Friday 7 March 2014

SmartTable Insert

A Free Document Productivity Tool for Word

This tool is one of a set that provides advanced features for adding, deleting and moving rows in Word tables. When used with SmartTable Number, they allow rapid entry of information into a table without the distraction of inefficient standard editing functions.

A full list of all the SmartTable tools can be found here.   See also SmartTable Delete



SmartTable Insert

SmartTable Insert places five empty rows below the current and positions the cursor in the first of the new rows ready for data entry.  


It handles special insert situations when inserting rows below the header and section headers, and ensures that the formats in these special rows are not copied down.







SmartTable Insert makes quick entry of content into tables a breeze.  Adding five lines at a time means that you can enter a good deal of information without having to concern yourself with  creating more space.

SmartTable Number simply removes any unused lines with a single shortcut key.




Shortcut Key Assignment

The shortcut key is:
dpSmartTableInsert: Control+Insert

 See here for instructions on assigning keys.



Inspiration 

Tables are a concise way to record information. Efficient entry of data is necessary, either because there is a lot of information to be recorded, or because you have lots of ideas to record quickly.  

The standard Word tools for adding lines are clunky at best and require at least 8 click and keystroke combinations to enter the five lines.  Using these is distracting and you can sometimes copy the wrong formats which take even more keys to correct.


I have found that five lines at a time is a sensible number to insert, but you could easily alter the code to change the number.  You don't have to use all the lines that are inserted because SmartTable Number quickly removes any unwanted lines with a single shortcut key.  


I have also found this tool useful when recording information in tables interactively during workshops.



Summary

SmartTable Insert allows me to capture quickly and I use it constantly throughout my day.  
I hope you will enjoy using it too.

The Downloads tab contains a copy of SmartTable Insert. There is more information on how it works in the release notes.




Update:

I have added functionality to improve the way that Word inserts columns. The routine now adds a modest sized column instead of the monster sized column I usually get.

See SmartTable Insert Update

2 comments:

  1. if you are using a business laptop with sys admin password approval, then i assume you can't copy across the .dotm file across to the startup file path. Tried this & couldn't select any macros to use. Am I doing something wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nick. Thanks for the comment - nice to hear from you.

    Your sysadmin may have locked down the startup folder. That happened to me at a client recently. I couldnt get to it. It is unclear if that is your problem

    To solve it at that client, I manually added the docprod code to the normal template. The first thing I did was copy the template sideways so that I could revert back.

    I then checked that I could create and save macros in normal.dot, and also create shortcuts to access them. Having done that I copied the code from the tools file and set up the macros. I then made a copy of the new normal.dot and kept it safe in case it got overwritten. Let me know if I can detail it some more.

    Basically, if you can create your own macros, you can use the tools. I could have created an add-ons, but that creates its own security problems.

    This way, you get to see the routines, see there isnt anything nasty there and its a good learning opportunity. Let me know how you get on.

    Cheers
    Martin

    ReplyDelete

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