PATHAGORAS^™ Users' Guide, Part 4

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  Section C. Document Assembly:
The 'Settings' Screen

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     Behind the scenes activity for all programs should be quiet and unobtrusive.  However, sometimes you need to tweak the program to fit the needs of your office or your style. The Settings screen is the window into the document assembly engine.

     To get to the Document Assembly Settings screen, click on the DocAssem icon in the PATHAGORAS menu. (Shown above. It's the third one from the left -- the one with the two sheets of paper “merging” into one.)  That leads to the Libraries & Books screen shown below. the Libraries & Books screen is discussed in detail in Part 4b.

    Choose “Settings" from the group of buttons in the lower right hand portion of the screen.  Here is what you should see.

     Do not let all the lines and boxes scare you. You are already familiar from your PATHAGORAS experience with many of the functions. So, let's take it from the left, by column:

Option circles, <Browse>, <AutoSet>, <Clear> and <Switch>:

• Click in one of the option circles to select a book that you want to change.

• Press the <Browse> or <AutoSet> buttons  select the book you want to be placed on this shelf. If the book is a "folder of terms," you will navigate to that folder. If it is a glossary, you will navigate to and highlight the glossary. (If the underlying document happens to be the glossary you want to shelve, click the <AutoSet> button.

• Press <Clear> to open up a shelf. Doing so will not delete the book from the system. It only removes it from the current library.
  

• Press <Switch>: Sometimes your initial library setup doesn't look or feel right. Sometimes you want to move another book into the Position #1 shelf (see discussion below). Use the <Switch> button to quickly move things around.
  

NOTE: When you first enter the Settings screen, the <Clear> <Browse> and <Clear> buttons are not visible. They become visible only after you click the option circle next to a book (or an empty shelf.)

Path Names: To the immediate right of the numbered option buttons are the DOS path names associated with the item.  'Behind' the DOS names are the alternate names of these paths. If the source of clauses is a directory (as opposed to a glossary), then you can change the Book name to anything you want (same as a nickname in PathSmart). If it is a glossary, you cannot change the name.

Note: You may add or change a DOS path to a book manually and without clicking on one of the option circles which will reveal the <Set> button. Manual manipulation of DOS paths should be done only by those who are versed in DOS structure.  You do not need to <Browse> to a manually typed DOS path. Simply press the <Save> button to keep your changes.

Book Names: This will either reflect the name of the glossary that this book represents or the nickname of the folder if the book is a folder of terms.

<Truncate>:  If the clause names are too long to fit on the preferred CheckBox display screen, you can choose what to do with it. You can pre-set PATHAGORAS to truncate the name (cut off at a certain length) or leave it alone. (If you choose the latter, the full name will display, but fewer choices will be available at one time).

<Template>: If you want documents assembled using the selected item to follow a certain basic style (other than the 'Normal' style) you can create a form 'template' (page size, typestyle preferences (font, color, size),  numbering styles and other document characteristics), and pair this item to the template created. If you wish to attach a database (Access, Excel, Act, dBase, etc.) to the assembled document, type the nickname of the database link in the appropriate line. Click here to read more about Database Links.

<Prefix>:  A higher level function, but easy to use.  Pathagoras' emphasizes (but does not demand) the use of the prefix/suffix naming convention. If you so name your clauses, and indicate the chosen prefix on the appropriate line on the settings screen, Pathagoras makes it incredibly easy to insert a clause from the glossary. It is not even necessary to tell Pathagoras what glossary you want to use. For example, let's assume that you are using the prefix 'wil' for your wills glossary, and have shelved that glossary as Book #2 in the current library. Let's also assume that you typed the letters 'wil' into the book #2 'Prefix' item. Now, if you were to type at any location on any page the characters 'wil100' (representing an actual clause in the Wills glossary), followed by <Alt-G>, PATHAGORAS will find and insert that clause.  Fast.  No navigation. You don't even have to select the Wills glossary. More on prefixes, <Alt-G> and other mouseless functions is presented in other sections of Part IV and in other sections of this e-manual.

<Auto-IDB>: Interacts with PATHAGORAS' Instant Database. If you have created an Instant Database mask that you want to automatically display after document creation, then insert the name of the IDB mask on the appropriate line. (A drop-down list of available masks will appear.)

HINT: The 'Position #1' book.  The first place that PATHAGORAS will look when <Alt-G> is pressed next to a term is the book that is associated with the term's 'prefix' (if any). If the term is not found there, PATHAGORAS will next look in the book that occupies position #1 of the current library. Therefore, as you are setting up your system, you should consider keeping the glossary that contains your general terms, addresses, signature blocks, etc., in the #1 position of the library.  (In our office, we have placed court and attorney addresses, attorney's signature blocks, certifications and all manner of terms which we use 'all of the time' in our 'General Glossary.' We have assigned the General Glossary to position #1 in all of our document assembly libraries. That way those frequently used terms are always, and automatically, available via an <Alt-G> call.) Click here to read more information on the <Alt-G> function.

To set up your first book in your library, check out Part 4g of this  User's Guide