Editing/Neutering

Tools

 

Neutering

Editing tips:
     Version 10.1 introduced the Optional/Options text feature. (Quick summary: “Optional” text is a block of ‘take it or leave it text. Say ’Yes’ and it stays. Say ’No’ and it is deleted.  “Options” text is 2 to 5 selections of text, with each selection separated by a slash (“/”). Create the Optional/Options text block by introducing the text with “<<*Options*“  or “<<*Optional*” and close the block of text with “>>“. Read more about optional/options text in the Spring 2005 issue of this Newsletter. See also the additional information regarding “Options” test at the left and on page 5.

 

     As you create more and more optional text blocks or add more and more variables (typically noted by text between [plain text brackets], you are more likely to omit a closing bracket or brace. Pathagoras has two tools to help. Both are found on the Editing Tools tab of the Utilities & Settings screen in the Pathagoras dropdown Menu.

 

    The first is the <Color Brackets, etc> button. When you click this button, all brackets, braces, slashes , “<<“ and “>>“ markers are painted in matching colors. This makes identifying begin and end points much easier.

 

    The second tool is <Balance Markers>. When clicked, this function counts the number of opening markers (‘[‘ or ‘<<‘ or ‘<&’ etc.) and compares them to the corresponding closing markers (‘]’ or ‘>>‘ or &>‘ etc.) If they balance, you are set. If they don’t, they the scope of your search to correct the imbalance is narrowed to a specified set of markers.

Variable Creation

Assistant

 

    There is a new Variable Creation Assistant to help you with neutering your documents. The presumption is that you have created a mask for a particular type of document, and want the variables in the mask to be at your fingertips as you are creating a new document or editing an existing document or glossary. Check this out. Activate the VCA by right clicking anywhere in the document and clicking the ‘Neuter’ selection. (You can also activate the VCA by choosing ‘Neuter’ from the Pathagoras dropdown menu.) This screen will appear:

 

    Your first step is to select the masks you want to use from the dropdown list at the left side of the screen.  All masks that you previously created will be presented in the dropdown list.

 

 

    After selecting the mask, the screen displays more options (left). If you simply want to insert a term from the mask into your document, drop down the dropdown list again (it is now populated with all of the variables of the mask), click the desired variable and it is instantly inserted into the document. It’s just that easy!

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As indicated in the main story at right, “Options” (multiple choice) text was introduced in version 10.1 and version 10.2 makes editing you document easier. But 10.3 brings additional power to the “Options” feature. When originally introduced, you could only choose among one of (up to 5) options.“ Now you can choose any and up to all of the options. Further, you can choose an appropriate connector-separator

(“, , , and”; “, , , or”; spaces or nothing) to be inserted between the entries.