Copyright: RptVw ® 1994 DREC Software


Contents

Introduction

Welcome

Operating Environment

Context Sensitive Help

Future Enhancements

Purchasing / Licensing

Technical Support

Procedures

Downloading mainframe reports

RptVw Real Estate

Opening a report

Setting the Heading

Paging thru a report

Adjusting the viewing area

Finding information on the report

Using BookMarks

Copying data to other applications

Printing

Viewing Multiple Reports

Reference

Menus

Index


Welcome

Welcome to RptVw, the report viewer and report information extract system. RptVw allow you to view, print, and extract information from reports generated from other systems and stored as ASCII files on your PC or network drives.  If you have mainframe reports that you would like to view online and extract information from, RptVw is for you.

The major difference between RptVw and other ASCII file viewers is the ability to set a page heading and lock it at the top of the viewing area. With RptVw you can scroll up and down in a report page and still be able to see the title and column headings. As you move from page to page, the headings will dynamically refresh for each page.  If the number of lines in a heading changes as you change pages, you can immediately reset the heading area.

Other functionality you will not find in other viewers includes histories of search strings and pages previously viewed.


Operating Environment

RptVw requires a PC 386 or greater, Windows 3.1, 4 meg of memory, and 2 meg of disk space. The program may be run on a standalone PC or from a network.

See Also

INI Settings

Report File Structure


INI Settings

RPTVIEW.INI

This INI should reside in the same directory as the RPTVIEW.EXE file.

All enteries are customizable by editing with any ASCII text editor such as Notepad.

[FILES]

FileFilter

The File / Open file filter pattern.

EXAMPLE: FileFilter=*.rpt;*.txt

ReportDir

The initial path pointing to the drive and directory containing the reports you would like to view using RptView. This entry may point to the root directory of various subdirectories.
Note: This entry will not be present until the program is run for the first time.

EXAMPLE: ReportDir=C:\REPORTS


Report File Structure

Report files must be ASCII files. The report can have unlimited pages. Reports can contain tabs where the tab setting is 8 characters per tab.

A RptVw page is made up of all the data between two form-feed control characters embedded in the report.  It is possible to have what looks like multiple pages on a RptVw page depending on where form-feed characters were placed in the report file when it was created.


Context Sensitive Help

Many of the buttons, list boxes, check off boxes, etc have context sensitive help associated with them. To activate the help for a particular item, click once on the item with your Right Mouse button.  The associated help will be presented if available.


Future Enhancements

Future versions of the product will include:

•	Report file compression - a separate program that will help you reduce the size of your report files.

•	Greatly improved information extraction abilities, including storing extractions to ASCII tab and comma delimited files, dBase, and spreadsheet formats.

•	LAN Report Distribution and Notification - a separate system to distribute reports to various drives and directories and user notification when a report is available.

If you have any suggestions for enhancements, please contact DREC Software at the address listed below:

DREC Software
1633 West A Street
Lincoln, NE 68522-1259.

or EMail through the Internet to DREC SFTWR@AOL.COM


Purchasing and Licensing
Purchasing / Licensing

RptVw is a shareware product.  The shareware version you have received is fully functional. Registered versions of the product will not contain the startup banner or the word UNREGISTERED in the title bar.

Pricing is as follows (US Dollars):

Individual License	$30.00

Site Licenses
 5 User	 	$140.00
10 User	$250.00
25 User	$500.00
50 User	$750.00
Unlimited 	$1,150.00

Shipping and Handling per order:
U.S.: $3.00  Canada: $4.00  Overseas: $5.00

To register and license RptVw, complete the order form found in RVORDER.TXT and mail with your check or money order to:

DREC Software
1633 West A Street
Lincoln, NE 68522-1259.

Credit Card Orders Only -

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public (software) Library by:
calling  800-2424-PsL or  713-524-6394.

Orders can be Faxed or Emailed to

FAX  - 713-524-6398 or
CIS Email to 71355,470.

You can also mail credit card orders to

PsL
P.O. Box 35705
Houston, TX 77235-5705.

Make sure you specify RptVw (Report View), order # 11539 from DREC Software when you place your order.

The Above Numbers Are For Orders Only

Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to DREC Software at the address listed above or send via the Internet to DREC SFTWR@AOL.COM. To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify DREC Software the day of your order and we will ship the product directly to you.


Technical Support

If you encounter any problems, have questions, or have suggestions for enhancements, please contact DREC Software at the address listed below:

DREC Software
1633 West A Street
Lincoln, NE 68522-1259.

or EMail through the Internet to DREC SFTWR@AOL.COM

At this point, I DO NOT provide telephone support.


Downloading mainframe reports

RptVw does not contain the functionality to download report files from non PC / Network devices such as IBM mainframes. To bring your reports down to your PC / Network drive, please follow your companies procedures for performing this function.


RptVw Real Estate

RptVw contains several areas of screen real estate that you need to be familiar with.

Menu Bar

At the top is a menu bar that contains File, ToolBar, and Help menus.

ToolBar

On the right side is a toolbar of buttons to select various RptVw functions such as Print, Copy, Find, etc. This toolbar can be hidden and reshown from the menu item ToolBar / Hide (Show) ToolBar.  This gives you additional report viewing area without losing any functionality.

Information / GoTo Page Bar

At the bottom is an function bar that contains a clock and report drive, directory, file name, and date / time stamp information.

Also is a GoTo Page function where you can enter a page number and go directly to that page. The current page is always shown. Listed at the end of the bar is the total number of pages in the report.

To the left of GoTo Page is a Repeat Find button. This button allows you to repeat a search once it has be initiated. The button is initially disabled (grayed out) and is enabled when a search has been initiated.

Report Viewing Area

In the middle is the report viewing area. This area contains the Heading and Body areas of the current report page. From the viewing area you can select report data for copying to other applications or for printing. Titles and columns are locked into the heading area via the Set Heading function.


Opening a report

When RptVw initially opens, a window will present itself allowing you to choose a report to open.  The file filter pattern defaults to the pattern found in RPTVIEW.INI which is located in the same directory as the EXE. This pattern is customizable by editing the INI file with any ASCII text editor such as Notepad.

Additionally, you may want to setup File Associations in File Manager to various file types. Then by double-clicking on the file in File Manager, RptVw will automatically startup. (See your Windows Manual for setting up File Associations.)

See Also

Report File Structure

INI Settings


Header

Each time a new report is opened or you select ToolBar / Header from the menu bar or click the Hdr button from the TOOLBAR, you can set or reset the Heading section of the viewing area.

By setting a heading you will divide each page into a Heading and Body. You will be able to then scroll up and down in a page while keeping titles and column headings locked in place.  As you move through various pages, the heading area will be refreshed with information from the current page.

To Set a Heading

1 	Click on the line in the list box that will be the LAST line in the Heading.  Then click on the Set Heading button.
OR

2 	Double-click on the line in the list box that will be the LAST line in the Heading.
OR

3 	Using the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard, highlight the line in the list box that will be the LAST line in the Heading and press the ENTER key.

If you do not want a heading, click on the No Heading button.


Paging thru a report

There are two levels of paging or scrolling thru a report.

Current Page

To scroll left or right in the current page, use the horizonal scroll bar at the bottom of the viewing area. The Heading and Body will scroll together. To scroll up or down in the Body of the current page use the vertical scroll bar to the right of the Body. You can also activate the Body by clicking in the Body and use the PageUP and PageDown keys on the keyboard.

Realigning Heading and Body

Report

The viewing area represents report information one page at a time. There are several ways to page up and down thru a report or go directly to a report page.

Page

One Page Up or Down

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click either the PgU or PgD buttons.
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / PageUp or Page Down.
OR

3 	From the keyboard, press the Ctrl+PageUp or Ctrl+PageDown keys.

See Also

Going directly to a page

Using Page History to go to previously viewed pages


Realigning Heading and Body

If the Heading and Body columns somehow get out of sync the easiest way to realign is to drag the horizonal scroll bar all the way to the left.  This should realign both sections.


GoTo Page

Page

From the bottom Information / Function Bar, highlight the page number in the box, change to the page you want to go to and click the GoTo button or press the ENTER key on the keyboard.


Page History

A history of pages you have viewed is kept for reference. To access the Page History:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the Hist button.
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Page History.

Go to a page previously viewed by:

1 	Selecting a number from the Page list, click on the Go To button or press the ENTER key on the keyboard.
OR

2 	Double-click on the Page number in the Page list.

See Also

Page List

Go To

Clear

Close


Page History Page List

To go to a page number listed in the Page list:

1 	Select a number from the Page list, click on the Go To button or press the ENTER key on the keyboard.
OR

2 	Double-click on the Page number in the Page list.


Page History Go To

After selecting the page number in the Page list, click the Go To button to view the selected page.


Page History Clear

You can clear the Page List box of all previously viewed pages by clicking on the Clear button.


Page History Close

To close the Page History window, click the Close button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.


Adjusting the viewing area

Increasing the width of the viewing area

From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Hide Toolbar to hide the TOOLBAR. This will increase the width of the viewing area. To return the TOOLBAR to view, select ToolBar / Show Toolbar.

Font

Viewing area character size

The size of the characters in the viewing area can be increased to improve readability or decreased to see more of a page. To change the size of the characters:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the Font Inc or Dec buttons.
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Font Increase or Font Decrease.


Finding information
Finding information on the report

You can search for character strings from the Find window. To activate the Find function:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the Find button
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Find.

You can start your search from the current page or the top of the report. The search can be case sensitive. A history of each unique search string is retained in the Find History list.

See Also

Find string

History

Start from

Match Case

Find Initiate

Clear

Cancel


Find string

Enter the string you want to search for. The string can include upper and lower case characters, special characters, and spaces. Your search can be case sensitive.


Find History

A history of each unique search string is retained in the History list. You can recall a previous search string from the list and repeat a search at anytime.

To recall a previous search string:

1 	Click the down arrow next to the History list box

2 	Select the string from the list.

The string will appear in the Find box along with in the History box. You can modify the string in the Find box once it appears.


Find Start from

Your search can start from the current page you are viewing or from the top of the report.

Select either the

•	from current Page
OR

•	from Top of Report

radio option buttons.


Find Match Case

You can make your search case sensitive by toggling the Match Case check box on or off.


Find Initiate

To begin a search, click the Find button. The search will be initiated. If the first hit is successful the main Find window will be closed and the Repeat Find button on the Information/GoTo Page bar will be enabled to repeat the search.

See Also

Repeat Find


Find Repeat Find
Repeat Find

Once a search has been initiated, the Repeat Find button on the Information / GoTo Page Bar will be enabled to allow you to continue the search. To repeat a search:

1 	Click the Repeat Find button on the Information / GoTo Page Bar
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, Select ToolBar / Repeat Search
OR

3 	Press the F3 function key on the keyboard.

To initiate a new search, click the Find button on the TOOLBAR.


Find Clear

You may clear the History list box of previous search strings at any time by clicking the Clear button.


Find Cancel

To close the Find window, click the Cancel button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.


BookMark

There may be times as you view a report that you would want to return to previous pages. Page bookmarks can be useful to help you return to previously viewed pages.

The BookMark window can be used to set a bookmark for a page and to jump to a page marked with a bookmark.

To activate the BookMark window:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the BkM button
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / BookMark.

See Also

Page List Box

Set

GoTo

Close

Remove

Clear All


BookMark Page List Box

The Page List Box contains a list of all pages you have set bookmarks for. From this list you can select a page to return to.

To go to a marked page:

1 	Select a page number and click the Go To button or press the Enter key on your keyboard.
OR

2 	Double-click on the page number.


BookMark Set

To set a bookmark for the current page you are viewing, click the Set button.


BookMark GoTo

After selecting a page number from the Page List, click the GoTo button or press Enter on the keyboard to go to the marked page.


BookMark Close

To close the BookMark window, click the Close button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.


BookMark Remove

You can remove a page from the Bookmark Page list by selecting the page number in the list and clicking the Remove button.


BookMark Clear All

To clear all bookmarks in the Page List, click the Clear All button.


Copy

Information from the viewing area can be copied to the Windows Clipboard and pasted into other applications.

Select the information in either the Heading or Body viewing area by dragging your mouse and:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the Copy button
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Copy
OR

3 	From the keyboard, press Ctrl+Insert.


Print

The purpose of RptVw is to minimize the use of paper reports, but there are times when paper is required. From the Print window, you can print the current page, selected text, or a range of pages.

To activate the Print window:

1 	From the TOOLBAR, click the Print button
OR

2 	From the Menu Bar, select ToolBar / Print.

See Also

Range

Copies

Enlarge Font Size

Orientation

Printer Setup

OK

Cancel


Print Range

You can print the Current Page, Selected Text, or Pages From / To. Select the corresponding print option button for the range you would like to print.

Current Page

Prints the current page you are viewing.

Selected Text

Select the text in the Heading or Body area that you want to print.

Pages From: / To:

Select this option and enter the From and To page numbers. Enter the same number in both the From and To if you want to print only one page that you are not currently viewing. You can can also print the whole report by entering  1 to the  last page number.


Print Copies

You can enter the number of copies you would like to print. The default is  1.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Copies will not function if the Windows printer driver you are using does not support mulitple copies. Check the Printer Setup for the current print driver to see if there is an option to set the number of copies.


Print Enlarge Font Size

The default font size allows for a mainframe report page to print completely on one 8 1/2 x 11 inch, landscape page.

If you know your report contains less lines or you are printing selected text,  you can enlarge the font size to improve readability.

Select the Enlarge Font Size to toggle on/off.


Print Orientation

The default print orientation is Landscape. This allows for printing of a typical mainframe report page. You can change the orientation to Portrait if you know the information you are printing will fit correctly on the paper.

Toggle between Landscape or Portrait to pick the orientation.


Print Printer Setup

Select Printer Setup to change printers, paper sizes, etc. These changes are only effective for RptVw and will not alter the current Windows Printer Setup.

Certain options such as number of pages and orientation are controlled from the Print window and not from the Printer Setup windows.


Print OK

Click the OK button to begin printing.

Once printing has begun you will be presented with a "Printing Please Wait..." message. If you want to cancel the printing, click on this message box and a window will be presented that will allow you to cancel the print job. It is possible that some of the output will have already made it to the Print Manager (or it's replacement). You may need to delete this output from the Print Manager.


Print Cancel

To close the Print window, click the Cancel button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.


Viewing Multiple Reports

RptVw does not allow you to view multiple reports. To view more than one report, start additional RptVw sessions. You can then size each RptVw main window and place multiple reports side-by-side to perform comparisons, etc.

See Also

Opening a report


Menus

File

Open

Exit - Close down and exit RptVw

ToolBar

Hide (Show) ToolBar

Print

Copy

Find

Repeat Find

Page Up

Page Down

Page History

Font Size Inc

Font Size Dec

Header

BookMark


Index

A

Adjusting the viewing area

Adjusting View Area Alignment

ASCII

B

BkM - TOOLBAR

Body

BookMark Clear All

BookMark Close

BookMark GoTo

BookMark Page List Box

BookMark Remove

BookMark Set

BookMark

C

Character size

Contents

Context Sensitive Help

Copy - TOOLBAR

Copy

Ctrl+PageDown

Ctrl+PageUp

D

Down loading reports

Downloading mainframe reports

E

Enhancements

F

File Associations

File filter pattern

Find - TOOLBAR

Find Cancel

Find Clear

Find History

Find Initiate

Find Match Case

Find Repeat Find

Find Start from

Find string

Find

Finding information

Font Dec - TOOLBAR

Font Inc - TOOLBAR

Form-feed character

Future Enhancements

G

GoTo Page

GoTo Page

H

Hdr Button - TOOLBAR

Header

Heading

Heading

Help

Hiding the TOOLBAR

Hist - TOOLBAR

History - Page

Horizonal Scroll Bar

How To

I

Index

Information Bar

INI Settings

Introduction

L

Licensing

M

Mainframe reports

Menu Bar

Menus

Multiple Reports - Viewing

N

No Heading

O

Opening a report

Operating Environment

Ordering

P

Page History Clear

Page History Close

Page History Go To

Page History Page List

Page History

Page History

Page

Page

PageDown Key

PageUp Key

Paging thru a report

Paging

PgD - TOOLBAR

PgU - TOOLBAR

Print - TOOLBAR

Print Cancel

Print Copies

Print Enlarge Font Size

Print OK

Print Orientation

Print Printer Setup

Print Range

Print

Problems

Procedures

Purchasing and Licensing

Purchasing

Q

Questions

R

Realigning Heading and Body

Reference

Registering

Repeat Find

Report File Structure

Right Mouse Button

RptVw Real Estate

S

Scrolling thru a report

Showing the TOOLBAR

Support

T

Technical Support

TOOLBAR - BkM

TOOLBAR - Copy

TOOLBAR - Find

TOOLBAR - Font Dec

TOOLBAR - Font Inc

TOOLBAR - Hdr

TOOLBAR - Hiding & Showing

TOOLBAR - Hist

TOOLBAR - PgD

TOOLBAR - PgU

TOOLBAR - Print

TOOLBAR

ToolBar

V

Viewing area

Viewing Area

Viewing area

Viewing Area

Viewing Multiple Reports

W

Welcome

Why use RptVw


Body

The area of a  page being viewed that contains the the primary data content of the page.


file filter pattern

Example( *.rpt;*.txt)


Heading

The area of a  page being viewed that contains the locked title and column headings.


mainframe report page

A typical mainframe report page contains 132 characters per line and 55 to 60 lines per page.


page

All the report data between two form-feed control characters embedded in the report.


viewing area

The area of RptVw that contains the heading and body of the report you are currently viewing.