home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Software of the Month Club 1998 June
/
Software of the Month Club 1998 June.iso
/
pc
/
dos
/
utility
/
see
/
see.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-07-18
|
73KB
|
1,588 lines
::TITLE
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
=========================== =============================
=========================== =============================
=========================== SEE =============================
=========================== =============================
=========================== =============================
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
SEE: The ultra-configurable, macro-capable, file & hyperdoc viewer/printer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| - Display online documentation |
| - Print all or part of a file |
| - Copy a file or extract selected portions |
| - View enormous files -- megabytes long and 255 characters wide |
| - Support up to 3 printers, each with different setup strings |
| - Scan executables while filtering out most non-text data |
| - Read reports while filtering out printer control characters |
| - Combine hypertext and printable user manual into one hyperdoc |
| - Override configuration settings from the command line |
| - Feed keystrokes from the command line (macros) |
| - Configure almost everything -- the setup help is very detailed |
| - Rearrange the pull-down menus and hotkeys to suit yourself |
| - Keep a library of alternative configurations and menu designs |
| |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs in the "SEE" package are Copyright (C) 1992, 1995 by
Pinnacle Software, CP 386 Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada H3P 3C6
U.S. Office: Box 714 Airport Road, Swanton, Vermont 05488 USA
Support Line (514) 345-9578 --- Web Page www.cam.org/~pinnacl
::OVERVIEW
===========================================================================
USER MANUAL OVERVIEW
===========================================================================
This manual contains the following sections:
INTRODUCTION
------------
What is "SEE"?
Licensing
Upgrading from Earlier Versions
HOW TO USE SEE
--------------
Starting up
Wild cards
Cross-directory viewing
Monochrome (/M)
Overriding standard files (/C /U /S)
Summary of parameters and switches
Spaces in parameters
Reading files
Scrolling keys
Jump to a line
Find text
Textify
Copy part or all of a file
Function keys
Copying
Printer destination
Conversion
COMMAND-LINE MACROS
-------------------
Basic format (/K)
Special keys
HYPERDOCUMENTATION
------------------
What is a Hyperdoc?
Printer Escape Sequence Filtering (/P)
No-Show Filtering (/N)
Topic Find (/F)
Quit Reading (/Q)
Examples
Copying versus /N and /P
CONFIGURING SEE
---------------
Default and specified configurations
Multiple configurations (/C)
Changing the pull-down menus
Radical changes via the MNU files (/U)
Bottom line redefinition
Standard key remapping
SEE command tokens
Configuring from the command line (/O)
Copying operations
Status indications
Printer setups
Display control
Color settings
Complex example
Saving changes with the /W switch
Required files
ERROR CODES
-----------
Errors while reading MNU files
Errors generated by the /F parameter
Errors generated by the /O parameter
File errors
Summary of errorlevels
::INTRODUCTION
===========================================================================
INTRODUCTION
===========================================================================
--------------
WHAT IS "SEE"?
--------------
SEE is a utility for viewing and printing text files. It can also display
hex files in a format that makes it easy for you to visually scan the file.
SEE also lets you extract portions of text from the listing. The extracted
portion can be copied to the printer or to a text file. SEE can also
serve as a hypertext engine for your application program, providing you
with a simple method for displaying and printing context-sensitive help.
---------
LICENSING
---------
This product is available in several forms. For billing and pricing
information, view or print the file ORDER.FRM.
TRIAL COPY: If you have a "test-drive" evaluation copy, you will see a
"Registration Reminder Screen" when you start up the program. You are
entitled to evaluate this program at no cost for 3 months. If you continue
to use it after that, you must register your copy and purchase a license,
as described below.
SINGLE-USER LICENSE: When you register an evaluation copy of this product,
you will receive the latest version, plus an unlocking code that will let
you register any new evaluation versions that we release for a period of
two years (six years for deluxe registration).
SITE/MULTI-COPY LICENSES: If you plan to run 15 or more copies of this
program (on a network or on separate computers), you can obtain quantity
pricing. For details, view or print the text file ORDER.FRM.
LAN LICENSE: Local Area Network users must purchase a license for each
user (see "Single-User License" and "Site/Multi-Copy Licenses"), although
they can reduce this amount if they have run-control software which sets an
upper limit on the number of concurrent users for a given program.
WAN LICENSE: Wide Area Networks are treated like LANs, but you may find it
more economical to purchase a Distribution License (see below).
DISTRIBUTION LICENSE: The distribution license allows you to use an
unlimited number of copies. You may include it in your application or
commercial package as a utility. The only restriction is that you may not
distribute this document (i.e. the user manual) or its essential content.
With this safeguard, we avoid placing ourselves in competition with you;
the program must be used to support an application or product rather than
being its main feature.
SOURCE CODE LICENSE: If you purchase the Turbo Pascal source code, you
must also purchase a license for each machine that will run the modified
program. Those portions of the source code written by Pinnacle Software
remain copyrighted by Pinnacle, and may not be divulged to another party.
As an alternative to purchasing the source code, you can also contract for
us to make custom modifications to the program.
RETAIL LICENSE: You can sell complete, registered copies of this product,
complete with documentation, in return for royalties. The terms depend on
volume and advance payments. Contact us for details.
-------------------------------
UPGRADING FROM EARLIER VERSIONS
-------------------------------
The configuration file (SEE.CFG) is compatible with the configuration files
from versions 2.01 onwards. So if you have a configuration file from
version 2.01, 2.20 or 3.10 of SEE, it will still work. Nevertheless, you
should run SEESETUP to see if there are any new configuration items you
would like to change.
The "SEE" program was previously accompanied by some other utilities. The
GETKEY program is still included in the SEE package. GETKEY is "freeware"
and may be given away as long as it is not altered in any way. Some of the
other utilities (MIDNIGHT, SV) will be issued separately, at a later date,
in a different utilities collection. The PSMENU_D program is included with
SEE, You are welcome to use it, subject to the distribution conditions.
Type PSMENU_D at the DOS prompt for details.
::HOWUSE
===========================================================================
HOW TO USE "SEE"
===========================================================================
-----------
STARTING UP
-----------
At the DOS command prompt, enter SEE followed by the name of the file you
want to view. For example, the command:
SEE SEE.DOC
would display the file named SEE.DOC.
SEE automatically detects the type of file being viewed and selects the
appropriate display mode (standard text or "raw-text" for binary files).
---------
WILDCARDS
---------
If you specify a "DOS Wildcard", you will see a menu of file names that
match. You can move the cursor to the file you want by using your arrow
keys, then press Enter to see the file.
For example:
SEE *.INF
would show you all files with the extension INF.
If you omit any file specification, SEE assumes you mean *.* so that the
following command would let you select from all files in the current
directory:
SEE
-----------------------
CROSS-DIRECTORY VIEWING
-----------------------
SEE normally looks for the files in your current drive and directory.
However, you can look at another drive or directory by specifying the path
name accordingly, as in this example:
SEE D:\MYDIR\ACCOUNTS\PAYROLL.TXT
----------
MONOCHROME
----------
SEE can normally detect if you have a color display card or not, but no DOS
program can detect if your monitor can actually display color. (Some
people have color display cards with monochrome monitors) If SEE is
displaying text in color and you want to force it to display in monochrome,
add /M to the command line. For example:
SEE MYFILE.TXT /M
This would display the file MYFILE.TXT in black and white.
You can configure SEE (using the SEESETUP program) to always start up in
monochrome mode. This will save you the bother of always having to specify
the /M parameter.
-------------------------
OVERRIDING STANDARD FILES
-------------------------
In normal operation, SEE uses a standard set of support files, but you can
override them and use files you have prepared yourself...
STANDARD
FILES DESCRIPTION OVERRIDE FORMAT EXAMPLE
-------- -------------- ------------------- ------------------------
SEE.MNU Menu layout SEE file /Ufilename SEE XYZ.DOC /uMYMENU.MNU
SEE.CFG Configuration SEE file /Cfilename SEE XYZ.DOC /cMYCONF.CFG
SEE.SBx Help (SBI/SBT) SEE file /Srootname SEE XYZ.DOC /sMYHELP
You do not have to specify the file extension for the /C and /U parameters;
SEE will assume CFG or MNU as appropriate. Also, both /C and /U let you
place the file in another directory, if you specify the full path. If you
do not specify a full directory path, SEE will look first in the current
directory, and then in the directory where the SEE.EXE program is located.
Configuration files do not require the CFG extension. Menu files do not
require the MNU extension. However, it may make it easier to keep track of
your files if you use these standard extensions.
The program SEESETUP also recognizes the /C parameter. When you use /C with
with SEE and you call up SEESETUP (General/Setup via the pull-down menu, or
Alt-Z via the shortcut key) it passes the correct configuration file name
to SEESETUP.
The help files (SBI/SBT) can be prepared only with a special program named
SBX. This program comes with the source code or distribution license. The
help files must be placed in the same directory as the SEE.EXE program.
----------------------------------
SUMMARY OF PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
----------------------------------
Here is a brief summary of the command-line switches:
FORMAT OF COMMAND FUNCTION
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
SEE file /Cfilename Specifies alternative configuration (CFG) file
SEE file /Ftext Finds the specified text
SEE file /Kkey-list Stacks keys to be "pressed automatically" ("macros")
SEE file /M Switches on monochrome (black and white) display
SEE file /Nprefix-list Lists up to five prefixes for "no-show" lines
SEE file /N Enables the preconfigured "no-show" prefixes
SEE file /Oconfig-list Temporarily modifies one or more configuration items
SEE file /P Switches on printer-code filtering
SEE file /Qtext Stops reading in text when specified text is found
SEE file /Q Stops reading in text when a /N prefix is found
SEE file /Srootname Specifies alternative help (SBI/SBT) files
SEE file /Ufilename Specifies alternative menu (MNU) file
SEE file /W Saves modifications specified by the /O parameter
SEE file /X Switches on raw text (binary file) display mode
|
|
This can be a file (e.g. XYZ.TXT) or a wildcard file mask (e.g. *.TXT). If
you omit the "file" part, SEE assumes you mean *.* (which means "every file
in the current directory) and will show you a menu.
You can use several parameters and switches in the same command:
SEE XYZ.TXT /cMYFILE.CFG /fHELLO /qGOODBYE
Some parameters are not compatible, however. You can not mix the /P and
the /X parameter (printer-code filtering is not available in raw text
mode). Also, the /W switch has no value unless used with the /O parameter.
If you omit the "file" part of the command and use both the /O and /W
parameters, SEE can modify and save configuration items from the command
line without displaying anything (unless there is an error). See the
section "Configuring from the Command Line", which describes /O and /W in
detail.
--------------------
SPACES IN PARAMETERS
--------------------
If you are passing a parameter that has a space in it, you must enclose
the information in quotes. For example:
SEE MYDOC.TXT /F"Mr. Jones"
If you require a quote inside the parameter information, you must use
doubled-up quotes:
SEE MYDOC.TXT /F"Mr. ""Ace"" Jones"
-------------
READING FILES
-------------
--------------
SCROLLING KEYS
--------------
Once you have selected the file you want to read, you can scroll back and
forth in the file a line at a time, using the arrow keys. You can also
jump back and forth a screen at a time, using the PgUp and PgDn keys.
The Home and End keys position the file to the beginning and end,
respectively.
The spacebar key moves forward one screen each time it is pressed. When
you reach the end of the file, you are returned to the previous operation
(i.e. the file selection menu, if you started SEE with DOS wildcards, or
the DOS prompt otherwise).
The left and right-arrow keys scroll text left and right one character at a
time. You can use these keys in conjunction with the Ctrl key to scroll
five characters at a time.
---------
THE L KEY -- Jump to a line
---------
The L key will ask you for a line number. It will then jump to that line,
positioning it at the first line of the viewing area.
---------
THE F KEY -- Find text
---------
The F key will ask you for a text string. If it finds that string in the
text, it will jump there, highlighting the line the text is on. The line
is positioned in the middle of the screen, if possible.
To search for the same text again, press the F3 function key. To search
backwards to a previously found line, press the F4 function key.
-------------
THE ALT-Y KEY -- Textify
-------------
The ALT-Y key lets you filter the display of data in "binary" (non-text)
files such that only the words (and a little bit of extraneous material)
show up. This is useful for scanning a program or data file for helpful
information, while removing most of the material that is intelligible only
to the computer.
The textify function only works in raw binary display mode. You can force
SEE to use this display mode by starting it up with the /X switch, as in
this example:
SEE MYFILE.DAT /X
In most cases this will not be necessary, since SEE automatically detects
the difference between binary and text files.
---------
THE C KEY -- Copy part or all of the file to printer or file
---------
The C key sends a copy of the file (or part of it) to your printer, or to
another file. See the section entitled "Copying" for details.
While using the C feature, remember that the Esc key will always return you
to your previous operation. If you were looking at the help screens, it
returns you to the viewing window. If you were viewing text, it returns
you to the file selection menu (if you started SEE with DOS wildcards) or
the DOS prompt otherwise.
The Copy command asks many questions in order to determine what you want to
do. To save time, you can use the SEESETUP program to specify default
values to these questions, or skip them altogether (using a preselected
value).
-----------------
THE FUNCTION KEYS
-----------------
F 1 displays the help screens. See "Quick Help", above, for additional
information about these screens.
F 2 displays a "ruler" line, which lets you determine in which column text
starts and ends.
F 3 repeats the last Find operation (see "The F Key", above).
F 4 repeats the last Find operation, but looks backwards
F 5 switches the display to 25 lines, in monochrome.
F 6 switches the display to 25 lines, in color.
F 7 switches the display to smaller letters, in monochrome, if you have
the appropriate display card. If you have a CGA, Hercules or MCGA
card, nothing will happen. If you have an EGA card, you will see 43
lines on your screen. A VGA display card will display 50 lines.
F 8 does what the F7 key does, but uses color instead of monochrome.
F 9 sends a page eject character (ASCII 12, Hex $0C) to the printer. You
can select the printer number. By default it is printer LPT1 (or the
default printer number specified by SEESETUP).
F10 calls up a menu for selecting SEE functions. This takes a little
longer than pressing a single letter key, but is easier to remember!
The menu also includes a Help section which explains various SEE
capabilities.
-------
COPYING
-------
When you are viewing a file and you press the C (Copy) key, SEE will ask
you a few questions, then copy part (or all) of the file to the printer, or
to another file.
The questions let you specify:
PORTION: Which part of the file (some, or all) should be copied.
DESTINATION: Which printer you want to print to (LPT1, LPT2 etc.) or which
file you want to copy to (e.g. SAVE.TXT). If the file already
exists, you can overwrite it, or add to the end.
The following two questions apply to printing only:
CONVERSION: Whether to convert extended characters or not.
FORM-FEED: Whether the printer should "page eject" after printing.
The printer questions are discussed in more detail, below.
NOTE: Before you start printing, make sure your printer is turned on, is
supplied with paper, and that the "Online" light is lit. (On some
printers, the Online light may be labelled "Ready", or something similar.
Refer to your printer manual if you are not sure.)
If at any time you wish to exit from the copying process, you can press the
Esc key. If you were printing, you may have to turn your printer OFF for a
moment, then ON again, to reset it and clear its memory.
The Copy command asks many questions in order to determine what you want to
do. To save time, you can use the SEESETUP program to specify default
values to these questions, or skip them altogether (using a preselected
value).
-------------------
PRINTER DESTINATION
-------------------
When you are asked to select a printer destination, choose the address of
the printer to which you are copying the text. You can choose any printer
from LPT1 to LPT9. (It is somewhat unusual to have a printer with an
address higher than LPT2.)
If you are not sure, select LPT1. Most PC-compatible computers have their
printer at that address. Exception: if your computer is sharing the
printer with other computers on a network, check with your network manager
before proceeding.
----------
CONVERSION
----------
Many documents (such as this one) make use of the special characters that
are available on IBM-PC compatible computers. Some printers, though
(particularly older printers and very high speed printers), can not print
these characters properly.
If when you print, many of the characters come out wrong, you may have to
have them "converted". The conversion process replaces these characters
with a "reasonable" substitution before printing them. (Note that this
affects only the printing; the document you are viewing is NOT changed.)
For example, accented letters can not be printed on all printers. So an
accented "e" would be printed simply as "e", with no accent. Line-drawing
characters (for boxes) are also a problem for some printers. So the
vertical line character is replaced with the standard "split bar"
character, which looks almost the same.
::MACROS
===========================================================================
COMMAND-LINE MACROS
===========================================================================
------------
BASIC FORMAT
------------
When you start up SEE at the DOS prompt, you can "stack" keys with the /K
parameter, as in this example:
SEE SEE.DOC /K{END}
This would display the file SEE.DOC in the usual way, but would "press"
the End key to jump to the end of the file.
------------
SPECIAL KEYS
------------
Special keys are entered using codes in brace parentheses, as follows:
{SPC} Space {CR} Enter {ESC} Escape
{F1} F1 {F2} F2 {F3} F3 (etc.)
{UP} Up arrow {DN} Down arrow {HOME} Home
{LF} Left arrow (RT} Right arrow {END} End
{CTLF} Ctrl-Left Arrow {CTRT} Ctrl-Right Arrow {CHOM} Ctrl-Home
{PGUP} PgUp {PGDN} PgDn {CEND} Ctrl-End
{CPGD} Ctrl-PgDn {HOME} Home {LBRC} {
{TAB} Tab {BTAB} Shift (back) Tab {RBRC} }
Standard keys (i.e. those you can type) can be entered directly. Most keys
can also be entered as decimal ASCII values. Thus, you could enter the
{CR} (Carriage Return) code as {13}.
This method does NOT work for all values above ASCII 128, some of which
are used internally by SEE to represent Alt-Letter keys and mouse activity.
For example, Alt-D is represented by {160}. SEE XYZ.TXT /K{160}R would
select "Display/Ruler". For a list of the special values, see the files
SEE.MNU and SEESAMPL.MNU.
::HYPER
===========================================================================
HYPERDOCUMENTATION
===========================================================================
-------------------
WHAT IS A HYPERDOC?
-------------------
Many software products are accompanied by:
- A READ.ME file which gives general instructions
- A printable manual on the diskette
- A program to print the manual
- Context-sensitive help within the software product
- Text for the context-sensitive help
SEE can combine all of these functions, replacing the items above with:
- SEE.EXE (The SEE program)
- A printable user manual containing hypertext labels
An optional item is the file SEE.CFG, which can contain specific config-
uration information.
SEE can use its /P and /N parameters to display the user manual on the
screen, while suppressing the printer and hypertext codes it contains. The
CFG file contains information about the codes used. (If the CFG file is
not present, SEE assumes the document uses EPSON FX printer codes, and uses
the prefix :: for hypertext labels.)
Your program can also call up SEE, using the /P /N /F and /Q parameters, to
zero in on a particular topic within the manual. For example, your program
could pass this command to DOS:
SEE SEE.DOC /P /N!:: /F::HYPER /Q
This would do the following:
- Suppress printer codes
- Suppress display on hypertext codes (e.g. ::HYPER)
- Stop reading when the next hypertext code (or end of file) is found
Thus, the user would be able to use all the normal SEE functions within a
subset of the standard document.
This document (SEE.DOC) uses printer codes (i.e. the Form Feed character)
and hypertext codes (e.g. ::HYPER), so you can try the command given above
to see how it works.
--------------------------------------
PRINTER ESCAPE SEQUENCE FILTERING (/P)
--------------------------------------
An "Escape Sequence" is a string of characters which begin with a
particular character (usually the Escape character -- ASCII 27). When a
printer sees this character, it inspects one or more of the following bytes
to determine what it should do (change fonts, start underlining etc.).
If you are viewing a document that contains printer escape sequences, you
can filter most of them out by turning on Printer Escape Sequence
Filtering. There are three ways to do this:
- Press F10 to call up the menu, then select Printer/Filter Codes
- Press the shortcut key Alt-F
- Start up SEE with the /P command-line switch (e.g. SEE MYFILE.PRN /P)
Filtering only works in standard text mode. If you are in raw text mode
(i.e. you started up SEE with the /X switch, or SEE did not recognize the
file as a text file), filtering is disabled.
When you are filtering, SEE will also skip any characters below ASCII 32,
since these are non-display characters that are usually used to control the
printer. For example, ASCII 12 (Ctrl-L) is almost always used to mean
"eject page".
If the file you are viewing was prepared for some other printer, you can
modify the sequences that SEE recognizes. You can either use a predefined
setup (shipped with SEE as files with a PRT extension) or type in your own.
To type in or load new definitions, start up SEESETUP and select "Printer
Escape Sequences Filter".
Setting up new filtering specifications requires an intimate knowledge of
the printer you are using. You can, however, find some helpful information
by positioning your cursor on any of the fields in the "Printer Escape
Sequences Filter" screen and pressing F1. You can also view the file
EPSONFX.PRT (supplied with the standard edition of SEE) to find out how you
can create your own printer definition files, using only a text editor.
----------------------
NO-SHOW FILTERING (/N)
----------------------
SEE lets you define up to five "No-Show Prefixes". A No-Show Prefix is a
sequence of up to 10 characters which, if found in column one of a
document, will suppress the display of that line (provided you have enabled
No-Show, using the /N parameter).
The text file SEE.DOC, which is included in the standard SEE package,
contains several lines which begin with a :: sequence. These are used as
"labels", and the batch file START.BAT (included with SEE) uses them (via
the batch file VIEW.BAT) to display portions of this manual. (To try out
the START.BAT file, switch to your SEE directory and type START at the DOS
prompt. Then select INFO to view SEE.DOC.)
To jump to the "CONFIGURING SEE" section of SEE.DOC, you would enter the
following command:
SEE SEE.DOC /P /N!:: /F::HYPER
The /P switch filters printer codes -- SEE.DOC contains the form feed
character (ASCII 12) at the beginning of each new page. The /N parameter
defines the "No-Show" prefix (i.e. ::). The /F parameter (which is
discussed later in more detail) finds the ::HYPER label. Since we are in
No-Show mode (because of the /N parameter), SEE will display the first
visible line that follows the label.
The format of the /N parameter is:
/N delimiter code1 [delimiter code2] ... [delimiter code5]
For example, to set three No-Show prefixes (@@, ## and $$):
SEE XYZ.DOC /N-@@-##-$$
The "delimiter" part of the command is important: you must use a character
that does not appear in the any of the prefixes, since the delimiter is
being used to separate the prefixes. Any character can be used as a
delimiter, except | < and > (which have a special meaning to DOS) and the
quote character ("), which has a special meaning to SEE (see the section
entitled "Spaces in Parameters").
If you entered the command above, any lines that started with @@, ## or $$
would not be displayed. Nor could they be copied (using SEE's copying
functions) or printed. The only way they can be accessed is through the /F
and /Q parameters.
If you do not specify any prefixes for /N, SEE will look in the config-
uration file (SEE.CFG) for the list of No-Show Prefixes. Run SEESETUP to
set these. If SEE does not find any prefixes there, it will assume a
default :: prefix.
---------------
TOPIC FIND (/F)
---------------
The /F parameter finds the specified text (up to 80 characters long). The
simplest case works like this:
SEE XYZ.TXT /FTHE
This would find the first occurance of the word "THE", and highlight it in
the middle of the screen. If you are looking for something that has a
space in it, you have to enclose the specification in quotes:
SEE XYZ.TXT /F"THE DOG"
This would find the first occurance of "THE DOG". All searches are
case-insensitive. Note: due to the way DOS command-line parameters are
parsed, it is not possible to search for double spaces. Thus, the command
SEE XYZ.TXT /F"THE DOG. ROVER WAS HIS NAME."
would not work; the two spaces are treated as a single space.
The /F parameter is useful when used in conjunction with the /N parameter,
since this forms the basis of SEE's hyperdoc capabilities. For example:
SEE XYZ.TXT /N!@@ /F@@CHAPTER2
The /N parameter puts SEE into No-Show mode and suppresses any lines that
begin with the @@ sequence. The /F parameter looks for the first line that
reads "@@CHAPTER2" and goes there. Since we are in No-Show mode and the
line we found is a No-Show line, SEE displays the next visible line at the
TOP of the screen (not the middle, as in the simple example given before).
Thus, you could set up a file named ABC.DOC like this:
::TITLEPAGE
(Text)
::CHAPTER1
(Text)
::CHAPTER2
(Text)
::INDEX
(Text)
Then, you could jump to the top of any of the sections with one of these
commands:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::TITLEPAGE
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER2
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::INDEX
If any of the labels contains spaces, you must enclose the specification in
quotes. For example, if the document is set up like this:
@@TITLE PAGE
(Text)
@@CHAPTER 1
(Text)
@@CHAPTER 2
(Text)
@@INDEX SECTION
(Text)
then you would use these commands:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@TITLE PAGE"
SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@CHAPTER 1"
SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@CHAPTER 2"
SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@INDEX SECTION"
If your document contains printing codes, such as form feeds, you can
include the /P switch to suppress them. For example:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@TITLE PAGE" /P
-----------------
QUIT READING (/Q)
-----------------
The /Q parameter is the "other half" of the /F parameter. Once /F has
found its text, /Q tells SEE where to stop reading. Let's say you set up
the document ABC.DOC as follows:
::TITLEPAGE
(Text)
::CHAPTER1
(Text)
::CHAPTER2
(Text)
If you entered this command:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1
then SEE would position itself at the top of Chapter 1. However, all the
text after it would be available -- including Chapter 2. If you want to
display only Chapter 1, enter this command:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1 /Q
Used in this way, /Q means "Stop when you reach the next No-Show line".
You can also add a parameter to /Q, to indicate specific text. Let's say
you wanted to display the Title Page and all of Chapter 1. You could enter
this command:
SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::TITLEPAGE /Q::CHAPTER2
This would position SEE at the top of the Title Page, but would not allow
the user to go past the end of Chapter 1.
The /Q specification does not have to be a No-Show line. For example, the
following command is valid:
SEE MYFILE.TXT /F"THE DOG" /Q"THE CAT"
This would position the line containing "THE DOG" near the middle of the
screen, but would not show any text after the line containing "THE CAT".
--------
EXAMPLES
--------
Here are some examples of the /N /F /Q and /P parameters...
COMMAND WHAT IS DISPLAYED
----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
SEE SEE.DOC /P All of file; no printer codes
SEE SEE.DOC /N!:: All of file, suppressing :: lines
SEE SEE.DOC /N All (See NOTE #1)
SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::INTRO /Q::HOWUSE From INTRO section to start of HOWUSE
SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::INTRO /Q From INTRO section to next No-Show line
SEE SEE.DOC /N /F /Q::HOWUSE From beginning, to start of HOWUSE
SEE SEE.DOC /N /Q::HOWUSE Same as above
SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::HOWUSE From start of HOWUSE section to end
SEE SEE.DOC /N /F /Q All of file
SEE SEE.DOC /Fthe /Qupload From first "THE" to the next "UPLOAD"
SEE SEE.DOC /Fthe /Q From first "THE" to the end of file
NOTE #1: If you use /N by itself (i.e. no prefixes specified), SEE will
look in the configuration file for the default No-Show Prefixes
you specified via SEESETUP. If the configuration (CFG) file is
not found, or no prefixes were set, SEE will assume a :: No-Show
Prefix.
NOTE #2: The /N /F /Q and /P parameters are ignored if you use the /X
switch (which means "display file in raw-text mode").
------------------------
COPYING VERSUS /N AND /P
------------------------
If the user copies part or all of the file while /N or /P are in effect,
SEE tries to make a reasonable choice about what to copy.
If /N is in effect, no No-Show lines will be copied.
If /P is in effect, SEE will suppress printer codes if the destination is a
file. If the destination is a printer, SEE will send the printer codes.
::CONFIG
===========================================================================
CONFIGURING "SEE"
===========================================================================
------------------------------------
DEFAULT AND SPECIFIED CONFIGURATIONS
------------------------------------
Even if you do not pre-configure SEE, it will try to pick reasonable values
for all of its operations. For example, it will detect the kind of display
card you have and choose color or monochrome mode accordingly, using the
same number of lines per screen that you had set before you called up SEE.
However, you may wish to change some of the selections. You can create a
configuration file (named SEE.CFG) using the SEESETUP configuration program
(SEESETUP.EXE).
----------------------------
MULTIPLE CONFIGURATIONS (/C)
----------------------------
When SEE starts up, it looks in the current (i.e. logged) drive and
directory for a file named SEE.CFG. If it does not find it there, it looks
in the SEE home directory (i.e. where the SEE.EXE file is located) for the
file. If it finds the file, it uses the values it specifies. If it does
NOT find it (in either the logged or home directory), SEE uses reasonable
default values that are appropriate for virtually all machines.
CFG files are created with the SEESETUP program. To start up SEESETUP,
enter SEESETUP at the DOS prompt, or select "Setup" on the SEE pull-down
menu. Each configuration screen can provide you with detailed explanations
of each configuration option -- press F1 whenever you need additional
information.
If you create several different CFG files, you can specify which one should
be used, when you start up SEE, by using the /C parameter. For an explana-
tion of this parameter, see "Overriding Standard Files" in the "How to Use
SEE" section of this manual.
----------------------------
CHANGING THE PULL-DOWN MENUS
----------------------------
The pull-down menus are fully configurable. To change them, make a backup
copy of the file SEE.MNU, then load SEE.MNU into a text editor. The file
contains complete details for modifying the menus.
--------------------------------------
RADICAL CHANGES VIA THE MNU FILES (/U)
--------------------------------------
The /U command line parameter lets you select an alternative menu (MNU)
file to suit the operation at hand. For example, you might decide to
create an MNU file that eliminates certain commands that are not necessary
for the current application, or perhaps you simply want to remove functions
that you think would confuse the end user.
Using alternative MNU files, you can radically change the way SEE behaves.
You can:
- Move around the position of items in the pull-down menus
- Eliminate options from the pull-down menus
- Set new status lines (the lines that appear at the bottom of the screen)
- Redefine shortcut keys
- Remap standard keys to call up other functions
By using the /U and /C command-line parameters together, you can make SEE
work the way YOU want it to, and you can define different behaviours for
different situations.
Some of these changes are called "radical" changes, because they make SEE
work in a manner that is vastly different from its standard operation.
Below, we will discuss "Bottom Line Redefinition" and "Standard Key
Remapping". For examples of both techniques, see the file SEESAMPL.MNU.
------------------------
BOTTOM LINE REDEFINITION
------------------------
You can place a [BOTTOM LINES] section in the MNU file after the standard
pull-down menu definition. It defines bottom "help" lines (i.e. the lines
which appear on the last line of the main viewing screen). If these appear
in the MNU file, they override the bottom lines that appear in the CFG file
(as configured via the SEESETUP program). You can override any or all of
the bottom line definitions. These will also override the default
definitions that are used if the CFG file is missing.
BLTOP sets the line displayed at the top of the file
BLEND sets the line displayed at the end of the file
BLMID sets the line displayed in between
BLALL sets the line displayed when the entire file fits on one screen
Here is an example of a [BOTTOM LINES] section:
[BOTTOM LINES]
BLTOP | {32} {25} {27} {26} PgDn End Esc = Quit
BLMID | {24} {25} {27} {26} PgUp PgDn Home End Esc = Quit
BLEND | {24} {32} {27} {26} PgUp Home Esc = Quit
BLALL | (Entire file displayed) Esc = Quit
As you can see, you may use {symbols}, just as you do when defining the
bottom lines in the SEESETUP program. For example, you can't type the
following characters, but you can use a {symbol} to represent them:
{24} = Up arrow {25} = Down arrow {27} = Left arrow {28} = Right arrow
The definition for each line begins immediately after the | delimiter.
You will notice that in the example, we used the symbol {32} (i.e. space)
to ensure that the definitions line up nicely when a character was replaced
by a space. This makes it easier to visualize how the line will look after
the symbols are resolved.
The maximum length of a definition line (including the name [e.g. BLMID]
and the | delimiter) is 255 characters. After all the symbols are resolved
(e.g. {24} is replaced by an up arrow), the line must be 80 characters or
less, so that it can fit on the screen.
Note that the [BOTTOM LINES] label must be present in order for these
definitions to be recognized. To see the [BOTTOM LINES] section in an
actual MNU file, see the file SEESAMPL.MNU.
----------------------
STANDARD KEY REMAPPING
----------------------
SEE normally maps certain standard keys (e.g. "A", "B", "C") to particular
functions. For example, by default the "A" key stands for "find Again".
These are NOT the same as the shortcut keys defined in the standard MNU
definition, which generally use ALT or function keys.
One advantage of supporting standard keys is that you can disable a
function from the menu (so the user doesn't know about it) but still use
it. This lets support personnel use functions that are apparently not
available. For example, if you removed the copy function (Alt-C in the
standard SEE.MNU), you could still press the "C" key to perform a copy, but
if you have not documented this feature, the user won't know about it.
Nevertheless, you may wish to map the standard keys differently. For
example, you might want "R" to stand for "Repeat find", rather than using
"A" for "find Again". Moreover, you might want to completely disable a
function, so that it can not be reached by any means. To do this, you
would remove it from the pull-down menu AND disable the standard key method
of accessing the function.
To override SEE's standard keys, you add a [STANDARD KEYS] section to the
end of the menu (MNU) file. (If this section is missing, SEE will use its
default values.)
We call this overriding process "standard key remapping". The [STANDARD
KEYS] section specifies a list of standard (keyboard typeable) characters,
and the token to which each one corresponds. This is very similar to what
you do when you alter the pull-down menus; in that case, each function is
"mapped" (i.e. made to correspond to) a "token" letter, which SEE knows
refers to a particular function. (For example, the token "h" refers to the
function "find Again" -- refer to the file SEE.MNU if this is not clear to
you.)
The [STANDARD KEYS] section must start with the label [STANDARD KEYS].
After that, you can specify a list of standard (keyboard typeable)
characters. On the next line, you specify the tokens to which each
character corresponds. (This is known as "mapping standard characters to
tokens").
In remapping, uppercase letters are considered the same as lowercase
letters, so there is no need to map both "A" and "a", since they are
considered to be the same. Also, Ctrl-A is considered the same as "A".
(One exception to this rule: Ctrl-I is always treated as Tab)
In addition to remapping letter and number keys, you can also remap action
keys (e.g. PgUp) and mouse actions (e.g. Click Right Button). You
represent these keys using the {symbol} convention. Here are some useful
values:
CR = {013} Esc = {027} Space = {032} Mse_Up = {128}
Mse_Dn = {129} Mse_Left = {130} Mse_Rght = {131} Mse_BR = {132}
Mse_BL = {133} F1 = {187} F2 = {188} F3 = {189}
F4 = {190} F5 = {191} F6 = {192} F7 = {193}
F8 = {194} F9 = {195} F10 = {196} Arw_Up = {200}
Arw_Dn = {208} Arw_Left = {203} Ctl_Left = {243} Arw_Rght = {205}
Ctl_Rght = {244} PgUp = {201} PgDn = {209} Ctl_PgDn = {246}
Home = {199} Ctl_Home = {247} End = {207} Ctl_End = {245}
Tab = {009} BackTab = {143}
The maximum length of a definition line is 255 characters. You can use
several lines to perform all your remappings -- bearing in mind that they
must appear in pairs: a CHARACTER line must be followed by a SEE TOKEN
line. For enhanced readability, you can leave a null (empty) line between
pairs of remapping definition lines. You can also include comment lines
(i.e. lines that start with the semi-colon character).
You can also use spaces (" ") in either the CHARACTER or SEE TOKEN line to
"pad out" your list; spaces are ignored. This helps you line up the
{symbols} with their corresponding tokens, which makes it much easier for
you to remember which {symbol} goes with which token.
The format of the lines should be self-evident from the example given
below. Note that if you wish to map a character to NOTHING (i.e. no
function at all), specify a tilde ("~") in the corresponding position.
[STANDARD KEYS]
CHARACTER 10245ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ/|?\#<>,.-_+=
SEE TOKEN rswyyhKi~lg~~~~ioHoO~~hg~~VEF~FggggoEFEFEEFF
CHARACTER {203} {130} {205} {131} {143} {243} {009}
SEE TOKEN A A B B C C D
CHARACTER {244} {200} {128} {208} {129} {201} {209}
SEE TOKEN D E E F F G I
In the example, we have mapped all the standard keys in the default way,
with one exception: the R key doesn't point to the "u" token (which is the
"Ruler Toggle" function). Rather, we have pointed it to the "h" token,
which is the "Find Again" function. In actual practice, you will usually
define only those keys you wish to override; there is no reason to specify
all characters and tokens. Indeed, it is unlikely you would want to
redefine the PgDn or Esc keys.
A total of 80 keys can be mapped. By default, there are 60 keys already
mapped, so you can add 20 new keys. Be careful, though, not to map a key
that is already defined as a shortcut key; a key can't do two things at
once.
------------------
SEE COMMAND TOKENS
------------------
Here is a list of the tokens, and the functions they perform:
TOKEN FUNCTION TOKEN FUNCTION
----- --------------------------- ----- ---------------------------
$ Display CmdMacros help # Display Command Line help
^ Display Command Switch help & Display Key Stack help
* Display Override help @ Display Scrolling help
% Display Shortcuts help
g Find given text O Find given text, from top
V Find given text, previous h Re-find text
K Re-find text, previous L Return to last Find line
o Jump to line number
w Color, 25 line mode y Color, 43/50 line mode
v Monochrome, 25 line mode x Monochrome, 43/50 line mode
r Home - column 1 p Home - same column
s End - column 1 q End - Same column
G Page up I Page down
H Page down, exit at end E Up arrow
F Down arrow A Scroll 1 character right
B Scroll 1 character left C Scroll 5 characters right
D Scroll 5 characters right
J Internal diagnostic screen d Call SEESETUP program
! Display menu bar l Eject printer page
i Start copy operation z Exit SEE
m Toggle printer code filter u Toggle ruler
j Toggle textify mode ~ Do nothing
---------------------------------
CONFIGURING FROM THE COMMAND LINE
---------------------------------
Sometimes you need a brief departure from the standard configuration
settings. For example, you might want to display a particularly important
document in a different color, or you might want to change the default
printer for a particular task. You can, of course, set up multiple
configuration (CFG) files -- see the explanation of /C for details -- but
you can also pass quick changes on the command line. While this is a bit
cumbersome for manual use, it is a powerful tool when you call SEE from a
program or a batch file.
To temporarily change a setting, you use this format:
SEE file /Ochange-list
The format of the change-list (which can be up to 100 characters long) is:
delimiter code delimiter value [delimiter code delimiter value] [...]
For example, to change the the main viewing screen color to Yellow on Red
(which will really get the readers attention!), you enter this command:
SEE SEE.DOC /o!MVRGTX!Yr
The exclamation mark (!) is the delimiter. SEE.DOC is the file being
displayed. MVRGTX is the code meaning "Main View Screen, Regular Text". Yr
is the color code for Yellow on Red. (For a table of color codes, start
SEESETUP, select Color, then press F1)
This change will remain in effect only as long as SEE is running. If you
want to make the change permanent, you can use the /W option (described
later).
You can specify more than one configuration change at once -- although you
can only have one /O parameter. Here is another example, which sets the
color to Green on Blue and turns on the top-line ruler (instead of the
usual file information display):
SEE SEE.DOC /o=MVRgTx=Gb=UseRul=Y
In this example, the delimiter is the equals sign (=). You can use any
delimiter except the following:
| < > "
The first three have a special meaning to DOS, and the double-quote has a
special meaning to SEE, as explained in the section "Spaces in Parameters".
The example demonstrates that the codes can be in any case (UPPERCASE,
lowercase or MixedCase).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The values you feed to SEE via the /O switch are given
only a rudimentary evaluation. It is possible to feed an "impossible"
value (such as setting the LINES settings to 999). When in doubt, consult
the help screens available in the SEESETUP program which correspond to the
items you wish to modify.
Here are the configuration items you can change:
------------------
COPYING OPERATIONS
------------------
MAXIMUM
CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT
------ ------------------------------------------- ------- -------------
PRTR Default printer (LPT) for Copy-To operation 1 1 to 9
PRTR? Let the user change default printer? 1 Y or N
CVT Send text to printer Converted or As-is? 1 C or A
CVT? Let the user choose to convert or not? 1 Y or N
COPYTO Default copy destination, printer or file 1 P or F
COPYT? Let the user pick copy destination? 1 Y or N
OVERWR Overwrite or Append when copying to file? 1 O or A
OVERW? Let the user pick Overwrite or Append? 1 Y or N
DFSVFL Default name for file to write to? 50 File name
DFSVF? Let the user pick the file to write to? 1 Y or N
------------------
STATUS INDICATIONS
------------------
MAXIMUM
CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT
------ ------------------------------------------- ------- -------------
BLTOP Bottom line of screen at top of file 80 Decoded Text
BLMID Bottom line of screen at middle of file 80 Decoded Text
BLEND Bottom line of screen at end of file 80 Decoded Text
BLALL Bottom line when entire file fits on screen 80 Decoded Text
EOFMRK End of File Marker 20 Decoded Text
"Decoded Text" means text that allows the use of the {123} symbols, which
are translated to their ASCII equivalent. This lets you enter values that
you can not type at the keyboard. Note that the TOPLIN, MIDLIN and ENDLIN
values can also be specified in the MNU file. See the file SEESAMPL.MNU
(included with the standard version of SEE) for a demonstration of the
technique.
--------------
PRINTER SETUPS
--------------
MAXIMUM
CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT
------ ------------------------------------------- ------- -------------
PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9
PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text
PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text
PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9
PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text
PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text
PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9
PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text
PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text
PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text
"Decoded Text" means text that allows the use of the {123} symbols, which
are translated to their ASCII equivalent. This lets you enter values that
you can not type at the keyboard.
---------------
DISPLAY CONTROL
---------------
MAXIMUM
CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT
------ ------------------------------------------- ------- -------------
MONO Use monochrome mode & mono display colors? 1 Y or N
LINES Lines per screen (0 = whatever is current) 1 0, 25, 43, 50
USERUL Start up with ruler on top line? 1 Y or N
FINDTX Default "find" text when user does a Find 20 Text
ITXTFY Use International Textify? 1 Y or N
STOPBT Stop scrolling at bottom of file? 1 Y or N
For LINES, note that 43 and 50 are equivalent. If SEE is running on an EGA
card, either 43 or 50 will display 43 lines. If SEE is running on a VGA
card, either value will display 50 lines.
--------------
COLOR SETTINGS
--------------
CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT
------ ------------------------------------------- ------- -------------
EOFMCO Main View Screen, End of File Marker 2/4 Color Codes
EOFBCO Main View Screen, Beyond End of File 2/4 Color Codes
MVRGTX Main View Screen, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes
MVFNTX Main View Screen, Found Text 2/4 Color Codes
MVSTLL Main View Screen, Top Line Labels 2/4 Color Codes
MVSTLD Main View Screen, Top Line Data 2/4 Color Codes
PUINFT Pop-up messages, Info, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUINFB Pop-up messages, Info, Border 2/4 Color Codes
PUINFH Pop-up messages, Info, Highlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUINFL Pop-up messages, Info, Lowlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUWRNT Pop-up messages, Warning, Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUWRNB Pop-up messages, Warning, Border 2/4 Color Codes
PUQUET Pop-up messages, Question, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUQUEB Pop-up messages, Question, Border 2/4 Color Codes
PUQUEH Pop-up messages, Question, Highlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes
PUQUEI Pop-up messages, Question, Input Text 2/4 Color Codes
PMNRMT Pull-down menus, Normal topic 2/4 Color Codes
PMLTR1 Pull-down menus, Quick letter, foreground 2/4 Color Codes
PMMAIN Pull-down menus, Main topic selected, bkgrnd 2/4 Color Codes
PMMENU Pull-down menus, Menu topic selected 2/4 Color Codes
PMBORD Pull-down menus, Menu borders, background 2/4 Color Codes
Color codes can be specified either as two characters (e.g. Gr) or four
characters (e.g. GrLk). If you specify two characters, you will only
change the color set and leave the monochrome set unaffected. If you
specify four characters, you will change both the color and monochrome
settings.
The color codes (which are case sensitive) are as follows:
FOREGROUND OR BACKGROUND MAY BE USED IN FOREGROUND ONLY
------------------------ ------------------------------
k Black b Blue D Dark Gray B Light Blue
g Green c Cyan G Light Green C Light Cyan
r Red m Magenta R Light Red M Light Magenta
w Brown L Light Gray Y Yellow W White
---------------
COMPLEX EXAMPLE
---------------
Here is a fairly complex example of the /O parameter which will radically
change the appearance of SEE from its standard setup...
/o:PMNRMT:Lk:PMLTR1:Yr:PMMAIN:Yk:PMMENU:Gb:PMBORD:Gr:USERUL:Y:MVRGTX:Yr
---------------------------------
SAVING CHANGES WITH THE /W SWITCH
---------------------------------
The /O parameter is generally used to make temporary changes. However, if
you add the /W switch to the command, SEE will write the changes to the
configuration (CFG) file when it ends normally.
There is one special situation using /O and /W: if you do not specify a
file, nothing will be displayed on the screen (unless there is an error).
Normally, when you do not specify a file, SEE displays a menu of all the
files in the current directory. However, if it spots both the /O and /W
parameters, it assumes that you wish to make a "quiet" change to the
configuration.
The benefit of this feature is that it allows you to give users a copy of
SEE without giving them a copy of SEESETUP, yet still have the power to
make permanent changes to their configuration. This capability is most
welcome by network administrators who are tired of bailing out users who
made configuration changes -- thinking they knew what they were doing --
only to get into trouble. Thanks to the /W switch, the administrator can
dictate a cryptic line over the phone -- asking the user to read it back
to be sure, of course -- and install a change in an obscure manner that
will not tempt the user to play around.
--------------
REQUIRED FILES
--------------
The information in this section is not important if you have a single-user
license for SEE. However, if you will be providing multiple users with
SEE, you may wish to know which files are essential.
The following files should be placed in the same directory as SEE.EXE:
FILE NAME NOTE DESCRIPTION
------------- ---- -----------
SET.SET 1 Created by the evaluation copy of SEE
SERIAL#.SET 1 Registration file for the registered copy
ORDER.FRM 1 Order form
SEE.SBI 2 Help file for SEE (Index)
SEE.SBT 2 Help file for SEE (Text)
SEESETUP.SBI 3 Help file for SEE (Index)
SEESETUP.SBT 3 Help file for SEE (Text)
SEE.MNU - Pull-down menu definition
SEE.CFG 4 Configuration file
NOTE #1: These files are only required by the evaluation and registered
versions of SEE. In copies covered by Distribution and Retail
Licenses, these files are not required.
NOTE #2: These files are created by compiling a source (SBS) file, using a
program named SBX, a copy of which is included with the Distri-
bution and Retail Licenses. These licenses also include a copy
of the original SBS files for SEE. These files are called up
when the user selects Help from the pull-down menu in SEE.
NOTE #3: These files may be omitted if you are not including the setup
program (SEESETUP.EXE). These files are created by compiling a
source (SBS) file, using a program named SBX, a copy of which is
included with the Distribution and Retail Licenses. These
licenses also include a copy of the original SBS files for
SEESETUP. These files are called up when the user presses the F1
key in SEESETUP.
NOTE #4: In normal operation, SEE looks in the current directory for
SEE.CFG. If it does not find it there, it looks in the directory
where SEE.EXE is located. If it does not find it there, it will
use "reasonable" default values that are appropriate under most
conditions. You can also use SEE's /C parameter to point to an
alternative CFG file.
::ERRORS
===========================================================================
ERROR CODES
===========================================================================
IMPORTANT NOTE: When testing for a DOS ERRORLEVEL in a batch file, you
must test the highest value first, since the command IF ERRORLEVEL is
considered "true" if the ERRORLEVEL is the cited value or higher. See
your DOS manual for details.
Both SEE and SEESETUP return an ERRORLEVEL of 255 when the help screen
is displayed (e.g. by typing SEE /? at the DOS prompt).
------------------------------
ERRORS WHILE READING MNU FILES
------------------------------
The following errors may appear while SEE is reading in a MNU file. All of
these errors cause SEE to terminate with a DOS ERRORLEVEL of 255.
Incomplete [BOTTOM LINES] line in <filename>
Missing | in [BOTTOM LINES] line in <filename>
Unrecognized type of [BOTTOM LINES] line in <filename>
Different number of characters and tokens in [STANDARD KEYS] line
Exceeded maximum of 80 [STANDARD KEYS] mappings
Incomplete line in [STANDARD KEYS] section in <filename>
Missing SEE TOKEN line in [STANDARD KEYS] section in <filename>
Unrecognized line in [STANDARD KEYS] section in <filename>
SEE will terminate with an ERRORLEVEL of 150 if it can not find the MNU
file, or if for some other reason it can not be opened (e.g. insufficient
file handles -- for a discussion of this problem, see the discussion of
the FILES= value in your DOS manual's section on the CONFIG.SYS file.)
------------------------------------
ERRORS GENERATED BY THE /F PARAMETER
------------------------------------
If No-Show text being sought by the /F parameter is not found, SEE will
terminate with an ERRORLEVEL of 100. (For an explanation of No-Show text,
see the section about the /N parameter).
If visible text being sought by /F is not found, SEE will display an
warning message and will not terminate, unless you have told it to do so
via SEESETUP (or specified this behaviour with the command line parameter
/o:TOVFF:Y). In such case, SEE will terminate with an ERRORLEVEL of 100.
------------------------------------
ERRORS GENERATED BY THE /O PARAMETER
------------------------------------
SEE terminates with an ERRORLEVEL of 255 if you specify a /O code that it
does not recognize, or if the value for the code is inappropriate. For
example, if you try to set the number of lines per screen to a non-numeric
value (e.g. SEE READ.ME /O:LINES:XYZ), SEE will terminate. However, SEE
does NOT completely check the validity of /O parameters. For example, it
is possible to specify /O:LINES:999 but the result is not defined. For
more details on this subject, see the discussion of the /O parameter.
-----------
FILE ERRORS
-----------
SEE will terminate if there is a problem opening a file to read. This
termination happens only if the file was specified explicitly on the
command line. For example, if you enter SEE XYZ.TXT and the file is
not present, SEE will terminate. However, if you enter SEE *.TXT, and
there is a problem opening one of the file selected from the menu, SEE
will report the error but will not terminate.
For a list of relevant error codes, see "Summary of Errorlevels"
SEESETUP will terminate with an ERRORLEVEL of 60 if for some reason (such
as a disk error) it can not write to the CFG file. (If SEESETUP can not
open the CFG file, it tries to create a copy, rather than terminating.)
SEE will terminate with an ERRORLEVEL of 60 if you use the /W command-
line switch to write the CFG file, and for some reason the file could not
be written.
----------------------
SUMMARY OF ERRORLEVELS
----------------------
This list does not include conditions that result in an ERRORLEVEL of
255, since these are usually command-line errors or problems with the
syntax of the MNU file. In such cases, the error is described to the
programmer before the program ends.
ERRORLEVEL REASON
---------- ------
50 File could not be opened (usual reason: does not exist)
51 File does exist, but it is empty (contains zero bytes)
52 Insufficient memory
53 Indeterminate file open error (report these to Pinnacle)
60 SEE or SEESETUP could not write to the CFG file
100 /F failed in No-Show mode
100 /F did not find visible text (see discussion of /O:TOVFF)
150 SEE could not open the MNU file or it is empty
151 SEE could not open the SBx files (SBT/SBI)