Editing and Testing Tips

   Pathagoras' primary document editing tools are discussed under separate sections of this manual. Check this table to see if what you want is here:

   Whether you are editing a source clause or a final document that you have assembled for a client or customer or patient, always keep in mind that you are always editing a Word document. All editing tools and features that Word has made available are always at your beck and call. You are never 'in Pathagoras' in the sense that your editing options are restricted.

    So with this in mind, don't forget these tools:

The 'Undo' Tool:
(or Ctrl-Z)

    Mistakes, typos, wrong clauses, etc. come with the territory of document assembly. With some programs when you find an error, it is back to the drawing board. Not so with Pathagoras.

   If you have inserted a document from a DropDown List or from the Clause Selection screen, and decide you don't really want it you can manually locate and highlight the undesired text and delete it. But don't forget the Undo button (or Ctrl-Z, its keyboard equivalent). It may get you to where you want to be much more quickly.

   If you used the Instant Database to make replacements in your document and see that you misspelled a value, press  the Undo button (or 'Ctrl-Z') repeatedly until you get back to the 'original' state. (As you are repeating the Undo's, you will also see, in reverse, the actual steps used by the program to make replacements.)

    There is a limit set by Word as to the number of steps you can undo. However, the limit is not fixed. You may be pleasantly surprised as to how far back you can go. (To see the number of 'Undo's' that you can perform, click the down arrow immediately to the right of the Undo button. The available Undo's are shown there.)

The Format Painter:

   This is a 'cool tool' that allows you to capture a style or layout of a paragraph and apply it to any other paragraph(s) in the document. If you click the Format Painter once while in the paragraph that has the style you want to copy, you can make a change to another paragraph by mousing to the paragraph you want to change and clicking once. However, if you double-click the Format Painter, you can change an unlimited number of paragraphs. Just keep on clicking.

Testing Tips:

Test in Sections: If your document is long and 'sophisticated,' you may find it helpful to test just that portion of the document that is of immediate concern. That way you don't have to spend time answering questions regarding sections you know already work. Pathagoras plain text structure readily allows testing in sections. (Pathagoras does not require that the variables, optional text and other and other document elements remain available to the source.) Just highlight, copy and paste the section you want to test into a separate document. Read more here about Testing Your Documents

Word tools: Don't forget that when you are editing a Pathagoras document, you are always in Word. Use regular Word functions when they make sense. For example, Word maintains a Recently Used Files list. Use that list when you need to edit a file you just worked on. If you are editing, testing, reediting, retesting a document, this likely is the fastest way to access your work.
   If you know that there is an error narrow down the scope of the 'balancing' routine by highlighting the block of text you wish to check before beginning the operation. This is especially useful in locating drafting errors in large documents with many markers and nested <<*Optional/Options*>> blocks.

BEFORE TESTING AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE SAVED THE ORIGINAL OR THE IMPROVED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT. Processing the document changes it. The Options and Optional blocks will go away in favor of your choices. Repeats take away your carefully constructed commands and replaces them with the repeated text. With a good

AFTER TESTING ON AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT SAVE THE PROCESSED DOCUMENT. Ditto.