Now that you've opened your ThoughtPattern package, you may be wondering how to get started using it. We've tried to design a program that is intuitive and easy to use; of course, what's intuitive to one person may be completely awkward and strange to another. With this in mind, we've written this document to get you going.
For more detailed descriptions regarding the commands and display of information, see the online help ╤ this is found under the help menu at the right of the menu bar if you're running System 7.x or ╥???╙ menu if you're running System 6.x ╤ while using the program.
If you're running System 7.x, additional help is available to explain the function and use of buttons and controls in most windows and dialogs and menu commands using the system's Balloon Help. Balloon Help displays help text as you move the mouse cursor over menus, buttons, and controls; to turn Balloon Help on and off, select Show Balloons or Hide Balloons from the system's help menu.
If you're running System 6.x, help is available to explain the function and use of buttons and controls in most windows and dialogs using our innovative Cursor Help. Cursor Help displays help text as you move the mouse cursor over buttons and controls; to turn Cursor Help on and off, click the button with the ╘?╒ symbol.
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To Install ThoughtPattern on your hard disk:
1) Make a backup of the ThoughtPattern floppy disk enclosed in your package and store the original disk in a safe place,
2) Create a folder called ╥ThoughtPattern╙,
3) Drag the entire contents of the floppy disk to the new ╥ThoughtPattern╙ folder.
That's it!
Ñ Please take this opportunity to fill out your registration card as completely as possible and send it to us so that we can inform you of upgrades and new products in the future. Ñ
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Ñ Getting Started...
The best way to begin using ThoughtPattern is to just start entering the scraps of information you want to keep track of, whether they are files or notes. One of the nice things about ThoughtPattern is that it doesn't require you to think a lot about the structure of your information at the start. You can add or change structure as you go, assigning categories and building associations between items as the body of information grows and changes.
Initially, you will have an information base which will list items in a simple, but accessible manner. As you develop categories and begin to build searches, you will have a powerful and flexible tool at your fingertips for managing your day-to-day work.
Ñ Basic Concepts
ThoughtPattern manages files and scraps of information and calls these objects Items. Text items created as notes in ThoughtPattern can be any length; ANY type of file can be ╥linked in╙ as an item. Items can be assigned a priority and alarms can be set, thus allowing you to create to-do lists and reminders. Up to 16,000 items can be created and stored in a ThoughtPattern file.
Items are categorized by the assignment of keyphrases called Tabs. Any number of tabs can be attached to an item and can be added, removed or relabelled at any time. Tabs can be up to 255 characters in length. Up to 16,000 tabs can be created and stored in a ThoughtPattern file.
As the set of tabs grows, it becomes useful to create subsets of tabs to aid you in finding particular tabs. These subsets are called Tab Groups and can contain any number of tabs. You must assign a unique name to each. Tabs can belong to more than one tab groups.
Finally, you can construct and store Searches, each of which specifies a set of search criteria for the retrieval of selected groups of items. Searches must be assigned a unique name and are based on three sets of criteria: 1) the tabs assigned to items, 2) the dates of creation, modification or alarms set for items, and 3) the priority assigned to items. You can choose to specify any or all of these criteria in a particular search. Searches are handy for finding sets of information you need frequently and are available with a mouse click from the menu bar.
Ñ About Files and ThoughtPattern
Access to files is provided by ╥linking╙ them into a ThoughtPattern information base. Linking a file does not copy that file╒s data into ThoughtPattern, but establishes a link that lets ThoughtPattern know the location of the file. Once a file is linked, you no longer need to look for it by jumping around in the Finder; instead, you can access your files by the logical associations you create in ThoughtPattern.
Once a file is linked, it is treated the same as any other item created within ThoughtPattern. You can assign tabs, priorities and alarms to files. This allows you to cross-reference your files with notes that are relevant to them.
ThoughtPattern allows you to open any linked file by using the ╥Open Linked File╙ command from the ╥Linked File Functions╙ submenu in the ╥Items╙ menu or by double-clicking a file's displayed icon in the List View or Item View. This process will launch the creator application for the file and open the file in one step.
Currently, ThoughtPattern only provides direct display of files which are plain text, or in the PICT, MacPaint, and EPS formats. To view and edit files in other formats, you must open them using the process just described.
Ñ Creating and Assigning Tabs...
Tabs can be created in a variety of ways.
The most direct way is to select text with the mouse in the Item View and use the ╥Tab Selected Text╙ command form the ╥Tabs╙ popup menu; this allows you to quickly categorize your items as you create or edit them.
New tabs can be created by selecting the ╥Type New Tab╙ command from the popup menu and entering the text for the new tab.
Sometimes you will want to add existing tabs to an item. The Tabs & Groups Window lets you view all the tabs you have created, as well as the Tab Groups you have set up to organize them (see below). The Tabs & Groups Window can be opened from the View menu to display the groups of interest in an outline view for selection. To add one or more existing tabs to an item, first select the item and then select the tabs in the Tabs & Groups Window. Then, just click the ╥plus╙ icon at the top of the window; to remove tabs from an item, follow the same procedure, but click on the ╥minus╙ icon.
Ñ About Tab Groups...
Tab groups allow you to segment your growing list of tabs into subsets, making it easier to find individual tabs of interest.
Tab groups also let you hide the large list of tabs and focus on those of interest.
Keep in mind that you don╒t need to use tab groups; again, they╒re there as a convenience. Additionally, groups are flexible and allow you to put tabs in more than one group so that they can be organized and accessed in more than one way.
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Check out the sample files provided on your ThoughtPattern disk for examples of ways to use and work with ThoughtPattern.
