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1988-06-18
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It's a...
SSSSSSSSSSSSS NNN NNN AAAAAAA PPPPPPPPPPPPPP
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS NNNN NNN AAAAAAAAA PPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
SSS NNNNN NNN AAA AAA PPP PPP
SSS NNNNNN NNN AAA AAA PPP PPP
SSS NNN NNN NNN AAA AAA PPP PPP
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS NNN NNN NNN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS NNN NNN NNN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PPPPPPPPPPPPPP
SSS NNN NNN NNN AAA AAA PPP
SSS NNN NNN NNN AAA AAA PPP
SSS NNN NNNNNN AAA AAA PPP
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS NNN NNNNN AAA AAA PPP
SSSSSSSSSSSSS NNN NNNN AAA AAA PPP
- Snap -
The Easy Menu System
Copyright 1988
by
KeyStrokes Computer Works
June 11, 1988
NOTE: Snap could make you money! Once we receive your $15.00
shareware registration, you will receive a new copy with your own
personal serial number. Distribute your serialized copy to friends,
colleagues, BBS's and users groups. For every new registration we
receive with your serial number on it, we will send you a check for
$5.00. We feel this is a fair incentive to support the shareware
concept of software distribution. See the section on "Shareware"
near the end of this file. Join us today; register!
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 2
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
How Snap Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Running Snap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Menu Definition Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Characters & Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Order of Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Starting Snap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
A Sample Menu Definition File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Quiting Snap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Command Characters in Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
"%" - Menu Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
"*" - Option Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
"?" - Option Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
"^" - Password for the Current Option . . . . . . . . . 13
"~" - Coded Password for the Current Option . . . . . . 13
"@" - New Menu Definition File. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
"-" - Direct Command (Stay Resident). . . . . . . . . . 14
"=" - Direct Command with Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
"!" - Batch Command (Stay Resident) . . . . . . . . . . 15
"+" - Normal Batch Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
".H:" - Menu System Heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
".M:" - Screen Blanker Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
".N:" - Normal Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
".B:" - Bright Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
".R:" - Reverse Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
".W:" - Minutes to Wait Before Screen Blank . . . . . . 17
".D:" - Seconds Between Screen Blank Message Scrolls. . 17
". " - Comment Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Appendix A - SnapEd Command Reference. . . . . . . . . . . 18
Appendix B - Color Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Appendix C - Shareware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendix D - Users (Who needs it?) . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 3
* Introduction
Snap is designed to be an easy-to-use menu system for IBM-compatible
computers. Snap is intended for use on hard disk systems, but
certainly could be used on floppy-based machines as well. The
program takes up little disk space - about 15K for Snap, plus
another 22K if you use the Snap editor (see below.)
On the Snap distribution disk (or in the archive file SNAP.ARC) you
should have the following files:
SNAP.EXE The Snap menu software
SNAPED.EXE The Snap editor software
SNAPMENU.DAT A sample Snap menu definition file
MENU.BAT A DOS batch file used to start Snap
SNAP.DOC This documentation file
ORDER.DOC An order form to obtain your own Snap serial number
SNAPMENU.ARC Archived file included on the distribution disk.
This .ARC file contains all the above mentioned
files, embedded with your personal serial number.
This is the file you should distribute to your
friends, users group, bulletin boards, etc. once
you've registered!
Snap is compatible with AUTOMENU and AUTOMAXX in that it will read
files from either program without modification. Snap adds many
features not found in AUTOMENU or AUTOMAXX, however. Snap is not
intended to be a DOS "shell" like AUTOMAXX, but an easy-to-use and
easy-to-maintain menu system.
* How Snap Works
Snap builds a menu system to help you or your users navigate their
way around their computer. A typical Snap menu might look like
this:
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Snap DOS Menu |
| |
| 1 Directory of the current disk |
| |
| 2 Format a Data Disk |
| |
| 3 Format a Bootable Disk |
| |
| 4 Report Free Space & Memory |
| |
| 5 Display Directory Tree |
| |
| 6 Go to the Programming Menu |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| 6-05-88 |
| Serial No: 805 Menu 1 of 18 2:44:36 pm |
| |
----- Arrows:Select Enter: Choose PgUp PgDn:Previous/Next Menu ----
Menu options are selected either by pressing the key or function key
displayed to the left of the option (e.g. in the above sample menu,
pressing "1" or "F1" will display a disk directory) or by high-
lighting the desired option and pressing Enter. There can be as
many as 8 options on each menu "page," or screen. Snap supports
keys to move quickly from menu to menu and option to option.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 5
The following keys are available while in Snap:
Key(s) Function
---------------------- --------------------------------------
1 thru 8, F1 thru F8: Select option on menu
Up arrow, BackTab: Move selection bar up
Down arrow, spacebar,
Tab: Move selection bar down
Enter: Select highlighted option
F10, PgDn, right arrow: Go to the next menu page
F9, PgUp, left arrow: Go to the previous menu page
Home: Highlight first option in menu
End: Highlight Last option in menu
Ctrl-Home, Ctrl-PgUp: Go to the first menu
Ctrl-End, Ctrl-PgDn: Go to the last menu
C, ?: Display copyright screen
Shift-F1: Edit the current menu definition file.
Alt-F7 + Esc: Quit Snap
That's a bunch of keys, but don't worry - using Snap is a fairly
intuitive process. You'll catch on quickly.
* Installation
To set up Snap on your disk, you'll need to copy at least the files
SNAP.EXE and SNAPMENU.DAT to the directory you want Snap to run
from. This is normally the root directory of a hard disk.
Example:
COPY a:snap.exe C:\
COPY a:snapmenu.dat C:\
If you plan to put Snap in its own directory or somewhere other than
the root directory, you should make sure your DOS PATH includes that
directory. If you aren't sure about the DOS PATH command, consult
your manual. If you're unsure about all this, just follow the above
example.
Now you have to make a choice. Snap comes with its own editor,
SNAPED.EXE. SnapEd is a simple text editor that can be called
directly from Snap or used "stand-alone." SnapEd uses all the
normal WordStar-like commands, including block operations, search-
and-replace, etc. If you have a favorite word processor and want to
use it for building menu definition files (discussed below) instead,
you might not want SnapEd taking up room on your disk (golly, it's
only 21K or so!) We recommend that you go ahead and place
SNAPED.EXE in the same directory with SNAP.EXE for your own
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 6
convenience. If you really don't like it, then you can remove it
later on.
Example:
COPY a:snaped.exe C:\
* Running Snap
Snap can run menu options in different ways depending on your
system's configuration and your own personal preference. Snap can
build batch files to execute options (the normal way to run
applications,) run options while Snap remains resident in memory (a
very efficient way to run DOS commands and smaller programs,) and
can even combine these two methods by executing batch commands while
remaining resident. If you're unsure about this "resident" business
and what will work with your system, you can always use the normal
batch processing method - it's the safest way to go!
No matter which way you use Snap, it first reads a menu definition
file. The default name for this file is SNAPMENU.DAT, but can be
any name you choose by placing the name of the file to be read in
the command line (e.g. SNAP AUTOMENU.MDF to read an AUTOMENU file.)
* Menu Definition Files
A menu definition file is a DOS text file (that's ASCII or non-
document mode for you "word processors" out there) which contains
menu titles, menu options, DOS commands, and (optionally) many other
customization lines depending on your taste. The format of menu
definition files is simple: each line starts with one or more
command characters immediately followed by a line of text.
Here are two examples of valid menu definition file lines.
___________________________________________________________________
Menu titles, options, DOS commands, etc.:
%KeyStrokes Computer Works Menu
||____________________________|
| |
"%" Command character-+ Text line
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 7
___________________________________________________________________
Colors, delay times, etc.:
.B:15
|_||_|
| |
".B:" Command characters-+ +---Text line
___________________________________________________________________
The basic layout for a menu definition file goes like this example:
%KeyStrokes Computer Works Main Menu | Menu Page Title
*Word Processing | First option
+cd\wp | DOS batch command
+myword | "
+cd\ | "
+menu | "
*Format a New Disk | Second option
-format a: | DOS direct command
*Exit to DOS | Third option
+echo Type "MENU" to return to SNAP. | DOS batch command
Menu definition files can be created and edited with any editor or
word processor that works in plain text (ASCII) mode. Of course,
the easiest way is to use SnapEd. If SnapEd is installed along with
Snap, you may edit the current menu definition file by pressing
Shift-F1 (that is, hold down either shift key, then press F1.) This
will invoke SnapEd and automatically call up the current menu
definition file. See Appendix A for more information on SnapEd.
* Characters & Command
Below is a table of the different characters and commands used in
building a Snap menu definition file.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 8
Command
Character(s) Text Line Functions as:
------------ ---------------------------------------
% Menu title
* Option title
? Option help
^ Password for the current option
~ Coded password for the current option
@ New menu definition file to read
- Direct command (stay resident)
= Direct command with pause (stay resident)
! Batch command (stay resident)
+ Batch command
.H: Menu system heading
.M: Screen blanker message
.N: Normal Color
.B: Bright Color
.R: Reverse Color
.W: Minutes to wait before screen blank.
.D: Seconds between screen blank message scrolls
.(space) Comment line
You'll notice that the customization commands all have the format
".X:" where the only thing that changes is the letter in place of X.
This is to maintain compatibility with AUTOMENU, which considers all
lines beginning with a period to be a comment line. To avoid any
conflicts, always use a space in between a period and a comment.
Example:
. Like this comment here
.Not like this one!
* Order of Commands
Command lines for menu options should follow this format: Option,
help (if used,) password (if used,) and DOS commands.
Example:
*Option Title
?Help line
^Password
+DOS command 1
+DOS command 2
etc....
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 9
It is not absolutely essential that everything go in this order;
help and password lines can actually go anywhere between the option
title and the next option. But for the sake of consistency and
clarity the above order of things works well.
It is recommended that the customization lines that begin with a
period (.H:, .W:, etc.) be the first thing in the menu definition
file. That way these special parameters can be found and modified
easily when necessary. Once again, this is just a recommendation;
you can mix up the file almost any way you want!
* Starting Snap
Normally you will start Snap from a batch file called MENU.BAT
(included with Snap.) From the DOS prompt you simply type "MENU"
(not the quotes!) and press Enter, or you can place the command
"MENU" as the very last line of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Any time you use DOS batch commands ("+" lines) to execute a menu
option, the last line in the series of commands should be "+menu" so
that Snap comes back up on the screen after the option has been run.
IF (and only if) every single option in your menu definition file
falls into the "resident" category (that is, you never use the "+"
command lines,) you may start up Snap simply by typing "SNAP" at the
DOS prompt or placing the command "SNAP" as the last line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
* A Sample Menu Definition File
If you're with us so far then you're ready to build a menu
definition file! Here's how we built ours.
First, either use the sample menu definition file that accompanies
Snap or create a new one with your own word processor. Either way,
call it SNAPMENU.DAT.
If you have installed SnapEd, you can get to the sample file from
the DOS prompt by entering:
SNAPED SNAPMENU.DAT
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 10
Now let's look at how this menu is set up.
Contents of file What it does
-------------------------------------------- ------------------------
. SNAP Sample Menu Definition File | Comment line
. Set the normal color to yellow |
.N:14 | Set Normal color to 14
. Set the bright color to white |
.B:15 | Set bright color to 15
. Set the reverse color to white on red |
.R:79 | Set reverse color to 79
. Set the blank delay to 1 minute |
.W:1 | Set wait to 1 minute
. Set the scrolling delay to 10 seconds |
.D:10 | Set delay to 10 seconds
. |
.H:KeyStrokes Computer Works | New heading
%Programming | Menu page title
*TurboC | Option #1
+cd\turboc | Batch file commands
+tc |
+cd\ |
+menu | Restart Snap!
. |
*TAS Plus | Option #2
?Requires 384K RAM free! | Help line to print
^LETMEIN | Make LETMEIN the password
+cd\tas | Batch file commands
+tas |
+cd\ |
+menu | Restart Snap
. |
%Utility Menu | Second menu page title
. |
*Directory Scanner | Option #1
!cd\ds | Resident batch commands
!ds.exe |
!cd\ |
. |
*Show Free Space and Memory | Option #2
=chkdsk /f | Resident command, pause
. |
*Format a Data Disk | Option #3
-format a: | Resident command, no pause
. |
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 11
*Exit to DOS | Option #4
+ECHO Enter "MENU" to restart Snap! | Notice there's no "+menu,"
| so Snap will quit when this
| option is chosen.
You may change this file to your liking, or even run Snap using it.
the options, of course, will probably not work, but you can get a
feel for how you can move around Snap.
* Quiting Snap
As noted in the above sample menu definition file, a normal "Exit to
DOS" - type option is accomplished by simply omitting any way to
return to Snap. The easiest way to do this is with one "+" command
line OTHER THAN the "+menu" line mentioned above. Usually a DOS
ECHO statement fits the bill nicely.
There is another way to quit Snap that works as a kind of "trap
door" just in case you build a menu definition file that leaves no
easy way out (in other words, you forgot to put in an "Exit to DOS"
option!) Pressing Alt-F7, then ESC will quit Snap without executing
any commands - Snap simply exits to DOS with no further action.
Note that these keys must be pressed in sequence. ESC followed by
Alt-F7 won't work. We purposely made this one tricky, as you
normally don't want users accidentally dumping themselves out to
DOS. Alt-F7 + ESC is mainly for the benefit of the person who
builds and maintains menu definition files, not casual users.
* Command Characters in Detail
There are a few considerations to keep in mind when dealing with
Snap's command characters:
1) The command character(s) must be first in the line. No spaces or
other characters should precede them.
2) All command characters are followed by other information. For
instance, "%Menu Title" or "*Option Title" or ".N:14" are all valid
command lines.
3) The command lines that need numeric information (.N:, .B:, .R:,
.W:, .D:) may not have any other information on the line. If
comments are needed, put them on the previous line.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 12
Example:
. The next line sets the normal color to white
.N:15
4) Command lines can be up to 60 characters long. Headings, help
lines, etc. will always be centered automatically by Snap, so
there's no need to "pad" with extra spaces. You may have as many
DOS command lines as you want for any option, but keep these simple
rules in mind:
a) Commands using "-" and "=" should normally stand alone
as single lines, since these command characters are
intended for native DOS commands like DIR, FORMAT,
CHKDSK, etc. You CAN stack these one on top of another
like the other command lines, but it is actually more
efficient to use the "!" or "+" command characters in
such circumstances.
b) Resident batch commands using the "!" command character
do NOT need to have the "+menu" line (mentioned above)
at the end of the series of DOS commands, and in fact
should not!
c) The "+menu" line should ALWAYS be used at the end of a
series of "+" commands unless the option is supposed to
exit to DOS when through.
5) A word about menu organization is in order. You may have as many
menu pages as you like defined in each menu definition file, but be
aware that the more you have, the more confusing and therefore less
useful the menu system becomes. Also, the larger the menu
definition file, the less memory will be available to run programs
with using Snap in the resident mode. We recommend that an
individual menu definition file not go beyond 8 menus.
One good way to organize a menu system on computers with big hard
disks and loads of applications is to have 2 or more menu definition
files, each containing "like" or related options. For example, you
might have one file for all utility programs, another for database-
related options, yet another for DOS-related tasks, and yet another
menu containing backup procedures for different types of data. You
link as many different definition files together as you like.
Another benefit of this method is the ability to define different
headings and color schemes for each menu, making it easier to
identify each as you move through the menu system. Try it - with a
little experimentation you can develop a truly unique and efficient
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 13
menu system for your machine!
"%" - Menu Title
The % command character indicates the beginning of a menu page, plus
the text immediately following % is used for the menu title. You
need to have one "%" line for each menu page in the menu definition
file.
Example:
%Programming Menu
"*" - Option Title
Use * in front of each option for the current menu. You can have
up to 8 options for each menu page. If you have more than 8, the
extra options will be ignored by Snap.
Example:
*Lotus 1-2-3 Spreadsheet Program
"?" - Option Help
Sometimes a menu option needs a little more explanation than can be
squeezed into the option title. Using ? followed by explanatory
text will make that text pop up at the bottom of the screen when the
option is highlighted.
Example:
*Format a bootable disk
?Formats a disk in drive A: with DOS
"^" - Password for the Current Option
"~" - Coded Password for the Current Option
When security is a factor, Snap provides two rather simple methods
of restricting access to a menu option. The ^ character followed by
text will make that text the password required to execute the menu
option. ~ is used to "code" a password by moving each character one
"to the left" alphabetically. For instance, ~BCDE would indicate
the password ABCD.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 14
Example:
*dBase III Plus
^BOOGIE
-or-
~CPPHJF
In this example, if the user selected the dBase III Plus option,
they would be prompted to enter a password. Asterisks (*) show in
place of the characters they type. When they press Enter, their
entry is compared with, in this case, BOOGIE. If it's a match,
Snap indicates that the correct password was entered and executes
the option. Otherwise, a message indicating a bad password attempt
is displayed briefly, and then the user is brought back to the menu.
Passwords are NOT case sensitive; lowercase and uppercase letters
are treated the same.
"@" - New Menu Definition File
Often with a large menu system it is much easier to organize by
splitting the menu definitions into separate files (see note #5 at
the beginning of this section.) Use the @ command to tell Snap to
read a new menu definition file. Note that different menu
definition files may define different sets of colors, headings, etc.
You can make each file unique and therefore easily identifiable.
Example:
*Programming Menu
@c:\pgmmenu.dat
In the above example, Snap would load the file PGMMENU.DAT if the
user chose Programming Menu. PGMMENU.DAT might in turn have an
option to return to the main menu:
Example:
*Return to Main Menu
@c:\snapmenu.dat
So you can see how easy it is to "chain" as many menus as you like
together. Remember, each menu definition file can have as many menu
pages as you like, but having too many together in one file gets
confusing and difficult to maintain. On the other hand, you can
chain an unlimited number of unique, easy-to-maintain menu
definition files together using the @ command character! Make full
use of this powerful command.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 15
"-" - Direct Command (Stay Resident)
The - command character causes Snap to execute the command on the
same line without exiting Snap itself. This is useful for many DOS
commands.
Example:
*Format a Disk in Drive A:
-format a:
When this option is taken, the DOS format command would be run, and
then control would return immediately to Snap.
"=" - Direct Command with Pause
The = command character functions just like the - command, but
after the command has been issued to DOS and completed, a message
at the bottom of the screen appears prompting the user to press a
key to return to the menu. This is useful for DOS commands that
display information on the screen that is useful to the user.
Example:
*Display Disk Directory
=dir/p
"!" - Batch Command (Stay Resident)
Using ! in the command line tells Snap to execute the command(s) in
a batch file, but to leave Snap resident in memory. This makes for
much faster transition from applications back to Snap, but also
eats memory. Options that call large programs should NOT use the !
command; use the + command (below) instead. Note that even if only
one command line uses !, the entire set of commands will be
interpreted as batch (resident) commands.
Example:
*Calculator Program
!cd\calc
!calc
!cd\
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 16
"+" - Normal Batch Command
The + command character indicates that batch file processing should
be used, and that Snap will be removed from memory before the option
is executed. This is probably the safest and most common way to use
Snap, but is also slower than using the ! command.
NOTE: When using + commands, be sure to specify the batch file
that you used to start Snap as the last command. This will ensure
that Snap will come back on the screen after the external program
has been completed. You MUST use + commands to execute a normal
"Exit to DOS"-type command as a menu option.
Examples:
*dBase III Plus
+cd\dbase
+dbase
+cd\
+menu
.
*Exit to DOS
+echo Enter MENU to re-start Snap!
".H:" - Menu System Heading
The text following this command will be centered at the top of the
screen for all menu pages. If none is specified you will see the
Snap default title. This title may be reset in different menu
definition files that are chained together.
Example:
.H:Keith's Personal Menu System
".M:" - Screen Blanker Message
Snap will not leave a menu on-screen indefinitely unless you
explicitly tell it to. The default setting is for the screen to go
blank after 3 minutes of inactivity (no keys pressed.) Once the
screen has been blanked, a message will scroll down the screen
periodically telling the user to press any key to return to the
menu. You may change the first line of this message to say
whatever you want. Use .M: to tell Snap what you'd like displayed
on the first line of the screen blanker message.
Example:
.M:Blank-blankedy-blank!!
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 17
".N:" - Normal Color
".B:" - Bright Color
".R:" - Reverse Color
Using the color table in appendix A you may change any of these 3
values to the colors of your liking. These color values may be
changed in each and every menu definition file if you like, but do
not need to be explicitly defined if one color scheme suits you.
The colors will remain as defined until a new definition is read.
Example:
. Set the normal color to Yellow
.N:14
. Set the reverse color to white on red
.R:79
. Set the bright color to white on blue
.B:31
".W:" - Minutes to Wait Before Screen Blank
".D:" - Seconds Between Screen Blank Message Scrolls
These two command lines are used to define how long Snap should
wait before blanking the screen (in minutes) and between scrolls of
the screen blank message (in seconds.) The line should contain
only the command characters and the number of seconds or minutes -
don't put any other text on the line.
You can disable the screen blanking feature altogether by setting
".W:" to 0.
Examples:
. Blank after 5 minutes, scroll every 25 seconds.
.W:5
.D:25
. Disable screen blanking
.W:0
". " - Comment Line
Throughout this documentation you've seen examples of the "."
command character - it is used alone (followed by a space) to
indicate that a particular line serves no real purpose for Snap, but
serves plenty of purpose for Snap users in the form of a comment.
Comment lines are there simply as a note to the user. Comments are
really handy, even suggested, to label color lines.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 18
Example:
. Make the Reverse color white on red
.R:79
* Appendix A - SnapEd Command Reference
Snap's editor, SnapEd, is easy to use yet has many powerful word
processing features including search and replace, autoindent, and
more.
Below is a chart of the various keys and commands available in
SnapEd. You'll find that most commands can be accomplished two
ways: with "normal" keystrokes and with WordStar-like commands.
Function Normal Key(s) WordStar Key(s)
--------------------------- --------------- ---------------------
Cursor Commands:
Cursor left <Left> <Ctrl S>
Cursor right <Right> <Ctrl D>
Word left <Ctrl Left> <Ctrl A>
Word right <Ctrl Right> <Ctrl F>
Cursor up <Up> <Ctrl E>
Cursor down <Down> <Ctrl X>
Scroll up <Ctrl W>
Scroll down <Ctrl Z>
Page up <PgUp> <Ctrl R>
Page down <PgDn> <Ctrl C>
Beginning of line <Home> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl S>
End of line <End> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl D>
Top of screen <Ctrl Home> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl E>
Bottom of screen <Ctrl End> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl X>
Top of file <Ctrl PgUp> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl R>
Bottom of file <Ctrl PgDn> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl C>
Top of block <ShiftF7> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl B>
Bottom of block <ShiftF8> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl K>
Previous position <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl P>
Insert/Indent:
New line <Enter> <Ctrl M>
Insert line <Ctrl N>
Toggle insert mode <Ins> <Ctrl V>
Toggle autoindent mode <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl I>
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 19
Delete/Restore:
Delete line <Ctrl Y>
Restore line <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl L>
Delete line right <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl Y>
Delete right word <Ctrl T>
Delete character <Del> <Ctrl G>
Delete left character <Bksp> <Ctrl H>
Block Commands:
Begin block <F7> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl B>
End block <F8> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl K>
Mark current word <Ctrl K> <Ctrl T>
Toggle block display <Ctrl K> <Ctrl H>
Copy block <F4> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl C>
Move block <F5> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl V>
Delete block <F6> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl Y>
Write block to file <Ctrl K> <Ctrl W>
Print marked block <F9> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl P>
Read block (file) <Ctrl K> <Ctrl R>
Bookmark Commands:
Set marker 0 <Ctrl K> 0
Set marker 1 <Ctrl K> 1
Set marker 2 <Ctrl K> 2
Set marker 3 <Ctrl K> 3
Jump to marker 0 <Ctrl Q> 0
Jump to marker 1 <Ctrl Q> 1
Jump to marker 2 <Ctrl Q> 2
Jump to marker 3 <Ctrl Q> 3
Find/Replace:
Find text <F1> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl F>
Find and replace <F2> <Ctrl Q> <Ctrl A>
Find next <F3> <Ctrl L>
Miscellaneous:
Tab <Tab> <Ctrl I>
Toggle fixed tabs <Ctrl O> <Ctrl T>
Quit SnapEd <F10> <Ctrl K> <Ctrl D>
Control character <Ctrl P> <Character>
When finished editing the menu definition file, press F10. If you
made any changes to the file, SnapEd will ask you if you wish to
save the changes to disk. Press "Y" to save your changes, or "N" to
abandon any changes you might have made but don't want to keep.
SnapEd will always backup the file with a ".BAK" file extension, so
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 20
even if your changes are disastrous, you can stay out of trouble.
Remember that Snap command lines can be up to 60 characters long
(including the command characters that precede the actual commands.)
If a line is longer than 60 characters, snap will only "see" the
first 60. SnapEd maintains a status line at the top of the editing
screen to tell you which position the cursor is in - watch to be
sure your lines don't get too long. The same warning goes for
passwords - the line can't be any longer than 31 characters
(including the "~" or "^" command character!)
SnapEd may be used as a stand alone editor as well as a Snap menu
definition file editor. Simply type in the command SNAPED at the
DOS prompt and SnapEd will ask you for a file name (creating a new
file if the one you specified doesn't already exist.)
SnapEd has a capacity of around 64,000 characters (more than long
enough for a hefty menu definition file) as long as your computer
has enough memory. SnapEd only needs about 40K of free memory to
run, but should have 100K free for maximum benefit.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 21
* Appendix B - Color Table
To calculate a color value, pick the value for the desired
background from the Background table, and then add to it the
foreground value from the Foreground table.
For use on monochrome monitors, pick the desired attribute from the
Monochrome table.
Background Foreground Monochrome
------------------- -------------------- ----------------
Black 0 Black 0 Underline 1
Blue 16 Blue 1 Low 7
Green 32 Green 2 Bright 15
Cyan 48 Cyan 3 Reverse 112
Red 64 Red 4
Magenta 80 Magenta 5
Brown 96 Brown 6
Light Grey 112 Light Grey 7
Dark Grey 8
Light Blue 9
Light Green 10
Light Cyan 11
Light Red 12
Light Magenta 13
Yellow 14
White 15
Examples:
White on Blue = 16 + 15 = 31
Yellow on Red = 64 + 14 = 78
Green on Black = 0 + 2 = 2
If we want a menu where the normal color should be cyan on blue, the
bright color should be white on blue, and the reverse color should
be light magenta on light grey (we never claimed to be color
coordinated!) we would insert the following lines into our menu
definition file:
.N:19
.B:31
.R:125
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 22
For a monochrome system where we wanted the normal attribute to be
low, the bright attribute bright, and the reverse attribute
underlined, we would use:
.N:7
.B:15
.R:1
You can mix monochrome attributes on some monitors. For instance,
the value 16 (underline + bright) will yield bright underlined
characters, although this technique may not work on all monochrome
systems.
Remember, every menu definition file may have its own unique set of
colors or attributes. Be creative!
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 23
* Appendix C - Shareware
Snap is distributed under the shareware concept of software
marketing, which allows you to "try it before you buy it." As such,
Snap may be uploaded to bulletin board systems (BBS's) and other
online services, distributed by users' groups, and shared with
friends, coworkers, etc. Snap is NOT in the public domain, however,
and is protected by federal copyright.
It is your responsibility to determine Snap's usefulness and act
accordingly. Snap is not warranted as to its performance or worth
to the user. KeyStrokes Computer Works will update Snap as
necessary to make the program more capable and/or reliable.
If you find Snap useful and make it a part of your software library,
you should register with us to receive your own personal serialized
copy. Whether you use Snap or not, feel free to share it as you
please - that's what shareware is all about.
Remember that registered users of Snap are paid commissions for
every subsequent registration we receive with their personal serial
number on the order form. For every copy registered, $5.00 is paid
to the owner of the serial number. Checks are paid once a month, on
the first of the month.
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156
Snap: The Easy Menu System Page 24
* Appendix D - Users (Who needs it?)
Snap is a simple, cost-effective solution for anyone who wants an
easy-to-use interface between user and computer. Using Snap
eliminates the need for remembering cumbersome DOS commands or
having to "go look it up."
Snap is ideal for businesses large and small that want to
standardize their PC system interface without making a large
expenditure. Snap can be implemented on a network easily, although
in such situations it is suggested that only the LAN administrator
have access to menu definition files and SnapEd.
Snap works beautifully in school environments, making it easy for
students to get the the applications the need without having to
"learn the computer" first.
A Note for Dealers and Consultants:
You may register as a Snap user just like anyone else, and will
receive commissions for every Snap registration we receive bearing
your serial number. You have 2 options in this regard: (a) make
sure that each customer you set up with Snap knows that he/she/they
should register with us, or (b) send in $15.00 for each copy you set
up. If you choose the latter course, you will still get $5.00 back
from each registration, making your effective price $10.00 per copy
of Snap. You may eliminate the hassle of too much paperwork by
registering several copies in advance.
YOU MAY NOT BILL OR INVOICE YOUR CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY FOR SNAP! SNAP
IS PROTECTED BY FEDERAL COPYRIGHT, AND AS SUCH CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED
FROM KEYSTROKES COMPUTER WORKS! If you need to discuss this with
us, please write or call.
Direct all correspondence regarding Snap and SnapEd to:
KeyStrokes Computer Works
812 East 15th
Winfield, KS 67156
(316) 221-0814
***** End of SNAP.DOC *****
Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works, 812 east 15th, Winfield, KS 67156