The AutoText Manager

The AutoText Manager is a tool that can be used to manage and organize auto-text items. Using the AutoText Manager you can:

• Create new auto-text items and group them into folders.
• Edit the code associated with an existing item.
• Assign a text equivalent (alias) to an auto-text item. When this alias will be typed in the code editor, followed by a special key like SPACE or ENTER, it will be automatically replaced with the code of the item it is associated with.
• Manage the standard parameters that can be used in the auto-text item's code.
• Manage the custom parameters that can be used in the auto-text item's code.
• Print the list of items with their associated aliases.

 Note

• The auto-text items are stored in the personal database ("Personal.mdb"). The location of the personal database can be set using the CodeSMART Control Panel.

Using the AutoText Manager

You can access the AutoText Manager window by pressing the AutoText Manager button on the Code Edit Tools toolbar or by selecting the same entry in the CodeSMART main menu (quick toolbar and menu references are available). The AutoText Manager main window will be displayed:

The window is divided in two panes, separated by a splitter bar.

• The left-side pane contains the auto-text items tree. Here items are grouped in logical categories (folders). You can create new folders, edit and delete existing ones. Also, you can add, edit or remove items and use drag-and-drop operations to move them from one folder to another.
• The right-side pane contains the item's associated code and other various settings regarding its insertion into the code window (alias etc.). Once a change has been made to one item's data, the Save and Cancel toolbar buttons become available, allowing you to save or cancel the updates.

Managing the auto-text items

To add a new auto-text item:

1. Select an existing folder where you want the new item to be created.
2. Click on the New Item toolbar button or select the same entry from the File menu. A new item will be created with a name like 'New AutoText Item'.
3. Rename the newly created item by giving it a relevant name.
4. Edit the item's code. You can type text, insert text from the clipboard and/or insert standard parameters using the corresponding toolbar popup.
5. You can choose to assign an alias to the newly created item. When the alias will be typed in the code editor window, followed by SPACE, ENTER or other special keys, the item's code will be inserted instead. An alias uniquely identifies an item.
6. Enabled: check this option if you want to activate the alias for the current item. If this option is off typing the item's alias into the code window will not trigger the replacement.
7. Optional. If you want to be prompted for one or more non-standard values when inserting the item's code then you should use the Custom Parameters popup to insert one or more custom parameters into the item's code.
8. Click on the Save toolbar button in order to make the item's changes permanent. From now on, whenever you will enter the item's alias into a code window, the item's code will be inserted.

To edit an existing auto-text item:

1. Select the item you want to edit.
2. You can modify the item's name, code and alias.
3. Click on the Save toolbar button in order to make the item's changes permanent.

To delete an existing auto-text item:

1. Select the auto-text item or folder that you want to delete.
2. Click on the Delete toolbar button and then click on the Yes button when prompted.

Printing the auto-text items

1. Click on the Print Table toolbar button or select the same entry in the File menu in order to display the Print Assignments Table dialog.
2. The Print Assignments Table dialog lists all the defined AutoText items. They can be grouped by category and ordered by name or alias.
3. Click Print Preview in order to see how the print result will look like. You can go back and format the list according to your needs.
4. Click Print to send the list to the printer.

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