GRTXT(tm) (the GRABBER(tm) ASCII Text Subset) Version 0.6 ------------------------------- The ASCII Screen Capture Program for the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 and Compatibles DOCUMENTATION February 4, 1992 Copyright 1991, 1992 by Gerald A. Monroe All rights reserved. YOUR LICENSE TO USE THIS SOFTWARE ---------------------------------- GRTXT.EXE and this documentation are copyright 1991, 1992 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are reserved except those expressly granted here. The GRTXT program and this documentation file are distributed as part of the GRABBER(tm) screen capture package under the terms of a shareware license that is fully set forth in the file GRABBER .DOC. (GRABBER.DOC is the reference manual for GRABBER.EXE, the main program module in the package.) The shareware license terms in the GRABBER.DOC file are incorpo- rated here by reference. This license permits you to copy and distribute the files GRTXT.EXE and GRTXT.DOC (this file) freely, provided that: these files are always distributed together with each other and with the GRABBER.EXE and GRABBER.DOC files; none of the files is modified in any way; and no fee, premium or donation of any kind whatsoever is charged or requested for their distribution except as permitted on the terms described in the GRABBER.DOC file. Continued use of the GRTXT program for more than a 10-day trial period requires you to register your use of the software with the author. For more information about the benefits of registration and how to go about registering, please refer to the full licens- ing and ordering information in the GRABBER.DOC file. GRTXT(tm) Documentation Page 2 of 5 ABOUT GRTXT.EXE -- GRABBER's "TEXT" VERSION -------------------------------------------- GRTXT is an alternative version of the GRABBER screen capture program. It is an especially valuable tool for users who need to capture character-based text images from the video screen direct- ly to plain ASCII text files on disk. While GRABBER can be used to capture both character-based text screens as well as pixel-based graphic images to your disk in the form of executable image files, GRTXT is designed to capture character-based text screens exclusively. GRTXT also differs from GRABBER in that GRTXT captures your screens directly to plain-ASCII text files, instead of to the .exe format. If your screen capture needs are mostly text-based, and you require the ASCII format rather than the .exe format, then GRTXT can be much more convenient to use than GRABBER. GRTXT creates ASCII text files that are ready to use immediately, without having to be processed first by the GR2ASCII conversion utility which accompanies GRABBER. GRTXT is installed and operated in much the same way as GRABBER, and the two programs have a very similar look and feel. For the most part, this documentation for GRTXT covers only the aspects of GRTXT which differ from GRABBER. It is assumed here that you have read the GRABBER documentation file (GRABBER.DOC) and become familiar with that program's operation. USING GRABBER and GRTXT SIMULTANEOUSLY --------------------------------------- GRTXT is designed to be compatible with GRABBER. Both programs can be installed in memory at the same time. The default "hotkey" sequence for GRTXT is [Alt =]. That is, you hold down the [Alt] key, press the equal sign key [=], then release the [Alt] key. GRTXT is designed to capture character-based text images exclu- sively. If you press GRTXT's hotkey and hear a single low- pitched tone on the computer speaker, this means that the video screen is running in a pixel-based graphics mode, and GRTXT is unable to capture the screen. GRTXT(tm) Documentation Page 3 of 5 MODIFYING THE GRTXT HOTKEY --------------------------- GRTXT allows you to modify your hotkey sequence from the default [Alt =] to practically any other key sequence you choose. In this respect, GRTXT is exactly like GRABBER. There is no sepa- rate documentation here which covers the procedure for changing your GRTXT hotkey. GRTXT uses the exact same hotkey procedures as GRABBER. You can read about these in the GRABBER.DOC manual, at page 30 and at Appendices A and B. (To view a list of valid KEY= codes for GRTXT, use the command GRTXT KEY=?. To view a list of valid SHIFT= codes, enter GRTXT SHIFT=?.) GRTXT INSTALLATION OPTIONS --------------------------- GRTXT accepts the following command-line switches. Each of these optional switches (except for the APPEND option) is also avail- able in the GRABBER program. For more complete details concern- ing the purpose of these optional switches and how they work, consult the section beginning on page 15 of your GRABBER documen- tation which is headed "Grabber Installation Options." Option: DEFAULTDRIVE Purpose: Tells GRTXT to capture text screens to whatever drive and directory path is the current DOS default. As with GRABBER, this switch can substitute for the drive/path parameter which is otherwise required to make GRTXT stay resident in memory. Option: MOUSE and NOMOUSE Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GRTXT's recogni- tion of the "mouse hotkey," which allows you to capture your text screens by holding down both the left and right mouse buttons for about two seconds. Please note: The mouse hotkey function is available in the GRABBER program as well as in GRTXT. If you have installed both programs in memory simultaneously, do not use the MOUSE switch to enable the mouse hotkey with both programs. Strange results are almost guaranteed to occur, and it may even lock up your computer when you use the mouse hotkey. It is acceptable to use the MOUSE switch with either GRTXT or GRABBER, but not both. GRTXT(tm) Documentation Page 4 of 5 Option: UNLOAD Purpose: Removes GRTXT from your computer's memory. GRTXT cannot be removed from memory if, after you initially installed it, you loaded other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRTXT uses. If you are using GRTXT and GRABBER simultaneously, both programs can be removed from memory, but only in the reverse order in which they were initially installed. In other words, "last in, first out." Option: SOUND and NOSOUND Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GRTXT's use of sounds through the computer's speaker. When enabled, the sounds accompany the on-screen filename prompts, and are also issued to indicate the successful comple- tion of a screen capture operation. Option: PROMPT and NOPROMPT Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GRTXT's on-screen filename prompts. When the prompts are disabled, GRTXT creates ASCII text files on your disk without asking you first what each file should be called. Instead, the program assigns a sort of "serial number" name to each file that is created. These files are named GRTXT000.TXT, GRTXT001.TXT, and so forth up to GRTXT999.TXT, at which point they return again to GRTXT000. Please see also the section below dealing with the APPEND command switch, and consult the de- scription of the PROMPT and NOPROMPT options in your GRABBER documentation for more important information. Option: APPEND Purpose: To enable the "Append Mode" when you have told GRTXT not to use on-screen filename prompts by using the NOPROMPT command switch. This option has no effect when the filename prompts are enabled. If you do not combine the NOPROMPT option with this APPEND option, then GRTXT will work in its "Overwrite Mode," which means that it will create a separate .TXT file for each screen capture you request. However, when you do use the APPEND switch, GRTXT creates only one GRTXTXXX file, and appends each subsequent screen capture to it. GRTXT(tm) Documentation Page 5 of 5 Option: SWAPMODE Purpose: To enable "DOS Swap Mode" of operation, which can eliminate some of the delays you may experience in getting GRTXT to pop up after you press the hotkey. The SWAPMODE switch is valid only when you are initially installing GRTXT in memory, and has no effect after the program is already resident. For more information about this option, see page 18 of the GRABBER.DOC file. Option: BATCHCAPTURE or BATCHCAPTURE:filename Purpose: Allows screens to be captured from within a batch file, without having to press GRTXT's hotkey combination at the keyboard. These options function exactly the same way as they do in the GRABBER.EXE program. For a complete description of how they work, consult page 19 in the GRABBER documentation. GRTXT AND FILENAME PROMPTS --------------------------- Probably the most significant difference you will notice between GRTXT's interface and GRABBER's is in the area of the on-screen filename prompts. Unlike GRABBER, GRTXT does not offer a default filename sequence such as GRTXT000, GRTXT001, etc., when it displays the prompts on your screen. The first time you call up GRTXT after installing it, there is no default filename present. You must supply your own. After your first .TXT screen capture, however, subsequent file- name prompts will offer you a default filename which is identical to the previous one you specified. You may accept this default filename by pressing , or you can enter another name. After you press , you will then see this additional prompt, which is not present in GRABBER: FILENAME exists -- (A)ppend, (O)verwrite, (C)ancel ? If you wish to retain the contents of FILENAME.TXT and simply append the current screen to the bottom of it, just press or . If you wish to overwrite (i.e., erase and replace) the contents of the original FILENAME.TXT file, then press . If you decide not to work with this name and wish to enter a differ- ent name instead, press . * * * End of GRTXT.DOC * * *