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March 22nd, 2005

Closing Documents

The following tip explains two ways to close documents that you may not currently be aware of.   Warning... I use these features so much, that I find myself wishing that every application would behave this way!!!

The first is "Right double-click closes window", which must be enabled before you can use it.  To do this go to File - Preferences - User Preferences.  On the Basics tab, in the selection box in the middle of the screen, you will see "Right double-click closes window".  Place a checkmark next to it, then click OK at the bottom of the screen.  You will need to restart Lotus Notes before you can use this feature.

Image:Closing Documents

With this enabled, whenever your mouse is hovering anywhere over an open document, and you click your right (secondary) mouse button twice, Notes will close the document.   If the document was in read mode it will simply close, but if you were editing the document (and changes are pending), you will be prompted to save, such as:

Image:Closing Documents

So what if you are a keyboard junkie, and don't want to reach for the mouse?   Well, the second method for closing documents is to press the Escape key on your keyboard.  It is usually labelled "Esc" and is located at the top left corner of your keyboard.

Similar to "right double-click", pressing Esc closes the document, prompting it you were editing it.   One of the most common uses for this is when sending an email.   When you press Esc Notes attempts to close the email and prompts you for what action to take...

Image:Closing Documents

You can either press one of the buttons shown above, or you can press the keyboard equivalent.  For example, pressing Esc + s will Send and Save, Esc + e will Send Only, and Esc + d will close the email without sending or saving.

If you press Esc twice, it is like selecting Cancel.  So if you are editing a document and press Esc, it will prompt you to save (if changes are pending) and if you press Esc again, Notes will cancel the Save dialog box, returning you to the document as is, allowing you to continue editing.

If you press Shift + Esc, Notes will close and save current the document (except for mail memo) without opening the Close dialog box.   It you are in a mail memo it will send and close mail memo.

Esc also closes items such as Notes Help, the Properties Box, the Select Address dialog, date/time controls, etc.

Image:Closing DocumentsImage:Closing Documents Image:Closing Documents

As I mentioned at the start, I find myself wishing these features were standard for all applications.  I can't tell you how many times I right-double click while web browsing, viewing photos, etc.

I hope this tips helps...