PATHAGORAS^™ Users' Guide, Part 2
Comments would be greatly appreciated to improve the usefulness of the text below and of the program.

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PATHSMART
Document Management made Simple

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    Up to twelve SmartPath 'number-to-path' pairings can reside in a profile. And you can have an unlimited number of profiles per workstation. You have the power to map every folder on every computer on your network to a SmartPath, and retrieve any document anywhere in no more than 3 clicks of the mouse.

Definitions:      DOS path: (sometimes also called a 'folder' or a 'directory').  It is the 'formal' address maintained by your computer indicating where a particular Word® document or other file is stored in the folder tree.  It may start with "C:\" or "F:\". It sometimes is as simple as "C:\My Documents" but it can be as ugly as this: "\\remote computer 3\c-drive\data\office forms\domestic relations\adoption forms" When you navigate in Windows®  to locate a document, you are clicking up and down the folder tree, entering and exiting intermediate folders one 'slash' at a time. By assigning a number to a DOS Path in PATHAGORAS, you avoid all of this navigation. PATHAGORAS transports you directly and immediately from one folder to the other without intermediate stops.      SmartPath.  DOS Paths are not particularly friendly or smart. But associate a DOS path with a number and a nickname and it  becomes SmartPath.  A SmartPath is not a new kind of folder. It is not even a new folder. It is the same folder that you have always been using, but it has simply been associated with a number and a nickname. A SmartPath has attributes and features not otherwise available to a standard Word or Windows folder. But SmartPaths are (and always remain) standard Word and Windows folders.      Profile. A profile is a collection of up to 12 SmartPaths.  A profile serves as a 'filing cabinet' to keep like-kinds of documents together. The SmartPaths are like the drawers, and getting to these drawers quickly and efficiently is the challenge that PATHSMART solves. Profiles can be subject oriented (a lawyer's office, for example, may have separate profiles for contracts, domestic relations and litigation), user oriented (each user on a particular computer can have a separate profile), alphabet oriented (keep customer data in alphabetized folders--example shown below), etc.  Profiles styles can be mixed and matched. They can be anything.

     A screen similar to the following screen will appear:

                   Figure 1. A typical PathSmart screen. The SmartPath numbers and nicknames for the 'Contracts' profile are displayed.
                   SmartPath #7 is selected. The white drop down box toward the bottom of the screen contains a list of  the documents in that SmartPath.

Screen Tour     Note the numbered buttons (1 through 12) on the form. Each number represents a 'SmartPath.' Each SmartPath links a folder with a number and a nickname. Next to the number is a button which displays the user assigned nickname of the SmartPath. Only the number and nickname appear in the PATHSMART and SAVESMART screens. See Figure 1.

    Only seven paths have been assigned so far in Figure 1. Because of the ready availability of 'Profiles' (click here for definition), there is no urgency to 'fill-up' all available path assignments. 

    The buttons in Figure 1 perform the following functions (starting from the top):

   <Profiles>: A drop down list of available profiles.  Changing profiles is a simple matter of clicking on the available choices.

     <Number buttons 1 thru 12 plus "A:\"> These are “select” buttons. Click a number and the path is selected, triggering the following events:

• the selection appears in the “Current Selected Path” text box at the right, toward the bottom (showing SmartPath 7 in the above example).

• the documents in the selected SmartPath are placed into the drop down box to the left of the <Instant Open> button. If provided, only documents matching the "name filter" and “type filter” settings are presented. If no 'name' and 'type' restrictions exist, then all documents in the SmartPath are shown.

• NOTE: A "hotkey" also has been assigned to each of the first 10 paths (<Alt-1> through <Alt-0> (representing 10). Pressing the hot-key combination is the same as a click on the number.
  

    <Nickname buttons>. A click on the 'long' nickname buttons instantly ("directly") displays the standard  Windows “File Open” screen. If provided, only documents matching the "name filter" and “type filter” settings are presented. If no 'name' or 'type' restrictions exist, then all documents in the SmartPath are shown.

   "Name Filter" Box: Type one or more letters to limit the display of files to those which begin with that letter(s).  Don't worry about over filtering.  If a 'too-specific' filter is requested, Pathagoras will allow you to peel-back the filter, one character at a time, until a match is found. Just place the cursor at the end of the filter term and backspace. Pathagoras re-reads the filter with each backspace. This is a very powerful feature.

   "Type Filter" options: Pre-select the 'type' of file (by file extension) you want displayed. The default is '.doc' so, if no other selection is pressed, MSWord® documents will be displayed. But you could show only Word templates ('.dot'), or text ('.txt'), or even WordPerfect® documents. If you want a file type that is not listed, you can type in the three character file type (e.g., "wpd" for WordPerfect documents) in the blank text box at the lower right corner of the DocType frame. 

HINT: If the 'blank' option is selected and left blank, all files in the directory (*.*) will be displayed. 

HINT: It doesn't matter whether you click <doc type> first and then click on a SmartPath button, or click on the SmartPath button and then double click on a <doc type>. PATHSMART will lead you to the same display. A click or double click on any button will always return the display that the remaining selections direct.

    <Next>: Once you have made your selections, and assuming that you are not opening a document from the <Instant Open> list, press <Next> to display a standard Word "File Open" dialog. (You actually may never use this button because other buttons (when clicked or double clicked, fire this automatically.)

    <?> Displays PathSmart's built-in, topically related, Help screens.

    <Settings> Displays the 'guts' of the system. SmartPath assignments can be made, and other switches can be set and reset in <Setting> until the system is tweaked to meet your needs and preferences.  <Settings> options are discussed in greater detail below.

   DropDown list of documents: This list displays all document in the selected directory that match the selections made elsewhere on the screen. This list is constantly updated. If you select another SmartPath, the list is refreshed. If you type letters into the Name Filter box, only the documents matching the filter are presented. If you change the Type Filter, only document of that type are shown. You can Instantly Open any document displayed in this list. See <Instant Open> discussion below.  You will find this feature to be one of the most useful devices in your Pathagoras toolbox.

     <Instant Open> Pathagoras allows you to open any document without even navigating to it.  If the document you want is listed in the DropDown list of documents, select it and press <Instant Open>. (Press Shift + <Instant Open> if you want just a copy of the document. (Think of how many times you have opened and edited an original document, intending to save your work as a new document, but forgot. Your original in now gone! Open the copy at the beginning of the process and your worries are over.)

    If you know the name and SmartPath of your document, simply type the SmartPath number followed by a colon, then the name of desired document. (e.g., "3:Ltr to Mom") and  click <Instant Open> (or you can just press the Enter button twice, and your hands do not have to leave the keyboard). The document will be instantly located and displayed on the screen. (Shift + <Instant Open> will open a copy, not the original.)

    Selected Path: Informational only. Displays the full DOS name of the selected path (remember -- a path is 'selected' --as opposed to opened-- by clicking the numbered button).  If the selected path is also the default path (the path that is selected when PathSmart screen first displays), such is indicated as well. See Figure 1.

    SuperSmartPaths: Many companies and firms create separate personal folders (and sub-folder and sub-sub-folders) to house  documents created for each client / customer. Typically, all of those specially created folders reside under a parent folder called, let's say, "Western Region Customers" or "2003 Clients".  As a new client retains the firm or a new customer joins the ranks, a new folder is created.

     PATHAGORAS has a very elegant, very useful tool to manage such folders and correspondence. It is called the SuperSmartPath.

Figure 1a. A typical PathSmart screen showing a SuperSmartPath display. Note the blue asterisks and,  toward the bottom of the screen, the dropdown boxes.

Figure 1b. All documents within the sub-subfolder are displayed for easy scrolling and selection.
Press <Instant Open> to open original document, or Shift +<Instant Open to open a copy.

     Any SmartPath can be a SuperSmartPath. Set a SmartPath to be SuperSmartPath via the <Settings> screen by clicking one checkbox.

Manually setting a SmartPath

   1.  Display the PATHSMART screen (this is done by clicking on the 'runner' icon at the left of the Pathagoras menu). Click <Settings>.  A new screen will appear titled 'PathSmart Settings'. This screen has a lot of information in it about the settings for your current profile.  We will ignore most of that for now, although reading the text presented on the screen is definitely encouraged.

    2.  Select the the SmartPath you want to assign by clicking in the appropriate option circle.  A button will next appear named <Browse> (Note: A second button called <AutoSet> will appear if a saved document is open on the screen for editing. <AutoSet> is discussed in detail below under the banner called “Automatically Setting a SmartPath.") Choose <Browse>.  Using any Windows’ technique with which you are familiar, navigate into the folder you want the particular path number to represent. Important: At this point you are navigating only to a folder, not to a specific document. When you have arrived at the desired folder, press the "OK"  button ("Save" if using Word98 or 2000) to lock in the assignment.

    3.  PATHSMART will then ask for a ‘nickname’ for the folder, and present you with a default option (the folder's name). You may accept the default, or rename it to something more meaningful.  It is this nickname that shows in the PATHSMART and the SAVESMART displays. 

    Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of your paths. 

    HINT: If your SmartPath is merely an umbrella folder over a collection of client or customer specific folders, you may want to make the SmartPath a SuperSmartPath which will automatically display the subfolders.

    If, while making a SmartPath assignment, you need to create a new folder, there is no need to exit the routine. Add the new folder 'on-the-fly.' Here is how:

 After you have navigated into what will be the 'parent folder,' click the “Create New Folder” button (it is the 'file with a starburst' icon toward the top of the overlay window). Name the folder when prompted. Once named, navigate into the folder you just created. Continue the SmartPath assignment process as described in the other paragraphs. You can add as many sub-folders as you wish. Don't hesitate to add new folders to make your work better organized. PATHSMART is designed to make it easy to find them. 

Automatically setting a SmartPath.

    An alternative, very easy, way of setting a SmartPath is available. If the currently displayed document has come from the folder to which you wish to assign a SmartPath, Pathagoras can <AutoSet> the SmartPath for you.

    1.  Display a document on the editing screen which you know is saved in the desired folder.  

    2. Display the PATHSMART screen (click the 'runner' icon at the left of the Pathagoras menu). Click <Settings>. 

    3. Select the number of a SmartPath you want to assign by clicking in the appropriate option circle.  The blue <AutoSet> button that will appear toward the center, bottom of the screen.  Follow the prompts to provide a nickname.

    Type the SmartPath number on any blank line on an editing screen, and press <Alt-G>.  Again, that's it.

    If you want to display a copy of the file you seek (in other words, you don't want to work on the original document) , press <Ctrl-Alt-G>. This will display the contents of the SmartPath using Word's 'File Insert' dialog.  There are two primary benefits to this technique (1) you won't accidentally overwrite the original document after making changes and (2) there are significant (albeit rudimentary) document assembly possibilities using 'File Insert.'

    If the SmartPath you want  to display is in a profile that is not the current default profile, you can still display the SmartPath mouselessly if you know the name of the profile. Simply type to the screen the profile name preceded by two colons. After the profile name, type a comma and the SmartPath number. E.g., "::OtherProfile,3".  (It is easy with Pathagoras to print out a list of the assignments in each of your profiles via the <Settings> screen.)

     Every profile can have its own 'personality.' The PATHSMART Settings screen is where the number to  DOS path pairings and other attributes of a profile are established. Indeed, you have already visited this screen when you set your first SmartPaths. Access the Settings screen (1) from the PATHSMART screen by pressing <Settings>, or (2) from the <Pathagoras> drop down menu (which sits among the other Word menus), and clicking on <Utilities/Settings> (the item next to the 'pencil' icon), and selecting PATHSMART.

     Figure 2 This is the Settings page that parallels the SmartPaths shown in Figure 1. Note that it is not necessary to fill up each field of a PathSmart profile.  Note the Help screens and the other tabs 'behind' the foremost screen. PathSmart can be configured in an infinite variety of settings.

       The pairing of a SmartPath number with a DOS path and a nickname has already been discussed. Click here to review. The other features of the Settings screen are discussed below. 

<Browse> path:  To set or update the individual SmartPath assignment of an existing profile, choose the SmartPath from the column of numbers at the left and press <Browse>. Follow the prompts (as described above) to lock in a path assignment.

<AutoSet> path:  If the document that is active when you display this screen is from the folder you want to set as the SmartPath click <AutoSet>.  No navigation is necessary. Pathagoras simply sets the SmartPath to the current  documents folder. You will be asked to provide a nickname only.

<Clear> path:  As you are editing a profile, you may wish to "erase" an existing SmartPath assignment. Do so by clicking  the <Clear> button. To delete all paths in the current profile, press <Shift-Clear> (hold down the shift button while clicking on <Clear>.) 

<Add> profile:   To add a new profile, click the <Add> button in the 'Profiles' area at the bottom left corner of the settings screen. Follow the prompts. The profile name can be of any length, up to 20 characters, but 3 or 8 characters is generally adequate.

<Delete> profile: If you want to get rid of the profile (too many profiles make the drop-down screens appear a little cluttered. A reasonable 'maximum' is 15 to 20 profiles. 

<Save> profile:  After you have made all path assignments and other desired changes, click the <Save> button in the lower portion of the screen. If you want the currently displayed profile to be the new default profile, check the box to so indicate.

<Back> button:  When you are finished selecting, editing, updating, etc., the profile, hide the page from view by pressing the <Back> button. Don't forget to save any changes you have made to your paths and nicknames before leaving the screen. (PATHSMART will remind you to save your changes if you have made any during the current session that you have not yet saved.)

Help Systems: In this Settings page, the 'Help Systems' are the screens themselves. Guidance is provided at every stage and on every page.

Here are the options:

<Copy Deleted Files to Recycle Bin>: If checked, any document you delete via SaveSmart will first be copied to your Recycle Bin ("Trash" folder).  If you do not check this option, the file will simply be deleted from your system. 
IMPORTANT If you select the safety feature to move deleted files to the recycle bin, note the following limitations:  While the deleted document is removed to the "C:\Recycle" bin,  it is not made a 'formal' part of the Window's Recycle (Trash) System. Therefore, if you change your mind about the delete, you will not be able to automatically restore the document to its original location. Nor will you be permanently deleting the file when you empty the Recycle bin. You will have to take these steps "by hand." Pathagoras can still make this task a little easier for you if you make one of your paths "C:\Recycle" in one of your profiles (perhaps a profile called “Utilities”).

     <File|Save As =SaveSmart>: If you want the SaveSmart system to automatically activate when you press Word's SaveAs feature, check the box. Try this both ways. You may like it. You may hate it. But at least its optional.
 
    <QuickStart>: Because of the numerous settings it must make at startup, Pathagoras adds a few seconds to the load time for Word. If you want to shave off a little bit of time from the process, (which will be added back when you activate certain functions), click here.


     <Truncate names>: If you frequently use the "CheckBox" display option for displaying your folders, and if the names are long, Pathagoras will ask (each time if this box is not checked) if you want to truncate (shorten) the names so that more will be displayed at a time. To avoid the question, click here.


     <CheckBox view as Default Display>: Choose the way you wish your document listing to display when you double-click on a SmartPath. The choices are MSWords standard  'File Open' dialog (unchecked) or Pathagoras' CheckBox display (checked).  The lower right side of the PathSmart screen shows an arrow that points to the display type chosen here.


     <Use Default Path Feature>: Uncheck if you don't wish Pathagoras to automatically return to the default path after each session.

         One of the most useful and innovative features of PATHSMART is its ability to quickly switch among the various profiles created by the user.  A typical organized user will store documents in numerous subject oriented folders.  A profile serves as a 'filing cabinet' to keep like-kinds of documents together, and the folders are like the drawers. Getting to these folders quickly is the challenge that PATHSMART solves. With PATHSMART, the user can collect these folders (drawers) into one or more profiles (cabinets), and quickly access any one of them on two or three clicks. Not only can every folder on the local computer be 'paired' with a number, so can every folder on every computer throughout the entire network. It's quick and it's easy. 

     By way of example, an attorney may have several folders containing various types of contract clauses. The attorney might establish a profile called 'Contracts' and collect each of the various contract folders into this profile, such as in Figure 1, above.  Note that it is not necessary that folders be on the same computer. Another user, less worried about document types, but concerned about organizing client work in an easy to find method, might alphabetize his or her work as follows:

Figure 4 An 'alphabetical' profile. The 'types' of profiles are unlimited.

   Another user may instead (or in addition) decide to map local, LAN (local area network) and WAN (wide area network) folders under one profile.  For example.

     So long as Windows Networking can see it, so can Pathagoras.  All three kinds of profiles (and an unlimited number more) can be stored on the same computer.  All profiles are readily available. Access to a profile and all folders therein is always instant. 

HINT:   While PATHSMART allows you to create and maintain as many folders as you would like, you probably still keep documents of different types or topics within in the same folder. You may wish to assign different nicknames to the same folder to account for this. For example, I keep my 'Passwords' documents in the same folder as my 'Address Book,' and I also keep personal correspondence in this folder. The folder has the relatively non-descript DOS name of "c:\my_documents\rhl\personal." To remind me that I keep passwords, addresses and personal stuff there, I have created in my RHL (my initials) profile 3 separate SmartPath entries referencing the same folder, but using three different nicknames (SmartPath #1="Personal Stuff," SmartPath #2="Passwords" and SmartPath #3="Addresses"). I can use PATHSMART as a tool to help me index and locate specific files. I no longer have to remember that I saved my Password document in my Personal Folder.  Of course, using the same path more than once uses up an available SmartPath assignment. But, who cares?  PathSmart allows an unlimited number of profiles, and moving between them is a snap.

HINT: Many users keep their customer (or client or patient) matters in folders named with the customer's name. The individual folders are then typically collected under an umbrella folder called "Customers" or "Clients, 2002."  Given that their may be hundreds of customers, it is not practical to assign each customer to a SmartPath. In this situation, it is probably better to assign a SmartPath to the parent folder, and make that folder a SuperSmartPath. SuperSmartPaths are discussed elsewhere on this page.

HINT: Keep your “favorite” paths in each of your profiles. That way you can have quick access to each of your favorite or most used paths.  I have assigned my “General Office Forms” path to #12 in each of the various profiles we use at the office. 

Return to Introduction (Part 1).
Continue with Part 3 of Users' Guide (SaveSmart module)
View Part 4 of Users' Guide (Document Assembly module)
View Part 5 of Users' Guide (Glossary module)
View Part 6 of Users' Guide (Database module)
View Part 7 of Users' Guide (Other Features)