Essay

Essay

Essay is an editor for Plain text, Rich text and HTML files. It includes Andante, a HTML 3.2 compatible frames-enabled viewer. When preparing an HTML document you can preview any time by pressing F2.

File, RTF, Tags, Directories,Targets,  Create, Insert, View,  Options, HTML, Essay Site Wizard, Essay Space, Translate


Essay File

Open

To open an existing file select File Open from the main menu. Alternatively you can double click the filename in the Files pane.

New

Selecting File New from the main menu will clear the Editor pane.

Save

To save a document select File Save from the main menu. Alternatively you main type ctrl+s or clcik the save button on the toolbar.

Save As

To save your document under an different file name select File Save As from the main menu.


Essay RTF

RTF

All the buttons and menu options that are relevant to RTF become enabled when you select Rich Text from the Options menu. Use the Font, Color and Size Combo's to set the attributes of selected text.

Highlight HTML

Select Edit Highlight HTML from the menu to highlight HTML tags.


Essay Tags

Tags

In Essay you can insert block of text by clicking an item in the maroon colored Library combobox. Text block can be single words or long phrases or pieces of HTML code.

On start-up the default tags list is loaded from the TreeTags.txt  file. When you click a name in the list the associated character string is inserted in the editor.

Add

This will add a new Tag to the list. The list is automatically sorted in alphabetical order.

•	In the editor select the text you want to use for auto-insertion

•	Right-click Add... in the Tags combo

•	When prompted enter a name for the tag

Tags Docs Mode

Set Tags docs mode if you want to use Essay as a simple database. In tags document mode the text in the editor is replaced by the text from your list. When you add or edit a tag the whole contents of the editor is used. You can include tab stops in your text to create a table like layout.

Tags Tags Mode

Set Tags tags mode if you want to use Essay for quick text insertion. In tags tags mode the text in your list is inserted in the editor text. When you add or edit a tag the selected text of the editor is used.

Tags New

Right-click in the Tags combo and select New TagsFile. You are prompted for a filename. The Tags combo is cleared and you can start adding new entries to your new list.

Tags Rich Notes

Added in Essay 4 this feature allows you to keep a database of rich text notes. When you used the Tags.Docs Mode before all rich text formatting was lost and you only saw plain text. Now, if you have selected Options Rich Text from the main menu, all your rich text formatting is retained when you add a note to the tags combo.

Tags Delete

To delete an existing Tag:

•	Select the tag

•	Right-click Delete

Please note that all changes to the Tags List are automatically saved to disk.

Tags Load

To Load a different Tag file:

Right-click Load in the Tags combo.

Tags Save

To save a tags file under a different name:

Right-click Save As in the tags combo.


Essay Directories

Directories

The directories list is where you keep your shortcuts to preferred and often used directories. When you click a directory name the associated path is set as the default path for subsequent opening and saving of files. On startup the green Directories combo is loaded from the TreeDirs.txt file. You can customize your favourite directories list.

Directories Add

To add a favourite directory to the directories list::

•	Select the directory in Files directories

•	Drag-drop it on the favourite directories combo

Directories Delete

To delete a favourite directory from the directories list:

•	Select it

•	right-click Delete in the Directories combo


Essay Targets

Essay Targets

When you have a directory with many html documents and you want to refer to these documents or to a target within one of these documents, it would be convenient to have a list of all these targets to select from. This can be done with Essay.

•	Make the files pane visible

•	Go to the required directory

•	With the mouse over the file listbox: click, hold down, drag to the dark blue combobox and release

•	After a short moment the Targets combobox is filled with all targets in that directory.

•	Selecting a target from the Targets combo will insert the proper HREF in the editor pane.

Please note that all HREF's are relative, that is without a full path name. This is what you would normally use.

New directory

You can select a new directory and do the same as above. The Targets combo will be cleared first and then filled with the Targets in the new directory.


Essay Create

Create Index

When you have made an HTML document with a lot of anchors, it can be convenient to create a second document that contains links to the main document. With Essay you can do this with one click of a button. To create an index:

 Save your main file like HelpArtC.htm.

•	Make sure that the Files Viewer is visible

•	Right-click Create Index in the Files list

•	Left-Click-Drag  HelpArtC.htm to the Editor pane

Essay now searches for all anchors in HelpArtC.htm and converts these into links. HTML codes are added to make an index file which is saved as HelpArtCI.htm. Subsequently a two-frame document is generated that will show HelpArtCI.htm in the left frame and  HelpArtC.htm in the right frame. The frame document is saved as HelpArtC.htm. If you want to make a two frame help file named ***.htm make sure that you save the main file with the anchors as ***C.htm.

Create Short Links

When you have a web site with a lot of html documents it can be convenient to have a two frames window with a table of contents in the left frame where you can click a document that then will appear in the right frame. To help you in making such a document take the following steps:

•	Make the Files Viewer visible

•	Right-Click Create Links in the Files list

•	Select the File(s) in the files list

•	Drag-Drop the selected files on the Editor pane

Essay now transforms the File Names to short links (without the pathname) and inserts them in your current document. Add some code and your index file is ready.

Create Long Links

This is the same as creating short links, only this time Essay will include the full path.

Copy Short Names

Take the following steps to include short form filenames (without the path) in your current document:

•	Right-Click Copy Short Names in the Files list

•	Select the Files

•	Drag-Drop the selected Files in the Editor pane

Essay will now insert the short file names into your document. This can be convenient if you want to make a snapshot of  a directory. Use the filter when needed.

Copy Long Names

Take the following steps to include long form filenames (with the path) in your current document:

•	Right-Click Copy Long Names in the Files list

•	Select the Files

•	Drag-Drop the selected Files in the Editor pane

Essay will now insert the long file names into your document. This can be convenient if you want to make a snapshot of  a directory. Use the filter when needed.

Extract Links

Allows you to extract all links from the selected files and insert them in the editor.

•	Right-Click Extract Links in the Files list

•	Select the Files

•	Drag-Drop the selected Files in the Editor pane

Essay will now extract all links from every selected file and insert the links in the editor.


Essay Insert

Insert Date

Select a Date with the Date Picker and Select Insert Date from the main menu. The selected date is now entered in your document.

Insert Image

To Insert an Image in your HTML document select the image file in the Files pane and select Insert Image from the main menu. You have the choice of inserting the image with or without path.

Insert Topic

In the creation of HTML format help files it is convenient to have a standard topic header. Take the following steps:

•	Select Insert Topic from the main menu

•	Enter the Topic name when prompted.

 Please note that when you want a certain topic to be displayed in the index with the word  new behind the link then use _ as the first character of the name. The Topic title will be displayed without the _. The new Topics will appear at the top of the index list. When a topic is no longer new just delete the _ from the name tag before you create a new index.

Essay now inserts an anchor in your document with the topic name given. Adds a table showing the topic name large in maroon on a yellow background as has the cursor ready between the paragraph tags to type your topic text.  To view the progress of your work take the following steps:

•	Save your File

•	Create an Index as described elswhere

Essay will now show you a preview of the help file that you created.


Essay View

With Essay you can have different panes switched on and off. This allows you to use the screen space to your personal needs. Sometimes you work a lot with the Tags pane and you will leave that visible. Other times you use Essay as a simple notepad and switch everything off.

View Tags

Shows or Hides the Tags and Directories.

View Directories

Show or Hide the Directories pane.

View Files

Show or Hide the Files pane. The Files pane is used for different tasks as loading a document, create a help file etc.

View Top

View the Top Editor and set the focus to it. In Essay you have two Editor panes. On start-up only the top one is visible. But you can switch the bottom one visible as well. You can drag-drop text between the two Editor panes.

View Bottom

Makes the bottom Editor pane visible.

View Both

Makes both the top and bottom Editor pane visible and makes their heights equal.


Essay Options

Essay Options

With the options menu you can:

•	Select Plain Text Mode

•	Select Rich Text Mode

•	Select the Plain Text Font

•	Select the Editor Background Color

•	Show Andante the HTML viewer

•	Launch the Essay Site Wizard


Essay HTML

Essay HTML

With Essay it is easy to insert basic html tags in your document. Just select insert from the menu and you see a long list of tags to insert. Either use the menu or the shortcut keys.

HTML Preview

You can preview your HTML document any time by pressing F2 or by selecting View HTML. If you are working on a new document and did not save yet then Essay will create and display the file preview.htm in the Essay Directory. If your document has a filename then the preview fie will be created ij the same directory as the filename.

Please note that short image or document links will not work when previewing a document without a filename. This is because Andante will try to load these images/documents from the Essay directory.

Insert HTML or shift+F5

Inserts the following code, creating a basic HTML document:

<html><head><title></title>

</head>

<body>

</body></html>

Insert Paragraph or F5

Inserts <p></p>.

Insert Bold or ctrl+alt+B

Inserts <b></b> around the selected text:

Insert Italic or ctrl+alt+I

Inserts <i></i> around the selected text:

Insert Break or F6

Inserts <br> for a line break.

Insert Rule or shift+F6

Inserts <hr> for a horizontal rule.

Insert Font or ctrl+alt+F

Inserts <font></font> around the selected text. In the font tag you can insert the face, size and color modifiers.

Insert Link or F7

Inserts <a href=''''></a> around the selected text. The basic code for a hyperlink.

Insert Target or shift+F7

Inserts <a name=""></a> , the basic code for a hyperlink target. Please complete the code by typing the name between the two quotation marks.

Insert List item or F8

Inserts <li> preceeded with a carriage return. When using this in Essay you would press F8 type the item text and press F8 again without using the enter key.

Insert Bullet List or shift+F8

Inserts <ul></ul> for a bulleted list. Insert List items with F8 in between.

Insert Numbere List or ctrl+F8

Inserts <ol></ol> for a numbered list. Insert List items with F8.

Insert Meta Keywords

Inserts <meta name="keywords" content="key1, ke2">. Replace the key1,key2 with your own list of keywords. Search robots use this information for their database.

Insert Meta Description

Inserts <meta name="description" content="">. Type the description of your html page between the two quotation marks after content=. Search robots use this information for their database.

Insert Frame

With insert Frame you can choose one of four basic frame layouts to be inserted in the editor.

Please note that a frames document shall not have the <body></body> tags!

Insert Table

With insert Table you can insert the basic html code for a table. You are prompted for the number of rows and columns. If you decide that you do not want to create a table just enter 0 as the number of rows or columns. You can immediately preview the table by pressing F2. For your convenience when entering the cell content, all the cells are identified with row and column number. Just type over it.


Essay Site Wizard

Essay Site Wizard

With the Site Wizard you can create a multiple documents site from a script page with just one click of a button. The number of documents is virtually unlimited.

Site Wizard will create and display a framed document with:

•	An index frame at the top

•	A subindex frame on the left

•	A main frame to the right of the subindex frame

All hyperlinks for site navigation is set-up; cascading style sheet reference is included in every document.

Create SiteScript

Use Essay in Plain text mode to create a SiteScript.

Every line in the script shall start with a number followed by a space. The number shall be only 1,2 or 3.

Site Entry

The first three lines of a SiteScript have their own format.

The first line shall read:

 SiteScript.

The second line shall read:

SiteDir=d:\jans\newsite\

The part after the = sign will be different in each case. Please note the final \, it should be there! The SiteDir= shall be exactly (not case sensitive) that.

The third line shall read:

SiteTitle=my new website

The part after the = sign will be different in each case. The SiteTitle= shall be exactly (not case sensitive) that.

If there is an error in one of the first three lines then Site Wizard will not create your site.

Site Logo

Put a logo image in your SiteDir and it will be displayed in the created site. The logo image shall be logo.jpg, and be 200 pixels wide and 75 pixels heigh.

index Entry

An Index entry line starts with a 1. Data on this line will be displayed in the top index frame. The syntax for an index entry is as follows:

1 filename=linktext;title

filename is the name of the subindexfile that will be displayed in the left subindex frame when you click this index entry. Give the name without path and without extension.

linktext is the text that will appear blue underlined.

title is the title that you want to be placed bewtween the <title></title> tags of the subindexfile.

Heading entry

A heading entry will appear as a heading in a subindexfile and will be displayed in the left subindex frame. It is not a hyperlink, just a heading. The format of a Heading entry is as follows:

2 h=myheading;

2 is the heading entry flag.

h denotes that this is a heading. You can put anything here, as long as there is some text. Personally I just use a simple h.

myheading is the actual heading text.

SubIndex entry

A subindex entry is from where actual documents are made. A subindex entry will appear as a clickable link in the lefthand subindex frame. When you click a subindex entry the associated document will be displayed in the main frame.

The format of a subindex entry is as follows:

3 filename=linktext;title

filename is the name of the document file that will be generated. This name shall be without path and without extension. Just the bear name.

linktext is the blue underlined text that will appear in the subindex frame.

title is the title that will be put between the <title></title> tags of the document. The title will also be inserted as a heading in the document.

Include javascript or vbscript

If you want your standard scripts (javascript or VBScript) to be inserted in the head section of every document then create a document titled SWHead.txt in the Essay directory. The SWHead.txt document shall only contain the text that should go between the <head> and </head>  tag, and shall not include the head tags themselves. When SiteWizard creates a document it checks for the presence of SWHead.txt. When SWHead.txt is present the text will be included in the heading, otherwise the standard head tag is created.

Create Site

Save the script as a plain text file before you launch the Site Wizard. After selecting Options Site Wizard a file save dialogbox is opened. Go to the directory where you want to create your site documents. If the directory does not yet exists create it in the dialog with the create directory button. Now enter a file name (can be anything). Make sure that you are in the correct directory before clicking the OK button!

Next you are asked for the title of your homepage. The homepage itself will be created as index.htm but you can choose the title here.

Now Site Wizards builds all the necessary documents and displays the result. Please note that the integral Browser Andante does not handle cascading style sheets. If you want to se the effect of the cascading style sheets view index.htm with either Netscape Communicator 4 or Internet Explorer 4.


Essay Space

Essay Space

Don't puzle about HTML tag attributes anymore. With Essay's HTML Space it becomes easy. Type the opening tag, lets say: <a. Now press ctrl+J and you see a list of options. Go with the mouse or the up/down keys to your choice and press Enter. The selected entry (without the part after the = sign) is inserted in the text. When the selection list is open and you do not want to select anything, just press the Backspace key. The popup form will close and nothing will be inserted.

Customizing Essay Space

When you start the program Essay checks for the presence of the file  HTMLTags.txt. It will be loaded when present. You can modify this plain text file to your own need. Just make sure that attributes always follow directly the tag:

<a>

ACCESSKEY=key_character

CHARSET=string

CLASS=classname

COORDS=string

DATAFLD=column_name

DATASRC=id

etc.

Essay HTML Space can save you a lot of typing. If you always work with html 3.2 just enter those attributes in HTMLTags.txt. If you want all the HTML 4.0 tags and attributes, go ahead.


Essay Translate

Essay Translate

Sometimes you want to translate a word, an acronym or something else. With Essay this is very easy with the money green Translate box.

Translate selection

Select text and press F12. Essay will now lookup your selection in the Trans box and return the translation when your selection was found. Use the Bookmark key F9 when working with Trans. You would typically press F9, type your entry; press  F12 to translate.

Translate Click

When you click an entry in the Translate Box, the associated value is entered in the text.

Translate File Format

The Translate file EssayTrans.txt required the following format on each line:

name=value

The name part is what you see in the Translate dropdown box. The value part is entered in your text.

Bookmark

By pressing F9 the current position is bookmarked.

Go Bookmark

By pressing shitf+F9 you go the the Bookmark.

Select from Bookmark

By pressing F10 the text from the Bookmark to the current position is selected.