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1990-08-31
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STACK - Command Line Editor/Enhancer, Version 2.4
=================================================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
----------------
I thought that it was about time I gave credit to some of those
users whose suggestions have improved STACK or helped me isolate
faults.
Barry Foelsch of Raleigh, NC who helped me track down a problem
with mono displays.
All the members of the Canberra C SIG whose many suggestions
resulted in version 2.0
Jeff Bowles of Columbus, Ohio who helped isolate the repeated
command fault in version 2.3 and suggested the F3 option.
AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS
------------------
Isn't it always the way ? You just finish setting up a new bit of
software and out comes an upgrade. However you shouldn't find
updating to version 2.4 a traumatic experience as it is completely
compatible with versions later than 2.0 and all of the new features
are initially disabled. Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep the
command file to the same size as for 2.0 and it has grown by about 200
bytes. Still I think the size increase is worth the benefits. (For
those who are wondering what happened to 2.1 it had a minor bug which
was quickly discovered but not until after I had distributed a few
copies.)
The down side of all this is that STACK is now becoming fairly
complex. To combat this I have presented the commands available in
two sections and new users may find it simpler just to use the basic
commands initially and only use the more esoteric commands when they
find they need them.
All of the new features have been included in the documentation and
are summarized in the file HISTORY.STK
WHAT IS IT ?
------------
There are a number of programs around that record the last few
commands that were typed in a stack and allow you to recall them
with a few key strokes. I've always used one and feel a bit lost
on a computer that doesn't have one. The problem that I have
with such utilities is that the stack quickly gets cluttered up
with a 'rubbish' commands that I don't want to use again and I
loose track of whether the command I want is still in the stack
or has been pushed out.
STACK is my solution to this problem. In addition to the usual
command line editing features STACK allows you to flip open a
window showing you what commands are in the stack. You can also
copy these commands to a separate list associated with the
function keys.
FOR USERS OF EARLIER VERSIONS
-----------------------------
Users of version 1.x of STACK will notice a few changes,
hopefully all for the better and none too traumatic. The main
changes are:
- the command to modify STACK.COM is now ALT-W
- the function key list now uses a select bar similar to the
command stack
- the command stack is not cleared when STACK is loaded so it is
possible to save commands in the stack as well as the
function key list
- new commands are always added to the bottom of the stack (as
displayed on the screen) with old commands dropping off the
top.
- commands that are already in the command stack or function key
definitions will not be copied into the command stack.
There are some other minor differences but these can be changed
with the setup utility.
COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER UTILITIES
----------------------------------
STACK patches some DOS interrupts and can clash with other
resident utilities especially keyboard enhancers such as
SMARTKEY. If you load it before such utilities there shouldn't
be any problem.
Some users have asked if it is possible to make STACK work within
utilities such as XTREE that "shell" to DOS to let you execute
commands. The answer is a qualified sometimes. Many of these
programs don't actually shell to DOS but instead use their own
code to collect a command string from you then get DOS to execute
the command directly. In these situations STACK doesn't get a
look in and there is usually no way around it however setting the
always enabled flag in STACK may work in some cases.
COPYWRITE, ETC
--------------
STACK (all versions) may not be sold for profit or "bundled" with
other products without my permission. Other than that there are
no restrictions on who can use STACK or under what conditions.
Go for it.
COMMANDS - GENERAL
------------------
The commands recognized by STACK are presented in two groups, the
common commands, which are essentially those compatible with
earlier versions of stack, and the less common commands. A
summary of all commands is presented afterwards.
POSITION OF COMMAND LINE. So that long command lines do not
interfere with the window display STACK will automatically move
the command line to the bottom of the screen if it might get in
the road of an opening window.
TERMINOLOGY. When a window is opened the highlighted line is
referred to as the current command. Except where otherwise
indicated all commands affect or action the current command.
Where the command descriptions below refer to a command in the
stack the details are equally applicable to function key
definitions in the function key list, except where noted.
COMMON (OLD) COMMANDS
---------------------
Return/Enter - execute the current command
UP - select the preceding command and display it at the
(arrow) DOS prompt. If a window is open the select bar is
moved to the previous command. In 1.x versions of
STACK the up arrow recalled the command prior to the
last command rather than the last command. Some users
found this useful and you can select between the two
alternatives using the setup utility.
F3 - using the setup utility F3 can be made to act the same
the UP key. If this option is selected then you can
still invoke the F3 function from the function key
list using the highlight. To act as a reminder when
F3 is switched to act as the UP key the 'F3' label is
blanked out in the function key window.
DOWN - select the next command and display it at the
(arrow) DOS prompt. If a window is open the select bar is
moved to the next command.
PGUP - open a window and display the command stack.
PGDN - open a window and display the function key definitions
for the function key list.
HOME - move the cursor to the left of the current command
END - move the cursor to the right of the current command
DEL - delete the character at the cursor
INS - toggle insert mode. Insert on is indicated by a block
shaped cursor. The default insert state can be set
using the setup utility.
Backspace -delete the character to the left of the cursor
ESC - clear the command line and close the window
TAB - delete the currently highlighted command from the stack
Fn - copy the command associated with that function key
shift Fn to the command line and execute it if the definition
is terminated with a carriage return (see next
command). You can also issue the command associated
with a function key switching to the function key
window (PGDN) and selecting it with the highlight bar
and then pressing Return/Enter. The function keys that
can be programmed in this way are F1 to F10 and shift
F1 to shift F5. See the note on F3 above.
Ctrl Fn - copy the current command to this function key. Ctrl F1
Alt Fn to ctrl F10 copy to the corresponding function key,
alt F1 to alt F5 copy to shift F1 to shift F5
respectively. If STACK is currently in insert mode (ie.
you pressed INS and the block cursor is showing) then NO
carriage return is added to the end. This means that you
can add some more to the end before pressing Return/Enter.
If insert mode if off then a carriage return is added to
the end and the command will be executed as soon