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:           NUVAREAD SHAREWARE UTILITY

           by P.Mihok  -  18 Feb 1995


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:0>:INTRODUCTION to NUVAREAD:

   People who have previously tried VAREAD and found it was not
quite suitable for distributing documentation, may be interested in
NUVAREAD, which offers many more features as well as affording
much better printing. NUVAREAD is mouseable, and gives an automated
menu and also line highlighting, so it is very easy to create a useable
document with it as well as to navigate around the file. NUVAREAD,
like VAREAD, handles files up to 10,000 lines long; since I simplified
the file loading, it loads much faster. (It doesn't auto wrap at the
last space in a line, however. It just wraps at the end of the screen.
VAREAD does autowrap, but I felt it took too long to load. I could have
the reader scroll to the left or right, if anyone really wants that, but
I didn't see any point.) The software now also knows how to handle a wider
range of input files.

  I was also working on incorporating full colour text mode graphics
into the file, such as those drawn by VmASC. Thus one could have up to
100 fully coloured title screens at any point in the file, for instance.
However I am losing interest in working in text mode, especially since
my users have not been registering nor sending money, so I will wait
to see the demand before I complete this phase.


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:1>:LOADING NUVAREAD:

    The utility can be summoned by typing

    NUVAREAD

at the command line, in which case it looks for a file named
NUVAREAD.TXT. (If there is no file, it complains.)

    Typing a file name after the name of the utility,

    NUVAREAD YOURFILE.TXT

will load the specified file. Try not to use VAREAD to read unusual
files (non ASCII) as it might not work right. (I haven't found anything
that perturbs it unduly, however.)

    The utility will display ASCII files of up to 10,000 lines in
length. It will truncate and wrap long lines, so long files with long
lines may not be shown beyond the 10,000 (wrapped) length.

    It also loads a shell if provided.

    The utility shows you the first screen as it loads the file, so
you can start reading right away as it is loading.

:2> DESCRIPTIONS:
:(a) HIGHLIGHT LIST/MENU:

 Hitting F10 will show a highlight list/menu which is created from
one of the following:

     i) - if the documentation contains built-in highlights, created
by placing a colon in the first column as shown:
 : (This would be a highlighted line if the colon were placed at the
start of the line...)

     NUVAREAD will highlight the line when it is displayed and also
show the line in the highlight list, which can be scrolled like a
menu and from which you can move to any of the listed lines within
the body of the text.

     ii) - if no such highlights have been provided, NUVAREAD will
look for lines which might be title lines, seeking out isolated lines
and listing them in the highlight list. I'm not entirely happy with
the way this works, though, since everyone seems to have their own
ideas of how a title line should be, so it's unpredictable what you
will get.

    Using the up down arrows or the mouse button, you can select a
line in the highlight list and then ENTER or the Left mouse button will
go there, or ESC or the right mouse button will escape the list.
The list scrolls with the mouse cursor on the top or bottom line.
   
:(b) SHELL OPTION:

 If the name of a shell file is loaded at the command line as follows:

     NUVAREAD YOURFILE.TXT &BINGO

     NUVAREAD will then shell out and try to run the file named "BINGO"
when F2 is hit. (The ampersand flags that it is the shell name.)

     If no shell file has been loaded, NUVAREAD will simply not respond
to this key.

     (A shell file is another file which you want the user to be able
to run concurrently with the current one. For instance, a self-
displaying diagram or illustration named PICTURE.EXE might be your
shell file.)


:(c) HELP:

- an improved help screen is now provided (hit F1). It provides a much
more detailed description of the navigation and other options, and
explains all the functions.

      As a programmer, I always regretted having to enlarge my file
size by incorporating a lot of HELP text, but my newest software
includes context sensitive full screen help and I realized that it
can be really nice to have it.


:(d) ABOUT:

- an ABOUT THIS FILE screen is now provided (hit Alt-A or F9).

    VAREAD's file information was rather obtrusive into the reader's
reading experience, so I decided to place it in its own function and
clear the screen that the user sees in NUVAREAD.

    The exit screen has a two second delay tied to the system clock,
and says the software is unregistered as well as giving ABOUT 
information. I regret having to add stuff like this, but people have
a bad habit of using software without paying so I felt I needed to.
(An Aside:)
I've also noticed that more and more people are now using shareware
as though it were freeware, without any guilt. I guess they don't
realize how much work it is to make the software? Or they think the
other guy will pay? Well, on the average, everyone thinks the other
guy will pay, so nobody does. It's really discouraging to those who
want to provide neat new stuff for people to use...
... anyway, registered users will get a copy without this unregistered
notice and will get copies of anything new 'n' nifty I've come up with
at that point.

:AND IF YOU GO AWAY...

    The software now has a screen saver which comes up after 5 minutes
of no user input.


:(e) WORD SEARCH:

   NUVAREAD will provide an edit box where you can type the
word you wish to find, if you hit F (for Find.) The search is quite
fast. Hitting ENTER or the left mouse button goes to the next match.
The right mouse button or ESC stops search.

:(f) PRINTING:

  Two cascaded submenu selections - to select printing of all the
text, the text from this point onwards, or only the current one page -
followed by a choice of continuous or page-paused printing, allow you
to control how you wish to print. Print can also be interrupted with
the ESC key, and the page number being printed is displayed.

  The print function uses DOS to print and therefore cannot print
extended graphic characters but only those characters loaded by the
country information settings in your version of DOS, unless you
specifically load the IBM emulation mode into your printer and load
IBM Character Set 1.  You might also have to set the printer for 8
bit data. (I just found this out myself after looking for the
first time at my printer manual! After 10 years of using the darned
thing! <g> It was in Epson emulation mode, and I was trying to figure
out how to put it in IBM mode via software. I still haven't found
anything about that, but the above should help.)

  Printing is always a source of the most grief with software, so
if anyone has problems or suggestions about this aspect, let me know.


:(g) BACKGROUND HUES:

  Several hues are selectable by hitting F6. These hues do not affect
the HELP or HIGHLIGHT hues, but the optional main text hues are
provided since the user might find one of them less fatiguing to
read. (I personally use the green on black because my eyes get tired
reading on the computer with other combinations. I also did not wish
to provide the magazine publisher with the option of giving different
hues of text for different lines of text, which other programmers
have provided. The publisher might enjoy adding all sorts of bizarre
hues to their file, but as a reader of the file it just kills me to
squint at yellow on purple and that kind of thing. It burns my eyes
out. And I don't think I am the only one. Let the user choose...

   However, this restriction might limit sales of my software to the
publishers. Perhaps the solution would be to let the publisher choose
their hues, and then the user can just cancel them if they like?)


:(h) SCROLLBARS

   NUVAREAD shows a graphic display of your position in the file and
also tells you what line number is at the top of the screen. The HELP
screen gives a clock display and tells you the total number of lines
that are in the file.

   The main body of the text can be scrolled with the mouse at the RHS, 
where arrows appear for page up and down, and stars appear for home and 
end. Or the mouse can be placed on the small scroll bar and used to 
place the window on the specified spot. I did not want to have a 
scrollbar on the right hand, though, because I thought it looked 
cluttered and sometimes obscured the underlying text. A switchable 
scrollbar (visible or not visible) is possible but not provided.

   There is also a scrollbar showing where you are in the highlight
list. However the mouse only scrolls the text on the top or bottom
lines of the box, and otherwise selects a line if the line is active.


:(i) MOUSE MENU:

   A small popup mouse menu appears in the lower left hand corner
of the screen when the mouse cursor goes there. It allows you to
run the HELP screen, FIND, SHELL and the HIGHLIGHT LIST, as well
as EXIT the software. The right button dismisses the menu and the
left button selects a function.

   This menu is greatly improved over the VAREAD menu, which was
sort of clunky. I had not used the mouse much when using VAREAD,
so I wasn't fully cognizant of the awkwardnesses. I'm not much of
a mouse user to begin with. However when I do use the mouse, I
prefer to use it in broad strokes without too much hassle about
where it is exactly, so I tried to make the mouse work to accommodate
this style of use.

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:FUTURE STUFF:

    I'd like an excuse to finish adding the colour screens to the
software so you can have those beautiful title screens. However I
don't have a lot of time to spare and would rather do something
that pays. So, if anyone registers, I will proceed; otherwise I'll
only do it if time permits and the spirit still moves me.


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:LICENCE:

     You may use VAREAD and NUVAREAD on your own machine as much as you
like. If you wish to distribute it, though, to display ASCII text files,
you must register by sending $10. for VAREAD or $14 for NUVAREAD or $18
for both to:

     VMV Ltd.   5694-4 Hwy 7 E. Unit 193, Markham Ont. Can. L3P 1B4

    I can also be reached by fax at:

    905-471-5440

    or E-Mail c/o Neil at 70107,3050@COMPUSERVE.COM

    (I haven't had enough E-Mail there to make it seem worthwhile to
join for myself, yet. However when I release the new products now under
development, I'll join C-Serve and/or CRS ONLINE and/or Rose Media, all
of which are carrying my shareware software.)

    If you find NUVAREAD is almost what you require, but you would like
additional features, please write or contact me and perhaps I might
be able to accommodate your needs.


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