Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/editors/fe20.arj/FE.DOC

Text File | 1992-05-06 | 28KB | 600 lines

                             FE - Fred's Editor
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ('Fe' Also Means Faith in Spanish.  As in 'Santa Fe' - Holy Faith)

                             User Documentation

                Version 2.0
                 Copyright (c) 1992
                    By Fred Cass


OVERVIEW

  Welcome to FE - Fred's Editor.  FE is a multi-document editor that uses
overlapping windows and mouse control to make it extremely easy to use.
FE also allows you to search for specific text within your documents and
includes a few nice accessories to make your life a little bit easier.  It
can edit any number of files up to 64k each and is only limited by your
computer's available memory.  FE also includes standard block, cut, copy,
and paste procedures and will even allow you to undo a mistake.

MOUSE OPERATIONS

  By using a mouse you can perform operations much faster than with the
keyboard.  Below is a list of standard mouse functions:

  Mouse Commands
══════════════════════╤════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Select Menu         │ Click on an item in the menu bar.
  Select Menu Item    │ Click on an item in a pull-down menu.
  Select Window       │ Click on any visible portion of a window.
  Resize Window       │ Click and drag bottom right corner of any window.
  Move Window         │ Click and drag top bar of window.
  Close Window        │ Click on closer icon ( [■] Found on the top left
                      │ of window)
                      │
  Zoom Window         │ Click on the zoomer icon (Found on the top right
              │ of the window).
                      │
  Scroll Down 1 line  │ Click on downward pointing arrow in bottom
                      │ right-hand corner of window.
                      │
  Scroll Down 1 page  │ Click on right hand side of window anywhere
                      │ below the current position indicator (■).
                      │
  Scroll Right 1 Char.│ Click on right pointing arrow in the
                      │ bottom right corner of the window.
                      │
  Scroll Right 40     │ Click anywhere on the bottom scroller to the
                      │ right of the current position indicator.
                      │
  Block select        │ Position mouse cursor over the text in a window.
                      │ Next, push and hold the mouse button while dragging
                      │ the mouse to the end of the block.  The highlighted
                      │ text can be manipulated using the functions in the
                      │ Edit Menu.
                      │
  Block select 1 line │ Double click on the line of text.


KEYBOARD COMMANDS

  The keystrokes used by FE are standard Word-Star compatible keystrokes,
  so if you are a user of a Borland Programming Language Product you
  should feel right at home.  Most of the keystrokes are the standard
  key with an Control sequence equivalent.
  (Eg. To delete a character press the Delete key or Ctrl-G for keyboards
   that don't have a separate Delete key)


 Insert & Delete Commands
══════════════════════╤══════════════════════
 Insert mode on/off   │ Ctrl-V or Ins
 Delete line          │ Ctrl-Y
 Delete to end of line│ Ctrl-Q Y
 Delete character left│ Ctrl-H or Backspace
 Delete character     │ Ctrl-G or Del
 Delete word right    │ Ctrl-T



 Block Commands
══════════════════════╤══════════════════════
 Mark block begin     │ Ctrl-K B
 Mark block end       │ Ctrl-K K
 Mark single word     │ Ctrl-K T
 Paste Clipboard      │ Ctrl-K C
 Delete block         │ Ctrl-K Y


 Cursor Movement Commands
═════════════════╤══════════════════════
 Character left  │ Ctrl-S or Left arrow
 Character right │ Ctrl-D or Right arrow
 Word left       │ Ctrl-A or Ctrl-Left arrow
 Word right      │ Ctrl-F or Ctrl-Right arrow
 Line up         │ Ctrl-E or Up arrow
 Line down       │ Ctrl-X or Down arrow
 Page up         │ Ctrl-R or PgUp
 Page down       │ Ctrl-C or PgDn
 Tab             │ Ctrl-I or Tab


 Miscellaneous Editor Commands
══════════════════════╤══════════════════════
 Menu bar             │ F10
 Save and edit        │ F2
 Open file            │ F3
 Print File           │ Alt-P
 Close active window  │ Alt-F3
 Switch active window │ F6
 Display Program Info │ Alt-Space
 Register Fe          │ Alt-R
 Exit Fe              │ Alt-X
 Toggle Video Mode    │ Alt-V  (EGA or VGA systems only!)
                      │
 Find                 │ Ctrl-Q F
 Find & replace       │ Ctrl-Q A
 Repeat last find     │ Ctrl-L
 Abort operation      │ Esc


MENUS

  To operate the pull-down menus with the KEYBOARD, just hold down the ALT
  key and press the first letter of the menu you want.  Then use the arrow
  keys to move up and down among the items or to switch from menu to menu.
  To make a selection on the menu, simply press enter.

  To operate the pull-down menus with the MOUSE, simply click on the menu
  bar item and hold the mouse button down.  If you did not let go of the
  mouse button yet, dragging the mouse up and down will allow you to
  highlight each of the items listed in the menu.  To make a selection
  release the mouse button.

 FE menu
 ~~~~~~~
   About FE - Displays version number and registration information
           about FE.

   Enter Registration Info - If you have sent in the registration fee and
           received the password, select this option to enable the
           password protected registered user features.

   ASCII Table - Brings up a window containing the entire ASCII character
        set and allows you, by using the mouse or arrow keys, to
        obtain the decimal or hexidecimal value of the character.

   Calendar - Creates a calendar in a window and highlights todays date.  You
        can select the month to view by clicking on the up and down
        arrows or by pressing the up and down arrow keys.

   Calculator - This is a fully functional calculator.  If you are using a
        mouse, just click the buttons as you would a regular desktop
        calculator.  If you are using the keyboard, you can use the
        numeric keypad to perform the same functions.

 FILE menu
 ~~~~~~~~~
   Open... - This menu item brings up a file selection dialog box.  You can
        simply type in the complete file name of the file you wish
        to open, or you can select one listed in the FILES box.  To
        select one from the list, just press the TAB key then use the
        arrow keys to highlight the desired file and press ENTER to
        select it.  If you are using the mouse, simply click on the
        desired file then click the OK button.  An even quicker
        method with the mouse is to double-click on the desired file
        name.  You can also select a directory and press enter or
        click OK to change to that directory.

        NOTE:  You can open as many files as your computer has
        memory.  You don't have to close the file you're currently
        working on to be able to open another.  The F3 key also can
        be used to bring up the file selection dialog box.

   New - This menu item opens an editor window to begin editing a new file.
        It initially gets the name [Untitled].  If you press F2 to
        save it wont save as Untitled, but will ask you for the new
        file name.

   Save - Will save the current file without asking you for a file name
        unless the file you editing is a new file (Untitled).  In
        the case of a new file it will bring up the SAVE AS dialog
        and let you type in the new file name.

   Save As... - Brings up the file selector dialog box and asks you for a
        new file name.  You can also select an existing file or
        change to a different directory by using the FILES box as
        detailed above in the OPEN menu item description.

   Print... - The print option brings up a PRINTER SETUP dialog box allowing
        you to set the printer port, page length, and whether or not
        to skip the page breaks between pages.  You can select the
        options with the mouse by simply clicking on them.  With the
        keyboard, use the tab key to switch between items and the
        space bar to select.  Then press ENTER or click OK to begin
        printing.  You may abort the printing at any time by pressing
        the ESC key.

   Change Dir... - This is a handy little function to change to another
        directory.  You can simply type in the new directory, or
        if you are using the mouse, just double click on the
        desired main directory and it will then display all of its
        sub-directories.  You can select a directory to change to
        by double-clicking on it or by highlighting it then selecting
        OK.  At the top of the directory tree there is an item called
        Drives.  This will allow you to log to another disk drive.
        With the keyboard (as usual), you can use the TAB keys and
        the spacebar to select items.  Pressing ENTER will change
        to the currently highlighted directory.

   DOS Shell - Allows you to leave FE for a minute and perform regular DOS
        commands.  Just type EXIT to return to FE.

   Exit - This will terminate your FE session.  If there is a file that has
        been modified, you will be prompted to save or discard the
        changes.

 EDIT menu
 ~~~~~~~~~
   Undo -  This option allows you undo your changes to the current file that
        you are working on.  You must select this option before you
        move the cursor or you will not be able to undo the typing.

   Cut - You can only select the Cut option when there is text highlighted.
        This option will 'Cut' the highlighted text from the document
        and temporarily store it in the Clipboard.  If something else
        is cut or copied to the Clipboard's contents will be lost.
        The hot-key 'Shift-Delete' also performs the Cut operation.

   Copy - This will 'copy' the highlighted text (leaving it intact) into the
        Clipboard.  The hot-key 'Ctrl-Insert' also performs the
        Copy operation.

   Paste - Assuming you have something in the Clipboard (if not this option
        will be grayed in the menu), this will copy the contents of
        the Clipboard to your current cursor position in the file.
        The hot-key 'Shift-Insert' will also perform this function.

   Show Clipboard - This will allow you to view and edit the contents of the
        Clipboard.  Whatever you highlight in the Clipboard window
        will be what is pasted using the Paste option.

   Clear - Be careful with this one.  This is basically a block-delete
        function.  It will erase any highlighted text.

 SEARCH Menu
 ~~~~~~~~~~~
   Find... - This brings up a dialog box allowing you to enter a text string
        to search for.  If you press the Down-Arrow within the
        'Text to Find' field it will bring up a history of past
        searches that you have performed.  You select one from the
        list using the arrow keys or the mouse.

        There are options for a 'Case-Sensitive' search and a
        'Whole Words Only' search.  Case-Sensitive means that if you
        typed in 'in the beginning' it would not find 'In the
        beginning' because of the capital 'I'.  Without the 'Whole
        Words Only' option selected, searching for 'table' will bring
        you to words such as 'acceptable' or tables'.

        You can also pull up the Find... dialog box with the
        WordStar compatible keystroke - 'Ctrl Q-F'.

   Replace... -  This is almost identical to the 'Find...' operation except
        the program will replace the search string with another text
        string that you specify.

        If the 'Prompt on replace' option is checked you will be
        presented with a dialog box asking you to confirm the
        replace operation.

        If the 'Replace all' option is NOT checked it will only
        perform the search and replace operation once.

        You can also pull up the Replace... dialog box with the
        WordStar compatible keystroke - 'Ctrl Q-A'.

   Search Again - After you have performed one search or replace operation,
        this will do it again.  You may also use the WordStar
        compatible hot-key 'Ctrl-L' to repeat the last search.

 UTILITIES Menu
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      The Utilities menu is new to version 2.0 and is probably the most
   complex menu in Fe.  The first nine menu items are user-definable.
   In other words, if you have a common application that you would like to
   run from within Fe, you can tell Fe to add it to this menu for quick
   access.  Some examples of applications might be:
           - A programming language command line compiler.
           - A telecommunications program.
           - A mail program.
        - A calendar program.
        - Etc.
   You can put any program in the Utilities menu that you can run from a
   DOS prompt.  This also includes batch files and DOS commands.

   An especially useful feature of the Utilities menu is that you can pass
   the filename of the file you are editing as a command-line parameter to
   the program you are calling.  For example, if you are editing a 'C'
   program in the editor (let's call it 'TEST.C', you could call the 'C'
   compiler and have Fe pass the editor filename as the program to be
   compiled (which would result in: 'TCC C:\SOURCE\TEST.C').  Or if you
   added a mail program to the Utilities menu, you could edit your mail in
   Fe then have Fe call your mail program with the name of the file to send.
   See the 'Configure This Menu' section below for details.

   Configure This Menu - This menu item brings up a dialog box which allows
             you to add your items to the Utilities Menu.  Below I will list
             all the parts of the dialog box and their functions.

             TITLE: This is the text that appears on the Utilities Menu.
                 (For example: 'Turbo Pascal Compiler')

             COMMAND: This is the command to start the program.  It can be
                 any command that would work from a DOS prompt.  I suggest
                 including the entire path for the program or batch file
                 you wish to run  (For example: 'C:\PROGRAMS\TP\TPC.EXE').
                 If the program you wish to run is in your PATH than you
                 should be able to just enter the program name here.
                 (See your DOS manual about the PATH statement).
                 * If you select your item from the menu and nothing seems
                 to happen, this is the place to check.

             PATH: This is the directory you want the program to run in.
                In other words, Fe will switch to the directory you enter
                here before it runs the program.  For example, if you are
                working on a TEST.PAS file in the 'C:\SOURCE' directory,
                make sure you enter 'C:\SOURCE' for the PATH.
                * Most of the time, this field can be left blank so that
                the program will run in the current directory.

             PARAMETERS: Add any command line parameters here.  For example,
                 if you were doing a DOS directory, and you only wanted to
                 see all the '.DOC' files, you could add '*.DOC' in this
                 field (and put 'DIR' for the command.)

             Check-boxes:
             PAUSE BEFORE EXIT: If this box is checked off, a
                 'Press any key to return to Fe...' message will be displayed
                 after the program is run.  This is useful at times like our
                 DIR example.  If this was not checked off, you wouldn't have
                 a chance to see your directory.  You wouldn't want this
                 checked for a program such as a telecommunications program
                 or a DBASE that doesn't display anything when it ends.

             EDITOR FILE AS A PARAMETER:  This check box is very important
                to the programmer.  It allows you to call a program (such
                as a command line compiler) and send the file you are
                editing as a parameter.  For example, if you were editing
                the Turbo Pascal file 'INVADERS.PAS' in Fe, you could set
                an item up called 'Compile...' (command would be 'TPC.EXE')
                and it would send 'INVADERS.PAS' as a parameter.  The
                advantage of this set-up is that the same menu item could
                compile any file you're editing.  You would never have to
                change the menu item for a specific project.

            Buttons:
            PREV/NEXT: These buttons allow you to scroll through the
                nine (9) user-definable menu items.
            SAVE: This button saves your entries to the FE.CFG file.
                * Note: The menu items that you add or change will not
                be visible until you exit Fe (Alt-X) and re-start it.
                * Also, be sure to press this button and not Cancel if
                you want to save the changes to your menu.
            DONE: This button exits the CHANGE THIS MENU dialog box without
                saving any of your changes.

   Change Screen Colors - This menu item brings up the color configuration
           screen.  The 'Colors' screen allows to change the color of
           any element of Fe.  The color changes are only saved if
           you are a registered user of Fe (For information on
           registering Fe, see REGISTRATION section below.)

           To change colors, select a Group from the list on the
           left.  Next select an Item from the list on the right.
           Then choose the foreground and background colors from
           the color palettes on the right.  A sample of the colors
           you chose will be shown below the palettes (Text Text).

           That's really all there is to it.  The best way to learn
           how to change the colors is to experiment.

   Video Mode Toggle - This function will only work on a computer that is
           equipped with an EGA or VGA display adapter.  It switches
           the display from 25 line to 43/50 line text mode.  This is
           also equivalant to pressing Alt-V.

   Editor Options - There are currently two options under this menu item.
           Auto-Indent mode means that when you hit enter on an
           indented line, it will start the next line the same
           distance from the left as the previous line.
           Create Backup Files means that when you save a file
           that already existed on the drive, the old file is renamed
           to filename.BAK (where filename is the same as the file
           you are saving).  This feature comes in handy when you
           save your file and realize that you "really didn't want
           to delete that section after all...".  The BAK file would
           contain the version prior to the last save.

   Save Configuration... - This item allows you to specify where the
           FE.CFG file is stored.  FE.CFG contains a lot of information
           about your program.  It contains all the options you may
           have selected including the Utilities Menu items, Editor
           Options, Colors (registered version only), etc.

           A word about FE.CFG:

               The FE.CFG file is vital to the operation of Fe.
           When the program starts, it looks in the current directory
           for FE.CFG and if it cannot find one, it searches your
           PATH.  If it cannot find a FE.CFG file in any of those
           places, it will create one in your current directory.
           Changes made to the Utilities Menu will only be stored in
           one FE.CFG file.  So if you add some items and later on
           don't see them, most likely they are in a FE.CFG file
           somewhere else on your HardDisk.  So what's the answer to
           this dilema?  What I suggest is that you create a directory
           on your harddisk called C:\FE (if you haven't already) and
           edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add it to your PATH
           statement.  (PATH=C:\FE;bleah;bleah;bleah)  Then when you
           are working in Fe, make sure you are using the FE.CFG file
           from the C:\FE directory.  That way when you change
           some options, you will see them no matter which directory
           you are in.  A little experimentation will also help you
           get it right (or if you are really confused, just give me
           a call and I'll walk you through the process).

 WINDOWS Menu
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Size/Move - After selecting this option FE will highlight the
        currently selected window and allow you to resize or
        move it using the keyboard.

        See the section called MOUSE OPERATIONS' if you would
        desire to do this with the mouse.  The same applies for
        the 'Zoom' and 'Close' menu items.

        After the window becomes highlighted (turns green) the arrow
        keys allow you to move the window around the screen.

        Holding the CTRL key will make the window move in larger
        jumps.

        Holding the SHIFT key will allow you to resize the window.

        Holding the CTRL and SHIFT keys will allow you to
        resize the window in larger jumps.

   Zoom - Activating the Zoom menu option or pressing the F5 key will make
        the currently selected window fill the entire screen.

   Tile - Selecting this menu item will make all windows visible (if possible)
        by arranging them in a tiled fashion.

   Cascade - Selecting this menu item will stack all the edit windows on the
        screen and size them so that their title-bars (the top of
        the window) remain visible.

   Next - Activating the Next menu option or pressing the F6 key will bring
        the next window to the front of the stack (assuming you have
        more than one active edit window).

   Previous - Activating the Previous menu option or pressing the Shift-F6
        key combination will bring the previous window to the front
        of the stack (assuming you have more than one active edit
        window).

   Close - Selecting Close or pressing the 'Alt-F3' key combination will
        close the currently selected window.  If the text in the
        window has been modified, you will be asked if you want to
        save the changes.


MISC

- Giving FE a filename from the command line (eg. 'C:\>fe fe.doc') will load
  the editor then load the specified file.  Unlike other text editors, fe
  can load multiple files from the command line
  (eg. 'C:\>fe config.sys autoexec.bat').

- You can use cut and paste to transfer text from one window/file to another.

- An asterisk (*) will appear in the lower left corner of an edit window if
  the file has been modified.  This is reminder to save the file!




SHAREWARE

    FE is not a free program and it is not public domain.  FE is
shareware which means that you are allowed to try it out for a reasonable
period of time (As much time as it takes you to determine if it suits
your needs.  This will probably be after the first day of use because
FE is such an powerful and easy to use editor!) and after this trial period
you must either register it (See below) or delete every trace of it from
your system.


REGISTRATION

    I am releasing FE into the shareware market because I find it to
be a VERY useful program, and I thought I would pass that along to you.
But in order for me to be able to continue to enhance and upgrade FE I'll
need your support.  I am only asking $15.00 for the Basic Registration
which you must admit is not much!  Please encourage me to continue to
work on FE by sending in your 15 bucks.  When you send in your
registration fee, I will send you the password to unlock some special
features.  You can also receive the latest copy on diskette (Standard
Registration) and even a printed copy of the user's manual (Deluxe
Registration).  Your registered user password will work on a limited number
of future versions of Fe as well.
    I understand that it takes a little effort to write a check and
shove it in the mail, but you'll be glad you did when you get the
latest registered version.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To register, send U.S. funds to:
    Fred Cass
    18 Brookview Drive
    Milford, NH 03055

Please use the registration form found in the file: REGISTER.FRM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please include your name, address and any suggestions for improvement.  If
its a good suggestion, I might just add it and send you an updated version.

In the future I plan on adding many other features (not too many because
I don't want Fe to get bloated!).  Registered users will recieve
notification of the latest changes to the program.

Thank you for your support, and may God Bless you!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The name 'FE' stands for Fred's Editor because I created it, but also (as
you saw above) the word 'fe' in the Spanish language means faith (as in
Santa fe - holy faith).  The word 'faith' has meant a lot to me during the
past five years.

I grew up programming computers.  The night my Dad brought home my first
computer, I stayed up all night reading the manual and learned to program.
But a number of years later, when in high school, I began to throw my life
away by giving into the pressures of 'friends' and began to be heavily
involved with drugs.

To make a long story short, I'm very lucky (fortunate) to be alive, and I
can only say that Jesus Christ was the One Who changed me.

It turns out that many of my 'friends' were into satanism and I always
thought that was a big joke until the night they tried to initiate me into
their little cult.  I realized that the devil was very real, that night,
and he wasn't just a guy in a red suit that you might see at the end of your
life.  I came very close to giving my life to Satan, but something (SomeOne)
inside me made me keep on resisting what they were pushing.  I thought I had
to be dreaming when I saw the things (supernatural things) that were
happening around me, but I couldn't deny it was real.

So I ran from the devil and ended up in the arms of God.  I would pray to
Him in my room and immediately feel His presence all around me.  I would ask
Him to show Himself real to me and He would.  I completely lost all desire
for drugs and began to seek the Lord with all my heart.  One day I gave Jesus
complete control of my life, and since then I've become a brand new person.
My wife has a similar testimony since she also committed her life to the
Lord (She was one of the 'friends' and you would not recognize her if you
knew her then and saw her now).

The Bible says that, "...ALL have sinned and have fallen short of the glory
of God,".  You may not have had the problems that I did, but without a
relationship with the Creator of the universe, you are still heading in the
same direction as I was.  The Bible also says, "...but the gift of God is
eternal life."  All you need to do is receive what Jesus did for you on the
cross and you can be set free.  Just pray and ask God to forgive you and
set you free from the power of the sinful nature, and you can become a
brand new person.  If you want to do that right now, just pray this prayer
from your heart, "Lord Jesus, I realize that you cannot stand sin but you
loved me so much that You sent Your only Son to pay the penalty for my sin.
I receive that sacrifice right now, and I ask You to forgive me and come
into my heart and change my life.  I confess that Jesus is Lord of my life!
Thank you! In Jesus Name, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer, be sure and get involved in a good Bible
preaching church and meet some other people who share in the same experience.
Also please call me and let me know about your life changing experience!

Fred Cass
18 Brookview Drive
Milford, NH  03055
[phone] - leave a message if I'm not there, and I'll be sure to get
         back to you.

So freely surrender.  Open up unto His majesty.