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MINDEXER -------- Release 1.00 dated 1/25/93 MINDEXER(C) Copyright 1993 Marc Heatherington and Walt White. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: Users of MINDEXER must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "MINDEXER IS SUPPLIED AS IS. THE AUTHORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. THE AUTHORS ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF MINDEXER. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE." This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of Oregon and shall inure to the benefit of the authors and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising our of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in the state of Oregon. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAREWARE Shareware distribution lets try software before buying it. If you try MINDEXER and continue using it, you are expected to register it. Copyright laws apply to Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holders retain all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. The authors grant you the right to copy and distribute the software freely. If your MINDEXER shareware disk doesn't work, please send it to the address below for a free replacement. Users of MINDEXER must register and pay $15 for their copy of MINDEXER within 30 days of first use. If you don't like it, don't pay anything. Anyone distributing MINDEXER for any kind of remuneration must first contact the authors at the address below for authorization. This authorization is immediately granted to distributors recognized by the Association of Shareware Professionals as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors. However the authors should be advised so the distributor can be mailed latest version of MINDEXER. You are encouraged to give copies of MINDEXER to your friends for their use. Please encourage them to register their copy if they plan to use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of MINDEXER (if it has since been upgraded) and notices of upgrades. Registration also grants a site license to businesses to make as many copies as needed for use in that business, at a single address. MINDEXER REGISTRATION Version 1.01 - 2/17/93 Remit To: Please Supply the Following Info: Marc Heatherington Name________________________________ 4324 Fir Dell Dr. SE Salem, OR 97302 Company_____________________________ Address_____________________________ City/St/Zip_________________________ Phone_______________________________ Contact Individual: ____________________________________ Item Quantity Unit Price Total Price ================================ ======== ========== =========== MINDEXER ________ $15.00 ___________ ................Total enclosed (__check __money order) _____________ ====> If this program has been upgraded prior to your registration, the upgrade will be sent to you upon receipt of your registration. Please specify disk size used. 3.5 in ________ 5.25 in _________ Please indicate where you received this program: --------------------------------------------------------------- MINDEXER 1.1 consists of 5 files: MINDEXER.EXE - the main program MINDEXER.DOC - the instruction file SAMPLE.IDX - a sample index README.BAT - a batch file, view instructions on screen PHONE.IDX - a sample index of phone numbers PRINTDOC.BAT - a batch file, prints instructions MINDEXER INTRODUCTION MINDEXER is a program to help you create and manage indexes just like the ones in the back of many books. Files you create with MINDEXER are automatically alphabetized and can be printed or viewed on screen. MINDEXER allows you to make sub-entries, and automatically handles the creation of extra lines needed for "overflow" page entries. Many word processors have index features which allow you to mark words to be searched for, and then an index is created for you. This program operates from the premise that you want to include all related words and subjects, and have the ability to EASILY add and update your index. Remember, the quality of an index is determined by the reader's ability to find a subject in any likely area they might look. A unique aspect of MINDEXER is the ability to print all entries referring to a specific page. This makes MINDEXER ideal for maintaining manuals which are periodically updated. In addition, instead of entering page references, you can have the item entries refer to sections, laws, or other types of references. MINDEXER can be used to index books, manuals, magazine articles, films on video tapes, etc. MINDEXER is written in "C" for IBM or compatible computers (8088 or higher) using an MS-DOS operating system version 3.3 or higher, with a monochrome monitor and one floppy drive. If you have any questions or suggestions, or find a programming bug, please write: Marc Heatherington 4324 Fir Dell Dr. SE Salem, OR 97302 He can also be reached through PRODIGY at PXGT91A. This package includes a sample file, SAMPLE.IDX. This file is an index of employer tax laws and administrative rules. This file was created with MINDEXER so that it could be updated as the laws and rules were updated. Please take time to load this file and view it in the Display mode. As you view the file, press the Insert key to view the file in raw and formatted form. This program is so easy to use, a quick overview of the instructions is all that is necessary to be up and running. INSTALLING MINDEXER MINDEXER can be run from either a floppy or a hard drive. It is recommended that MINDEXER be placed in its own subdirectory on a hard drive and that subdirectory be made the current directory before using the MINDEXER program. To install MINDEXER on a hard drive from the DOS prompt, type, C:\MD MINDEXER (This creates the subdirectory) C:\CD MINDEXER (This switches to the new subdirectory) C:\COPY A:\*.* (replace A with B if you are using the B drive) Start the program by typing "MINDEXER" (without the quote marks) at the DOS prompt and tapping the <Enter> key. It is not necessary to capitalize "MINDEXER" nor is it necessary to add the ".EXE" extension. Command line arguments are not recognized in this release. THE MAIN SCREEN There are two important screen lines visible while the program is running. Both of these lines are light gray if you have a color monitor. The first is the "Status line" which is the second line from the top. The second is the "Prompt line" at the bottom of the screen. The left side of the Status line displays the current mode and user messages. The right side of the Status line displays the number of lines contained in the current (memory resident) file. MINDEXER can handle over 6,000 lines (over 100 pages of indexed items). The Prompt line reminds the user which keys perform which actions in the current mode. The name of the current file will always be displayed in the middle of the third screen line. This line shows "Empty" if there is no current file in memory, or "New" if the data in memory has not yet been saved with a unique filename to disk. The program does not currently use a mouse. MINDEXER menus are displayed in the middle of the screen with the cursor turned off. When the cursor is off, the program responds to valid single keystrokes. It is not necessary to use the <Enter> key. Options may be selected by tapping a number key or the first letter of the option (either upper or lower case.) Letters are easier to use than numbers, because they are easier to remember. If you have a color monitor, a red highlight bar will be visible. This can be moved up or down with the arrow keys.The space bar can also be used to move the highlight bar down. Tapping the <Enter> key will select the highlighted option. If you make a mistake when you pick a menu option, you can cancel your selection by tapping the <Esc> key. THE MAIN MENU The copyright notice and version number are displayed only on initial startup. Registration information accessed from the Utilities Menu. Main Menu options: ----------------------- | MAIN MENU | | | | 1. Load | | 2. Save | | 3. Display | | 4. Enter | | 5. Find | | 6. Print | | 7. Utilities | | 8. Clear | | 9. Quit | ----------------------- 1. LOAD This menu choice loads a previously saved index file. You can enter a full path name in the filename requester box to load a file. If no extension is specified, the extension ".IDX" will be appended to the filename automatically. This program will not currently load non-MINDEXER data files. All files in the current directory which end in .IDX are displayed as a convenient reminder. The first ".IDX" file encountered on the disk is entered into the load requester as a default. If a different file is desired, use <Alt><x> to erase the default filename. Next, type in the desired file. You need not capitalize it, nor do you need to type in the .IDX extension. WARNING: If you load a new file into memory on top of a file already in memory, the current file in memory will be erased, and the new file will take its place. If the file being overwritten in memory has been modified since it was last saved to disk, you will get a "File not saved" warning. 2. SAVE This choice pops up the Save option. The current file name is placed in the name box as a default. It can be changed. A full path name can be entered in the filename box. If no extension is specified, ".IDX" will be appended to the filename automatically. If a file with the same name exists on disk, you will be warned before you overwrite it. 3. DISPLAY The Display menu choice shows the file in two formats; formatted and raw. The default view shows the file in its raw form. The second format shows the file as it will appear on printouts. Use the <Insert> key toggles between Formatted and Raw modes. The <Home> and <End> keys will take you to the first and last pages respectively. The <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys will move you through the file one page at a time. Perhaps the best feature is the Letter Key feature. Tap any alphabetical letter key, and the display will present the first item which starts with the specified letter. This feature helps you quickly locate items in large files. 4. ENTER Select <4>, <e>, <E>, or use the highlight bar to select the ENTER option. You will be presented with two boxes which expect an "Item" and a "Page." The cursor will be blinking in the upper box labeled "Item." The ENTER menu choice is used to either create a new file and make entries into it, or to add more entries into a loaded file. If you are not loading a previously saved file, you will need to begin by using the Enter option. If you have loaded a previously existing file, the last record entered in that file will be displayed in the last entry box. The editing keys are: <Csr Up> up one field <Csr Dn> down one field <Csr Right> right one character <Csr Left> left one character <Home> left end of field <End> right end of field <Ins> toggle typeover and insert modes <Alt><x> erase entire field <F1> restore field (see note 1 below) <Tab> start of next field <Shift><Tab> start of previous field <Enter> start of next field (see note 2 below) <F2> save edited record <Esc> exit to menu entry Note 1: <F1> restores the field currently containing the cursor to its condition at the time the cursor was last moved into it or before the <Alt><x> key combination was last used. Thus it acts as an error correction or "undo" key, but only until you move the cursor out of the field. If the field was empty when you moved the cursor into it, <F1> will restore the field to an empty condition. Note 2: Hitting the <Enter> key while the cursor is in the Item field will move the cursor to the Pages field. Hitting the <Enter> key at the Pages field stores the record and clears the fields for the next entry. When the cursor is in the Pages field, tapping the <Enter> key will have the same effect as if you had hit the <F2> key. The <Num Lock> key must be off for keys on the numeric keypad to work as described above. The program will beep at you if you try something impossible such as tapping the <Del> key when there is nothing to delete. Field widths are: 35 characters for the Item field 29 characters for the Pages field The program will automatically create another line to "ditto" an Item if the Pages field overflows to a second line. To see an example of this, type in the same word at least 8+ times, with a large page reference each time. The screen will show you how it appends numbers. Once a brand new line appears, switch to the Display mode and hit the insert key to view your test entries and the two lines. As soon as there is at least one entry in the current file, a box titled "Last Entry" will pop up in the Enter mode. This displays the most recent entry made into the current file. Sub-entries: A reader might think of a variety of words to find a subject. When you enter an Item, try to think of other Items for which your subject might be a sub-entry. For instance, "Oak trees" could be an Item by itself, and a sub-entry of "Forest", "Cabinets" and "Hardwoods". Broad Items should have sub-entries for all related subjects. Sub-entries are created by entering an Item or header (an abbreviated item), a carrot ^ (shift F6) followed by the sub- entry. For instance, you may want "elm tree" to be listed as a main Item and as a sub-entry under FOREST. It would be typed like this: FOREST^elm trees Item entries and headers are automatically capitalized for you. Sub-entries are left uncapitalized. When entering a sub-entry, it is recommended that you type at least 5 letters of the main entry before using the carrot and adding the sub-entry. For example: FOREST^elm trees is preferred to FOR^elm trees Having at least five or six letters allows the program to ensure that the sub-entries are properly posted and alphabetized. A sub-entry such as FOR^elm trees could incorrectly be placed as a sub-entry to FORM instead of FOREST. The Carrot ^ affects the sort order of any sub-entry, leaving room for error if your heading is not long enough. Care should be taken to use the same header with each entry's sub-entries. In addition, capitalization within sub-entries can affect the sort order under a particular Item. "Zebra" will appear before "alpha" because of the capitolization of the Z in zebra. The Display function (in raw format) should be checked if you are uncertain about how an entry has been placed. The raw display and raw printout can also help locate mistyped entries. NOTE: In the above example, if (for some reason) you have an Item heading of FOR, you can force a sub-entry like FOR^word to fall under FOR instead of FOREST by adding a space after FOR and before the "^"; FOR ^word. If you enter an item which has already been entered, the program adds the new pages to the previous entry's reference if there is room. When pages are added in this fashion, they will be separated by a comma and a space. If there is not enough room on the reference line for new pages, a new line will be created. In the Formatted Display screen, duplicate item lines are displayed with a ditto mark. You can enter an Item without page numbers. However, dots will not be printed after Items which have no corresponding page numbers. This allows you to enter an Item as a separator or heading of some sort. You cannot enter page numbers with no Item. 5. Find The Find choice helps you find an entry to make corrections or deletions. To use, enter a search sub-string (either the item or part of the item name). The search feature is case insensitive; either upper or lower case can be used. Both the Item and Pages fields are searched. If a match is located, it will be displayed. Use the <Tab> key if you wish to search for additional occurrences of the specified sub-string. Use <Shift><Tab> if you have gone past the first match and wish to search the file backward for matches. If you wish to edit or delete a record, you must first retrieve it with the Find option. Once the record is displayed, tap the <Enter> key, and you will be placed in the Edit/Delete mode. You can tell this because the blinking cursor will appear. If you edit Pages and use the <F2> key to save your changes, the edited line will use the same link routine as Add mode. Consequently, it will fill its newly edited pages into a hole if possible. If you retype an Item which already exists, it may re- alphebtize the edited Item to the bottom of an identical item list. This may be confusing if a minor or "typeover" change is made, and the line shifts position. Edits to a record are not saved unless you tap the <F2> key to save your edits. You can delete a record with <F10>. You will be asked to verify deletions. The <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys can be used in Edit/Delete mode to move to contiguous records in either direction. These cursor key choices appear on the bottom of your screen. 6. PRINT Choosing Print will display the following menu. ----------------------- | PRINT MENU | | | | 1. Formatted | | 2. Raw | | 3. Page | | 4. Item | | 5. Disk | | 6. Lines | | 7. Set | | 8. Exit | ----------------------- This program is meant to work generically with any printer. However, if a previous program has left your printer in an un-initialized state, you may need to reinitialize it through the software (see the Set option), hardware (buttons on the printer), or by turning the printer off then on again to reset it. Entering a report title is optional. The program defaults to the current filename, but you can opt for no filename (<Alt><x>, then <Return>), or you can change the default title to whatever you want by hitting (<Alt><x>, and typing in a title. The title will automatically be converted to upper case before being printed. The title length is limited to 35 characters. Print Menu Choices 1. Formatted The Formatted choice prints a Full file printout, with indented sub-items. It does not display headings to left of a carrot (or the carrot itself) for sub- entries. The heading "(continued...)" appears at page top of subsequent pages for items with sub-entries which are continued from one page to another, both in Formatted and Raw modes. Dots are not added after items that have no corresponding page entries. 2. Raw This choice prints a full file printout. It prints Item entries, and sub-entries which consist of leading entry headers and carrots " ^ " followed by sub- entries. The words "(continued...)" appears at page top in both Formatted and Raw modes. Dots are not added after items that have no corresponding page entries. 3. Page This function lets you enter a page or reference and then prints only those lines which contain the page number you select. Matches are searched for only in the Pages field. The full page reference must be entered. A sub-string of the page will not work. This function prints only those lines which contain an occurrence of the search string not bordered on either the left or the right by another digit. For example, selecting page "43" will print lines containing page "43" but will not print lines containing numbers such as "435" or "543". This function is ideal for finding and updating manual references. 4. Item This function lets you enter an Item, and prints only those lines which have at least one occurrence of a user specified sub-string in the Item field. The search is case insensitive; either lower or upper case can be entered. Matches must be in the Item field. 5. Disk This choice is the same as the Formatted option except the data is sent to a disk file you specify instead of to the printer. The file will be an ASCII text file. This option allows you to create a file which can later be used by a word processing program. A full path name can be entered in the filename requester box. ".TXT" will be appended to the filename automatically unless a different extension is specified to override the ".TXT" default. 6. Lines The program default is set to 66 lines per page. If you have a printer which uses 64 lines per page, choose this menu item to reset the page length. The program defaults to 66 lines upon startup, and if needed, would have to be reset each time the program is loaded. The minimum length allowed is 20 lines per page. The maximum length is 132 lines. 7. Set This command initializes the printer to its original startup condition. If the printer is turned off or is out of paper an error message will appear on the status line. If the printer is off line, it will be put back on line and made ready to print, but an error message will still be given. Note: A small percentage of printers may not respond as expected to the "Set" option. 8. Exit Return to the Main Menu. The <Esc> key will also return you to the Main Menu. 7. Utilities Menu ----------------------- | UTILITIES MENU | | | | 1. About | | 2. Merge | | 3. Exit | ----------------------- 1. About This choice displays copyright, registration and program version information. 2. Merge This choice merges an existing disk file with the file currently in memory. Page numbers for duplicate items are merged onto single lines where possible. Duplicate page numbers are not discarded in this version. When the merge process is complete, the file in memory will be the modified file. This file must then be saved to disk under a new user selected name. 3. Exit This returns to Main Menu. The <Esc> key also returns you to the Main Menu. 8. CLEAR Clears the current file from memory. A warning will be issued if the current file has been modified since it was last saved. 9. QUIT Exit to DOS. The <Esc> key cannot be used to quit the program. If the file in memory has not been saved, a warning will appear. Hitting <Enter> will override the warning and exit. TIPS AND STRATEGIES If identical items don't stack up the way you like, remember that saving, <F2>, from Find-Edit mode can be used to modify and move the item down the list if pages won't fit. Leading spaces in the Item field will cause a record to be placed at the beginning of the file. Spaces are allowable in the Pages field. You can tamper with the page fit by appending preceding dots or spaces to the pages field. TROUBLE SHOOTING Problem -- Data file can't be loaded from disk. Solution -- Only MINDEXER created files can be loaded. The file must have the .IDX extension as saved on disk. You do need not type it in to save or retrieve from within the program. Check to see if you copied, moved, or renamed your data file without keeping the .IDX extension? Problem -- The printout is goofy. Solution -- Be sure the printer is set for automatic carriage returns when it encounters a line feed. Technical Note: A deliberate design decision was made to "merge" the new file as it is loaded rather than loading the whole file in (which would be quicker) and then merging in RAM. Reason -- with this design, two files which could not simultaneously fit in memory can successfully be merged (if there are enough duplicate Items to keep total size small enough) and saved out as a merged (third file) under a different name. Be sure to change the name (if that is your desire). Known Bug: An attempt to access a floppy disk when no disk is present or to write to a write protected disk will blow out the program to the DOS "Abort, Retry, Fail" routine. You can recover by inserting or write enabling the disk, then typing "R" for "Retry" and tapping the <Enter> key. The interrupted option should then proceed normally. The only ill effect is that the left border will remain corrupted. At least you will not have lost your data. EXPECTED UPGRADE FEATURES: In the future, we expect to add the following enhancements: 1. Function key features to speed creation of sub-entries. and autoentry of Headings or subentries. 2. A utility function to let you check your memory usage. 3. Expansion of the last index entry, to enable you to see your last entry in the midst of surrounding entries. 4. Additional printing formats. 5. A key to toggle alphabetization, to give you a choice whether or not to capilolize headings. 6. A new entry screen to allow you to see your previous entries, and your last entry as sorted. We desire your comments and suggestions. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR COPY TO BE NOTIFIED OF FUTURE UPGRADES. "Don't judge a book by its cover, but by the index!"