Simtel MSDOS 1992 September/Simtel20_Sept92.cdr/msdos/editor/nbmaster.arc/MASTER.DOC

Text File | 1989-11-09 | 8KB | 163 lines

MAIL RECEIVED FROM BITNET GROUP RE: UPDATE OF NOTA BENE UTILITY:
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WALLENGREN'S MASTER PROGRAM REVISITED
November 2, 1989

Wallengren's MASTERPM.RN creates macros (simple programs) on the fly.
The program, once run, records (captures) all your operations,
whether keyboard assignments or any combination of these with text.
It then lets you assign it immediately to phrase key as well as save
as permanent program. Program was initially written by Ernie
Wallengren for (and with) XyWrite 3.1, uploaded in April 1986 to
CompuServe and BIX (under the name "CAPTURE.PM"), adapted to Nota
Bene, altered and augmented by Itamar Even-Zohar.

MASTERPM.RN was modified again October 28, 1989 with the help of an
undocumented feature, reported by Jonathan Zuck
([e-mail]). This feature is the command 'SAVE %phrase key
number/letter' (1-9/A-Z). It writes to disk the contents of an
indicated phrase. This has made it possible to eliminate the complex
procedure of opening an alternative window, where the concatenated
key-capture is written down, saved and then loaded on a key. The
procedure is much simpler now: the concatenated phrase is saved on 0
when concatenation is terminated (with PrtSc, as before), then 'SAVE
%0' writes on disk a file called 0.SAV, which is then loaded (with
LDPM command) on the key indicated by the user. It is then renamed,
if user wishes to use it as a future program under a different name,
or discarded, if user does not need it.

The new version will shortly be available from the file server, when
I update UTILS.ARC. The older version will still be preserved under
the name MASTERPM.OLD.

To order UTILS.ARC send command to LISTSERV@TAUNIVM (it may be sent
as mail, file or interactive message). For further information on how
to order files from the Notabene file server, read NOVICE.GUIDE.
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EXTRACT FROM UTILITIES DOCUMENTATION IN UTILS.ARC:

Updated August 12, 1989

Wallengren's Master Program

MASTERPM.RN
Program allows you to create macros (simple programs) on the fly.
The program, once run, records all your operations, whether
keyboard assignments or any combination of these with text. It
then lets you assign it immediately to phrase key as well as save
as permanent program.

[Originally written by Ernie Wallengren for (and with) XyWrite
3.1, uploaded in April 1986 to CompuServe and BIX (under the name
"CAPTURE.PM"), adapted to Nota Bene and altered and augmented by
me. The text below is a slightly modified version of Wallengren's
own explanation. Wallengren's own program, a beautiful piece, is
reproduced below in full text form. I wish to thank Ron Zweig for
having downloaded this program.
See also modified version, MASTERNW.RN below]

When you run it, it starts by announcing "Begin Keystroke
Capture." If you immediately hit the PrtSc key it aborts. Other-
wise, it records every keystroke you enter onto a temporary
phrase.

Once you have captured the keystrokes that you need, press PrtSc.
The program hums and purrs for a moment, working in a hidden
window (there must be a window available or it comes to a grind-
ing halt before it even starts), where it creates a temporary
program file, dumps the captured keystrokes into it, saves the
file to disk, then prompts you to select the phrase key you wish
to use. If you have made a mistake entering keystrokes, pressing
PrtSc here quits the program. Otherwise, simply select the
desired letter or number for the phrase. (I have added, with the
help of my daughter Tamar, the ampersand key [&1-&0; &A-&Z]
option, to make it possible to spare your actual phrase library.
If you wish to use this option, just strike & then the desired
letter/number. -- I.E-Z.)

At this point, you are asked if you wish to record the file to
disk for permanent use. If you answer with an 'n', the temporary
file created by the program is erased and the program ends. If
you answer with a 'y', you are asked to supply a valid filename.
You can use a full pathname if you desire, although you cannot
specify a different drive. And the program will not allow you to
overwrite an existing file, so the filename must be unique to the
directory. If you change your mind about recording a program file
to disk, press PrtSc to abort. Whether you record a file or not,
your phrase is loaded and ready to roll!

I [i.e., Wallengren] use the program any time I'm faced with per-
forming a series of repetitive actions. For instance, if I want
to move the scene headings from a television script that I've
written into a separate file, I simply move the cursor to the
start of the document and begin the keystroke capture. Once that
has started, I'll move to the command line, type se \EXT.\ (for
outdoor scenes), F10 (to execute the search), Define (with F1 or
whatever is relevant), Alt-F10 (to move to the other file), + (to
copy the defined text), Alt-F10 (to return to the script file)
and F2 (to undefine). Then I press PrtSc to terminate the
capture. After that, I'm able to perform each
search/define/move/undefine with just two keystrokes.

If you get a message on the prompt line saying "Aborted! Unable
to create temp file," one of two very unlikely things has
occurred. You are using all nine windows and one or more of them
contains a directory listing or you have gone out of your way to
name a file __zzyzx.p0m AND you have made it read-only (there may
be other reasons for getting this error message but I haven't
stumbled onto them yet). By the way, if you are one of the
unfortunate few who has an important file named either
__zzyzx.p0m, kiss it good-bye! These routines take great pleasure
in erasing files with those names --

I run this utility on a 6-8-10MHz AT clone. It flies. There
should be no speed problem with MASTERPM.RN on a standard PC. You
should be able to speed thing up a little by deleting the comment
lines in the routine. Each comment line is preceded by a semi-
colon to distinguish it. (You'll save some memory doing this,
too).

Comments or criticisms are always welcome!
-- Ernie Wallengren
(BIX and Genie: ewallengren
Compuserve: 71360,2206
[from within Bitnet: [e-mail]]
The Source: AAK732)
***********************************************
Note:
MASTERPM cannot record text you write with Nota Bene 3.0 MENUS.
So always use command line options.
There is also a problem with Nota Bene new 3.0 keyboard: if you
use ESC as part of your normal operations while running MASTER-
PM.RN (e.g., to undefine or close a footnote window), you stop
the program, since ESC now also stops programs (instead of the
older CA+Break, which still works, however). This can be cured in
one of the following ways:

(1) Use F2 instead of ESC to undefine, and write "func xd" on
command line to close a window. (You can also use the same
command for "undefine" as well, instead of F2.)
(2) Alternatively, customize a separate key for "XD": it will
work for both "undefine" and "close window".
(3) Alternatively, delete the "bk" code from the ESC definition
in your keyboard. ESC will no longer stop programs, but would you
suffer from going on using CA+Break? (If you would, you are after
all free to customize a better keyboard combination.)
***********************************************
MASTERNW.RN
MASTERPM.RN was modified again October 28, 1989 with the help of
an undocumented feature, reported by Jonathan Zuck
([e-mail]). This feature is the command 'SAVE %phrase
key number/letter' (1-9/A-Z). It writes to disk the contents of
an indicated phrase. This has made it possible to eliminate the
whole procedure of opening an alternative window, where the whole
concatenated key-capture is written down, saved and then loaded
on a key. The procedure is much simpler now: the concatenated
phrase is saved on 0 when concatenation is terminated (with
PrtSc, as before), then 'SAVE %0' creates a file called 0.SAV,
which is loaded on the indicated key. It is renamed, if user
wishes to use it a a future program under a different name, or
discarded, if user does not need it.