TCEDIT - T.A.G. Configurable Editor version 1.1 beta version (l)
(Copyright (c) 1994-1995 by SmartSoft. All rights reserved.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents.............................................. 1
Legal Information.............................................. 2
Disclaimer................................................... 2
Distribution................................................. 2
Introduction................................................... 2
Purpose...................................................... 2
Minimum Requirements......................................... 2
Thanks and kudos............................................. 3
Obtaining the latest version................................. 3
Support...................................................... 3
Quick Setup.................................................... 3
Command-line Parameters........................................ 4
-M<Color Mode #>............................................ 4
[DRIVE:][\PATH\]FILENAME.EXT................................ 4
-I.......................................................... 4
Examples.................................................... 5
Miscellany..................................................... 6
Shell to DOS................................................ 6
Advanced Tips - Color Stripping............................. 6
Using TCEDIT with an Off-Line Mail Reader................... 6
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LEGAL INFORMATION
TCEDIT is Freeware. There is no charge for its use and it is distributed
as a fully functional program.
This program is Copyright (c) 1994-1995 by SmartSoft. All rights reserved.
The T.A.G. Bulletin Board System (T.A.G.) is Copyright (c) 1986-1994 by
The T.A.G. Team.
DISCLAIMER
TCEDIT is distributed as is. TCEDIT is guaranteed to take up room
on your hard drive only. The author of TCEDIT makes no guarantees
as to the usefulness of this program, nor can the author be held
liable for damage to your system. Use at your own risk.
DISTRIBUTION
BBS SysOps: You may freely distribute this archive so long as no fees
are charged, over and above any normal system access fees, and do not
add or remove files from the original archive.
Shareware Distributors: Please contact the author for distribution
license information. (This includes the bundling of TCEDIT in a
software package.)
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
TCEDIT can be used as a standalone text editor or as a Full-Screen
Editor for the T.A.G. Bulletin Board System. Currently, no other BBS
software packages are supported. TCEDIT has been tested with T.A.G.
versions 2.6 and up.
This document covers the use of TCEDIT as a standalone editor. For
details on the use of TCEDIT as a T.A.G. Full-Screen Editor, please
refer to the document TCESYSOP.DOC, also contained in this archive.
** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE ** NOTE **
This is a BETA test. Please help us provide the very best product to
the T.A.G. BBS community. Report bugs and other programming errors to
the FidoNet address below.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
ANSI.SYS or a compatible ANSI driver must be loaded.
A comport FOSSIL driver must be present if the editor is used in T.A.G.
mode. (This is not required for standalone operation. TCEDIT has been
tested with X00 and BNU FOSSIL drivers.)
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THANKS AND KUDOS
Many thanks to Vickie Church, the SysOp of Vickie's Palace
(1:2330/200) and Hal Craig, the SysOp of Thirst BBS (1:374/65), as
well as the users of both systems for their help in beta testing
TCEDIT.
Thanks also go out to Rob Carlson for maintaining the TCEDIT FAQ.
And of course, many thanks to the users of The MindScape BBS
(1:2605/631) who endured more than one buggy beta test of TCEDIT.
OBTAINING THE LATEST VERSION
To receive the latest version of TCEDIT, you may FREQ "TCEDIT" from
FidoNet 1:2605/631. (Points welcome!) You may also call MindScape BBS
directly at (908)668-7377, where there is a GUEST account available
for downloading TCEDIT.
The MindScape BBS, 1:2605/631, is the only official "home" of
TCEDIT. Accept no substitutes.
SUPPORT
For bug reports and correspondence, please send FidoNet NetMail to
SmartSoft at 1:2605/631. There is also a support echo for TCEDIT
available. If you are interested in carrying this echo, please contact
the System Operator at 1:2605/631 for information. The TCEDIT design
team is also active in the TAG FidoNet echo.
QUICK SETUP
1. Copy the files TCEDIT.EXE to whatever directory you want. (Perhaps
C:\TCEDIT)
2. In order to edit any text file, at a DOS prompt type:
TCEDIT filename.ext
(An explanation of options and command-line switches is provided
later in this document.)
NOTE: Only the file TCEDIT.EXE is required to use TCEDIT as a text
editor. The TCOPTS.EXE program is for configuring some of the options
of the editor for use with a T.A.G. BBS system. If you are not
running a T.A.G. BBS system, you can safely delete TCOPTS.EXE.
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COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS:
To use TCEDIT as a standalone editor, the command to call the editor
is:
TCEDIT [-M#] [-I] [DRIVE:][\PATH\]FILENAME.EXT
All command-line switches and the filename can be upper or lower case
(or any combination), and can use either a '-' or '/' to mark the switch
(i.e., -M1 and /M1 are equivalent).
-M# [optional] This tells the editor what color "Mode" to use. This
switch specifies the color and graphics codes to allow in the
editor. There are seven modes currently supported, as follows:
-M0 No color or graphics allowed
-M1 IBM Graphics, no color
-M2 ANSI/TCEDIT colors only
-M3 IBM Graphics & ANSI/TCEDIT colors
-M4 T.A.G. CTRL-P color codes only
-M5 IBM Graphics and T.A.G. color codes
-M6 ANSI/TCEDIT and T.A.G. colors
-M7 IBM Graphics, ANSI/TCEDIT & T.A.G. colors (default mode)
"T.A.G. colors" is a color marking convention adopted from
the T.A.G. BBS system and usable in TCEDIT. By using ^P
(CTRL-P) followed by a single digit from 0 to 9, all text
following will be made that foreground/background, until
another color code is encountered. This can be useful for
T.A.G. SysOps who want to modify their system *.MSG files
with ^P codes. When used in standalone mode, TCEDIT uses
a series of default colors that match to the "factory"
defaults of T.A.G. v2.6.
[DRIVE:][\PATH\]FILENAME.EXT
Where FILENAME.EXT is the file name and extension of the file you
wish to edit. If the file does not exist, TCEDIT will create it.
Full pathing is supported.
If no file name is provided, TCEDIT will create a file in the
current DOS directory called "NONAME.TXT".
-I [optional] This switch can be used in both T.A.G. mode and in
standalone mode. This tells the editor to start up in
"Insert" mode, rather than in "Overstrike" mode.
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EXAMPLES
TCEDIT -M0 D:\MYFILES\STUFF.TXT
This tells TCEDIT that it is operating in standalone mode and to
edit the file STUFF.TXT which is found in the \MYFILES directory on
drive D:. If the file doesn't exist, TCEDIT will create it. The
"-M0" switch indicates that no color or IBM graphics characters will
be allowed. Since the "-I" switch was not supplied, the editor will
start up in "Overstrike" mode.
TCEDIT -I THISFILE.DOC
This tells TCEDIT to edit the file THISFILE.DOC in the current
directory (creating it if it doesn't exist). The "-I" switch tells
the editor to start up in "Insert" mode. Since no -M switch
was supplied, the editor defaults to "-M7", which is full color
and IBM graphics allowed.
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MISCELLANY
SHELL TO DOS
When used in standalone mode, TCEDIT has a "shell to DOS" command
that allows you to work in DOS, perhaps to find a file that you need
to import. This feature does NOT work when TCEDIT is used as the
T.A.G. full-screen editor.
To use this function, call up the "Command>" prompt. (This can be
done by pressing '/' or '.' when the cursor is in column 1, or by
pressing CTRL-X at any time.) At the "Command>" prompt, press 'X'.
You will now be at a DOS prompt. To get back to TCEDIT, simply
type "exit" (without the quotes) and press ENTER.
ADVANCED TIPS - COLOR STRIPPING
One of the best features of the color mode switch is the simple
procedure for stripping out the color codes from your ANSI files.
(For instance, to take a T.A.G. *.CLR file and strip out the color
to make a *.MSG file.) Here's an example: Suppose you had just
finished using an ANSI drawing program, or even TCEDIT, to create
a login text file for T.A.G., and it was named LOGIN.CLR. To turn
this file into a color-free *.MSG file, you would only need to use the
following commands at a DOS prompt:
COPY LOGIN.CLR LOGIN.MSG
TCEDIT -M1 LOGIN.MSG
Once in the editor simply Save and Exit, and LOGIN.MSG will be color-
free! The "-M1" switch allows graphics codes to remain but strips out
all ANSI and CTRL-P codes from the file. Use "-M0" to make the file
completely text, with no IBM graphics, or use the table above under
the [-M] option to select any combination you desire.
USING TCEDIT WITH AN OFF-LINE MAIL READER
TCEDIT can be used with any OLR package that allows an external editor
and can pass a filename parameter. Currently, TCEDIT has only been
tested with the BlueWave Off-Line Mail Reader system (Copyright 1992
by George Hatchew).
You will need to check your specific Mail Reader's documentation for
details on how to change the editor.
Example - Blue Wave
For simplicity, put TCEDIT.EXE in your main BlueWave directory.
(For purposes of this example, it will be assumed to be C:\BWAVE.
If yours is different, use yours where you see "C:\BWAVE".)
Start BlueWave, and go to the S)etup Parameters menu. In the
"Directories" section of setup, under "Command Lines," change the
"Editor File Path" to say "C:\BWAVE\TCEDIT.EXE @F" (without the
quotes). The "@F" passes a filename to the editor. You can also
put in a "-M" switch if desired.