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SHORT HAND EXPANDER by TABS Software Copyright (C) 02-28-90 Version 2.00 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION...............................................1 1. About This Document.....................................1 2. What Is SHORT HAND......................................1 3. How SHORT HAND Can Help.................................2 4. Why This is Not a Macro Key Expander....................2 5. When Won't SHORT HAND Work .............................2 6. How SHORT HAND Expands Strings..........................2 2. HOW TO USE SHORT HAND......................................4 1. Defining a SHORT HAND String ...........................4 1. Comments.............................................4 2. Extended Keys........................................4 3. The Suppress Key.....................................5 2. Loading Files ..........................................6 3. Options Switches .......................................6 1. Changing The Hot Key ................................8 2. Changing The Way SHORT HAND Deletes Short Strings ...8 3. When Speed is a Problem..............................8 3. BRINGING SHORT HAND TO LIFE...............................10 1. The Hot Key ...........................................10 2. The Main Menu .........................................10 3. Listing Current Strings ...............................11 1. Deleting an Entry ..................................11 2. Editing an Entry....................................11 4. Defining a New String "On The Fly" ....................12 1. The Define Window Fields............................12 2. Log Files...........................................12 5. Getting Text from the Screen...........................13 4. INCLUDED SHR FILES........................................14 5. ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES................................15 1. ERRORS.................................................15 2. WARNINGS...............................................16 ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 2 1. INTRODUCTION 1. About This Document There are several terms used throughout this document that may need some clarifying. They are: short string -- a short set of characters used as a token or abbreviation to represent a long string. (eg. the short string "etc." is a token for the long string "et cetera.") long string -- the set of characters that a short string is defined to expand to. In the above example "et cetera" would be the long string. SHORT HAND string -- the same as short string. define file -- a file that contains a list of short strings and corresponding long strings. 2. What Is SHORT HAND SHORT HAND is a memory resident utility designed to work with your text editor. It will take short strings and expand them to defined long strings. SHORT HAND allows you to define frequently used words or phrases to a series of text key strokes. The main benefit is that with properly defined SHORT HAND strings you can enter your defined key strokes with out loosing the fluidity of your typing. As an example the following defines were used while writing this document. The SHORT HAND strings: sh shs ls ss were defined to expand to : SHORT HAND SHORT HAND string long string short string So every time the word "ls" was typed the words "long string" were inserted into the document by SHORT HAND. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 3 3. How SHORT HAND Can Help The main purpose of SHORT HAND is to increase a typists productivity. SHORT HAND reduces the amount of keystrokes neces- sary to type long, cumbersome or frequently used words or phrases. For example, the phrase: Yours Sincerely, could be shortened to: ys The typist is saved 13 keystrokes. In addition SHORT HAND assures you that your defined long string will always be spelled correctly. Since "ys" will always expand to "Yours Sincerely," you don't have to worry about typo's or how to spell "sincerely". For a programmer this can be a great help. No more compiler/linker errors because you left the 'c' out of textbackground(). 4. Why This is Not a Macro Key Expander SHORT HAND is not a macro expander and there is a good reason for this. The main problem with macro expanders is that text editors use most available function, control, and alternate keys. So the only unused keys require that you play Twister on the keyboard (left thumb Alt, right thumb Shift, left index finger F1). This does not lend itself to very fluid typing. For this reason SHORT HAND relies on a series of ordinary text key strokes to perform its expansions. 5. When Won't SHORT HAND Work SHORT HAND should work with most well behaved editors. The only time it won't work is when your editor completely takes over the keyboard or when your editor is graphics based. Sorry but there is nothing SHORT HAND can do to interface to the editor in these cases. 6. How SHORT HAND Expands Strings SHORT HAND watches what you're typing. Every time you complete a word (with a space, TAB, ENTER, or punctuation character) SHORT HAND checks that word to see if it needs to be expanded. If the word matches one of your defined short strings, SHORT HAND first deletes the short string and then "feeds" the corresponding long string to the editor. Because SHORT HAND looks for full words, certain characters are impor- tant. SHORT HAND views these characters as word delimiters. The valid starting and ending punctuation characters are: ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 4 ╒══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ space TAB ENTER < > ` " ' ( ) , . : ; { } [ ] ! ? │ ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Since these characters have special meaning some specific rules must be followed when using them in SHORT HAND string definitions (see Defining a SHORT HAND String). **** IMPORTANT: When SHORT HAND feeds a long string to your editor, it is as if you typed that string yourself. If the editors insert mode is off SHORT HAND will overwrite existing text. To prevent this keep your insert mode on while using SHORT HAND. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 5 2. HOW TO USE SHORT HAND 1. Defining a SHORT HAND String SHORT HAND relies on user defined text files to set up its string assignments. These files need to be created with the following form : short-string <long-string> For example: sh <SHORT HAND> shs <SHORT HAND string> ls <long string> The short-hand-string can be up to 20 characters long. It can contain any non-delimiting text or punctuation characters (see How SHORT HAND Expands Strings). Any white space characters (Tabs, spaces, and carriage returns) are Ignored. All non white space characters before the "<" character are considered to be part of the short string. The "<" character marks the start of the long string. Long strings can be up to 255 characters long. All characters are valid in long strings (including delimiting characters). A long string is terminated with a '>'. This character marks the end of the definition. Short Hand will con- tinue to store SHORT HAND strings and their corresponding long strings until the end of the file. 1. Comments SHORT HAND allows you to comment your definitions. The in- cluded file BOX.SHR uses comments heavily. Comments are begun by the '\*' characters and continue to the end of the line. Any- thing between this flag and the end of the line is ignored by SHORT HAND. 2. Extended Keys There are several special keys that can be inserted into a long string. The beginning of a special or extended key is marked with the back slash key (\) and an x (for extended). When SHORT HAND sees -- \x -- it knows an extended key name fol- lows. The extended key definition is ended with a back slash. The correct form is \xKEYNAME\. The following extended KEYNAMES are recognized : -- NORMAL -- ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 6 F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, UP, DN, LT, RT, HOME, END, PGUP, PGDN, TAB, INS, DEL, BKSP, ENTER, ESC, GREY*, GREY+, GREY-, GREY/, GREYENTER, NUM5, GREYLT, GREYRT, GREYHOME, GREYUP, GREYDN, GREYEND, GREYPGUP, GREYPGDN, GREYINS, GREYDEL, SUP -- SHIFTED -- #F1, #F2, #F3, #F4, #F5, #F6, #F7, #F8, #F9, #F10, #F11, #F12, #TAB -- CONTROL -- ^-, ^2, ^6, ^@, ^_, ^^, ^A-^Z, ^[, ^], ^{, ^}, ^\, ^|, ^F1, ^F2, ^F3, ^F4, ^F5, ^F6, ^F7, ^F8, ^F9, ^F10, ^F11, ^F12, ^UP, ^DN, ^LT, ^RT, ^HOME, ^END, ^PGUP, ^PGDN, ^TAB, ^INS, ^DEL, ^BKSP, ^ENTER, ^GREY*, ^GREY+, ^GREY-, ^GREY/, ^GREYENTER, ^NUM5, ^GREYLT, ^GREYRT, ^GREYHOME, ^GREYUP, ^GREYDN, ^GREYEND, ^GREYPGUP, ^GREYPGDN, ^GREYINS, ^GREYDEL -- ALTERNATE -- @!, @", @#, @$, @%, @&, @', @(, @), @*, @+, @,, @-, @., @/, @0, @1, @2, @3, @4, @5, @6, @7, @8, @9, @:, @;, @<, @=, @>, @?, @@, @A-@Z, @[, @\, @], @^, @_, @, @', @{, @|, @}, @~, @F1, @F2, @F3, @F4, @F5, @F6, @F7, @F8, @F9, @F10, @F11, @F12, @UP, @DN, @LT, @RT, @HOME, @END, @PGUP, @PGDN, @TAB, @INS, @DEL, @BKSP, @ENTER, @ESC, @GREY*, @GREY+, @GREY, @GREY/, @GREYENTER, @GREYLT, @GREYRT, @GREYHOME, @GREYUP, @GREYDN, @GREYEND, @GREYPGUP, @GREYPGDN, @GREYINS, @GREYDEL **** NOTE: Key names are note case sensitive. The following are some examples of extended key definitions: hw <Hello World\xENTER\> asb < -- \\ -- a single back slash\xHOME\> Title <\xTAB\The Title of My Book\x^O\\x^C\\xENTER\> **** NOTE: Any character that follows the '\' is inserted into the string. So '\A' will insert an 'A' and '\\' will insert a '\'. 3. The Suppress Key In addition to the extended keys listed above, SHORT HAND also includes the additional key definition of \xSUP\. This is the suppress key (This is not a real key as it does not exist on the keyboard. It is merely entered into a long string like the other extended keys). When SHORT HAND sees \xSUP\ it suppresses ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 7 (ie. does not include) anything that follows it in the long string. At first the usefulness of this may not seem clear. But consider the following situation: A programmer has several variables he is using in a project. They are: screen_left, screen_right, screen_top, and screen_bottom To define a prefix for each of these variable names you can use the following: sc <screen_\xSUP\> Now when the following is typed in: sc<space>left SHORT HAND expands it to: screen_left instead of: screen_ left The usefulness of this key will become clearer as you use SHORT HAND more. 2. Loading Files The SHORT HAND program offers several options. The most important is that it allows you to string together several files of defines. In this way you can load a primary define file followed by some secondary files. If you are a C programmer you may have a primary file that contains most of your basic C commands. You may also have a define file for several of the projects you are working on. These secondary files may contain variable names for each project. So you could call up SHORT HAND like this: SHORT cdefines project1 This will load 'cdefines.shr' and 'project1.shr' defines together. In this way you can use the same C function definitions on several projects. **** NOTE: .SHR is the assumed extension for SHORT HAND files. **** NOTE: If a SHORT HAND define file does not exist in the current working directory SHORT HAND will search the en- vironment path to try to find it. 3. Options Switches ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 8 The following option switches are available with SHORT HAND. These switches can be included on the command line when you load SHORT HAND. They should be used before your define file list. /A -- will add the files that follow it to the files already loaded in memory. /R -- will replace previously loaded files with the ones specified. /U -- will unload SHORT HAND from memory. **** NOTE: If you have already installed SHORT HAND in memory you must specify one of the above options on subsequent calls. The exception to this is the /S switch. /H -- Will change the default hot key to a user defined key. (See Changing The Hot Key) /D -- Will change the way SHORT HAND erases SHORT HAND strings. (See Changing The Way SHORT HAND Deletes Short Strings) /S -- Will change the speed at which SHORT HAND "feeds" keys to your editor (see When Speed is a Problem). **** NOTE: To see a list of valid command line options execute SHORT HAND with no command line parameters. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 9 1. Changing The Hot Key In some cases the default hot key of [Alt-S] may not be convenient. So SHORT HAND provides a way of changing the hot key on the command line. This is done by using the /H switch. The format for using this switch is as follows: /HKEYNAME KEYNAME can be any of the names listed under "Extended Keys". For example: /H^F1 sets the new hot key to CTRL-F1 /H^A sets the new hot key to CTRL-A /H@A sets the new hot key to ALT-A /H@PGUP sets the new hot key to ALT-PGUP etc. 2. Changing The Way SHORT HAND Deletes Short Strings When SHORT HAND expands a word it must first trick your editor into erasing the short string. SHORT HAND does this by sending your editor a number of Backspace characters equal to the length of the SHORT HAND string. Since the Backspace key deletes characters to the left of the cursor SHORT HAND can use it to tricks your editor into deleting the short string. This works fine with most editors; but some editors use the Back- Space key as a cursor key, not as a delete key. These type of editors use the Delete key to erase characters to the left of the cursor. If your editor functions this way you must use the /D option for SHORT HAND to work properly. This option tells SHORT HAND to erase SHORT HAND strings with the Delete key and not the Backspace key. 3. When Speed is a Problem SHORT HAND tries to be as fast as possible, and sometimes it can be a bit to fast. Editors have a lot to keep up with. They may not be able to handle the speed at which SHORT HAND "feeds" them characters. If your editor does not work properly with SHORT HAND, first try using the /S option. This switch lets you set SHORT HAND hand to speeds from 0 to 9 (0 is the default). **** NOTE: a speed of 1 or 2 is usually sufficient to fix most problems. This switch can be used in two ways. The first way is to include it on the command line when SHORT HAND is first loaded. This will set the speed of SHORT HAND as it is loaded. The second way is used to reset the speed on a copy of SHORT HAND ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 10 that is already loaded. When using the the second approach the /S switch must be the only thing on the command line. Valid uses of the /S switch are: short /S1 defines.shr loads defines.shr and sets SHORT HAND to a speed of 1. short /S9 /R document.shr replaces the current defines in memory with document.shr. Then it set SHORT HAND to speed of 9. short /S0 resets the current memory resident copy of SHORT HAND to a speed of 0 (the default). ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 11 3. BRINGING SHORT HAND TO LIFE 1. The Hot Key At any time you can press the defined hot key (the default hot key is Alt-S) to activate SHORT HAND. This action will suspend the program you are currently working on and awaken SHORT HAND. The first menu you will see upon activation is SHORT HAND's Main Menu. 2. The Main Menu The Main Menu offers four options: List current strings Define a new string Get text from screen Exit Short Hand You can choose an option by moving the highlighting to the function you wish to use and pressing enter. To move the highlighting use the up/down cursor keys. Optionally, you can also press the first letter of the option you wish to use. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 12 3. Listing Current Strings This option displays an alphabetical list of all the SHORT HAND string definitions you currently have loaded in memory. The bottom two lines shows you which keys you can use with this screen. **** NOTE: To quick find a definition press the first letter of the SHORT HAND string you wish to find. SHORT HAND will move the highlight to the first string starting with that letter. 1. Deleting an Entry To delete an entry move the highlighting to the entry you wish to delete. Then hold down the CTRL key while pressing the letter D. SHORT HAND will then display the message: "Delete (Y/N)". If you wish to delete this entry press Y. If you want to abandon the delete process then press N. **** NOTE: The entry is only deleted from memory. This option does not delete the entry from the define file it came from. 2. Editing an Entry To edit an entry from the list hold down the CTRL key while pressing the letter E. SHORT HAND will move the highlighted entry from memory to the define window (see Defining a New String "On The Fly"). You can then modify the entry and re-save it. **** IMPORTANT: When an entry is edited it is removed from memory. If you do not re-save it it will be lost. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 13 4. Defining a New String "On The Fly" If you have been typing a phrase or word frequently, and you wish to add it to your current list of defined short strings, then use the "Define a new string" option. This option gives you a way to add a new SHORT HAND string defini- tion to memory without leaving your editor. A list of editing keys appears at the bottom of the define window. 1. The Define Window Fields The "Define" option screen has three fields. The first field is labeled "Short". This is where you enter the new short string. This field is limited to 20 characters (the maxi- mum size of a short string). The second field is labeled "Long" and is for the cor- responding long string. This field is 400 characters long. Long strings are still limited to 255 characters, the extra space is to provide room for extended key definitions. The final field is for the "Log File". This field is 128 characters long to allow room for path specifiers. The log file is where all your quick defines will be stored. At each field enter the text you wish to use. You should enter your definitions just as you would when creating a define file. The only difference is that the long string does not need to be enclosed in angle brackets ( '<', '>' ). When you are com- plete press F1 to save your define to memory and to the Log File. **** NOTE: Since space characters are not allowed in short strings or file names, the space bar is disabled when you are in the Short, and Log File fields. 2. Log Files As you enter each new define your work is saved to the designated log file. You may change this file to any DOS compatible name you wish (you may also include a path). If the file exists then your defines are appended to the end. If the file does not exist then it is created. At a later time you can edit the log file and modify your quick defines. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 14 5. Getting Text from the Screen This function allows you to "grab" text from the screen and move it to the define window. When you choose this option the following help screen appears: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ │ Move Cursor to the Start of the Text You Wish To Mark. ║ │ Then Press Enter to Begin Marking From That Spot. ║ │ Move Cursor to the End of the Text You Wish To Mark. ║ │ Then Press Enter Again. ║ │ Press a Key to Begin. Press ESC to Abort. ║ ╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This screen will stay on until you press a key. To move the cursor use the /// keys. When the cursor is at the start of the text you wish to mark press enter. When you press the enter key the starting corner of the block to grab is marked. Then move the cursor to the other corner of the text you wish to grab. The highlighting will move to show you what text will be in- cluded. When you press enter again the text under the highlight- ing is moved to the define window (see Defining a New String "On The Fly"). At any point you can press ESC and abandon this func- tion. **** NOTE: SHORT HAND strips off all trailing spaces from the marked text. It also appends a \xENTER\ to the end of each line. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 15 4. INCLUDED SHR FILES Four SHR files have been included with SHORT HAND. These files are provided to give you some working examples of how to create SHORT HAND defines. Two of these files (C.SHR and ASM.SHR) are for use by programmers. BOX.SHR is for inserting box characters into your text without having to remember their ASCII values. And, the final file LETTER.SHR contains some defines for use in a letter. NOTE: LETTER.SHR contains the following defines: mt <\xBKSP\ment> and hy <hyper\xSUP\> These defines demonstrates how SHORT HAND can also be used for common suffixes and prefixes. Load LETTER.SHR and then type: "base mt" and "hy active" watch what happens. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 16 5. ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES 1. ERRORS /X is an illegal option. An illegal option switch was used. Valid switches are: /H, /D, /A, /R, /U. Another resident program has been loaded on top of SHORT HAND. Resident programs must be unloaded in a Last-In/First-Out order. If you loaded another memory resident program after you loaded SHORT HAND; it is necessary to unload that program before the options of: /A, /R, or /U can be used. Can't find DOS critical error flag unable to run SHORT HAND. This is an internal error to SHORT HAND. Please report it to TABS Software. Duplicate SHORT HAND strings found > {short string} You have defined the same short string twice. Illegal character found in SHORT HAND string. You cannot use any nonstandard ASCII characters in short strings. You also may not use delimiting punctuation characters in short string definitions. See text for list of delimiting characters. Illegal characters used in hot key definition. Usage: /H(KeyName) See manual for list of key names. The /H switch was used incorrectly. See text. Illegal File Name > ########.### File name does not conform to DOS standards Long strings cannot exceed 255 characters Enough said. No file names listed. No file names were listed on the command line. Only speeds of 0-9 are allowed. The /S switch was used improperly. See text. Option switches can only be used once. You cannot specify a option more than once on the command line. **** NOTE: You cannot use /A and /R on the same command line either. SHORT HAND already installed please specify /A, /R or /U. ***** SHORT HAND Expander ***** Page: 17 Once SHORT HAND is loaded into memory, subsequent calls must specify one of the above options. SHORT HAND must be installed before PRINT.COM. Because of the way SHORT HAND checks for resident copies of itself; it is important that, in DOS versions below 3.00, SHORT HAND is loaded before PRINT.COM SHORT HAND strings cannot exceed 20 characters Enough said. String buffer full. SHORT HAND reserves 30k of memory for definition strings when first loaded. It reserves 2K of memory for quick defines. This error indicates that one of these buffers is full. The file : {filename} does not exist. The file name specified was not found in the current directory or any of the path directories. The length of an expanded string must be greater than 0. You can not define an empty short string. (ie <>). This program requires DOS 2.00 or better. SHORT HAND can not run on any DOS version below 2.00 Unexpected End Of File The end of the file was reached before a long string was terminated. ( ie. a missing '>' character ). Unknown extended character name. The name following the \x option was not in the list of valid extended character names. 2. WARNINGS SHORT HAND expander not loaded. /X Option ignored. If SHORT HAND has not been loaded then the options of: /A, /R, and /U are ignored.