CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/hamradio/pctrk31.zip/USRGUIDE.TXT

Text File | 1995-05-01 | 51KB | 1,080 lines

PC-Track 3.1 Mini User Guide


Sometimes it is difficult to know where to begin when first trying a new
software package. This is true of any package, no matter how simple or how
complicated. There always is some sort of learning curve associated with
it. The goal of this document is to "level out" that learning curve by
getting you focused on the most important items of the program.  This will
assist you in your evaluation of the product prior to registration.


Ready To Run

PC-Track is extremely versatile, and has many options that are changeable
by the user. But it is configured to be essentially "ready to go" when you
load it on your computer. Only a few minor things need to be setup prior
to using the program. Once you are up to speed on the basic operation,
then you can explore more of the deeper features of the program and see
how powerful it really is.

Eight Basic Steps

There are eight basic steps to getting familiar with the product:

1    Get familiar with the basics
2    Select and Configure printer
3    Select Parameter File
4    Configure System Settings
5    Select Active Sites
6    Track in Graphics Mode
7    Track in Text Mode
8    Scan for available passes


Step One - Get Familiar With The Basics - F1

While PC-TRACK has been written to use many convenient methods of
displaying and controlling the information available, it would be
beneficial to you to review the help screens dealing with the various
parts of the program (windows, dialog boxes, scroll bars, etc.) to become
familiar with how they work. Once you gain that familiarity, it will be
much easier for you to navigate your way through the program and
understand the various terms and phrases used. Press the F1 key for help
anywhere in the program.



Step Two - Set Up the Printer

A major thing you want to do is to select the printer that you will be
using (assuming you have a printer).

First, select the "Options" option from the main menu. Then select the
"Select Printer" option.  You will now see a list of printers that is
available for use. Find your printer, or one that your printer emulates
(acts like) and then press the "Select" button, (or double click on it).

You should then select the "Options" main menu option, and then "Page
Setup" option. Set the desired page settings with this dialog box.

You will then be ready to do most of the basic printing available in PC-
Track.

Step Three - Select A Parameter File

PC-Track allows you to have different parameter files. Each parameter file
contains all of the parameters that define what PC-Track is configured to
do. All attributes, colors, paths, active sites and satellites, times,
views, etc. are contained in the parameter files.

Several different sample parameter files are provided for you to see how
flexible PC-Track is. Examples of parameter files provided are:

AMATEUR.PRM :
    Configured to display some amateur radio satellites
WEATHER.PRM :
    Configured to display some weather satellites
GPS.PRM :
    Configured to display some global positioning satellites

To select a sample parameter file, select the File main menu option, then
select the Open option. You will see a list of *.PRM files in the file
selection box. Press the TAB key to move the cursor to the files list box.
Highlight the one you wish to try. When highlighted (make sure it also
appears in the input line at the top of the dialog box), press the RETURN
key. The parameters will be loaded and you will be ready to proceed.


Step Four - Configure System Settings

It will be important to configure PC-TRACK for the proper time zone, and
to display dates and distances the way you wish. This is done using the
System Config dialog box.

First, select the "Options" option from the main menu. Then select the
"System Config" option. You will now see the System Configuration dialog
box. This is where you can set up the date format, time frame, and time
zone. It is particularly important to make sure the time zone is correct,
so that predictions will be correct. Remember that the number entered here
is the number of hours that UTC time is AHEAD of you. For example, Eastern
Standard Time for the US would require a 5.

You can ignore the image path for now, it should already be correct.


Step Five - Select Primary, Secondary, and Active Sites

PC-Track maintains a large database of sites for use (up to 200). From
this database, you may select up to 200 "active" sites, along with a
"Primary" and a "Secondary" site.

Active sites are the ones that will appear in the graphics tracking
option. If the Line Of Site attribute is enabled, these sites display Line
Of Site lines to satellites that are visible to them.

The Primary and Secondary sites are special sites used in graphics
tracking and the Mutual Pass Scan option.

Active sites are selected from the Select Active Sites dialog box.  This
is accessible using the "Active" button. Now with the > and < keys (or by
doubleclicking the mouse on the desired site names) you can select the
desired active sites. When finished with this, press the Done button. Then
press the Done button again to close the Edit Sites dialog box.

The primary and secondary sites are selected from the Edit Sites dialog
box. You can access this dialog box by selecting the "Edit" main menu
option then the select the "Sites" sub option. Pressing the F5 hot key
from the main screen will also bring up the Edit Sites dialog box. Select
a primary site in the "Primary Site" and "Secondary Site"input line.


Step Six - Track in Graphics Mode

To access the Graphics Tracking Mode, select the "View" main menu option,
and then the "Track(Graphics)" option. You may also access this by
pressing the F2 hot key from the main screen. The graphics tracking mode
will then be activated. For details on options available in graphics track
mode, see the chapter dealing with that mode. You may also press the F1
key for a list of available options.


NOTE:
PC-TRACK makes use of pre-drawn globe views and maps to
speed graphics displays while at the same time providing
versatility in the viewpoints available to the user. The
unregistered release of PC-TRACK provides you with 4 globe
views and one world mercator views. The colors and
geographic features are pre- determined by Acme Workshops
as those that would best serve as trial displays. They are
intended to allow an adequate demonstration the
capabilities of PC-TRACK prior to registration.

The registered package, however, includes a utility program
 that allows you to develop your own globe views and
mercator projection world map. With this utility, you have
the capability of defining the viewpoint (point in space
from which the globe is viewed), offset (point on the
screen where the center of the earth is), colors and
geographical features (coasts, islands, lakes, rivers,
country boundaries, and state boundaries) of the views. You
can define multiple sets of globe views, each with up to 30
different views. PC-TRACK can load and make available up to
30 views at a time.

Please consider these items when evaluating PC-TRACK, and
realize that the 4 views of the globe that you get with the
pre-registration copy is only the beginning.

Step Seven - Track in Text Mode

To access the text track mode, select the "View" main menu option, and the
"Track(Text)" option. You may also access this mode by pressing the F3 hot
key from the main screen. This mode displays current or future position
data for the Primary Satellite and the Primary and Secondary Sites.


Step Eight - Scan for mutually visible passes

To access the scan mode, select the "View" main menu option, and the
"Scan(Text)" option. You may also access this mode by pressing the F4 hot
key from the main screen. This mode allows you to can for satellite passes
that are mutually visible between the Primary and Secondary sites. All
active satellites are scanned.


Additional Experiment:
        Select Other Primary and Active Satellites

PC-Track maintains a large database of satellites for use (up to 300).
From this database, you may select up to 300 "Active" satellites to track
and visualize, along with a "Primary" satellite.

Active satellites are the ones for which positions will be computed and
will appear on the graphics track screen. They are also the ones that will
be scanned in the Mutual Visibility Pass Scan option (see below).

The Primary satellite is used in the text tracking mode
as the satellite that will be analyzed.

Active satellites are selected from the Select Active Satellites dialog
box.  This is accessible using the "Active" button. Now with the > and <
keys (or by doubleclicking the mouse on the desired satellite names) you
can select the desired active satellites. When finished with this, press
the Done button. Then press the Done button again to close the Edit
Satellites dialog box.

The primary satellite is selected from the Edit Satellites dialog box. You
can access this dialog box by selecting the "Edit" main menu option then
the select the "Satellites" sub option. Pressing the F5 hot key from the
main screen will also bring up the Edit Satellites dialog box. Select a
primary satellite in the "Primary Satellite" input line.


Register

If you decide to continue to use PC-Track after the trial period, you will
need to register your copy of PC-Track. When you register, you will
receive many benefits, as well as additional software that will make
PC-Track even more flexible and powerful.

See REGISTER.TXT for information on registering.

You can easily fill out your registration form using the on-line form. To
access the on-line form, press the ALT and F9 keys together while in PC-
Track.



Enjoy!

You should now have enough of an introduction into PC-Track to begin using
it with confidence. Remember to use the F1 key when in doubt about
anything. Complete help is available on all parts of the program.  And now
that you've got a feel for how PC-Track works, it might be a good time to
read the rest of The PC-Track User Guide.  For a more detailed information
about the features and capabilities of PC-Track, read the PC-Track
Reference. (Provided in the registered user package).

NOTE:
Remember that the satellite data provided with PC-TRACK was
fresh when packaged, but most likely will not be when you
receive it. It is important to get fresh satellite data in
order to have accurate predictions since most satellites
undergo periodic maneuvers to maintain proper orbits. See
the chapter called Data Sources for information on how to
obtain the latest satellite data for your predictions.




Basic Concepts of Operation

PC-TRACK 3.1 utilizes two databases (sites and satellites) and a set of
operational parameters to control program operation. All of the parameters
and each of the databases are easily controlled and edited by the user,
making the program extremely flexible and easily configured to operational
needs.  Each of the databases are easily edited and updated from within
PC-TRACK using available main menu options and can be updated by direct
import of new data in several different file formats.

Databases

PC-TRACK maintains two databases, one for satellites and one for sites.
These databases contain all of the satellites and sites that PC-TRACK will
work with. Each of the databases has a limit of 200 items.

Satellites

The satellite database contains data for all of the satellites that will
be available to PC-TRACK. This database holds the keplerian elements for
each satellite, as well as two downlink frequencies. The database also
holds other operational information for each satellite, not visible to the
user.

The satellite database may be edited using the F5 key from the main menu
(or selecting the Edit | Satellites option). This opens up the Edit
Satellites dialog box which allows you to Add, Edit, and Delete individual
satellites. Each of these options are described in Chapter 4 under
Satellites.

Sites

The site database contains data for all of the sites that will be
available to PC-TRACK. This database holds location for each site. The
database also holds other operational information for each site, not
visible to the user.

The site database may be edited using the F6 key from the main menu (or
selecting the Edit | Sites option). This opens up the Edit Sites dialog
box which allows you to Add, Edit and Delete individual sites. Each of
these options are described in Chapter 4 under Sites.

Parameters

"Parameters" is the term given to the collective group of program
attributes and colors that determine program operation. Each parameter
controls a specific aspect of the program such as operational properties,
display characteristics, and colors. These parameters can be saved to and
loaded from disk as separate text based data files using the Files option
from the main menu. This gives you the ability to have several different
"personality" files available for several different operational profiles.
Parameters can be changed from various places within the program,
depending on what portion of the program is operational at the time. There
are two different categories of parameters used in PC-TRACK; attributes
and colors, described as follows.

Attributes

Program attributes control how the program operates, what is to be
computed, and what is to be displayed.  Most of them in turn are grouped
in several categories depending on which aspect of the program they
control.  Each of these attributes are described in Chapter 3 under
Editing Parameters. Attributes associated with a particular graphics
display mode may be edited while within that mode by pressing the F8 key.

Other attributes exist that are considered program-wide attributes. These
affect the time base (UTC or Local) and distances (Meters or English),
date format and time zone. These may be edited in the Options | System
Config main menu option (F8). These are described in Chapter 3 under
System Settings.

Graphics Colors

The other category of parameters used in PC-TRACK control the colors that
will be used to display all of the various items displayed in graphics
mode. This includes things like the color of the window frames, satellite
names, line colors, etc. These color parameters are grouped in several
categories. The purpose of each of these colors are described in Chapter 3
under Editing Parameters. Most colors associated with the graphics
tracking mode may also be edited while within that mode by pressing the F9
key. Pressing the F7 key from the main menu (or selecting the Edit |
Graphics Colors option) opens the Edit Graphics Colors dialog box which
presents the frame, help window, and the track window colors for easy
editing.

NOTE:
Text mode colors may be edited by pressing SHIFT-F7 from the main menu (or
selecting the Edit | Text Colors option). These colors, however, are NOT
saved in the Parameters file, but in a separate file on the disk.

Active Satellites

PC-TRACK maintains a list of what is considered "active satellites" for
use in various modes. These active satellites are selected by the user
from the satellite database and determine which of the satellites in the
database will be used. These are the ones that will appear on the screen
when in the graphics track mode. They are also used during the scan
process, with each active satellite being scanned for the designated
period of time to determine visibility times. Active satellites are
selected by the user using the F5 key from the main menu (or selecting the
Edit | Satellites main menu option). The names of each of the active
satellites are stored in the parameter file along with the attributes and
colors, allowing you to save complete operational packages under separate
files for studying different groups of satellites with different display
characteristics.

Primary Satellite

The text track process available with the F3 key (or by selecting the View
| Text Track option) uses one satellite. This satellite is known as the
Primary Satellite. This satellite can be selected from the satellite
database by the user using the F5 key from the main menu (or selecting the
Edit | Satellites option). The name of the primary satellite is stored in
the parameter file. The primary satellite is also displayed in graphics
track mode.

Active Sites

PC-TRACK also maintains a list of what is considered "active sites" for
use in graphics tracking mode. These active sites are selected from the
site database and determine which of the sites in the database will be
used for tracking purposes.  Active sites are selected by the user using
the F6 key from the main screen (or selecting the Edit | Sites main menu
option). The names of each of the active sites are stored in the parameter
file along with the attributes and colors.

Primary & Secondary Sites

The graphics tracking mode utilizes one or two specially selected sites
called the Primary and Secondary Sites, they are used for the ground site
displays in graphics mode tracking, for text tracking, and for mutual
visibilty scanning.  The primary and secondary sites can be selected from
the site database by the user using the F6 key from the main screen (or
selecting the Edit | Sites main menu option). The names of the primary
and secondary sites are stored in the parameter file.

Program Organization

All of PC-TRACK 3.1 functions are organized into four main menu options.
These menu options are organized to make finding and selecting the desired
function simple and quick. They are File, Edit, View, and Options. The
following descriptions give an overview of all of the operations provided
by each of the menu options.

File

The File menu option provides menu options that allow you to create a new
parameter set, load an existing one, save the current one, or save the
current one with a different. Also available is an option that allows you
to import site and satellite data from other sources, such as NORAD,
AMSAT, and PC-TRACK format files. The options available are:

File | New

Allows you to reset all program parameters to their default conditions.
The new parameter filename will be DEFAULT.PRM.

File | Open
Allows you to open and load an existing parameter set.

File | Save
Allows you to save the current parameter set with the current parameter
filename.

File | Save As
Allows you to save the current parameter set as a new file with a new
parameter filename.

File | Import | Satellites | NORAD
Allows you to import satellite data from NORAD two-line element text
files.  See Appendix 5 for file format information.

File | Import | Satellites | AMSAT
Allows you to import satellite data from element text files in the Amateur
Satellite (AMSAT) file format.  See Appendix 5 for file format
information.

File | Import | Satellites | PC-TRACK
Allows you to import satellite data from PC-TRACK version 1.x and 2.x
OBJECTS.DAT files.

File | Import | Sites | PC-TRACK
Allows you to import site data from PC-TRACK version 1.x and 2.x
OBSERVER.DAT files.

File | Import | Sites | Site File
Allows you to import site data from comma delimited site data files. See
Appendix 5 - Import File Formats for file format information.

File | Exit
Terminates PC-TRACK 3.1 option and returns to DOS. Pressing ALT-X will do
the same thing.

Edit
The Edit menu option provides menu options that allow you to edit
satellite and site databases, and change some colors.

Edit | Satellites - F5
Allows you to enter and edit satellite data for individual satellites,
select active satellites, and select the primary satellite to be used in
tracking and scanning.  Immediate access to the Satellite Edit Option is
provided by the F5 key.

Edit | Sites - F6
Allows you to enter and edit location and sensor data for individual
sites, select active sites, and select the primary and secondary sites to
be used in tracking and scanning. Immediate access to the Site Edit option
is provided by the F6 key.

Edit | Graphics Colors - F7
Allows you to edit some of the colors used in the various graphical
displays available in PC-TRACK 3.1. Immediate access to the Graphic Color
Edit option is provided by the F7 key.

Edit | Text Colors - F8
Allows you to edit the colors used in the displays available in PC-TRACK
3.1 while in text mode. Immediate access to the Text Color Edit option is
provided by the F8 keys.


View
The View menu option provides menu options that allow you to access the
graphics track mode, text screen numerical track mode and the mutual
visibility pass scan mode.

View | Graphics Track - F2
Activates the graphical tracking mode available in PC-TRACK 3.1. While in
tracking mode, most program parameters are changeable to enable you to
customize the display to your need. This mode is capable of displaying
current satellite position for all active satellites, the view angles from
all active sites, ground site views for the primary and secondary sites,
and current track time. Earth views are in a three dimensionally projected
Earth Centered Fixed view frame, with the viewpoint from space being user
selected or in a mercator projection flat map of the world. Both can show
satellite footprints and line of site lines for all active satellites and
sites as well as many other items. Immediate access to the Graphics
Tracking option is provided by the F2 key.

View | Text Track - F3
Activates the text tracking mode. This mode provides tracking capability
without the use of graphics presentation. This mode is provided for
situations where numerical presentations are desirable, and where hard
copy predictions or track logs are needed. The text tracking mode uses the
primary and secondary sites designated in the Edit Sites dialog box (F6),
and the primary satellite designated in the Edit Satellites dialog box
(F5). Information available includes satellite latitude, longitude,
altitude, and orbit phase. For both sites the current view azimuth,
elevation, and slant range are presented, as well as current range rate
and doppler shifted downlink frequencies for the satellite. Immediate
access to the Text Track option is provided by the F3 key.

View | Scan - F4
Activates the Mutual Visibility Scan Window. This option allows you to
scan a particular time frame for satellite passes that are mutually
visible between the Primary and Secondary sites. Every active satellite
will be checked and the mutually visible passes will be listed by date and
time of AOS in the list box. When completed, the computed pass summaries
will be able to be printed, and displayed. Immediate access to the Scan
option is provided by the F4 key.

Options
The Options menu allows you to change certain parameters which affect the
way time and distances are displayed, and to configure where the map data
will be found. The available options are:

Options | System Config - F9
Allows you to change certain parameters which affect the way time and
distances are displayed, and to configure where map data will be located.
Immediate access to the System Config option is provided by the F9 keys.

Options | Page Setup
Allows you to configure the layout of the printed page for use in text
tracking and mutual visibility scan modes. Such items as margins, page
size, line spacing, character size, and page advance method can be
configured here.

Options | Select Printer
Allows you to select the appropriate printer driver for your printer from
a list of available printer drivers.

Options | Printer Codes
Allows you to edit the printer control codes used in the printer driver.
This permits you to customize the default driver for special print formats
you may have.

Interacting With PC-TRACK In Text Mode
PC-TRACK 3.1 operates primarily in text mode, and then launching into
graphics mode for visual presentations such as graphics tracking. Database
management take place primarily in text mode. Text mode operation is built
around a "windowed" user interface, providing powerful features for the
manipulation of data and control of the program. The following text
discusses these text-based features.

A Window Based User Interface
All of the work done in this program is done in one form of window or
another. Windows (not to be confused with Microsoft Windows (R)) used
while in text mode have a few features in common which make them easy to
work with, such as the ability to be moved around on the screen and
closed. Some, such as the help window, are resizable.

Windows are simply boxes on the screen which contain groups of related
pieces of information. They have a double line frame around them and
usually show a shadow over any window or text beneath them. This gives a
visual effect which is pleasing to the eye and organizes information into
easy-to-use chunks.


Closing Windows
Closing a window means to stop doing whatever the window was doing and
make it disappear from the screen.  Most windows can be closed by clicking
the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is on the little block
positioned at the upper left corner of the window frame. A window can also
be closed by pressing the ESC key or one of the other buttons in the
window  ( such as the Done or Cancel buttons, covered in more detail
below). Some windows are designed not to be closeable since it is
important for proper operation of the program to remain open, such as they
have information which is important to remain displayed. These will not
have the close box displayed in the upper left hand corner of the window
frame.

Moving Windows
Most windows are designed so that you can move them around on the screen.
This is done with the mouse. To move a window, just position the mouse
cursor somewhere along the top frame of the window (not on the close block
though) and then press AND HOLD the left mouse button down. While holding
it down, move the mouse. The window will move with the mouse. When it is
in the desired position, release the left button. In most cases moving
windows is not necessary, but there may be some situations where you wish
to see what was on the underneath window and this will enable you to do
this.

Resizing Windows
Most of the windows used in this program are not resizable, since it would
not make sense to do so. But at least in the case of the help window,
resizing is sometimes helpful, since the help system is basically a text
display system and some of the text displays are wider than the standard
help window. You can tell if a window is resizable or not by looking for a
little up arrow in the upper right corner of the window frame. This is
your clue that the window can be resized. You can make the window full
screen size by clicking on that arrow. If you desire to again make it the
original smaller size, just click on the double arrow which then appears
in the same spot. You can also custom size it by positioning the mouse
cursor on the very lower right corner of the window and then pressing AND
HOLDING the left mouse button. Then as you move the mouse, the window size
will follow. When the window is the desired size, release the mouse
button.

Using A Mouse
The user interface is made simple and powerful by the use of a mouse. The
mouse provides the mechanism to rapidly point to something on the screen
and tell the program to perform certain operations.

When the mouse is available to use, (by having the proper mouse driver
installed and the mouse connected properly) a rectangular square will be
visible on the screen. This rectangle is called the "mouse cursor" and
moves around on the screen as you move your mouse. Moving this mouse
cursor to the points of interest on the screen is your way of telling the
program what you are interested in. Pressing the left mouse button tells
the program to do something, depending on what is visible on the screen
and where the mouse cursor is when you press the button. Other areas of
the on-line help describe what will happen when you use the mouse in
particular ways with particular things on the screen.

Throughout the program documentation and the on-line help screens you will
see references to the use of the mouse, but may not refer specifically to
the mouse cursor or the buttons on the mouse. Instead, you will be told to
" click on ...". This always means to position the mouse cursor to the
(whatever it is) on the screen by moving the mouse until it is on top of
the item of interest, then press the LEFT mouse button. This is the major
method of using the mouse to interact with the program.

Using the MENU system.
The menu system provides a convenient and simple way to get to each of the
different options available. Please note that the menu system is only
available when thereÆs nothing else happening in the program. For example,
if you are in the middle of editing something, the menu system wonÆt work
because none of the main menu options are available to use. You must be
completed with any of the main menu options available before selecting
another one. There are a number of ways to access the options in the menu
system. LetÆs explore them:



Shortcut Keys
First of all, notice that each of the options at the top of the screen has
one of its letters displayed in a different color. That letter is known as
the "shortcut" letter. This letter is kind of a "hot" letter which will
access that particular option when you use the ALT key along with that
shortcut letter. For example, to access the Edit option, you would press
the ALT key at the same time you press the E key. This will open up the
Edit sub-menu with all of its options.

F10 Key
By pressing the F10 key you gain access to all of the main menu options
shown on the top line of the screen. One of the options shown will become
highlighted. To access that option, just press the RETURN key. You will
then see the sub-menu options that are available from that option. If
however, you desired to access one of the other options, you may use the
left or right arrow keys to change the highlighted option. You may also
press the shortcut key as described above. Once you have the sub-menu
options displayed, you may again press the appropriate shortcut key to
select the desired option. You may also use the up and down arrow keys to
highlight the option and then press the RETURN key to select it.

Mouse
Finally, you can simply click the left mouse button while the mouse cursor
is on top of the desired option.

Working with Dialog Boxes
Dialog boxes are simply specialized types of windows used to display and
input information. A dialog box consists of a variety of different parts
which make this possible. These parts include buttons, input lines, pick
lines, static text, labels, scroll bars, list boxes, radio buttons, and
check boxes.

Each of these items, when used in a dialog box, can be selected for use by
one of several methods. One method is to click on the item with the left
mouse button when the mouse cursor is positioned somewhere on the item.
Each item shown in a dialog box has a label associated with it. You will
notice that there is a different colored letter within the label. This is
the shortcut letter. You can select a desired item by pressing either ALT
and the shortcut letter or the letter alone. You will need to use the ALT
key with a shortcut letter if you have something that is expecting regular
letters to be inputted (such as an input line). Finally, you can select
different items in a dialog box by pressing the TAB key or the SHIFT and
TAB keys. This will step the focus (item of interest or the one that will
operate with the RETURN key) from one item to the next in the dialog box.

Once the item desired is highlighted by using one of these methods, you
are ready to use that item.

NOTE:
You may be tempted to press the RETURN key when you are done entering
information into an input line or using one of the other items in a dialog
box. This will probably result in more than you expected. Not only will
you be indicating to the program that you are done inputting the line, but
you will also be indicating to the program that you wish to take the
default action defined by one of the buttons in the dialog box (see
buttons for information on what default actions are). In some cases this
may be to Edit whatever is selected. In other cases, it will be to
indicate that you are done with the dialog box and it will close on you
because the default button was the DONE button.

Summary: DonÆt press the RETURN key unless you want to perform the default
action of the dialog box. This is probably the biggest difference between
the way the windows and dialog boxes work in this program and the way
older programs worked.


Buttons
Buttons are used primarily to allow you to tell the program to do some
pre- programmed action, such as Edit, Delete, Scale, Convert or something.
Each button consists of a small box with a text label on it and a shadow
around it. In each dialog box, there is usually one "default" button and
other " normal" buttons. A default button is one which is automatically
selected when you press the RETURN key if you have not selected some other
button. Like the menu and other parts of the program, buttons can be
selected (highlighted) by any of the three methods described above
(Shortcut key, TAB, or mouse).


To "press" a button, you can press the ALT key along with the shortcut key
shown on the button. You can press RETURN with the appropriate button
selected. Finally, you can position the mouse cursor on the button and
press the left mouse button. Notice that as you press and hold the mouse
button, the screen button "shadow" goes away, along with its position
shifting to the right, giving the effect of having depressed it. When the
mouse button is released, the button action will take effect. If you have
pressed a button and have not yet released the mouse button, and for some
reason do not wish to continue with that action, you can move the mouse
cursor off of the button BEFORE RELEASING THE MOUSE BUTTON. This will
cancel the button press.

Input Lines
Input lines are used to allow you to enter information directly from the
keyboard.



If an input line is selected and there is existing information, it will be
displayed as "selected text". This means that if you press any key except
the HOME, END, left arrow, or right arrow, the existing text will be
deleted and you will be able to reenter new information from scratch. If,
however, you wish to just edit what is there, just move the cursor with
the arrow keys to the point you wish to edit. You will notice that the
color changes to the normal text color and you can now add to or delete
characters from what is there.

In some cases, the length of the information you can enter into an input
line will be longer than the box displayed on the screen. When this
occurs, an arrow will appear at either end of the input box indicating the
information in the box is longer than the what is displayed. If you
position the mouse cursor on the arrow and press the left mouse button,
the text will scroll across the box. You may also use either the left or
right arrow keys to position the cursor to the proper point in the text to
continue editing.

When you are done using an input line, you can move to the next one by one
of the three methods described in Working With Dialogs above (shortcut
keys, TAB or mouse).

Static Text
Static Text is simply text that does not have any "action" attached to it
and is used to just display information in the dialog box.

Labels
Labels are used to make it possible to select various items in a dialog
box for use. For example, Input Lines (described above) usually have a
label associated with them. Within the label is the shortcut key which can
be used to select the desired input line for use. The label can also be
used to select the desired item with the other two selection methods (TAB
key and the mouse).

Scroll Bars
Scroll bars are devices used to allow you select or identify one item out
of many. Sometimes it is used to change a value of some piece of
information. A scroll bar is made up of three basic parts: the slider bar,
the slider, and the direction arrows.



The direction arrows are attached to each end of the slider bar, and the
slider moves along the slider bar. There are several ways to move the
slider (and thus control the item the scroll bar is attached to). One way
is to use the arrow keys (up and down for vertical scroll bars, and left
and right for horizontal scroll bars). Holding the CTRL key down while
pressing an arrow key will make the slider move in larger increments. You
may also move the slider by positioning the mouse cursor on one of the
direction arrows at the ends of the scroll bar and pressing the left mouse
button. The slider will move in the direction selected (and will change
the associated item). Release the mouse button when the slider and
information is in the desired position. If you position the mouse cursor
on the slider bar (between the slider and the direction arrow) and press
the left mouse button the slider will move in greater increments (the same
as pressing the CTRL and arrow keys). You may manually position the slider
by positioning the mouse cursor on the slider and while PRESSING AND
HOLDING the left mouse button, moving the mouse (and thus the slider) to
the desired position and then releasing the mouse button.

Pick Lines
Pick lines are a special kind of input lines. They look somewhat like an
input line in that it contains text and has an associated label. Once
selected and activated (by pressing any key) however, an additional
feature is revealed, which is a list box. This list box contains all of
the choices available to be placed into the associated input line. Instead
of typing the information directly into the input line, you select from
the list box. The list box closes when you select the desired item from
the list or press ESC or click on the close box.

List Boxes
A list box is a box that contains a list of items, usually sorted, which
are used to select one of the items within the list. The list box is
"smart" and has several methods available to make it simple to select one
of the items in the list. One of these methods is to use the scroll bar
associated with the list. Moving the slider will change the selected item
in the list. Another one method is to use the up and down arrow keys or
the HOME or END keys. HOME will select the top item in the list. END will
select the last item in the list. You may also just type the letters in
the item that you wish to find. For example, suppose the list is a list of
recipe ingredients, and contains the following items:

Apples
Bread
Butter
Eggs
Milk
Yogurt

If you press the æbÆ key (either upper or lower case, it doesnÆt matter)
the æBreadÆ entry will be highlighted. The cursor will be underneath the
ærÆ in æBreadÆ, indicating that it is waiting for the second letter to be
pressed. If you press the æuÆ key, the æButterÆ entry will be highlighted.
So you can see that you can get to the desired item very quickly just by
pressing a few keys. Once the desired item is highlighted, you can select
it by pressing the Return key or the appropriate dialog box button. This
technique works for any item in the list, whether visible or not.

Finally, you can select an item that is visible in the list box by moving
the mouse cursor somewhere on the line that contains the desired item and
double clicking with the mouse.

Double Clicking
This is a way of using the mouse to indicate to the program that you wish
to both select and activate whatever item it is on (if that item
understands double clicks). This is done by rapidly pressing the left
mouse button twice. Just what "rapidly" means depends on your computer and
can be determined by experimentation. Double clicking works on some data
entry lines (those that open selection list boxes and in the list boxes
themselves.

See Using The Mouse above.


Radio Buttons
Radio Buttons are devices organized as short lists of text items with
parentheses () next to them. A group of radio buttons is known as a
"cluster." They act together. Within one cluster of radio buttons, only
one of the buttons can (and will) be selected.


To change selections, you can click on the desired choice with the mouse,
or pressing the appropriate shortcut key.

Remember that radio button clusters have a label associated with them
which makes it possible to select it before working on it. Pressing the
ALT key along with the shortcut key will also work.

Check Boxes
Check Boxes work exactly like radio buttons except that you may select
any, all, or none of the items in the cluster.

Working with Message Boxes
Message Boxes are used simply to advise you of some condition which needs
attention or to inform you of some situation which has occurred and needs
a decision made. Usually a message box will have several simple buttons
associated with it. Those buttons could be YES, NO, OK, or Cancel. These
buttons are usually provided for your response to a question stated in the
box.

Program Status Line
The program status line is the very bottom line of the screen and presents
brief help messages or a few available hot keys. This is a method of
providing just a bit more information to you as you are working in order
to provide a good understanding of what is happening or where you are in
the program. Hot keys may be used by either pressing the displayed key, or
clicking on the item with the mouse, or using the shortcut key shown.


Changing Text Screen Colors
The Colors dialog box accessed by the Edit | Text Colors (or by pressing
the SHIFT-F7 key) allows you to change the colors of the items displayed
on the screen while in text mode. This dialog box consists of two list
boxes, a text display area, the standard OK, Cancel, and Help buttons, and
one of the following:

On color and black-and-white systems, it also contains two color palettes.
On monochrome systems, it contains a set of radio buttons instead of the
palettes.


The Group list box contains the names of the different regions of the
program that you can customize. When you select a group from the Group
list, the Item list box displays the names of the different views in that
region. To change colors of a particular item, highlight the item in the
Item list box, then select the colors (or gray shades) desired from the
forground and background palettes to the right.

On color and black-and-white systems, you use the Foreground and
Background palettes to modify colors. On monochrome systems, you use the
Colors set of radio buttons to modify the character attributes. On all
systems, the display text shows the current color or settings.

When finished changing colors, press the OK button to save the new
settings. If it is desired to quit without saving changes, press the
Cancel button. Changes do not take effect until you close the Colors
dialog box by choosing OK.

Using the HELP system
The help system is designed to get you the help you need on whatever topic
you wish. The help system takes you directly to the topic of interest just
by pressing the F1 key from wherever you are in the program. If there are
related topics which might be of interest to you, the help system provides
the means to easily jump to that topic and see that information. To get
help, just press the F1 key. Appropriate information will be given for the
topic you are on. If there is no specific topic to be addressed (such as
from the opening screen), the main Table of Contents will be presented,
from which you may select any of the topics listed for further
information.

The help will appear in a window in the middle of the screen. Most of the
text will wrap around in the window so all of it is visible. Some
specially formatted text may be outside the window. In this case, just use
the scroll bars at the bottom or right side of the help window to scroll
the text until it is visible.

You may also make the help screen appear full size by moving the mouse
cursor to the little up-arrow positioned on the frame in the upper right
hand corner of the help window and clicking the left mouse button.

When you are done with the help, it can be removed by simply pressing the
ESC key or clicking the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is on the
close box positioned at the upper left of the window.

To view the next highlighted topic in a help window (one that is a
different color than the rest of the text) just press the TAB key or the
SHIFT and TAB keys to make the desired topic highlighted. When it is, just
press the RETURN key. You may also select a desired topic by double-
clicking on it with the left mouse button.


File Select Dialog Boxes
File select dialog boxes are special dialog box which are used to allow
you specify a particular file that you wish to access. The file select
dialog box contains:

An input box with a history list
A list box to browse the directory
The standard Cancel button
Open action button
An information panel that describes the selected file

You may exit the File Open command by pressing the ESC key or clicking the
mouse on the CANCEL button.

Name Input Box
The Name input box is where you enter the name of the file to load, or the
file-name mask to use as a filter for the Files list box (for example,
*.*).

A valid filename consists of a drive letter followed by a colon, a
subdirectory name(s),  a filename (8 characters or less),  and an
extension ( a dot followed by up to 3 letters).  For example:

   c:\pct3\data\tle.txt

WARNING:
Do not use the following  filenames:
          CON AUX
        COM1 COM2 COM3 COM4
        PRN LPT1 LPT2 LPT3 NUL
        CLOCK$

Do not use the following extensions:
        .EXE .$$$ .BAK .BAS
        .BAT .COM .CPI .SYS

Do not use the following characters:
          < > = , ; : . ? [ ] ( ) / \ + *

If you enter *.*, then all files in the current directory will be shown in
the Files box below.


Files List Box
The Files list box lists the names of files in the current directory that
match the file-name mask in the Name input box, plus the parent directory
and all subdirectories.

File Information Panel
The File information panel shows the path name, file name, date, time, and
size of the selected file. None of the items on this information panel are
selectable. They are there for information purposes only.

Open Button
The Open button picks the highlighted file and places the full path and
filename in the filename line.

Cancel Button
If you choose Cancel, nothing changes and no action occurs, and the dialog
box is put away.  (Esc always cancels a dialog box, even if a Cancel
button does not appear.)


Path Select Dialog Box
Path select dialog boxes are special dialog boxes which are used to allow
you to easily type or select specify a particular path name that you wish
to use. The path select dialog box contains an directory name input box, a
directory tree list box, the standard Select, Chdir, and Cancel.

The path select dialog box looks like this:

Directory Name Box
The Directory Name input box is where you type in the path of the new
directory.

Directory Tree List Box
The Directory Tree list box enables you to navigate directories by using
the selecting bar and pressing Enter.

Select Button
The Select button exits the dialog box with the new path that is currently
showing in the Directory Name input box.

Chdir Button
The Chdir button puts the path that is highlighted in the Directory Tree
list box into the Directory Name input box.

Cancel Button
The Cancel exits the dialog box without making any changes to the data
path.


Output Destination Dialog Box
This dialog box allows you to select whether or not printer output goes to
a text file or to the printer. In the case that printer output is to go to
a file, it allows you to enter or select a file to be used for that
purpose. To facilitate this, a radio button and input line are used:

Print To
This radio button is used to select where this output is to be sent,
either to the printer itself or to a disk file. The options are
[  ] Printer
[  ] Disk File

Disk File To Print To
This input line defines the file that will be used if output is to go to a
disk file (ie by having the Disk File option selected under Print To
above).

This is a standard file input line that will allow you to enter or select
the name of a disk file that output will be sent to if you have the "disk
file" button selected. If you do not enter anything in this box, and you
select disk file as the destination of this output, the default name given
in the input line will be used.

To activate the File Select Box, press the Down Arrow key, double click
the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is on the line, or click on
the down arrow in the small box to the right of the input line. See File
Select Dialog Boxes above for details on how to use the file selection
dialog box.

Done Button
Pressing this button closes the dialog box and saves all changes and
entries made. Printing will commence when this is done. Pressing the
RETURN key is the same as pressing this button.

Cancel Button
Pressing this button closes the dialog box and ignores all changes and
entries made. The printing operation will be canceled. Pressing the ESC
key is the same as pressing this button.