Features

    The Features list presented below is quite lengthy. There simply is a lot of 'stuff' in Pathagoras. Perusing the list will give you a good feel for the program's scope, but don't let its size scare you. You need not implement very much of the program to greatly benefit from it. Pick just one feature and office productivity will be enhanced.

     Many items in the list are instantly available to you 'right out of the box.'  Many of these 'right out of the box' features are noted below with the tag <<Try It Now>>.

     Check out the highly interactive video tutorials noted below with the icon " ". They are quick to load and fun to view.

Document Management

(the PathSmart and SaveSmart modules)

• Assign ('map') any folder on your computer to a number (1-12). Access any folders on your computer or across your network with the assigned number. Twelve path assignments can be made per profile.

• Create unlimited profiles on a single computer. Each user on the system can have his or her personal profile.

• Instantly display any folder (no matter how far away it is in the directory tree) with a simple click of the mouse.

• Instantly save documents to any folder using the assigned PathSmart number or nickname.

• Instantly move an open document to another folder; instantly delete the active document, if desired.

• View every file contained within your various SmartPaths without leaving  the PathSmart screen.  When you click on a SmartPath number, Pathagoras will display all files within that folder right on the PathSmart screen. Instantly Open any file in the display, or click on another SmartPath and view the files in a completely different folder. The speed is amazing. The time you will save in hunting down that wayward file is likewise amazing.

• Pre-filter the files you want to see before the directory is displayed.  Exclusive filter feature will 'peel-back' an over-specific filter. E.g., if you were searching for "Andr*" (Andrews?), but there were none, Pathagoras will ask if you want to peel back the search to show "And*" files (e.g., Anderson , Andover).

• Pre-select types of files you want to see (*.doc, *.dot, *.text, etc.) before the directory is displayed.

• Quickly call up WordPerfect® files, manipulate them in Word (to take advantage of Pathagoras' document assembly tools), and then save them back as a WordPerfect document. (Sorry, Pathagoras is not available for WordPerfect, but this is pretty close.)

• Instant open feature: if you know the name of the file and its SmartPath number, just type it into the screen. (e.g., "8:Letter to Mom") Pathagoras will find and open it for you. No need to navigate to a folder or scroll down a list of files.

• Highlight text in an oped document and instantly create a new document using with that text.

• Mouseless navigation!  This is a pretty incredible feature, and a Pathagoras exclusive. Just type the SmartPath number (a simple number 1 thru 12) onto the editing screen and press the trigger key <Alt-G>. Instantly the folder assigned to the desired SmartPath is displayed, no matter how 'far away' that folder is. You can open every and any document folder on your system directly from your keyboard. See Mouseless <Alt-G> Navigation for the full story. <<Try It Now>> with SmartPaths 1 thru 7. The are(preassigned with the Demo version. Or, using the <New Users: Click Here> 'green' button found in Pathagoras' the MainMenu, assign your most recently used folders to SmartPaths.

Document Assembly

• Assemble documents using a virtual 'check sheet' created by the program. Pathagoras reads all of the documents in a directory, or all of the clauses in a glossary (a collection of clauses or paragraphs in a single document, marked with bookmarks), and displays them onto your work screen. Choose one, some or all of the clauses. Using the selected clauses, create a new document or insert the selected clause into the current document.

• Assemble documents without a mouse. This remarkable trick allows you to type clause names down the left margin of a screen. Press the <Alt-G> trigger key and the clause names are read, located and inserted. This feature garners big "wows" from all who see it.

• Instantly recall documents or phrases from a "glossary" simply by typing its name on the editing screen and pressing <Alt-G>. (This is similar to Word's Auto-Correct feature, except the data resides in a separate document that is readily available to everyone on the network.  A glossary is also similar to a "library" in other programs. However, a Pathagoras 'glossary' is a plain Word document. A glossary is easily created, recalled, edited, augmented and managed. A glossary is transportable, and does not require you to have a computer running Pathagoras in order to read it. It also takes up no space in your Auto-Correct dictionary.)

• Instantly recall documents or phrases from 'always on' dropdown lists.  Create up to 5 dropdown lists that reside in Word's toolbar area. Creating the lists is easy and quite automatic. The lists can contain the contents of a glossary or of a Word document folder. They can also contain image file, Excel spreadsheets, and even Word Perfect© documents. When an item is selected from a list, the term is instantly inserted. No wait time, no navigation. It is the fastest thing you will ever see.

• Easily add terms to a glossary or other text sources using plain text and simple commands.

Add text to glossary in two simple steps:  Highlight & Add.  If you find text in an existing document that you want to add to your collection of term, highlight it. Press <Alt-G> to add it. Name it and save it using a simple form. Nothing could be easier.

"Instant Glossary" Create a complete, fully functional glossary (collection of terms which can be used to assemble a complete document) in the blink of an eye. <<Try It Now>> by clicking the InstantGlossary button in the Pathagoras drop down menu. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to create your first (or your 10th) glossary.

"Bulk add" an entire document into a glossary in a single sweep. Mark up a 'favorite document,' putting plain text "begin" and "end" markers (I like "<&" and "&>") around each clause (designating the boundaries of each)  Follow the easy prompts and you will quickly have a complete, ready to use glossary of terms. Pathagoras will even attach this new glossary to your Document Assembly library automatically.

• Compose 'clause sets': Clause sets represent complete documents, but in fact they are composed soley of clause references.  You can create an infinite variety of 'complete' and 'complex' documents, but clause sets are typically used for standard documents (simple wills, standard contracts and proposals). Mix text, pictures, tables and any other MS Word compatible item with your clauses. 

• 'Edit only once' philosophy. Never again have to track down and edit every instance of the text in base documents in order to effect a language change. Edit only the source clause. All references to that clause by other documents (see clause set's above) are automatically brought up to date.  Always work with the 'freshest' version of the desired text.

• All clauses in your libraries are instantly available to you at all times. Whether you are assembling the document, or just adding a clause to finish it up, the source clauses are always at your fingertips. No need to activate another program to get to your source document or clauses.

• Insert clauses using any of the above methods in stacked or linear format. For example,

• It does not matter how long the clause is. It doesn't matter what the 'clause' is.  It can be a single word, multiple words, entire paragraphs, highly formatted text, pictures, pictures, drawings and text . . . . anything, everything.

• No fancy formatting or knowledge of codes or 'field arguments' required. No need to recreate your documents for them to be 'Pathagoras compatible.' (As you learn of the power of the document assembly features, you may wish to spend some time redesigning some of your existing documents, but you never have to do so.)

• 'Instant Database' allows you to place simple variables in strategic places throughout your document. Create a 'mask' which stores those the variables and which provides guidance on how the variable is to be completed. (Does [Date] mean "January 28, 1953" or "1/28/53"? The mask allows you to define what is called for. )
  

    Press <Next> and those variables are quickly replaced with the desired values. All substitutions (not one at a time) are made in one fell swoop. You can create a mask (template) for each kind of document.

    Optional ( and this is the database part): save the data out to a file for reuse with other similarly coded documents.

    Learn more about this powerful Instant Database by clicking here.

• Database links. If you have inserted field names from your database (Access, TimeMatters, dBaseV, Excel, etc) into your existing letters or documents, Pathagoras can more quickly link to the database, and automatically fill in the data, than you can manually. The steps are relatively automatic -- assemble the document with the desired clauses; if you have told Pathagoras (via the setup screens) that the clauses have field names associated with a particular database, the link will be created, and a 'Search Database' screen displayed. Even if you have not associated a clause or glossary of clauses with a database, Pathagoras allows you to do it on the fly. Read more about it here.

• Using the Instant Database 'engine' described above, you can search and replace up to 90 (actually 990) variables in one 'sweep.'  A Pathagoras exclusive.  This one is actually 'fun' to watch in operation, and an incredible time-saver. See separate discussion below.

• Instantly insert the text of a document or clause simply by typing its path number, a colon and the document name on the active screen. No mouse required. (Example: Let's assume you assigned the path "C:\MyDocuments\Personal Correspondence" to path number 8. If you want recall the text of a document called "This is the document I need.doc" from path 8, simply type "8:This is the document I need" at the beginning of any line, and then press the keyboard combination <Alt-G> (this keyboard sequence is Pathagoras universal hotkey for locating and inserting documents, glossary terms, AutoCorrect terms, etc.).

• Instantly insert the text of a glossary term or a document onto the active screen.
       Let's assume that, in a glossary, you have assigned your mother's address to the nickname "MomAddress". To recall her address, just type "MomAddress" anywhere in the text and press <Alt-G>. Pathagoras will recall her address from your glossary and place it on your screen.
  
        Note this 'cool' additional feature: If the term you are trying to recall is not in the glossary, Pathagoras will look in the last selected folder and in your default "save-to" folder to see if a document called MomAddress.doc exists. If it does, the text of the document will be inserted into your document in place of the nickname. If it fails to locate the clause in a glossary or as a document, Pathagoras will then look in your AutoCorrect dictionary. If there it will be inserted into your document.
  
        Although the steps sound complicated, they are all behind the scenes. They occur automatically and instantly.

• Immediate access to all glossary terms in your books and libraries. You do not have to open a program, then open a library and then navigate to the clause you need. If you know the name of your clause, just type it on the screen. Then press <Alt-G>.

Other features, modules and systems.

GotForms? 

The easiest way possible to create and complete standard forms and assembled documents. Create variables with simple brackets (any bracket-like characters or combinations will do, e.g.,  [word] or {word} or [&word&]). There is no coding. There are no field markers. There is no bookmarking. There is nothing but plain text and your forms. Yet when you see it in operation, it will blow you away by how elegantly it operates.

<<Try It Now>>

• Recall a form to your editing screen (or easily create one by marking the variable information with [brackets] or by typing a series of underline characters -- "____"  -- at appropriate locations).
• Activate the GotForms? module simply by pressing <Alt-S> (for scan).
• Pathagoras will quickly scan the document for the variables. It will instantly locate each bracketed variable and each group of underline characters and pause for you to fill in the blanks. Nothing is easier because nothing could be easier.

Instant Database

A simple, direct and fully functional database. Quickly replace the plain-text variables in the a form, letter, contract, etc.

Save client/customer data out to a simple 'flat file' database so that when you prepare a second (or third or thirtieth) document for the recipient, you don't have to reenter the recipient's personal information. Can be indirectly linked to any proprietary database.

Whether you have a separate database on your system or not, you will 'love' the simplicity of this module.

<<Try It Now>>

1. Recall a form to your editing screen (or easily create one by marking the variable information with [brackets] at appropriate locations. (For reasons that should be or will become obvious, underlines in this module are not processed as variables.)
2. Activate the Instant Database module by pressing <Alt-D> (for database).
3. Press the <Scan> button toward the lower right side of the page.

Pathagoras will quickly scan the document for the [bracketed] variables. It will instantly locate each one and place it onto the Instant Database mask (left column). Fill in the corresponding field at the right. Press <Next> to make the substitutions. Blink of an eye fast!

Instant Glossary

Create a complete fully functional library of selectable clauses in minutes, not hours.

Optional Text

Not a separate module, but a powerful feature nevertheless which allows your to create optional text blocks within your base documents (templates). If set up as "<<*Options*>>", the user can select from among up to 5 choices that you provide. If set up as "<<*Optional*>>," the user merely answers a "keep or delete?" question. Very simple to set up. Of course it is--it is all plain text. Click here for more details and sample "options" text.

Video Tutorials 

<<Try It Now>>

Video tutorials available on-line.  These highly interactive lessons will not only show you how to perform the steps, but will teach you about features you didn't even know existed.

In-line Help Systems

     On every page of every module there are context specific help pages. the new user should read them all to gain a full understanding and appreciation of how the system works 'by default' and how, with slight modifications, how it can work in a more personalized fashion for the office.

Pathagoras Users' Guide 

    Pathagoras provides an extensive on line, fully searchable Users' Guide provided detailed steps and lots of examples and pictures showing the full extent of the program.

Pathagoras Quick Start Guide

    Don't want to be bothered just yet with know all that Pathagoras can do. Just want to jump into the program and begin to scratch the surface. Check out the Quick Start Guide. But please, don't stop there. There is so much more to this program.

Pathagoras Absolute Beginners' Guide

    As the name implies, this is for the Absolute Beginner. But experienced users may get some helpful tip as well.

Pathagoras: The Newsletter

    Learn about the latest features that have been published or that are being worked on. Learn some new ways of doing things through the Hints, Tips and Tricks pages. Submit an article for publication on how you use Pathagoras to improve productivity in your office.

    Get the most out of Pathagoras. View the Newsletter and subscribe here.

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