How to Insert "Tables" (Columns) and Tabs Spaces in Legacy’s Notes
The inability to insert tables in Legacy's Notes is frustrating to many users who wish to put data in neatly aligned columns or tables. There are some "work arounds" which, although not elegant, are functional and relatively simple to do once you understand a few principles.
Embedding Tabs in Notes
Tabs can be useful in organizing data in a neatly spaced tabular format. There are a couple of different ways to insert a tab character.
1. Press Ctrl-Tab on the key board. This is the easiest way.
2. The code «tab» can also be embedded tabs using the Special Character screen in Legacy. The keyboard strokes for the character « are Alt-0171 and the strokes for » are Alt-0187.
3. Copy and paste «tab» wherever needed. Legacy's Notes screens do not have a Copy or Paste feature, so use the keyboard strokes Ctrl-C to copy and the keyboard strokes Ctrl-V to paste.
By the way, when entering information in tabular format in Notes, make sure that the Notes screen is opened to its optimal (default) size. In addition, zooming the font size in Notes to make the text larger (easier to read) or smaller (to display more information on a line) will change how embedded tabs align information in tabular "columns." The screen shot below shows the Notes screen displaying data in tabular format.
The following screen shot shows how the tabular "columns" appear in a report.
Problems
Sometimes when you print a report, the "columns" created with tabs won't align precisely because not all characters have the same width (depends on the font). In a situation like this, a suitable font must be selected
for both Notes screens and Reports. The best font for the job is Courier
New. One major drawback is that the fonts used in the Notes screen will
probably not be the font that is used in the rest of the report.
Background
“Courier
is a monospaced slab serif typeface designed to resemble the output
from a strike-on typewriter.... The design of the original Courier New
typeface was commissioned in the 1950s by IBM for use in typewriters...
and it soon became a standard font used throughout the typewriter
industry. As a monospaced font, it has recently found renewed use in the
electronic world in situations where columns of characters must be
consistently aligned.” [Source: Wikipedia, Courier (typeface), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courier_(font)]
Changing Fonts in Legacy
1. To change Legacy's font settings, click on Options on the menu bar and select Customize.
2.
Next click on 10. Fonts and change both the Screen Fonts and Master
Report Fonts for Notes to Courier New (the default font sizes should be
left as they are).
3. Click the Save button in the lower left corner of the Fonts screen to exit.
4. Click the Help button if you need further guidance.
