Notes Edit

Macros: Notes, NotesTop, NotesEnd, NotesDlg

The Notes edit window is at the bottom of the Daqarta window. You can enter notes here at any time. They will be saved with .DQA files, and will appear here when you later open the file for viewing.

Notes can be up to 2047 characters long, including Enter keys for new lines. You can use the scroll bars to see lower lines.

You can use CTRL+Tab to move to the next tab stop, spaced every 4 characters. (The Tab key alone will exit the Notes field and move to the next item on the screen.)

You can use CTRL+ALT+D to enter the current date, or CTRL+ALT+T to enter the current time. The Edit Date/Time Preferences menu allows you to specify the date or time format, and whether UTC time or local time will be used. (You can also enter date or time via macros... see the Macro Notes below.)

Since most Daqarta edit controls are for entering values, you can conclude an entry in them just by hitting Enter. That won't work here, since an Enter is used to start a new line. Instead, you can use the Tab key to move to the next control, or just click on another control. Alternatively, the little Notes button next to the edit window changes to 'OK' as soon as you start an entry, and you can click that to end an entry (which will change it back to 'Notes').

If you click the Notes button instead of just starting to type in the Notes window, it will pop up a larger copy of the Notes window in its own dialog, which can be positioned as desired. This is especially useful with 640x480 screens, which will cut off most of the normal Notes window. It may also be useful with higher screen resolutions, if you have multiple windows open. You can conclude entry in this pop-up Notes dialog by clicking on its OK button, or the OK button next to the main Notes.

You can also toggle the Notes dialog open or closed via ALT+SHIFT+N.

Macro Notes:

NotesDlg=1 opens the Notes dialog, NotesDlg=0 closes it, and NotesDlg=x toggles between open and closed. You do not need to open the dialog to enter Notes text via macro command.

Notes="Notes Test Message" replaces the current Notes with the text enclosed in quotes.

NotesBot=" with extension." appends the quoted text to the current Notes.

NotesTop="This is a " inserts the quoted text at the start of the current Notes.

Thus, if you use the above examples in the order presented, the final Notes will read " This is a Notes Test Message with extension."

Multiple lines may be included in the command text, surrounded by a single pair of quotes, and the lines will likewise appear in the resulting Notes. For example:

• Notes="This is Line 1.
• This is Line 2.
• This is Line 3."

will result in:

• This is Line 1.
• This is Line 2.
• This is Line 3.

So if you want to add a new line of text to the current Notes, use something like:

• NotesEnd="
• This is a new line of text."

When Notes are entered manually, trailing spaces are trimmed. But they are retained when included within the quotes of a Notes command, to allow for easier control of spacing when using NotesEnd.

Special Time/Date Options:

You can use macros to enter the current local or UTC time or date into Notes, using Notes, NotesTop, or NotesEnd. Using NotesEnd as an example:

NotesEnd=>t appends the local time to Notes.

NotesEnd=>d appends the local date.

NotesEnd=>T appends the UTC time.

NotesEnd=>D appends the UTC date.

You must not use quotes or any other text with the time or date commands. Use NotesTop or NotesEnd to add surrounding text:

• Notes="Test Started at "
• NotesEnd=>t
• NotesEnd=" on "
• NotesEnd=>d