@database 00355bf8-0 @master MonsterHardDrive:Programming/AmosPrograms/WV/WebView.Guide @$VER: 1.0 @author "John Bintz" @(c) "Cd's Nuts!" @remark Created with Heddley v1.1 (c) Edd Dumbill 1994 @node "Main" "WebView Version 1.0 By Internext Software" @{i}WebView Version 1.0@{ui} The HTML Document Viewer @{b}By John Bintz/Internext Software@{ub} @{fg shine}uv334@freenet.victoria.bc.ca@{fg text} @{fg fill}http://www.dragonfire.net/~JohnBintz/inext/inextsoft.html@{fg text} @{"Overview       " link "Overview" 0} What is WebView @{i}(besides The HTML Document Viewer!)@{ui} @{"Installation   " link "Installation" 0} How to Install WebView @{"Usage          " link "Usage" 0} How to Use WebView @{"Problems & Bugs" link "Prob&Bugs" 0} What's The Deal, John?!? @{"Registration   " link "Register" 0} REMOVE ANNOYING REQUESTERS!!! @{"Helpers        " link "Helpers" 0} Apps That LOVE WebView! @endnode @node "Overview" "Overview " WebView is my response to the fact that my computer sucks. I have a 10 year old Amiga 2000 that I bought used about a year ago. It works great, but it has AmigaDOS 2.1, which means I don't have DataTypes or Classes or any of that other neat stuff. I also only have a 68000, which is dreadfully slow in most instances. I use the Internet a lot. I needed to update my Web Pages, and I didn't want to do it on my dad's PC PC. PC because it has Microsoft Win95 (nothing cool like OS/2), and PC because it runs Win95. I have no complaints with Win95. I like it more than Win31. But, I have my own box 'o power now, and I wanted to use it to do my Web Site. The only problem is that the only real browser I could use to design it on is AMosaic and (if you work at Omnipresence, I'm very sorry) AMosaic sucks. It thrashes memory, needs datatypes to do anything good, uses MUI and on a 68000 MUI is SLOW!!!, and it's just a real goat. So I wrote WebView. It's not the most full-featured "browser" out there...AWeb, IBrowse, or Voyager could probably kick its butt all around the room...but it works on DOS 2.0 computers and below...and above, for that fact. It has: * 16 Color Dithered Displays for Pictures * Aligning of Inlines To The Left or Right * Tables within Tables within Tables within... * NTSC/PAL compatible, with interlaced and non-interlaced displays * A Small Price Tag!! Its nippy too...I can process most files in under a minute, and pictures convert right in front of your eyes! They'll look funny, but they do! @{"Back To Main" link "Main" 0} @{"Installation" link "Installation" 0} @endnode @node "Installation" "Installation " Installing WebView is a breeze! See that icon that says "WebView"? Well, just drag it over to the drawer of your choice, and you're done! You can take the docs along with it, too, but WebView is a snap to pick up. You'll get the hang of it. @{"Back To Main" link "Main" 0} @{"Usage" link "Usage" 0} @endnode @node "Usage" "Usage " Well, the first thing you have to do is run WebView. Just double-click the Icon to start, or run it from the Shell. Your choice. Right now, you can't load a page from the command prompt, but I'm working on it... A screen will come up. The title will say "WebView 1.0 By Internext Software" or something along those lines. All of WebView is menu controlled. Try the right mouse button. If you use MagicMenu @{u}(and you should!)@{uu} you won't be surprised...having the menu come up under the mouse saves mouse rolling. Here is the menu breakdown... @{"Files" alink "Files" 0} Open New Load --------- Quit @{"Graphics" alink "Graphics" 0} Load Inline Always Never Save Inline Always New Never @{"Screen" alink "Screen" 0} Interlaced Non-Interlaced WB To Front To use inlined images with WebView, as I cannot directly load GIFs or JPEGs, yo need to make an IFF version of all inlined images and name them .iff. So, if you have a GIF file called hello.gif, the WebView picture would be hello.gif.iff. This one is obvious: To view more of the document, use the scroll bar on the side. If you have a bunch of documents in a drawer, and they have links that stay within the drawer, you can click on the link to load the new document. WebView has an ARexx port - @{fg shine}WEBVIEW.1@{fg text} - and the following commands work with it: @{i}GET @{ui} Load the file @{i}RELOAD@{ui} Reload the file @{i}FLIPSCRN HIT@{ui} This will bring WebView to the front @{"Main Menu" link "Main" 0} @endnode @node "Prob&Bugs" "Problems & Bugs" The Big Problem with WebView is the language its written in: @{fg shine}AMOS!!!@{fg text} I'm lucky it works! There are so many sneaky tricks and programming hacks in that language I'm surprised anything works in it! If a program crashed while WebView is running that doesn't normally crash, blame François Lionet, the bastard! @{fg shine}Other bugs:@{fg text} If WebView doesn't like your HTML @{b}(and it has to be REALLY bad to do that!)@{ub}, it will most likely loop forever, in which a swift Control-C will stop the program in its tracks. If its not too bad, everything will just look funny, especially if you screw up with tables. When a small IFF picture is loaded and converted, due to the way AMOS handles small screens, the picture will look shifted in the middle. The final result will be fine, however. HTML files are processed into a memory area twice their original size. If the memory area needed is too much, AMOS will quit WebView and yell at you. Example: @{fg fill}If you have 5 Meg (like I do) and you load a 2 Meg HTML file (why?!?!?!?!?), WebView needs 4 Meg to process it, and will stop in its tracks.@{fg text} Just in case it ever happens...but it shouldn't. Problems: @{fg shine}My Page Looks Nothing Like WebView's When Viewed In A Better Commercial Browser!@{fg text} Of course...WebView is not perfect. IE and NetScape accept HTML so badly that that could pluck a table out of the following code: @{i}
Hello. How are you?
@{ui} @{fg shine}@{bg shadow}This is NOT structured HTML. DON'T DO THIS!!!@{fg text}@{bg back} Also, the way WebView handles Tables and Aligned Graphics is not perfect. Live with it. @{fg shine}WebView leaves a bunch of files with the name .pack after them!@{fg text} These are the 16 color converted graphics files. If you have AMOS, take a look...they're Spacked pictures. @{fg shine}My Inlined Images look like crap when they're converted!@{fg text} WebView is NOT AdPro nor HamLabPlus--the image conversion is a simple Ordered conversion technique. Its fast and it works. @{fg shine}A requester pops up every few minutes telling me to register. How do I get rid of it?@{fg text} @{"Try registering" link "Register" 0} @{"Back To Main" link "Main" 0} @{"Register" link "Register" 0} @endnode @node "Register" "Registration " So, you're getting annoyed at that message that pops up every 2 and one-half minutes. Its getting tough to test out your documents when you have to click on that message every two and one-half minutes, eh? Well, I have just the solution: @{i}John Bintz 1715 Bren-Will Drive Westminster MD USA 21158-2710@{ui} Go to the supermarket, ask the courtesy desk for a money order totalling $5 US, put the money order in an envelope, and mail it to the above address. Too cheap to give me money but have written some nifty piece of software? Send me a copy! When you register, you'll get a new version of WebView that allows access to Internet Web Pages (alas, without graphics...) and a keyfile to keep that message from popping up. See, it isn't too hard or expensive. Just do it...@{b}@{fg shine}REGISTER!@{ub}@{fg text} @{"Back To Main" link "Main" 0} @{"Helpers" link "Helpers" 0} @endnode @node "Helpers" "Helpers " Here are some other applications that work great with WebView: @{fg shine}StartMenu by John Corigliano@{fg text} This is the best Win95 Start Menu/Task Bar emulator around. WebView will place a little "A" for AMOS in the Clock window. Just click on it to bring WebView to the front. @{fg shine}Miami by Holger Kruse@{fg text} If you use AmiTCP, throw it into an open sewer and get Miami. No more startnet scripts, no more annoying 5 second wait screens if you haven't registered, and no more Shell output. Miami uses MUI and looks slick. With the Registered version, I'll include an Arexx script to allow you to use WebView as a very limited browser--think of it as a "SuperLYNX" browser, with no graphics and plenty of text. @{fg shine}Internext Software Products@{fg text} Your hard drive won't be complete without every InextSoft Product on the planet! Visit @{i}http://www.dragonfire.net/~JohnBintz/inext/inextsoft.html@{ui} for the latest products!! @{"Back To Main" link "Main" 0} @endnode @node "Files" "Files" The File Menu Lets You Do Stuff With Files... @{fg shine}Open New@{fg text} Open a New HTML File @{fg shine}Reload@{fg text} Reload The Current HTML Document @{fg shine}Quit@{fg text} What Else?!? @endnode @node "Graphics" "Graphics" The Graphics Menu @{fg shine}Load Inline@{fg text} You can always load inline images or not @{fg shine}Save Inline@{fg text} You can always convert the .iff to .pack files, only convert .iff to .pack if .pack doesn't exist, or never convert @endnode @node "Screen" "Screen" The Screen Menu, Where You Control Screens @{fg shine}Interlaced/Non-Interlaced@{fg text} Switched between Interlaced and Non-Interlaced views. @{fg shine}WB To Front@{fg text} Move Workbench (or whatever Intuition Screen you use) to front If you want to move back to WebView, hit Left Amiga-A or click on the @{"StartMenu Button" link "Helpers" 0} @endnode