The Datafile PD-CD 1 Issue 2

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Text File | 1994-09-24 | 25KB | 461 lines

Other.MoreInfo - more stuff about Smart Quotes. See !Help ₧le for copyright stuff etc. What these ₧les actually do *************************** NB: This assumes MoreInfo is in the !Quotes directory, *not* the !SQáSource directory. All this stuff about SlimDown only makes sense if you have one big humungous application, not two separate biggish ones. Choices holds the location of the choices directory (by default öSQáChoicesò in <SmartQuotes$Dir>). This directory holds Chars, Diphthongs, Setup and Choices, which hold the various Smart Quotes choices, preferences etc. SlimDown will create an application called !SQáSource in the directory !Quotes is in, and put all the source code stuff in it. *YOU SHOULD THEN MAKE A BACKUP OF THIS DIRECTORY!*. It will also replace the massive !Help ₧le by a rather smaller one, although the !Help ₧le will still be there ù it will have been renamed to ReadMe. Running !SQáSource will copy the stuff back, provided Smart Quotes has been seen. As the whole process is quite complicated, you should actually make a backup of the whole Smart Quotes application before you start mucking about with this sort of stuff. The Vector routine is used to read the diphthongs, and is read in from disc rather than being assembled every time (wasteful of memory). The MoreHelp module supplies interactive help for Smart Quotes; the !IntHelp ₧le contains the messages for it to use in the appropriate format. CopyFat, CopySlim, FattenUp, Slim!Sprit, Small!Help and SourceHelp are all used during the slimming down (putting loads of stuff in !SQáSource) or fattening up processes (putting it back into !Quotes). You donæt need to know about it ù if you do, hack the ₧le. Other.AppSource is the source code for the application - i.e. itæs readable. ;) Other.ModSource is the source code for the module - it wasnæt included in the ₧rst release, but seeing as I (very partially) ripped off Michael Rozdobaæs source code because he included it with Desktop+, I felt it would be unfair not to include mine. Also, I spent too much time trying to work out why my code wasnæt working (eventually, I had a look at other ₧lters using Zap and realised I didnæt have to use Wimp_ProcessKey after all...) not to appreciate people supplying readable, commented code. So here it is. Other.ShortHelp is a set of library routines for compacting help strings using OS_PrettyPrintæs internal dictionary. If you hardwire the codes into the source code it looks ugly, confusing, and it's almost impossible to read (look at Desktop+æs source code ;) ). See Other.ShortHDocs for more information. Other.VecSource is the source code for a small routine that traps the WrchV vector, spools all output into a buffer, and then gives the vector back. Itæs used to get the list of diphthongs from the module without having to use a message or a SWI (both of which need an of₧cial number from Acorn and quite a bit of work). The routine uses *ShowDiphthongs TINY (an undocumented - well almost - version of ShowDiphthongs), to produce a list without any formatting (try it yourself). The ₧les you actually need *************************** OK, if this is supposed to be a nice compact utility, how come it takes up nearly 250K of disc space? The answer is that, out of those 250K, about 125K is source code and various documentation ù which you donæt need to use Smart Quotes. If you are running Smart Quotes from a network or a ƒoppy, you can make considerable savings by removing the unused ₧les. If your copy of Smart Quotes only takes 125K or so, then you already have a slim version, in which case you should ignore the rest of the section. There is a ₧le in the Smart Quotes directory called SlimDown, which will move all the unnecessary stuff out of the Smart Quotes directory into a separate !SQáSource application. As it renames the ₧les rather than copying them, it shouldnæt need too much free disc space (maybe a few K, but no more). You will now have a slimmed-down (125K or so) version of !Quotes that will run perfectly happily. *BUT DONæT LOSE !SQáSOURCE !* Running !SQ Source will copy all the stuff back. ** NB ** : I make no guarantee that this will actually work on your machine. It should, but you never know what sorts of strange things could happen. When in doubt, copy the stuff manually. You may have been supplied with a ösmallò version of Smart Quotes, in which case you should be able to get a copy of !SQáSource. Running it should copy the ₧les back. See the FileList files for full lists of the files you should have. Other miscellanea ***************** You canæt have two copies of Smart Quotes loaded at once, as that would just be too confusing ù besides, when you quit one, the other one would very soon complain about not having a module to work with. So if you load a second copy, the older one quits. Some of you out there might be annoyed that Smart Quotes doesnæt bother to check the size of the current mode when it opens its windows ù so they may very well be off-centre. But all is not lost: Smart Quotes will save the position of the windows when you save the choices, and re-use them at the next session. * commands ********** ShowDiphthongs : produces a list of diphthongs. AddDipthong <₧rst> <second> <subst> : add a diphthong to the list. RemoveDiphthong <pos> : remove diphthong number <pos> from the list. ClearDiphthongs : wipe the list of diphthongs. There is also help available on the Smart Quotes variables (see below), and on diphthongs. Variables ********* There are several special variables used by Smart Quotes ù öspecialò because they canæt be deleted by the user and directly reƒect the workings of the program. SmartQuotes$Options and SmartQuotes$Subst both take the form of a binary number (i.e. a number of the form 2_101, where the ö2_ò means öthis number is a binary numberò). Viewing the variable shows the current state of some of the programæs settings, changing the value of the variable will change them. SmartQuotes$Options controls Smart Quotesæ settings, exactly like the Settings dialogue boxes do. It takes the form 2_edcba, where a stands for bit 0, b for bit 1, c for bit 2, d for bit 3, e for bit 4. The bits have the following meaning: Bit 0 Double quotes substitution : 1: smart quotes 0: neutral quotes Bit 1 Single quotes substitution : 1: smart quotes 0: neutral quotes Bit 2 Form of substituted single quotes 1: All closed 0: Open and closed Bit 3 Diphthong substitution : 1: substitute 0: donæt substitute Bit 4 Typing mistake checking : 1: check and replace 0: leave as they are Typing *Set SmartQuotes$Options 2_10011 at the CLI would turn double quote and single quote substitution on, substitute both open and closed single quotes, turn off diphthong substitution but turn on typing mistake checking. Typing *Set SmartQuotes$Options 19 would have the same effect. SmartQuotes$Subst controls the future form of double quotes and single quotes (like Smart Quotesæ icon when öShow next quote in iconò is selected). It takes the form 2_ba, where a stands for bit 0, b for bit 1. The bits have the following meaning: Bit 0 Next double quote will be... 1: closed 0: open Bit 1 Next single quote will be... 1: closed 0: open Typing *Set SmartQuotes$Subst 2_10 would make the next double quote open and the next single quote closed (if that doesnæt conƒict with current settings). Note that the settings are meaningless if quotes arenæt substituted by smart quotes. The other four variables are more straightforward, and allow you to view and modify the characters SmartQuotes substitutes quotes by. Their full names are: SmartQuotes$OpenDouble SmartQuotes$ClosedDouble SmartQuotes$OpenSingle SmartQuotes$ClosedSingle So typing *Set SmartQuotes$ClosedDouble ╗ would make Smart Quotes replace what it thinks should be a closed quote by ╗. Giving Smart Quotes silly values (i.e. nonprintable) or no value at all will reset the value to its default value. Smart Quotes also uses other, perfectly normal, variables, usually de₧ned in the !Run ₧le. Å SmartQuotes$Dir points to the main Smart Quotes directory, with !RunImage, Templates etc. Å SmartQuotes$ChoicesDir points to the Choices directory, where Chars, Choices and Diphthongs will be saved. This is usually öSQáChoicesò in SmartQuotes$Dir, except when Smart Quotes is started from a read-only ₧ling system (network, read-only ArcFS, etc.), in which case you should change this to point elsewhere. Å SmartQuotes$RunChars points to a ₧le, usually Resources:$.Apps.!Chars, which will be run when you Shift-Adjust-click on the Settings windowæs close icon. Å SmartQuotes$MainFont contains the name of the default font for the diphthongs window. Å SmartQuotes$HeadFont contains the name of the font used for headings in the diphthongs window. Å SmartQuotes$FontSize contains the size of the font, in sixteenths of a point. All of these except SmartQuotes$Dir can be changed with the Other choices window, and are stored in the <SmartQuotes$ChoicesDir>.Setup file (ChoicesDir is stored in <SmartQuotes$Dir>.Choices). Version history *************** So far, there have been four releases of Smart Quotes: 1.00 - very basic, just the textual settings box and an icon 1.13 - much more developed, everything except Diphthongs and tweaks 1.14 - as 1.13 but with hi-res icons 1.20 - this version, with diphthongs and various tweaks If version numbers had anything to do with the number of changes, then version 1.20 would now be version 1.23 ù it's been version 1.20 for a month now ;). But I like 1.20 ù Beeb owners will know why ;). A list of the changes between versions follows. Version 1.14 - 1.20 Å Diphthong support added (module is now almost twice as big), view, edit, add, delete and save from the front end, using outline fonts. Å Lots of new mouse shortcuts added (iconbar Adjust-click, Shift, Ctrl and Alt-clicks, Adjust-click on settings box, clicks on close icon). Å Other choices window added (actually a separate program) to change font, choices directory and character viewer. Å Typing mistake correction added. Å Insert window removed (not particularly useful with all those diphthongs). Adjust-clicking on any windowæs close icon runs !Chars (by default - see öOther choicesò in main ReadMe for more details). Å Interactive Help support added with the More Help module. Å Refresh button in Chars window re-reads the characters. Characters window now uses outline fonts. Å Sprites are now available in high- and low-res versions. The high-res versions are in a four-colour mode (with palette), to reduce memory requirements (i.e. wouldnæt ₧t otherwise). Å When you change the settings, only changes the önext quoteò bit if the type of quote has changed - if the next double quote is closed, and you change single quote substitution, the next double quote stays closed. Å Adjust-click swaps between quote substitution and no substitution (useful when you need to temporarily disable substitution). You can choose whether Smart Quotes remembers the quotesæ state (i.e. currently open or closed) when you swap ù see the !Help ₧le for why this is useful. Å SQ Unused changed to SQ Source: from this version, you donæt have to distribute the source code with the program, so the name was changed to highlight the fact. The !Help ₧le, consequently, is not copied over, as otherwise you wouldnæt know what all this was about. Various things have been copied between the ₧les so it makes sense. Å All those DoubleOn, BothSingle etc. commands have been removed ù thereæs no use for them with the variable and it only clutters up the module. Å Various stuff: module uses OS_PrettyPrint to encode the messages; Settings box shows the state (as icons or as text) in the title bar; error messages tidied up (not as worrying when a ₧le isnæt there); memory used by template routine reduced (twice); desktop save works correctly; changing characters takes effect immediately; 2D templates removed; asterisks changed to bullets in the help ₧les; warning when you load a new version removed (memory, memory...); öChars...ò changed to öCharacters...ò Version 1.13 - 1.14 Å High-res sprites, slightly modi₧ed template ₧le by Kemal Sangrar. First version to be tested on a RISC PC. Version 1.00 - 1.13 Å Two code variables added: the front-end stays in sync with the module all the time, and you can set the settings from an Obey ₧le or a Desktop ₧le (e.g. in your !Boot). Å Icon can now reƒect the future state of the substituted quotes (i.e. open, closed or neutral). Å Graphical settings dialogue box added - easier to use and smaller. Å Can change the characters used in substitutions from the front-end and via code-variables (e.g. in your !Boot). Å Choices dialogue box added to switch between the two settings boxes and other things. You can save all choices, or revert to default. Å Added !Chars-like window, so you can insert quotes as a one-off (saves the hassle of changing mode) or into writable icons. Å Now uses the Desktop Save protocol. Å Possibility of not killing module when the front-end quits. Å Canæt have two copies of the front-end at once. Å Clicking SELECT on the icon bar icon brings up the settings box, clicking ADJUST brings up the insert window. Clicking again closes them again. Å Added a variable (SmartQuotes$ChoicesDir) that points to the Choices directory, so you can set this to point elsewhere if you are running SmartQuotes from a read-only ₧ling system (i.e. NetFS or ArcFS). Å Smart Quotes saves the position of the four windows in the Choices. Å Added a bunch of very complicated Obey ₧les to slim down the Quotes directory (100K is too much for a 32K application ;) ). Å Adjust-clicking on the Menu works - the Menu stays around. Å Decent error handling Thanks, acknowledgements, comments ********************************** I would like to thank Acorn for this nice machine, and especially the bit in RISC OS 3.1 (the Filter Manager) that allows you to intercept other tasksæ events and muck about with them as you please. It is exceedingly useful - I have currently seven programs that intercept ₧lters on my machine (it used to be four, but I've been adding them since)... I got the idea for this utility after reading a small news item in MacWorld about a similar program for the Mac, that sat in the background and substituted quotes for you. It also did em dashes, and Smart Quotes didnæt use to do those, but now it does, and much more... I am grateful to Michael Rozdoba, author of Desktop+, for making his source code freely-available so I could see how he coded his code variables - although I must point out that the vast majority of the code is mine (I pinched that sentence from him as well ;) ). I donæt think anyone out there consciously rips off other peopleæs code (as in copies large chunks of it verbatim and calls it his own); however, Iæm sure every programmer out there has at one stage or another taken a peek at someone elseæs code. And as Iæm not doing this for money or anything, Iæve included the complete source code to the application, module and even vector claim routine ;). Also, thanks to the people who e-mailed me to tell me how wonderful previous versions were (or not, as the case may be), and to give me ideas for this version. In particular, I can thank the following Kemal Sangrar (gtmw03@arts.gla.ac.uk) - sprites and template Peter Killworth (atmpk@vax.oxford.ac.uk) - bug reports Simon Jackson (S.D.R.Jackson@hertfordshire.ac.uk) - wish list Andrew at HENSA (pdarch@cent1.lancs.ac.uk) Simon Middleton at Uniqueway (simon@uniqway.demo.co.uk) - CD ;) Other people have mailed me since I last wrote this, and I donæt have their names here - sorry! The disclaimer was öliftedò from Ting Kueiæs DeskPatch help ₧le - this doesnæt mean anything, I was just looking for a disclaimer and DeskPatch was the ₧rst thing I looked at that had one I liked. The freeware bit I also stole from someone, but I canæt remember who - sorry! Other people I should thank for writing very useful bits of software, used to write this or just making my desktop look prettier: Dick Alstein, for his wonderful TemplEd. Dominic Symes for Zap (love the colour-coding, shame about the fonts). Cy Booker for his BASIC cruncher - worth every penny of the registration fee. Michael Rozdoba, obviously, for Desktop+ - so good it was on two magazine discs... Mark Greenwood, for Black Hole. Ian Jeffray for Memory Pie (even if I hate the gratuitous pic ;) ). Brian Scattergood for his Infocom interpreter. Clive Jones for QuickDirs (very nice ₧lter ;) ). Simon Burrows for FontsPlus (font directory thingy). Rheingold for Vigil (intercepts taskæs messages - very useful) Computer Concepts for Impression Publisher. Sorry for anyone Iæve forgotten. Known problems ************** If you are programming, typing commands at the CLI (F12 or taskwindow), doing anything at all involving comms, or in general using an application that doesnæt look too kindly upon top-bit-set characters, turn Smart Quotesæ substitution off (Adjust-click on the icon will do the trick temporarily). Otherwise, the CLI will fail to recognise your command (öfile '₧lters' not foundò), any quotes or diphthongs will be tokenised if youære programming in BASIC (itæs particularly spectacular in Zap ;) ), and any e-mail or usenet postings will look particularly gruesome on some peopleæs machines. This isnæt a bug, or even a feature, so thereæs nothing you can do about it. As mentioned previously, Smart Quotes will often not substitute characters when the cursor is in a writable icon ù in a dialogue box or off a menu item, for instance Name disc in the ADFS icon bar menu. This is because the WIMP handles those key presses itself (unless the öNotifyò option is set in the validation string, e.g. öKARTNò), and Smart Quotes doesnæt get a look in. This shouldnæt be too much of a problem ù usually you donæt want substitution in those cases anyway. However, any applications that require you to enter text in a dialogue box (a ₧eld name in a database, for instance), will not allow substitution. Those using Zap may ₧nd certain diphthongs donæt work ù namely, those using a shift-key to produce the second character, like A E ╞ (if Caps Lock is off), < < ½ etc. This is because, when Smart Quotes sends Zap a delete character, Shift is still held down, so Zap looks at Shift-Delete and sees the command öDELETENEXTò rather than öDELETEò, and so fails to delete the character, so youære left with something like A╞, <½ etc. To get round this, you have to change the key mappings: Edit the key mappings (iconbar menu, Options=>Edit keys) Find sDELETE in the ₧le Replace whatever command is opposite it by DELETE Save the ₧le Re-load the key mappings as the new one (Options=>Reload keys) On a similar level, if you hold down the hyphen key, you may ₧nd that dashes in various shapes and sizes start lining up, looking something like this -----ÿÅùÅ-ÿÅ-ù. (This was actually done in Edit as Zap is fast enough not to have this problem ;) ). This is because Edit (or whoever the culprit was) wasnæt managing to delete characters fast enough before another one comes along, so Smart Quotesæ fancy substitution method falls over. The solution is simple: donæt type as fast! If there is an error in the middle of the slimming down/fattening down process, you may find that files are in the wrong place. Unless you know what you're doing, copy your SQáChoices directory to somewhere else, restore from a backup, and copy the SQáChoices directory back. As I don't have a CD-ROM or a network I haven't tested Smart Quotes thoroughly on write-protected filing systems. If files haven't been copied, Smart Quotes will re-create them when it next runs. If you want to keep them, make a backup! I have been told of problems with certain terminal emulators (think it was Hearsay), where Smart Quotes causes spurious interrupts or something. I donæt know any more about this, and knowing comms programs itæs probably not me ;). But you have been warned. As mentioned elsewhere, KeyMouse uses Alt-Select to move a window. Clicking Alt-Select on the iconbar makes it want to move the window ù obviously it canæt, but tries all the same, and someone complains (ADFS Filer on my machine). This isnæt Smart Quotesæ fault! If windows appear in strange positions, or fail to appear at all when you try and open them, you very probably have a corrupt Choices ₧le. Delete it and re-run the program; the program will complain that it canæt ₧nd a Choices ₧le, and will then create a new one with the default settings: Å All substitutions on Å Next double quote will be open, next single quote closed Å Use graphical settings box Å Show quote state in icon Å Use interactive help Å Kill module when quit Å Windows positioned to suit a mode 35 screen or similar (768x288) Impressionæs spell checker doesnæt take kindly to ₧ and ƒ (certainly not on my version, Publisher 4.01, ImpressionSpell 1.27). When spell checking, it ignores ₧ and ƒ, so if you spell check the word ö₧ndingò it will complain that it doesnæt know the word öndingò (rather than complain about not knowing the word ö₧ndingò ;)). This is because, if you look at the character set (double-click on Smart Quotesæ icon or run !Chars), ₧ and ƒ are buried among the odds and ends, like bullets, fractions, dashes, etc., not among the accents at all (Impression knows about accents - checking the word öΘtrangeò will come up with öΘtrangeò and not ötrangeò). I suspect (I havenæt tried it) Impression will ignore all characters from Ç to ┐, and cope happily with └ to ■ (not for some reason), so there will be the same problem for Ü and ¢ (but not for ╞ and µ). I donæt know what you can do about this, apart from complaining to Computer Concepts and using the öIgnoreò button a lot ;) ù the nice man from Computer Concepts said they had no plans to add support for ligatures to ImpressionSpell in the near future. (This is from the company whose own literature, namely the DemoDoc ₧le supplied with Publisher, recommends you use ligatures all the time ;) ). If it bothers you, remove ₧ and ƒ from the list. Wish-list ********* Things that might be nice would be: Å Disable substitution when youære in Zap (or another text editor that doesnæt like top-bit-set characters). That would mean, presumably, having a list of task handles or names that Smart Quotes doesnæt like ù lots of work, if you ask me. Maybe next version... Å Provide diphthongs of more than two characters. Apart from the fact that diphthongs *are* only two characters (pedant mode off), it would be too complicated and not really worth it. Å Add quotes etc. to a ₧le dragged to the icon, or remove them. Slight snag: apart from not being obviously in line with what Smart Quotes already does, it would be enormously memory-hungry. Might put it in another program ù when Iæve ₧nished all the other ₧lters I want to do ;). Note that since last version (1.13 or 1.14), more than half of the previous wishlist has been implemented. :) Changing the settings with hotkeys has been removed: you will probably be using this program in Impression, and Impression uses most of the possible shortcuts already.