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Text File | 1994-09-22 | 62.6 KB | 1,512 lines

M a s t e r B r o w s e 4 . 5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Copyright 1993, 1994, Michel Forget Electric Storm Software """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" " The *BEST* ST/STe/TT/Falcon Text File Viewer " """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" " MultiTOS, Geneva, & Mag!X Compatible " """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" *----------------------------------------------------------------* | For information about the distribution of MasterBrowse, please | | read the section of this manual entitled "DISTRIBUTION". | *----------------------------------------------------------------* - CONTENTS - I. INTRODUCTION II. DONATION-WARE III. UPGRADING IV. INSTALLING MASTERBROWSE A. The Installation Program B. NeoDesk 3.x C. TeraDesktop 1. Application Method 2. Edit Method D. Gemini/Mupfel E. GEM Desktop V. USING MASTERBROWSE A. Starting MasterBrowse B. Movement 1. Arrow Keypad 2. Application Keypad 3. GEM Desktop Keys C. The MasterBrowse Menu System 1. MasterBrowse a. "MasterBrowse..." 2. File a. "Open Document..." b. "Open Document Batch..." c. "Quick Access..." d. "Close Document" e. "Close All Documents" f. "Print Document..." g. "Save Document..." h. "Save Document Batch..." i. "Quit" 3. Edit a. "Select All" b. "Remove Block Markers" c. "Copy" d. "Paste" e. "Delete" 3. Window a. "Rotate Windows" b. "Window Title..." c. "Iconify MasterBrowse" d. "General Options..." e. "Output Options..." f. "Display Options..." g. "Shortcuts..." h. "Save Options" i. "Save Options As..." j. "Load Options..." k. "Select Display Font..." l. "Help..." m. "Context Help..." n. "Window Information..." 4. Markers a. "Load Bookmark List..." b. "Save Bookmark List..." c. "Clear Bookmark..." d. "Clear All Bookmarks" e. "Print Block..." f. "Save Block..." g. "Expand Block" h. "Block Information..." 5. Position a. "Top Of Document" b. "Bottom Of Document" c. "Find..." d. "Find Next" e. "Find Previous" f. "Push/Pop Position" g. "Jump -> Search Pos." h. "Jump -> Bookmark..." i. "Jump -> Block Start" j. "Jump -> Block End" k. "Jump -> Line..." l. "Jump -> Page..." 6. Markers (Window Menu #1) a. "Set Block Start" b. "Set Block End" c. "Set Bookmark" d. "Cancel" D. The MasterBrowse Dialog System VI. DISCLAIMER VII. DISTRIBUTION VIII. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR IX. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS X. SUZY B'S SOFTWARE INFORMATION XI. CLOSING I. INTRODUCTION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Everyone who owns a computer has, at one time or another, needed to view the contents of a text file. The text file viewer supplied with Atari computers will allow you to do this, but it is lacking in many respects. MasterBrowse is a replacement text file viewer for any Atari computer, in any resolution except low (though this restriction is not enforced). It offers many features that the Atari text file viewer does not: o MasterBrowse has a friendly, easy-to-use, 100% GEM automated installation program. o MasterBrowse has an extremely fast GEM user interface, which makes use of raster copy screen updates, GDOS/SpeedoGDOS fonts, pull-down menus, windows, windowed dialog boxes, colour, round radio buttons, checkboxes, keyboard shortcuts in dialog boxes, and more. o MasterBrowse works with MultiTOS, MultiGEM, Mag!X, and Geneva. With MultiTOS or Geneva, MasterBrowse can ensure that only one copy of MasterBrowse is in memory at a time. If another copy of MasterBrowse is launched, the copy of MasterBrowse already in memory will be instructed to display the files. The utility that makes this possible (the "client-program") can be configured to call an alternate viewer for special types of files, such as pictures or sound files. MasterBrowse also understands the MultiTOS Drag & Drop Protocol. With Mag!X, MasterBrowse can communicate with the desktop to ensure that only one copy of MasterBrowse is in memory at a time, as with Geneva and MultiTOS. o MasterBrowse can use the command line to open documents (or to open a document batch). The ARGV, xArg, and standard command line formats are supported. o MasterBrowse supports the View Protocol, by Peter Seitz, which allows other programs to instruct MasterBrowse to display a file instead of using their own default viewers. Currently, the following programs support (or soon will support) the View Protocol: STZip, Lharc Shell, ShowImage, GemView, and DiskList. o MasterBrowse allows you to have a virtually unlimited number of documents open at the same time, restricted only by the number of available windows and the amount of free memory. o MasterBrowse provides keyboard shortcuts for every menu entry. If you do not like the default keyboard shortcuts for menu entries, you can change them to suit your needs! o MasterBrowse provides you with a Quick Document Access feature found in no other program. With this feature, you can instantly load any of the last seven files that have been opened (in case you need a document again after closing it). o MasterBrowse allows you to (optionally) save your configuration automatically when you exit the program, or even save a document batch that will automatically be loaded the next time you use MasterBrowse. o MasterBrowse allows you to use all of your familiar movement keys. You can use the arrow keys, the application keypad, or even the space bar and the return key. o MasterBrowse allows you to move in any direction inside a document, as you would expect. What you might not expect is that you can tell MasterBrowse how far it should move when the movement keys are pressed. How about moving two lines down instead of one? Or perhaps three lines suits you better? Do you still want more power? Keep reading. -You can jump to a specific line, a specific page, the start of a block, the end of a block, or any of ten personal "bookmarks" that MasterBrowse supplies for each text window. o MasterBrowse allows you to move through a document (by lines or pages) using a special Quick Scroll Mode. It uses the shift, control, and alternate keys so that the scrolling speed is not limited by the key repeat rate. o MasterBrowse offers unparalled power when it comes to searching! In addition to the ability to search for up to three strings at the same time, starting at the top of the document or at the current position within the document, MasterBrowse allows the use of Unix (TM) regular expression matching (wildcards). A search may be conducted in reverse mode or forward mode. If you desire, you can specify which of the three search strings will be case sensitive and which will not. o MasterBrowse also has powerful block operations. You can mark a block and then save it to disk, print it, or write it to the clipboard. You can control how the block is marked on the screen. MasterBrowse can also be configured to remove the block markers after a block operation is completed or to leave the markers unchanged. Blocks are marked using the -MOUSE-, exactly as they are marked with text editors. More? A block can even be extracted from a larger document and placed inside a MasterBrowse window with a single keypress! In addition, MasterBrowse can append blocks (or entire documents) to already existing files. o MasterBrowse is a master printer. It can print a document (or a block) with page headings, page numbers, line numbers, a description of the file or block, a synopsis, or any combination of the five. MasterBrowse can even print an identification string for those people who share a printer between more than one computer. You can also save a block or an entire document to disk (or the clipboard), with all of the same options available. MasterBrowse can even be configured to use the special features of your printer, such as bolding, italics, underlining, colour, and specialized fonts. You want even more power? MasterBrowse can print on both sides of the printer page, and indent your text. o MasterBrowse gives you complete control over your windows. You can cycle through them, change their titles, shrink them, close one, close them all, or get information about them all using the keyboard (or the mouse). MasterBrowse also allows you to remove the vertical window scroll bar, the horizontal window scroll bar, or both scroll bars (since a window that has no scroll bars can scroll more than twice as fast as a window that does have scroll bars). In addition, each MasterBrowse window can have different scroll bar settings. The size of a window can be changed by clicking in the bottom right-hand corner of the window, even if the window does not have a "sizer" gadget. o MasterBrowse supports batch files! If you use a certain group of documents often, just load them up and tell MasterBrowse to create a batch file. One double-click on the batch file, and they will all be loaded again. o MasterBrowse saves the positions of the first seven windows (if you want it to), so you have complete control over where your documents appear and how your screen looks. o MasterBrowse allows you to load and save bookmark lists. o Every window has a set of block markers and a set of ten bookmarks to itself. o MasterBrowse also has support for the clipboard! A block can be written to the clipboard (with or without formatting) or the clipboard can be read into a MasterBrowse window. The features listed above -barely- scratch the surface of MasterBrowse! II. DONATION-WARE -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OR: Why should I send this person money if I have the program already? MasterBrowse is Donation-Ware. If you use it regularly, and would like to receive an OPTIMIZED and PERSONALIZED version of MasterBrowse, as well as the other interesting applications and utilities described below, you are encouraged to send $15 (Canadian/US) to: Michel Forget 12209 Dovercourt Avenue Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T5L 4E1 If you do not live in North America (and you are writing to this address instead of the address for users in the United Kingdom), please send an international money order or the equivalent of $15 in your own currency. Please do not send a personal cheque unless you live in North America. If you live in the United Kingdom, you can send 14 UKPounds (cheque or money order) to Denesh Bhabuta: ESS (c/o Denesh Bhabuta) 203 Parr Lane Unsworth Bury Lancashire BL9 8JW Users who send in the donation also receive the following utilities and applications: AutoDate II -- A program that keeps track of the time and date with virtually no effort on the part of the user. AccPad -- A notepad desk accessory. ESS-Code -- A powerful utility which every Internet/Usenet/BitNet user should have. MasterPrint -- A printing utility with all of the printing features of MasterBrowse. ShadowTerm II -- A full-featured terminal program by Electric Storm Software. By special arrangement, users who register MasterBrowse will also receive a coupon for a FREE catalog from Suzy B's Software and a $3 credit toward the purchase of a disk from the Suzy B's Software collection (which has over 8,000 files). For more information about Suzy B's Software, please read section VIII of this manual. III. UPGRADING -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There are several ways to upgrade MasterBrowse once you have registered it. If you have an Internet electronic mail address, upgrades can be sent to you at no charge. If you do not have such an electronic mail address, send $5 (Canadian/US) with your name, address, and serial number. A disk with the new version of MasterBrowse (and new versions of the bonus programs) will be sent to you promptly. When you upgrade your version of MasterBrowse, you will also receive a $3 credit toward the purchase of a disk from the Suzy B's Software collection. The address to send the money to is: Michel Forget 12209 Dovercourt Avenue Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T5L 4E1 If you live in the United Kingdom, you can send 3 UKPounds (cheque or money order) to Denesh Bhabuta: ESS (c\o Denesh Bhabuta) 203 Parr Lane Unsworth Bury Lancashire BL9 8JW IV. INSTALLING MASTERBROWSE -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- It is very easy to install MasterBrowse on your system. Users of alternate desktops should read the instructions pertaining to their specific desktop, if it is listed. MasterBrowse may load faster if you compress the executable. I would suggest using Pack-Ice, since it gives the best compression. For a faster decompression, PFX-Pack is excellent. You will save not only space by compressing MasterBrowse, but you will also very likely save time. A. The Installation Program -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To make the installation of MasterBrowse easier, an installation program was created. The installation program will perform all of the neccessary steps to install MasterBrowse under SingleTOS, MultiTOS, or Geneva, or Mag!X. The installation program does not, however, perform the "final" step. Since there are so many replacement desktops available, there is no way for MasterBrowse to automatically support all of the various desktop configuration file formats available. Thus, the actual act of installing MasterBrowse as an application, with the various file extensions text files commonly have, is left to the user. This is a simple matter, though, and the process is described below for a variety of replacement desktops: B. NeoDesk 3.x -=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you have NeoDesk 3.x, all you need to do is put MasterBrowse somewhere safe and install MBROWSE.PRG as your alternate text file viewer. Consult your NeoDesk manual for instructions on how to do this. Be sure to save your configuration when you are done. You should also install MBROWSE.PRG as an application that utilizes files with the *.MB extender so that you can use MasterBrowse Batch files. C. TeraDesktop -=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you have the TeraDesktop, you are lucky. There are two ways for you to install MasterBrowse. 1. Application Method -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Put MasterBrowse in a safe place, and install MBROWSE.PRG as an application with the following suggested extensions: *.TXT, *.DOC, *.ASC, *.NOW, *.1ST, *.2ND, *.NEW, *.INF, *.LST, *.HLP, *.DAT, *.OLD, *.ST, *.MB Be sure to save your configuration when you are done. 2. Edit Method -=-=-=-=-=-=-= TeraDesk has a feature that no other Desktop has; if you double-click on a non-executable file, TeraDesk will allow you to either Show, Edit, or Print the file. If you rarely (or never) use the Edit option, you can install MasterBrowse in its place. Put MasterBrowse in a safe place. Then, select Editor under the Options menu of TeraDesk. After locating MasterBrowse with the file selector, save your TeraDesk configuration. The next time you double-click on a non-executable file, selecting Edit will bring up MasterBrowse and load the file. This gives you two advantages; every file type is covered, and you still have access to the TeraDesk file viewer. D. Gemini -=-=-=-=- If you have Gemini, all you need to do is put MasterBrowse somewhere safe and install MBROWSE.MUP as an application. You must edit MBROWSE.MUP so that it knows where MBROWSE.PRG resides on your system. You must also set two Gemini application options; "it is a GEM application" and "close all windows on startup". Gemini allows you to install many extensions for a single application. On the extension line, you should enter: *.TXT,*.DOC,*.ASC,*.1ST,*.NEW,*.MB If you want to install more extenders for MasterBrowse, you can create another copy of MBROWSE.MUP (with a different name) and add the extra extenders. When you are done, remember to save the desktop. E. GEM Desktop -=-=-=-=-=-=-= The GEM Desktop (< TOS 2.06) does not handle installed applications correctly. By not changing the current directory to the directory in which the application resides, it prevents the application from locating the resource files or configuration files that it needs. MasterBrowse solves this problem by allowing you to specify (in the environment) where each of these files is located. To create an environment, simply follow these steps. 1. Put MBROWSE.PRG, MBROWSE.RSC, and MBROWSE.INF somewhere safe. 2. Copy GEMENV.PRG to your AUTO folder. Despite the size of this program, it only uses 2K of memory when installed. 3. Copy ROOT.ENV to the root directory of the drive on which your AUTO folder resides. 4. Install MBROWSE.PRG as an application, with *.TXT as the extender. 5. Save your DESKTOP.INF/NEWDESK.INF file, and then load it into an ASCII text editor. 6. Look for the following line (with a different path, of course): #G 03 04 C:\MBROWSE.PRG@ *.TXT@ 7. Make a copy of this line, changing *.TXT to *.DOC. You can make as many copies of this line as you want, with as many extenders as you want. I suggest that you use the following extenders: *.TXT, *.DOC, *.ASC, *.NOW, *.1ST, *.2ND, *.NEW, *.INF, *.LST, *.HLP, *.DAT, *.OLD, *.ST, *.MB 8. Load the ROOT.ENV file, and change the MB_RESOURCE and MB_CONFIG environment variables so that they contain the full pathname and filename of the resource file and the configuration file respectively. When you have MasterBrowse installed, you should save the DESKTOP.INF file (from the editor, *not* the Desktop) and reboot your computer. MasterBrowse will now be called each time you double click on a text file. V. USING MASTERBROWSE -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Using MasterBrowse is very easy, but there are some features and ideas that bear discussion. Each menu will be listed with the options it contains, and each function will be discussed. A. Starting MasterBrowse -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= MasterBrowse can be started in two ways: 1. Application Mode - This means that MasterBrowse is called by the Desktop when you double click on a text file. This is the way MasterBrowse will be started most often. After loading, MasterBrowse will present you with the file selector (though this option can be turned on or off). 2. Stand-Alone Mode - This means that MasterBrowse is executed as a program with no command line. MasterBrowse will bring up a file selector, at which time the file you want to see should be selected. If you have NewDesk or an alternate Desktop, like NeoDesk or Gemini, MasterBrowse can be started in a third way. If you drag a file to MBROWSE.PRG and release the mouse button, MasterBrowse will act as if it had been called in Application Mode. B. Movement -=-=-=-=-=- Like the GEM Desktop, each MasterBrowse window has two movement bars (vertical and horizontal) that can be used to move around a document. They function exactly like the movement bars found in the GEM Desktop. The Control + Z keypress can be used to "full" (minimize/maximize) a window. The F10 function key can be used as an alternative keypress to close all windows and exit MasterBrowse. The F8 function key can be used to open a new document. The F9 function key can be used to close the document in the current top window. The following keys can be used to move around inside a document: Left Shift + \ = Quick Scroll Mode (Page Increments) -Control = Up Line -Alternate = Down Line Right Shift + \ = Quick Scroll Mode (Line Increments) -Control = Up Page -Alternate = Down Page You must always hold down the shift key you pressed to enter Quick Scroll Mode. If you let go of the shift key, you will no longer be in quick scroll mode. This is a little tricky at first, but quickly becomes familiar. 1. Arrow Keypad -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Up Arrow = Up Line Down Arrow = Down Line Left Arrow = Left Character Right Arrow = Right Character Shift + Up Arrow = Up Page Shift + Down Arrow = Down Page Shift + Left Arrow = Left Page Shift + Right Arrow = Right Page Control + Up Arrow = Top Of Document Control + Down Arrow = Bottom Of Document Control + Left Arrow = Extreme Left Window Page Control + Right Arrow = Extreme Right Window Page ClrHome = Top Of Document Shift + ClrHome = Bottom Of Document 2. Application Keypad -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 7 = Top Of Document 1 = Bottom Of Document 9 = Page Up 3 = Page Down 8 = Movement Base Line(s) Up 2 = Movement Base Line(s) Down 4 = Movement Base Character(s) Left 6 = Movement Base Character(s) Right 5 = Jump -> Bookmark 0 = Jump -> Line . = Jump -> Page The Movement Base can be set in the "General Options" dialog box. It controls how far MasterBrowse will move when one of the application keypad directional keys is pressed. It is useful for moving short distances quickly. The Movement Base can be used with the arrow keypad or the application keypad, depending on your preferences. The diagrams above show the default configuration. 3. GEM Desktop Keys -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The space bar can be used to move down one page, and the return key can be used to move down one line. C. The MasterBrowse Menu System -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The keyboard representations of functions are not shown in the ASCII drawings below. The <Alternate> character is NOT an ASCII character. 1. MasterBrowse MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | MasterBrowse... | |-------------------| | Desk Accessory #1 | | Desk Accessory #2 | | Desk Accessory #3 | | Desk Accessory #4 | | Desk Accessory #5 | | Desk Accessory #6 | |-------------------| | Program #1 | } | Program #2 | }\ | Program #3 | } - MultiTOS Only! | Program #4 | }/ | [...] | } --------------------- a. MasterBrowse --------------- Selecting this option brings up an information dialog box. It has your name and address in it (if you donate) and a message telling you the how big the largest block of free memory is. 2. File MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | Open Document... | | Open Document Batch... | |------------------------| | Quick Access... | |------------------------| | Close Document | | Close All Documents | |------------------------| | Print Document... | | Save Document... | | Save Document Batch... | |------------------------| | Quit | -------------------------- a. Open Document [Control + O] ------------------------------- If you select this option, you are presented with a file selector. Choose the document you would like to view. This option will fail if you do not have enough memory available, or there are no more windows available. b. Open Document Batch ---------------------- This option allows MasterBrowse to load in a number of documents at one time. This is extremely useful if you use a certain set of documents frequently. The batch file is a standard ASCII file containing a list of filenames (full paths required, of course). c. Quick Access --------------- This option allows you to peruse a list of the last seven documents opened. Click on any document in the list to load it into memory. d. Close Document [Control + U] -------------------------------- This option closes the document in the top window, and gives the memory that the document was using back to the system. e. Close All Documents [Shift + Control + U] --------------------------------------------- This options closes all MasterBrowse windows, which returns all window handles and memory being used by MasterBrowse to the system. f. Print Document [Control + P] -------------------------------- This option prints the document in the top window. The first thing that must be decided is which options will be used. The following choices are available: Synopsis -------- The synopsis is a four line summary of what the document being printed contains. If nothing is entered in this field, it is not used. Description ----------- If any text is entered in this field, MasterBrowse will print that text just above the page number/page header. It can be used to show the title of the document being printed, the author, or any other text that you deem appropriate. Page Numbers ------------ If this option is selected, MasterBrowse will divide the document being printed into pages. The current page number is printed at the top right corner of each page. Line Numbers ------------ If this option is selected, MasterBrowse will number the lines of the document as they are being printed. The current line number appears just to the left of the current line. Page Headings ------------- If this option is selected, MasterBrowse will print the name of the file being printed on the same line that the page number is printed on. Form Feeds ---------- Form feeds should usually be turned on. They cause the printer to advance to the start of the next page when the current page is done. In some situations (such as writing a file to disk or the clipboard) they are not desirable and should be turned off. All / Odd / Even ---------------- MasterBrowse can print all pages, odd pages, or even pages. This allows the user to conserve printer paper and have more professional looking output by printing on both sides of the paper. Those who are not experienced with this method of printing need not worry (it is very easy to do with MasterBrowse). Simply set your options as you desire, then select "Odd". After printing, remove the paper from your printer and insert it again upside down. After positioning the paper so that the even pages will start being printed on the back of the first page, select "Even". The options for "Even" and "Odd" must be identical (though you should only enter spaces for the synopsis when printing even pages) or the output on one side of the page will not match the output on the other side of the page (duplicate lines, skipped lines, incorrect line numbers). Printer Control Codes --------------------- You can make your documents (or blocks) look better on paper by defining some printer control codes. With these codes, you can make use of any special effect (uderlining, bold, italics, colour, fonts) that your printer can create. You can define printer control codes for the page heading, the page number, the line number, the description of the document (or block) being printed, and the current line of text being printed. You will need your printer manual to do this, since MasterBrowse can not know what features your printer has. When defining printer control codes, there are four details to keep in mind: 1. You do not need to include the ESC (decimal 27) character in your printer control codes. MasterBrowse will send this character to the printer before every printer control code. 2. Every printer control code must be a decimal number (no alphabetical characters or hexadecimal numbers are allowed). 3. If the printer control code you are defining consists of two or more separate decimal numbers (EX: ESC + 99 + 39), than each code must be separated by a space when typed. 4. A printer control code may consist of no more than four separate decimal numbers (not including the ESC character, which is sent automatically). Change Options -------------- If you want to exit without printing, but want to keep the options you selected, select "Change Options". If you want to exit without printing, and not keep the options you selected, select "Cancel". You may choose any combination of the options, with one exception; you cannot have page headings if you do not have page numbers. You can have page headings without page numbers, though. g. Save Document [Control + S] ------------------------------ This option writes the document in the top window to the disk. All of the options presented to you by this option are identical to the options presented to you in the "Print Document" dialog box discussed above. Form feeds should normally be turned off for this option (but do not have to be). Click on "Write", and the select the name of the file to write using the file selector. h. Save Document Batch ---------------------- This option will create a file containing a list of all of the documents currently in memory. If MasterBrowse has been properly installed as an application, with the *.MB extender, then double-clicking on a MasterBrowse Batch file will activate MasterBrowse and load all of the documents in the batch. This is very useful if you use a certain set of documents often, especially since the title bars of the windows are also saved in the batch file. i. Quit [Control + Q] ---------------------- This option closes all MasterBrowse windows and exits MasterBrowse. It does not ask for confirmation of any kind, so be careful. 3. Edit MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | Select All | |-------------------------| | Remove Block Markers | |-------------------------| | Copy | | Paste | | Delete | --------------------------- a. Select All [Control + A] ---------------------------- This options marks the entire document in the top window as a block. b. Remove Block Markers [Shift + Control + H] ---------------------------------------------- This option resets the block markers for the top window. c. Copy [Control + C] ---------------------- This option works exactly like "Print Document", "Print Block", and "Save Block", but it writes the output to the clipboard. d. Paste [Control + V] ----------------------- If you select this option, MasterBrowse will load the clipboard into memory and display it in a window (just like any other document). To use this feature, you need to have a clipboard installed. I would suggest using the Atari Clipboard CPX Module, but there are other programs which will install clipboards just as effectively. e. Delete --------- Selecting this option will cause the SCRAP.TXT file in the clipboard directory to be deleted. 4. Window MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | Rotate Windows | | Window Title... | | Iconify MasterBrowse... | |-------------------------| | General Options... | | Output Options... | | Display Options... | | Shortcuts... | |-------------------------| | Save Options | | Save Options As... | | Load Options... | |-------------------------| | Select Display Font... | |-------------------------| | Help... | | Context Help... | |-------------------------| | Window Information... | --------------------------- a. Rotate Windows [Control + W] ------------------------------- When windows are hidden behind each other, or take up the entire screen, it can often be hard to get to them. With this option, you can cycle through the chain of MasterBrowse windows with ease. You no longer need to move windows around to get at other windows. b. Window Title --------------- This option changes the title bar of the top window. This can be extremely useful if you are using a document as a reference, or have multiple documents in memory with similar filenames. C:\ANSIREF.TXT can become: The "C" Programming Library, Second Revision (ANSI) If you later decide you want the original title back, you can click on the "Restore Default Title" button. c. Iconify MasterBrowse [Control + D] -------------------------------------- This option will iconify MasterBrowse, which means that all MasterBrowse text windows will be closed without removing the documents in the windows from memory. An "icon window" (which can be moved) will appear in the center of the screen. To uniconify MasterBrowse, simply click (or double-click) inside the icon window. This option is usually only useful for people using MultiTOS, Geneva, or Mag!X. You do not need any operating system or AES replacement to use this feature of MasterBrowse, though. d. General Options ------------------ In this dialog box, you can set the movement base (which determines how far MasterBrowse will move within a document if the movement base keypad is used). You can set the movement base keypad to be either the cursor keypad or the application keypad, depending on what your preferences are. Using this dialog box, you may also tell MasterBrowse whether or not to save your options when you exit the program, whether or not to save a document batch when you exit the program (which will be automatically reloaded the next time you execute MasterBrowse), and whether or not MasterBrowse should ask for confirmation when you exit the program. You also decide whether or not MasterBrowse should terminate when the last open document is closed, or if it should wait until you quit. e. Output Options ------------------ This dialog box allows you set the page length, the tab width, and whether or not MasterBrowse should remove the block markers after a successful output operation. In addition, you can determine how a marked block should look; hatch is better for monochrome screens and inverse is better for colour screens. The "Bold" setting can be used if you want your marked block to stand out even more. f. Display Options ------------------ This dialog box allows you to determine how MasterBrowse displays information on the screen and interacts with the user. The many display options can be divided into three groups: Dialog Boxes -=-=-=-=-=-= You may toggle exploding (grow/shrink) boxes, and non-modal dialog boxes (which allow you to use your accessories even while inside a dialog box). Windows -=-=-=- You may toggle the extended title bar format (which displays a wide range of information about the file in the text window, as opposed to simply displaying the full pathname). You can control whether or not text windows have vertical or horizontal scroll bars (each window can have a different setting). A window that does not have scroll bars can scroll more than twice as fast as a window that does have scroll bars. In addition, you can also decide if MasterBrowse should save the positions of the currently opened text windows with the configuration file (which also determines whether or not MasterBrowse will use the saved positions when opening new windows). MasterBrowse has a special window updating mode that makes extensive use of raster copies. This mode eliminates bothersome screen flicker, and vastly increases the speed of screen updates. If you have a strange system configuration that prevents this mode from working properly on your system, you can turn it off. Colours -=-=-=- If the default colours that MasterBrowse uses (black text on a white background) do not appeal to you, you can change them by clicking on the "Select Colours" button. You will be presented with two dialog boxes, in which you are asked to select a colour for text and a colour for window backgrounds. MasterBrowse uses the first sixteen colours in the system pallette. g. Shortcuts ------------ MasterBrowse does not place any limitations on you; if you do not like the keypress associated with an action, you can change it easily. When this option is selected, a dialog box is displayed on the screen. The name of the current action being configured is shown, as well as the current status of that action and the keypress currently assigned to it. To assign a keypress to an action, locate the desired action in the list using the arrow keys and then press the key that you want assigned to the action. To remove the keypress associated with an action, press the ESCAPE key instead. It should be noted that the list of actions may contain several actions with the same name; these are not duplicate actions, but rather actions that have two (or more) shortcuts in the default keyboard configuration. h. Save Options --------------- This option allows you to save your current options. i. Save Options As... --------------------- This option allows you to save your current options to a file of your choice, using the file selector. j. Load Options... ------------------ This option allows you to load a new set of options, using the file selector. k. Select Display Font [Control + Z] ------------------------------------- If you have GDOS or SpeedoGDOS, you can configure MasterBrowse to use a font other than the system font in text windows. Simply click on the "Select Display Font" menu entry. The dialog box that will appear on the screen allows you to set the font and the point size. If there are more than eight fonts or more than eight preset point sizes, you can scroll through the list using the arrows/slider/scroll bar located immediately to the right of the list. SpeedoGDOS fonts can be drawn in any point size, but GDOS fonts can only be displayed in certain pre-defined point sizes. l. Help [HELP] --------------- Selecting this option shows you a dialog box that lists most of the commands that can be used to move around inside a document. Those commands are listed above in the "Movement" section of this manual. This display does not show the "alternate" movement keys. m. Context Help [Shift + HELP] ------------------------------- If you have the ST-Guide accessory (written by Holger Weets) then the entire MasterBrowse manual is available to you in a context sensitive online help mode. ST-Guide is available on many bulletin board systems, commercial network services, and Internet FTP sites. n. Window Information [Control + I] ------------------------------------ This option shows information about the document in the top window. 5. Markers MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | Load Bookmark List... | | Save Bookmark List... | |------------------------| | Clear Bookmark... | | Clear All Bookmarks | |------------------------| | Print Block... | | Save Block... | |------------------------| | Expand Block | |------------------------| | Block Information... | -------------------------- a. Load Bookmark List --------------------- This option will load a new bookmark list. When you select it, choose the bookmark list to load. b. Save Bookmark List --------------------- This option will save the bookmark list to a file. Select the name and path of the file you want to create using the file selector. c. Clear Bookmark ----------------- This option will reset one of the ten bookmarks in the current document. Simply select the bookmark you want to clear from the dialog. d. Clear All Bookmarks ---------------------- This option clears all ten bookmarks in the current document. e. Print Block -------------- This option works exactly like "Print Document" (in the File menu) but it operates on a block instead of the entire document. f. Save Block ------------- This option works exactly like "Print Document" and "Print Block", but it sends the output to a file. g. Expand Block --------------- This options takes the marked block, and places it in a new window. This is extremely useful when dealing with large reference documents. You can cut out the part you need, and then close the reference. h. Block Information -------------------- This option provides you with information about the selected block in the top window. The span of the block is shown (starting line - ending line) and the amount of the document that the block spans (percentage). 6. Position MasterBrowse__File__Edit__Window__Markers__Position_______________________ | Top Of Document | | Bottom Of Document | |------------------------| | Find... | | Find Next | | Find Previous | |------------------------| | Push/Pop Position | |------------------------| | Jump -> Search Pos. | | Jump -> Bookmark... | | Jump -> Block Start | | Jump -> Block End | | Jump -> Line... | | Jump -> Page... | -------------------------- a. Top Of Document [ClrHome] ----------------------------- This option moves the window to the top of the document in the top window. b. Bottom Of Document [Shift + ClrHome] ---------------------------------------- This option moves the window to the bottom of the document in the top window. c. Find [Control + F] ---------------------- The "Find" option allows you to search a document for a string (or several strings) within a document. A search may be case sensitive, which means that the string you enter must exactly match the string being searched for, or case insensitive. MasterBrowse allows search strings to contain wildcards. The available wildcard characters are: ? - This is the standard single-character wildcard. Entering "f?x" as the string to be searched for would cause MasterBrowse to stop searching on the words "fax", "fix", and "fox". * - This is the standard multi-character wildcard. Entering "c*sh" as the string to be searched for would cause MasterBrowse to stop searching on the words "cash", "crash", "crush", "cosh", "clash", and many others. [] - Entering "b[ai]rd" as the string to be searched for would cause MasterBrowse to stop searching on the words "bard" and "bird", but not on the word "byrd". Entering "[a-h]og" as the string to be searched for would cause MasterBrowse to stop searching on the words "bog", "dog", "fog", and "hog". The word "log", however, would not be considered a match because the first letter does not match the wildcard. ! - This is the refusal wildcard! Entering "[!a-k]og" as the string to be searched for would cause MasterBrowse to stop searching on the word "log", but ignore the words "bog", "dog", "fog", and "hog". NOTE: If you do not want to use wildcards, you can configure MasterBrowse to ignore them by de-selecting the "Use Wildcards" option. MasterBrowse allows you to start searching from the top of a document, or the current position within the document. Starting a search from the current position can mean one of two things; if the search is a "reverse" search, the current position is the last line on the screen. If the search is not being conducted in "reverse" mode, the current position is the first line on the screen. If one of the strings being searched for is found, the line containing the string will be shown in the center of the screen, and highlighted with inverse video. The options selected when performing a search are saved in the options file. If you want to exit this dialog box without searching, but want to keep any changes you may have made to your options, select the "Change Options" button. If you want to exit this dialog without searching, but want to ignore any changes you may have made to your options, select "Cancel". d. Find Next [Control + G] --------------------------- This option searches for the next occurrence of the search strings in the top window. If reverse searching is being used, this option will function exactly like Find Previous "X" (below). If there are no more occurrences of a given string, the position within the document will not change, and the highlighting will be removed to avoid confusion. e. Find Previous [Shift + Control + G] --------------------------------------- This option searches for a previous occurrence of the search strings in the top window. If reverse searching is being used, this option will function exactly like Find Next "X" (above). If there are no more occurrences of a given string, the position within the document will not change, and the highlighting will be removed to avoid confusion. f. Push/Pop Position -------------------- This option can be thought of as a temporary bookmark; you "Push" (set) the position, then "Pop" (unset and jump to) the position at some point in the future. Only one position can be stored in the push/pop buffer. g. Jump -> Search Pos. ---------------------- This option moves to the last position at which a search string was found. h. Jump -> Bookmark ------------------- This option brings up a dialog box showing the bookmarks and their current values. When you click on one of the bookmarks, MasterBrowse will move to the appropriate line of the document. i. Jump -> Block Start [Shift + Control + B] --------------------------------------------- This option moves to the start of the current block. j. Jump -> Block End [Shift + Control + E] ------------------------------------------- This option moves to the end of the current block. k. Jump -> Line [Control + L] ------------------------------ This option allows you to jump to a specific line within a document. It presents you with a dialog asking for the line to jump to (and showing the total number of lines). The edit field is preset to the current line. l. Jump -> Page --------------- This option works exactly like "Jump -> Line", except that it works with window pages (the total number of line in the window). It shows you the total number of window pages, and presets the edit field to the current page. 6. Markers (Window Menu #1) This dialog box allows you to set markers, and provides quick access to the "Find", "Find Next", "Find Previous", "Clear Bookmark", "Clear All Bookmarks", and "Remove Block Markers" functions. To access it, simply double-click on any line within a MasterBrowse window. There are three options in this menu not found in any other MasterBrowse menu (because they operate on a specific line in a document, rather than the document as a whole). a. Set Block Start ------------------ If you select this option, the line that you single-clicked on (to bring up the window menu) will become the start of the block. b. Set Block End ---------------- If you select this option, the line that you single-clicked on (to bring up the window menu) will become the end of the block. c. Set Bookmark ---------------- If you select this option, the line that you double-clicked on will become a bookmark. Select the bookmark you would like to set from the bookmark menu that appears on the screen. d. Cancel ---------- As you would expect, selecting "Cancel" will exit the Window Menu without making any changes. D. The MasterBrowse Dialog System -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- With MasterBrowse, you can use your accessories even while a dialog box is being displayed on the screen. There are also some keyboard shortcuts available to make using MasterBrowse non-modal dialog boxes easier: TAB = Next Editable Field Control + TAB = Previous Editable Field Shift + Left Arrow = Start Of Editable Field Shift + Right Arrow = End Of Editable Field Shift + Up Arrow = First Editable Field Shift + Down Arrow = Last Editable Field Shift + Delete = Delete To End Of Line Shift + Backspace = Delete From Start Of Line Control + Left Arrow = Start Of Previous Word Control + Right Arrow = Start Of Next Word UNDO = Exit (Cancel) Return = Exit (Done) Alternate + [UNDERLINED LETTER] = This will exit the dialog box as if you had clicked on the button containing the underlined letter. With the MasterBrowse dialog system, you can position the cursor within an editable text field simply by clicking at the position you want the cursor to move to. VI. DISCLAIMER -=-=-=-=-=-=-= MasterBrowse does not come with any warranty, express or implied. If you use MasterBrowse, you do so at your own risk. Neither the author of MasterBrowse (Michel Forget) nor any other party is responsible for any equipment damage, data loss, or other unforeseen consequence of the use or misuse of MasterBrowse. VII. DISTRIBUTION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- MasterBrowse is not public domain; it cannot be modified, reverse engineered, or otherwise tampered with. There are two limitations placed on the distribution of MasterBrowse: 1) When distributed, MasterBrowse must contain all files found in the original archive. 2) MasterBrowse may not be distributed on the cover disk of any magazine except ST Review. VIII. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- If you would like to contact me with bug reports, suggestions, or comments, you can do so through the following addresses: Internet/Usenet: mforget@elfhaven.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca ess@tibalt.supernet.ab.ca Mail: Michel Forget 12209 Dovercourt Avenue Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T5L 4E1 IX. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There are many people who have helped me out over the development of this program. I would like to thank Ian Lepore, who wrote the base code for this program, and the Heat & Serve C Compiler. I would also like to thank the people who gave me ideas and tested the program while it was being written; Bob Erkamp, Greg Granger, William Fisher, Jon Lovstad, Egbert Jan van den Bussche, Bob Schulze, Jon Brenda, John Duckworth, Thomas Binder, Thomas Kuenneth, David Winick, Leslie Hartmier, Michael Parrot, Kendall Gelner, Ofir Gal, Karl Meyland, and Michael Baffoni. I would also like to thank the people who gave me advice on programming problems; Annius Groenink, Wolfgang Wander, Chris Herborth, William Fisher, Scott Bigham, Peter Seitz, Eric R. Smith, Denis Casanova, Erlend Nagel, Warwick Allison, Waldi Ravens, Hendrik Jan Veenstra, Dan Wilga, Rick Flashman, Stuart Coates, Gerhard Hoelscher, and Carsten Friehe. As well, the folks of comp.sys.atari.st were extremely helpful. Thanks for being patient, everyone! Andrew West, J. Shortess, Michael R. Burkley, Susan Burkley, John Duckworth, and Hiram Lester, Jr. also deserve recognition for their help in distributing this software. It is much appreciated! At this time, I would also like to thank Jerry Geiger and Holger Weets for writing and releasing the Sozobon 2.00 Extended compiler, and Fred Fish for writing the regular expression wildcard code. These three people have made MasterBrowse a much better program than it would have been without their contributions. I would also like to thank Denesh Bhabuta, who is now handling registration in the UK. Thanks! X. SUZY B'S SOFTWARE INFORMATION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Suzy B's Software: "A Honey of a Deal" Suzy B's Software 3712 Military Road Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14305 U.S.A. Phone: 716-298-1986 716-297-8514 Suzy B's Software is buzzing onto the scene of the Public Domain and Shareware supply services with a difference. Supplying single-sided or double-sided disks as requested, we will fill the disks with compressed self-extracting files (compatible with all TOS versions). That in itself gives you a good deal, but Suzy B's Software goes on to give you what the owner, Susan Burkley, calls "a honey of a deal." She asks, "How many times have you wanted a utility and a game from a P.D. service but had to buy two disks to get them both? At Suzy B's we put your individual selections on a single disk so you can pick and choose and get more of what you want. Do you want a game, a children's program, a picture file or two, the most recent version of ST Writer, and a NASA press release? You can have them all on one disk! All our files are compressed in a self-extracting format to give you even more of what you want. Right now we have about 8,000 files from which to choose -- our catalog is about 950 pages long -- 2.75 Megabytes of ASCII text, and it keeps growing! It's a lot more work for us, but you get a honey of a deal!" XI. CLOSING -=-=-=-=-=- I hope that you are pleased with MasterBrowse, and decide to continue using it after you have experimented with it. I have invested more than a year of my life in the creation of this program, though, so I _also_ hope that you will seriously consider sending in the requested donation. If the Atari is going to remain a viable system in the future, it needs more Shareware, Donation-Ware, Freeware, and Public Domain applications to compensate for the lack of commercial products available. In order to make programming for the Atari viable, though, the Atari community needs to show support for the programmers of these applications. -Michel Forget Electric Storm Software June 29, 1994