The List Browser

Overview	The Category Filters	The Text Filter
Sorting A List	Creating A New List	Editing Multiple Items
Printing Lists

This chapter covers the various features of the List Browser window and how to manipulate entire lists.

Overview

In the previous chapters you learned a great deal about individual items in List Pad and worked a lot with the Item Editor window. You also learned some of the basics about the List Browser, such as creating, editing, and deleting items, and totaling entire lists.

In this chapter you will learn more about the List Browser window and how to filter, sort, edit, and manipulate entire lists of items. Using the List Browser you can easily view different sets of items, edit certain fields of a group of items all at once, sort your lists, and even generate a new list based on a subset of the items in an existing list.

In this chapter you will go over the following:

• How to use the Priority, Label, and Category filters.
• How to use the text filter.
• How to sort a list.
• How to create a new list from an existing list.
• How to edit multiple items in the list at once.
• How to print lists in both "table" form and as individual items.

Let's get started with the following:

1. Open the list Computer Parts in the Sample Files folder.

Pretend, for a moment, that you are a local computer consultant specializing in Macintosh systems and accessories. This is a list of your top recommendations. By keeping this list on hand you can simply check off those items a client wants, make a new list from those items, then keep track of what is ordered, when it arrives, etc.

Of course this list is short because you just got started (actually, because you may not have paid for List Pad yet and in demo mode you can only create and open lists of 10 items or less). But it has enough items for you to use while learning how to make full use of the List Browser window.

The Category Filters

As you've already learned, each List Pad item has three popup menu fields, defined in the File Preferences window, that allow you to "categorize" items.

The List Browser allows you to quickly filter out items belonging to one or more of these user-created categories.

To filter a list in the List Browser, showing only those items belonging to the specified categories, do the following:

• Select the category from the appropriate submenu of the List menu.

For example, to see this at work in the Computer Parts list, do the following:

• Select Both from the Label submenu of the List menu.

The list will go from 6 items to only 2, the 2 items that work with both Macintosh and PC systems.

Where did the other items go? They are temporarily hidden. To prove that they are still there, do the following:

• Select All from the Label submenu of the List menu.

And all 6 items are back! You can use the Priority and Category filters in exactly the same way. For instance, say you want to only see computers (CPU's) and monitors so that you can quickly find the perfect combination for a client on the phone.

1. Select CPU from the Category submenu of the List menu.
2. Select Monitor from the Category submenu of the List menu.

Now you should see only those items which are either a computer (CPU) or a monitor (a total of 3). Selecting All from that same submenu will restore the entire list.

You can filter lists based on item categories using any combination of the menu items in these submenus. For instance, you may want to view all CPU's, monitors, and hard drives that are for Macintosh or Both and have been Installed. Just select each of those items to build that filter. When you're done, select All in all three submenus to see the entire list.

Note that if you hold down the option key while selecting a filter, all other marked filters for that field will be unmarked.

The Text Filter

The Category filters may be great for quickly filtering the list by those three fields, but what about the other fields? To filter the list on the other fields you use the Text Filter. The Text Filter has both a field in the List Browser and a submenu under the List menu.

To use the Text Filter:

1. Enter the text you want to search on in the field at the top of the List Browser.
2. Select the fields you want searched in the Filter submenu of the List menu.
3. Turn the filter on by checking the box next to the text field in the List Browser or by selecting Apply Filter? in the Filter submenu of the List menu.

For instance, say you only want to view those items made by Apple Computer. Those items have names starting with "Apple", like "Apple Power Mac". So to filter out those items do the following:

1. Enter Apple in the filter text field at the top of the List Browser.
2. Make sure that Item Name is selected (checked) in the Filter submenu of the List menu.
3. Check the box next to the filter text field.

The list should now show only those three items that are made by Apple.

To see the entire list again:

1. Turn the text filter off by unchecking the box next to the test filter field.

Now you're going to do another search, but instead of searching for the string "Apple", you're going to search for "Mac Mall" to see all those items which come from Mac Mall.

1. Turn the filter back on by checking the box.
2. Type Mac Mall in the filter text field.
3. Hit the return or the enter key.

You must hit return or enter to make the new filter take effect. But, as you might have noticed, the list is now empty! You know that there are items from Mac Mall in this list, but where are they? You decide to take a look at the Filter submenu and realize that the Supplier field is not being searched.

1. Select Supplier from the Filter submenu of the List menu.

Now those pesky items appear, two of them.

As you can see, you can search the remaining fields of List Pad items using the text filter. The search is performed on all the fields selected (checked) in the Filter submenu. And the text is entered in the List Browser.

Sorting A List

You can sort a List Pad list, ascending or descending, on any of the Item fields. In addition, you can sort on more than one field at a time.

You can sort a list in one of two ways.

• Click on a column header in the List Browser window to sort ascending on that field. Option-click to sort descending. To sort on more than one field, shift-click or shift-option-click on additional column headers.
• Select Sort... from the List menu (command-G). This will bring up the Sort Dialog, which allows you to setup your sort. In the dialog are two scroll lists, Item Fields and Sort Fields, with buttons in between them. The Item Fields list (left) lists all the Item fields which you can sort on. The Sort Fields list (right) lists the fields that are going to be sorted on in the order you want them sorted on from highest (top) to lowest (bottom).

You set up the sort by moving fields from the Item Fields list to the Sort Fields list. You do this by selecting the fields to sort on and either clicking Move>>, hitting the Enter key, or by double-clicking a field. Holding down the option key makes the fields descending rather than ascending.

In the Sort Fields list you can drag-n-drop the fields into the order you wish. You can change between ascending and descending by double-clicking the field, selecting the field and clicking the A/D? button, or by selecting the field and hitting Enter.

You can delete fields from the Sort Fields list by selecting them and clicking Delete or hitting the Delete key. When you are finished, click the Sort button to sort the list, or click Cancel to avoid making any changes to the existing sort.

Creating A New List

You've got a client! And that client wants you to check on and order the following items:

• Apple Power Mac 6500
• Apple 750 Monitor
• HP LaserJet 6MP
• Zip Drive

(Isn't it ironic that this client wanted just the items in your list?)

You want to create a separate list, like this one, but only with the items this client is ordering so that you can keep track of this client's order. How do you do that?

First you're going to select those items being ordered. Then you're going to create the new list.

To create a new list from an existing list:

1. Select the four items from the list. Remember, to select a discontinuous range of items you hold down the command key while clicking on each item.
2. Select Build New List... from the List menu. A dialog will appear (like the one pictured in part at the top of this chapter...I thought I would use that since the List Browser adorned chapter 4).
3. Select the subset of items you want to be included in the new list. The options are:
   • All Items: creates a list with all the items in the front list.
   • Selected Items: creates a list containing only those items currently selected in the front list.
   • Unselected Items: creates a list containing only those items not currently selected in the front list.
   • Filtered Items: creates a list containing only those items currently visible in the front list.
   • Unfiltered Items: creates a list containing only those items not currently visible in the front list.
   • Marked Items: creates a list containing only those items currently marked in the front list.
   • Unmarked Items: creates a list containing only those items currently unmarked in the front list.
   • You will, of course, click Selected Items and then click the OK button.
   • A new list should appear, with its own List Browser, in front of the Computer Parts list.

Editing Multiple Items

Now you would like to total this list for your client. But you notice that the items have no prices showing in the List Browser. The reason for this is that Auto Total is not on.

You dread going through and having to turn it on in each item. You remember that you can turn it on and off from the Item menu when an Item Editor is in front. But does that menu work when a List Browser is in front?

Well of course ;-)

To turn auto total on for all the items at once:

1. Make sure the list table is selected in the List Browser. Select all the items in the new, untitled list by selecting Select All (command-A) from the Edit menu.
2. Select Subtotal from the Auto Total submenu of the Item menu.
3. Select Tax from the Auto Total submenu of the Item menu.
4. Select Total from the Auto Total submenu of the Item menu.

The items now display their prices in the List Browser, and the entire list is totaled at the bottom.

Any field that can be edited from the Item menu (i.e. Mark, Alarm On?, Categories, etc.) can be edited in groups. Simply select the items you want to set in the List Browser and select the setting from the Item menu.

Printing Lists

Printing Lists is quick and easy. Like in most Mac OS applications, there are two commands associated with printing: Page Setup and Print. There is also a Print Single command.

Page Setup allows you to setup your printer and page characteristics before printing. This should be done before you print for the first time (in each document) and after you change your current printer in the Mac OS Chooser.

Print brings up two dialogs. The first dialog is specific to List Pad, and looks very much like the Build New List... dialog described above. It allows you to select which items should be printed, and additionally whether they should be printed in list form or individually.

Print As List prints the items just like they appear in the List Browser, in a grid consisting of the same 6 columns. Print Individually prints each item in a report style format with all of its information included.

The second dialog is the standard Print dialog. Fill it out and click Print to print.

It's important to note that the page range specified in the 2nd Print dialog is ignored if Print Individually is selected in the 1st dialog. This will be fixed in a future release.

Finally, Print Single allows you to quickly print a single item. It is available whenever an Item Editor is in front. It invokes the standard Print dialog and then proceeds to print the item in report format.

That's it! You now know how to use the List Browser to sort, filter, view, and edit your lists, and you know how to print. In the next chapter you will learn about some of the special application-wide features of List Pad, such as the Application Preferences, Open Special Menu, Auto Save, etc.