PC-Blue - MS DOS Public Domain Library/PC-Blue MS-DOS Public Domain Library - NYACC.iso/vol319/pcdraft.lis

File List | 1987-06-12 | 25.2 KB | 601 lines

                    A User's Manual For PCDRAFT 2.1

                         SET Laboratories, Inc.
                             P.O. Box 03963
                           Portland, OR 97203



       INTRODUCTION

            Welcome to the P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ user community! P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ is a
       'post-processor' text formatting program for producing
       documents that runs under MS-DOS* P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ differs from
       other popular microcomputer word processing systems in
       that what the user types is not neccessarily what the
       finished product will look like. P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ makes use of
       "embedded formatting commands" which control spacing,
       paragraphs, centering, etc. Thus, the user creates a
       "source file", consisting of the text to be formatted,
       along with the embedded formatting commands using an
       editor such as EDLIN or even another word processor which
       creates ASCII text files. P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ will generate a
       formatted file (the "destination" file) from the source
       file.

            The source file can have any extension, however the
       default is '.RNO'. The formatted file will have the same
       name as the source file, but with the extension '.LIS'.
       Make sure that the source file does n_o_t_ have the extension
       '.LIS'. When an embedded formatting command is
       encountered, the particular operation (eg, starting a
       paragraph, or centering a line of text) will be applied to
       the destination file.

            The source file may be typed without regard to lines,
       page numbers, section numbers, centering, etc. Thus the
       user may change or add text to an existing document
       without worrying about how it will affect the page
       numbering, spacing, etc. P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ will automatically
       combine or split lines so that only a predetermined number
       of letters will be on a single line, and a predetermined
       number of lines on a single page. For example, the
       following text segment may be stored on six separate lines
       in the source file:

            Now is
            the time for all
            people to
            come to the
            aid of their
            country.

       After formatting P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ will cause the following to be
       printed:



       ____________________
       * MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.




       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       2
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


       Now is the time for all people to come to the aid of their
       country.

       In addition, PCDRAFT will generate a table of contents on
       a page following the last formatted page of the output
       file listing all the headings (.SH, .NH and .TL) specified
       in the text and their page numbers. Another useful feature
       is a running count of words processed so far which appears
       in the upper right hand corner of the screen as the text
       is being formatted.


       HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ requires only very modest hardware and
       software resources to be used. It requires a PC/XT/AT or
       compatible computer with MS-DOS 2.0 or above, and 128K of
       RAM. A single disk drive is sufficient as P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ takes up
       only 22K of disk space (60K including the documentation).
       Thus, you may put a copy on every disk which you intend to
       store text on. In addition to P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ you will need a
       "text editor" to prepare the source text. For example,
       EDLIN comes with MS-DOS. A number of other companies
       distribute "full screen" text editors for program
       construction. You can even use a word processor as long as
       it creates ASCII text files. If you do use a word
       processor, remember to use "hard returns".

            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ is truly a "plain vanilla" text formatter. It
       does n_o_t_ support italics, greek letters, superscripts,
       subscripts, math symbols, etc. What it d_o_e_s_ do is produce
       a neat formatted version of an unformatted source file for
       printing on a simple dot-matrix or daisy wheel printer.
       P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ is easy to use, and provides a great deal of
       power, yet requires the user to remember only about two
       dozen mnemonic command symbols (no ALT-? combinations to
       remember). Further, P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ produces an ASCII text file
       with minimal control characters, codes, etc., so it can be
       easily uploaded or downloaded to virtually any system and
       printed on most printers (as long as the printer supports
       the backspace character ^H and the form feed character
       ^L).

            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ can format a source file of about 3,000 words
       in less than three minutes. The size of the file that can
       be formatted by P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ is essentially unlimited.



       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       3
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.





       TECHNICAL MATTERS

            The executable version of P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ is in the file
       PCDRAFT.COM. The unformatted version of this documentation
       is in the file PCDRAFT.RNO, and the formatted version
       (probably what you're reading right now) is in the file
       PCDRAFT.LIS. P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ can be executed using the following
       command:

            PCDRAFT

       assuming that the P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ diskette is in the default disk
       drive (eg, "A:"). The user will then be prompted for the
       name of the source file they would like formatted. If the
       file does not have the .RNO extension, the user should
       specify the proper extension, otherwise .RNO will be
       assumed. P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ will produce a formatted file of the same
       name, but with the extension '.LIS'. This file will
       contain the formatted document and a table of contents.
       The formatted document may be printed using a line printer
       with the MS-DOS command PRINT.


       PCDRAFT COMMANDS

            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ commands are embedded in the text of the
       source file at the point where their actions are desired.
       For example, the P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ command to cause a new paragraph
       is '.PP'. Thus, if the user wants a new paragraph to begin
       before a particular group of text is to be printed, the
       '.PP' should precede this text, on a line by itself.

            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ commands always are on a line by themselves,
       start in column 1 and begin with a period ('.'). P_C_D_R_A_F_T_
       commands may be written using either upper or lower case.

            Some of the commands require a 'closer'. For example,
       the '.FS' command causes the text lines that follow it in
       the source file, up to the closer command '.FE', to be
       printed as a footnote on the current page of the formatted
       file.

            The user should make sure that every P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ source
       file ends with the command ".EN" on the last physical line
       of the file. The following is a list of the commands
       currently supported by P_C_D_R_A_F_T_:_





       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       4
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


       .BP  When this command is encountered by P_C_D_R_A_F_T_,_ it causes
            a page eject in the formatted file. This may not work
            with printers that do not support page ejects;
            however this is a problem with only a very few
            printers.

       .CE x   Center the next x lines of text in the source file.
            If x is omitted, it is assumed to be 1. Each line to
            be centered should be placed on a line by itself. No
            'formatting' is performed on this text other than
            centering. If two or more centered lines are to be
            separated by blank lines, the text may contain these
            blank lines, but be sure to include the blank lines
            in the count of lines to be centered. This command is
            similar to the .TL command, except the centered text
            is not included in the generated table of contents.

       .CS x   This command causes the spacing of the formatted
            file to be changed to 'x'. For example, if 'x' were
            2, the the output text would be double spaced. The
            default spacing is 1. Note that this does not cause
            any particular action to take place, but rather
            affects future actions.

       .DP This command will cause an additional blank (except
            for heading and page number) page to be generated
            when the next page break in the formatted file
            occurs. This is useful if some blank pages are needed
            for including hand drawn figures, program listings,
            etc. A blank page will be generated for each pending
            '.DP' Note that no action is performed until the next
            page break which would normally occur is encountered.

       .DS The following lines of the source file, up to a '.DE',
            will be treated as a 'display'. In other words, they
            will be printed exactly as they are in the source
            file, but indented by 5 spaces. If the text is to be
            left justified instead of indented, the command
            should be modified as '.DS L'. No formatting will
            take place on the text between the '.DS' and the
            '.DE'. This is a convienient way to display tables,
            equations, etc. The "running word count" that is
            displayed at the upper right hand corner of the
            screen while formatting is taking place counts each
            line within the '.DS/.DE' pair as a single word.

       .EN  This command should be placed at the physical end of
            your P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ source file. Failure to do so, may
            result in strange characters appearing in the last
            line of the formatted output.





       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       5
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


       .FR  The following T_W_O_ lines of the source file will be
            treated as a 'page footer' for the rest of the
            document (unless another '.FR' is encountered). This
            means that these two lines will be printed at the
            bottom of every page in the formatted file, from this
            point on. TWO header lines MUST follow the '.FR' in
            the source file - they may be blank if the user
            chooses, but they must both be included. If no
            footers are needed, the '.FR' command may be omitted.

       .FS  The following lines in the source file, up to a '.FE'
            will be treated as a footnote, and will be printed at
            the bottom of the current page. Currently, a limit of
            20 lines of footnotes, per page, exists.

       .HR  The following TWO lines of the source file will be
            treated as a 'page header' for the rest of the
            document (unless another '.HR' is encountered). This
            means that these two lines will be printed at the top
            of every page in the formatted file, from this point
            on. T_W_O_ header lines MUST follow the '.HR' in the
            source file - they may be blank if the user chooses,
            but they must both be included. If no headers are
            needed, the '.HR' command may be omitted - the
            default header is simply two blank lines. The page
            header for this document is specified in the source
            file as:

                  .HR
                  PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation
                  Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.

            The header will not appear on the first page of the
            formatted file. The header will appear on subsequent
            pages.

       .IP x   The text in the source file following this command,
            up to another '.IP' or '.LP', will be treated as a
            list item. This list of commands is an example of a
            group of list items. If specified, 'x' is a label for
            the list item, and the rest of the list will be
            indented 5 spaces from the beginning of the label. If
            the label contains any blanks, it should be enclosed
            in double quotes ('"').

       .IS  The rest of the source file text, until an '.IE' is
            encountered, will be indented 5 spaces. Note that the
            .IS itself causes no actions to take place, it simply
            causes all subsequent lines (up to a '.IE') to be
            indented 5 spaces.





       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       6
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


       .LP  This ends a group of list items.

       .MR x   This command sets the column that the left margin of
            the text will start in to column "x". By default, the
            text starts in column 1,

       .NH  The source file text following this command will be
            treated as a section heading, up to some other
            P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ command, such as a '.PP'. This heading will
            automatically have a number associated with it. This
            number is incremented each time a '.NH' command is
            encountered.

       .PG x   This command causes the current page number to be
            changed to 'x'. Normally, the page number begins at
            page 1. Note that this command does not cause any
            actions to occur, but rather causes the next page
            number in the formatted file to be 'x'.

       .PL x   This command causes the length of the page used in
            the formatted file to be 'x'. The default page length
            is 55. Note that the '.PL' command does not cause any
            action to take place, but rather changes the page
            length for all future pages (including the current).

       .PP  This command causes a new paragraph to be started in
            the formatted file. The first word in the paragraph
            will be indented 5 spaces. If no indentation is
            desired, the user should consider the '.SP' command.

       .PV x   This command causes the indenting within the
            formatted file to be changed to 'x'. Default
            indenting is 5 spaces. Note that this command does
            not cause any particular action to take place.
            Rather, this command impacts the indentation done by
            the commands '.IP', '.IS', '.PP', and '.QS'.

       .PW x   This command causes the page width used in the
            formatted file to be 'x'. The default output width is
            65 columns. Note that any indentation, left margin
            settings, etc. are included within these columns.
            This command does not cause any particular action to
            occur.

       .QS  This command causes the source file text that follows
            it, until a '.QE' is encountered to be treated as a
            'quoted passage'. This quoted passage will be
            indented 5 spaces on the left and 10 spaces on the
            right.





       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       7
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


       .SH  This command causes the source file text that follows
            it up to the next P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ command such as a '.PP' to
            be treated as an unnumbered section heading. This
            section heading and the page it falls on will be
            entered in the document table of contents which will
            appear at the end of the report.

       .SP x   This command causes 'x' spaces to be skipped in the
            output text.

       .TL x   Center the next x lines of text in the source file.
            If x is omitted, it is assumed to be 1. Each line to
            be centered should be placed on a line by itself. No
            'formatting' is performed on this text other than
            centering. If two or more centered lines are to be
            separated by blank lines, the text may contain these
            blank lines, but be sure to include the blank lines
            in the count of lines to be centered. This command is
            similar to the .CE command, except this centered text
            is included in the table of contents that will appear
            after the last formatted page of text.

       .UL  The text following this command, until a matching
            ".UE" is encountered, will be underlined.

       As an example of how an unformatted P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ file with
       embedded commands might look, consider the following
       passage:

        .CE 3
        This is an Example of
        How an Unformatted PCDRAFT File
        Might Look
        .PP
        You might be interested in using
        .UL
        PCDRAFT
        .UE
        to write
        documents, letters, manuals, examinations, etc.
        .sp 1
        If you would like to indicate a new paragraph with
        just a blank line (ie, no indentation), just use the
        command '.SP x'.
        This will cause x lines to be skipped.
        .PP
        Indentation can be achieved using '.IS'.
        Usually, it's used for 'list items'.
        That is where you have a list of items, such as:
        .IS




       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       8
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


        .IP (1)
        Item 1
        .IP (2)
        Item 2 - note that whatever text follows it will
        be indented so it is clear that it goes with THIS item ...
        .LP
        .IE
        .UL
        Make sure that you end the indentation group with a '.IE'.
        There should be one '.IE' for every '.IS'.
        .UE

       After formatting, the above text would look like this:


                         This is an Example of
                    How an Unformatted PCDRAFT File
                               Might Look


            You might be interested in using P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ to write
       documents, letters, manuals, examinations, etc.

       If you would like to indicate a new paragraph with just a
       blank line (ie, no indentation), just use the command '.SP
       x'. This will cause x lines to be skipped.

            Indentation can be achieved using '.IS'. Usually,
       it's used for 'list items'. That is where you have a list
       of items, such as:

            (1)  Item 1

            (2)  Item 2 - note that whatever text follows it will
                 be indented so it is clear that it goes with
                 THIS item ...

       M_a_k_e_ s_u_r_e_ t_h_a_t_ y_o_u_ e_n_d_ t_h_e_ i_n_d_e_n_t_a_t_i_o_n_ g_r_o_u_p_ w_i_t_h_ a_ '_._I_E_'_._
       T_h_e_r_e_ s_h_o_u_l_d_ b_e_ o_n_e_ '_._I_E_'_ f_o_r_ e_v_e_r_y_ '_._I_S_'_._

            For a more complete example of what unformatted
       P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ files look like, you might try listing out the
       file PCDRAFT.RNO.







       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                       9
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.





       HINTS FOR WORD PROCESSING USING PCDRAFT

       o    When creating the unformatted text file, try to always
            start new sentences on a new line. By doing this an
            entire sentence may be removed without having to
            worry about retaining a part of the line.

       o    When writing a multi-part manuscript (for example, a
            book), put each chapter in a different file. This
            makes editing faster, plus one chapter can be
            formatted at a time. Remember to add a ".PG x"
            command at the beginning of each chapter so the page
            numbering will be correct.

       o    If one works on a number of different manuscripts
            concurrently, it would be helpful to create a
            'subdirectory' for each project. A subdirectory is a
            'unit of storage' within the user's main directory
            which can hold a number of files. The nice thing
            about having a subdirectory for each project, is that
            one does not have to worry about duplicate file names
            (for example, CHAP1 for the textbook you are working
            on and CHAP1 for the cookbook you are writing).



       MAKING AND DISTRIBUTING COPIES

            Users of P_C_D_R_A_F_T_ are encouraged to make copies of the
       code and distribute them to other users or post them on
       electronic bulletin boards. However, please note that
       PCDRAFT is N_O_T_ public domain. It is a copyrighted product!
       Therefore, when distributing copies, please adhere to the
       following rules:

      You are encouraged to copy and share this program with other
      users, on the conditions that the program is not distributed
       in modified form, that no fee is charged for the program,
            and that this notice is not bypassed or removed.


       Also, please note the following warranty disclaimer:

        This program is distributed on an "AS-IS" basis without
      warranty. The entire risk as to the quality and performance
        of the program is with the user. No warranties as to the
                quality/fitness of the program are made






       PCDRAFT 2.1 Documentation                                      10
       Copyright, 1987 by SET Laboratories, Inc.


            At some point, you may find that you are using
       PCDRAFT for most of your writing. If you use PCDRAFT
       frequently, and find it a useful product, please register
       it for $20 with:

                         SET Laboratories, Inc.
                              PO Box 03963
                           Portland, OR 97203


       The $20 registration fee entitles you to the next version
       of PCDRAFT as soon as it is released. In addition,
       registered users may send questions about using PCDRAFT to
       the above address. Please include your registration number
       (sent to you as soon as you register along with the
       current version of PCDRAFT) and a stamped, self addressed
       envelope.


                     A SYNOPSIS OF PCDRAFT COMMANDS


       A PCDRAFT command has a '.' in column 1 and two
       characters:

             .BP      break page
             .CE      center
             .CS      change line spacing+
             .DP      note upcoming display page+
             .DS/.DE  display item
             .EN      end formatting
             .FR      define 2 line page footing+
             .FS/.FE  define footnote+
             .HR      define 2 line page heading+
             .IP      list item
             .IS/.IE  indent PPval spaces+
             .LP      end list item
             .MR      specify left margin+
             .NH      numbered section heading++
             .PG      change page number+
             .PL      change page length+
             .PP      paragraph
             .PV      change PPval+
             .PW      change page width+
             .QS/.QE  quote section
             .SH      section heading++
             .SP      space with blank line
             .TL      title ++
             .UL/.UE  underline on/off



       ____________________
       (+) deferred command (++) entered in the table of contents








                               Table of Contents



       INTRODUCTION                                             1
       HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS                       2
       TECHNICAL MATTERS                                        3
       PCDRAFT COMMANDS                                         3
       HINTS FOR WORD PROCESSING USING PCDRAFT                  9
       MAKING AND DISTRIBUTING COPIES                           9
       A SYNOPSIS OF PCDRAFT COMMANDS                          10