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1993-08-17
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VIEW ▌
▌
Version 8.4 ▌
▌
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▌
Copyright (c) 1993 Malcolm Drury
Note: this package contains the following files:
VIEW84.EXE (file viewer version 8.4)
VW84CFG.COM (customizer)
VIEW84.DOC
VIEWCUST.BAT - sample batch file
FILE_ID.DIZ - description file for BBS
(zipped with PKZIP 2.04g)
+++++++++++ IMPORTANT NOTE ++++++++++++
Because some BBS systems reject uploads of files with names the same as those
already on the board (even though the size and date may be different), VIEW is
shipped in this package as VIEW84. It is recommended that immediately after
unzipping, you rename view84.exe to view.exe
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIEW is a file viewing utility, allowing you to read ASCII, WordPerfect
(5.0, 5.1/5.2, including Windows, and 6.0), Microsoft Word (4 and 5 and WinWord
1 and 2), and Windows WRITE files, and to print all or part of them to file
or printer. VIEW also allows you to search for text strings (both
case-sensitive and case-insensitive), and print all lines that include or
exclude a particular text string.
VW84CFG allows you to customize display colors for VIEW and also allows you
to customize its printing and display features.
*** IMPORTANT ***
The author makes no warranty that the software in this package will work with
your particular hardware configuration. Further, you use the programs
entirely at your own risk, and the author will not be held liable for any
damage caused to your hardware or software through their use.
Legalities aside, you should not run into difficulties with this software.
**** SHAREWARE ****
These programs are distributed as shareware, AND ARE NOT CRIPPLED!!.
(Editorial note: I don't support "crippleware" - I want to know
EXACTLY what I'm expected to pay for! Crippleware is, in my opinion,
like test driving a Mercedes that's been fitted with a two-stroke engine!
There, that's said - but each to his own.)
You do not have to register as a user, nor are you under any
obligation to buy the program(s). However, they are not free, and in
the spirit of shareware, you are requested to make a small
donation to the author if you find the software in this package useful,
and if you continue to use it after an evaluation period of 30 days. This
would both fulfill your moral obligation and help ensure the viability of
the shareware concept, from which we all benefit.
The suggested contribution is $15 but less (or more!) would be fine. Pay what
you think the software is worth to you. If you pay the recommended amount plus
add $4 for shipping and handling, I will send you a 5 1/4" diskette with the
latest version plus a selection of other shareware for you to evaluate,
including Tony Caine's excellent 2COL and JETCOL utilities, which allow you
to print files in double columns. Alternatively, send a blank diskette of your
preferred size (5 1/4" 360kb or 1.2Mb, or 3 1/2" 720kb or 1.4 Mb) plus $3 s&h.
Should you decide to make a contribution, please remit to:
Malcolm Drury
11 Adele Crescent
Nepean
ON K2J 2T7
Canada
Internet drury@gsc.emr.ca
Compuserve 70574,3457
Bank notes would be fine! Thank you. Please tell me where you
got the software from (this helps me in knowing where to post updates), and,
most importantly, which version it is.
IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR AN EARLIER VERSION - THANKS, AND
OF COURSE YOU ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PAY AGAIN. YOUR INPUT, COMMENTS
ETC. ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
Please note that at the low contribution requested, I cannot provide direct
technical support, nor automatically send upgrades, should they
become available. If you have comments, questions, bug reports etc., please
leave a message at my Compuserve or INTERNET address, or write to me via
snail mail. I will endeavor to fix any problems you might encounter.
The software is supplied on an "as is" basis. You are free to distribute
this software package provided that you distribute the ENTIRE package,
including this documentation file. (This is necessary for others to be able
to use it properly. I've downloaded too many shareware packages that had
been posted without accompanying documentation!).
I hope you find this package useful.
Now to the fun stuff!
**************************************************
VIEW
Usage: view [d:][path][filename] [/x]
If you just type VIEW you will get a list of files on the current drive and
directory, from which you can select the one to view. Similarly, if you
type VIEW plus drive and directory parameters, you'll get a list of files
on that drive and directory.
You can use the * wild-card character in a file name. Then you will get a
list of files in the default or specified directory that match the * criteria.
e.g. view *.doc - list of files with extension doc in the current
directory
view d:\docs - list of all files on drive d, directory docs
view d:\docs\*.txt - as above, but only files with extension txt
Alternatively, you can specify a particular file:
view c:\moredocs\readme.doc
If you do not specify a particular file, VIEW will allow you to select a
new file from the list that meets your selection criteria.
Using VIEW is pretty straightforward. Pressing F1 brings up a help menu,
and the key features of the menu are permanently displayed on the bottom line.
Note that VIEW reads as much of a file as possible into memory, but if not all
of a file can be read in it won't display the full file. This allows you to
skip instantly to any part of the file in memory without disk reads. Depending
on how much conventional RAM you have installed and how many TSRs you have
running, you should have no difficulty reading in up to 400kb of text - and
believe me, that's one big file! If you are not using DOS 5.0 or later, or
a memory manager such as QEMM386 or 386MAX, I strongly recommend you do so.
IMPORTANT: If you are running a DOS shell, the amount of memory available
to VIEW may be much reduced. If you do have a file that is too big to fit
into memory, there are two ways to proceed: first, if the file is not an ASCII
one, convert it (see instructyiuons for file selection menu). This usually
reduces the size somewhat. secondly, VIEW allows you to split the file into
sequential ASCII components.
Note that if you have WordPerfect files with embedded graphics, the file
size may be substantial - not to worry, VIEW will automatically bypass the
graphics information, which would be stored in an enormous header preceding
the text.
VIEW will automatically detect WordPerfect 5.0 and later, Microsoft Word and
Windows WRITE formats. However, you can override this by using the
"/a" switch (see below).
Flag usage: VIEW [drive][path]filename /x
where x = a - force to display straight ASCII (i.e
without omitting formatting codes).
= 80 - force line wrap after 80 colums
THE VIEW SCREEN
The keys:
Navigate through the file using the cursor keys. The right arrow scrolls
right (what else?!), allowing you to view the ends of lines more than 80
characters long (e.g. WordPerfect files that use proportional fonts). Note
that Word and Write files will automatically wrap before 80 columns.
F1 - help menu; all menu items are avaliable directly from this menu
(i.e., while the menu is displayed, pressing F2 will activate
the appropriate function).
F2 - case-insensitive text search - matching text is shown in the
highlight color.
Shift-F2 - case-sensitive text search
F3 - find next occurrence of text defned by F2 or Shift-F2
F4 - toggle off text search
F5 - go to a particular line number
F6 - print all of file to printer or disk
Shift-F6 - this is a toggle for printing (to printer or disk) a block of
text. The first time you press Shift-F6, the current top line
is set as the beginning of the block. The second time, the
current top line is set as the end of the block, and the block
is printed to the location you specify. While block select is
on, you will see a B at the bottom-left of the screen.
F7 - print all lines that specifically include or exclude a particular
text string
F8 - print screen
F6, Shift F6 and F7 all give you access to a user-defined function, which
causes the file you are viewing to be printed to a file called
viewcust.fil. It then calls a user-defined batch file (which you
must prepare) called viewcust.bat. The recommended use is to
print the file you are viewing in two columns using Tony Caine's
2COL (dot matrix) or JETCOL (laser printer) utilities.
A sample viewcust.bat is included in this package.
IMPORTANT NOTE
If you are viewing a WordPerfect or Word file, it will probably not look
the same as the version that you print from the word processing software.
If the document uses a proportional font, or contains columns or tables,
the appearance under VIEW will in all probability be different. This is
because of the way VIEW simplifies the formatting built into such documents.
If VIEW were to be designed to show all formatting faithfully, it would be
at least as big as the executable files used by the word processers themselves
and would therefore lose its point as a quick viewer.
I have attempted to cover all formatting and embedded code possibilities,
but with the power of both WordPerfect and Word, the possibilities are
mind-boggling! If you come across a file that does not seem to display
properly - e.g. hangs mid-way through or displays garbage - please send it
to me and I will attempt to fix the problem.
THE FILE SELECTION MENU
If you have called VIEW without specifying a particular file, you have access
to the file selection menu:-
Currently in: G:\VIEW84\*.* 6 item(s) (0 read)
Use up and down arrows, PgDn, PgUp, Home, End to place file at top of window
┌──────────────┐
Press Enter to select »»│ .. │«« this file or directory
│ file_id.diz │
│ view84.doc │
UPPER CASE - directories │ view84.exe │
lower case - files │ view84.zip │
│ vw84cfg.com │
F1 - force 80 col. word wrap │ │
F2 - force ASCII │ │
F3 - normal display │ │
F4 - convert/print directly │ │
F5 - split file │ │
Esc - exit to DOS │ │
│ │
└──────────────┘
Keys
Use the arrow and cursor keys to position the file you want to view, or
the directory you want to change to, at the top of the file list.
Enter - view currently selected file OR change to currently selected
directory.
F1 - forces the file to be displayed with a word-wrap at (or just before)
80 columns.
F2 - forces the file to be displayed as ASCII, without the high order
characters. VIEW automatically selects this option for certain
types of files (e.g. EXE, COM, DLL files).
F3 - causes the file to be displayed without stripping the high order
characters.
F4 allows you to convert a file to ASCII or print it directly without
viewing it.
F5 allows you to split a file into sequential components. You choose
the filename; each sequential file increments the last character of the
filename extension by 1:
e.g. myfile.00a
myfile.00b
myfile.00c
This allows you to view the files rapidly in sequence when using the file
menu. You can use the number of lines at which the original file should
be split.
NOTE: these functions are only available from the file selection menu. If
you want to split the file hugefile.doc you should access it by
typing view hugefile.*
**** NEW IN VERSION 8.3 ****
The following changes have been adopted:
- VIEW allows you to view WordPerfect 6.0 files.
- VIEW allows you to select files from a list, including
selecting a new file.
- VIEW gives you access to a function you can define yourself.
**** NEW IN VERSION 8.4 ****
The following changes have been adopted:
- file selection menu enhanced to allow change directory,
print file, split file. Also, exiting from a file view now
brings you to the next file in the list. The "n" key in
8.3 is therefore no longer necessary.
- Bug in "print lines containing specified text" (F7) has been
fixed.
- A maximum number of files that can be read from the file
selection menu has been set; the default can be changed by
the user.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VW84CFG
usage: vw84cfg [filename]
where filename is view.exe or an exact copy with some other file name.
This program allows you to customize VIEW.EXE.
Setting colors is self-explanatory. However, VW84CFG also allows you to set
some print parameters, such as number of lines per printed page, number of
spaces to expand tabs, and number of spaces to leave for the left margin.
It also allows you to choose whether the "delete file?" feature of
VIEW is activated. As a safety measure, the default is delete off. You can
override this. Even with the feature on, a file will not
be deleted until you have answered an "are you sure?" question.
Finally, VW84CFG allows you to override the default number of lines of display
and display speeds. VIEW as shipped is configured for normal display speed
and hard coded to display 25 lines by 80 columns. Try experimenting with
the display parameters to get maximum benefit; if your system crashes - and
there's a lot of non-standard hardware and BIOS software out there - just
reconfigure VIEW to a lower display standard.
VW84CFG allows you to set the right margin for use with the /80
switch. The default is 12 - that is, VIEW counts characters per line and
if it is within 12 of the rightmost screen column puts in a line feed if
it finds a space. This is not absolutely foolproof; you may find that
setting the line wrap margin to greater than 12 gives better performance.
Note that Word files automatically use the right margin line wrap
value, whether you use the /80 switch or not. This is because the body of
text in a Word file does not contain "soft" carriage return information.
Finally, VW84CFG allows you to change the default number of files that can
be read in sequence from the file selection menu. Each time you read a file
a small amount of memory is lost to the system (until you exit to DOS, when
it is fully restored). To prevent memory allocation errors VIEW exits to
DOS after a certain number of files have been read. The default is 50. If you
wish to experiment with a higher number, you can do so via VW84CFG. You should
not go above 100. If you find that your setting does cause a system freeze,
just reduce the number. There is no "best" value - it depends on the amount
of free RAM on your system, the nature and operations of any TSRs or memory
managers you have running, etc.
Malcolm Drury
August 16th, 1993
**************************************************************************
Look for the following shareware on this BBS
VGAPAL40.ZIP - customize up to 4 VGA text color palettes, choosing from more
than 2600000 colors! (And see how many you can actually discern!).
One palette can be used to create a small (2k) TSR program that
maintains your chosen scheme. Alternatively, you can set any of
the palettes, or a grey-scale scheme, from a non-TSR if
memory is a problem. (On CIS Ziffnet as vgacus.zip, in ZNT:TIPS).
DDIR92.ZIP - double-column directory display that highlights new files,
flags system, hidden and read-only files, and optionally shows
the "dead" space on disk associated with each file or the total
space each file actually uses. Full file list sorting, and
can scroll back and forth within the file list. Has file
delete and protect/unprotect functions. (On Compuserve
Ziffnet as dirdpy.zip in forum ZNT:TIPS and PBSAPPS)
DSPACE61.ZIP - shows graphically hard disk space installed, used and free,
for all drives; second program shows graphically space on
designated drive (including floppy), and reports on installed
and available RAM, including XMS and EMS memory. (On CIS
Ziffnet as dskspc.zip, in ZNT:TIPS).
IF YOU DO NOT FIND ANY OF THESE, LEAVE ME A MESSAGE!
CIS 70574,3457
INTERNET drury@gsc.emr.ca
Malcolm Drury
11 Adele Crescent
Nepean
Ont. K2J 2T7
CANADA