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FileBrowser 2.11 Manual FFiilleeBBrroowwsseerr Version 2.11 (Shareware Version) Copyright (c) 1988, 1989, 1990, David O. Tinker All Rights Reserved Table of Contents Page A. Introduction --- 1 1. Why FileBrowser? --- 1 2. Terms of Distribution --- 1 3. FileBrowser Features --- 2 4. History --- 3 B. Hardware and Software Requirements --- 4 1. Systems Tested --- 4 2. Memory Requirement --- 5 3. Technical Specifications --- 5 C. Installing and Running FileBrowser --- 6 1. Installing FileBrowser: --- 6 a) Specifying Temporary File Directory --- 6 b) Specifying External Editor --- 6 2. Running FileBrowser --- 7 D. FileBrowser Commands --- 8 1. HELP --- 9 2. PRINT --- 9 a) F - Print to File --- 9 b) P - Print to Lineprinter --- 9 c) Alt-P - Print to Notepad --- 10 3. BROWSE --- 10 4. SEARCH --- 10 a) Hints on using SEARCH --- 11 5. MARK --- 12 6. DOS --- 13 7. EDIT --- 13 8. NOTEPAD --- 13 (a) Load File into Notepad --- 14 (b) Edit Notepad --- 14 (i) Command Mode --- 14 (ii) Add Mode --- 15 9. QUIT --- 15 (a) QUIT Command in the Main Buffer --- 15 (b) QUIT Command in the Notepad Buffer --- 16 10. INFO --- 16 11. One-Key FileBrowser Commands --- 16 E. License and Warranty Disclaimer --- 17 F. Acknowledgements --- 18 G. License Registration Form --- 19 __________________________________________________________________ FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page (i) AA.. IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn 1. _W_h_y_ _F_i_l_e_B_r_o_w_s_e_r_? FileBrowser is a utility to help you extract information from text files: you can think of it as a "text spreadsheet" program. Like many people, I find that I often have to deal with text files - LARGE text files: source code files, software manuals, documents downloaded from such sources as USENET, etc. As a university teacher, I have to cope with large numbers of documents crossing my desk daily. But just receiving a document is not the same as getting information from it! In order to find and mentally process the information I need, I have to read the document carefully, in many cases going back and forth between sections, highlighting words in the text, making notes in the margin, and running down the hall to make photocopies of important pages. In many cases these documents are obtained in electronic form, and the future prospect is that more and more documents will be distributed online. Surely I ought to be able to use my PC to get information out of such electronic documents without actually printing them (which is time-consuming and often not wanted)! However I found that the only available way to read them is to load them into an editor or word- processor, though only in very rare cases do I actually want to edit the file I am reading - sometimes the file must NOT be edited. And a text editor or word processor is not really suited for the information processing task that I described above. To cut this story short, I found I needed a cheap and effective file browser program! And so the idea for FileBrowser originated. The outcome of that idea is in your hands now. I use this program every day (not surprisingly, since I wrote it to do what I wanted), and I hope you find it meets your needs as well. 2. _T_e_r_m_s_ _o_f_ _D_i_s_t_r_i_b_u_t_i_o_n Release 2.11 of FileBrowser is distributed under a unique marketing scheme called Shareware. You are permitted to distribute and share copies of this program under the terms of the accompanying license, which mainly prohibit you from altering the software or charging any fee for distribution. You are permitted to use this software without charge for a reasonable trial period, but if you decide to use FileBrowser on a regular basis you are required to obtain a registered copy. Individual users may register their license for a fee of $20 (Canadian), ($15.00 U.S.). Corporate users should FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 1 enquire about a site license. If you wish, after registration you may receive the latest version of FileBrowser and a printed manual. Registered users will be eligible to receive future updates to FileBrowser for a nominal cost for materials and mailing. To register, complete and mail the registration form in this document. 3. _F_i_l_e_B_r_o_w_s_e_r_ _F_e_a_t_u_r_e_s FileBrowser allows you to load an ASCII or Wordstar (tm) file into a buffer in RAM and scroll through it. You can scroll and page forwards or backwards through the file, or jump ahead or back any number of lines, or use an auto- scrolling feature which rolls the text forward or back at an adjustable speed. Just as you do with a printed document, FileBrowser allows you to "highlight" parts of the text, so you can quickly find them again (you use the keypad arrow keys to leap ahead or backwards to highlighted lines). (Any or all highlights can be removed, something you can't do with a Highlite pen on a paper document!) If you want to copy some lines to another file, you can do so. This allows you to make excerpts from the text as you go along -including any highlights you have added. You can also print a block of lines using your lineprinter - highlighted words will appear as underlined words in the printed document. When browsing a big text file, I often want to locate a specific section that's in there *somewhere*, so FileBrowser has the ability to look for strings of text (it finds them quite rapidly too). A special "Search-and-Mark" command allows you to highlight all the instances of a given word in the text, either automatically, or pausing for confirmation. If you really *do* need to edit the file, FileBrowser allows you to exit to the editor of your choice, work on it, then re-load the edited file. When you have marked up a document with highlights, you may not want to lose all your work - thus FileBrowser allows you to make a copy of your document in a new file so you can print it, or return to it later. FileBrowser 2.11 incorporates a special NOTEPAD buffer: this is a buffer into which you may copy parts of the file being browsed. Unlike the main buffer, the NOTEPAD buffer may be edited using a simple internal editor, i.e. you can add or delete lines of text. This allows you to make ex- cerpts from the file you are browsing, and add comments or notes. The Notepad buffer has all the features described FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 2 above - i.e. you can highlight, search, file or print its contents. On quitting FileBrowser, the contents of the Note- pad are automatically saved to a 'clipboard' file. Next time you use FileBrowser, you can load your clipboard file (or any other file) into the Notepad. The Notepad is one of the features of FileBrowser I find most useful. Finally, you can leave the file in RAM and load another DOS shell, so that you can go on to other tasks and still return to your place by typing 'exit' at the DOS prompt. This is a great feature for folks working with a two-floppy system, as it means you can remove the disks containing the FileBrowser programs and the original file. (You will need to have the original file and the accessory program FBE.COM available if you want to use FileBrowser's "edit and return" feature). FileBrowser is easy to use: all the commands may be executed from a pop-up menu line, or using simple one-key commands, and you get feedback from the program as to what it is doing and what it expects next; it can detect a number of input errors and either correct them or give you an error message. On-line help is readily available for all commands. If you have a color monitor, you can see all these features in vivid yet tasteful color, and you can alter the color of the text to suit your own tastes - if you really like bright green text on magenta, you can have it! 4. _H_i_s_t_o_r_y Version 1.00 - First Freeware version. - Included WordStar (tm) compatibility, optional tabs expansion, Menu Bar, On-line Help, Scrolling options, Print-to-File, Print-to-Lineprinter, External Edit, Search, DOS Shell. - Released in December 1988. Jan. 1989, distributed on "Usenet" network (comp.binaries.ibm.pc). Apr. 1989, published by PC-SIG as disk no. 1398. Version 1.10 - Internal development version. Version 1.20 - Second Freeware version. - Released in September, 1989 on "Usenet" network (comp. binaries.ibm.pc). - Backwards compatible with Version 1.00 except for two FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 3 changes in the keystroke commands (the command to load external editor is now given in Browse mode by typing "E", not "V", and the Help "Hot Key" is "F1" not "F2"). - Fixed bug that allowed clever users to scroll past end of file into never-never land. - Fixed bugs to allow more graceful crossing of Disk boundaries. - Improved dynamic memory allocation to conserve RAM usage. - Added direct Video writes for extra speed. - Made colour the default option. - Added command line options to specify CPU Speed, external editor (no longer necessary to use DOS Environment variable). - Revised FBE.COM to make return to FileBrowser optional. - Revised Menu Bar, with Pull-Down menus to assist novice users (experts will still be able to use one-key commands). - Added MARK and SEARCH-AND-MARK commands. - Added commands to change text colours. - Added option to save text in a disk file. Version 2.00 - First Shareware version. - Released in May, 1990. - A few more minor bugs squashed. - Added support for Monochrome (MDA) and Hercules video cards (if specified in command line options). - Isolated backspace characters now treated properly (pre- viously they were ignored). - Highlights may be added to text in the file using Wordstar (tm) print control characters (^S and ^B). - Added NOTEPAD features. BB.. HHaarrddwwaarree aanndd SSooffttwwaarree RReeqquuiirreemmeennttss 1. _S_y_s_t_e_m_s_ _T_e_s_t_e_d FileBrowser has been successfully tested on IBM-PC (tm) XT and AT microcomputers and several 100% compatible machines. It has been run using both CGA and EGA graphics adapter cards for color display (a monochrome monitor may also be used with these cards). It should run satisfactorily on any machine using an IBM-PC (tm) or compatible BIOS, and a graphics adapter which is compatible with the MDA, Hercules or CGA text standards, but I make no claims or guarantees (see Warranty Disclaimer, below). Since the I/O uses direct writes to video memory, it may not run using other types of graphics cards. You can certainly use FileBrowser on a two-floppy XT system, but file-loading is slow - a hard disk is better, and it really shines on an AT-class machine! FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 4 FileBrowser requires MS-DOS (tm) or PC-DOS (tm) version 2.11 or later. This software is compatible with a number of TSR programs such as Borland's Sidekick (tm), and the public domain program SNIPPER. 2. _M_e_m_o_r_y_ _R_e_q_u_i_r_e_m_e_n_t In order to calculate memory usage by FileBrowser, use the following formula: M = 112 + 2.5*F where M is the memory required (KBytes) and F is the size of the file (ASCII) to be loaded, in KBytes. This gives an approximate estimate only, and actual requirements may vary slightly. Thus if you have 580K of free memory remaining after loading DOS, the maximum file size which may theoretically be loaded is 175K. I have never had a text file that large, but have successfully used FileBrowser with a 100K file (which takes a while to load!). (As the NOTEPAD is used, the amount of RAM used by FileBrowser increases.) 3. _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l_ _S_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s FileBrowser consists of the following files: FB.EXE : Main program executable file. FBE.COM : Auxiliary program required to load an external editor (cannot be run by itself). FB.MAN : Documentation (this file). README.FB : Brief description of FileBrowser. FB211.HST : Changes in Version 2.11 READ THIS FILE FOR IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE MANUAL !!! The source code for FB.EXE, and FBE.COM is entirely written in C. It was compiled with the Aztec C86 (tm) compiler, version 3.4a, (using the 'large code, large memory' model in the case of FB.EXE and FBJR.EXE). While the license for this software contains a legal disclaimer of liability for damages, the author does not believe that any portion of FileBrowser can lead to any damage whatsoever to computer hardware or magnetic disk media. In particular, all I/O is executed by C language stan- dard I/O functions which operate via DOS calls or BIOS calls, or by standard Aztec C (tm) peeks and pokes to Video RAM. FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 5 CC.. IInnssttaalllliinngg aanndd RRuunnnniinngg FFiilleeBBrroowwsseerr 1. _I_n_s_t_a_l_l_i_n_g_ _F_i_l_e_B_r_o_w_s_e_r_: The first step in installing FileBrowser is to make a working copy containing all the files, and put the original disk away in a safe place! If you are running FileBrowser on a two-floppy system, simply copy the files FB.EXE, FBE.COM and HELP.FB to a disk and use in the default drive. For hard disk users, copy the files FB.EXE, FBE.COM and HELP.FB to any suitable directory that lies on the DOS path. a) _S_p_e_c_i_f_y_i_n_g_ _T_e_m_p_o_r_a_r_y_ _F_i_l_e_ _D_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y FileBrowser may write temporary disk files during operation, e.g. when executing the PRINT command, (so don't worry if you see the disk drive light come on). These files will be erased after use; however, there must be enough room on the disk for the temporary file. Normally, such files are written to the current (default) directory, however you may specify a drive and directory for FileBrowser to use for its temporary files - e.g. if you will be reading files from a floppy disk and want to use your hard disk for temporary files. This is done using a DOS Environment variable, 'FBT'. Suppose you wish to use the directory "C:\TMP" as the temporary directory: then, either at the DOS prompt or in your autoexec.bat file, give the command: set FBT=C:\TMP (NOTE: If you wish to use the root directory of a drive for temporary files, say drive A:, give the command: set FBT=A: NOT "set FBT=A:\"). b) _S_p_e_c_i_f_y_i_n_g_ _E_x_t_e_r_n_a_l_ _E_d_i_t_o_r If you intend to use an external editor with FileBrowser, it may be necessary to set a DOS Environment variable 'EDITOR' using the command: set EDITOR=<youreditor> FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 6 where <youreditor> is the calling name of a text editor program. As a default, FileBrowser attempts to use the 'VI' text editor to edit files, but you may substitute another editor as described above; alternately, you specify the editor in the DOS command line when loading FileBrowser (see below). Whatever editor you choose must be on your DOS path, and must be capable of loading a file from the DOS command line. You could even use the EDLIN editor supplied with DOS! (The VI editor is not supplied with this distribution). 2. _R_u_n_n_i_n_g_ _F_i_l_e_B_r_o_w_s_e_r FileBrowser is started with the command line: FB [-options] [speed] [editor] [d:][\path\]FILENAME.EXT where FILENAME.EXT is the file to be loaded, with drive (d:) and path specification if necessary. If a FILENAME is omitted, brief usage instructions are printed to the screen. The "options" currently available are 'q','c','m','b','s', 'e','w' and 't' as follows. Options may be specified in any order, either separately or as a group (see below). q : (Quiet Load) - Omit display of title screen before loading the file. c : Use colour windows. Only one of 'c', 'm' or 'b' may be specified. This option is obsolete because colour is now the default option, but it has been retained to preserve compatibility with earlier versions. Cannot be used with MDA or Hercules (tm) video cards. m : Monochrome mode: use with MDA or Hercules card ONLY. b : 'Black-and-White' mode for VGA/EGA/CGA cards. w : load a Wordstar (tm) document file: if omitted, the file is assumed to be an ASCII file. (The extended ASCII character set is supported if 'w' is not specified). t : Do not expand tabs. The 'Tab' character will appear as a distinctive graphic (ASCII 09). If omitted, tabs are expanded to spaces. s : Specify CPU speed using the variable "speed". e : Specify the External Editor using the variable "editor". FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 7 Variables : ("speed" and "editor") : "speed" : An integer in the range 1 to 50 (inclusive) specifying CPU speed. The default value is 5 (appropriate for a 5 mHz PC-XT). If running on a 10 mHz CPU, specify "10". This variable is used to slow down the auto-scroll speed on fast machines. To-gether with the internal speed control in FileBrowser, this allows a 500-fold variation in scrolling speed - enough for every possible variation in eyesight! "editor" : The calling name for the external editor that is called from FileBrowser. The default calling name is "vi". The options may be given in one group preceded by a "-" (minus sign), or separately, each preceded by a "-"; in the latter case, options may be mixed with variables. Thus the following are equivalent and correct: fb -qse 10 myedit myfile.doc fb -seq 10 myedit myfile.doc fb -q -s 10 -e myedit myfile.doc fb -e myedit -q -s 10 myfile.doc all of these command lines load the ASCII file "myfile.doc" with CPU speed specified as 10mHz, and the calling name of the external editor specified as "myedit". But the following is WRONG: fb -qse myedit 10 myfile.doc because when all the options are specified in a group, FileBrowser expects the "speed" variable to be given BEFORE the "editor" variable - you will get an error message. Filebrowser has a maximum line length of 79 characters - characters in excess of this limit are wrapped to the next line. (Column 80 is reserved for special purposes in future versions). DD.. FFiilleeBBrroowwsseerr CCoommmmaannddss All FileBrowser commands may be executed by choosing from a Menu (which is activated by pressing the "Ins" or "/" key after starting FB.EXE). In addition, all commands may be executed from BROWSE mode using a one-key command. When the Menu bar is visible, a command may be selected by moving the reverse-video cursor to the desired command and pressing "Return", or by just typing the first letter of the command. When you are in "BROWSE" FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 8 mode, the same one-letter keystroke will select the command just as if the Menu Bar were visible. When the Menu bar is visible, on-line help on any command may be obtained by selecting the command with the cursor keys, and pressing the 'F1' function key. The Menu Bar contains the following commands: HELP PRINT BROWSE SEARCH MARK DOS EDIT NOTEPAD QUIT INFO Each of these commands is described below. 1. _H_E_L_P The HELP command gives a summary of the commands for loading and running FileBrowser. 2. _P_R_I_N_T When the PRINT command is selected, a pull-down menu appears with three options: a) _F_ _-_ _P_r_i_n_t_ _t_o_ _F_i_l_e The "Print to File" command is used to copy part of the current file to a new file. You will be prompted for the new filename (which can include optional drive and path, e.g. d:\path\file.ext). If the file specified already exists, you have the option of overwriting it or appending text to it. If you enter an illegal file name, an error message will pop up. Press any key to remove the error message. After you have specified a file name, you will observe that the top line of text in the main window is highlighted in reverse video, and a blinking cursor appears on the next line. You may move the cursor down to subsequent lines - as this is done, the line above the cursor is marked. When you have marked the desired number of lines, press the <Enter> key, and the marked lines will be copied to the designated file (in ASCII format). The "Print to File" command may be given while in 'Browse' mode by simply pressing the "F" key; b) _P_ _-_ _P_r_i_n_t_ _t_o_ _L_i_n_e_p_r_i_n_t_e_r The "Print to Lineprinter" command is equivalent to the FILE command except that the marked portion of the file is copied to the lineprinter (device PRN), instead of to a disk file. A temporary intermediate file is written to the current (default) directory, and erased after the PRINT command is complete. Note that the version of the current file that is printed is the one in the FileBrowser buffer - due to line truncation, tabs expansion, removal FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 9 of Wordstar (tm) characters, or MARKs, this may *not* be identical to the file on your disk! The "Print to Lineprinter" command may be given while in 'Browse' mode by simply pressing the "P" key; c) _A_l_t_-_P_ _-_ _P_r_i_n_t_ _t_o_ _N_o_t_e_p_a_d The "Print to Notepad" command is equivalent to the preceding commands except that the marked lines will be copied (appended) to the FileBrowser Notepad buffer (see below for details). Highlights in the text will be lost. 3. _B_R_O_W_S_E The BROWSE command is used to view the current file - it just causes FileBrowser to enter 'Browse' mode, (which is the default mode). There are several options: - To scroll through the file, use the Up and Down arrow keys to move up or down a line; use the 'PgUp' and 'PgDn' keys to move up or down by one page. The 'Home' and 'End' keys move to the beginning or end of the file, respectively. - To move forward or back by <n> lines (where <n> is an integer): first press the "+" key, then enter the value of <n> (you will get a prompt to do this on the bottom line of the screen), then press the Down arrow, or Up arrow as desired. - To automatically scroll forward or backward, press the "*" key (asterisk), followed by the Down arrow or Up arrow key. To select the speed, type an integer from 0 to 9. [9 = fast, 0 = slow, 5 = medium]. Press any key to stop scrolling. - To move forward or backward to the next or preceding MARKed lines (see below), use the Right or Left arrow keys, respectively. When entering a value from the keyboard, use the Escape key to cancel input. If the screen gets mangled for any reason, press Ctrl-L (^L) to redraw it. 4. _S_E_A_R_C_H When the SEARCH command is selected, a pull-down menu appears with two options: S - Search Only Ctrl-S - Search and Mark These options are similar in that both are used to search for a string of characters in the text. The difference is that the "Search and Mark" Option permanently MARKs the string in FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 10 the text (see below). FileBrowser incorporates a simple pattern matching function, which may be used to locate a string of text in a file. A "pattern" can contain "words", (a "word" is defined as a string of alphanumeric characters), and the wildcard symbol "*". It should be carefully noted that a "word" in a search pattern is just a literal string of characters - NOT an English word. Thus the pattern "mat" will match all of the English words containing the letters 'm', 'a, and 't' in sequence, e .g "match", "doormat", "matter". Words in a pattern cannot contain embedded punctuation characters. The symbol "*" matches any number of words, (including no words!). Thus, the pattern "the * fox" will match all of the strings: "the fox", "the brown fox", "the quick brown fox". The symbol "*" is only legal inside a pattern, not as a prefix or suffix. When "Search Only" or "Search and Mark" is invoked, you will be prompted to input a pattern. FileBrowser will automatically process your input into a legal pattern (you will have a chance to correct errors). The search then proceeds forward from the Top Line displayed in the main window, and is on a line-by-line basis (patterns extending over two lines are not found). At each successful 'hit', the line which matches the pattern will be highlighted, and you will be asked if you wish to continue. Press 'y' to continue, 'n' (or just hit the 'Return' key) to terminate the search. (In "Search and Mark" mode, you have the option of marking all instances of the pattern without waiting for confirmation after each 'hit'). Note: The "SEARCH" command may also be given in BROWSE mode by simply pressing the "S" key for "Search Only", or the "Ctrl-S" (^S) keychord for "Search and Mark". a) _H_i_n_t_s_ _o_n_ _u_s_i_n_g_ _S_E_A_R_C_H - When searching for a given string of text in a file, it is sometimes better to use a word stem rather than a word: for example, the pattern 'enzyme' will match the words "enzyme" and "enzymes", but the pattern 'enzym' will also match "enzymology". For the maximum number of hits, the second pattern may be preferred. - If you are searching for a string consisting of two English words in sequence, it is a good idea to place a '*' in the pattern, in case the two words in the file are separated by more than one whitespace character. FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 11 - FileBrowser does not like to scroll past the last line of a file, which ends up at the bottom of the screen. You may sometimes wish to "scroll up" the last lines of a file: to do so, use the SEARCH command to 'search' for a pattern which occurs only in the last line. The SEARCH operation will move the last line to the top of the screen, and you can then scroll the desired number of lines back onto the screen using the Up arrow key. 5. _M_A_R_K There are two commands possible in this mode: MARK and UNMARK. The MARK command allows you to put a permanent 'mark' on a line, and highlight any portion of it. The UNMARK command is used to clear all 'marks' from the text in the buffer. A MARKed string of text will appear on a colour monitor as amber text on a black background (in black-and-white mode, as reverse video), contrasting visibly with the default text colours. In FileBrowser's internal buffer, each MARKed character is preceded by an Underline, "_", and a backspace character, "^H" ("Ctrl-H", ASCII character 08). These characters remain in the text when it is printed to a file or the lineprinter - most printers will underline the marked text. You may also place marks in a text file by editing it with an appropriate editor, such as the "VI" editor - FileBrowser uses the "_^H" sequence as a control sequence to mark the next character. In the case of Wordstar (tm) files, all text between pairs of print control characters (^S or ^B) will be treated as highlighted text by FileBrowser. When the MARK command is given, a cursor appears in the upper left-hand corner of the main window; use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the start of the text you wish to highlight (you can only move to text which is visible - scrolling is disabled), and press the "Return" key. Then use the Right arrow key to add letters to the highlighted area (the Left arrow key may be used to back up) and press "Return" when you are finished. If a line is already marked, you can unmark it by placing the cursor at the beginning of the line and pressing "Return" or "Esc". At any time in the MARK operation you may abort and return to BROWSE mode by pressing the "Esc" key. The SEARCH and MARK mode allows you to automatically mark all instances of a SEARCH pattern within a file. It is entered from the SEARCH menu. The MARK and UNMARK commands may be given in BROWSE mode by pressing the M and U keys, respectively; SEARCH AND MARK command is given by pressing the "Ctrl-S" (^S) keychord. FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 12 6. _D_O_S The "DOS" command suspends FileBrowser and returns to the DOS operating system. To alert you that you have loaded another shell, the cursor will change to a small flashing box instead of the normal flashing underscore. You may now carry out disk maintenance operations, run another program, etc. The FileBrowser environment remains resident in memory; to return to FileBrowser, type the command 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt. 7. _E_D_I_T The "EDIT" command has slightly different effects depending on whether the Main buffer or the Notepad buffer is visible. If the Notepad buffer is visible, a pop-up menu appears with options to edit the Main file (using an external editor) or edit the Notepad buffer (using the internal Note- pad editor). For a description of the Notepad editor, see the next section. The "EDIT" command allows you to edit the current file using the text editor of your choice. You may specify the editor by setting the DOS environment variable "EDITOR", or by using the "-e" option in the command line (see section C). If the environment variable "EDITOR" is not set, or the "- e" option is not specified in the command line, FileBrowser will attempt to load the "vi" text editor. Whatever text editor you choose, it must be one that can accept the file name in the command line, e.g. "vi myfile.doc". When the "EDIT" command is given, FileBrowser writes a short Batch file in the same directory as the file being browsed, loads the batch file and exits; the batch file then loads the editor, and after exiting from the editor, re-loads FileBrowser with the edited version of the file. The auxiliary program FBE.COM is required in order to execute the EDIT command. Upon exit to an external editor, any text in the Notepad buffer is automatically appended to a file called "{CLIP}.OUT" in the current (default) directory. The "EDIT" command may be given while in 'Browse' mode by simply pressing the 'E' key. 8. _N_O_T_E_P_A_D If the main file buffer is visible, the "NOTEPAD" command causes FileBrowser to switch to the Notepad buffer (which may or may not contain text). If the Notepad buffer is visible, FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 13 the "NOTEPAD" command causes a pop-up menu to appear with the following options: (a) _L_o_a_d_ _F_i_l_e_ _i_n_t_o_ _N_o_t_e_p_a_d The current contents of the Notepad will be erased and text loaded from a file. You will be prompted for the name of the file to load - at this point, you may type the name of a file, or type "Ctrl-R" (^R) to specify the file "{CLIP}.OUT", or the last file loaded if different from "{CLIP}.OUT". If no file name is given, the Load command will be aborted. (b) _E_d_i_t_ _N_o_t_e_p_a_d Starts the internal Notepad Editor. The Notepad Editor may also be started from the EDIT pop-up menu, or by pressing the "Alt-E" keychord when browsing the Notepad. The Notepad editor is an extremely minimal text editor (you definitely don't want to use it to write your next novel!). Users familiar with the UN*X "ed" or "vi" text editors will find the Notepad editor has some familiar features. To use it, you must understand that the editor when running may be in one of two "modes" - "Command Mode" or "Add Mode". The Menu Bar at the top of the screen will let you know which mode you are in. The editor starts in "Command mode" if there is already text in the Notepad buffer. If the Notepad buffer is empty, the editor starts in "Add mode". The commands available will allow you to do most things you might wish, though some ingenuity might be required at times. (i) _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_ _M_o_d_e: In "Command mode", a blinking cursor always appears at the beginning of a line of text, called the "current line" and the first character of that line is highlighted in reverse video. You may move the cursor up and down in the visible window only, with the arrow keys. The following commands are accepted: - Pressing the "D" key will DELETE the current line. - Pressing the "K" key will KILL the current line - that is, it will be replaced by a blank line. Text that is DELETED or KILLED is placed into a hidden buffer called the KILL BUFFER - this holds exactly one line of text, and its contents are overwritten by a "D" or "K" command. - Pressing the "Y" key will YANK the contents of the Kill Buffer into the current line (the Kill Buffer is not changed by this, so you may Yank out as many FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 14 copies of the Kill Buffer as you wish). - Pressing the "O" key will OPEN a new (blank) line beneath the current line. You may of course Yank text into this line from the Kill Buffer. - Pressing the "A" key puts the editor into "Add mode". - Pressing the "Esc" key terminates the editor session. - Pressing the "F1" key pops up a summary of these commands. (ii) _A_d_d_ _M_o_d_e: On entering "Add mode" the notepad automatically scrolls to the end of the buffer, a new line is opened and a blinking cursor appears at the beginning of the new line. You may now type in text in the normal way (you can erase any mistakes with the "Backspace" key). If you type past the end of the screen, the text will wrap to the next line, otherwise the "Enter" or "Return" key will start a new line. To stop entering text and return to Command mode, you may press the "Esc" key at any time, or you may enter a line containing only a single period (".") character, as in the case of the UN*X "ed" editor. There is one "feature" to beware of: a line of text should not start with a Right Parenthesis, "(" character, else the editor behaves in a slightly oddball fashion. We will leave it to the user to explore this, but a word of explanation is in order: the editor was ported from a small LISP interpreter under development by the author. In LISP, expressions are delimited by parentheses, and the editor treats a line of text like a LISP expression. 9. _Q_U_I_T This command is used to exit from the Notepad buffer, or to exit permanently from FileBrowser. To exit temporarily, use the 'DOS' command. You may also give the "QUIT" command when in 'Browse' mode by pressing the "Esc" key. (a) _Q_U_I_T_ _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_ _i_n_ _t_h_e_ _M_a_i_n_ _B_u_f_f_e_r: When the QUIT command is given by either method, you will get a new menu with three options: "Q - Quit without Saving", "S - Save Buffer and Quit", and "Esc - Return to FileBrowser". If the "S" option is selected, the entire text buffer is printed out to a file named "fb.out" in the current (default) directory. This option is useful if you have added highlights to the text - these will be preserved in the saved file. In either case, the contents of the Notepad buffer, if FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 15 any, will automatically be appended to a file called "{CLIP}.OUT" in the current (default) directory. (b) _Q_u_i_t_ _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_ _i_n_ _t_h_e_ _N_o_t_e_p_a_d_ _B_u_f_f_e_r: When the Quit command is given by either method you will get a new menu with three options: "Q - Clear and Exit to File", "S - Save, Clear and Exit", "Esc - Exit to File". The first option erases the Notepad buffer; the second appends the contents of the Notepad to a file called "{CLIP}.OUT" in the current (default) directory. The third option returns to the Main buffer, leaving the contents of the Notepad intact. An alternative method for quitting FileBrowser is to use a 'Ctrl-Break' interrupt. This causes an immediate exit to DOS. Everything in the Main and Notepad buffers will be lost. This method can also be used whenever FileBrowser is expecting keyboard input, e.g. when entering a file name in 'File' mode, or entering a pattern in 'Search' mode. 10. _I_N_F_O This will display additional information about your FileBrowser license. 11. _O_n_e_-_K_e_y_ _F_i_l_e_B_r_o_w_s_e_r_ _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_s The following is a summary of the one-key commands that may be given in BROWSE mode. This summary can be viewed by pressing the "F1" function key while in BROWSE mode. "Down" Arrow - Scroll Ahead One Line Esc - Quit Menu "Up" Arrow - Scroll Back One Line Ins,/ - Main Menu "Right" Arrow - Scroll Ahead to Next Mark F - Print Block to File "Left" Arrow - Scroll Back to Last Mark P - Print Block to LPT1: PgDn - Scroll Ahead One Page Alt-P - Print to Notepad PgUp - Scroll Back One Page S - Search for a String Home - Jump to Top of Buffer Ctrl-S - Search and Mark End - Jump to End of Buffer M - Mark a Line of Text Ctrl-L - Redraw Screen U - Unmark All Lines * - Scroll Continuously at Variable Speed D - DOS Shell + - Scroll Ahead or Back by <N> Lines E - External Editor F3 - Toggle Text Background N - Notepad F4 - Toggle Text Foreground All of these commands have been discussed in preceding sections except "F3" and "F4". If you have a colour monitor, you may use these function keys to choose your own colour scheme. FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 16 EE.. LLiicceennssee aanndd WWaarrrraannttyy DDiissccllaaiimmeerr The FileBrowser software package, Version 2.11, including the files FB.EXE, FBJR.EXE, FBE.COM, FB.MAN and README.FB is Copyright (c) 1988, 1989, 1990 by David O. Tinker, (All Rights Reserved). This software is hereby licensed for use and distribution subject to the following terms: 1. Users of FileBrowser Version 2.11 are granted a limited license to use this software without charge for a reasonable trial period, for the purpose of evaluating its usefulness. Users who will use FileBrowser on a regular basis, or for any purpose other than evaluating its usefulness, are required to obtain a Registered License from the author. 2. All persons are granted a license to distribute the FileBrowser software under the terms described in sections 4 and 5 of this license. All the files FB.EXE, FBJR.EXE, FBE.COM, HELP.FB, FB.MAN and README.FB must be distributed to-gether. 3. No alteration of any portion of this software may be made, and specifically, the Copyright notice must remain intact. 4. No charge may be made for any copy of FileBrowser, Version 2.11, save only that distributors of Public Domain and Shareware software libraries, whether in the form of magnetic media or in electronic form by remote access, are permitted to charge their normal disk fee, access fee or membership fee for distribution of software collections incorporating FileBrowser, Version 2.11. 5. FileBrowser, Version 2.11 may not be included in any commercial software distribution other than libraries of Public Domain and Shareware software as described in section 4, above, without the express written permission of the author. 6. Use of this software is entirely at the risk of the user; users of this software agree to absolve and hold harmless the author, David O. Tinker, from all claims of liability for damages arising from use of this software, including but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other damages, loss of profit or any other commercial damage. 7. The author reserves the right to alter the terms of this license without notice. 8. Use of this software specifically implies assent to the terms of this licence, whether or not this license is registered. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 17 FF.. AAcckknnoowwlleeddggeemmeennttss The term "DOS" refers to the products Microsoft MS-DOS (tm) or IBM PC-DOS (tm). MS-DOS (tm) is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. PC-DOS (tm) and IBM-PC (tm) are trademarks of the IBM Corporation. Wordstar (tm) is a trademark of MicroPro International Corporation. Sidekick (tm) is a trademark of Borland International Inc. Aztec C (tm) is a trademark of Manx Software Systems, Inc. A small portion of the source code for FB.EXE, specifically related to the Search algorithm, was adapted from the Public Domain 'Strings' library written by Richard A. O'Keefe (1984). FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - Page 18 Page 19 GG.. FileBrowser - Version 2.11 License Registration Form. Completion and return of this form is mandatory for users who will use this software on a regular basis. A fee of $20 Canadian funds (or $15 U.S. funds if preferred) is charged for registering each FileBrowser license. See next page. Information contained in this form will be strictly confidential, and will not be distributed by the author to any other party. Name:___________________________________________________________ Title:__________________________________________________________ Company:________________________________________________________ Mailing Address:________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (Country):_________________ (Postal or ZIP Code):____________ E-Mail Address:_________________________________________________ Nature of Business:_____________________________________________ I will use FileBrowser: At Home:__________ At Work:_________ On how many computers belonging to you or your company will FileBrowser be used? ____________ Specify Type of Computer (Make, Model) and Video Display (e.g. CGA, EGA, Hercules, Color, Monochrome): ________________________________________________________________ How did you obtain FileBrowser? (Check appropriate category). Downloaded from a BBS:______ From a Usenet Posting:________ From a Software Distributor:____ (Specify):_________________ From another user:_____ Other (Specify):___________________ I hereby assent to the terms of the license for use of FileBrowser Version 2.11 Signature:____________________________ Date:___________________ ___ Check here if you wish a complimentary printed manual and disk. Page 20 INDIVIDUAL USERS: Enclose a registration fee of $20 Canadian funds, or $15 U.S. funds with this form. CORPORATE USERS: Enclose a registration fee of $20 Canadian funds, or $15 U.S. funds for EACH copy of FileBrowser that will be used in your company. Corporate users who will use more than 10 (ten) copies of FileBrowser may enquire about special site licenses. In the latter case, payment of the registration fee may be delayed. NOTE: Upon institution of the Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.), Canadian users may be required to enclose in addition, 7% of the total registration fee in payment of the Federal G.S.T. The registration fee for FileBrowser is not a charge for merchandise but constitutes a fee for the service of registering the FileBrowser license. If desired, registered licencees may receive without charge a printed copy of the FileBrowser manual, and a diskette with the latest version of this software. Please indicate by checking the appropriate line on the registration form if you wish this service; the software will be provided on a 5.25" double-sided, double density disk, MS-DOS formatted to 360K. The registered version of this software may differ in minor respects from the unregistered version. Registered users will receive notification of the availability of future versions of FileBrowser, and may obtain updates for a nominal cost for materials and mailing. Please use the reverse of the registration form to make any comments or suggestions, report bugs, etc. After completion of the form, please mail to: David O. Tinker, RR 2, Group Box 50, GORMLEY, Ontario, Canada. L0H 1G0 FileBrowser 2.11 Manual - End