QRead:Contents
QRead  version 95-2.0

Copyright © 1992 - 1995  Dan Scavezze

Contents

General Information

Overview

What's new

Suggested Tour of QRead

Installation and Deinstallation

Paying for Shareware: Licensing

Disclaimer

ASP Ombudsman

Menu commands

Miscellaneous Information

Multiple Document Interface

Drag-and-Drop

Windows95 Start Menu

QRead Command Line

QRead File Types

QRead Settings

Special Characters

Keyboard Input

Version History


QRead:Commands Contents
Commands Contents

Popup Menus

All Commands

File Menu

Open

Open (continuous)

Close

ReOpen

Delete the active file

Print

Print Preview

Printer Setup

Properties

1, 2, 3, 4 <MRU File Name>

Exit

Edit Menu

Copy

Append

Select All

Open Clipboard Window

Save Clipboard Window As

View Menu

As saved

With adjusted type

With adjusted lines

Increase type size

Decrease type size

Hide low characters

Hide high characters

Tool bar

Status bar

Use transparent mode

Repaint

Tools Menu

Find

Find Next

Place bookmark

Remove bookmark

Go to bookmark

Timer

Timer On

Launch another QRead

Launch companion App1, App2

Options Menu

Fonts

Tabs

Entry / Exit

Registration info

Load default settings

Load custom settings

Store custom settings

Store settings for file

List Menu

New

Open

Open the default List

Open current item

Open/Launch it

Add Item

Change Item text

Rename current item

Delete current item

Window Menu

Cascade

Tile Horizontal

Tile Vertical

Arrange icons

1, 2, 3, 4, <Window Name>

Help Menu

Help contents

Help cursor mode

Search the help file

How to use Help

About QRead


QRead:Overview

Overview

QRead lets you read text files quickly and easily in the Microsoft Windows95 ™ environment. Show text files of any size in any font you choose, and pump up the font with a single keystroke.  If you wish, QRead will automatically adjust the font size or the line structure to fit the window.

QRead helps you keep track of the files you read with reading lists. A list stores descriptions of your files, and each description can be hundreds of characters long.  When you're looking for a file, browse the reading list or use the Find command to search your list (or lists).  Once you've read the description, open the chosen file with one click of the mouse.

QRead provides tools to make reading easier.  For example, set a QRead timer to automatically turn the page, or to remind you to turn the page.  Filter out non-alphanumeric characters, search for a text string, place a bookmark, and copy information to and from the clipboard. You can also print and delete files from within QRead. The Entry/Exit behavior and the display settings of QRead can be customized and remembered on a file-by-file basis.


QRead:Whats new
What's new

QRead version 95-2.0 has been updated to take advantage of the Windows95 user interface.  This version contains major new features, including

    - Multiple Document Interface

    - Reading Lists

    - Timers

    - Clipboard and the Clipboard Window

New features added for Windows95 are

    - Support of long file names

    - Popup menus activated by the right mouse button

    - File property sheets

    - A Toolbar that is dockable to any edge of the window

    - Flyover tool tips

    - Opening documents using the Windows95 registry

QRead now uses a Multiple Document Interface, or as Microsoft says, MDI, .  This means that you can now have multiple files open simultaneously from within a single instance of QRead.  Each open file is displayed in its own child window and all the child windows are contained within the main window.  The Window command on the menu lets you arrange the windows and switch between windows.

Each window can have its own settings for Fonts, Tabs, View Mode, etc. and most commands operate only on the active window.  One notable exception is the Find command. You can now search for a text string across multiple files, across all the open files.

Even with MDI, the human interface similar to earlier versions of QRead.  In particular, if you only have one file open, its child window will be maximized (it will use the maximum amount of space available within the main window frame).  If you always close a file before opening another one, QRead will look a lot like it used to.

Reading Lists are a new feature designed to help you cope with information overload.  Whether you acquire text files from the Internet, commercial bulletin board systems or from sneaker net you probably have more files than you can keep track of.  QRead lists show each file name and a description (up to 995 characters) of the file contents.  Once you have decided that a file description looks enticing, you can open the file with a click of the mouse.

There is a default reading list, QREADING.QRL, but you can create as many lists as you want.  For example, you might have lists that show the files you have read, or want to read, organized by subject.  The list files are ASCII files and are viewed just like any other file; you can choose any font and formatting that you like.

Using QRead Timers to turn your pages might seem like the height of laziness to some, but hyper personalities can use timers differently.  For example, set a timer to move the text rapidly, one line at a time, and practice your speed reading.  Or set the timer in head bob mode to sound an alarm when you've been concentrating on the same page for too long.  While the timer is running, you can tweak the time interval by using Ctrl + Num+ or Ctrl + Num- or by using buttons on the tool bar.  (Num+ means the + key on the numeric keypad.)

Working with the clipboard has been improved.  First of all, you can now use the mouse to select as little or as much text as you want.  Then copy the selection to the clipboard or append it to the text already on the clipboard.

You can also view clipboard text in QRead's Clipboard Window with all QRead's formatting capabilities.  Squinting at text in your other applications?  Just copy to the clipboard, switch to QRead and open (or reopen) the clipboard window.

Get more object oriented with the Windows95 features.  Just right click on a files window to bring up a Pop-up menu, and then choose Properties to learn about that file.  You can paste summary information from the property sheet directly into your reading lists. If a file described in your reading list is a document whose type is found in the Windows95 registry, you can open that file using its associated application directly from the reading list. And of course, Windows95 long file names are supported in the Open dialog boxes and in the reading lists.


QRead:Suggested Tour
Suggested Tour of QRead

To get a taste of QRead's features try the following (short) tour of QRead.  Ive included some sample reading material, so you're already behind in your reading!  Don't panic, start with a reading list.

As part of the QRead package, you should have a sample reading list, SAMPLE.QRL.  Launch QRead and then issue the List | Open command.  A dialog box appears showing the files in QRead's directory.  Choose SAMPLE.QRL and then click on OK to open the file.  How does it look to you?  Even though the file SAMPLE.QRL is a list, you can use all of QRead's formatting capabilities to view the file.

To change the format, try the different view modes in the View menu.  The default mode is As Saved so you should be viewing the file exactly as saved (all the line breaks are in the same place they were when the file was saved).  Choose With Adjusted Lines, and QRead will wrap and fill the lines to fit the window size.  Hit the Numeric Keypad + key a few times to pump up the font size.  Feel the power!

You should see that one of the items on the list is QRHELP.TXT which is a text version of this help file.  If you need to, scroll the file until the name QRHELP.TXT appears in the yellow bar at the top of the window.  The current item now points to the file QRHELP.TXT.  Issue the List | Open current item command to open the file.

Of course you don't have to use the list feature to open files.  You could use the File | Open command or drag-and-drop files into QRead, but I wanted you to check out the lists.

Use the Tools | Find command to search for doorknob.  That should bring you to this very point in this file.  I don't think I used that word anywhere else.

Try the timer.  You can turn it on by using the Tools | Timer On command.  After one second, you should see the text jump by one line.  Now sit in front of your computer and read the entire file.  (Just kidding.)  You can toggle the timer off/on with the same Tools | Timer On command, or by using the accelerator key F5 or the tool bar button.

That's the short tour.  Using the help file, you should be able to find your way around the other features fairly easily (I hope) and I hope QRead helps you deal with the Information Age!


QRead:Installation and Deinstallation
Installation And Deinstallation

The simplest installation of QRead consists of one step -- copy the file QREAD.EXE to your disk. You can use this method if you want to minimize the effect of QRead on your hard disk.  No other files are necessary to get started, but you might want to copy the help file, too.

In prior versions of QRead, I recommended copying the help file, QREAD.HLP, to your Windows directory. Now I recommend leaving it in the same directory with QREAD.EXE, in order to minimize the amount of files in your Windows directory.

The setup program, SETUP.EXE,  provided with the QRead package is also fairly quick and intended to be more user friendly.  It automates the installation process, copying all the QRead files (there aren't that many) to the directory you choose, and setting up a program item in the Windows95 Start Menu.  If you want to install QRead manually, copy the QRead files to your chosen directory and then create the program item by following the instructions in the section Windows95 Start Menu.

The first time you enter QRead it will use default settings. The first time you exit QRead it will save the environment that you have in place at the time of exit. This environment is stored in the file QREAD.INI in your windows directory. QREAD.INI is the only file that QRead must write to your disk. If you choose to store settings information, other files will be written.  See the section on QRead Settings and the commands Entry / Exit, and  Store settings for file for more information.

If you want to deinstall QRead, follow these steps.

1)  Delete QREAD.EXE and the other QRead files from the QRead directory.

2)  Delete the following files from your Windows directory:

     QREAD.INI

     QREAD.CUS

     QREAD.CBS

     QREADING.QRL

QREAD.CUS will exist if you issued the command Options | Save custom settings.  QREAD.CBS will exist if you save the clipboard wind settings.  QREADING.QRL will exist if you issued the command List | Open Reading List.

3)  Delete all the settings files (.QFS), reading list files (.QRL), and list backup files (.QBK) that you or QRead have created.

4)  Delete the QRead program item and program group from the Windows95 Start Menu.


QRead:Licensing and Distribution
Paying for Shareware: Licensing

QRead is a Shareware program and is provided at no charge to the user for EVALUATION.  All rights are retained by the author. You may share the program and distribute it for evaluation purposes, but you may not give it away altered or as part of another system.  After a reasonable evaluation period, 30 days, you must register your copy of the program and become a licensed user, or destroy your copy of the program.

To register and order your single-user license, send your name, address and the license fee of $23 (US) to:

    DS Products

    P.O. Box 342

    Westford, MA  01886

Residents of Massachusetts must add sales tax of 5%.

You can also order by credit card. We have contracted for order taking service with the firm Public (software) Library, PsL. PsL will notify us the day of your order and we will ship the product directly to you. DO NOT SEND CREDIT CARD ORDERS TO DS PRODUCTS.  To order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from PsL you must

    call 800-242-4775 or 713-524-6394 or

    FAX to 713-524-6398

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY.

The author cannot be reached at these numbers. Any questions, such as questions about the status of the shipment of the order, product details, technical support, dealer pricing, site license pricing, non-credit card orders, etc, MUST be directed to DS Products.

The fee noted above will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat the licensed software just like a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Site License arrangements may be made by contacting DS Products.

Registered users will receive:

    support (via CompuServe [70731,1673] or regular mail),

    minor upgrades at NO charge,

    major upgrades at a reduced price,

    additional goodies, such as discount offers or companion programs,

    a key that disables the registration reminder window, and

    a clear conscience.

Anyone distributing QRead for any kind of remuneration must obtain authorization from DS Products at the address above. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the ASP as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering QRead immediately. DS Products must still be advised, however, so that the distributor can be kept up to date with the latest version of QRead.

The essence of Shareware is to provide users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. Shareware is a distribution method that allows you to try before you buy. Shareware has the ultimate money back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.


QRead:Disclaimer
Disclaimer

Users of QRead must accept this disclaimer of warranty: QRead is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of QRead.


QRead:ASP Ombudsman
ASP Ombudsman

QRead is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.


Popup Menus - All Commands

The primary objects in QRead are text files.  When you right click anywhere in a files window, a popup menu appears with the basic commands you might want to use on that file.  These are Close, Delete, and Print (from the File menu).  In addition, you can use the Properties command to find out more information about the file.

When you have some text selected in the file window, two additional commands are added to the popup menu. These commands will let you operate on the selected object, the selected text.  These new commands are Copy and Append (from the Edit menu).

Other popup menus are available while in QRead.  You can frequently click on objects in dialog boxes and get popup menus that are generated by Windows.


File | Open
Open

Toolbar button:

When you select a file using the Open dialog box, QRead attempts to open the file and copy the entire file into memory. QRead uses this memory image to format and display the open file. No changes are ever made to the file on disk. Technical note: After the copy has been made, QRead actually closes the file. That is, the file is immediately closed as far as the operating system is concerned.

QRead places no limit on file size. Of course, the open command will fail if you do not have enough memory available.  Other possible causes of failure are specifying a nonexistent file or a file that is locked by another application.

If you try to open a file that is already open in a QRead window, QRead will just activate that window.  To get a new memory image of the file, use the ReOpen command.  You may want to reopen a file if you have changed its contents with an editor.  You may want to reopen a list file if you have deleted or renamed items in the list.  You may want to reopen the Clipboard Window if you have copied or appended new text to the clipboard.  For more information, see the section on ReOpen.

Whenever QRead opens a file, it checks to see if there is a file with the same name and path name but with the .QFS extension. If there is, QRead will read the stored settings info from the .QFS file and update the settings.

QRead can open files in 6 ways:

- The File | Open command

- The File | Open (continuous) command

- The Most Recently Used <MRU File Name> commands shown at the bottom of the file menu

- The List | Open current item command

- Drag and Drop the file name shown from Explorer

- In Explorer, double click on a file whose extension you have associated with QRead

The File | Open command can be used to open a list file, but the List | Open command is recommended.  The List | Open command brings up an Open dialog box with a .QRL filter as the default, and it is more easily associated with the other List commands you will probably want to use.


File | Open (continuous...)
Open (continuous)

This command performs the almost same function as Open, but continues to display the dialog box after the Open has completed. This is useful if you want to quickly browse through many files. It is also useful in conjunction with Delete. That is, you can quickly open a file, delete it if necessary, and then open the next file.

The Open continuous dialog box is a little different than the Open dialog box.  Because it is designed to take up less space on the screen, it has a different look and a slightly different operation.  One difference is that the directory list box does not show the cute bitmap picture of folders and it does not show the directory tree structure.  It only shows the subdirectories below the current directory and the symbol [..] to let you move up the tree.  Also, when you type in the file name edit box, QRead interprets your typing as a file name or a file name filter.  You cannot change the drive or directory by typing in the filename edit box.

Normally, opening files with the Open continuous dialog box is cumulative just as it is with the Open command -- each file gets a new window, and all previous windows remain open.  There is, however, one exception.

If you only have one file open, and its window is maximized, then opening a different file will first close the existing file window, and then perform the open.  This type of operation lets you scan files without stacking up a lot of windows, and simulates the operation of past versions of QRead (when there was only one file window).

This command can also be used to open list files, but the List | Open command is recommended.


File | Close
Close

In addition to closing the active window, the close command erases a file from memory -- it gives back the memory to Windows.

When you issue the close command, the current settings will be stored in the .QFS file, if you have checked On close and exit, store settings for file in the Entry/Exit dialog box.

This command functions identically for files, for list files, and for the Clipboard Window.


File | ReOpen
ReOpen

Toolbar button:

The function of this command is roughly equivalent to invoking File | Close, and then File | Open <File Name> where <File Name> happens to be the name of the active file.

Normally, if you try to open a file that has already has a window, QRead will just activate that window.  With ReOpen, the file is actually read into memory again, the view pointer is positioned to the beginning of the file, and the settings are reset to the values stored in the associated .QFS file (if one exists).  If there is no .QFS file, the current settings will remain in effect, except that the bookmark is reset.

This command functions identically for files, for list files and for the Clipboard Window.

You may want to reopen a file if you have changed its contents with an editor.  You may want to reopen a list file if you have deleted or renamed items in the list.  You may want to reopen the Clipboard Window if you have copied or appended new text to the clipboard.


File | Delete
Delete the active file

The Delete command asks you to confirm that you really want to do this before deleting the active file. If you are pretty sure already, for example when you are browsing through files, you can speed up the delete process by using the accelerator key Delete and then Enter to confirm the deletion.


File | Print
Print

The Print dialog box allows you to print the contents of the current window, or the entire file. When you chose the current window, QRead assumes you want to print the window text using the current view (as shown on the display). The As saved, and With adjusted lines radio buttons are grayed, but they do reflect the current view mode. When you chose to print the entire file, then you can chose either As saved or With adjusted lines.

If you choose to print with the displayed font, QRead will ask Windows to use that font when printing. If that font is not usable, the Windows font mapper will substitute for that font. Use TrueType fonts to ensure compatibility.  Margins refers to the left and right margins and the dimensions given (such as 1/2 inch) are approximate.

If you change the settings, but want to use Print Preview before printing, click on the Update Settings button to make QRead remember your settings.  Then use the Print Preview command to get a preview of the printed page(s).

Form Feed characters embedded in the file will cause a page to be ejected from the printer.


File | Print Preview
Print Preview

When you choose this command, the main window will be replaced with a print preview window in which pages will be displayed in their printed format.  As you move through the file by using the next page button, QRead sends a print image of each page to the print preview window rather than to the printer. Pagination information is not stored, so it is only possible to move forward through the file.

The print preview tool bar offers you options to view either one or two pages at a time, to zoom in and out, and to initiate a print job.


File | Printer Setup
Printer Setup

The Printer Setup dialog box allows you to select the printer (and its characteristics) that you want to use.  When you click the OK button, your choices will be remembered by QRead, but will not affect your other Windows applications.


File | Properties
Properties

The Properties command brings up a property sheet (a tabbed dialog box) the contains information about the file.

The General tab shows information normally seen listed by a DOS dir command.  The Summary edit box is a read only edit box that allows you to copy the information to the clipboard.  This is useful if you want to include that information, say the date, into the text section of a QRead reading list item.

The Other tab shows more obscure information about the file.


File | 1, 2, 3, 4 <MRU File Name>
1, 2, 3, 4 <MRU File Name>

QRead remembers the names of  the last four files you opened and shows them at the bottom of the File menu.  These files are sometimes called the Most Recently Used (MRU) files.  Select one of the <MRU File Name> commands to open the named file.


File | Exit
Exit

On exit, QRead will automatically store information about (up to 4) files you have open.  If you have more than 4 files open AND you specified Open last file(s) in the Entry/Exit dialog box, QRead will warn you that it can only reopen 4 files on your next entry and give you a chance to reconsider.

When you exit QRead with any number of files open, AND if you have checked On close and exit, store settings for file in the Entry/Exit dialog box, QRead will store the current file settings for each file that is open in a separate .QFS file.


Edit | Copy
Copy, Append

The clipboard provides a way to move data in both directions between QRead and other programs. The Copy and Append commands move data FROM QRead TO the clipboard.  You can then paste the clipboard text into a receiving program for further processing.

The Copy command copies the selected text to the clipboard, replacing any text currently on the clipboard.  The Append command adds the selected text to the contents of the clipboard.  In both cases, the text is copied from the memory image of the file, so the formatting of the clipboard text will match the formatting of the original file. Remember that if you are in the With adjusted lines view, the image you are viewing has been reformatted.

If you are viewing the clipboard window, don't expect the result of a Copy or Append command to be immediately visible.  Since QRead makes a memory image of the clipboard on Open, you will have to do a reopen to view the result of Copy or Append operations.


Edit | Select All
Select All

The Select All command selects the entire contents of the file.

Normally you will select smaller amounts of text by using the mouse technique of dragging.  To drag: position the cursor at the beginning of the selection, click and hold the left mouse button, move the cursor to the end of the selection, release the mouse button.  The selected text color is reversed from that of the non-selected text.

If you need to select text that extends beyond the bottom (or top) of the window, just drag the mouse cursor below (or above) the window boundary and QRead will automatically scroll the window contents.  This auto-scroll feature is implemented only for vertical scrolling.


Edit | Open Clipboard Window
Open Clipboard Window

Toolbar button:

The Open Clipboard Window command moves data FROM the clipboard TO QRead.  When QRead opens the Clipboard Window, data is copied from the clipboard to a QRead memory image.  From that point on, the Clipboard Window functions as any other QRead window.  For example, you can use the different view modes, change the font or tab settings, or even select some text and copy it to the clipboard.  You can even save the settings for the Clipboard Window by using the Save settings for file command.

The clipboard is not really a file, however, and this has some time implications.  If you exit QRead with the Clipboard Window open and you have set the options to reopen your files on entry, QRead will indeed reopen the Clipboard Window.  Of course, the clipboard contents will not necessarily be the same as when you exited QRead.

As with other file windows, if you issue the open command and the Clipboard Window is already open, QRead just makes it the active window.  To refresh the Clipboard Window, use the ReOpen command.


Edit | Save Clipboard Window As
Save Clipboard Window As

This command allows you to save the contents of the Clipboard Window as a text file.  Remember that the contents of the Clipboard Window are not necessarily equal to the contents of the clipboard because QRead takes a snapshot of the clipboard on open (or reopen) of the Clipboard Window.


View | As Saved
As saved

Toolbar button:

QRead offers three views of your file -- As saved, With adjusted type, With adjusted lines. Only one of the three views can be selected at a time, but you can switch between the views at any time. When you switch, your position in the file is preserved. You will find the same first character displayed in the upper left corner of the window.

The As saved view displays the text file in the standard way, using the embedded new line characters to separate lines of text, but with the power of fancy fonts. If a line is too long to fit in the given window with the given font, you have three choices: resize the window, change the font, or use the horizontal scroll bar (provided only in this view).

This view is good for viewing formatted text, like poetry or computer program listings. Don't forget to select a fixed pitch font, like Courier, to keep the formatting exact. If your text is mostly unformatted, but has occasional formatting using tab or space characters, try the With adjusted lines view.


View | With adjusted type
 With adjusted type

Toolbar button:

QRead offers three views of your file -- As saved, With adjusted type, With adjusted lines. Only one of the three views can be selected at a time, but you can switch between the views at any time. When you switch, your position in the file is preserved. You will find the same first character displayed in the upper left corner of the window.

The With adjusted type view displays the text as large as possible in the given window. That is, QRead automatically adjusts the type size to display the longest line in the largest type possible, within the limits of the chosen typeface. This view is good if you like things big.

The type size calculated may change when the window is resized OR when the longest line changes. As you scroll through a document, therefore, the type size may change. If this effect annoys you, you may want to use the adjusted type view to set a type size when you first open a file, and then switch to one of the other views to lock in that type size.


View | With Adjusted lines
With adjusted lines

Toolbar button:

QRead offers three views of your file -- As saved, With adjusted type, With adjusted lines. Only one of the three views can be selected at a time, but you can switch between the views at any time. When you switch, your position in the file is preserved. You will find the same first character displayed in the upper left corner of the window.

The With adjusted lines view holds the type size constant and reformats the lines of text to fill the window. Remember that the reformatting occurs only in QRead's memory, and that no changes are made to your text file on disk. This view is good for reading books and articles in the large type sizes without having to use large windows.

QRead fills lines one word at a time, using the space character (usually) to determine the end of a word. QRead will stop filling a line if it finds a zero-length line, a line that begins with a space, or a line containing a tab.  The reformatting will preserve the paragraph structure of your text file, therefore, if a new paragraph is denoted by a blank line, a line indented with spaces, or a line indented with a tab character.

Lines containing tab characters are a challenge, because they may (or may not) indicate an attempt by the original author to display data in table format. QRead version 2.0 now attempts to adjust all lines, even those containing tabs, when in the adjusted lines view mode.

The new algorithm for a line containing tabs is: QRead will wrap, but not fill, a line that contains tabs. This allows most table lines and non-table lines to display correctly, as long as the tab-containing lines are no longer than those in the rest of the file.  This will normally be the case when the file is entered, but you might have to change your tab settings to make it true in your current view.  If you are entering a file to be read by QRead, use spaces or zero-length lines to mark paragraphs and save the tabs for tables.

 The result of the algorithms described above is that QRead should handle most text files and preserve their paragraph structure and tables.

Trivia note: QRead reformatting occurs on a page by page basis; the whole file is not reformatted at once. This causes one effect that you may find surprising. When scrolling backward, QRead may not choose the same word to begin a line as it did when you were scrolling forward. Don't worry, no words are lost.


View | Increase type size
Increase type size

Toolbar button:

Choosing this command will increase the type size, UNLESS you are in the With adjusted type view. You can also use Num+ to pump up your type size. (Num+ means the + key on the numeric keypad.)


View | Decrease type size
Decrease type size

Toolbar button:

Choosing this command will decrease the type size, UNLESS you are in the With adjusted type view. You can use Num- (the numeric key pad -) to shrink your type size.


View | Hide low characters
Hide low characters

Low order characters (from 0x00 to 0x19) are often called control characters. These characters control the operation of the receiving device, but are not usually displayed or printed. Examples of characters in this range are Carriage Return(CR) and Start of Text (STX). Depending on the font, QRead will display them as peculiar looking symbols (such as musical notes or boxes), unless this command is enabled.

If you do not want to see these characters, enable this command and QRead will replace each one with a blank, or SPACE character. This feature can be useful in viewing files created for word processors or hypertext reader programs. Blanking out these characters may make the file more readable.

For more information, see the section on special characters.


View | Hide high characters
Hide high characters

High order characters (from 0x7F to 0xFF) are often called extended characters. They are extensions to the alphanumeric character set. Examples of characters in this range are line drawing symbols or international characters (such as vowels with the umlaut symbol). QRead will display them, unless this command is enabled.

If you do not want to see these characters, enable this command and QRead will replace each one with a blank, or SPACE character. This feature can be useful in viewing files created for word processors or hypertext reader programs. Blanking out these characters may make the file more readable.

For more information, see the section on special characters.


View | Tool bar
Tool bar

The tool bar is normally displayed across the top of the main window, below the menu bar. Use the Tool bar command to display or hide the tool bar.  A check mark appears next to the command when the tool bar is displayed.

The tool bar can also be moved and docked to any edge of the window.  When moved away from the window edge, it will float as a standalone window.  To move the toolbar, point the mouse cursor at a tool bar area between the buttons, then click (and hold) the mouse button.  Drag the tool bar to the desired location, then release the mouse button.

Tool bar buttons provide quick mouse access to many commands used in QRead.  Such as...

  	Open a file (or list or clipboard window).

  	ReOpen a file (or list or clipboard window).

  	Open Clipboard Window

  	View As saved

  	View With adjusted type

  	View With adjusted lines

  	Decrease type size

  	Increase type size

  	Fonts

  	Open the default List

  	Open current item

  	Find

  	Find Next

 	Timer On

  	Decrease time interval.  See Timer On

  	Increase time interval.  See Timer On

  	Help cursor mode

If you forget what a tool bar button does, you can get a quick reminder in two ways.  For a brief description, just position the mouse cursor over the button in question.  After a short time, a tool tip will appear.  You can see a longer description displayed in the status bar.  To view a description without executing the command, click on the desired item, then move the mouse cursor off the item before releasing the mouse button.


View | Status bar
Status bar

The status bar, displayed at the bottom of the main window, performs two functions.  It shows a brief description of the commands and tool bar buttons, and it also shows the keyboard latch state for certain keys.

As you use the mouse or arrow keys to navigate through menus, the left area of the status bar shows a message describing the action performed by each command.  Similarly, this area describes the action of each toolbar button when you press the button, but before releasing it.

You can, therefore, use the status bar as a mini-help facility.  To view a description without executing the command, click on the desired item, then move the mouse cursor off the item before releasing the mouse button.

The right areas of the status bar indicates which of the following keys are latched down:

CAPS 	The Caps Lock key is latched down.

NUM 	The Num Lock key is latched down.

SCRL 	The Scroll Lock key is latched down.

The Status bar command displays or hides the Status Bar. A check mark appears next to the command when the Status Bar is displayed.


View | Use transparent mode
Use transparent mode

You can use this command to work around a windows problem that occurs infrequently.  If you are viewing a file that has very long lines (near the QRead line limit of 250 characters) and tab characters, and you are using the As Saved view mode and a font size greater than 16 point, you may run across this problem.  The easiest way to handle files like this is to use the Adjusted Lines mode, but if you must use As Saved, you should read on.

QRead normally does not erase the screen before painting.  As the pixels which form the characters are painted on the screen in the foreground color, the area around the characters is painted with pixels of the background color.  This type of text painting, called opaque mode, writes over the previous display so erasing is not necessary.

In some infrequent cases with long lines, the windows function painting the text slips into transparent mode all by itself.  In this mode, the previous display line is read, merged with the characters and then written back, so it looks like the area around the characters has not been painted.  This is a problem if you do not want the previous display to show through.

When you issue this command and toggle transparent mode on, QRead paints by first erasing the line then painting with transparent mode forced on.  This makes the display look good, but takes longer than opaque painting since the line gets painted twice.

During debugging, I think I fixed all the cases where this occurs, but just in case I didnt, I left in the Use transparent mode command.


View | Repaint
Repaint

It is possible that QRead might forget to paint an area of you screen.  If the display ever looks bogus, try a repaint.  If the problem persists, you may want to use transparent mode.


Tools | Find
Find

Toolbar button:

To search within the active file, use the Find and Find Next commands.  The Find command can also be used to search across multiple files, as explained below.  Find always starts its search from the current position which is the character displayed in the upper left corner of the window. The search string is limited to 25 characters.

If the search string is found, QRead moves the current position to show the found text at or near the first line, and selects the found string. This text remains selected until you use the mouse to select some other text.

The Find dialog box has an option to search across all open files.  Multifile find starts with the next window (not the active window) and ends with the active window.  Each file is searched completely, from beginning to end, without regard to the current position.  As each file is searched, its window becomes the active window.  If the text string is not found, you are returned to your original position in the active file.

Use multifile find only when you want to search all files, and not indiscriminately.  Otherwise, it may cause you to jump out of the active file window, activate a new window, and move to the found text string when you least expect it.


Tools | Find Next
Find Next

Toolbar button:

The Find Next command is disabled until you have successfully used Find. The search starts just after (or just before) the last successful Find.

Find Next operates only on the active file.  To search across multiple files, you must use the Find command with the all files option enabled.


Tools | Place bookmark
Place bookmark

There is only one bookmark and you use this command to place it just before the current position (the character at the upper left of the window). Once you move away from the current position, the bookmark disappears, but it is remembered and will be displayed if you choose the Go to bookmark command.

The bookmark can be remembered in a .QFS file. Refer to the Store settings for file command.


Tools | Remove bookmark
Remove bookmark

If you tire of having a bookmark and you just can't stand the thought of having it around, use this command.


Tools | Go to bookmark
Go to bookmark

This command moves to the bookmark and displays the bookmark at the top of the window.


Tools | Timer
Timer

There is really only one timer, but it can be set up to perform three different operations: Auto Line Bump, Auto Page Turn, or Head-bob Alarm.

In Auto Line Bump operation, the text is advanced by one line when the timer interval expires.  Note that the text will advance by one line regardless of the number of lines displayed.  By resizing the window, you can view one line at a time.

In Auto Page Turn, the text actually advances by one window when the timer expires.  The first word shown in the new window is the one that followed the last word of the old window.

The Head-bob alarm will sound when you have not painted the window within the time interval.  Scrolling activity, such as Line Up, Line Down, Page Up or Page Down performed by the keyboard or the by clicking on the scroll bars will keep the alarm quiet.  You can also issue Repaint commands to avoid the alarm without advancing the text.

The time interval can be set from 1/100 of a second to 60 seconds.  When the timer dialog box is up, each click on the scroller up(down) arrow increments(decrements) the interval by approximately 20% of the current value.  If the dialog box is not up, you can use the toolbar buttons or the key combination Ctrl + Num+ or Ctrl + Num- to modify the time interval.  (Num+ means the + key on the numeric keypad.)

The Update Settings button in Timer dialog box allows you to change the settings, both timer type and timer interval, without actually turning the timer on or off.

The timer is toggled on and off by the menu command Tools | Timer On, by the toolbar buttons, or by the accelerator key F5.  When the Timer dialog box is up, the Timer On/Off button toggles the timer on and off.


Tools | Timer On
Timer On

Toolbar button:

Toolbar button to decrease time:

Toolbar button to increase time:

The timer is toggled on and off by the menu command Tools | Timer On, by the toolbar buttons, or by the accelerator key F5.  When the Timer dialog box is up, the Timer On/Off button toggles the timer on and off.


Tools | Launch another QRead
Launch another QRead

Choosing this command will launch another instance of QRead.  Now that multiple files can be viewed simultaneously via the MDI, this command is provided primarily for compatibility with past versions of QRead.

Note that the new instance will start up using QREAD.INI, so its window may not look exactly like the one that preceded it.


Tools | Launch companion App1, App2
Launch App1, App2

These commands will launch applications to be used in conjunction with QRead. For example, you can use QRead to browse through a file and then launch an editor to change the file.  Default application 1 is the Windows editor, Notepad. Notepad will be launched with the file name of the open file as an argument. Default application 2 is COMMAND.COM, the DOS command interpreter.

For you tinkerers, it is possible to change the applications that will be launched, but you must edit your QREAD.INI file to do so. Insert a line in QREAD.INI, in the [QRead] section, to specify the application. For example, if you insert the following lines:

App1=yourapp %FileName%

App2=viewer.exe %ItemName%

you can launch the application yourapp with the open file name as an argument, and launch viewer.exe with the current item name (from the active list window) as an argument.  This could allow you to use the QRead list feature to keep track of image files, and then view the images from QRead by launching you favorite viewer.  Note: The test for %FileName%  and %ItemName% is case sensitive.

To change the text shown in the menu, insert another line

App1Menu=My Favorite App

The App1Menu, and App2Menu strings will be used only if you have specified strings for App1 and App2.


Options | Fonts
Fonts

Toolbar button:

When you issue this command, QRead asks Windows for the names of all your installed fonts and displays those names in the standard Fonts dialog box. When you select a font (by clicking on OK or double clicking on one of the list boxes), QRead finds the available sizes. If the font is scaleable, QRead uses a list of sizes from 8 to 28 points. You can also specify a type style, such as bold or italic.

QRead then asks the Windows font mapper for a font with the selected name, size, and style. The result is a new, beautifully formatted display with the font you selected, usually.  The font mapper will sometimes return substitutes for certain decorative fonts.


Options | Tabs
Tabs

Since QRead has no idea where the tabs were set when the text file was created, the Tabs dialog box is provided to let you recreate the settings.  The tabs can be set to divide the page into columns (as might be useful for tables), or they can be set every N character positions (as might be useful for a computer program listing).


Options | Entry / Exit
Entry / Exit

This command brings up the Entry/Exit dialog box. The settings here control the entry, exit, and file opening behavior of QRead. You can choose from the common option groups by using the right half of the dialog box, or roll your own group by changing the individual options on the left side.

The Entry / Exit dialog box should perhaps be marked handle with care. Since these settings control the fundamental behavior of the program, if you forget what you asked for here, you can get totally confused about QRead's behavior.

For example, if you normally use QRead in the Memory-less mode, QRead will come up with the default settings and it will not open any files. But if you forget that you checked Remember last the last time you used QRead, you could get confused as to why your font, tabs, or even view mode are different from what they normally are.

If you normally use the Remember last mode, you expect that on entry QRead will be as it was when you left it. But if you are opening a file that has a .QFS file, don't forget that the stored settings in the .QFS file will override your last settings.

The Remember many mode is useful if you use QRead to work with lots of files and you like to customize the display of each file. But try not to be surprised when you find .QFS files all over your disk. You might even say, I don't remember creating that file and you would be right. QRead did! To avoid creating lots of small files, use the store settings for file item on the Options menu only when you need it.

I recommend choosing your favorite mode of operation for QRead and then minimizing your use of the Entry/Exit command. If you do get confused, you can always retrieve default settings, and custom settings from the Options menu.


Options | Registration info
Registration info

The Registration info dialog box allows you to enter your name and the key that you receive upon registration. The information will be written to the QREAD.INI file. The next time you enter QRead with this info in the QREAD.INI file, you will bypass the registration reminder.  Of course, there are other benefits of registering as described in the licensing section.

To Register, print out the registration form (open the file REGISTER.TXT in the QRead distribution archive), fill out the form, and send in the form with your payment. If you do not have REGISTER.TXT, forget the form, and just send in your registration fee to the address shown in the About dialog box.

Once you receive your registration letter, save it in a safe place. If the QREAD.INI file gets corrupted or deleted, you will have to reenter your registration info.


Options | Load default settings
Load default settings

Choose this menu time to revert to the default settings. The bookmark is not affected.  The settings affected are:

- View mode (default = As Saved)

- Hiding of special non-text characters (default = off)

- Font typeface, size, style (default = Times New Roman, 16, Regular)

- Tabs (default = tab at every 8 characters)

- Transparent mode (default = opaque mode)


Options | Load custom settings
Load custom settings

If you have previously stored custom settings, you created a QREAD.CUS file in your windows directory. This command loads the stored custom settings from that file. The bookmark is not affected.


Options | Store custom settings
Store custom settings

You can customize QRead by setting up your preferred environment and then choosing this command to store the settings. You can then use the Entry/Exit command to arrange for loading of the custom settings, rather than the default settings, on entry to QRead.

The default settings use a proportional font (Times New Roman) and are meant for viewing unformatted text files, such as articles or books.  You might want to set up the custom settings with a fixed pitch font (say Courier New) for viewing formatted files, such as poetry or computer program listings. You could then use the accelerator keys for default and custom settings when switching between these two types of files.

The custom settings are stored in the file QREAD.CUS in your windows directory.


Options | Store settings for file
Store settings for file

Once you have the settings the way you like for the file that you are reading (the open file), you can store the settings by choosing this command. The settings, and the bookmark, are stored in a file with the same name and path name (see note below) but with the .QFS extension. Your text file is not modified.

Whenever QRead opens a file, it checks for the associated .QFS file. If one exists, QRead will read the stored settings from the .QFS file and update the settings.

You can set up QRead to automatically create .QFS files on close or exit (by using the Entry/Exit command) but this command allows you to explicitly create a .QFS file.

Note: You can choose to have QRead create all .QFS files in your Windows directory, rather than in the same directory as the open file.  Remember that with this choice, files with the same name in different directories will use the same .QFS file.  To use the Windows directory for .QFS file, you must edit your QREAD.INI file. Insert the following line:

UseWinDir=TRUE


List | New

This command will first prompt you to think of a name for the new list file, and then it will create the zero length list.  List files can reside in any directory, but QRead uses its own directory (the directory where QREAD.EXE is found) as the default directory for the New and Open commands.

You use the Add item, Change item text and Delete item commands to maintain the list.

See List | Open for more information on lists and for uses of lists


List | Open

Use this command to open a QRead reading list.  The command functions similarly to Open, except that the dialog box is initially set up with a filter for QRead list files (*.QRL) and the QRead directory as the default directory  A list file is stored as a normal text file, but it is formatted to allow processing as a list.

A QRead list file is composed of items.  Each item has two sections: name and text.  The first section is the item name.  The name section begins with the first character in the item and it ends with the first space or newline character.  The remainder of the item is the text section.  The item ends with two newline characters.

To rewrite the last paragraph in techno terminology, we could say that a QRead list file is composed of records.  Each record has two fields: the name field and the text field.  The name field begins with the first character in the record and is ended by (is delimited by) the first SPACE character or by a CR/LF character pair.  The remainder of the record is the text field.  The record is ended by two CR/LF pairs.

Normally, the item name is the name of a file on your computer and the item text describes the contents of the file.  However, the name and text can be any arbitrary string of characters.  A sample list, TODO.QRL, is included with QRead that shows a to do type of list.

Whenever QRead opens a file, it checks for the .QRL extension to see if the file is a QRead list.  If it is a list, the file is displayed like any other file, but QRead also displays a yellow message bar at the top of the window.  Using the list format defined above, QRead examines the file as it displays its contents.  The name for the item currently displayed at the top of the window is shown in the message bar.  This item is known as the current item.

The current item name is used as a file name by the command List | Open current item.  So you can scroll the list reading file descriptions until the current item looks interesting, and then issue the command List | Open current item to view that file.

The current item name can also be accessed by other companion applications that you might launch, as described under the Tools | Launch section.  Using that technique, you can scroll the list to an interesting file and then launch your companion app to perform some operation that file.  For example, you might use QRead to keep a list of image files and then use your companion app to view the files.


List | Open Reading List
Open the default List

Toolbar button:

This command (or its tool bar button) will open the file QREADING.QRL, which is the default reading list.  The file QREADING.QRL is located in your Windows directory.


List | Open item
Open current item

Toolbar button:

This command interprets the current item name (the name shown in the yellow message bar at the top of a list window) as a file name and attempts to open that file.

The purpose of this command is to let you scroll through a list until the current item looks interesting, and then view that file.  See List | Open for more information on lists and for uses of lists.


List | Open/Launch it
Open/Launch it

This command interprets the current item name (the name shown in the yellow message bar at the top of a list window) as a file name and attempts to open that file using its associated application.  Applications are associated with file types in the registry.  To add or change the associations between file types and applications, use: Explorer, View menu, Options menu item, File Types tab.

This command is to lets you open all types of files from a reading list.  For example, you could have a reading list describing all the different documents youre using on a current project.  The documents could be associated with different applications and reside in different folders.  You, or your colleagues, could use the reading list to scan the descriptions and then open the relevant ones.

See List | Open for more information on lists and for uses of lists.


List | Add item
Add item

Use this command to add an item to a list.  You can issue this command while viewing a file that you want to add to any list, or while viewing a list.  If you are view a (non-list) file, QRead initially uses that file name as the new item name.  If you have one or more lists open, QRead uses the last opened list as the target list.  Otherwise, it uses the default reading list.

Once the Add/Change dialog box is on screen, you can change either the file name or the target list.  No changes are written to disk until you exit the dialog box.

Type your text into the descriptive text edit box.  While you are typing the text, the Enter key will not cause you to exit the dialog box.  QRead allows you to use the Enter key to insert newline characters in the text, but SUCCESSIVE newline characters will automatically be eliminated.  The QRead list file format uses two successive newline characters at the end of an item, so successive new line characters within an item cannot be allowed.

You might have noticed that QRead supplies a leading space in the descriptive text edit box.  This leading space will mark the descriptive text as a new paragraph when viewing the list in the Adjusted Lines mode.  You may delete this initial space if you want.  It is not essential to the list format.

When you click on OK, the list will be updated.  If you are viewing a list, it will be reopened and positioned at the updated item.

If you try to add an item with the same item as an existing item, QRead reacts as if you had issued a Change item text command.


List | Change item text
Change item text

Use this command to change the text section of an existing item.  You can issue this command while viewing a file that you want to add to any list, or while viewing a list.  If you are view a (non-list) file, QRead initially uses that file name as the new item name.  If you have one or more lists open, QRead uses the last opened list as the target list.  Otherwise, it uses the default reading list.

Once the Add/Change dialog box is on screen, you can change either the file name or the target list.  No changes are written to disk until you exit the dialog box.

Type your text into the descriptive text edit box.  While you are typing the text, the Enter key will not cause you to exit the dialog box.  QRead allows you to use the Enter key to insert newline characters in the text, but SUCCESSIVE newline characters will automatically be eliminated.  The QRead list file format uses two successive newline characters at the end of an item, so successive new line characters within an item cannot be allowed.

When you click on OK, the list will be updated.  If you are viewing a list, it will be reopened and positioned at the updated item.

If you try to change an item that does not exist on the target list, QRead reacts as if you had issued an Add item command.


List | Rename current item
Rename current item

Use this command to rename an existing item in a list.  You can only issue this command while viewing a list.  QRead uses the current item name as the target item name, and uses that list you are viewing as the target list.  This command is especially useful when you have renamed a file.

Note that the current name edit box is a read only edit box.  The contents of this edit box can be copied and pasted to the new name edit box (and then modified) to save typing.


List | Delete current item
Delete current item

Use this command to delete an existing item from a list.  You can only issue this command while viewing a list.  QRead uses the current item name as the target item name, and uses that list you are viewing as the target list.


Window | Cascade
Cascade

Use this command to arrange multiple open windows in an overlapped fashion.  The windows will cascade from the upper left corner of the main window toward the lower right.


Window | Tile Horizontal
Tile Horizontal

Use this command to arrange multiple open windows with one window above another window.


Window | Tile Vertical
Tile Vertical

Use this command to arrange multiple open windows side by side.


Window | Arrange icons
Arrange icons

Use this command to arrange the icons for minimized MDI child windows at the bottom of the main window.  If there is an open document window at the bottom of the main window, then some or all of the icons will not be visible when they are underneath that document window.


Window | 1,2,3, 4, <Window Name>
1, 2, 3, 4,  <Window Name>

QRead displays a list of currently open document windows at the bottom of the Window menu.  A check mark appears in front of the document name of the active window.  Choose a document name from this list to make its window active.


Help | Help contents
Help contents

This command (or the accelerator key, F1)  lets you use the Windows help program to read the QRead hypertext help file.  The same information is also available in the file qrhelp.txt if you want to print the help info and read it at a less hyper pace.

QRead provides context sensitive help.  When you have a command highlighted (via the arrow keys) or when you are looking at a dialog box, pressing the F1 key will activate the QRead help file and show the section of the file that is relevant to your current context.

You can also enter help cursor mode and then use the mouse to obtain help.


Help | Help cursor mode
Help cursor mode

Toolbar button:

You can enter help cursor mode and then use the mouse to obtain context sensitive help on some portion of QRead.

Use this command, or press the accelerator key Shift+F1, or choose the tool bar's Context Help button to enter help cursor mode.  The mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the QRead window, such as a tool bar button, or a command.  The help topic will be shown for the item that you clicked.


Help | Search the help file
Search the help file

This command takes you directly to the Windows Help search function for the QRead help file.  You can then search for keywords in the help file index, or use the wizard to search every word in the help file.


Help | How to use Help
How to use Help

This command takes you directly to the how to section of the Windows help program. You can also get these instructions after you are in the help program by choosing its Help command.


Help | About QRead
About QRead

The About dialog box displays some info about QRead including the copyright message, the version number, and the name of the user licensed to use QRead.


QRead:Multiple Document Interface
Multiple Document Interface

QRead now lets you have multiple files (documents) open simultaneously.  You manage how the file windows are displayed by using the Multiple Document Interface (MDI).  This section contains a brief overview on how to use MDI windows.  For a refresher course on how to work with windows in general, access the Help menu of Explorer.

When you open a file in QRead, the file is displayed in its own child MDI window.  Each MDI window is contained within the main window frame.  The main window can be thought of as the parent window.  In many ways, an MDI window operates as a regular window.  You can resize it, minimize it, and maximize it using the techniques you have already learned.  The main difference is that an MDI window does not have a menu.  All the MDI windows share the menu shown at the top of the main window.

Note:  When you maximize an MDI window, the maximize/restore button jumps up to the menu bar.  Now the main window looks like an ordinary (non-MDI) window and one of the only clues to its special status is the maximize/restore button at the right edge of the menu bar.

Only one of the MDI windows is active at any given time. The active window is easy to spot because its caption bar is shown in a different color, usually a brighter color, than the non-active windows.  (You can control the color of the caption and of other elements of the Windows color scheme by using the Control Panels accessory application that comes with Windows.)

To make a window active, click on it with the mouse.  As an alternative, and the only alternative when the desired window is completely covered, you can use the Window menu to activate a window.  The bottom of the Window menu shows a list of open windows with a check mark next to the currently active window.

Most other menu commands operate on the active window.  For example, if you use the View | With Adjusted Lines command, you adjust the lines of the active window, not all the windows.  In QRead, the MDI windows are generally independent.  Most settings can be different from window to window, and most commands operate only on the active window.  For more detail, refer to the help section for the command of interest.

QRead implements the MDI as other applications do, but with two exceptions.  The first exception is that if you have only one MDI window open, QRead will automatically maximize that window (to simulate the operation of past versions).  If you close that file before opening another, QRead will operate just as before.  If you open another file while the first file is still open (and maximized), the new file window will seem to replace the first window.  Actually, it is on top of the first window.  You can check the window menu to see that both file windows are still there.  This is normal operation for MDI.

The second exception occurs in the implementation of the Open (continuous) command.  If you only have one MDI window open, and that window is maximized, opening more files will not create more windows.  This exception to normal MDI operation lets you scan through files without accumulating excess windows (and memory).  If you want to use the Open continuous command to open multiple windows, you can get it started by un-maximizing the first window, say by using the Window | Tile Horizontal command, and then opening the additional files.


QRead:Drag-and-Drop
Drag-and-Drop

QRead supports drag-and-drop as an alternate way to get the name of the target file (rather than using the Open or Open (continuous) commands from the File menu).  There are two ways to do drag and drop in Windows95, depending on whether the QRead window is visible or minimized to a taskbar button.

When the QRead window is visible, you can drag a file name displayed in the Explorer window to the QRead window. When you drop the file name into QRead, the file will be immediately displayed. This type of operation is the same as it was in pervious versions of Windows.  To try it out, use the following procedure.

First, launch QRead. Now launch Explorer and move the cursor over the name of a file. A text file would be a good choice, but any file will do. Click (AND HOLD) the mouse button to select the file, then drag the cursor over on top of the QRead window.  Drop the file into QRead by releasing the mouse button. The file you have selected will be displayed.

When QRead is running, but minimized, it appears as a button on the Windows95 taskbar.  You can not actually drop a filename into the QRead button, but almost.  Just follow the same procedure outlined above, but hold the filename on the QRead button until it activates the QRead window.  Then move the filename into the QRead window and finally release the mouse button.


QRead:Windows95 Start Menu
Windows95 Start Menu

If you did not use the setup program to create a Start Menu item for QRead, you can create an item in the Windows95 Start Menu by using the following steps.

First, right click on the taskbar and then select the Properties menu item.  Once the taskbar property sheet appears, choose the Start Menu Programs tab.  Under the Customize Start Menu section, click on the Add button.  A wizard will then prompt you through the steps to create a shortcut to QRead.  The shortcut will eventually be displayed as an item on the Start menu.

You can place the new shortcut directly in the Programs folder, or within a folder in the Programs folder. (The setup program places QREAD.EXE in a folder named QRead Group.)  Once you have the shortcut in your Start menu folder, it will be displayed on the Start menu, and you can click on it to launch QRead.

If you want to automate the process of launching QRead and simultaneously opening a specific file, there are (at least) two approaches.  You can create many specific items in the Start menu, or you can create specific shortcuts on your desktop.  For either approach, you need to make a copy of your QRead shortcut.

First, use Explorer and select your QREAD.EXE shortcut.  If you have created a Start menu item for QRead by using the setup program or as described above, there will be a shortcut to QRead in the path Windows/Start_Menu/Programs/QRead_Group.

To make the copy of your QRead shortcut, right click on it, select copy from the popup menu, then type Ctrl+V to paste in the copy.  Now right click on the new shortcut, select rename, and change the name to indicate that this shortcut will launch QRead and open the file named FileX.  Id suggest something like QRead FileX.

Finally, you have to change the shortcut to actually tell QRead to open FileX.  This is accomplished by modifying the QRead command line in the shortcut.  Select the shortcut, right click on it, then select Properties. Then click on the Shortcut tab.  You need to add the name of the file (the full pathname) to the line that launches QRead, the line called Target:

If you leave this new shortcut in the Programs folder, it will appear in the Programs menu.  You can also drag the shortcut directly to the desktop (or some other location) and then double click on it to launch QRead and automatically open FileX. If there is an associated .QFS file, QRead will also load the appropriate environment.


QRead:Command Line
QRead Command Line

QRead will look for one argument on the command line. It will interpret the argument as a file name, and try to open the named file. This file specified on the command line takes precedence over the open last file setting. As always, when a file is opened, QRead will look for an associated .QFS file. If it finds one, QRead will load the appropriate environment.


QRead:File Types
QRead File Types

QRead works with three basic file types -- Text files, List files, and Settings files. List files and Settings files are subsets of the Text file type.  QRead also makes a backup copies of list files.  The list backup files have the extension .QBK.

When you open a file using the File | Open command (or any of the 5 other methods),. QRead assumes you are trying to view a text file and interprets the information in the file as text.  Each byte is interpreted as a single ANSI character.

The only exception to the above rule occurs when QRead opens a list file.  When opening a file whose name has .QRL extension (such as QREADING.QRL),  QRead interprets the file as a reading list file.  It adds a yellow message bar to the top of the display window, and uses its knowledge of the QRead list file format to display the name of the current list item in the message bar.  While displaying a list file, the PageUp and PageDown commands jump to the next list item.

Aside from those display changes, the file is displayed as any other text file.  All of the commands and view settings are applicable.  For example, you can use the Tools | Find command to search for a text string in the list file, and you can change the font or tabs settings while viewing a list file.  You can even store the settings in a Settings File.

The Settings file type is another subset of text file type that is recognized by QRead.  Settings files are used to save view settings information (such as View Mode, Font, Tabs, etc) for the files of the other two types -- ordinary text files or list files. Settings files have a special format, the same format used by Windows .INI files.  Normally, QRead opens settings files without any intervention from the user and applies the settings information to another file that is being viewed.  If you do happen to open a settings file (for example a file with the extension .QFS) you will view the contents of the settings file as text

Settings files have names whose extension ends with the s character, such as *.QFS, QREAD.CUS, and QREAD.CBS.  Each file you read can have an associated .QFS file as explained under the Save settings for file command.  QREAD.CUS is used to store your custom settings, and QREAD.CBS is used to store settings for the Clipboard Window.

QRead only writes to list files, list backup files, and settings files.  All other files are opened in a read-only fashion as explained under the File | Open command.


QRead:Settings
QRead Settings

QRead has two types of settings, file settings and global (program wide) settings.

File settings control how QRead displays a file.  They affect

- View mode

- Hiding of special non-text characters

- Font typeface, size, style

- Tabs

- Transparent mode

- Bookmark

File settings are stored automatically in your QREAD.INI file for (up to 4) files you have open when you exit QRead. You can store the current settings as custom file settings and then have QRead use you custom settings when it opens a file.  For complete customization, you can store the settings for every file you read in separate .QFS files, either automatically, or at your command.

When QRead opens a file, settings are taken from the first successful source shown below.

1) use settings from the associated .QFS file (if one exists)

2) use stored settings in QREAD.INI (if opening a file on program entry)

3) copy settings from the active window (if one exists)

4) load settings from the default, custom or last settings, as specified via the Entry/Exit command

The global settings, stored in the file QREAD.INI, affect

- Opening of previously open files on program entry

- Restoring the main window size and position on program entry

- File Settings when opening files

- Automatically creation of .QFS files on file close

- Making the QRead main window icon a topmost window

- Display of the tool bar and status bar

Except for tool bar and status bar (found on the view menu) these settings are controlled by the Options menu and the Entry/Exit dialog box.

In addition,  you can set QRead to use your windows directory for the .QFS files, and you can specify the companion applications, App1 and App2, by entering information directly into the QREAD.INI file.


QRead:Special Characters
Special Characters

In general, QRead treats all characters in the open file equally and displays them or prints them. However, some special characters are treated differently.

QRead uses the following control characters to control formatting of the display: Carriage Return (CR), Line Feed (LF), Tab (HT) and Form Feed (FF). These characters are NOT displayed; they are interpreted. Tabs are interpreted according to the settings shown in the Tabs dialog box, and the view setting. Encountering a Form Feed character causes a clear to the bottom of the window when displaying the file on the screen, and causes a page to be ejected when printing.

Other low order characters (from 0x00 to 0x19) are displayed, unless the Hide low characters command is enabled.

High order characters (from 0x7F to 0xFF) are displayed, unless the Hide high characters command is enabled.

If you show these characters, but the display is not what you expected, you might try changing the font. Different fonts are designed to display different character sets. Most fonts used with Windows are designed for the ANSI character set, but some fonts (for example, Terminal) are designed for the PC/DOS/ASCII character set, also know as the OEM character set.


QRead:Keyboard Input
Keyboard Input

In addition to the accelerator keys shown in the menus, several other keys are monitored. The arrow keys, PageUp, PageDown, Home, End and SPACE bar are used to move through the file.

It is worth noting that the Num+ and Num- keys can be used to pump up and deflate the font, except when viewing With adjusted Type. (Num+ means the + key on the numeric keypad.)

If you want to delete the open file without using the mouse, you can do so quickly with the sequence: Delete, Enter.

The sequence: Ctrl+F8, Ctrl+F9, Ctrl+F10 is useful at the end of a reading session, since it will place the bookmark, save the settings (including the bookmark), and exit QRead.


QRead:Version History
Version History

VERSION 1.0.1

  First release.

VERSION 1.1

  Added printing

VERSION 1.2

  Added drag and drop support

  Added Hide commands - for low order and high order characters

  Added ReOpen command

  Added Home and End key response

  Added double click response in the Fonts dialog box

  Added response to FF (form feed) characters in the text file

  Added file wraparound feature to Find

  Added QREAD.INI option to use Windows directory for .QFS files

  Changed view mode menu check marks (to denote 1 of N choice)

  Changed Copy page to clipboard command to Copy to clipboard

  Fixed copy of blank lines in Copy to clipboard

  Fixed double paint on Open

  Fixed double paint on Find

VERSION 2.0

  Added MDI support

  Added lists

  Added timers

  Added mouse support

  Added Edit menu and clipboard features

  Added Print Preview command

  Added tool bar and status bar

  Added Find multiple option

  Added App2 menu command

  Added App menu string support

  Added context sensitive help and help mode cursor

  Added restore main window size & position

  Added transparent mode

  Changed default setting view mode to As Saved

  Changed bookmark color

  Removed use of lined icon when a file window is open

  Fixed tabbed line handling in Adjust Lines view mode

  Fixed line filling to always show at least one word

  Fixed Copy to clipboard GPF

VERSION 95-2.0

  Added support of long file names

  Added small icons

  Added dockable toolbar

  Added tool tips

  Added Popup menus

  Added Properties command

  Added Open/Launch it command

  Added Search the help file command

  Removed Keep icon on top command


QRead:See Windows Help
No help available from QRead

This area of the window is not controlled by QRead.  Consult your Windows documentation for help.


QRead:Message box without help
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