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|A |6Helpware |A ^1Outline Plus-PC |Aͺ |6Helpware |A
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^Cby
^CJames Maki


     ^1Outline Plus-PC^0 is a creative writing tool that will help just about
 anyone organize their writing in a more logical, coherent, and useful manner.
 As an outline processor, this program is useful in creating outlines to
 arrange facts or ideas. As a thought processor, the program's dynamic nature
 encourages free thinking and brainstorming without hindering the user.  The
 outline is used to collect seemingly random thoughts that can easily be
 rearranged, expanded, modified or deleted.  As an organization tool, this
 program is invaluable in organizing ideas and information in a manner which
 visually signifies the importance and relationship of each piece of data.

     Outline Plus-PC takes much of the tedium out of writing a list or an
 outline because it automatically takes care of line indexing, subject
 grouping, and formatting.  Up to four files can be opened simultaneously and
 the total number of lines is limited only by system memory.


^CUsing Outline Plus-PC
 
 
 ^1Keystroke Command Summary

    (When you type in a two-key sequence, such as Ctrl-C, you must hold
 down the control key ("Control" or "Ctrl" depending upon your
 keyboard) and then press the C key.



         Keystroke                Action
         ---------                ------

               File, Window and Output Commands

          F4                 Save current file to disk
          F3                 Close current file with prompt to save
                               if file was modified
          F2                 Open new window and file
          Alt-1              Switch to window #1
          Alt-2              Switch to window #2
          Alt-3              Switch to window #3
          Alt-4              Switch to window #4
          F9                 Print outline to printer
          F10                Export outline to disk

                  Block Commands

          Alt-M              Mark beginning and end of section for
                               other block functions
          Alt-C              Cut marked block; delete from outline
                               (block is now contained in the block buffer)
          Alt-P              Insert block above current cursor position
          Alt-D              Delete block and erase block buffer
          Alt-H              Remove block markers without affecting
                               block buffer

                 Miscellaneous commands
 
           ESC               Return to Main Menu
           F5                Search for a word
           F6                Repeat word search
           F1                Help

                 Editing Commands

           TAB               Indent current line of Outline
           SHIFT-TAB         UnIndent current line of Outline
           BACKSPACE         Erase character to left of cursor position
           DELETE            Delete character at current cursor position
           RETURN            Insert new line below current cursor position
           INSERT            Insert new line above current cursor position
           Ctrl-E            Erase the contents of the current line
           Ctrl-D            Delete the current line--lines below move up
                                (deleted line goes into the delete buffer)
           Ctrl-U            Undelete line 
           Ctrl-C            Clear the delete buffer (stack of deleted lines)
           F7                Hide all lower levels
           F8                Reveal hidden lower levels

                 Cursor Movement Commands

           PgUp              Scroll Screen up one page.
           PgDn              Scroll Screen down one page.
           UP ARROW          Move Cursor up one line, scrolling
                               window if necessary.
           DOWN ARROW        Move Cursor down one line, scrolling
                               window if necessary.
           HOME              Move Cursor to beginning of the line; if at
                               beginning of line, move cursor to first line
                               on the screen; if there, move cursor to first
                               line in the outline.
           END               Move Cursor to the end of the line, last line 
                               on the screen, last line in file.
           RIGHT ARROW       Move Cursor one character right, scrolling
                               window if necessary.
           LEFT ARROW        Move Cursor one character left, scrolling
                               window if necessary.  
           CTRL-RIGHT ARROW  Next word.
           CTRL-LEFT ARROW   Previous word.


             ^1(NOTE : These keystrokes apply only while editing an outline.)


    Type OUTLINE at the DOS prompt to run Outline Plus-PC.  The file selection 
 screen will be displayed.  See "File Selection" below for instructions on 
 using the file selection screen.  Once you have specified a new or existing 
 outline to work with, the main screen is displayed.  The top line contains 
 the name of the current outline (which is in the current window) and the 
 names of the outlines in any other open windows.  Each name is prefixed by 
 the window number associated with it.  The current window/outline is 
 displayed in bright white. The current outline is displayed in the center of 
 the screen.  The bottom line on the screen contains the main menu bar. 
 

 ^1Main Menu^0

   The main menu contains the following options: 

     Open   Edit   Switch   Save   Output   Close   Help   Quit

 Selecting a Main Menu Option
 ----------------------------

      An option is selected by moving the highlight bar to that option and 
 pressing the <Enter> key.  The highlight bar is moved using the left and 
 right arrow keys on the keyboard.  An alternate method is to press the first 
 letter of the option.  If two or more options start with the same letter, 
 pressing that letter will move the highlight bar to each option in turn (left 
 to right). 
 
 Main Menu Options
 -----------------
                                                                    
    Edit -   Places you into "Editing" mode.  You are now free to edit
             the outline in the current window; i.e. the one displayed 
             on the screen.  
 
    Save -   The outline in the current window is saved to disk.  See 
             "Saving a File" below.

    Switch - Switch windows.  See "Switching Windows (Main Menu)" below.

    Open -   A new window is opened (if all 4 are not already open) and 
             the file selection screen is presented for specifying the 
             outline file to load into the new window or a new one to 
             create.  See "Opening a Window" below.

    Close -  The current window is closed.  If the outline in it was 
             modified, you are prompted to save it.  See "Closing a 
             Window" below.

    Output - The current outline is printed to the printer or 
             exported to disk as a text file.  See "Output" below.

    Help -   A help screen describing the main menu options is 
             displayed.

    Quit -   Exits you from Outline Plus-PC.  


 ^1Editing
  
    While editing an outline, the bottom line of the screen displays a few
 of the more frequently used functions and corresponding keys.  The escape 
 key (Esc) will return you to the main menu. Pressing F1 will bring up a 
 screen listing all of the available functions and the key strokes required to 
 perform them. 

 Keyboard Input
 --------------

    Text is entered in the same manner as a word processor except the lines 
 will not wrap.  Each entry is limited to ninety-six characters and spaces on a 
 single line.  The window will scroll as necessary to accommodate the entire 
 line.  Pressing return will move the cursor to the next line and will insert a 
 new line. 

    The level designators can be changed with TAB to move to a lower level or 
 SHIFT-TAB to move to a higher level.  The display is redrawn to show the 
 effects of a level change.  Once the text is entered, it can be moved via the 
 block commands Cut and Paste. Text can be edited with the backspace and delete 
 keys.  BACKSPACE will delete the character to the left of the cursor and move 
 the cursor and line one character left.  DELETE will delete the character at 
 the current cursor position and move the remainder of the line one character 
 to the left. 

    The cursor keys, PgUp and PgDn keys are used to move the cursor within the 
 outline.  Use the right and left arrow keys to move to within a text line.  
 Entering a character will insert the character at the cursor position (limited 
 by the ninety-six character total line length).  The up and down cursor keys 
 will move the cursor up or down a line, scrolling the window if necessary. 
 PgUp will scroll the window up a page if possible while PgDn will scroll the 
 window down a page. The Home key will move the cursor to the beginning of the 
 current line. If the cursor is already at the beginning, Home will move it to 
 the first line on the screen.  If it is already at the beginning of the first 
 line on the screen, Home will move it to the first line in the file (outline).
 The End key moves the cursor to the end of the current line, last line on the 
 screen, and last line in the file/outline in a similar manner. 

    An entire line (except for the level designator) is erased by pressing the 
 Ctrl-E key.  The entire line is deleted by pressing Ctrl-D (lines below will 
 move up to take its place).  The contents of the deleted line are saved to a 
 delete buffer for retrieval if necessary (Undelete command described below).  
 While the text is saved, the level designator is not.  The delete buffer will 
 hold a number of lines limited by system memory.  The more items in the delete 
 buffer, the fewer lines available for the edit windows. 

    Pressing Ctrl-U will write the last deleted item in the delete buffer to 
 the current cursor location allowing retrieval of an item mistakenly deleted.  
 The delete buffer is a last in, first out stack arrangement.  After the last 
 item is recalled by Ctrl-U, the next to last deleted line is the next line 
 to be undeleted via Ctrl-U.  Pressing Ctrl-C will clear the delete buffer and 
 should be periodically performed after the deleted items are deemed expendable 
 to provide the maximum number of lines for the edit windows. 

    To add a new line between two existing lines, press INSERT or RETURN.  
 INSERT will add a new line at the current cursor position, pushing all 
 subsequent lines down while RETURN will insert a new line after the position 
 of the cursor.  The new line will take on the level of the current cursor line 
 and the window will be redrawn to reflect these changes. 

 Block Commands
 --------------

    The Block selections, Mark (Alt-M), Cut (Alt-C), Paste (Alt-P), Delete (Alt-
 D), and Hide (Alt-H) are used to manipulate text blocks between and within 
 windows.  All block functions operate on complete lines only.  Select Mark to 
 indicate the first line of the block.  Move the cursor, if necessary, and 
 select Mark a second time to indicate the last line.  The block will be 
 displayed on the screen in bright white for a monochrome monitor and in red 
 on a color monitor.  Selecting Mark the second time moves the selected region 
 to the block buffer (it is still displayed on the screen), ready for Paste. 

    The block region can be removed from the current file by selecting Cut (the 
 block buffer is still available for Paste operations).  Paste inserts the 
 block buffer to the current file at the current cursor location.  Delete 
 clears the block region and deletes the block buffer while Hide just clears 
 the block from the screen without affecting the block buffer.  Remember, 
 blocks can be moved between windows (i.e. from one outline to another). For 
 example:  if you have two windows opened with a different outline in each, 
 you can Mark a block of lines in the first outline and Paste that block into 
 the second outline.

 Hide and UnHide Levels
 ----------------------

             The outline format used by Outline Plus-PC is :

                  I. First Level
                     A. Second Level
                        1. Third Level
                           a. Fourth Level
                             (1) Fifth Level
                                (a) Sixth Level

    The level designators ( I to (a) ) are automatically incremented by the 
 program. 

    Pressing F7 will "Hide" all levels below the level of the current line.  
 Pressing F8 will "UnHide" all hidden levels.  For example: If you execute a 
 "Hide" while the cursor is on a third-level line, all fourth, fifth and sixth 
 level lines in the outline will be hidden; they are not deleted, merely 
 hidden from view until you "UnHide" them. 

 Search
 ------

    A specific word can be found by using the Search function of Outline Plus-
 PC.  Press F5 and enter the search word at the prompt.  Press ENTER or RETURN 
 and the program will search forward from the current cursor position.  If the 
 search string is found, the window will be redrawn at the word's location.  
 Pressing F6 will renew the search for the same word.  The search is not case 
 sensitive and it is forward seeking only.  Note: the search is limited to 
 finding the first occurance per line only; i.e. if a word appears more than 
 once on a given line, only the first occurance will be found.
 
 Switching Windows (while Editing)
 ---------------------------------

     You may switch to another open window (open window numbers and names are 
 displayed on the top line of the screen with the current one displayed in 
 bright white) by pressing the desired window number while holding down the 
 Alt key on your keyboard (typically near the spacebar).  For example if 
 windows 1, 2 and 3 are open and you are editing an outline in window number 
 1, you can switch to the outline in window 2 by pressing Alt-2.  The first 
 outline is not lost; it is still available for future operations (you just 
 have to "switch" back to it when you want to edit it again or save it, etc.).

 
 ^1File Selection
   
     The current drive and path are displayed in the first field.  If you wish 
 to change this, use the up arrow to move up to the field and type in the 
 drive and path you wish to save the file to. 

    A default file name is displayed in the second field (if this is a SAVE, 
 the file name you used to open the file is displayed).  Below this is a 
 list of outline files (or text files if you are exporting an outline to disk) 
 in the current directory.  To enter a new name, move the highlight bar (using 
 the up and down arrow keys) to the file name field and type in a new name.  To 
 use a name from the list, move the bar to it.  When the bar is on the name you 
 wish to use (either in the list or in the file name field) press <Enter>. 

     Once a file is selected, the requested operation on the file will be 
 performed and Outline Plus-PC will display (or return to) the main display 
 screen.  If you selected the file operation from editing, you will return to 
 editing; if it was from the main menu, you will return to the main menu. 

  
 ^1Saving a File

    When you select "Save" either from the main menu or from within editing, 
 the current outline will be saved under the name you opened it with.  If the 
 file already exists, you will asked if you wish to over write it (destroying 
 any previous contents).  If you answer "No", the file selection screen will 
 be presented and you may enter in a new name and or path to save the outline 
 under.  Saving does not close the window; the outline can still be edited, 
 output, etc...  


 ^1Opening a Window

    If there is a free window (i.e. all four are not open), the file selection 
 screen will be displayed.  Specify an outline to work with.  The next 
 available window will be assigned to the specified outline (new or existing) 
 and this window will become the current one.  If the name you specified is 
 the same as a name associated with another open window, you will be so 
 advised and recommended to use a different name for the new one in order to 
 avoid confusion (your own).  If you say yes to renaming it, a box will appear 
 where you can enter in the new name.  If the new name corresponds with a file 
 name on the disk, you are again given a message and prompted to rename.


 ^1Closing a Window

    Close a window when you are finished with the outline.  If the outline has 
 been modified, you will be prompted to save it.  Once a window is closed, the 
 outline previously associated with it is no longer available until and unless 
 you load it in again (open a window).  The closed window is free to be opened 
 again with a different (or the same) outline.  After you close a window, the 
 the next window becomes the current one.  Closing all the windows will bring
 up a prompt asking if you wish to quit the program.  If you answer no, the 
 file selection screen is displayed and you are to specify the outline you want 
 to work with.  Note: the program requires that you have an outline to work with
 at all times. 

 
 ^1Switching Windows (Main Menu) 

    This option is used to specify another open window to be the current one.  
 The cursor is moved to the top line where the window names are displayed.  A 
 highlight bar is placed on the current window.  Move the highlight bar to the 
 desired window and press <Enter>.  The highlight bar is moved using the left 
 and right arrow keys or by pressing the number associated with the desired 
 window.  You may abort switching windows by pressing the Esc key.  Upon 
 selecting a new window, you are returned to the main menu and the specified 
 window (outline) is displayed on the screen.  It is now the "current" one and 
 all future operations will be performed on it (editing, output, save, etc.).


 ^1Output
 
    (Output the outline in the CURRENT window)

    If "Output" was selected from the main menu, a prompt will appear asking 
 you to select to Printer or to Disk.  Output to printer and Output (or Export) 
 to Disk can also be directly requested during editing by press F9 and F10 
 respectively.  After selecting the destination, a message box opens for 
 entering a title line.  This line will be centered on the top of the first 
 page followed by 56 lines of text.  The page number is printed at the bottom 
 of the page.  No special printer codes are utilized so any printer can be 
 used.  Selecting Disk will export the outline to the disk in ASCII form which 
 can be retrieved by most word processors.  The file selection screen is 
 brought up for selecting or specifying the name of the file you wish to export 
 the outline to. This allows the outline to be available in a second window (if 
 available in your word processor) while writing and also can be used to 
 produce fancier output using the output formatter of your word processor. 

 
 Error Messages
 --------------

    The program handles most I/O system errors and displays messages 
 describing the problem.  The most common are insufficient memory to load or 
 save a file.  Changing to a new disk will alleviate the problem of 
 insufficient storage space.  If the problem is insufficient computer memory, 
 try clearing the delete buffer (Ctrl-C), closing unneeded windows, and booting 
 without any memory resident programs. 

    Everyone who uses a word processor can benefit from Outline Plus-PC, 
 whether they are writers, students or executives.  It is easy to use, 
 versatile and dynamic.  Free the creative person in you with Outline Plus-PC.  
 Your writing may never be the same. 

 ^1NOTE:^0 Due to limited space on the disk, you should plan on moving OUTLINE 
 PLUS-PC to another disk before creating any additional outlines.

    To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type: ^1OUTLINE^0.

 DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
 ^FOUTLINE.EXE
 ^FOUTLINE.HLP
