Business Computing Tips

By K&K Fainges kfainges@...

We have been covering INSERT commands the last couple of weeks. You
can read these at http://www.users.bigpond.com/sagatech/insert.html.

This K-tips we will cover the INSERT command, INSERT => FIELD.

INSERT => FIELD allows you to insert information into your document,
without you having to go through and work it out. For example, you
can add the date, (INSERT => FIELD => DOCUMENT INFORMATION => DATE)
and the file size (INSERT => FIELD => DOCUMENT INFORMATION =>
FILESIZE).

The amount of information you can add is amazing, including an index,
table of contents, formulae, the list goes on. The easiest way to
familiarise yourself with the range of items is to go through on a
test document and add each one in to see for yourself what it does.

There is a lot in the help section on this command, but it can be a
bit hard to read until you understand their shorthand. First hint
though, don't use the Office assistant, it often doesn't give you
enough information. Instead, click on the closest option the
assistant gives you, then look in the INDEX for the real information.
Do this by clicking on the icon that looks like a book with an arrow
on it up the top of the big grey box that opens up behind the
assistant.

An example of how to read the shorthand can be used for AUTOTEXTLIST.
Below is the entry in the help file. Clear as mud.

What it means is, Insert the field, then, if you want a certain type
of formatting, put the name of the formatting in, and if you want the
text to have a little box come up with some extra hints or
information when the person reading it puts their mouse over it, type
that in too.

For example: if you click on INSET then FIELD then Links and
References then click on Autotextlist, a box will come up with
AUTOTEXTLIST already in it. Then you type in what you want the person
to actually read on the screen making sure you have inverted commas
around it i.e "This is a test". Then you type \t "This is a text
tip". This means that every time the reader puts their mouse over the
words, a little box will pop up telling them that this is a text tip.
This comes in very handy for long documents or ones with a lot of
detail. You can add more info in like a phone number or address, or
refer to another page in the document all without breaking the flow
of the text. You might want to colour them or something though,
otherwise people will not know that those clever bits of advice are
even there.

if you need to edit the field once it is in your document (say change
the spelling or something) then highlight the text, and hit shift and
F9 on your keyboard at the same time. The code will come up. Then to
turn it back to normal, highlight it and hit Shift F9 again.

***********Text from Microsoft's Help FILE*****************

Field codes: AutoTextList field
{ AUTOTEXTLIST "LiteralText" \t ["TipText"] }
Creates a drop-down list based on AutoText entries in the active
template. The list can vary based on the styles applied to the
AutoText entries.

Instruction Explanation

"LiteralText" Text that displays in the document before the user
displays the drop-down list. If the text contains spaces, enclose it
in quotation marks.

"TipText" Text that displays in the screen tip when the mouse pointer
hovers over the field result. Enclose the text in quotation marks.

Switches

\t Specifies unique text to show in the screen tip instead of the
default tip.

***********End of Text from Microsoft's Help FILE*****************

Next time, we will cover the last of the INSERT commands.



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Please feel free to pass it on to your friends, just let them know I
wrote it.

Karen Fainges holds a Bachelor of Business, and a Grad. Cert of
Vocational and Educational Training. All this is nice but it's the 14
years of having to make sales or starve that makes her think she has
really learnt what does and doesn't work. A tutor for all ages, she
specialises in helping people get started on the long road to
technology.

"It has to be practical, it has to be cheap, and it has to work."