Record VIEW

Version 1.0

January 2, 1989




WISE Solutions
Jerry Weisskohl
2617 New Concorde Court
Herndon, VA 22071

Record VIEW User's Guide Version 1.0



1. INTRODUCTION

Record VIEW allows you to view, manipulate and edit data on a RECORD
level. You can change the record size of a file at any time in the program.
Record VIEW allows you to extract select records to an output file. For
example, you can copy the first 200 records of a file, skip over the
next two and then copy records 203 till the end. Record VIEW can handle
record sizes up to 1024 bytes in length. This can be extremely useful
in cases where the record length is too large to fit into your favorite
editor. Record VIEW allows you to merge records of several different
files into one. Just copy the records you want from one file, open a
new input file and copy the desired records from that file. The COPY
option will append all records to the output file. Record VIEW has
a powerful search feature that will find any text string and position
the file at that record number. The search feature works equally well on
text and binary files. Record VIEW allows you to quickly edit a file
on a record level. Just supply the offset within the record and the
string: Ex. "10,EDIT IS EASY TO USE" will start at offset 10 of the
current record and write the above string in positions 10-28. With
the GOTO feature, you can go to any record in the file within seconds.
This combined with the search feature, allows you to quickly work on
only the records that you need.

LICENSING - REGISTRATION

Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license
to make an evaluation copy for trial use on a private, non-commercial
basis, for the express purpose of determining whether Record VIEW is
suitable for their needs. At the end of this trial period, you
should either register your copy or discontinue using Record VIEW.
Registration is $15.00. A Record VIEW registration includes the latest
version of the program, and a copy of the C source code. Record VIEW
complies fully with the proposed ANSI C standards and can be recompiled
on any computer that supports ANSI C. The source is not machine
dependent in any way. For the purposes of this distribution, Borland's
Turbo C Version 2.0 was used as the compiler.

Registrations should be mailed to:

WISE Solutions
2617 New Concorde Court
Herndon Virginia 22071

A registration form is included at the end of this documentation.

Record VIEW User's Guide Version 1.0



2. GETTING STARTED


Record VIEW is invoked by specifying the file name you want to work
on followed by the record size. As an example, "RVIEW MYFILE 500"
will read in a file named MYFILE using a record size of 500 bytes;
the first 500 bytes in the file will be considered record 1. If no
record size is identified then Record VIEW will use 256 as a default
record size until you change it using the "r" option. If no file name
is identified, Record VIEW will prompt you for it and will use 256
as the default record size.

Record VIEW will attempt to open a file in read and write mode. If
your file has the attribute of read only, Record VIEW will then
attempt to open it in read only mode and if successful, will disable
the edit function as no writing to this file is allowed.

After specifying the file name and record size the first record of
the file will be displayed. The HEX representation will appear on
the left and the ASCII on the right. As a default, decimal headings
are used but this can be changed using the "h" option. If the record
is large and begins to scroll off the screen, CNTRL S can be used to
suspend, CNTRL Q will then resume the display.

After the first record has displayed a menu line will appear. When
entering an option you only need to press the option character, do
NOT press the carriage return as this will advance you to the next
record. A "?" will display the HELP screen and an "x" will EXIT.
All characters can be entered as uppercase or lowercase. The FIND
string option is case sensitive when searching for strings.



Record VIEW User's Guide Version 1.0



3. COMMAND DESCRIPTION


,+ DISPLAY next record

The next record in sequence can be displayed by pressing the "+"
key, the carriage return( or any other key that does not
represent a command on the menu.


- DISPLAY previous record

The previous record can be displayed by pressing the "-" key.
This will display the last full record. If "-" is pressed at the
top of the file, record 1 will be redisplayed.


t GOTO top of file

By pressing "t" the file will be positioned at the top and record
1 will be displayed.


b GOTO bottom of file

By pressing "b" the file will be positioned at the bottom of the
file. This will not necessarily be a full record as specified by
the record size. If there are not enough bytes to make up a full
record, an EOF message will be displayed. Press "-" to position
the file at the last full record.


c COPY records to OUT file

At the start of Record VIEW, a file is opened in the current
directory named "OUT". If this file is empty it is deleted
upon exit of the program. After pressing "c" you will be prompted
for the starting and ending records to copy. Both these entries
are terminated by a unlike the character options from the
main menu. After the records are copied to file "OUT", you are
returned to the current record. All successive copies will append
onto file "OUT". You can change input files using the "n" option and
copy more records to this file. After exit of the program you can
rename "OUT" and use it as you wish.


f FIND string

By pressing "f" you will be prompted for a string to search for.
The search will begin with the current record and go until found or
to the End of file. If the string is found, Record VIEW positions
the file at the record where the string was found and displays the
offset within the record. If the string was not found, Record VIEW
will position the file back at what was the current record before the
search was begun. The FIND string feature WILL work correctly with
binary files.

Record VIEW User's Guide Version 1.0



g GOTO record number

By pressing "g" you will be prompted for the record number to go to.
If the record number is greater than the number of records in the
file, Record VIEW will position the file at the last full record.
In this case you can press to view the last remaining bytes.
If the record number entered is within the limits of the file,
Record VIEW will position the file at that location and display
the record.

r Change RECORD SIZE

By pressing "r" you will be prompted for a new record size. The
record size may currently be from 1 to 1024 in length. After
entering the new record size, the file will be positioned at the
beginning and record 1 will be displayed.

d Display DECIMAL headings

By default, the headings that are displayed are in decimal. The
numbers to the left start at 0000 but the first position in the
record is position 1. If the headings were changed to HEX
previously, pressing "d" will change them back to decimal. The
current record will then be redisplayed.

h Display HEX headings

Pressing "h" will change the headings to HEX format. The
current record will then be redisplayed.

n Read in NEW file

Pressing "n" will allow you to change the input file and read
in a new file. After entering the file name, record 1 will be
displayed from the new file. The record size will be the same
as was last used with the previous file. The record size can be
changed through the "r" option.

e EDIT in ASCII

Pressing "e" will allow you to edit the current record. You will
be prompted for the starting offset and the string you want to
be placed in the record. The offset and the string must be
separated by a "," (coma). The offset cannot be greater than the
current record size . By entering "100,56723testline": Record
VIEW would position to offset 100 of the current record and place
the string "56723testline" starting at that location. The offset
and string combined cannot exceed 128 characters at a time.
Record VIEW will consider the first position of a record as
position 1 NOT position 0. EDIT was intended to be used to enter
Alphanumeric and special character data only. Do NOT attempt to
enter CONTROL characters 0-32 as this will produce unpredictable
results. Be extremely careful while editing binary files as all
changes are permanent. It is advised to work only on a backup
copy of the file.

Record VIEW User's Guide Version 1.0



j JUMP to DOS

Pressing "j" will JUMP to DOS. COMMAND.COM must be in the path or
in the root directory. If successful, a second copy of COMMAND.COM
is invoked. Typing "exit" will return you to Record VIEW.

x EXIT program

Pressing "x" will EXIT the program and close all files. If
records were copied, they will reside in the file named "OUT"
in the current directory.


? HELP

Pressing "?" will display the HELP screen.




********** Record VIEW REGISTRATION FORM **********



REMIT TO: WISE Solutions
2617 New Concorde Court
Herndon, Virginia 22071


NAME: _________________________________________


COMPANY: _________________________________________


ADDRESS: _________________________________________


_________________________________________


CITY: _________________________________________


STATE: ______________ ZIP CODE: ________________


PHONE: _________________________________________



AMOUNT ENCLOSED: ____________
($15.00 per registration)



COMMENTS: __________________________________________


_____________________________________________________


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