=================================================================
        SEE.TXT: Description of the program SEE
=================================================================
J R Ferguson, The Netherlands            version 1.1 Feb 15, 2000

download: http://hello.to/ferguson  
e-mail  : j.r.ferguson@iname.com

This program, and its source code, may be used and copied without
charge, but only for non-commercial purposes. The author can  not
be  held  responsible  for any damage or loss of data that may be
caused by its use.

SEE offers a page oriented display of a textfile on  the  screen,
with  options  to scroll in vertical and horizontal direction and
to search for a string. You can not change the file by using SEE.

The command format is:

     SEE [dn:]filenaam.typ

"Wildcards" (* and ?) are not allowed. If you enter SEE without a
filename, the version number is displayed.

If the specified file exists, as many lines as fit in the  memory
buffer  are  read,  and  the first text page is displayed. At the
bottom of the page a prompt line is displayed.  You  are  now  in
text display mode, and can issue the following commands:

  Down		: line down
  Up		: line up
  PgDn		: page down
  PgUp		: page up
  End		: to end of buffer
  Home		: to start of buffer
  Right		: scroll right 16 positions
  Left		: scroll left 16 positions
  ENTER		: scroll left to start of line
  +		: read next buffer
  -		: go to start of file
  C		: Toggle control-character display 	default: off
  Del or T	: Toggle tab expansion			default: on
  Ins or N	: Toggle line number display		default: off
  W		: Toggle Wordstar document mode		default: on
  L		: Go to specified line number
  F		: Find literal text
  S		: Find text, ignoring case
  X		: Find same text again
  ? of F1	: Display help
  H		: Hexadecimal display
  ESC		: Exit program

When you switched to hexadecimal  display  mode,  using  the  "H"
command, you can issue the following commands:

  Down		: line down
  Up		: line up
  PgDn		: page down
  PgUp		: page up
  End		: to end of buffer
  Home		: to start of buffer
  +		: read next buffer
  -		: go to start of file
  ? of F1	: Display help
  H		: Hexadecimal display off
  ESC		: Exit program

To change the command keys: see "Technical information".


The promp line
--------------

At  the  bottom  of the screen a prompt line is displayed. On the
left side of is, the following symbols are used:

  [   start of file	or  <   start of buffer, not start of file
  ]   end of file	or  >   end of buffer, not end of file
  C   Control on	or  c   Control off
  T   Tab expansion on	or  t   Tab expansion off
  W   Wordstar on	or  w   Wordstar off

In hexadecimal display mode the symbols C, T and W  are  replaced
by  the  word 'HEX'. The C, W and T states are not lost, however.
They are restored as soon as you  switch  back  to  text  display
mode.

Also displayed on the prompt line is the name of the file you are
browsing, its date and a short help text or message.


Large files
-----------

The program uses a text buffer of approximately 60 kilobytes.  If
the file is too large to fit in this buffer, you can still browse
all  of it by issuing the command 'Go to next buffer' as often as
needed. With the command 'Go to start of file' you can  go  back.
The commands 'Go to specified line number' and 'Find  text'  will
only search in the current text buffer.


Further explanation of some commands
------------------------------------

Scroll right/left:
    Long text lines are only displayed as far as they fit on  the
    screen.  To  view  the  remaining  characters,  you can issue
    horizontal scroll commands. The maximum line length that  can
    be   displayed  is  255  characters.  The  horizontal  scroll
    commands are not supported in hexadecimal display mode.

Next buffer:
    When a file is too large for the memory buffer used  by  SEE,
    the  text  is  displayed  on  a 'buffer by buffer' base. This
    situation can be recognized after you issue the  command  'Go
    to end of buffer' by the fact that a '>' sign (end of buffer)
    is  displayed in stead of a ']' sign (end of file). Issue the
    command 'Go to next buffer' to see more of the file. This can
    be  repeated until you reach the end of the file and a ']' is
    displayed.

Go to start of file:
    After you have issued the command 'Go to next buffer' one  or
    more times, you can start again by issuing the command 'Go to
    start  of  file'.  The is no command 'Go to previous buffer'.

Toggle control-character display:
    This command enables you to toggle  the  display  of  control
    characters. If the display is enabled, control characters are
    shown  as  ^@,  ^A,  ^B,  etc.  (^?  is used for DEL). If the
    display is disabled, control characters are ignored.
    Exceptions:
     - The TAB display can be toggled separately (see below).
     - CR, LF, FF, CR-LF and LF-CR are interpreted as end-of-line
       markers.
    This command is not available in hexadecimal display mode.

Toggle tab expansion:
    When  this switch is on, horizontal tab characters will align
    the text display to fields of  8  character  positions  wide.
    When  the  tab  expansion  switch  is off, the display of tab
    characters depends of the control-character display mode.  Id
    control-character  display is on, tabs are displayed as '^I',
    if it is off they are replaced by a single space.
    This command is not available in hexadecimal display mode.

Toggle line numberdisplay:
    You can show line numbers by using this toggle  command.  The
    maximum   line   number   that  SEE  supports  is  65535.  In
    hexadecimal display mode this command is not  supported,  and
    neither is the 'Go to line number' command.

Toggle Wordstar document mode:
    The  original  (Dutch)  version  of SEE was written in a time
    when Wordstar was a popular word processor. SEE allows you to
    view  Wordstar  documents  in  a  readable  way.  These  days
    Wordstar  documents  will  be scarce, but the support for its
    display is left in the program as it won't hurt anybody.  You
    can   leave   the  Wordstar  toggle  activated  when  viewing
    textfiles that are not written by Wordstar.

Go to specified line number:
    After issuing this command you can enter a line number, which
    will be searched for in the current text buffer. You may want
    to  toggle  the  line  number display first. The maximum line
    number  SEE  can  handle  is  65535.  Line  numbers  are  not
    supported in hexadecimal display mode.

Find literal text:
    After  issuing  this  command you can enter a search text and
    press Enter. The search text  may  not  contain  any  control
    characters,  with the exception of the TAB character which is
    translated to a space. Upper case and lower case letters  are
    interpreted literally. The text is searched forward, from the
    current  position  to  the end of the current text buffer. If
    the text can not be found, the last page  of  the  buffer  is
    displayed.
    This command is not supported in hexadecimal display mode.

Find text, ignoring case:
    Like the previous command, but no distinction is made between
    upper case and lower case letters.

Find same text again:
    The last Find command is repeated, searching from the current
    display position.

Hexadecimal display:
    This  command can be used to switch from text display mode to
    hexadecimal display mode and back. An implicit 'Go  to  start
    of file' command is issued when you use this toggle.


Technical information:
----------------------

SEE  was written in Intel 8086 assembly language, using the Turbo
Assembler release 1.0  Ideal  mode.  To  assemble  and  link  the
program, you can use the following commands:

	tasm see
	tlink /t see

The hardware dependant parts are designed  for  a  computer  that
uses  MS-DOS  version  3.2  or  higher,  and  a CGA or compatible
monitor. These parts are clearly indicated in the source text.


History:
--------
v1.1 Feb 15,2000  Changed author's Internet address.
v1.0 Dec 07,1996
