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DOC2COM (Gerald DePyper) | 1994-05-18 | 21.9 KB | 441 lines

DOC2COM / D2COLOR Version 1.31 Table of contents 1.00 Introduction .................................. p. 1 2.00 Requirements .................................. p. 1 3.00 Using DOC2COM to create a self-display file ... p. 1 3.10 Additional command line parameters .......... p. 2 3.11 A word about data security ................ p. 3 4.00 Browsing the self-display file ................ p. 4 5.00 Guidelines for the text file .................. p. 4 5.10 Providing for special colors ................ p. 5 6.00 Using D2COLOR to set screen colors ............ p. 6 6.10 Setting special colors ...................... p. 6 7.00 Possible problems ............................. p. 7 8.00 Shareware Registration Guidelines ............. p. 8 Wanna start quick? Read sections 1.00 and 3.00, then go to it! Alt-P = Print this document F1 = Help DOC2COM / D2COLOR 1.31 copyright 1991, 1994 by Jerry DePyper Use of these programs without the author's permission is prohibited. - 1 - 1.00 Introduction ================== Did you ever create a documentation or informational text file for people to look at or print? DOC2COM can make a self-browsing file out of it. DOC2COM uses the text file as a base for creating a '.com' file that can be executed as a callable DOS program. I designed it so I could create manual.com and readme.com files (like this one) to distribute with my shareware program packages. DOC2COM accomplishes its task by appending your text file contents to some machine code logic for displaying, scrolling, etc, and by calculating some basic internal variable values. It then writes the whole thing out as a .com file in one effortless step. 2.00 Requirements ================== 1. MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or later 2. IBM or compatible 3. 25 x 80 display mode 4. RAM memory = 2500 to 4000 bytes + text file size (In other words, almost any IBM-compatible system will do.) 3.00 Using DOC2COM to create a self-display file ================================================= Using DOC2COM is easy. In its simplest form, the command line looks like this: DOC2COM docfile where 'docfile' is the input ASCII text file. In this case, DOC2COM would create an executable '.com' file in the current directory using the same name as 'docfile', but with a .com extension. The input text file must not have the .com extension, and any already existing file with the same name and a .com extension will be overwritten without warning. That's all you need to know to create self-displaying text files. If you want some more details, read on. If not, go to it! (But please come back here sometime to read section 8.00 about registering your copy with me.) - 2 - 3.10 Additional command line parameters ======================================== For more control, you may include one or more optional command line parameters. The complete command line syntax is: DOC2COM docfile [comfile] [/e] [/n] [/s] [/p-nn] [/0|1|2] where 'comfile' is the name of the .com self-displaying file created by DOC2COM. By including this parameter, you may give a name to your self-displaying file independently of the input text file's name. You may also specify a different drive and path where it will be created. '/e' is a switch that means all extended ASCII characters in the text file will be displayed by the self-displaying file. If this switch is omitted, only text characters will appear. The text you are reading, and the double-dash lines used for emphasis, (i.e. anything you can type from the keyboard), are examples of true text characters. A good example of non-text characters (extended ASCII) are the following figures: ╔══════════════╤══════════════╤══════════════╗ █████████████ ║ │ │ ║ █████████████ ║ │ │ ║ █████████████ ║ │ │ ║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ║ │ │ ║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ║ │ │ ║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ║ │ │ ║ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ╟──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────╢ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ║ │ │ ║ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ║ │ │ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ │ │ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ╚══════════════╧══════════════╧══════════════╝ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ I wanted them to display, so I entered this command: doc2com readme.doc /e to create the readme file you are browsing. ---------------- '/n' = No text encryption. (See "3.11 A word about data security" below.) '/s' = disable shadows: As of version 1.3, the little pop-up windows now cast 'shadows', which give the self-displaying file a more polished look on color systems. You may disable these shadows with the '/s' switch. - 3 - '/p-nn' is a switch that allows you to adjust the page counter. (See 4.00 below for page jumping in the self-display file.) By default, all text documents start on page #1, and increment the page counter at every form-feed (page-break) character. Sometimes, however, you may have some header information, like the table of contents above, that you don't want to count as a page. Many times a document file will even start with a form-feed character, which will cause the page counter to increment before you even get started. Well, anyway, this switch allows you some control over the internal page numbering of the self-display file. For example, because of the table of contents, what I considered as page #1 of this readme document was really the 2nd page. To tell DOC2COM to adjust the page counter by -1, I included the /p switch as follows: doc2com readme.doc /e /p-1 ---------------- The 4th command line switch, also new in version 1.3, is used to control how many features the self-display file will have, and therefore, how much overhead will be added to the text file in making the self-display file. This switch can be set to one of three settings: /0, /1, or /2. If not used, the full- feature setting /2 is assumed. Here is how the three settings compare: |---------|------------------------|--------------------------------| | Setting | Overhead | Features | | | (Bytes added to Text) | | |=========|========================|================================| | /0 | ±1700 | Scroll Up, Down, PgUp, PgDn | | | | Home, End, Help | |---------|------------------------|--------------------------------| | /1 | ±2500 | Above plus jump to specific | | | | line ("L") or page ("P") | |---------|------------------------|--------------------------------| | /2 | ±3300 | Above plus print text (Alt-P) | |(default)| | or create text file (Alt-F) | |---------|------------------------|--------------------------------| So, for little simple files, you may choose /0 or /1 to keep the size of the .com file down. Not that 3300 bytes added is much overhead, but this also gives you more control over the functionality of the self-display files you create, as the following notes. 3.11 A word about data security ================================ It's one thing for you to distribute a self-displaying text file. It may be quite another to give your users the ability to clone your original document. To address this security issue, DOC2COM now stores all text in the self-display file in encrypted form. So, if you use switch setting /0 or /1 to prevent the explicit cloning or printing of the original document, you literally make it view-only text. As noted above, the /n switch will turn encryption off. - 4 - 4.00 Browsing the self-display file ==================================== You can see from the readme.com file you are now browsing how these self-displaying programs will behave. After you typed 'readme' to invoke this, you may have instinctively started using the cursor movement keys to move around. Or, if you hit some other keys, you quickly saw from the little pop-up message which keys to use. And did you notice the horizontal page dividers? They correspond to the presence of the form-feed character (0C hex) in the text file, which is the same character that would cause a new page to print if you routed the text file to a printer. Unless you specify switch /0, the self-display file will allow the viewer to jump directly to any page or line of the document via the 'P' and 'L' keys respectively. This is especially nice in larger files such as a self-displaying manual or instructional document. Unless you use switch /0 or /1, the viewer may also use the 'Alt-F'' keystroke to create a clone of the original text file, or 'Alt-P' to route it to his printer. For example, you may print out this readme text at any time via 'Alt-P', then use the resulting document as a reference manual for using DOC2COM and D2COLOR. In the same manner, you may use 'Alt-F' to create a copy of the document I used to create this self-display readme.com. 5.00 Guidelines for the text file ================================== Generally speaking, the guidelines for creating a good text file for DOC2COM to use are the same as for producing a file that can easily be printed on a variety of printers: 1. Keep line length to 80 columns or less. 2. Eliminate special word-processing characters or format strings. (Most word processers have a 'text file' mode that does this.) With version 1.3 of DOC2COM, when the viewer uses 'Alt-F' or 'Alt-P', he may no longer get exactly what you put in the original document, as was the case in version 1.2. Instead, he will get what he sees. For example, if there are extended ASCII characters in your text document, these will be reproduced in the cloned file and/or sent to the printer only if you used the /e switch to allow them to display. Be aware that these extended ASCII box and shade characters are not recognized by some printers. You can test your printer by using 'Alt-P' to print this text with its box characters. If you want to play it safe, use dashes, etc, instead of extended ASCII. Likewise, the 'trigger' characters as discussed below will not show up in a document cloned or printed via 'Alt-F' or 'Alt-P'. - 5 - 5.10 Providing for special colors ================================== Generally, the files produced by DOC2COM will display all text in the same screen color, which can be changed through D2COLOR (see section 6.00 below). As you see in this readme file, however, you can also highlight some words by setting the screen color for them differently. This is accomplished by means of 'trigger' characters which you embed in the text, and which will signal DOC2COM to change the screen color. These 'trigger' characters and their associated color attributes are then specified through D2COLOR as well (see section 6.10 below). The display algorithm in the self-display file scans all text a line at a time, from left to right. When it encounters a trigger character, it begins displaying all text to the right of it in the alternate color associated with that trigger, until it encounters another trigger, or it comes to the end of the line. The next line will revert to the default color, unless it, too, has a trigger character. You will usually want to choose as trigger characters something which is not used, or used rarely in the body of your document. For example, I don't use the curly bracket characters '{' and '}' much, so I chose to use them as trigger characters. Namely, the left bracket '{' I designate to set to a bright blue color on a blue background (hex 1B), and the right bracket '}' to reset to my normal white on blue (hex 17). By embedding them at the right places in my text, I can highlight a word or a line. Thus, this text: An example of {highlighting until the end of the line An example of a single {highlighted} word displays as An example of highlighting until the end of the line An example of a single highlighted word If you want to actually display one of these characters, rather than use it as a trigger, simply enter it twice. So, in my case, I had to key in '{{highlighted}}' above in order to get the curly brackets to display. (Hint: If you want to see just what my original document looked like, make a copy of this readme.com, then use D2COLOR to disable all trigger characters.) Up to 16 distinct trigger characters may be designated. You can also use non-text (or exended ASCII) characters as triggers, if your word processor or text editor can handle them. To learn how to specify any chosen characters as triggers, see 6.10 below. - 6 - 6.00 Using D2COLOR to set screen colors ======================================== I am now distributing D2COLOR.COM along with DOC2COM as a quick patch utility to set the screen colors for DOC2COM or any self- displaying .com files created by DOC2COM. D2COLOR is version- specific; that is, version 1.31 of D2COLOR will only work with DOC2COM 1.3 and 1.31 and self-display files created by DOC2COM 1.3 and 1.31. Using D2COLOR is also simple. Use the following command: D2COLOR comfile where 'comfile' is DOC2COM.COM or the self-displaying .com file created by DOC2COM. You will be presented with a screen showing you all the various screen colors available, and their respective hexadecimal values. At the bottom you may pick from any of these hex values to set the display colors for the main body of text to be displayed, for the various pop-up windows, and for the text keyed in by the viewer in answer to prompts. Hit F1 to save any color changes, or the Escape key to quit without saving, or F2 to toggle to the trigger color screen. 6.10 Setting special colors ============================== If you embedded special 'trigger' characters in your document as outlined in section 5.10 above, you may specify what they are, and what screen colors they will trigger, on screen #2 of D2COLOR. (Use F2 to toggle between the two screens.) In the upper positions, simply key in the special trigger characters. Immediately below each one, key in the hex values corresponding to the color desired. To key in a non-text trigger character (one that has no corresponding key on the keyboard), hold down tha 'Alt' key, and type the decimal value of that character using the number pad keys. For example, the Yen symbol '¥' ASCII character has a value of 157 decimal. So you hold down the 'Alt' key while typing '157' on the number pad, and there it is! ASCII characters range in value from 0 to 255. Many DOS and other reference material can be consulted to find out which character is associated with each value. Do NOT use the carriage-return (value=13), line-feed (10), form-feed (12), tab (9), or escape key (27) as triggers, as they already have special significance to the program. ---------------- When experimenting with different color combinations, I recommend trying a variety of monitor types (e.g. color, monochrome, LCD), if you can, to view your color schemes on these various systems. - 7 - 7.00 Possible problems ======================= 'Insufficient memory, or text file too big' DOS limits .com files to 64K or smaller. So the text file must be no larger than about 62000 or 63000 bytes, depending upon whether you used switches /0 or /1. If it is smaller, and you still get this message, you may have a severe memory problem. DOC2COM only needs from 2500 to 4000 bytes plus enough RAM for the text file. 'Error: file not found' The input text file was not found. Check your spelling. 'File error, AL = __h' AL = 03h - Path not found. Make sure the drive and path specified really exist. AL = 04h - Too many files open. Another application didn't correctly close a bunch of files. If you shelled to DOS from within another program, go back and quit that program to force its files to close. If a previous program cancelled, it may have left files open, too. In this case, you may have to re-boot to free up these file handles. AL = 05h - Access denied. The .com file you tried to create already exists as a read-only (and possibly hidden) file. - 8 - 8.00 Shareware Registration Guidelines ======================================= The DOC2COM/D2COLOR system is protected from unauthorized use by U.S. copyright law. Anyone interested may evaluate these programs free of charge. I also encourage you to pass them along to others, especially to BBSs, distribution centers, and user groups. If you like them, you should register with me in the spirit of shareware by sending me $25.00 (check or money order payable to Gerald DePyper) in return for my efforts. As of October 1992, you may register with me through Compu- Serv Forum SWREG (GO SWREG). Look for Registration ID 308. A one-time registration of DOC2COM/D2COLOR entitles you to distribute royalty-free all self-display files that you create on an unlimited basis. You also get phone support plus free or reduced cost upgrades and/or bug fixes when they may occur. You may make as many copies as you need for backup or other purposes, as long as you limit DOC2COM to a single machine. For example, you may want to make several clones of DOC2COM, using D2COLOR to set screen colors differently on each. If you are a starving shareware author, I won't make you pay. But please register with me, and when you start making some money on your programs, let me make a little on mine, too. If you are a large business, would like to run DOC2COM on multiple machines, or if you would like some customized features, please contact me for a custom agreement. In any case, I need to know who you are (name, address, etc.), and where you got DOC2COM (name, address, of BBS, etc.), so that I can distribute upgrade notices and bug fixes. Please send information, money, questions and comments to: Gerald DePyper 901 Argyle, #5A Chicago, IL 60640 Phone: 312/907-8935 CompuServ ID: 71041,703 P.S.(A Note From the Author) Please don't be a computer-holic. A computer is, after all, only a machine. Jesus is Lord. Keep everything else in perspective. Have fun!