Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/editors/dartht.arj/DART.#1

Text File | 1992-02-20 | 39KB | 1,217 lines

:PREFACE

The following text fully describes Dart's navigation
features. But to get you started, here are some quick
hints.

■Press (`PgDn`) and (`PgUp`) to scroll through the text.

■Asterisks* mark references to other parts of the text.

·Press (`Tab`) or (`Shift-Tab`) to move to an asterisk.
·Press (`Enter`) to view the referenced text.
·Afterwards, press (`BackSpace`) to return.

■Press (`F8`) to use the Table of Contents.

■Mouse users can click the left button to select
 hotwords, buttons, items in menus, lists, and dialogs.
 A mouse can also be used to scroll text using the bars
 displayed alongside each window.

:INTRODUCTION

Dart is a hypertext* file viewer and program launcher.
It is designed for people wishing to publish material
on-disk, for personal or commercial use. Dart can  view
any text file or run any DOS program, memory permitting.
Special features are available to people formatting
texts for Dart, but no type of "programming" is
required.

Applications ideal for Dart include distribution of

■Articles.     ■Catalogs.  ■Magazines.   ■Manuals.
■Newsletters.  ■Novels.    ■References.  ■Textbooks.

:Desktop_environment

Dart offers a modern "desktop" environment featuring

■Multiple, overlapping windows, limited only by
 available memory.

■Mouse support, menus, dialogs, input boxes.

■Online hints for menu selections.

■Complete save and restore of desktop.

:Navigation_features

Dart's navigation features include

■Scroll forward or backward by line, screen, or label.

■Scrollbars showing relative location in file.

■Conventional and one-pass global text search*.

■Global screen* history, with manual override.

■Hypertext* table and index of contents*.

■Hotkeys* for navigation features.

■Online printing by screen, label, or file.

■Built-in editor for notetaking.

■Black & white mode for LCD monitors.

■43/50 line mode for EGA/VGA monitors.

:Authoring_features

Dart's features for authors include

■Conventional ASCII format.

■No special programming or indexing: type and go.

■Many existing texts can be distributed as-is.

■Automatic sizing of desktop windows.

■Automatic generation of table and index of contents*
 (if your text is formatted with labels*).

■In-line linking*, both within and among files.

■Hard_spaces* for multi-word labels and links.

■Optional "bold" and "underscore" text_attributes*.

■Menu_boxes* of hyperlinks using line-draw characters.

■Optional, one-way text compression to secure your data
 and save disk-space. (See Compress*.)

■Registered version customized with your name (or other
 information) embedded into the program.

■Royalty-free distribution of Dart with your text.

■Compatibility with most any IBM-type PC, with or
 without graphics monitor or hard disk.


:HYPERTEXT

So what is hypertext? In its simplest form, hypertext
lets readers jump from one place to another place by
selecting a hotword. Generally, this is called linking*.

:Linking

To form a link, all a hypertext really needs is a
hotword and a place to jump. Dart lets authors indicate
"places to jump" by using "labels". Dart defines a label
as any line that begins with a colon (:) -- just like a
DOS Batch file. When Dart prints a label on the screen,
it will appear in bold attributes, and without the
colon. (This is so they look nice.)

To keep it simple, Dart considers every word a potential
hotword. You can use the cursor keys, or mouse, to move
the cursor to any word on the screen. When you press
(`Enter`), or click the left mouse button, Dart reads
the word at the cursor. If the word is a label, Dart
jumps to that label.

:Asterisks

To point-out which words are the names of hotwords,
authors can type an asterisk (`*`) after a label or file
name. The reader can then move between asterisks using
(`Tab`) and (`Shift-Tab`), and select one by pressing
(`Enter`). After making a hypertext jump, readers can
press (`Backspace`) to return.

For example introduction*, hypertext*, linking*, and
asterisks* are all hotwords that a reader can quickly
select by pressing (`Tab`) and  then (`Enter`). To move
to a previous asterisk, press (`Shift-Tab`) instead.

Note that if the selected hotword is a numeral, Dart
will assume that it's a page number, rather than a
label, and goto that page instead. Dart uses the ASCII
form-feed character (`^L`) to separate pages, and will
draw a line of hyphens across the screen to mark page
breaks. One such page break follows ..

:READING_TEXT_WITH_DART

Besides the point-and-shoot hypertext features described
in the Introduction*, Dart provides other features to
make reading text more convenient.

The following overviews the major features on Dart's
Menubar. To select any item from within Dart, press
(`F10`), use the cursor keys to hilite the appropriate
item, and press (`Enter`) when ready.

:Files

Dart's "Files" menu lets you select files to view, drop
to DOS, or exit the program altogether.

The `Open` item displays a dialog with three lists:
Files, Directories, and Drives.

Each of these is a sorted list. Entries can be selected
by using the (`Arrow`) keys, or by typing the first
letters of the entry. When the appropriate entry is
hilited, press (`Enter`). To move from one list to
another, press (`Tab`).

The Open `Files` list displays files in the current
directory. To view a file, select its name from the
list. If a program -- rather than a text file -- is
selected, the program is launched.

 To change the current file mask, press (`Tab`) to move
 to the `Directories` list and select the ".  <current>"
 entry.

 The Open `Directories` list displays subdirectories. To
 change to a subdirectory, select its name from the list.

 The Open `Drives` list displays available drives. To
 change to another drive, select its letter.

 By hiliting a file and selecting the [`E`dit] button you
 can make changes to a selected text file. Note that some
 files distributed with Dart may be readonly, and cannot
 be edited this way.

 To create a file, or edit a file you are already
 viewing, choose the [`N`ew] button, and Dart will prompt
 you for a file name.

 The built-in editor is intended only as a convenience.
 To write your hypertext files, use a good ASCII text
 editor, like MicroStar*, or export text from your word
 processor.

The `Dos Shell` item temporarily returns you to the
operating system without exiting Dart.

The `Exit` item closes the Dart program, and returns you
to DOS.

When you exit from Dart, the program will automatically
save the current Desktop to a file named DART.DSK.
Later, when you run the program again, DART will look
for this file, and if found, reload your Desktop. It
will appear as though you had never left.

The actual name of the DART.DSK file may vary if the
USER command line option has been used. (See
Command_Line_Options* for details.)

:Contents

Dart's "Contents" menu will display labels found in a
text in two different ways.

■The `Table` of Contents lists the labels sequentially.

 This menu will also hilite the name of the passage
 currently in view, lending a "you are here" affect.

■The `Index` of Contents lists the labels sorted alpha-
 betically.

 The index does not "autoseek" the current passage, but
 remains at the label selected when it was last used.

To return to a previous screen after using either menu,
press (`Backspace`), or (`Shift`)(`F9`) for the screen*
History.

:Navigate

The Navigate item leads to three submenus, Goto*,
Jump*, and Screen*.

:Goto

Dart's `Goto` menu is a hyper fastlane; instead of
bothering with lists, readers can input label or file
names, or page or row numbers directly. This is handy
for the reader (or author) who already knows the text
well.

Goto `File` can also be used to launch external programs
that need command line arguments. Just type the name of
the program (including the .EXE or .COM extension)
followed by the parameters as you would use them at a
DOS prompt.

:Jump

Jump `Label` assumes the cursor is on or next to the
name of a label. Pressing (`Enter`) is another way to
make this type of jump. The Jump `File` item assumes the
cursor is on or next to the name of a file: just as if
the words were "quoted". See Linking* and
Multiple_Files* for more about jumping. The `Next_star`
and `Prev_star` items move the cursor to the next or
previous asterisk.

:Screen

Screen `History` lists the last line the cursor was on
for the last 128 screens viewed. To return to a prior
screen, simply select a line from the `History` list. If
the file is not already loaded, Dart will try to load it
for you.

Screen `Insert` adds the current line to the `History`
list, just as if you had jumped or scrolled from it.
Screen `Insert` is Dart's answer to bookmarks.

The `Back_track` and `Retrack` items allow you to move
quickly along the screen History. After you have back
tracked to review a screen, you can use Retrack to
resume your reading. The screen History list works like
an infinite loop: if you Backtrack or Retrack long
enough, you will always return to where you began.

:Search

Dart's Search menu provides for two types of search. The
first, called `Find text`, is the conventional type of
search used by most any text viewer or editor: input a
text string, press (`Enter`), and Dart jumps to the next
occurrence of that string in the file.

Additionally, Dart also offers a `Global` search. This
feature will quickly find every occurrence of the given
string in a file, compile a `Hit List` of the lines
containing that string, and then display the list.

You can then scan the `Hit List` for the lines you want,
and jump to them on demand. The `Hit List` remains
available until the next `Global` search, so you can
jump back and forth between finds as needed.

When searching for text, Dart uses the same upper/lower
case matching used by WordPerfect(tm). UPPERCASE letters
only match other UPPERCASE letters, while lower- case
letters match UpperCase and lowercase letters.

To search for a whole word, type a space before and
after the word. A single leading or trailing space can
also be used to find a prefix or suffix.

:About

The `Dart` item on the About menu displays an
information box. Included is information about the
registered user (if any), and how to contact UserWare.

The only way to have your own name, address, or other
information displayed here is to register the program
with UserWare. (See Registering_Dart*.)

The `Blank_screen` item blanks the screen until a key is
pressed. You can also press (`Ctrl`)(`PrtSc`) to do
this.

:Compress

The `Compress` item on the About menu will compress the
text in the current window. Compression saves disk
space, and makes your text "edit-proof."

Disk-savings are often 50% or more. This means that, by
using Compress, authors can distribute 500K of text --
and the Dart software -- on a single 360K disk.

When loading files, Dart will automatically recognize
the compressed format. Decompression is "transparent",
and occurs entirely within memory. Your readers will
notice no difference between loading a compressed file
and loading a plain text file.

Before using Compress, it's recommended that you first
name your files using the Dart convention: The first
character of the file's extension is the pound-sign
(`#`). Here are some examples:

 `TEXT.#01   DICT-A.#01   DART.#1   MYTEXT1.#`

When you use Compress, Dart will remind you to make a
backup of your file first, and give you a chance to
cancel the compression. If you continue, Dart will
rename any existing disk file with an exclamation mark
(`!`) as the first character of the extension. If this
extra backup file exists, Dart will give you a chance to
cancel the task before the file is overwritten. Dart
will then write a new text file, with the same name as
the old one, but in the compressed format.

Incidentally, the SoftCopy appendix files have all been
compressed (see "SoftCopy.#"* on your distribution
disk).

:Decompressing_files

Compression is a one-way process. The only way to
decompress a file is to view it using Dart, in which
case decompression is transparent and automatic.

You should always make an extra backup copy of your text
before using Compress*. But, as an additional
precaution, Compress will try to backup your original
text file by renaming it with an exclamation mark (`!`)
instead of the (`#`). So after using Compress, your
original text files would be stored as

 `MYTEXT.!01   DICT-A.!01   DART.!01   MYTEXT1.!`

To recover your original text, refer to your own backup
file, or, in an extreme emergency, ~carefully~ use the
DOS command:

 `>COPY MYTEXT.!01 MYTEXT.#01`

where MYTEXT.#01 is the name of the file you want to
restore.

Again, it is ~strongly recommended~ that you make an
extra backup copy of your text before using Compress*,
and ~not rely~ on the backup text files it leaves.

:WRITING_TEXT_FOR_DART

Dart was designed to make authoring a snap. Dart can
read most any ASCII text file, without modification. Any
registered user of Dart may distribute a copy of the
program along with their text, without paying any type
of royalty to UserWare.

Any ASCII text editor can be used to create and edit
files for use with Dart. Examples include Galaxy*,
Qedit*, WP_Editor*, and Microstar*. "SoftCopy.#P"
includes some descriptions of text editors, and other
tools of interest to hypertext authors.

The following sections overview how an author can tweak
their text to take better advantage of the special
features Dart provides.

:Filenaming

When possible, authors should follow Dart's filenaming
convention: Use the pound-sign (`#`) as the first
character of a file's extension.

Here are some examples:

  `MYTEXT.#01   DICT-A.#01     DART.#1   MYTEXT1.#
  MYTEXT.#02   DICT-R.#01     DART.#2   MYTEXT2.#
  MYTEXT.#03   DICT-R.#02     DART.#B   MYTEXT3.#
  MYTEXT.#99   DICT-XYZ.#01   DART.#R   MYTEXT4.#`

By default, Dart's `Open` Files menu will display
filenames which match this pattern (*.`#`*). Also,
Dart's compression feature, Compress*, expects files to
be named this way.

Naming files this way is ~not~ a requirement, only a
convention that authors should follow when possible.

:Labels

Labels serve two purposes. First, they allow hypertext
linking*, and, second, they provide a ready-made Table
of Contents*. Dart doesn't need labels to display a
file, but they can be of great help to author and reader
alike.

When naming labels, authors can use any character that
could be used in a DOS filename. To represent spaces in
a label name, authors can instead type underscores (aka
hard_spaces*). When displayed on-screen, the underscores
will appear as blanks.

A good convention to follow when typing your labels is
to type the "major" sections in all uppercase letters,
and the "minor" sections in upper and lower case
letters. If you call up the Table of Contents (press
(`F8`)), you'll see we've followed this convention here.

Labels can be any convenient length, so long as the full
name fits into the Table of Contents window. Right now,
that means 45 characters.

:Hard_spaces

Hard_spaces are very helpful when using longer label
names. Hard_spaces look like blanks on the screen, but
are an entirely different character from Dart's
viewpoint.

Whenever Dart reads a file into memory, it converts all
the underscore characters into hard_spaces (ASCII #255).
This conversion does not affect the text stored on disk,
only the text Dart copies into memory.

Of course, if you use underscores to name a label, you
must also use them when typing the label into your text.

:Text_Attributes

To help prettify your text, Dart treats the tilde
character and the back-apostrophe character as control
codes.

To underscore text, place the text between a pair of
~tildes~. To bold text, place the text between a pair of
`back-apostrophes`. To use underscore and bold, use
~`both`~.

Dart "clears" the text attributes at the beginning of
each label, so any use of the text attributes must begin
and end within the text of the same label.

Dart will display the text a little differently
depending on the type of monitor a reader is using.
Attribute mapping is automatic, so authors need not
worry about it.

To be compatible with various text editors, Dart also
uses the following control characters to toggle
underscore, bold, or both (italics).

  Underscore:  ^T ^U
        Bold:  ^[ ^\ ^B
     Italics:  ^E ^R ^S

Which also means that these characters cannot be used as
ordinary text.

One good use of text_attributes is to hilite the labels
or asterisks placed in your text, so they stand out. You
could even use the various combinations of attributes to
classify hotwords according to `use`, ~meaning~, or
`~importance~`. The choice is yours.

:Multiple_Files

Often, it's convenient to break a text up into more than
one file. Dart makes this task easier by treating
hotwords surrounded by double quote marks specially. If
a hotword is placed in double quotes, like this:

  "mytext.#01"*

Dart will consider the hotword to be the name of a file,
and load that file into a new window on the desktop (or
switch to it if it has already been loaded). If the
"quoted" hotword contains more than one word,

  "mytext.#01 hello_world!"*

Dart will assume that the second word is a label, and
goto it once the file is loaded.

If the specified file is a DOS program, Dart will launch
the program instead of displaying it as a text file. Any
text following the program name (within the double
quotes) is passed to the program like parameters typed
at the DOS command line.

:Menu_Boxes

Sometimes an author might want to set up a small menu
box of items. Rather than force you to mark every word
in the menu with an asterisk, Dart lets you draw a box
around the list of items, and mark only one. Once the
reader (`Tab`)s into the box, following (`Tab`)s move
the asterisk to the next selection in the box. Here's an
example:

To review, press (Tab) to select a label.

    ┌─────────────────┐
    │*Labels          │  Signposts for readers.
    │ Text_Attributes │  Prettifying your text.
    │ Multiple_Files  │  Baskets for your eggs.
    │ Menu_Boxes      │  <- You are here.
    └─────────────────┘

Alternatively, you can leave the text outside of the
box, and simply draw a vertical path for the asterisk.

    ┌─┐
    │ │ Labels           Signposts for readers.
    │ │ Text_Attributes  Prettifying your text.
    │*│ Multiple_Files   Baskets for your eggs.
    │ │ Menu_Boxes       <- You are here.
    └─┘

The only restriction with either of these boxes is that
text cannot appear left of the asterisk, only blank
spaces and other characters than cannot be used in label
names.

If you would like to have text on both sides of a menu
box, draw an asterisk box right of the labels, like
this:

                           ┌─┐
To review,  `Labels`         │ │ Signposts for readers.
press (Tab) `Text_Attributes`│ │ Prettifying your text.
to select a `Multiple_Files` │ │ Baskets for your eggs.
a label.    `Menu_Boxes`     │*│ <- You are here.
                           └─┘

If your editor doesn't have a linedraw feature, most
editors, including Dart's built-in editor, allow you
to input these by holding down the (Alt) key, and
typing in some "magic" numbers on your numeric keypad.
Here are the magic linedraw numbers:

           196
     218 ┌  ─  ┐ 191

     179 │     │ 179

     192 └  ─  ┘ 217
           196

Remember that Dart will only recognize the single-
line characters, like those shown.

:PACKAGING_TEXT_FOR_DART

We ~want~ you to use Dart to distribute your text, so
there are no hard-and-fast packaging requirements. If it
works, you're doing it right.

But to be helpful, here are some hints and guidelines
that authors might follow.

:Files_needed_for_distribution

When distributing your text with Dart, it is only
necessary to include the Dart.EXE ~and~ Dart.RCS files.
You may include any of the Dart documentation files,
or cut-and-paste text from them, if you wish, but
this is not required.

Generally, it's a good idea to include a "MYTEXT.BAT" or
"GO.BAT" file with your text, which would load the Dart
program together with the first part of your text. For
example:

 `REM MYTEXT -- COPYRIGHT 1991 IMA AUTHOR
 ECHO "LOADING VIEWING SOFTWARE .."
 DART MYTEXT.#01
 ECHO "THANK YOU FOR VIEWING MYTEXT"`

It is also a good idea to provide a directory of the
files that are supposed to be on your distribution disk.
For example, a file named MYTEXT.DIR might read:

 `DART.EXE   -- program file used to view text.
 DART.RCS   -- program utility file.
 MYTEXT.#01 -- first part of text.
 MYTEXT.#02 -- second part of text.
 README     -- last minute changes and notes (if any).
 REGISTER   -- registration information.`

An easy way to do this is to "pipe" the DOS DIR list to
a file, and then edit the output with a text editor:

 DIR *.*>MYTEXT.DIR

Note the use of the (`>`) character, which tells DOS to
send the output of the DIR command to a disk file.

Finally, it is a `very` excellent idea to include a
sample description of your book, like those found in
"SoftCopy.#"*. The idea is that it should be something
that a User Group or Shareware librarian could edit into
a catalog description. The README file would be one
place to put such a description. A sample description is
doubly important if you compress* your text!

:Files_to_omit_for_distribution

You should also be careful that the distribution disk
does not include a DART.DSK, DART.CFG, or DART.SYS file.
While there are creative ways that these files could be
used on a distribution disk, it is ~strongly
recommended~ that they be reserved for the exclusive use
of readers.

Also, if you decide to compress* your files, copy only
the (*.`#`*) files to your distribution disk. Be sure to
omit the (*.`!`*) backup files.

:INSTALLING_DART

Dart requires no real installation. It can be run on
almost any IBM-type personal computer. You can copy the
Dart files to any subdirectory on a hard-disk, or simply
run them from a floppy disk.

:Memory_requirements

Dart will be able to load if at least 196 kilobytes of
memory is available. How many files Dart can keep open
at once, though, depend on available memory and the size
of the files. If you run out of memory, Dart will say
so, and you can free up additional memory by closing
unneeded windows.

:Video_requirements

Dart can be run using any monochrome, color, or LCD
monitor. It will autodetect the proper video attributes
for the current monitor. The video attributes used
cannot be changed beyond selecting among the three
alternatives.

You can force Dart to use black&white attributes by
using the command_line_option `/BW` (See
Command_Line_Options*). Alternatively, use the DOS
command `MODE BW80` before running Dart.

:Floppy_disks

While running, Dart may need to refer back to the
original program file now and again. If run from a
floppy drive, it is important to keep the Dart program
disk inserted while the program is running.

:DOS_2.x

When run under DOS 2.x, the drive or directory on which
the Dart program is found must be either

 ■ the current default directory, or
 ■ a directory on your DOS PATH.

If neither of these conditions are met (under DOS 2.x),
Dart will issue a reminder message when it is run, and
terminate gracefully.

:DOS_3.x

Under DOS 3.0 or better, Dart can find its original
program file no matter where it is stored. `However,`
the program file must still remain available while the
program is running.

:COMMAND_LINE_OPTIONS

Dart understands a number of command-line options to
modify its default options. Most can also be set using
the `Options`* Video menu.

 `/BW=YES`       Force black&white attributes.
 `/HIRES=YES`    Use 43/50 line mode on EGA/VGA screens.
 `/HOME=d:\path` Directory for configuration files.
 `/MARKERS=NO`   Don't display ">markers<" in dialogs.
 `/SNOW=YES`     Wait for retrace on older CGA monitors.
 `/USER=xxx`     Use DART-xxx.DSK as desktop save file.
               xxx can be any DOS filename characters.

Anything that isn't a valid option is considered a
filename to load into the desktop, or a label to jump to
when the file is loaded. To specify a label, type it
after the filename and with a colon:

 `>DART  MYBOOK.# :MYLABEL  MYBOOK.#2 :MYOTHERLABEL`

Command line options can be loaded from three places:

 ■ DOS_environment_variables*,
 ■ Configuration_files*, or
 ■ The command line when the program is run.

Dart will look for, and load if found, any options found
in any of these places, in this order, each time it is
run. The loading order is important, since a command
line option, for example, will "override" an option set
in a CFG file.

:DOS_environment_variables

Command_line_options* found in the DOS environment work
just like those typed in at the command line. DOS
environment variables are created using the `SET`
command. Here's an example:

 `C>SET DART=/BW /HIRES`

These tell Dart to use the black & white palette in
the 43/54 line mode (when available).

Before checking for a DART environment variable, the
program first checks for a DART.SYS variable. Network
administrators can use the DART.SYS variable to setup
Dart for the network generally, and the DART variable to
setup Dart for individual users.

For example, the system login script could include the
DOS Command

  'SET DART.SYS=/HOME-F:\HOME\DART'

and an individual user's login script might include

  'SET DART=/USER-USR'

Together, these variables tell Dart to look for its
setup files in the F:\HOME\DART directory, and to look
there for files named DART`-`USR.CFG, DART`-`USR.SYS,
and DART`-`USR.DSK.

Note that the hyphen (`-`) can be used in place of the
equal sign (`=`) here. (The DOS SET command does not
allow use of equal signs within variables).

:Configuration_files

After checking for Environment_variables*, DART looks
for the Dart.SYS and Dart.CFG files in the current
directory, or the directory where DART.EXE is found.

Dart uses two configuration files, Dart.SYS and
Dart.CFG. Dart.SYS* are meant for Dart's own use.

The Dart.CFG is simply an ASCII text file with one
option per line, like so:

  /BW
  /HIRES

:Command_line

Lastly, Dart examines the command line for any options
or filenames.  If no files have been loaded by now, Dart
will look for a Dart.DSK* file, and load the previous
desktop if found.

:Dart.DSK
:Dart.SYS

Dart rewrites the Dart.SYS file at the end of the
session whenever changes are made to the factory
defaults. Dart also writes the Dart.DSK file at the end
of the session, which contains the names, positions, and
sizes of the files and windows on the desktop.

:Networks

Dart's /HOME and /USER parameters make it easy to use
the program on a network.

The USER parameter appends an extra three characters to
the name of the .DSK, .SYS, and .CFG files. For example

  DART-`TNH`.CFG  DART-`USR`.CFG  DART-`JWH`.CFG
  DART-`TNH`.DSK  DART-`USR`.DSK  DART-`JWH`.DSK
  DART-`TNH`.SYS  DART-`USR`.SYS  DART-`JWH`.SYS

This allows you to store the setup files for more than
one user in the same directory.

Alternatively, the HOME parameter tells Dart where to
look for these files. This lets you store setup files
for different users in their "personal" or home
directories.

See Command_Line_Options* for more on the various ways
you can feed Dart these and other parameters.

:REGISTERING_DART

Registered users of Dart receive a copy of the program
with their own name, or other information, embedded in
the Dart|About screen. Registered users also receive a
free copy of the Microstar text editor.

If you did not receive a copy of the registration file,
"DART.#R"*, send $29 US to USERWARE, 4 FALCON LA E,
FAIRPORT NY 14450, with the following information.

■Name of person, corporation, or institution registering
 the program.

■Shipping address. Phone and fax numbers are optional,
 but can be helpful when included.

■Text to appear in Dart|About screen. Up to 4 lines of
 40 characters each (i.e. your name and address).

■The name of the library, individual, magazine article,
 et cetera, from which you learned of us. (Important!)

■"Site" licenses for larger institutions are not
 required, but individual authors or departments may
 wish to purchase their own registered copy.

International or Priority Mail orders add $2 special
handling. Funds must be in US dollars drawn on a US
Bank. Travelers checks accepted. Those wishing 3-1/2
disks should add $2 and so state. We accept purchase
orders from accredited institutions in return for a $2
special handling fee.

Availability, pricing, and the programs or files
included on the registration disk are subject to change
without notice. All UserWare products carry a 60-day
money-back guarantee.

:Questions

Feel free to submit any questions or comments to:

 ATTN Ted Husted
 USERWARE
 4 FALCON LA E
 FAIRPORT NY 14450-3312 USA

 716 425-3463 (Voice)
 71540,3660   (CIS)

Here are some answers to commonly-asked questions:

 `How many labels and files can be used with Dart?`
   In theory, more than 16,000, but in practice it's a
   matter of available memory. The more you got, the
   more you can use.

 `Can Dart read files larger than 64k?`
   Yes, up to available memory.

 `How long can label names be?`
   Labels should be short-enough to fit in the
   Contents* dialogs. Right now, that means 45
   characters.

 `Is a special utility or extra disk space needed to
 decompress files.`
  No, everything is automatic.

 `How are page and row numbers put into the text?`
   Dart uses the ASCII form feed character (^L) to
   separate pages, and the standard ASCII line feed,
   carriage return characters (^M^J) to separate lines.
   The first line is row 1, page 1.

 `Why is the Dart documentation window so narrow?`
   Dart "auto-sizes" windows to reflect the actual size
   of the text being read. The DART.#1 window is narrow
   because we used a shorter line-length.

 `Why doesn't Dart hilite the hotwords or asterisks.`
   We decided to leave that decision to individual
   authors. Feel free to use ~text_attributes~`*` to
   hilite hotwords or asterisks any way you please.

 `After viewing a file, I tried to edit it, but Dart
 said the file could not be opened. What happened?`
   Once a file has been compressed, Dart considers
   it readonly, and won't load it into the editor.

 `Can I use the built-in editor to modify a file in one
 window and view it in another.`
   Yes. First, open it using the View button. Then,
   go back to the Open Files dialog, choose the New
   button, and input the name of the file. Dart will
   load it into a second, Edit window instead of
   switching to the original View window.

 `Do I need to use Dart's editor to create my files?`
   NO! In fact, we recommend that Dart's editor
   be used only for short notes and quick fix-ups.
   If you don't have a good ASCII text editor, try
   the MicroStar* editor bundled with Dart.

 `Sometimes when I backup, the screen isn't lined up
 exactly as before, why is that?`
   Since windows can be resized, Dart saves a line's
   "relative" position on the screen rather than its
   exact position.  Sometimes "rounding errors" cause
   it to display a line or two higher or lower than
   it originally happened to be.

 `Sometimes I have to press (`PgDn`) or (`PgUp`) twice
 before anything seems to happen.`
   The first press may move the cursor to the extreme
   edge of the window. This to help you move quickly
   around a screen full of hotwords, et cetera.

 `Does Dart support graphics?`
   No. The MS DOS platform is graphics-hostile. While it
   is possible for an MS DOS program to support graphics
   without Windows, it comes at a great cost in terms of
   program complexity, size, and speed.

   Since Dart is also a program launcher, one fix is to
   distribute a separate "graphics slide-show" program
   with Dart, and call it as needed.

   We are hoping to offer optional support for .PCX
   graphics displayed on VGA monitors late in 1992, but
   only if we can do it without penalizing text-only
   users. This would only mean building a small
   slide-show utility into the Dart software. There are
   no plans to implement a true graphical interface this
   side of Windows.

 `Are you planning a Windows version?`
   Not in 1992. Maybe late 1993.

 `Why is Dart so much easier to use than similar
 programs.`
   One reason is that Dart uses "soft" links, rather
   than the "hard" link approach similar programs use.

   Rather than "embedding" the address of the target
   link (label) into your text, Dart simply looks at
   the word nearest the cursor, and checks to see if
   it's a label. The rest follows naturally.

 `Why is Dart so inexpensive?`
   Because we don't offer a printed manual or
   sell thru retail outlets. Most of the money you
   pay for software often goes to people other than
   the software developers: printers, retailers,
   advertising executives. Here, the money goes
   directly to us, no middlemen.

   We also believe that the hypertext marketplace
   needs reasonable software at a reasonable price.
   Dart is targeted to fill that need.

:SEE ALSOS

The following passages serve as a supplemental index.

:Arguments
:Options
:Parameters

 When loading Dart: see Command_Line_Options*.

 When readers launch programs: see Goto* file.
 When authors launch programs: see Multiple_Files*.

:Backtracking

 See screen* History.

:Backup_files

 See Files_to_omit_for_distribution*, or
     Decompressing_files*.

:Bold
:Underline

 See Text_Attributes*.

:Bookmarks

 See screen* Insert.

:BW
:HIRES
:MARKERS
:SNOW
:USER

 See Command_Line_Options*.

:Closing_files

 See Windows* Close.

:Dart_distribution_disk

 Dart is a shareware program distributed by most major
 shareware libraries. A current copy of this disk can
 be obtained by calling 716 425-3463 and leaving your
 name and address, or by mailing same to 4 Falcon La E,
 Fairport NY 14450-3312. Just ask for a copy of the
 Dart distribution disk.

 See Registering_Dart* for obtaining a registered copy
 of the program.

:Encrypting_files
:File_Compression
:Locking_files
:Protecting_files

 See Compress*.

:Extracting_files

 See Decompressing_files*.

:Finding_Text

 See Search*.

:Hotkeys

 The following overviews hotkeys and the commands they
 execute:
                        (Shift)+
                        (F2) Compress file
 (F3) Open
 (F4) Goto label        (F4) Goto page
 (F5) Zoom window
 (F6) Next window       (F6) Previous window
 (F7) Find_Text         (F7) Global hit list
 (F8) Contents          (F8) Index
 (F9) Jump              (F9) screen History

 (Ctrl)+                (Alt)+
                        (F3) Close window
 (F4) Goto file         (F4) Goto row
 (F5) Size/move window  (F5) Tile window
 (F7) Global search     (F7) Search again
 (F9) Jump to file      (F9) Add to history

        (Enter)  Jump
 (Ctrl)+(Enter)  Jump to file

          (Tab)  Find next asterisk (hotword)
  (Shift)+(Tab)  Find previous asterisk (hotword)

 (Ctrl)+(Right)  Find next asterisk (hotword)
  (Ctrl)+(Left)  Find previous asterisk (hotword)

         (BkSp)  Scroll backward thru Jump History
  (Ctrl)+(BkSp)  Scroll forward thru Jump History

 (Ctrl)+(PrtSc)  Blank Screen

:Hotwords
:Links

 See Asterisks*.

:Index
:Table_of_Contents

 See Contents*.

:Launching
:Program_Launching

 See Files* Open, or Goto* Files.

:Monitors

 See Options* Video or Video_Requirements*.

:Opening_files

 See Files* Open.

:Underscore

 Underscore character, see Hard_Spaces*

 Underscoring, see Text_Attributes*.

:Shareware

 Shareware is a marketing arrangement whereby people
 write software that can be freely copied and "shared"
 among interested parties. People who choose to use
 the software regularly may then register directly with
 the author. Shareware authors offer various benefits
 for registration, including telephone support, program
 updates, printed manuals, and newsletters.

 The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) is an
 organization serving shareware authors, users, and
 libraries. ASP provides guidelines for authors and
 libraries, and support intervention should a user have
 difficulty dealing with an author.

:Programs_Mentioned

 See "SoftCopy.#"* on the Dart_distribution_disk* for
 other programs of interest.

:Galaxy

 A fast, RAM-based text editor distributed by
 OmniVerse, PO Box 2974, Renton WA 98056-0961, 206
 228-7627; 24 Hour BBS: [phone]. Available as
 shareware thru most major libraries.

:PC-Write

 A very popular, mostly ASCII, word processor
 distributed by Quicksoft, 219 First Ave N #224,
 Seattle WA 98109. Available as shareware through most
 major libraries.

:Microstar

 Microstar is a simple but powerful text editor
 bundled with the registered version of Dart.
 Microstar was created by Borland International, and
 licensed for use by UserWare.

:QEdit

 QEdit is a powerful text editor distributed by SemWare
 of 730 Elk Cove Ct, Kennesa GA 30144, 404 428-6416.
 Available as shareware thru most major libraries.

:Turbo_Pascal
:Turbo_Vision

 Dart was written using Turbo Pascal 6 with Turbo
 Vision by Borland International.

:WP_Editor

 The text editor of choice for anyone used to the
 WordPerfect keyboard assignments. Available separately
 or as part of the WP_Office* package.

:WordPerfect

 A popular word processing program distributed by
 WordPerfect Corporation, 1555 N Technology Way,
 Orem Utah 85057-9971.

:WP_Office

 A potpourri of related applications, including a
 menuing and task-switching shell, a text editor, file
 manager, appointment calendar, and e-mail package,
 distributed by WordPerfect* Corporation.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DART.#01 is Copyright (c) 1989-92 UserWare.
Version 1c dated 20 Feb'92