All MultiChoice *List* terms are full functional in <<*Options*>> and {Simplified Options} text blocks. To reference a *List* in <<*Options*>> or {Options} blocks, simply add the *list* name next to the standard composition for options text.

   E.g., <<*Options**states*>>. (The doubling up of the asterisks in the middle is correct. The first two asterisks surround the Options command, the second two asterisks surround the list name.)

   For simplified options (which use just the curly braces to indicate an 'options' call), it is simply {*states*}.

 

    A MultiChoice *List* is a series of optional choices (think the 50 United States, or the countries of the world, a product line, or any other long list of items.) that has been assigned to a single word or phrase (an 'alias'). Only this alias (surrounded by asterisks) appears in your document. When encountered during an Instant Database scan or during the processing of 'Options' text blocks, Pathagoras reads the multi-choices from a separate (easy to edit) table. The *List* of choices are presented

(1) for Instant Database: into a drop down list on the Instant Database screen

(2) for Options (regular or simplified): in a selectable screen which displays during the actual document assembly process.

   Before moving on to the details, let's start with the 'wrong way' to present a long listing of multiple choice variables within your document.

   A 'Bad' Example:

   The following is a perfectly 'legal' but rather inefficient (not to mention confusing) way to create a multiple choice list which contains many elements (in the below example, 50 elements).

 

   As you can see, long multiple-choice lists can get very distracting. A list the length of the above example is simply too daunting for most end users to process.

   A 'Good' Example:

   The following is how the above could look:

   Pathagoras lets you store a long list of variable choices (long being anything you consider as long) as a single word or short phrase. This 'alias' word or phrase is placed in the source document in lieu of the long list. To tell Pathagoras that you are referencing a MultiChoice *List*, you must surround the alias by asterisks at each end. Here is an example of a MultiChoice *List* as a variable: “[*listname*]”. Here is the same list as simplified Options text: "{*listname*}".

   The list of the 50 United States in the above example actually ships with the demo or Retail version of Pathagoras. The list is titled “states” and can be referenced in the source document simply with “[*states*]”.  Very simple. Very elegant.

Multichoice *Lists* ‘in action’:

   You can see the above [*states*] list in action by typing (or copying) the following sentence onto a blank document:

   Then run InstantDatabase or GotForms? against the variables. (Reminder: to run IDB, press <Alt-D>. If the list does not automatically appear, press the Scan button when the IDB screen displays. To test using GotForms?, press <Alt-S>. Press the <Start Scan> button.)

Composing a MultiChoice *Lists* in Source Documents

  You can use a MultiChoice *List* in lieu of any multiple choice listing you otherwise might have composed in your document. Use the proper enclosure (square brackets for variables, "<<" and ">>" for  Options/Optional text or curly braces for simplified optional text) to signal Pathagoras what you intend. Here are some examples:

   <<*Options*>> block: <<*Options**states*>>. (The doubling up of the asterisks is correct.)

  {Simplified Options}. {*states*}.

   [Variables]: [*states*]

 

!Groups!

  The !Group! function works with MultiChoice lists and Options. (A !group! function is where a selection made for one member of the group dictates the selection of the other members of the group. As with other MultiChoice *List* functions, inserting a *List* reference is the same as hand-typing the entire list. Here are the 'setups' for !groups! using *Lists*:

  Options: <<*Options*!GroupName!*ListName*>>

  Simplified Options: {!GroupName!*ListName*}

   Variables: [!GroupName!*ListName*]

 

Creating/Augmenting Multi-Choice *Lists*

   To assign, augment, edit, delete or otherwise modify and work on Multichoice Variable *Lists*, click the Pathagoras features menu. Click InstantDatabase | InstantDatabase Tools; select Multichoice *Lists*.

 

(accessed through the entry titles Multi-Choice *List* in the Pathagoras Features Menu).

 

   Pathagoras offers several 'entry points' to add data to the MultiChoice *List* table.

 

 

   Read and follow the instructions and examples provided on the page that appears. (Essentially all you are doing is putting your list variable name into the left column of the table and the actual variable list, separated by slashes, at the right.) You will type the list variable name into the table without ‘*’s – they are only needed in the actual source document to indicate a Multichoice *list* is being used.

   When you are done, press the <Save List> button on the floating tool bar. Pathagoras will write out the updated list (in about a split second) to a special file. When that is done, you can clear the screen. You do not have to save the document on the screen. When you insert your *listname* into a document, the terms in your list will appear when you run an Instant Database or GotForms? scan.

 

A Visual Depiction

   Just in case you haven’t tried any of the above examples on your own computer, but you would like a quick peek at the [*states*] Multichoice *Lists*, here is a ‘look-see’ of what the results would be for the list called “*states*”:

 

Note also the Multi-choice possibilities at the bottom of the screen.
You can select one, some or all of the list elements.
You can also indicate the separator, if any.

 

   Here is the rendition of [*states*] in the GotForms? module:

 

Figure 4. GotForms? rendition of the Multichoice variable list "*states*".

   Only the first five elements in the list will show on buttons. To show more, click the “Next 5>>” button. To insert a choice, just click on a button.

 

   The use of MultiChoice *Lists* with Options is particularly useful when a fluctuating number of variables needs to be brought into the document under construction. For example, in a Will, there might be several children, and a variable (e.g., [Name and Birthday of ChildX]) needs to be provided for each child. You could create a MultiChoice *List* called "children" and the values in the list might be:

[first child]/[first child] and [second child]/[first child], [second child] and [third child]/[first child], [second child], [third child] and [fourth child]/[first child], [second child], [third child], [fourth child] and [fifth child]/[first child], [second child], [third child], [fourth child], [fifth child] and [sixth child]

   Here is how the above might render when {*children*} is encountered during document assembly. (The same result would obtain using <<*Options**children*>>).

 

Figure 5. {*Children*} /<<*Options**Children*>> rendition in Pathagoras' options module.

 

 

What if I want to use a MultiChoice *List* variable in different locations of my document, but be able to select different values?

   Making unique names for each *List* is easy to do for a simple variable. Just append a number or other character at the end. E.g., "[*List*1]", "[*List*2]", "[*List*3]" etc.

 

Can I cascade MultiChoice *Lists*?

       MultiChoice *Lists* can be nested/cascaded to 2 levels for Options, 1 level (currently) for variables. See Cascading  MultiChoice *Lists*.

 

  A plea for assistance: Help to improve the world! Make a difference in the lives of others. Send me the lists that you have created to:

lists@pathagoras.com.

   I will post it on the website where it can be downloaded and used by others.

   Conversely, you can download lists that I have already posted to the website that others have sent to me. Visit:

www.pathagoras.com/support/multichoicelists.html.

  Your MultiChoice *Lists* are stored in a file called "multichoice.txt" located in the same folder that contains your Instant Database masks. Click here to learn more about locating, sharing and re-locating the Multichoice *Lists* file.

Click the button in the menu bar to read more about MultiChoice Lists.

Page url: http://www.pathagoras.com/help/index.html?multi_choice_lists_options.htm