How to pop up Pro with a specific layout

Summary

Usually when QAS Pro is popped up it automatically selects the Default layout.

This can be changed so that QAS Pro will pop up and automatically select the appropriate layout for the underlying application. For example it can be configured to automatically select a ‘Word’ layout when it is popped up from Microsoft Word.

This is called Dynamic Configuration.

In order to dynamically configure QAS Pro we name the layout after the name of the application as it appears in the title bar of the application window:

Solution

1. Click on the Configuration Editor icon in the QAS Pro program group to run the Configuration Editor.

The Layout Manager lists the layouts available for each address database enabling you to create new layouts and alter existing ones. Each address database has a default layout associated with it. You can modify this layout however it is recommended that you leave it intact and create a new layout if you want different settings.

You can also create more than one layout, which would be necessary if you want to paste addresses into multiple applications that require different address formats.

2. To view the Layout Manager, click on the Layout Manager button on the toolbar. Alternatively, you can select ‘Layout Manager’ from the View menu.

3. Creating a New Layout: If you don’t want to use the settings in the Default layout, you can create a completely new one. If you wish, you can create an application-specific layout, which means that when you pop up Pro, it will detect the application that you are using and use the layout that you have set up for that application. In this case, you must use the name of the application as your layout name.

The example in this section creates a specific layout for Microsoft Word for United Kingdom data. To create this layout:

1. Double-click on United Kingdom in the left hand pane of the Layout Manager window to expand the list of current layouts. Click on Default to highlight it.

2. Click on the New layout button. Alternatively, click on Layout and select New from the menu that drops down. A new layout appears at the bottom of the layout list.

3. Type *Microsoft Word and press Enter. The asterisk that appears before the layout name is a wildcard. Pro will detect when “Microsoft Word” is anywhere in the title bar of your underlying application and pop up with this layout. This means that Pro would also use this layout if WordPad were your underlying application.

4. Type a suitable comment for the layout in the Comment box under ‘Layout Properties’. The new layout has the same settings as Default.

5. To change the address settings use the Address Format window. To view this window expand your new layout by clicking on the + next to the layout name. Using Address format, DataPlus and Pasting you can set up the configuration as required.

6. Once the layout is configured save all changes using the File menu or the floppy disk icon on the menu toolbar.

7. Restart QAS Pro and test your new layout has been correctly configured.