Liren Large Software Subsidy 16

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Liren Large Software Subsidy 16 / 16.iso / t / t247 / 1.img / ORBIT.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-11-09 | 50.7 KB | 1,213 lines

OrBit Editor Version 1.0 By Doug Olson Copyright (c) 1993 OrBit Software All rights reserved OrBit Software P.O. Box 53426 Bellevue, WA 98015-3426 BBS (206) 827-9511 OrBit Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). IMPORTANT NOTICE The OrBit Editor is a "shareware program" that is provided at no charge to the user for a 30 day evaluation period. If after this trial period you find the program useful and wish to continue using it, you must register it with OrBit Software. Continuing to use this program beyond the 30 day trial period is a violation of Federal law that carries severe penalties. Due to the low overhead of the shareware distribution method, registration for the OrBit Editor is only $25.00 ($30.00 outside US) including shipping and handling. There are many benefits to registering, so please see the section titled "REGISTERING THE EDITOR" for complete details. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS PROGRAM CAN MODIFY MS-DOS FILES. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THIS PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM, INSTRUCTION MANUAL, AND REFERENCE MATERIALS ARE SOLD "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY AS TO THEIR PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULT AND PERFORMANCE OF THIS PROGRAM IS ASSUMED BY YOU. THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER. BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS AND HARDWARE UNDER WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE USED, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THE USER IS ADVISED TO TEST THE PROGRAM THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT. ANY LIABILITY OF SELLER OR MANUFACTURER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. INSTALLING THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. LOADING THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. THE EDIT DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6. GETTING AROUND IN THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . 8 6.1 Keyboard Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6.2 Mouse Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6.3 Making Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7. EDITOR OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7.1 DONE - ESCAPE Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7.2 HELP - F1 Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7.3 SEARCH FILE - F2 Key . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7.4 TOGGLE VIEW - F3 Key . . . . . . . . . . . 12 7.5 HOW TO REGISTER - F4 Key . . . . . . . . . 12 7.6 RESET CHANGES - F10 Key . . . . . . . . . . 12 8. ERROR MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9. EDITING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 10. TIPS AND TROUBLESHOOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 10.1 OrBit Editor Files . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 10.2 Video Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 11. REGISTERING THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 11.1 Individual Registrations . . . . . . . . . 17 11.2 Registering a Site License . . . . . . . . 18 12. TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 13. AUTHOR'S COMMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 14. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 15. NOTICE TO DISTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 16. ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS . . . . . 21 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 1. INTRODUCTION ============ The OrBit Editor is a program that allows you to quickly and easily view or edit any type of file. This program is useful when there is a need to see or modify the exact contents of a file. The program provides a simultaneous ASCII and numeric display. The numeric display can show file information in decimal or hexadecimal form. Changes can easily be made in either ASCII or numeric form. The editor features a fast and easy to use interface that requires very little learning. All the options available to the user are clearly displayed as buttons at the bottom of the screen. An important feature, and one that most editors do not provide, is support for 43 and 50 line mode. These extended displays increase productivity by providing a larger view into the file. We hope that you find this program not only useful, but a pleasure to use. Since it is distributed as "shareware," we encourage you to share it with anyone who might also find it useful. If you do find the program useful and wish to continue using it beyond the 30 day trial period, we ask that you register it with OrBit software. When you register your copy of the editor, you will receive the most recent version of the editor in the mail, be entitled to technical support, and be notified of major product updates. Please see the section titled "REGISTERING THE EDITOR" for complete details. 2. INSTALLING THE EDITOR ===================== The OrBit Editor is easy to install onto your system. You may have received the editor on a single floppy disk or perhaps you downloaded it from a bulletin board system. The editor can be installed onto your hard drive or run off a floppy disk. Note: If you are unfamiliar with the process of copying files or modifying your PATH statement, we suggest consulting your MS-DOS manual for help. If you still do not feel comfortable with these steps then we suggest getting help from a friend or from person who setup your system. The preferred way to install the OrBit Editor onto your system is to create a new directory on your hard drive, copy the editor files into it, and then add this directory to your PATH. Lets go through these steps in more detail. The first step is to create a directory to hold the OrBit Editor files. On most systems the C: drive is your hard drive (if this is not the case on your system or you prefer to install to a different drive, Page 3 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software simply substitute C: with the desired drive). From the MS-DOS prompt (If you are inside of Windows, exit to MS-DOS) type the following command: MD C:\ORBIT This command will create a directory named \ORBIT on your C: drive. The next step is to copy the OrBit Editor files into this directory. Change to the drive and directory where the OrBit Editor files are located and type: COPY O.EXE C:\ORBIT COPY README.TXT C:\ORBIT COPY ORBIT.DOC C:\ORBIT COPY INVOICES.TXT C:\ORBIT This will copy the OrBit Editor files into the \ORBIT directory on your hard drive. The final installation step is to add the \ORBIT directory to your system PATH. The PATH is an environment variable that is usually set in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The PATH is a list of directories that the system will search when looking for an executable file. By adding the \ORBIT directory to the PATH, you can execute the OrBit Editor from any directory by simply typing the name of the editor (for more information on executing the editor, please see the next section titled RUNNING THE EDITOR). To add the \ORBIT directory to your PATH, you will need to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The MS-DOS EDIT command can be used to edit a file such as this (please see your MS-DOS manual for more information on editing text files). Once you bring up your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in an editor, you should see a line that starts out PATH= and then a list of directories follows. Below is an example of what your PATH command might look like: PATH=C:\DOS To add the \ORBIT directory to the path, simply add a semicolon to the end of the list of directories and then type C:\ORBIT. Below is an example: PATH=C:\DOS;C:\ORBIT After completing this modification, you will need to reboot your system to have it take effect. After rebooting you will ready to begin using the OrBit Editor! Page 4 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS =================== The OrBit Editor will run on IBM PCs and compatible computers with a minimum of 256K of memory and running MS-DOS version 3.00 or later. The OrBit Editor supports a wide range of video configurations. The following types of video are supported: VGA EGA CGA MCGA MONOCHROME The editor can be installed onto your hard drive or run from a floppy disk. 4. RUNNING THE EDITOR ================== To execute the editor from the MS-DOS command prompt, type the name of the editor followed by the name of the file you wish to edit. Below is an example: O MYFILE.BIN O is the name of the OrBit Editor executable file and MYFILE.BIN is the name of the file to be edited. The full command line syntax is: O <file> <switches> There are several command line switches that can be specified when loading the editor. Command line switches are used to give the editor specific instructions. Below is a list of the available command line switches: /25 This switch sets the size of the edit display to 25 vertical lines. /43 This switch sets the size of the edit display to 43 vertical lines. Please note that this mode requires an EGA or VGA display. /50 This switch set the size of the edit display to 50 vertical lines. Please note that this mode requires a VGA display. /D This switch sets the numeric display to decimal mode at load time. /L This switch disables the option buttons that appear at the bottom of the screen. This increases the size of the edit region. Page 5 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software /M This switch instructions the editor to maximize the size of the edit region. The editor will automatically select highest resolution text mode available and disable the option buttons. This switch will provide the maximum size of edit display possible. /R This switch allows read-only viewing of the file. This switch is ideal when you want to view a file but not modify it. /V This switch enables alternate video access. This switch should only be used when direct video access is not supported on your system. See TIPS AND TROUBLESHOOTING for more information. /B This switch makes the editor display more readable on some systems with monochrome monitors. When this switch is used, the editor display appears only in black and white (no color) /Z This switch disables mouse support. This switch is most useful in situations where your mouse is not Microsoft mouse compatible. Command line switches are added after the filename. The below example: O MYFILE.BIN /50 Edits the file MYFILE.BIN and tells the editor to use 50 line mode. The below example: O MYFILE.BIN /Z /R /43 Edits the file MYFILE.BIN, disables the mouse, sets read-only mode, and sets 43 line mode. Command line switches can be specified in any order after the filename. Each command line argument must be separated by a space. If no command line switches are specified, the editor will use its default settings, which are: opening the file in read/write mode, hexadecimal display, options buttons, and mouse enabled. The editor will match the current video mode when in 25. 43. or 50 line mode. Page 6 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 5. THE EDITOR DISPLAY ================== Once the editor is loaded you will see the main edit display. A data display occupies the majority of the screen while a set of editor options is presented along the bottom. The data display shows the contents of the file beginning with the first byte in the upper left hand corner. Each data line begins with an offset value that represents the position within the file. The data display consists of two distinct regions. On the left is the numeric region that can display data in decimal or hexadecimal form. This region is useful because it displays the exact value of the data within the file. To the right of the numeric region is the ASCII region. This region displays the ASCII representation of the numeric data on the left. This region is very useful for reading text contained within the file. On the far right of the data display is the scroll bar. The scroll bar is oriented vertically with an up arrow at the top of the bar and a down arrow at the bottom. Between the arrows is a block (known as the thumb) which represents the general location within the file. When the thumb is located at the top of the scroll bar the data being viewed is from the beginning of the file. As you move further on in the file, the thumb will move down towards the bottom of the scroll bar. When you finally reach the end of the file, the thumb will be at the bottom of the scroll bar. The thumb is a convenient and easy way to gauge your current position within the file. You will notice that one byte of data in the numeric region is highlighted and contains a flashing cursor. This is the location of the edit cursor that indicates the byte that will be changed if a modification is entered. Page 7 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 6. GETTING AROUND IN THE EDITOR ============================ This section describes how to control the edit cursor and make modifications using the keyboard and mouse. 6.1 Keyboard Control --------------------- The edit cursor is located within the edit area and is used to select a specific byte of data to change. The edit cursor is seen as a highlighted and/or underlined field within the edit area. The edit cursor can be moved to any location within the file by using the cursor keys on the keyboard or by positioning it with the mouse pointer. To move the edit cursor with the keyboard, the four arrow keys can be used. The right arrow key will move the edit cursor to the right while the left arrow moves the edit cursor to the left. If the edit cursor happens to be at end of a row of data (far right) when the right arrow key is pressed, the edit cursor will move down to the first field (far left) of the line below. Accordingly, when the edit cursor is on the first field of a data line, pressing the left arrow key will move it to the end of the line above. The up and down arrow keys move the edit cursor directly up or directly down one edit line. The edit region can be scrolled up or down by moving the edit cursor to the upper or lower edges of the edit region and then pressing the up or down arrow key to scroll in the corresponding direction. In addition to scrolling one line at a time, the 'page up' and 'page down' keys on your keyboard can be used to move an entire page up or down respectively. The Home and End keys on your keyboard are convenient ways of moving directly to the top or bottom of the file. As previously mentioned, there are two data regions; the numeric region on the left, and the ASCII region on the right. The TAB key on the keyboard is used to move the edit cursor between the two regions. Pressing the TAB key while in the numeric region will cause it to jump to the corresponding byte of data in the ASCII region. Pressing TAB again will move the edit cursor back to its original position in the numeric region. In addition to using the keyboard to control the edit cursor, the keyboard can be used to issue editor commands. For example, a dialog containing keyboard help can be brought up by pressing the function key F1 on the keyboard. The remaining editor commands are described in detail in the EDITOR OPTIONS section later in this manual. Page 8 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software The below table provides a list of the available keyboard commands. Please note that some of these functions are described later in this manual. Keyboard Key Description ============================================================= Left arrow Moves the edit cursor to the left. Right arrow Moves the edit cursor to the right. Up arrow Moves the edit cursor up one data line. Down arrow Moves the edit cursor down one data line. ESCAPE Exit the editor, prompts to save file. F1 Displays the help information. F2 Search the file for a byte sequence. F3 Toggle the numeric display between the decimal and hexadecimal view. F4 Displays registration information. F10 Resets changes to the file. Page Up Moves the edit region up one page of data. Page Down Moves the edit region down one page of data. Home Moves the edit cursor to the top of the file. END Moves the edit cursor to the last page of data. BACKSPACE Resets the byte under the edit cursor to its original value and moves the edit cursor left. ============================================================= 6.2 Mouse Control ------------------ Using the mouse within the editor provides a quick way to move within the file and select options. The mouse cursor can be used to quickly move the edit cursor to any field within the edit display. To select a field, simply position the mouse cursor over the field and press the left mouse button. You will see the field highlight when the edit cursor moves to it. The mouse provides an advantage over the keyboard controls because it can directly move to any field within the numeric or ASCII region. To the right of the edit display is the scroll bar. You will find that there is an arrow at the top and bottom of the scroll bar. The edit display can be scrolled up or down by clicking the mouse on the corresponding arrow. Between the two arrows on the scroll bar you will see a block known as the thumb. The thumb can move to any position between the two arrows and represents the data display's approximate location within the file. The thumb can be quickly moved to any position by positioning the mouse cursor over it and holding down the left mouse button. While holding Page 9 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software down the left mouse button, move the mouse up or down to position the thumb. As the thumb moves, the display will update to show data from the corresponding location within the file. When you are done positioning the thumb simply release the mouse button. There is one more way to position the thumb. This method involves clicking the mouse on the scroll bar somewhere between the thumb and the ending arrows. When you click the mouse in this region, the thumb will move one position toward the mouse cursor. Below the edit display you will see a row of six option buttons. Each button contains a description of its purpose and the keyboard command to active it. The mouse can be used here as an alternate to the keyboard. To select an option, simply click the left mouse button on the desired option button. You will see the button move (representing it being pressed) as the option is selected. 6.3 Making Modifications ------------------------- This section describes how to make file modifications. The edit cursor is represented by a highlighted field within the edit display. When a modification is entered, the byte under the edit cursor is modified. To make a modification, position the edit cursor on the byte you wish to modify. If you are within the numeric region, position the cursor on the first digit of the decimal or hexadecimal number. To make the change, simply type the new value on the keyboard. You will notice that the field turns red indicating it has been modified. After a modification has been entered the edit cursor will automatically moves forward to the next byte. If you made a mistake or wish to change the previous value, you can use the left arrow key to move back to the modified field and try again. If after making a change you decide that you want the original value back, move the edit cursor to the desired field and press the BACKSPACE key on your keyboard. The field will return to its original (unmodified) value and will turn white indicating it is unmodified. If you decide that you want the entire file returned to its original state, choose the RESET CHANGES option by pressing F10 on the keyboard or clicking on the appropriate option button with the mouse. When you make a change to the file, it is not written to the disk until you exit the editor and choose to save. This means that you are free to make changes throughout the file and can wait until exiting to decide if you wish to save changes. Page 10 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software Since modified bytes appear red, you can easily identify changed areas when scrolling through the file. 7. EDITOR OPTIONS ============== This section describes each editor option in detail. An editor option can be activated either by pressing a keyboard function key or by clicking the mouse on an option button. 7.1 DONE - ESCAPE Key ---------------------- This option is used when you are done viewing or modifying a file and wish to exit the program. This option can be selected by either pressing the F1 key on the keyboard or by clicking the mouse on the DONE button. If you have made modification to the file the editor will ask you if you wish to save these modifications. You can press 'Y' to have the modifications saved or press 'N' to exit without saving. 7.2 HELP - F1 Key ------------------ This option displays a summary of the options available within the editor. To return to the editor simply press a key or press the left mouse button. 7.3 SEARCH FILE - F2 Key ------------------------- This option provides a facility to search the file for particular text strings or sequences of bytes. To active the SEARCH FILE option simply press the F2 function key on the keyboard or click the mouse pointer on the SEARCH FILE button. After selecting this option you will see the SEARCH FILE dialog on the screen. This dialog provides a very flexible interface for inputting the search string in ASCII, decimal, or hexadecimal form. The cursor will begin in the ASCII field where you can type a text string. As you type, you will notice that the two fields below (Hex and Decimal) automatically update to show the corresponding values in the ASCII field. This is because all three fields (ASCII, Hex, and Decimal) represent the one search value. Each of these fields show the search value in its own format. You can move freely between these fields by pressing the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard and move left or right by pressing the left or right keys. This interface may seem unusual at first, however it can prove to be very useful in some situations. For example, if you needed to search for an ASCII string followed by a zero you would start out by typing the ASCII string in the ASCII field and then move down into the hex (or Decimal) field and enter Page 11 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software the zero. Since you can't enter the ASCII equivalent of zero in the ASCII region, it was necessary to move down into one of the numeric fields to enter the value of zero. The final field on the SEARCH FILE dialog (labeled 'Begin search at') specifies where in the file the search will begin. The search can begin at two locations, either at the top of the file or at the current edit cursor location. Once you have moved to this field by pressing the down arrow key you can toggle its state by pressing the space bar. When you select CURSOR LOCATION, the search will begin at the current edit cursor location and continue down in the file until the end of the file is reached. Once you have entered your search string and have selected the location to begin the search, press the F2 function key to begin the search. If you do not wish to perform a search you can press the ESCAPE key to abort and return to the main edit display. After pressing the F2 key, the editor will begin searching the file. If a match is found the editor will stop and display the location of the matching string. The edit cursor will highlight the first byte of the string. You have two options at this point, you can press F2 to continue the search or press ESCAPE to discontinue the search leaving the edit cursor on the found string. 7.4 TOGGLE VIEW - F3 --------------------- By pressing the F3 key or clicking on the Toggle View button he numeric display will alternate between a hexadecimal and decimal view. In the hexadecimal view 16 bytes of data are displayed on each edit line. When you change to the decimal view, you will notice that only 10 bytes of data are displayed on each edit line. 7.5 HOW TO REGISTER - F4 ------------------------- This option provides information on how to register your copy of the OrBit Editor with OrBit Software. 7.6 RESET CHANGES - F10 ------------------------ This option will return the file to its original unmodified state. All changes that you have entered will be lost. If you wish to reset only a particular change you can use the BACKSPACE key. For more information on the use of the BACKSPACE key, please see the section titled "Making Modifications". Page 12 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 8. ERROR MESSAGES ============== While using the OrBit Editor you may encounter an error message if there is a problem such as reading or writing to the file being edited. Even though errors of this type should be very uncommon, the editor is equipped to let the user know when one does occur. If an error occurs while inside the editor a message box will appear indicating which error occurred and giving you the option to retry or quit the editor. Please note that if you select to quit, the changes you have made to the file will be lost. Below is a description of the possible error messages: File not found -------------- This message indicates that the file specified could not be found. Verify that the file was spelled correctly and that the file extension was specified. Invalid path ------------ If the path specified does not exist this message will be displayed. Verify that the drive and path are specified correctly. Out of file handles ------------------- MS-DOS uses a file handle each time a file is opened. This error indicates that there were no file handles available to open the file. To increase the number of file handles available on your system, please read about the FILES command in your MS-DOS manual. Access denied ------------- This message indicates that the file is currently being used by another process or is read only. The MS-DOS ATTRIB command can be used to remove the read-only attribute from an MS-DOS file. For more information on the ATTRIB command, please see your MS-DOS manual. If you are editing a file that is on a network, it is possible that another user currently has the file open. Try using the /R switch to open the file for read-only. Unable to open file ------------------- This error indicates that MS-DOS was unable to open the file. Insufficient memory ------------------- If this error occurs then your system does not have enough free memory to execute the editor. To execute the OrBit Editor a minimum of 128K is needed. Please see your MS-DOS manual for ways of increasing your available memory. Page 13 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software Memory allocation error ----------------------- This message indicates that an error occurred allocating memory for the editor's use. If this error occurs, you may want to shut down your system and retry after rebooting. The disk is write protected --------------------------- This message indicates that the floppy disk containing the file you wish to edit is write protected. Write protected means that the disk cannot be written to because the write protect notch (physically on the disk) is covered or slid into the write protected position. If this error occurs, remove the disk from your floppy drive and remove the write protection. Next place the disk back into your floppy drive and select 'R' to retry. If you wish to abort your changes, you can select "Q" to exit the editor without saving the modifications. Sharing violation ------------------ This message indicates that the file is currently being used by another process. If you are editing a file that is on a network, then it is possible that another user is using the file. If you are running under a multi-tasking operating system such as Windows, Windows NT, or OS/2 it is possible that another task is using the file. General read error ------------------ This error indicates that MS-DOS was unable to read data from the file that is being edited. If this error persists, even after several retries, it is possible that the file is damaged. If the file being edited is on a floppy disk, please verify that the floppy disk is properly inserted into the floppy disk drive. General write error ------------------- This error indicates that MS-DOS was unable to write data to the file that is being edited. If this error persists, even after retries, it is possible that the file is damaged. If the file being edited is on a floppy disk, please verify that the floppy disk is properly inserted into the floppy disk drive. File seek error --------------- This error indicates that MS-DOS was unable to perform a file operation on the file being edited. If this error persists after several retries, it is possible that the file is damaged. If the file being edited is on a floppy disk, please verify that the floppy disk is properly inserted into the floppy disk drive. 50 line mode not supported -------------------------- Page 14 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software This error indicates that your system cannot support 50 line mode. 50 line mode is only supported on systems with VGA graphics. 43 line mode not supported -------------------------- This error indicates that your system cannot support 43 line mode. 43 line mode is only supported on systems with EGA or VGA graphics. 9. EDITING FILES ============= People edit files for many reasons. Sometimes specific changes need to be made to a file and the user is familiar with the file being edited. Other times a user may not be as familiar as he would like with the file's format but still needs to make a modification. Any time you are going to modify a file it is important to make a backup of the original file before proceeding. This will allow you to revert back to the original if your changes are unsuccessful. It is also very important to know exactly what you are modifying within a file. Editing files such as executables or database files is extremely risky if you are not completely familiar with their internal layout. If you make uninformed modifications to these types of files it is very likely they will no longer function properly. The OrBit Editor should not be used in place of a word processor or database application to modify the those application's data files. Modifying these types of files may cause them to be rendered unusable. Another common use of an editor is to simply explore data files. There are some people (such as the author) who find particular pleasure and interest in examining the contents of files. 10. TIPS AND TROUBLESHOOTING ======================== This section contains additional technical information that may prove to be useful to the more advanced user. 10.1 OrBit Editor Files ----------------------- Below is a description of each file included with the editor: O.EXE This is the OrBit Editor executable file. ORBIT.DOC This is the file you are reading. INVOICES.TXT This file contains a registration form that can be printed and used as an invoice. README.TXT This file contains information to get started quickly. Page 15 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software VENDOR.DOC This text file contains information for Shareware vendors and distributors. FILE_ID.DIZ This file contains a brief description of the OrBit Editor and is useful to BBS Sysops. 10.2 Video Support ------------------ A significant amount of work has gone into ensuring the OrBit Editor will be compatible with your system's video card. Upon startup, the OrBit Editor examines the system's video configuration and stores information such as the current video mode and scan line resolution. When you exit the editor your video will be returned its original state. Even though the editor was designed to deal with proprietary video modes, it is possible that an unanticipated configuration could cause the editor to not display properly. If the editor display does not function properly, there are several command line options that may correct the problem. /V This switch tells the editor to use the system BIOS for all video access. This switch should be used if your system does not support "direct video" writes. /B This switch turns the editor display to black and white. No special colors or intensities are used. Not all monochrome configurations can be detected, so this switch is useful when the editor does not appear correct on a system with a monochrome display. /25 This switch instructs the editor to use the common 25 line video mode. It is possible that higher line modes are not supported on you system (and the editor can not detect it). /Z This switch turns the editor's use of the mouse off. If your mouse is of a propriety design, it could be incompatible with the editor. This switch will prevent the editor from issuing any mouse service calls (INT 33h). Page 16 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 11. REGISTERING THE EDITOR ====================== This section describes how to register your copy of the OrBit Editor. 11.1 Individual Registration ---------------------------- As mentioned above, the OrBit Editor is a "shareware program" that can be used for a 30 day trial period. If after this trial period you find the program useful and wish to continue using it, you must register it with OrBit Software. Continuing to use this program beyond the 30 day trial period is a violation of Federal law. Due to the low overhead of the shareware distribution method, registration for the OrBit Editor is only $25.00 ($30.00 outside US) including shipping and handling. If you find the OrBit Editor useful and you decided to continue using it, please take the time to register your copy. Below are some of the benefits of becoming a registered user: * You will receive the registered version of the editor that does not display the registration advertisement when exiting. * 90 days of free technical support (from the date of registration). * Automatic notification of major program updates. * Reduced price on program updates. * 24-hour access to the OrBit Software Bulletin Board System (BBS) at (206) 827-9511. To register your copy of the OrBit Editor, send a check or money order for $25.00 ($30.00 outside US) to: OrBit Software P.O. Box 53426 Bellevue, WA 98015-3426 Please specify whether you prefer a 5.25 or 3.5 inch floppy diskette. After registering, OrBit Software will send you a diskette containing the latest version of the OrBit Editor and a letter to confirm your registration and provide your registration number. This "registered" version of the editor will not display the message asking you to register each time you exit. Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. Page 17 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software A file named INVOICES.TXT is included in the event you need an invoice to submit to your purchasing or accounts payable department. This is a simple ASCII text file that can be printed to your printer. For example, if your printer is on LPT1 the following command can be executed from the MS-DOS prompt: COPY INVOICES.TXT LPT1 This will copy the invoice file to your printer. Two pages will be printed; the first is an invoice for an individual registration and the second is an invoice for a site license. 11.2 Registering a Site License ------------------------------- A site license for the OrBit Editor is available for a very reasonable fee of $500 dollars. This license allows unlimited usage of the OrBit Editor within the registered organization regardless of the number of individual workstations. A company that purchases a site license will receive a customized version of the OrBit Editor that displays the company as the licensed user. Site licenses include 6 months of free technical support. To register a site license for you company, please send a check or money order for $500.00 to OrBit Software. Please include your company name, phone number, and optionally the name of a person to serve as a contact. Please also specify whether you prefer 5.25 or 3.5 inch floppy diskettes. For your convenience, the file INVOICES.TXT contains an invoice for registering a site license. This can be used if your accounts payable department prefers an invoice. Please see the previous section for instructions on how to print the invoice to your printer. Upon receiving your site license registration, OrBit software will send you 5 copies of the OrBit Editor that can be used as masters for you to duplicate and distribute throughout your organization. This version of the OrBit Editor will have been customized to display your company name as the licensed user. In addition to the floppy disks you will receive a site license certificate and be entitled to a reduced price on product updates. If your organization contains more than 20 users of the OrBit Editor, a site license is a very cost effective means of registration. Page 18 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 12. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ================= An advantage of being a registered user is receiving technical support. By registering you will be entitled to 90 days of free technical support. Although every effort has been made to make the OrBit Editor easy to use and compatible with a wide range of hardware, it is still possible that questions or problems will arise. There are two ways to receive technical support. The first (and recommended) method is to call the OrBit Bulletin Board System (BBS) at (206) 827-9511 using a modem. After connecting to the OrBit BBS you can post a message to our support staff describing your question or problem. A member of the OrBit Software support staff will read and respond to your message within 48 hours (average response time is 24 hours). Complete instructions for posting such a message are provided on-line. Since the response to your question will be posted to the BBS, we suggest that you call back in 24-48 hours. After logging on, the system will notify you if there is a response waiting for you to read. If you do not have access to a modem, technical support is also available via the US Mail. Write us a letter describing your question or problem and send it to OrBit software. Your letter will be answered in a timely manner by a member of the OrBit technical support staff. When writing to us for technical support, please include your registration number, a description of your system (including video card), and as much information as possible about your question or problem. 13. AUTHOR'S COMMENTS ================= I would like to take a moment to explain why I created the OrBit Editor and why I think it is unique. My inspiration for creating this editor was a direct result of my dissatisfaction with the binary editors currently available. For my own personal use, I needed a binary file editor that was easy to use, loaded extremely fast, supported 50 line mode, and allowed editing in decimal mode. There was not an editor available that provided all of these features. I found that most of the binary editors that were commercially available supported editing at the sector and physical level in addition to the file level. These editors were made for advanced users who understand these features and can safely use them. When loading, some of these editors spent a significant amount of time examining the file system and directory structure before allowing the user to begin editing. Page 19 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software The user who simply needs to binary edit a file should not be exposed to the complexities of sector level editing or be required to wait while the editor examines the file system. The OrBit Editor is my solution to these problems. The editor loads extremely fast (less than 3 seconds on most systems) and clearly displays the options available to the user. Since the editor only interacts at the file level there is no possibility that the user is going to accidently damage the file system. To ensure the editor was small and fast, I coded it in assembly language. The editor's executable file is very small (34K) and memory requirements are at a minimum. The speed of the editor's searching and scrolling exceeds that of most editors. Support personnel who carry a disk containing the "essentials" will be pleased with the small file size and the fact it is self contained within the single executable file. 14. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE ======================= Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. Page 20 OrBit Editor (TM) Version 1.0 Copyright 1993 OrBit Software 15. NOTICE TO DISTRIBUTORS ====================== Authorization to distribute the OrBit Editor package is automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors and such distributors may begin offering the OrBit Editor immediately. Please see the VENDOR.DOC file for complete information particularly if you are not an ASP distributor. 16. Association of Shareware Professionals ====================================== +---------+ +---------+ | (R) --| |o |------------------ | +---------+ | Association of | | |-+ Shareware +---| o | Professionals ------| | |-------------------- +---------+ MEMBER This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for member products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. The OMB may be contacted by FAX by sending to the ASP FAX number: (616) 788-2765. In communication with the OMB please include a telephone number and/or FAX if available. Page 21