SpeedRead Plus by Terry Morris version 3.2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a Desktop reader capable of reading TXT, SRC, AWP, GWP (ie Teach and Appleworks GS word processor files), with the full range of characters. It will also display the text from AppleWorks Data Base files. Extracts can be printed out immediately or saved into a file for printing later. It is both a program and an NDA. It can handle very large files, even those too big to fit into memory. SpeedRead Plus is modest-priced shareware, so please send your $10 US, 5 or 50 French Francs to the address below (details are also in the about box). Cheques are OK for and French Francs, but otherwise please send cash. The NDA will be sent to all those who pay the shareware fee. Convenience and speed of operation are regarded as the most important attributes. Formatting for the screen and scrolling are particularly fast, at the price of using only a single font at a time. The program shows the "page" number you are on and there is a "Bookmark" feature to keep your place when you finish reading, though SpeedRead Plus never changes the disk version of the loaded file. Various options are provided to help display text in the most appropriate format. The program brings together the methods of operation of Appleworks and a desktop program, so in addition to the scroll bar etc that you expect, operation from the keyboard is supported, ie the arrows and <-#> have special functions. The program will read up to 65,510 (approximately) lines of any file. This is 3854 pages in the system font. SpeedRead Plus accepts start up file names, so you can put the name of a file in the Startup section of the Prosel 16 launcher and directly load the file of your choice, and it can be used to display text files which can be launched directly from the Finder once you have set the application path correctly, or the NDA will launch files from the Finder if you prefer, simply by setting the appropriate option. If you have previously created a Bookmark for a file the chosen font and formatting will be automatically restored. Page number is shown in the information bar. SpeedRead Plus requires System 5 or greater. SpeedRead Plus NDA (SRNDA) requires system 6.0.1. The Nda will work with the S16 program, and the Bookmarks are compatible. Errors ~~~~~ The two errors most likely are read errors and memory errors. SpeedRead Plus will show as much of the file as it can (which may be nothing, of course) if these errors are met. If the program cannot find enough memory to load the whole file it will normally load as much as it can from the beginning. However holding down  means that the maximum amount will be loaded to the end of the file. This means that if you have at least half as much memory available as the length of the file, you will be able to read all of it (in two stages). There is also an option to load only part of any file longer than 256k which can save time if you do not need the whole of a file, or can make it possible to look at any part of a file too big too load in one go. If there is a bookmark for a file which is too long to load, then SpeedRead Plus will load only the part containing the bookmark (from about 2000 words before to about 50000 words after) this very quick and normally plenty, though there is an option to load as much as possible. This, in conjunction with the Search Files option detailed below, makes SpeedRead perfect for reading novels or consulting long works of reference now available to download. If you want to load a different part of the file from the bookmark, either delete the bookmark and reload, or use Search Files and load from there, when the bookmark placing will not be used. =================================================================== Application and Use ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The S16 program and the NDA have been designed to be almost identical in use, but some special points about the NDA will be found at the end of this section. Bookmarks ~~~~~~~~ From version 3.2 the Bookmark has been considerably enhanced. Here is how it works: The "bookmark" saved by SpeedReadPlus contains information about where in the file the reader was when it was saved, together with information about the font, window size etc, and the address of the file to which it refers. This means that when the file is loaded again it is automatically reset the way it was when it was when the bookmark was last saved. The bookmark can be saved either in the directory "BootDisk/SRBookmarks" where "Bootdisk" is the name of your boot volume or in the same directory as the file to which it refers. It carries the same name as the reference file (truncated if necessary) plus the suffix ".bm". If it is saved with the file it is saved as a "hidden file" ie you won't normally see it in the Finder. This is so that your Finder Window is not cluttered up with files you do not need to see. (Though you can set your Finder preferences to show hidden files if you wish.) If the bookmark is saved in the "SRBookmarks" directory it is visible so that it can easily be selected either in the normal way by SpeedRead Plus or by double clicking in the Finder. If you do select a bookmark SpeedRead will load the file it was created for. The advantage of having all the bookmarks together on the boot disk is that you then have a list of your books (or articles or downloads) in one place. The advantage of having the bookmark with the file is that it can easily be moved if the file does. A bookmark found with the file takes precedence over one in the bookmark directory so you can have the best of both worlds by saving a bookmark in the bookmark directory and then saving it with the file. Since the latter one is given precedence you can use the first one to load the reading file and you need only keep the second one up to date when you have read some. Double clicking on a bookmark file in the Finder means that either SRNda (which gets there first unless you tell it not to) or SpeedReadPlus will load the file for which the bookmark was saved, assuming that it hasn't moved since the bookmark was saved. File ~~~~ Open (-O) --------- Open files. Normally the data fork of a file is opened, but you can open the resource fork instead by pressing  as you select the file from the list. If you only want to load part of a file you can do this, providing it islonger than 256 000 bytes and not an Appleworks or Appleworks GS file, by holding down the control key as you select the file. If any characters have been removed from the file using the items from the Convert menu then the bookmark position may not be held wholly accurately, because some necessary information will not be available. However, the bookmark position does not move much in practice. Open from this file's directory --------------------------- The current directory may be different from the current file's directory if it was loaded using the bookmark (or other reasons) this option jumps straight to it. Open from bookmarks directory --------------------------- Self-explanatory. Close (-K) ---------- Close temporarily. SpeedRead Plus normally clears a file from memory only when a new one is loaded. If you want to clear a file without loading a new one. load the resource fork from a file which doesn't have one! Re-Open (-R) ------------- Re-Open a "closed" file. Save Selected Text (-S) ---------------------- The currently selected text will be appended to the file "Sr.Extracts" in the same directory as SpeedRead Plus. Text is selected as you would expect in the normal way by holding down the mouse button and moving the mouse. The button is released when the text is chosen. Pressing the mouse button again normally clears the selection but amendments to the selection are possible in the following way: First, display the end of the selected text on the screen (-J). Secondly hold down the  keys and position the cursor approximately where you want the end of the text. Next, hold down the mouse button (the  keys can now be released). The selected text can now be further changed if you wish. The best way to select a large amount of text is to use the Select Pages option then to adjust the end in this way. Save Selected Text As --------------------- Saves the selected text to a file of your choice. If the file exists the contents are replaced by the selected text. Unless you choose this option all text is saved to "SR.Extracts", so it is easier to use that file and only use this option to save the contents of SR.extracts under a different name at the end of the session. Save Selected Text For Pc ------------------------ Saves the selected text to a file of your choice. Line feeds are added after each return to suit the Pc world. Accented and special characters (ie those with the high bit set) are also translated (where possible) to the Windows equivalent. This means that accents must be displayed properly by SpeedRead Plus (using one of the conversions, if necessary) before saving. Load Extract File (-E) -------------------- Loads the "SR.Extracts" file with two keystrokes without changing the current prefix, making for easy checking. Delete Last Extract ------------------ This option deletes the last extract (only) saved to the file "SR.Extracts" Delete Extract File ----------------- This option deletes the Sr.Extracts file. Select Pages (-T) ----------------- You can select a large amount of text very easily with this option in the following way: 1. Put the first line you want at the top of the screen. 2. Press -M. 3. Find the last line using Find or -# etc. 4. Note the page number. 5. Press -L to return to the start. 6. Press -T and enter the page numbers. 7. Press -J to jump to the end of the selected text. 8. Press  and the mouse button to adjust if you wish. It is often easier to enter the last page in the 'From' box. Select All Text (-A) ------------------- This one is left as an exercise for the reader. Print Selected Text (-P) ----------------------- Prints out the selected text. Page Setup ----------- Configure your printer as you wish. Save Page Setup -------------- Saves your preferred configuration. The best time to do it is just after you have printed with it, because then the print quality choice is saved as well. Show all Files ------------- Normally all files are presented for selection, but you can limit them to those listed above by selecting this option (It is ticked when in operation). This can save time, especially with the "Hunt" function. (Visible bookmarks will always be shown, however this option is set.) Control HardPressed -------------------- This option is available for those who use HardPressed (now Freeware, apparently) and Prosel 16. HardPressed must be turned off when using Prosel's utilities or corruption of files can occur. If this option is used then you can be sure that HardPressed will be turned off as SpeedRead Plus quits. If this option is selected then HardPressed or HardPressed runtime will be started up (assuming one of them to be available). If it is selected when you Save All Preferences HP or HPRT will be started when SpeedReadPlus is run, making it possible to launch files shrunk with HardPressed direct from Prosel16. Note that deselecting this option does not turn HardPressed off immediately. Hopwever, if this option has been selected at any time during the use of SpeedRead Plus then HardPressed will be turned off as the programs quits. Bell by the Save --------------- Saving small extracts can happen so quickly that you are not sure whether you did it or not. This option gives an audible signal. Quit (-Q) --------- If you still have an extracts file when you quit, you will be asked if you want to delete it. Pressing -Q again will quit without removing this file. You may also use the initial letters of the buttons to choose. Edit ~~~ Copy (-C) --------- You may copy the selected text to the clipboard for transfer to another program, eg a word processor. SpeedRead Plus is very reliable handling large files, but I don't think the same can be said of the System Clipboard, especially before system 6. Save selected text to an extract file if in difficulty, and load that into the other program. Display ~~~~~~ Choose Font ------------ Allows you to change the display font. Some files will look better when you use a mono-spaced font such as Courier. Spacier Font ----------- Some fonts look rather squashed in 640 display mode. This option unsquashes them a bit. Press  to toggle between the two amounts of extra spacing when making the selection. Squeeze Letters --------------- Squeezes the gaps between letters. Press  to toggle between the two amounts of squashing when making the selection. Squeeze Lines ------------ Conversely, some fonts allow too much space between lines, and this option squeezes them together. (You may get bits of letters on the edges of the screen with this option.) Both these options are ticked when selected. Keep Left -------- The longest line of the loaded file is normally centred between the left margin and the right of the screen. If this option is selected the left margin is used. This item dims if it wouldn't make any difference (ie if the longest line exceeds the available width and word wrap has been used). Margin & Tabs ------------ You can select the tab interval and left margin with this option. Note that to be sure of getting the left margin you want the Keep Left option should be selected, if it can be. (If it can't be, it would make no difference.) Change the size of the window to adjust the right margin for printing. Restore File Preferences ---------------------- This option restores your preferences relating to the way a file is displayed from disk. (See below to find out how to save them). The following options are restored: the font, its spacing, the left margin and window size. If you use 'Save All Preferences' to save a font style, you can use this option and the one below to toggle between it and the system font very easily. Restore File Defaults ------------------- This does the same as the previous one but replaces the current setting with the program defaults. Restore All Preferences ---------------------- This one restores the File Preference settings and those you saved for Show All files, Bell by the Save, Control HardPressed and the Clock. For the NDA it also covers Open Files from the Finder and the Menu Key equivalent. Restore All Defaults ------------------- Restores the program defaults for all options. Save All Preferences ------------------- Selecting this item will save your current font and style etc. If the directory SpeedRead Plus was launched from is not available you will get an error. This option covers the following items: Show all Files, The current font & style, Tabs and margin, Keep left, Bell by the save and the clock. For the NDA it also covers Open Files from the Finder and the Menu Key equivalents. The current font and style will be overridden if a bookmark is found when loading a file. You can stop changes to your preferences by locking SpeedreadPlus. Clock ----- Turn it off if you want to. Convert ~~~~~~ None of the display options changes the text in any way. All of the options in "Convert" do change the text. You can save the changed text by using the Save or Save as options, but you should exercise caution if you are considering saving the changed text over the top of the original file. Any option selected is ticked in the menu. Any option which then becomes pointless will be dimmed (for example, there is not much point in changing line feeds to Returns if they have already been removed). If you select an option the second time the effect will be undone, though this may require disk access. It may not work, therefore if you have saved changed text over the original file! Zero High Bits -------------- Use to clear high bit characters which can appear as rubbish in the extended character set. This is an example of what a file full of characters with the Hi-Bit set might look like in comparison with their normal counterparts: -- Normal Characters -- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789)!@#$%^&*( -- Hi-Bit Characters -- ڰަ for # ------ Substitutes "" for "#" throughout the file. Line Feeds to Returns ------------------- Some files use only line feeds without returns for line breaks. Use this option to display them properly. Tabs to Returns -------------- If a text file has been printed from an AppleWorks Data base using tabs between records this option will make it display well. Remove Line Feeds ---------------- Some PC format files have a line feed after the return at the end of a line (It will show up as " " at the beginning of the next line). This option removes it. Remove Single Returns -------------------- This option affects single Returns and leaves multiple Returns alone. This normally means that paragraphing is left alone, and individual lines are lengthened to the maximum, though it can mean a tremendous mess. The return is replaced by a space if necessary, and removed if not. @ to ----- This option changes the special characters used by 8 bit programs for accents into the appropriate French accent. It changes @ to , { to , } to , | to , \ to , a^ to , e^ to , i^ to , o^ to and u^ to , ~ to and a~e~i~o~u~ to . PC Text Screen Accents -------------------- This changes the accented characters in text prepared using a PC text screen to those found in Apple Fonts. Any character with no equivalent is left alone. PC Graphics Screen Accents ------------------------ This option does the same thing for text prepared using the extended character set in PC Fonts. Any character with no equivalent is left alone. Neither PC fonts nor Apple Fonts contain all available characters (or, indeed are wholly consistent), but in practice the conversions seem to work. Bookmark ~~~~~~~~ Set Bookmark (-M) ----------------- Saves your current place in a file in a directory on your boot disk called SRBookmarks, or in the same directory that the file is in. The name of the current file with the suffix ".bm" is used. Details on the font etc are also kept so this adds considerably to the display flexibility. Delete Bookmark (-D) -------------------- Removes the Bookmark file from disk. Where was I? (-L for Lost!) ------------------------- Returns you to where you were the last time you saved the "bookmark" to disk. Reset from Bookmark ------------------- Reformats the file according to all the information last saved to Disk with the "bookmark". If any of the reformatting options under "Convert" have been used since you saved the bookmark to disk the file may be reloaded. Save Bookmark With File ---------------------- Normally, the bookmark is saved in the directory SRBookmarks on your boot disk. Selecting this option means that the bookmark is saved in the same directory as the file. It is ticked when in operation. If a bookmark is found when a file is loaded this option is set appropriately, otherwise it is left as it was just before the file was loaded. Once the file is loaded the bookmark is looked for only in the directory set with this option. Search ~~~~~ Find (-F) --------- Use to find a string of characters. You can exit the find string entry routine with or < -.>. -1 or -s will select the start search at start button. Use -B to search backwards from the bottom line of the page you are on. Find Next (-G) ------------- Find the next occurrence of the same string. The buzzer sounds if the search ends without success. Press the mouse button with the cursor in the window to clear the find. Find Previous (-B) ----------------- The same as Find Next except that it searches backwards through the file for the previous occurrence of the same string. Hunt within Files (-H) -------------------- This option enables you to search for a string within files on disk. You can limit the search to the files SpeedRead Plus knows how to format (ie Text, Teach, Src, Appleworks word processor files, Appleworks data base files and Appleworks GS word processor files and a visible SpeedRead bookmark), though there is an option to search all files (except "invisible" files). The default is set according to your selection in the "Show All Files" option in the File Menu. The search can be carried out ignoring the high bit, or only allowing perfect match. You cannot search for a character with the high bit set (eg ) and choose to ignore the high bit. The search is carried out on files exactly as they are on disk. This does not mean that because a string is found in the file when SpeedRead Plus has loaded and formatted it that this string is also present in the file on disk. A string which is on two lines of an Appleworks word processor, for example (and not necessarily on two lines of SpeedRead Plus) will not be found in the disk version because it will be split by the formatting information also there. If any of the conversion options have been used then the differences between the displayed version and the disk version will be even greater. The converse is also true - for example many Appleworks word processor files will contain the string "=====" in the header, and this string will be found in the file on disk, though not in the loaded version. Under normal circumstances, however, should you choose to load the file in which your string has been found, the file will be formatted and loaded and the string highlighted on the screen. If the string is not in the formatted and displayed file then you will find yourself at the end of the file with a buzz in your ears! Resume Hunt (-I) ---------------- If you have loaded a file containing your search string or terminated the Hunt early by pressing escape you may wish to resume the hunt using this option. The resumption will normally start with the next file, though it may be the current file searched if it didn't all fit in memory or it has a resource fork which has not yet been searched. If you press escape to cancel and your search string is found then you will need to press escape again. This ensures you do not miss an occurrence of the string. If you load a file containing your string it is up you to check the rest of the file in memory (using -G) for any remaining strings before you press -I to resume the disk search, if it is important to find all occurrences. Jump to end of selection (-J) --------------------------- Another exercise for the reader. About SpeedRead Plus (-?) ------------------------- As well as the usual stuff, some interesting information about the state of the computer's memory and the size of the loaded file is given. If it is a text file, this is the size of the file on disk, unless any of the options which remove characters has been used. If it is a specially formatted file eg ADB or APW it will be smaller. If you save all of the displayed text to disk this is the size of the file which will result. Special keys ~~~~~~~~~~ Page forward Page forward Scroll one line forward Page back Page back Scroll one line back <-#> -1 to -9 rapid document scan. ======================================================================== SpeedRead Plus NDA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The NDA (which will be sent to all those sending in the Shareware fee) is almost identical to the S16 program, but these points should be noted: If you load a file in 320 mode graphics which has a bookmark, the window size and position will be overridden if they are inappropriate (eg too big, or off the screen). The correct position in the file will be maintained providing the bookmark was saved by version 2.2 (or after) of either the NDA or the S16 program (ie the bookmark length is at least $38). There isn't enough room to show the page number in 320 mode, but you can find the current page by pressing -T. If you have the IR init installed it can be launched from the Finder or by IRnda V2.0. You can have more than one copy of SRnda "live" at the same time by putting another copy of the file SRnda in the Desk.Accs subdirectory under a different name (eg SRNda2). All extracts will be saved to the same extracts file, but you can have different preferences set up for each one. Close (-K or -W ) ----------------- Close temporarily. If you choose SpeedRead Plus again from the Apple Menu the current file will still be in the memory. If you wish to clear the current file and release the memory choose Quit (-Q). All memory is cleared if you quit the current application, of course. Open Files from the Finder ----------------------- If this option is selected, clicking on the icon of a file in the Finder that SpeedRead Plus knows how to handle will open it automatically (unless another Nda gets there first). If you want SrNda to be offered the file first put it late in the Desk.Accs directory. Save Selected Text (-S) ---------------------- Text is appended to the file SRNDA.Extracts in the desk.accs subdirectory. Copy (-C) --------- In 640 mode you can use either the system bar's Edit menu or the Nda's Edit menu (or -C) to copy the selected range to the clipboard. In 320 mode, where there is not enough room for the Nda to have an Edit menu you must use the System Bar's (or -C). Choose Menu Key -------------- Allows you to select a key to launch SpeedRead plus with. Normally you should choose upper and lower case of the same key, or if a key which does not have upper and lower, the same key twice. SpeedRead Plus will not mind what you do, however. A note on Appleworks Data Base files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Occasionally, you may get an early termination of the processing of these files. It will only happen with a file with lots of time and/or date entries. It is more likely to happen with Appleworks 3 than later versions. If this happens (you will get message) then you can either launch Appleworks and save the contents of the ADB file as text and read it that way, or create one or more reports (you don't have to use them!) and SpeedRead Plus will then be able to handle the ADB file. Version History ============== Version 3.2 ~~~~~~~~~ Loading the bookmark will result in the file it was created for being loaded. All bookmarks are now saved in a directory on the boot disk called SRBookmarks, unless they are saved with the file. The bookmarks now have a new (official) file type $5A (CFG) aux type $8212. Users of earlier versions will need to copy the file "SpeedReadIcons" to their icons directory (and delete the file "SpeedReadIcon"). I also recommend reading the "Bookmarks" section of this file. Added the "Save files for Pc" option. Version 3.12 ~~~~~~~~~~ "Squeeze Letters" Option added, and a bug in handling some very small data base files was fixed. Version 3.11 ~~~~~~~~~~ A couple of minor bugs were fixed. Version 3.1 ~~~~~~~~~ The Search Files feature (renamed "Hunt" so that you can use -H) can be resumed from where it left off( -I). You can load part (only) of any file bigger than 256k, the preferences which relate only to files can be restored. HardPressed can be turned on . A bug which meant some Pc accents were not converted has been fixed. The NDA can have a menu key equivalent. Version 3.0 ~~~~~~~~~~ Added the search files feature. The standard search is now 30% faster. A bug with some Appleworks GS files is no longer. The bookmark will now work with files which are too long to load in one go, thus making SpeedReadPlus perfect for reference works etc. Memory management is improved so that even more of long files can be read. Version 2.23 ~~~~~~~~~~ Added the conversions from accented characters in the PC World. Squeeze lines works reliably again and pressing "enter" on the numeric pad to exit the screen blanker no longer changes the page you are on. Version 2.22 ~~~~~~~~~~ Line-by-line scrolling is now 10 - 250% faster. Unaccelerated ROM 01s gain most, accelerated Rom 03s least. Appleworks sticky spaces are now handled properly. A bug which caused a crash if no bytes were loaded from the first selected file has been fixed. Version 2.21 ~~~~~~~~~~ Some minor tidying up, not issued. Version 2.20 ~~~~~~~~~~ The Nda now works in 320 Mode graphics. The handling of Appleworks 3 Data base files is much improved, and the early ending of processing is much less likely. Copying to the clipboard is now possible. Added Find Previous. Version 2.14 ~~~~~~~~~~ Minor changes to the Screen Saver and -Q permitted when you are asked if the extracts file should be deleted. Version 2.13 ~~~~~~~~~~ SpeedRead Plus gained a screen saver and the NDA was born. Version 2.11 ~~~~~~~~~~ Made the "convert" operations reversible, and added the "@ to " option, made sure all memory is disposed of properly. Version 2.0 ~~~~~~~~~ Version 2.0 added Remove Single Returns, margin and tab selection, the handling of Appleworks GS word processor files, a choice of where the bookmark goes and information on the file in the About menu. The bookmark is incompatible with the previous one and has a new name. The menus have been better organised, and a thermometer is shown (under sytsem 6.0) when formatting longer files. Memory management is a bit more effective and a bug which made things go wrong if memory was unavailable while formatting has been fixed. This version does not hang when an ADB file with background text is loaded. If you coughed up for version 1.0 you are not expected to pay for version 2.0 ======================================================================== Terry Morris 66 Kennel Lane Leatherhead Surrey KT22 9PJ England Phone: +44 (0) 1372 453441 This program remains the copyright of the author. It may only be used entirely to the risk of the user. The user is entirely responsible for loss of data or any other loss consequent to the use of SpeedRead Plus. This material has been prepared for the British and French IIgs Clubs and for the benefit of the AppleIIGS community in general. TJM July 1st 1999