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1995-04-25
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/ / / / / / /_/ _/ /__
/ / ____/ / ____ ______ / / _ _____ / __/
/ / / ___ / / ___ \ /____ \ / / / / / ____/ / /
/ / / / / / / /__/ / ____/ / / / / / / /__ / /
/ / / / / / / _____/ / ___ / / / / / \___ \ / /
/ / / / / / / / __ / / / / / / / / _ / / / /
/ / / /__/ / / /__/ / / /___/ / / / / / / /___/ / / /___
/_/ \_____/ \_____/ \_______/ / / /_/ \______/ \ ___/
------------------------------------ / /__________ ------------------
// // // // // // / / // // //
------------------------------------ /____________/ ------------------
-----------------------------
V E R S I O N 3 . 4
-----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Written 1989-93 by
─Christoph Bartholme,
Ettlinger Str. 37
D-76137 Karlsruhe
Germany└
EMail: Christoph_Bartholme@ka2.maus.de
Developed using
ST Pascal Plus (CCD) and assembler (Devpac)
-------------------------------------------------
┴There are German, French and English versions of this program avaliable.└
╚Copyright└
─IdeaList└ is ┴S h a r e w a r e└ and may be copied and tested by everyone.
The condition is to copy the ┴complete└ and ┴unchanged└ contents of the folder
IDEALIST.3_4 (For a list of contents please read CONTENTS.TXT). The author
is not responsible for any damage caused by using this program!
If you use the program frequently, you have to pay a fee of DM 20 or any
adequate sum. For that you'll get a disk containing the latest version and
some tools.
╚What is Idealist For?└
─IdeaList└ is a versatile tool used to print out ┴ASCII files└ and files
in ┴Wordplus Format└ or ┴RTF.└ This when used can save up to 80% of paper
consumption. Also when you use this program because it has a printer driver
exclusive to your own printer you can control all of your printer fuctions
and you can also print the files in better quality. In other words it takes
all the hard work out of printing files.
╚Features└
- There are four different kinds of font size selectable.
- Text can be printed in up to 9 columns; ─IdeaList└ will automatically sort
out the text.
- Lines that are too long will be corrected automatically.
- Separated output of front and back pages.
- Editable head-line and foot-line (You can edit this so it will show the
name of the file and its date or the present date of time, the page number
and many options more...)
- All margins are adjustable.
- Line numbering option (Each line can be numbered so you can keep track of
split up lines.).
- Simple adaption to every printer by an editable ASCII file (If your
printer is one of the printers not included then it is just a matter of
modifying the file and there are not a lot that are not included.).
- Download fonts can be used by Laserjet and dot matrix compatibles (More
details about this below.).
- Separate management of continuous and single feed paper (Both types of
paper are catered for.).
- Chain mode (This saves paper by not feeding to the end of the page at the
end of every file printed. This will save space on small files printed.
- Skip page mode (Using this you can decide at the start of the page if you
want to print it or not).
- Selecting the amount of pages and stop at every time.
- "Raw modes" to print bold and underline with printers that cannot do this
"by nature"
╚Features of Comfort└
- All commands can be activated by mouse or keyboard (for the keyboard there
are shortcuts)
- Page preview with your chosen layout (You can preview what the page will
look like on the screen before you print it and also the mouse will turn
into a magnifying glass and you can zoom in on any line of the text and it
will be displayed in the menu bar)
- An editable queue that contains up to 36 entries to be printed
- The printout runs in the background while other processes can be used.
- Saving and loading of your own personal setup (Like save desktop on the
GEM desktop you can position the windows etc.. and then save it so it is
like that when you load the program next time; of course also with then
same printer driver and all the parameters as they were before.)
- Loading a new adaption file (you can switch between adaption files very
easy).
- "Flying" dialog boxes or windows; as you like...
- Show file (Similar to double clicking on the desktop, you can show a file
or delegate it to an external process to show it.)
- Direct link to your favourite editor program; if you have a text editor
then you can call it directly from ─IdeaList└ when you want to type and then
when you have finished exit directly back to ─IdeaList.└
- Shell fuction to call further programs
- Statistics of the text file in memory (Size, Number of Pages etc..)
- Install application; ─IdeaList└ can be installed from the desktop to run
when a text file, an adaption, IWS or INF file is double clicked.
- Clipboard function (The textfile in memory can be saved to the GEM
clipboard.)
- ─IdeaList└ can be used as a CALCLOCK clone (printer spooler)
- Joker button (This button is reserved so you can add your own printer
function (Bold, Italic etc.)
- Batch mode; no menu line, no windows, just printing all the files that
have been handed over at startup.
- Drag&Drop support with MultiTOS or VA-protocol of the gemini shell.
╚Accessory Version└
There is also a desktop accessory version of ─IdeaList└ called ILIST.ACC,
which has virtully the same amount of features as the program version except
for the following.
- Keyboard usage (All fuctions are controlled by the mouse)
- Disk output (Files cannot be saved to disk)
- Clipboard interface (Text cannot be saved to the GEM clipboard)
- Calling other programs (You cannot call other programs allthough you can
beinside a GEM program when you use the ACC version.
- Editor link (There is no link to a text editor because as above you can
call it inside a text editor)
- Line magnification (Text cannot be previewed with the mouse)
- RTF support
╚Constraints└
─IdeaList└ runs with every TOS and any resolution mode with a minimum of 80 x
25 characters. So ST-Low and TT-Low are the only modes ─IdeaList└ will ┴not└
work with. ─IdeaList└ uses above 300 K Bytes of RAM not including text. It
works with parallel and serial interface printers.
╚Starting Up for the First Time└
When starting up the resource file IDEALIST.RSC must be in the same
directory as the program. When you start up the file IDEALIST.INF must NOT
Exist!! This file is created by clicking save parameters or when exiting
─IdeaList.└ If it does contain one then it will be totally wrong and will
probably install the wrong printer. If the standard IDEALIST.INF file does
not exist then ─IdeaList└ will look for the default IDEALIST.IDA which
contains the general settings.
╚Other Functions└
All dialog boxes are moveable by dragging the "move" button at the upper
right corner of the box. If you also press a <shift>, <alt> or <control>
key, the box gets "transparent" to allow a look at the background. The
dialogs also can be displayed as windows. So ─IdeaList└ does not block any
simultaneous process while one of its dialogs is open.
To set the maximum or minimum value of the sliders you can use a shift
button.
╚Printer Management└
─IdeaList└ manages the printer and paper automatically so there is no need to
change the position unless an alert box tells you to. That mostly just
happens with Single Feed paper. You will not need to move the paper when the
program is in chain mode unless it is to load another sheet. To formfeed the
paper take the menu item "Formfeed".
╚The Menu Bar└
┴IDEALIST└
- Copyright information, Information about the program and the authors
address.
- There are no restrictions on what desk accessories can be used with
─IdeaList.└
┴File└
- ┴Load:└ Loads a text file
- ┴Show:└ Shows the text; similar to the corresponding desktop function; if
1STGUIDE.ACC, 1STVIEW.ACC, GEMVIEW.ACC, SHOW_IMG.ACC or CLIPBRD.ACC is
installed (or: runs as multitasking process), ─IdeaList└ sends a call to it.
This will show the text file in a more comfortable way. Under MultiTOS
─IdeaList└ launches the system viewer (installed by the environment variable
SHSHOW).
- ┴Output to Monitor:└ This goes into the page preview mode in which you can
see your document on the screen and also find out some statistics about the
size of your document number of lines etc..
- ┴Output to Printer:└ The main function of ─IdeaList└ prints the file; prin-
ting can be aborted by holding down any key.
- ┴Output to File:└ Like printing but ─IdeaList└ prints to a disk file instead
of to paper. All printing attributes are saved to the file. This is also
handy if you have a better printer in the office at work, you can save it
at home and then print it out there.
- ┴Printer Queue:└ This Dialog manages up to 36 entries to be printed
(starting with the first one) by clicking <Start>. The selection marks the
topical text. You also can save or load a complete list of entries.
- ┴Load Clipboard:└ Loads the clipboard file from the GEM Clipboard folder
(SCRAP.TXT)
- ┴Save Clipboard:└ Saves the text in memory to the GEM Clipboard. Similar to
"Output to File" all the printing attributes are saved as well.
- ┴QUIT└ : I don't think this one needs explaining (It exits from the program)
┴Window└
There are two items for ┴Parameters└ and ┴Action└ that open the so named
window or bring it to front if it is opended already.
┴Extras└
- ┴Formfeed:└ Sends a formfeed code to the printer
- ┴Optimize Margins:└ Four functions to set the left and right margin
automatically; minimum margins, right margin to maximum, left margin as a
1" staple width (if no line has to be made up) and a book-like layout (to
launch IdeaBook after that).
- ┴Find Editor:└ If you select this option using the file selecter you can
define the name and path of the text editor that you can call from this
program (That's if there is one that you are going to call)
- ┴Launch Editor:└ This calls the text editor that has been defined using the
find editor option above. You have a choice of what parameters are handed
over to the program.
- ┴Launch Program:└ From here you can start a program and then when you are
finished you will be handed back to ─IdeaList.└ This works like a desktop
shell.
- ┴Launch Ideaform:└ When this option is selected you are handed over to
IDEAFORM; IDEAFORM is a utility to format any source code files.
Keywords, commands and control codes get emphasized. When saving IDEAFORM
creates a Text file with a .TXA extension (That stands for TeXt with
Attributes.). ─IdeaList└ installs this file instead of the old one, so you
can print out the file in a more readable, understandable way. IDEAFORM
requires a special KEY file IDEAFORM.KEY which includes the adaptions to
the appropriate programming language.
- ┴Launch Ideabook:└ Starts IdeaBook after handed over the text file's name
and some parameters by the command line; IdeaBook is a utility to sort a
text to be output in a book(let) shape by ─IdeaList.└
┴Options└
- ┴Head-line:└ If you click on this you go into the head-line editing mode.
This is the head-line that appears at the top of every printout unless
you have decided to have no headline.
There are some variables, switched by "#" and a following character, that
are set by ─IdeaList:└
File name : #N
File path : #M (including the file name)
Fie size : #G (in bytes)
File date : #E (MM/DD/YY) or #D (DD.MM.YY)
File time : #X (12 hrs. am/pm) or #T (24 hrs.)
Date : #B (MM/DD/JJ) or #A (TT.MM.JJ)
Time : #U (12hrs. am/pm) or #T (24 hrs.)
Page number *) : #S (depending on number offset)
Page amount *) : #V (all pages, even the not printed ones)
File number *) : #L (printed texts since program start)
Global page numb. *) : #F (printed pages since program start)
Parameters : #P (adaption name, font size, chars/page)
Wordplus-head/foot-line: #W (Depending on the position, the left, cen-
tered or right Head- or foot-line of the
wordplus document is used)
the character "#" : ##
*) These marked variables allow to be followed by an offset (up to four
digits). For example: After 9 pages of printout #L results 10
#L+5 results 15
#L-5 results 5
To show the line as it will be printed there is the button "Show". "Number
Offset" is added to the temporary page number. "Blank Lines" are lines
between the head-line and the text begin. There are the text attributes
BOLD, LIGHT, ITALIC and UNDERLINED that can be switched seperately.
- ┴Foot-line:└ In the same way as the ┴Head-line└ also a foot-line can be set
and edited. Attention: The last page of a "chained text" does not get a
footer. As the remaining space is saved for the next text.
- ┴SYSTEM:└ If you click on this you can edit some of the general fuctions
from within the program.
- "Security alerts" brings an alert box before an action is started. By
pressing "Shift" these alerts also can be jumped over.
- "Grow/Shrinkboxes": Enables this well known graphic effect...
- "Dialogs at mouse position" lets a dialog be opened at the mouse's
position; quite useful if you use a big screen.
- "Dialogs and alerts in windows" causes dialogs and alerts to be opened
as windows. So other processes running at the same time will not be
blocked by ─IdeaList└ if a dialog is open.
- "Autotopping windows" toppes one of ─IdeaList's└ main windows whenever the
mouse cursor joins it. So you do not need to click it to front.
- "Show file by external process" dos not use th inbuild feature to show a
file but delegates it to an external program (if one of them is already
installed or if it can be launched by ─IdeaList.└
- "Always make statistics": At the preview function ("-> Monitor") the
statistics will be made automatically.
- "Queue: remember parameters": all current parameters and even the name
of the printer adaption are saved in every entry of the printer queue. At
printout they are reset again.
- Save parameters before quit: Like save parameters but ─IdeaList└ saves the
parameters after the quit option has been selected. An advantage of
this is that if you have to turn the computer off in a hurry you can quit
and then turn off and when you load ─IdeaList└ the next time it will look
like it was before you turned the computer off.
- ┴Output:└ There are some options especially for the output.
- "File output with printer control codes"; if this option is selected
the file will be saved in the exact condition that it's printed in (I.E
If it is printed from the desktop the codes will automatically sent to
the printer without no adjustment needed on the control panel or DIP
switches.).
- Use character adaptions: The character conversions codes of the printer
adaption file is used.
- "Printer output via Gemdos" uses a mode that does not send byte for byte
but a whole block. This mode may be faster than the standard mode (by
using the bios), especially if MiNT or MultiTOS is installed. Remember
that your printer's input buffer should be big enough to accept the whole
file data. Or use a resident spooler to prevent the system from being
blocked by a data block, the printer cannot take over at one time.
- "Cut lines at word ends": If a line is too long to be printed un-
divided, ─IdeaList└ cuts it into two pieces. If this option is selected,
the division will appear between complete words.
- Columns symmetrical filled; example:
symmetrical successive
+-----------+ +-----------+
| xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx |
| xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx |
| xxxx xxxx | | xxxx |
| xxxx xxxx | | xxxx |
| | | xxxx |
| | | xxxx |
+-----------+ +-----------+
- "Same amount of front and back pages": If front and back pags are
printed seperately, ─IdeaList└ approximates the number of both page
amounts by creating a blank page. So you first can print out the front
pages of more than one document (by using the printer queue) and then
make the back pages all together.
- "Zero with slash" results to print out the Number "0" with a slash, so
it can be distinguished from the character "O".+
- "Ignore formfeeds": If this option isn't selected the formfeed code
ASCII 12 causes a page break. The line a formfeed occures is continued at
the next text column or the next page.
- "Logfile" writes a line (containing Date, time, file name, output
device, font size, number of pages ans over all amount) to ILDALIST.LOG
(and creates it if needed) every time a printout is made.
- "Tab size": The ASCII code 09 gets expanded into the chosen distance as
set on the function panel.
- "Printer priority": This slider panel decides how often ─IdeaList└ asks
the printer port if it accepts a character. If you use a resident spooler
or if the printer's input buffer is big enough to contain the whole text
you may set a value bigger than "1". Then the printout becomes much
faster. When "Printer output by gemdos" is selected the slider is
disabled as the value is ignored.
- ┴Amount└ opens a dialog to set the output amount for the current text file.
If you want to print all pages, just the front or back pages or a part of
the document. There is also a button to print out in backwards sorted
order.
╚Parameter Buttons└
The first line of the window shows the maximum wide of the lines (horizontal
arrow) and how much lines to be printed per page (vertical arrow).
- Font size 1-4: Also selected with F1 to F4
With these buttons you can select the font sizes as defined in the
adaption file. These can also include download fonts
- ┴Columns└
Text can be printed in up to nine columns
- High Quality
Selects or deselects LQ (letter quality mode)
- ┴Numbers└
Every line is introduced by a number.
- ┴Head-Line└
Turns the headline at the start of every page on or off.
- ┴Foot-Line└
Turns the footer at the end of every page on or off.
- ┴Continous Paper└
Use of 'endless' contionous paper. For printing at cut sheet paper this
button has to be unselected.
- ┴Both Sides└
This option mirrors the margins and the headline at the back pages (even
numbers).
- ┴Chain Mode└
A paper saving device. Usually files are printed on a new page every time
but with this option the next file is printed from where the last one
finished. Also the paper isn't formfeeded at the end.
- ┴Joker└
A free button in which to define a printing attribute of you own choice.
I.E Italic, Bold etc...
- L(eft), R(ight), B(etween), T(op), F(oot)
By clicking at the buttons a margin is selected and can be adjusted by
useing the slider after that.
The buttons "Disk->", "->Monitor", "->Printer", "Printer Queue", "Adaption"
and "->Disk" comply with the menu functions.
╚Download Fonts└
Download fonts can be used for Dot-Matrix printers, Laserjet compatibles or
DeskJets instead of the built in fonts.
For Dot Matrix you must use Download fonts
For Laserjet compatibles or HP DeskJet you must use Soft Fonts
Your printer must accept download fonts for you to be able to use them.
There are perhaps some settings you have to perform on the printer like
changing a DIP-SWITCH or putting in a RAM expansion card. For more
information on how to use download fonts for your printer consult the manual
that comes with the printer. Most dot-matrix printers only accept 7-Bit
fonts with the ASCII range 32 to 127. (Fonts marked with the Extenders
.PO9 or .P24 are not in the full ASCII order (containing some German
'Umlaute' instead.). ─IdeaList└ adapts them internally (There are some
enclosed on the disk.). Ordinary 7-Bit fonts in the full ASCII order may be
used if they have got a different extender. If desired a character adaption
of them can be made by the table in the adaption file. Laserjet soft fonts
may be applied as usual.
╚RTF and WordPlus Files└
─IdeaList└ supports ┴First Word, First Word Plus └ and ┴RTF└ files as well as
┴ASCII└ files. ─IdeaList└ prints all the attributes E.G Bold,Italic etc..
However, ─IdeaList└ ignores pictures. If you have switched off ┴Ignore form-
feeds└ ─IdeaList└ also uses the page breaks of the wordplus file and begins
another column or page every time a formfeed occurs.
RTF (Rich Text format) is a file interchange format between many word
processors. Not only under TOS but also available at most of the other
operation systems. ─IdeaList└ prints the attributes and handles every para-
graph as ┴one└ long line and cuts them to size in the text columns. So don't
wonder about the strange looking values of 'Longest Line' and 'Cut Lines' at
the monitor preview. Font parameters, headers and footers and info lines are
ignored.
╚Printer Adaption Files└
The printer adaption file IDEALIST.IDA will be installed by default, when
─IdeaList└ is started and there is no IDEALIST.INF. For your special purpose
or if the printer does not understand the default codes, it can be modified
by any ASCII text editor. The comments will help you. The test files in the
folder TESTTEXT may be helpful to define some of the attributes. Looking at
some of the other adaption files of similar printers to yours may help. You
will find them in the folder DRUCKER.
NOTE: The paper dimensions are set to the common german formats, that are
DIN A4 (The cut sheet length is 11.67" Inches) and continuous paper
is 12" Inches. These values may be changed by you.
The adaption file contains the parameters as follows in the same order.
Comments are started by a '*'; Hexadecimal numbers are marked by a leading
'$'; Strings and single characters are set in '...';
- ┴Name of Adaption File└ (Maximum of 32 Characters)
- ┴Names of the Font Sizes└ (Maximum of 12 Characters)
- ┴Name of the Joker└ (Maximum of 12 Characters)
- ┴Fonts└
For every one of the four printer fonts you must define either a 0 (An
internal font) or name and path of the corresponding download font file.
(Unless in the same directory the full path must be declared here)
╚Size Parameters:└
- ┴Page Length in Inches└ (Continuous paper only)
For letter size this value should be less than 11" Inches, for example
10.6" Inches to get a perforation skip over of 0.4" Inches.
- ┴Text Distance in Inches└ (Chain mode only)
- ┴Minimum Blank Area in Inches└ (Chain mode only)
Decides if the next text will be printed at the same page or if a new page
will be started for the next text that is printed out.
- ┴Number of Lines in Pica Lines└ (6 Lines per inch) (Single paper only)
Most of the time this value cannot be found in the printer but can be
determined very easily. You just print out a text file with the print
fuction of the desktop. The line distance has to be 6 Lines per inch. You
can find the value by counting the number of lines. Most printers can print
60 pica-lines per page or more. NOTE: The value of 60 corresponds to the
german DIN A4 size. The default size for "letter" (11" Inch is 56 lines)
- ┴Lines per Inch└ size 1 - 4
- ┴Maximum Line Length in Pica-Characters└ (10 cpi)
For an 8 inch printer you must choose '80'
- ┴Characters per Inch└ size 1 - 4
- ┴Reserved #1└ and
- ┴Reserved #2└
Not used by this version (-> compatible to V3.1)
- ┴Steps per Inch for Horizontal Spacing└ (0 = Not used)
This value must be a 0 , if you use the standard spacing mode (writing
blank characters between the columns). If you intend to use proportional
spaced fonts the step size must be set here. The step size is 60 for 24 pin
Printers and 300 for Laserjet.
- ┴Mode of Sending└ (0 = Normal)
If you use the normal mode then ─IdeaList└ only sends download font data if
needed. The other modes availiable are:
- Mode 1: Download data will be sent EVERY time before a printout (Of
course only if a not built in font is selected.).
- Mode 2: All codes for the printer set up will be sent before EVERY
PAGE. This mode ignores the CHAIN option.
- Mode 3: A combination of mode 1 and 2
- ┴Configuration of Port/Cut Sheet Feeder└
These flags define the used printer hardware:
Value | Port | cut sheed feeder
------+----------+-----------------
0 | parallel | manual
1 | parallel | automatic
2 | serial | manual
3 | serial | automatic
If your printer does not work at all, the port definition may be wrong!
╚Printer Control Codes└ (maximum : 80 chars)
- ┴Initialise└
- ┴Codes at the End└
- ┴Skip-Over Perforation Off└
- ┴Define Gross Page Length:└
These Codes define the width of a formfeed. If the page length (over all)
corresponds to the default formfeed distance of the printer, this line
just needs a 0. For printing to cut sheets the formfeed size may be bigger
than the page length. At continous paper it _must_ comply with the
distance between the perforations.
- ┴Define Character Wide/Hight└ size 1 - 4:
Condensed and subscript must be switched off here, if not used. If you use
a download font, the corresponding quality (Draft, LQ proportional spa-
cing...) must be set here.
- ┴Define Line Spacing└ size 1 - 4
- ┴Draft and Letter Quality:└
For download fonts this codes will not be send.
- ┴Joker On└ and ┴Joker Off:└
This codes are reserved for your own special use! Perhaps you could switch
to Italic or another kind of font. Line spacing and font size must not be
changed by this codes!
- ┴Reserved #1└ and ┴Reserved #2:└
Zeroed lines; in former versions these were the codes of the headline
attributs. Now they are not needed any longer as the text attributes of
head-line and foot-line can be switched directliy by buttons in the
corresponding dialogs.
- ┴Bold On/Off,└
- ┴Light On/Off,└
- ┴Italic On/Off,└
- ┴Underline On/Off,└
- ┴Superscript On/Off,└
- ┴Subscript On/Off:└
The well known printing attributes must be set here.
- ┴Init Download Data└ and ┴Exit Download Data:└
Between this codes ─IdeaList└ sends the data of the download font.
- ┴Download Font On└ and
- ┴Download Font Off:└
Selects or deselects downloadfont mode.
- ┴Horizontal Spacing:└
If you If you intend to use proportional spaced fonts you must set the
codes for stepping here. The real size value will be set in by ─IdeaList└ if
you mark its place with a 255
- ┴Zero With Slash:└
To distinguish between the number '0' and the character 'O' ─IdeaList└ sends
this code, if the corresponding option is set.
- ┴Character Adaptions:└
The first number defines the Atari character. Then a line up to 20 codes
follows. If a character cannot be printed at all, set it to 32 (blank).
╚Internals└
─IdeaList└ can be adapted to any language (not only English, German, French
and Swedish (old version) as it is now..). If you want to change the program
to your own language just let me know. All the messages, alerts and dialogs
and even the shortcut associations are contained in the RSC file, so all you
have to do is modify those. The keyboard shortcuts of the dialogs and Menu
entries may be modified as you like. ─IdeaList└ reads them directly from the
RSC file.
╚Final Notice└
If you get any problems, questions or ideas, just send me a note. I'll try
to help you and to improve ─IdeaList└ in future, but for that I need your
response.
╚Final Credits└
English manual v3.3 re-written by Stuart Mann
All changes since then by the autor himself; sorry for the mistakes...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------