Creating/Augmenting MultiChoice *Lists*

   To assign, augment, edit, delete or otherwise modify a MultiChoice *List*:

 

(accessed through the entry titled Editing Tools|MultiChoice *Lists* in the Pathagoras Features Menu).

 The following bullets describe the action of the three options presented in the upper left corner of the screen:

   When you click Next>>, Pathagoras will take you to a screen like the following:

 

 

  This table contains all of your current *Aliases*. Select the Alias you wish to edit.

  To add a new variable and an associated list of choices, click Add New *Variable*. The screen will expand, providing you room to type the variable name and the list.

1. Click 'Add New *Variable*
2.Type name of new *variable*
3. Type list of choices, separating each with a '/' (slash).
4. Click Add/Save to complete action.

 When you have finished adding new variables, close the screen.

E.g. red/green/purple/orange/navy blue/light blue/burnt orange/pink/chartreuse
 
After your list is prepared, highlight the collection of terms. (You have to tell Pathagoras what section of your on-screen document you want to add). Display the MultiChoice screen and select the "Add prepared 'on-screen' list" option. Press Next. Pathagoras will ask you for the alias you want to assign to the choices. It will then save the list in your MultiChoice *List* file.

 

With regard to any of the above  'tables' options, make sure your cursor is inside the table before trying to 'Add prepared 'on-screen' list'.

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   Regardless of which of the above techniques you used to create your *Lists*, when you insert your *listname* into a document, the terms in your list will appear when you run an Instant Database or GotForms? scan, or process a document when the *List* is presented as an options block via: {*listname*} or <<*Options**listname*>>.

 

Visual Depictions of a *List* in action.

   Just in case you haven’t tried any of the above examples on your own computer, but you would like a quick peek at the [*states*] Multichoice *Lists*, here is a ‘look-see’ of what the results would be:

 

Note also the Multi-choice possibilities at the bottom of the screen.
You can select one, some or all of the list elements.
You can also indicate the separator, if any.

 

   Here is the rendition of [*states*] in the GotForms? module:

 

Figure 4. GotForms? rendition of the Multichoice variable list "*states*".

   Only the first five elements in the list will show on buttons. To show more, click the “Next 5>>” button. To insert a choice, just click on a button.

 

   The use of MultiChoice *Lists* with Options is particularly useful when a fluctuating number of variables needs to be brought into the document under construction. For example, in a Will, there might be several children, and a variable (e.g., [Name and Birthday of ChildX]) needs to be provided for each child. You could create a MultiChoice *List* called "children" and the values in the list might be:

[first child]/[first child] and [second child]/[first child], [second child] and [third child]/[first child], [second child], [third child] and [fourth child]/[first child], [second child], [third child], [fourth child] and [fifth child]/[first child], [second child], [third child], [fourth child], [fifth child] and [sixth child]

   Here is how the above might render when {*children*} is encountered during document assembly. (The same result would obtain using <<*Options**children*>>).

 

Figure 5. {*Children*} /<<*Options**Children*>> rendition in Pathagoras' options module.

 

Can I create Addresses (or other multi-line) MultiChoice items?

Yes. Pathagoras handles multi-line items without a problem. If you plan to use the MultiChoice list in an Instant Database screen (which does not allow true 'Enters', you must represent 'Enter' with "<P>". Pathagoras will 'decode' the <P>s at replacement time. See <P>aragraph Functions

E.g,:

Big Store<P>123 Main Street<P>Anytown, PA 23454/Little Store<P>324 Oak Lane<P>My Town, VA 43234/etc.

 

Can I create a *List* from an existing external database?

Yes. See this page. This is a really 'cool' tool.

 

A final way to add a new *List* to your collection exists. Let's assume that you have a reference to a [*list* variable] in your source document. That *List*  does not currently exist in your Multichoice *List* collection.  If you process the form with an Instant Database call, Pathagoras will notify you that the [*list* variable] does not exist and offer you the opportunity to create it on the fly. This is not a 'best practice' way to add to your collection, but it definitely works.