FAQs-Operational Issues
Q. I don’t see a Pathagoras icon on my desktop or in the listing of programs in my start menu. How do I start the program?
A. You actually don’t start Pathagoras, you just start Word. When you are in Word, Pathagoras is automatically running. (Pathagoras is a Word add-in and runs from within Word. It has no ‘stand-alone’ capacity.)
Q. After I installed Pathagoras, Word takes longer to load than before. Why?
A. To make it do what it is supposed to do, Pathagoras has to set quite a few switches, read a couple of text files, and assign values to quite a few variables (like every other program in your computer does). It takes just a bit more time to do this when you first load Word. Once loaded, you should see no further degradation of performance. The slightly longer start time is well offset by the time savings you will experience in locating files, saving files, moving and deleting files, building and recalling documents, etc. To speed up the opening process, you might consider checking the QuickStart box in the Options screen (PathSmart|Settings). If you set QuickStart, Word will start a bit more quickly, but there will be a slight delay the first time you try to use Pathagoras functions as the data that was skipped at startup is read and set.
Q. When I press the <Alt-G> key (or any of the other HotKeys) nothing happens. Why?
A. On some installations, the Alt-G combination does not register. Perhaps it is assigned by another add-in to trigger another program which loads after Pathagoras loads. Regardless, there are two solutions which you might try. (If one works you need not try the other.) Both require that you start from a blank document.
Solution I:
(1) Click the Pathagoras dropdown menu.
(2) Click the HotKeys tab.
(3) Click each of the buttons at the left of the form and accept the defaults ('G' for 'G'et/'D' for 'D'atabase/'S'canning (GotForms)/'N'umbering). (Note: You do not have to accept the defaults. You can assign any letter to any function you wish. Just remember to substitute your letter choices in place of the standard letters when you run across them in the instruction.)
(4) Close the screen. Exit Word and reenter. Press <Alt-G> or <Alt-D> to test.
Solution II:
If you have not assigned other hotkeys to other functions (and most people have not), and if the above does not provide a permanent solution. you should try clearing the current keyboard assignments which may have become locked.
(1)Click Tools
(2) Click "Customize"
(3) Click the "Keyboard" button at the bottom of the new form.
(4) Click "ReSet All" and say okay. Close the form.
That clears all of the HotKey references set in Word. Sometimes that is all that is needed to restore Pathagoras' hotkey functionality. Sometimes you must repeat steps 1 thru 4 in Solution 1.
Q. I want to recall a document to the screen using <Alt-G> recall function. But when I type the folder’s SmartPath and the document’s name, and then press the Alt-G key, the program reports back that the document cannot be found. I know it is there. Why is this happening?
A. More often than not, it is a spelling issue. While case does not matter to Pathagoras, exact spelling, spacing and punctuation do. So check that out first. Assuming the spelling is indeed correct, the next most likely problem is that the SmartPath chosen is not in the current profile. When doing an on screen <Alt-G> recall, Pathagoras will look in your ‘default profiles’ listing to determine a SmartPath and locate a document. In other words, if you want to perform on-screen <Alt-G> recalls of documents, make sure that the profile which contains the references to your SmartPaths is the default profile.
Q. When I press <Alt-G> for an on screen recall, I only get a copy of the document, not the actual document. Why?
A. <Alt-G> inserts documents, glossary terms, etc. into the current document. It does not open the original document. To recall (as opposed to insert a copy of) an original document, use <Ctrl-Alt-G>.
Q. When I press the document assembly or search buttons I get a Runtime Error #5. What is happening?
A. See text of and answer to the next question.
Q. What is the difference between the WordXP version and the other releases
A. Almost nothing. The programs work identically and they are in fact interchangeable. I was able to take advantage of a few improved terms available in the more advance VBA programming language which ships with XP. The only visible difference is in the document assembly/Instant Database routine. During document assembly, Pathagoras will attach an invisible comment to each of the Instant Database variables which it recognize. The comments in Word97 and 2000 are not visible to the user, but do display with yellow background text highlighting the variable. This helps the user’s view of things. In XP, Microsoft has decided to use lines, circles, text boxes and braces to (over-)emphasize the existence of a comment. The XP version of Pathagoras shuts down this very distracting ‘comments’ display.
Q. What is the difference between Document Assembly and Document Management?
A. While the two systems work hand in hand, document assembly concentrates of the function of creating (generally through building--'assembly') a document from component parts. Incuded in the document assembly umbrella is 'personalizing' that document (i.e., completing variables that may have been strategically placed throughout the document with client/customer specific data.)
"Document management" focuses on the saving and retrieving of documents in (hopefully) well organized locations. Re-organization of the document filing structure is part of the aim of document management, but 'using 'what you have' in an easier way is also part and parcel of the package.
Q. When I assemble a document, the fonts and layout in the resulting document are different from what I had in the source document. Why?
A. This usually happens when a style name in the source document matches a style name in the receiving document (or template). When that happens, the receiving document controls. That gives you the (unexpected) result.
To make sure that the receiving document always contains the same styles and layout as the source document, you may wish to create a template based on a blank source document. Doing this is quite easy. Here are the steps:
(1) Display a source document that you know has all of the margins and styles, etc. that you like.
(2) Press Ctrl-A to highlight all of the text.
(3) Press Delete to void the document of all text.
(4) Save this blank document out as a template. (Obviously it has all of the settings and styles that you want, so it meets the criteria of the preamble to this section.) Do so by pressing 'SaveAs' from Word's 'File' toolbar item and then choose Template from the "Save as type:" list at the bottom of the screen. Name the template something meaningful (like 'MyCompany.dot') and save it in your default templates folder. (In most cases, Word will automatically switch to the proper folder when you click on Templates as the Save as type:" ) Close the template you just created.
(5) Click the Document Assembly icon in the Pathagoras toolbar. Click <Settings>. At the right of the Setting screen, in the Templates tab, on the line parallel to the book from which you are assembling documents, type the name of the template you just created.(6) Save the Settings screen, and close the Setting screen.
From now on, when you assemble a document from that book, Pathagoras will first lay down the designated template, and all clauses you select from the Clause Selection Screen will be poured into it, properly positioned and with proper styles.Click here to read more on Templates for more information.
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