Copyright: ® 1993,94 by George Tatge


Global Abbreviations Help Contents
Contents

Copyright

Copyright Information

Introduction

What is Global Abbreviations?

Features

New Features in Version 1.5

The  Quick Tour

Take the Quick Tour!

International Issues

General

Non U.S. Hot Key Defaults

Recommended Assignments

Caveats

Hot Keys

General Hot Key Information

Hot Key Defaults

Read This!

The Replace Hot Key

The Append Hot Key

The Immediate Hot Key

The Popup Hot Key

Hot Key Editor

Again and Again

Auto Mode

Description

;Auto

Popup List

Description

Go Away

Add Some

Add All

Abbreviations

Abbreviations Explained

Abbreviation Syntax

:Launch and :Paste abbreviations begin with a colon

;Macro abbreviations begin with a semi-colon

Abbreviation Recognition

Numbers are spelled out

Abbreviation Examples

Abbreviation Editor

Editor Window

Active List

Scratch Pad List

Delete Duplicates (editor command)

Sets

Sets Description

:Launch and :Paste

:Launch Abbreviations

:Paste Abbreviations

;Macros

;Macros Description

;Macro Editor

Using ;Macros

;Today and ;Time

;Auto

;Error

Expression Evaluator

Expression Evaluator

Expression Syntax

Expression Examples

Expression Error Examples

Expression Constants

Expression Operators

Number Spelling

Description (number spelling)

Number Syntax:

Number Examples:

Import

Import Description

Import Text Files

Visual Basic File

User Filters

Export

Tips & Tricks

What to use as an abbreviation.

Cycle through the list.

Use the Immediate Hot Key!

KeyBoostTime   (System.ini)

Drag and Drop

Share Sets and Preprocessors

Registering

Why Wait?

Uninstall

Uninstall Description

User Options

Sendback msg flash time

Immediate Abbreviation Length.

Enable ;Macros

HK Reps Until Popup List

Auto Mode

Advanced Topics

How it works

Philosophy

Troubled Applications

Windows Write Program

WordPerfect and Word Processors in General

Comm Programs


Copyright Information

Copyright 1993,94 by George Tatge.  All Rights Reserved.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights.

Global Abbreviations (tm)

Solid Software Inc. (tm)

This software is supplied as shareware and is not free.  See Registration help for more information.


What is Global Abbreviations?

Global Abbreviations helps you work SMARTER AND FASTER!  Everybody knows that the one thing computers excel at is doing the same dumb thing over and over again, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

But there you are, with your expensive computer and expensive software, typing the same words and phrases and variable names, over and over and over and over-- as if the computer couldn't do that for you.

Global Abbreviations will put an end to that nonsense.

Anywhere, anytime!  Global Abbreviations is there to do much of your typing for you.  Type the first couple of letters, hit a single Hot Key, and have anything you want typed for you.   Or, set the Auto Mode and you don't even need to hit the Hot Key!

Sure, you could do this with the Windows Recorder program-- IF you could remember a few thousand different Hot Key combinations!

And yes, there are some truly wonderful macro capabilities in a few state of the art word processor programs.  BUT, the instant you leave that specific program, you loose that power!

Nothing could be simpler.  Abbreviate absolutely anything you want.  Type the abbreviation part and hit The Replace Hot Key.  Global Abbreviations will replace the abbreviation with whatever you have defined as the expansion.

In fact, you can just type part of the abbreviation!

How many times do you think that the two words, "Global Abbreviations" were typed throughout the course of this project? Five Hundred?  Two Thousand?  No!  Probably less than 20!  Why?  Because no matter what application, what program, what utility, what dialog box-- all that we ever typed was "gl" and then hit The Replace Hot Key!

By the end of the first couple of days you'll find yourself typing one-half to one percent less.  After a week, you will have noticeably reduced needless repetitive motion.  After a month... well, by then you'll be a full fledged Global Abbreviations addict and you can tell us how much easier you're working.


Features

* Instant access to your bitmaps from ANYWHERE.

* Instant launching of any program from ANYWHERE.

* Instant access to full keyboard macros from ANYWHERE.

* Instant access to any text file from ANYWHERE.

* Instant access to Full expression evaluation from ANYWHERE.

* Instant access to Date and Time from ANYWHERE.

* and of course, INSTANT TEXT delivered ANYWHERE!


New Features in Version 1.5

* Support for non-U.S. keyboards.

* Auto Mode for even FASTER typing.

* Popup List for times when you just can't remember.


Take the Quick Tour!

The Quick Tour is a very fast way to learn most of the features of Global Abbreviations.  It will put you in the Windows Notepad program with a small file that will tell you how to experiment with the different features.

The Quick Tour needs to have the Abbreviations turned ON  and assumes that the sample set of abbreviations is in the active list.  You might want to double check that they are before taking the Quick Tour.  Enjoy!


General

Global Abbreviations now supports non U.S. keyboards.  For almost all usage, the program will behave normally for you no matter what (8 bit) language and character set you are using.  There is one IMPORTANT issue regarding your initial use of the program.  This is the Hot Key Defaults.


Non U.S. Hot Key Defaults

 Global Abbreviations will detect if your Windows 3.1 settings are for any country or language other than the U.S.  If they are, the Default Hot Keys will be changed.  These "universal settings" are not  recommended.  You should go to the Hot Key Editor and change them.  The universal defaults are:

Hot Key	Default
The Append Hot Key	F2
The Popup Hot Key	F4
The Immediate Hot Key	F7
The Replace Hot Key	F8


Recommended Assignments

Explanation

Danish

Dutch (Belgium)

Dutch (Netherlands)

Finnish

French (Belgium)

French (Canada)

French (France)

German

Icelandic

Italian

Norwegian

Portuguese

Spanish

Swedish

U.S. Dvorak


Explanation

The main thing to keep in mind is that you want your Hot Key assignments to be easy to type.  Especially  for the Replace Hot Key and the Immediate Hot Key!

The other important consideration is to pick combinations that are rarely used so they will not conflict with any special key actions in whatever program you are working in.   Global Abbreviations will reject a few of the most commonly used combinations for this reason.

Some likely candidates are listed below for several languages.  They are listed from "more desirable" to "less desirable" based on the two considerations given above.  Changing the Hot Key assignments is easy so go ahead and experiment until you find something that works best for you.


Danish

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- æ

C- ø

C- -

C- ´


Dutch (Belgium)

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- m

C- ù

C- =

C- -


Dutch (Netherlands)

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- +

C- ´

C- -

C- °


Finnish

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ö

C- ä

C- -

C- ´


French (Belgium)

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- m

C- ù

C- =

C- -


French (Canada)

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C-  ;

C- è

C- é

C- =


French (France)

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- m

C- ù

C- !

C- =


German

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ö

C- ä

C- -

C- ´


Icelandic

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- æ

C- ´

C- þ

C- -


Italian

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ò

C- à

C- -

C- ì


Norwegian

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ø

C- æ

C- -

C- \


Portuguese

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ç

C- º

C- -

C- «


Spanish

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ñ

C- ´

C- -

C- ¡


Swedish

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- ö

C- ä

C- -

C- ´


U.S. Dvorak

Some Control key combinations that might work well.

C- -

C- z

C- ]


Caveats

There are just a couple of points to note regarding differences between the U.S. keyboards mode and the non-U.S. mode.

1.  In the Hot Key Editor, your current Hot Key assignments will not be displayed as they are in U.S. mode.  (It's a long, boring story.)

2.  In the ;Macro Editor, you cannot successfully use the Control key with a dead key / key combination.  For example, in Spanish, to type á you can hit the accent dead key and then the a key.  This works fine, but you cannot do that while holding down the Control key and get C- á.  Hopefully, nobody ever really wants to do this anyway.

3. You also cannot use dead keys as Hot Keys.

4.  Characters produced by the use of Dead Keys can not appear in the abbrevPart of an abbreviation.   If you do this, the abbreviation will NOT be recognized when you try to access it.  Actually, it will be recognized if you use the unaugmented version of the letter.

5.  Agumented characters input with use of the Hot Key will not be recognized as augmented when using The Immediate Hot Key to capture them.  If you want to abbreviate something  with an augmented character in the expansion part, you will need to enter it in the editor, or via import (any entry method other than The Immediate Hot Key will work).

6.  If you work in multiple languages, you should be aware that if you use partial abbreviation recognition, you will get things which match.  This means you may have abbreviations in your Active List which are in a different language from the one you are working in and these may be sent to you (because of partial matching) when you are not expecting them.  Actually, this can be a super feature because you can have access to commonly used phrases in different languages without having to go to Control Panel to change your country settings.


General Hot Key Information

Hot Keys are used to send requests to Global Abbreviations from any application in Windows3.1 (not DOS).

There are a total of FOUR Hot Keys used by Global Abbreviations.  The Replace Hot Key is the one you will use the most.    The other three are: The Append Hot Key, The Immediate Hot Key and The Popup Hotkey.

You can reassign the Hot Keys to other keys if you want to or need to.  A few combinations will be rejected because they are used by so many applications.

Remember that this is a typing aid and keep the main Hot Keys close to the home row on the keyboard.

Try using the defaults for awhile (unless they conflict with something else for you) and see if they don't become pretty automatic.  The defaults also have the advantage of rarely being used by other applications.  But see, Windows Write Program.

You can test your hot keys to see if they are recognized properly.  You can also always restore the program defaults.


Hot Key Defaults

These are the U.S. defaults.  See International for the non-U.S. defaults.

Name of Hot Key	U.S. Defaults
The Replace Hot Key	Ctrl ;
The Append Hot Key	Ctrl '
The Immediate Hot Key	Ctrl /
The Popup Hot Key	Ctrl =


Read This!

If you've used Windows very much at all, you know that every application has some key combinations assigned to special functions.  The Global Abbreviations Defaults have been chosen to minimize potential conflicts as well as to be easy to reach while touch typing.  But there is simply no such thing as unused combinations when you consider thousands of applications.

In particular, the default assignments will NOT work in Write (the app that comes with Windows).  In fact, Write will not work with ANY combinations which use the Ctrl or the Alt key (see special notes on, Windows Write Program).  There are also possible conflicts with some word processors or comm programs when using the defaults.

If you experience any strange characters using one of these programs, simply go to the Global Abbreviations Hot Key Editor and try some different assignments.  Things such as "Shift- F10" are sometimes useful  if the Ctrl or Alt keys seem to cause problems.  In all of our testing, we have never found an application where there was not some usable key combinations.


The Replace Hot Key

The Replace Hot Key is the hot key you will use most often.  When you hit The Replace Hot Key, Global Abbreviations will look at the last characters you typed and try to match those to one of your Active Abbreviations .  If there is a match, then the abbreviation you typed will be erased and be replaced by the expansion.

Remember, you can keep searching by hitting The Replace Hot Key again and again until you get the expansion you want.

Once your list gets very long, you will find that you have some similar abbreviations.  You simply cycle through these until you get the one you want.  You will quickly become accustomed to working this way and will find it far more convenient then having to have unique abbreviations for everything.  Also, see the new Popup List feature.

U.S. Default key assignment for The Replace Hot Key is Ctrl ;


The Append Hot Key

The Append Hot Key functions just like The Replace Hot Key  except that the abbreviation you typed is NOT erased.  The Expansion Part  is simply appended from wherever your insert point is.  This is useful for things like  expression evaluation where you want both the expression, and the answer to appear where you are typing.

 When you hit The Append Hot Key, Global Abbreviations will look at the last characters you typed and try to match those to one of your Active Abbreviations or to a built in service.  If there is a match, then the Expansion Part is appended from where your insert point is.

Remember you can search by hitting The Append Hot Key again and again until you get the expansion you want.  Once your list gets very long, you will find that you have some similar abbreviations.  You simply cycle through these until you get the one you want.  You will quickly become accustomed to working this way and will find it far more convenient than having to have unique abbreviations for everything.  Also, see the new Popup List feature.

The U.S. Default key assignment for The Append Hot Key is Ctrl '


The Immediate Hot Key

The Immediate Hot Key allows you to capture abbreviations on the fly.  This can be a nice time-saver when you type something and realize that you are probably going to be typing it at least a few more times.  The only limitation on abbreviations defined with The Immediate Hot Key is that they must contain no whitespace.

Example:  Suppose you are typing a report and you type the word "iridescent" and realize that you will be using this word several more times.  All you have to do is hit The Immediate Hot Key immediately after typing "iridescent" and you will get back a brief message saying "Added-> irid iridescent."  The next time you start typing it, just type "iri" followed by The Replace Hot Key and you will have "iridescent"!  That's all there is to it.

Abbreviations made with The Immediate Hot Key default to four characters long.  You can change this with a User Option.

The U.S. Default key assignment for The Immediate Hot Key is Ctrl /

If you have defined abbreviations with The Immediate Hot Key,  you will always have a chance to save before exiting.

Non U.S. keyboard users note:  Augmented characters which you type by using a dead key will not be captured as augmented when using The Immediate Hot Key.  See CavCaveatseats under International topic.


The Popup Hot Key

The Popup Hot Key does nothing more than  Popup the Global Abbreviations Editor Window. This is a handy way to get to the Editor ASAP.

The U.S. Default assignment for The Popup Hot Key is Ctrl =


Hot Key Editor

The Hot Key Editor allows you to change your hot keys, to test them and to restore the defaults.  To change a Hot Key just click the appropriate button and you will see the Hot Key screen.

Once in the Hot Key input screen, you should press the key or the key combination that you want to have assigned to the Hot Key you have chosen to change.  A few selections (such as Ctrl S) will be rejected because they are so universally used.  Press the Cancel button if you do not want to change.


Again and Again

One of the most important features of Global Abbreviations is the ability to rapidly cycle through all possible matches when you request an expansion.

You do not need to type the complete AbbrevPart in order to get back an Expansion Part.  If the one you receive is not the one you want, just hit the Hot Key again and you will get the next match!  Also, see the new Popup List feature.

We urge you to make use of this important feature.  You will soon see how Global Abbreviations can act as a great memory aid.  This is especially true for programmers who have hundreds of variable names to remember!


Auto Mode - Description
Description

Auto Mode is a super new feature which can help you type even faster!  If you enable Auto Mode, you will get automatic replacement for an exact match every time you type a space.

There are two main differences between using Auto Mode and using the Replace Hot Key.

1.  Works on exact matches only (otherwise, it would drive you crazy).

2. Works only for expanding your abbreviations (i.e., not for such things as ;Macro, :Paste, etc.).

3. There is no again and again type of mechanism for Auto Replace.  It wouldn't make any sense.


Auto Mode - ;Auto
;Auto

You can toggle the Auto Mode on and off by using the ;Auto macro.  Just type ;Auto followed by the Replace Hot Key and you will get a flashback message with the new state.   You can also change Auto Mode in the Editor with the Options menu.


Popup List - Description
Description

The Popup List is a new feature that is provided (somewhat reluctantly) for those who want to use it.  We have to admit that there are certain circumstances under which it can be very useful.  We say "reluctantly" because using it requires you to reach for the mouse which is something Global Abbreviations is meant to help you avoid.  The default is for it to be disabled.

To enable the Popup List, go to the Editor and click the Options menu item.   You can then set when you want the Popup List to popup.

When the List pops up to you (it should always be placed close to where you are working) you can Double Click on the item you want.


Go Away

This button just sends the Popup List away without doing anything.


Add Some

This button will add items to the Popup List which start with the same letter as the abbrevPart you typed before it popped up.


Add All

This button will add all of your active abbreviations to the Popup List.


Abbreviations Explained

Abbreviations can be almost anything.  A complete abbreviation is composed of the AbbrevPart followed by the Expansion Part.

Examples:

ram Random Access Memory

In this example, ram is the AbbrevPart.  Random Access Memory is the expansion part you will receive back.

wow This program can save me lots of time!

In this example, wow is the AbbrevPart.  This is how you access the Expansion Part.  If you were to type wow and then hit The Replace Hot Key, you would see This program can save me lots of time! replace the wow.


Abbreviation Syntax

Minimum Syntax Rules!

A great deal of care has gone into keeping syntax rules to the absolute minimum.  There must, however, be a few rules in order to provide this much power to you from within anywhere in Windows.  The few rules are very simple to remember.

AbbrevPart

abbrevPart followed by the Expansion Part

An abbreviation is made up of an AbbrevPart and an Expansion Part.  These two parts are separated by the first whitespace.  In other words, the abbreviation part may NOT contain any whitespace.

abbrevPart may NOT end in a right parenthesis

Any time you hit The Append Hot Key or The Replace Hot Key and the last non-whitespace character you typed was a ")", Global Abbreviations will attempt to evaluate a mathematical expression.

abbrevPart may NOT contain dead keys.  If you use a non U.S. keyboard, it is important to remember that the abbrevPart cannot contain characters which must be entered by use of a dead key.  E.g., in Spanish, entering é requires the use of a dead key.  It is ok to have these characters in the expansion part.  See cavCaveatseats under the international topic.

The Expansion Part

The Expansion Part of the abbreviation may be composed of any string of normal printing characters.  These are the characters which will be sent to whichever window you are currently working in.  (Note: for sending non-printing characters, see ;Macros Description)  The combined length of the AbbrevPart and the Expansion part may not exceed 1023 characters.


:Launch and :Paste abbreviations begin with a colon

You may define :Launch abbreviations which will start up any Windows program on your system.  For :Launch abbreviations, the Expansion Part should be the name of the executable file.  :Launch abbreviations must be typed completely.  Note that you must include a full path for .HLP files.

You may also define :Paste abbreviations.  All :Paste abbreviations begin with a colon.  The filename you specify will be put on the Windows clipboard when the abbreviation is invoked.  You may specify picture files (*.BMP and *.WMF) or text files (*.TXT).


;Macro abbreviations begin with a semi-colon

;Macro abbreviations give you full keyboard macro capability within any Windows program.

The Macro Editor will popup whenever you enter  a valid ;Macro abbreviation into the edit line of the Edit Window.  For more information, see ;Macros Description.


Abbreviation Recognition

Standard user abbreviations and ;Macros are recognized even if they are not entered completely.  This means that even if you forget an abbreviation you've defined, you can access it if you can remember at least the first letter.  Of course, you may have to cycle through more choices, BUT it is still usually much faster than typing out the whole Expansion Part yourself.  It is absolutely faster than having to go searching in other windows when you can't remember something exactly!

Important!  Remember that the abbrevPart needs to be delimited by a space.  If you are working someplace and move the caret around with the arrow keys, you may not get recognition.  You might see some whitespace but that doesn't mean you actually typed it.


Numbers are spelled out

You can not have an abbreviation composed of nothing but numbers.  When Global Abbreviations expands something composed exclusively of digits, it will spell the number out in English.  E.g.  123 becomes one hundred twenty three.


Abbreviation Examples

AbbrevPart	followed by the Expansion Part.
abc	The first three letters of the alphabet
Now	would be a good time to register.
3d	three dimensional
r2d2	a robot used principally for navigation
:fm	winfile.exe
:logo	c:\mypics\mylogo.bmp


Editor Window

The Abbreviation Editor Window is where you work to put together your Active Abbreviation list.

You can enter abbreviations one line at a time.

You can paste from the clipboard.

Or you can go to the Import Window for powerful import facilities.

There are User Options available to customize the behavior of Global Abbreviations.


Active List

The Active List is the group of abbreviations that are currently available to you.

In the Editor you can add to or delete from this list.

From the Importer you can Import ASCII files to the Active List.

You can save the Active List to a new or existing Set.

Whenever you leave the editor, you will have a chance to save the Active List to a Set.  If you choose not to Save, the abbreviations on the Active List will still be active for as long as Global Abbreviations is running.


Scratch Pad List

The Scratch Pad List is provided for you to use when putting together the Active List.  In the Editor you can add to or delete from this list.  From the Importer you can Import ASCII files to the Scratch Pad List.


Delete Duplicates (editor command)

Editor command.  This will delete all duplicates from both the Active List and the Scratch Pad List .  Duplicate entries are allowed during import because it may be useful to know that duplicates exist.


Sets Description

Sets allow you to save groups of abbreviations in a logical manner.

Sets are really nothing more than files with long descriptive names.  Global Abbreviations manufactures a file name of the form GABxxxxx.GAB where x is a digit.  Please be careful not to delete or rename those files.

Tip:  Try not to make too many different sets.  You don't want to always have to be going back into Global Abbreviations to put a different set on the Active List.

Sets are best used for organizing totally separate projects or concepts.


:Launch Abbreviations

Use Global Abbreviations to launch any Windows application from anywhere in Windows!

This is an easy way to start up Windows programs from anywhere.  Of course, Windows allows you to assign Short Cut Keys to any application, but how many of those do you really remember?

When you use abbreviations like ":edit" or ":setup"  you will find that you can actually remember them and use them.  You can use either The Replace Hot Key or The Append Hot Key with program launch abbreviations.

The Replace Hot Key works best as it will erase the abbreviation.

Syntax:  All Program :Launch abbreviations MUST start with a colon.  That is the only syntax requirement for the abbreviation part.  The Expansion Part must be the filename of a valid executable file.  You may include the complete path name if you wish.  If only the file name is included (e.g., :clip clipbrd.exe), then Windows searches everywhere on your PATH for the file.   NOTE: You MUST include the complete path name for HELP (.hlp) files!

If the file is not found, then nothing happens, except that your abbreviation is erased.  If the file is found, the application is started.  Some applications (such as file manager) only allow one instance at a time.  If one of these is already running, it is simply brought to the front and given the focus.

Note:  When invoking a program with a :Launch abbreviation, you MUST type in the complete abbreviation.  If you do not, Global Abbreviations will launch the first item (alphabetically) that partially matches.

Of course, you can have as many different abbreviations doing the same launch as you like.  Also, you can include arguments and switches if you like.

Valid file extensions are ".EXE" or ".HLP" or ".PIF".

Related Topics:

:Launch Examples


:Launch Examples

AbbrevPart	The Expansion Part
:np	notepad.exe c:\somefile.txt
:pm	progman.exe
:winmain	progman.exe
:myapp	d:\anydir\myprog.exe /flag other stuff


:Paste Abbreviations

Pictures

Text


Pictures

You can instantly put any bitmap onto the clipboard!  A good example is a company logo which you may often want to put into various documents, databases, etc.  If you define a :Paste abbreviation for it, it will always be available instantly!

:Paste abbreviations also begin with a colon (like :Launch abbreviations).

When you define a colon abbreviation with a filename with a ".BMP" or  ".WMF"  extension, Global Abbreviations will put that picture onto the clipboard.  You can then paste it into the application you are working in.

This is very useful for logos and other pictures you use frequently.  Since most programs in Windows support Ctrl V for paste, you can usually insert a picture without ever reaching for the mouse!

Related Topics:

:Paste Picture Examples


:Paste Picture Examples

:mylogo  c:\mydir\mypics\mylogo.bmp

:fun  c:\anydir\cartoon.wmf


Text

All other file extensions are assumed to be ASCII text files and an attempt will be made to put them on the clipboard as text if they are not too large.

Related Topics:

:Paste Text Example


:Paste Text Example

:byline  c:\homedir\byline.txt


;Macros Description

Using ;Macros gives you full keyboard macro facility in any Windows application!  Some Windows apps have their own macro facility; of course their macros only work within that application or suite of applications.

These ;Macros are not intended to replace macro facilities in advanced word processor programs.  However, they will work just fine in those programs.  On the other hand, most applications have NO macro facility.  Now you have one that works with all of them!


;Macro Editor

The ;Macro Editor is available within the Abbreviation Editor Window.

Whenever you are typing an abbreviation into the edit line and enter a valid ;Macro abbreviation (followed by a space), the ;Macro Editor will popup and will ALREADY BE IN RECORD MODE.

An edit box is provided for you to work in.  The actual contents in the edit box mean nothing; it is simply provided so you will not have to work blind.  When it is in Record Mode, there is a green light over the Record button.

As you type keys, you will see the information entered into the edit line above.  Please do NOT try to edit the ;Macros directly unless you are intimately familiar with the syntax of the Visual Basic SendKeys function!

Related Topics:

Record Button

Pause Button

Rewind Button

Cancel Button

Done Button


Record Button

When the ;Macro Editor first pops up, it will be in Record Mode, with the green light on.  Anytime you wish to begin or resume recording, simply click the Record Button.


Pause Button

The Pause Button simply pauses the current recording session.  The yellow light indicates that recording is paused.  Press the Record Button to resume recording.


Rewind Button

The Rewind Button makes it easy to start over when you make a mistake.  When you click Rewind, everything but the abbreviation part will be deleted and you will be in Record Mode


Cancel Button

The Cancel Button will abort the whole recording session and discard everything.


Done Button

When you have finished recording, click the Done Button.  If there are no syntax errors (which there never are unless you've edited the line directly) your new ;Macro will be added to the Active Abbreviation List.


Using ;Macros

You can create some very powerful ;Macros but you will probably get the most usage out of simple ;Macros.  The Windows Notepad program is a good place to experiment with ;Macros.  When defining ;Macros, try to make them as universal as possible.

Also note that ;Macros allow you to have multi-line expansions since the "Enter" key may be used in a ;Macro.

Related Topics:

;Macro Examples:


;Macro Examples:

NOTE that the actual macro will not look like the descriptions below because of the automatic formatting  which will be placed around the Non-printing keys.

;t1 Home Tab DownArrow

This works in nearly every program to insert a tab at the beginning of successive lines.

To use this, just type ;t1 followed by  The Replace Hot Key.  Then just keep hitting The Replace Hot Key over and over until you have all of your lines tabbed in.

VB programmers should note that this type of ;Macro works great when trying to reformat a piece of source code.

;sr F3 Del My Name

You could use this simple ;Macro to do Search and Replace in the Windows Notepad program!  In this case, you want to replace something with "My Name".

To use this for search and replace in Notepad, just do a Find command to set what you want to have replaced.  If you were to then manually type F3 Del My Name you would replace the next occurrence of whatever you are finding with "My Name".  Using the ;Macro (in this case, ;sr), you can just keep hitting  The Replace Hot Key until you have replaced all of the occurrences you want.

Of course, if you wanted to do lots of different search and replaces, it would probably be best to move into some word processor.  But this example should give you some ideas of how much you can accomplish with some simple ;Macros.


;Today and ;Time

These are two special ;Macro abbreviations  which are always active.  They will return today's date and the current time respectively.  These can be really useful when typing letters and reports.  These MUST start with a semi-colon.

;today

;toda

;tod

all three will return the current date.

;time

;tim

will return the current time


;Macros - ;Auto
;Auto

This predefined ;Macro is used to instantly toggle Auto Mode on or off.  A brief flashback message will tell you the new state.


;Error

This is reserved for internal use by Global Abbreviations.


Expression Evaluator - Expression Evaluator
Expression Evaluator

 The Expression Evaluator will evaluate complex mathematical expressions.  This can be useful when typing reports.  It is also helpful in situations where some application is asking you for a number that you would  otherwise have to calculate.  See below for Expression Examples


Expression Syntax

Expressions MUST end in a right parenthesis.  Overall, the parentheses must be balanced.  Expressions are NOT case sensitive with the EXCEPTION of "E" and "e".  "E" is used for scientific notation and "e" is the natural constant.


Expression Examples

(33 + 12)

((14.77 - (tan 22)) ^ (3E-7))

(arcsinh 45)

(sqr (49) * 2)


Expression Error Examples

Bad Expression	Explanation
(14 + (3 * 6)	unmatched parens.  You would get 18 back instead of 32.
27 + 15	missing parens, you would get "fifteen" back.
(7 /  0)	divide by zero error, you would get a "could not parse" msgbox.


Expression Constants

Constant	Value used in calculations
PI	has the value: 3.14159265358979
e	has the value: 2.71828182845905


Expression Operators

Symbol	Meaning
ABS	Absolute Value
AND	Logical AND
ARCCOS	Arc Cosine
ARCCOSH	Arc Hyperbolic Cosine
ARCCOT	Arc Cotangent
ARCCOTH	Arc Hyperbolic Cotangent
ARCCSC	Arc Cosecant
ARCCSCH	Arc Hyperbolic Cosecant
ARCTANH	Arc Hyperbolic Tangent
ARCSEC	Arc Secant
ARCSECH	Arc Hyperbolic Secant
ARCSIN	Arc Sine
ARCSINH	Arc Hyperbolic Sine
ATN	Arc Tangent
CLG	Common Log (Base 10)
COS	Cosine
COT	Cotangent
COTH	Hyperbolic Cotangent
CSC	Cosecant
CSCH	Hyperbolic Cosecant
EXP	Exponent
LOG	Natural Log (base e)
NOT	Logical NOT
OR	Logical OR
SINH	Hyperbolic Sine
SECH	Hyperbolic Secant
SEC	Secant
SIN	Sine
SQR	Square Root
TAN	Tangent
TANH	Hyperbolic Tangent
!	Factorial
^	Exponentiation
*	Multiplication
/	Division
\	Integer Division
+	Addition
-	Subtraction
<	Less than
=	Equal to
>	Greater than


Description (number spelling)

Whenever you send nothing but digits to Global Abbreviations it will return the number spelled out in English.  You may find this useful in writing reports and documents where it is more appropriate to spell out numbers such as one hundred and seven instead of 107.

This is all taken care of by the program, there is no need for you to define anything.

Use The Replace Hot Key usually, unless you want the number as well as the spelled out version-- then, use the Append Hot Key.


Number Syntax:

All digits.


Number Examples:

234

234987

27


Import Description

The Importer allows you to import ASCII files.  You can import plain Text Files and you can import ASCII Visual Basic Files.  This makes it easy to create your abbreviations in many different ways.  Note that you may drag&drop files onto the Import window from File Manager.


Import Text Files

Global Abbreviations will import any ASCII Text File and convert it into abbreviations.

You have several options for the style of interpretation of the file.

You may also apply Filters  to only keep or reject certain types of lines from the file.

Files may be imported to either The Active List or The Scratch Pad List.

Related Topics:

Import Syntax Checking:

Interpretation Options:


Import Syntax Checking:

There is some mild syntax checking to avoid importing obviously incorrect abbreviations.  Any lines which fail these few tests are simply ignored and this is reported.


Interpretation Options:

Literal

Fi-> FirstWord of the line.

Fir-> FirstWord of the line.

Firs-> FirstWord of the line.

Fi-> FirstWord

Fir-> FirstWord

Firs-> FirstWord


Literal

Lines are entered just as they appear in the file.

This allows you to build up abbreviations in your favorite editor and also to develop your own special importers.   If you are going to define a lot of abbreviations at one time, using some editor and then importing literally may work faster for you in certain situations.

For example, if you program in C or Pascal and would like to do something similar to the VB import mechanism, you can simply use some awk-like utility to parse your source files and output an ASCII text file that has the abbreviations just as you like them.  Then, import these into Global Abbreviations.


Fi-> FirstWord of the line.

This will take the first TWO characters from the line and make it the abbreviation part.  The entire line becomes the Expansion Part.


Fir-> FirstWord of the line.

This will take the first THREE characters from the line and make it the abbreviation part.  The entire line becomes the Expansion Part.


Firs-> FirstWord of the line.

This will take the first FOUR characters from the line and make it the abbreviation part.  The entire line becomes the Expansion Part.


Fi-> FirstWord

Only the first-word (no whitespace) of each line is used.  The rest of the line is just ignored.  The first TWO characters become the abbreviation part.


Fir-> FirstWord

Only the first-word (no whitespace) of each line is used.  The rest of the line is just ignored.  The first THREE characters become the abbreviation part.


Firs-> FirstWord

Only the first-word (no whitespace) of each line is used.  The rest of the line is just ignored.  The first FOUR characters become the abbreviation part.


Visual Basic File

VB programmers will find this feature invaluable.

Simply save whatever file you are working on as a text file from VB.  Select what type of things you want to import and set the char. spinner to the number of characters you want for each abbreviation part.

You can also set Filters if you like.

Click on Do It and supply the file name.  You can also drag and drop from file manager when you want to import several files at once with the same settings.

Once you have all of your variables, constants, etc. into the Active List you no longer need to type those big variable names.  Just type the first few letters and hit The Replace Hot Key.

Note that if you select the Forms and Controls option that you will get LOTS of stuff imported.  All properties of all forms and controls will be imported (unless you've set some filters).

Related Topics:

Fringe Benefits:


Fringe Benefits:

It can be very interesting to see how many global variables you have or to see how many times you reuse the same name.


User Filters

When Importing files you can define as many filters as you like.  These filters will either dictate what is read in or what is left out (depending on the Keep Matching setting).

You can use the question mark as a single character wild card.  You can use the asterisk as a multiple character wildcard.

Filters are often useful when importing VB files.  For example, you could import Constants from the VB sample Constant.txt file with a filter of "MB_" .  This would limit you to the message box constants which all start with MB_.  You can also choose to make your filters case sensitive.

Related Topics:

Filter Examples:


Filter Examples:

This filter	gives this result
g*t	anything beginning with a "g" or  "G" and having a "t" or "T" before the end of the abbreviation length.
g?t	anything beginning with a "g" or "G" and having a "t" or "T" as the third letter.
zoo	anything beginning with "zoo" or "ZOO" or "Zoo", etc.


Export

If you wish to Export a set of abbreviations you can use these simple steps:

1. Put the abbreviations you want to Export into either of the two lists in the Abbreviation Editor.

2. Click the appropriate Deselect button for that list.

3. Click the appropriate Toggle button for that list (this will select all now).

4. Select Edit-Copy from the menus.

5. Use notepad (or other ASCII editor) to paste them into an empty file.

6. Save that file.


What to use as an abbreviation.

Use whatever is easiest to remember!

Also, don't forget  that you can use different abbreviations for the same thing.


Cycle through the list.

Just keep hitting The Hot Key again and again.

Once you get used to this you will find it very helpful.  Especially if you have many similar technical terms or variable names in your list.

Because of this  feature it is not necessary to have unique abbreviations for everything.  When Global Abbreviations has made a complete cycle through all matches, it will return a zero length string once so you know that you are starting over.


Use the Immediate Hot Key!

If you just remember it's there and get in the habit of using it, you'll find that you can save a lot of time on even fairly small projects.

The Immediate Hot Key is the fastest way to add an abbreviation while you are typing.


KeyBoostTime   (System.ini)

This is a Windows setting in the system.ini file.  The KeyBoostTime setting gives extra time to applications (such as comm programs) to process keystrokes.  If you experience any trouble with missing characters when your abbreviations are expanded, you may want to set this a little higher.  The default value of 0.001 is usually adequate.  You might try 0.003 if you need to slow things down a little for a slow application.

If it is already set too high, you might try reducing it to improve the response of some applications.  Remember, you always have to restart Windows in order for changes to system.ini to take effect.


Drag and Drop

You can drag and drop files from file manager onto the Import Window to have them imported according to the current settings.

This is especially useful for doing several files at once.  Just drag multiple files from File Manager and drop them on the Import Window.

Remember to make sure you have all of your Import Settings the way you want them before dragging and dropping files.


Share Sets and Preprocessors

If you develop useful abbreviation sets (e.g. a special set of legal or medical abbreviations) or nice preprocessors (e.g. to preprocess C or Pascal source code to imitate the VB Import facility), you should feel free to share these with co-workers or friends.  You might even want to distribute them via electronic channels.  If you do, please drop us a line at gat@csn.org to let us know.

Also, see the Export topic for simple steps in exporting to a file.


Why Wait?

You are entitled to try Global Abbreviations for 45 days at no cost.  After that you must register.  Once you register, you will no longer see the registration reminders.   After you send in your completed registration form and payment in U.S. funds, you will receive a registered serial number together with instructions on how to enter it.

To register, go to the Editor and select Registering from the menu.

Your serial number will entitle you to free upgrades for one year from the time it is issued.  From time to time, Global Abbreviations will be updated and new releases will be made available via the same or similar channels through which you received this version.  Such updated versions will work with Serial numbers issued less than one year prior.

Shareware is a very cost effective and environmentally sound distribution channel by which the entire computing community can benefit.  Please evaluate Global Abbreviations based on it's usefulness and quality.  We hope you will find it to meet your highest expectations of any software, distributed via any channel.


Uninstall Description

  The Uninstall procedure will remove almost all traces of this program from your system.

A few files must be left behind because it is very possible that they are used by some other application you installed after you installed Global Abbreviations.  These are the .DLL and .VBX files.

The Uninstall procedure will offer to print out a list of those files so you will know which ones they are.  All files which are private to Global Abbreviations will be removed from your system.  This (optionally) includes all abbreviation sets you created with Global Abbreviations.

Release 1.5 note:  The globlabb.exe file and the gabhelp.hlp file are no longer removed.  It is recommended that you check the "print list" box so you can see what files have been left behind.


Sendback msg flash time

A few messages from Global Abbreviations are just flashed back to you wherever you are.  This is so you don't have to respond to a msgbox when it really isn't necessary.

Setting this value (10ths of a second) will set the time that the message pauses before being erased.  This allows you to set a time that is comfortable  for you to read but that won't slow you down while typing.


Immediate Abbreviation Length.

You can set what length you want the Immediate abbreviations to become.  Three to five seem to work well.  In general, the only reason for longer abbreviations is if you have several similar abbreviations.  In this case, typing a longer abbreviation part makes it more likely to be unique, thus reducing the number of items you might need to cycle through.


Enable ;Macros

By default, the ;Macros are enabled.  You might occasionally want to disable them if you are afraid of invoking one at the wrong time.


HK Reps Until Popup List

This is to enable the Popup List feature.  It determines how many consecutive Hot Keys should happen before the Popup List comes to your aid.  Possible settings are:

0-> Don't send the Popup List at all.

1-> Send the Popup List whenever I hit the Replace Hot Key.  This is not recommended as you will always be reaching for the mouse!

2 to 9-> Send the Popup List after I've hit the Replace Hot Key this many times in a row (i.e., after so many tries at cycling through the matches).


User Options - Auto Mode
Auto Mode

Check this item if you want to enable Auto Mode.


How it works

Global Abbreviations is omni-present and powerful but the code which runs when the abbreviations are turned on is quite small and unobtrusive.

Global Abbreviations runs as a good citizen and does nothing mysterious.  It simply listens to the Windows messaging system and makes a note of any keystroke messages.

If, and only if, you invoke it with a hot key (unless you have Auto Mode on), it will look at what is in the recent keystroke buffer and attempt to parse it into something it knows how to expand.

If  it is a :Launch abbreviation it will simply send a message to Windows, (via VB shell command) telling it to start up the assigned executable program.

If it is something which should be expanded in place for you, it will send the Expansion Part to your application via the Visual Basic SendKeys function.

If it is a :Paste abbreviation, an attempt will be made to put the bitmap or text on the clipboard.


Philosophy

We believe that an application which presumes to be worth paying for, should be useful, save you time, make your work easier, or provide some other real benefit to you.

We also believe that any such application should take all care and caution to work together properly with other well behaved applications.

We have made every effort to meet these goals and hope your experience with Global Abbreviations will confirm this.

Perhaps such thoughtful features as Uninstall demonstrate our commitment to putting your needs first.  We hope that this is one feature you never want to use, but we know there are times when one really needs such a feature for some reason.

This system was carefully alpha-tested and beta-tested on several different configurations using literally hundreds of different Windows Applications.  Global Abbreviations works  with every app tested!

Global Abbreviations was not tested on anything except Windows 3.1!  Absolutely NO claim is made that it will work on any system which purports to emulate Windows 3.1 functionality.

It is almost becoming cliched for serious shareware authors to expound upon the shareware concept itself.  Cliched or not, it cannot be resisted.   Shareware is a simple question of economics and environment.  No printing and duplication charges.  No shipping charges  and no waiting.

You get FASTER than overnight delivery without adding to the cargo weight on some 747's flying all night.  It all boils down to channels.  Shareware is an excellent channel for everybody but the middle men.  We hope that Global Abbreviations increases your respect for the validity of shareware.


Windows Write Program

The Windows Write Program will NOT work with the Global Abbreviations Default Hot Key assignments.

Write will NOT work with ANY Hot Keys which use the Ctrl or Alt key.

If you want to use Global Abbreviations with Write you will need to use the Global Abbreviations Hot Key Editor to reassign the Hot Keys to something different (e.g. F9 to F12).

If you are curious, here is the explanation.  It appears that Write has some rather old fashioned and unorthodox method of dealing with the keyboard.  Try this experiment:  Use the Windows Recorder to define a macro composed of a few Back Spaces.  Now assign it to some Ctrl key combination.  Go try it out in Write.  If you invoke the Recorder macro with the mouse, it works fine.  If you invoke it with the Ctrl key you assigned, you will see some square boxes representing nonPrinting characters.  They are Ctrl-H.  Now go into write and just type Ctrl-BackSpace.  You get the same result.

It appears that Write actually checks the current state of the Ctrl and Alt key on the keyboard and prepends that to the BackSpace key sent over the Windows message queue.  Anyway, the answer is simply to use some Non-Ctrl or Non-Alt Hot Key assignments if you want to use Global Abbreviations with Write.


WordPerfect and Word Processors in General

You should realize that modern word processors do a lot of processing!  During testing we have found that it is possible to set up situations in some word processing programs where response is slowed.

This response is ALL at the word processor end.

A good example is putting WordPerfect (vers. 5.2) into Full Justification mode.  When Global Abbreviations sends an expansion to WordPerfect in this mode, you will notice that the letters move slowly across the screen.  This has to do with how much processing WP is doing to determine spacing for full justification (or so, we assume).  This causes absolutely no problems, just a slight annoyance.  Special thanks to David Hamilton in helping us isolate this type of behavior.

One tip if you work with word processors and notice slowing in some modes, is to set the msg flashback time to a smaller number.  It's a small help.  Also, please see the Tips and Tricks section on the system.ini KeyBoostTime setting.

Your choice of Global Abbreviations Hot Key assignments can also affect some word processors.  If you are getting strange effects, try assigning the Hot Keys to something WITHOUT the Ctrl or Alt key.

Another problem may come with finding an unused combination.  They certainly exist but some word processors (like Word 6.0) seem to have a thousand pre-assigned combinations!  The default value for The Replace Hot Key (Ctrl ;) does seem to work well in most word processors.

Please realize if you experience any of these things that it is ABSOLUTELY NOT because Global Abbreviations is doing something different.  It is simply that the Hot Key you are using has some kind of meaning to the program you are in, even if you don't know what that meaning is!

If you ever need reassurance, simply go to the Windows Notepad program and try the same things.  Notepad is so nice and simple that it ignores almost all non-ASCII keystrokes.


Comm Programs

Like word processors, Comm programs tend to do a great deal of processing of keystrokes.  Please read the comments above regarding Write and word processors.  If you experience slow response when using a comm program, it is simply because the comm program is taking its sweet time in processing the keystrokes that Global Abbreviations is sending to it.


Glossary of Terms

Added->

home row

:Launch

:Paste

;Macro

;Macro Editor

abbreviation part

abbreviation sets

AbbrevPart

Active Abbreviations

active list

ASCII Visual Basic Files

awk

BMP

boolean

capture abbreviations

char. spinner

clipboard

colon

comm programs

complete abbreviation

cycle

DLL

edit line

erased

EXE

executable

expansion

Global Abbreviations

HLP

Hot Key

Hot Keys

Importer

keyboard macro

multi-line expansions

nonsense

PIF

Record Mode

Recorder

Registration

repetitive motion

sample set

SendKeys

Sets

similar abbreviations

technical terms

TXT

variable names

VB

VBX

whitespace

WMF

word processor

word processors


Added->

When you enter an Immediate abbreviation, you will get a brief flashback msg. telling you what was added.


home row

The "home row"  on the keyboard is the row where you normally have your fingers when at rest.


:Launch

A special type of abbreviation used to launch other programs instantly.


:Paste

A special type of abbreviation used to paste pictures and text onto the clipboard instantly.


;Macro

A ;Macro is a special abbreviation which allows you to have Non-printing keystrokes in the Expansion Part of your abbreviation.


;Macro Editor

The ;Macro Editor automatically pops up whenever you enter a proper ;Macro abbreviation into the edit line of the Abbreviation Editor.


abbreviation part

A Global Abbreviations abbreviation is composed of the AbbrevPart followed by the Expansion Part.


abbreviation sets

Any group of abbreviations you have saved together under a descriptive name.


AbbrevPart

This is what you type before hitting a Hot Key to have Global Abbreviations expand it for you.


Active Abbreviations

The list of abbreviations which are currently available to you from anywhere within Windows.


active list

The active list can be edited in the editor.  These are the abbreviations which are currently available to you.


ASCII Visual Basic Files

Did you know that there are several very good reasons to always work with text files while programming in VB?  Here's one: your executable code will stay cleaner because of no residuals lying around in binary files.


awk

Awk is a Unix utility used to write custom text parsers.


BMP

A Windows bitmap file can be instantly pasted onto the clipboard for you!


boolean

The True or False result of evaluating a logical expression.


capture abbreviations

The last word you typed is captured when you invoke The Immediate Hot Key.


char. spinner

A small spinner used to set the number of characters that will be used to create the AbbrevPart when importing VB files.


clipboard

Pictures and text can be put onto the Windows clipboard for you to paste into the app you are working in.


colon

Colon abbreviations are used for launching Windows programs or pasting something to the clipboard.


comm programs

Communication applications such as CrossTalk and ProComm.


complete abbreviation

You must type in the complete abbreviation for :Launch and :Paste abbreviations.  For example, if the AbbrevPart of your abbreviation is ":myapp" then you would NOT get a match by typing in ":myap"


cycle

You can cycle through expansions of similar abbreviations by hitting the same Hot Key right away.


DLL

DLL files are dynamic link libraries which are shared code used by any or all Windows programs.


edit line

In the Abbreviation Editor, it is the main input line towards the top of the screen.


erased

Global Abbreviations will send BackSpaces to erase the abbreviation if you use The Replace Hot Key.


EXE

The file extension of an executable Windows application.


executable

A Windows executable file with either an EXE or a HLP or a PIF extension.


expansion

The expansion is what Global Abbreviations returns to you when you request it via a Hot Key.


Global Abbreviations

Known to most as, "the best software money can buy."


HLP

Help files exist for most Windows programs.  You can assign a .HLP file to a :Launch abbreviation and have a specific Help file always available to you instantly.  You MUST use the COMPLETE PATHNAME for .hlp files!


Hot Key

A special key or combination of keys.


Hot Keys

You use Hot Keys to ask Global Abbreviations to do something for you.


Importer

The Importer allows you to quickly import ASCII Text or VB files.


keyboard macro

An abbreviation where the Expansion Part contains Non-printing keys, such as HOME or F9.


multi-line expansions

If you want to have a multi-line expansion, you must use ;Macros so that the "Enter" key will work.


nonsense

Commonly defined as the art of doing something ourselves when we could let the computer do it.


PIF

Extension of a Windows executable DOS shell.


Record Mode

Refers to the ;Macro editor when it is recording keystrokes for your ;Macro.


Recorder

Recorder is a very useful Windows utility for certain tasks.   It cannot, however, help you minute by minute like  Global Abbreviations can.


Registration

FREE upgrades for ONE YEAR when you register!


repetitive motion

Working at a keyboard all day can lead to various repetitive motion associated problems.


sample set

A very short set of abbreviations supplied with Global Abbreviations as an example.


SendKeys

A function in Visual Basic which puts keydown messages on the Windows message queue.


Sets

Sets let you assign long, descriptive names to a group of abbreviations.


similar abbreviations

You will often have abbreviations which begin with the same few letters.  These are called "similar abbreviations."


technical terms

Global Abbreviations is great for people who have to type long technical words and phrases.


TXT

Text files can be put on the clipboard instantly!  Any file which does NOT have an EXE, PIF, HLP, BMP or WMF file extension is assumed to be a text file!


variable names

Global Abbreviations is a programmer's best friend.  You can't remember a thousand variable and constant names, and you can't type them as fast as Global Abbreviations!


VB

Visual Basic is an environment for developing Windows applications.


VBX

VBX files are Controls which are used by any  or all Windows programs.


whitespace

An ASCII space, tab, or carriage return.


WMF

A Windows Meta File can be instantly put onto the clipboard for you!


word processor

A program such as Ami Pro, Word Perfect or Write.


word processors

Programs such as Word Perfect, Write, Word for Windows and Ami Pro.


Global Abbreviations is ALWAYS at your beck and call!


Any application, any program, any little dialog box-- Global Abbreviations is there and ready to help you!


Not only do you not have to remember the whole technical term or variable name, you don't even need to remember the abbreviation part!  This is amazing.


Typing less keystrokes reduces repetitive motion.


Global Abbreviations is ON when the (GA) icon is GREEN.


A Dead Key is used in many languages to change the next key type.  It usually adds some diacritical mark to the next key typed.


The Replace Hot Key is the one you will use most often!


You will be amazed how much faster and more accurately you will be able to type with Global Abbreviations!


You may need to experiment to see what key combinations are not used by the application.


A list isn't really considered "long" unless it has several thousand entries.


How much of the AbbrevPart you type is up to you.  Global Abbreviations is very tolerant.


Some people use Global Abbreviations almost as much for helping them remember things as for a typing aid.


Auto Mode can be toggled in the Editor with the Option menu or by using the ;Auto macro from anywhere.


Any expression enclosed in balanced parenthesis which can be evaluated to a number or boolean.


Windows executable files with extensions EXE or HLP or  PIF.


Standard abbreviations do not include :Launch or :Paste abbreviations.


Allowing duplicates during Import can provide useful information, especially when importing VB files!


With Global Abbreviations, you have only a couple of Hot Keys to remember.


You can always assign several abbreviations to do the same :Launch!


This instant access to pictures can save you lots of time since you don't have to go searching through the file system for them!


Although you have access to them, please do NOT try to edit the ;Macros directly unless you are positive you know what you are doing.


This is only useful if you are working in English.


You can create your own importer to work on any kind of file you want!  Then you can use the Literal interpretation method to bring your abbreviations into Global Abbreviations.


It's a very good idea to always work with text files in Visual Basic.


When checked, lines which match the filters will be imported.  When not checked, lines which match the filters will be ignored.


Visa or Master Card orders will be billed in U.S. funds and exchange rates will be handled by the card issuer.  If you pay by money order or check, these MUST be in U.S. funds!