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1995-08-01
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GRABBER/TXT(tm)
Version 2.10 Shareware Issue
The Text Screen Capture Program
for MS-DOS and IBM-PC Compatibles
----------------------
DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES
August 1, 1995
Copyright 1987-1995 by
Gerald A. Monroe
All rights reserved.
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Although they are shareware, GRTXT and this |
| documentation file are copyrighted. They are |
| not in the public domain and they are not |
| "freeware." Please consult page 6 of the |
| REGISTER.DOC file for important copyright |
| information and license provisions. All use, |
| copying or distribution of GRTXT.EXE or this |
| document is governed by the terms and condi- |
| tions of the Shareware License contained in |
| the REGISTER.DOC file. |
+-------------------------------------------------+
Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER(tm) screen cap-
ture system!
The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special form
as shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use
and evaluate it for 30 days before you decide whether to
buy. If you continue to use GRTXT.EXE or any of the other
programs in the GRABBER package beyond such 30-day period,
then you are required to send your registration fee to the
publisher according to the instructions in the REGISTER.DOC
file. When you register, you will receive a copy of the
latest release of the registered GRABBER package that you
order. You may not continue using GRABBER beyond such
30-day period without registering. For registration in-
structions and a complete statement of your license to use
this software, please consult the REGISTER.DOC file.
(IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation. Other trademarks referenced herein are the proper-
ties of their respective owners.)
Table of Contents
Overview of GRTXT.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About This Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
System Requirements for GRTXT.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Types of Screens that GRTXT.EXE Can Capture . . . . . . . . . 3
GRTXT.EXE Can Capture Text Screens, Not Graphics Screens . . 4
How to Install GRTXT.EXE in Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How to Capture the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Capture . . . 5
Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error . . . . 5
One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates a Graphical Mode . . . . . . . 6
Changing the Destination Drive or Directory . . . . . . . . . 6
Configuration Options for GRTXT.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Options Also Supported by GRABBER.EXE (See GRABBER.DOC for
more information):
- INT=nn
- INT=OFF
- PROMPT and NOPROMPT
- MOUSE and NOMOUSE
- SOUND and NOSOUND
- BATCHCAPTURE[:]
- NOSWAP
- NOEMS
- NOUMB
- UNLOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CROP and NOCROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1FORM, 2FORM, 3FORM, 4FORM, 5FORM, or NOFORM . . . . . . . 7
PERMANENT=filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
NOPERMANENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
APPEND and NOAPPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
How GRTXT.EXE Names Offspring Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
More Explanation of GRTXT.EXE's Filename Prompts . . . . . 10
How to Control GRTXT.EXE's Crop Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Changing GRTXT.EXE's Hotkey Combination . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Calling GRTXT.EXE From Your Own Software . . . . . . . . . . 13
How to Contact the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 3 of 14
1. Overview of GRTXT.EXE
GRABBER/TXT, or "GRTXT.EXE," is an alternative version of the
GRABBER.EXE screen capture program. It is a memory-resident
screen capture program designed exclusively for capturing
character-based text images directly to plain ASCII text files
from programs running under the MS-DOS operating system. The
text files which GRTXT.EXE creates are referred to throughout
this documentation as "offspring" files. Because they consist of
plain ASCII text characters, GRTXT.EXE's offspring files can
easily be imported into most word processing, spreadsheet and
other programs that accept external files.
GRTXT.EXE does not capture graphics images, and it does not
capture screens from Microsoft Windows or Windows applications.
2. About This Documentation
This document must be read in conjunction with GRABBER.DOC,
which is the documentation file for GRABBER.EXE. This is because
GRTXT.EXE is installed in memory and operated in almost exactly
the same way as the GRABBER.EXE program. This document does not
explain in detail how to install and operate GRTXT.EXE, but
instead explains the few operational differences between
GRTXT.EXE and GRABBER.EXE.
3. System Requirements for GRTXT.EXE
To use GRTXT.EXE, you will need the following:
- An IBM-PC, PC-XT, PC-AT, PS/1, PS/2, or 100% compatible
computer.
- At least one "local" floppy disk drive or hard disk
drive.
- MS-DOS, or IBM PC-DOS, Version 3.0 or later.
4. Types of Screens that GRTXT.EXE Can Capture
GRTXT.EXE is designed to capture screens from programs that
run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS.
GRTXT.EXE can capture virtually any text image that is smaller
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 4 of 14
than or equal to 132 characters horizontally by 60 lines
vertically. GRTXT.EXE's offspring files consist of the text
characters that make up the captured screens. GRTXT.EXE formats
these text characters in plain ASCII text format.
5. GRTXT.EXE Can Capture Text Screens, Not Graphics Screens
GRTXT.EXE captures only character-based text screens, not
graphical images. This means that GRTXT.EXE cannot be used to
create ASCII text files from graphical images that contain text
information.
6. How to Install GRTXT.EXE in Memory
To use GRTXT.EXE, load it into your computer's memory by
entering a command that follows this example:
GRTXT x:\pathname
GRTXT.EXE will not stay resident in memory (and you will not
be able to capture screens) until you tell GRTXT.EXE where to
place its offspring files, using the syntax shown above. For
more information, see Section 4 of GRABBER.DOC.
When you install GRTXT.EXE in memory, it will display a start-
up message in a brown box in the corner of your screen. The
start-up box is followed by a several lines of information about
the way GRTXT.EXE is currently configured to run on your system.
If you want to change this configuration, you can do so at the
time you install GRTXT.EXE in memory by adding additional
parameters on the command line after your "x:\pathname"
parameter, or you can change it after GRTXT.EXE is already
installed. See Section 11 of this document for more information
about changing the destination path for offspring files.
7. How to Capture the Screen
After you press the hotkey, you will hear a short, high-
pitched beep from your computer speaker, and a filename prompt
will appear in the upper left corner of your screen. GRTXT.EXE
is waiting for you to enter a name for the offspring file to
which the current screen image will be saved. If this is the
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 5 of 14
first screen you have requested GRTXT.EXE to capture since
installing the program in memory, then you must enter your own
filename at the prompt. Otherwise, GRTXT.EXE will suggest a
default filename that is the same as the last offspring file that
it captured. To use the suggested default filename (if any),
just press [Enter]. If you want to use a different filename, or
no default was suggested, type the new name and press [Enter].
If you want to cancel the screen capture entirely, press [Esc]
until the filename prompt disappears from the screen.
(GRABBER.EXE will not allow you to change the extension of the
offspring file name from ".TXT" to something else.)
After you press [Enter], the filename prompt disappears from
the screen, and GRTXT.EXE goes to work, saving the text
information in the current screen image to an offspring file
which has the name you entered. The file will be located in the
"Drive/path for .TXT files" as listed in the start-up information
screen.
8. Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Screen
Capture
If you hear an ascending, two-tone chirp from your computer's
speaker, it means that GRTXT.EXE has successfully completed the
screen capture, and the offspring file containing the current
screen image is located in the "Drive/path for .TXT files."
9. Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error
If you hear three low-pitched beeps from your speaker, it
means that no offspring file was created. GRTXT.EXE was unable
to complete the screen capture for one of the following reasons.
Correct the error condition and try to capture the screen again.
Possible errors include:
- The destination disk is write-protected.
- The destination disk is full.
- The destination disk has no more directory entries
available.
- The destination disk has a critical surface defect.
- The door is open on the destination disk drive, or the
drive is otherwise indicating a "not ready" status.
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 6 of 14
- The "FILES=" command in your CONFIG.SYS file does not
specify enough files; increase the number and reboot
your computer.
10. One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates a Graphical Mode
If you hear one low-pitched beep from your computer's speaker
when you press the hotkey, it means that no offspring file was
created. GRTXT.EXE detected that the video display is currently
operating in a graphical (i.e., pixel-based) mode, and not a
character-based text mode. As noted above, GRTXT.EXE does not
capture graphical screens.
11. Changing the Destination Drive or Directory
To change the drive or directory where GRTXT.EXE deposits
offspring files, enter another GRTXT.EXE command like the one
described in Section 6 of this document. From that point
forward, GRTXT.EXE will place offspring files in the new
destination you specify.
12. Configuration Options for GRTXT.EXE
GRTXT.EXE responds to many of the same command-line switches
used by GRABBER.EXE, which are described in Section 12 of
GRABBER.DOC. These switches allow you to modify the way in which
GRTXT.EXE performs certain operations. GRTXT.EXE also responds
to several additional command-line switches that are not
available under GRABBER.EXE.
The following command-line switches are available under
GRTXT.EXE as well as under GRABBER.EXE. For an explanation of
what these switches do under GRTXT.EXE, how to activate them, and
any limitations on their usage, refer to GRABBER.DOC. The
switches, and the locations in GRABBER.DOC where they are
explained, are:
- INT=nn (Section 12.1)
- INT=OFF (Section 12.2)
- PROMPT and NOPROMPT (Section 12.3)
- MOUSE and NOMOUSE (Section 12.4)
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 7 of 14
- SOUND and NOSOUND (Section 12.5)
- BATCHCAPTURE[:] (Section 12.6)
- NOSWAP (Section 12.7)
- NOEMS (Section 12.8)
- NOUMB (Section 12.9)
- UNLOAD (Section 12.10)
In addition to the command-line switches listed above, several
other command-line switches can be used under GRTXT.EXE. These
additional switches are described below in this Section 12. Note
that you may specify any of the following switches on the
GRTXT.EXE command line when you initially install GRTXT.EXE in
memory, or after GRTXT.EXE is already resident in memory.
12.1 Options: CROP and NOCROP
Use the CROP option to enable GRTXT.EXE to capture only the
part of the screen which you select. When CROP is enabled and
you request a screen capture, GRTXT.EXE does not capture the
screen right away. Instead, it first prompts you to enter a file
name for the offspring file (if the PROMPT option is enabled),
then it asks you to indicate which portion of the screen you wish
to capture to a .TXT file by drawing a box on top of the current
screen image, which you can move and reshape to your preference.
Instructions for moving and reshaping this "crop box" are given
below in Section 15 of this document. The default setting is
NOCROP (i.e., crop box is disabled). When the NOCROP setting is
active, GRTXT.EXE captures the entire screen image to a .TXT
file, and does not prompt you to indicate which portion you wish
to capture. The command GRTXT CROP can be used to enable the
crop box. The crop box will then remain enabled until the next
GRTXT NOCROP command is issued.
12.2 Options: 1FORM, 2FORM, 3FORM, 4FORM, 5FORM, or
NOFORM
The 1FORM through 5FORM options enable GRTXT.EXE's ability to
insert a "form feed" character after a specified number of
screens have been captured to the same .TXT file. This option
only has an effect in the following situations:
1) When the NOPROMPT setting and the APPEND setting are
both active, or
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 8 of 14
2) When the PROMPT setting is active and you are
appending subsequent screen captures to the same
.TXT file.
Using the 1FORM through 5FORM options, you can tell GRTXT.EXE
to insert a form feed character (12 decimal, 0C hexadecimal)
after 'n' screens have been captured to the same .TXT file, where
'n' can be any single digit from 1 to 5. For example, when the
1FORM setting is active, GRTXT inserts a form feed character
after each screen is written to the .TXT file. When the 2FORM
setting is active, GRTXT inserts a form feed character after
every second screen written to the .TXT file, and so forth. To
prevent GRTXT from inserting any form feed characters into the
.TXT file, specify the NOFORM setting.
Inserting form feed characters can be useful for printing the
data in the captured .TXT file later, because the form feed
character causes most standard (non-Postscript) printers to
automatically eject the current page and start a new page at the
point where the character appears.
The default setting for this feature is NOFORM (i.e., no form
feed characters will be inserted into the offspring file). The
command GRTXT 1FORM (or GRTXT 2FORM, GRTXT 3FORM, etc.) can be
used to enable the insertion of form feeds. Form feeds will then
remain enabled until the next GRTXT NOFORM command is issued.
12.3 Options: PERMANENT=filename
NOPERMANENT
These options tell GRTXT.EXE whether to capture all screens to
the file represented by "filename".
The "PERMANENT=filename" option allows you to force GRTXT.EXE
to capture all screen data to a certain filename that you
specify. For example, to capture all screens to a file in the
current directory called TEXTDATA.TXT, you would include this
option on the GRTXT command line:
GRTXT [other options] PERMANENT=TEXTDATA.TXT
Your "filename" can also include a drive and path
specification, for example:
GRTXT [other options] PERMANENT=C:\PICTURES\TEST.TXT
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 9 of 14
If you have told GRTXT to capture all data to a certain
filename using the "PERMANENT=" option, you can tell it to stop
forcing data into that file by including the NOPERMANENT option
on the command line.
Note that when you use the "PERMANENT=" option, it
automatically has two side effects. First, PERMANENT=
automatically sets the NOPROMPT option, which means you will not
be prompted on the screen to enter a filename each time you
request a screen capture. Second, PERMANENT= automatically sets
the APPEND option (see Section 12.4 in this document), which
means that all screen data will be appended to the same .TXT file
while the PERMANENT= setting is active.
The default setting for this feature is NOPERMANENT (i.e.,
text data will not be forced into a specific file).
12.4 Options: APPEND and NOAPPEND
These options enable and disable the "Append Mode" when you
have told GRTXT.EXE not to use on-screen filename prompts by
using the NOPROMPT command switch. These switches have no effect
when the PROMPT option is enabled.
When filename prompts are disabled (i.e., NOPROMPT is active)
and you specify APPEND, then GRTXT.EXE will create only one .TXT
file, and will append the contents of each subsequent screen to
that file until you enable the filename prompts again. When
filename prompts are disabled and you specify NOAPPEND, then
GRTXT works in its "Overwrite Mode," which means that it will
create a separate .TXT file for each screen capture you request.
The default setting for this feature is NOAPPEND (i.e., each
screen will be captured to a separate offspring file).
13. How GRTXT.EXE Names Offspring Files
When the PROMPT setting is active, GRTXT.EXE prompts you on
the screen to enter a name for the captured .TXT file. However,
when the NOPROMPT setting is active, GRTXT.EXE does not prompt
you to enter a filename. Instead, it composes a filename by
itself and assigns it to the offspring file in the same manner
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 10 of 14
that GRABBER.EXE uses when its NOPROMPT setting is active. For
more information, see Section 12.3 of GRABBER.DOC.
14. More Explanation of GRTXT.EXE's Filename Prompts
The most significant difference you will notice between
GRTXT.EXE and GRABBER.EXE is in the area of the on-screen
filename prompts. The following discussion only applies when the
PROMPT setting is active.
The first time you call up GRTXT after installing it, there is
no default filename shown on the screen. You must supply your
own file name.
After your first .TXT screen capture, however, subsequent
filename prompts will offer you a default filename which is
identical to the previous one you specified. You may accept this
default filename by pressing [Enter], or you can enter another
name. After you press [Enter], you will then see this additional
prompt, which is not present under GRABBER.EXE:
FILENAME exists -- (A)ppend, (O)verwrite, (C)ancel ?
(In this example, "FILENAME" stands for the actual name of the
.TXT file that you entered.) If you wish to retain the contents
of "FILENAME.TXT" and simply append the current screen to the
bottom of it, just press <A> or [Enter]. If you wish to overwrite
(i.e., erase and replace) the contents of the original
"FILENAME.TXT" file, then press <O>. If you decide not to work
with this name and wish to enter a different name instead, press
<C> (for "Cancel").
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 11 of 14
15. How to Control GRTXT.EXE's Crop Box
When the CROP option is enabled, (see Section 12.1 above in
this document), you can move and reshape GRTXT.EXE's crop box on
your screen by using the following keys:
<Esc> . . . . . . . . . . Abort the screen capture and exit
back to the foreground program.
<Return> . . . . . . . . Accept the area enclosed or covered
by the crop box, and begin capturing.
<Left Arrow>,
<Right Arrow>,
<Up Arrow> or
<Down Arrow> . . . . . . Move the crop box in the direction
indicated, without changing the shape
of the box.
<Shift><Left Arrow> . . . Shrink the box horizontally.
<Shift><Right Arrow> . . Expand the box horizontally.
<Shift><Up Arrow> . . . . Shrink the box vertically.
<Shift><Down Arrow> . . . Expand the box vertically.
<Insert> . . . . . . . . Toggle between coarse and fine
increments for moving or reshaping
the box.
<Home> . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the upper left-hand
corner of the screen.
<End> . . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the lower left-hand
corner of the screen.
<Ctrl><PgUp> . . . . . . Move the box to the upper right-hand
corner of the screen.
<Ctrl><PgDn> . . . . . . Move the box to the lower right-hand
corner of the screen.
<PgUp> . . . . . . . . . Move box to top edge of the screen.
<PgDn> . . . . . . . . . Move box to bottom edge of the
screen.
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 12 of 14
<Ctrl><Left Arrow> . . . Move box to left edge of the screen.
<Ctrl><Right Arrow> . . . Move box to right edge of the screen.
16. Changing GRTXT.EXE's Hotkey Combination
The default hotkey combination which activates GRTXT.EXE is
[Alt]-[=]. If you wish, you can change this default hotkey
combination to something else, and save the change permanently to
the GRTXT.EXE file so that the change will automatically take
effect each time you install GRTXT.EXE in memory.
To accomplish a hotkey change, use the "SHIFT=" and "KEY="
command-line options. To save a hotkey change permanently, use
the "SAVEHOTKEY" command-line option. All of these options work
exactly the same way under GRTXT.EXE as under GRABBER.EXE. See
Section 15 of GRABBER.DOC for a description of the SHIFT=, KEY=
and SAVEHOTKEY options and how to use them. Refer to Appendices
A and B of GRABBER.DOC for a list of the codes that must be used
with the SHIFT= and KEY= options to specify a new hotkey.
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 13 of 14
17. Programmers' Note: Calling GRTXT.EXE From Your Own Software
If you are a programmer developing your own software, you can
invoke GRTXT.EXE to capture the screen from within your own pro-
gram, assuming that GRTXT.EXE is already resident in memory.
This is accomplished by using GRTXT.EXE's external programming
hook, which is a customized call to Interrupt 16h, described
below. You can write a routine to implement this hook in 80x86
assembly language or in any high-level programming language which
supports BIOS-level interrupt calls.
INTERRUPT 16h, FUNCTION 4754h
On entry: AX = 4754h
DL = 0 (to check only if GRTXT.EXE is resident)
DL = 1 (to capture the current screen)
On return: AX = 5447h (if GRTXT.EXE is installed in memory)
For DL=0
or DL=1: BL contains the logical drive to which the
capture would be attempted (for DL=0), or was
attempted (for DL=1). 0 = default drive,
1 = drive A, 2 = drive B, and so forth.
For DL=1:
If CF=0: Capture was successful. ES:DX points to
an ASCIIZ string which contains the
[drive:][\path\]filename of the newly
created offspring (the drive is also coded
in BL; see above).
If CF=1: If DX = FFFFh, then a capture attempt
failed due to a critical disk error or
disk-full error on the logical drive
encoded in BL (see above). Speaker will
beep.
If DX does not equal FFFFh, capture was
not attempted. GRTXT.EXE was busy
servicing a prior capture request, or some
other disk I/O was occurring, or DOS was
not in a reenterable state. Try again
momentarily.
GRTXT.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 14 of 14
18. Technical Questions? Reporting a Problem or Bug?
>> Do not contact the Public Software Library if you are
experiencing a technical problem with GRTXT.EXE or if you have
any questions about how GRTXT.EXE is supposed to work. Instead,
contact the publisher directly, as described in this section. <<
The publisher wants to know if GRTXT.EXE ever fails to
function on your system as documented in this manual. Also, if
you feel there is an aspect of the program which is not clearly
or completely described here, we appreciate your suggestions.
Please read all of the documentation before submitting a
problem report. This way you can be certain whether there really
is a problem, or whether the program is being put to a use for
which it is not designed or intended. When submitting a problem
report, be as specific as possible about what happens and in what
sequence or situation. Be sure to list these specific things:
(1) All of the information provided on the screen after you
enter the GRTXT command at the DOS prompt with the
program already resident in memory.
(2) Your brand and model of video adapter.
(3) Your brand and model of PC.
(4) Your brand and version of DOS (for example, MS-DOS V6.20,
DR-DOS V5.0, PC DOS V4.0, etc.).
(5) Your brand and model of video adapter.
(6) The program from which you are trying to capture when the
problem occurs.
(7) The contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT
files.
Without all of this information, it is difficult to solve a
problem, and a response will be delayed.
The publisher can be reached at the following addresses:
Mail: Gerald A. Monroe Fax: (216) 333-6299
P.O. Box 16296 Telephone: (216) 333-6075
Cleveland, Ohio 44116
U.S.A.
CompuServe: 72321,1257
Internet: 72321.1257@compuserve.com
* * * End of GRTXT.DOC * * *
