1.2 - Windows - Noun Summary Window
The Noun Summary Window has three uses:
1) Provides a summary of the selected noun.
2) Allows you to edit the selected noun.
3) Provides clickable links for email, web sites and files.
The Noun Summary Window displays information about the noun that is selected in the Nouns List of the Model Window.
Power-User Tip: If a Custom Column View Window is in front, the Nouns Summary Window displays information about the noun that is selected in the View Items List.
1) A Summary of the Selected Noun
The Noun Summary Window provides a quick summary of the noun that is selected in the Nouns List of the Model Window.
This feature is most useful for organization and person nouns. In these cases, the Summary Window shows the name, address, phone numbers, email address and web site of the selected noun.
Power-User Tip: First, click the Summary Window once to make sure it's the frontmost window. Then hit control-c or choose "Copy" from the Edit Menu in MindModel. MindModel will put the contents of the main area of the Summary Window in the Windows clipboard. From there, you can paste it into any type of document.
Novice MindModel users may want to skip the section on customizing the Noun Summary Window, and go directly to the "2) Edit the Selected Noun" section below.
How to Customize the Summary of the Selected Noun
By default, the Noun Summary Window displays a simple summary of the selected noun. For some noun types, the summary consists of the noun name only. For people and organizations, the summary looks like a mailing label (with name, address, etc.) and also contains phone numbers, email address, etc.
If you choose to, you can customize the Noun Summary Window to display the information you specify whenever a noun is selected in the Nouns List.
To do so, first you need to create a Summary Window Template.
Summary Window Templates are XML Templates that you add to the Noun Summary Window.
To learn how to create a Summary Window Template, refer to the section: Key Concepts: XML Template.
Once you've created an XML Template, click the black triangle in the upper left-hand corner of the Noun Summary Window.
When you click the black triangle, MindModel displays a menu that looks like this:
The actual menu items will depend on the noun type of the selected noun, and the XML Templates that have been added for that noun type.
In our example, the selected noun is "Kent Ortiz", a person, so the selected noun type is "person".
One XML Template, named "employee summary", has been added for people.
The check mark next to "(no summary window template)" indicates that no XML Template is selected for people. The "employee summary" template has been added to the model, but the template is not currently in use.
To add a Summary Window Template to the model, choose "Add a Summary Window Template for People" from the menu.
When you choose the menu item, MindModel displays the following dialog.
The Load XML Template Dialog
You can copy and paste your XML Template into this dialog, or you can click the "Load Template" button to load the XML Template from a file.
The "Clear" button clears the dialog.
If you want to cancel the command, click "Cancel".
If you've loaded an XML Template into the dialog, and you want to assign that template to the "people" noun type, click "OK".
MindModel will add the XML Template to the model, and select it as the current template for people.
The next time you click the black triangle to display the menu, you'll see a check mark next to the name of your newly-added template.
To select a different XML Template, choose the template name from the menu.
To choose not to use an XML Template to customize the Noun Summary Window, choose "(no summary window template)" from the menu.
In our example, we added an XML Template for people. In your models, you can add XML Templates for any noun type.
To add an XML Template for a noun type, first select a noun of that type in the Nouns List of the Model Window.
So, for example, to add an XML Template for organizations, select an organization in the Nouns List.
There is one button at the bottom of the Noun Summary Window. This button contains the name of the selected noun. So if the selected noun is a person named "Kent Ortiz" this button will be labeled "Edit Kent Ortiz".
Clicking this button brings up the Add/Edit Noun Form, which allows you to edit information about the selected noun.
For organization and person nouns, this form allows you to enter or edit name, address and contact info.
For other types of nouns, this form allows you to edit the name of the noun. For example, you could change the spelling of the food noun "catsup" to "ketchup". When you change the name of a noun, MindModel updates all the statements related to that noun to show the new name.
How to Customize the Form Used for Editing the Selected Noun
By default, the Edit Noun button in the Noun Summary Window brings up a standard form for the selected noun's noun type.
If you choose to, you can create your own form, then assign it to the noun type, so it is used when adding or editing nouns.
To learn how to create your own form, refer to the section: File Menu: Import Custom Column View Template from Excel.
Custom Column View Templates (CCVT's) are used to customize the Custom Column View Window, but they are also used to create forms for data entry.
To learn how to assign your CCVT to the noun type, refer to the section: Feature Guide: Noun Types Window: How do I create customized forms?
Below the Edit button in the Noun Summary Window, MindModel will sometimes display clickable links.
If the selected noun (usually an organization or a person) has an email address, MindModel will display a clickable link showing that email address. In the picture above, there is a clickable link to the email address "kortiz@nospam.com" in the Noun Summary Window. Clicking this link opens a new email, addressed to the email address in the link.
If the selected noun has a web page or web site, MindModel will display a clickable link to that web page or web site. Clicking this link opens a web browser and goes to the specified web page or web site.
Adding Pictures to Your Models
If the selected noun has a file path, MindModel will display a clickable link to that file. Clicking this link will open the file. This feature works with pictures, text files, or files of any type. To add a file path to a noun, add a statement of the type "noun <has the file path> file path".
For more information on adding clickable links to files (including picture files), refer to the section: Advanced Q&A: linking pictures to nouns.
Feel free to contact us if you'd like help with this or any other MindModel feature.