FlexText Help Index

Overview

FlexText is a utility that prints text (ascii delimited) files using True Type fonts.  A variety of page formats can be used for placing multiple pages on each sheet of paper.

This product is marketed as shareware which requires registration after a 30 day evaluation period beginning the first day of use.  Please see license information for additional restrictions.

To use FlexText, first open a file or clipboard data using the menu items found under FILE - or - drop text file(s) on FlexText from the File Manager.  Browse windows will be displayed for all text files opened.  Determine the format of the printed document by selecting items in the SETTINGS dialog.  Once the settings are chosen, hardcopy output may be printed or optionally previewed with menu items found under PRINT.

Menu Commands

     File

     Settings

     Print

     Options

     Help menu

Dialog Boxes

     Configure Preferences

     Continue Simulated Duplex

     Document Format

     Embedded Control Characters

     File Open

     Mark Text for Printing


File menu commands

The File menu offers the following commands:

Open	Opens an existing document.
Get Clipboard Data	Opens a document using the data found in the clipboard.
Print Setup	Selects a printer and printer connection.
Exit	Exits FlexText.


settings menu
Settings menu command

Settings determine the format and attributes of the printed document.  Many options are available to handle a wide variety of print jobs.  Fonts, page layout, control characters and borders are a few of the options found in the print settings.

Once specified, print settings can be stored for later use reducing the need to reset reccuring print attributes.  For example, monthly reports may use the identical settings every time they are produced.  By storing the settings and reloading them when the report is printed, last months settings can be used to produce this months report.

The Settings menu offers the following commands:

Format	Displays the print settings dialog.
Embedded Control Characters	Identifies control characters embedded in the text file.
Load Settings	Loads previously saved print settings
Save Settings	Saves print settings for later use


print menu
Print menu command

The print menu provides the capability to preview or print open text files.  Additionally, a portion of the document can be marked for printing.

FlexText can print one or many documents at once.  Be sure to note that the current print settings apply to all documents being printed.  Therefore only text files of similiar types (i.e. record lengths, formats) should be printed together.

Preview provides an image of the document as it will appear on the printed page.  Only one file can be previewed at a time.

The Print menu offers the following commands:

Preview	Displays an image of the printed document.
Active Document	Prints the active document.
All Documents	Prints all of the documents currently open.


options: menu command
Options menu command

Features found within the options menu command control the general behavior of FlexText while viewing and printing documents.  These program-level settings are saved in the applications initialization file and reloaded whenever the program begins.

The Browse Font command allows you to change the font that is used in the text viewing windows.  Selecting a browse font and point size applies to all displayed text windows having no effect on the printed document.  Be sure to select a mono-spaced font if the document contains columns that should appear veritically aligned.

A list of all open documents appears under the options menu command providing a quick way of bringing a file to the top of the stack (activate).  The sequence of the file list represents the order win which the files were opened.

The Options menu offers the following commands:

Browse Font	Povides the ability to specify a font and point size to be used when browsing text in the view windows.
Customize	Displays an dialog that provides a variety of program level options.
View	Controls the display of the toolbar and status bar.
File List	Lists all open documents.


View menu commands

The View menu offers the following commands:

Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar.
Status Bar	Shows or hides the status bar.


Help menu commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Contents	Offers you a product overview and table of contents on which you can get help.
Using Help	Provides general instructions on using help.
About	Displays the version number of this application.


opening files: dialog box
File Open dialog box

The following options allow you to specify which file to open:

File Name

Type or select the filename you want to open.  This box lists files with the extension you select in the List Files of Type box.

List Files of Type

Select the type of file you want to open:

Drives

Select the drive in which FlexText stores the file that you want to open.

Directories

Select the directory in which FlexText stores the file that you want to open.

Network...

Choose this button to connect to a network location, assigning it a new drive letter.


get clipboard data
Get Clipboard command (File menu)

Clipboard text can be printed and viewed by FlexText.  A snapshot of the clipboard contents is taken when the menu command is chosen.  Subsequent clipboard content changes will not affect FlexTexts copy until the clipboard menu command is reissued.

FlexText is only capable of displaying and printing text based data.  An error box will be displayed if no text data is found.


settings: page format
Format command (Settings menu)

Select the format menu command to view and change the style of the printed document.  All of the settings displayed in the format dialog box pertain to the printed document and can be saved using the Save Settings menu command and reloaded using the Load Settings menu command.

For a description of availabel print formats and settings, see Document Format dialog box.


format: dialog box
Document Format dialog box

This dialog box offers various print format options.  All of these settings may be saved using the Save Settings menu command and reloaded using the Load Settings menu command.

The following options are available:

Page Format	Provides the choice of 1-up or 2-up formats in both portrait and landscape modes
Booklet format	Generates a document that can be folded in half creating a booklet.
Borders	Each page can be highlighted by a box border or a seperator line.
Line Length Control	The length of each line can be controlled by truncation, automatic point size calculation, or word-wrap.
Choose Font	Any available TrueType fonts can be used for printing documents along with a wide range of point sizes.
Point Size	Print character size adjustment.
Adjust Margins	Adjustments can be made to the documents margins.  This button displays the margins dialog box.


Page Format selection (Document Format dialog)

FlexText can print one or two pages on each sheet of paper.  When two pages per sheet is selected in landscape mode, the pages are side-by-side.  The pages appear one on top of the other when two pages per sheet is selected in portrait mode.

Two pages per sheet in landscape mode is appropriate for printing typical souce listings or readme files.  On the other hand, reports with long record lengths should be printed in two pages per sheet - portrait mode.

Note that booklet format is only available in two pages per sheet - landscape mode.


booklet format: document format dialog
Booklet format (Document Format dialog)

When two pages per sheet in landscape mode is selected, the booklet format box can be checked.  This prints the document is a page sequence allowing the hardcopy to be folded down the middle to produce a book.


borders: document format dialog
Borders selection (Document Format dialog)

A box border can be chosen that will highlight each page when printed.  All page and file information appears on the outside of the border.

A seperator line can be used to emphasize the pages when printing two pages per sheet.  The line appears veritical in landscape mode and horizontal in portrait mode.

No borders will be applied in the none button is selected.


Line Length Control (Document Format dialog)

The length of each printed line is affected by record length, font, and point size.  Lines that exceed the maximum page width can be truncated, wrapped to the next line, or reduced in size to fit the page.

When manual is selected, the selected point size is applied to the document without enabling word-wrap.  If any line should exceed the page maximum width, a warning box is displayed with the option to overwrite the borders or truncate the text as necessary.

Word-wrap will allow the program to continue length text on multiple print lines.  The wrap function can be customized to occur between words or idividual letters as specified in the Configure Preferences dialog box.  Note that the word-wrap button is disabled if ASA control characters are expected as specified in the Embedded Control Characters dialog box.

Automatic point size calculation will determine the best fit font scale for the document being printed.  This point size is calculated for each document independently.  To identify the calculated size, preview the document - then return to the Document Format dialog box for a description of the chosen point size.


Point Size drop down list (Document Format dialog)

The point size drop down list presented on the format dialog presents a larger list of character sizes than what appears in the Font dialog.  This gives you greater control over the number of lines per page and number of characters printed per line.

Note that the drop down list becomes disabled when automatic point size calculation is in effect.


margins: document format dialog
Margins dialog box (Document Format dialog)

FlexText generally attempts to use as much of the paper as possible when printing documents.  The margins may, however, be modified to increase the unused area to the left and right, and on the top and bottom of the document.  The gap between the pages when printing 2 pages per sheet may also be adjusted.

Any value between  0 and 2 (including fractions) can be entered in any of the margin fields.  These margin settings are saved along with other print settings.


settings: embedded control characters
Embedded Control Characters command (Settings menu)

FlexText can translate ASA control characters and expand Tabs.  These options are saved along with the print settings by issuing the Save Settings menu command and reloaded using the Load Settings menu command.

When this menu command is selected, the Embedded Control Characters dialog box is displayed.


embedded control characters: dialog
Embedded Control Characters dialog

The number of spaces each tab character expands to can be specified.  The entered value must be between 0 and 16.  The effect of tab expansion is displayed during print preview.

FlexText can also handle ASA control characters typically found in IBM mainfram report files.  As with tabs, the effect of control character translation is demonstrated during print preview.


ASA control characters: embedded control characters dialog
ASA Control Characters

IBM mainframe files sometimes contain ASA control characters generally identified by a record type of FBA.  The control characters are found in position one of each line.  Following is a list of values:

1	-	page break (form feed)

0	-	double line feed

-	-	triple line feed

+	-	overtype (no line feed)

If ASA control characters are present in the file, be sure to check the corresponding box in the Embedded Control Characters dialog box.

Note that control characters are displayed when browsing the document.  Print preview however, will expand the special characters appropriately.


settings: saving
Save Settings command (Settings menu)

Use this command to save print settings for later use.  When you select this menu command, FlexText displays the Save Settings dialog box so you can save and apply a meaningful name to the print settings file.

An example of a meaningful settings file name would be CCODE.SET which could carry print settings for printing C source code.  Another example would be SALESRPT.SET containing the settings to be applied to a montly sales report.

Use the Load Settings menu command to load print settings that were previously stored.


settings: loading
Load Settings command (Settings menu)

Peviously stored print settings can be loaded when needed by selecting this menu command.  Settings are stored using the Save Settings menu command.

Any changes made to the loaded print settings are temporary until the settings are explicitly saved.


menu_mark_text
Mark Text command

Use this menu command to display a dialog box  to select a block of text for printing.  The Mark Text for Printing dialog provides a convenient way of printing only selected text using a point-and-click interaction with the active text window.


mark text: dialog
Mark Text for printing dialog

FlexText implements a fast way of selecting a block of text for subsequent printing.

To select the first line of the text block, make sure the First Line radio button is chosen - then click on a line of text in the text window.  All lines prior to the clicked line will be grayed meaning they will not print.

Selecting the Last Line radio button - then clicking on a line in the text window will determine the last line to print with all subsequent lines being grayed.

The Reset button will cause all lines to be printed eliminating previous block settings.

When you are finished specifying text to print, push Done to remove the dialog box.


Print Active Document menu

The print active document menu will create a job to print only the active or top-most document.  Two menu commands, Standard and Simulated Duplex are provided.


Print All Documents menu

The print all menu will create a job to print all documents currently open.  Two menu commands, Standard and Simulated Duplex are provided.


Print... Standard command (Print / Active Document menu)

This command starts a standard printing process (without simulated duplex).  Only the document of the active (top-most) window is printed.

A pause may occur immediately following the menu selection while FlexText examines the document for word-wrap, control characters, point size, and format options.  All of these settings affect the number of lines per page and also the total number of pages printed.


simulated duplex: print active document menu
Print... Simulated Duplex command (Print / Active Document menu)

This menu option prints the active document (top-most) using a process called simulated duplex.

Simulated Duplex is a printing process that allows you to use both sides of the paper even if you do not have a printer that supports duplex printing.  The process first prints the front of each page in the document - then pauses so you can remove the printed document and reinsert the pages into the paper feeder to print the back of the pages.

This printing process works with all formats provided by FlexText including booklet.

If you have a printer that supports duplex printing, this feature is not useful.  Also, LAN attached printers may reduce the processes effectiveness since multiple users may interfere with the manual process of reinserting the stack of paper and continuing of the job.


Print... Standard command (Print / All Documents menu)

This command starts a standard printing process (without simulated duplex).  All the documents currently open are printed.

A pause may occur immediately following the menu selection while FlexText examines the document for word-wrap, control characters, point size, and format options.  All of these settings affect the number of lines per page and the total number of pages printed.


simulated duplex: print all documents menu
Print... Simulated Duplex command (Print / All Documents menu)

This menu option prints all open documents using a process called simulated duplex.

Simulated Duplex is a printing process that allows you to use both sides of the paper even if you do not have a printer that supports duplex printing.  The process first prints the front of each page in the document - then pauses so you can remove the printed document and reinsert the pages into the paper feeder to print the back of the pages.

This printing process works with all formats provided by FlexText including booklet.

If you have a printer that supports duplex printing, this feature is not useful.  Also, LAN attached printers may reduce the processes effectiveness since multiple users may interfere with the manual process of reinserting the stack of paper and continuing of the job.


Continue Simulated Duplex dialog

After the first side of the document is printed using simulated duplex, the dialog box is displayed giving you the chance to remove the paper from the printer and place it back in the sheet feeder before printing the backs.

The forward/reverse buttons should be chosen depening on the order that the printer uses the paper from the sheet feeder.  This option eliminates the need to re-shuffle the pages before printing the backs of the document on some printers.

Once the paper is replaced in the sheet feeder, press Continue to print the page backs or press Cancel to stop the print job.


fonts: browse windows
Browse Font command (Options menu)

The font used to display text in the browse windows can be changed.  By choosing this command the Font dialog is displayed.


menu_customize
Customize (Options menu)

Some general application settings are available to suite individuals preferences.  This menu command displays the Contingure Preferences dialog box.


Configure Preferences dialog

The following options are available in the dialog box:

Wrap lines between words	Specifies whether FlexText should attempt to wrap lines between words instead of in the middle of a word.
Point size calculation limits	Establishes the minimum and maximum point size that will be calculated to ensure readable or reasonable text size.
Number of digits in line numbers	The maximum digits to be displayed when line numbers are requested.


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Use this command to end your FlexText session.  You can also use the Close command on the application Control menu.  FlexText prompts you to save documents with unsaved changes.

Shortcuts

Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.

Keys:	ALT+F4


View Toolbar command
Toolbar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Toolbar, which includes buttons for some of the most common commands in FlexText, such as File Open.  A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Toolbar is displayed.

See Toolbar for help on using the toolbar.


Toolbar

The toolbar is displayed across the top of the application window, below the menu bar.  The toolbar provides quick mouse access to many tools used in FlexText,

To hide or display the Toolbar, choose Toolbar from the View menu (ALT, V, T).


View Status Bar Command
Status Bar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Status Bar, which describes the action to be executed by the selected menu item or depressed toolbar button, and keyboard latch state. A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Status Bar is displayed.

See Status Bar for help on using the status bar.


Status Bar

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the FlexText window.  To display or hide the status bar, use the Status Bar command in the View menu.

The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the arrow keys to navigate through menus.  This area similarly shows messages that describe the actions of toolbar buttons as you depress them, before releasing them.  If after viewing the description of the toolbar button command you wish not to execute the command, then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the toolbar button.

The right areas of the status bar indicate which of the following keys are latched down:

Indicator	Description

CAP	The Caps Lock key is latched down.

NUM	The Num Lock key is latched down.

SCRL	The Scroll Lock key is latched down.


License Information - Shareware version

This is copyrighted software which is marketed as shareware.  You may distribute this program freely without charge.  If you continue to use this software after the 30 day evaluation period expires, purchase of this program is required.  Please see the order form for purchase information.

Extension Software disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly disclaimed.  Neither Extension Software nor anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production, or delivery of this software shall be liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising from use or inability to use such software even if Extension Software has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claims.  In no event shall Extension Software's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of claim.  The person using the software bears all risk as to the performance of the software.  Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona and shall inure to the benefit of Extension Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns.  Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in Maricopa County, Arizona.  The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts.


License Information - Registered Version

This is copyrighted software.  You may NOT distribute this program.  You may however, make copies of this program for backup purposes only.

Extension Software disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly disclaimed.  Neither Extension Software nor anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production, or delivery of this software shall be liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising from use or inability to use such software even if Extension Software has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claims.  In no event shall Extension Software's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of claim.  The person using the software bears all risk as to the performance of the software.

Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona and shall inure to the benefit of Extension Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns.  Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in Maricopa County, Arizona.  The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts.


1, 2, ... command (Window menu)

FlexText displays a list of currently open document windows at the bottom of the Window menu.  A check mark appears in front of the document name of the active window.  Choose a document from this list to make its window active.


Index command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help.  From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using FlexText and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can click the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.


Using Help command (Help menu)

Use this command for instructions about using Help.


About command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of FlexText.


Help Using Help Command
Context Help command

Use the Context Help command to obtain help on some portion of FlexText.  When you choose the Toolbar's Context Help button, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the FlexText window, such as another Toolbar button.  The Help topic will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+F1


Title Bar

The title bar is located along the top of a window.  It contains the name of the application and document.

To move the window, drag the title bar.  Note: You can also move dialog boxes by dragging their title bars.

A title bar may contain the following elements:

Application Control-menu button

Document Control-menu button

Maximize button

Minimize button

Name of the application

Name of the document

Restore button


Scroll bars

Displayed at the right and bottom edges of the document window.  The scroll boxes inside the scroll bars indicate your vertical and horizontal location in the document.  You can use the mouse to scroll to other parts of the document.


Size command (System menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow keys.

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1.	Press one of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down arrow key) to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2.	Press a DIRECTION key to move the border.

3.	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window.


Move command (Control menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window or dialog box with the arrow keys.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F7


System Minimize Command
Minimize command (application Control menu)

Use this command to reduce the FlexText window to an icon.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the minimize icon [image] on the title bar.

Keys:	ALT+F9


Maximize command (System menu)

Use this command to enlarge the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the maximize icon [image] on the title bar; or double-click the title bar.

Keys:	CTRL+F10 enlarges a document window.


Next Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the next open document window.  FlexText determines which window is next according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F6


Previous Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the previous open document window.  FlexText determines which window is previous according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+CTRL+F6


Close command (Control menus)

Use this command to close the active window or dialog box.

Double-clicking a Control-menu box is the same as choosing the Close command.

Note:  If you have multiple windows open for a single document, the Close command on the document Control menu closes only one window at a time.  You can close all windows at once with the Close command on the File menu.

Shortcuts

Keys: 	CTRL+F4 closes a document window

ALT+F4 closes the window or dialog box


Restore command (Control menu)

Use this command to return the active window to its size and position before you chose the Maximize or Minimize command.


Switch to command (application Control menu)

Use this command to display a list of all open applications.  Use this "Task List" to switch to or close an application on the list.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+ESC

Dialog Box Options

When you choose the Switch To command, you will be presented with a dialog box with the following options:

Task List

Select the application you want to switch to or close.

Switch To

Makes the selected application active.

End Task

Closes the selected application.

Cancel

Closes the Task List box.

Cascade

Arranges open applications so they overlap and you can see each title bar.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Tile

Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Arrange Icons

Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


fonts: choose font dialog
Choose Font dialog box

This dialog box is invoked from two different places in the program.  When called from the Document Format dialog, all TrueType fonts installed are displayed for printing the hardcopy document.  If the Choose Font dialog is displayed from the Browse Font menu command, the font selections affect only the view of the document.

Generally, both proportional-spaced and mono-spaced fonts are available in the font selection box.  Proportional fonts have the disadvantage of thowing columns of data out of alignment due to the varying character widths.  If a document conatins columns of data, a mono-spaces font (i.e. Courier) should be selected.

Any point size can be used by entering a value in the point size entry field, or selecting a value from the drop-down list.

Although style and effects have been included in the Change Font dialog box, these options are of little use in a text-based print utility such as this.


No Help Available

No help is available for this area of the window.


No Help Available

No help is available for this message box.


Print dialog box

The following options allow you to specify how the document should be printed:

Printer

This is the active printer and printer connection.  Choose the Setup option to change the printer and printer connection.

Setup

Displays a Print Setup dialog box, so  you can select a printer and printer connection.

Print Range

Specify the pages you want to print:

All	Prints the entire document.
Selection	Prints the currently selected text.
Pages	Prints the range of pages you specify in the From and To boxes.
Copies

Specify the number of copies you want to print for the above page range.

Collate Copies

Prints copies in page number order, instead of separated multiple copies of each page.

Print Quality

Select the quality of the printing.  Generally, lower quality printing takes less time to produce.


Print Progress Dialog

The Printing dialog box is shown during the time that FlexText is sending output to the printer.  The page number indicates the progress of the printing.

To abort printing, choose Cancel.


File Print Preview command
Print Preview command (Output menu)

Use this command to display the active document as it would appear when printed.  When you choose this command, the main window will be replaced with a print preview window in which one or two pages will be displayed in their printed format.  The print preview toolbar offers you options to view either one or two pages at a time; move back and forth through the document; zoom in and out of pages; and initiate a print job.


Print Preview toolbar

The print preview toolbar offers you the following options:

Print

Bring up the print dialog box, to start a print job.

Next Page

Preview the next printed page.

Prev Page

Preview the previous printed page.

One Page / Two Page

Preview one or two printed pages at a time.

Zoom In

Take a closer look at the printed page.

Zoom Out

Take a larger look at the printed page.

Close

Return from print preview to the editing window.


File Print Setup command
Print Setup command (File menu)

Use this command to select a printer and a printer connection.  This command presents a Print Setup dialog box, where you specify the printer and its connection.


Print Setup dialog box

The following options allow you to select the destination printer and its connection.

Printer

Select the printer you want to use.  Choose the Default Printer; or choose the Specific Printer option and select one of the current installed printers shown in the box.  You install printers and configure ports using the Windows Control Panel.

Orientation

Choose Portrait or Landscape.

Paper Size

Select the size of paper that the document is to be printed on.

Paper Source

Some printers offer multiple trays for different paper sources.  Specify the tray here.

Options

Displays a dialog box where you can make additional choices about printing, specific to the type of printer you have selected.

Network...

Choose this button to connect to a network location, assigning it a new drive letter.