The Cutting Edge: Computing / Technology / Innovation : Use Tool Kit to Customize Software

Remember the old Burger King jingle “Have It Your Way?” They were talking about hamburgers, but I feel the same way about software.

I like to have control over how my software operates. One option, I suppose, would be to write all my own programs. I could also build my own car, design my own home and grow all my own food.

Get real. I use commercial software. But that doesn’t mean I give up control. There are ways to modify how you use commercial programs so they behave to your specifications rather than those of the company that designed the program.

For example, most of the high-end word-processing programs come with tools that let you customize the way the programs behave. Microsoft Word (DOS and Windows), WordPerfect (DOS, Mac and Windows) and Ami Pro (Windows) all have tools that give you control over the appearances of both the programs themselves and the documents they create. Tools include customized menus and button bars, templates, styles, abbreviations and macros.

A macro is a sequence of keystrokes, mouse movements or other commands you record so they can be “played back” by pressing a key, selecting a menu item or clicking on an icon. You can use a macro to reduce a long sequence of commands to a single action or to create an alternative way of issuing a single command.

I like to use Alt P to print a document, so with just about all the programs I use, I’ve assigned the printing function to that keystroke. I’ve even modified my Word for Windows and WordPerfect programs to use some of the same control keys I learned about 12 years ago when I used WordStar. This way, I haven’t had to break old habits or learn new commands. In effect, I’ve created my own personal interface, which makes me more productive. I have another macro that formats my documents so they can be transmitted to my newspaper editor.

You don’t have to use a keystroke to run a macro. The major full-featured word-processing programs allow you to customize menus and icons (buttons), and they all allow you to assign any macro or command to a menu item or button. I created a macro to send a fax from my word-processing program and assigned it to a button that, naturally, looks like a fax machine. A template is a file that contains text, formatting codes, macros or other material you can use to create a customized document. You might have a special format you use for an interoffice memo that differs from what you would use with a fax or a letter to a client. Another template could produce a customized invoice. The major programs come with templates for newsletters, brochures, letters and all sorts of documents.

A template can be stored as a file, which you can use when you’re ready to create a document that’s based on that template. The template could include your company logo, heading information (such as the standard top of a memo) or perhaps your company letterhead. A template can even prompt you for the name and address of the recipient, a title or any other information.

Templates can also contain a custom interface with different menu items, icons and other commands. I’ve created a special Word for Windows template for my children so that when they use Word, they get simpler menus, fewer icons, a larger typeface and an icon for inserting graphics. It’s almost like having a special word-processing program just for kids.

A style gives you control over the look of a section of text. A single document can have multiple styles. You might have a style for indented text, another for long quotations, one for listings, one for tables and another for multiple-column formats.

Word was the first program to offer styles, but they’re now in WordPerfect and Ami Pro. After you’ve assigned a style to a section of text, you can make a change in the style itself and watch as the text is changed automatically. Styles can determine the font, type size, indenting and just about any other formatting options.

All of the high-end programs also let you use abbreviations or “auto-text.” You could, for example, have the program automatically translate “CIA” into “Central Intelligence Agency.” This same feature in Word can automatically correct spelling. Type “comptuer” and Word changes it to “computer.” You can even assign a graphic to an abbreviation, or you can create a macro that inserts a graphic. I have a macro that automatically inserts a scanned image of my signature for outgoing faxes.

Of course, each program differs in how it implements each of these features. Less expensive programs, such as Microsoft Works and Q&A; Write, offer some customization features, but they are generally not as extensive as what you’ll get with a full-featured word processor.

Also, Microsoft Windows comes with a built-in macro program called Recorder that gives you the ability to create keyboard shortcuts that work with most Windows programs. However, Recorder is not as sophisticated or easy to use as the macro features included in the major word-processing programs.