TextSpresso 1.3 QuickStart
This document is intended to get experienced Macintosh users up and running as quickly as possible with TextSpresso 1.3. It is intended for those Macintosh users who are already familiar with the basics of using a word processor or text editor and focuses on using TextSpresso filters.
If you are a novice user and are not familiar with Macintosh word processors/text editors, or if you are an advanced user and would like to learn how to create your own filters, please turn to the TextSpresso Manual for detailed instructions.
All TextSpresso filters can be applied to either an entire document or to a selected portion of the document text. If no text is selected then TextSpresso assumes you want to filter the entire document.
TextSpresso filters are multi-threaded. This means that you can perform other tasks, including filtering other documents, while a filter is running. You can also pause, resume, and stop a running filter.
Usually the filters are applied instantly. But if you are running a complex filter (say a MultiFilter with many filters) on a large document (say, 1 MB or more) then the document statistic fields at the top of the document window will display the filter's progress until it is done, and the document window will display the phrase "Processing...".
Please note that on large documents it can take several seconds to set the document window after the filter has completed. This is due to the fact that when a WASTE field is initially set with a large amount of text it has to calculate a number of variables and set things up. This applies to opening large documents as well. (This is unavoidable and shouldn't be taken in a negative way against WASTE, which is an excellent text editing library used by many Mac OS applications.)
Applying a filter is very easy:
- Open a document and select the text you would like to filter, or select no text if you wish to filter the entire document.
- Select the filter you wish to apply from either the Filter menu or from the floating Filter Palette. In the Filter Palette you can select more than one filter, in the order which you want them applied, and select Apply from the popup command menu in the palette.
The Filter menu is arranged with favorite filters below the commands. All filters are listed below the favorites, arranged into category submenus. The Filter Palette can list all filters, favorite filters, or a particular category of filters. Just select the desired view from the popup view menu in the palette.
TextSpresso can Hot Filter the selected text of another application when TextSpresso is open in the background and you type your Hot Filter key combination or move your mouse to a Hot Filter corner. This allows you to filter the text in another application without leaving that application.
You set up Hot Filter in the Preferences window. To set up Hot Filter, do the following:
- Select Preferences from the Edit menu. The Application Preferences window will appear.
- Use the popup menu to switch to the Hot Filter panel.
- Check the check box titled Hot Filter to turn the Hot Filter feature on.
- To enter a Hot Filter key combination check the Hot Key box underneath Hot Filter. Then click your mouse in the field and type your Hot Filter key combination.
- Check the boxes for the corners of your screen that you want to be Hot Filter corners.
- Click the Save Changes button to save your preferences.
Note that you can set up Hot Activation in the same way. Hot Activation brings TextSpresso to front.
You may also assign hot keys to filters using the filter editors. A hot key assigned to a filter will invoke that particular filter (see below).
Using the Hot Filter feature is very easy. First make sure you've followed the above instructions to set up the Hot Filter feature. Then in another application do the following:
- Select the text you wish to filter.
- Hold down your Hot Filter key combination, or move your mouse to a Hot Filter corner.
- Double-click the filter you wish to apply from the dialog that pops up. You can also start to type the name of the filter and the dialog with automatically select it. Then you can type return to apply it. This keeps your hands on the keyboard.
If you've assigned a hot key to an often used filter you only have two steps:
- Select the text you wish to filter.
- Hold down the hot key for the filter you want to use.
Please note that TextSpresso uses the clipboard to move the filtered text around, so anything on the clipboard prior to using Hot Filter will be lost. Copying and pasting of the text to be filtered is fully automatic and should work with just about any Macintosh application which supports command-C for copy and command-V for paste. But do remember that if you can't paste into the field, then neither can TextSpresso. (We've had a number of E-mails from users trying to filter text in locked, read only received E-mails in programs like Eudora and Emailer. To filter read-only text you need to first copy it to a location where it can be edited, such as a TextSpresso window.)
Also note that TextSpresso is watching the keyboard from the background. As a result, the front application may itself intercept the Hot Key if it's the same as a command key combination in the front application. This will likely prevent TextSpresso from seeing the Hot Key. In addition the front application may invoke its own command or even type characters over the selected text in the front window, possibly resulting in lost text if the front application does not support undo. You should carefully select your Hot Keys and test them with your favorite applications prior to using them while working. As a general rule your Hot Keys should contain the command key and at least one other modifier key (i.e. option, control, or shift).
Finally, you may have to hold down your Hot Key for a brief moment for TextSpresso to "see" it, but don't keep holding it down. The general rule is to hold a Hot Key down for no more than two seconds. If TextSpresso hasn't seen it by then, then the front application is intercepting the Hot Key and not allowing TextSpresso to see it due to the way its event loop is designed. Use a different Hot Key or use a Hot Corner.
TextSpresso supports multi-level undo/redo. It is preset to remember the last 10 actions in each open document, but that can be set as high as 100 in the Preferences window under General Options.
You can select Undo or Redo from the Edit menu to move backward or forward through your document's history. Or you can select a point in your document's history directly from the History submenu or the floating History Palette. You do not have to double-click an action in the History Palette to move to that point. A single click will do.
It's important to remember that your document's history is linear. If you perform 10 actions on your document and then select action 3 from the History submenu, actions 4-10 are undone.
Also, if you perform 10 actions on your document, move back to action 3, and then perform a new action, action's 4-10 are discarded. Like with real time, changing the past changes the future.
Finally, Hot Filter is not undoable from within TextSpresso. Hot Filter is used from within other applications and therefore leaves the undo responsibility to them. We may, however, add Hot Filter undo to TextSpresso depending on feedback we receive during the beta testing.
TextSpresso includes several 'main' MultiFilters for performing common tasks such as cleaning up Internet text or preparing a text file for publishing. Most users will find these main 'do all' filters to be sufficient for all their needs. Because TextSpresso allows the user to create and edit their own filters, users may tweak the following filters to exactly fit their needs.
- Mac To PC Text - This filter converts a Macintosh text file to a PC text file. It attempts to preserve all high ASCII characters and inserts line feeds as appropriate.
- Net To Text - This filter works from all types of Internet text (HTML, E-mail, Usenet) to produce generic Mac text. It strips tags, converts escape codes, and cleans up excess spacing and forwarding characters. It soft wraps the text, but maintains 2 CR's per paragraph so that the text is easier to read. (Soft Wrap or Text To Print will completely soft wrap if desired.)
- PC To Mac Text - This filter converts a PC text file to a Macintosh text file. It strips line feeds and attempts to preserve all high ASCII characters.
- Text To Net - This filter produces text which is safe for Internet use, particularly for E-mails and newsgroups. Text processed by this filter should remain readable and consistent after Internet transport to any platform. This filter converts En and Em dashes to hyphens; converts bullets to dashes; converts smart quotes to dumb quotes; converts ellipsis to three periods; converts ligatures to letters; converts the copyright and registered symbols to words; strips diacritical marks; strips high ASCII characters; and converts each tab to 4 spaces.
- Text To Print - This filter prepares generic text for publishing. It is a must for producing typographically correct layouts. This filter strips excess space around carriage returns; soft wraps the text; intelligently converts hyphens to En and Em dashes; strips excess space from around dashes and tabs; converts dumb quotes to smart quotes; corrects apostrophes for years; corrects inch/foot marks; and creates both ellipsis and ligatures.
TextSpresso includes a large number of preferences which are fully described in the Preferences chapter of the manual. Most of the preferences are easy to understand and can be browsed by simply opening the Application Preferences window by selecting Preferences... from the Edit menu.
Some preferences are set implicitly, or by a menu command, and are not listed in the Application Preferences window. These include the following:
- Default text editor size, position, font, and creator type. To set these create a new document and set it up however you like. Move and resize it, set the font, and choose the creator type. Then select Make Default Editor from the Text menu. Now whenever you create or open a new document, the editor will take on these characteristics. (Note that the creator type is only entered in new documents. Opened documents have their existing creator type.)
- Default page layout options. To set the defaults close all open documents and then select Page Layout... from the File menu. When you save your changes they will be saved to the defaults as long as no documents are open in front.
- Default page setup options. To set the defaults close all open documents and then select Page Setup... from the File menu. When you save your changes they will be saved to the defaults as long as no documents are open in front.
- Palette size and position. TextSpresso's various palettes remember their size and position when you close TextSpresso. Simply moving or resizing them is sufficient. The Filter Palette also remembers the category of filters it was last set to. The same is true for the Filter Selector dialog.
Note that TextSpresso does not automatically open the palettes which were opened the last time it was run. Instead it opens the palettes checked in the Startup Options sub-section of the Application Preferences window. Certain startup actions (i.e. new document, open file) can also be set there.
Please feel free to contact Taylor Design at any time with questions, comments, feature suggestions, bug reports, etc. We want TextSpresso to be the ultimate text filtering application and will do our best to enhance it to meet our customer's needs.
Web: http://www.taylor-design.com/
E-mail: support@taylor-design.com
Postal Mail
Taylor Design
8172 Palm #1729
Oak Hills, CA 92345-7849