Windoware/WINDOWARE_1_6.iso/winutil/gander10/gander.txt

Text File | 1991-09-01 | 13KB | 389 lines

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Dave Lord's
    GANDER     -  A File Viewer        Version 1.0

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    This program is distributed as shareware. You may make
    copies of it for evaluation and distribution but if you
    like the program you should register it. The cost is
    $15. Registered users will receive a disk containing the
    latest version of the program or optionally some future
    version if you already have the latest version. I will
    also include on the same disk the most recent version of
    my Windows ascii chart program ACHART and anything else
    I happen to have complete.

    This program may be freely distributed. It may not be
    sold except by me. A nominal copying charge may be made
    not to exceed US $10.


Registrations outside of the US:
--------------------------------

    Unfortunately it is virtually impossible within the US
    to exchange small amounts of foreign currency or to cash
    checks drawn on foreign banks (the fees exceed the cost
    of this program). If you can't send US money I will
    accept CD or cassettes of any music you think will not
    be generally available in the US.  Generally we get the
    most popular British groups and that's about it. We
    don't even get much Canadian music. My tastes are
    eclectic, anything from traditional to modern. How about
    if one of you Canadians sends me some "Doug and the
    Slugs", eh?


Copyright c 1991 by Dave Lord

    Dave Lord
    3307 Lincoln Av.
    San Diego, CA 92104

Internet:   [e-mail]

    This program is distributed as is. The author assumes no
    liability for any damages resulting from its use.

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Description of program
----------------------

    GANDER is a Windows 3.0 program which will allow you to view and
    print files in text mode or hexidecimal mode (with the ascii text
    displayed alongside). You can also view items from the clipboard
    and copy sections of text to the clipboard.

    Gander will handle pretty much any file you can throw at it. I've
    tested it on binary files larger than 3 Meg and on text files with
    over 17000 lines. I've also tried lines up to 34000 characters
    long (that's real slow). I've included a number of filters to aid
    in viewing files which aren't pure text, a high-bit filter for
    Wordstar files, an overstrike filter for files which use
    overstrike  for  bolding and underlining, and other filters for
    removing  non-text characters. I allow either CR LF or just LF as
    end-of-line  characters.  I support selectable tab widths and a
    variety of  string search options.

    Gander is based on my previous program, Hex View (WINHV 2.0) with
    additional functionality added to support display of text files.


    You should have these files:

        GANDER.EXE        the executable
        GANDER.HLP       the help file
        GANDER.TXT       this file
        GANDER.INI        preferences file
        REGISTER.TXT    registration form

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History
-------

    1.0    First release. Gander is based on Win Hex View 2.0
        (WINVH20.ZIP).

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Using the Program
=================

Menus
-----

Open File

    Allows you to select a file to view. The open dialog
    works pretty much the same as in nearly every other
    Windows Program.



Open Clipboard

    Allows you to view an item from the clipboard. Clipboard
    items are stored on a variety of formats, Hex View
    allows you to view the predefined formats: BITMAP, DIB,
    DIF, METAFILEPICT, OEMTEXT, PALETTE, SYLK, and TIFF.
    Some programs may also use private formats which I don't
    support. In theory the clipboard can hold several items
    simultaneously as long as each is in a different format.
    In practice this is rarely done.

    For each of the above formats except METAFILEPICT and
    BITMAP what I display is simply the contents of the
    global memory block retrieved from the clipboard.

    For METAFILEPICT I show the METAFILEPICT structure
    followed by the Metafile itself (starting at 0x10).

    For BITMAP I show the BITMAP structure followed by the
    Bitmap bits (starting at 0x10).



Print

    Allows you to print all or part of the file. In the
    dialog box select All or From/To.

    The default for From/To is to print what is on the
    screen but you can set your choice of From and To
    locations. If you are viewing the file in hex mode,
    values are byte offsets into the file specified in hex.
    If you are viewing in text mode values are line numbers
    specified in decimal. You don't have to remember that,
    the dialog box will tell you how to specify the values.

Info

    Show some information about the file being viewed: the
    file name, the number of bytes, and the number of lines.
    The number of lines may be unknown until you have
    actually viewed to the end of the file.


Marking & Copying to Clipboard

    You can mark text using the left button of the mouse.
    Only whole lines are marked. To mark a large section of
    text, mark the beginning line and release the button. Go
    to the last line you want to mark and click on it while
    holding down the shift key.

    Copy the marked text to the clipboard by selecting Copy
    from the Edit menu.

    To remove the highlighting from the screen press the
    right button of the mouse or press either button in the
    Line Number or Ruler windows if they are displayed.

    This version of Gander can only mark and copy text in
    text display mode.


Charsets & Fonts

    Gander gives you a choice of three standard Windows
    fonts, all with a fixed pitch (equal spacing of
    characters).  One of the fonts uses the IBM PC character
    set and the other two use the Ansi character set.

    To select one, choose the Display menu and select from
    IBM PC charset, Ansi fixed font, or System fixed font.


Display Modes

    Gander displays files in Text mode or in Hex mode.  You
    can choose the one you prefer by opening the Display
    menu and selecting Text Display or Hex Display.

    If Auto Select is turned on Gander will automatically
    select what it thinks is the most appropriate mode each
    time you open a new file.  Gander won't force it's will
    on you however. If you choose, Gander will allow you to
    view any file in text mode, even object files. Be warned
    however that things slow down substantially when you try
    to view files which have 1000+ character lines as text .


Ruler & Line Numbers

    The ruler and line numbers are always turned on in hex
    mode but are optional in text mode. To toggle them on or
    off select the appropriate items from the Display menu.


Find

    Allows you to search for a character string within the
    file you are viewing. The string may be specified as
    text characters (a, b, c, etc.) or as hex (41, 0a, ff).
    Enter the string and choose whether it is a string
    search (text) or a hex search. If it's a string search,
    choose whether uppercase and lowercase characters should
    match, then press Forward or Reverse.

    If there is highlighted text on the screen then Forward
    searches will start immediately following the
    highlighted text, otherwise the search will start with
    start with the first character on the screen, backwards
    searches start before any highlighted text on the
    screen, or with the character preceding the first one on
    the screen.  The string is highlighted on the screen
    when it is found.

    Repeat a search using Repeat Forward or Repeat Back.



Jump

    This allows you to jump to a particular character, line
    or record in the file. In text display mode, line and
    record are essentially the same thing unless you have
    specified an alternate record marker (see below).

    Enter a number, select decimal or hex, select character,
    line or record and press OK.

    Characters are found by simply counting from the
    beginning of the file (starting at 0 of course).

    Lines are counted as lines displayed on the screen,
    starting at 1.

    Records are found by counting Record Markers.  You can
    chose the record marker by entering the hex value of the
    character which marks the end of a record. The default
    is 0xa (Linefeed). Records are counted starting at 1.


Hex/Dec Converter

    The Hex/Dec Converter allows you to quickly convert
    numbers to and from hex, decimal, and binary.

    The converter contains three edit boxes, one each for
    hex, decimal, and binary. Simply select the one you want
    with the mouse, enter a number in the appropriate form,
    and the number will appear converted to the other forms
    in the other two boxes. Converting hex numbers to and
    from Little Endian form is left as an exercise for the
    user.

    The converter is a modeless dialog box so you can leave
    it on the screen while you use Gander.

    The Hex/Dec Converter is also available as a standalone
    program. Look for HEXCNV10.ZIP.



Filters

    Gander supports a variety of filters which control the
    handling of non-text characters.

    Overstrike filter causes the program to backspace when
    it sees a backspace in the file. This is useful for
    viewing files which use overstrikes for bolding or
    underlining. Operates in text mode only.

    Control Char filter causes control chars (0x0 - 0x1f) to
    display as spaces (or gray boxes in hex mode). This
    filter combined with the high-char filter make it easier
    to read the text in files which aren't pure text.

    High-char filter causes characters above the highest
    text character to display as spaces (or gray boxes in
    hex mode). For the benefit of users in other countries
    the highest text character can be set by the user.

    High-bit filter masks out the high order bit in each
    character. This is for use when viewing Wordstar files
    and really shouldn't be used for anything else.


Tabs

    You can set expansion of tabs on or off and set the tab
    width up to nine characters. If you have tab expansion
    off then tabs are displayed as a single space when the
    Control char filter is on or as some funny shape when
    the Control char filter is off. Tab expansion only
    operates in text mode.


Keyboard
--------

Shortcut Keys

    <down arrow>        Down one line.
    <up arrow>        Up one line.
    <left arrow>        Left a page.
    <right arrow>        Right a page.
    <page up>        Page up.
    <page down>        Page down.
    <home>            Beginning of file.
    <end>            End of file.
    Shift + F3        Search.
    F3            Repeat forward.
    F4            Repeat backward.
    Ctrl + F3        Jump
    Shift + F5        Hex / Dec Converter


'vi' User's Keystrokes

    In Windows 3.0 the standard is to use control - alt -
    shift - function key combinations as shortcut keys. I
    can only assume that Microsoft was trying to emulate the
    one feature of WordPerfect that everyone really hates.
    Anyway, I provided those, but I also provided shortcut
    keys based on the one true keyboard interface: vi.

    j    Down one line.
    k    Up one line.
    h    Left. OK I cheated, it's Left a whole page.
    l    Right a page.
    ^F    Down a page.
    ^B    Up a page.
    ^U    Up half a page.
    ^D    Down half a page.
    /    Search.
    n    Repeat search Forward.
    N    Repeat search Backward.
    G    Go to End.
    :    Jump. OK in vi ':' does lots of other things too.
        Here it just jumps.



Saving Preferences
------------------

    This program saves a number of options in GANDER.INI.
    GANDER.INI should be in the same directory as
    GANDER.EXE. If GANDER.INI is missing the program will
    not recreate it, if you want it back you should create
    it as an empty file using an editor, and the next time
    you run GANDER.EXE it will get updated.


Future Enhancements
-------------------

    There are a number of things I want to put into a future
    version of Gander:

    o    Screen wrap option in text mode.

    o    Mark and Copy to clipboard while in hex mode.

    o    This version hard codes printer line width to 80. That
         should be changed.

        o    Get rid of red highlighting in text mode or allow setting
             of colors or take colors from control panel (the reason I
             don't is because of the use of gray text and lines in
             hex mode).

        o    Performance improvements.

        o    Additional file formats.

        I'm open to other ideas, please write.

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-- GANDER.TXT --   Copyright 1991 by Dave Lord
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