DP Tool Club 8/CDASC08.ISO/VRAC/KEYCACHE.ZIP/KC.DOC

Text File | 1993-01-14 | 14KB | 302 lines

                 KEYCACHE--THE UNIVERSAL INPUT ACCELERATOR

Keycache is a TSR program that accelerates keyboard input by looking at
what you have typed and showing you a list of words that start with it.  At
the touch of a single key or the click of a mouse, Keycache will "type" the
rest of the word.  Whenever you type a word that Keycache doesn't know
about, it will be stored in memory and displayed the next time you type
something that could match it.  Keycache increases keyboard input speed the
same way a disk cache speeds up disk accesses.

Keycache is especially useful for users who
--Have learning disabilities that make spelling and word selection difficult
--Have physical disabilities that slow down keyboard usage
--Are using alternative input techniques like scanning
--Are simply slow hunt-and-peck typists
--Are working with programs that require highly "stereotyped" word input,
  such as databases that require field names to be spelled out.  Keycache
  can be used to add pick-list capability to such programs.

Keycache was designed to work with almost any program that uses keyboard
input.  You can create your own vocabulary lists (for example, legal or
medical terms).  Keycache takes up only as much memory as you want it to,
and can be used in conjunction with other TSRs like macro programs or
alternative input programs.

USING KEYCACHE

To install Keycache, just type KC at the DOS prompt.  Keycache will load
itself and check to see if you have a dictionary file in the current
directory.  If so, Keycache will load in the words in the file.  If not,
Keycache will start with a "clean slate" and accumulate the words that you
type.

Whenever you type some letters that could be the start of a word that
Keycache knows about, a window will pop up and show you a list of numbered
(0-9) choices.  If you want to "type" one of the words shown, just press
the appropriate digit key.  If you have a mouse, you can also select a word
by clicking on it.  Keycache will enter the word in lowercase unless you
have the caps-lock key on, in which case it will enter it in all uppercase.
If you don't want to pick one of the words, just continue typing.  If you
want to type a literal digit, press Escape and the window will clear.
Clicking the mouse outside the window will also clear it.

Keycache shows the first 10 words, in alphabetical order, that start with
what you've typed so far.  Since more than 10 words in the dictionary could
match, you can scroll through the list using the up and down arrow keys and
the page up and page down keys.  If you're using a mouse, there will be
reverse-video arrows shown on the top and bottom borders of the window, as
well as at the right end of the first and last numbered lines.  Clicking on
the top arrow is the same as pressing page up, the bottom arrow is the same
as page down, the arrow on the first numbered line is the same as pressing
up arrow, and the arrow on the last numbered line is the same as down arrow.

Keycache can deal with words up to 32 characters long.  If a word has more
than 20 characters, only the first 20 will be shown in the window.
Keycache defines a word as a string of letters.  Whenever you type a space,
number or punctuation symbol, Keycache will store the word in its
dictionary (unless you're using "fixed prediction," see below).

The window will position itself vertically so as to avoid the line the
cursor is on, since some word processors insist on repainting the cursor
line continuously.  If you're using a mouse, you can "drag" the window
horizontally by putting the mouse cursor anywhere on the left border of the
window, holding down the button and moving the cursor.

THE CONTROL PANEL

Keycache has a number of options that you can set by popping up its
"control panel."  You do this by pressing Alt-K.  The control panel is a
window with 8 numbered entries; you select one of them by typing its number
or clicking the mouse inside the window.  Most of them are toggles; if the
option is shown as on, selecting it will turn it off or vice versa.  The
options are as follows:

0) Exit from the control panel and go back to what you were doing

1) Turn expansion off or on.  If expansion is turned off, Keycache will
go to sleep" until you turn it back on.  Expansion is on by default.

2) Turn the adding of new words on or off.  If this is on, Keycache will
add words it hasn't encountered yet to its dictionary.  If this is off
(sometimes called "fixed prediction") new words will not be added.  It is
on by default.

3) Turn auto-spacing on or off.  If this is on, Keycache will insert a
space after any word it "types."  It is off by default.

4) Turn erase protection on or off.  Some programs constantly repaint the
screen while they're waiting for keys, which erases Keycache's window.
Turning erase protection on causes Keycache to redraw its window if some
other program has destroyed it.  This may cause the screen to flicker
obnoxiously, but it's better than nothing.  Erase protection is off by
default.

5) Select minimum word size.  Keycache will not display or record words
shorter than this value, which can range from 2 to 9 (default is 3).  Each
time you select this option, the value advances, "wrapping" from 9 to 2.

6) Select the foreground color for Keycache's window.  Each selection of
this option steps you through the standard IBM sequence of colors.  Some
color combinations may be very hard to read; if the control panel window
disappears while you're selecting colors, just select again (even though
you can't see it, the control panel is still there).

7) Select the background color for Keycache's window.  This works just like
option 6.

While you're in the control panel, you can use the left and right arrow
keys to position the window horizontally (you can also use the mouse as
described above).

EXITING FROM KEYCACHE

Since Keycache accumulates the words that you type, you'll need to save
your list of words back to disk before turning off your computer; otherwise
words that you typed for the first time won't be remembered for your next
session.  To save your word list, type KC/W at the DOS prompt.  This will
replace any existing dictionary file with a new one.  This will also save
your control panel settings.  You should be in the same directory you were
in when you started Keycache. You can remove Keycache from memory by typing
KC/U or KC/Q.  Be sure to save your dictionary before doing this.

COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS

Keycache has a few command-line options that can be invoked when you
install it.  Most of them set control-panel values.  All of them are
indicated by typing a slash (/) followed by a letter on the command line:

/E   Turn expansion on

/E-  Turn expansion off

/F   Turn fixed preditction on (don't record new words).

/F-  Turn fixed prediction off (record new words).

/S   Insert a space after any word "typed" by Keycache.

/S-  Don't insert spaces.  This is the default setting.

/O   Turn erase protection on.

/O-  Turn erase protection off.

/L digit  Set the minimum word length to digit.

/C fg bg  Set the foreground and background colors of the popup window.  fg
and bg are both decimal numbers from the following list:
     0   black          8   gray
     1   blue           9   light blue
     2   green          10  light green
     3   cyan           11  light cyan
     4   red            12  light red
     5   magenta        13  light magenta
     6   brown          14  yellow
     7   white          15  bright white
On most video displays, colors 8-15 can be used for foreground only; trying
to use them for background will result in a blinking display.  The default
colors are white on black (7 and 0) for monochrome systems and blue on
green (1 and 2) for color systems.

/H nn  Display the window begining at column nn.  Acceptable values are 1
through 54.  The default value is 50.

/M nn  Reserve nn K of memory in addition to whatever is taken up by the
dictionary loaded from the file.  This area of memory will hold new words
that Keycache adds to the dictionary as you type them.  nn can range from 0
to 60, but Keycache will never use more than 64K total.  The default value
is 4K.

/R filename  Load the dictionary from the specified file.  If the filename
is omitted, Keycache will look for a file called "kc.dic" in your current
directory.

/U  Uninstall Keycache.  /Q is a synonym for this option.

/W filename  Save the dictionary to the specified file.  If you don't
include a filename, "kc.dic" in your current directory will be used.

You can have more than one option on a command line.  Once you have
Keycache loaded, you can subsequently use the /E, /F, /S, /O, /L, /C and /H
options to change its behavior.  The /M and /R options will be ignored if
Keycache is already resident, since resizing a resident program's memory is
not always possible.  The /W and /U switches are only available if Keycache
is already resident.

If you are using Keycache in conjunction with another TSR that affects
keyboard input (for example, a program that lets you point to an on-screen
keyboard matrix with a trackball to "type" characters), you should load
Keycache after the other TSR (otherwise Keycache won't see the characters
you enter with the alternate-input program).

Keycache dictionary files are plain ASCII text files with one word per
line.  If you create your own dictionary with a text editor, make sure that
words consist entirely of lowercase letters with no digits or punctuation
symbols.  Large dictionaries will load faster if all the words are in
alphabetical order (whenever you save a dictionary with the /W option, all
the words will be saved in order).

If a line in a dictionary begins with a slash, Keycache will treat it as a
list of options, just as if they were typed on the command line.  The /M,
/R, /W and /U options will be ignored if they appear in a dictionary.  When
Keycache saves a dictionary it will put your control-panel options on the
first line.

LIMITATIONS

Keycache will only work with programs that use BIOS services to get keys
(most do, but a few programs insist on reading the keyboard port directly).
Keycache doesn't know much about the context of what you type; if, for
example, you exit Word Perfect, type "N" in response to the prompt and then
type "dir," Keycache will think you typed "NDIR" and add it to its
dictionary.

Keycache tries to do everything it can to make sure that the window isn't
displayed at a time when the application program could overwrite it, but
some programs manage to sneak by it.  If this happens, you'll get a lousy-
looking display (when the window does clear, it will be replaced with
whatever was under it at the time it popped up, which may not match what's
currently being displayed); while ugly, this effect is harmless.

If there's no room in memory to add a new word, the current version will
ignore it.  Future versions will make room for new words by discarding
infrequently-used words.

Keycache won't work with programs (including Microsoft Windows) that put
the screen in graphics mode.

LEGAL STUFF

Keycache and this manual are copyright 1991,1992 by OMS Development/Eric
Bohlman.  All rights reserved.  You may freely copy and distribute Keycache
as long as you include both the executable program and this manual and you
do not alter them in any way.  If you distribute Keycache, you may not
charge more than the actual cost of duplication.  You may not distribute
Keycache as part of a commercial package without written permission from
OMS Development

Keycache is distributed as shareware.  If you decide to use it on a regular
basis, you are required to register it.  Registration costs $40 (single
user) or $100 (all users on a single network) and entitles you to
automatically receive any upgraded versions of Keycache.  Registered
versions will include at least one default dictionary file to help you get
started.  To register, send the appropriate amount in US funds to:

OMS Development
1921 Highland Ave.
Wilmette, IL  60091
708-251-5787

You may also register using your Visa or Mastercard by calling or writing:

Shareable Software International
P.O. Box 59102
Schaumburg, IL  60159
800-622-2793 (708-397-1221 outside the United States)

There is a $5 processing fee for credit card orders.  Be sure to include
the name as it appears on the card, card number and expiration date.

When registering, please specify 5.25" or 3.5" disks.

CONTACT INFO

I can be reached by snail-mail at OMS Development, by Genie Mail at
E.Bohlman and by phone at [phone].  I would appreciate any
suggestions or bug reports.  I can usually be reached by phone between
10:00 AM and 10:00 PM Central time.  Ordinarily I can return long-distance
calls from registered users only.

VERSION HISTORY

1.2 (1/14/93) Fixed interaction problem with No-Keys (from Leithauser
Research).

1.1 (12/7/92) Added scrolling (more than 10 words), control panel, mouse
support, erase protection and ability to save settings in dictionary files.
Shows up to 20 characters of words rather than 15.

0.3 (3/23/92) Added options for fixed prediction and window positioning.

0.2 (10/20/91)  Fixed bug that caused garbage to display when dictionary
size was a multiple of 128 characters.

0.1 (7/13/91)   Initial release.

ABOUT OMS DEVELOPMENT

OMS Development specializes in the development of custom software and
hardware.  Since 1980, we have provided custom programming, hardware
product design and computer consultation to a wide range of clients.  Our
services have included designing specialized microprocessor-based
optometric instruments, writing Turbo Pascal database programs for the food
brokerage industry, installing LANs and writing custom DOS utilities.

We also market a variety of shareware programs including Tinytalk, a
powerful and memory-efficient screen reader for blind or dyslexic users who
use speech synthesizers, and Search, a flexible text retrieval system.

Eric Bohlman
December 7, 1992