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1994-08-19
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▄▀▀▀▀▄── ██── █─── █ █▀▀▀▀▀█▀▀▀ █▀▀▀ █── █▀▀█▀▀ │
│ █────── █─ █─ █─── █ █──── █─── █──── █ █── █── │
│ ─▀▀▄▄─ █─── █ █─── █ █▄▄── █─── █▄▄─── █─── █── │
│ ──── █ █▀▀▀▀█─ █ █─ █──── █─── █──── █ █── █── │
│ ▀▄▄▄▄▀ █─── █── ██── █▄▄▄─ █─── █▄▄▄ █── █─ █── │
│ │
│ A T E X T F I L E B R O W S E R │
│ W I T H S E L E C T A B L E S A V E R │
│ │
│ Len A. Philpot ■■ Pineville, Louisiana │
│ Copyright (c) 1994, All Rights Reserved │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Version 1.3, August 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Starting SaveText
2.1 Specifying input and output filespecs
3.0 The view screen and key commands
4.0 Details on selected key commands
4.1 Ctrl-Right arrow
4.2 Ctrl-Left arrow
4.3 Home, End
4.4 Ctrl-Home, Ctrl-End and Ctrl-PgUp, Ctrl-PgDn
4.5 G - Go to line
4.6 I - Invert tags
4.7 N and L - Find the next / last tagged line
4.8 T, Space - Tag / Untag
4.9 S - Save and clear tags
4.10 Alt-B, Alt-F - Tag all lines to/from current location
4.11 Ctrl-B, Ctrl-F - Clear all tags to/from current location
4.12 Ctrl-C - Toggle clock display
4.13 Alt-D - DOS shell
4.14 Alt-E - Eject printer page
4.15 Alt-H - Hide / show selector bar
4.16 Alt-P - Print tagged lines
4.17 Alt-Q - Toggle quiet mode
4.18 Alt-R - Toggle ruler visibility
4.19 Alt-S, Alt-A - Search & search-again for text
4.20 Alt-T - Set tab expansion
4.21 Alt-V - Video mode
4.22 Esc - Load a new file or Quit
4.23 F1 - Help
4.24 Ctrl-F10 - About SaveText
5.0 Status line display
6.0 Other miscellaneous details
6.1 Command line parameters
6.1a /N (no low ASCII)
6.1b /B (B&W video)
6.1c /Q (quiet mode)
6.1d /R (ruler at startup)
6.1e /C (clock at startup)
6.1f /I:infile (input filespec)
6.1g /O:outfile (output filespec)
6.1h /V:xx (startup video mode)
6.1i /T:x (startup tab expansion)
6.1j /PC:initstr (printer codes)
6.1k /PP:x (parallel printer port)
6.1l /?, /H, /HELP (parameter help)
6.2 STCMD environment variable
6.3 Memory
7.0 Legalities
8.0 Revision history
9.0 One final note
1.0 INTRODUCTION
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
This program was born out of necessity - as a frequent user of
computer bulletin boards (BBSs), I often download listings of the
files that are available for downloading. Since these files are
plain ASCII text files, I could view them in any editor, viewer
or word processor. However, to keep a record of the files I
wanted to download, I would have to either write the names down
manually or (if the program in use supported it), highlight and
print each individual line on my printer. Obviously, neither
method was ideal.
SaveText makes this job easy, for example -
■ View text files and tag individual lines to be saved to
another text file.
■ Extensive tagging/untagging options.
■ Incrementally save lines out of order, if desired.
■ Print tagged lines.
■ Search for text within the file; case sensitivity can be
toggled on or off; you can find and tag all matching lines or
the next match only. A search-again facility is also provided.
■ Auto-Resume lets you pick up viewing a file at the position of
your last tagged line.
■ Instantly jump to any line in the file.
■ Variable tab expansion.
■ Pop-up help.
■ View files up to 32,766 lines (up to more than 8 megabytes,
depending on contents) and navigate around them very quickly.
A special utility is provided (InHalf) to split even larger
text files into two smaller files.
■ A special utility program (UNIX2DOS) is provided to translate
UNIX-style text files to the standard MS-DOS format readable
by SaveText.
■ Another special utility (ASC2TXT) is included to convert 'high
ASCII' characters to Epson printer compatible low order
characters.
■ 25, 43 and 50 line modes (EGA & VGA video adapters only).
■ Extensive command-line control of program settings.
■ Customize SaveText through both command line parameters and the
STCMD environment variable.
For information on what's been added/changed since the last
version, check the WHATS.NEW file. Throughout the text of this
document, keys to be pressed will be surrounded by [square
brackets] while letters to be entered at the keyboard will be
surrounded by "quotation marks".
If you wish to print this file on an Epson or Epson-compatible
printer, it's recommended that you process it with ASC2TXT prior
to printing to convert the high-ASCII (line drawing) characters
into their printable counterparts. Otherwise, you'll see various
incorrect characters where the lines should be. See ASC2TXT.DOC
for further details.
2.0 STARTING SAVETEXT
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
To start SaveText, type "ST" and press [Enter]. If you intend to
view a text file that you think may contain some 'low-order'
ASCII characters such as tabs or any other characters below ASCII
32 (space), type "ST /n" instead (the case is unimportant; it can
be upper or lower). The /n parameter tells SaveText to mark those
lines that contain any low ASCII characters and filter them out
before displaying the line on the screen. More information on
command line parameters can be found below, under 6.1 Command
Line Parameters.
2.1 SPECIFYING INPUT AND OUTPUT FILESPECS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Input File
──────────
The first thing you will see is the opening screen with an input
field for the filespec to be viewed. If you know where the file
you want to view is located, you can enter a fully-qualified
filespec (including path, if necessary) in the input field. All
of the usual editing keys work here. To change drives, just type
the drive letter followed by a colon (for example, "A:") and
press Enter. If you want to quit, simply press [Esc]. If SaveText
can't find the file or (for example) the drive was not ready, it
will give an error message. If you press [F10] (or [Enter] with
no file specified) an input file requestor will appear from which
you can pick the file.
Use the [up] & [down] arrows, [PgUp], [PgDn], [Home] and [End]
keys to navigate around the requestor. As a shortcut, you can
press any letter key and the selector bar will move to the first
file or pathname starting with that letter. Pressing it again
will cycle through the remaining matches. If there isn't a match,
you will hear a beep. To the right is a display indicating your
current path, current highlighted file, it's size in bytes, it's
date and time. When you've highlighted the file you want, press
[Enter] to retrieve it. Pressing [Esc] while at the file
requestor will take you back to the previous screen.
Output File
───────────
After you choose your input file, you will then be prompted to
provide an output filespec. Once again, if you wish to save the
output file on a different drive or even in a different
subdirectory of the same drive, you'll need to provide the full
path to it. There is no file requestor available here. SaveText
will suggest an output file name consisting of the input basename
plus an extension of SAV. If you wish to change this, you can;
if not, just press [Enter]. SaveText will let you know if you've
entered an illegal filespec through an 'Invalid output filespec -
please re-enter' message. This can include a non-existent
subdirectory or drive. You will also get this error message if
you try to use the same name for both the input and output files.
If the filename is valid but already exists, SaveText will give
you the option of replacing it or appending to the end of it.
Press [R] for replace or [A] for append.
Auto-Resume
───────────
If you choose Append, you will be given the opportunity to resume
viewing your input file at the point of the last tagged line
(Auto-Resume). This is very helpful if you had to stop your
previous session before you reached the end of the file. Press
[N] if you would rather start viewing again at the first line
or any other key to resume at the last tagged line. If you
choose to re-sync, SaveText will place the last tagged line at
the top of the screen. If it can't find the correct line (if,
for example, that particular line in the SAV file had been
altered or removed), it will return to the top of the file in the
normal manner.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VERY IMPORTANT - If you choose to Replace an existing file, │
│ IT IS REPLACED AT THAT VERY POINT IN TIME. Even if you later │
│ decide not to save any lines out to that file, it has still │
│ already been replaced. In other words, you will have │
│ effectively erased the original file, so if it's important, │
│ make a backup copy first. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Note If you have a printer connected to either LPT1 or LPT2, you
can specify one of these ports as the output filename and
when you save the tagged lines, they will be printed. Just
be sure to type "LPT1" or "LPT2" exactly, or you will
create an output file on disk with a very similar name! Be
aware, however that SaveText does not actually test for the
presence nor status of a printer on either port and LPT1
and LPT2 are the only ports supported. If something isn't
right, things could get a bit interesting!
Another option is to use the Alt-P (print tagged lines)
option described below. However, if you really want to get
a printout of the lines you save, a better way is to go
ahead and save them to a file and then print that file
either by loading it into your favorite editor/word
processor or by copying the file to the printer by typing
"COPY yourfile PRN" (without quotes) and pressing [Enter].
After pressing [Enter] in response to the output file prompt,
SaveText will read in and index (as well as scan for low ASCII
characters if the /n parameter was specified) the input file.
Note If SaveText encounters an ASCII 26 character, it will abort
input at that point, since ASCII 26 is the DOS end-of-file
marker. All the lines up to that point will be viewable,
however. If you specify an input file longer than 32,766
lines, SaveText will only load that many lines and then
abort with a message on the screen as to what happened. You
can press a key to remove the message or wait a few seconds
and it will go away on it's own (most message boxes in
SaveText are like that - to remove them, press a key or
wait a few seconds and they will go away by themselves).
The next thing to come up is the file viewing screen, with a
status line at the bottom. If the file you are viewing is larger
in either width or length than what will fit on the screen at one
time, a vertical and/or horizontal scroll bar will appear at
right or bottom of the screen. These provide an approximate
indicator of relative position within the file.
3.0 THE VIEW SCREEN AND KEY COMMANDS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Most of the commands in SaveText are available through a single
keystroke. In summary, they are -
Navigation keys -
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Up arrow......... Up 1 line Down arrow........ Down 1 line
Home............. Top of screen End............... Btm of screen
Left arrow....... Pan left Right arrow....... Pan right
Ctrl-Left arrow.. Full left Ctrl-Right arrow.. Full right
PageUp........... Up 1 screen PageDn, Enter..... Down 1 screen
Ctrl-Home........ Top of file Ctrl-End.......... Bottom of file
Ctrl-PgUp........ Beginning of file Ctrl-PgDn......... End of file
N................ Next tag L................. Last tag
G................ Go to line
Other keys -
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
C................ Clear all tags
I................ Invert all tags (tagged=untagged, untagged=tagged)
S................ Save all tagged lines and clear tags
T, Spacebar...... Tag/untag line
Alt-B............ Tag all lines up to current (backward)
Alt-F............ Tag all lines from current on (forward)
Ctrl-B........... Clear all tags up to current (backward)
Ctrl-F........... Clear all tags from current on (forward)
Ctrl-C........... Toggle clock display
Alt-D............ DOS shell (type EXIT to return)
Alt-E............ Eject page from printer
Alt-H............ Hide / show selector bar
Alt-P............ Print tagged lines
Alt-Q............ Toggle Quiet mode
Alt-R............ Toggle ruler visibility
Alt-S, Alt-A..... Search & search-again for a text string
Alt-T............ Set tab expansion value
Alt-V............ Cycle 25/43/50 line mode (EGA/VGA only)
Esc.............. Load a new file or quit SaveText
4.0 DETAILS ON SELECTED KEY COMMANDS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
4.1 Ctrl-Right arrow : Full right
─────────────────────────────
By pressing this, the display will pan to the right as far as
the longest line in the file. If you don't see a line this
long on the screen, just scroll up or down - it's there
somewhere!
4.2 Ctrl-Left arrow : Full left
───────────────────────────
Although the left and right arrow keys will pan the display
left and right by one column at a time, it's sometimes handy
to be able to return to the far left column quickly - that's
what this keypress does.
4.3 Home, End
─────────
These two keystrokes simply go to the top and bottom of the
view screen. If the file you are viewing is less than one full
screen deep, End will move the selector bar to the last line
in the file, not necessarily to the bottom of the view screen.
4.4 Ctrl-Home, Ctrl-End and Ctrl-PgUp, Ctrl-PgDn
────────────────────────────────────────────
(to differentiate between top/bottom & beginning/end of file)
Pressing [Ctrl-Home] will move the selector bar to the top
line of the file without changing your current left/right
column position and [Ctrl-End] will move the selector bar to
the bottom of the file, also without affecting column
position. However, pressing [Ctrl-PgUp] will move the selector
bar to the top line and also move back to the far left column,
while pressing [Ctrl-PgDn] will move the selector bar to the
last line and as far right as the longest line in the file.
This effectively moves from top left to bottom right of the
file.
[Ctrl-PgUp] and [Ctrl-PgDn] are fully operative only when the
file is both wider and longer than one full screen display.
Otherwise, they will simply duplicate the functions of
[Ctrl-Home] and [Ctrl-End].
4.5 G : Go to line
──────────────
You can jump to a specific line in the file you are viewing by
pressing [G], entering the line number and then pressing
[Enter]. If you enter an invalid number, nothing will happen.
To abort, press [Esc].
4.6 I : Invert tags
───────────────
Pressing [I] will simply toggle the tagged state of all the
lines in the input file - lines that were not tagged will be
and vice-versa. This is very handy when, for example, you want
to save all *but* a few lines of a file.
4.7 N and L : Find the next / last tagged line
──────────────────────────────────────────
Sometimes it's convenient to jump from one tagged line to
another and that's what these keys will do. This function has
been modified a bit to operate more intuitively from the
previous version of SaveText. Now, if the next or last tagged
line is currently on the screen, the selector bar will simply
move to and highlight it without scrolling the screen (if you
are running in black & white video mode or on a monochrome
system, the line will flash). If it's not, the next tagged
line will be at the bottom of the screen or the last tagged
line will be at the top of the screen, just like it would be
if you had been browsing for it. If there are no lines tagged,
nothing will happen at all, but if you have found the first or
last tagged line, an alert box will pop up to inform you.
4.8 T, Space : Tag / Untag
──────────────────────
These keys tag a line to be saved. If not already at the end
of the file, the selector bar will also move down one line. If
the line is already tagged, pressing T or Space will clear the
tag. Tagged lines are displayed in a different color than
untagged lines. If you tag a line that has been previously
saved, it will be displayed as in a similar, but slightly
different color scheme.
This and other references to color obviously won't apply if
you have a monochrome system or start SaveText with the black
& white video (/b) option. However, SaveText is designed to
supply all the same information in either color or monochrome;
it's just easier to identify in color since there are more
choices. For further details on the /b parameter, see Command
Line Parameters below.
For convenience sake, the spacebar duplicates the [T] key
function.
4.9 S : Save and clear tags
───────────────────────
Pressing [S] saves all tagged lines to the output file. This
command also clears all the tagged lines, but these lines are
then displayed with reduced intensity to indicate they have
been saved already. However, they may be again tagged,
untagged, saved, etc. You do not need to manually save any
tagged lines before quitting by using this command,
however. If there are unsaved tagged lines when you quit, you
will be asked if you want to save them. This command gives you
the ability to save lines out of order and serves to mark
those lines that have already been saved during the session.
4.10 Alt-B, Alt-F : Tag all lines to/from current location
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
These two options give you the ability to automatically tag
all lines from your current position, in either direction.
[Alt-B] tags all the lines up to and including the current
line (in a {B}ackward direction) and [Alt-F] tags all the
lines from your the current line to the end of the file (in a
{F}orward direction). If all lines are already tagged, nothing
will happen.
4.11 Ctrl-B, Ctrl-F : Clear all tags to/from current location
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
These two features are complementary to [Alt-B] and [Alt-F].
Whereas the two Alt-key combinations tag lines, these two
Ctrl-key combinations untag lines. Otherwise, they operate in
the same manner. If no lines are currently tagged, nothing
will happen.
4.12 Ctrl-C : Toggle clock display
─────────────────────────────
By default, a prompt of "F1:Help" appears on the bottom line
of the display, to the far right. You can toggle this prompt
with a 12 hour, am/pm clock display by pressing [Ctrl-C].
This feature can be pre-configured through the use of the /C
command line parameter and/or the STCMD environment variable
(see Section 6 below).
4.13 Alt-D : DOS shell
─────────────────
By pressing [Alt-D], you open SaveText's DOS shell and can
perform whatever DOS functions you wish within the remaining
free memory available. You can return to SaveText by typing
"EXIT" and pressing [Enter].
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VERY IMPORTANT - While in the DOS shell, DO NOT erase │
│ either file that is currently in use. Doing so will │
│ certainly cause unpredictable behavior upon your return, │
│ most likely causing the program to abort and possibly │
│ locking up your system. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
4.14 Alt-E : Eject page from printer
───────────────────────────────
This key is just a convenience - it's easier to press Alt-E
after printing rather than reaching to the printer, taking it
offline, pressing the form-feed button and then returning it
online.
4.15 Alt-H : Hide / show selector bar
────────────────────────────────
This function is simply a convenience - it doesn't actually
remove the selector bar, but rather makes it invisible for
those times when you're simply browsing through a file rather
than tagging lines. Pressing [Alt-H] will toggle the
visibility of the bar: press it once and it disappears, again
and it's visible.
Keep in mind that although the bar is invisible, it's still
there and all the usual functions apply as normal. For
example, if you are on the top line of a screen with the bar
hidden and press the down arrow, it will take several presses
to make the screen scroll, since the bar is actually moving
down the screen. Check out the line number on the status line
and you'll see that it is indeed moving. You can still tag,
untag, search, etc., but there's little reason to do so with
the bar invisible. The bar is made visible again whenever you
load a new file.
4.16 Alt-P : Print tagged lines
──────────────────────────
If you have a printer attached to either LPT1 or LPT2, you can
print the currently tagged lines by pressing [Alt-P]. The
lines will remain tagged after printing. Pressing the [Esc]
key will abort printing.
There are a few points to note, however:
Printed lines are not wrapped, i.e., all data on a line
past the righthand margin of the printer will not be
printed, but rather truncated. However, you do have the
ability to print longer lines than will fit on a standard
80 column video display if your printer supports a
condensed typeface. You can use the /PC: command line
parameter to send control codes to the printer before
starting SaveText (see below). In any case, the original
file is never affected, just the printed output.
If you specified either LPT1 or LPT2 as an output filename,
this feature is disabled, since you will be saving to the
printer anyway. If you wish to print only a few lines at a
time, just tag the lines and then use the [S]ave command to
print them.
SaveText will check and report if your printer is offline
or out of paper, but it does not check for the presence of
a printer at the port. If you try to print without having a
printer connected, there will be no harm done, however,
SaveText will go merrily about its way printing to a
non-existent printer. In this case, just press [Esc] to
abort the operation. In the event of a paper outage, the
print operation will abort; SaveText does not currently
support restarting the print job at the current line.
As with the 'LPTx' output filename, SaveText currently
supports only LPT1 and LPT2. If your printer is attached to
LPT2, you can set this option by using the /PP:x command
line parameter and/or the STCMD environment variable (see
Section 6 below). The default value is LPT1. Also, if you
have specified any printer setup codes using the /PC:
command line parameter (see below), they will be applied
here.
The Alt-E key combination can be used to eject a partially
full page after printing if desired.
4.17 Alt-Q : Toggle quiet mode
─────────────────────────
It's possible to alternate between 'quiet' and normal mode
while the program is running. By pressing [Alt-Q], the
suppression of sounds is toggled on and off. You will hear a
short, distinctive low frequency sound when this key is
pressed, regardless of mode.
This feature can be pre-configured through the use of the /Q
command line parameter and/or the STCMD environment variable
(see Section 6 below).
4.18 Alt-R : Toggle ruler visibility
───────────────────────────────
A column ruler can at the bottom of the screen can be
displayed or removed by pressing [Alt-R]. Basically, this
keypress toggles the status line and ruler. The ruler/status
line state is preserved when loading a new file.
This feature can be pre-configured through the use of the /R
command line parameter and/or the STCMD environment variable
(see Section 6 below).
4.19 Alt-S, Alt-A : Search, search-again for text
────────────────────────────────────────────
You can perform either a case sensitive or insensitive search
for text within the file. Pressing [Alt-C] when the text
search input box is visible will toggle this sensitivity on or
off. Also available is an option to find and tag every match
or only the next match. Toggle this option by pressing
[Alt-T]. The default setting is a find-all, case-insensitive
search. That way, if the next match isn't what you are looking
for, just press [T] or [spacebar] to untag it and then [Alt-A]
to search again.
Search again (Alt-A) is available only when performing a
find-next search. When the end of the file has been reached
and all matches have been found, a message box will appear
indicating that there are no more matches. If another
find-next search is initiated at this point (either by [Alt-A]
or by [Alt-S]/[Enter]), the search start-point will wrap
around to the top of the file and repeat the process.
When a search is initiated, SaveText will find and tag either
all matches or the next match, depending on which option is
active. If you have chosen Find All, you will remain at the
same location within the file. If you have chosen Find Next
only, you will be moved to the point in the file where the
next match is found and the display will be panned to the
right or left if necessary to make the matched text
visible. The actual match will be displayed flashing within
the highlighted line containing it.
With either option, a message box will alert you if there are
no (more) matches.
Note Keep in mind while find-all searches always start at the
beginning of the file, find-next searches start on the
line immediately following the last match and go
forward. For example, if you search for 'BAS' and
SaveText finds a match on line 35 and then on line 42,
moving the selector bar back to line 34 will not result
in the match on line 35 being found again, unless all
the tags are cleared or a find-all search is made. In
other words, the starting position for a find-next
search will not be reset to top-of-file until either the
end of the file has been reached or a find-all search
has been made. Also, it does not search for successive
matches on the same line, since that line is already
tagged.
On each subsequent search (even when you load a new file),
your previous settings are retained.
4.20 Alt-T : Set tab expansion
─────────────────────────
When SaveText encounters a tab in the input file, it will
convert it to a series of spaces before displaying it on the
screen. This option allows you to specify how many spaces are
to replace each tab, so that the file is displayed as
faithfully as possible. The minimum value is 1, the maximum 9
and the default 3. Any invalid values are ignored.
Keep in mind however, that at the present time, SaveText does
not expand tabs to their actual location - rather, it
substitutes a specified number of spaces for each tab
character found. This may cause some inaccuracy of column
positions in respect to the ruler markings when viewing files
containing actual tab (ASCII 9) characters.
This feature can be pre-configured through the use of the /T
command line parameter and/or the STCMD environment variable
(see Section 6 below).
4.21 Alt-V : Video mode
──────────────────
If you have an EGA or better video system, you can display
more than 23 or 24 lines of the file at a time. Pressing
[Alt-V] will cycle through the options available to you with
your equipment. If you invoke a mode with more lines available
on screen than there are lines in the file, the vertical
scroll bar will not be displayed. This will occur even in the
default 25 line mode at startup if the file you are viewing
contains less than 25 lines. Also, if the file you are viewing
contains less lines than a particular video mode offers, they
will be displayed starting at the top of the screen, with a
blank area below.
■■ IMPORTANT - If you are using a laptop or notebook computer
with an LCD screen, it's possible that invoking the 43 or
50 line mode may result in a blank area at the bottom of
the screen. This is due to the way these display systems
implement the EGA/VGA extended-line modes and does not
indicate a problem.
This feature can be pre-configured through the use of the
/V:xx command line parameter and/or the STCMD environment
variable (see Section 6 below).
4.22 Esc : Load a new file or quit
─────────────────────────────
Pressing [Esc] will allow you to either load a new file or
quit SaveText entirely. If you press [Q], SaveText will quit,
returning you to your original drive and directory. To load
another file, press [L] and the file requestor will again
appear.
If before either operation executes there are tagged lines
that have not yet been saved, you will be asked if you want to
save them. Press either [Y] or [Enter] to save the file, [N]
to discard all lines tagged since the last save.
4.23 F1 : Help (not shown above)
───────────────────────────
Pressing the [F1] key will pop up a box displaying the major
functions that are available. Additionally, the status of
several of the command line parameters is displayed. Press any
key to remove the box from the screen.
4.24 Ctrl-F10 : About SaveText
─────────────────────────
This keystroke will display a small box in the center of the
screen containing some information about SaveText and the
system on which it is running.
5.0 STATUS LINE DISPLAY
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
README.TXT Size: 23876 Lines: 416 │Col: 12 Line: 94 Tags: 17 F1:Help
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ Left column │ Lines │
│ │ Lines in │ Selected │
│ │ file Current line │
│ File size under the Help reminder
Filename in bytes selector bar (or clock)
├───── Active display elements ─────┤
At the far left of the status line, the name of the file being
viewed is displayed, without any path information. In addition,
the size is displayed to its right and then the total number of
lines in the file.
To the right of a small vertical line are the active display
elements. First, the current left-most column of the display is
shown, followed by the currently highlighted line and the number
of tagged lines. These numbers are updated as position within the
file changes.
To the far right is a reminder of the Help key, [F1], or the
clock display, depending on which has been toggled active through
the [Ctrl-C] key combination.
The status line display can be toggled with a column ruler by
pressing [Alt-R].
6.0 OTHER MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS -
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
6.1 Command line parameters
───────────────────────
All command line parameters can be entered in either upper,
lower or mixed case.
6.1a /N (no low ASCII)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SaveText is designed as a text, not hex file viewer; as a
result, unpredictable results may occur if you try to view
files that aren't ASCII text such as many database, word
processor or spreadsheet files; binary files such as EXE,
COM & DLL types can get particularly interesting! If you do
encounter problems with a particular file such as a
distorted or broken up display, it's likely there are low
ASCII characters in it and SaveText needs to be started
with the /N parameter to correctly view the file. No
damage will occur, just press Esc and then Q to exit and
restart SaveText as "ST /N".
The default setting is to not check for low ASCII
characters (other than ASCII 12 form-feeds and ASCII 9
tabs) in the interest of increased speed while indexing and
displaying the input file. However, if you find that a
majority of the files you view contain some low ASCII
characters, it may be to your benefit to either specify the
/N parameter in the STCMD environment variable (see 6.2
STCMD environment variable below) or create a batch (.BAT)
file that will automatically start SaveText with the
correct parameter. For example:
echo off REM use "@echo off" with DOS version 3.3
REM & later
c:\utils\st /n REM use your actual path here
cd\
This batch file can be named ST.BAT, but if it is, make
sure you don't have ST.EXE located anywhere in your PATH,
because if it is, it will be executed directly instead of
the batch file. Specifying the parameter in STCMD is the
simpler solution.
For a mild example of the effect of low-ASCII characters in
a file, start SaveText without the /N parameter and load
LOWASCII.TXT (included in the STXT130.xxx archive). Then
look at it again after starting with the parameter.
At any rate, SaveText handles most text files easily, so
this will probably be unnecessary. If /N has been stored in
the STCMD environment variable, it can be overridden on a
session by session basis using /-N.
6.1b /B (black & white video)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
This parameter will force monochrome video for better
legibility when used on a LCD notebook computer or a
monochrome monitor attached to a color video card. If /B
has been stored in the STCMD environment variable, it can
be overridden on a session by session basis using /-B.
6.1c /Q (quiet operation)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Specifying /Q on the command line will suppress all the
regular beeps and other sounds SaveText normally makes. If
/Q has been stored in the STCMD environment variable, it
can be overridden on a session by session basis using /-Q.
6.1d /R (ruler at startup)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If you would prefer to have the ruler displayed when
SaveText starts, use this parameter. If /R has been
stored in the STCMD environment variable, it can be
overridden on a session by session basis using /-R.
6.1e /C (clock at startup)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Specifying /C on the command line will cause the clock to
be displayed when SaveText starts, rather than the default
"F1:Help" prompt. If /C has been stored in the STCMD
environment variable, it can be overridden on a session by
session basis using /-C.
6.1f /I:infile.ext (input filespec)
(previously /F:)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
By using /I:, you can specify the input file to be loaded.
A full path is necessary if the file is not in the current
directory. If SaveText can't find the specified file, the
file requestor will pop up. If it does find the file, the
suggested output filename will be displayed normally,
unless the /O: parameter has been used (see
below). Unlike previous versions of SaveText, this
parameter no longer has to be the last one on the command
line.
/I: is not a valid parameter for the STCMD environment
variable, and will cause SaveText to abort and display a
prompt screen illustrating the proper use of the command
line parameters.
This parameter has been renamed from previous versions of
SaveText in an attempt to make it a bit more intuitive,
particularly when combined with the /O: parameter.
6.1g /O:outfile.ext (output filespec)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Like /I:, /O: will let you specify a filename from the
command line; however, this parameter is for the output
file. If SaveText determines the specified filespec is
invalid, a box will pop up where you can edit it. If the
filespec appears to be valid, the input file will be
immediately loaded and the program will continue. Also
like /I:, /O: does not have to be the last parameter on the
command line.
/O: is not a valid parameter for the STCMD environment
variable, and will cause SaveText to abort and display a
prompt screen illustrating the proper use of the command
line parameters.
6.1h /V:xx (startup video mode)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If you have an EGA or better video system and like to use
the 43/50 line modes, you can specify them on the command
line. Replace the xx shown above with either 43 or 50 - if
you specify 50 with an EGA adapter, it will invoke 43 line
mode. This parameter has no effect on the [Alt-V] keystroke
from within the program - it only sets the startup video
mode. If a value for /V: has been stored in the STCMD
environment variable, it can be overridden on a session by
session basis with this parameter - this is really the only
reason for specifying a value of 25, which is the normal
default value. If an illegal value is specified, SaveText
will ignore it and use the default value.
6.1i /T:x (startup tab expansion)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
It's possible to specify a startup tab expansion other than
the default 3 spaces with this parameter. Only one digit
after the colon is considered and if it's less than 1, then
the value is set to 1. If a value for /T: has been stored
in the STCMD environment variable, it can be overridden on a
session by session basis with this parameter simply be
specifying a new legal value.
6.1j /PC:x (printer setup codes)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Printers support the changing of their print parameters by
using a string of ASCII values and the /PC: parameter lets
you take advantage of this. For example, to specify a 16.66
cpi font pitch on an HP LaserJet Series II printer, the
codes are 27 (Esc), 38, 107, 50, 83. You can send these
codes to your printer through SaveText with this parameter:
/PC:27, 38, 107, 50, 83
It's OK to remove the spaces from between each code, but
the commas MUST be there in order for this to work
properly. Also, there can be no characters other than
commas and numerals in this string. Other than that, what's
specified here will be sent literally to your printer, so
make sure it's the correct code for what's desired. Also,
don't end the string with a comma, just put one between
each separate code.
This parameter affects only the Alt-P (print tagged lines)
output feature.
6.1k /PP:x (parallel printer port)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SaveText assumes LPT1 as a default, but if you have a
printer connected to LPT2, you can specify /PP:2. SaveText
currently supports only LPT1 and LPT2. If a value for /PP:
has been stored in the STCMD environment variable, it can
be overridden on a session by session basis with this
parameter simply be specifying a new legal value.
6.1l /? or /H or /HELP (parameter help)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If /?, /H or /HELP is found on the command line, regardless
of any other parameters that may also be present, SaveText
will abort and present a screen outlining all the parameter
options.
SaveText will ignore all invalid parameters unless they are
the only ones on the command line. In this event, the
program will abort and display a screen illustrating
correct parameter usage.
6.2 STCMD Environment variable
──────────────────────────
If you use the /Q, /N, /B, /C, /R, /T:, /PC:, /PP: or /V:
command line parameters on a regular basis, it's possible to
assign them to an environment variable, avoiding the necessity
of typing them manually every time you use SaveText. To do so,
place the line 'SET STCMD=parameterlist' (without the
apostrophes, where parameterlist is the parameter{s} you use)
in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you receive an 'Out of
environment space' error from DOS after adding this line, you
probably need to increase your DOS environment size. Consult
your DOS manual for instructions on how to do this.
Environment variables can be set from the command line, but be
aware that these settings only last as long as your current
session, i.e. until you turn off or reboot your computer. To
erase the STCMD environment variable, type "SET STCMD=" (once
again without the quotes) and press [Enter].
Even if /Q, /N, /B, /C, /R, /T:, /PC:, /PP: or /V: have been
specified in STCMD, they can be overridden from the command
line by (in the case of /V:, /T:, /PC: and /PP:) either
replacing the value with a new value or (in the case of the
others) by prefacing the letter of the parameter with a
hyphen; for example, if /Q is set by STCMD, sound can
temporarily be re-enabled by using the parameter /-Q after ST
when the program is started.
All parameters can be specified in either upper, lower or
mixed case.
6.3 Memory
──────
SaveText will abort if it determines there is insufficient
memory in which to run. When viewing a very large file, up to
about 260K of memory may be required, so to be safe, always
have at least that much memory free before using SaveText.
7.0 LEGALITIES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
SaveText has been carefully designed and developed as well as
undergone exhaustive testing. However, since every possible
situation and/or use cannot be anticipated, the following legal
disclaimer is necessary.
SaveText is provided as is, without any type of warranty,
implicit or otherwise. The author will not be held responsible
for nor subject to ANY CLAIMS OF ANY SORT arising out of any
damages resulting from the use of (or lack of ability to use)
this product. It is intended only for the uses as described in
its documentation and no other and it's operation is in no way
warranted or guaranteed.
No files in the SaveText package shall be modified, decompiled
or reverse engineered in any way. All archives shall be
distributed with all files fully intact and unmodified (a
complete list of the files that should be present in the
archive file can be found in the text file README.1ST). Other
than a small charge for disk duplication and/or distribution
($10 maximum), SaveText shall be distributed free of charge.
SaveText v1.30 (including the program file and all collateral
support files) is Copyright (c) 1994 by Len Philpot, 356 Gary
K Street, Pineville, Louisiana 71360, All Rights Reserved.
In a nutshell . . . use it at your own risk. If it turns your
lawn brown, ruins your credit rating or makes your hair fall out,
don't say I didn't warn you . . . :)
However, having said this, if you have any questions, suggestions
or discover any bugs in this program, please contact the author
as indicated in the final section of this document. Every
reasonable effort will be made to address any concerns.
8.0 REVISION HISTORY
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Version 1.00 December 1993
────────────────────────────
Initial release of SaveText upon a defenseless world.
Version 1.01 December 1993
────────────────────────────
Bugs: While running in black & white video, the screen
background could turn white when loading a new file
under certain circumstances - Fixed.
When a printer port was specified as the output file
and the file was to be saved, an 'insufficient disk
space' message would erroneously appear - Fixed.
Subdirectories with extensions were not being handled
correctly in the file requestor - Fixed.
When loading a file from a subdirectory with an
extension, the output file was being erroneously sent
to the root directory - Fixed.
Added: N, L Next Tagged Line and Last Tagged Line
functions.
Current left column and total line elements on status
line display.
Version 1.10 January 1994
───────────────────────────
Bugs: Various minor cosmetic inconsistencies - Fixed.
Shadow under progress box drawn incorrectly - Fixed.
Would sometimes crash when attempting to save a file
greater than 32,767 bytes due to a variable
misdeclaration - Fixed.
Added: Auto-Resume viewing option
Progress indicator while searching
Spacebar as well as T tags/untags
Various minor cosmetic enhancements
Better status reporting during file saves
G Go to line feature
Alt-T Set tab expansion
Changed: Several of the filenames in the SaveText archive
contained the letters STxxx where xxx was the version
number. That pattern has now been changed to STXTxxx
to avoid confusion with other packages using the ST
abbreviation.
Version 1.20 March 1994
─────────────────────────
Bugs: Fixed some *very* minor cosmetic bugs dealing with
colors.
An extra backslash would be placed in the output
filespec path if logged onto a different drive than
the one ST was executing from and a path wasn't
specified - Fixed.
Added: Added cosmetic filler to the blank area under the
file status box when retrieving a file in 43/50 line
mode (fancy, eh? :)
I Invert tags feature
/Q Quiet mode line parameter
/F: Input filename parameter
InHalf was added to the SaveText package
Changed: New color scheme! This one is much easier on the
eyes!
Revised the placement of the selector bar after a
Goto Line, Search, Next/Last Tag and Auto-Resume to
be a bit more naturally placed
Made Ctrl-Home and Ctrl-End duplicate Home-End when a
'narrow' file is loaded instead of simply disabling
them
Version 1.3 July 1994
────────────────────────
Bugs: On large drives, freespace was not being reported
correctly; Thanks to Ed Tobin for pointing this
out - Fixed.
When viewing a file less than one screen deep, the
bottom unused portion of the screen would remain
black after a DOS shell - Fixed.
After performing a find-all search, the selector bar
would be visible on screen even when it should have
been hidden (Alt-H) - Fixed.
Known bug: On some (not all) files with a last
modification time falling between 12:00
midnight and 1:00 am, the time may not be
interpreted correctly in the file
requestor display. This is a display bug
only and does not affect operation or the
file in question.
The "not-really-a-bug-but-it's-fixed" department:
If a program executed previously to SaveText had
enabled high-intensity background colors and had
not reset them back to low-intensity/blinking
foreground colors (the DOS default), SaveText would
display these high-intensity colors under certain
circumstances (a bit ugly in places). This is now
anticipated by SaveText and corrected if necessary.
Added: Alt-A Search-again
Alt-B, F Tag all lines up to/from current line
Ctrl-B, F Clear all lines up to/from current line
Ctrl-C Screen clock (toggle)
Alt-E Eject page from printer
Alt-R Screen ruler display (toggle)
Alt-H Hide selector bar (toggle)
Alt-P Print tagged lines
Alt-Q Quiet mode (toggle)
/O: Output filespec parameter
/V: Startup video mode parameter
/T: Startup tab expansion parameter
/PC: Printer setup codes parameter
/PP: Parallel printer port parameter
/R Startup ruler toggle parameter
/C Startup clock toggle parameter
/? /H /HELP Help (on) parameters
Ctrl/F10 About box
Enter key now duplicates PgDn key function
Support for the STCMD environment variable and
disable option (/-X) for suspending STCMD settings
(Command line parameter) status reporting on Help
screen
File date and time display to file requestor
UNIX2DOS was added to the SaveText package
ASC2TXT was added to the SaveText package
Changed: /F: renamed to /I: (input filespec parameter)
Remapped Home, End, Ctrl-PgUp, Ctrl-PgDn keys (see
above)
The default settings for a search are now case
insensitive, find all. Also, any changes made to
these settings are now retained across subsequent
searches and files, until reset.
The maximum number of lines in the input file has now
been doubled, raised from 16,384 to 32,766.
9.0 ONE FINAL NOTE
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Writing SaveText has been great learning experience for me, since
it's my first real program to any degree. In view of this, I'm
not going to require any registration, cripple or add nag screens
to the program for at least this major version (1.x). However, a
$15 donation would be appreciated if you find it useful and
continue to use it.
Registration is only needed once, since whatever upgrades that come
down the pike will be free. A registration form is provided for
your convenience in the file REGISTER.DOC. If you desire, I can
be contacted on the RIME Q-Basic Conference or at the PUMA
Wildcat BBS, RIME Site 1026, (318) 443-1065. I also maintain an
InterNet address - lphilpot@pumabbs.com
The latest version of SaveText can always be found on these fine
Bulletin Board Systems:
Puma Wildcat! BBS (318) 443-1065
Chuck McMillin, Sysop
LAVET Louisiana Veteran's Sound Off BBS (318) 449-1012
Bob Wieters, Sysop
The Programmer's Mark BBS (718) 921-9267
Joe Negron, Sysop
Note hours: Every night 10pm to 6am (ET)
also Saturday & Sunday 6am to 1pm (ET)
Special thanks go to Jim Woodruff for all his help in writing
this and many other educational things as well. Also thanks to
the participants of the RIME Q-Basic conference for all the
useful advice available there.
And a big Thanks to my wife, Annette, for putting up with me and
my lack of attention to her during the process of writing and
improving SaveText!
Thanks for trying SaveText and have fun!
Len A. Philpot
356 Gary K. Street
Pineville, LA 71360
(318) 445-1704 after 6 p.m.