home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- <HTML><HEAD></HEAD><BODY BGCOLOR=FFF8DC>
- <!--Save eletter as .htm file & load in browser-->
-
- <CENTER>
- <H3>
- Explaining the .tpt Template Files
- </H3>
- </CENTER>
- <P>
- I assume you are in PocketPad and have just used the
- File/Template... that is right below the File/New and
- File/Open... entries. File/Open and File/Template get
- the same FileOpenDialog. But the innards of that dialog
- are very different in the two cases.
- <P>
- The title this time was "Open Template as New File."
- The Filename was "*.tpt" and the History with filename
- didn't show past Opens. The filter was also set at
- "*.tpt" and you were back in PocketPad's own directory.
- The Listbox shows only the .tpt files that I've included
- mainly so that the experience would make sense.
- <P>
- This "explain" name was supposed to catch your eye and
- be your first choice. It obviously isn't a template in
- the true sense. It seems to be a letter explaining things
- and, while it is easy to read in PocketPad (a text editor),
- it seems to be marked up like an .htm file for reading in
- and printing from an Internet browser.
- <P>
- If this was a template, it would have only the typing that
- you do over and over in different files (documents) and
- some indication of where and what you might want to fill
- in or fill out or "expand."
- <P>
- Actually, this looks very much as if I'd used a template
- and provided the innards to create this eletter.
- <P>
- The true template is qwk_eltr.tpt. That's for "quick
- eletter." The main framework is simply the first two
- lines and the last line. Those lines set up an HTML
- frame with a BODY frame inside, no HEAD frame. The
- BODY tag at the top has a background color setting that
- I use and you can make that white by using FFFFFF. That
- would be an example of changing the boilerplate to fit
- the individual document you want to create.
- <P>
- An eletter is typed in any text editor and loaded into
- any mailer program. It's sent as email. The recipient
- saves the message from a mailer into a disk file with
- an .htm extension and, then, reads or prints it in any
- browser. Thus, we have a "duplex" typewriter. By tabbing
- in to start my text at column 8 and then, before hitting
- my word-wrap at column 68, using Shift+Enter to start
- my new line at that tab indent (if you missed it and the
- line wrapped, hit Home, Ctrl+Tab), I get the tags out
- of the way for somebody reading in the mailer (a text
- editor). Browsers ignore white space, so I can center
- the headline, tab-indent my lines, and all that to put
- the tags "in the gutter" unless I <I>use</I> them in
- the text. That pair of I-tags gives italic print in
- the browser and is no more bothersome than the pair of
- asterisks in the mailer.
- <P>
- <CENTER>
- <H3>
- When you load a template
- </H3>
- </CENTER>
- You'll want to work on templates by loading them with
- File/Open. When you load one with File/Template, it
- loses its name and becomes a New File. When you save
- it, you give it a name ...for the document it has
- become. If you used a filter change or typed in a
- non .tpt filename and opened it, the file you opened
- would lose its name. So this is strictly for using
- templates to produce new documents. It's organized
- as it is to protect you from forgetfully saving the
- template after you've made changes.
- <P>
- To see how this will look in the browser, do a Save
- As and name the file explain.htm. The file you have in
- the editor changes to that and a file copy is made.
- Now get Tools/Browser. If you haven't used it put in
- the path to your browser. If you are in Win 95 you
- will have very complex paths. I.e., for Navigator
- c:\program files\netscape\navigator\program\netscape
- and for Internet Explorer, with usual setups,
- c:\program files\plus!\microsoft internet\IExplore.exe
- But you can copy them in from Find or from here. Click
- okay, and you will find the filename already in the
- Input dialog for you. Click Okay, and the browser will
- display your letter.
- <P>
- To mail your letter, hit Copy All on the Edit menu or
- the right button popup menu (which is available even in
- Windows 3.x). Tools/Mailer lets you open your mailer
- program. Hit New Message, fill out the header, and
- paste the letter in. Hit SEND.
- <P>
- Gene Fowler
-
- <BR></BODY></HTML>