The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-385-Vol-1of3.iso/p/pep13.zip/CHAPT13.TXT

Text File | 1992-12-17 | 14KB | 268 lines

<Chapter 13:  Add-ons>
     Add-ons are PEP modules that are loaded only when you request them.
There are six add-ons supplied with PEP:

  The PIC add-on <[13.7]> reads a 123/SYMPHONY graph file which becomes
the open object.
  The BITMAP add-on <[13.2]> exports pictures to files in the PCX format.
  The FRAME add-on <[13.5]> generates decorative borders by replicating
objects.
  The GRID add-on <[13.6]> facilitates inserting grids of horizontal and
vertical lines.
  The BLOT add-on <[13.3]> imports text with word wrap from ASCII files.
  The DRAT add-on <[13.4]> creates an organization chart from an ASCII
input file.

     In order to use an add-on, you must first load it into your
computer's memory by using the ADD-ONS/INSTALL command. Up to eight
add-ons may be installed into PEP. When an add-on is installed its name
appears under the INSTALL command in a slot in the ADD-ONS menu. These
menu slots are numbered 1 through 8. To invoke an add-on, type the digit
(1 through 8) of the menu item into which it has been installed.

<Section 13.1:  Install>
     The ADD-ONS/INSTALL command displays a menu of the names of all files
in the home directory with the extension ADD. Choose a name to load the
corresponding add-on into PEP. That add-on can then be executed from the
ADD-ONS menu. The name of the add-on appears in the ADD-ONS menu next to
the digit that you type to invoke the add-on.

<Section 13.2:  The BITMAP Add-on>
     Use the BITMAP add-on to output (or export) a picture of the open
object to a file in the PCX format. Pictures in PCX files are accepted by
many word processors and publishing programs. By using the BITMAP add-on,
you will be able to incorporate pictures drawn in PEP, into documents
produced by any of these compatible packages.

     Note: the PCX pictures produced by PEP are monochrome, black and
white images. Picture elements in background color are drawn white, and
elements in any other color are drawn black.

     When running the BITMAP add-on, first use the ROTATION, STRETCHES,
IMAGE, and WINDOW commands, if necessary, to define the properties of the
image that you want to produce. These commands are similar to the
corresponding commands that appear in the PRINT menu as described in
Chapter <[6]>. Then use the OUTPUT command to enter a file name, and
output a PCX image to that file.

<Section 13.2.1:  Output>
     After you have specified the image that you want to export using the
ROTATION, STRETCHES, IMAGE, and WINDOW commands described below, use the
ADD-ONS/BITMAP/OUTPUT command to create a bitmap image according to these
specifications, and to output it to a file. Type the command letter, and
then enter a file name. A file is created with that name, and a bitmap
image is written to the file in the PCX format. The file is given the
extension PCX.

<Section 13.2.2:  Rotation>
     Use the ADD-ONS/BITMAP/ROTATION command to export a rotated picture
of the open object. Press the command letter to display a menu of the
eight rotation options: 0, 90, 180, 270 (degrees clockwise), \, -, /, |
(mirror images).

<Section 13.2.3:  Stretches>
     Use the ADD-ONS/BITMAP/STRETCHES command to control the magnification
applied to the open object when it is being written to the output file.
This XY input command allows you to set either or both of the X and Y
stretch factors. These numbers may be integers, decimals or fractions. The
maximum stretch is 255.

     Note: the stretch factors are overridden when an output image size
has been requested. A side effect of executing the STRETCHES command is to
turn the image size override off.

<Section 13.2.4:  Image>
     Using the ADD-ONS/BITMAP/IMAGE command, you can explicitly set the
number of pixels wide and the number of pixels high that the exported PCX
picture will be. There are two modes: ON and OFF. If the mode is ON, the
output image is forced to be a specified size. When the open object is
exported, PEP will ignore the stretch factors displayed in the BITMAP menu
and calculate new ones. The new stretches are chosen so that the exported
picture will have the required size. If the mode is OFF, the output image
size is determined by the stretches and the size of the open object. The
IMAGE command toggles the image mode between ON and OFF. When you turn
IMAGE ON, the command becomes an XY input command so that you can set the
horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) image size that you want PEP to produce.
Note: executing the STRETCHES command described above automatically turns
the image mode OFF.

<Section 13.2.5:  Window>
     If you do not want to export the entire open object, you can use the
ADD-ONS/BITMAP/WINDOW command to specify a rectangular sub-window which
can then be exported. There are two windowing modes: OFF and ON. Press the
command letter to toggle between these modes. The boundary of the window
is given by four coordinates which appear in two sets of XY input lines
under the command name in the menu. You can type in these numbers, using
WINDOW as an XY input command.

     Or you can specify the window graphically using the cursor. Proceed
as follows: press the command letter to turn windowing ON. Then position
the cross-hair cursor at one corner of the desired window and press
RETURN. The cross-hair is replaced by a stretchable box cursor. Position
the mobile corner of that cursor at the opposite corner of the desired
window and press RETURN again. The area outlined by the box cursor becomes
the exported sub-window.

<Section 13.3:  The BLOT Add-on>
     The BLOT add-on can be used to import text into boxes in the open
object with word wrap and to import text from a file into multiple
objects. Use the FILE command to identify the source text file and the
SIZE command to specify the size of box to receive the text. When the
source file has been specified, a cross-hair cursor appears. Position this
cursor at the upper left corner of the area you want to fill and press
RETURN. Text from the file is imported and flows into a box of the
specified size at the chosen point. If the source file contains more text,
you can position the cross-hair cursor and press RETURN again to continue
the import at another point. If you leave the add-on to close the open
object, the source text file remains open and you can continue the text
import into a new object.

<Section 13.3.1:  File>
     Use the ADD-ONS/BLOT/FILE command to specify the source text file.
Press the command letter to get a menu of all files in the current
directory with the extension TXT. Choose one to be the source for text
import.

<Section 13.3.2:  Size>
     Use the ADD-ONS/BLOT/SIZE command to set the width and depth of the
box into which text will flow. This is an XY input command.

<Section 13.4:  The DRAT Add-on>
     Use the DRAT add-on to create an org-chart or tree diagram from an
ASCII input file. Indentation of lines in the input determines the
hierarchy in the tree that is created.

<Section 13.4.1:  Draw>
     When you invoke the ADD-ONS/DRAT/DRAW command, a menu is displayed of
all the files in the current directory with the extension TXT. When you
select one of these, the open object is cleared, the selected file is
read, and a tree-diagram is constructed from it.

     The construction of the tree diagram is shown in <[FIG25]>. The nodes
of this tree are the individual lines of text in the source file. The
hierarchy in the tree is determined by the indentation of the text in the
file. The more indented a line is in the source file, the further down it
appears in the diagram. This new picture becomes the open object. The
prior contents of the open object are lost.

<Section 13.5:  The FRAME Add-on>
     Using the FRAME add-on, you can add borders to the open object. You
can control the size and position of the borders, and by nesting multiple
borders, you can control the thickness and complexity. The FRAME add-on
generates these borders by replicating objects in a rectangular pattern.
One such rectangle is called a frame.

     Each frame produced by this add-on is a GROUP. It acts as a single
element for DELETE, MODIFY, and COLLECT operations. If you want to operate
on the individual objects that compose the frame, you must first use the
MODIFY/EXPLODE <[4.23]> command to ungroup it.

     To create a frame, first use the BOX command to set the size and
position of the border you want to create. Then use the FILE and OBJECT
commands to construct the border.

<Section 13.5.1:  File>
     Use the ADD-ONS/FRAME/FILE command to identify the source file for
the objects from which the frame is to be constructed. Press the command
letter to display a name menu of all files in the current directory with
the extension PDL and choose a source file from this menu.

     Two collections of objects specifically designed for creating frames
have been included with PEP. These are the files FRAME.PDL and
NEWFRAME.PDL. Of course, you can also use objects from any other files to
construct frames including objects that you have created yourself.
However, note that new objects must first be saved to a file on disk
before they can be accessed by the FRAME add-on.

<Section 13.5.2:  Object>
     Use the ADD-ONS/FRAME/OBJECT command to select an object from the
source file and construct a border by replicating it. If an object with
that name is already present in the loaded PDL file, that object is used
to construct the frame. Otherwise, the object you chose is first imported
from the source file, and then used to build the frame.

     Once an object has been specified, FRAME checks the source file for a
companion object to use at the corners of the frame. By convention, the
name of a companion object is the tilde character (~) followed by the
original object name. If no companion object is found, the original object
is used for both the edges and the corners of the frame.

     Use the OBJECT command a second time if you want to construct another
frame immediately inside the one just created. This new frame is nested
within the old one. Any number of frames may be so nested to create a
border of arbitrary thickness and complexity. The border shown in
<[FIG19]> is made up of three nested frames. To construct a new frame
which is not nested, simply use the BOX command described below to define
a new position for the next constructed frame.

<Section 13.5.3:  Box>
     Use the ADD-ONS/FRAME/BOX command to define the size and position of
the frame to be created. Press the command letter, position the
stretchable box cursor, and press RETURN. The next created frame is
constructed inside the box so defined. Alternatively, the four coordinates
defining the box can be typed directly into either or both of the two XY
coordinate pairs following the BOX command menu item.

<Section 13.5.4:  Replace>
     Use the ADD-ONS/FRAME/REPLACE command to replace the most recently
created frame with another. Press the command letter to enable replacing,
then use the OBJECT command above to construct a new frame which then
replaces the old one.

<Section 13.6:  The GRID Add-on>
     The GRID add-on can be used to insert grids of horizontal and
vertical lines into the open object. First use the NUMBER command to
specify how many rows and columns you want and use the UNITS command to
set the width and height of a grid cell. Then position the cross-hair
cursor and press RETURN. A grid of horizontal and vertical lines is
inserted with its upper left corner placed at the cursor position. The
grid is a GROUP. It acts as a single element for DELETE, MODIFY, and
COLLECT operations. If you want to operate individually on the horizontal
and vertical lines that compose the grid, you must first use the
MODIFY/EXPLODE command <[4.23]> to ungroup it.

<Section 13.6.1:  Number>
     The ADD-ONS/GRID/NUMBER command is an XY input command. Use it to set
the number of grid spaces required horizontally and vertically. X equals
the number of columns in the grid, and Y equals the number of rows.

<Section 13.6.2:  Unit-size>
     The ADD-ONS/GRID/UNIT-SIZE command is an XY input command. Use it to
set the grid line spacing horizontally and vertically. X equals the width
of one grid cell, and Y equals the height

<Section 13.7:  The PIC Add-on>
     Use the PIC add-on to import PIC format graph files created by Lotus
1-2-3 and Symphony.

     The registered version of PEP includes a special font file, LICS.FON,
that supports the Lotus International Character Set. LICS.FON is similar
in appearance to BORIC.FON, but the bold and italic characters have been
replaced by the extended characters of the LICS set. If an imported PIC
graph file contains international characters, you can display these in PEP
by installing the LICS font as PEP font 0 or 1. (See SETUP/INSTALL/0-FONT
<[12.5.1]>). Normally, the first title in a PIC graph uses font 0, and all
other text uses font 1. Note: the LICS font is not part of the shareware
PEP package.

<Section 13.7.1:  Load>
     The ADD-ONS/PIC/LOAD command displays a name menu of all the files in
the current directory with the extension PIC. Use it to choose the PIC
file you wish to import. The imported PIC data becomes the open object.
The former contents of the open object are lost.

<Section 13.7.2:  Size>
     Use the ADD-ONS/PIC/SIZE command to control the size of the imported
PIC file images. You may set a size explicitly, or import the file in its
native size.

<Section 13.7.3:  Patterns>
     When you import a PIC file, you can optionally convert solid fill
regions into pattern fill. This feature is useful for adapting color PIC
files for black and white printing. The ADD-ONS/PIC/PATTERNS command is a
multiple choice command with two values: ENABLED and DISABLED. Press the
command letter to toggle between these two choices. If PATTERNS are
ENABLED (the default choice), then solid regions in the PIC data are
automatically converted to pattern fill. The pattern used is determined by
the color of the region.