@DATABASE "KingCON.guide" @REMARK $VER: KingCON.guide 1.1 (15.12.93) @NODE MAIN "KingCON documentation" *************************************************************************** * * * --- KingCON 1.1 --- * * * * --- User Documentation --- * * * * --- Copyright © 1993 David Larsson --- * * * *************************************************************************** Table of contents: ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ @{" Preface " LINK KC-Preface} @{" KingCON compared to CON " LINK KC-Comparison} @{" Installation " LINK KC-Installation} @{" Editing " LINK KC-Editing} @{" Filename- command- and device-completion " LINK KC-Completion} @{" Review-buffer " LINK KC-Review} @{" Menus " LINK KC-Menus} @{" Options " LINK KC-Options} @{" To do " LINK KC-ToDo} @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Preface "Preface" The program and files in this distribution are freely distributable, but are also copyright (c) David Larsson. They may be freely distributed as long as no more than a nominal fee is charged to cover time and copying costs. No commercial usage is permitted without written permission from the author. Everything in this distribution must be kept together, in original unmodified form. The above is generally known as freeware. Please contact me if you have any comments or suggestions: E-Mail: f92dala@dd.chalmers.se Mail: David Larsson Gibraltarg. 82:150 S-412 79 GÖTEBORG Sweden ¯¯¯¯¯¯ ! KingCON needs Kickstart 2.0 or better to run. ! @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Comparison "KingCON compared to CON" The WB2.0 console-handler - CON: - is really good, but it lacks some very handy features that make life easier if you use it a lot. KingCON (or KCON) is a replacement that behaves EXACTLY like CON, but it also adds these important features: * @{"Filename completion" LINK KC-Completion}. You just type the first letters of a filename, press the TAB-key, and - voilà! - the rest of the name is filled in for you (or you will be presented a list of alternative files that you can choose from). This makes typing MUCH faster and minimizes frustrating misspellings. You can also bring up a standard filerequester and select a file that way. DOS-commands and devicenames can be completed in a similar way. Some of you might say that the Shell should provide this function instead, but since all editing is managed by the console-handler anyway, this is only natural. And as a "sideeffect", the filename- completion will be available AT ALL TIMES - not only when you are standing at the shell-prompt. * @{"Review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. A scrollbar in the right windowborder lets you browse through all text that has been output to the window at any time. (Very useful when your compiler spits out ten pages of errorlistings.) The buffer can be turned on and off, and saved to a separate file. * @{"Intuition-menus" LINK KC-Menus} that give you a quick access to the features mentioned above. You can control the size of the window, clear it etc. * @{"Jump-scroll" LINK KC-OptJUMP} option, which increases output speed a lot. * The console window can be @{"iconified" LINK KC-Menus1 8} and put on the Workbench as an AppIcon. * @{"Asynchronous typeahead" LINK KC-OptASYNC}, if you want to type in the next command while watching the output from the previous one. * Workbench @{"icondrop" LINK KC-IconDrop} is supported. * You can have the @{"current directory" LINK KC-OptSHOWDIR} displayed in the windowtitle. * The mouse can be used for @{"positioning the cursor" LINK KC-Editing 53} on the input line. * The text can be any (non-proportional) @{"font" LINK KC-OptFONT} you like. Topaz 44 is a killer. * The command-history buffer eliminates identical lines, the window is positioned more intelligently etc. Please note that KingCON does NOT patch CON in any way, it is written completely from scratch. There is a way, however, to @{"mount KingCON as 'CON:'" LINK KC-Mounting}. In this way, every program that use 'CON:' will actually be using KingCON and all the good it stands for.:-> Of course, this is optional. KRAW: is a replacement for RAW:, but the menus, filename-completion and review don't work. It has limited use, because you can't run a Shell in it. See some DOS-documentation for details about the differences between CON: and RAW:. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Installation "Installing KingCON" Simply run 'Installation' by double-clicking on its icon. The @{"script" LINK KC-Script} then copies the necessary files to your HD (or Workbench-disk). When KCON: is installed and mounted, you can try it (at last!) by typing the following in a shell-window (or try clicking here): @{"Newshell window KCON:" SYSTEM "Newshell window KCON:"}, @{"Newshell window KCON:////Shell/CLOSE/MINI/JUMP" SYSTEM "Newshell window KCON:////Shell/CLOSE/MINI/JUMP"} or: @{"Echo Yes!! >KCON:240//160/100/AreYouSure?/FONTTopaz.22/WAIT/CLOSE/PLAIN" SYSTEM "Echo Yes!! >KCON:240//160/100/AreYouSure?/FONTTopaz.22/WAIT/CLOSE/PLAIN"} When you have found out that KingCON really is worth keeping, you probably want to replace CON: and use KCON: instead. To do that, you must @{"mount KCON: as CON:" LINK KC-Mounting}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Script "Installation script" The install-script does the following things: * Depending on which processor you have, 'KingCON-handler' or 'KingCON-handler.020' is copied to L:. Once copied, it is always called 'KingCON-handler'. * 'KingCON-mountlist' is copied to DEVS: * 'KCON:' and 'KRAW:' are mounted. * Optionally, the necessary Mount-commands are added to s:user-startup. They are: Mount KCON: from DEVS:KingCON-mountlist Mount KRAW: from DEVS:KingCON-mountlist @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Mounting "Mounting KCON: as CON:" When KingCON is installed, the DOS-devicename for it is 'KCON:' (and 'KRAW:' for the unbuffered version). If you want that all your shell-windows you open should be KCON-windows, you just change the WINDOW-ToolType of the Shell-icon to say KCON: instead of CON:. (See your Workbench-documentation.) But in this way, you will only get a KCON-window if you start a new shell by double-clicking on the Shell-icon. Furthermore, some programs have their own console-windows and won't let you change them from CON: to KCON:. (Real3D v2.0 is one example). What you need is something that makes every reference to 'CON:' actually lead to KingCON. This is done by mounting 'KCON:' as 'CON:' instead. BUT, this is normally not possible, since 'CON:' (and 'RAW:') are mounted before the startup-sequence is executed. This is the solution: * Add these lines BEFORE the Mount-commands in the user-startup: Assign CON: DISMOUNT Assign RAW: DISMOUNT * Change the Mount-commands to: Mount CON: from DEVS:KingCON-mountlist Mount RAW: from DEVS:KingCON-mountlist Now when you boot, every console-window should be a KingCON-window. There is no need to have a special KCON: or KRAW:-device. Enjoy! !! WARNING !! Before you try the above, PLEASE make sure that the normal installation was successful and that you can mount KCON: and KRAW: when rebooting. Make sure that you follow the steps carefully. If something for some reason goes wrong after the Assign-DISMOUNT-commands, you won't have any console at all. A very frustrating situation if you must start your favourite text-editor, in order to correct the mistake, from the Shell... Remember that you have the Workbench-menu "Execute command" as a final rescue! @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Editing "Editing" Note: Everything said here is only true for the "cooked" KCON-console. KRAW is "raw" and has no editing capabilities. Also, if you have specified the @{"ASYNC" LINK KC-OptASYNC}-option, things will work a bit different from what you may be used to. 'KCON:' is probably most often used as output for the Shell, but editing works the same if it is a program's private AREXX-console, for example. Even the filename-completion is identical. I assume some experience of the editing used in 'CON'. Most things are identical, the exceptions from this are marked with a (!). These keys are used for the line-editing: Key Effect --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any "printable" char. Inserts the character pressed under the cursor, shifting the characters right of the cursor one step to the right. Return or Finishes the line and adds it to the history-buffer, Control-M UNLESS it is identical to the previous line. Shift-Return (!) The line is finished and added to the history-buffer, but it is not sent to the command shell. This means that it won't be executed. Control-\ Inserts an EOF-character and finishes the line. This often means that the window is closed, but it's up to the program that opened 'KCON:' to decide. Control-J Adds a linefeed. Right Arrow Moves the cursor to the right. Left Arrow Moves the cursor to the left. Up Arrow Displays the previous history-line. Down Arrow Displays the next history-line. Shift-Right Arrow or Cursor to the end of the line. Control-Z Shift-Left Arrow or Cursor to the beginning of the line. Control-A Alt-Right Arrow (!) Cursor to the beginning of the next word. Alt-Left Arrow (!) Cursor to the beginning of the previous word. Left Mousebutton (!) Moves the cursor to to the position on the input- line that you clicked on. If you click somewhere else in the window, nothing will happen. Note that the cursor is moved when the button is released and that you must not drag the mouse pointer before you release the button. You can still select text to be copied to the clipboard as usual. Backspace Deletes the character to the left of the cursor and shifts the rest of the line to the left. Delete Deletes the character under the cursor and shifts the rest of the line to the left. Shift-Backspace (!) or Deletes the line to the left of the cursor. Control-U Shift-Delete (!) or Deletes the line to the right of the cursor and Control-K puts the characters in a cut-buffer (NOT on the clipboard.) Alt-Backspace (!) or Deletes the word that the cursor is standing on Control-W to the left. Alt-Delete Deletes the word that the cursor is standing on to the right. Amiga-Delete Deletes the word that the cursor is standing on. Control-B or Deletes the whole line. Control-X Control-L (!) Deletes the whole line and clears the console. Shift-Up Arrow Finds the next history-line whose leading characters match the first characters in the line up to the cursor. Shift-Down Arrow Clears the line and puts you at the end of the history buffer. (That means that if you then press 'Up Arrow', the last line of the history will be displayed.) Alt-Up Arrow (!) Scrolls backwards one page in the @{"review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. Alt-Down Arrow (!) Scrolls forwards one page in the @{"review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. Shift-Alt-Up Arrow (!) Scrolls to the beginning of the @{"review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. Shift-Alt-Down Arrow (!) Scrolls to the end of the @{"review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. Amiga-V Inserts text from the clipboard. Control-Y Inserts the characters deleted with Control-K or Shift-Delete. Control-S Halts the output (if you are listing a directory for example). This could be done by typing any key and then type Backspace to resume output. Control-Q Resumes output again. TAB (!) @{"Filename-completion" LINK KC-FileComp}. Shift-TAB (!) @{"Device-completion" LINK KC-DevComp}. Alt-TAB (!) @{"Command-completion" LINK KC-CommComp}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Completion "Filename- command- and device-completion" The idea with xx-completion (or TAB-expansion) is to make typing faster and more accurate. Once used to it, it will be a great help you don't want to live without. @{" Filename-completion " LINK KC-FileComp} @{" Command-completion " LINK KC-CommComp} @{" Device-completion " LINK KC-DevComp} @{" Select window " LINK KC-Select} @{" Filenames with spaces " LINK KC-Spaces} @{" Dropping WB-icons " LINK KC-IconDrop} @{" The current directory " LINK KC-CurrDir} @ENDNODE @NODE KC-FileComp "Filename-completion" If you want to enter a specific filename (or a complete path), you start with entering the first characters in the filename, then press TAB (or Amiga-F, see @{"Completion" LINK KC-Menus2}-menu). If only one file or directory relative to the @{"current directory" LINK KC-CurrDir} matches those leading characters, the rest of the name will be filled in for you. Normally you just enter the first letters of a filename and then press TAB. If many files begin with the same letters, you can also use standard AmigaDOS wildcards to filter out the file you want. For example, if you want a file that ENDS with the characters '.gif', you type '#?.gif' and press TAB. If more than one file matches the characters you typed, a @{"select window" LINK KC-Select} will be opened for you, where you can pick the file you want. If you didn't type any characters at all before you pressed TAB (or Amiga-F), an asl-requester will be opened for you, where you select your file or directory. By default, .info-files are not shown. This can be toggled by selecting the menu @{"Complete » Show .info" LINK KC-Menus2}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-CommComp "Command-completion" Command-completion works in the same way as @{"filename-completion" LINK KC-FileComp}. The difference is that not only the @{"current directory" LINK KC-CurrDir} is searched, but also all the command-paths. Only plain executable files are considered in the search. If your system has many command-paths, this operation may take a while. Command-completion is activated by pressing Alt-TAB or Amiga-M. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-DevComp "Device-completion" Device-completion is quite simple, and is invoked by pressing Shift-TAB or Amiga-D. All volumes (like 'Workbench:'), assigns ('L:', 'FONTS:' etc) and DOS-devices ('PAR:', 'CON:' etc) are searched for a match. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Spaces "Filenames with spaces" If you have completed a filename that includes spaces, quotation-marks will be inserted automatically in the beginning and the end of the word (where necessary). Let's say that you want to enter the following path: My Directory/The Manual.doc You start by entering 'my' and then press TAB. The line will look like this: "My Directory/ Now you enter 'the' and press TAB again. The path is now complete: "My Directory/The Manual.doc" Note how one quotation-mark was inserted in front of My Directory and one after The Manual.doc. The path will now be interpreted as one word by the command shell. If you want to match on a string that contains spaces, you must put a quotation-mark in front of the first word before you press TAB: "my dir To sum up, KingCON does the following to determine which filename to complete: If the line contains and ODD number of "'s left of the the cursor, the name is taken from the last quotation-mark to the position of the cursor. Otherwise, the beginning of the word is taken from the character next to the first space, comma, or one of ' = < >. (Dot not included.) @ENDNODE @NODE KC-CurrDir "The current directory" What is this talk about 'current directories' and 'command-paths'? 'KCON:' is just a DOS-device and has no 'current dir' like the Shell. Is 'KCON:' some kind of shell or what?? The answer is that KingCON keeps track of which process that opened a KCON-window. Every time you invoke filename- or command-completion, KingCON looks at which directory is the current directory for the process that opened the window. Command-paths are also found this way. If the process that opened the window dies before the window is closed (this could be the case if it is a @{"WAIT-window" LINK KC-OptWAIT}.), KingCON keeps the directory that was used last time some kind of completion was activated. Command-paths are lost, though. I've said it before, but I'll do it again, for the sake of clarity: KingCON is NOT a Shell, dispite of the filename-completion and some other functions. No interpretation of what you type is done. To the programs that use 'KCON:' for input and output, it behaves just like 'CON:'. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Select "Select window" When any of the completion-functions has produced more than one match, a window with a list of alternatives will be opened. You select the file/command/device you want by: * Clicking on it and then choosing 'OK' or * Double-clicking on it or * Browse through the names with TAB and Shift-TAB or Up- and Down-Arrows, then press Return. To cancel, you: * Press 'Cancel' or * Close the window or * Press ESC. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-IconDrop "Dropping icons on the console" Another quick way to insert a filename on command-line is to drag one or more icons from the Workbench over the console window and droping them there. The complete path for the icon, including quotation-marks (when necessary), will be printed. This is only possible if the window was opened on the Workbench-screen. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Review "Review-buffer" One of the major differences between a CON-window and a KCON-window is that the latter has a scrollgadget in the left windowborder, that lets you browse through all the text that has been output to it since it was opened. When you have done a long directory-listing and want to go back to take a look at the first files that were listed, you just grab the knob and move it up until you find the place you looked for. The arrows can be used to scroll (approx.) one row up and down. As soon as you type something on the keyboard or a program wants to output something to the window, the "review-mode" is exited and the scrollknob moves to the bottom. This means that if you try to scroll while a file is being Type'd, the text will jump up and down between the position you want to look at and the bottom of the review-buffer. Confusing, maybe, but fully normal. If you have typed a few characters on the edit-line and then begin to scroll before you press Return, the line will disappear. But as soon as you type something again, the "review-mode" is exited and the line will be visible again. @{" Differences to original output " LINK KC-Diffs} @{" Memory management " LINK KC-MemMan} @{" Speed on an MC68000-Amiga " LINK KC-Speed} @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Diffs "Differences between buffered text and original output" The text shown in the review-buffer doesn't always look like the text that originally was output to the window. Control-sequences to move the cursor, delete characters etc are not interpretated, which means that some programs that do fancy things to their output won't look that fancy when you begin dragging the scrollknob. This is not a bug, just a sacrifice for speed. :-> If you specify the @{"NOSTYLES" LINK KC-OptNOSTYLES}-option, all textstyle control-sequences will be filtered. This saves some memory and perhaps speeds up output on plain 68000's. The text in the buffer will always be black and white, though. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-MemMan "Memory management" The memory for the buffer is allocated dynamically when something is output to the window. Normally a maximum of 64Kb can be allocated for the buffer before the first lines start disappearing. The limit can be set to another value with the @{"MAXBUF" LINK KC-OptMAXBUF}-option. Don't forget that no memory is allocated for the buffer when the console window is opened, because of its dynamic nature. The drawback with this is that you lose memory for every line you write. This can be frustrating if you are debugging a program to see if it frees all memory when it returns. ('Avail', 'Program', 'Avail', you know.) In those situations, you should disable both the history-buffer and the review-buffer. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Speed "Speed on an MC68000-Amiga" You may notice that output is slowed down a bit when the buffer is enabled, especially if you have a plain 68000-Amiga. On faster machines, it takes more time just to scroll the window than to manage the buffer, so it shouldn't be a problem there. If you DO find it too slow, there are five things you can do: * Enable the jump-scroll. This can be done with the @{"JUMP" LINK KC-OptJUMP}-option or by selecting the @{"Console » Jump scroll" LINK KC-Menus1}-menu. Output will be fast but maybe a bit jumpy. * Specify the @{"NOGADS" LINK KC-OptNOGADS}-option. Because the updating of the scrollgadget has much overhead, removing it in this way is probably enough to solve the speedproblem. * Select the @{"Review » Enabled" LINK KC-Menus3}-menu to disable the buffer temporarily. * Specify the @{"NOREVIEW" LINK KC-OptNOREV}-option. * Specify the @{"NOSTYLES" LINK KC-OptNOSTYLES}-option. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Menus "Menus" The menubar contains the following menus and menuitems: @{" Console " LINK KC-Menus1} @{" Complete " LINK KC-Menus2} @{" Review " LINK KC-Menus3} @{" History " LINK KC-Menus4} The menus are ghosted while the console is in RAW-mode. The @{"NOMENUS" LINK KC-OptNOMENUS}-option opens a window without a menubar. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Menus1 "Console menu" Reset (Z) - Clears the console-window and resets all styles etc. Use this if a program leaves the window in a complete mess. Jump scroll - If checked, output speed will be increased by scrolling the text several lines at the time. Use the @{"JUMP" LINK KC-OptJUMP}-option to have this function enabled when the window is opened. Iconify (I) - The console window is iconified and put on the Workbench as an AppIcon. If you specify the @{"NOICON" LINK KC-OptNOICON}-option, the menu will read "Minimize", and the window window will just be as small as possible instead of being turned into an icon. This will also happen in some other cases when it isn't possible to iconify the window for compability reasons. Normalize (N) - Positions the window at the same place with the same size as when it was opened. Can be disabled. Maximize (A) - Makes the window as big as possible within the visible area of the screen. Can be disabled. Halt (H) - Halts output. Resume (R) - Resumes output. About... (?) - Opens a requester telling you about the current version of KingCON, the author etc. Close (Q) - The same as clicking in the window's closegadget or typing Control-\. The process that owns the window decides if it should be closed. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Menus2 "Complete-menu" Filename (F) - Completes a filename or directoryname. The same as pressing TAB. Command (M) - Completes a DOS-command. Same as pressing Alt-TAB. Device (D) - Completes a devicename. Same as pressing Shift-TAB. Show .info - If checked, .info-files will be considered when KingCON is looking for matches. See also @{"Completion" LINK KC-Completion}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Menus3 "Review-menu" Enabled - If checked, all text output to the window will be saved in the review-buffer. If not, you will still be able to scroll through old text, but no new text will be added. Clear buffer - Clears the review-buffer. Save plain text as... - Lets you select a file to which the buffer will be saved as plain text. Save with styles as... - Lets you select a file to which the buffer will be saved, including control-sequences for text style and color. See also @{"Review-buffer" LINK KC-Review}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Menus4 "History-menu" Enabled - If checked, lines typed by you will be saved in the command-history buffer. If not, no lines are saved, but you will still be able to browse through the lines that are already in the buffer. Clear buffer - Clears the history-buffer. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-Options "Options when opening the console-window" A KCON-window is opened in the same way as a CON-window. The template for the "filename" is: KCON:LeftEdge/TopEdge/Width/Height/Title/Options/... All keywords are optional. If you want the default-value, you write nothing. For example, if you want to specify a title, but no position or size, you write: (Don't forget the quotation-marks if you have spaces in the filename!) "KCON:////My Title" The meaning of the keywords are quite obvious. The default is to open a window that covers covers the whole horisontal and half the vertical visible area of the screen. The window is positioned below the menubar of the screen if possible. The default title is 'KingCON'. This differs a bit from CON, which always opens a window in the top left corner of the screen with a fixed height. I think KingCON's way of opening is better. :-) The options allow you to customize the window. Compatible with CON: New for KingCON: @{" AUTO " LINK KC-OptAUTO} @{" CLOSE " LINK KC-OptCLOSE} @{" AUTOICON " LINK KC-OptAUTOICON} @{" NOGADS " LINK KC-OptNOGADS } @{" BACKDROP " LINK KC-OptBDROP} @{" NOBORDER " LINK KC-OptNOBORD} @{" NOREVIEW " LINK KC-OptNOREV} @{" NOSTYLES " LINK KC-OptNOSTYLES} @{" NODRAG " LINK KC-OptNODRAG} @{" NOSIZE " LINK KC-OptNOSIZE} @{" NOFNC " LINK KC-OptNOFNC} @{" NOMENUS " LINK KC-OptNOMENUS} @{" SIMPLE " LINK KC-OptSIMPLE} @{" SMART " LINK KC-OptSMART} @{" PLAIN " LINK KC-OptPLAIN} @{" JUMP " LINK KC-OptJUMP} @{" WAIT " LINK KC-OptWAIT} @{" SCREEN " LINK KC-OptSCREEN} @{" FONT " LINK KC-OptFONT} @{" MINI " LINK KC-OptMINI} @{" WINDOW " LINK KC-OptWINDOW} @{" INACTIVE " LINK KC-OptINACTIVE} @{" MAXBUF " LINK KC-OptMAXBUF} @{" SHOWDIR " LINK KC-OptSHOWDIR} @{" ALT " LINK KC-OptALT} @{" ASYNC " LINK KC-OptASYNC} @{" NOICON " LINK KC-OptNOICON} @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptAUTO "AUTO-option" AUTO The window isn't opened until some text is output to it or a program wants to read from it. It also gets a close-gadget. The @{"AUTOICON" LINK KC-OptAUTOICON}-option works in a similar way. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptCLOSE "CLOSE-option" CLOSE The window is equipped with a closegadget. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptBDROP "BACKDROP-option" BACKDROP The window is opened as a backdrop behind all other windows on the screen. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOBORD "NOBORDER-option" NOBORDER The window has no border. Very confusing. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNODRAG "NODRAG-option" NODRAG The window has no dragbar. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOSIZE "NOSIZE-option" NOSIZE The window has no sizing-gadget or zoom-gadget. The "Shrink"- and "Expand"-menuitems are disabled. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptSIMPLE "SIMPLE-option" SIMPLE You can mark and copy text from the console. This is the default. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptSMART "SMART-option" SMART The opposite of @{"SIMPLE" LINK KC-OptSIMPLE}. This is the way the console window was before v2.0 of the OS. If the window is scaled down and then resized again, you will lose the text that was printed on the revealed portions of the window. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptWAIT "WAIT-option" WAIT The window isn't closed until you type Control-\, select Quit or click the closegadget. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptSCREEN "SCREEN-option" SCREEN The window will be opened on a public screen with a certain name (case-sensitive!). To open on the screen "TERM", you type: .../SCREEN TERM/... or .../SCREENTERM/... @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptWINDOW "WINDOW-option" WINDOW
The console is attached to an already open window with the address expressed in hexadecimal numbers. The review-buffer will be disabled for compability. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptINACTIVE "INACTIVE-option" INACTIVE The window isn't activated when it is opened. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptALT "ALT-option" ALT/// When the zoom-gadget is clicked, the window will get the position and dimensions described by x,y,w & h. For example, ...ALT100/100/400/50... will make the window a thin strip in the middle of the screen when you click the zoom-gadget. The @{"MINI" LINK KC-OptMINI}-option is a faster way to specify that you just want the window to be smaller. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptMINI "MINI-option" MINI The window is minimized the first time you hit the zoom-gadget instead of being resized to fill the whole screen. More control over the actual zoom-size is obtainened with the @{"ALT" LINK KC-OptALT}-option. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOGADS "NOGADS-option" NOGADS No scrollgadget in the right windowborder is created. On slower machines this will increase the speed of the review- buffer noticeably. You can still use the @{"alt-arrow-keys" LINK KC-Edit} to scroll through buffered text, of course. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOREV "NOREVIEW-option" NOREVIEW The window gets no review-buffer. No scrollgadget is created and the @{"Review" LINK KC-Menus3}-menu is disabled. If you just want to gain speed, first try the @{"NOGADS" LINK KC-OptNOGADS}-option. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOSTYLES "NOSTYLES-option" NOSTYLES Control-sequences that control textstyle and -color are not saved in the review-buffer. Buffered text will be plain black and white. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOFNC "NOFNC-option" NOFNC (Short for No FileName Completion). The TAB, Shift-TAB and ESC-keys don't activate any completion-function in order to be compatible with CON. Note that you can still use the @{"Completion" LINK KC-Menus2}-menu!!! @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOMENUS "NOMENUS-option" NOMENUS No menubar is created. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptPLAIN "PLAIN-option" PLAIN The same as @{"NOREVIEW" LINK KC-OptNOREV}/@{"NOFNC" LINK KC-OptNOFNC}/@{"NOMENUS" LINK KC-OptNOMENUS}. The window will behave exactly like a CON-window. Example: @{" NewShell WINDOW KCON:////Boring.../PLAIN " SYSTEM "NewShell WINDOW KCON:////Boring.../PLAIN"} (You must @{"install" LINK KC-Installation} and mount KCON: first!) @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptJUMP "JUMP-option" JUMP Enables jump-scroll. Output speed is increased by scrolling several lines of text at once. Note that some programs that do their own jump-scrolling (like 'more') may not work very well with this option. If the window is very small, jump-scrolling is automatically disabled. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptFONT "FONT-option" FONT Another font than the default-font is used. To specify a bigger topaz-font you type: .../FONT topaz.44/... or .../FONTtopaz.44/... Note that the font must be monospaced or the window will fail to open! I suggest that you use the FONT-option to change the font instead of the SetFont-command. Example: @{" NewShell WINDOW KCON:////FontTest/FONTLetterGothic.18 " SYSTEM "NewShell WINDOW KCON:////FontTest/FONTLetterGothic.18"} (You must @{"install" LINK KC-Installation} and mount KCON: first!) @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptMAXBUF "MAXBUF-option" MAXBUF Sets the biggest size for the review-buffer in kilobytes. The smallest possible value 4. It is not always wise to set the size to a very big value, because your system can run out of memory if you output a lot of text to the console. See also @{"Memory management" LINK KC-MemMan}. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptASYNC "ASYNC-option" ASYNC Enables asynchronous typeahead. Normally, when you press a key while a program ('list' for example) is outputting text to the console, the output is halted until you have finished the your input in some way or another. However, if you specify the ASYNC-option, your keystrokes will be buffered while the output is going on and printed on the command-line when the prompt returns. If you start stepping backwards with the arrow-keys or do something else that makes it hard for you to keep track of what currently lies in the buffer or where the cursor is, the output is halted and the buffer is printed on the command line where you can continue to edit it. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptSHOWDIR "SHOWDIR-option" SHOWDIR The @{"current directory" LINK KC-CurrDir} is displayed in the titlebar. Two space-characters are placed between the title and the path. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptAUTOICON "AUTOICON-option" AUTOICON This is exactly the same as the @{"AUTO" LINK KC-OptAUTO}-option, except that an AppIcon is put on the Workbench as long as the window is closed. If you try a lot of PD-programs, it can be convenient to have the following line in the startup-sequence: Run Enforcer FILE KCON:////Bang!/AUTOICON @ENDNODE @NODE KC-OptNOICON "NOICON-option" NOICON The window will just be minimized instead of iconified when you select Iconify/Minimize from the menu. @ENDNODE @NODE KC-ToDo "To do..." KingCON introduces some very useful features that makes it a worthy replacement for CON. But there are still a few things I want to see in a future version: * Most certainly next version will contain some kind of preference-editor. This will let you set the default-options (so you won't have to specify CLOSE for every window you open, for example), set the size of the buffers etc. I'm also thinking of an extra option where you select which preferences you wish to use. * Configurable editing- and function-keys. * More TAB-expansion-methods, for those who like the way that many UNIX-shells work. * The review-buffer could be more intelligent and interpret cursor-moves. * A new completion-function that completes words from a textfile that you specify. All the switches for DOS-commands, for example. * A special gadget in the titlebar for iconifying the window. * Localized menus, Kickstart 3.0-specific functions, smaller, faster... If you have something else that you would like to see implemented in KingCON (or if you find one of those annoying b*gs), feel free to mail me. Who knows, maybe I do something about it! /|t last I want to say a BIG THANKYOU to everybody / |that have reported bugs and come with good ideas. / |Most new features in this version are here thanks /¯¯¯|to you (and me of course). / | ¯¯ ¯¯¯ /¯\ David Larsson /¯\ Engineering Physics /¯\_/¯¯¯¯ / \_/¯\ /¯¯¯\_/ \ Chalmers University of Technology / Sweden / \_/ \ /¯\ /¯\ /¯\_/¯\ / ¯\ / \ / \_/ \ / \ / \_/ f92dala@dd.chalmers.se \__/ \_/ \__/ @ENDNODE