__ __ __ / / / / / / __ __ / / / / / / /_/ _/ /__ / / ____/ / ____ ______ / / _ _____ / __/ / / / ___ / / ___ \ /____ \ / / / / / ____/ / / / / / / / / / /__/ / ____/ / / / / / / /__ / / / / / / / / / _____/ / ___ / / / / / \___ \ / / / / / / / / / / __ / / / / / / / / _ / / / / / / / /__/ / / /__/ / / /___/ / / / / / / /___/ / / /___ /_/ \_____/ \_____/ \_______/ / / /_/ \______/ \ ___/ ------------------------------------ / /__________ ------------------ // // // // // // / / // // // ------------------------------------ /____________/ ------------------ ----------------------------- V E R S I O N 3 . 3 ----------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Written 1989-93 by Christoph Bartholme, Ettlinger Str. 37 W-7500 Karlsruhe 1 (on and after July 1 1993: D-76137 Karlsruhe) Germany EMail: Christoph_Bartholme@ka2.maus.de Developed using ST Pascal Plus (CCD) and assembler (Devpac) ------------------------------------------------- THERE ARE GERMAN FRENCH AND ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS PROGRAM AVALIABLE Copyright --------- IdeaList is S h a r e w a r e and may be copied and tested by everyone. The condition is to copy the COMPLETE and UNCHANGED contents of the folder IDEALIST.3_3 (For a list of contents please read CONTENTS.TXT). The author is not responsible for any damage caused by using this program! If you use the program frequently, you have to pay a fee of DM 20 or any adequate sum. For that you'll get the latest version and informations, when a new update is available. What is Idealist For? --------------------- IdeaList is a simple yet versatile tool used to print out ASCII files and files in WORDPLUS FORMAT. This when used can save up to 80% of paper consumption. Also when you use this program because it has a PRINTER driver exclusive to your own printer you can control all of your printer fuctions and you can also print the files in better quality. In other words it takes all the hard work out of printing files. Features -------- - There are four different kinds of font size selectable. - Text can be printed in up to 9 columns (IdeaList will automatically sort out the text) - Lines that are too long will be corrected automatically. - Separated output of front and back pages. - Editable headline (You can edit this so it will show the name of the file or date and show the present date of time and also the page number or you can select that no header is printed. - All margins are adjustable. - Line numbering option (Each line can be numbered so you can keep track of split up lines.). - Simple adaption to every printer by an editable ASCII file (If your printer is one of the printers not included then it is just a matter of modifying the file and there are not a lot that are not included.). - Download fonts can be used by Laserjet and dot matrix compatibles (More details about this below.). - Separate management of continuous and single feed paper (Both types of paper are catered for.). - Chain mode (This saves paper by not feeding to the end of the page at the end of every file printed. This will save space on small files printed. - Skip page mode (Using this you can decide at the start of the page if you want to print it or not). - Selecting the amount of pages and stop at every time. - "Raw modes" to print bold and underline with printers that cannot do this "by nature" Features of Comfort ------------------- - All commands can be activated by mouse of keyboard (For the keyboard there are shortcuts) - Page preview with your chosen layout (You can preview what the page will look like on the screen before you print it and also the mouse will turn into a magnifying glass and you can zoom in on any line of the text and it will be displayed in the menu bar) - An editable queue that contains up to 18 entries to be printed - The printout runs in the background while other processes can be used. - Saving and loading of your own personal setup (Like save desktop on the GEM desktop you can position the dialog boxes etc.. and then save it so it is like that when you load the program next time) - Loading a new adaption file (you can switch between adaption files very easy). - Show file (Similar to double clicking on the desktop, you can show a file to the screen just as you would on the desktop. - Direct link to your favourite editor program (If you have a text editor then you can call it directly from IdeaList when you want to type and then when you have finished exit directly back to IdeaList) - Shell fuction to call further programs - Statistics of the text file in memory (Size, Number of Pages etc..) - Install application (IdeaList can be installed from the desktop to run when a text file, an adaption, IWS or INF file is double clicked.) - Clipboard function (The textfile in memory can be saved to the GEM clipboard.) - IdeaList can be used as a CALCLOCK clone (printer spooler) - JOKER button (This button is reserved so you can add your own printer function (Bold, Italic etc.) Accessory Version ----------------- There is also a desktop accessory version of IdeaList called ILIST.ACC, which has virtully the same amount of features as the program version except for the following. - Keyboard Usage (All fuctions are controlled by the mouse) - Disk Output (Files cannot be saved to disk) - Clipboard Interface (Text cannot be saved to the GEM Clipboard) - Calling other programs (You cannot call other programs allthough you can be inside a GEM program when you use the ACC version. - Editor Link (There is no link to a text editor because as above you can call it inside a text editor) - Line magnification (Text cannot be previewed with the mouse) Constraints ----------- IdeaList runs with every TOS and any resolution mode with a minimum of 80 x 25 characters. So ST-Low and TT-Low are the only modes IdeaList will NOT work with. IdeaList uses above 200 K Bytes of RAM not including text. It works with parallel and serial interface printers. Starting Up for the First Time ------------------------------ When starting up the resource file IDEALIST.RSC must be in the same directory as the program. When you start up the file IDEALIST.INF must NOT Exist!! This file is created by clicking save parameters or when exiting IdeaList. If it does contain one then it will be totally wrong and will probably install the wrong printer. If the standard IDEALIST.INF file does not exist then IdeaList will look for the DEFAULT IDEALIST.IDA which contains the general settings. Other Functions --------------- The boxes of the desktop can be moved by clicking and holding the left mouse button at the 'fly' buttons. All Dialog boxes are moveable by dragging the "move" button at the upper right corner of the box. If you also press a shift, or key, the box gets "transparent" to allow a look at the background. To set the maximum or minimum value of the sliders you can use a shift button. If you want to turn the dialog boxes and alerts off then press that allows working in the semi-professional mode and that makes some functions work quicker because the boxes are skipped. If you press alternate when clicking on a function an alert box will come up saying that no online help is installed. This is because the On Line help is in the form of a Desktop accessory which is not avalible in English and so is not included, sorry. But it is availiable in German with the german version which you will get if you send the author the shareware fee. Printer Management ------------------ IdeaList manages the printer and paper automatically so there is no need to change the position unless an alert box tells you to. That mostly just happens with Single Feed paper. You will not need to move the paper when the program is in chain mode unless it is to load another sheet. To formfeed the paper press . The Menu Bar ------------ IDEALIST - Copyright information, Information about the program and the authors address. - There are no restrictions on what desk accessories can be used with IdeaList. FILE - LOAD: Loads a text file - SHOW: Shows the text; similar to the corresponding desktop function; if 1STGUIDE.ACC, 1STVIEW.ACC GEMVIEW.ACC or CLIPBRD.ACC is installed (or: runs as multitasking process), IdeaList sends a call to it. This will show the text file in a more comfortable way. Under MultiTOS IdeaList launches the system viewer (installed by the environment variable SHSHOW). - OUTPUT TO MONITOR: This goes into the page preview mode in which you can see your document on the screen and also find out some statistics about the size of your document number of lines etc.. - OUTPUT TO PRINTER: The main function of IdeaList, prints the file; printing can be aborted by holding down any key. - OUTPUT TO FILE: Like printing but IdeaList prints to a disk file instead of to paper. All printing attributes are saved to the file. This is also handy if you have a better printer in the office at work, you can save it at home and then print it out there. - PRINTER QUEUE: This Dialog manages up to 18 entries to be printed (starting with the first one) by clicking . The selection marks the topical text. You also can save or load a complete list of entries. - LOAD CLIPBOARD: Loads the clipboard file from the GEM Clipboard folder (SCRAP.TXT) - SAVE CLIPBOARD: Saves the text in memory to the GEM Clipboard. Similar to OUTPUT TO FILE all the printing attributes are saved as well. - QUIT: I don't think this one needs explaining (It exits from the program) EXTRAS - FORMFEED: Sends a formfeed code to the printer: - OPTIMIZE MARGINS: Four functions to set the left and right margin automatically; minimum margins, right margin to maximum, left margin as a 1" staple width (if no line has to be made up) and a book-like layout (to launch IdeaBook after that). - FIND EDITOR: If you select this option using the file selecter you can define the name and path of the text editor that you can call from this program (That's if there is one that you are going to call) - LAUNCH EDITOR: This calls the text editor that has been defined using the find editor option above. You have a choice of what parameters are handed over to the program. - LAUNCH PROGRAM: From here you can start a program and then when you are finished you will be handed back to IdeaList. This works like a desktop shell. - LAUNCH IDEAFORM: When this option is selected you are handed over to IDEAFORM; IDEAFORM is a utility to format any source code files. Keywords, commands and control codes get emphasized. When saving IDEAFORM creates a Text file with a .TXA extension (That stands for TeXt with Attributes.). IdeaList installs this file instead of the old one, so you can print out the file in a more readable, understandable way. IDEAFORM requires a special KEY file IDEAFORM.KEY which includes the adaptions to the appropriate programming language. - LAUNCH IDEABOOK: Starts IdeaBook after handed over the text file's name and some parameters by the command line; IdeaBook is a utility to sort a text to be output in a book(let) shape by IdeaList. OPTIONS - HEADLINE: If you click on this you go into the Headline editing mode. This is the headline that appears at the top of every printout unless you have decided to have no headline. The key to all the attributes is shown at the bottom of the dialog box. "Number Offset" is added to the temporary page number. "Blank Lines" are lines between the headline and the text begin. - SYSTEM: If you click on this you can edit some of the general fuctions from within the program. - File output with character adaptions and printer control codes; if this option is selected the file will be saved in the exact condition that it's printed in (I.E If it is printed from the Desktop the Codes will automatically sent to the printer without no adjustment needed on the Control panel or DIP Switches.). - Use character adaptions at printout: The character conversions codes of the printer adaption file is used. - Ignore formfeeds: If this option isn't selected the formfeed code ASCII 12 causes a page break. The line a formfeed occures is continued at the next text column or the next page. - Cut lines at word ends: If a line is too long to be printed undivided, IdeaList cuts it into two pieces. If this option is selected, the division will appear between complete words. - Columns symmetrical filled; example: symmetrical successive +-----------+ +-----------+ | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx | | xxxx xxxx | | xxxx | | | | xxxx | | | | xxxx | +-----------+ +-----------+ - Tab size: The ASCII code 09 gets expanded into the chosen distance as set on the function panel. - Grow/Shrinkboxes: Enables this well known graphic effect... - Alertboxes in Windows: All alert messages appear in own windows (if not a dialog box is active at the same time). - Generate own desktop: IdeaList manages its own desktop if desired. When the multitasking systems MultiTOS, Mag!X or MultiGEM is installed, this option is disabled, as an own desktop is disturbing. - Always make statistics: At the preview function ("-> Monitor") the statistics will be made automatically. - Queue: remember parameters: all current parameters and even the name of the printer adaption are saved in every entry of the printer queue. At printout they are reset again. - Save parameters before quit: Like save parameters but IdeaList saves the parameters after the quit option has been selected. An advantage of this is that if you have to turn the computer off in a hurry you can quit and then turn off and when you load IdeaList the next time it will look like it was before you turned the computer off. - Printer priority: This slider panel decides how often IdeaList asks the printer port if it accepts a character. If you use a resident spooler or if the printer's input buffer is big enough to contain the whole text you may set a value bigger than "1". Then the printout becomes much faster. Parameter Buttons ----------------- The first line of the window shows the maximum wide of the lines (horizontal arrow) and how much lines to be printed per page (vertical arrow). - Font size 1-4: Also Selected with F1 to F4 With these buttons you can select the font sizes as defined in the adaption file. These can also include download fonts - Columns Text can be printed in up to nine columns - O with slash 0 If selected O (ZERO) will be printed with a slash like this 0 (O + /) - Numbers Every line is introduced by a number. - Headline Turns the headline at the start of every page on or off. - High Quality Selects or deselects LQ (Letter quality mode) - Continous Use of 'endless' contionous paper. For printing at cut sheet paper this button has to be unselected. - Both Sides This option mirrors the margins and the headline at the back pages (even numbers). - Chain Mode A paper saving device. Usually files are printed on a new page every time but with this option the next file is printed from where the last one finished. Also the paper isn't formfeeded at the end. - Joker A free button in which to define a printing attribute of you own choice. I.E Italic, Bold etc... - L(eft), R(ight), B(etween), T(op), F(oot) By clicking at the buttons a margin is selected and can be adjusted by useing the slider after that. The buttons "Disk->", "->Monitor", "->Printer", "Printer Queue", "Adaption" and "->Disk" comply with the menu functions. Download Fonts -------------- Download fonts can be used for Dot-Matrix printers, Laserjet compatibles or DeskJets instead of the built in fonts. For Dot Matrix you must use Download fonts For Laserjet compatibles or HP DeskJet you must use Soft Fonts Your printer must accept download fonts for you to be able to use them. There are perhaps some settings you have to perform on the printer like changing a DIP-SWITCH or putting in a RAM expansion card. For more information on how to use download fonts for your printer consult the manual that comes with the printer. Most dot-matrix printers only accept 7-Bit fonts with the ASCII range 32 to 127. (Fonts marked with the Extenders .PO9 or .P24 are not in the full ASCII order (containing some German 'Umlaute' instead.). IdeaList adapts them internally (There are some enclosed on the disk.). Ordinary 7-Bit fonts in the full ASCII order may be used if they have got a different extender. If desired a character adaption of them can be made by the table in the adaption file. Laserjet soft fonts may be applied as usual. WordPlus Files --------------- IdeaList prints FIRST WORD, FIRST WORD PLUS files as well as ASCII files. IdeaList prints all the attributes E.G Bold,Italic etc.. However, IdeaList ignores pictures and headlines, because of this IdeaList's paper consumption is much less that FIRST WORD. That means the original page division given by FIRST WORD is not the same as the one given by IdeaList. Printer Adaption Files ---------------------- The printer adaption file IDEALIST.IDA will be installed by default, when IdeaList is started and there is no IDEALIST.INF. For your special purpose or if the printer does not understand the default codes, it can be modified by any ASCII text editor. The comments will help you. The test files in the folder TESTTEXT may be helpful to define some of the attributes. Looking at some of the other adaption files of similar printers to yours may help. You will find them in the folder DRUCKER. NOTE: The paper dimensions are set to the common german formats, that are DIN A4 (The cut sheet length is 11.67" Inches) and continuous paper is 12" Inches. These values may be changed by you. The adaption file contains the parameters as follows in the same order. Comments are started by a '*'; Hexadecimal numbers are marked by a leading '$'; Strings and single characters are set in '...'; - NAME OF ADAPTION FILE (Maximum of 24 Characters) - NAMES OF THE FONT SIZES (Maximum of 12 Characters) - NAME OF THE JOKER (Maximum of 12 Characters) - FONTS For every one of the four printer fonts you must define either a 0 (An internal font) or name and path of the corresponding download font file. (Unless in the same directory the full path must be declared here) Size Parameters: - PAGE LENGTH IN INCHES (Continuous paper only) For letter size this value should be less than 11" Inches, for example 10.6" Inches to get a perforation skip over of 0.4" Inches. - TEXT DISTANCE IN INCHES (Chain mode only) - MINIMUM BLANK AREA IN INCHES (Chain mode only) Decides if the next text will be printed at the same page or if a new page will be started for the next text that is printed out. - NUMBER OF LINES IN PICA LINES (6 Lines per inch) (Single paper only) Most of the time this value cannot be found in the printer but can be determined very easily. You just print out a text file with the print fuction of the desktop. The line distance has to be 6 Lines per inch. You can find the value by counting the number of lines. Most printers can print 60 pica-lines per page or more. NOTE: The value of 60 corresponds to the german DIN A4 size. The default size for "letter" (11" Inch is 56 lines) - LINES PER INCH SIZE 1 - 4 - MAXIMUM LINE LENGTH IN PICA-CHARACTERS (10CPI) For an 8 inch printer you must choose '80' - CHARACTERS PER INCH SIZE 1 - 4 - RESERVED #1 and - RESERVED #2 Not used by this version (-> compatible to V3.1) - STEPS PER INCH FOR HORIZONTAL SPACING (0 = Not used) This value must be a 0 , if you use the standard spacing mode (writing blank characters between the columns). If you intend to use proportional spaced fonts the step size must be set here. The step size is 60 for 24 pin Printers and 300 for Laserjet. - MODE OF SENDING (0 = Normal) If you use the normal mode then IdeaList only sends download font data if needed. The other modes availiable are: - Mode 1: Download data will be sent EVERY time before a printout (Of course only if a not built in font is selected.). - Mode 2: All codes for the printer set up will be sent before EVERY PAGE. This mode ignores the CHAIN option. - Mode 3: A combination of mode 1 and 2 - CONFIGURATION OF PORT/CUT SHEET FEEDER These flags define the used printer hardware: Value | Port | cut sheed feeder ------+----------+----------------- 0 | parallel | manual 1 | parallel | automatic 2 | serial | manual 3 | serial | automatic If your printer does not work at all, the port definition may be wrong! Printer Control Codes (maximum : 20 chars) - INITIALISE - CODES AT THE END - SKIP-OVER PERFORATION OFF - DEFINE GROSS PAGE LENGTH: These Codes define the width of a formfeed. If the page length (over all) corresponds to the default formfeed distance of the printer, this line just needs a 0. For printing to cut sheets the formfeed size may be bigger than the page length. At continous paper it _must_ comply with the distance between the perforations. - DEFINE CHARACTER WIDE/HIGHT size 1 - 4: Condensed and subscript must be switched off here, if not used. If you use a download font, the corresponding quality (Draft, LQ proportional spacing...) must be set here. - DEFINE LINE SPACING size 1 - 4 - DRAFT AND LETTER QUALITY: For download fonts this codes will not be send. - JOKER ON and JOKER OFF: This codes are reserved for your own special use! Perhaps you could switch to Italic or another kind of font. Line spacing and font size must not be changed by this codes! - HEADLINE INIT and HEADLINE EXIT: Some effects to emphasize the headline (bold underlined...).They may be set here however they must not change the line spacing and font size. - BOLD ON/OFF - LIGHT ON/OFF - ITALIC ON/OFF - UNDERLINE ON/OFF, - SUPERSCRIPT ON/OFF - SUBSCRIPT ON/OFF: The well known printing attributes must be set here. - INIT DOWNLOAD DATA and EXIT DOWNLOAD DATA: Between this codes IdeaList sends the data of the download font. - DOWNLOAD FONT ON and - DOWNLOAD FONT OFF Selects or deselects downloadfont mode. - HORIZONTAL SPACING: If you If you intend to use proportional spaced fonts you must set the codes for stepping here. The real size value will be set in by IdeaList if you mark its place with a 255 - ZERO WITH SLASH: To distinguish between the number '0' and the character 'O' IdeaList sends this code, if the corresponding option is set. - Character Adaptions: the first number defines the Atari character. Then a line up to 20 codes follows. If a character cannot be printed at all, set it to 32 (blank). Internals --------- IdeaList can be adapted to any language (not only English, German, French and Swedish (old version) as it is now..). If you want to change the program to your own language just let me know. All the messages, alerts and dialogs and even the shortcut associations are contained in the RSC file, so all you have to do is modify those. The keyboard shortcuts of the dialogs and Menu entries may be modified as you like. IdeaList reads them directly from the RSC file. Final Notice ------------ If you get any problems, questions or ideas, just send me a note. I'll try to help you and to improve IdeaList in future, but for that I need your response. Final Credits ------------- English Manual Re-Written By Stuart Mann ----------------------------------------------------------------------------