=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dave Lord's
GANDER - A File Viewer Version 1.0
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This program is distributed as shareware. You may make
copies of it for evaluation and distribution but if you
like the program you should register it. The cost is
$15. Registered users will receive a disk containing the
latest version of the program or optionally some future
version if you already have the latest version. I will
also include on the same disk the most recent version of
my Windows ascii chart program ACHART and anything else
I happen to have complete.
This program may be freely distributed. It may not be
sold except by me. A nominal copying charge may be made
not to exceed US $10.
Registrations outside of the US:
--------------------------------
Unfortunately it is virtually impossible within the US
to exchange small amounts of foreign currency or to cash
checks drawn on foreign banks (the fees exceed the cost
of this program). If you can't send US money I will
accept CD or cassettes of any music you think will not
be generally available in the US. Generally we get the
most popular British groups and that's about it. We
don't even get much Canadian music. My tastes are
eclectic, anything from traditional to modern. How about
if one of you Canadians sends me some "Doug and the
Slugs", eh?
Copyright c 1991 by Dave Lord
Dave Lord
3307 Lincoln Av.
San Diego, CA 92104
Internet: davel@pnet01.cts.com
This program is distributed as is. The author assumes no
liability for any damages resulting from its use.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Description of program
----------------------
GANDER is a Windows 3.0 program which will allow you to view and
print files in text mode or hexidecimal mode (with the ascii text
displayed alongside). You can also view items from the clipboard
and copy sections of text to the clipboard.
Gander will handle pretty much any file you can throw at it. I've
tested it on binary files larger than 3 Meg and on text files with
over 17000 lines. I've also tried lines up to 34000 characters
long (that's real slow). I've included a number of filters to aid
in viewing files which aren't pure text, a high-bit filter for
Wordstar files, an overstrike filter for files which use
overstrike for bolding and underlining, and other filters for
removing non-text characters. I allow either CR LF or just LF as
end-of-line characters. I support selectable tab widths and a
variety of string search options.
Gander is based on my previous program, Hex View (WINHV 2.0) with
additional functionality added to support display of text files.
You should have these files:
GANDER.EXE the executable
GANDER.HLP the help file
GANDER.TXT this file
GANDER.INI preferences file
REGISTER.TXT registration form
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
History
-------
1.0 First release. Gander is based on Win Hex View 2.0
(WINVH20.ZIP).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Using the Program
=================
Menus
-----
Open File
Allows you to select a file to view. The open dialog
works pretty much the same as in nearly every other
Windows Program.
Open Clipboard
Allows you to view an item from the clipboard. Clipboard
items are stored on a variety of formats, Hex View
allows you to view the predefined formats: BITMAP, DIB,
DIF, METAFILEPICT, OEMTEXT, PALETTE, SYLK, and TIFF.
Some programs may also use private formats which I don't
support. In theory the clipboard can hold several items
simultaneously as long as each is in a different format.
In practice this is rarely done.
For each of the above formats except METAFILEPICT and
BITMAP what I display is simply the contents of the
global memory block retrieved from the clipboard.
For METAFILEPICT I show the METAFILEPICT structure
followed by the Metafile itself (starting at 0x10).
For BITMAP I show the BITMAP structure followed by the
Bitmap bits (starting at 0x10).
Print
Allows you to print all or part of the file. In the
dialog box select All or From/To.
The default for From/To is to print what is on the
screen but you can set your choice of From and To
locations. If you are viewing the file in hex mode,
values are byte offsets into the file specified in hex.
If you are viewing in text mode values are line numbers
specified in decimal. You don't have to remember that,
the dialog box will tell you how to specify the values.
Info
Show some information about the file being viewed: the
file name, the number of bytes, and the number of lines.
The number of lines may be unknown until you have
actually viewed to the end of the file.
Marking & Copying to Clipboard
You can mark text using the left button of the mouse.
Only whole lines are marked. To mark a large section of
text, mark the beginning line and release the button. Go
to the last line you want to mark and click on it while
holding down the shift key.
Copy the marked text to the clipboard by selecting Copy
from the Edit menu.
To remove the highlighting from the screen press the
right button of the mouse or press either button in the
Line Number or Ruler windows if they are displayed.
This version of Gander can only mark and copy text in
text display mode.
Charsets & Fonts
Gander gives you a choice of three standard Windows
fonts, all with a fixed pitch (equal spacing of
characters). One of the fonts uses the IBM PC character
set and the other two use the Ansi character set.
To select one, choose the Display menu and select from
IBM PC charset, Ansi fixed font, or System fixed font.
Display Modes
Gander displays files in Text mode or in Hex mode. You
can choose the one you prefer by opening the Display
menu and selecting Text Display or Hex Display.
If Auto Select is turned on Gander will automatically
select what it thinks is the most appropriate mode each
time you open a new file. Gander won't force it's will
on you however. If you choose, Gander will allow you to
view any file in text mode, even object files. Be warned
however that things slow down substantially when you try
to view files which have 1000+ character lines as text .
Ruler & Line Numbers
The ruler and line numbers are always turned on in hex
mode but are optional in text mode. To toggle them on or
off select the appropriate items from the Display menu.
Find
Allows you to search for a character string within the
file you are viewing. The string may be specified as
text characters (a, b, c, etc.) or as hex (41, 0a, ff).
Enter the string and choose whether it is a string
search (text) or a hex search. If it's a string search,
choose whether uppercase and lowercase characters should
match, then press Forward or Reverse.
If there is highlighted text on the screen then Forward
searches will start immediately following the
highlighted text, otherwise the search will start with
start with the first character on the screen, backwards
searches start before any highlighted text on the
screen, or with the character preceding the first one on
the screen. The string is highlighted on the screen
when it is found.
Repeat a search using Repeat Forward or Repeat Back.
Jump
This allows you to jump to a particular character, line
or record in the file. In text display mode, line and
record are essentially the same thing unless you have
specified an alternate record marker (see below).
Enter a number, select decimal or hex, select character,
line or record and press OK.
Characters are found by simply counting from the
beginning of the file (starting at 0 of course).
Lines are counted as lines displayed on the screen,
starting at 1.
Records are found by counting Record Markers. You can
chose the record marker by entering the hex value of the
character which marks the end of a record. The default
is 0xa (Linefeed). Records are counted starting at 1.
Hex/Dec Converter
The Hex/Dec Converter allows you to quickly convert
numbers to and from hex, decimal, and binary.
The converter contains three edit boxes, one each for
hex, decimal, and binary. Simply select the one you want
with the mouse, enter a number in the appropriate form,
and the number will appear converted to the other forms
in the other two boxes. Converting hex numbers to and
from Little Endian form is left as an exercise for the
user.
The converter is a modeless dialog box so you can leave
it on the screen while you use Gander.
The Hex/Dec Converter is also available as a standalone
program. Look for HEXCNV10.ZIP.
Filters
Gander supports a variety of filters which control the
handling of non-text characters.
Overstrike filter causes the program to backspace when
it sees a backspace in the file. This is useful for
viewing files which use overstrikes for bolding or
underlining. Operates in text mode only.
Control Char filter causes control chars (0x0 - 0x1f) to
display as spaces (or gray boxes in hex mode). This
filter combined with the high-char filter make it easier
to read the text in files which aren't pure text.
High-char filter causes characters above the highest
text character to display as spaces (or gray boxes in
hex mode). For the benefit of users in other countries
the highest text character can be set by the user.
High-bit filter masks out the high order bit in each
character. This is for use when viewing Wordstar files
and really shouldn't be used for anything else.
Tabs
You can set expansion of tabs on or off and set the tab
width up to nine characters. If you have tab expansion
off then tabs are displayed as a single space when the
Control char filter is on or as some funny shape when
the Control char filter is off. Tab expansion only
operates in text mode.
Keyboard
--------
Shortcut Keys
<down arrow> Down one line.
<up arrow> Up one line.
<left arrow> Left a page.
<right arrow> Right a page.
<page up> Page up.
<page down> Page down.
<home> Beginning of file.
<end> End of file.
Shift + F3 Search.
F3 Repeat forward.
F4 Repeat backward.
Ctrl + F3 Jump
Shift + F5 Hex / Dec Converter
'vi' User's Keystrokes
In Windows 3.0 the standard is to use control - alt -
shift - function key combinations as shortcut keys. I
can only assume that Microsoft was trying to emulate the
one feature of WordPerfect that everyone really hates.
Anyway, I provided those, but I also provided shortcut
keys based on the one true keyboard interface: vi.
j Down one line.
k Up one line.
h Left. OK I cheated, it's Left a whole page.
l Right a page.
^F Down a page.
^B Up a page.
^U Up half a page.
^D Down half a page.
/ Search.
n Repeat search Forward.
N Repeat search Backward.
G Go to End.
: Jump. OK in vi ':' does lots of other things too.
Here it just jumps.
Saving Preferences
------------------
This program saves a number of options in GANDER.INI.
GANDER.INI should be in the same directory as
GANDER.EXE. If GANDER.INI is missing the program will
not recreate it, if you want it back you should create
it as an empty file using an editor, and the next time
you run GANDER.EXE it will get updated.
Future Enhancements
-------------------
There are a number of things I want to put into a future
version of Gander:
o Screen wrap option in text mode.
o Mark and Copy to clipboard while in hex mode.
o This version hard codes printer line width to 80. That
should be changed.
o Get rid of red highlighting in text mode or allow setting
of colors or take colors from control panel (the reason I
don't is because of the use of gray text and lines in
hex mode).
o Performance improvements.
o Additional file formats.
I'm open to other ideas, please write.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-- GANDER.TXT -- Copyright 1991 by Dave Lord
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=