Lesson 17

Editing Text Fields

In this lesson, you learn about text fields. You also learn how to move around in a document, select text, and move and copy text in a document.

Understanding Text Fields

When you enter text into a mail memo, a discussion group message, or a document, you enter the text between the brackets on the page. These brackets define the text field . A text field is simply an area in which you can enter text, graphics, or other items (such as an attached file). Depending on the document and the database template, you may see one or several fields. In some documents, a text field is preceded by a few words that explain the type of text you’re to enter in the field. Figure 17.1 shows three types of fields: a text field, a rich text field, and a keyword field.

The following list describes the common fields and elements you’ll find in Notes’ database documents. Note that not all documents contain all of these elements.

• Text Fields. Fields in which you can enter words and sentences, usually titles or topics.
• Rich Text Fields Fields in which you can enter text, import text, import graphics such as .PCX or .TIFF files, and attach files. The rich text fields usually make up the body of the document. (For more information abou t importing and attaching, see Lesson 9.)
• Keyword Fields Fields in which you can enter only specific words, such as categories, dates, or phone numbers. Depending on the database design, you may be allowed to enter your own keywords as well.
• Time/Date Fields Most often, these fields are automatically filled by Notes using your computer92's clock. You may not be allowed to edit some time/date fields.
• Number Fields Fields that can contain only numbers, such as currency or quantities.
• Document Author Field A field that contains the document author’s name. You cannot change the contents of this field.

Using Fields

You cannot type anywhere in a Notes document that does not contain brackets. You must click within the brackets to add or edit text.

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Moving in a Document

You can move around in a document by using the scroll bars and mouse or by using the keyboard. You’ll probably learn to use a combination of the two methods to get ar ound in a document quickly and efficiently.

To use the mouse to move around a document, you use scroll bars. Lotus Notes displays a scroll bar along the right side and bottom of the document window when the document is too large to fit in the window. Within the scroll bar is the scroll box. The scroll box indicates the relative location of your insertion point within the document. Figure 17.2 shows a window with a scroll bar.

Figure 17.2 Use the scroll bar to quickly move around in a document.

When you scroll to any area in the document, you must click in that location before you can select, edit, or create text in that area. If you do not click to reposition the insertion point, the insertion point remains in its previous location. Use the following methods to scroll through a document:

• Click the up or down scroll arrow to move one line up or down in a document.
• Click the scroll box and drag it along the scroll bar to move up or down in a document more quickly.
• Click anywhere in the scroll bar to move to another location in the document.

As I mentioned earlier, you can also move around the document using your keyboard. Table 17.1 lists some keyboard shortcuts you can use.

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Table 17.1 Keyboard Shortcuts for Moving in a Document

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Shortcut	Result
Tab key	Moves the insertion point from field to field (unless you’re in a rich text field and then it inserts a tab).
Arrow keys	Moves the insertion point from character to character, line of text to line; when you reach the end of a field, the down or right arrow moves you to the next field.
Page Up/Page Down	Moves the insertion point one screen at a time in the document.
Home	Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the current line of text.
End	Moves the insertion point to the end of the current line of text.
Ctrl+Home	Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the document (the first text field).
Ctrl+End	Moves the insertion point to the end of the document.

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Selecting Text

Before you can copy, move, delete, or format text in a document, you must select it. The quickest and easiest method of selecting text in a document is to click and drag t he mouse I-beam across the text you want to select. When text is selected, it appears in reverse video as shown in Figure 17.3.

Figure 17.3 Click and drag the mouse to quickly select text.

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Deselect Text

If you selected too much text or you didn’t mean to select text at all, click the mouse anywhere in the document to deselect the text. Alternatively, you can press the right or left arrow on the keyboard.

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Shortcut

Double-click any single word to select just that one word.

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Moving and Copying Text

You can move text from one part of the document to another or from one document to another . You also can copy text between documents or within the same document. Follow these steps to copy or move text.

1. Select the text you want to move or copy.
2. Choose Edit, Cut if you want to move the text, or choose Edit, Copy if you want to make a duplicate of the text. Notes moves or copies the text to the Clipboard.
3. Reposition the cursor where you want to place the text (it can be in the same document or in another document).

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Window Menu

If you want to place the cut or copied text in another document, use the Window menu to switch back to the database or to another open document.

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4. Choose Edit, Paste, and the copied or cut text appears at the insertion point.

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Shortcuts

If you prefer to work from the keyboard, press Ctrl+X to cut text, Ctrl+C to copy text, and Ctrl+V to paste text.

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Undoing Changes

You often can undo editing or formatting changes you’ve made to a document. Undoing a change cancels the effects and returns the document to its previous state. For e xample, if you cut some text and you didn’t mean to, you can undo that action. Notes simply puts the text back in its original location. To undo changes, choose Edit, Undo or press Ctrl+Z.

You must choose to undo an action before you perform another. Because Notes can remember only one action at a time, each new action replaces the last one.

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Can’t Undo

Not all changes and edits can be undone. If the Undo command is dimmed, you cannot undo your previous command.

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In this lesson, you learned to use text fields, move around in a document, select text, move and copy text, and undo actions. In the next lesson, you’ll learn to format text and pages by changing fonts, setting alignment, and using page breaks.

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