Chapter 6
The askSam Word Processor
askSam Concepts in this Chapter:
• Typing Text and Moving in A Document
• Deleting and Undeleting Text
• Cut, Copy, and Paste Functions
• Drag & Drop Editing
• Date and Time Stamps
• Working With Fonts
• Alignment & Spacing
• Tabs, Margins, & Indents
• Styles
• Pagination
• Headers & Footers
• The Zoom Function
Word Processing Mode
askSam offers you powerful Word Processing capabilities. The basics of askSam's Word Processor function similarly to other Windows Word Processors and Text Editors.
NOTE: When you enter or edit text you are in either the Word Processing or Data Entry Mode. If you are in Data Entry Mode certain editing functions behave differently. See Adding Documents in Data Entry Mode in the previous chapter for details.
Working With Text
To type text into a Document, make sure that the text cursor is in the Document and start typing. The text you type will be inserted at the cursor. When you reach the end of a line, the text will automatically wrap to the next line. To start a new paragraph, press ENTER. If you want to leave a blank line between paragraphs, press ENTER twice at the end of each paragraph.
You can type text in either Insert or Overwrite mode.
Insert Mode - inserts the text you type at the cursor position. Any text to the right is moved to the right.
Overwrite Mode - writes over any text to the right of the cursor when you type. When Overwrite mode is active, OVR appears in the Status Bar.
Moving Around Within A Single Document
You can use either the mouse or the keyboard to move around in a Document.
Moving with a Mouse
· With the mouse you can use the Vertical and Horizontal Scroll Bars to scroll through the Document. These Scroll Bars function the same as those found in other Windows' applications.
· To reposition the cursor in a screen, move to the desired position and click the Left Mouse Button.
Moving with the Keyboard
Since inputting information is a keyboard intensive task, askSam includes a number of key combinations for moving quickly around a Document. These key combinations include:
PRESSING MOVES THE CURSOR TO
LEFT ARROW Previous Character
RIGHT ARROW Next Character
UP ARROW Previous Line
DOWN ARROW Next Line
HOME Beginning of the Current Line
END End of the Current Line
PAGE UP Previous Screen
PAGE DOWN Next Screen
CTRL + LEFT ARROW Previous Word
CTRL + RIGHT ARROW Next Word
CTRL + HOME Beginning of Document
CTRL + END End of Document
CTRL + PgUp Scrolls Screen Left
CTRL + PgDn Scrolls Screen Right
CTRL + UP ARROW Scrolls Screen Up
CTRL + DOWN ARROW Scrolls Screen Down
Deleting Text
If you make a mistake while typing, you can easily delete it.
PRESS TO ...
DEL Delete the character to the right of the cursor or to delete the selected text.
BACKSPACE Delete the character to the left of the cursor or the selected text.
ANY KEY Delete the selected text.
The UNDELETE Command
If you accidentally select and delete a block of text, the UNDELETE command will return that text to its position in the Document.
To Recall a Deleted Block of Text:
1. Choose EDIT -> UNDELETE (or press CTRL+Z)
The deleted text is returned to its position in the Document.
NOTES:
1. If you close a file or move to another Document within the file, you will not be able to recall any deleted text.
2. askSam remembers one Deletion per file. When multiple files are open, each file will have its own UNDELETE.
3. The Deleted Text is returned to the position from which it was deleted. If you have added text above where the text was deleted, it may not be returned to the proper position.
4. UNDELETE does not recall texts that have been deleted by repeatedly pressing the DEL or BACKSPACE keys. Only texts that have been selected and then deleted can be recalled.
Selecting Text
Before copying or formatting a block of text in askSam, the text must be selected. You can select a text using either the mouse or the keyboard.
1. Position the mouse pointer at one end of the text you wish to select.
2. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
3. Move the mouse pointer over the text.
4. Release the Left Mouse Button.
NOTE:
1. You can select an entire line by clicking once on the selection area (the white margin to the left of the left margin.)
2. You can select a word by double clicking on it.
3. Selection behaves differently in Data Entry mode.
To select text using the keyboard
Use the keys described in Moving Around A Document in combination with the SHIFT Key.
Once text is selected, it is quite easy to cancel the selection. To cancel a selection
1. Move the mouse pointer anywhere in the Document.
2. Click the mouse or press any ARROW key.
At times, you may want to make changes to all the text contained in a Document (perhaps a new font or color). You can do this by selecting the entire Document:
1. Choose EDIT -> SELECT ALL.
NOTE: You can also use the mouse to select an entire Document. Place the mouse pointer in the selection area (the white margin to the left of the left margin), press and hold CTRL and click the mouse.
Once you have selected a text, you have a variety of options. These include:
· Deleting the selected text.
· Cutting, Copying, and Pasting (into another askSam Document or another Windows Application).
· Searching for the selected text.
· Dragging and dropping selected text.
· Defining a Hypertext Link for the selected text.
· Dialing the number, if the selected text is a phone number and you have a modem.
· Changing the format (font, alignment, style, color, tabs, or indents) of the selected text.
· Printing the selected text.
Transferring Information Using the Clipboard - Cut, Copy, and Paste
The Windows Clipboard provides a temporary storage area for information that you want to transfer to another location. You can CUT or COPY information from a Document to the Clipboard, and then transfer that information to:
· Another place in the same Document
· Another askSam Document
· Another askSam File
· Another Application
NOTE: The Clipboard also allows you to transfer information (text or graphics) from other applications into an askSam Document.
1. Select the information you want to Cut or Copy.
2. Choose EDIT -> CUT (CTRL+X)
or EDIT -> COPY (CTRL+C).
The selected text will be transferred to the Clipboard. If you choose:
CUT- the selected text is deleted from the Document when it is transferred to the Clipboard.
COPY- the selected text is left in the Document and a copy is transferred to the Clipboard.
NOTES:
1. Information you cut or copy to the Clipboard remains there until you clear the Clipboard, Cut or Copy another item to the Clipboard, or exit Windows.
2. The Cut and Copy commands can be accessed from the Mouse Menu. Click the right mouse button in the Work Space to display the Mouse Menu.
3. The Cut and Copy commands can be accessed from buttons in the Toolbar.
Pasting Information
Information stored in the Windows' Clipboard can be easily pasted into one or more askSam Documents. Since the Clipboard is not cleared after an operation, its contents can be pasted into as many Documents as you like.
1. Position the cursor where you wish to insert the information.
2. Choose EDIT -> PASTE (or press CTRL + V).
The information stored in the Clipboard is pasted into the Document.
NOTES:
1. When you paste text into a Document, the text and its formats (fonts, sizes, colors, graphics, etc.) are pasted. If you are interested in pasting the text without any formats, use the Paste Special command and choose the Unformatted Text option. The pasted text will take on the format of the Document where it is pasted.
2. You can paste graphics from the clipboard into askSam. Most popular graphics formats are supported except for GIF format. See the chapter on Graphics and Objects for details.
3. The Paste Command can be accessed from the Mouse Menu. Click the right mouse button in the Work Space to display the Mouse Menu.
4. The Paste command can be accessed from the Paste button in the Toolbar.
Drag and Drop Editing
1. Select the text you wish to Drag and Drop.
2. Place the mouse pointer in the Selected Text.
3. Press down the left mouse button and keep it pressed.
4. Move the mouse pointer and the blinking text bar to the location where you wish to insert the text. The blinking text bar shows you the exact location of where the text will be inserted.
5. Release the left mouse button and the text will be moved from where you marked it to where you placed it.
The selected text will be deleted from the original location.
NOTES:
1. Drag and Drop editing is not possible in Data Entry Mode.
Moving text with Drag and Drop takes it from one location and places it in a second location. It then deletes the text at the original location. If you wish to leave your original text where it is, you can use Drag and Drop to COPY the Selected text by:
1. Select the text you wish to Drag and Drop.
2. Place the mouse pointer in the Selected Text.
3. Press and Hold the CTRL Key.
4. Press down the left mouse button and keep it pressed.
5. Move the mouse pointer and the blinking copy bar to the location where you wish to insert a copy of the text. The blinking copy bar shows you the exact location of where the text will be inserted.
6. Release the left mouse button and the CTRL Key. The text will be COPIED where you placed the blinking bar and the selected text will remain in the original location.
Inserting Date, Time, and Weekday
askSam can insert the TIME, DATE, and WEEKDAY at the current cursor location.
1. Move the cursor to the position where you want to insert the time.
2. Choose EDIT -> INSERT -> TIME (or press CTRL+T).
askSam will insert the time at the current cursor position in the Document.
1. Move the cursor to the position where you want to insert the date.
2. Choose EDIT -> INSERT -> DATE (or press CTRL+D).
askSam will insert the date at the current cursor position in the Document.
1. Move the cursor to the position where you want to insert the weekday.
2. Choose EDIT -> INSERT -> WEEKDAY.
askSam will insert the weekday at the current cursor position in the Document.
NOTES:
1. You can place the ^D, ^T, and ^W Commands in an Entry Form to automatically insert the date, time, and weekday when adding or importing a Document. See the Working With Entry Forms chapter for details.
2. The format for the date, time, and weekday can be set in the FILE -> PROPERTIES menu.
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