A new version of the View utility has been released at the web address
http://mdrury.hypermart.net/view150.zip
In my opinion, this is the best utility for accessing files in various
word processor formats if one does not have the particular
authoring software.
Through an agreement with the author, Malcolm Drury, View
may be used for conversion purposes with the Talking Directory
program (http://www.empowermentzone.com/td20.zip for a
trial version). Simply rename view.exe to td1util.exe and copy
it into the TD directory, replacing the previous version.
Below is a review of View, followed by a list of recent changes.
Note the developer's interest in accessibility.
Regards,
Jamal
----------
ZDNet Software Library
Utilities
View | 10-19-98
Malcolm Drury
View is an excellent DOS viewer and converter for WordPerfect
DOS, Word DOS, WinWord, Write, Notepad, MS Publisher, Ami Pro,
WordStar, ASCII, and ANSI files. It also provides ASCII/ANSI and
Unix/DOS file conversion. It displays HTML files along with tags
and provides 2COL and JETCOL printing support. A built-in
utility lets you customize screen colors and video modes. View
supports Rich Text Format (RTF) files, bookmarks, and
WordPerfect 7/8 files and decodes Word 97 files. It also offers
support for accented characters in HTML documents and for
function-key arrangement, to help accommodate visually impaired
users. It's ideal as a stand-alone program or a DOS shell. This
trial copy is fully functional and without nag screens.
Reviewed on Oct 17 1998.
System Requirements
DOS 3.0
Purchase Information
Shareware: Free to try, $30 if you decide to keep it.
Desktops
Printers
Modems
and MORE!
look in basket
See Related Titles
Rating
Version Number
15.0
Downloads to Date
4,821
Compressed Size
135,254 bytes
----------
What's new in VIEW
*** VIEW Version 15.0 October 1998 ***
Recent history
NOTE: Versions of the form 14.0(2) are minor maintenance
releases and are
generally not documented here.
VIEW Version 13.0
=================
Added support for Rich Text Format (RTF) files. Please see also
trouble.doc for a note on these. Also in this version I have
added a "save
configuration" function to the configuration program, viewcfg.
This will
allow you to configure future versions of VIEW without having to
re-enter
the configuration parameters.
VIEW Version 13.1
=================
Added a function to display a user-prepared file VIEWHELP.CST.
You can edit
this file in your preferred language to display an alternative
help file. It is called from VIEW (while viewing a file in
non-scrolling
mode) by pressing Shift-F1.
There are four rules for the format of the file.
1. Lines must be less than 80 characters long.
2. Lines must end in a hard return.
3. There must be no more than 22 lines.
4. The file viewhelp.cst must be in the root directory of your C
drive.
Tidied up the function key arrangement in the file selection
help menu.
Moved the grey + and - key functions, in order to accommodate
visually-impaired users whose speech synthesis software needs
these keys.
To move to the next bookmark (if any) press 'd" (for down); to
move to the
previous one, press "u".
Note: version 13.1a has a minor change in the way Wordperfect
5.0-5.2
files with right-aligned text are displayed. There are no other
changes.
Note: version 13.1b has an improved algorithm for detecting
Microsoft
Publisher files. There are no other changes.
VIEW Version 13.2
=================
Added a command line switch /w to allow you to override the line
wrap used
as a default by VIEW when viewing ASCII or ANSI files (which
contain hard
return codes at the end of each line). The default can be set
using]
VIEWCFG.COM.
There are two possibilities: use the file's line wrap, or use
VIEW's line
wrap. Normally you would use the file's hard returns, but if the
file
contains lines longer than 80 characters you might wish to use
VIEW's
setting. Note that you can switch between the two while viewing
a file by
pressing Ctrl-F10.
/w can be used in conjunction with /lnnn to control the
appearance of files
that you convert or print directly.
VIEW Version 13.3
=================
Improved viewing of customised help file VIEWHELP.CST, which
must be in the
root directory of your C drive. There are no longer restrictions
on the
file size or type - you can edit it and save in any format that
VIEW
supports. ASCII is recommended, as these files are much smaller
than those
in native word processor formats. All the normal functions of
VIEW are now
available when you view this file.
Enabled VIEW to incorporate bookmarks you have added as form
feeds in saved
files. When you read such files, the embedded form feeds are
interpreted
as bookmarks. This gives you a way to save bookmarks.
Added a "quick save" function - Alt-F6 - to allow you to save a
file in the
same format as the on-screen display. There are no options to
save as DOS
or UNIX, include line numbers etc. with this function. You are
asked to
provide a file name; if you just press enter a default name of
myfile.sav
is used. The saved file is in your c drive root directory.
VIEW Version 13.3a
==================
Restored F11 (exit with error level 2) function, which somehow
got lost
along the way.
VIEW Version 13.4
=================
Added decode routine for Word97 files. Note that this may not
work for all
such files because of their complexity.
Minor improvement to Wordperfect 7/8 files. Note that these may
also not
display correctly because of their complexity.
VIEW Version 13.4a
==================
Improved handling of accented characters in HTML documents.
VIEW Version 14.0
=================
Added functionality for HP Palmtop computers. Pressing h while
viewing a
file allows you to toggle among the different Palmtop display
modes.
Please see hpusers.doc for more details.
Improved algorithm for detecting ASCII/ANSI files containing
high order
characters.
Improved "change drive" routine to accommodate systems with a
CD-ROM drive
in which a CD is not inserted.
Fixed problem with system hanging if user tries to load custom
help file
c:\viewcust.hlp and it is not present.
Improved algorithm for displaying Word97 files.
VIEW is now bundled with BATCHCNV.EXE, a utility that works with
VIEW to
allow you to do batch conversions of files to ASCII, and
VIEWSEEK.EXE, a
utility that allows you to search for text strings in a list of
files.
VIEW Version 14.1
=================
Changed tracking of HTML coding errors of the form e - special
characters - with missing terminating; - VIEW no longer tracks
such errors
by default, as there are other, much more powerful HTML
validators available.
You can restore the feature by using the command line switch /&
VIEW Version 14.1a
==================
Fixed bug that caused VIEW to hang when trying to decode OLE
compound
file it does not recognise. Also fixed bug in accompanying
program
BATCHCNV that caused the cursor to disappear if Ctrl-Break is
pressed.
Corrected problem of missing blank lines between paragraphs when
file saved
in format for importing to word processor.
VIEW Version 14.2
=================
Added facility to retain tabs in documents saved in format for
importing
into word processors. This is only available from a batch command
conversion. For example, to convert myfile.wpd to myfile.asc use:
view myfile.doc /Cmyfile.asc
Note that the /C is case sensitive.
Added a switch /1 (that's numeral one, not letter "ell"). It
forces the
alternate decode algorithm of Word 6 files, obtained from the
view screen by
pressing Ctrl-F10. Use it when printing or converting a file
directly
(that is, with the /C or /c switches).
Added a switch /6 to override VIEW's default decoding of the end
of Word 6
files. In some files a block of characters appears that cause
VIEW to
think it has reached the end of the text. The /6 overrides this.
However,
please note that you will almost certainly see a lot of
"garbage" characters
at the end of the file. The switch is most useful when used with
the /C or
/c switches for printing or converting files directly.
Improved the algorithm for decoding Word 97 files.
VIEW Version 15.0
=================
Added facility for visually impaired users to toggle between
positioning
the cursor at the beginning or the end (column 80) of the top
line of text.
The default is at the beginning. To switch to putting the cursor
at the
end either use the /x switch on the command line (see below), or
just press
x while viewing the file.
To use the command line the syntax is view myfile.doc /x
Improved the algorithm for decoding HTML files with errors in
the coding of
special characters. These have the form &xxxx; but a common
error is that
the closing ; is missing.
(15.0 a) - added function to remove leading blanks from lines.
Press z
while viewing a file, or use the /z command line switch. This is
useful
for making files such as HTML format more readable. However,
note that if
you use the /z switch in combination with the /C switch (save
converted
file in a format suitable for import into a word processor), any
leading
tabs will also be removed.
(END OF DOCUMENT)
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