SEMAPHORE - quick response letters and emails (freeware)
Do you sometimes find you need to send a standard reply to people, or the same answer to a request? Semaphore enables you to store text responses and quickly print letters or send emails without having to type it again.
semaphoreinstall.exe (1.52 MB)
Screenshots
Overview
The purpose of Semaphore is to provide the user with the ability to create Template Letters (Form Letters). Instead of having to type out letters in reply to clients, which all read the same except for a few small details, with Semaphore you can set the "fixed" text and define the "variable" text. While Semaphore comes with several sample letters to help you, you can freely create your own templates for any purpose. You can print them out onto the Internal Letterhead (fully designable), print them onto your existing letterhead, or send the letter as an email through your Standard Email Client.
Requirements
First Start
The first time you run Semaphore, you will be asked if you use A4 or US paper. It is important to select the correct size as this cannot be changed later. If you do select the wrong one, you will need to uninstall the whole program then reinstall it again. This question is only asked once after installation, and does require a choice - canceling will not allow the program to run and you will be asked again on next run until you choose.
Using Existing Templates and ones you create
When a template is created you have a choice of whether to embed variables in it or not. Double-click a letter template on the main list and a dialog will appear asking you for the following information...
Name and address of person to whom you are sending the letter (this will appear in the top left of the printed letter).
Input boxes for all variables that have been used in this letter.
For example, the first sample template uses the variables "DEAR" and "ORDERNUM". the text you enter in DEAR will be inserted after the word "Dear..." in the final letter. So enter "Mr Jones" and it will come out as "Dear Mr Jones". The ORDERNUM variable also works in the same way further in template to refer to an order number which will differ with each print, so needs to be manually entered.
If you need to see how these work in the templates, you can open each one for editing to see where the variables are inserted in the template.
To see the final letter before printing, click PROCEED, which will then open the PRINT PREVIEW dialog. The PREVIEW has the actual PRINT button at the bottom. Exception- if the template is of type EMAIL then the resulting text is opened as a different type of preview which then requires entry of the email address you are sending to and the subject line. You then click the SEND button.
Once you get accustomed to using Semaphore you will find that it is a lot easier than it sounds, and most of the functions are intuitive.
semaphoreinstall.exe (1.52 MB)
Screenshots
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Overview
The purpose of Semaphore is to provide the user with the ability to create Template Letters (Form Letters). Instead of having to type out letters in reply to clients, which all read the same except for a few small details, with Semaphore you can set the "fixed" text and define the "variable" text. While Semaphore comes with several sample letters to help you, you can freely create your own templates for any purpose. You can print them out onto the Internal Letterhead (fully designable), print them onto your existing letterhead, or send the letter as an email through your Standard Email Client.
Requirements
- A computer running Windows 2000, or XP or greater.
- A screen resolution of 800x600 or greater.
- A printer - as good quality as you can get, preferably colour.
- An email account set up with an Email Client such as Outlook Express (if you want to send emails).
- The ability to type, and some knowledge of writing letters if you wish for professionality.
First Start
The first time you run Semaphore, you will be asked if you use A4 or US paper. It is important to select the correct size as this cannot be changed later. If you do select the wrong one, you will need to uninstall the whole program then reinstall it again. This question is only asked once after installation, and does require a choice - canceling will not allow the program to run and you will be asked again on next run until you choose.
Using Existing Templates and ones you create
When a template is created you have a choice of whether to embed variables in it or not. Double-click a letter template on the main list and a dialog will appear asking you for the following information...
Name and address of person to whom you are sending the letter (this will appear in the top left of the printed letter).
Input boxes for all variables that have been used in this letter.
For example, the first sample template uses the variables "DEAR" and "ORDERNUM". the text you enter in DEAR will be inserted after the word "Dear..." in the final letter. So enter "Mr Jones" and it will come out as "Dear Mr Jones". The ORDERNUM variable also works in the same way further in template to refer to an order number which will differ with each print, so needs to be manually entered.
If you need to see how these work in the templates, you can open each one for editing to see where the variables are inserted in the template.
To see the final letter before printing, click PROCEED, which will then open the PRINT PREVIEW dialog. The PREVIEW has the actual PRINT button at the bottom. Exception- if the template is of type EMAIL then the resulting text is opened as a different type of preview which then requires entry of the email address you are sending to and the subject line. You then click the SEND button.
Once you get accustomed to using Semaphore you will find that it is a lot easier than it sounds, and most of the functions are intuitive.
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