Why are there so many sections of the product? How do I know which one to use? Why are there so many places to put
passwords? Which one is being used?
The product is divided into several areas:
- Intermixed (for working in a single text area that can have
interspersed non-scrambled and scrambled sections). This most often applies to email attachments
or to Word © documents saved as rich text files (.rtf), where a written
document has been produced and is being saved or sent and certain sections have
been scrambled because they are sensitive.
This is typically a more formal communication area.
- Separate (for working in two distinct text areas, one containing
only non-scrambled data; the other containing only a single scrambled
section.) This typically arises in
situations like Messenger © chat sessions.
You type a message to a recipient.
You scramble that particular message.
You send it scrambled. The
recipient receives that one message as a single scrambled section. So, as you send messages, you compose each
one you want to scramble in the non-scrambled text area, you scramble the
entire message into the other text area (where it appears as single scrambled
section), and then you send that scrambled section to the recipient. As you are chatting, if the recipient sends a
scrambled section to you, you reverse the process. So having the two text areas available at once
and being able to quickly scramble or unscramble in one location becomes convenient. This is typically a less formal communication
area.
- Each of those two areas is further sub-divided into whether the
non-scrambled data is rich text (differing formats, fonts, colors) or plain
text (no change in formatting).
- For each of those four areas there is a help panel and a
settings/tools panel. And there is a
general help panel and a general settings/tools panel in the lowest-level row
of tabs.
- The intermixed area must have one tab for scrambling and a
different tab for unscrambling since they are distinct processes. That is, you will be trying to decode a
document you received that has interspersed non-scrambled and scrambled
sections or you will take a non-scrambled document you produced and selectively
highlight certain sensitive sections and scramble them. Hence you typically are not working with
scrambling and unscrambling at the same time.
(If you do want to do both scrambling and unscrambling on the same
document you can, but you have to choose which you are doing at that moment by
selecting the appropriate scrambling or unscrambling tab.)
- In each of the four major areas (intermixed – rich text,
intermixed – plain text, separate – rich text, separate – plain text), there is
a row of tabs dealing with copying text to and from the text area(s), the
system clipboard, and files.
- So the lowest row of tabs is the available general options: help, settings/tools, intermixed, separate.
- The next lowest row appears whenever you choose either intermixed
or separate and would then be the options for that choice. Each of those has its own help,
settings/tools, rich text, plain text tabs.
If you choose intermixed, then the help tab in the second row from the
bottom would be the help for the intermixed area. Similarly for the other three tabs on that
row.
- A third row appears if you choose rich text or plain text. That third row is the options for that
selection. If you chose intermixed and
then rich text, that third row (counting from the bottom) would be the options
for working in the intermixed – rich text area.
The third row contains its own help, settings/tools, copy, and
scramble/unscramble tabs. If you choose
intermixed in the first row, there will be a different tab for scramble and
unscramble. If you choose separate in the
first row, there will be a single tab for both, abbreviated scram/unscram.
- In any of the four major sections (intermixed – rich text,
intermixed – plain text, separate – rich text, separate – plain text), a fourth
row will appear at the top if you choose copy.
That copy row would then apply to that specific area of the
application. It contains its own help,
settings/tools, copy from text area, copy from clipboard, and copy from file
tabs.
So, if I wanted to check the settings in effect for the intermixed
– rich text area, I would first look at the settings/tools tab in the lowest
level since those apply to the entire application. Then I would choose the intermixed tab and
select its settings/tools tab in the row above it (the second row from the bottom). Those settings apply in the intermixed area
so they most certainly apply in the intermixed – rich text area. Finally I would choose the rich text tab in
the second row (having already chosen the intermixed tab in the lowest row) and
choose its settings/tools (in the top row which is the third row).
The exact same thought process applies to figuring out how to
obtain specific help or copy assistance for the area you are working in.
Now for how the passwords fit into this scheme:
- In the general settings/tools, you can place a scrambling
password, a scrambling password hint, and an unscrambling password. These will apply to the entire application.
- The password you supplied to log-in is not used for scrambling or
unscrambling except in that personal free-form area in the general
settings/tools.
- The unscramble password in the general/settings panel will always
be tried in any unscrambling operation anywhere in the application.
- The scrambling password and its optional hint in the general
settings/tools panel will only be used for scrambling if no other password has
been supplied down the line (that will be explained later).
- Many people use the exact same scrambling password all the time,
so they place that password in the general settings/tools panel and they always
leave all other scrambling passwords blank.
- Many people place their single scrambling password in the
unscrambling password box in the general settings/tools area as well. Then they can scramble and unscramble their
own text any time they want since they always use the same password for
scrambling and that same password is entered in the general unscrambling
password box.
- Now, as explained before, the intermixed area is typically for
more formal communications and the separate area is typically for less formal
communications. Many people choose to
create a different password for scrambling in those two situations. So a scrambling password and its optional
hint can be placed in each of the settings/tools panels for the intermixed and
the separate areas. For instance, if you
place a scrambling password in the general area, and a different scrambling
password in the intermixed area, and leave the scrambling password blank in the
separate area, the following occurs (if you don’t provide yet another override
password to be explained later…): Any
scrambling in the intermixed – rich text or intermixed – plain text area will
use the scrambling password and optional hint from the intermixed – settings/tools
panel. Any scrambling in the separate –
rich text or separate – plain text area will use the scrambling password and
optional hint from the general settings/tools panel (since no password was
supplied in the separate – settings/tools panel).
- Each of the four major areas (intermixed – rich text, intermixed
– plain text, separate – rich text, separate – plain text) has its own
scrambling and unscrambling panels.
Those panels also allow the entry of a scrambling password and hint and
an unscrambling password. If you put a
password in that panel (like in the intermixed – rich text – scramble panel),
it, along with its hint will be used for that particular scrambling, overriding
any lower-level scrambling passwords and hints.
Most users always leave that scrambling password blank. However, if someone tells you to use a
particular password at a particular moment (different from your normal
scrambling password), you can place it in that panel and it will be used. Just be sure to remove it from that panel
after you no longer need it or it will be used every time you scramble in that
area of the application. So this means
you could actually set up four “permanent” scrambling passwords in each of the
four areas (intermixed – rich text, intermixed – plain text, separate – rich
text, separate – plain text) by entering them in those four areas and leaving
them there.
- If you place an unscrambling password in any of the four major
areas’ panels (intermixed – rich text, intermixed – plain text, separate – rich
text, separate – plain text), that password is tried for unscrambling in
addition to those in the lower levels.
So unscrambling passwords do not override each other, they are simply
all tried in an attempt to unscramble.
Thus if you are in the intermixed – rich text area, up to three unscrambling
passwords (if supplied) will each be used in an attempt to unscramble: the one
in the intermixed – rich text – unscramble panel, the one in the intermixed –
settings/tools panel, and the one in the general settings/tools panel. Any unscrambling password not in its line of
vision will not be used (like the one you may have entered in the separate –
settings/tools panel for instance).
Unscrambling passwords have two more twists:
- In the intermixed – settings/tools panel and in the separate –
settings/tools panel, instead of entering unscramble passwords you are allowed
to set up a list of senders. You receive
scrambled text from someone. You go into
either of those panels and you add them to your senders’ list, and store their
scrambling password (that you would need for unscrambling) there. As you receive scrambled data from someone,
if they are on your list and are using the same scrambling password as before,
you simply select them from the drop-down and their scrambling password (that
you stored earlier) is used for your unscrambling. There is only one such list of senders and
their scrambling passwords. It appears
in both the intermixed – settings/tools and the separate – settings/tools
panels. However, as explained before,
you often work with different people in the more formal intermixed area than in
the less formal separate area. So you
are allowed to select a different sender in each of those areas. So if you are in the intermixed – rich text
area and are working with a document sent by someone, choose that sender in the
intermixed – settings/tools panel.
- In the intermixed area, you may have received a document where
someone scrambled several different sections and they used a different password
for each section. You can choose “prompt
for a new password at each section” in the unscramble panel. As each scrambled section is located and
presented for unscrambling, you will be asked to enter the password for that
section. That password will be tried in
addition to the other three that may be in direct line (so up to four passwords
are sent in an attempt to unscramble in that situation). (However, you must enter a password for that
section or the operation will stop since it will appear like you have pressed
“Cancel”. So if one of the sections
actually needs one of the passwords you already have like the unscramble
password you placed in the general settings/tools panel, simply put anything
except a blank in that particular password prompt and it should unscramble…)
Note that in the general settings/tool panel (in the lowest row of
tabs) you can get a report of all your passwords and can see how they interact
with each other. Simply press “Report Of All Current Passwords” (you must be
logged-in to get this report…).