THE J-WRITE COMPONENT LIBRARY - README FILE This file contains: 0. PACKING LIST 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ABOUT THE J-WRITE COMPONENT LIBRARY 3. INSTALLATION PROCEDURES 4. INSTALLING THE HELP FILE 5. REMOVING THE COMPONENT LIBRARY. 0. PACKING LIST =============== - FILE_ID.DIZ BBS Information - ORDER.TXT Ordering Information - README.TXT This file - LICENCE.TXT Read this before installation - JCOMPNTS.HLP Component Library Help File - JCOMPNTS.KWF Delphi Topic Search keyword file - MANUAL.DOC User Manual - 16-bit\FILEVIEW.DCU Viewer Classes - 16-bit\MAILEDIT.DCU EMail Extensions - 16-bit\TEXTBUFF.DCU Document Container Classes - 16-bit\UUENCODE.DCU UUEncode Support - 16-bit\FILEVIEW.DCR Icons - 16-bit\MAILEDIT.DCR Icons - 16-bit\TEXTBUFF.DCR Icons - 16-bit\UUENCODE.DCR Icons - 16-bit\KEYEDIT.DCU Edit Key property editor - 16-bit\KEYEDIT.DFM Edit Key property editor resources - 16-bit\JWRUN.DCU Support for running DOS Compression programs - JWRUN.EXE " - JWRUN.PIF " - 32-bit\FILEVIEW.DCU Viewer Classes - 32-bit\MAILEDIT.DCU EMail Extensions - 32-bit\TEXTBUFF.DCU Document Container Classes - 32-bit\UUENCODE.DCU UUEncode Support - 32-bit\FILEVIEW.DCR Icons - 32-bit\MAILEDIT.DCR Icons - 32-bit\TEXTBUFF.DCR Icons - 32-bit\UUENCODE.DCR Icons - 32-bit\KEYEDIT.DCU Edit Key property editor - 32-bit\KEYEDIT.DFM Edit Key property editor resources - 32-bit\JWRUN.DCU Support for running DOS Compression programs - EXAMPLE\MDIEDIT.DPR Example file - EXAMPLE\MDIEDIT.OPT " - EXAMPLE\MDIEDIT.RES " - EXAMPLE\MAIN.PAS " - EXAMPLE\MAIN.DFM " - EXAMPLE\CHILDWIN.PAS " - EXAMPLE\CHILDWIN.DFM " - EXAMPLE\ABOUT.PAS " - EXAMPLE\ABOUT.DFM " 1. INTRODUCTION ================ Welcome to the J-Write Component Library. The J-Write components are a powerful add-on to the Delphi Visual Component Library, and provide a comprehensive set of text viewing and editing classes. The J-Write components have been designed to provide a powerful set of Delphi components to support the viewing, printing and editing of text files. Such files occur everywhere on most modern computer systems. They may contain network logs, configuration information, or technical papers, such as Internet RFCs. J-Write is fast and handles large files (of the order of megabytes) as fast as it handles small files. Just compare it loading and editing a megabyte or more of text, with Delphi 2.0's TRichText control and you'll see what speed means. A comprehensive online help file is included in this release. A User Manual is also available in Word for Windows format. If you do not have access to Word for Windows, then you can still read and print the User Manual using Microsoft's Word viewer. This is freeware and available from ftp.microsoft.com, or the MSWORD Forum (lib #2) on Compuserve. This release contains an example application program. This is fully described in both the online help file and the User Manual. This release contains both the 16-bit version which is compatible with Delphi 1.x only, and a 32-bit version for Delphi 2.0. This, the Shareware version, will only work when the Delphi Development Environment is also active. The registered version has no such constraints applied and a source code version is also available. Support is provided through MWA Software's Web pages on http://www.demon.co.uk/mwa-soft. 2. ABOUT J-WRITE THE COMPONENT LIBRARY ====================================== Speed and effectively unlimited file sizes are major design goals of the J-Write Components. The J-Write components can access any file whose size may be expressed within a 32-bit signed number and, moreover, the time taken to move around a file and to edit it is independent of the size of the file. Fast search and replace functions complete the basic function set. Word wrap is comprehensively supported, with four separate word wrap algorithms (on line breaks only, on window boundaries, on printer page width and after a set number of characters). Tab stops can also be set (in logical inches). The components can also recognise hard page breaks and calculate where soft page breaks occur. In addition, any ANSI font (including True Type) can be used. There is full keyboard and Mouse support. All Edit Keys are configurable by using the Delphi Object Inspector, and the Mouse may be used to select text, and to drag and drop selected text to any other part of a file. Text files are now commonly used for EMail, and the J-Write Components include support for the features necessary when processing EMail. There are uuEncode and Decode engines, and text merging facilities including support for prefixing every merged-in line with a common text prefix - this may be used to quote from earlier EMails. There is even support for calling an external DOS compression utility in order to compress a file prior to it being uuencoded and merged into a file being edited. If you are evaluating the J-Write Component Library then we hope that it proves useful to you. Remember that the source code of all the components is also available. 3. INSTALLATION =============== The following instructions describe how to install the J-Write components and help file into the Delphi Desktop. The procedures describe below apply to the 16-bit version of the component library. The installation procedures for the 32-bit version are essentially identical, except that the Delphi Installation directory is typically "C:\Delphi 2.0", and the components are found in the "32-bit" subdirectory, instead of the "16-bit" subdirectory. The Shareware version of the J-Write component library is supplied in a single (.zip) archive. This must first be expanded into a directory created to hold the J- Write components. For example, you may have installed Delphi in the directory C:\DELPHI and you wish to keep the J-Write components in a subdirectory (JWRITE) of the Delphi directory. You should therefore start by creating the directory C:\DELPHI\JWRITE and then expand the J-Write archive into that directory. Note that you should preserve the archived directory structure when expanding the archive. For example, if you are using pkunzip to expand the archive, then you should using the “-d” switch when running pkunzip. Assuming that the J-Write archive is in the root directory of the C: drive, the following DOS script may be used to expand the J-Write components: C: cd \DELPHI md JWRITE cd JWRITE pkunzip -d C:\JCMPT010.ZIP You may now proceed to install the J-Write components under Delphi, as follows: 1. Backup your 'COMPLIB.DCL' file. You will find this file in the 'BIN' subdirectory, in your Delphi directory. For example, if you have installed Delphi in "C:\DELPHI", then you will need to take a backup of 'C:\DELPHI\BIN\COMPLIB.DCL'. If for any reason, the installation fails, you will need to restore a working version COMPLIB.DCL from this backup. 2. Start Delphi and select "Install Components" from the "Options" menu. The "Install Components" Dialog box will now appear. 3. Append the path of the J-Write components directory to the "Search Path". You will need to separate this path name from the existing search path by a semi- colon. For example, if the J-Write components were installed in C:\DELPHI\JWRITE, then add ";C:\DELPHI\JWRITE\16-BIT" to the end of the existing search path. 4. Click on the "Add" button, and browse for the J-Write components directory. Select the "FILEVIEW.DCU" file. 5. Repeat the "Add" operation and select the "MAILEDIT.DCU" file. 6. Click on "OK". The component library should now be rebuilt. Once this is complete, then you will have three new components on the standard palette, and one additional component on the "Additional" palette. In the former case, these are the "FileViewer", the "FileEditor" and the "MailEditor". In the latter case, this is the "ProgressMeter" component. A property editor will also have been installed for changing the edit keys. 7. You may now merge the J-Write component library help keywords with the Delphi Help System. These procedures are described below. 8. Finally, you may wish also to add the J-Write Components Help File to the Delphi program group. Under Windows 3.1, you may do this by selecting File|New when the Delphi program group is active. You need to create a new Program Item, and then enter the name of the help file (e.g. C:\DELPHI\JWRITE\JCOMPNT.HLP) as the command line. Under Windows 95, you should again select the Delphi Program Group in Windows Exploring, and, making sure that no icons are selected, select the File|New menu item and create a new shortcut. Enter the command line as the path to the help file (e.g. C:\DELPHI\JWRITE\JCOMPNT.HLP). 4. INSTALLING THE J-WRITE COMPONENTS HELP FILE ============================================== 1. First close Delphi and then take a backup of the ‘DELPHI.HDX’ file. This is located in the BIN subdirectory, in your Delphi directory. For example, if you have installed Delphi in "C:\DELPHI", then you will need to take a backup of 'C:\DELPHI\BIN\DELPHI.HDX'. If the help index installation procedure fails, then you may restore the help index from its backup. 2. Now run the “HelpInst” program located in the Delphi program group. Use File|Open to open ‘DELPHI.HDX. 3. Select Keywords|Add Keyword File, and select the ‘JCOMPNTS.KWF’ file from the directory in which you installed the J-Write component library. 4. Save the new index using File|Save. Once the J-Write Keyword index has been installed you can search for J-Write classes, properties, etc., from the Delphi IDE, using Help|Topic Search. They are now part of the same list of keywords, as are Delphi’s own VCL. Note that the first time you try to access a J-Write class, etc. using the Topic Search, you may find that you have to browse for the help file. This is contained in the directory in which you installed the J-Write Component Library. Thereafter, there should be no need to browse for this file again. 5. REMOVING THE J-WRITE COMPONENT LIBRARY ========================================= If you longer wish to use the J-Write Components, then you should perform the following before deleting the J-Write components from your system. 1. Backup your 'COMPLIB.DCL' file. You will find this file in the 'BIN' subdirectory, in your Delphi directory. For example, if you have installed Delphi in "C:\DELPHI", then you will need to take a backup of 'C:\DELPHI\BIN\COMPLIB.DCL'. 2. Start Delphi and select "Install Components" from the "Options" menu. The "Install Components" Dialog box will now appear. 3. Select FileView from the list of installed units, and click on the Remove button. Do the same for MailEdit. 4. Remove the J-Write components directory from the Search Path. 5. Finally, click on OK and the component library will be rebuilt less the J-Write Components. 6. Exit Delphi and run the HelpInst utility from the Delphi Program Group to remove the J-Write help files by removing ‘JCOMPNTS.KWF’ from the list of ‘DELPHI.HDX’ keyword files, and delete the J-Write Components Help File icon from the Delphi program group, if present.