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PCBEdit Version 1.10 Beta Release 2 12 November 1993 Copyright (C) 1993, Clark Development Company, Inc. Clark Development Company, Inc. P.O. Box 571365 Murray, UT 84157-1365 Sales - (800) 356-1686 FAX - (801) 261-8987 Voice Support - (801) 261-1686 BBS Support - (801) 261-8976 Written by Scott Dale Robison LICENSE TO USE AGREEMENT ------------------------ Clark Development Company (CDC) grants to the purchaser of PCBoard Professional Bulletin Board Software (PCBoard) a nonexclusive license to use PCBEdit. PCBEdit may only be used by purchasers of PCBoard. Contact CDC for purchasing information. The purchaser is licensed to use PCBEdit according to the same terms and conditions as found in the PCBoard LICENSE TO USE AGREEMENT located on the software envelope included with your PCBoard package. If the purchaser transfers ownership of PCBoard to another party, the right to use PCBEdit is also transferred. PCBEdit is provided at no cost to purchasers of PCBoard. CDC makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, with respect to the quality, performance, accuracy, or fitness of PCBEdit. CDC assumes no responsibility for any decisions made or actions taken on the part of the purchaser because of the use of PCBEdit. In no event shall CDC, or any of its representatives, be liable for any loss of profit or damage arising from the use or inability to use PCBEdit even if CDC or an authorized agent of CDC has been advised of the possibility of damage. CDC reserves the right to make changes, enhancements, and improvements to PCBEdit at any time and without notice. USING PCBEDIT ------------- The documentation for PCBEdit is still under development. However, since you've all been clamoring for it for *SO* long now, we've decided to go ahead and make it available for you to use right now, rather than forcing you to wait for PCBoard Version 15 to be released. PCBEdit is not meant to replace programs such as TheDraw (TheSoft Programming Services/Ian E. Davis), PCBDraw (Jim Dailey) and TDXL (Fred Bertagnolli). They are still incredibly useful for screen design. PCBEdit is designed to allow you to write what we call "information intensive" display files (such as NEWS and BLT files), as opposed to "display intensive" files (such as WELCOME and BRDM.) PCBEdit should be installed in your PCB subdirectory (or whereever you have installed your PCBoard EXE files.) It may be set up as an editor in PCBoard System Manager (PCBSM) option G (Define Text & Graphics Editors.) Because it deals with @X codes and @ macros, it can be used to design all files, eliminating the need for separate graphics display files. PCBEdit is used just as you would use any editor: PCBEDIT FILENAME. It supports many configuration options which may be specified either on the command line, in an environment variable, or in a configuration file. (More on this later.) A couple of notes on getting help. First, there is a complete reference of commands and configuration options available via the Alt-H key when editing. Alt-W goes to an information screen. STARTING PCBEDIT ---------------- The PCBEdit command line takes the following format: PCBEDIT [/OPTION ...] [FILENAME] The following are valid /option's: /AT /ATMAC /ATX /BAK /BUZZ /CATTR /COLOR /DIALOGATTR /DIALOGDIRATTR /DIALOGDRVATTR /DIALOGFILEATTR /DIALOGHLATTR /DIALOGOPTATTR /DOS /HELPATTR /HELPHLATTR /IO /LLEND /MACRO /MATTR /MONO /NOAT /NOATX /NOBAK /NOBUZZ /NODOS /NOIO /NOQUICK /NOSNOW /QUICK /RIBATTR /RIBHLATTR /SET /SNOW /STARTATTR /STATATTR /STATUS /STRIPG /TRYNOG /USEG REM / Any valid DOS filename may be used. [Of course, you probably don't want to use PCBEdit to edit an EXE or COM file!] :) STARTUP OPTIONS --------------- /AT - /AT Forces PCBEdit to interpret @ macros (and @X codes if /ATX is in effect). (Default) /ATMAC - /ATMAC:@MAC@[:TEXT] Replaces the default text (used to preview a file) associated with the specified @ macro with new text. @MAC@ -- the @ macro to modify TEXT -- (optional) the new default text (for preview purposes) to assign to @MAC@; if not specified, reverts to the original default text /ATX - /ATX If /AT is in effect, forces PCBEdit to interpret @X codes. (Default) /BAK - /BAK Forces PCBEdit to keep backup files. (Default) /BUZZ - /BUZZ Enables a buzzing sound to alert the user to error conditions. (Default) /CATTR - /CATTR Updates all configurable attributes with default values for a color display adapter. (Default) /COLOR - /COLOR Forces PCBEdit to use a color display adapter card. /DIALOGATTR - /DIALOGATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DIALOGDIRATTR - /DIALOGDIRATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for displaying directory names on the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DIALOGDRVATTR - /DIALOGDRVATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for displaying drive letters on the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DIALOGFILEATTR - /DIALOGFILEATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for displaying file names on the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DIALOGHLATTR - /DIALOGHLATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for displaying highlighted items on the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DIALOGOPTATTR - /DIALOGOPTATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for displaying command options on the file select dialog screen. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /DOS - /DOS Forces PCBEdit to allow shells to DOS. (Default) /HELPATTR - /HELPATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for help screens. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /HELPHLATTR - /HELPHLATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for highlighted portions of help screens. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /IO - /IO Allows all normal file input/output operations. (Default) /LLEND - /LLEND:ASC[;ASC[...]] Specifies a different character sequence to be appended to the last line of a file. (By default, the last line is written with a carriage return/ line feed appended to it. With this switch, you can change it to several carriage return/line feed pairs, an end of file character, etc.) ASC -- any valid decimal ASCII code (0 - 255) /MACRO - /MACRO:FILENAME.EXT Loads the specified macro file. FILENAME.EXT -- a valid DOS filename used to specify the desired macro file /MATTR - /MATTR Updates all configurable attributes with default values for a monochrome display adapter. /MONO - /MONO Forces PCBEdit to use a monochrome display adapter card. /NOAT - /NOAT Forces PCBEdit to not interpret @ macros or @X codes (regardless of whether or not /ATX is in effect). /NOATX - /NOATX Forces PCBEdit to ignore @X codes and to display all text in the attribute specified via the /STARTATTR option. /NOBAK - /NOBAK Forces PCBEdit to not keep backup files. /NOBUZZ - /NOBUZZ Disables the buzzing sound for alerting the user about error conditions. /NODOS - /NODOS Forces PCBEdit to not allow shells to DOS. /NOIO - /NOIO Disables the Alt-I, Alt-K and Alt-L functions. Also disables the ability to specify the filename to save in the Alt-S function. /NOQUICK - /NOQUICK Displays the welcome screen when PCBEdit starts. /NOSNOW - /NOSNOW Tells PCBEdit to not test for CGA screen snow. (Default) /NOSS - /NOSS Tells PCBEdit to not strip trailing spaces from lines. /QUICK - /QUICK Circumvents display of the welcome screen at program start. (Default) /RIBATTR - /RIBATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for the code ribbon. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /RIBHLATTR - /RIBHLATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for the high-lighted portion of the code ribbon. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /SET - /SET:FILENAME.EXT Loads the specified function key character set file. FILENAME.EXT -- a valid DOS filename used to specify the desired function key character set file /SNOW - /SNOW Tells PCBEdit to test for CGA screen snow. /SS - /SS Tells PCBEdit to strip trailing spaces from lines. /STARTATTR - /STARTATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for the edit buffer. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /STATATTR - /STATATTR:ATTR Changes the default attribute used for the status line. ATTR -- the decimal value of the new attribute to use /STATUS - /STATUS:TYPE Changes the default status bar type. TYPE -- one of the following: 0 = detailed status bar with code ribbon (Default) 1 = function key status bar with code ribbon 2 = no status bar or code ribbon /STRIPG - /STRIPG Always strip the G graphics file specification (if present) prior to attempting a file load. /TRYNOG - /TRYNOG Strip the G graphics file specification (if present) if a file with the G as part of the filename doesn't exist. /USEG - /USEG Never automatically strip the G graphics file specification. (Default) REM /... - REM /COLOR Removes the startup option temporarily from processing (works with any option that begins with a forward slash [/], including options not currently defined [REM /BOB]). If you need to enter a startup option that with an embedded space, surround the entire option with quotes. Quotes cannot be included in an option. For example: PCBEDIT "/ATMAC:@USER@:SCOTT ROBISON" SPECIFYING STARTUP OPTIONS -------------------------- There are three ways of specifying startup options. The first is on the PCBEdit command line. For example: PCBEDIT /NOQUICK /MACRO:MAIN.MAC /SET:MAIN.SET NEWSG The second means of specifying startup options is through the PCBEDIT environment variable, which you could SET in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. An example line would look like this: SET PCBEDIT=/QUICK "/ATMAC:@USER@:SCOTT ROBISON" Finally, startup options may be specified in a a configuration file. It is named PCBEDIT.CFG and can be located in the same directory as PCBEDIT.EXE or in the current directory. It can be created with any text editor, may have as many lines as necessary, and may have several options on one line, as long as all lines are limited to 127 characters or less. Here's an example: +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | /QUICK /MACRO:MAIN.MAC /SET:MAIN.SET | | "/ATMAC:@USER@:SCOTT ROBISON" /ATMAC:@FIRSTU@:SCOTT | | /ATMAC:@FIRST@:Scott REM /NOQUICK /CATTR NEWSG | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ PCBEdit searches for startup options in the following order: PCBEDIT.CFG (first in directory with PCBEdit, then in the current directory); PCBEDIT environment variable; PCBEDIT command line. In this way, an option in the PCBEDIT.EXE directory configuration file can be overridden by another option later in the same file, in the other configuration file, environment variable or command line; an option in the current directory configuration file can be overridden by an option later in the same file, in the environment variable or on the command line, and so on. PCBEDIT MACROS -------------- Fifteen sets of user-defined macros are supported by PCBoard. Each set consists of ten strings that may be accessed via the F1 - F10 function keys. Different sets may be accessed by utilizing the Shift-Alt-F1 - Shift-Alt-F10 keys for sets 1 - 10 and the Shift-^F1 - Shift-^F5 keys for sets 11 - 15. The macros may be selected from and maintained with the Alt-G key. Each macro may consist of whatever text the user would like. Additionally, the following special sequences are recognized by PCBEdit: \XXXX - Backslash followed by 4 hex digits will be converted to a keyboard code and stuffed in the keyboard buffer (Sorry, no list of keyboard codes yet; they will be forthcoming) \X - Stuffs the character following backslash in the keyboard buffer (\\ to stuff a literal backslash) \ - By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal backslash in the keyboard buffer ~X - Stuffs the lowercase letter X in the keyboard buffer ~# - Stuffs the code for function key F# in the keyboard buffer ~ - By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal tilde in the keyboard buffer #X - Stuffs the uppercase letter X in the keyboard buffer ## - Stuffs the code for function key Shift-F# in the keyboard buffer # - By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal pound sign in the keyboard buffer ^X - Stuffs a control X in the keyboard buffer ^# - Stuffs the code for function key control F# in the keyboard buffer ^ - By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal carat in the keyboard buffer !X - Stuffs an alt X in the keyboard buffer !# - Stuffs the code for function key alt F# in the keyboard buffer ! - By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal exclamation point in the keyboard buffer KEYCODE TABLE FOR MACROS ------------------------ Ctrl-A = ^A Alt-A = !A Backspace = ^H Backslash (\) = \\ Ctrl-B = ^B Alt-B = !B TAB = ^I Tilde (~) = \~ Ctrl-C = ^C Alt-C = !C Line Feed = ^J Pound Sign (#) = \# Ctrl-D = ^D Alt-D = !D ^ENTER = ^J Carat (^) = \^ Ctrl-E = ^E Alt-E = !E ENTER = ^M Exclamation Point (!) = \! Ctrl-F = ^F Alt-F = !F ESC = \001B Ctrl-G = ^G Alt-G = !G Ctrl-H = ^H Alt-H = !H Shift-TAB = \010F Ctrl-I = ^I Alt-I = !I Ctrl-J = ^J Alt-J = !J INS = \0152 Ctrl-K = ^K Alt-K = !K DEL = \0153 Ctrl-L = ^L Alt-L = !L Ctrl-M = ^M Alt-M = !M LEFT = \014B Ctrl-LEFT = \0173 Ctrl-N = ^N Alt-N = !N RIGHT = \014D Ctrl-RIGHT = \0174 Ctrl-O = ^O Alt-O = !O UP = \0148 Ctrl-P = ^P Alt-P = !P DOWN = \0150 Ctrl-Q = ^Q Alt-Q = !Q PGUP = \0149 Ctrl-PGUP = \0184 Ctrl-R = ^R Alt-R = !R PGDN = \0151 Ctrl-PGDN = \0176 Ctrl-S = ^S Alt-S = !S HOME = \0147 Ctrl-HOME = \0177 Ctrl-T = ^T Alt-T = !T END = \014F Ctrl-END = \0175 Ctrl-U = ^U Alt-U = !U Ctrl-V = ^V Alt-V = !V Ctrl-W = ^W Alt-W = !W Ctrl-X = ^X Alt-X = !X Ctrl-Y = ^Y Alt-Y = !Y Ctrl-Z = ^Z Alt-Z = !Z F1 = ~1 Shift-F1 = #1 Ctrl-F1 = ^1 Alt-F1 = !1 F2 = ~2 Shift-F2 = #2 Ctrl-F2 = ^2 Alt-F2 = !2 F3 = ~3 Shift-F3 = #3 Ctrl-F3 = ^3 Alt-F3 = !3 F4 = ~4 Shift-F4 = #4 Ctrl-F4 = ^4 Alt-F4 = !4 F5 = ~5 Shift-F5 = #5 Ctrl-F5 = ^5 Alt-F5 = !5 F6 = ~6 Shift-F6 = #6 Ctrl-F6 = ^6 Alt-F6 = !6 F7 = ~7 Shift-F7 = #7 Ctrl-F7 = ^7 Alt-F7 = !7 F8 = ~8 Shift-F8 = #8 Ctrl-F8 = ^8 Alt-F8 = !8 F9 = ~9 Shift-F9 = #9 Ctrl-F9 = ^9 Alt-F9 = !9 F10 = ~0 Shift-F10 = #0 Ctrl-F10 = ^0 Alt-F10 = !0 @X COLOR CODES -------------- +--------+------------------------------+------------------------------+ | | | | | Code | Background Meaning | Foreground Meaning | | | | | +--------+------------------------------+------------------------------+ | | | | | 0 ( 0) | Black (No Blink) | Black | | | | | | 1 ( 1) | Blue (No Blink) | Blue | | | | | | 2 ( 2) | Green (No Blink) | Green | | | | | | 3 ( 3) | Cyan (No Blink) | Cyan | | | | | | 4 ( 4) | Red (No Blink) | Red | | | | | | 5 ( 5) | Magenta (No Blink) | Magenta | | | | | | 6 ( 6) | Brown (No Blink) | Brown | | | | | | 7 ( 7) | Light Grey (No Blink) | Light Grey | | | | | | 8 ( 8) | Black (Blink) | Dark Grey | | | | | | 9 ( 9) | Blue (Blink) | Light Blue | | | | | | A (10) | Green (Blink) | Light Green | | | | | | B (11) | Cyan (Blink) | Light Cyan | | | | | | C (12) | Red (Blink) | Light Red | | | | | | D (13) | Magenta (Blink) | Light Magenta | | | | | | E (14) | Brown (Blink) | Yellow | | | | | | F (15) | Light Grey (Blink) | White | | | | | +--------+------------------------------+------------------------------+ @X color codes are implemented in the following format: @XBF, where the B is the background attribute and the F is the foreground attribute, both taken from the above table. In other words, @XCF would be flashing white letters on a red background. There are two exceptions: @X00 - Save the current attribute @XFF - Recall the last attribute saved with @X00 STARTUP OPTION ATTRIBUTES ------------------------- To calculate the attribute (color code) for a startup option (such as /HELPATTR), take the decimal value (in parenthesis) for the desired background, multiply it by 16, and add the decimal value (in parenthesis) for the desired foreground. For example, if you wanted to use flashing bright white letters on a red background, you would use the following set of calculations: (B * 16) + F = ((RED w/BLINKING FOREGROUND) * 16) + BRIGHT WHITE = (12 * 16) + 15 = 192 + 15 = 207 If you wanted to use that for the help attribute, you would include a startup option of the following format: /HELPATTR:207 SUPPORT FOR PCBEDIT ------------------- If you have a question about PCBEdit, first read this document completely. If you wish to report a bug in PCBEdit, read the HISTORY.TXT document completely. If you can't find the answer to your question or a mention of your bug being fixed, then leave a message to SCOTT ROBISON in the BETA conference (6) on the SALT AIR BBS. Please include in the message the wide area beta version number and/or release date of the software (found at the top of this document and on the information screen (Alt-W key) in PCBEdit). Depending on the circumstances, We may also need to get a copy of the configuration and/or display files in use at the time, so keep them handy. However, you will not need to upload them unless requested. Remember, this is *BETA* software. It is not, nor should it be expected to be perfect. Be sure to save your work often, and preferably back it up before you attempt to edit it. While this program has been tested extensively in house, you are bound to do something we didn't take into account. Please report any problems and we will fix them as quickly as possible. Summary: Use the SALT AIR BBS BETA conference (6) for PCBEdit reports. Leave them to SCOTT ROBISON. Tell him what version/beta release you are using. Be prepared to supply him with samples of configuration and/or display files. Be patient! :) ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS --------------------------- Q: The Alt-O optimize function doesn't seem to work. What's wrong? A: It is being worked on. We haven't experienced it removing necessary codes; it just won't always remove unnecessary codes (which is it's function). It will never be perfect; there are too many potential cases for it to reliably take into account. However, it will improve with time. If you feel you have a case that is OBVIOUSLY incorrect, upload the display file to SALT AIR and leave a message to SCOTT ROBISON to take a look at it with the PCBEdit Alt-O command. Q: PCBEdit saves files with a carriage return/line feed after the last line, but I need an end of file character after the last line. Is there a way to accomplish this? A: There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to position yourself at the end of the last line just before saving it and hit ^Z or Alt-26 (the EOF character). Another option, if you want it to save that way everytime you save the file, is to use the /LLEND option to change the last line ending sequence of characters. /LLEND:26 will save an EOF after the last line instead of a CR-LF. Q: When I change background colors and type spaces all the way to the end of the line it displays as expected. But sometimes if I move the cursor off of that line (and always after a save and reload of the same file) it background color no longer appears across the entire line. What happened? A: The effect you desire is automatic when using screen oriented editors (such as TheDraw and PCBDraw) because the save the entire screen (80X25), and that's why you can only edit that size of display with those programs. However, since PCBEdit functions more as a text editor instead of a screen editor, it attempts to optimize the output of the file before saving by stripping trailing spaces before writing the file to disk. This is easily avoided by simply including a color change at the end of the line back to the original background color. For example, to include a blue bar on a line (with nothing else) on a line, you could type in something like this: @X00@X1F @XFF Since the @XFF appears after the spaces, the spaces are treated as significant and are saved with the file. Since the @XFF only performs a color change, nothing textual is displayed after the spaces, giving you the desired effect. Additionally, if you wish to have the color change affect the rest of the current line you could use an @CLREOL@ macro to change the color of the line. ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS --------------------------- Q: I prefer the status bar format from TheDraw and PCBDraw. Is there any way to implement this? A: It's been there since the original release! You can use the Alt-T key to toggle status line types between the default one, one that appears more like the TheDraw/PCBDraw status line, or no status line at all. Or you can use the /STATUS configuration option to select which one you want by default (/STATUS syntax and options are documented above). Q: If I mark a block to change the color or delete, it also removes the color codes and non-displayable macros to the left and right of the block. Why does this happen and is there a way around it? A: There are three block types: block, line and character. Line and character are straight forward; they mark a range from the beginning to the end and everything in-between without including any extra. A true block (any rectangular region) is a different beast though. In PCBoard display files, one physical character in the document does not necessarily equal one displayable character. For example, @QON@ does absolutely nothing to the display, but instructs PCBoard to do something. Alternatively, @BOARDNAME@ can potentially be much longer than the physical 11 characters it occupies. PCBEdit needs to take these cases (and others) into account in a true rectangular block so that it can line up correctly on the left and right sides of the block. The only way around it is to select a line or character block instead of a true rectangular screen block. Make sense? No? Don't worry about it, just remember that L and C blocks are handled differently than B blocks. NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 1.10 ---------------------------- The following new macros from PCBoard Version 15.1 are supported in PCBEdit Version 1.10: @ALIAS@ @BYTECREDIT@ @DIRNAME@ @DIRNUM@ @ENV@ @FBYTES@ @FFILES@ @FILECREDIT@ @FNUM@ @LOGDATE@ @LOGTIME@ @MAXBYTES@ @MAXFILES@ @NOCHAR@ @NUMCONF@ @PWXDATE@ @PWXDAYS@ @RATIOBYTES@ @RATIOFILES@ @YESCHAR@ Note especially the new @ENV@ macro. The exact syntax for it's use is: @ENV=VAR@ Where VAR is the name of an environment variable. The actual environment variable should named @VAR@ (it should be surrounded with @ symbols). All of these new @ macros support field width and justification specifiers. In other words, @ALIAS@, @ALIAS:50@, and @ALIAS:50C@ are all valid @ macros.