10 Minute Guide to Lotus Notes 4.0 -Lesson 15.htm

Lesson 15

Working with Documents

In this lesson, you learn to open a document, move from document to document, mark a document as read, and exit a document.

Opening a Document

Select the document you want to open from the document window of any database. To open a document, double-click on it, or right-click it and choose Open from the shortcut menu. Figure 15.1 shows an open document from a library database named “Training.”

Figure 15.1 Open a document to read the data in it.

In the open document, you can use the scroll bar to view any of the document that’s not displayed in the window. Click the scroll arrows to move up or down in the document one line at a time.

Shortcuts

You can also move around in a document by pressing the Page Up and Page Down keys.

Moving from Document to Document

You can move to the next or previous document in a database without closing the current document and returning to the database. To do so, you use the SmartIcons in the document window. The following list shows those SmartIcons and explains their functions.

Use the Navigate Next icon to move to the next document listed in the database.

The Navigate Prev icon moves you to the previous document in the database.

Use the Navigate Next Unread icon to move to the next unread document in the database.

The Navigate Prev Unread icon moves you to an unread document previous to the current one.

If the database does not contain a document that matches your request (if there is not a next unread document, for example), Notes returns to the database view. See the next section for more information about marking documents as read or unread.

Marking a Document as Read

Many databases will contain so many documents that it’s difficult to keep track of the ones you’ve read. Notes provides a way for you to mark the documents you’ve read so you don’t waste time opening them again. You can also use marking options to help you organize and manage the documents in a database.

In order to see marked documents, you must be in the database view window. A red star appears beside each unread document; no mark at all indicates that you’ve read (or at least opened) that document. Figure 15.2 shows two unread documents.

Figure 15.2 A red star marks each unread document.

To mark documents in the database view, choose Edit, Unread Marks, and then choose one of the following marking options:

Mark Selected Read Marks any documents you select as read; unread documents remain unmarked and easy to find.

Mark All Read Marks all documents in a database as read; this makes it easy to find new documents added to the database.

Mark Selected Unread Marks selected documents as unread, which is useful if you need to be reminded to re-read important documents in a database.

Mark All Unread Marks all documents in the database as unread.

Scan Unread

You can choose Edit, Unread Marks, Scan Unread to quickly view only the unread documents in a database. See Lesson 13 to learn more about scanning.

Editing a Document

Sometimes you will need to edit the documents in a database. You can add or delete text an d/or graphics in a document, and you can format the documents. The following steps walk you through the basics of editing a document. For information about formatting documents, see Lesson 18.

Format

To change certain visual characteristics of a document. This might include changing fonts or type sizes, making text bold or italic, or aligning the text on the page.

Editing Others’ Documents

You should make sure you have permission to edit documents you find in databases on the network. Ask your Notes administrator before you edit any document that is not yours.

In the database, open the document you want to edit.
Right-click anywhere within the document and choose Edit from the shortcut menu, or simply double-click in the text area of the document. Brackets appear, marking areas in which you can make changes (see Figure 15.3).
Enter or edit the text within brackets.
When you finish editing, choose File, Save.

Figure 15.3 Edit a document by positioning the insertion point between the brackets.

Exiting a Document

When you’re finished reading a document, you should close it. Multiple open documents clutter your Notes work area and can slow down your computer’s reaction tim e. To close, or exit, a document, choose File, Close or click the Close tool button.

Save Before Closing

If you forgot to save changes you made to the document, Notes prompts you to save before it closes the document. Click Yes to save the changes , click No to close without saving the changes, or click Cancel to return to the document.

In this lesson, you learned to open and exit a document, to move among documents in a database, and to mark a document as read. In the next lesson, you will learn to create a document in a database.