
    This file contains descriptions of notable additions and changes to
    ReadIt for version 2.5 and later.  Some or all of these changes and
    additions may not have been added to the manual prior to this versions
    release.




    If ReadIt detects MONO mode, it now only changes the color settings
    instead of changing all settings to their defaults.


    PICK LIST ADDITIONS AND CHANGES:

    Sort by Name + Extension  --  We have added a sort by file name + file
    extension to the picklist and have assigned it to the ALT-F5 key.  The
    sort by extension + file name has been reassigned to ALT-F6.

    Nosort  --  Pressing ALT-F8 while the picklist is displayed will cause
    ReadIt to turn off sorting and reread the list from disk.  Files will be
    displayed in the order that they appear in the directory.  Sorting will
    remain off until you press one of the sorting keys, or until you next
    enter ReadIt.

    ReadIt will no longer "lock up" if there are more files in the directory
    than will fit into the pick list. Instead, a message stating that
    there was not enough room to load all files into the picklist will be
    displayed.  You will be able to work with those files that could be loaded.
    Normally, this should not be a problem as the list size has been increased
    to a maximum of 2000 entries.  This should be more than enough for most
    needs.

    Country-Specific Display  --  The display of file size, date, and time is
    now formatted depending on country-specific information recieved from DOS.
    This has been done for our users outside the U.S. and others who have
    their computers set up to display this info in a different format.

    eXpress eXit  --  You can now exit the picklist directly to DOS, bypassing
    the filename entry panel, by pressing ALT-X.

    Now, if you select a file from the picklist you will be taken directly to
    the picklist when you exit text viewing.


    TEXT VIEWING CHANGES AND ADDITIONS:

    eXpress eXit  --  You can now exit ReadIt from text viewing mode by simply
    pressing ALT-X.  When you press this key combination, you will quickly
    leave ReadIt--bypassing the picklist and file name entry panel.  You will
    not, however, bypass the save bookmark prompt if you have set a new one
    in the current file.

    Cursor Wrap  --  In text viewing, the LEFT ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, CTRL-
    LEFT ARROW, and CTRL-RIGHT ARROW will now wrap around to the end of the
    previous or beginning of the next line.  A tone will be sounded when
    this happens.

    Save Scroll Speed  --  You can now save the scroll speed setting from
    within text viewing by pressing ALT-S.  The scroll speed setting will be
    saved if ReadIt can find READIT.EXE in the current directory or in a
    directory that was included in the "SET PATH=" statement.

    Jump panel  --  You now need to press the "J" key to activate the jump
    panel.  You can then press a jump key (1-9) or press any other key to
    deactivate the jump panel.  This greatly reduces the possibility of
    accidentally pressing a jump panel key and finding yourself somewhere else
    in the file.

    Next and Previous file  --  If the currently viewed file was loaded
    from the picklist, you can load the next or previous file by
    pressing ALT-N or ALT-P.  If the current file was NOT loaded from
    the picklist then pressing one of these key combinations will result
    in an error tone being sounded.

    YOU CAN NOW cancel a text search in progress by pressing the ESCAPE key.


    TWO NEW TEXT SEARCH OPTIONS:

    Words Only search  --  When you specify "W" as a text search option,
    a match is found only if the searched for string is not directly preceded
    or followed by an alpha-numeric character.  For example, if you are
    searching for the string "the", and do not specify "w" in the search
    options list, then ReadIt might find matches such as "there" or "other".
    If you specified a "Words Only" search, ReadIt would not find these words,
    but would find any occurance of the WORD "the".

    Multi-file Search  --  You can now have ReadIt search for a string in more
    than one file by specifying "M" as a search option.  The "M" can be
    specified with any combination of the other search options except the "B"
    (backward search).  If the backward search is chosen, multi-file searching
    is disabled.  A multi-file search begins in the current file and continues
    through all files that follow it in the picklist.  The multi-file search
    works only if the current file was loaded from the picklist.


    CHANGES TO ReadIt Customizer (RIC):

    We have added a new selection ("Change Picklist Settings") to the Changes
    Menu.  When you choose this selection, you are presented with a menu that
    allows you to change some of the startup settings for the picklist.  The
    selections in this sub-menu are:

        Sort By  --  No Sort, Sort by Name, Sort by Extension, etc.
        Sort Order  --  Ascending or Descending.
        Display Info  --  Display file names and extensions only or full file
                          info.
    Add/Change Extensions  --  Moved from the Changes Menu.  Add or change
                          file extensions that you wish ReadIt to ignore when
                          loading the picklist.  This list already includes
                          "EXE", "COM", and "SYS".





    CHANGES IN VERSION 2.5.1:

    There were some minor bug fixes between versions 2.5 and 2.5.1 including
    fixes of problems with "multi-file" searching and "words only"
    searching.

    ReadIt now handles better the changeing of directories from the
    filename entry panel.

    TEXT VIEWING ADDITIONS:

    Alternate Movement Keys  --  In an attempt to make ReadIt easier to use
    by those who use speech packages that take over the numeric key pad, we
    have added some control key combinations for moving around the file.
    These commands are similar to those used within some word processors
    and programming packages. The following control key combinations DO NOT
    replace any previous commands.  Rather, they are an addition to the
    existing movement commands.

    Here are the new key commands and the keys that they copy.

        CONTROL-W       --  HOME.
        CONTROL-E       --  UP ARROW.
        CONTROL-R       --  PAGE UP.
        CONTROL-S       --  LEFT ARROW.
        CONTROL-D       --  RIGHT ARROW.
        CONTROL-Z       --  END.
        CONTROL-X       --  DOWN ARROW.
        CONTROL-C       --  PAGE DOWN.

    We tried to use a combination of keys which would be familiar and in the
    same basic pattern as those on the numeric key pad.





    CHANGES IN VERSION 2.6:

    Trailing spaces are no longer removed from entered search strings.  For
    the example below, quotation marks are used to mark the beginning and end
    of the entered strings.  The quotation marks were not entered.

    Find: "find this string    "

    If you had entered the above string at the find prompt in earlier versions
    of ReadIt, the spaces following the word "string" would have been removed
    prior to the text search.  This will no longer happen.  Because of this,
    you will have to make sure you don't add more spaces at the end of the
    search string than are needed.
    Now, when a search string is found, the cursor will be placed at the
    beginning of the found string.  Also, when you have the display set to
    "SLOW", only the line containing the found string will be displayed
    slowly.

    Long Lines  --  For those times when ReadIt's "Smart Wrap" feature makes
    a file more difficult to read (a file that contains columnar data, such
    as spreadsheets), we have added the "LONG LINES" option.


    You tell readit to use the "Long Lines" feature either by including a
    command line switch when you first run ReadIt, or by pressing a key
    combination while viewing the file.

    To use the command line switch, you would type:
            READIT filespec /L[nn]

    Where filespec can be a file name or a group of files specified using the
    DOS wildcards '*' and/or '?'.  "/L" is the switch to tell ReadIt to allow
    long lines.  "nn" is the number of columns you wish ReadIt to shift the
    view when you need to view a different portion of the line.  The left and
    right brackets ([]) simply mean that what they enclose is optional.  The
    range for "nn" is 10-80.  The default is 20.  If you include "nn", there
    must be no spaces separating it from the "/L".

    EXAMPLE:    READIT SPREAD.TXT /L30

    ReadIt will load the file "SPREAD.TXT" and display the file in "Long
    Lines" mode with a shift width of 30 columns.

    While in text viewing, you can change between "Smart Wrap" and "Long
    Lines" by pressing ALT-F10.  This is the same command used to change the
    display of the picklist.  When changing from "Smart Wrap" to "Long Lines"
    you will be prompted to set the shift width.  To accept the width shown,
    simply press the ENTER key.

    When you change between these two display modes from text viewing, ReadIt
    will reread the file and place you at the beginning.

    When in Long Lines mode, you shift the view by holding down the shift key
    and pressing either the left arrow key (shift view left) or the right
    arrow key (shift view right).  You may also use the shift key with the
    alternate left and right arrow keys described earlier in this file.

    Of course, the left and right character, left and right word, and home and
    end keys will shift the view as needed.

    NOTES:  (1)  ReadIt is still an ASCII text file viewer.  The
    spreadsheet file mentioned above must be in ASCII format created by the
    spreadsheet program, a file translator, scanner and OCR
    hardware/software, or some other means.  (2)  When you use "Long Lines"
    mode, "Cursor Wrap" will be disabled.  Do not confuse "Cursor Wrap" with
    "Smart Wrap".  Smart Wrap has been in ReadIt since version 1 while
    Cursor Wrap was added after version 2.0 and is described earlier in
    this file.

