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Text File | 2000-10-30 | 12.2 KB | 345 lines

-*-Setx-*- # Manipulate Columns Tutorial ============================= This is a tutorial that demonstrates the "manipCols" feature. In order to use it, you must first activate the feature by going to the menu item "Config --> Preferences --> Features" and selecting 'Manip Cols' in the features list by checking the corresponding checkbox. The 'manipCols' package is a feature which allows one to do various manipulations with the columns of any tabulated material, i.e. a series of lines in which items are separated by a tabulation or by any other specific character (like & or a tabulation or a colon, a comma, an endash etc. or even the space character). Once it is installed and activated, it adds a submenu called "Columns" to the "Text" menu in Alpha. The items of this submenu are explained below. Basic manipulations are copying, inserting, appending, twiddling, deleting, sorting, numbering and (un/)equalizing columns, formating text in columns. This Tutorial, when opened through a hyperlink, is a "shell" window. None of the changes you make will affect the actual file. If you close the window and then click on the hyperlink again, you will start with the same example as before. Note that "Undo" is not available in shell windows. This tutorial is in Setx mode to take advantage of some file marking and colorizing procedures. The manipCols feature can work in any mode. # Columns selection =================== To select one or several columns, put the cursor anywhere in the text of the top left item (or "cell") you want to select, press the mouse button and, without releasing the button, go to the text of the bottom right item you want to select. This will hilite a region which is much more than what you want but the package will consider only the columns located between the top and bottom positions. Here is an example (from Romeo and Juliet). We suppose here that each word is separated by a tabulation (any single character can be chosen as a separator, even the space character; see below) : Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. Put the cursor in the word 'you' (first row, third word), press the mouse button and, without releasing it, go to the word 'whip' in the third row, then release. Now use the "Text --> Columns --> Copy Columns" menu item. Now paste it here: you should have selected the following region you fiery footed lodging; such would whip even though all the words from 'you' to 'whip' are hilited. We have thus selected columns 3-4 and rows 1-3. # Columns Colorizing -------------------- It is sometimes difficult to be sure what has been selected because columns are not aligned vertically so ou can check this using the menu item "Text --> Colorize Columns" : only the selected columns will be colorized. Highlight the region again, and then use this menu item. Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. So dragging the mouse from position (a,b) in a table to position (c,d) selects columns 'a' to 'c' and rows 'b' to 'd'. # Equalizing Columns -------------------- If you want to have a better vertical alignment of your columns you can use the "Equalize Columns" menu item. Select the region as above (or the entire selection) and select "Equalize Columns" in the "Text --> Columns" menu. Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. The result should be : Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. By the way, equalizing makes it very easy to use rectangular hiliting : now try to select a region with the mouse holding the option key down. # Notes regarding column selection ------------------------------------- • the cursor can be positioned anywhere in a "cell" : the entire column will always be selected. • you do not have necessarily to colorize the selected region. This is just handy for visualisation. BEWARE that this procedure removes all other colors in your document (this proc might be improved later). • columns are numbered from 1 to n (see the messages in the status bar). • hiliting must still be there if you want to apply a manipulation like copying, inserting, appending, twiddling, deleting columns. • note that (since version 0.5b) you DO NOT have anymore to escape (i-e put a backslash before) the special characters like 'backslash' \ or 'dollar' $ or 'circumflex' ^ or 'endash' - etc. The package takes care of this internally. The tabulation character though is represented by '\t'. • all the actions are undoable (with cmd-Z), except in this tutorial "shell" window. # Column Selection Key Bindings ------------------------ All of the menu items that you have just used are also available through key bindings. All the key bindings will use 'ctrl-c' (c for columns !). Hit 'ctrl-c', release, then hit one of the following letters : <ctrl-c c> to <c>opy columns <ctrl-c d> to <d>elete columns <ctrl-c i> to nsert columns <ctrl-c k> to <k>olorize <k>olumns <ctrl-c x> to cut columns (e<x>tract them and copy in system scrap) The menu item "Text --> Columns -> Columns Bindings" will display all of the key bindings available. # Columns separator ------------------- The Columns separator must NECESSARILY be a SINGLE character. The default is the tabulation character <\t>. Changing the separator can be done using the "Columns Separator" menu item, which is bound to <ctrl-c s>. This separator will remain changed throughout the remainder of your Alpha session. The "Config --> Packages --> Manip Cols Prefs" menu item includes a preference for the default separator. With Latex you might want to choose '&' as a separator for \array or \table environments: \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|} \hline you & fiery-footed \\ lodging; & such \\ would & whip \\ \hline \end{tabular} You can even use the 'space' character as a separator. # Text columnizing ================== There are tools to format text in vertical justified columns (single or multiple). This will be very handy to prepare nice looking documentations, help files, etc. All the paragraphs in the present file have been justified with this tool. Everything is parametrizable: number of columns, left margin, text width. Highlight this entire selection, and then use the "Columnize Text" item. (This is also bound to <ctrl-c j>.) Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. You should end up with something like this: Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. Here an example of multicolumnizing : Gallop apace, you to the west, and bring in That runaways' eyes may fiery-footed steeds, cloudy night immediately. wink, and Romeo leap to towards Phoebus' lodging; Spread thy close curtain, these arms, untalk'd-of, such a waggoner as love performing night! and unseen ! Phaethon would whip you Highlight this region, select "Multi Columnize Text" (a dynamic menu item, which appears when holding down the control key in the Columns menu), and the status bar window will ask you how many columns you would like. Try it! Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner as Phaethon would whip you to the west, and bring in cloudy night immediately. Spread thy close curtain, love performing night! That runaways' eyes may wink, and Romeo leap to these arms, untalk'd-of, and unseen ! A "Uncolumnize Text" menu item is available by pressing the option key, or with the key binding <ctrl-c z>. Try to uncolumnize this text: Gallop apace, you Phaethon would Spread thy close Romeo leap to fiery-footed whip you to the curtain, love these arms, steeds, towards west, and bring in performing night! untalk'd-of, and Phoebus' lodging; cloudy night That runaways' unseen ! such a waggoner as immediately. eyes may wink, and Use the "Text --> Fill Paragraph" menu item to then make it "normal", using the left fill column preference of the current mode. # More examples =============== You can now select a region and experiment : here are some examples applied to our now favorite passage: Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Deleting' Gallop apace, steeds, Towards Phoebus' a waggoner As Phaethon you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Copying, selecting the first two lines and appending' Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, you fiery-footed Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner lodging; such As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Copying, selecting the second column and inserting' Gallop you fiery-footed apace, you fiery-footed steeds, Towards lodging; such Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner As would whip Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Twiddling' Gallop apace, fiery-footed you steeds, Towards Phoebus' such lodging; a waggoner As Phaethon whip would you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Sorting Columns' Gallop apace, lodging; such steeds, Towards Phoebus' would whip a waggoner As Phaethon you fiery-footed you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Selecting the first two lines and reverse sorting rows' you steeds, apace, Gallop fiery-footed waggoner Towards such Phoebus' lodging; a As Phaethon would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. # 'Selecting all four lines and inserting rows numbers' 1 Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, 2 Towards Phoebus' lodging; such a waggoner 3 As Phaethon would whip you to the west, 4 And bring in cloudy night immediately. etc. etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # Key Bindings ============== All the key bindings will use 'ctrl-c' (c for columns !). Hit 'ctrl-c', release, then hit one of the following letters : <ctrl-c a> to <a>ppend columns <ctrl-c b> to show info about indings <ctrl-c c> to <c>opy columns <ctrl-c d> to <d>elete columns <ctrl-c e> to <e>qualize columns <ctrl-c i> to nsert columns <ctrl-c j> to <j>ustify text <ctrl-c k> to <k>olorize <k>olumns <ctrl-c m> to put text in <m>ulticolumns <ctrl-c n> to nsert rows numbers <ctrl-c o> to sort each row in increasing <o>rder <ctrl-c p> to comlete rows <ctrl-c r> to sort each row in <r>everse order <ctrl-c s> to change the columns <s>eparator <ctrl-c t> to <t>widdle columns <ctrl-c u> to nequalize columns <ctrl-c v> to set the margin <v>alues for columnizing <ctrl-c x> to cut columns (e<x>tract them and copy in system scrap) <ctrl-c z> to uncolumni<z> The menu item "Text --> Columns -> Columns Bindings", bound to <ctrl-c b>, will display all of the key bindings available. # End of Tutorial.