Chapter 2
Getting To Know askSam
askSam Concepts in this Chapter:
The askSam Menus
The Sections of Your Screen
The Help System
The askSam Menus
The features of askSam can be selected using the traditional Menu Bar at the top of your screen. You can choose a menu item either with your mouse or the keyboard (by using ALT plus the Key combinations).
You can choose menu items quite easily with a mouse. Simply move the Mouse Cursor (it will become an arrow) to the menu item of your choice and click. Options on the Pull-Down menus can be selected in a similar manner.
1. To access a menu with the keyboard press the ALT key plus the underlined letter in the menu choice.
A Pull-Down menu will appear.
2. You can now choose the desired menu option by pressing the underlined letter or number.
Alternate Keyboard Selection Method: You can also make menu selections by using the ARROW KEYS:
1. Press the ALT Key to move the cursor to The Menu Bar.
2. Use the ARROW Keys to move to the desired option.
3. Press ENTER.
The askSam Menu Bar
FILE MENU The FILE menu contains commands for creating and manipulating your askSam files (such as New, Open, Close, Save, Print, Import, Export, and Exit).
EDIT MENU This menu contains commands for editing your Documents. The Cut, Copy, and Paste commands, OLE commands, as well as the Search and Replace commands are in this menu.
VIEW MENU Use this menu to move through your Documents and to modify the appearance of the askSam screen.
ACTIONS MENU For Searching, Sorting, and Outputting fields use the ACTIONS menu.
DOCUMENT MENU With this menu you Add and Delete individual Documents in your database. You can also set Bookmarks and Hypertext Links from the Document Menu.
NOTE: When editing an Entry Form, Report or Mail Merge document, the DOCUMENT menu is removed and replaced by either the ENTRY FORM menu, the REPORT menu, or the MAIL MERGE menu.
FORMAT MENU The FORMAT menu contains formatting options. These include Styles, Fonts, Alignment, Colors, Line Spacing, Tabs, and Indents.
TOOLS MENU Entry Forms, Reports, Mail Merge, the Spell Checker, the Phone Dialer, Automatic Field Recognition, Pick Lists, and Options are located in this menu.
WINDOW MENU This menu allows you to switch to other windows or rearrange the way open files are displayed.
HELP MENU The HELP Menu provides you with help and other information about askSam.
You can access a context sensitive menu by placing the Mouse Pointer in the Work Space of the askSam screen and clicking the Right Mouse Button (the Work Space is the part of the screen where you can enter text). This menu gives you quick access to Cut, Copy, and Paste Functions; Formatting Options; and Search Commands.
The askSam Screen
The basic elements of the askSam screen are shown below:
NOTE: When you place the cursor on a Button in the Toolbar or Format Bar a Tool Tip text will appear giving a short description of the Button.
· The first line on your screen is the TITLE BAR. It contains the name of the active application (in this case askSam) and also contains the name of the active file (when a file is opened).
· The second line on your screen is the MENU BAR. From here you can access askSam's Pull-Down menus.
· The third line is the TOOLBAR. It contains Buttons (the little pictures sometimes called Icons). These Buttons give you quick access to askSam's functions.
· The fourth line is the FORMAT BAR. It contains Buttons and Pull-Down Menus that give you quick access to askSam's text formatting commands.
· The line beginning with the Search button is the Search Line. Here you can directly type requests for an askSam search. You move to the Search Line by pressing the ESC key (or CTRL+Q), or CLICKING on the Search Line. After you enter a search, press ENTER or CLICK on the Search Button. askSam will search for your request. The Search Line also contains two buttons that affect searches. The Case Sensitive button toggles the Search from Case Sensitive to Non-Case Sensitive. The Fuzzy Search button turns on and off askSam's Fuzzy Search feature.
· The sixth line on your screen is the RULER. It displays (and allows you to modify) Indent and Tab settings for your Documents.
· Underneath the Ruler is your Work Space. This is where you enter information.
· The Horizontal Scroll Bar is located at the bottom of your screen. The Vertical Scroll Bar is located on the right hand side of your screen. With these bars you can scroll through your Document using a mouse. The Horizontal Scroll Bar also contains buttons that let you move to the First, Previous, Next, or Last Document in the active askSam file. The Document Type Pull-Down Menu in the Scroll Bar lets you switch between Data Documents, Entry Forms, Reports, and Mail Merge Documents.
· The SEARCH RESULTS Window appears underneath the Work Space but only after you've entered a search. The Search Results Window displays a list of the Documents found by a search. Click on any item in the Search Results Window to display it in the Work Space.
· The bottom line on the screen is the STATUS BAR. Here askSam provides you with messages and information about your location on screen, as well as, a Document Counter and the status of Insert/Overwrite mode and Data Entry mode.
NOTES:
1. The VIEW -> DISPLAY command lets you remove the Toolbar, Format Bar, and Search Line from your screen. See Changing the askSam Screen in the Customization, Options, and Tools Chapter for details.
The Buttons on the TOOLBAR give you quick access to many askSam features. (The Buttons on the right half of the Toolbar are described on the following page.)
· The first four Buttons are the File Buttons. By selecting them with your mouse you can: Create a New File, Open an Existing File, Save a File, and Print.
· The next Button Spell Checks the current Document
· The Cut, Copy, and Paste Buttons let you move selected text to the Clipboard, copy selected text to the Clipboard, and paste text from the Clipboard into your Document.
· The next Button packs your file. Packing compresses and optimizes an askSam file. It is important to regularly pack your files.
· The Import Button lets you import Documents into the active askSam file.
· The Goto Button displays the Goto dialog which lets you jump to different places in the current askSam Document or the current askSam File.
· The Data Documents Button switches back to Data Documents if you are editing a Report, Entry Form, or Mail Merge Document. Data Documents are the documents that contain your information.
· The Search Results Button opens or closes the Search Results Window.
· Next are two Add Document Buttons. The first adds a Document with an Entry Form to the active file. The second adds a blank Document to the active file.
· The Delete Button deletes the current Document.
· The Document Properties Button lets you set properties for the active askSam file.
· The Reports Button displays the Report Manager menu. From this menu, you create, edit, and run askSam reports.
· The next Button on the right is the Dial Button. If a modem is installed in your system, this Button allows you to dial a selected phone number.
· The last Button on the Toolbar is the Help Button. It gives you access to askSam's Help functions.
NOTE: The TOOLS -> CUSTOMIZE -> TOOLBARS command lets you define the Buttons you want to include in the Toolbar. See the chapter on Customization, Options, and Tools for details.
From the FORMAT BAR you can access many of askSam's formatting functions.
· First you'll find three Pull-Down menus that allow you to quickly and easily change the Style, Font, and Font Size of selected text in your Document. Clicking on the arrows just to the right of the current Style, Font, and Font Size will drop down a Menu of available options.
· The Buttons to the right of the menus are used to change the selected text to Bold, Italic, or Underline.
· Next, you'll find the Alignment Buttons. With these, you can quickly Left Justify, Center, or Right Justify the selected text in your Document.
· The next two buttons let you set the Foreground and Background Colors for selected text.
· The last Button is the Zoom Button.
NOTE: The TOOLS -> CUSTOMIZE -> TOOLBARS command lets you define the Buttons you want to include in the Format Bar. See the chapter on Customization, Options, and Tools for details.
The bottom lines of the screen contain the Horizontal Scroll Bar and the Status Bar. From the Status Bar askSam gives you messages and other useful information.
The Horizontal Scroll Bar
· The first four Buttons on the Horizontal Scroll Bar let you move to the First, Previous, Next, or Last Document in the active askSam file.
· Next, you'll find the Document Type Pull-Down Menu. This menu switches between Data Documents, Entry Forms, Reports, and Mail Merge Documents. Data Documents are the Documents that contain your information.
· The Scroll Bar lets you scroll your Document horizontally.
The Status Bar
· The left most section of the Status Bar is where askSam displays messages.
· The next section is the Document Counter. It tells you how many Documents are in your file, and gives you the number of the Active Document. For example, "3 of 214" means that you are currently at Document number 3, and there are 214 Documents in your file.
· Next, you'll find the Column Number, Line Number, and Page Number of where the cursor is located in the current Document. (The Page Number is only displayed if Automatic Pagination is turned on.)
· The next sections indicate the status of several modes:
o Insert or Overwrite status. An OVR is displayed when in Overwrite.
o The word DATA in the Status Bar indicates that Data Entry mode is active (See the chapter on Working With Documents for more information).
Getting Help
askSam provides you with several ways of getting help.
COMMAND DESCRIPTION
AskSam Help Topics Access the askSam Help function. You can search for individual topics or scroll through a list of help topics to find the information you're looking for.
About askSam Gives the version number and other information about askSam.
The Help Button
 Access the askSam Help function. You can search for individual topics or scroll through a list of help topics to find the information you're looking for.
The F1 Key Pressing F1 will access context sensitive Help. From a dialog box, pressing F1 displays information about that dialog box. Pressing F1 in a pull-down menu displays information about the selected menu command.
Help In Dialog Boxes Nearly every Dialog Box contains a HELP Button in top right corner. After clicking on this Button, you can select any part of the current Dialog Box, and askSam displays a help text for this item.
e-Docs An Electronic Version of the askSam Documentation
The entire contents of the askSam User's Guide is included on your askSam CD-ROM. The documentation is contained in a full-text searchable, hypertext-linked askSam database.
The askSam Web Site Our Web site contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), as well as, a searchable Knowledgebase of other issues. Visit our Web site at: http://www.askSam.com
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