•Spelling out numbers. Should it be "One thousand two hundred twenty-seven and 32/100 dollars ($1,227.32)"? Perhaps you need "One thousand two hundred twenty-seven dollars and thirty-two cents"? What if there are no pennies. Do you want "and 00/100 dollars" or "and no cents" or perhaps 'nothing'? If you are completing a check where the word 'Dollar' exists on the pre-printed form, maybe you don't want 'Dollars' at all.
   I just spent the last several days (and many hours) allowing all of these options. The choices are in the Instant Database Settings section (Custom Settings).

•Logic actions from scraped forms. This is a game changer. There have been few more requested features that allowing Pathagoras to directly use a 'Yes' or 'No' type answers to perform automated routines against a Pathagorized document. (If 'Yes', leave this text, if 'No' delete it, or do something else,) We'll we now have introduced that. And we have gone even further. You can select among multiple choices in your intake form and have Pathagoras process the document using that choice in <<*Options* . . .>>, <<*Optional* . . .>> and <<*Repeat* . . .>> blocks in the ultimate document. (The action is a positional response. If you (or the client) selects the 4th element in the Intake Form, the 4th element in the various <<*Options* . . .>> blocks in the document are automatcally selected.
    Some will see this as a quantum leap in productivity. And they are right. It's too new a feature to know all the possibilities but I am hoping that, if you try it, you'll stay in close touch as we expand and refine this application.

•New numbering routine: Automatic paragraph numbering is really quite simple in Word. But that doesn't mean that all find it easy. Quite a few customers still have 'hard' paragraph numbers, limiting their ability to insert other text without having to manually renumber paragraphs. So I wrote a routine that quickly and easily allows one to convert 'hard' numbers to Automatic Paragraph Numbers (APNs).

•New concatenation routine. Based on comments (ok, complaints, but friendly ones) from those who were using this tool, we rewrote the routine. It is quite easy to use and quite quick. Now it is easy to build variables from other variables (think a full address from the individual variables '[Street]", "[City]", "[ST]" and '[Zip]", or any other combination of variables). We also added a 'stacking' ability (think 'concatenating an address' where [Street Address] is on one line and [City], [ST]  [Zip] is on the next). If you tried this routine before and didn't like it, please try it again, with our apologies for wasting your time with the first iteration.

•New Save Routines <Alt-S>. Since the introduction of version 2019, you have been able to instantly save the displayed document to the specific folder identified by a QuickLink. The 'problem' is that there are no hints or tips or options. Now there are. If you do press <Alt-S> against a QuickLink, then the desired routine will be triggered. But if you forget the routine and just press <Alt-S> anytime, you will get a menu to guide you through the choices. And the choices include (1) saving to a QuickLink, (2) saving to a Document Assembly book, (3) saving to a folder associated with a DropDown List or (4) get some instructions on what Alt-S is all about. The ability to save directly to a folder without navigation is really cool. If you don't call me re: any of these new features, call me re: this one. It will save you load of time. Promise.

•New Alt-G keywords. When you want to see if 'there is help for that' within Pathagoras, just type a word and press Alt-G to get that help. For example, if you want help on Aliases, type 'alias<alt-g>' and up pops help. The routine Alt-S to allow you to Save to a QuickLinked folder (see above) has been around for several Pathagoras generations, but we never attached it to a help keyword. That and a dozen or so other words are now in the help (keyword) system. If you want a complete list of Alt-G keywords, type 'altG<altg>'. And if you haven' implemented the Alt-S routine, type 'save<alt-g>' to find out how.

•Process AskTables in separate documents (i.e., 'packages'), preserving selections made in initial document: Previous versions of Pathagoras allowed you to process the separate Ask tables in each document, but you had to answer all questions in each new document, even if answered in previous documents. Now, the values are carried from the first document(s) to the next.

•Titles in Interviews (AskTables): This was a long time in coming, and very difficult to program, given the great variety of 'Asks' that were possible. But it's finally done and well tested. You can now easily separate your Interviews into sections (as many as you want), with the entire coding requirement from your end being simply: <<*SetTitle*text of title>> (color for emphasis; not required for function.)

•Faster replacement of variables. We changed the logic behind replacement of variables, and thoroughly tested to make sure that this novel approach really works. It does! The amount of time saved is not earth shattering.  On documents with between 30 and 50 distinct variables, the comparison is only 2.5 seconds (old) vs. 1.2 seconds (new). But over the course of the day, there could be a bit of savings.

•'Delete if Blank' (Instant Database) tools:

•There are some rather common variables which frequently are not assigned values. Some examples:  [Address Line 2], [Client Middle Name], [Client Suffix]. If you want to tell Pathagoras to delete those variables if no value has been provided, check the "Delete if Blank" box near the top of the Instant Database screen before clicking the "Next" button. (This is not the new feature. This has been around since day 1. But the following features surrounding this tool are new.

oThe default setting for 'Delete if Blank' is 'unchecked'. Therefore, variables with no assigned values intact in the document so you can complete (or delete) that variable later. But if you want that variable gone right away, just type the 'delete now' value in the right column of the IDB screen. (By default, that value is "_delete_" but you can set your own unique 'delete' term, including a single character. Set in Custom Settings screen of All Settings | Instant Database.

oMaking 'Delete if Blank' sticky as suggested in the previous paragraph could result in some 'good' variables (ones that are empty only because you don't yet have the information) being delete from your document. We have added a 'don't delete this' value -- a pair of facing parenthesis: () which signals Pathagoras to 'don't touch'.

oYou can also used your chosen '_delete_' word in your *Alias* lists. Use it (and select it) if you want the variable 'gone' on first pass.

•RTF (rich text format) assembly. For those who prefer to work with RTF files because of their instant compatibility with Word Perfect and other programs, you can assemble document via the Document Assembly AND the DropDown Lists routines. You do need to set the 'Include RTF files' to 'on'. This setting is found at Pathagoras Settings | All Settings | Document Assembly.

•!Group! values set with <<*Options*. . . >> blocks carried into Instant Database. A value set to !group! via an <<*AskOptions* . . >> or <<*Options*. . .>> response will automatically be applied to an Instant Database variable bearing the same !groupname!. (So if <<*AskOptions*!Fruit!Apples/Bananas/Cherries*>>, and you choose 'Bananas' (the second position), that positional value will carry into your Instant Database routine if, let's say, you also have a multiple choice variable [!Fruit!Crumb Cake/Foster/Jubilee].The variable would therefore be set to 'Foster' by default. (Do note that all other choices in the multiple choice list will still be available). This feature works for *Aliases* as well.

•!Group! values set on 'first pass' of Instant Database are now 'memorized'. The consequence of this is that if you start completing an Instant Database record (assigning a few values to !grouped! entries), then close the screen without saving-- perhaps you need to get more information, etc., --, when you return to the IDB screen to complete the record, the values you set for the !groups! will be recalled and shown in any subsequent displays of the IDB screen..

•Formatted Alias values: In the previous release of Pathagoras, we introduced Import formatted text from *Alias* Lists. But the default before then (and before this latest version) was to replace alias text with the style in which the text appeared in the Alias list. But now, If the alias name is presented in the target document in ALLCAPS or in ITALICS in your document, the replacement of the alias will be in all caps and/or italics. (This replacement protocol has always been the case regarding variables, but not with regard to Alias entries.)

•Universal Path Designator: Many users store their form documents (whether 'Pathagorized' or not) in a folder either on their personal computers or in the network server (including cloud storage). Perhaps the folder is called "c:\my documents\Office Forms." Regardless of its name, the folder is dedicated to housing the wide variety of forms and templates that constitute the backbone of the document assembly system. Beneath that 'parent' are many sub-folders used to topically arrange, segregate and organize the forms: Estate Planning vs. Business Organization vs. Domestic Relations. Over time, the precise location of that parent folder may change. Perhaps you moved to a local network server, or to the cloud. The result is that location of the parent folder has been changed, and now every reference to your files within Pathagoras also needs to be changed. But we can help you there. Simple assign a letter to the parent path and associate that letter with the parent path. Reference that path like this: [p]\ and then calls to, let's say your "Estate Planning" sub-folder can simply be [p]\Estate Planning.