(ASCII-)Text Manager Version 4.5 E or higher Last Updated: January 1993 (C) K. Th. Hell, Dammerkirchstrasse 32, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland) ******************************************************************* The "SWISS ARMY KNIFE for (ASCII-)Text Files" Short description: Within practically all tools and utilities you might need to handle ASCII-Text files proficiently are available. Some features of : - ELIMINATE some or all printer codes - CHANGE some or all ASCII codes also in binary files - SEARCH and REPLACE up to 12 text strings simultaneously - SEARCH and REPLACE almost any number of strings using SEARCH LIST. - ADD line numbers to ASCII text with CODE MARK allowing REMOVAL of line numbers. - Option to EXCLUDE line numbers for empty lines - REPLACE unprintable code signs with ASCII-CODE numbers - SEARCH for ASCII-WORDS in ANY TYPE of file - Make ASCII WORD LISTS of all the words found, using a variety of options to select words to look for. - ADD PAGE NUMBERS to WORD LIST using any MARKER as -MARK - SORT the WORD LIST alphabetically with or without LINE NUMBERS - COUNT the occurrence of EQUAL WORDS in the WORD LIST - Automatically CREATE a NEGATIVE LIST for EXCLUSION of words in word listings (e.g. Table of Contents with page numbers). - GET LINE NUMBERS of ASCII-WORDS found in ANY FILE - OUTPUT WORD LISTS to SCREEN, PRINTER or FILES - REMOVE or REPLACE up to 12 ASCII-CODE signs simultaneously, also in BINARY FILES. - ADD a certain number of SPACES in front of every line - REMOVE all the SPACES in front of every line - REMOVE a certain maximal number of SPACES in front of lines - REMOVE all SPACES at the end of all lines - ADD SPACES at the end of every line - REMOVE MORE THAN ONE SPACE SIGN BETWEEN WORDS - REMOVE MORE THAN ONE EMPTY CONSECUTIVE LINE - TRANSFORM TAB SIGNS to SPACES - ELIMINATE TAB SIGNS at the beginning and end of each line. - ELIMINATE or REPLACE any PRINTER CODE. - OUTPUT any ASCII file to PRINTER, SCREEN or FILE with many options - CHECK and CORRECT PUNCTUATION marks - CHECK sequence and occurrence of all types of BRACKETS - CHANGE UPPERCASE/lowercase characters with many options - CHECK for UPPERCASE characters within words - CHANGE the first character of all words to UPPERCASE - HANDLE SPECIAL foreign CHARACTERS (e.g. transform <Ž> into ) - REPLACE TABS with a certain number of SPACES - ELIMINATE more than one consecutive SPACE SIGN. - CHECK FILE NAMES according the rules of DOS - COMPLETELY UNFORMAT ASCII TEXT FILES - Give out PROGRESS REPORTS when working on files - TRANSFORM WORDSTAR-Format to ASCII-Format - REMOVE END-of-FILE CODE SIGNS - ADD an END-of-FILE CODE SIGN to end of file - REMOVE or REPLACE individually - EXTRACT all readable ASCII-TEXT out of PROGRAM FILES - "PATCH" TEXT in program/binary files - SORT ASCII-TEXT-FILES alphabetically line by line - HEX-DUMP with special features to show printer codes and codes > 128. - LIMIT number of certain characters and MARK site of removal - REMOVE text up to a certain MARKER in each line. - REMOVE text between two MARKERS in each line. - REMOVE the rest of the line after a certain MARKER. - REMOVE a certain number of signs at the BEGINNING or END of each line. - INSERT a MARKER at a certain position in each line. - COPY a certain part of each line to a new file. - Create TABLES automatically ! - and many more features ............................... COMPLEX PROCEDURES might need several steps to achieve the desired result. Important tasks offer options to run on defaults, almost fully automatic (e.g. COMPLETELY UNFORMAT ASCII TEXT files, SEARCH and REPLACE up to 12 text strings simultaneously, REMOVE ALL CODE SIGNS except characters in binary files to make these files pure readable ASCII files, etc.). For a more detailed description read the file The program uses 16 colors for screen output. COLOR mode can be switched to BLACK and WHITE. SOUND can be turned on or off. Because the program runs in TEXT MODE, precious memory is saved which can be used to perform the task. Therefore, it should work on most compatible computers using DOS version 3.0 or above. For sorting at least FILES=16 in CONFIG.SYS are needed. Provide ample space on hard disk for temporary files created by the program on sorting word lists or lines. is available as a fully working SHAREWARE program. Conditions are given in the file and . The REGISTERED VERSION allows SORTING of more than 20 MILLION words in word listings (3000 in the SHAREWARE version). A REGISTRATION / UPDATE form is included in the documentation or can be printed by the program itself on request. A complete DOCUMENTATION is included in the file . There is also a GERMAN version available on request. The program contains extensive error handling routines which should catch most errors (wrong input by the user, number too big, files not found, wrong PATH, missing directories, insufficient memory, printer not available, write protection on disks, and so on). If you should encounter serious problems, the author would be thankful to receive the information necessary to correct possible deficiencies of the program code. Thank you for your support of SHAREWARE. ********************************************************************* When registering a SPECIAL VERSION of is available on request which is faster but needs a 80286 or 80386 or 80436 or higher processor (AT-typ computer). ********************************************************************* What is NEW in VERSION 4.0 : ============================ now handles almost any size of file provided there is enough space on disk available. A HEX-DUMP is now included with special features to show characters which normally are not printed. A new group of functions "LINE MANIPULATIONS" has been added to cut/add in front of or at the end of lines, to insert text or a marker at a specified position in each line, to delete characters at a certain position; also consecutive characters can be limited in number, and the site of removal can be marked. Furthermore, a certain range can be copied out of each line to a new file. The program now supports EMS - if available - and uses overlay technique which reduces the amount of necessary memory. The program allows now searching and replacing of up to 12 characters or text strings simultaneously (e.g. all months). Also, SEARCH can be performed as GLOBAL or at a specified range in each line. After the first concord in a line, SEARCH can be continued in the next line, neglecting further replacements in this line. Some new options and many more small improvements have been added. The registered version includes a specially compiled program of which is shorter and runs faster, but needs an -typ processor [286 or higher]. You will get it, if you register and order (and pay for) the latest up-date on a 3.5" disk. What is new in VERSION 4.5 of >ASCII-PRO< : =========================================== It is now possible to use SEARCH and REPLACE with an ASCII-LIST containing the words to look for and replacement strings. A sample file is included with a short explanation on how to use it. The default file name ist SEARCH.LST, but any other name is acceptable. If a word of the SEARCH LIST is found, it will be replaced with the string starting at POSITION 41 of the same line. If there is no replacement string, the word found will be deleted. The registered version practically has no limit to SEARCH for words and to replace words found - it just takes time ! The next considerable improvement is that words in WORD LIST now can be excluded by using a NEGATIVE LIST (default "NEGATIVE.LST"). If the word found is equal to a word starting at position 1 in an ASCII NEGATIVE LIST, then, it will NOT be included in the list of words with or without LINE/PAGE numbers. EXCLUSION LISTS with all words of a document can be created by the program automatically; then, just remove the words you want to be listet in the word list. Furthermore, PAGE and LINE NUMBERS can now be calculatet either by using a fixed number of lines per page or by counting the actual -MARKERS, which may be chosen at will. Also, WODRS and LINE/PAGE NUMBERS can be excluded from word lists by setting a MARKER at the beinning and at the end of the text to be excluded. With these improvements it gets very easy to create table of contents, provided you have ordered the REGISTERED VERSION of . Again, many more small improvements have been added like REMOVING text from every line up to a ceratain MARK, between TWO MARKS, and the rest of a line after a MARK has been encountered. Also, thanks to a MARKER, line numbers lateron can be deleted. TEXT SORT by LINE has now an option to switch on or off MATCHING UPPER/Lowercase sensitivity (Choose NO dinstinction between upper and lower case characters for sorting listings [especially lists with frequency of words or table of content] for better results. You can ADD MARKERS or TEXT to BEGINNING or END of each line. Empty lines can be treated differently. A new function removes all unprintable codes at the beginning and end of each line, including CODE 255. DELETE a certain number of signs at the END of each line. A features to automatically CREATE TABLES has been introduced. Field lengths and numbers are calculated by the program. End-of-Field MARKERS can be chosen. Additional MARKS can be added at any position in each line. Part of TABLES can be CUT OUT or DELEDTED. NEW LINES with MARKER can be ADDED, depending on certain conditions (previous line EMPTY, NOT empty, beginning with a NUMBER, etc.). ******************************************************************** All operations and functions are chosen by answering the relevant questions put forward by the program. Unavailable choices are not shown. Usually, the default answer can be selected by pressing the space bar. This simplifies the procedures considerably. Possibly dangerous file operations need affirmative input by the user to be carried out; still, always keep a backup file. ********************************************************************