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Aliases

Aliases provide a mechanism to store and retrieve frequently used pieces of text. They persist between application invocations and are organized into user-defined groups. Each alias consists of a name, a prefix, and a suffix. Aliases are inserted at the cursor position or as a wrapper for selected text.

Construct Definition Relation to Cursor
Name Identifier used to reference a particular alias.
Prefix Text to insert that will precede any selected text. After insertion, the cursor will be positioned after the prefix.
Suffix Text to insert that will follow any selected text. After insertion, the cursor will be positioned before the suffix.

Defining Aliases: Select Edit | Manage Aliases.... This will invoke the Alias Manager dialog that allows users to create, rename, and remove groups and to define, edit, or remove aliases. A drop-down box in the upper-left corner of the dialog lists the available groups and shows the currently selected group. The list box below the drop-down displays the aliases defined for the current group. There are two text boxes on the right-hand side of the dialog--Prefix and Suffix--that contain the text of the alias. Users may define both a prefix and a suffix or only one of them. After editting the text for an alias, users must press the Save button to commit their changes.

Here are the steps to create and use an alias:

  1. Select Edit | Manage Aliases
  2. Press the New button
  3. Enter name for new alias
  4. Enter text in Prefix box
  5. Enter text in Suffix box
  6. Press the Save button
  7. Press the Close button
  8. Select alias just entered from the upper-left drop down
  9. Press the Apply Alias button () next to the drop down

Changing Groups: Select Edit | Manage Aliases.... In the Alias Manager dialog, select the desired group from those listed in the drop-down box in the upper-left corner of the dialog. Close the Alias Manager.

Inserting Aliases: The aliases available for insertion are listed in the first drop-down box in the toolbar. The aliases listed there are those for the active alias group. See Changing Groups above for directions on changing the active group. To insert an alias, select the alias from the drop-down list then press the Apply Alias button () next to the drop-down list.

Exporting Aliases: Select Edit | Export Aliases.... Select the groups you wish to export then press OK. Determine where to save the file then enter a name and press Save.

Importing Aliases: Select Edit | Import Aliases.... Navigate to the exported alias file that you want to import. Select the file and press Open. If a group name from the imported file conflicts with one of your groups, you will be given an option to overwrite your group with the imported one. If you select not to overwrite, the new group will be given a name that does not conflict with any of your groups. Finally, you will be told how many groups were imported with their names listed.