═══ 1. General Information ═══ The purpose of FLEXTEXT Print Utility is to print reports on a workstation running OS/2 2.0. This program prints multiple pages per sheet of paper in portrait or landscape modes. Any available fonts, types, and point sizes may be selected depending on the input file's requirements. Many IBM mainframe generated reports contain ANSI control characters ("FBA" files). These reports can be printed or exported to a "print file" for import into a word processing document. TAB characters are expanded depending on information supplied in the preferences section. Clipboard data can be bowsed and optionally printed. ═══ 2. About FLEXTEXT Print Utility ═══ FLEXTEXT(TM) Copyright 1992, Extension Software. This is version 1.3 of the FLEXTEXT Print Utility. The program was designed and coded by Robert Stuart of Mesa, Arizona in October 1992. For more information, I can be contacted at (602) 820-0321 or at Compuserv id# 74230,1620. ═══ 3. License Information ═══ This software and the disks on which it is contained are licensed for evaluation purposes only. This is copyrighted software. You may use the software for a 60 day evaluation period and distribute exact copies of the software to anyone free of charge. You are prohibited from charging for any such copies unless you receive written permission from Extension Software. EXTENSION SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ALL SUCH WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED. NEITHER EXTENSION SOFTWARE NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE EVEN IF EXTENSION SOFTWARE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL EXTENSION SOFTWARE'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF CLAIM. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequenctial or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona and shall inure to the benefit of Extension Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in Maricopa County, Arizona. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. ═══ 4. Open Menu ═══ The OPEN menu contains options to retrieve data from a file or the clipboard. The following options appear under the OPEN menu: FILE Retrieves data from a file CLIPBOARD Retrieves data currently held in the clipboard. ═══ 5. File ═══ You can open a file that exists on any drive or in any directory by using the FILE option. To open a file, do the following: o Select the Open menu and choose the File selection. A dialog box appears, showing you a list of files in the current directory. ═══ 6. Open Clipboard ═══ The CLIPBOARD option imports data into the browse window which can be subsequently printed. A snapshot of the clipboard text is taken when CLIPBOARD is selected. If changes are made to the data in the clipboard once the browse window is displayed, the modifications will not take affect in FlexText until the CLIPBOARD option is re-selected. FlexText only supports text-based data. Other data types found in the clipboard will be ignored. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ 1. Select the down arrow to the right of the Drive list to display all the drives on your system. 2. Select a drive from the Drive list. 3. Select a directory from the Directory list. 4. Select a file name from the File list or type in a file name and select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For specific help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton ═══ Help for File name ═══ ═══ Help for File name ═══ Type the name of the file you want to open in the File name field and select the Open pushbutton. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton General help ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ Select the down arrow to the right of the Type of file field to display the available file types. The sample has set this field for all file types. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Drive ═══ ═══ Help for Drive ═══ The Drive list displays the drives on your system. Select the drive that contains the files you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for File ═══ ═══ Help for File ═══ The File list displays all the files in the directory you selected from the Directory list. Select the file you want to open. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Directory ═══ ═══ Help for Directory ═══ The Directory list displays the directories on the selected drive. Select a directory to display the list of files from that directory in the File list box. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ Select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ 7. Help Menu ═══ The following help options give you several ways of accessing program instructions and procedures. ═══ 8. Index ═══ This help option displays the index which allows you to specify a particular item of interest. ═══ 9. General help ═══ This option provides an overview of the program's processes and functionality. ═══ 10. Using Help ═══ Help can be retrieved for any menu, window, procedure, or field by clicking on a help button or pressing the F1 key. ═══ 11. Product information ═══ This help option lists product information. ═══ 12. Print ═══ The PRINT menu option presents a sequence of windows accepting various print options and configurations. Note that the PRINT menu option is initially disabled and becomes enabled only after an input file is successfully opened (and optionally displayed). ═══ 13. Options ═══ The OPTIONS menu provides the ability to specify functional preferences or select a print queue. ═══ 14. Print Queue Option ═══ The PRINT QUEUE option provides the ability to select a print queue from a list. ═══ 15. Preferences Option ═══ The PREFERENCES option allows the user to configure processing defaults. The changes are maintained in an initialization file(FLXTXT.INI) that is loaded at program startup. ═══ 16. Register Option ═══ The REGISTER option presents a window that describes the registration process and optionally prints a registration form. ═══ 17. Font Dialog ═══ The FONT dialog allows you to select font types, point size, and styles. Be careful in selecting a large point size since it can result in truncated data. Initially, the program will default to "Courier" which provides mono-spaced characters. Selection of other variable-spaced fonts may affect column alignment. Note that many options are provided that may not be appropriate for this type of report application (i.e., strike out, outline, etc.). These options have been provided only to achieve OS/2 application standardization. ═══ 18. Print Report ═══ The PRINT REPORT dialog controls report volume, page configurations, and fonts. Pressing JOB PROPERTIES displays another window that, among other options, specifies page orientation. By switching from "portrait" to "landscape", different page configurations are displayed on the original "PRINT REPORT" window allowing multiple pages to be printed side by side, or top and bottom. Text files with record lengths of 80 characters or less generally print best side by side, while reports of up to 133 characters are better printed top and bottom. The first time the PRINT REPORT is displayed, a reminder window is automatically created that describes other page configurations available as explained in the previous paragraph. If you no longer wish the reminder window to be displayed, it can be disabled in the PREFERENCES dialog found under the OPTIONS menu selection. Note that the point size automatically changes when a different page configuration is selected. The point size you select in the SELECT FONT window is associated with the current page configuration and will be saved. This process minimizes the need to display the font selection screen repetitively. Whenever you enter the SELECT FONT window, the program highlights a default point size appropriate for the current page configuration. ═══ 19. Print Queue ═══ Select a print queue from the displayed list, then press OK. The selected printer Queue will remain in effect unil explicity changed. The first time the program is executed, the system default queue will be used. ═══ 20. Export File ═══ The EXPORT FILE option generates an ASCII file after expanding Tabs and if necessary, removing ANSI control characters from the data. A top of page ANSI control character ("1") may be translated to a ascii hex"0C" depending on preference settings. Other ANSI control characters (i.e., "0", "-") result in the insertion of blank line(s). Note that ANSI control character "+" is simply removed with no change to the incoming data. Once generated, the resulting ascii report file can be imported into most word processors. ═══ 21. Preferences ═══ The PREFERENCES option allows the user to configure processing defaults. The changes are maintained in an initialization file (FLXTXT.INI) that is loaded at program startup. Configurable options are as follows: o "Animate program startup" controls the FlexText title animation when starting FlexText. The animation takes a couple of seconds and may be eliminated if requested. o "Minimize file viewer automatically" will cause the window that displays the report to be immediately minimized when a file is opened. o "Display landscape reminder info box" causes an additional window to be displayed when "Print" is selected from the menu. The box reminds the user of additional page configurations available if the user enters "Job Properties" and selects landscape orientation. The information box is displayed only once during program execution. o "Use x'0c' for page break in saved print files" will insert the common page break character whenever a new page is anticipated. Note that this type of page break only occurs in files with ANSI control characters (FBA files). o "Expand TAB characters to ?? spaces" will convert any x'09' characters to the specified number of spaces. Use the arrows on the right side of the numeric field to scroll through the valid values. o The three radio buttons provide a way to suppress the file type window from displaying every time a file or clipboard is opened. If your data typically contains ANSI control characters, select "always apply ANSI CC translation". If you never use ANSI CC's, select "never apply ANSI CC translation". These options will prevent the file type window from being displayed. Once your selections are made, press the SAVE button to apply the preferences to this and subsequent sessions. If the file viewer is currently open (or minimized), the view is automatically recreated using the new options. The DEFAULT button will return the settings to the program's original values. CANCEL will drop all changes since the last time the preferences were saved. ═══ 22. Input File Type ═══ ANSI control characters are used to control printers primarily on mainframe reports. The report records are typically (but not necessarily) 133 bytes in length with the carriage control characters in position 1 of each line. The following is a list of control characters with their corresponding effects: "1" - top of page (page break) "0" - double space "-" - triple space "+" - overtype " " - single space