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| Gliffy | ||
|---|---|---|
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Text typed into column A behaves as if it is on the bottom layer, which is 72 characters wide; it will 'show through' the other layers, unless they contain text or expressions in the same row.
Text typed into column F behaves as if it is on the uppermost layer, which is only 12 characters wide.
When text is typed into a text slot it will automatically wrap around to the start of the next row in the same column when the cursor reaches the right-hand margin for that column (unless wrapping has specifically been turned off).
Formatting
If justified text has been selected, from the Options Page, lines will be padded with spaces so that the right-hand margin is even. The layout of a document can be altered simply by moving the right-hand margin, and then reformatting the text paragraph by paragraph.
By giving each column a different right-hand margin, independent columns of text can be created within the same document. With a little practice you will find that PipeDream is capable of creating quite complex multi-column page layouts.
Expression slots
Expression slots, on the other hand, are used for creating tables of figures or information, often called spreadsheets. These can contain mathematical expressions, including references to other slots in the document, and scientific functions.
The main difference between expression slots and text slots is that once you have typed the expression into an expression slot, what is displayed in the document is not the expression itself, but the result of evaluating the expression. For example, if you typed 1.15 * 3 0 0 into an expression slot, the result 345 would be displayed in the document.
For spreadsheet work you can make all slots work as expression slots by default by setting the Options Page Text/Numbers setting to Numbers.
Mixing text and expressions
Text slots and expression slots can be mixed in the same document; so a letter could include a table of financial calculations automatically added together by PipeDream, or a company business plan could incorporate a spreadsheet within the descriptive text to show financial predictions.
Values from expression slots can be included within formatted text in text slots using '@-fields'. This is convenient if, for example, you want a letter to refer to the result of a particular calculation.
The examples
The concepts of rows and columns, text slots and expression slots, and formatting text, are illustrated by the following three practical examples in the use of PipeDream.