Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to paste graphics into PowerPoint or other applications?
After selecting the entities/icons you want to paste (or Select All for an entire WorkSheet), select Copy in TLT, open the other application, and then PASTE the graphic into the other program as an enhanced metafile for best picture quality. In PowerPoint, use "Edit | Paste Special | Picture (Enhanced Metafile)." It pays to experiment a little, as different paste mechanism yield different levels of quality.
How do I select multiple entities?
Using the "select" arrow and dragging a box around items (Bubble Selection) allows you to multi-select objects. Whereas many applications allow you to click with the [CTRL] button down to select additional objects, TLT has you hold down the shift key as you click to select multiple items.
Can the mouse wheel control scrolling?
Mouse wheel scrolling up/down and right/left as well as zoom control is very powerful with large, multi-page WorkSheets. Mouse wheel scrolling of the workspace window (up/down) works after you first click on the window display bar at the immediate right of the workspace. Then, if you hold down the Shift key while you scroll, then the mouse wheel controls scrolling right and left. Once you have clicked in the Document Explorer window, the mouse wheel controls (up/down) scrolling in that window. Zooming works too, as described below.
Can the mouse wheel control the Zoom in real time?
Once you click on a particular zoom level in the Zoom Control Window, then the mouse wheel allows one to quickly rotate through the zoom level options, watching the screen change in real time.
How do I create/manage multiple pages in a single document?
The "Diagrams|Manage Diagrams" menu sequence allows you to add, delete, reorder worksheets. In contrast, "Diagrams|Workspace Settings" will allow you to easily specify the dimensions of each page as well as how many pages high and wide you want any particular worksheet to be. TLT allows you to construct WorkSheets that can be large, tiled workspaces. For example, if you need more room, simply add additional pages in the vertical or horizontal direction. I can go from a single page to a worksheet 10 pages high and 5 pages wide and then later back to a small format like 3 by 2. This facilitates the (1) generation, (2) presentation, and (3) printout of large “posters”. Large worksheets are printed out on standard paper, then tiled (or printed on a large format plotter). It is usually best to keep the paper size set as a standard size while modifying the number of pages in width and height to accomplish this.
How do I change the attribute of a line or entity/icon after it is drawn?
Simply double-clicking an entity, including lines, allows you to edit it. Arrowheads can be added, removed or swapped. The line style can be changed to dotted, dashed, etc. Further, there are three levels of line weight from standard (thin) to medium to heavy. The entity/icon border icons also feature the option (via checkbox) of eliminating the visible border altogether.
How do I create text without any box around it?
See the prior entry.
How does one group icons?
TLT does not group objects like PowerPoint does; however, you can use the pointer to create a rectangular "bubble" within which all items are selected. This allows you to move groups of icons and is a powerful feature for editing.
Is there a "duplicate" feature as an enhancement to Copy/Paste?
Duplication is achieved simply by copy and paste. Note that the shortcuts CTRL+c (copy) and the CTRL+v (paste) are much faster than pointing and clicking on buttons. Also note that groups of icons can be selected by drawing a rectangular window around the items to be copied as a group. It is easy to overuse copy and paste, and TLT offers a "link" functionality as an alternative to cut and paste. Note that a copy of an entity is entirely different from having a "Linked" copy - see the next entry.
What is this idea of "linked" entities?
TLT is driven by a database, so you can have the same entity appearing on several worksheets, each linked via the database to ensure consistency when the same entity appears in multiple diagrams. Edits throughout your project are a breeze, because editing any instance of an entity automatically updates all linked entities (and TLT allows each instance may have unique formatting).
Help! TLT does not allow an entity to be repeated on a second page for continuation, which is necessary to do if the tree does not fit on one page. If you try to copy an entity and edit it, TLT objects and if you then choose "force" TLT messes with the label number of the original entity. Help!
First, realize that you should make your workspace larger so that there is no need for continuation of "off-page connectors." If you do want to create a duplicated entity/icon, then you should utilize the "link" feature to replicate the entity (which will always match the original in content). Finally, realize that when you do use a copy and TLT objects, requesting you to cancel or "force," you can simply cancel and give the copy a unique number to avoid changing the original entity's label.
What are the options for the “AND” operator?
First, we recommend the “Ellipse#” symbol, which by unselecting the “Display Name” and “Display Number” boxes will give an ellipse without any symbols in it. (From that point on, CTRL+c and CTRL+v copy and paste are the easiest way to create more). Second, there is the standard “AND Operator” which prints the word “AND” inside an ellipse. Third, some simply use a bold “One Segment Line" or bold “Curved Line” across the arrows involved.
What is the Document Explorer on the right side of the screen?
The Document Explorer lists all the worksheets and icons/entities created within them. Some of the functions enabled by the Doc. Explorer are: “Find” a phrase, “Jump” to a particular entity anywhere in the WorkBook, "Create a Linked Icon/Entity", and "Edit an Icon/Entity".
Is there a simple Text object other than Comment?
The Comment# and Def# entities/icons are generally the best to use for basic text which is left-justified. The box around the icon can be removed via a checkbox in the edit entity dialog box (as is the case for other entities/icons, which feature centered text).
Are there color features?
TLT has no color option at present. You can shade any entity easily to make it stand out. Go into presentation mode (the filmstrip icon in the middle of the top toolbar), shade the edited entities by clicking each in turn, click the presentation mode again to toggle it, and then save. By default the Obs# and NBR# entities are shaded upon creation.
How do I change the format of the work space to landscape?
First, go to “Diagrams | Workspace Settings.” To create a landscape format that will be applied to future diagrams, you will use “Default Workspace Settings,” otherwise, use “Workspace Settings|your filename.” Then under “Paper Settings” change Width to 11.00 and Height to 8.50 and under “Workspace Dimensions” select the Width as 1 “Pages:” in the right-most column and Height as 1 “Pages:” Hit “OK”. Then go to “File | Print Setup” and select the correct printer and “Orientation” = Landscape; otherwise, you will get an error message about “The physical paper size is smaller than the paper size set in the Workspace Settings…” If you are getting this message, check the Page SetUp is still set to "Landscape," as this setting may have been reset. Please note that many trees used in the Thinking Processes are best drawn to be read bottom to top (a vertical orientation), so use Portrait orientation first if that will suit your purpose.
It would be nice to be able to export parts of my diagram as a .gif, .jpeg, or other file.
You can "copy" any portion of a diagram that is selected and "paste" it into other applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Frontpage, etc.). In PowerPoint, use "Edit | Paste Special | Picture (Enhanced Metafile)." It is very easy to print any TLT WorkSheet directly to Adobe Acrobat .pdf with excellent results for those with Acrobat writer software. Of course, the .pdf can be saved in many file formats (.jpg but many other formats including .png, which gives beautiful results).
How do I edit in TLT so teammates will easily see my comments?
Editing Advice for Instructors and Teammates: Create bold lines and bold or shaded entities to help mark your edits. Supposing you have completed the edits of the entities, one can shade entities easily: Go into presentation mode (the filmstrip icon in the middle of the top toolbar), shade the edited entities by clicking each in turn, then click the presentation mode again to toggle it, and then save.
What is the Glossary?
Briefly, the menu sequence Menu | Diagrams | Glossary allows you to generate a comprehensive text file containing all of the entities (their content and their “story” fields) in the entire WorkBook sorted by icon/entity types and in ascending order of labels. The "Export" button on the top of the Glossary worksheet lets user save Glossary content as a separate file in the .html or .xml format.
Can I change text fonts or import files (e.g., graphics)?
No. TLT draws based on user input. It can create and export image files, but cannot import them. TLT V1.0 is designed for optimal use with a base font size. This greatly reduces the workload (and learning curve) required to build diagrams that communicate effectively. For presentations, the user should use the zoom control to provide a readable font size for presentation. See also the "Presentation Mode" and "mouse control Window Scrolling" features.
After using a tool ("single line" for example), the tool selection is canceled, forcing the user to re-select the tool for multiple operations. How can I retain the tool selection until another tool is selected or the current tool is canceled?
Go through the Menu sequence Tools | Preferences | uncheck “Automatically select ‘Pointer’ tool after dropping any item from the toolbox." You will love using this when you have to create many arrows one after another. Note that there is a “Pointer” tool at the top of the toolbox that makes it easy in this mode to quit drawing things and return to selecting things.
What does the Auto-numbering functionality do?
TLT provides every distinct entity with a unique label (alphanumeric portion followed by an integer) that can be generated automatically or modified to suit your style. Auto-numbering makes it easier for you and prevents mistakes. You can always pick a number of your choice. If it collides with an existing entity, a prompt will allow you easily swap their numbers.
Is there a way to export all of the text of a WorkBook?
TLT has the ability to automatically create a glossary containing the label and content of every entity in a WorkBook. There is even a field for you to put a “story” behind each entity. TLT has an option to save current WorkBook to a disk in a comma separated .csv format (This format is particularly helpful when one tries to open the file in Microsoft Excel). Use menu sequence "File | Export CSV" to open an explorer window for selection of the directory and filename under which to save the current WorkBook in .csv format. When imported to Excel, commas in the main Text or in the "Story" will cause Excel to begin a new column. This feature is very helpful for sending information for project management and scheduling.
Is TLT a full-featured drawing application?
TLT is tailored to the thinking processes and is also great for flowcharting and similar applications. It is not intended to be a general purpose drawing program and it is certainly not a word processor. Features such as font control and color control are not available in the current version.
How do I make a CIRCLE?
Use the ellipse icon, but simply hold down the Shift key while resizing an ellipse via a green handle and it becomes a perfect resizable circle.. Shift + Resize works on most icons - rectangles (many of the icons), bowties, hexagons, and octagons become "square" or symmetrical via this same shortcut.
Sometimes I move part of a figure with Bezier curves in it and find that the arrowheads are slightly off. How do I fix that?
Refresh the screen (hit function key F5).
Does TLT have a spell-checker?
TLT does not currently have a spell-checker built in. One work-around is to generate the Glossary (with just a few clicks), export it as .htm or copy it to a Word Processor and spell-check there. If one is a good speller, this will give peace of mind. If one is a bad speller, making the changes will take some time (but use the Document Explorer to easily edit a long list of entities)!
How do I change the font size?
It is important to realize that TLT uses a fixed font that facilitates quick diagram creation and maximizes the utilization of each page while keeping the output readable. One easily runs out of space in a standard size WorkSheet, which is why TLT allows the user to created a "tiled" WorkSheet of any size using any number of pages in width and height. Mouse wheel scrolling and zooming are particularly handy shortcuts for working with large format diagrams. TLT's print capabilities allow the tiling of standard size paper to create large posters of complex trees.
What about Metric units?
To work in centimeters, first go to the Diagrams | Workspace Settings | General and select Centimeters. Then go to Diagrams | Workspace Settings | Default Workspace Settings and select "Metric Ruler" so that all future WorkSheets will be in Metric. One can similarly change the setting for each WorkSheet individually if existing WorkSheets must be converted. Then subsequent manipulation of the Workspace via Diagrams | Workspace Settings reflects the appropriate metric units. From V1.0 on, paper size A4 is one of the standard sizes.
Can TLT documents be transferred to Acrobat .PDF files?
Yes, if you have Adobe Acrobat software with “write” capability, it creates a .pdf PRINTER on your printer menu. Simply use the Print command in TLT and select the “ADOBE PDF” printer.