Program:  XOX, Version 1.0k   Text File Viewer
Author:   Rob Friefeld    
Date:     February 26, 1991


XOX is a versatile document viewer with additional functions  for 
abstracting  and merging files. It does not uncompress  files  or 
access libraries.

XOX   runs  under ZCPR 3.3 or Z3PLUS and requires   an   extended 
TCAP  supporting   insert/delete line  functions.  Cursor  on/off 
support  is  also very nice. XOX is assembled with  the  recently 
released  VLIB4D. (See also XTCAP10 for a selection of new  TCAPS 
for various terminals.)

There  are many text file viewers available. It  isn't  practical 
for  any  one of them to do everything one could  want.  I  think 
XOX's  strengths are its smooth display (a lot of  attention  was 
paid  to  that),  its  very strong  datestamp  support,  and  the 
additional I/O features included:  it is  very easy to send parts 
of the file on view to the printer or to other disk files, or  to  
combine a list of small files for easier viewing.


                           USING XOX

SYNTAX:

	    XOX [dir:]afn
or,         XOX [dir:][afn] [/][options][<, =, or >dd.mm.yy time]

The  file  specification is automatically wildcarded. If there is 
more than one match, a file list is displayed. Move the cursor to 
the  one you want to start with, or just press <RET> to read  the 
first item. Non-text file types (e.g. COM, LBR) are ignored.  The 
Datespec command line, discussed below, provides further  control 
over selection and sorting of the file list.

Once XOX is running, press "?" or "/" to see a command summary.


                       AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS

Here  is  a list of XOX functions, most of  which  are  described 
below. You can assign them to keys you find convenient.

MOVING THROUGH TEXT

  End of File                Start of File           Find
  Next Screen                Previous Screen         Repeat Find
  Next Line                  Previous Line
  Scan Forward               Scan Backward
  Hop 10 Lines Forward       Set Horizontal Scroll

  Set Place Marker           Go to Page or Line #
  Go to Next Marker          Go to Marker #
  Clear Markers


FILE INPUT/OUTPUT          BLOCK OPERATIONS

  Read More of File          Set Block Marker         Go to Block
  Merge File                 Print Block
  Log New Files              Delete Block
  File Ring                  Write Block
                             Repeat Write Block
                             Cursor - Block Operation

MISCELLANEOUS

  Delete Top Line            Initialize Printer
  Clear <chr> Lines          Type to Printer   
  Display Ctrl Chars         Exit XOX
  Show File Size

                       MOVING THROUGH TEXT

As distributed, XOX uses a functionally simple but not   mnemonic 
key  layout   for   its most basic functions.  You  can  control 
movement through the file without shifting your hands at all. 

       LEFT HAND                           RIGHT HAND

   F  Next screen (also CR)            J  Previous screen.
   D  Next line.                       K  Previous line.
   S  Scroll forward until key press.  L  Reverse scroll.
   A  End of text.                     ;  Start of text.
   G  Find a string.                   H  Repeat find.

                         THUMB

               <SP>  Hop forward 10 lines


FIND STRING:

- The string is limited to 16 characters.
- The search is forward.
- If  any  of  the characters are  upper  case,  the  search  is 
     automatically   case  sensitive.   Otherwise,  it  is   case 
     insensitive, unless the string is preceded by "/c/".
- Wild card character "_" matches anything.  (May be installed.)
- If found, the string is highlighted on line 10.  Hop <SP> makes  
     it the top line.


# - GO TO PAGE or LINE #:

Prompt:  Go to Page (L) >
     Give   a  page  number  you want  to  go  to.  Page   number 
calculations  are based on the Z3ENV data for the  printer  along 
with  the installed single- or double-spacing  calculation  base. 
Page  calculation is simple minded and does not take  account  of 
form  feeds, WordStar dot commands, etc. To go to a LINE  number, 
preceed the number with "L".



                          MARKING TEXT


Ten  numbered place markers are available. Marker #0 is used   as 
the start for block operations, described below. 

O - MARK:

     Set   special  Marker #0 to the current screen. It  is   the 
beginning  mark  for the four block operations.  The  marker   is 
initialized   to  the  beginning  of  the  text  if   you   don't 
specifically set it.

Q - QUICK MARK:

     Set  the next available place marker (1-9) to  this  screen.  


0..9 - GO TO MARKER:

     Return display to marker 0..9.  Markers are set with Q or O.


Z - NEXT MARK:

     Go  to next marker in the order set.  Cycle through  markers 
without need to use or remember their numbers.


E - ERASE MARKERS:

     Re-initialize markers 1-9 to start of text.


NOTE:	 Markers inside a deleted block are reset to the  end  of 
the block.


                        FILE INPUT/OUTPUT


R - READ:

     XOX will read as much of a file as available memory   allows 
at  one time. If the file is too big, a "memory   full"   message 
will appear. READ gets more of the file into memory in one of two 
ways:
     1)   If the text buffer is still full, another  memory-sized 
section of the text will be read in with one screen of overlap.
     2)  If some memory is available because you have done  block 
deletions, more of the text will be appended until the buffer  is 
full  again. By getting rid of stuff you aren't interested in,  a 
large file can be condensed to the portion you wish to examine. 

^L -  RELOG:

     Start XOX on a new file list.


TAB - FILE RING:

     All the file names matched by the initial callup are  stored 
in a sorted list. The RING command shows them as a drop down list 
with the current selection highlighted. Move through the list  to 
your  next  selection and press <RET>. You then see  the  prompt:  
(R)ead  (m)erge (q)uit?   READ is the default choice, or you  may add the file to the text buffer or cancel the whole thing. 

     Arrow key definitions are loaded from the TCAP. The WordStar 
diamond is also active.  Ring controls are:

     Move up list        up,^E                (with wrap to end)
     Move down           dn,^X,<SP>,<TAB>   (with wrap to start)
     Next screen         rt,^D,^F,^C     (if none, to last file)
     Previous screen     lt,^S,^A,^R    (if none, to first file)
     Login new list      L
     Exit XOX            X

     Any  unrecognized  key cancels, e.g. Q, <ESC>.  If  you  are 
viewing  a file, cancellation just resumes viewing. If  you  have 
just logged in a new file set, cancellation terminates XOX. 


M - MERGE:

     Append the specified file to the text buffer. The FILE  RING 
can  also merge files, but MERGE allows you to get a file from  a 
different  directory. The display moves to the merged text and  a 
place marker is automatically set to its start.



                        BLOCK OPERATIONS

     "Blocks"   consist of the text between Marker #0,  which  is 
set   at the  TOP  of a screen by pressing "O", and  the   BOTTOM 
of   the  current   screen.  If you are doing  a  lot  of   block 
operations,   it  may be advisable to set a mark at  the  present 
position   with   "Q", verify the position of  Marker  #0,   then 
return before doing anything.


P - PRINT BLOCK:

     Send text in the block to the printer. <ESC> or <^C>    will 
halt the listing. High bits and control characters other than CR, 
LF and  TAB are filtered out. On first call, you will be prompted 
to initialize the printer


W - WRITE BLOCK:

     Enter a file  specification at the prompt,  then  the  block 
is  written to it. If the file already  exists,  you  can  APPEND 
the block to it, REPLACE the file, or just cancel the operation.

V - WRITE BLOCK TO FILE:

     Skip  the file name prompt and append the block to the  file 
opened  in the last Write command. Once an output file has   been 
opened, V keeps adding to it.

U - DELETE BLOCK:

     The block is removed from XOX's buffer. This has no   effect 
on  the  file on disk!  Deletion is used  to  eliminate  sections 
before a printout or disk write or just to make room in memory to 
intensively examine the interesting parts of a large file. 


B - CURSOR ORIENTED BLOCK OPERATION:

     The  block  operations  are intended to work  as  simply  as 
possible.  For  example,  to  send the  current  screen  to   the 
printer,  just  press "OP". To print a partial screen,  move  the 
text  of interest to the top and press "O", then move the end  of 
the  block  to  the bottom of the screen and  press "P". This  is 
almost  always  the  most  convenient  way  to  do  a  block  op, 
especially when you get good with the scan up/down commands.

     It  may  not be possible to position the  text the  way  you 
want it on the first or last screen of the file. The "B"  command 
displays  a cursor on line 10, the same line a FIND command  goes 
to.  Move the cursor to the desired line with  your  arrow  keys, 
then press a block command key -  "O" to set the marker, or "P-U-
W-V" to execute. To cancel the cursor, press <RET>.  

     If you set the block marker with O and continue to move  the 
cursor down, the defined block is highlighted.



                          MISCELLANEOUS


/ or ? - HELP SCREEN:

     Display   of  command  keys.  Changing  the  command    keys 
automatically changes the HELP display.


Y - DELETE LINE:

     Deletes  the line at the top of the screen. More  convenient 
than marking a block for deleting a few lines.


I - INITIALIZE PRINTER:

     Send optional init string to printer.


T - TYPE:

     Type  a  line to be sent to printer. Terminate  with   <CR>. Edit  with DEL, BSP, ^X.  Can send ^L line feed or other  control 
characters   directly. To send ^X, ^M or ^P, type ^P^X etc.   The 
string input routine does NOT call BDOS read string function.


"+" "=", "-"  - SCAN SPEED:

     While  continuous  scrolling is running, the  speed  may  be 
adjusted faster or slower.


C - CLEAR <chr> LINES:

     CLEAR  automatically  deletes all lines  starting  with  the 
specified  character from memory. Using "[" will clean up  a  BBS 
capture file. Using "." would clear dot commands from a  WordStar 
file. CLEAR prompts for the character to look for. Pressing  <CR> 
uses  the  default character ("[") or the character  entered  the 
last time the command was used. To get out of CLEAR, press ^C  or 
<ESC>.


^ - SHOW CONTROLS:

     XOX ignores most control characters. It can display them  in 
"^N"  format if you want to see them, e.g. to see how a  WordStar 
or HLP file is marked.


\ - SET HORIZONTAL SCROLL:

     Pressing  "+" or "=" continuously increases  the  horizontal 
scroll.   Pressing  "-" decreases it.  Any other key exits.
     FIND  will still match a string which has scrolled  off  the 
screen.   XOX  checks the TCAP for screen width, so  I  recommend 
that  those  with  terminals capable of 135 col  display  use  it 
rather than horizontal scrolling.

= - SHOW FILE SIZE TO EOS:

     Number of bytes from start of text buffer to end of  current 
screen is displayed. Intended to assist file chopping operations. 



                     DATESPEC FILE SELECTION


Carson Wilson suggested adding a datestamp filter to XOX and  was 
kind  enough  to  show me how he did it  with  FILEDATE.  I  have 
closely   followed  Carson's  method  and  wish   to   gratefully 
acknowlege his permission to do so.  

[  FILEDATE  is  a powerful directory  utility  distributed  with 
ZSDOS.  Refer to Section 4.4 of the ZSDOS User's Manual for  more information on it. If you know how to use FD, you know how to use 
XOX.]

The  Datespec function tells XOX how to build its file list.  XOX 
can  select  files created, modified, or accessed on,  before  or 
after an ambiguously specified date. Once selected, the list  can 
be sorted alphabetically by name or type or sorted by date. Phew!  

Syntax:
     XOX [dir:][afn] [/][options][<, =, or >dd.mm.yy time]
         (1)         (2)          (3)

Options:
  A  use Access date  {Modify date is default}
  C  use Create date
  T  sort alphabetically by Type
  S  include System files
+ -  sort by date

Time:
  hh:mm for real time clock
  +dddd for relative clock with DateStamper

(1) - Filespec
If  the filespec is omitted, it is automatically  wildcarded.  In 
that case, the "/" delimiter is  required before any selecting or 
sorting   options  are  given.  A  blank  command  line   matches 
everything. 
     Example:
     XOX *.* =    All files modified today.
     XOX /=       Same
     XOX /-       Sort from newest to oldest, very useful.

(2) - Options
By  default,  any date specification is compared  to  the  file's 
Modify  date. If the file doesn't have a Modify date, the  Create 
date  is  used.  The options "A" or "C" force  the  use  of  that 
particular date.

(3) - Datespec
The mandatory date signifier "<", "=", or ">" tells XOX to select 
files from before, at, or after the date which follows.

The full syntax for the date specification is:

     [day[.month[.year[ hour[:minute]]]]]

Omitted  date  fields  are filled in with the  current  date.  An 
omitted  time  spec  is  taken to mean  any  time.  The  wildcard 
character "*" may be used to match any date or time.

     Examples:
     Datespec       Meaning
     =              Files modified today, any time
     a>1.7          Files accessed after 1 July this year     c=..87         Files created any time in 1987
     <.. 12:30      Files modified before 12:30pm today
     a-=            Today's accessed files, most recent first

Files which don't have a date stamp will fail all tests. If  the 
option  datespec parser is unable to resolve a command  line,  it 
just  gives  up (with a beep) and uses the larger  set  of  files 
matching the Filespec alone.

The "European" date style used here seems logical and  convenient 
in that date specification proceeds from high to low  resolution. 
You  may install XOX (with XOXINST) to use the  "American"  style 
mm/dd/yy if you prefer it.

The RELOG command also calls the full command line parser, so you 
can  reselect  from within XOX the same way you  did  at  callup. 
RELOG can also be called while viewing the file ring list.  Press 
the  command  you have installed for RELOG. Or, if  it  conflicts 
with an arrow key definition, just press "L".




             USING XOX TO PROCESS A BBS CAPTURE FILE


There are several commands intended for this purpose:

C - Clear prompt lines.  All those useless lines that start  with 
    "[" are deleted, e.g. [More...], [Read (Y/N/Q)?].
Y - Delete line.  Get rid of lines you send to the BBS.
O - Set block marker to top of current screen.
W - Write from block  marker to bottom of current  screen  to   a
    file.  You can store  messages in log files by subject, month
    BBS, etc.
V - Write  current  block to  same file  as  last  "W"   command.  
    Repeated use of O and V keeps appending messages you want to
    save to the previously designated log file.


                    USING XOX TO CHOP A FILE

The  file  is too large (e.g. 100k) for a  memory  resident  text 
editor.

O - Set block marker.  Start of a chop file.
W - Write a convenient size block to a file.  
U - Delete block (from memory only - doesn't affect original disk 
    file).
R - Read more of file.  You can keep  reading more in after  each 
    deletion.


                          INSTALLATION
Since XOX is not an editor, there is no need to use control  keys 
as  commands. It is highly recommended to use single alpha  keys. 
For those who prefer a more complex command structure, perhaps to 
reduce learning time, XOX will accept 2 different meta-keys, e.g. 
^K and ^Q.    

XOXINST  is  a screen-oriented installation program  for patching 
the control key set and various default initial states.  


                         TECHNICAL NOTE

XOX  reads  and writes files without  any  filtering.  Therefore, 
WordStar  or  other  specially formatted files may  be  read  and 
WRITTEN  without corruption. XOX does require that each  line  be 
terminated by a CR at least (except the very last line). LF's, if 
present,  are  ignored. Files with lines separated by  LF's  only 
will not be displayed or printed properly.



                        COPYRIGHT NOTICE

    XOX, its documentation, and its installation program are

              Copyright (C) 1991 by Robert Friefeld
                      All Rights Reserved.

  Any commercial use or distribution with a commercial product
      requires the advance written  consent  of the author.


                         Robert Friefeld
                      4607 Colorado Street
                      Long Beach, CA  90814
                      (213) 434-7338  voice

END XOX.DOC