. . . keep my variable names consistent from one document to the next?

    Was it '[Client Name]' or '[ClientName]'? Perhaps I used '[Name of Client]'?

    Little is more frustrating as you are designing documents than not remembering the specific spelling of the particular variable you now want to insert. Pathagoras provides several tools to help you to keep the variables in your source text consistent from document to document. The below article will distinguish between documents which you have already 'Pathagorized' to which you wish to compare with an office standard and documents which are under construction:

    Documents under construction:

• Drag and Drop from Instant Database screen. Press Alt-D to display the Instant Database screen. Select a mask or an existing record. Click the red 'Power Tools' button on the Instant Database screen.  Check the 'Enable Drag Drop' box. Now, when you left-click-and-hold a variable name in the left column, you can drag it to any location in your document. Drop it by releasing the button.
• Create a Drop Down List of variables. Press Alt-D to display the Instant Database screen. Select a mask or an existing record. Click the red 'Power Tools' button on the Instant Database screen.  Click the button in the lower left side of the screen called 'Create DropDown List'. The IDB screen will close. You will see a new control containing all the names of the variables. Place your cursor where you want a variable to appear. Then 'point & click' from the list.
• Create Variables Wizard: Press Alt-V to display the Create Variables Wizard. From the right side of the form, select the list that contains the variables for the particular genre of document you are creating. A new menu will appear containing a list of variables and several insertion tools that will help you to add variables either one at a time, in groups, stacked or linear. (Click here to learn how to create a variables list.)
• Create Variables Wizard #2: Highlight a snippet of text (a name, an address,  a price, etc). Press Alt-V to display the Create Variables Wizard. From the left side of the form, click Convert to Variable. Pathagoras is going to ask for the name of the variable. Click the right sidebar on the form (it is the vertical blue bar at the right). Select from the list that next appears the saved listing of variables you want to use. A new menu will appear containing the list of variables and several insertion tools that will help you to add variables either one at a time, in groups, stacked or linear. (Click here to learn how to create a variables list.)
• MyPicks: New in Pathagoras 2013. Simply highlight a variable that you want to add to an expanded 'clipboard'. Then press Alt-Q to activate the QuickPicks screen and click the MyPicks tab. When you click the Capture button on that screen, the variable is added to the list. Repeat for other variables. Before closing the screen, be sure to press Save.
  To insert any item from the MyPicks list into your document, press Alt-Q to activate the QuickPicks screen. Click the MyPicks tab. Double click an entry to insert it into your editing screen.

Existing Documents:

• Create Variables Wizard #3: The 'Create Variables Wizard' can play many roles. The previous section dicussed two of them. The Create Variables Wizard is also your best starting point to bringing an exising document up to office standards. First, display the document you wish to check. Press Alt-V to display the Create Variables Wizard. Recall the variables list from the drop down list (far right side). The screen will expand and move to the left side of your screen. Click the button that says "Compare Doc To Mask".  Pathagoras will mark any document variables that do not match the variables in the list. It does so by surrounding them with double asterisks. You can manuallly move from **[variable]** to **[variable]** and correct the variable as appropriate. Be sure to remove the "**" marks. You can also the button labeled for that purpose, moving quickly from one **[variable]** to the next, replacing them with the proper variable. Save your document when done and repeat for your other documents.
• Search and Replace: Pathagoras offers a powerful tool that lets you replace selected text in the active document and in all other documents that reside in the same folder. A full, illustrated, discussion of this tool can be found at this page in the Manual.