Revision 350 makes several improvements and corrections. In addition, it allows expansion by punctuation marks in a way that should make it easier to use for former users of classical products such as PRD.

First the general improvements:

• Dynamic Phrase Sorting
  You can now ask that phrase entries be dynamically sorted by short code length in the phrase advisory. If you select this option, phrases whose short codes have 2 letters appear before those with 3 letters, those with 3 letters before those with 4 letters... If this option is unchecked, the order favors phrases of higher frequencies.

  Until now, dynamic sorting was available for space bar expansion, but this is now also available for users using Instant Text with marker keys. See the Advisory Options dialog.

• Allow or Disallow Shift+Space
  It is possible to disallow the Shift+Space shortcut for clearing advisories. If Shift+Space is disallowed, clearing advisories can still be done with the Escape key.

  This feature may be useful for some fast typists who unintentionally type Shift+Space by anticipating the shift before a space when typing a space followed by a shifted letter. (In other words, when typing Space+Shift a instead of Space Shift+a.) See the Preference / Automatic dialog.

• More Marker Keys
  The set of marker/expander keys has been extended to include keys such as { } ? " '. These keys cover all choices available in PRD and actually more.
   
• Interaction with WordBasic
  Instant Text can now be used for expansion in windows and dialogs created by Word macros.
   
• Windows 2000 and Windows Me
  Instant Text has been adjusted for Windows 2000 and Windows Me. In particular, changes have been done to handle the new WordPad and the new rich text format editors introduced by Windows 2000.
   
• Line Count
  The line count has been upgraded for WordPerfect 9.
   
• Interaction with WordPerfect 8
  Several improvements have been made for WordPerfect 8 users.
   

Revision 350 introduces a distinction between Markers and Expanders, which should be especially useful for new users coming from classical word expanders such as PRD.

Markers, as they have been used in previous versions of Instant Text are keys that cause an expansion and then disappear. So if we have the abbreviation

iac

in any case

and ; is a marker, then by typing iac; we get the expansion on the right and the ; is no longer there.

Expanders are what most classical word expansion programs use. They too are keys that cause an expansion but (unlike markers) they stay after the expansion. So if , is an expander, we get the expansion on the right by typing what is on the left:

iac,

in any case,

and the , stays after the expansion.

Strictly speaking, the Space key could already be used as an expander in version 3, as you could use a space to expand and the space would stay. Revision 350 extends this possibility to all other keys.

The Marker selection dialog has been redesigned to account for the new functionality:

The revised dialog lets you decide which keys are Markers and which are Expanders. You can decide your selections key by key - including for special keys such as space, enter, and tab.

Alternatively, you can use the two top buttons to select a set of options. For example, for someone wanting to do it exactly as in PRD, a tap on "Classic Options" is all that is needed.

(A final note to current Instant Text users: This new addition is intended to facilitate the transition from other expanders to Instant Text. On the other hand, if you are already using markers, do not see it as an invitation to switch to expanders. Markers give you a better control on what you do, especially when using large and very large glossaries.)

Many of us have found good reasons in the past to apply the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy, and you may wonder whether to apply the revision or not. It is definitely worth applying if:

• You like to stay current
• You are using Windows 2000 or Windows Me
• You want to use dynamic sorting
• You want to use PRD-style expander keys
• You are using WordPerfect 9 and the line count
• You have not yet applied prior revisions

• Revision 303
  • Improved word ordering
• Revision 304
  • Improvements for users of the space bar
  • Starting Instant Text in lower screen position
  • Easy reopening of the current glossary
  • Easier use of the glossary speed-menu
• Revision 306
  • Better treatment of accented entries
  • Line count improvements
  • Backspacing optimization
  • Better handling of hard space

This revision comes in two forms:

• Rev350S.exe applies to the Standard version.
• Rev350P.exe applies to the Pro version.

You will find both revisions on the Textware Solutions web site at the url: http://www.textware.com/demo/revisions.htm

Select the proper file and download it. After downloading it, just run Rev350S.exe or Rev350P.exe, whichever is applicable, and it will automatically find the files to be revised and update them. (If you apply the wrong one, it will protest and nothing will be broken.)

To be sure that the revision has been applied, check the build date in Help/About Instant Text and it should now be 2000-10-10.

As previous revisions, 350 is announced by email to registered users and also in the Instant Text forum.

If you have not visited the forum lately, you may want to look at the titles and see that it is becoming a very good place for exchanging tips, techniques, and suggestions. You may also use the find feature to find all messages on a given subject.

User-to-user exchanges are definitely encouraged and they give us a good way to understand your needs and formulate what is needed for future releases of Instant Text. So we hope you continue participating as we are listening to what you have to say.