PPLess 1.4 docs
Written by MR.BLUESKY 01-Oct-92

Copyright ©1992 DRIFTERS HDC Inc.
Freely redistributable as long as it remains unmodified and this doc-file
is spread with, all other rights reserved.
This software is provided without warranty. Use it at your own risk.

For those who are not aware, PPLess is the strongest 'Power-Packed' text files
viewer. If you used another PP-viewer, you should take a look at mine !



History:
~~~~~~~~

Vers 1.0: simple text viewer but... super-sonic scroll !
	  only page scrolling and print functions.
	  worked well except some minor bugs in lines handling and blitter
	  synchronization bug.
Vers 1.1: some of the bugs in lines handling fixed.
	  quoted CLI args recognized.
Vers 1.2: all bugs in lines handling fixed.
	  scrollings a bit faster.
	  'jump line' function implemented.
	  'search string' function implemented.
	  keyboard shortcuts associated to all functions.
	  quick help page added.
	  print file requester added.
	  top & bottom of file gadgets added.
	  more infos displayed.
	  I forgot to put data hunk in chipmem, so gadgets & mouse looked
	  quite ugly !
Vers 1.3: data hunk bug fixed.
	  blitter synchronization bug fixed.
	  keypad shortcuts added.
	  French version developped (1.3b).


Vers 1.4:
~~~~~~~~~
	This new version requires 'ReqTools' library or 'Asl' library (only
	on OS 2 machines) if ReqTools not found, for optimal use. It works
	properly without anyone of these libs, but some options are disabled.

  Launching:
  ~~~~~~~~~~
	The old ways of launching still exist (from CLI or WB, passing file
	name as arg); you can now launch without passing any arg: in this
	case, a file requester is opened and you can choose easily the file
	you wish to view; this avoids you to type long path and file names
	from CLI (or to remind where is the file), or to open many drawers
	in WorkBench before finding the right one. This new option requires
	one of the 2 libs mentionned above: if they are not found, PPLess
	will behave like in V1.3 and refuse to launch if no arg is passed.

  New functions:
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	- 'Open new': it allows you to load another file without needing to
	  exit and re-launch. It also requires one of the 2 libs mentionned
	  above; if they are not found, it is disabled.
	- 'Save text': it allows you to save current text. You may use this
	  to save an unpacked version of your text. It requires the same
	  conditions as 'Open new'.

  Other new stuff:
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	- Menu containing all available functions added.
	- Close and 'Exit' gadget removed: use 'Quit' in menu or Esc to exit.
	- Screen has now a drag bar and depth gadget(s).
	- Screen height is now cloned from WB screen, i.e. PPLess can now be
	  run on both NTSC and PAL Amigas; custom overscan displays are, of
	  course, also supported. If display height is lower than 256 raster
	  lines, help page is cut and some lines are missing, sorry !
	- Some shortcuts have changed to avoid typing mistakes (See below).
	- A scrollbar at the right side of the screen has been added; but it
	  is active under 2 conditions: system version must be V36 (OS 2) or
	  later, and your workbench screen must be at least 656 pixels wide.
	  Refreshing bar slows scrollings down, so a special option is
	  provided to turn it On/Off (take a look at project menu).
	- Printing function is now asynchronous, i.e. does not busy PPLess.
	  Though, if you ask for a second printing whereas first one has not
	  yet completed, PPLess will enter in a busy state, waiting for first
	  request to complete before second is launched.
	  If you exit as printing is still in progress, PPLess will abort it
	  and then exit properly (printer may not stop immediatly if its
	  buffer is not empty).
	- Graphics have been a bit enhanced.


  Keyboard shortcuts summary:
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	- Arrow Up / Keypad 8			: scroll 1 line down
	- Arrow Down / Keypad 2		  	: scroll 1 line up
	- Shift + Arrow Up / Keypad 3 (Pg Dn)	: scroll 1 page down (26 lines)
	- Shift + Arrow Down / Keypad 9 (Pg Up)	: scroll 1 page up (26 lines)
	- CTRL + Arrow Up / Keypad 7 (Home)	: top of file
	- CTRL + Arrow Down / Keypad 1 (End)	: bottom of file
	- Right Amiga + o			: open new text file
	- Right Amiga + j			: jump to specified line
	- j					: repeat last jump
	- Right Amiga + s			: search for specified string
	- s					: repeat search
	- Right Amiga + p / Keypad * (PrtSc)	: print file
	- Del					: toggle scroll-bar On/Off
	- ESC					: exit
	- Help				  	: view quick help text




Planned improvements for vers 1.5:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  * ANSI x3.64 text rendering handler.
  * IFF ILBM & 8SVX files handler.