before, you would have to change a document name or subject one at time. Now you can do it multiple files at a time.

   

     You can use this feature for any folder that contains Word documents, not just 'Pathagoras" folders.

     Warning: If you currently maintain a large number of clause-sets, do not use this feature for changing document names referenced by any of the clause-sets unless you are prepare to immediately change the set-pointers. The set-pointers won't match the new document names. But you could change the subjects easily, and often, and it won't affect current document assembly functions, including sets.

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   This is a 'really cool' feature about which we are most excited. Does it sound like something in which you have an interest?

   I plan to release this new feature in a week or so after more extensive, but sure could use some testers and commentators. Let me know if you wish to volunteer.

        Roy
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Roy Lasris
Innovative Software Products of Virginia
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