PULL Multi-level Pull-Down Menus Read.Me, Version 5.Xc MULTI-LEVEL PULL-DOWN MENUS DEMONSTRATION Version 5.Xc May 29, 1989 Copyright (C) 1987-1989 Eagle Performance Software All Rights Reserved ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄ¿ ³ (tm) Äij ³o ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÁÐÄÄ¿ ³ Association of ³ ³ ³ÄÙ Shareware ÀÄÄij o ³ Professionals ÄÄÄÄÄij º ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÀÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÙ MEMBER Welcome to PULL - high performance environment software for Turbo Pascal and Turbo C! PULLDEMO.EXE - Simply execute the program. The instructions are on the screen in window 4. Press Alt-1 to Alt-4 to access the corresponding work window. To quit, Alt-X at anytime. INSTRUCTIONS: Familiar Environment - You will probably feel right at home with the environment created with PULL as it appears very similar to the TP5 editor. It is interesting to note that PULL was developed with TP3 before TP4 was ever released. However, you should find the operation quite similar. While you are running the demo, let's get familiar with the format and operation of the environment and follow along with this overview. Most of it should be intuitive, but there are some finer features that you may not want to miss. . Status Line - Row 1 just holds the title of this program. It is optional. . Top Line Menu - Row2 has been optionally assigned to be the top line menu. Press F10 at any time to access it. . Work Window - For this demo, Rows 4 to 23 has a 20x78 window for the major part of your input/output. You can also have several other windows like this demo for a multi-level window environment. . Main Menu - To access a main menu, press RETURN or a command letter (LTR) while the top line menu is highlighted on any selection. Or, you can use a combination of the ALT key and a letter, such as Alt-F to get to the File menu. . Submenu - A submenu is a menu under a Main Menu. To access a submenu, press RETURN when the HiLite is at a menu line with the three-bar symbol (which looks like a menu). You can see three levels of menus by pressing Alt-A/Tires/Brands. Local Keys and Letter Commands - While a window is shown, several keys operate for just that window. These keys can be listed in the message line or they can be assumed to be the command letters highlighted on each menu line. . Help Windows (F1) - While the Brands menu is still showing, press F1 to get context-sensitive help. A help window is assigned to every window and menu. . Keys on Message Line - The bottom line of the CRT, being closest to the keyboard, indicates the available keys that can be used for the current context. It is also used for help or error messages. While the help window is displayed, the next key pressed will also pass through as a command. For instance, press RETURN now and see the help window removed and Firestone will also become flagged. . Pop and Pull (F2) - F2 is a pop-and-pull key that toggles between the pull-down menus and the work window. Press F2 twice and you will see that it remembers the last menu that was pulled. . Command Letters (LTR) - If you wanted to select WeatherGuard on the Brands menu, just type the letter "W" which is highlighted. These letters will work in any menu. . Cursor Keys - All of the cursor keys like the arrows, Home and End keys, have assigned functions as well as the control-shifted cursor keys. You can discover what they do by experimenting with them in a menu. . ESC Key - The ESC key always backs out of the current menu/window. Global Keys - Extended key combinations can be used to access any part of the program. In this demo, some have been assigned with the ALT key. Press down ALT for a half second and see the available global keys listed on the message line. . Directory (Alt-D) - Press Alt-D now to get a directory of your disk. If you would like to continue testing the directory, press F1 for instructions. . Exit (Alt-X) - To exit the program, one alternative is to use Alt-X, but don't do it now. . Top Line Menu (F10) - As mentioned before, to get to the top line menu, press F10 at any time. Data Entry Windows - Each menu can additionally pull down a data entry window which is indicated with a small dot symbol on the menu line. These windows are fully configurable and have full editing capability. They have a free-field entry concept where a entire string is typed and edited before entering. Let's try a few fields. . Data Entry Types - Press Alt-E to see a menu of all the data entry types available. Press RETURN when the HiLite is at a menu line with a small dot symbol. Pressing RETURN again will exit the window entering the data shown. You can clear any data entered by pressing ESC which also removes the window. . Editing - Press "I" while the main menu is still shown and enter a value for the integer. The virgin entry is highlighted until you press a key. The entry has full edit capability using the cursor keys and some familiar WordStar control keys. Press F1 for a list. Even the insert mode is indicated with a half-block cursor. . Options - All sorts of options are available for these windows including range checking, fixed and flex fields, character control and translation, automatic NumLock, justification, titles, and attributes. Work Window Data Entry - The same procedures used for the data entry windows can be used for entering data in the work windows. In addition, PULL has a smart algorithm that knows where several fields are on the screen. So moving from field to field with all the cursor keys is intuitive. . Moving the HiLite - Press Alt-2 to get back to the work window with all of the data entry fields. One field will be highlighted which means it can be moved to select another field. All of the cursor keys move the HiLite including the control-shifted keys and the Tab and Shift-Tab keys. Move the HiLite to the Integer field. . New Values - To enter a new value for the integer, simply start typing some numbers and the HiLite will change colors. You can see that only numbers and the sign can be entered. Press RETURN to enter the new value or press ESC to restore the old value. . Editing - To edit the value currently shown in a field, press RETURN or any WordStar control key. Other Features - There are many other features in the menus which will be covered later including menu and line modes. You can discover these by pressing Alt-F and then F1 for a description. For direct menu control, press Alt-I and then U. Pressing RETURN at any of the lines 1 through 6 will show several possiblities under your control. Press Alt-X to quit. Multi-tasking - This demo can easily be set to work in multi-tasking environments by using a file called DESQ5X.ARC. It is a simple matter of setting the video buffer pointer. This demo does not include this file. OTHER PRODUCTS Eagle Performance Software has developed identical products for both Turbo C and Turbo Pascal. Our pledge is to provide you quality products with unparalleled performance and ease of use. All registered users receive the complete source code. Here is a list of other products: QWIK - For direct screen video, QWIK is the highest performance screen writing tools available today for all text modes in any video configuration. QWIK provides capabilities far beyond in the unit/library that comes with your compiler. Here are some of the features: - Writes on all IBM compatible computers, displays and adapters including MDA, CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA, 8514/A, Hercules and 3270 PC. - Superior video detection routine. - Eliminates snow and flicker. - Writes directly to the screen in absolute rather than relative coordinates. - Writes in all text modes and column modes. - Writes on all video pages. - Writes on virtual screens in RAM. - Writes text and attribute, text only, or attribute only. - Reads strings, characters and attributes. - Uses End-Of-String (EOS) marker for quick string chaining. - Provides standardized cursor shapes for all adapters. - Enhanced cursor movement. - Compatible with DESQview and similar multitasking environments. - Over 650+% faster than standard direct screen writing. - Only 2.7k bytes of code if all 45 utilities are used. - Writes direct to multi-tasking video buffers (MTVB). - Optimized by the compiler and drops unused code. - Used in all other Eagle products. - Excellent documentation. Here are the product versions: File name CIS Name Compiler Release date ----------- ---------- -------- ------------ QWIK42C.ARC QWIK42.ARC TP4(TP5) 10-01-88 QWIK5XA.ARC QWIK5X.ARC TP5(TP4) 12-20-88 QWIKC20.ARC QWKC20.ARC TC2 12-03-88 WNDW - For multi-level virtual windows, WNDW is the highest performance window utilities available today. It offers very powerful utilities for full window control and management you probably never thought possible. They are simple and yet very powerful with high speed and tight code. With WNDW, you can choose the absolute writing routines of QWIK, the window-relative writing routines of WNDW, and even customize your own. Here are some of the features you will discover: - Uses the powerful direct screen writing routines of QWIK. - Up to 254 fixed or virtual windows can be on the screen at one time. - Extremely high-speed virtual screens in RAM (up to 40 times faster). - Virtual windows are fully updated on screen, even if covered. Screens can scroll underneath one another right on the screen at very high speeds! - Virtual windows have virtual titles. - Fully supported hidden windows saved in RAM. - Fully supports all video pages. - Adjustable-rate moving, resizing, and scrolling. - All windows can be randomly accessed, not just stacked or tiled. - 28 window-relative writing routines. - 15 different border styles with shadow and zoom effects. - Full line drawing procedures. - Full cursor mode control for each window. - Writes in all text modes and column modes. - Only 13k bytes of code if all 69 utilities are used. - Writes direct to multi-tasking video buffers (MTVB). - Used in all other Eagle products. - Excellent documentation like this document. Here are the product versions: File name CIS Name Compiler Release date ----------- ---------- -------- ------------ WNDW42B.ARC WNDW42.ARC TP4(TP5) 10-15-88 WNDW5XC.ARC WNDW5X.ARC TP5(TP4) 12-20-88 WNDWC20.ARC WNDC20.ARC TC2 03-15-89 PULL - For multi-level pull-down menus, PULL is fully featured and fully configurable. Includes execute, single, and multiple choice menus, unlimited nested submenus, data entry windows, help windows, directory windows, message system, and fully completed interfaces. Some of the features are: - Uses QWIK and WNDW. - Work window(s) and complete interface for menus - Pull-down menus with 3 menu modes and 8 line modes - Pull-down file directory - Highlighted command letters - Unlimited levels of submenus - Unlimited data entry windows for 9 types of data - Data entry for the work window(s) Free field entry with either fixed column or flexible column length. Full editing capability including insert cursor mode Full field selection with cursor keys Automatic NumLock for numerical data entry Right or left justification for data entry output Error messages for invalid data entries Error messages for data entries out of range - Automatic sizes and locations for menus. - Operation by cursor keys or command keys - Pull/Pop between work window and nested submenu(s) - Programmable control of pull and pop sequences - Context-sensitive help - Message lines for prompts and processing - Writes direct to multi-tasking video buffers (MTVB). - Full working shell for user development - Excellent documentation like this document. Here are the product versions: File name CIS Name Compiler Release date ----------- ---------- -------- ------------ PULL42B.ARC PULL42.ARC TP4(TP5) 01-03-89 PULL5XC.ARC PULL5X.ARC TP5(TP4) 01-07-89 PULLC20.ARC PULC20.ARC TC2 04-15-89 ON-LINE SERVICES CompuServe - All updated files and later versions can be found on the CompuServe Borland Forums (GO BPROGA for TP and GO BPROGB for TC) or the IBM Programming Forum (GO IBMPRO). The Eagle BBS - You can also get the latest files on our 24-hour BBS at (214) 539-9878, 1200/2400 N81. For more information, for Turbo Pascal and C products call or write: Eagle Performance Software TP/TC products P.O. Box 292786 Lewisville, TX 75029-2786 Or, contact Jordan Gallagher at (214)-539-7855 (CIS: 73557,2342).