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1991-04-30
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10KB
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202 lines
ANS2AVT
Version 2.10
Copyright (c) 1991, Greg Smith
ANSI to AVATAR level 0+ converter.
Introduction --
"What is ANS2AVT?" You may ask. ANS2AVT is part of a new
breed of software. It will convert any file containing ANSI
escape codes into an equivalent file containing Avatar control
codes. The main advantage of Avatar over ANSI is that it
requires less disk space. Allowing the control codes to be
sent over a modem much faster. Although Avatar is not in wide
spread use as of this writing, many more Bulletin Board Systems
are supporting it. Within a few years it is entirely possible
that it will replace ANSI!
Liability --
By using this product, you agree to take full responsibility
for any damages or consequences of ANS2AVT's use or misuse. You
agree that in now way, manner, or form I can be held responsible
for damages caused by this product. If you do not agree with
this, do not use it. Furthermore, if you continue to use this
product for more than thirty days, you must register it. See
the registration section at the end of this document for more
details.
Usage --
The use of this program should be straight forward, but for
those of you who like to read the documentation here it is.
ANS2AVT is meant to be used as a command line program. It is
designed to accept multiple command line parameters as follows:
ANS2AVT [options] Ansi_File(s) [Avatar_File[.avt]] [options]
Only the ANSI file name is required for the conversion to
work, but an Avatar file can be specified if no wildcards are
used. Options are, as you might expect, optional. The follow-
ing is a list of command line options, and their usage. Param-
eters may be prefaced with either a "/" or a "-" and are not
case sensitive.
-c Disable Avatar RLE compression.
This is a fairly straight forward option. In short,
it turns the default Avatar RLE compression off. The
only time this should be needed is if compression
causes an animated sequence to be displayed too fast.
Otherwise it will often decrease the size of the file
significantly!
-a Keep delays embedded in ANSI for animation.
This is useful for ANSI files that might have delays
embedded within them for slowing animation. The delays
are normally discarded in the conversion process.
-w# Set width of animation screen to # (40-132) default 80.
This parameter allows you to set the width of the
screen your ANSI file would normally be displayed on. I
have included this for configurability, but you should
never need to change it from eighty columns wide.
-l# Set length of animation screen to # (10-80) default 25.
This parameter is similar to the last one, but instead
it sets the length of the screen that the ANSI file
would normally be displayed on. Normally you should
not need to change this, but I will leave it up to you
to experiment with it.
-n Add a clear screen code to the start of the file.
This is useful for bulletins or colored text displays
and other non-animated graphics. Not clearing the
screen will make alphabet soup out of many animated
sequences, yet most animators seem to include the clear
screen in the ANSI itself. If a screen doesn't convert
properly, try this option first.
Registration --
This product is being distributed under the Shareware con-
cept. After 30 days, you should either register this product or
remove it from use.
There are two types of registrations available; the current
and the lifetime. The lifetime registration is US $25 and enti-
tles you to "free" upgrades by sending in a blank disk and US
$2.00 for postage. The current registration on the other hand
costs US $14 entitling you to receive only the latest version.
All registered users will be mailed notices concerning the re-
lease of any major upgrades.
To register send the appropriate check or money order to the
following address:
Greg Smith
Ans2Avt Registration
4422 Pali Way
Boulder, CO. 80301 USA.
Please make all checks payable to Gregory P. Smith. Also, be
sure to include your name, address, and phone number for informa-
tion on future releases. Please add US $2.00 for the disk,
postage and handling if you wish to receive the latest version
with your own registration number installed and the shareware
notice removed.
What to do about errors or files that won't convert:
If you encounter any errors in the program or any ANSI files
that simply won't convert correctly, please contact me at the
registration address or any of the locations listed at the end of
this file. If a program error occurs, please include the error
number, the command line parameters, your computer setup, and the
error address. If possible I would like a copy of the file that
the error occurred on.
Last minute additions and troubleshooting tips:
As Avatar is not a text based terminal, you will get the
best results by saving your ANSI file with an unlimited line
length, as this will decrease the size dramatically.
The AvtType utility provided with this package is free. Use
it to type Avatar files to the screen, it should be self explana-
tory. If you are using any type of Avatar device driver, you
will probably find that many Avatar files won't work when issuing
the type command. This is due to dos's filtering out and pre-
processing (cooking) of control characters. Try issuing a dif-
ferent command such as: copy /b avtfile.avt con. This will
bypass the "cooked" mode which dos types files in. NOTE: With
the Avatar.Sys driver provided in AVT1CON.ZIP, George has also
provided a special utility for typing Avatar files without the
garbage caused by cooked mode.
Coming Soon To A Terminal Near You:
Future versions of ANS2AVT may include these new features:
* The ability to strip end of line clutter found
in ANSI files saved with more than one line.
* The ability to convert Avatar files back into
their ANSI counterparts.
* Avatar's pattern repetition compression could
reduce the file size even more!
* Avatar level 1 console (AVT/1) support
* And much more. . .
Greg Smith
April 30, 1991
If you find any bugs or problems with this program, please con-
tact me via U.S. Snail Mail, or at one of the following loca-
tions:
UseNet: Greg.Smith@bohemia.metronet.org
ncar.UCAR.EDU!boulder!bohemia!Greg.Smith
FidoNet: Greg.Smith@1:104/477
Greg.Smith@1:104/441 or 469
Greg.Smith@1:104/120
PcRelay: ->BOREALIS
BBSes: CMOS BBS line 1 at (303)-322-4078(*)
CMOS BBS line 2 at (303)-320-4125(*)
Bohemia BBS at (303)-449-8946 (my bbs)
Jag's Networking Labs at (303)-377-2371(*)
(*) The latest version of ANS2AVT can be f'reqed through FidoNet
at the following addresses by using the magic name ANS2AVT or the
file name A2AVTnnn.ARJ where nnn is the version number. (Using
wildcards may get you more than the most recent version.)
1:104/441 or 469
1:104/477