ByHand(tm) Help System

copyright 1996, Sagittal Software Company, All rights reserved.

Please see Limited Warranty and License Agreement.

The ByHand(tm) editor is a completely new concept in handwriting editing.  It provides true WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") editing of printed or joined cursive characters within normal editing windows.  Type your text using a keyboard and see it immediately as smoothly joined cursive letters!  Cut and paste, insert, delete, highlight, and scroll just as you would in an ordinary editor.   You can paste pieces of handwritten documents into other graphics applications to use as logos, banners, or artwork.  You can use other applications to generate text and paste the text into the ByHand(tm) editor to convert it to handwriting (try this with your mail-merged invitation list!).

You can create your own personally handwritten scripts, or you can use one of the supplied professional calligraphic-style scripts.  You can do things that no font can do: letters can over- or under-line whole words, or circle the entire page if you wish.  Letters can overlap.  You can use flourishes to stylize your letters.  You can print the same document in different handwriting styles, or with different simulated pen types (ballpoint, calligraphic, or felt-tip).  You can simulate "real" pens using messy ink or uneven left margins and text baselines.

Note for ShareWare Distributions

Contents

Commands

File Menu

Edit Menu

Search Menu

Script Menu

Format Menu

Tools Menu

Window Menu

Procedures

Getting Started

Registering ShareWare

Entering Registration Code

Entering Handwriting

Choosing a Handwriting Style

Changing Letter Shapes

Changing Letter Colors

Speeding Things Up

Modifying Handwriting Data

Exporting graphics to other programs

Exporting text to other programs

Importing text from other programs

Saving Documents

Saving Handwriting data

Formatting a Document

Finding and Replacing Text

Copying Text

Deleting Text

Exiting

Edit Window

Drag/Drop from the File Manager

Printing

Protecting your handwriting

Troubleshooting

Hardware Compatibility

Toolbar

Toolbar Commands

Keyboard Topics

Windows Key Strokes


For information on how to use Help, press F1 or select Using Help from the Help menu.


Overview of the ByHand Program

Please see Limited Warranty and License Agreement.

What is it?

The ByHand (tm) program is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor very much like the usual wordprocessing editors you are used to using.  The only difference is that instead of using printed characters or fonts, it uses your own handwriting.  It will automatically make smooth joins between script letters and adjust line spacing to accommodate larger or smaller characters.  All the usual commands are present for opening and saving files, cutting and pasting to the clipboard, changing or moving windows, and searching for words within documents (see the Contents for a list of all commands).  (Click on the highlighted words below for more information about each command.)

How do I start?

To start using ByHand, just start typing!  You can use the arrow keys or the mouse to move around the screen.  Use backspace or delete to correct errors.  Lines wrap automatically to fit the margins, and hitting Enter or Return starts a new paragraph.   If typing is slow on your computer, click the speed-editing button (the race-car picture on the top menu bar) to make things go faster by not showing all the letter details.

How do I handle documents?

To save your work, choose Save from the File menu.  To retrieve documents you have saved, choose Open.  You can print (or choose a printer) and exit from the program.  You can find words within your document, and you can cut, copy, and paste words or groups of words by clicking and dragging over the selected region of your document, and then choosing the appropriate command from the edit menu.

How do I format documents?

You can change the letter size, pen type, and pen thickness using the Character command on the format menu.  You can change the linespacing using the Paragraph command, and you can set the margins and ink types using the Page command.  You can also change ink color using the Pen Color command.

How do I change the handwriting?

The ByHand (tm) program comes with several different scripts that you can use.  You can only use one script at a time, however.  To change the current script, choose a script from the Script menu. You can enter your own handwriting using a mouse, pen tablet, or any other input device that can act like a mouse under your window system.  To do this, start a new script and then modify it as needed.  The procedure for entering new character shapes involves 3 steps that allow you to enter the character, determine where characters begin and end, and specify what letter each character corresponds to.  When you are done you must Save your script on disk (this is not the same as saving the document, since the script may be used by many documents).

How do I buy the program?

If you received a shareware copy of the ByHand (tm) program, then you will see copyright notices printed at the top of your documents, and you will not be able to use the security features to protect your own handwriting from unauthorized use.  To see how to buy a fully working copy of the program, click here.


Sagittal Software Company

Sagittal Software Company is a small for-profit software engineering company located in Brookline, Massachusetts.  We specialize in software for handwriting generation and automated calligraphy.

Sagittal Software Company

258 Harvard Street, Suite 301

Brookline, MA 02146, USA

Information: http://www.sagittal.com, or send mail to info@sagittal.com

Technical Support:  support@sagittal.com

Sales: sales@sagittal.com


ShareWare Distribution

The ByHand(tm) program is being distributed on a trial-only basis as "Shareware".  The purpose of shareware is to allow the user to try a fully-functional version of the program before deciding whether or not to purchase it.  This program is not free!  Permission is granted by Sagittal Software Company to use the trial version for up to one month, after which further use will be in violation of United States and International copyright law.

Most shareware versions will add an "unregistered program" notice to all printed documents and exported graphics as a reminder to users.  This notice is not printed by the purchased software.  In addition, shareware versions do not have unique identification codes and thus cannot use the security features to protect personal handwritten scripts from unauthorized use.

For information on how to purchase the ByHand(tm) program, click here.  You are not permitted to make copies of the registered version of the program except for backup purposes.


ShareWare Temporary Registration Expired

You have been using a temporary version of ByHand(tm) that was provided for 30 days from when Sagittal Software Company received your registration information and check.  This version has now expired.  You should have received a permanent copy of ByHand(tm) in the mail.  If you have received this copy, please follow the instructions on the distribution disk to install it.  If you have not received the permanent copy, this may be because we have had difficulty processing your check or sending your disks.  Please contact Sagittal Software Company at your convenience so that we can send you your fully functional and secure protected copy of ByHand(tm).

To print a new copy of the registration form, click here.


User Information Window

The first time you use the permanent version of ByHand(tm) you are asked for your name and company name in order to personalize your copy of the program.  This information is used to encrypt your personal handwritten scripts so that only your copy of ByHand(tm) can use them.  See Security Features for more information.  Your data is stored permanently in your USERID.BIN file.  If this file is deleted, you will be unable to access your protected scripts, and you will have to contact Sagittal Software Company for a new registration code.


Enter Registration Code

Sagittal Software Company has provided you with a registration code that will work only with the serial number you supplied on your registration form, and that is shown at the bottom of this dialog.  Please enter the registration code exactly as supplied.  If the registration code is not accepted it may be because:

1.  You entered the code incorrectly,

2.  You supplied the wrong serial number on the form when you registered, or

3.  You have deleted your USERID.BIN file and thereby changed your serial number.

If you are unable to enter your registration code, please send another copy of your registration form to Sagittal Software Company including your current serial number from the Help|About menu.  If you have already paid, please indicate this on the form.

To print a new copy of the registration form, click here.


ShareWare Registration Form
ShareWare Registration Form for ByHand (tm)

To purchase a copy of the ByHand(tm) program, select "Print Topic" from the File menu above (not the ByHand(tm) program menu) to print out this page.  Then fill out the form and send it to the address below along with a check for $49.95 in U.S. dollars plus 5.25% Massachusetts sales tax (if you request shipping to Massachusetts) plus $3.50 shipping and handling ($8.00 if outside the United States and Canada).   The total should be a check for $56.07 U.S. dollars ($53.45 if in the U.S. or Canada but not in Massachusetts, or $57.95 if outside the U.S. and Canada) made out to "Sagittal Software Company".  (Please read the Limited Warranty and License Agreement before registering.)

We will send you a disk with the complete and unlocked ByHand(tm) program (including Security Features) and a short printed manual.  We will also give you an e-mail address for 30 days of free technical support, and we will keep you informed of future upgrades and related products.  Please allow 3 weeks for delivery.  We apologize, but at this time we cannot accept credit cards, cash, foreign currency, or institutional purchase orders.

You are expected to register and pay separately for EACH copy of the ByHand (tm) program that you are using.

Send this form plus payment ($56.07 or $60.57 US Dollars) to:

Sagittal Software Company

ByHand Shareware Registration

258 Harvard Street, Suite 301

Brookline, MA 02146, USA

Name: ____________________________________

Street Address: _____________________________

City,State,Zip/Postal code: ____________________

Country: ___________________________________

Telephone: _________________________________

Fax: ______________________________________

Email: _____________________________________

Serial Number from the Help/About menu in ByHand(tm):

_________-____________-____________

(If you include the serial number and either Email or Fax addresses, we will send you a temporary unlock code for your current copy of ByHand(tm) as soon as we receive your check.)

Comments: _________________________________

Thank you very much for registering!   Please tell your friends about this program!


Limited Warranty
Limited Warranty and License Agreement

This program, help files, instruction manual, and reference materials are sold as is, without warranty as to their performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.  The entire risk as to the results and performance of this program is assumed by you.  This program is sold without any express or implied warranties whatsoever.  Because of the diversity of conditions and hardware under which this program may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered.  The user is advised to test the program thoroughly before relying on it.  The user must assume the entire risk of using the program.  Any liability of Sagittal Software Company, seller or manufacturer will be limited exclusively to product replacement as described below.

To the original purchaser only, Sagittal Software Company warrants any magnetic diskettes supplied by Sagittal Software Company and on which the ByHand(tm) program is recorded to be free from defects in materials and faulty workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety days from the date of purchase and payment.  If during this ninety-day period the diskette(s) should become defective, they may be returned to the publisher for a replacement without charge, provided that you are a valid registered user of the ByHand(tm) program.

Your sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a defect is expressly limited to replacement of the diskette(s) as provided above.  If failure of a diskette has resulted from accident or abuse, the publisher shall have no responsibility to replace the diskette under the terms of this limited warranty.

Any implied warranties relating to the diskette(s), including any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are limited to a period of ninety days from the date of purchase.  Publisher shall not be liable for indirect, special, or consequential damages resulting from the use of this product. Publisher shall not be liable for any damages arising from prohibited or illegal use of this product.  Some states do not allow the exclusion of limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations might not apply to you.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

License Agreement

This agreement is a license agreement between you and Sagittal Software Company, Inc., for the use of a single copy of the included software (Software) and documentation (Documentation).  The Software and Documentation are protected by both United States copyright law and international treaty provisions.  Sagittal Software Company Inc. authorizes you to make only such archival copies of the Software as are necessary for the sole purpose of backing up your Software and protecting your investment for loss.  Copying of the Software for any other reason or distribution of the Software is strictly prohibited.  This license is not a sale.  Title and copyrights to the Software and accompanying Documentation remain with Sagittal Software Company, Inc.


Hardware Compatibility

The ByHand(tm) program is designed to run using:

1. An Intel-compatible 386 or faster processor, including 486 or Pentium or Pentium pro processors.   If a 386 is used, a 387 floating-point coprocessor is highly recommended.

2.  At least 4 megabytes of memory beyond the minimum needed for your operating system.  For Windows 3.1, this means a total of 6MB, for Windows 95 8MB, for Windows NT 20MB.

3.  Approximately 3 Megabytes of free disk space plus space for your data files.

4.  Any Windows(tm)-compatible graphic printer such as a laser printer or dot-matrix printer.

5.  Any Windows(tm)-compatible mouse.

6.  Most standard pen tablets that can be used to replace a mouse under Windows(tm).  The ByHand(tm) program has been tested using tablets from CalComp, CIC, and Wacom.  The pen should function so that touching the pen tip to the tablet performs a left mouse click.  The tablet should be configured in absolute coordinates mode so that each point on the tablet corresponds to a particular point on the display screen.  Note:  You do not need to have a pen tablet.  Any Windows(tm)-compatible pointing device (including a mouse or trackball) can be used.

7.  Any Windows(tm)-compatible display and video display driver hardware.  Note that video accelerator cards based on the S3 chip (including most cards made by Diamond Multimedia) will not work properly with certain pen tablets unless you use standard VGA mode at a 640x480 resolution.  A future Windows(tm) software upgrade may fix this - check with your video card or pen tablet manufacturer.

8.  A standard 1.44Mb 3.5 inch floppy drive.


TroubleShooting

Here are some suggestions for solving common problems that may occur while using the ByHand(tm) program.

EDITING:

Editing is slow

Click the speed-editing button (the small race-car icon at the top of the window) to maximize editing speed.  You will not be able to see character formatting, but it will still print properly.  You can also make the windows smaller, or use a lower screen resolution (such as 640x480, set in the Windows(tm) control panel under Display).  It is recommended that the ByHand(tm) program be used on 100Mhz or faster processors equipped with a floating-point unit (included on 486 and Pentium chips) and a window-accelerator graphics card.

The program does not run at all

ByHand(tm) will only run on a 386, 486, or Pentium-equivalent processor.  You need at least 4MB or RAM in addition to the minimum needed for your operating system.  It has been tested under Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT version 3.  Make sure you have at least one installed printer in your system, and that one of your printers is set as the default printer.

The letters are all messed up

Click the speed-editing button twice to repaint the screen.

PRINTING:

Printing is slow

Script printing uses hundreds of graphics commands to print each letter, and can sometimes overwhelm certain printers.  Try using a lower resolution (dots-per-inch, or dpi) if your printer provides this option under the File|Print Setup menu.  Postscript printing is particularly slow.  Some postscript printers (including Hewlett-Packard models) allow you to send non-postscript data instead (such as PCL, or printer control language).  Try creating a different printer driver (using the Windows(tm) control panel) that is for a non-postscript version of your printer.  For example, choose a Laserjet 3 type printer driver rather than a Laserjet 4 - Postscript printer.

Windows stops responding when I try to print

Make sure your printer is turned on, on-line, and ready to print.

ByHand(tm) keeps asking me to choose a printer

You need to have at least one default printer defined in the Windows(tm) control panel.

A copyright message appears every time I try to print

Unregistered shareware demonstration versions of the ByHand(tm) program print this message as a reminder that you need to register and pay for the program before using it.  Click Here to register.

Nothing prints (the paper is blank)

Make sure that you set the pen color to black by choosing Edit|SelectAll and then Format|PenColor.

The page margins are wrong while printing, or the text overflows

Use File|PrintSetup to choose the printer before printing, rather than clicking on Setup from the print dialog box that appears after you choose File|Print.

My printer shows a Print Overrun Error, or Out of Memory

Certain postscript printers (including Hewlett-Packard models) generate this error when printing using older versions of the Windows postscript drivers.  You need to obtain the newest postscript drivers from your printer manufacturer or Adobe systems (http://www.adobe.com).  Alternatively, you may be able to configure your printer to use a non-postscript mode such as PCL.

PEN TABLETS:

My pen tablet doesnt work at all in any windows application

First, try re-installing the tablet software and rebooting your system.  Then call your tablet manufacturer.  If your graphics card is based on the S3 chip (such as a Diamond Multimedia stealth card) then some versions of Windows(tm) will only respond to pen input if you set the display type to generic VGA at 640x480 resolution in the control panel under Display.

My pen tablet works only in a special paint program

Make sure you have a tablet and driver software that let the tablet substitute for your regular windows mouse.  Some programs access the tablet directly without installing it in windows, and so ByHand(tm) will not be able to recognize the tablet.

My pen tablet works everywhere except in the ByHand(tm) program

Make sure that the mouse works, since ByHand(tm) treats the mouse and the tablet identically.  Make sure that you have your pen configured so that touching the tablet is equivalent to clicking the left mouse button.  Make sure that the pen entry windows are active by clicking on them.

FAX/MODEMS:

My fax/modem stops working when the pen tablet is installed

Most PC-compatible computers only allow you to use 2 serial ports at a time, even if you have more than 2 serial devices.  This means that you cannot have a serial mouse, pen tablet, and fax/modem operating at once.  To fix this, you need to make sure that all serial devices have different I/O addresses AND DIFFERENT IRQ SETTINGS.  This is not easy, since you usually are limited to choosing either IRQ 3 or 4 for serial ports.  Check your serial port and modem documentation to see if you can change one port to IRQ 5 or IRQ 10 (or some free IRQ value that does not conflict with other hardware in your system.  Run MSD from a DOS prompt to check for conflicts).  Then make sure that each serial port has a different I/O address (which will determine if it is called COM1, COM2, etc.).  Then you need to configure your software to find each serial port and its associated IRQ.  If your cards do not allow you to set the IRQ, you may have to buy an add-on configurable serial card if you need to use more than 2 serial devices.

Letters are hard to read when faxed

The dot-resolution on fax machines is usually not as good as for the screen or printers, so thin lines may not appear.  Use a thicker pen and larger characters when sending faxes.

SECURITY FEATURES:

I forgot my password

Re-install the ByHand(tm) program from your original distribution disks (not the shareware version).  Your password will be reset to blank.

I lost the distribution disks

Contact Sagittal Software Company for a replacement set.  Send an email or letter with your name, address, email, and serial number (from the Help|About menu).

LETTER ENTRY:

Letters are missing some pieces or are completely blank

When you set the line breaks in Step 2, ByHand(tm) tries to figure out which lines go with which letter using the following rule:  All strokes that start between the same pair of line breaks are grouped together as a single letter.  So if the dot on an i or a j is slanted so that it lies above the next letter, then it will become part of the next letter and not the intended one.  Problems can also occur if you draw a letter from right to left, so that the start of a stroke is over the following character.  This might happen with a capital T or capital F.  To fix these problems, remove the incorrect letters (select them in the document and choose Tools|RemoveLetter) and re-enter the letters (using Tools|Modify) one at a time with only two line breaks (before and after).  In this special case, ByHand(tm) will associate all strokes with the single letter, no matter whether they start before or after the line breaks.  When you type the letters in Step 3, remember to type a space to skip over line breaks that do not represent letters.

Small pieces of letters disappear

On some monitors it is not possible to display very small dots or line segments that may be part of some letters.  These dots will usually print correctly however.  If this problem persists, try using a lower smoothing value in Step 1.  Also, during speed-editing some pieces of letters may not show on the screen.

Letters look strange when joined together

Certain letter pairs may not work well.  To fix this, enter an additional sample of the letter pair written together in Tools|Modify and do a Tools|ReScan.  When entering words that contain letters that would look strange anywhere else (such as a signature), select use these letters only for these words in Step 3 to prevent the letters being used in other words.

OTHER PROGRAMS:

Script letters do not appear when I paste into other programs

Make sure that you chose Edit|CopyGraphic rather than just a regular Edit|Copy in order to place a ByHand(tm) graphic image on the clipboard.  Then this image can be pasted into any program that accepts either Windows(tm) Metafile format or  Windows(tm) Bitmap format.  You might have to choose to import this format in the other program using an Edit|PasteSpecial command.

A copyright message appears when I paste to other programs

Unregistered shareware demonstration versions of the ByHand(tm) program print this message as a reminder that you need to register and pay for the program before using it.  Click Here to register.


Edit Menu

The Edit menu provides commands to undo edits, access the clipboard, and to delete text.  Most of these commands apply to blocks of text that you have selected by clicking at the start of the block and dragging to the end, highlighting the selected text along the way.

Cut	Delete selected text and move it to the clipboard.

Copy	Copy selected text to the clipboard.

Paste	Move text from the clipboard to the current document.

Copy Graphic	Copy picture of selected text to the clipboard.

Page Break	Insert page break in document.

Select All	Select all text in active document.


File Menu

The File menu provides commands for creating new files, opening existing files, saving files, printing files, and exiting the application.

New	Create a new, untitled, document.

Open	Open an existing document file.

Close	Close the current document.

Change Password   Change the program password.

Save	Save the current document if its contents have changed.

Save As	Save the current document under a new name.

Print	Print the current document.

Print Preview	View a sample printout of the current document.

Print Setup	Set printer characteristics.

Exit	Exit the ByHand(tm) application.


Security Features

If you enter a sample of your own handwriting, there is the possibility that unauthorized users could attempt to use it improperly.  The ByHand (tm) program has several built-in security features that help to protect against this.

Every registered version of the program (but not the shareware version) has a unique serial number.  In the Tools|Set Script Information command, if you set the Secure Protect check box for any script (and  it) then that script can only be re-opened by your copy of the ByHand (tm) program.  This prevents other people from accessing your handwriting using other copies of the program.

You can also set a password for the program itself, so that an unauthorized user cannot access your scripts even if they make a copy of your version of the ByHand (tm) program.

If you want another trusted person (such as a secretary or co-worker) to be able to use your handwriting, then you should make an exact copy of your ByHand (tm) program including the USERID.BIN file for them to use.  (Note that you are expected to register and pay for each copy you make.)

Do not give copies of your USERID.BIN file to anyone else or allow other people to make copies, since if you do you will never be able to protect against unauthorized use of your personal handwriting!

No security system is perfect, and Sagittal Software Company recommends that for the best security, you should maintain your personal scripts only on a separate floppy disk and keep this disk locked up when not in use.


Search Menu

The Search menu provides commands to find and replace text.

Find	Find a pattern of text.

Replace	Replace one pattern of text with another.

Next	Find and/or replace the next occurrence of text pattern.


Format Menu

The Format menu provides commands to set page, paragraph, and character formatting

parameters.

Page	Set Margins and print options

Paragraph	Set Linespacing for selected region

Character	Set pen type and letter size

PenColor	Set pen color

Repaginate	Reset line breaks according to document margins


Format Page
Format | Page

The Format|Page command displays the Page Setup dialog which allows you to set the document margins and other printing parameters.

Values for left, right, top, and bottom margins are given in inches, and measure the distance from the borders of the maximum printable area to the margins of your text.  In other words, a right margin of 1 inch specifies that there will be 1 inch of space between the right edge of your text and the rightmost printable part of the page (which is usually slightly inside the true right edge of the page since most printers cannot print all the way to the edge).

To look more "human", you can choose...

I. Ragged Left Margin to have the left edge of each line indented by a small random amount.

II. Wandering Baselines to have the letters within a line move randomly up or down.

Ragged Left Margin and Wandering Baselines affect only the printed or previewed document, not the editing window.


Format Paragraph
Format | Paragraph

The Format|Paragraph command sets the line spacing for the paragraph containing the insertion point.  The value is specified as a multiple of the standard line spacing.  For example, double spacing is a value of 2.0, half-spacing is a value of 0.5.  The standard spacing is proportionally adjusted so that the highest character in each line comes to just below the lowest character in the previous line.  Thus lines do not all have equal height.

Choose Fixed Line Height to make all lines have the same height regardless of how high the characters are in each line.  Some lines may overlap or leave extra space this way.

Paragraphs are ended by hitting the Return or Enter key.  A line ended this way is considered to have a hard return and will not be joined to the following line.  You can delete the hard return just as you would delete any character using the backspace key.


Format Character
Format | Character

The Format|Character command chooses the parameters used to draw individual letters.  If a region of text is selected in the current document, then it will change the parameters for only the selected text.  Otherwise, the formatting will apply to all future typed characters.

Note:  If Speed Editing is selected, then the formatting will be applied, but it will not be displayed on-screen in order to maximize speed.  Printed output will contain all the formatting parameters that were specified.

Pen Type selects either ballpoint (fixed width), calligraphic (diagonal nib), or felt tip (varying width) pens.

If Messy Ink is checked each pen will draw "realistically" as if the ink did not flow perfectly.

Letter Size Factor determines the total size of each letter.  Setting this to 1.0 gives the default size which is close to the scale that the letter was originally entered.  0.5 gives smaller and 2.0 larger sizes.

Pen Thickness specifies the size of the pen used to draw letters.  Different thicknesses look best with each pen, with messy ink, and on different printers.  You should experiment to see what works best for your purposes.

There are toolbar buttons to select each of the three pen types, as well as three of the most common pen thicknesses.


Format Set Pen Color
Format | Pen Color

The Format|Pen Color command allows you to choose the color of ink used to show characters on-screen and on color printers.  If a region of letters is selected (and highlighted) in the current document, then the color of these letters will be changed.  Otherwise, the color of all future characters typed (up to the next Pen Color command) will be set.  Keep in mind that not all printers are capable of printing all the colors that can be displayed on your screen.


Format Repaginate
Format | Repaginate

The Format|Repaginate command adjusts the line and page breaks in the current document to match the selected document margins.  This is necessary if the margins have been changed, or if a line has extended beyond the right margin.

Repaginate inserts "soft" line breaks such as those that would be inserted automatically as you type.  "Hard" line breaks are those that occur when you type a carriage return (Enter).  The difference is that repaginate is allowed to re-join two lines that are separated by only a soft return, but it cannot join lines separated by a hard return.  Hard returns are used for paragraph endings and to insert blank lines in a document.

Similarly, there are both "soft" and "hard" page breaks.  Repaginate inserts and removes "soft" page breaks wherever needed.  But you can insert a "hard" page break using the Edit|Page Break command.  This causes a page break that Repaginate cannot move.


Script Menu

The Script menu shows the available handwriting styles.  Only one style can be used at a time, and it will be applied to all open documents.  The toolbar shows the name of the currently active script.  When you choose a new script off the Script menu, it will be read from disk into memory and all documents will automatically be Rescanned to convert them to the new script.  The new script stays in effect until you choose a different one.

The available scripts are found by looking for all files with the .SCR extension in the same directory as the ByHand(tm) program (usually C:\BYHAND).  If you have script files in other directories, they will need to be moved into this directory before they will be available.  Note that this extension is also used by other programs for different purposes, so not all files with the .SCR extension are ByHand(tm) script files.


Tools Menu

The Tools menu provides commands to enter new handwritten script styles or modify existing ones.  It also performs "Rescan" operations to associate new letter shapes with characters in the document.

Rescan Document	Re-assigns letter shapes to characters in the document.

New Script	Creates a new blank script file.

Modify Script	Enter new letter shapes and add them to the current script.

Save Script	Saves the current script.

Save Script As	Saves with a new name or directory.

Set Script Information	Sets Name, Author, and security information

Remove Letter Data	Removes selected letters from the script database.

Set Space Width	Change width of space character.


Modify Script
Tools | Modify Script

The Tools|Modify Script command allows you to add handwritten characters to the current script database.  The database consists of a list of letter shapes that you draw and it remembers the sequence in which you drew them.  There can be many examples of each letter.  If a document contains a word or a sequence of letters that occurs in exactly the same order as a sequence of letters entered during Tools|Modify Script, then it will choose the specific letter shapes from that sequence.  This allows you to enter your signature just like any other sequence of letters, and the ByHand(tm) program will substitute the exact shapes from your signature whenever it sees your full name appear in a document.  It will also attempt to match up letter pairs, triplets, etc. from examples that you have entered.  (Note: this will not necessarily occur automatically as you type, since the ByHand(tm) program does not know the letters you have not yet typed.  You need to issue a Tools|Rescan Document command.)  Because of this feature, ByHand(tm) documents appear to be handwritten since letter shapes change both randomly and depending on the letters around them, exactly as in your own handwriting!

You can enter handwriting samples using any device that can be configured to work like a mouse.  A pen tablet works best, but a mouse, touchpad pointer, or trackball is also possible with a bit of practice.  You must configure your device so that it controls the Windows(tm) mouse pointer.  You will only be able to draw when the left-mouse-button (or equivalent) is down.  For pen tablets, this usually means that the pen is on the tablet.  For a trackball or touchpad you may have to hold one of the buttons down to draw, just as you would in any paint/draw application.

Handwriting entry consists of three steps:

Step 1	Draw letter shapes

Step 2	Set letter shape boundaries and height

Step 3	Assign characters to letter shapes

You must save your changes using Tools|Save Script when you are done.  You do not have to enter the entire script in one session.  You can enter new letter shapes any time, and add additional shapes for existing letters in order to improve the look of your documents.

If you make a mistake entering a script or if you do not like the way a particular letter looks, you can remove it from the database in 2 ways.  In Step 3,  if you assign that shape to the <space> character instead of to a letter, then ByHand(tm) will delete the shape.  But you can also remove a bad letter shape at any time by highlighting it when it occurs in any document and then choosing Tools| Remove Letter Data.  Remember to save your changes!


Modify Script: Step 1

The first step in entering handwriting data is to draw in the letter shapes.  There are three horizontal lines in the drawing window.  The lowest is the baseline, and descenders for "y", "g", "j", and "p" should go below this line.  The middle line should indicate the top of all "short" characters such as "a", "o", "c", or "e".  The top line is for the top of "tall" characters such as capital letters, numbers, and "h", "t", "l", or "f".  These lines are only suggested guidelines, but it is important that you remain consistent when entering characters so that all letters end up with similar heights.  You can adjust the position of these lines in Step 2, so don't worry about them too much right now.  You can draw as many letters or words as will fit within the width of the box.  Draw all the letters at the same vertical position.  It is best to draw whole words rather than single letters, in order to get the spacing right, and to create smoothly joined cursive letters.

When you are done, you can choose a smoothing value in the box at the lower right.  A value of 80 to 90 is right for most people.  A larger value will smooth your strokes further, but you may lose the fine details of the writing.  You will see the result of smoothing displayed in Step 2, and you can return to Step 1 to change this value if you like.

Choose OK when you are done.  You can choose Clear to erase all current lines and start over, or Cancel to exit the handwriting entry process.


Modify Script: Step 2

The second step in entering handwriting data is to tell the ByHand(tm) program where each letter stops and starts.  This is as important for cursive letters as for printing.  You will see the smoothed shape data you entered from Step 1 in the window.  (If it has been over-smoothed so that details are missing, click Back to return to Step 1 and decrease the smoothing value.)

Use the left mouse button (or equivalent) to click between letters.  As you do so, you will see a short vertical "break" bar appear.  For cursive writing, you should use the break bars to "cut" the strokes mid-way between each pair of letters.  For printed writing, you can place breaks in the space between two letters.  You should also place a break before the first letter and after the last letter of each word to indicate the widths of these letters.  This means that if you enter two words together, there will be two breaks between them (one at the end of the first word, and one at the beginning of the second).

Each pair of letters can only have a single break separating it.  If you make a mistake, you can erase a break-mark by clicking on it again, or by using the backspace key to remove the last mark.

After you have set the letter breaks, use the small solid boxes at the right of the lower and middle horizontal lines to align these lines with the characters as described in Step 1.  The ByHand(tm) letter-entry system uses the size of letter shapes in relation to these lines to determine the printed size of letters.  If you are inconsistent here, different letters will have very different sizes.

Click OK to go to Step 3 when you are done, or Back to return to Step 1, Clear to erase all the letter breaks, or Cancel to exit from handwriting entry.

How Letters are Put Together:

The ByHand(tm) program treats the shape data as a set of strokes.  It has to decide which strokes go with each letter.  If you "cut" a stroke in two, then the two pieces become two separate strokes that are associated with the letters before and after the break.  Note that a stroke will only be cut if it crosses the break line going from left to right.

Any stroke that is not cut by a letter break belongs to the region in which it starts.  This means that a stroke that starts to the left of a break mark will become part of the letter to the left, no matter how far to the right it goes (if it goes around all the breaks so that it is never "cut").  Similarly, a stroke that starts to the right of a break mark will become part of the letter to the right, no matter how far to the left it goes (if it is not "cut"). The "start" of a stroke is determined by which end you drew first in Step 1.

Strokes to the left of the first break mark become part of the first character, and strokes to the right of the last break mark become part of the last character.  So when all else fails you can create any shape you like by entering only one letter shape at a time.  Beware of dots on "i"s and "j"s that end up above (and thus part of) the following letter.  Also, beware of double-crossed "t"s since you cannot have two different break marks for the cross and the rest of the letter (unless you can hit both with the same break mark).


Modify Script: Step 3

The third and last step to entering handwriting data is to tell the ByHand(tm) program which letter shape goes with which typewritten character.  You will see your letter shapes and the breaks.  Type the letters in the edit window on the lower right exactly in the order that the shapes appear in the window above.  If you make a mistake, you can use the backspace key to delete the character.  The letters will appear over the shapes they should represent.  You can have as many examples of each letter as you like.

If you do not like a shape or do not wish to assign it a character, simply type a space character for that shape.  Any shape with a space letter will not be stored in the database.  Remember to type a space between words.

Remember that you can have as many examples of each letter as you like.  ByHand(tm) will try to find the best example to use in your documents depending on the surrounding letters.  If there is more than one good choice, it will pick one randomly to simulate normal handwriting variability.

Click the use these letters only for these words box to prevent these letters being re-arranged for use in other words.  For example, if you enter your signature, the individual letters may not be useful (or even readable!) so you might want to check this box.  Then these letter shapes will only be used if the entire signature is typed and a Tools|ReScan is performed.

When you are done, click OK to finish, or Back to return to Step 2, or Cancel to exit from handwriting entry without saving the letter shapes in the database.  If you click OK, you will be given the option of returning to Step 1 to continue entering more new letters.  If you do not continue, you can always choose Modify Script again later to enter more letters.

After you click OK, ByHand(tm) asks if you want to save the script to disk.  If you choose No, you can always save it later using Tools|Save Script.


Open Script
KTools | Open Script

The Tools|Open Script command reads a script database from the disk and uses the new database to display the characters in all open documents.  Only one handwriting script can be open at a time, and the same script will apply to all documents.  If changes have been made to the current script when the Tools|Open Script command is issued, the ByHand(tm) program will ask if the changes should be saved first.  The default extension for script database files is ".SCR".

Note that ByHand(tm) document files do not specify any particular script.  You must load the desired script each time, or make it the default using Tools|Set Script Information.

If open documents contain characters for which no shape is available in the opened script database, then an error is shown and the characters are printed as blanks.  You can use Tools|Modify Script to enter shapes for these characters and Tools|Save Script to save the modified script.


New Script
Tools | New Script

The Tools|New Script command clears the current script database from memory and calls Tools|Modify Script to enter handwritten letters into a new database.  If changes have been made to the current script, then the ByHand(tm) program asks if you want to save the current script to disk before clearing it.   If you do not do this, then any changes you have made to the current script (using Tools|Modify Script) will be lost.

A new script has no letters in it and thus cannot be used to display documents until you have entered at least a few letters.  This means that you must close all active documents before you can enter a completely new script.  ByHand(tm) will do this automatically, but you may be asked to save these documents first if they have any unsaved changes.

The new script dialog will be displayed asking you for a name and identifying information for your new script.  ByHand(tm) will then automatically start a Modify Script session so that you can start to enter letter shapes into your new script.

You must use Tools|Save Script to save your new script database to disk after you have entered the new letters.

Note that you generally have to enter all lower-case, upper-case, numeric, and symbol characters in order to be able to write complete documents in your script.


Save Script
Tools | Save Script

Saves the current script to a handwriting data file on disk.  The script is saved using its current name as shown in the script name box on the toolbar.  For example, the COPPER script will be saved to COPPER.SCR in the application directory (usually C:\BYHAND).  If you do not save your scripts, then any changes you make will be lost when you exit the ByHand(tm) program or change to a different script.


Save Script As
Tools | Save Script As

Saves the current script to a handwriting data file on disk.  You can specify a new name for the script, or just click OK to use the current name.  The default extension is ".SCR".  If you attempt to save to an existing file, the ByHand(tm) program will ask for confirmation.  If you save over an existing file, you will not be able to recover the old version.  Although you can save scripts to any directory, only scripts in the application directory (usually C:\BYHAND) that have the .SCR extension will be accessible on the Scripts menu.


Set Script Information
Tools| Set Script Information

Sets information parameters for the current script.  The parameters are not saved until you choose Tools|Save Script.  You can set the following parameters:

Script Name	The formal name for the script, such as 1800s Copperplate Fancy.  This is different from the filename given by MS-DOS or Windows, which might be COPPER.SCR.

Author	Credit where credit is due!

Company	To identify the author, or a professional source of the script.

Comments	Suggested size, pen types, and uses.

Secure Protect	  When checked, this script is protected and can only be used by this copy of ByHand(tm).  This option is only available when a password is set.  See Security Features for more details.

Read Only	When checked, the script cannot be modified.  To make changes, you will need to make a new copy of the script by saving (Tools|Save Script As) using a different filename and without Read Only checked.

Default Startup Script  When checked, sets this script as the default script that loads first whenever ByHand(tm) is started.


Script Rescan Document
Tools | Rescan Document

The Tools|Rescan Document command randomly chooses a new letter shape for each character in the current document from all the possibilities in the currently selected script database.  If a word or part of a word containing a matching series of letters was entered during a Tools|Modify Script session, then that sequence of letter shapes will be used.  Otherwise, the ByHand(tm) editor finds the best choice of shape depending on the position within the word and the surrounding letters.

This command can be performed many times in a row to see alternate possibilities.  You should always perform a Rescan Document before printing, because the letters chosen by Rescan Document are better than those chosen while you are typing (since the ByHand(tm) editor does not know the letters you haven't typed yet).


Remove Letter Data
Tools | Remove Letter Data

The Tools|Remove Letter Data command permanently deletes the letter shapes for the currently selected text from the current script database.  It substitutes other examples of these letters, if other examples exist.  If not, an error is generated and a blank space is printed.  This is the only method of removing letters that are unreadable or entered incorrectly in a Tools|Modify Script session.  If you want to use a different letter shape in a word but do not want to permanently delete any shapes, use Tools|Rescan Document instead.

For example, if while editing a document you notice that the letter h in one of the words looks incorrect, you can select that letter (by dragging over it with the mouse) and then choose Remove Letter Data.  This will remove that letter shape from the script.  If there is another h in the script, it will be used instead in your document.  Otherwise, you will see an error and no hs will be visible until you enter a new h using Tools|Modify Script.  You only need to do this once for each letter shape you do not like.  The incorrect h will be automatically removed from all places in all documents.

Remove Letter Data modifies the script database, but these changes will not be saved until you choose Tools|Save Script.


Script Set Space Width
Tools | Set Space Width

The Tools|Set Space Width command allows you to modify the width that the space character occupies for the selected handwriting script.  Note that the space width also determines the minimum line height of a blank line in the document (non-blank lines are given as much space as needed to accomodate all characters on the line).

Choosing this command results in a dialog in which the space width can be increased or decreased from its current value by multiplying with a decimal number.  To double the space width, choose a value of 2.0.  To halve the space width, choose a value of 0.5.  The new value will be immediately applied to all open documents.  The value will not be saved, however, unless you perform a Tools|Save Script command.


Windows Menu
Window Menu

The Window menu provides commands to control the position and layout of all your document windows.

Cascade	Resize and position all document windows in an overlapping pattern.

Tile	Resize and position all windows in a non-overlapping pattern.

Arrange Icons	Align all iconized windows along a grid.

Close All	Close all windows.


Copying Text

To copy text, you first select the text by dragging over it with the mouse (holding the left button down), then copy it to the clipboard, then paste the copy back into the document at the desired point.

To copy the selected text to the clipboard, select it and choose Edit|Copy from the menu.

To paste text to a document from the clipboard, position the cursor at the desired insertion point, and choose Edit|Paste  from the menu.


Deleting Text

To delete text from a document, select the text, and choose Edit|Cut or or type the <Delete> or <Backspace> keys.  Cut will put the deleted text in the clipboard, and Delete will simply delete it.


Exiting

To exit the application, choose File|Exit from the menu.


Edit Window

The edit windows in this application allow reading, editing, printing and saving ByHand(tm) document files.


Drag/Drop from the Program Manager
Drag/Drop from the File Manager

A ByHand(tm) document file can be opened into an editor in the application by dragging the file from the File Manager, and dropping it on the ByHand(tm) main window.


Printing

There are three commands on the File menu which support printing of documents from the application.  File|Print Setup is used to select and configure a printer device and set default margins for the displayed document.  File|Print Preview displays a special preview window which shows how the document will appear when printed.  File|Print causes the current document to be printed.  You can also print by clicking the small printer icon button on the speedbar at the top of the window.


Edit Copy Command

The Edit|Copy command leaves the selected text intact and places an exact copy of it in the clipboard.  To paste the copied text into another document or a different place in the same document, choose Edit|Paste.

To export text to a different application, use Edit|Copy to place the text on the clipboard, and simply paste into the other application using its Paste command.  Other applications will only be able to paste the text data without the handwritten letter shapes.  Line breaks (soft and hard returns) will be converted to MS-DOS(tm) carriage returns, and page breaks will be converted to Ascii Formfeed characters.  (You can also use the File|Save As command to write an MS-DOS text file that can be read by other applications.)

To export the graphic handwriting as a picture (in Metafile or Bitmap format) that can be pasted into painting or other graphics applications, choose Edit| Copy Graphic.


Edit Copy Graphic Command

The Edit|Copy Graphic command copies a picture of the currently selected handwritten text to the clipboard.  This picture can be pasted into other applications that accept windows "metafile" or bitmap format data.  The picture will print out at the full resolution of whichever printer was selected at the time of the Copy Graphic command (see File|Print Setup).


Edit Page Break Command

The Edit|Page Break command inserts a "hard" page break in the active document at the current insertion point.  (See Format|Repaginate for a description of soft and hard page breaks.)  You need to insert hard pages whenever the following text should start at the top of a new page.  For example, in a series of envelopes, you would use a hard page break to separate each address.


Edit Select All Command

The Edit|Select All command selects all text in the currently active document window.


Edit Cut Command

The Edit|Cut command removes the selected text from your document and transfers it to the clipboard.  Choose Edit|Paste to paste the cut text into another ByHand(tm) document or another location in the same document. The text remains selected in the clipboard, and can be pasted multiple times.

If you paste into another application, then line breaks (soft and hard returns) will be converted to MS-DOS(tm) carriage returns, and page breaks will be converted to Ascii Formfeed characters.  (You can also use the File|Save As command to write an MS-DOS text file that can be read by other applications.)


Edit Paste Command

The Edit|Paste command inserts the text currently in the clipboard into the current window at the cursor position.

To import text from another application, use that applications Copy command to place the text on the clipboard, then use ByHand(tm)s Edit|Paste command to insert the text in your handwriting document.  All carriage returns will become hard returns.  If you want to insert a page break before a line of the document, place a period (.) as the first character of that line, and ByHand(tm) will change it to a Hard page break.

You can also use the File|Open command to read an MS-DOS file directly.


File Close Command

File|Close closes the currently active window.  If the document has not been saved, you will be prompted for a filename to save to.


File Change Password Command

File|Change Password sets or changes the password for the ByHand(tm) program.  If the password is not blank, then every time ByHand(tm) is run, you will be asked to enter the password, and the program will exit unless you enter the correct one.  Passwords can be any combination of letters, numbers, or space characters.  Make sure you write down your new password, since if you lose it there is no way to access any protected scripts that you may have created.

In order to change the password, you need to type your old password correctly (leave this blank if no password was assigned previously) and type the new password twice for confirmation.  Then click OK.  You may set the new password to be blank in order to disable password protection.  If you click CANCEL then no changes are made to your current password.

Password protection is important in order to prevent unauthorized use of your personal scripts. See  Security Features for more information.

Password protection is not available in unregistered shareware copies of ByHand(tm).  See Registration Information.


Password Dialog

The password is set by the File|Change PasswordPASSWORD command.  If it is not blank, you will be asked for this password every time ByHand(tm) starts.  Password protection is important in order to prevent unauthorized use of your personal scripts. See  Security Features for more information.

Password protection is not available in unregistered shareware copies of ByHand(tm).  See Registration Information.


Password Warning

The password is set by the File|Change PasswordPASSWORD command.  If it is not blank, you will be asked for this password every time ByHand(tm) starts.  Password protection is important in order to prevent unauthorized use of your personal scripts. If you do not choose a password, then anyone with access to a copy of this version of ByHand(tm) will be able to use your personal scripts to generate documents in your handwriting.  See  Security Features for more information.


File Exit Command

The File|Exit command exits the ByHand(tm) program.  If you have modified documents without saving, you will be prompted to save before exiting.  If you have modified the current script without saving, you will also be prompted to save the script.


File New Command

The File|New command opens a new, untitled document, and makes it the active window. The application prompts you to name untitled documents when they are closed.


File Open Command

The File|Open command displays the Open-File dialog box so you can select a file to load into a new document window.  You can open files of three different types:

1.  ByHand document files (extension .BYH) contain all the text and formatting information for ByHand documents.

2.  ByHand template files (extension .BYT) are exactly the same as document files, but are useful for saving formatting information for different printers or paper types that you re-use in many different documents.

3.  Ascii text files (.TXT) have no formatting information, but are useful to import text from other wordprocessors. All carriage returns will become hard returns (paragraph endings).  You can insert a hard page break before a line by starting that line with a period (.) character.


File Print Command

The File|Print command prints the contents of the active window.  Use File|Print Preview to see how the document will be laid out on printer pages.  Use File|Print Setup to select a printer, and to set printer options.  See TroubleShooting for hints on speeding up printing.


File Print Preview Command

File|Print Preview opens a special window that shows how the active document will appear when printed.  The preview window shows one or two pages of the active document as they would be laid out on printer pages.  The left and right arrow controls on the window allow you to page through the pages of the document.  Click the close box in the upper left of the window (upper right under Windows95(tm)) to leave Print Preview mode.


File Print Setup Command

The File|Print Setup command displays the Printer Setup dialog box which allows you to select and configure the printer to be used to print each document.  The printer information is saved separately for each document, so that different documents can use different printers and printer settings (such as margins, landscape/portrait orientation, paper tray, etc.).


File Save Command

The File|Save command saves the document in the active window to disk. If the document is unnamed, the Save File As dialog box is displayed so you can name the file, and choose where it is to be saved.  ByHand(tm) files have a default extension of ".BYH" . You can save files of three different types:

1.  ByHand document files (extension .BYH) contain all the text and formatting information for ByHand documents.

2.  ByHand template files (extension .BYT) are exactly the same as document files, but are useful for saving formatting information for different printers or paper types that you re-use in many different documents.

3.  Ascii text files (.TXT) have no formatting information, but are useful to export text to other wordprocessors.  All line breaks (soft and hard returns) will be converted to MS-DOS(tm) carriage returns, and page breaks will be converted to Ascii Formfeed characters.


File Save As Command

The File|Save As command allows you to save a document under a new name, or in a new location on disk.  The command displays the Save File As dialog box.  You can enter the new file name, including the drive and directory.  All windows containing this file are updated with the new name.  If you choose an existing file name, you are asked if you want to overwrite the existing file.  Files are saved using the same format as for File|Save .


Search Find Command

The Search|Find command searches the current document for a text pattern.  The command displays the Find dialog which controls the search process.  Options in the dialog determine whether the search should be conducted forwards or backwards through the document, and whether the search should continue from the beginning if no match is found by the end of the document.  When a match is found, it is highlighted in the document.

Check "Reverse" to search backwards.

Check "Wrapped" to continue searching from the beginning of the document after the end.


Search Next Command

The Search|Next command repeats the last Find operation.


Search Replace Command

The Search|Replace command searches the current document for a text pattern, and replaces occurrences of the pattern with new text.  The command displays the Replace dialog which controls the search/replace process. The dialog specifies the pattern to search for, and the text to replace occurrences with.  Options in the dialog determine whether the search should be conducted forwards or backwards through the document, and whether the search should continue from the beginning if no match is found by the end of the document. Options also determine whether to replace all occurrences of the text in the document, and whether to ask before making each change.

Check "Reverse" to search backwards.

Check "Wrapped" to continue searching from the beginning of the document after the end.

Check "Replace All" to change all occurrences in the current document.

Check "Verify" to double-check each replacement before the document is changed.


Windows Arrange Icons Command
Window Arrange Icons Command

The Window|Arrange Icons command arranges all iconized windows into rows along the bottom of the application's main window.


Windows Cascade Command
Window Cascade Command

The Window|Cascade command arranges all document windows from the top-left position of the application's main window so that the title bar of each is visible.


Windows Close All Command
Window Close All Command

The Window|Close All command closes all document windows open in the application.


Windows Speed Editing Command
Window Speed Editing

The Window|Speed Editing command uses several shortcuts to maximize the speed of on-screen display of documents.  It does not affect the stored form of the document or the printed output.  When Speed Editing is checked, all characters are shown using thin lines and without messy ink (see Format|Character).  Also, the characters are drawn at a lower resolution than normal, which occasionally results in dropped strokes.  To see how the printed document will look, either disable Speed Editing (by choosing the menu item again) or select File|Print Preview.


Windows Tile Command
Window Tile Command

The Window|Tile command arranges all document windows side-by-side in a non-overlapping pattern.


Open Script Dialog

The list of available scripts is displayed.  To choose a script, click on its name and then click OK, or hit the <enter> key.  Click on Cancel to leave the current script unchanged.  ByHand(tm) can only have one script loaded at a time, and this script is used for all open documents.


New Script Dialog

This dialog is displayed when you are about to enter a new script after selecting Tools|New Script.  You need to select a name for the new script.  This name must be between 1 and 8 characters long, can contain only uppercase letters or numbers, and cannot begin with a number (this is for compatibility with Windows 3.1).  When you save the script to disk, it will be saved with the filename NAME.SCR  (where NAME is the name you chose).  For example, the Copperplate script is called COPPER and is saved as the file COPPER.SCR.  You should not choose the name of an already existing script when creating a new script.  You can always change the name later using Tools|Save Script As.  By default, scripts are saved in the same directory as the ByHand(tm) application (usually C:\BYHAND).  Only scripts in this directory will be accessible to the program.

You can also enter a longer description for your script such as Copperplate Italic Script.  This description can be changed later using Tools|Set Script Information.

Click OK to create the new script and proceed to enter new letter shapes just as you would for Tools|Modify Script.  Click Cancel to exit without creating a new script and to restore the currently active script.


Toolbar
The Toolbar

The Toolbar is a row of buttons at the top of the main window which represent application commands. Clicking one of the buttons is a quick alternative to choosing a command from the menu.  Buttons on the toolbar activate and deactivate according to the state of the application.

Button	Action	Menu Equivalent

Create a new document	File|New

Locate and open a file	File|Open

Save the file in the active window	File|Save

Cut selected text to Clipboard	Edit|Cut

Copy selected text to Clipboard	Edit|Copy

Paste text from Clipboard	Edit|Paste

Undo previous editor action	Edit|Undo

Search for text	Search|Find

Repeat last Find or Replace operation	Search|Next

Print the active window	File|Print

Preview the printout of the active window	File|Print Preview

Display help file contents	(None)


Windows Keys

Cursor Movement Keys

Dialog Box Keys

Editing Keys

Help Keys

Menu Keys

System Keys

Text Selection Keys

Window Keys


Cursor Movement Keys

Key(s)	Function

Arrow key	Moves the cursor left, right, up, or down in a field.

End or Ctrl+Right Arrow	Moves to the end of a field.

Home or Ctrl+Left Arrow	Moves to the beginning of a field.

Pape Up or Page Down	Moves up or down in a field, one screen at a time.


Dialog Box Keys

Key(s)	Function

Tab	Moves from field to field (left to right and top to bottom).

Shift+Tab	Moves from field to field in reverse order.

Alt+letter	Moves to the option or group whose underlined letter matches the one you type.

Arrow key	Moves from option to option within a group of options.

Enter	Executes a command button.

Or, chooses the selected item in a list box and executes the command.

Esc	Closes a dialog box without completing the command. (Same as Cancel)

Alt+Down Arrow	Opens a drop-down list box.

Alt+Up or Down Arrow	Selects item in a drop-down list box.

Spacebar	Cancels a selection in a list box.

Selects or clears a check box.

Ctrl+Slash	Selects all the items in a list box.

Ctrl+Backslash	Cancels all selections except the current selection.

Shift+ Arrow key	Extends selection in a text box.

Shift+ Home	Extends selection to first character in a text box.

Shift+ End	Extends selection to last character in a text box


Editing Keys

Key(s)	Function

Backspace	Deletes the character to the left of the cursor.

Or, deletes selected text.

Delete	Deletes the character to the right of the cursor.

Or, deletes selected text.


Help Keys

Key(s)	Function

F1	Gets Help and displays the Help Index for the application. If the Help window is already open, pressing F1 displays the "Using Windows Help" topics.

In some Windows applications, pressing F1 displays a Help topic on the selected command, dialog box option, or system message.

Shift+F1	Changes the pointer to [image] so you can get Help on a specific command, screen region, or key. You can then choose a command, click the screen region, or press a key or key combination you want to know more about.

(This feature is not available in all Windows applications.)


Menu Keys

Key(s)	Function

Alt	Selects the first menu on the menu bar.

Letter key	Chooses the menu, or menu item, whose underlined letter matches the one you type, when a menu has focus.

Alt+Letter key	Pulls down the menu whose underlined letter matches the one you type.

Left or Right Arrow	Moves among menus of the main menu bar.

Up or Down Arrow	Moves among menu items within a drop-down menu.

Enter	Chooses the selected menu item.


System Keys

The following keys can be used from any window, regardless of the application you are using.

Key(s)	Function

Ctrl+Esc	Switches to the Task List.

Alt+Esc	Switches to the next application window or minimized icon, including full-screen programs.

Alt+Tab	Switches to the next application window, restoring applications that are running as icons.

Alt+PrtSc	Copies the entire screen to Clipboard.

Ctrl+F4	Closes the active window.

F1	Gets Help and displays the Help Index for the application. (See Help Keys)


Text Selection Keys

Key(s)	Function

Shift+Left or Right Arrow	Selects text one character at a time to the left or right.

Shift+Down or Up	Selects one line of text up or down.

Shift+End	Selects text to the end of the line.

Shift+Home	Selects text to the beginning of the line.

Shift+Page Down	Selects text down one window.

Or, cancels the selection if the next window is already selected.

Shift+Page Up	Selects text up one window.

Or, cancels the selection if the previous window is already selected.

Ctrl+Shift+Left or Right Arrow	Selects text to the next or previous word.

Ctrl+Shift+Up or Down Arrow	Selects text to the beginning (Up Arrow) or end (Down Arrow) of the paragraph.

Ctrl+Shift+End	Selects text to the end of the document.

Ctrl+Shift+Home	Selects text to the beginning of the document.


Window Keys

Key(s)	Function

Alt+Spacebar	Opens the Control menu for an application window.

Alt+Hyphen	Opens the Control menu for a document window.

Alt+F4	Closes a window.

Alt+Esc	Switches to the next application window or minimized icon, including full-screen programs.

Alt+Tab	Switches to the next application window, restoring applications that are running as icons.

Alt+Enter	Switches a non-Windows application between running in a window and running full screen.

Arrow key	Moves a window when you have chosen Move from the Control menu.

Or, changes the size of a window when you have chosen Size from the Control menu.