Contents

InfView Ver 1.0
(c) 1993 Dean Software Design

Overview
Loading InfView
Closing InfView
Executing a File
How to stop InfView during a Long Read

Register This Program


InfView Overview

InfView is a general purpose Windows file Viewer that works with Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT and the OS/2 Windows environment.

InfView allows you to view files in their true "Ascii" format as well as in a Hex/Ascii format similar to Dos Debug.

Unlike other file viewers, InfView has NO practical file size limit; the only limit is set by Windows providing memory to InfView to read and hold the file.  InfView reads the entire file into its Window so that displaying, searching and scrolling are instantaneous.  The only time a file is re-read is when you switch viewing modes (hex / ascii).

InfView will do string searches in Ascii View or string, hex or offset searches in the Hex View.  There is a one step Repeat Search menu item and keystroke to ease repeated searches through files.

InfView has a utility that will attempt to identify files based on either internal identifiers or on the file's extension.  Currently 50 different file types can be identified.

There is a menu option to execute the file that is being viewed.  If the file being viewed is a Dos or Windows program or Library, InfView will load and run that file, otherwise InfView will attempt to identify the file and then will attempt to load the application that uses that file.  In other words, if you are viewing ABC.WRD the Execute command will load Word for Windows with ABC.WRD already loaded.

Though InfView was written for "Informer" - The Windows Personal Information Manager, it can be easily be used with Windows File Manager and other Windows utilities to ease file viewing operations.

InfView will become an invaluable tool, so please register it and pass it on to colleagues and friends.


Loading InfView

InfView can be loaded:
- As an Icon from a Program Manager group.
- From the RUN feature of Program Manager or other Windows Shell programs.
- From Windows File Manager or other File Management utilities.

If you have added InfView to a group within Program Manager (or other shells) you can load InfView by Clicking on the Icon.  This will cause InfView to load with no file in its buffer.

If you use the RUN facility within Program Manager (or other shells) you can load InfView with no files in its buffer by simply typing "INFVIEW" and pressing ENTER, or you can enter a file name as a parameter to be passed to InfView, ie:  "INFVIEW  A.TXT" will load InfView with the file A.TXT loaded within its buffer and ready to view.

Your final option for loading InfView is to have it automatically load with a file that is selected by Windows File Manager or other File Management utilities.  Windows File Manager maintains a table of file extensions and programs in the WIN.INI file under the "Extensions" heading.  If you want InfView to load every time a file with the extension of "TXT" is selected by File Manager, you would add a line to WIN.INI - Extensions showing: "txt=INFVIEW.EXE ^.txt".  For more information see the section on File Manager in your Windows manuals.

Other File Management utilities have similar options to load file viewers - however you should consult the documentation in order to determine the steps required in order to have InfView load automatically.

The "Informer" File Manager for which InfView was written has an option in SETUP to specify the file viewer.


Closing InfView

You can close InfView by selecting the "Close" option from the System Menu or you can double click your mouse on the System Menu indicator at the top left corner of the InfView Window.

When you execute a file using the "Execute" menu option, InfView automatically shuts down after the file is loaded.


Executing a File

Many times you will find yourself viewing a file and then wanting to execute it.  InfView provides a function that will execute many of the files that you will be viewing.

If the file you are viewing is an "EXE" "COM" "BAT" or "DLL" file, the "Execute" menu option will cause the file to be loaded and run.  This includes Dos executables and Dos Batch files.

For any other type of file, InfView will search the "Extensions" table in your WIN.INI file looking for an application that matches the extension of the file you are viewing.  If an entry is found InfView will load the application and will pass the name of the file you are viewing to the application to load.

Caution with Dos Batch Files:  Dos Batch files will execute, however unless they require user input, control will immediately be returned to Windows, in fact you will probably only see your screen flash as an indication that the batch file has run.  Any "Pause" or user input statements or program execution statements in the Batch file will continue and complete before returning control to Windows.

InfView automatically closes when it successfully "Executes" a file.


How to Stop InfView During a Long Read

When InfView is reading a large file, Windows must continually provide it with sufficient memory in order to put the entire file in memory and in the list box on your screen.

Depending on your system and on the amount of available memory and the size of your Windows swap file, you may find that InfView slows down reading large files (2 megabytes or so...) in Ascii View mode.  However, in Hex View mode, each 16 bytes of disk file requires 80bytes of "viewing space" due to the fact that the Offset, Hex code and Ascii code are all displayed on the screen.  In other words a 1.3meg file would require 6.5meg of Windows memory to load and view.

An indication of a slowdown due to Windows is the "Reading File : xx% complete" indicator that is at the top of the InfView window while the file is being read.  The percent complete will take several seconds to increment or may stop altogether while your disk shows activity.

You will probably not encounter this problem on systems with more than 4megs of memory and this problem will not happen on Windows NT or OS/2 systems.

Why does this happen?  Windows is trying to swap the contents of its memory to disk in order to provide InfView with the memory it requires.

What can I do? If you have to view an extremely large file, before running InfView on that file, shut down as many Windows applications as you can and unload any modules and Windows resident libraries.

How do I stop InfView?  If InfView gets bogged down during a read, there is really only one way to abort the process, do a CTRL-ALT-DEL and select the option to "Terminate a task that is not responding" - usually by pressing ENTER.  This will terminate InfView, free the Memory that InfView was requesting and then return you to Windows.


Register this Program

This version of InfView is Unregistered.  You may use this program without restriction, however we expect that if you like InfView that you will register the program with the authors.

To Register send a cheque or money order for $6.99 to:

Dean Software Design
P.O. Box 23311
Everett, WA 98203-0331

Your registration will entitle you to:

1. A registered copy of the latest version of InfView.
2. Fully operational <unregistered> versions of InfNet and InfSpy.
3. A fully operational <unregistered> copy of Informer - The Personal Information Manager for Windows.
4. Support.

Please specify the diskette media you prefer and allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

Do you have any questions or comments? Send us an EMail on CompuServe address 75240,65.  We will promptly get back to you!