Many tasks we perform daily with our computers are often simple ones, but they can also be redundant. Think carefully for a moment about what it is you do with ClarisWorks every time you use the program. The odds are, some of the tasks you perform are repetitious -- out of necessity or out of well-established habit.
While there is nothing wrong with any of this, a little-used ClarisWorks feature, Shortcuts, can help save you time when performing redundant although necessary tasks. This includes such things as changing margins, changing page orientation (for printing letters versus envelopes), changing settings in Page Setup, signing your name at the end of letters, and so on.
ClarisWorks Shortcuts
ClarisWorks Shortcuts are commands you can access by clicking on a single button. ClarisWorks comes with many "ready-made" Shortcuts you can display through the Shortcuts Palette by selecting the File menu and choosing Show Shortcuts under the Shortcuts menu. You can also customize the view in Preferences under the Edit menu.
One thing that is great about Shortcuts is that you can create your own Shortcuts and add your creations to this list. First, you create a macro. Macros are recordings you create of mouse movements and key strokes. These recordings can be played back at a key stroke or mouse click. Because the macros play back at a speed that's much faster than when performed manually, they really save you time. There is virtually no limit to the macros you can record, so you'll want to experiment with key combinations and mouse movements to get a feel for what macros and Shortcuts can do for you.
Where to Begin
If you have never used ClarisWorks Shortcuts before, it may not be obvious where and how they can help you. Having the power of ClarisWorks Shortcuts at your fingertips is like having the ability to add to the ClarisWorks functionality in any environment. But where do you start?
The easiest way to determine where and how you can use ClarisWorks Shortcuts is by keeping a daily log of your computing activities for a week or two. Unless you can readily identify areas in your work pattern where Shortcuts can help, keeping a log will let you make careful observations about what you do with ClarisWorks. After keeping this log, it will be very easy to map out activities that can become useful Shortcuts.
When I was researching this article, I started keeping my own log of ClarisWorks use for a period of two weeks. When I looked at my entries, I noticed that several of the tasks I performed routinely in ClarisWorks were perfect candidates for Shortcuts. For example, I write to people all over the world (literally!), and I find I am constantly sending the same kinds of letters to certain groups of people. In particular, I noticed I write five types of letters, with different stationery designs and letterheads. Some of the styles are very formal, others informal. I noticed I was using six different kinds of closing remarks that varied by style and statement. A phrase I used repeatedly to end one type of letter was:
"Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Name"
Being an eleven-year Macintosh computer user who has been writing to people around the world for a long time, I assure you that I have typed the above closing statement a ridiculous number of times. Over the years, this activity has surely cost me a great deal of time. However, with ClarisWorks to help me write my letters, I now have a Shortcut for appending this ending to any letter I create.
Once you have taken a look at your usage patterns, you may discover many actions that deserve to become Shortcuts.
Creating Shortcuts
Making a shortcut in ClarisWorks is very simple.
1. First you go to the File menu and select the Shortcuts menu, then choose Record Macro... from the Shortcuts sub-menu. You can also display the Record Macro dialog by typing Shift-Command-J.
2. Name your macro and assign it a keystroke. Be careful that you don't give it a keystroke reserved by the application (such as Command-Q or Command-S). Click on the Function Key option only if you use an extended keyboard with F keys along the top. Many extended keyboards come with a plastic template that you overlay on the F keys, so that you can write yourself a note regarding what they mean.
Record your macro
When recording a macro, it's generally a good idea to think ahead of time of what it is you want it to do. Also, practicing in advance before recording your macro is a good idea as well. The reason for practice is this, recording a macro is like recording a scene in a Hollywood movie. It may require several "takes" to get things right.
For example, let's say that you record a macro which involves a paragraph of text that you have typed. What if half way through typing this block of text you make a typo but don't notice it until after you have typed a few more words? If you go back and backspace or correct the typo, the Shortcut will record this. This means that when you play it back, both the typo and the corrections you made will appear on the screen. It's a good idea to record your macro as cleanly as possible, because that's the one that plays back the fastest.
Adding Shortcut to the palette
After working with and recording your various macros, don't forget you can make a palette containing them for handy use. The options I selected for the recording of that macro are Has Shortcut and In Shortcuts Palette. I also created my own custom icon, by clicking on the gray button and making a small drawing.
Palettes are convenient because you can move them around on your screen and customize them for maximum efficiency. You can control the appearance of your palette via icons that you can design to look as good as you want. You can also display the Shortcuts Palette itself in several ways. Go to Preferences under the Edit menu to customize the view.