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1992-08-19
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EZREAD VERSION 1.9
(c) Copyright David Batchelor 1992
All Rights Reserved
System requirements: Any IBM PC compatible running DOS 2.0 or higher.
EGA or VGA color monitor, ANSI.SYS or equivalent.
EZREAD is a replacement for the DOS TYPE command for reading a text file on the
PC screen. The DOS TYPE command operates too fast for comfortable reading.
EZREAD presents text at a rate slow enough to read -- a rate chosen by the user
-- for the convenience of a user who simply wants to read a scrolling file at a
relaxed pace, "no hands," without having to type a carriage return repeatedly
(as the DOS TYPE | MORE command requires). EZREAD enables the user to change
the scroll speed while reading, to skip ahead or back (impossible for the TYPE
command), and more. EZREAD prints blank lines without delay to save time. It
also lets you search for text keywords in text files. Text is in easy-to-read
black letters on a white background. No other PC utility has all of these
features.
USING EZREAD
The command line format is
EZR input_file_name -d# -w
where # represents a character from the following list: 0, q, h, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, or 9, the desired number of seconds between typed lines (q gives you
1/4 second and h gives you 1/2). The "input_file_name" parameter is optional,
and the program will prompt the user if it is not present. The "-d#" parameter
is also optional, and if it is absent, the default interline delay of 3 seconds
is assumed. I have found that this is a good match to users' reading rates.
(It is simple to invoke EZREAD with a BAT file if you would rather use another
delay. Just put EZR %1 -d4 into a BAT file, and use the BAT file and the
input_file_name.) The optional -w switch turns off character wrapping onto the
next line; if your screen has 80 columns but the lines are longer, you might
want this option.
Several commands are valid during scrolling:
h or H for Help (a command list will appear)
q or Q to Quit (the Esc key also works)
f or F to go Faster (decrease the interline delay in steps)
s or S to go Slower (increase the interline delay in steps)
PgDn to view the next 24 lines immediately
PgUp to view the preceding 24 lines immediately
w or W to Wait until you press another key
l or L to display the current Line number in the file
g or G to Go directly to another line number in the file
b or B to Begin scrolling again at your chosen starting line number
? to search for a keyword (character string) of your choice
Also, if you want to see the next line without delay, you can hit a carriage
return to get it.
EZREAD allows you to search for a character string of as many as 32 characters.
The search starts on the next line (not typed yet on the screen). If the
character string is found, EZREAD skips ahead to the first line containing it
and starts typing with that line. The string you found is highlighted. If the
character string is not found in the file -- between the bottom line you see and
the end of file -- then your place in the file does not change. The search for
characters does not distinguish upper and lower case letters (for example, if
you searched for ezread you would also find EZREAD and vice versa).
When the end of the file is reached, EZREAD types a message giving the line
number of the last line and the file name, and quits.
EZREAD can handle text files with lines that are longer than 80 characters. If
your PC is in 132-column mode, you can view files containing 132-character lines
using EZREAD. You should use the -w switch to avoid unnecessary line feeds
when a line has 132 characters.
EZREAD provides a filter to screen out control characters in files (ASCII
characters 0 through 31, except ^I, the tab character). These characters are
displayed in reverse video, using the corresponding printable character, e.g.
^L (form feed) is displayed as a letter L on a blue background. This is useful
for examining files created by some word processors, which use control
characters as code for Italics or other functions. A ^Z in a text file will be
treated by EZREAD as the End of File, however, and not be printed. Tabs (ASCII
code 9) are expanded as 8 blanks, rather than the symbol ^I.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
This program is SHAREWARE. You are granted a reasonable try-out period of 30
days in which you may test EZREAD to see if it serves your needs. By trying
EZREAD, you implicitly agree to these terms. If you use EZREAD beyond 30 days
after first trying it out, then you are required to send the license fee of
$2.00 US to the author. (EZREAD is the copyrighted property of the author, and
you are granted the right to use it under the conditions in this paragraph.)
The license fee entitles you to unlimited registered use of future releases of
EZREAD, to gab about the program or things in general with the author, and you
will receive a copy of the program source code in C upon request. You are free
to copy and distribute EZREAD under the following conditions: the executable
file EZR.EXE and this file EZREAD19.DOC are not altered in any way, both files
are included together in any distribution, and no money is received by the
distributor (except perhaps media costs). This program is offered to you for
personal use only, not for use in a business environment without a business
license agreement. Please contact the author to arrange a business license
agreement with substantial discounts for multiple copies. (Exception: EZREAD
is free of charge, however, to any federal government employees, for personal
or professional uses.)
I welcome comments from users and suggestions for new features. I can be
reached by postal mail at
David Batchelor
11412 Hawk Ridge Court
Beltsville, MD 20705
Users are welcome to call me at (301) 937-4796 with questions or comments. I
also can be contacted via Email on several Washington, DC, area BBSs, such as
the Capital PC Users' Group Member Information Exchange (301)738-9060.
I am still developing the program and plan to add a few more features in future
releases. I would appreciate hearing from you if you encounter any problems or
have comments about EZREAD.
A popular utility for browsing files is LIST.COM by Vernon Buerg, which does
many, many more functions than EZREAD. LIST.COM has a continuous scrolling
function, but EZREAD can slow down to a much slower pace than LIST and let you
read lots of pages of text without ever touching the keyboard. LIST also makes
you wait for blank lines to scroll by, unlike EZREAD. The main advantage of
using EZREAD is the streamlined access it gives you to continuous scrolling of
text with minimum fuss for minimum price. EZREAD is what the DOS TYPE command
might have been...
EZREAD is also helpful to computer users who are visually impaired and have
other software installed which can read aloud what is printed on the screen.
EZREAD returns an error level of 1 if the input file cannot be opened on the
second attempt; otherwise it terminates setting an error level of 0.
Release history:
SLOWTYPE Version 0.3 Nov. 13, 1990 (prototype with few functions)
SLOWTYPE Version 0.4 Nov. 15, 1990 " " " "
EZREAD Version 1.0 Nov. 20, 1990 (1st full-featured version)
EZREAD Version 1.1 Jan. 17, 1991 (performance tune-up)
EZREAD Version 1.2 Nov. 7, 1991 (ANSI screen control added)
EZREAD Version 1.3 Nov. 14, 1991 (Control character filter added; fixed a
bug: in ver 1.2, line # was 1 too large
on exit at EOF)
EZREAD Version 1.4 Nov. 16, 1991 (Delays of 1/2 and 1/4 second possible)
EZREAD Version 1.5 Nov. 20, 1991 (PgDn and PgUp functions added)
EZREAD Version 1.6 Nov. 21, 1991 (Fixed a bug in runtime command
interpreter)
EZREAD Version 1.7 Nov. 23, 1991 (Added search for character string and
a performance tune-up)
EZREAD Version 1.8 July 12, 1992 (Added EGA/VGA color, fixed a bug or 2)
EZREAD Version 1.9 Aug. 19, 1992 (Removed beep, which hung some 486's
and improved TAB display)
I hope you enjoy the program! - Dave