같개 Hello, and welcome to the PC-WREAD documentation! 같개 같개 In just a moment, we'll take you right into that documentation; 같개 first, though, let's explain how you move around in the document. 같개 같개 All the active keys will be continually displayed along the bottom 같개 line--you see them there now. They are the usual movement keys: 같개 같개 � the four cursor keys (plus Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right); 같개 � the PageUp and PageDown keys; and, 같개 � the Home and End keys. 같개 같개 The Esc key is the Exit key. 같개 같개 By and large, everything does what you might expect it should: the 같개 cursor keys scroll one line or column at a time, the Page keys scroll 같개 one screenful at a time, and Home and End jump to the top and bottom-- 같개 respectively--of the document. (Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right jump 10 같개 columns at a time.) And Esc returns you peacefully to DOS. 같개 같개 To see this document as was intended, use just the Page keys. 같걋컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 같� (Press PgDn when you're ready to move on.)  컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴   PC-WREAD  컴컴컴컴컴   旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커  � �  � A software product �  � �  � from �  � �  � High Boskage House �  � �  읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸         V. 1.00 Copyright 1990 by Eric Walker  컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� � PC-WREAD: Its Legal Status � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠  Please be sure to read this section!  PC-WREAD is a "shareware" product. Its author retains the copyright and all rights in the program, including the exclusive right to license its use by others. The author hereby grants you the following limited license:  You may install and use this program without notification or   payment in any amount to the copyright holder, provided such use   does not extend longer than thirty (30) days from the date of   first installation; by no later than the end of the aforesaid   period, you must either register the program by notifying the   author of your intent and paying the registration fee or else   remove the program from your system and thereby cease using it.   컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴   컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴   It is the intent of this license that you have an opportunity to   evaluate the program and its suitability for your needs before   having to decide whether or not to purchase a full license. You   are permitted, and indeed encouraged, to distribute this program   to others, subject to the folowing conditions: all files in the   original distribution package--SEE.EXE, SEEDOC.EXE, SEEDOC.TXT,   COLORS.DOC, and README.1ST--must be distributed together, each   unaltered in any way whatsoever, and not bundled with any other   programs; you may not charge any fee for the distribution, except   that established user's groups may charge a nominal amount (not   to exceed ten dollars); and you must not represent, explicitly or   implicitly, that any recipient is receiving any rights in this   program beyond this shareware limited license.  Registration will bring you the following: a slightly augmented version of the program (described more fully below); a license to use the program and any successor versions in perpetuity at any one site (multiple-site licensing is available at moderate incremental costs); a few modest but perhaps useful little utilities; the right to--at reasonable hours and for reasonable periods--harass the author by telephone; the peace of mind that comes with having fulfilled a moral obligation on the honor system; and the satisfaction of having helped support the shareware concept. Registration for a single site is $10; if, however, you send along a diskette in a suitable mailer, or do not require the augmented program, the cost is only $8. For multiple-site use, the license-fee structure is: Number Of Sites: License Fee Per Site: 2 - 5 $7 6 - 10 $6 10 - 20 $5 over 20 $4 These figures are registration costs only; distribution diskettes are $2 each, regardless of number of sites. Please: Bear in mind that such modest costs for software, representative of the shareware movement, are only possible if you register the programs that you use. It is neither honorable nor reasonable to expect "the other guy" to do it all. There are very few--if any--software needs for which the best answer is not available in the shareware world. Whether or not you find this particular program worth registering, please keep these low prices for high quality possible by supporting shareware authors. �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �  PC-WREAD: What It Does  � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 PC-WREAD is a file-viewing tool. It can be used as a general-purpose file viewer, and it will do that job decently, but candidly it does not have the full panoply of features that an all-purpose file viewer (such as the shareware program LIST from Vernon Buerg) should ideally possess. Rather, PC-WREAD is a special-purpose tool: it was designed to work in tandem with the highly successful shareware word-processor PC-Write, from Quicksoft, Inc., although--as described in the Appendix hereto--it can be of significant use even without PC-Write. Briefly stated, what PC-WREAD does is present on screen a display of any file that is exactly the same as the display that PC-Write would show for that file when displaying in "Hide" mode (font characters invisible). Note: if any of the terms used in this discussion are unclear to you, there is an extended introduction to the basics further down, under the heading "Basic Background." The remainder of this discussion will assume that you are a user of and at least reasonably familiar with the operation and features of PC-Write. PC-WREAD evolved to fill a perceived gap between the features of PC-Write and of LIST (and similar programs). Frequently, situations arise in which the user (that's you for now, but stay tuned) wants to simply view on screen--as opposed to edit or print out--a text file. PC-Write can, of course, be invoked for this purpose, either in the ordinary Edit mode or in the Read-Only mode. Each of these two cases, however, has drawbacks. In Edit mode, there is the very real possibility (and, over time, that becomes probability) of inadvertently altering the file, perhaps disastrously--there are a lot of ways to cause havoc by a single careless or accidental keypress. Worst of all are the instances in which such file alterations are not even noticed at the time, which is assuredly possible in the most likely case, the accidental keypress (everyone--everyone-- brushes a finger or a notepad against the keyboard on occasion), because the alteration will usually only be caught if it was dramatic. Read-Only mode has its own problems. PC-Write, wonderful as it is, is an editor; that's its job. The Read-Only mode was included primarily as a way to work around locked files in networks, and it thus works in all ways just like Edit mode, except that you cannot save any editing changes to the file directly but must write the file under another name. So, besides the very real problem of remembering to call PC-Write in the Read-Only mode (and of remembering how to do so), there is the fact that while you can't actually damage the file, you can certainly appear to be doing so. Further, it would be all too easy to call up a file to review and after kicking around in it for a few minutes forget that you're in Read-Only and start editing; you wouldn't be reminded what was happening until you first went to save your work. Yes, you can and would then use another file name, but--all in all--while using PC-Write in Read-Only as a straight file-viewing tool works, it's not the ideal solution. An obvious alternative is a full-blown file viewer such as the above-cited LIST program. But such programs can't know when they're looking at a PC- Write-created file, so they have to be equal-opportunity displayers of files' contents. This means that they can have no way of knowing that a Code-2 character is supposed to make the following text look like this  until another Code-2 character is encountered, then revert to "normal"; in fact, they can't even know what "normal" means to you (especially on a color monitor) without special configuration. Furthermore, general-purpose file-view programs have to present all characters (whether or not you made them "enhanced") in one appearance, plus thay have to decide what to do with the font characters themselves. If they display them like ordinary text, the result will be, to say the least, distracting, especially in any areas of your document making heavy use of text enhancements. But if they don't display the font characters at all, you have no idea what text sections may be enhanced in some way. Enter PC-WREAD. PC-WREAD does know that it's viewing a PC-Write-created file (actually, it doesn't know, it assumes). As you will have seen from reading this file, PC-WREAD very obviously does know what to do with font characters used by PC-Write, even when they're nested: Normal, then elite going bold with italic in it within the elite area. Note: the specific font-display characteristics in this document are customized PC-Write font characteristics, discussed further below. PC-WREAD displays them all just as PC-Write would. So, the very obvious first major use for PC-WREAD is as a quick, easy, safe way to look over document files created with PC-Write. You're reading one now--but that brings us to a second (if related) major use for PC-WREAD. PC-Write uses font characters primarily to send instructions to your printer. The altered screen display is only a support feature for that primary purpose, there to let you know what text is affected. It isn't perfect in that respect--your screen can't actually show italics or different pitches or sub- and superscripts--but it doesn't have to be; it is enough to tell you the text is affected, and leave the "how" it is affected to categorical (e.g. differing-pitch) display variations. But why not utilize that facility--variant screen displays--as the primary function? That's exactly what this very file does. It is not intended to be printed out--if you tried it, you'd get some very peculiar results! It is intended for just this: being read "on line," as you are doing now. Have you noticed how the text, without (we hope) any manifest signs of forcing, makes complete screenloads of information? It must strike any thoughtful observer as both bizarre and ludicrous that programs--software, the essence of the computer age--are to this hour documented almost exclusively in hard copy or in files intended for no other use than to be printed out. "On-line documentation" is a phrase that rarely means anything but Help screens in a program. Actual outside- the-program documentation intended exclusively or even mainly for screen reading is almost nonexistent. The shoemaker's children go barefoot. Having PC-WREAD available, you can now readily create documents for on- line reading. You could, of course, always do this and use a general- purpose file viewer to read them, but now you have the full spectrum of text presentation available to you. In monochrome, you can use-- � normal � boldfacing � underlining � boldfaced underlining � reversed video (which, if you are viewing this in color, is what those lines show as in monochrome). In color, you can use anything on anything, provided it is coded into PC-Write, either by default or by your customization of the font characters' screen effects (discussed further below). This added capability makes on-line files a good deal more attractive, both literally and figuratively. Consider how vastly simpler the giving of even elementary instructions is when you can create lines like: Type F  and wait for a response, then press  and type R2 While the mind immediately seizes on the marvellous prospects for improvement in text files, such as program documentation (like this file), the fun has only started. Virtually every programming language, even DOS's Batch Files, has some "remarks" delimiter: after the delimiter (the ' in BASIC or--effectively--the : in a Batch File), the language ignores the rest of the line. Consider this fragment of a PC-Write "commented" AUTOEXEC.BAT file seen via PC-WREAD, and ponder the possibilities: :  THIS IS THE NORMAL, FULL AUTOEXEC VERSION :  (The "fast start" version is in AUTOEXEC.HOT.) echo off cls prompt $P$G path C:\;C:\EDITOR;C:\UTILS;C:\DOS;C:\FILTERS;C:\AMPLE set CPMDISK=D set W=ALONGNAMEDESIGNEDTOASSURETHATTHEREWILLBELOTSOFENVIRONMENTSPACE set X=ALONGNAMEDESIGNEDTOASSURETHATTHEREWILLBELOTSOFENVIRONMENTSPACE set Y=ALONGNAMEDESIGNEDTOASSURETHATTHEREWILLBELOTSOFENVIRONMENTSPACE set Z=ALONGNAMEDESIGNEDTOASSURETHATTHEREWILLBELOTSOFENVIRONMENTSPACE :This adds 256 bytes to Environment space--must occur before 1st TSR program synchdos Programmers: you know it's good practice to extensively comment your code; now look what you can do: cls system ' '袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴SUBROUTINES, PROCEDURES, & FUNCTIONS袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� ' '桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁Get A Keypress桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁� sub KB shared kb$,scancode ' do:loop until instat kb$=ucase$(inkey$) '--won't run except in TurboBasic if len(kb$)=2 then scancode=asc(right$(kb$,1)) else scancode=0 end sub ' '桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁Interpret Key Presses桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁 sub INTERPRET(scancode) shared daymax,day,month,year local ok Or this: '桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁change default disk drive桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁 sub SETDRIVE inline ' ' call setdrive(drive) ' $inline &H55 ' push BP  save Base Pointer $inline &H89,&HE5 ' mov BP,SP  use extant stack $inline &H8B,&H5E,&H06 ' mov BX,[BP+6]  load DRIVE's pointer $inline &H8B,&H17 ' mov DX,[BX]  move DRIVE into DL $inline &HB4,&H0E ' mov AH,0E  load op code into AH $inline &HCD,&H21 ' int 21  set DRIVE as current drive $inline &H5D ' pop BP  restore BP end sub ' '桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁桁scan file contents for custom attributes桁桁桁桁桁 sub SCAN inline ' 'call scan(mono,aa(0),codes(1),prdefsize,holdtext$) ' +22 +18 +14 +10 +6 ' Examples and possible uses could be endlessly multiplied, but your own imagination can probably make the point even better than we can. This PC-Write/PC-WREAD marriage is made in heaven for writing reminder instructions for, as a start, yourself. Here at High Boskage House, when we get a new piece of software in, the very first thing we do--before ever dreaming of installing the program--is to take the supplied .DOC file and very materially rewrite it for our own benefit. The first benefit is ensuring that the documentation is completely and thoroughly understood; one cannot rewrite what one has not definitively understood. The second benefit is that when we're through, we have (we think) a comprehensible, clear document; it is a sad fact that far too many software creators are much more adept at a computer language than at the English language. (As an aside, it is our firm opinion that many fine programs--especially shareware programs, and most especially large and powerful shareware programs--often don't get the distribution they deserve because many users cannot fathom the opaque "explanations" provided in the .DOC files.) The third benefit is that we can use PC-Write font characters to enhance the screen text to make fast spotting of key points and summaries available when we later screen-review the file for a specific datum. Now, however, consider the case of leaving instructions for third parties, whether on your system or theirs. What a picnic! You can get flashy, attention-getting screen displays without cumbersome batch files or special ANSI coding or suchlike. Just use good old PC-Write to create the information file--like this one--and what you see is what they'll get. Granted that PC-Write is possibly the premier word processor around, you can't write files--.DOC or otherwise--on the assumption that every end viewer will have and know how to use PC-Write. (Their loss.) But--all that's necessary is that the viewer have PC-WREAD available, a simple enough requirement. And it's so very easy to use that even the rankest beginner can be trusted to use it properly to read your instruction (or other information) files. (See the end of this document for information on bundling PC-WREAD with other products.) | | | | (more follows) �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �  PC-WREAD: How To Work It  � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 The operational program comes to you named SEE.EXE. You may freely rename it to whatever you find quick and easy. If you do not rename it, you would display the contents of a hypothetical file FIXIT.DOC by typing: SEE FIXIT.DOC  You may include, as necessary, Path or Drive specifications: SEE B:\WORK\MISC\FIXIT.DOC  All Path specifications--Drive specified or not--must begin with a \. You can also call PC-WREAD without a file specification, with just: SEE  When so invoked, PC-WREAD will come up prompting for a file specification; it will be showing a list of all files in the current default directory. (We will discuss dealing with that screen a little further on.) If you call PC-WREAD with a file specification that is in some way defective or is nonexistent, PC-WREAD will show you your specification and an error message explaining the problem it is finding (it can, however, only signal one kind of error at a time). PC-WREAD will at this point be asking you whether you want to quit the program or try again--the only two options then available (the screen is utterly self-explanatory). If you choose to continue, PC-WREAD will then take you to the same screen that you get after exiting a normal file presentation (which is also the same screen that you get if you invoke PC-WREAD with no file name at all--the one we just said we will discuss a little further on). When PC-WREAD successfully locates a file you have specified, it will display it--as you are now seeing. The top "framing" line will show the file name as specified and the Line Number of the topmost line of the current screen display. Line numbering can occasionally be slightly tricky; the problem is that certain "phantom lines" which appear on the screen display don't figure into the displayed Line Count. A PC-Write file contains three "classes" of lines: real text lines, which could be printed out if desired; Guide Lines, which are in essence private messages from you to PC-Write about formatting your document and which neither print out nor even appear in the "hide" screen-display mode; and Page-Break Lines, which show where you or PC-Write have inserted page breaks, and which don't print out as lines (just as form feeds) but which do display on screen, even in the "hide" screen-display mode. PC-Write itself is a bit ambivalent about Page-Break lines. The normal Status-Line display is relative: lines are numbered relative to the page they're on, and Break Lines are designated "Line 0" in that display. But if you request an all-document absolute location, Break Lines (and even Guide Lines) are counted in the displayed total! PC-WREAD both displays and counts text lines; no problem. It neither displays nor counts Guide Lines; no problem. It does not count, but does display Page-Break Lines--problem: a "line" not counted in the displayed Line Number count appears on screen. In PC-WREAD, Break and Guide Lines never figure in the Line Count. Just remember: If a Break Line is the top screen line, the displayed Line Count will be that of the first real text line below that Break Line.  This need to treat Break Lines slightly differently than does PC-Write itself (because PC-WREAD always shows an absolute Line Number count) leads to one small, curious difference in screen display: when you scroll a Page-Break Line up off the top of the screen, you see what appears to be a "jump" effect. What happens is that your one-line scroll command is telling PC-WREAD to move to the next line; but the "next" line--the next real line--is the one whose line number follows that displayed in the top framing line. The Break Line that was being shown atop the display area has no real existence; the displayed number was that of not the Break Line, but that of the "real" text line shown right after it--the second displayed line on the screen. So, the one- line scroll moves two display lines off the screen--the phantom Break Line and the real text line. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � NOTE: � � Using PC-WREAD to view any file containing characters of code � � 11 or code 12 that do not conform to PC-Write's requirement of � � one per line, in the very first column only, will lead to some � � VERY bizarre-looking screen displays! No others are problems. � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 The bottom "framing" line shows all the keys PC-WREAD will recognize:  = scroll one column left (stops at left document edge)  = scroll one column right (goes indefinitely) - = scroll ten columns left (to document edge) - = scroll ten columns right (indefinitely)  = scroll one line up (stops at document top)  = scroll one line down (stops at last document line)  = scroll one screen up (stops at document top)  = scroll one screen down (stops at last document line)  = jump to top of document (cancels any horizontal scrolling)  = jump to bottom of document (cancels any horizontal scrolling)  = exit from current document (returns to menu) The Line Number display on the top framing line gives you an idea where in a document you are, but this information is supplemented by the presence or absence of four "pointer arrows" on the screen. An arrow at any one of the four extreme corners of the display screen signifies that more of the file can be seen by scrolling in the direction indicated by the arrow. Right now, you will see at the bottom corners the "Up" and the "Down" arrows; they mean that you are neither at the start nor the end of this document. You can scroll up and see more, or you can scroll down and see more. (On very rare occasions, you can find a ? where the Down arrow would go; this means that PC-WREAD is at the very last line of the current "block"--explained later--and that it doesn't yet know if this is the last block of the file.) The Left Arrow appears whenever you are scrolled horizontally away from the left margin. The Right Arrow only appears if a document line is longer than the 80 characters that will fit on the screen at once, like the 100-character "ruler" below; the Right Arrow will remain on until you scroll far enough right to display the end of the longest line of the current screen. Use the Left and Right cursors now to see what we mean. ----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7----+----8----+----9----+----0 When you quit a file's display via the  key, or when you have invoked PC-WREAD with no file specification or with an invalid one, you are presented with a "what next?" screen. The top part of this screen will be a list of all the files in a Directory (in which Directory depends on things we'll explain shortly), bracketed by two "framing" lines; below this will be a request for a new file to display. The top framing line will identify the displayed Directory; the bottom one will usually tell you how to list some other Directory. We say "usually" because PC-WREAD makes allowance for the fact that a very long Directory list might overflow the available list space; if that happens, the bottom framing line will instead be showing a blinking message to that effect. PC-WREAD can list 72 files (and it lists only files, never SubDirectory names); if you have more than that in one SubDirectory, it's past time to reorganize! It's poor practice to overload directories; they were created to avoid just that happening. Make some new SubDirectories and rearrange. The normal bottom framing line display is a note to the effect that you can elect to display some other Directory by entering as a "dummy" file selection the * asterisk character. Although the screen message does not say so, the [ and ] bracket characters will also work for that purpose. The two bracket signs were included because they are among the few lower- case characters not recognized by DOS as valid in commands--so that they cannot be taken as real file names (and both were included so you don't have to remember "left bracket or right?")--and lower-case characters are much easier for hunt-and-peck typists to enter when they're in a hurry. What happens if you use these "dummy" file names will be covered in a moment, but let's finish the "what next?" screen first. The bottommost screen line will be a message to the effect that pressing the  key with no file entry will exit PC-WREAD. This is, in fact, the normal and proper way to exit PC-WREAD; although the  key should work, it should never be needed, since there is error-trapping. (If PC-WREAD encounters an unanticipated error, it will jump to a special Error-Display screen; the only exit from there is to DOS, via any key.) PC-WREAD tries to be accomodating with respect to your file-request entries. It is totally indifferent to case in letters. It tolerates (and ignores) leading or trailing blank spaces. It assumes that if no Drive is specified, the current (DOS default) Drive is intended; likewise, it assumes that if no Path is specified, the current (DOS default) Path is intended. You can explicitly specify either a Drive or a Path, but you do have to follow the DOS rules: Drives must be one letter followed by a : colon, and Paths--whether or not there is a Drive specification preceding them--must begin with the \ backslash character. And, of course, the Drive, Path, and file named must all exist for PC-WREAD to find the file! Something that should be of interest to all shareware veterans: PC-WREAD will work with CED! If you don't know about or haven't got CED (the Command Editor), a shareware program, you don't know what you're missing. For the rest of you: remember that PC-WREAD is a CED application program, and that CED maintains completely separate DOS-Command and Application- Program stacks, and has a completely separate set of Application-Program synonyms. Check the CED documentation if you're unclear about this. (Note: CED has a new--at this writing--shareware competitor, ANARKEY; it sounds good and comes well recommended, but we have not yet obtained it and so cannot guarantee that PC-WREAD can make use of it, although it probably can.) If you don't have CED or a similar program, note that your keyboard input to PC-WREAD's file-name requests is "DOS-buffered"; this means that the keys on your keyboard should work just as they do when you are entering input at the DOS Command line, so that the  and  keys, for example, could be used to recall and edit--primitively--the last entry. Comment: if you do have CED, please use the CED edit keys, not the DOS keys; at least in our version of CED (version 1.0D), such use within an  application causes fascinating but annoying CED conflicts. PC-WREAD can, we believe, deal with all of these in stride, but try not to tempt fate. Now about the Directory display: again, PC-WREAD tries to be accomodating. It will display the files in the last valid Drive:\Path named to it, whether or not it located the specific file requested there. Note the words "last" and "valid"--the to-be-displayed Directory doesn't change, no matter how many file-request attempts you make, until one of those attempts contains at least a Drive-Path combination that is valid (regardless of the file name's validity). Naming no Drive or Path is equivalent to specifying the current Directory, so that's what PC-WREAD will show if you call a file (whether or not at first entry) by file name only, and also if you call no file name at all when first invoking it. And as to changing the Directory display without calling for a particular file: when you use a *, a [, or a ] by itself as a "file name" request, PC-WREAD will take you to a special Path-select screen. The rules here are very similar to those at the main "what-next?" screen, except that no specific file is to be named. You can end your Path specification with a \ or not, as you may be used to--PC-WREAD will take it either way. Here too, PC-WREAD will tell you what problem it may be having with an invalid entry. And, as the screen will inform you, just pressing  with no entry will be interpreted as a request for the current Directory. Understand this: changing the PC-WREAD display Directory does NOT change the DOS default Directory, nor will PC-WREAD recognize the displayed Directory as a default for file selection unless it really is also the DOS default Directory (and if it is, the top framing line will say so). If you want to see a file from the displayed list, unless it happens to be the current Directory, you must enter the complete Path as part of the file specification. (The same applies concerning Drives.) The PC-WREAD display is only a tool to help you remember the full, correct name of files you may want to see. PC-WREAD never changes its startup DOS default Drive and Path, and always returns you to them when you exit from it. A last note: Because PC-WREAD takes in files in "blocks," as detailed later, when scrolling through a long file you will every so often experience a very brief delay--noticeable, but just barely so--between some pair of screens. Because PC-WREAD uses overlapping blocks, you will have to move some distance through the file before experiencing another such delay; you cannot find yourself jumping back and forth between blocks at some specific line-count position. �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �  PC-WREAD: How It Works  � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 In this section, we explain some of PC-WREAD's functioning and detail its capabilities and limitations. PC-WREAD does not necessarily load the entire document file into memory all at once. To save start-up time, and allow handling of files of any length, it deals with document files in "blocks" of 32Kbytes at a time (of course if the entire file is 32K or less, PC-WREAD takes it all at once). If you ask PC-WREAD to scroll the file such that it needs text outside the 32K block currently in memory, it will load in a new 32K block, but one offset (up or down, as appropriate) only 16Kbytes from the block that was current. In this way, your current screen position in the document--which was the edge of the former block--is now at the midpoint of the new block. You thus have plenty of room to move around in either direction before you will force PC-WREAD to read another new block. When we say PC-WREAD can handle files of "any" length, we mean any length that can be stored on today's storage media, or most likely even on tomorrow's: PC-WREAD's file-length specifier is 32 bits long, allowing files of up to 4,096 Megabytes. Even laser disks won't be a problem! Scrolling in PC-WREAD is limited top, bottom, and left by the file's "edges"; rightward scrolling, described earlier as unlimited, actually is limited, but only to 32,767 columns--you'd get a crick in the fingers scrolling out that far, even ten columns at a time. There's no reason to ever go that far, nor for PC-WREAD to be able to; it just happens that it can. (At bottom, you can scroll up until the last file line is atop the screen, facilitating exact line-number referencing without counting.) When scrolling rightward, PC-WREAD does not ignore the columns off-screen leftward; it keeps track of font-effect characters in that invisible area, and knows what the current screen effect should be even if the font character that turned it on is a thousand columns leftward. Speed of operation with PC-WREAD will, of course, vary depending on quite a variety of factors, the foremost of which is the specific hardware that makes up your computer system: from a basic PC or XT to a PS/2 Model 80, there is an almost 16-to-1 clock ratio, and that by no means tells it all. Also remember (or learn) that when measuring intervals internally on a computer, such as with the TIMER function in BASIC, we can get results as precise as we want, but they will only be accurate to about .027 second. (Never confuse precision with accuracy; you can say that the time now is 4:37 p.m. and 17.3 seconds, which is very precise, but if you're using a sundial to get it, probably not very accurate.) In the IBM/clone family of computers, the standard software "clock tick" occurs roughly 18.2 times a second, or about every 55 milliseconds (.055 second). Note one point: the first time that you press the  key, for a jump to file end, there will be a definite pause, the length of which will depend directly on the length of the file. Because PC-WREAD displays the line number of its position in the file, it must go through the entire file counting line ends before actually making the jump; this can take time perceptible on the human scale, as noted below. After that first time, PC-WREAD has the all-file line count and will simply make the jump, like any other block jump. (PC-WREAD does not need the all-file line count for itself; it just wants to be able to show it to you.) Also note that, depending on file size and your location in the file, "jumps" to file-top and file-bottom may not involve loading new blocks (if the whole file is under 32K, nothing does), and may thus take no longer than scrolling up or down by one line (a "screen jump"). On a "Turbo XT clone" with a decent hard drive, we found these times: � initial start-up, file 32K or larger: circa 1.35 seconds � " " " , " very small: circa 0.60 second � "block jump," full 32K block: circa 0.78 second � screen jump: circa .05 second � first jump-to-file-end: circa 1 second for every 46K of file As noted, these will vary, but all in all--regardless of your exact hardware configuration--you should find PC-WREAD comparable in speed of operation to whatever you're accustomed to in your environment from any good-quality screen-display program, and perfectly usable. About screen colors: you are not seeing this document with SEE, the actual evaluation version of PC-WREAD, but rather with SEEDOC, a special-purpose version of SEE. The effects displayed here (particularly if you are seeing this in color) are--in effect--what you would get if you had customized your PC-Write configuration files in a specific way pertaining to displays, a process we strongly recommend. Please review (with SEE of course!) the supplementary file COLORS.DOC for a fuller discussion of the fascinating and subtle matter of customizing displays in PC-Write. The actual evaluation version of PC-WREAD, SEE.EXE, simply uses all the PC-Write default screen-display colors or attributes. If you have customized those, PC-WREAD in that version will not know that. The full-registration version is smarter. It will search the Path for the two PC-Write configuration files, ED.DEF and PR.DEF; if it finds them, it will search them for any screen-display redefinitions that you may have placed there, and will use that information itself. It will recognize any and all - font redefinitions, plus any redefinition of the "normal text" display or the line-end-fill display (but not any redefinition of the "lines under last text" area display). PC-WREAD does not at this time have a text-string search capability. If the response to the initial release is sufficient, such may be added. Whether or not you elect to use and register PC-WREAD, we would certainly appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, about it, and especially about features you would like to see added (or subtracted). Please send any comments to the registration address at the end of this file. | (more follows) �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �  PC-WREAD: Basic Background  � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠  Some Primers For Newcomers  All "characters"--things that can be typed, printed out, or displayed on a screen--are single bytes of data; a byte, being 8 bits of data, can have 2 to the 8th power, or 256, different values, ranging from 0 to 255. The numerical value of a byte used as a character is referred to as its code; the phrases "ASCII code" or "ASCII value" are also often used, but properly speaking only the codes from 32 to 127 inclusive are "ASCII" codes. ASCII is an acronym for American Standards Committee on Information Interchange, which long ago defined standard meanings to be assigned to the "ASCII" codes: for example, code 65 universally denominates the capitalized form of the letter A. Codes outside the ASCII range are not standardized. Two near standards-- by no means universal--have evolved for the "extended ASCII" range of characters with codes from 128 to 255: the Epson version and the IBM version (these are not their formal names--they don't have any such). In the Epson version, the ASCII characters repeat but in italics; thus, character code 193, which is 65 (the ordinary capital A) plus 128 (to shift it to "high-order"), is an italicized capital A. In the IBM version, the 128 so-called "high-order" codes produce a fascinating variety of graphic characters, many of which can be combined to draw neat boxes like this: �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 �  DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER YOUR COPY OF PC-WREAD!  � 픔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � It's the honorable thing to do, and it's cheap! � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� The characters with codes below 32 are less standardized yet. Virtually no printer, unless especially instructed to (and not all can be so instructed), will print any such character. Screen-display responses vary with programming language, but many of these low-code characters will not even show on the screen (unless poked directly into video memory). There is a reason for this apparent discrimination: these 32 codes are very commonly used to send commands to peripherals, especially printers. PC-Write makes use of these 32 low-code characters as what it calls font- control characters. As you create a document with PC-Write, you embed font-control characters in your text, either explicitly with the  key plus a letter key, or implicitly (as, for example, by pressing the  key). As you will know, embedded ---that is, font- control--characters are used by PC-Write to send instructions to your printer as to how to treat the affected text: "normal," boldfaced, italic, and so on. PC-Write does not send these codes directly to your printer, which would not understand them; the print portion of PC-Write (as contrasted with the edit portion that you use to create the file) translates each such font character into the corresponding codes specifically appropriate to your brand of printer. You will remember that at your first use of PC-Write you had to tell it what printer you have; this was so that it would know into what codes to translate each embedded font-control character in your document. Printer control codes are scandalously nonstandardized; even so-called "compatible" printers often have their individual quirks (but again, the two quasi-standards are Epson and IBM). As you also should know, PC-Write varies the on-screen appearance of document portions that are influenced by an embedded font-control character, so that you can keep track of what you've done to what. It normally distinguishes 22 such modes on screen (10 others have no special effect on screen-display text). For color-monitor users, PC-Write normally uses 10 "non-standard" color combinations to distinguish between those 22 modes, while monochrome-monitor users have 4 "non-standard" looks: reverse, bright, underline, and bright underline. Obviously, unique identification of the text alteration mode is never possible in monochrome, and is not completely implemented even in color, at least in the PC-Write defaults. The folks at Quicksoft grouped their default font-display choices into quite reasonable, and thus informative, patterns, although the color choices in particular are rather bland-- inoffensive but unexciting. We strenuously urge you to review the file COLORS.DOC, which is part of the PC-WREAD evaluation package, for a thorough discussion of the topic, a discussion too long to be included in this already lengthy outline of PC- WREAD. There, we examine the various conflicting criteria for screen font displays, and derive and explicitly list the values used in the document you are now reading. (Use SEE to view COLORS.) PC-Write allows you to toggle font-control characters from visible to invisible and vice-versa very easily (that's the characters themselves, not their display effects on affected text), but unless you have a special need to briefly examine what's where, it's far easier to keep them invisible while working (for once, contrary to the PC-Write manual), and most PC-Write users we know do so most of the time. You can change the way PC-Write screen-displays text affected by a given font-control character via appropriate customization commands placed in the PC-Write PR.DEF file. You can also, via the PC-Write ED.DEF file, change the appearance of "normal" text and other screen-display areas (such as the Status Line). Again, see COLORS.DOC for more information. | | | | | | | | (more follows) �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 � AN APPENDIX: � 픔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � PC-WREAD: Uses Without PC-Write � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� If you are a confirmed proponent of some word processor other than PC- Write, PC-WREAD is by no means useless to you. Certainly it does lose some of its value as a simple reviewer of files you have created with your word processor, unless that word processor also uses an embedded-character scheme involving the 32 low-order codes (Codes 0 - 31). In that case, you can readily make PC-WREAD work for you directly by creating a PR.DEF and an ED.DEF file pair with such characters "customized." PC-WREAD scans any file named PR.DEF located anywhere on the Path for appropriately formatted screen-display characteristics definitions. A format for such definitions is supplied somewhat farther on; by following it out, one can define the screen appearance for text controlled by any 26 of the 0-to-31 low codes. But the second main area of use for PC-WREAD, simply reading on-screen documentation files, remains highly useful. All that need be done is to create a file that is "flat ASCII"--that is, which initially contains no below-code-32 characters. It should then not be difficult to embed such characters wherever desired by manually inserting them. PC-Write uses the  key in combination with letter keys to generate and embed such characters, but lacking PC-Write you can use the DOS keypad method. By depressing and holding down the  key, one can generate from the keyboard any character by pressing at the numerical keypad, digit by  digit, the code for that character. In other words, to generate a capital A (code 65), you can depress Alt, press the 6 key of the numeric keypad and then the 5 key of that keypad, then release the  key. This is vital:  Only the NUMERIC KEYPAD keys work in this instance!  The regular "typewriter" number keys will NOT perform this function. That's a clumsy way to enter a capital A, but it works just fine for any character you can't enter via a straightforward keypress. You can also, in some programs, use a Ctrl-letter key combination, but many programs intercept such key actions and interpret them as special commands. Remember that making a PC-WREAD-readable file is a one-time task; after that, it's always available for reading (attention software developers!). To return to adapting PC-WREAD to work with a word processor that is not PC-Write but that does work by embedding low-code characters: all one need do is make a pair of files, named PR.DEF and ED.DEF, to redefine for PC- WREAD what the embedded characters mean. Note: this discussion applies only to the full-featured version of PC- WREAD; the shareware distribution version does not read the .DEF files for display redefinitions. The key to the redefinitions, beyond the simple mechanics of the syntax, presented below, is understanding the "attributes." An attribute is, somewhat like a character, a one-byte datum; each of the 2000 character positions on the screen (80 x 25 = 2000) has an attribute byte associated with it that determines how the character at that position will be displayed: the foreground/background colors (and intensity and blink) in color, or the mode in monochrome (normal, bold, underline, bold underline, or reverse). Each bit in the byte controls some aspect of the display; to explain it all here would be a bit much--consult the file COLORS.DOC for details--but the attribute value is simply the bit pattern of the attribute byte reckoned as a number (e.g. attribute code 23 signifies an attribute byte with bit pattern 00010111, blue on white in color or "normal" in monochrome). In the example below, M is the attribute value that you want for for monochrome monitors, X is a dummy value (PC-WREAD does not support single- color-graphics type displays), and C is the attribute value you want for color monitors; code is, obviously, the code value of the low (0 to 31 inclusive) "font character" that you want to have generate these effects.  >> THERE MUST BE SOME VALID ENTRY FOR  EACH OF THE THREE VALUES!! <<  Technically, "valid" means between 0 and 255 inclusive, but use 7 as a "dummy" entry for any monitor type you don't currently care about. This is a general format for the definitions in a non-PC-Write PR.DEF: #Z:M.X.C= For the Z shown, you can use any letter from A to Z inclusive; thus, you can associate screen-display attributes with up to 26 Code-0-to-32 characters. Which letter is associated with what code is unimportant.  REMEMBER: use this format only if you DO NOT use PC-Write!!  You can also make an ED.DEF file to define the "normal" and line-fill attributes. Use this format: &1:M.X.C will define the "normal" attribute, while &2:M.X.C will define the line-fill attribute. "Line-fill" is the unused space between the actual end of a file line and the right margin of the screen; very few people will want the line-fill attribute to differ from the "normal text" attribute. One exception might be a text data file where all lines must be of a fixed length; a differing fill value would let you see the line's true length (otherwise you can't tell space characters from unused columns). And again:  >> THERE MUST BE SOME VALID ENTRY FOR  EACH OF THE THREE VALUES!! <<  and:  REMEMBER: use this format only if you DO NOT use PC-Write!!  By the way, why don't you? �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �  PC-WREAD: How To Register It  � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 Registration of PC-WREAD for single-site use is $10. This will bring you a diskette with the latest full-featured version of PC-WREAD, plus a few other little HBH utilities--nothing big, but one or more might be of some interest to some of you (the exact list may vary from time to time). It will also bring you a telephone number if you have questions, suggestions, or whatever to offer. Remember: you have 30 days maximum to use PC-WREAD without registering it! Obviously, no one and nothing can police such a restriction except your conscience and ethics, in which we--like all shareware authors--trust. Saving Money: If you send with your registration request a 5�-inch DSDD (double-sided, double density) diskette in a plausibly reusable diskette mailer, you need only send $8 as the registration fee. Or, if you want to fulfill your ethical obligation but don't feel the need for the augmented version of PC-WREAD (the sole difference is that the augmented version reads your PR.DEF and ED.DEF files for screen-appearance redefinitions), or the utilities surprise package, $8 will again suffice for the registration fee (and you will get the phone number in your return acknowledgement). Multi-Site Users: the fee schedule for multiple sites appears near the front of this document. When registering, please specify the number of sites at which you will be using PC-WREAD. Customization: we can and gladly will customize PC-WREAD at extremely modest costs. Please write to us and outline your needs. "Bundling": Software authors--High Boskage House Software would be glad to work with you. We can customize PC-WREAD and, if desired, edit/rewrite your .DOC files. We are flexible and reasonable--write to us. Commercial Users: we make no distinctions. Checks with orders, please.  HERE'S THE ADDRESS:  High Boskage House 63500 Argyle Road King City, CA 93930-9713 Please do not send cash (does anyone ever do that?).  HERE'S HOW TO MAKE OUT THE CHECK:  Make the check or other payment instrument (Money Order, whatever) payable to: High Boskage House Software We thank you for your interest in PC-WREAD, hope you find it useful, hope you pass it along to others, and very much hope that you register it. 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴