This week we’re revisiting the Align Outline Text script from LDC #41, to show how an existing script can be expanded upon to add new functionality. The original version of this script made a set of assumptions, which means it works really well for our sample test file, but there are many other cases where these assumptions are false, and the script doesn’t do anything to fix our problem. The original purpose was to examine paragraphs, try to identify the lead-in text (the “(a)”, or “1.”, or “Section 1.”, etc), and wrap it with a <FONT> tag with properties to cause it to render with a fixed width instead of relying on non-breaking spaces to make it appear spaced. Instead of looking for a very specific type of spacer, like the last script did, we can use the Word Parser in Legato to step through the lead-in word by word, examining each one, to determine how many characters appear before the first set of non-breaking spaces. This is a lot more flexible, and lets our script react better to unforseen types styles of paragraphs.

Everyone knows how to put things in alphabetical order; it’s one of the first things we learn in grade school. Well, just because it’s easy doesn’t mean we want to do it ourselves sometimes! 13-F’s Information Table, for example, would be pretty time-consuming to have to alphabetize manually. Using the SortTable function, we can sort any table quickly and easily. While there’s no SEC requirement to do so, it makes it a lot easier for readers to view if the information table is alphabetized by Issuer Name. Legato provides powerful tools to make this mundane task simple and automatic.

Last week, our support desk here at Novaworks received an interesting email regarding the spacing between ampersand characters (‘&’) and the rest of the line. This space was lost when the document was printed. Through some testing, we’ve discovered that when printing a document from Internet Explorer to PDF or a normal printer, if the first character on a line of code begins a character entity or is an ampersand then the return on the line above it will not be treated as whitespace for printing purposes but instead ignored. Take the following code for example:

There are times when it may be desirable or necessary to change GoFiler’s software key or unregister it from your system. There’s no easy way to do this through the application’s GUI. One can always uninstall the software or reinstall it to apply a different key than the one attached to the current installation, but that’s time-consuming and can destroy GoFiler preferences and settings you’d like to keep. With Legato and some batch scripting, changing the software key for a GoFiler installation or unregistering the application is simple. Note: whatever software key you apply to your installation must be valid, and a valid key can only be purchased through Novaworks. Contact the support or sales departments to inquire about the status of your software key(s) or to purchase new or additional keys.

The script for this week is going to be another request by a customer. It is a good example of how to search for patterns in HTML and replace the content matching that pattern. A common task when converting an HTML document is trying to get indented paragraphs to indent at the same level. This is especially problematic when the document contains numbered paragraphs that are not hanging (such as a legal outline.) Dealing with this case isn’t exactly trivial in HTML, as it often imports with a set number of non-breaking spaces to create the indent. Unless you’re using a monospace font, the text will not perfectly align, and the outline will not look the same for every number. The best solution is to remove the non-breaking spaces, and wrap the lead-in text (the “(a)”, or “1.”, or “Section 1.”, etc) with a inline tag, using the display type “inline-block”. This, combined with a fixed width and “nowrap” properties, allows us to add a block of space that is a fixed width into a paragraph, so our lead-in text takes up exactly the right amount of space.