Miscellaneous *Alias* information

 

  information'Natural slashes': Let's say your *Alias* text will contain 'natural slashes'.  Perhaps you want to present the end users with a series of dates in the format 00/00/0000 from which to choose or  an address contains an unavoidable 'slash'. You must use '/OR' as the separator between choices.(e.g., "01/28/1953/OR07/07/1988/OR6/22/99"). You must check the 'Use /OR' switch found in the Instant Database settings screen (Utilities/Settings|All Settings|Instant Database).

Visual Depictions of an *Alias* 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*] *Alias*, here is a ‘look-see’ of what the results would be:

 

Click to Reduce

 Instant Database display of the [*states*] variable list.

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.

 

    The use of *Aliases* with Options may be 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 *Alias* 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*>>).

 

Click to enlarge.

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 set one of my values to the 'default' selection?

   Yes. Just precede the default value with the '#' (hashtag) sign in the Excel spreadsheet. (If using a 'legacy' list, the '#' should be placed immediately preceding the default term. E.g., "Apples/Bananas/#Cherries/Dates"