Using Hyperapplication Features

Cardfiler is a hyperapplication. Through the Link menu, you can make and follow links between pieces of information (linkable objects). The information at the other end of any link can be another Cardfiler object or an object accessed by any other hyperapplication. For detailed information about hyperapplications and the Link menu, see the chapter on hyperapplication features in Using DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS.

Cardfiler's linkable object is any card. For example, you can link one card to another. You can also link a card to a Mail message. However, you cannot link a sentence within a card to anything.

If highlighting is enabled, Cardfiler highlights linked objects by using the light bulb icon. If highlighting is not enabled and you want to see which objects have links, choose Turn Highlight On from the Link menu. (To prepare for the reverse action, the menu item changes to Turn Highlight Off.)

Saving a Card File

Whether you create a new card file or make changes to an existing card file, such as adding or deleting a card or changing any information on a card, you need to save that card file when you are finished working with it.

To save a new card file or change the name of an existing one:

1. Choose Save As... from the File menu in the Cardfiler window.
   The Select File dialog box appears, prompting you for the name of the file.
2. Using the Delete key (<X|) and the arrow keys, delete any text in the Selection entry box and type in the name of the file. The default file type for card file names is CARD.
3. Click on OK.
   If you saved a new card file, notice that the name of the card file in the title bar has changed from "untitled" to the new file name. If you changed the name of an existing card file, the new file name replaces the previous one.

To save the current card file, choose Save from the File menu in the Cardfiler window.

Merging Card Files

You can merge the contents of the current card file with another card file to create a card file that combines and sorts the contents of both files. The card file whose contents were merged with the current card file remains unchanged.

To merge the contents of the current card file with another card file:

1. Choose Merge... from the File menu on the Cardfiler window. A dialog box appears.
2. In the Files list box, double click on the name of the file you want to merge with the current file. The contents of the two card files are merged and sorted alphabetically.

Saving Customized Settings

If you change the size or screen position of Cardfiler and would like to save the new settings, choose Save Geometry from the File menu. The new settings are used in future sessions. To restore the system defaults, choose Restore System Settings from the File menu.

Exiting Cardfiler

To exit Cardfiler, choose Exit from the File menu in the Cardfiler window.

If you have not saved any changes or additions to the current file, Cardfiler displays a dialog box:

• To save your changes and exit Cardfiler, click on Yes.
• To exit Cardfiler without saving your changes, click on No.
• To return to the Cardfiler window, click on Cancel.

CDA Viewer displays the contents of compound documents and graphics, image, and text files on your screen. CDA Viewer works with the CDA converters. Therefore, the converters that are installed on your system determine the specific file types that you can view.

This chapter describes how to

• Start CDA Viewer
• View files
• Specify POSTSCRIPT paper size options
• Control the Files list box
• Specify supported file formats
• Create an options file
• Specify supported processing options
• Exit CDA Viewer

Starting CDA Viewer

Start CDA Viewer by either of the following methods:

• Choose CDA Viewer from the Session Manager Applications menu.
• At the VMS prompt, enter the following DCL command:

  $ VIEW/INTERFACE=DECWINDOWS

The CDA Viewer window appears. A dialog box (Open) also appears, which lets you select the file to be displayed. The Open dialog box includes buttons for Options File and Paper Size, each of which activates a separate dialog box in which you can specify optional instructions about how the file should look.

Viewing Files

The following steps form the basic procedure for viewing a file:

1. In the Directories list box, click on the name of the directory that contains the file you want to view.
2. In the File Format list box, click on the format name (also called the keyword) that applies to the file. If you do not know the format, refer to Specifying Supported File Formats in this chapter for more information.
3. (Optional) Click on Options File... to open a dialog box that lets you select an existing options file to control the display. (Refer to Creating an Options File and Specifying Supported Processing Options in this chapter for information describing how to create an options file and supported processing options.) In the Directories list box, click on the name of the directory that contains the options file. Then select the file from the Files list box.

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   Note By convention, options file names include the extension CDA$OPTIONS. If your file name does not follow this convention, the file will not be listed unless you modify the Options File Filter entry box to match the actual file name and then click on the Filter button.

4. (Optional) Click on Display Options... to open a dialog box in which you can set the size of the display. The paper size you specify is used only if the document has no inherent format (page size) or if you override the document's format.
   You can select a paper size from the available list, or you can supply your own values in characters,¹ inches, or millimeters. To supply your own values, first click on the desired unit of measurement; then enter the desired values in the Width and Height entry boxes.
   Click on the Override Document Format if you want to override the existing format with your own.
   The Display Options dialog box includes several options that apply only to POSTSCRIPT files. If you specify any format other than POSTSCRIPT, the check buttons for these options are dimmed. Refer to Specifying PostScript Display Options in this chapter for an explanation of these options.
   Click on the OK button to return to the Open dialog box.

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   Note Processing options, paper size values, and the Override Document Format option apply only to the next file you open. The appearance of the currently displayed document does not change.

5. In the Files list box, double click on the name of the file that you want to view, or click on the file name and then click on OK.

   Note If the Files list does not include the file that you want to view, refer to Controlling the Files List Box in this chapter.

   
   The Open dialog box closes, and the selected file is displayed in the CDA Viewer window. The title bar shows the name of the file, as does the CDA Viewer icon. The number of the currently displayed page and the total number of pages appear in the lower right corner of the window.
   You can do the following things:
   • Move through the file. Click on the inner arrow buttons at the bottom of the window to move forward or backward one page, or on the outer arrow buttons to move to the beginning or end of the document. You can also specify a page number by clicking on the Page... button and entering the desired page number in the Page dialog box.
   • Halt POSTSCRIPT processing. If you are viewing a POSTSCRIPT file, a Cancel button is displayed at the bottom of the window. While CDA Viewer is formatting a page, you can click on Cancel to stop processing. Clicking on this button does not close the file; it merely halts processing of the current page.
   • Display information about the file you are viewing. Choose Document Information... from the File menu. If the file contains the information, CDA Viewer displays the product name (the name of the application that produced the file), title, author, version, and creation date.
   • Display diagnostic information. Choose Diagnostic Information... from the File menu to display information such as warnings and errors that occurred while you were formatting the file. (This menu selection is dimmed if no diagnostic information is available.)
   • Close the file. Choose Close File from the File menu to clear the display.
   • Open a new file. Choose Open File... from the File menu and repeat from step 1.
   • Exit CDA Viewer. Choose Quit from the File menu.

Viewing Files With Audio Content

If you open a DDIF document with audio content, CDA Viewer displays an audio button next to the arrow buttons at the bottom of the window.

The audio button looks like one of the following:

The solid audio button indicates that there is audio content on the page being displayed. When you click on this button, CDA Viewer displays one or more audio buttons on the page. These audio buttons indicate the location of the audio content on the page; click on these buttons to play back the audio content.

When you click on the solid audio button in the bottom of the window, the button changes to the button with the X through it. Click on this button to disable the display of the audio buttons on the page.

The outline audio button indicates that there is audio content in the document, but there is none on the page being displayed.

Specifying PostScript Display Options

The following options appear in the Display Options dialog box and are valid for POSTSCRIPT files only:

• Orientation radio box
  The Orientation radio box lets you specify the orientation for displaying POSTSCRIPT files. By default, CDA Viewer displays files in the same mode (portrait or landscape) in which they were created. You can use the Orientation radio box to select different orientations to view files in reverse landscape mode or upside down.
• Scale Factor slider
  The Scale Factor option lets you scale the page display size of your POSTSCRIPT file. The number you select tells CDA Viewer to shrink or enlarge the page display. If the scale factor is less than 1.0, the page display shrinks. If the number is greater than 1.0, the page display expands.
  You can specify a scale factor in the range of 0.1 to 4.0 times the size of the original page display. By default, a typical page display has a scale factor of 1.0. Using a scale factor greater than 1.0 can result in slower processing.
• Use Comments check button
  The Use Comments option tells CDA Viewer to interpret File structure comments that often appear in POSTSCRIPT files. This enables CDA Viewer to detect the location of page breaks in a POSTSCRIPT file, for example.
  The Use Comments option is enabled by default. This is indicated by the highlighted Use Comments check button.
  You can disable the Use Comments option by clicking on it before opening your POSTSCRIPT file. This is recommended in instances where the POSTSCRIPT file contains comments that are not correct, causing the CDA Viewer either to display the POSTSCRIPT file incorrectly or to generate an error message. In most cases, disabling the Use Comments option and reopening the file corrects the problem.
• Use Bitmap Widths check button
  The Use Bitmap Widths option adjusts the display of your POSTSCRIPT file for improved viewing on the screen. By default, a printed POSTSCRIPT file has a finer resolution, or more dots per inch, than a POSTSCRIPT file displayed on a screen. If you try to view the printed format of a POSTSCRIPT file on line, the page layout is the same, but the text might be dense and difficult to read.
  To clarify your POSTSCRIPT file for online viewing, you can specify the Use Bitmap Widths option so that CDA Viewer uses spacing formulas designed for bitmaps (screen images) instead of those designed for print.
  The Use Bitmap Widths option is disabled by default. If you choose the Use Bitmap Widths option, the next time you open a POSTSCRIPT file, CDA Viewer uses bitmap widths to display your file. Text characters appear well spaced and easy to read. However, the file might look slightly different on screen than it would when printed. Columns might not be aligned precisely, or a paragraph formatted for right justification might appear with a ragged right margin instead.
• Use Fake Trays check button
  The Use Fake Trays option lets you view a POSTSCRIPT file that contains tray-size directives. Tray-size directives are instructions that tell the printer what paper tray size to use. These directives, however, are specific to certain printers (such as the LPS40) and are not part of the Display POSTSCRIPT language.
  By default, CDA Viewer ignores tray size directives if you try to display a POSTSCRIPT file that contains them. To override that default behavior and view tray size directives in a POSTSCRIPT file (to identify occurrences of nonstandard POSTSCRIPT for example), click on the Use Fake Trays option and reopen the file.
• Watch Progress check button
  The Watch Progress option lets you view a POSTSCRIPT file while it is being processed for display in the CDA Viewer window. You can view a page as it is being processed, rather than waiting to view the entire page after it has been processed.

Controlling the Files List Box

Choosing from the Files list box is often the simplest way to specify the file that you want to view, and the file selection window is designed to make it as easy as possible to do so. However, in some cases you might need to do one of two things:

• Enter the file specification directly in the Selection entry box. (You always have this option as an alternative to choosing a file name from the list.)
• Modify the entry in the Options File entry box, called the filter mask, in order to display a list that includes the desired file.

To choose the file from a list (rather than enter the specification directly), you must modify the filter mask if either of the following conditions is true:

• The file is located on a node other than the node where you are logged on. In this case, modify the beginning of the filter mask to include the correct node.

  Note If you change the node specification, be sure to check the directory specification. The filter mask must not refer to a directory that is not valid on the specified node.

• The file name does not include the default extension for the specified format. (The default extension appears in the filter mask when you click on the format name.) In this case, modify the end of the filter mask to include the extension actually used in the file name.

After modifying the filter mask, click on Filter (or press Return). If you changed the node specification, double click on the correct directory name. Then select the desired file.

Specifying Supported File Formats

The file format you specify depends on the application (or the conversion) that produced the file you want to view.

The following table summarizes the file formats supported by CDA converters on all systems running DECwindows Motif software. Your system might also support converters for additional formats. All formats that are supported on your system are listed in the Open dialog box.

Keyword	Description	Default File Extension
DDIF	DIGITAL Document Interchange Format files created by and for applications such as DECwrite and DECchart	DDIF
DTIF	DIGITAL Table Interchange Format files created by and for applications such as DECdecision	DTIF
PS	POSTSCRIPT files to be printed on supported output devices	PS
TEXT	Text files that can be edited with a text editor	TXT

Most formats have an associated default file extension. The preceding table includes the default file extension for each supported format. The default extension for the format that you select automatically appears in the filter mask, which determines which files are listed. For example, if you specify the TEXT format, the filter mask ends in TXT, and the Files list box shows files with that extension.

Not all file names have the default extension for their format. You must specify the actual format of the input file, regardless of its extension.

Creating an Options File

You can create an options file prior to starting the CDA Viewer application. An options file is a text file with a default file extension of CDA$OPTIONS.

The options file contains all the processing options for your input file format. Processing options help ensure minimal format and content changes while CDA Viewer processes your input file for display.

An options file is not required. Default processing options are applied automatically when you open a file for display. However, you might require an options file if you need to use a setting other than the default.

Use the following guidelines to create an options file:

• Begin each line of the options file with the keyword for the input format, followed by one or more spaces or tabs or by a slash (/).
• Specify only one processing option on each line.
• Use uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters, numerals (0--9), dollar signs ($), and underscores (_) to specify the processing options.
• Use one or more spaces or tabs to precede values specified for a processing option.

Specifying Supported Processing Options

You can create an options file containing processing options that apply to any CDA supported tabular file format for which there is an input converter. Data tables and spreadsheets are examples of tabular file formats.

Precede each of these processing options with the DTIF_TO_DDIF format name. DTIF (Digital Table Interchange Format) is a standard format for the storage and interchange of data table and spreadsheet files.

The following list describes the DTIF_TO_DDIF processing options.

COLUMN_TITLE

Displays the column titles as contained in the column attributes that are centered at the top of the column.

CURRENT_DATE

Displays the current date and time in the bottom left corner of the page. The value is formatted according to the document's specification for a default date and time.

DOCUMENT_DATE

Displays the document date and time as contained in the document header in the top left corner of the page. The value is formatted according to the document's specification for a default date and time.

DOCUMENT_TITLE

Displays the document title or titles as contained in the document header that is centered at the top of the page, one string per line.

PAGE_NUMBER

Displays the current page number in the top right corner of the page.

PAPER_SIZE

Sets the paper size. Valid values are as follows:

Value	Size
A0	841 x 1189 mm (33.13 x 46.85 in)
A1	594 x 841 mm (23.40 x 33.13 in)
A2	420 x 594 mm (16.55 x 23.40 in)
A3	297 x 420 mm (11.70 x 16.55 in)
A4	210 x 297 mm (8.27 x 11.70 in)
A5	148 x 210 mm (5.83 x 8.27 in)
B4	250 x 353 mm (9.84 x 13.90 in)
B5	176 x 250 mm (6.93 x 9.84 in)
C4	229 x 324 mm (9.01 x 12.76 in)
C5	162 x 229 mm (6.38 x 9.02 in)
DL	110 x 220 mm (4.33 x 8.66 in)
10x13_ENVELOPE	13 x 254 mm (15.600 x 10 in)
9x12_ENVELOPE	12 x 229 mm (14.400 x 9 in)
BUSINESS_ENVELOPE	9.5 x 105 mm (11.400 x 4.13 in)
EXECUTIVE	10 x 191 mm (12.000 x 7.5 in)
A	8.5 x 11 in
B	11 x 17 in
C	17 x 22 in
D	22 x 34 in
E	34 x 44 in
LEDGER	11 x 17 in
LEGAL	8.5 x 14 in
LETTER	8.5 x 11 in
LP	13.7 x 11 in
VT	8 x 5 in

The A paper size (8.5 x 11 inches) is the default.

PAPER_HEIGHT

Selects a paper height, in combination with the DTIF_TO_DDIF PAPER_WIDTH processing option, other than one of the predefined values provided. The default paper height is 11 inches.

PAPER_WIDTH

Selects a paper width, in combination with the DTIF_TO_DDIF PAPER_HEIGHT processing option, other than one of the predefined sizes provided. The default paper width is 8.5 inches.

PAPER_TOP_MARGIN

Selects the width of the margin provided at the top of the page. The default value is 0.25 inches.

PAPER_BOTTOM_MARGIN

Selects the width of the margin provided at the bottom of the page. The default value is 0.25 inches.

PAPER_LEFT_MARGIN

Selects the width of the margin provided on the left side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inches.

PAPER_RIGHT_MARGIN

Selects the width of the margin provided on the right side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inches.

PAPER_ORIENTATION

Selects the paper orientation to be used in the output file. The valid values for the orientation argument are as follows:

Keyword	Meaning
PORTRAIT	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is the vertical axis.
LANDSCAPE	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is the horizontal axis.

The default is PORTRAIT.