The associated document is an extremely simple feature of the WintextCom Reader that makes quick work based upon the contents of a document effortless to set up and manage.

For example, suppose you have saved a document in the library containing the questions from a form or questionnaire. The document could be an actual text file from somewhere, or it could be text retrieved with WintextCom's read document command from another type of document, e-mail message or web page. By opening the document in the WintextCom Reader and pressing Control+K, the associated document command, you create an associated text file in the workspace. You can read the document, taking full advantage of the WintextCom Reader's bookmark features, and write your answers to the questions into the associated document as you go. It is easy to read the original document right through first to get a general idea; set a bookmark at the location where you need to start actually processing it, such as question 1, then when you have skimmed the whole text, return to that location. You can switch between WintextCom and the associated document while it is open with Alt+Tab, but once you have closed it, simply pressing Control+K again in the WintextCom Reader will re-open it. When you have finished, you can select the associated document in Windows Explorer by pressing Control+Alt+K in the reader, so that you can move it to a permanent location or perform any other action. If you just wanted to send your answers to someone in an e-mail message, once you have done that, you might simply delete the file. The WintextCom Reader is especially useful for creating temporary working documents in this kind of situation.

The associated document is located in the reader document's associated folder. When you invoke the associated document command, a document with the same primary name as the one you are reading is searched for in the associated folder. If none is found, one is created as a text file, with a ".txt" extension. However, if a document is found with the same primary filename as the reader document and any extension, it is opened using whatever program is associated with it in Windows. This makes it possible to associate word processor documents, spreadsheets, or any other type of document with reading material. To associate a document type other than a plain text file, you need to create the document first. The associated folder command, Control+Alt+K, makes this process painless.

When you invoke the associated folder command for a reader document that has no associated document, its associated folder is opened in Windows Explorer and the primary name of the document is made available on the Windows clipboard. To create an associated document, all you have to do is invoke the "New" command in Windows Explorer, select the type of document that you want to create, and then select the primary filename that is suggested and paste the required name from the clipboard over it, then accept the new document. Close Windows Explorer. Next time you invoke the associated folder command, the folder is opened with the document you created selected. When you invoke the associated document command, the document itself is opened in its own program.

You can set up more advance procedures than simply associating a document in the associated workspace folder --

The associated document can be a link to another document or folder. This enables you to associate reading material with anything located anywhere on your computer by creating a shortcut to it in the associated folder with the primary name of the document you want to associate with.
The associated document can be a script or program, enabling you to associated a more complex action with a reader document.

If the associated document does not have a Windows association, it is opened in File Manager's primary loader. This will only happen if you have deliberately created an unassociated document type for whatever reason. If there is more than one document in the associated folder with the same primary name as the reader document, it is undefined which one will open when you invoke the associated document command, so for unambiguous, predictable behaviour, you should not have more than one such document.

Page url: http://wtcmanual.wintextware.com/index.html?wl_associated_document.htm

The Associated Document