Fritz: All Fritz/All Fritz.zip/All Fritz/FILES/DATATURE/FARVIEW.LZH/FARVIEW.ZIP/READ.ME

Text File | 1991-10-19 | 22KB | 565 lines

                             - farVIEW -

                                  a
                           Hypertext System



Welcome to the farVIEW/S (shareware) version of the farVIEW (tm)
Hypertext system.


---------------------------------------Installing farVIEW/S - Part 1-

If you downloaded the farVIEW.ZIP file from a bulletin board, etc.,
then you can skip Part 1 of these instructions since you have already
unzipped the package.

If you have a diskette containing farVIEW/S, then follow these
instructions to install the farVIEW/S package on your hard disk.

   1. Place the installation disk into your drive A (or B).
   2. At the command prompt, type
         A:<enter>
      or
         B:<enter>
   3. At the next command prompt, type
         INSTALL C:<enter>
      If you want to install on a different hard disk, use that
      drive designator instead of C:, for example, INSTALL D:
   4. Follow the instructions provided by the INSTALL batch.

When this step of the installation process is complete, the active
drive will be the drive you specified in step 3, and the active
directory will be \FARVIEW.

The contents of the zip file include . . .

   LICENSE.DOC  - the license document,
   FARVIEW.EXE  - the hypertext program,
   HELP.*       - the farVIEW/S on-line manual (2 files),
   HOMEBASE.*   - the initialization textbase (2 files),
   KEYBOARD.DOC - the list of farVIEW/S keyboard commands,
   ORDER.FRM    - a registration/order form,
   READ.ME      - this file.


---------------------------------------Installing farVIEW/S - Part 2-

To complete installation of farVIEW/S into your file system, you do
two additional steps:

   1. Add the name of this directory into your path statement in
      AUTOEXEC.BAT. (e.g., . . . ;e:\farview)

   2. Modify the "Alias" preferences into the Preferences frame of
      HOMEBASE to specify the locations of HELP and HOMEBASE.

These steps are not needed as long as you always make the farVIEW
directory current before running farVIEW/S. But, if you intend to
make your own textbases, doing the above two steps will allow you
to access farVIEW/S, the manual, and HOMEBASE from anywhere within
your file system.

farVIEW/S does not need the manual, but it needs HOMEBASE to
determine your color preferences and other operational details; so it
helps that farVIEW/S can find HOMEBASE when it begins. farVIEW/S CAN
find HOMEBASE when they are in the same directory.

Since HOMEBASE specifies that the farVIEW/S on-line manual, HELP,is
to act as the help facility when you press F1 (the traditional Help
key for the PC), it will help you that the "Alias" preference for
HELP is set.

You probably already know the procedure for adding a directory to
your path, so we won't presume to instruct you in that. But the
procedure for modifying the "Alias" preferences for HELP and
HOMEBASE is less familiar to you, so we will explain that a little
later.


-------------------------------------------------------What You Need-

farVIEW/S should run on any PC-compatible machine.

If you don't have enough memory, you will get a message that you have
insufficient heap storage. Remove your TSRs and try again. You should
be ok with a 512K system, but certainly not with less. Incidentally,
farVIEW/S probably will not operate with MS-DOS 2.x.

farVIEW/S is strongly color oriented; you can use a monochrome
monitor, and set farVIEW/S preferences for that, but the 64 built-in
Hiliter pens, for example, are impossible to distinguish without
color.

All farVIEW/S commands have keyboard equivalents. But they aren't
obvious. Mouse commands are easier to learn and more intuitive, so,
use a mouse; the farVIEW keyboard is only intuitive when you get used
to it.

A hard drive is recommended.


---------------------------------------------farVIEW/S Needs a Mouse-

Before you run farVIEW/S, make sure your mouse driver is loaded into
your computer's memory. Read your mouse manual for how to do this.

             YOU WILL NEED A MOUSE TO LEARN TO USE FARVIEW/S.

To run farVIEW/S, assuming you have not changed the active drive or
the active directory since the installation procedure, type

      FARVIEW HELP<enter>

at the command prompt.

Go ahead and do this, and browse a bit in the TOUR section of Help to
get comfortable with using the mouse in farVIEW/S.


----------------------------------------------------farVIEW has Help-

You can request help at any time while running farVIEW/S. farVIEW/S
provides the help function based on the location of the mouse cursor
when you press the middle mouse button (if yours has one) or when you
press F1. If the cursor is on text in the text window, the text is
used as a key. Otherwise, the window name is used as a key. The text
window is the large area in the center of the screen surrounded by
the narrow colored borders.

The help function response depends on whether the editor is active.
When it is, and you request help while the mouse cursor is on a space
within the text window, farVIEW/S provides help about the editor
commands and the key macro facility.

farVIEW/S uses the HelpList preference to determine which textbase(s)
to search for help. If HelpList doesn't name any textbases, farVIEW/S
will have no help. If HelpList names HELP (which the release version
does), then farVIEW/S will look in the HELP textbase for help. But
you can name several textbases. farVIEW will look in each in the
order they are specified until something is found.

The Help facility will not work in any directory except the directory
that contains the Help textbase if Help is not properly Aliased by a
preference. We'll explain the modification procedure shortly.


-------------------------------------------Tutorials about farVIEW/S-

The following sections contain short tutorials about using farVIEW/S.
They cover. . .

   ■ Editing Preferences
   ■ The farVIEW/S command line
   ■ Making a new textbase
   ■ Editing a frame
   ■ Making links
   ■ How to get help


------------------------------------------Changing Alias Preferences-

As soon as you learn how to add the editor (ctrl-F7 adds it), you
should edit the Preferences frame in the Homebase textbase to set the
two Alias preferences.

To obtain the Preferences frame, start the session by typing

    farview homebase preferences

Then, press ctrl-F7 to add the editor.

Next, move the edit cursor to the lines

    |homebase|homebase
    |help|help

Then modify the lines to specify the drive and directory that
contains the farVIEW/S file set. For example, if you installed the
files into \farview on drive D:, modify the two preferences to read

    |homebase|d:\farview\homebase
    |help|d:\farview\help

Now quit the session with alt-F1. farVIEW/S will ask to save. Press
the "Y" or the Enter key.

NOTE: As you create your own textbases, you can integrate them into
the farVIEW/S environment by adding a line for each of them along
with the two described above. For example, if you create a new
textbase at E:\WORK called BILLS, then add a line like the following

   |bills|e:\work\bills

With this line added in the Preferences frame, farVIEW/S will know
where to find the BILLS textbase no matter where you are in your file
system.


------------------------------------------Changing Color Preferences-

If you have a monochrome monitor, you will probably need to set the
monochrome preference to YES.

Proceed as above, except change the line

   |monochrome|

to

   |monochrome|yes

You can experiment by changing the subfields of the MONOMAP
preference. Each subfield specifies a color to which to map the
standard farVIEW/S color.

The standard farVIEW/S colors are just the EGA colors:

   0   black           8   darkGray
   1   blue            9   lightBlue
   2   green          10   lightGreen
   3   cyan           11   lightCyan
   4   red            12   lightRed
   5   magenta        13   lightMagenta
   6   brown          14   yellow
   7   lightGray      15   white

|monoMap|;black;black;black;lightGray;lightGray;black;lightGra. . .

field:      1     2     3       4         5       6     7  etc. . .

The first subfield corresponds to black, the second to blue, etc.,
up the the sixteenth field, which corresponds to white.

The various components of the farVIEW/S screen are associated with
the following color preferences:

   builtInColor       backtrack, homeward, show prev, show next
                         buttons
   messageColor       title and command bars
   textColor          frame text area
   menuColor          pop-up menus
   buttonColor        textbase buttons on text
   referenceColor     textbase references on text
   marksColor         color used to mark block with mouse
   editColor          color used for edit blocks


---------------------------------------Beginning a farVIEW/S Session-

There are several ways to begin a farVIEW/S session:

   ■ To enter an existing textbase:

      FARVIEW textbasename [-E]

      -E causes farVIEW/S to initialize the EGA/VGA to
      "high-resolution" text display mode.

   ■ To enter an existing textbase at a specified frame:

      FARVIEW textbasename framename

      The specified frame becomes the "home" frame for the session.
      In other words, if you use the Homeward command enough times,
      you will always return to this frame.

   ■ To make a new textbase:

      FARVIEW textbasename -C n

      -C causes farVIEW/S to create a textbase using the name given.
      The number n should be a guess of the number of keys that the
      textbase will require. Compute this by guessing at the total
      number of frames, then multiplying by two or three. Don't worry
      about it; farVIEW/S uses hashing for speed, but can expand the
      dictionary if it threatens to overflow.

      As farVIEW/S creates the textbase, it also makes the "home"
      frame for the textbase. You will have to name the home frame
      when the frame description record is displayed. After you enter
      the frame name, you can specify a file name to store the frame.
      To terminate the edit, any function key, or press a mouse
      button.


---------------------------------------------------Making a Textbase-

Let's make a textbase. You can use the command line option -C to
create a new textbase, but lets assume you are already in a farVIEW/S
session.

Step 1: Move the mouse cursor to a space in the Text Window (if you
        don't mind, we will call that "open space"), then click the
        left mouse button. This obtains the Main menu. Select the Add
        Editor item. (You also could have used the keyboard
        equivalent: ctrl-F7, or cF7 for short.)

Step 2: Click in open space again. Select the File... item from the
        Main menu. This obtains the File menu. Select the New
        Textbase item to create a new textbase.

Step 3: farVIEW/S will ask you to name the textbase. Don't panic when
        you see the Directory window appear. It is to remind you of
        the existing textbases.

           (An Aside: you can browse through your file system using
           the Directory window by clicking in one of the three
           windows: the Files window, the Path window, or the Drive
           window, then using the scroll bar to scroll through the
           active window. Clicking a drive or path name will change
           the Directory state. It's not another XTREE, but it is
           handy.)

        Back to business: Just type a name for the new textbase.
        Press the Enter key when you finish. Then specify the number
        of keys. Enter the number one (1), then press Enter. The
        textbase officially exists, but a farVIEW/S textbase needs at
        least one frame to feel comfortable.

Step 4: farVIEW/S will now ask you to name the first frame, the
        "root", or "home" frame of your new textbase. It will do this
        by showing you the fields of a standard frame descriptor, or
        abstract. some of the fields are filled in, like the date and
        time and the security. The important field here is the first
        one: the frame name. Give the frame a name, its your baby.
        Press a function key when you finish.

Step 5: That's it. The textbase exists, it has a root frame, and
        that's where you are.


-----------------------------------------------------Editing a Frame-

Well, since the editor is already on, let's put something into this
frame. How about this file? We could do this using ^KR (read block)
just like with WordStar to suck the file into the frame. You could do
that if you wanted. But, let's link the frame to the file, instead.

Step 1: Click in open space to obtain the Main menu. Select the
        Edit... item to obtain the Edit menu. Now, select the Edit
        Abst... item.

Step 2: Remember this? We saw it earlier in step 4 above: the frame
        descriptor, or abstract. Do one of the following:

           ■ Press the down arrow key once
           ■ Press the enter key once
           ■ Click the mouse on the File Name field
           ■ Press the up arrow key a whole bunch of times
             until the cursor wraps around to the File Name field

        Type "read.me" into the File Name field. Click the mouse
        OUTSIDE the edit window to terminate this step.

Step 3: Press sF1 (shift-F1) to refresh the screen with the file.

Step 4: Done. The frame is now linked to the READ.ME file. You can
        use the editor to improve my writing, but, remember that you
        are modifying the file as you modify the frame.


--------------------------------------------------------Making Links-

farVIEW/S provides three linking mechanisms: the BUTTON link, the
REFERENCE, and the HILITE.

A BUTTON link is a mark that appears in a frame that you can click
with the mouse to link to some other frame. When you make a button in
farVIEW/S you will ALWAYS make a frame. You have already been through
the Make Frame sequence in Step 4 of Making a Textbase.

A REFERENCE link is a word or phrase that you declare in a frame so
that, when you click on it anywhere in the textbase, you will link to
the frame.

Finally, a HILITE link is a kind of reference, which uses a color
pair to identify it. You can mark up a textbase with a hilite (you
have 64 hilites available), then at a later time find all the frames
that contain that hilite using the Find Hilite... item in the Go
menu.


.....................................................Making a Button.

Let's make a BUTTON first:

Step 1: Use the right mouse button (the Edit button) to mark an area
        of text. Place the mouse cursor at the top left of the area
        you want to mark, press the right button and hold it as you
        drag the mouse cursor to a position below and to the right of
        your starting point. Release the mouse button.

Step 2: Click the Make Button item from the Mark menu.

Step 3: farVIEW/S will now ask you to name the frame by showing you
        the fields of a standard frame descriptor, or abstract. We
        have seen it before at Step 4 in Making a Textbase, and,
        again, at Step 2 in Editing a Frame. Give the frame a name.
        Then, click the mouse outside the window when you finish.

Step 4: Done. Click the new button with the mouse to go to the new
        frame where you can edit it.


..................................................Making a Reference.

Now, let's make a REFERENCE:

Step 1: Use the Edit button to mark one or more words of text. See
        Step 1 in Making a Button for details.

Step 2: Click the Make XRef item from the Mark menu.

Step 3: farVIEW/S will display the selected text in a window, which
        you can edit or replace. If you leave it empty when you quit,
        farVIEW/S will not make a reference. After you make any
        changes you want, you accept the contents of the window by
        pressing the Enter key or clicking the mouse outside the
        window.

Step 4: Done.


,....................................................Making a Hilite.

Finally, let's make a HILITE:

Step 1: Use the Edit button to mark one or more words of text. See
        Step 1 in Making a Button for details.

Step 2: Click the Make Hilite item from the Mark Menu.

Step 3: Choose a color pair from the Hilite menu.

Step 4: Click the Text item from the Dialog.

Step 5: Done.


----------------------------------------------------Additional Tools-

farVIEW/S supports building and reading a textbase. You can also
build a textbase from the DOS command line using the textbase
installation package. You can download this package as well as
additional tools from the IBMAPP Forum and from the Hypertext/Text
Library in the AIEXPERT Forum on CompuServe. Use the keyword FARVIEW
to find these materials. Also, when you register, this software is
on the high density disk that includes the latest update of
farVIEW/S.


-----------------------------------------------A Note About Notation-

The farVIEW system supports a set of hypertext browse and edit
commands, and, at the same time, the commands of a text editor. So
that the editor can be active without impacting your ability to use
the hypertext commands, the keyboard is divided into three sets:

   The set that you normally use for text, numbers, letters, special
      characters, etc.
   The text editor commands, which uses WordStar(tm) control
      sequences.
   The hypertext commands, which use the function keys in combination
      with the control, shift, and alt keys.

The hypertext commands are described in the manuals by using an
abbreviated form. Instead of writing "ctrl-F1," "shift-F2," or
"alt-F5," The manual uses a different notation, for example, "cF1,"
"sF2" and "aF5." For the function key without any modifier, it uses,
for example, "kF8". The "c" in "cF1" indicates that you are to hold
the control key down as you press the F1 key. The "s" in "sF2"
indicates that you are to hold the shift key down as you press the
F2 key. And, the "a" in "aF5" indicates that you are to hold the alt
key down as you press the F5 key. The "k" indicates that you just
press the F8 key.

These abbreviations are used consistently throughout farVIEW/S (and
all versions of farVIEW) not only in the documentation but in macros
and in farSlang programs.


-----------------------------------------farVIEW Commercial Versions-

Commercial versions incorporate several features not found in the
shareware version.

   Graphics, Images and Charting facilities
   Serial Communications
   The farSlang Programming Language
   The Homebase ToolSet

The commercial versions of farVIEW, including the browser, include
the ability to draw graphics, display PCX images and create line,
bar, and pie charts from data. They also support serial
communications through COM1 and COM2. These facilities are provided
to the farSlang programming language, so the user interface provided
by farVIEW/S is the standard for all versions of farVIEW (except the
VT100 version).

The commercial versions of farVIEW provide a compiler, an
interpreter, and a mouse-oriented debugger to support program
development using the farSlang programming language. farSlang
programs are compiled and stored into farVIEW code frames, ready for
access in all the same ways as farVIEW text frames. When a code frame
is accessed, the program is loaded into memory to await the event
that triggers its operation.

The 260+ command farSlang library allows complete farSlang control
over all aspects of farVIEW hypertext. A farSlang program can
override virtually any aspect of farVIEW behaviour.

All commercial versions of farVIEW include an extended Homebase
textbase, which contains a library of many pre-coded farSlang
programs that provide many useful functions. For example, you can
use farVIEW as a Personal Information Manager (PIM) with the tools
in Homebase without programming.

The browser that is part of the network version of farVIEW can
execute any farSlang program, and it supports graphics, images, and
charts, but it does not include the editor nor the compiler. This
allows textbases to include intelligent frames that interact with
their reader.

Corporations can purchase farVIEW ($495) with network support and a
license to use the royalty-free browser in their network. The
"personal" commercial version of farVIEW ($99.95) includes every
capability of the network version, but does not include network
support nor the browser. farSight Technologies also offers several
versions of farVIEW operating on Digital Equipment VAX/VMS,
DECWindows and DECNet. Please inquire.

Click the About farVIEW button on the title frame of the on-line
manual, Help, for more information about the commercial version(s)
of farVIEW.

To register your copy of farVIEW/S, and receive the printed manual
and the textbase installation package, type the following command:

   farview help orderform

Instructions are provided for filling out and printing the order
form. You also can use the ORDER.FRM file to order or register.
Send the order form and the registration fee of $45 to the
address below.


------------------------------------------------If You Have Problems-

If you have problems, or would like to discuss any aspect of
farVIEW/S or farVIEW, contact us for assistance.



Thank you for your interest.

Paul J Medlock
President
farSight Technologies, Inc.
3831 Echodale Ave
Baltimore MD 21206
301/485-9529 (business hours ET)
On Compuserve: 71121,1745