Scrolltext

by Dr. Mohan Noone (August, 2000)

Instructions

Scrolltext displays a vertical scroll of stylized hypertext, which can be controlled using the mouse.

How to load:


  1. Loading the classes themselves:

    Load Scrolltext.class into a webpage using the <applet..>..</applet> tags, as in: <applet code="Scrolltext.class" width="300" height="200" > ... parameters ... </applet> The 'MnString.class' is also required for the applet to run.

    Files required: Scrolltext.class, MnString.class

  2. Loading the classes as a compressed archive:

    Use the jar archive Scrolltext.jar, as in <applet code="Scrolltext.class" archive="Scrolltext.jar" width="300" height="200" > ... parameters ... </applet> Only Scrolltext.jar file is requred, it loads much faster.

Parameters:

All the parameters are optional.

1. target : The frame / window to show the hyperlinks.

To show in the same page set it to "_self". (default)
To show in a new window set it to "_blank".
To show in another frame, in the same window, set it to "{name of the frame}".

2. hfont, basefont : Fonts for the heading and text.

Specify the font as {fontface},{fontstyle},{fontsize} e.g., "SansSerif,plain,15" (default basefont)

*The main faces are Serif, SansSerif and Monospaced.
(Try ZapfDingBats if you're crazy. Two others are Dialog and DialogInput)
*Whichever fontface you specify, don't mess with the CapItaLizaTion! (i.e., SansSerif, NOT Sanserif)
*The styles are plain, bold, italic and bolditalic.

3. bgcolor, text, urlcolor and urlhovercolor : Colors for the background, text and urls.

Specify them as their hex codes e.g., FF0000 for red (default url color).

(Note that there is no default urlhovercolor - hovering is enabled for all links when
the parameter is specified. This may also be done for individual links, as given below
in the MnTML specification.)

4. plainurl : Set to "true" if you do not want the urls to be underlined.

5. speed : Speed of the scroller. (Default value is 3. Range : 1 to 5).

6. urlpause : Time to pause when the mouse is over a url, in milliseconds (default is 2500).

7. sourcefile : File containing the text to display. Default is "Scrolltext.data".

How to write the textfile:

The text to be displayed should be in the sourcefile, as defined in the "sourcefile" parameter.
(If the parameter is not defined, the applet looks for a file named "Sourcefile.data".)

The text should be written using a simple markup language. (MnTML, if you please!)

MnTML specification:

1. Each portion of text should be contained in tags, like html.

The tags SHOULD be in lowercase, unlike html.

2. Unlike html, tags may not be nested: I told you it was a simple language!

3. The following tags are used :

<h>...</h> for headings
<p>...</p> for paragraph text
<u>...</u> for hypertext

4. Each tag starts a new line of text.

5. The headings and hyperlinks, and the default colors may be modified using the
parameters mentioned above ^ .

6. Add 'l' to the tag to underline. e.g, <hl>...</h> gives an underlined heading.

7. By default, all text is left aligned.

To center align, add 'c' to the tag.
To right align, add 'r'.

e.g.,
<hlc>...</h> gives an underlined center aligned heading.
<pr>...</p> gives a right aligned non-underlined paragraph.
<uc>...</u> gives a center aligned link.
(Whether it is underlined or not is decided by the parameter "plainurl" as detailed above. Note that using <ulc>..</u> will underline the link even if plainurls are enabled.)

8. The <h...> tag may contain a color. e.g., <h FF0000> for a red heading.

9. The <p...> tag may contain a color and/or a font (in any order)
e.g., <p Serif,italic,15 FFFF00> for a cyan, italicized paragraph.

10. The <u...> tag MUST contain a link WITHIN doublequotes-
e.g. <u "index.htm"> (to an internal file)
or <u "http://www.lifebeyond.com/"> (to an external file).

AFTER the url, the <u...> tag may contain a target to show the link
(this overrides the target parameter).
The target must be within doublequotes, and separated from the link by a space
e.g. <u "index.htm" "_blank"> (shows the link in a new window).

AFTER the target (or the url, if no target is mentined),
the <u...> tag may also contain a font and/or a color, as mentioned above.
e.g. <u "index.htm" "_blank" Serif,italic,15 FFE0D0>

To get a different color when the mouse hovers the link, use a "/", as shown below :
<u "index.htm" "_blank" Serif,italic,15 FF0000/FFFFFF> (The red link turns white).

11. Special tags:

<w [time]> The scroll will wait, so that the person gets time to read.
The milliseconds to wait must be specified.
e.g., <w 4000> waits for 4 seconds.

<b> Introduces a line break.

12. There are no more tags.

13. Escape sequences:

The following escapes are allowed in the text:

 

Escape sequence

Displayed as

\\

\

\n

new line

\t

tab (7 spaces)

\<

<

\>

>

 

Copyright and distribution:

I, Dr. Mohan L Noone am the author and owner of Scrolltext. You can freely use the applet. It will not nag or embarass you in any way!
However, I would appreciate it if you could let me know if you plan to use this applet in a web page, or distribute it.
If you like it, please send me an e-mail or a post-card or prefferably, $10.00 by cheque ;-), to:
Dr. Mohan Noone, "Victoria", Thiruthyad, Calicut, Kerala, India.- 673 004.

Warranty and limitation of liability:

This software and the accompanying files are provided "AS IS," without a warranty of any kind.
In no event will the author be liable if your computer crashes, web site becomes unpopular or dog dies (to quote a few) after using Scrolltext.

How to contact me:

Any comments, suggestions or queries are welcome.

My e-mail is mln@gjt.org

All my applets are at http://opnoone.members.easyspace.com/

Good luck!

Dr. Mohan Noone