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P E R U S E ------------- Version 1.00 -------------- " R E A D . M E " F I L E ------------------------------ Copyright (c) 1990 by Falk Data Systems. All rights reserved. Introduction ................................................. 2 Installation Instructions .................................... 3 Configuration File ........................................... 3 Instructions ................................................. 3 Command Line Parameters ...................................... 4 Disk Vendors and BBSs ....................................... 10 Keyboard Commands ........................................... 10 File Commands .............................................. 11 Cursor Movement Commands ................................... 12 Place Holder Commands ...................................... 14 Block Commands ............................................. 14 Search Commands ............................................ 16 Display Mode Toggles ....................................... 17 Other Commands ............................................. 18 Function Key Quick Reference ................................. 19 Mouse Usage .................................................. 20 Mouse Hot Spots ............................................ 20 Scroll Bars ................................................ 23 Peruse - READ.ME Page 1 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) ------------- Introduction: ------------- Thank you for trying Peruse! Peruse is an ASCII (text) and Binary (non-text) file reader capable of reading files of an unlimited size in text or hex formats. Peruse can read an almost unlimited number of files at a time. Peruse can be loaded as a swapping memory resident program requiring only about 7K of normal RAM memory while resident, or it can load as a stand-alone, DESQview aware program. Peruse can swap to XMS or EMS memory, or to disk. Peruse also provides a pop-up DOS shell capability. One excellent use for Peruse is while evaluating a new shareware program. Peruse can be loaded memory-resident with all the documentation files for the program you are evaluating. Since Peruse uses swapping technology, it keeps only about 7K of normal DOS RAM. You can then run the shareware program you are evaluating and pop-up Peruse at any time to examine the documentation files for that program. This comes in very handy for those who don't want to print a large documentation file right away. Oh, and you can print part or all of a file while Peruse is popped up. Best of all, Peruse is free! Peruse: An ASCII (text) and Binary (non-text) File Reader ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peruse (pe rooz') 1. to examine or study attentively and in detail; scrutinize 2. to read carefully or thoroughly; study 3. to read: a pretentious use, now often connoting a casual or leisurely reading. Canonize: The Peruse Customizing Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Canon ('Kan-un) an official or authoritative list; an accepted principle or rule. Canonize ('Kan-u-nïze) produces a configuration file for Peruse. This configuration file is then the official or authoritative list governing Peruse, it becomes the accepted principle or rule. Peruse - READ.ME Page 2 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) -------------------------- Installation Instructions: -------------------------- Installation is easy. Simply copy all the files (PERUSE.EXE, PERUSE.HLP, and CANONIZE.EXE) to a subdirectory in your DOS path. If you don't like the program names (PERUSE.EXE and CANONIZE.EXE) you may safely rename them to any name you like, so long as the ".EXE" extension remains the same. If you prefer one character names, you might consider "R.EXE" for Peruse - with the "R" standing for (R)eader. If you change the names of the program files, please do not change the name of the configuration file "PERUSE.CFG". PERUSE.CFG is produced by Canonize and should not be renamed (both Peruse and Canonize must be able to find it). You should also avoid changing the name of the Peruse help file (PERUSE.HLP). If you rename it, Peruse won't be able to find it. If you wish to customize the operation of Peruse, Canonize makes it easy. ------------------- Configuration File: ------------------- When Peruse starts, it looks for a configuration file called "PERUSE.CFG". If it finds this file, Peruse will read it to determine your preferences. If it does not find this file, Peruse will run using the options as they were set when Peruse was originally shipped from Falk Data Systems. The configuration file (PERUSE.CFG) is produced by the customizing program - CANONIZE.EXE. ------------- Instructions: ------------- You may have noticed that Peruse does not include extensive documentation files. This is because the complete instructions are included in the built-in Help System. Both Peruse and Canonize have extensive Help Systems providing both context- sensitive and indexed (hypertext) help. Simply press the <F1> key at any time for help. You may also request help by pressing and releasing both the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously (which we call <ClickBoth>). Peruse - READ.ME Page 3 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) For complete instructions, command line options, and more, start Peruse by typing "PERUSE READ.ME" <Enter>. This is done for you automatically if you use the "GO.BAT" batch file - simply type "GO" <Enter> to start Peruse). Then press <F1> for help. You might start with the topic called "Help on Help" which will help you to get the most out of the Help System built into Peruse. Peruse uses an external help file called "PERUSE.HLP". This file must be present for Peruse to work. Canonize has its Help System built into the CANONIZE.EXE file and doesn't require an external help file. Please take a few moments to read the "Dedication", which is built into the Peruse Help System. Peruse is dedicated to a very deserving individual for his unceasing support of the shareware concept of software marketing. For information on other products from Falk Data Systems, please pop-up the Peruse Help System (by pressing <F1> while in Peruse) and choose "Other Products" on the main Help Topic Index. This will provide you with complete information on our other software (and non-software) products. Thank you for trying Peruse and especially for supporting shareware! ------------------------ Command Line Parameters: ------------------------ Several command line options are available and are described in detail below. Before we discuss the command line options, you should be aware of some limitations when Peruse is loaded as a TSR (memory-resident program). Peruse has been tested extensively with 4DOS from JP Software and works well with 4DOS. We normally run 4DOS on all of our machines at Falk Data Systems (yes, we like 4DOS that much) so 4DOS users should encounter no difficulties. Peruse is designed to provide you with as much usable memory as possible while it is resident. To accomplish this, Peruse must be able to swap itself into and out of memory. Because of this swapping behavior there are several things you must avoid: 1) Peruse cannot be loaded into "high" memory using utilities such as QRAM, QEMM, 386MAX, or any similar utility. 2) Peruse should not be loaded before programs that contain hardware interrupt handlers. Examples of such programs are network shells, multitasking operating systems, and Peruse - READ.ME Page 4 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) communications programs. If you are going to use Peruse in these environments you should load it after the network shell or multitasking operating system is installed. 3) It is possible to load Peruse and still run communications programs like QModem, ProComm or TAPCIS, providing you follow some simple guidelines. Do NOT pop Peruse up over your communication program while it is online, uploading or downloading, or waiting to answer an incoming call. When Peruse pops up it swaps the current application out - essentially trading places with it in memory. This will be a problem if the other program was trying to deal with com ports or some other hardware related activity. Of course, if you are using a program like QModem, ProComm or TAPCIS and the program is not online or waiting to answer an incoming call, then it is safe to pop up Peruse. 4) Peruse will not pop up over a program operating in graphics mode. Peruse does not know how to save and restore a graphics screen. So to prevent problems, Peruse will simply beep and refuse to pop up when your video system is in graphics mode. There are also some important restrictions regarding the DOS shell capabilities. 1) You cannot swap to a DOS shell if Peruse was popped up over the DOS command line. The problem has to do with the way DOS handles its internal stacks. You're probably wondering "why would I want to shell to the DOS command line when I was already at the DOS command line?". Well, there's really no reason to do this, so it isn't much of a limitation. Unfortunately, this is one of the first things users try to do when they start experimenting with Peruse. Of course, if Peruse is loaded as a stand-alone program (not memory-resident) then the DOS shell capability should always work. 2) This same conflict arises if you pop up some other TSR from the DOS command line and then try to pop up Peruse and swap to a DOS shell. Even though you popped up another TSR first, technically you are still at the DOS command line. 3) The DOS programs DEBUG and EDLIN are very similar to the DOS command line in terms of how internal DOS stacks are managed. Because of this you cannot pop up Peruse and swap to a DOS shell from within DEBUG or EDLIN. Peruse - READ.ME Page 5 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) 4) It is possible, under a multitasking system such as DESQview, for Peruse to not recognize that you are at the DOS command line. So be very careful when using Peruse under a multitasking operating system - don't try to pop up Peruse and shell to DOS from the DOS command line. 5) Finally, the most important restriction: Do NOT install another memory-resident program while you are within the DOS shell provided by Peruse. When you exit from the DOS shell Peruse will swap the new memory-resident program out and the results will not be pretty. When Peruse is swapping to disk, it must be absolutely guaranteed that it will have access to it's swap files when it swaps itself into or out of memory. This requirement, coupled with the speed issue, mean that Peruse's swap file cannot be located on removable media such as a floppy diskette. Peruse checks for this and will refuse to load memory-resident if you specify a floppy drive as the location for the swap files. Even though the media is technically removable, you may still use a Bernoulli drive as the location for the swap files. Hidden Swap Files: Peruse will swap to disk if there is not enough XMS or EMS memory for the swapping operation, or if you specifically instruct Peruse to swap to disk (disk swapping can also be disabled using Canonize). When Peruse swaps to disk it uses the "hidden" file attribute for its swap file (or files). This is to prevent you from accidentally deleting the swap files. The hidden files should cause you no problems. Peruse will automatically delete these files when it is unloaded from memory. If you turn off or reboot your computer without unloading Peruse from memory, then the swap files will remain on disk. Peruse will reuse the same files the next time it is loaded, so you won't need to worry about disk space being wasted. Peruse Usage: Peruse <filename> [filename...] [-options] <Enter> Peruse can accept multiple file names, including wild card characters ("*","?") and path names. Peruse Command Line Options: ---------------------------- Some programs are overly picky about how a command line option is entered. Some programs expect each option to be preceded by a space and a backslash. Even worse, some programs are case sensitive - a command line option must be lower case, or it must Peruse - READ.ME Page 6 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) be upper case, or some other limitation. Command line options with Peruse are very easy. For instance, if a command line option is "/X" - the "X" may be either upper or lower case. Furthermore, it may be preceded by a forward slash (/), a backslash (\), or a dash (-). Because of the similarities between a path containing a backslash "\" and a possible option, at least one <Space> character (or <Tab>) must appear between each option on the command line. Here is a brief list of options. The list is followed by a detailed description of each option. -D force swapping to Disk only (implies "-T") -E force swapping to EMS memory only (implies "-T") -H Help (same as "-?") -M Minimize swap size (XMS and Disk only) -S Snow prevention on CGAs -T TSR (memory-resident) mode - uses swapping -U Unload the previously loaded copy of Peruse from memory -X force swapping to XMS memory only (implies "-T") -? shows a list of all available command line options and returns to the DOS command line (Help - same as "-H") (D) Force Swapping to Disk Only: This option tells Peruse to load as a memory-resident program and it forces Peruse to swap to disk even if sufficient EMS or XMS memory is available. Swapping to disk is inevitably slower than swapping to EMS or XMS memory. The speed of the swapping process can be further controlled by the "-M" option described below. This option can be permanently controlled using Canonize. Peruse - READ.ME Page 7 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) (E) Force Swapping to EMS Memory Only: This option tells Peruse to load as a memory-resident program and it forces Peruse to swap to EMS memory. If there is not enough EMS memory available, then Peruse will abort without attempting to swap to either disk or XMS memory. This option can be permanently controlled using Canonize. (H) Help: Displays a list of command line options and returns you to the DOS prompt. This option is the same as "-?" described below. (M) Minimize Swap Size: This option applies only when Peruse is loading as a memory-resident program and will be swapping to disk or to XMS memory (it is ignored when swapping to EMS memory). When swapping to disk, two swap files are used. When swapping to XMS memory, two blocks of memory are used. One is used for storing the memory under the control of Peruse, the other is used for storing the memory under the control of the application being swapped out. This allows the swapping operation to occur as quickly as possible - at the expense of using more disk space, or more XMS memory. When the "-M" option is used, Peruse will use only one file when swapping to disk, or one memory block when swapping to XMS memory. In effect, the two swap images "trade places" with each other during the swapping operation. This option causes Peruse to use much less disk space, or much less XMS memory. The price you pay for conserving these resources is speed. Swapping takes much longer in this mode. This option can be permanently controlled using Canonize. Peruse - READ.ME Page 8 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) (S) Snow Prevention: Causes Peruse to prevent snow when using a CGA adapter/monitor. This option will slow down screen writes somewhat, but will prevent the snow problem that might otherwise be visible on a CGA monitor. The real-time clock, that appears in the upper right hand portion of the main Peruse display, will continue to access video memory directly in order to minimize it's effects on the rest of the program. Because of this, you may still experience a slight amount of snow on some older CGAs. (T) TSR Mode: Causes Peruse to load as a memory resident (TSR - Terminate and Stay Resident) program. It will remain in memory until it is unloaded. When loaded with the "-T" option, Peruse will attempt to swap to EMS memory. If there is not enough EMS memory then it will attempt to swap to XMS memory. If there is not enough XMS memory then it will attempt to swap to disk. If there is not enough disk space then it will abort with an error message. You can customize this behavior using Canonize. This option can be permanently controlled using Canonize. (U) Unload From Memory: Tells Peruse to look for a copy of itself already loaded into memory, and to unload that copy if found. When this option is used, Peruse will unload the resident copy and then return to DOS. If Peruse was not previously loaded then this option is ignored. * When this option is used it should be the only option used. Peruse - READ.ME Page 9 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) (X) Force Swapping to XMS Memory Only: This option tells Peruse to load as a memory-resident program and forces Peruse to swap to XMS memory. If there is not enough XMS memory available then Peruse will abort without attempting to swap to either disk or EMS memory. NOTE: XMS swapping is only available with XMS (eXtended Memory Specification) extended memory - not with simulated extended memory or extended memory which doesn't conform to the XMS standard. This option can be permanently controlled using Canonize. (?) Help: Displays a list of command line options and returns to DOS. This option is the same as "-H" described above. ---------------------- Disk Vendors and BBSs: ---------------------- The Help System built into Peruse has complete information for Disk Vendors and BBS SYSOPS, including sample descriptions of the product. Please start Peruse and press <F1> for help. Then select "Vendor Information" or "BBS SYSOP Information" from the main Help Topic Index. The "BBS SYSOP Information" includes sample descriptions of the Peruse package as well as recommended file names, etc. The "Vendor Information" and "BBS SYSOP Information" topics also describe our Vendor Update Program and BBS Update Program which may be of interest to you. ------------------ Keyboard Commands: ------------------ Peruse recognizes and responds to a large number of keyboard commands. Learning the keyboard commands is always the most frustrating part of learning a new software product. In order to minimize the learning curve Peruse understands and responds to subsets of two very popular software packages - WordStar and Brief. Peruse - READ.ME Page 10 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) If you are already familiar with WordStar commands (like those found in most editors from Borland International) then you will feel right at home in Peruse. If you can't stand WordStar commands, then Peruse also recognizes alternatives for the most commonly used commands. These alternatives are very similar to those used in the Brief programmer's editor and are therefore very intuitive and easy to remember. The following information covers the major keyboard commands available in Peruse. For additional information please refer to the built-in Help System. You should also refer to the Help System built into Canonize for help with keyboard commands in that program. -------------- File Commands: -------------- Read New File: -------------- Prompt for and load a new file into the list of files being handled by Peruse, making the new file the currently viewed file. If the file is already in the list, then Peruse will make that file the currently viewed file, but will not add it to the list twice. <Alt-R> or <F3> or <Ctrl-KN> Alternatively, you can read a new file by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Read" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. Next File: ---------- Make the next file in the list the currently viewed file. If you are viewing the last file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the first file in the list the currently viewed file. This command does nothing if there is only one file in the list. <Alt-N> or <F2> Alternatively, you can make the next file in the list the currently viewed file by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Next" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. Peruse - READ.ME Page 11 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Before (Previous) File: ----------------------- Make the previous file in the list the currently viewed file. If you are viewing the first file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the last file in the list the currently viewed file. This command does nothing if there is only one file in the list. <Alt-B> or <Alt-Minus> or <Ctrl-F2> Alternatively, you can make the previous file in the list the currently viewed file by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Prev" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. List of Files: -------------- Pop up a Pick List containing every file currently being handled by Peruse. Once in the Pick List simply select the file you wish to view. <Alt-L> Alternatively, you can pop up the list of files by positioning the mouse cursor over the "List" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. Close File: ----------- Close the currently viewed file, removing it from the list. The next file in the list will become the currently viewed file. If the file being closed is the last file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the first file in the list the currently viewed file. If there is only one file in the list then this command generates an error message and does not close the file. <Alt-C> or <Ctrl-F3> or <Ctrl-Minus> Alternatively, you can close the currently viewed file by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Close" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. ------------------------- Cursor Movement Commands: ------------------------- Move Up Scroll window up one line. <Up> or <Ctrl-E> or <Ctrl-W> Peruse - READ.ME Page 12 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Move Down Scroll window down one line. <Down> or <Ctrl-X> or <Ctrl-Z> Page Up Scroll window up one page. <PgUp> or <Ctrl-R> Page Down Scroll window down one page. <PgDn> or <Ctrl-C> Move Left Scroll window left one column. <Left> or <Ctrl-S> Move Right Scroll window right one column. <Right> or <Ctrl-D> Word Left Scroll window left ten (10) columns. <Ctrl-Left> or <Ctrl-A> Word Right Scroll window right ten (10) columns. <Ctrl-Right> or <Ctrl-F> Start of Line Scroll window to column one. <Home> or <Ctrl-QS> End of Line Scroll window so that the end of the longest line in the window is visible. <End> or <Ctrl-QD> Top of File Scroll to the beginning of the file. <Ctrl-PgUp> or <Ctrl-QR> End of File Scroll to the end of the file. <Ctrl-PgDn> or <Ctrl-QC> Go to Line Prompt for a line number, then scroll the window so that the specified line appears at the top of the window. If the specified line number is greater than the total number of lines in the file, then the window will scroll to the end of the file. This command can be easily remembered as "Goto" or "Jump to Line". <Alt-G> or <F9> or <Ctrl-JL> Peruse - READ.ME Page 13 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) ---------------------- Place Holder Commands: ---------------------- Set Marker Number Set the specified marker number at the start of the line which is visible at the top of the window. The specific commands are as follows: Set Marker 0: <Alt-0> or <Ctrl-K0> Set Marker 1: <Alt-1> or <Ctrl-K1> Set Marker 2: <Alt-2> or <Ctrl-K2> Set Marker 3: <Alt-3> or <Ctrl-K3> Set Marker 4: <Alt-4> or <Ctrl-K4> Set Marker 5: <Alt-5> or <Ctrl-K5> Set Marker 6: <Alt-6> or <Ctrl-K6> Set Marker 7: <Alt-7> or <Ctrl-K7> Set Marker 8: <Alt-8> or <Ctrl-K8> Set Marker 9: <Alt-9> or <Ctrl-K9> Jump to Mark Number Scroll the window so that the line associated with the specified marker is at the top of the window. The specific commands are as follows: Jump to Mark 0: <Alt-J0> or <Ctrl-Q0> Jump to Mark 1: <Alt-J1> or <Ctrl-Q1> Jump to Mark 2: <Alt-J2> or <Ctrl-Q2> Jump to Mark 3: <Alt-J3> or <Ctrl-Q3> Jump to Mark 4: <Alt-J4> or <Ctrl-Q4> Jump to Mark 5: <Alt-J5> or <Ctrl-Q5> Jump to Mark 6: <Alt-J6> or <Ctrl-Q6> Jump to Mark 7: <Alt-J7> or <Ctrl-Q7> Jump to Mark 8: <Alt-J8> or <Ctrl-Q8> Jump to Mark 9: <Alt-J9> or <Ctrl-Q9> --------------- Block Commands: --------------- Peruse provides several useful capabilities that affect blocks of text. These capabilities are described below: Note: Partial lines cannot be included in a block. Block are made only of entire lines of text. Peruse - READ.ME Page 14 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Begin Mark (Top) Marks the line at the top of the window as the start of a block. <Alt-M> or <F7> or <Ctrl-KB> End Mark (Top) Marks the line at the top of the window as the end of a block. <F8> or <Ctrl-KK> End Mark (Bottom) Marks the line at the bottom of the window as the end of a block. <Ctrl-BK> Remove Marks Removes block marks (unmarks the block). This command acts as a toggle, enabling you to repeatedly mark and unmark the same block. <Alt-U> or <Ctrl-KH> Jump to Block Begin Jump to the beginning of the currently marked block. Does nothing if no block is marked. <Ctrl-F7> or <Ctrl-QB> Jump to Block End Jump to the end of the currently marked block. Does nothing if no block is marked. <Ctrl-F8> or <Ctrl-QK> Write Marked Block Prompt for a file name and write the marked block to that file. This command writes the actual contents of the file, not the image of it that is being displayed on the screen. The results are the same whether Peruse is in Hex or ASCII mode and regardless of the state of high bit stripping, tab expansion, etc. Does nothing if no block is marked. <Alt-W> or <Ctrl-KW> Print Marked Block Write the marked block to printer port LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3. The specified printer port is determined by toggling from one to another using <Alt-T> or by positioning the mouse cursor over the LPT? display and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft>. If no block is currently marked then the entire file will be printed (see below). <Alt-P> or <Ctrl-KP> Peruse - READ.ME Page 15 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Print Entire File The entire file will be written to the specified printer port (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) if no blocks are marked at the time the print command is issued (see above). <Alt-P> or <Ctrl-KP> ----------------------- Search (Find) Commands: ----------------------- Search Forwards Prompt for a string of up to 30 characters for which to search. The search will be case insensitive, and will begin at the current file position and proceed forwards through the file. <F5> Search Backwards Prompt for a string of up to 30 characters for which to search. The search will be case insensitive, and will begin at the current file position and proceed backwards through the file. <F6> Custom Search Prompt for a string of up to 30 characters for which to search. After the string is entered, prompt for the Search Control Options ("B","G","U"). <Alt-F> or <Ctrl-QF> Alternatively, a custom search can be initiated by moving the mouse cursor over the "Search" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> Repeat Search Repeat the last search operation. The same search string and Search Control Options will be used for this search, as were used in the previous search. Does nothing if no previous search has been performed. <Ctrl-L> or <Ctrl-F5> or <Ctrl-F6> Peruse - READ.ME Page 16 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Search Control Options determine how the search is performed. The search options understood by Peruse are as follows: Search Backwards "B" Search from the current file position towards the top of the file. "B" may not be used at the same time as the "G" option. Search Globally "G" Search from the top of the file to the end of the file, regardless of the current file position. "G" may not be used at the same time as the "B" option. Ignore Case "U" Upper case letters (A) are considered the same as lower case letters (a). The search should match "TARGET" and "target". --------------------- Display Mode Toggles: --------------------- Hex Mode Toggle between ASCII and Hex modes. In Hex mode the file is displayed in lines consisting of sixteen characters each. In Hex mode there are three main columns of information. The first (leftmost) column displays the offset from the start of the file to the first character in that line (the offset is a hexadecimal value). The second (middle) column displays the next sixteen bytes in the file (displayed as hex values). The third (rightmost) column displays the ASCII representation of each character in the line. <Alt-H> or <F4> or <Ctrl-H> Alternatively, Hex/ASCII mode can be toggled by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Hex" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> Peruse - READ.ME Page 17 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Strip High Bits Toggle between suppressing and including the high (eighth) bit of each character. In ASCII mode, high bit stripping causes all characters above ASCII code 128 to be displayed as they would be if the high bit was not set. In Hex mode, high bit stripping causes all characters (in the right hand column) below ASCII code 32 or above ASCII code 128, to be displayed as a period (.) character. <Alt-S> or <Ctrl-QH> Alternatively, high bit stripping can be toggled by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Strip" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> Tab Expansion Enables or disables tab expansion. When enabled, tab characters (ASCII code 9) are expanded causing the text to move to the next tab stop. Tab stops occur every eight columns (1,9,17, etc.). Does nothing while in Hex mode. <Ctrl-QT> Video Mode (EGA/VGA only) Switches the display between 25 line mode and 43/50 line mode. Does nothing if the current video adapter is not an EGA or VGA. <Alt-V> Alternatively, the video mode can be toggled by positioning the mouse cursor over the "Video" Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> --------------- Other Commands: --------------- Quit Quit to DOS. <Alt-Q> or <Esc> or <Alt-X> or <F10> or <ClickRight> or <Ctrl-Break> Peruse - READ.ME Page 18 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Alternatively, position the mouse cursor over the "Exit" Hot Spot and click the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> Help Provide help information (usually brings up the main Help Topic Index. <F1> or <ClickBoth> Alternatively, position the mouse cursor over the "F1 Help" Hot Spot and click the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> Mouse Select Basically the same thing as pressing the <Enter> key. The affect it has depends upon what activity was occurring when the left mouse button was clicked. <ClickLeft> DOS Shell Swap Peruse out of memory and activate a DOS shell. <Alt-D> or <Alt-Z> Alternatively, position the mouse cursor over the "Shell" Hot Spot and click the left mouse button. <ClickLeft> ----------------------------- Function Key Quick Reference: ----------------------------- F1 Help F2 Next File Ctrl-F2 Previous File F3 Read New File Ctrl-F3 Close File F4 Toggle Hex Mode Ctrl-F4 Strip High Bits F5 Search Forward Ctrl-F5 Continue Search F6 Search Backward Ctrl-F6 Continue Search F7 Begin Block Mark Ctrl-F7 Jump to Block Beginning F8 End Block Mark Ctrl-F8 Jump to Block End F9 Goto Line F10 Quit or Exit Peruse - READ.ME Page 19 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) ------------ Mouse Usage: ------------ <ClickLeft> Clicking the left mouse button is basically equivalent to pressing the <Enter> key. The effect it has depends upon what Peruse was doing when the left mouse button was clicked. <ClickRight> Clicking the right mouse button is basically equivalent to pressing the <Esc> key. The effect it has depends upon what Peruse was doing when the right mouse button was clicked. <ClickBoth> Clicking both the left and right mouse buttons at the same time is basically equivalent to pressing the <F1> key. It tells Peruse that you want help. If a help window is already visible then it tells Peruse that you want to see the main Help Topic Index. ---------------- Mouse Hot Spots: ---------------- A mouse "Hot Spot" is a position on your screen which has a special meaning to Peruse. By positioning the mouse cursor over a Hot Spot and clicking the left mouse button <ClickLeft> you instruct Peruse to carry out the command indicated by that Hot Spot. This is very similar to icon based graphical user interfaces. By pointing at a particular icon (picture) and clicking the left mouse button, the action represented by the icon is carried out. Of course, Peruse is text based (not graphics based), so instead of icons you would point at an English word. Pointing simply means to place the mouse cursor over the specified Hot Spot. ^ <>v These four Hot Spots in the lower right hand corner of the Peruse window are icons which, when selected, produce the same effect as the left, right, up, or down arrow keys. Peruse - READ.ME Page 20 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) Next Make the next file in the list the currently viewed file. If you are viewing the last file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the first file in the list the currently viewed file. This command does nothing if there is only one file in the list. Before Make the previous file in the list the currently viewed file. If you are viewing the first file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the last file in the list the currently viewed file. This command does nothing if there is only one file in the list. Close Close the currently viewed file, removing it from the list. The next file in the list will become the currently viewed file. If the file being closed is the last file in the list then Peruse will "wrap around", making the first file in the list the currently viewed file. If there is only one file in the list then this command generates an error message and does not close the file. Read Prompt for and load a new file into the list of files being handled by Peruse, making the new file the currently viewed file. If the file is already in the list, then Peruse will make that file the currently viewed file, but will not add it to the list twice. List Pop up a Pick List containing every file currently being handled by Peruse. Once in the Pick List simply select the file you wish to view. Find Prompt for a search string (up to 30 characters long) and search options (B = search Backwards, G = search Globally, and U = Ignore case). Peruse will then perform the specified search. The line containing the search string (if found) will be highlighted until another search is performed, the mode is toggled between Hex and ASCII, or the file is changed. See also: Search Control Options Video (EGA/VGA only) Switches the display between 25 line mode and 43/50 line mode. Does nothing if the current video adapter is not EGA or VGA. Hex Toggles the Peruse display between ASCII and Hex modes. In Hex mode 16 characters are displayed per line. The leftmost column displays the offset within the file (as a hexadecimal value) for the first character in the line to its right. The middle columns display the contents of the line (the 16 characters) in hex. The rightmost Peruse - READ.ME Page 21 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) column displays the ASCII equivalent of each of the 16 characters in the line. See also: Auto Hex Mode (in the Help System) Strip Toggles high bit stripping (suppression of the eighth bit of each character in the file). This option does not alter the contents of the file in any way, it merely alters the way the contents are displayed. In ASCII mode stripping affects only characters greater than ASCII code 128. In Hex mode stripping causes the ASCII representation of each character less than 32 or greater than 128 to be displayed as a period (.) only. Lpt? Switches printer ports between LPT1, LPT2 and LPT3. See also: Printing Commands Print Prints the currently marked block using LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3 (see above). If no block is marked then the entire file will be printed. Dos Swap Peruse out of memory and activate a DOS shell. Quit Exit from Peruse and return to DOS (or to the application over which Peruse was popped). See Shell below for an alternative. F1 Help Activates the Help System. Peruse - READ.ME Page 22 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) ------------ Scroll Bars: ------------ Scroll Bars simplify the process of controlling Peruse through the use of a mouse. In Peruse, Scroll Bars appear on the right hand side of a window. A Scroll Bar consists of four components, each of which affects the current position in a window or Pick List. Sample Scroll Bar: ------------------ ...top of window... --- | ^ <- decrement arrow # X <- slider # Shaded Column -> # # # v <- increment arrow | --- ...bottom of window... At the top of each Scroll Bar is a Hot Spot with an arrow pointing up - called a "decrement arrow". Positioning the mouse cursor over the decrement arrow and clicking the left mouse button has the same effect as pressing <PgUp>. It scrolls the window up by one full page of information. At the bottom of each Scroll Bar is a Hot Spot with an arrow pointing down - called an "increment arrow". Positioning the mouse cursor over the increment arrow and clicking the left mouse button has the same effect as pressing <PgDn>. It scrolls the window down by one full page of information. Between the decrement and increment arrows is a single shaded column. This column represents the entire file (or Pick List). The solid block character (called a "slider") indicates the current position in the file. If you are at the top of the file (or pick list) then the slider will be at the top of the shaded column. If you are at the bottom of the file, the slider will be at the bottom of the shaded column. If you are in the middle of the file, the slider will be in the middle of the shaded column. You can always estimate your relative position in a file by looking at the Scroll Bar on the right hand side of the window. Peruse - READ.ME Page 23 of 24 Peruse: An ASCII and Binary File Reader (1.00) You can also position the mouse on the Scroll Bar (on the shaded column) and click the left mouse button to tell Peruse to move to that relative position within the file. Of course, if no mouse is installed then the Scroll Bar will be nothing more than a status indicator and you won't be able to use it to control your position within a file. * * * Thanks for your continued support of shareware! * * * Falk Data Systems 5322 Rockwood Court El Paso, Texas 79932 U.S.A. (915) 584-7670 Peruse - READ.ME Page 24 of 24