------------------------------------------
RIPscrip Graphics Protocol Specification
"Remote Imaging Protocol"
Copyright (c) 1992-1993, TeleGrafix Corporation
All Rights Reserved
Revision 1.51.00
March 29th, 1993
------------------------------------------
with editing by Bob Stein, 10/10/92
=====================================================================
== INTRODUCTION ==
=====================================================================
As system operators of many bulletin board systems, we've often
wished for some form of Graphical User Interface for our boards. Like
most Sysops, we've come across many solutions. But they all seemed
to fall short in one way or another: inadequate for THIS system,
incomplete, difficult to implement, too complex, or lacking in
graphics development tools. In short, we became frustrated.
So, we decided to write our own Graphical Script Language.
RIPscrip stands for "Remote Imaging Protocol Script" language. This
graphical language is our answer to the graphics needs of the BBS
community and has serious tools for implementation and practical use.
For more information on RIPaint, RIPterm or RIPscrip development
tools, contact:
TeleGrafix Corporation
16458 Bolsa Chica, #15
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
VOICE: (714) 379-2131
FAX : (714) 379-2132
DATA : (714) 840-3520 (ArenaBBS: The Major BBS...32 lines)
ResNova Software
16458 Bolsa Chica, #193
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
VOICE: (714) 840-6082
FAX : (714) 840-0488
DATA : (714) 840-8641 (Nova Central: Nova Link Pro...4 lines)
RIP Demo Midwest
VOICE: (708) 820-8875
DATA : (708) 978-2777 (RIP Demo Midwest BBS: TBBS...2 lines)
FAX : (708) 898-4994
=====================================================================
== DEFINITION ==
=====================================================================
RIPscrip is a text based Script language for displaying online
graphics. The script language conforms to 7-bit ASCII, avoiding the
use of Extended ASCII characters. This allows transmission over X.25
networks and other carriers that do not support full 8-bit binary
transfers easily. RIPscrip allows RIPscrip graphical statements to
be mixed with printable ASCII text and [de facto standard]
ANSI/VT-100 directives. RIPscrip can dynamically determine what is
graphics and what is text and display them appropriately in separate
windows (a graphics window and a text window). And if you must have
your own proprietary commands, RIPscrip has room for that too.
=====================================================================
== HOW DOES RIPscrip WORK? ==
=====================================================================
RIPscrip uses a flexible, and very efficient script language for its
graphical statements. Its efficiency stems from its compactness and
developmental planning. It is entirely Object Oriented instead of
Raster Oriented for efficient transmission of data and powerful
editing capabilities (using RIPaint for example). The language is
open ended enough so that literally trillions of different graphics
commands can be implemented as needed. RIPscrip is not a proprietary
protocol standard and is open to suggestion from the rest of the
world.
Earlier Graphical Script Languages (Avatar and Skypix among others),
utilize special command characters to indicate which graphics command
is to be executed. This precludes their use on systems that are
limited to ASCII printable text. Traditional script languages use
English words to accomplish things (eg, "BOX 0,0 100,50"). This kind
of thing is incredibly bulky, especially when you consider that
pictures are usually not simple things, but comprised of hundreds or
thousands of individual graphical operations (eg, line, circles,
fills, text, etc.). With this in mind, a human-readable script
language was completely inappropriate for the relatively limited
bandwidth of conventional modems.
So, one of our main strategies for this language was to make it as
efficient as possible without going completely binary. This allows
the immediate installation of the protocol onto any ASCII text-based
host system -- because the language consists entirely of ASCII
printable characters. We justify the unreadability of the language
by pointing out the limitations of today's modems and phone lines --
the language must be compact.
=====================================================================
== RIPscrip PROTOCOL - GENERAL STRUCTURE ==
=====================================================================
This document describes RIPscrip commands and functions supported
with RIPterm v1.02.
RIPscrip is organized into 10 levels of graphical commands (low
Level-0 to high Level-9). Level-0 commands are the building blocks
of RIPscrip. The basic graphics primitives of the system are all
Level-0, including the commands LINE, RECTANGLE, CIRCLE, COLOR, FONT,
etc. Each level of RIPscrip gets progressively higher-level in
concept. For example, Level-1 commands use Mouse Regions, Icons, and
Formatted Text Regions.
The basic Syntax Rules are as follows:
1. A RIPscrip command line starts at the beginning of a
line of text. A RIPscrip command line moved to the
middle of a line of text is treated as literal text.
This prevents people inserting mischievous things in
teleconference messages, or similar pranks. The only
exception to this rule is stated below under item 6,
"continuation of long lines".
2. A RIPscrip command line begins with an exclamation
mark (!)
3. Every RIPscrip command is preceded by the universal
RIPscrip delimiter, vertical-bar (|)
4. Individual RIPscrip commands may be combined on the
same line providing they are separated by the
vertical bar delimiter.
5. RIPscrip commands or command lines may be split across
multiple lines with a backslash (\) just before each
split. This helps RIPscrip commands conform to right
margins and escape word wrapping. An example:
!|c02|L02030405|P0901020102010201020102\
0102010201020102
6. RIPscrip must allow for normal text to be inter-mixed
with RIPscrip commands. If unrecognized text appears
after a RIPscrip command, on the same line, the text
is ignored (the command is not ignored). A line that
does not begin with "!|" is considered raw text and is
routed to the TTY text window (see "8" below).
7. RIPscrip makes provisions for a GRAPHICAL WINDOW and a
TEXT WINDOW. The Graphical Window is where all
RIPscrip graphics appear. the TEXT WINDOW is where
raw text appears. Raw Text includes ANSI color and
cursor movement codes (a subset of VT-100 terminal
emulation).
8. The vertical bar (|) of a RIPscrip command can be
followed by an level number. If the 1st character
after (|) is a numeric digit (1-9), then that's the
RIPscrip Command Level. If the very 1st character is
NOT a digit 1-9, then it is the command type character
and the command is a Level-0 command. If the 1st
character is a digit 1-9, and the second character is
also a digit, then that defines a sub-level of a
RIPscrip level. For example:
!|L ..... RIPscrip Level-0 Command "L"
!|1L .... RIPscrip Level-1 Command "L"
!|15L ... RIPscrip Level-1, sub-level 5 Command "L"
Each of the above examples are unique commands not to
be confused with each other. You may continue the
sub-levels up to a maximum level of 10 (eg,
!|1234567890<cmd>").
9. Every RIPscrip command includes a command type
character. In Level-0 commands, this character
immediately follows the vertical bar. At all other
levels, it follows the level digits. The command type
character may be any printable non-decimal-digit
character.
10. Following the command type character are 0 or more
parameters. If the command requires a text-string, it
is always the LAST parameter. Numeric parameters DO
NOT have any delimiters (commas, dashes, spaces,
etc). A variable width numeric parameter may be used
as the last parameter. This allows for maximum
efficiency. Numbers are represented in base-36. This
compacts numbers down to roughly 3/5 of their decimal
form. This numbering system, technically called
"Hexa-Tri-Decimal", has affectionately been dubbed
"MegaNums". Unlike Hexadecimal which uses 0-9, A-F,
MegaNums take advantage of the entire alphabet, using
characters 0-9 and A-Z.
11. An exclamation mark (!) or vertical bar (|) character
can appear in a RIPscrip text parameter by preceding
it with a backslash(\). A literal backslash is
represented with a double-backslash (\\).
12. A RIPscrip sequence CAN begin in a column other than
column #0, if the exclamation mark introducer is
replaced with a CTRL-A (Start of Header SOH) character,
or CTRL-B (STX character). Since 99.9% of all BBS'es do
not allow Users to enter most control characters, users
will be unable to begin RIPscrip sequences in the middle
of a command line. Only the Host should be able to do
this. This prevents people from cluttering
teleconference, or other areas of a Host with spurious
RIPscrip sequences.
=====================================================================
== ANSI SEQUENCES ==
=====================================================================
RIPscrip predominantly uses non-ANSI command sequences. In a couple
of situations though, an ANSI sequence is allowed to perform a
specific function. There are currently three separate ANSI sequences
defined in the RIPscrip protocol to perform various actions. They
are as follows:
ESC [ ! ...... Query RIPscrip version number. RIPterm will
respond with RIPSCRIPxxyyzz where xx is equal
to the major version number (zero padded), yy
is equal to the minor version number (zero
padded), and zz equals the revision code (also
zero padded). For v1.51.00, the returned
sequence would be RIPSCRIP015100. Another
example, v1.23.45 would return RIPSCRIP012345.
ESC [ 0 ! .... Same as ESC [ ! (see above)
ESC [ 1 ! .... Disables all RIPscrip processing. Any RIPscrip
sequences are interpretted as raw text.
ESC [ 2 ! .... Enabled RIPscrip processing. Any RIPscrip
sequences will be parsed and processed.
=====================================================================
== RIPscrip COMMAND REFERENCE ==
=====================================================================
The remainder of this document details the RIPscrip command set.
Each command has these aspects:
SYMBOL - the symbolic constant that is referenced in the
RIPscrip API Library code. This is the universal
name for the command.
LEVEL - The Command Level. Sub-levels are represented
with decimal points (eg, 1.3.5 for Level-1,
Sub-level 3, Sub-Sub-level 5). This is for
discussion purposes only. The decimal points
are never part of the actual command.
COMMAND - The command type character identifying the
command
ARGUMENTS - The arguments or parameters for the command.
Commands that do not require any arguments
after the command type character are shown
here as "<none>". Each argument is shown in
the order it appears in the command, and is
represented by a name. If an argument is
numeric, it is followed by a width specifier
indicating how many MegaNum digits the
argument consists of. (eg, ":2" means a
2-digit MegaNum, or a value between 0 and
1295). If an argument does not have a width
specifier, it is by default a text argument,
and should be the last argument on the line.
If a command is variable length (see POLYGON),
then it will appear with ellipses (...)
FORMAT - This represents the format of the command, with
the starting "!|", the level digits, the
command type character, and the argument list,
with the argument names in angle brackets.
(These arguments are spaced apart, but these
spaces never appear in the physical commands.)
EXAMPLE - An actual example of the RIPscrip command.
DRAW COLOR - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Drawing Color.
LINE PATRN - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Line Style Pattern.
LINE THICK - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Line Style Thickness
FILL COLOR - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Fill Color.
FILL PATRN - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Fill Pattern.
WRITE MODE - If YES, then this command will take advantage
of the current Write Mode (eg, COPY, or XOR).
FONT SIZES - If YES, then this command uses or affects the
current Font Size.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Define the size and location of the TTY Text Window
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_TEXT_WINDOW
Level: 0
Command: w
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2, wrap:1, size:1
Format: !|w <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1> <wrap> <size>
Example: !|w00001B0M10
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command specifies the dimensions of the virtual TTY window that
will display all ASCII/ANSI (non-RIPscrip) data coming across the
connection. (x0,y0) defines the upper-left corner of the window in
text-based character-cell coordinates. (x1,y1) defines the
lower-right corner of the window (inclusive). There may be two
simultaneous windows on the screen, one for TTY text, and one for the
display of RIPscrip graphics (a viewport), and they may overlap.
Bytes received over the modem are first checked for RIPscrip
commands. All bytes that don't conform to the RIPscrip syntax are
treated as ANSI/ASCII and displayed in the TTY window (if defined).
User keystrokes that are echoed by the BBS would also appear in the
text window by this scheme.
The text window may be made invisible, ignoring all non-RIPscrip
bytes, by setting all RIP_TEXT_WINDOW parameters to zero (0). The X
and Y parameters ranges vary depending on the setting of the <size>
parameter which governs the font size used for the output text. Valid
settings for the <size> parameter and the ranges for X/Y values are
as follows:
size Font Size X Range Y Range
---------------------------------------
0 8x8 0-79 0-42
1 7x8 0-90 0-42
2 8x14 0-79 0-24
3 7x14 0-90 0-24
4 16x14 0-39 0-24
The <wrap> parameter applies to both the horizontal and vertical
dimensions. If <wrap> is set to 1, then any text that extends beyond
the right margin of the window will wrap to the next line of the
window, scrolling the window up if necessary. If <wrap> is 0, then
any text going beyond the right margin is truncated and no scrolling
is performed; the cursor remains at the right margin.
NOTE: If the text window currently being defined is identical
to the currently defined text window, the cursor will
not be relocated to the upper-left corner of the window.
The only aspect of the text window that can be different
and still be deemed "identical" is the <wrap> parameter.
For the current and new text windows to be considered
identical, the parameters <x0>, <y0>, <x1>, <y1> and
<size> must be the same.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Define the size and location of the Graphics Window
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_VIEWPORT
Level: 0
Command: v
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2
Format: !|v <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1>
Example: !|v00002E1M
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command defines the (X,Y) pixel boundaries of the RIPscrip
graphics window, which will contain all RIPscrip graphics output.
ASCII/ANSI text will be displayed in the virtual TTY window defined
by the RIP_TEXT_WINDOW command above. (x0,y0) defines the upper-left
corner of the graphics viewport, and (x1,y1) defines the lower-right
corner (inclusive). The viewport may be disabled, so RIPscrip
graphics commands are ignored, by setting all parameters to zero (0).
Graphics displayed in the viewport is "truncated" at this rectangular
border, meaning if a circle would normally extend outside one of the
borders, it will be chopped, only displaying the portion of the
circle that is contained inside the viewport boundaries.
Coordinates are specified based on a 640x350 pixel resolution, meaning
X can be anywhere from 0 - 639, and Y can be anywhere from 0 - 349.
x0 must be less than x1 and y0 must be less than y1 unless all
parameters are set to zero, indicating that the graphics window is
disabled.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Reset & Clear Graphics and Text Windows to full screen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_RESET_WINDOWS
Level: 0
Command: *
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|*
Example: !|*
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will set the Text Window to a full 80x43 EGA hi-res text
mode, place the cursor in the upper left corner, clear the screen,
and zoom the Graphics Window to full 640x350 EGA screen. Both
windows are filled with the current graphics background color. Also,
all Mouse Regions are deleted and the Clipboard is erased. A system
might use this function before entering a text only mode that does
not support RIP commands. This command will also restore the default
16-color RIP palette (see RIP_SET_PALETTE below).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Clears the Text Window to the current background color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ERASE_WINDOW
Level: 0
Command: e
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|e
Example: !|e
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This clears the TTY text window to the current graphics background
color and positions the cursor in the upper-left corner of the
window. If the text window is inactive, then this command is
ignored. If the text and graphics windows overlap, then this command
will clear the overlapping portion also.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Clears the Graphics Window to the current background color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ERASE_VIEW
Level: 0
Command: E
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|E
Example: !|E
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command clears the Graphics Viewport to the current graphics
background color. If the graphics viewport is not active (if the
boundaries are 0,0,0,0), then this command is ignored. If the text
and graphics windows overlap, then this command will clear the
overlapping portion also.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Move the Text (TTY) cursor to given row & column in the text window
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_GOTOXY
Level: 0
Command: g
Arguments: x:2, y:2
Format: !|g <x> <y>
Example: !|g0509
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command sets the position of the text cursor in the TTY Text
window, if it is active. If inactive (if the dimensions are
0,0,0,0), then this command is ignored. This command is equivalent
to the ANSI/VT-100 command goto x/y, <Esc>[x;yH, except that the
coordinates of that ANSI command are 1-based and the coordinates of
this RIPscrip command are 0-based.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Move the cursor to the Upper-Left corner of the Text Window
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_HOME
Level: 0
Command: H
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|H
Example: !|H
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command positions the text cursor to the upper-left corner in
the TTY Text Window, if it is active.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Erase the current text line from the cursor to the end of line
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ERASE_EOL
Level: 0
Command: >
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|>
Example: !|>
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will erase the current text line in the TTY text window
from the current cursor location (inclusive) to the end of the line.
The erased region is filled with the current graphics background
color. This differs from the ANSI command ESC[K which clears the
area with the current ANSI background color.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Set the current drawing color for graphics primitives
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_COLOR
Level: 0
Command: c
Arguments: color:2
Format: !|c <color>
Example: !|cA
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command sets the color for drawing lines, circles, arcs,
rectangles, and other graphics primitives, as well as the color for
drawing grahics-text from the RIP_TEXT class of commands (not from
ASCII/ANSI text). This command does not affect Fill colors or Fill
Patterns (see below). It does affect the borders of graphic objects,
for example the border of an ellipse drawn with the RIP_FILLED_OVAL
command. (The interior of the ellipse would be drawn according to
the most recent RIP_FILL_STYLE command.)
This command chooses one of the colors of the 16-color RIP palette
defined by the RIP_SET_PALETTE command. Here is the default 16-color
RIP palette:
VALUE ... COLOR
-------------------------------------
00 ... Black (00 is always the background color)
01 ... Blue
02 ... Green
03 ... Cyan
04 ... Red
05 ... Magenta
06 ... Brown
07 ... Light Gray
08 ... Dark Gray
09 ... Light Blue
0A ... Light Green
0B ... Light Cyan
0C ... Light Red
0D ... Light Magenta
0E ... Yellow
0F ... White
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Set the 16-color RIP palette from the master 64-color EGA palette
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_SET_PALETTE
Level: 0
Command: Q
Arguments: c1:2, c2:2, ... c16:2
Format: !|Q <c1> <c2> ... <c16>
Example: !|Q000102030405060708090A0B0C0D0E0F
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command modifies the 16-color RIP palette by choosing from the
64 colors in the master EGA palette. This allows you to alter the
colors in your RIPscrip graphics scenes. Once a Set Palette command
is processed, any colors on the screen that had their corresponding
palette entries changed will instantly switch to the new color set.
You may obtain color "cycling" effects by using this command. The
default 16-color RIP palette is always restored when a
RIP_RESET_WINDOWS command is encountered. The default 16-color RIP
palette is as follows:
MASTER
16-COLOR 64-COLOR
RIP PALETTE EGA PALETTE
COLOR-CODE COLOR-CODE COLOR
-------------------------------------------------------
00 0 (00) Black
01 1 (01) Blue
02 2 (02) Green
03 3 (03) Cyan
04 4 (04) Red
05 5 (05) Magenta
06 7 (06) Brown
07 20 (0K) Light Gray
08 56 (1K) Dark Gray
09 57 (1L) Light Blue
0A 58 (1M) Light Green
0B 59 (1N) Light Cyan
0C 60 (1O) Light Red
0D 61 (1P) Light Magenta
0E 62 (1Q) Yellow
0F 63 (1R) White
Color 00 of the 16-color RIP palette is always the background color
(which is typically Black, or color 00 of the 64-color EGA palette).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Set one color of the 16-color RIP palette from the Master Palette
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ONE_PALETTE
Level: 0
Command: a
Arguments: color:2 value:2
Format: !|a <color> <value>
Example: !|a051B
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command modifies one color in the 16-color RIP palette. The
Color number is sent along with the a color value from the Master
Color Palette to set the new color to. The color <value> must be
in the range of 0-63 to allow access to the 64 colors in the master
EGA palette. This allows you to alter the colors in your RIPscrip
graphics scenes. Once a Set One Palette command is processed, any
colors on the screen that correspond to the <color> number will be
changed instantly to the new color value. You may obtain color
"cycling" effects by using this command. The default 16-color RIP
palette is always restored when a RIP_RESET_WINDOWS command is
encountered. The default 16-color RIP palette is as follows:
MASTER
16-COLOR 64-COLOR
RIP PALETTE EGA PALETTE
COLOR-CODE COLOR-CODE COLOR
-------------------------------------------------------
00 0 (00) Black
01 1 (01) Blue
02 2 (02) Green
03 3 (03) Cyan
04 4 (04) Red
05 5 (05) Magenta
06 7 (06) Brown
07 20 (0K) Light Gray
08 56 (1K) Dark Gray
09 57 (1L) Light Blue
0A 58 (1M) Light Green
0B 59 (1N) Light Cyan
0C 60 (1O) Light Red
0D 61 (1P) Light Magenta
0E 62 (1Q) Yellow
0F 63 (1R) White
Color 00 of the 16-color RIP palette is always the background color
(which is typically Black, or color 00 of the 64-color EGA palette).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Set Drawing Mode for graphics primitives
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_WRITE_MODE
Level: 0
Command: W
Arguments: mode:2
Format: !|W <mode>
Example: !|W00
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command sets the current drawing mode for most of the graphics
primitives:
mode = 00 ... Normal drawing mode (overwrite)
= 01 ... XOR (complimentary) mode
In normal mode, things are drawn in the current drawing color over
top of whatever is in the graphics viewport. This is the typical
mode of operation in a GUI environment.
In the XOR mode, instead of changing each pixel to the current
drawing color, the pixel is inverted (black changes to white, red to
green, etc.). Drawing the same item a second time erases it
completely. This mode is useful for drawing something temporarily,
or for animation. The Rubber Band mode of most paint programs uses a
mode like this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Move the current drawing position to (X,Y)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_MOVE
Level: 0
Command: m
Arguments: x:2, y:2
Format: !|m <x> <y>
Example: !|m0509
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command moves the current graphics drawing cursor to (x,y). You
could use this to draw text at a certain point, but you'd probably
use RIP_TEXT_XY instead. This command is primarily provided for
future development which will make use of its ability to relocate the
current drawing position without physically drawing anything.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw Text in current Font/Size/Color at current location
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_TEXT
Level: 0
Command: T
Arguments: text-string
Format: !|T <text-string>
Example: !|Thello world
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: YES
This command displays text at the current location in the graphics
window, as set with the RIP_MOVE command. The text is also affected
by the most recent settings of these commands:
RIP_FONT_STYLE - font style (character set, direction, size)
RIP_WRITE_MODE - drawing mode (normal or XOR)
RIP_COLOR - drawing color (from the 16-color RIP palette)
The drawing position is placed at the end of the last character
drawn.
The current drawing position is set immediately to the right of the
drawn text. Subsequent Line, Circle or other such commands will not
affect this position. This provides a means so that you can quickly
do another RIP_TEXT command (presumably in another color) at a later
time and have the text show up immediately after the previous text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw Text in current Font/Size/Color at specific location
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_TEXT_XY
Level: 0
Command: @
Arguments: x:2, y:2 and text-string
Format: !|@ <x> <y> <text-string>
Example: !|@0011hello world
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: YES
This command is an efficient combination of RIP_MOVE and RIP_TEXT.
The text is drawn at the specified location according to the same
settings as apply to RIP_TEXT (see above).
The current drawing position is set immediately to the right of the
drawn text. Subsequent Line, Circle or other such commands will not
affect this position. This provides a means so that you can quickly
do another RIP_TEXT command (presumably in another color) at a later
time and have the text show up immediately after the previous text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Select the current Font Style, Orientation and Size
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FONT_STYLE
Level: 0
Command: Y
Arguments: font:2, direction:2, size:2, res:2
Format: !|Y <font> <direction> <size> <res>
Example: !|Y01000400
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: YES
This command sets the current font, direction and size for subsequent
RIP_TEXT commands.
FONT
---------------------------------------------------------
00 ... Default 8x8 font (bit-mapped)
01 ... Triplex Font (scalable)
02 ... Small Font (scalable)
03 ... Sans Serif Font (scalable)
04 ... Gothic [old English] Font (scalable)
DIRECTION
---------------------------------------------------------
00 ... Horizontal direction
01 ... Vertical direction
SIZE
---------------------------------------------------------
01 ... Normal, default size
02 ... Magnification factor 2 ( x2)
03 ... Magnification factor 3 ( x3)
04 ... Magnification factor 4 ( x4)
05 ... Magnification factor 5 ( x5)
06 ... Magnification factor 6 ( x6)
07 ... Magnification factor 7 ( x7)
08 ... Magnification factor 8 ( x8)
09 ... Magnification factor 9 ( x9)
0A ... Magnification factor 10 (x10)
NOTE: The Default 8x8 font is bit-mapped and appears best when drawn
with size=1. If you use a size greater than one, the individual
pixels making up the font are magnified, giving a jagged look. This
may or may not be a desirable effect. The Scalable Fonts (1-4) are
smooth scalable "vector" fonts. The two byte <res> parameter is a
RESERVED parameter that is intended for future development.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draws a single pixel on the screen using current drawing color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_PIXEL
Level: 0
Command: X
Arguments: x:2, y:2
Format: !|X <x> <y>
Example: !|X1122
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will draw a single pixel in the current drawing color at
the given (x,y) graphics position. This command is included for
completeness, but in practice it would be extremely inefficient to
make much use of it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a line in the current color and line style/thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_LINE
Level: 0
Command: L
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2
Format: !|L <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1>
Example: !|L00010A0E
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will draw a line in the current drawing color, using the
current line style, pattern and thickness. The line is drawn from
(x0,y0) to (x1,y1) in the graphics viewport.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a rectangle in the current color and line style/thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_RECTANGLE
Level: 0
Command: R
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2
Format: !|R <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1>
Example: !|R00010A0E
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws a rectangle in the current drawing color, using
the current line style, pattern and thickness. (x0,y0) and (x1,y1)
are any two opposing corners of the rectangle. If x0=x1 or y0=y1
then the command will draw a single vertical or horizontal line. The
rectangle interior is not filled by RIP_RECTANGLE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draws a solid, filled rectangle using current fill color and pattern
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_BAR
Level: 0
Command: B
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2
Format: !|B <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1>
Example: !|B00010A0E
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command fills a rectangular region with the current fill color
and pattern. No border is drawn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a circle in the current color and line thickness (no style)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_CIRCLE
Level: 0
Command: C
Arguments: x_center:2, y_center:2, radius:2
Format: !|C <x_center> <y_center> <radius>
Example: !|C1E180M
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws a circle in the current drawing color and line
thickness. The <radius> is in pixel units. This command understands
aspect ratios and will draw a truly circular circle instead of an
oblong circle (ellipse) like on other graphics systems. The aspect
ratio is currently based on the EGA 640x350 resolution and is
understood by both the GUI designer and the Terminal Program. This
command does not take advantage of line patterns, but does use the
line thickness setting. In other words, you can draw a circle with a
thick or a thin border, but not a dashed or dotted border.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw an elliptical arc in the current color and line thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_OVAL
Level: 0
Command: O
Arguments: x:2, y:2, st_ang:2, end_ang:2, x_rad:2, y_rad:2
Format: !|O <x> <y> <st_ang> <end_ang> <x_rad> <y_rad>
Example: 1E1A18003G150Z
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws an elliptical arc similar to the circular RIP_ARC
command. The center of the ellipse is (x,y) and the arc is
drawn starting from <st_ang> and proceeding counterclockwise to
<end_ang> (see RIP_ARC above for details).
The X radius is half the full width of the ellipse, the Y radius is
half the full height. The ellipse is drawn according to the current
line thickness, but the current line pattern has no effect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draws a filled ellipse using the current fill and drawing color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILLED_OVAL
Level: 0
Command: o
Arguments: x_center:2, y_center:2, x_rad:2, y_rad:2
Format: !|o <x_center> <y_center> <x_rad> <y_rad>
Example: !|o1G2B0M0G
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws a complete filled ellipse on the screen. The
interior of the ellipse is drawn using the current fill pattern and
fill color. The outline of the ellipse is drawn using the current
drawing color and line thickness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a circular arc in the current color and line thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ARC
Level: 0
Command: A
Arguments: x:2, y:2, start_ang:2, end_ang:2, radius:2
Format: !|A <x> <y> <start_ang> <end_ang> <radius>
Example: !|A1E18003G15
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws a circular arc, or a segment of a circle. Drawing
begins at <start_ang> and terminates at <end_ang>. The angles are
represented starting at zero for the 3 o'clock position and
increasing counterclockwise through a full circle to 360:
90
|
180---|--- 0
|
270
The arc drawing begins at the <start_angle> and continues counter-
clockwise to the <end_angle>. A full circle will be displayed if
<start_ang>=0 and <end_ang>=360. This command recognizes aspect
ratios like the circle command does. It does not take advantage of
line patterns but does comply with line thickness.
If both angles are equal, nothing is drawn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw an Elliptical Arc
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_OVAL_ARC
Level: 0
Command: V
Arguments: x:2, y:2, st_ang:2, e_ang:2, radx:2 rady:2
Format: !|V <x> <y> <st_ang> <e_ang> <radx> <rady>
Example: !|V1E18003G151Q
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws an elliptical arc, or a segment of an ellipse.
Drawing begins at <st_ang> and terminates at <e_ang>. The angles are
represented starting at zero for 3 o'clock position and increasing
counterclockwise through a full ellipse at 360 degrees:
90
|
180---|--- 0
|
270
The arc drawing begins at the <st_ang> and continues counterclockwise
to the <e_ang>. A complete ellipsewill be displayed if <st_ang>=0
and <e_ang>=360. This command does not utilize "aspect ratios"
because of the nature of an Ellipse. It does not take advantage of
line patterns but does comply with line thickness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a circular Pie Slice
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_PIE_SLICE
Level: 0
Command: I
Arguments: x:2, y:2, start_ang:2, end_ang:2, radius:2
Format: !|I <x> <y> <start_ang> <end_ang> <radius>
Example: !|I1E18003G15
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws a "pie slice". The slice is circular. It obeys
all of the same commands as the Arc command described above. The
ends of the arc are connected to the Center-Point of the Arc with two
straight lines. These two lines converge at the Center-Point. The
interior of the Slice is filled with the current Fill Color and
Pattern. The exterior (outline) of the Slice is drawn using the
current drawing color and line thickness. The Line Pattern feature
does not apply to this command.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw an Elliptical Pie Slice
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_OVAL_PIE_SLICE
Level: 0
Command: i
Arguments: x:2, y:2, st_ang:2, e_ang:2, radx:2 rady:2
Format: !|i <x> <y> <st_ang> <e_ang> <radx> <rady>
Example: !|i1E18003G151Q
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command draws an "elliptical pie slice". It obeys all of the
same commands as the Elliptical Arc command described above. The
ends of the arc are connected to the Center-Point of the Arc with two
straight lines. These two lines converge at the Center-Point. The
interior of the Slice is filled with the current Fill Color and
Pattern. The exterior (outline) of the Slice is drawn using the
current drawing color and line thickness. The Line Pattern feature
does not apply to this command.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draw a custom "Bezier" curve
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_BEZIER
Level: 0
Command: Z
Arguments: x1:2 y1:2 x2:2 y2:2 x3:2 y3:2 x4:2 y4:2 cnt:2
Format: !|Z <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2> <x3> <y3> <x4> <y4> <cnt>
Example: !|Z0A0B0C0D0E0F0G0H1G
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command provides customizable Curves. Four "control points" are
used to create the shape of the curve. The curves beginning point is
at point (x1,y1) and it ends at (x4,y4). Points (x2,y2) and (x3,y3)
are not necessarily "on" the curve, but are used to "pull" the curve
in their direction. The diagram below indicates how points 2 and 3
can be utilized to form the desired curve. Note that points 2 and 3
are not actually "on" the curve, but points 1 and 4 are.
X2
*****
** ****
* ** X4
* ** *
X1 * **
* **
****
X3
NOTE: That points 2 and 3 are not actually "on" the curve, but points
1 and 4 are.
The last parameter of this command is the <cnt> parameter. This
determines how many "segments" the curve should be drawn in. Each
segment is in fact, a straight line. The more segments you allow,
the smoother the curve may be. If a curve does not have a
significant amount of "curviness" then a low "count" can improve
performance of the curve drawing. Bezier Curves use "floating point"
math internally for its processing. All paramters specified for this
command are simple integers however.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draws a polygon using the current color and line style/thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_POLYGON
Level: 0
Command: P
Arguments: npoints:2, x1:2, y1:2, ... xn:2, yn:2
Format: !|P <npoints> <x1> <y1> ... <xn> <yn>
Example: !|P03010105090905
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will draw a multi-sided closed polygon. The polygon is
drawn using the current drawing color, line pattern and thickness.
The <npoints> parameter is between 2 and 512 and indicates how many
(x,y) coordinate pairs will follow, which is also the number of sides
of the polygon. The polygon interior is not filled by RIP_POLYGON.
The polygon is enclosed by the last vertex between xn,yn and x1,y1.
In other words, you do not have to connect the end to the beginning -
it is automatically done for you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Draws a filled polygon, using drawing color, current fill settings
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILL_POLY
Level: 0
Command: p
Arguments: npoints:2, x1:2, y1:2, ... xn:2, yn:2
Format: !|p <npoints> <x1> <y1> ... <xn> <yn>
Example: !|p03010105050909
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command is identical to RIP_POLYGON, except that the interior of
the polygon is filled with the current fill color and fill pattern.
The actual outline of the polygon is drawn using the current drawing
color, line pattern and thickness.
NOTE: You will get unusual effects if the lines of the polygon
overlap, creating a polygon with internal "gaps". (The rule is
this: regions that are "inside" the polygon an even number of times
due to overlap are NOT filled.) The interior fill does not utilize
Write Mode, but the outline of the polygon does.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Flood Fills a given area of the screen with the current fill settings
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILL
Level: 0
Command: F
Arguments: x:2, y:2, border:2
Format: !|F <x> <y> <border>
Example: !|F25090F
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command performs a "flood fill" emanating from the given <x,y>
point. The fill "oozes" in all directions up to <border> color, but
the border itself is not changed. Whatever is inside the border
that's not the border color gets changed to the current fill color
and fill pattern. If the border color does not completely enclose
the <x,y> point, the fill will continue to the edges of the viewport.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Defines a line style and thickness
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_LINE_STYLE
Level: 0
Command: =
Arguments: style:2, user_pat:4, thick:2
Format: !|= <style> <user_pat> <thick>
Example: !|=01000001
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command establishes the current line pattern and thickness for
many subsequent graphics primitive commands. There are four built-in
line styles plus provisions for custom line patterns.
STYLE
=================================================
00 ... Normal, Solid Line
01 ... Dotted Line
02 ... Centered Line
03 ... Dashed Line
04 ... Custom Defined line (see about <user_pat> below)
THICK (these are the only available settings)
=================================================
01 ... Lines are 1 pixel wide
03 ... Lines are 3 pixels wide
If the <style> is set to a value of 4 (custom pattern), then the
<user_pat> parameter is used as a 16-bit representation of the pixels
in the line pattern. For example:
repeating Mega-
<---pattern----> Binary coding Hex Decimal num
- - - - - - - - 1010101010101010 AAAA 43690 0XPM
---- ---- 1111000011110000 F0F0 61680 1BLC
So, the most-significant-bit of <user_pat> is toward the starting
point of the line or border that uses this fill pattern. If the
<style> parameter is not 4, then the <user_pat> parameter is ignored.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sets the current fill style (predefined patterns), and fill color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILL_STYLE
Level: 0
Command: S
Arguments: pattern:2, color:2
Format: !|S <pattern> <color>
Example: !|S050F
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command defines the current fill pattern and fill color for use
in subsequent graphics fill operations. There are twelve (12)
predefined fill patterns. They are:
PATTERN DESCRIPTION
==============================================================
00 Fill with background color (color #0)
01 Solid Fill (fill color)
02 Line Fill ................. ----------- (thick lines)
03 Light Slash Fill .......... / / / / (thin lines)
04 Normal Slash Fill ......... // // // // (thick lines)
05 Normal Backslash Fill ..... \\ \\ \\ \\ (thick lines)
06 Light Backslash Fill ...... \ \ \ \ (thin lines)
07 Light Hatch Fill .......... ########### (thin lines)
08 Heavy Cross Hatch Fill .... XXXXXXXXXXX (thin lines)
09 Interleaving Line Fill .... +-+-+-+-+-+ (thin lines)
0A Widely spaced dot fill .... . : . : . : (pixels only)
0B Closely spaced dot fill ... ::::::::::: (pixels only)
The <color> parameter is the fill color for subsequent fill commands.
The "active" pixels of the pattern become this color. The "inactive"
pixels become the current background color (color 00, typically
black). Fill pattern 00 will set the entire fill area to the
background color. (In this special case, the fill color doesn't
matter.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sets a user-definable fill pattern (custom) and fill color
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILL_PATTERN
Level: 0
Command: s
Arguments: c1:2 c2:2 c3:2 c4:2 c5:2 c6:2 c7:2 c8:2 color:2
Format: !|s <c1> <c2> <c3> <c4> <c5> <c6> <c7> <c8> <color>
Example: !|s11223344556677880F
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command allows you to specify a user-defined, custom Fill
Pattern. This pattern supersedes the predefined patterns of
RIP_FILL_STYLE. A custom fill pattern is an 8x8 pixel array defining
which pixels should be drawn in the current fill color (as set by the
<color> parameter here). The other pixels in the fill area are set
to the current background color (color 00, typically black).
Each of the eight parameters of this command, <c1> through <c8>
represent bit-patterns for a line of the 8x8 pixel array. Each line
is comprised of 8 pixels. The value of each parameter is the binary
representation of these 8 pixels as follows:
bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
+-------------------------------+
c1 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c2 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c3 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c4 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c5 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c6 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c7 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
c8 |128| 64| 32| 16| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
+-------------------------------+
So, c1 is the top, and the most-significant bit is to the left.
NOTE: The RIP_FILL_STYLE (predefined fill patterns) and this
RIP_FILL_PATTERN (custom fill patterns) completely override one
another's effects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Defines a rectangular "hot" Mouse Region on screen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_MOUSE
Level: 1
Command: M
Arguments: num:2 x0:2 y0:2 x1:2 y1:2 clk:1 clr:1 res:5 text
Format: !|1M <num> <x0><y0> <x1><y1> <clk><clr><res> <text>
Example: !|1M00001122331100000host command^M
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command ties together three things:
A region on the screen
A mouse-click event
A string of text to be transmitted by the terminal.
This command defines a rectangular region on the screen that functions
as a "hot" mouse area. If the user clicks the [left] mouse button
while pointing inside the region, then the terminal must transmit the
<text> string to the Host. The (x0,y0) parameter MUST be the
upper-left corner, and (x1,y1) MUST be the lower-right corner of the
region.
The <clk> parameter, if 1, indicates that the region should be
visibly inverted while the mouse button is down. This offers visual
feedback. If <clk> is 0, the region will not be inverted while
clicked.
The <clr> parameter, if 1, will physically zoom the text window to
full screen size and clear the screen. This is useful if the <text>
parameter instructs the host to enter an area of the System that
doesn't support RIPscrip graphics.
The <text> parameter is a Host command that gets sent when the field
is clicked. You may use a caret (^) to represent control characters,
(eg, ^M for carriage return, ^G, ^C, etc).
NOTE: You are limited to a maximum of 128 Mouse Regions. In addition,
the 5-byte <res> parameter is RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE, and
should be set to zeros (00000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Destroys all previously defined "hot" Mouse Regions
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_KILL_MOUSE_FIELDS
Level: 1
Command: K
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|1K
Example: !|1K
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command will "forget" all Mouse Regions. Use it at the beginning
of each Scene, so that one scene's Mouse Regions don't get used in
another.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Define a rectangular Text Region
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_BEGIN_TEXT
Level: 1
Command: T
Arguments: x1:2, y1:2, x2:2, y2:2, res:2
Format: !|1T <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2> <res>
Example: !|1T00110011
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command defines a rectangular portion of the graphics viewport
that is to display text, usually a long stream of text. Following
this command should be a number of RIP_REGION_TEXT commands with the
text to be displayed. The RIP_END_TEXT terminates this stream of
text, something like this:
RIP_BEGIN_TEXT
RIP_REGION_TEXT
RIP_REGION_TEXT
RIP_REGION_TEXT
:
RIP_REGION_TEXT
RIP_END_TEXT
There must be at least one RIP_REGION_TEXT command in between the
header and the footer. There may be as many as needed.
These commands ignore the current font "direction"; all text is
always displayed horizontally.
NOTE: The "res" parameter is two bytes wide and is RESERVED for
future use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Display a line of text in the rectangular Text Region
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_REGION_TEXT
Level: 1
Command: t
Arguments: justify:1 and text-string
Format: !|1t <justify> <text-string>
Example: !|1t1This is a text line to be justified
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: YES
A number of these commands may come sandwiched between the
RIP_BEGIN_TEXT and RIP_END_TEXT commands. The <text-string> is
already word-wrapped in such a way that it will fit inside the
rectangular region based on the current font, font size, and drawing
color.
There are two possible settings for the <justify> parameter:
0 ... Don't right/left justify. Left-justify only
1 ... Perform right/left margin justification of this line
of text except for the last line of a paragraph and
sets of indented lines.
If a text line falls off the bottom of the region, it is discarded --
the rectangular Text Region does not scroll.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
End a rectangular Text Region
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_END_TEXT
Level: 1
Command: E
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|1E
Example: !|1E
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command indicates the end of a formatted text block. Only one
of these "end" commands is necessary for each block.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Copies a rectangular screen image onto the Clipboard (as an Icon)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_GET_IMAGE
Level: 1
Command: C
Arguments: x0:2, y0:2, x1:2, y1:2, res:1
Format: !|1C <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1> <res>
Example: !|1C001122330
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command instructs the terminal program to copy the rectangular
region defined by (x0,y0) to (x1,y1) onto an internal Clipboard for
future use. This combined with the Paste Clipboard command can
provide an extremely powerful and efficient mechanism to avoid
baud-rate bandwidth limitations. The (x0,y0) parameter MUST specify
the upper-left corner of the region and the (x1,y1) parameter MUST
specify the lower-right corner. If the indicated coordinates are in
anyway invalid, the command is ignored. The Clipboard is completely
overwritten by this command (the previous contents are lost).
NOTE: The <res> parameter is RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE and should be
set to zero.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pastes the clipboard (Icon) contents onto the screen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_PUT_IMAGE
Level: 1
Command: P
Arguments: x:2, y:2, mode:2, res:1
Format: !|1P <x> <y> <mode> <res>
Example: !|1P0011010
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command takes the contents of the Clipboard (if any) and pastes
the image onto the screen starting at the upper-left corner of the
image of (x,y). If the right edge of the image would go off-screen,
the paste command is ignored. The Height and Width of the clipboard
image is recorded on the Clipboard, so this command doesn't need to
supply it.
The <mode> parameter defines "how" the image will be pasted on the
screen:
MODE DESCRIPTION
==============================================================
00 Paste the image on-screen normally (COPY)
01 Exclusive-OR image with the one already on screen (XOR)
02 Logically OR image with the one already on screen (OR)
03 Logically AND image with the one already on screen (AND)
04 Paste the inverse of the image on the screen (NOT)
NOTE: The 1-byte <res> parameter is RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE and
should be set to zero.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Writes the contents of the Clipboard (Icon) to disk
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_WRITE_ICON
Level: 1
Command: W
Arguments: res:1, filename
Format: !|1W <res> <filename>
Example: !|1W0filename.icn
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command takes the contents of the Clipboard and writes it to a
disk file. This Icon file can be loaded later with a RIP_LOAD_ICON
command and stamped on the screen.
The command instructs the terminal to store an Icon on the terminal's
disk drive, or on some appropriate storage media. Path or
subdirectory information is not allowed in the filename portion of
the command. If the clipboard is nonexistent (ie, at the beginning
of a scene), this command is ignored. If an Icon by the same name
already exists on disk, it is overwritten.
NOTE: The <res> parameter is RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE and should be
set to zero.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Loads and displays a disk-based Icon to the screen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_LOAD_ICON
Level: 1
Command: I
Arguments: x:2, y:2, mode:2, clipboard:1, res:2, filename
Format: !|1I <x> <y> <mode> <clipboard> <res> <filename>
Example: !|1I001101010button.icn
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command instructs the terminal to read an Icon from disk and
display it at the given upper-left (x,y) location. If the width or
height of the Icon would make it go off the right or left edge of the
screen, the Icon will not be displayed. The <mode> parameter defines
the modes in which the Icon will be displayed on the screen. The
modes are identical to the RIP_PUT_IMAGE command, and are as follows:
The .ICN file extension does not need to be included as part of the
filename. If omitted, it will automatically be appended to the
filename. If an extension is provided, it will be used verbatim.
Mode Description
==============================================================
00 Paste the image on-screen normally (COPY)
01 Exclusive-OR image with the one already on screen (XOR)
02 Logically OR image with the one already on screen (OR)
03 Logically AND image with the one already on screen (AND)
04 Paste the inverse of the image on the screen (NOT)
If the <clipboard> parameter is 1, then not only is the image pasted
on screen, but it is also copied into the Clipboard. If 0, it's
simply pasted on the screen.
The <filename> parameter must not contain any subdirectory or path
information and must specify a valid Icon file name. If the Icon
cannot be located or an error occurs on the disk, then a box should
be displayed on screen indicating that the given Icon File could not
be loaded. This visual prompt indicates that something is amiss to
the end-user.
NOTE: The 2-byte <res> parameter is RESERVED FOR THE FUTURE and
unlike many other previously mentioned reserved parameters,
should be set to "10".
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Button Style Definition
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_BUTTON_STYLE
Level: 1
Command: B
Arguments: wid:2 hgt:2 orient:2 flags:4 size:2 dfore:2
dback:2 bright:2 dark:2 surface:2 grp_no:2 flags2:2
uline_col:2 corner_col:2 res:6
Format: !|1B <wid> <hgt> <orient> <flags> <bevsize> <dfore>
<dback> <bright> <dark> <surface> <grp_no> <flags2>
<uline_col> <corner_col> <res>
Example: !|1B0A0A010274030F080F080700010E07000000
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This RIPscrip command is probably one of the most complex in the
entire protocol. It defines how subsequent RIP_BUTTON commands will
be interpretted. The purpose of this command is to define what a
Button is and how they operate. Buttons can have many different
configurations, flags, and styles. With the diversity of modes that
the Button can take on, complexity is a necessary evil.
This command does not actually do anything visibly on the screen.
Simply put, this creates an internal definition for the Button mode
which will be used with RIP_BUTTON commands after the definition is
created.
Every Button can have an optional text label. It can appear in
several different locations compared to the Button itself. This is
specified in the <orient> parameter. The actual text of the label is
not specified with this command, it is specified when you actually
create a Button (see RIP_BUTTON below). The value that <orient> can
be is as follows:
Value Description of Orientation
===================================================
00 Display Label above of Button
01 Display Label to the Left of Button
02 Display Label in the center of the Button
03 Display Label to the Right of Button
04 Display Label beneath the Button
The <hgt> and <wid> parameters represent the fixed height and width of
the Button (applies only to Plain Buttons). If both values are
greater than zero, then this will represent the actual size of the
Button (its dimensions are not specified by the RIP_BUTTON command).
If both of these are set to zero, then the actual RIP_BUTTON command
will specify the size of the particular Button (dynamic sizing).
The <bevsize> parameter is only used if the Bevel flag is specified.
When active, this parameter will determine how many pixels thick the
bevel should be. This may be any value greater or equal to zero.
There are a large number of flag values that can be combined to
achieve a great many effects. There are two flag parameters for the
RIP_BUTTON_STYLE command, <flags> and <flags2>. They are detailed in
the two tables that follow in this Section. You may combine any of
the flags in the first table together simply by adding the "Value" of
each one together and representing that number as a MegaNum. See the
Section in this manual for a "Table of MegaNums".
The <dfore> and <dback> parameters are used with the text label. The
<dfore> parameter is the foreground color for the text. It is always
used to determine the color of the text label. The <dback> color is
the color of the dropshadow (if any). This parameter is only used
when you have specified the "Dropshadow" flag in the <flags>
parameter (see below).
The <bright>, <dark> and <surface> parameters are used with Plain
Buttons and with the Special Effects styles (see <flags> below).
These colors represent the hilighted color, the shadowed color, and
the regular surface color that is used in Special Effects. Typical
color combinations for these colors might be White, Dark-Gray and
Light-Gray respectively for a "chiseled steel" appearance. Each of
these values can contain a two-digit value representing any valid
color code that may be used in the RIP_COLOR command.
In addition to the special effects colors, are two additional colors
that can be used, <uline_color> which is used for the color of the
underline (in the text label), and <corner_color> which is used to
display the colors of corners for things like the Bevel, Recess, etc.
The <grp_no> parameter determines which Button Group subsequent
RIP_BUTTON commands will be associated with. Button Groups are used
to maintain groups of Buttons for things like Radio Buttons and/or
Checkbox Buttons. See the section entitled THE BUTTON COMMAND for
more information on these modes, and what Button Groups can offer.
This value can range anywhere from 0-Z (i.e., 0-35). You should not
mix Checkbox and Radio buttons in the same group. -- unpredictable
things may happen if you do.
Some <flags> are mutually exclusive. For example, you can only have
one of the "Plain", "Icon", or "Clipboard" flags chosen at once. To
better assist you in determining which values can be combined with
each other, the right-most five columns in the next two tables explain
if the specific flag can be used under a specific condition. For
example, you cannot choose the "Hot Icon" flag if you are dealing with
a Clipboard Button. Another example is that you cannot underline the
hotkey character in the label if it is not a Mouse Button.
The following table contains the possible flag values for the <flags>
parameter. Each of these values may be combined to achieve a
"composite" group of flags. See the preceding paragraphs for a more
detailed explanation of this method.
VALUE DESCRIPTION OF FLAGS FIELD #1 ICON CLIP PLAIN MOUSE NO-MOUSE
======================================================================
1 Button is a "Clipboard Button" N Y N Y Y
2 Button is "invertable" Y Y Y Y N
4 Reset screen after button click Y Y Y Y N
8 Display Chisel special effect Y Y Y Y Y
16 Display Recessed special effect Y Y Y Y Y
32 Dropshadow the label (if any) Y Y Y Y Y
64 Auto-stamp image onto Clipboard Y Y Y Y Y
128 Button is an "Icon Button" Y N N Y Y
256 Button is a "Plain Button" N N Y Y Y
512 Display Bevel special effect Y Y Y Y Y
1024 Button is a Mouse Button Y Y Y Y N
2048 Underline hot-key in label Y Y Y Y N
4096 Make Icon Button use Hot Icons Y N N Y N
8192 Adjust vert. centering of label Y Y Y Y Y
16384 Button belongs to a Radio Group Y Y Y Y N
32768 Display Sunken special effect Y Y Y Y Y
The following table describes the possible flag settings for the
<flags2> parameter:
VALUE DESCRIPTION OF FLAGS FIELD #2 ICON CLIP PLAIN MOUSE NO-MOUSE
======================================================================
1 Button is in a Checkbox Group Y Y Y Y N
2 Hilight Hotkey character Y Y Y Y N
4 Explode (Zoom Out when clicked) Y Y Y Y N
8 Left Justify Label (top/cent/bot) Y Y Y Y Y
16 Right Justify Label (" / " / ") Y Y Y Y Y
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Define a Mouse Button
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_BUTTON
Level: 1
Command: U
Arguments: x0:2 y0:2 x1:2 y1:2 hotkey:2 flags:1 res:1 ...text
Format: !|1U <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1> <hotkey> <flags> <res> <text>
Example: !|1U010100003200iconfile.icn<>Label<>Host Cmd^m
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: YES
This command physically creates a new Button using the previously
described RIP_BUTTON_STYLE command. You may have at most 128
different Mouse Buttons (you may have any number of non-Mouse
Buttons).
The <x0> and <y0> parameters for this command designate the upper-left
corner of the Button. This (X,Y) location may not be the actual
"absolute" corner position of the Button, as it may be adjusted via
the Special Effects functions that are part of the RIP_BUTTON_STYLE
command (see above).
The <x1> and <y1> parameters are only used for Plain Buttons when you
have not specified a specific Height and Width in the
RIP_BUTTON_STYLE command. These parameters are used in Dynamically
Sized Buttons. If the Height and Width in the RIP_BUTTON_STYLE are
non-zero, then these two parameters are set to zero.
The (x0,y0) and (x1,y1) will be modified by the following values for
the different special effects:
EFFECT TYPE X0 ADJ Y0 ADJ X1 ADJ Y1 ADJ
=======================================================================
Bevel -bevel size -bevel size +bevel size +bevel size
Recess -2 -2 +2 +2
Sunken 0 0 0 0
Chisel 0 0 0 0
The <hotkey> parameter is only used with Mouse Buttons. It is the
ASCII code for the keystroke that will activate this Button. It is
represented as a two-digit MegaNum. If this character exists in the
text label, and the Underline flag is enabled in the
RIP_BUTTON_STYLE, then the character will be underlined in the label.
The <flags> parameter provides several different functions for each
button. The possible "combinatorial" flags for this parameter are
listed in the following table. Note that these values may be
combined together (by adding their values) to arrive at the final
flag parameter's value.
Value Description
====================================================================
1 Draw button as already selected
2 Button is "default" when <ENTER> is tapped
Using a flag of 1 means that the Button is already "selected". By
selected, we mean that it is already clicked and should be initially
drawn as clicked. This is typically used for Radio Buttons and/or
Check Boxes. This only affects the image. The Host Command WILL
NOT be automatically sent to the host when a selected Button is
drawn. If this parameter is set to 0, then the Button will be
drawn in normal, unselected mode.
The <text> parameter for this command is somewhat different than those
found in previously described RIPscrip commands. All other RIPscrip
commands only have one text parameter. This command requires
anywhere from 0-3 text parameters. The way RIPscrip accomplishes this
is by separating each block in the <text> parameter with the
delimiter "<>". This text parameter delimiter is not needed before
the first text block, but is necessary between the 1st and 2nd
blocks, and the 2nd and 3rd blocks. Here is an example of a typical
text parameter for this command:
ICONFILE.ICN<>TEXT LABEL<>HOST COMMAND
The actual syntax of this text parameter is as follows:
[icon-file][[<>text-label][<>host-command]]
The block described as ICONFILE.ICN is actually the Icon Filename that
will be used for the Button if it is an Icon Button. If it is not an
Icon Button, then this block will read "<>" all by itself (a "null"
block).
The .ICN file extension does not need to be included as part of the
filename. If omitted, it will automatically be appended to the
filename. If an extension is provided, it will be used verbatim.
The "TEXT LABEL" block is actually the text that will be used to
descriptively label the Button. You may also specify a "null" block
for no label (i.e., "<>").
The final block of the <text> parameter is the Host Command. This
block contains any text that should be sent to the Host after this
Button is clicked. This may contain any Control Characters, Pick-List
definitions, Text Variables or Template Definitions. This block
might be "segmented" into multiple Host Command segments. See the
section entitled HOST COMMANDS in this Manual for additional
information on these Host Command features.
Not all of the blocks in the <text> parameter need to be specified.
Here are examples of the valid combinations of text blocks:
PARAMETER EXAMPLE DESCRIPTION OF THE TEXT PARAMETER
===================================================================
icon<>label<>host_cmd Specify all three blocks
<>label<>host_cmd 2 blocks specified; no icon
icon<>label<> 2 blocks specified; no host cmd
icon<>label 2 blocks specified; no host cmd
<><>host_cmd 1 block specified; no icon or label
<>label<> 1 block specified; no icon or host cmd
<>label 1 bloc specified; no icon or host cmd
icon<><> 1 block specified; no label or host cmd
icon<> 1 block specified; no label or host cmd
icon 1 block specified; no label or host cmd
<><><> A blank text parameter; all blocks omitted
<><> A blank text parameter; all blocks omitted
<> A blank text parameter; all blocks omitted
NOTE: The <res> parameter is reserved for future use by TeleGrafix
Communications, Inc.. It should be set to 0 for compatibility
with future releases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Define a Text Variable
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_DEFINE
Level: 1
Command: D
Arguments: flags:3 res:2 ...text
Format: !|1D <flags> <res> <text>
Example: !|1D00700text_var,60:?question?default data
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command is used to create a text variable on the Client system
(i.e., the Terminal system). A text variable is more fully covered
in the section entitled HOST COMMANDS. Simply put, a text variable is
a piece of information assigned to a 1-12 character identifier that
can either be saved to a local database file (static variables), or
to memory (dynamic variables). Variable Identifiers can be 1-12
characters in length. You may use any alphanumeric character and
underscores (_) in the identifier. An underscore cannot be the first
character, nor can the first character of an identifier be a number.
The <flags> parameter of this command combines three separate values
into one MegaNum flag that determines how the variable definition
will operate. Here are the possible flag values:
VALUE DESCRIPTION OF FLAG
=========================================
001 Save Variable to database
002 Cannot specify a blank response
004 Non-interactive query
When a variable is flagged as "Save to Database", it becomes a part of
the Client system's actual configuration. The value is saved
indefinitely until either changed, or manually erased. You may choose
not to allow the user to enter a blank response. This basically
requires them to enter some piece of information for the variable.
The last flag determines whether the definition is interactive or not.
An interactive definition will attempt to define the variable. If it
does exist, it pops the value up on the screen asking the user to
confirm if the value is correct. If it does not exist, a similar
pop-up box will appear asking the user to enter some data for the
given variable.
In a non-interactive situation, the Client system will check to see if
the variable exists. If it does, then nothing happens (unless a
default response is specified in this command, whereby the Client's
variable is updated with the new information). If the value is not
defined, then this definition becomes interactive by default, since
the user actually has to enter something anyway.
The <text> parameter for this command is also segmented in nature,
much like the RIP_BUTTON command is. An example of a segmented
<text> parameter for the RIP_DEFINE command might be as follows:
FULL_NAME,30:?What is your full name?John Doe
The actual syntax of the Variable Define text parameter is as follows:
variable-identifier[,field-width]:[?question-text?][default-value]
There are several different segments in this parameter as you can see.
The first section is the variable- identifier. Immediately after it
is an optional field-width. If the field width is omitted, it will
default to a value of 60. You should limit the values of this width
from 1-60.
Immediately following the identifier field-width parameter is a colon
(:). The colon indicates that the variable identifier field is
completed and that the remainder of the text parameter is to contain
the question and/or the default response (if any). If no question or
default response is provided, the text parameter would read
"TEXT_VAR,width:" with no additional data.
The question-text is specified by a question mark (?) followed by the
actual text of the question, followed by a trailing question mark.
The basic format of the question segment is as follows:
?this is a question?
The remainder of the text parameter consists of a default-value for
the variable's contents. It may be omitted if you wish, to make it
so that the user must enter his/her own value instead of some "canned
response".
NOTE: The <res> parameter is reserved for future use by TeleGrafix
Communications, Inc.. It should be set to 00 for compatibility
with future releases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Query the contents of a Text Variable
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_QUERY
Level: 1
Command: <escape>
Arguments: mode:1 res:3 ...text
Format: !|1<escape> <mode> <res> <text>
Example: !|1<escape>0000this is a query $COMMAND$^m
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
The Query Text Variable RIPscrip command instructs the Client system
to immediately respond with some piece of information, whether
statically stored (i.e., in a database), stored internally in RAM
(dynamic information), or pre-defined Text Variables.
This command is unique in RIPscrip in the fact that the command
character that is used is NOT a printable character. We use the
Escape character (ascii 27) to introduce this command as a measure
of Security. Since the Query command can query the terminal for
some critical (potentially private) information, you would not
want a End-User to be able to Query another User's terminal for
something like his Address Information, or something that he
wouldn't want to otherwise divulge to unauthorized people. Since
most BBS'es do not allow the User to enter an Escape character,
this character is ideal for this purpose. Using an Escape, allows
only the Host under most circumstances to be in control of any
Queries.
This command is very flexible in that you can specify Control
Characters, Pick-List definitions, Text Variable insertion, and even
Host Command Template definitions. See the section of this Manual
entitled HOST COMMANDS for a more detailed explanation of Host
Commands and these specific features.
Whether the information is transmitted instantly or not is dependant
on the <mode> parameter. The <mode> parameter determines when data
queries are processed. The possible settings for the <mode> parameter
are as follows:
MODE DESCRIPTION
========================================================
0 Process the query command NOW (upon receipt)
1 Process when mouse clicked in Graphics Window
2 Process when mouse clicked in Text Window
(any text variables that return X or Y mouse
coordinates return TEXT coordinates, not
graphics coordinates in this mode. These
coordinates are two-digit values instead of
the graphical values that are four digits).
Note that modes 1-2 do not return the results of the Query instantly.
They query commands are processed when the user clicks the mouse
either in the text window, or in the graphics window respectively.
These "queries after mouse clicks" are only acted upon if the user
is clicking on something other than a Button or a Mouse Field.
To disable these two special "deferred" query modes, issue the
same command with the query string of $OFF$. This will disable
this mode. Providing a <text> parameter of anything other than
$OFF$ will produce a revised query command (active).
Basically put, a Query command will be immediately acted upon by the
Terminal program when received. The Query command's <text> parameter
can contain any number of Host Command "segments", which can instruct
the terminal "how to" send data to the host, and more specifically,
what data to send to the host.
Some examples of query statements might be any of the following:
^m ......................... Send a carriage return to the BBS
right now
My name is $FULL_NAME$^m ... Send the text "My name is
<insert-name-here>" followed by a
carriage return to the BBS. The
<insert-name-here> will be replaced
with whatever the the variable
$FULL_NAME$ contains.
See the section entitled HOST COMMANDS for a detailed explanation of
Host Commands, and what you can do with the Query command.
NOTE: The <res> parameter is reserved for future use by TeleGrafix
Communications, Inc.. It should be set to 000 for
compatibility with future releases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy screen region up/down
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_COPY_REGION
Level: 1
Command: G
Arguments: x0:2 y0:2 x1:2 y1:2 res:2 dest_line:2
Format: !|1G <x0> <y0> <x1> <y1> <res> <dest_line>
Example: !|1G080G140M0005
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command physically "copies" a rectangular region of the
graphics screen up or down. The <dest_line> parameter is the Y
position that is the destination scan line to receive the region.
The Destination of the copy can overlap the original region, but
cannot be on the same line. You cannot move the image area left or
right at all. This command is designated for vertical scrolling of
graphical data either up or down.
Due to hardware restrictions, the X0 and X1 parameters must be evenly
divisible by eight (8) (e.g., 0, 8, 16, etc). If the X0 and X1
parameters are NOT evenly divisible by eight, then the X0 parameter
will be reduced to the next most eight-pixel boundary, and the X1
parameter will be increased to the next eight-pixel boundary. For
example, if X0=14, and X1=38, then X0 would be adjusted DOWN to 8,
and X1 would be adjusted UP to 40. This is to ensure that the
desired graphical region is scrolled.
The original image area is left on the screen (is not cleared). So
if you wish to perform some kind of scrolling effect, you will have
to clear the original area yourself.
If the destination region would place the image partially off-screen,
then the entire command is ignored!
NOTE: The <res> parameter is reserved for future development by
TeleGrafix.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Playback local .RIP scene file
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_READ_SCENE
Level: 1
Command: R
Arguments: res:8 filename...
Format: !|1R <res> <filename>
Example: !|1R00000000testfile.rip
Uses Draw Color: YES
Uses Line Patrn: YES
Uses Line Thick: YES
Uses Fill Color: YES
Uses Fill Patrn: YES
Uses Write Mode: YES
Uses Font Sizes: YES
This command instructs the remote terminal to playback a local .RIP
file. The current execution of RIPscrip commands will be temporarily
suspended and the contents of the designated RIP file will begin
executing. Regardless of whether or not the current RIPscrip code
coming across the modem is in the middle of a line or not, the RIP
playback file will be assumed to start at the beginning of a line.
Therefore, if a RIP_READ_SCENE command is located in a .RIP file,
it must be the very last command on the line, followed by a carriage
return instead of a command delimiter (|). This ensures that the
loaded .RIP file will begin executing properly with the correct
delimiters found in the correct places.
The RIP playback file can alter colors, fonts, or whatever. Once
the playback of the file is complete, the remaining RIPscrip code
that was temporarily suspended will be resume execution. Any changes
that appeared in the loaded playback file will remain in effect when
the resumed code is processed. In other words, if you change a color
or a font in the playback file and leave them changed, they will
remain in effect during the resumed execution.
NOTE: The <res> parameter is reserved for future development
by TeleGrafix. It should be set to "00000000" for
compatibility with future releases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Query existing information on a particular file
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_FILE_QUERY
Level: 1
Command: F
Arguments: mode:2 res:4 filename...
Format: !|1F <mode> <res> <filename>
Example: !|1F010000testfile.icn
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command queries the existance of a particular file, regardless
of file type. It is intended for use by Host systems to determine
if a particular Icon or RIP file exists on the remote terminal's
hard disk.
There are a variety of ways you can query for filenames. The <mode>
parameter determines the method that this command will respond to
the Host. Note that this command instructs the terminal to send
a response to the Host immediately upon execution of this command.
The following table is a listing of the possible values for <mode>:
VALUE DESCRIPTION
==============================================================
00 Simply query the existance of the file. If it
exists, a "1" is returned. Otherwise a "0" is
returned to the Host (without a carriage return).
01 Same as 0 above, except a carriage return is
added after the response.
02 Queries the existance of a file. If it does not
exist, a "0" is returned to the Host followed by a
carriage return. If it does exist, the returned
text is a "1." followed by the file size (in
decimal). The return sequence is terminated by a
carriage return. An example of the returned text
could be "1.20345".
03 Queries extended return information. If the file
does not exist, a "0" is returned follwed by a
carriage return. If it does exist, the text
returned to the Host is in the format:
1.size.date.time <cr>. An example of a return
statement could be "1.20345.01/02/93.03:04:30 <cr>"
04 Queries extended return information. If the file
does not exist, a "0" is returned follwed by a
carriage return. If it does exist, the text
returned to the Host is in the format:
1.file.size.date.time <cr>. An example of a return
statement could be
"1.MYFILE.RIP.20345.01/02/93.03:04:30 <cr>".
Note the file extension adds another period into the
text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter "block transfer" mode with Host
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_ENTER_BLOCK_MODE
Level: 10 (system command)
Command: <escape>
Arguments: proto:2 file_type:2 res:4 [filename:2] <>
Format: !|0<escape> <proto> <file_type> <res> [filename] <>
Example: !|0<escape>0001iconfile.icn<>
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command is used to auto-initiate any desired File Transfer
Protocol. The <filename> parameter is optional, and if omitted
must be replaced with a "<>" parameter (end of string).
The <proto> parameter is the file transfer protocol specifier.
Possible values, and the protocols they refer to are:
VALUE PROTOCOL FILENAME REQUIRED?
================================================
0 Xmodem (checksum) Yes
1 Xmodem (CRC) Yes
2 Xmodem-1K Yes
3 Xmodem-1K (G) Yes
4 Kermit Yes
5 Ymodem (batch) No
6 Ymodem-G No
7 Zmodem (crash recovery) No
The <file_type> parameter determines what types of files are to be
received during the block transfer. The following values apply
to the <file_type> parameter:
VALUE DESCRIPTION OF BLOCK TRANSFER CONTENTS
================================================================
0 .RIP file sequence (display it)
1 .RIP file sequence (store them)
2 .ICN file sequence (store them in proper directories)
3 .HLP file sequence (store it, and auto-load if needed)
4 COMPOSITE DYNAMIC file sequence (batch protcols only)
5 ACTIVE DYNAMIC file sequence (batch protcols only)
Whether the <filename> is specified or not, this command must have
a "<>" sequence after the filename (even if omitted). Here are
examples of how it would look with and without a filename:
!|0B0101filename.icn<> ... With filename field (Xmodem-CRC)
!|0B0604<> ............... w/o filename field (Zmodem)
The special <file_type> of 4 & 5 (COMPOSITE DYANAMIC file sequences)
is somewhat different than the non-batch transfer methods. This allows
each file uploaded to be individually processed based on their
file extensions. If you use extensions other than .RIP or .ICN, then
this mode is not available to you as the necessary files will not be
able to be processed. Any files that are "downloaded" from the Host
in DYNAMIC mode are placed into the appropriate sub-directories and
no further processing is performed. .RIP files that are received
are "stored" and are not played back in COMPOSITE DYNAMIC mode. In
ACTIVE DYNAMIC mode, they are stored and played back simultaneously.
NOTE: This command must be terminated with a carriage return. A
vertical bar (|) command delimiter cannot be used to separate
this command from a subsequent one on the same line. In other
words, this command must be the last command on a line of text.
The Protocol must begin on the very next line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
End of RIPscrip Scene
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Symbol: RIP_NO_MORE
Level: 0
Command: #
Arguments: <none>
Format: !|#
Example: !|#
Uses Draw Color: NO
Uses Line Patrn: NO
Uses Line Thick: NO
Uses Fill Color: NO
Uses Fill Patrn: NO
Uses Write Mode: NO
Uses Font Sizes: NO
This command indicates that RIPscrip commands are complete. This
allows the terminal program to activate Mouse Regions, or respond to
queued up Mouse Clicks without disturbing the natural flow of the
script transmission.
For noise-immunity, the Host should transmit three or more
RIP_NO_MORE command consecutively to make sure the message gets to
the terminal. The terminal should also time-out if no data is
received for a while, and assume RIP_NO_MORE.
=====================================================================
== HOST COMMANDS - A TUTORIAL & REFERENCE SECTION ==
=====================================================================
With Mouse regions, Buttons and Text Variable Query ability, you can
control the Terminal/Paint programs and how they react with the BBS
in many ways. To accomplish this, there are several features of
RIPscrip that permit you to do special actions based on different
circumstances. In effect, an "action language" of sorts. The
following sections go into the available "action language" features
in more detail.
Among the various abilities are:
1. Control-Character specification
2. Pre-defined Text Variables & User-defined text variables
3. Pop-up pick-lists
4. A Host Command "Template" system for added intelligence.
5. Query text variable contents (pre-defined & user variables)
=====================================================================
== CONTROL CHARACTERS ==
=====================================================================
Not all BBS'es will allow you to use control characters on their
Service. Regardless of that, the capability to send any Control
Character exists for your Host Commands. The most commonly used
Control Characters are:
INDIVIDUAL CONTROL CHARACTERS SPECIAL KEYSTROKES
===========================================================
^G ... Beep ^[[A ... Up Arrow
^L ... Clear Screen (Top of Form) ^[[B ... Down Arrow
^M ... Carriage Return ^[[C ... Right Arrow
^C ... Break (sometimes) ^[[D ... Left Arrow
^H ... Backspace ^[[H ... Home Key
^[ ... Escape character ^[[K ... End Key
^S ... Pause data transmission ^[[L ... Control Home
^Q ... Resume data transmission
Some hosts use the ^ (caret) for their own purposes. In these
cases, you can use the ` (backquote) character instead of the
caret. Some systems allow you to specify the caret symbol as
two carets (^^). Consult your Host Software documentation to
determine the best method for your needs.
=====================================================================
== TEXT VARIABLES ==
=====================================================================
A special feature of RIPaint allows it to understand what a Text
Variable is. A text variable is a piece of text that both RIPaint
and RIPterm know something about. For example, the Text Variable
$DATE$ is known to represent the current Date on your PC. The BBS
may ask your PC what the values of one or more of these variables
are, and if your Terminal knows those particular Variables, it will
tell the BBS.
There are two types of Text Variables. There are built-in Text
Variables that RIP products will ALWAYS know about. Then there are
also User Text Variables that can contain a variety of information
depending on what the User entered at the time the Variable was
created. For example, the BBS might ask you what the contents of
the $FULL_NAME$ variable is, and if RIPterm doesn't know, it could
pop-up a field on the screen and ask you about it. From then on,
RIPterm will remember that piece of information for the next time it
is needed by a BBS.
You may use either the pre-defined Text Variables, or the User Text
Variables at any place that allows Text Variables.
The following is a Listing of the Pre-Defined Text Variables:
=============================================================
$DATE$ ... Date in short format (e.g., 12/19/93)
------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into the current Date.
It will be displayed in the format MM/DD/YY.
Example: $DATE$ = 12/19/93
$MONTH$ ... Month Name
----------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into the name of the
Current Month. It will be not abbreviated (e.g., "November"
instead of "Nov")
Example: $MONTH$ = December
$MONTHNUM$ ... Month (in format 1-12)
-------------------------------------
This Text Variable is transformed into a Number representing
the Current Month. January=01 and December=12. Therefore,
the possible values for $MONTHNUM$ can range from 01-12.
Example: $MONTHNUM$ = 12
$DAY$ ... Day in numeric form (e.g., 31)
----------------------------------------
This Text Variable is transformed into a Number representing
the Current Day of the month. Possible values for this
Variable are from 01-31.
Example: $DAY$ = 05
$DOY$ ... Day of year (001-366)
-------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a Number representing
the Day of the current Year. Since a year contains 365 days (unless
it is a Leap-Year where it contains 366), then the possible values
that $DOY$ can be are 001-366.
Example: $DOY$ = 214
$YEAR$ ... 2 digit year (without century) (00-99)
-------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-digit number
representing the Current Year.
Example: $YEAR$ = 93
$FYEAR$ ... 4 digit year (with century) (0000-9999)
---------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a four-digit number
that represents the Current Year.
Example: $FYEAR$ = 1993
$TIME$ ... Time in standard format (e.g., 12:03:14)
---------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into the Current Time.
The time will be in military format (hours from 00-23).
Example: $TIME$ = 18:09:33
$HOUR$ .... Hour (format HH) - normal style
-------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-digit number
representing the Current Hour. This variable may be anywhere
from 01-12. This does not use Military format.
Example: $HOUR$ = 11
$MHOUR$ ... Hour (format HH) - Military style
---------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-digit number
representing the Current Hour in military format. This variable
may range anywhere from 00-23.
Example: $MHOUR$ = 17
$MIN$ ... Minutes (00-59)
-------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-digit number
representing the Current Minutes in the Hour. Possible values
for this Variable are 00-59.
Example: $MIN$ = 45
$SEC$ ... Seconds (00-59)
-------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-digit number
representing the Current Seconds of the Minute. Possible values
for this Variable are 00-59.
Example: $SEC$ = 59
$AMPM$ ... Returns either AM or PM depending on time
----------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a two-character
value of either "AM" or "PM" depending on what time it is.
Example: $AMPM$ = PM
$DATETIME$ ... Date & Time (e.g., Sat Dec 19 14:38:50 1992)
-----------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a combination Date
and Time. The format is somewhat different than standard
Time/date notation. The format used is:
DAY-OF-WEEK MONTH DAY-OF-MONTH HH:MM:SS YEAR
Example: $DATETIME$ = Sat Dec 19 14:38:50 1992
NOTE: This is the standard UNIX date/time notation.
$TIMEZONE$ ... Time Zone or "NONE" if unknown (e.g., Pacific)
-------------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a a word/phrase that
describes the Current Time-Zone you are in. This may be returned
as anything like "PST" for Pacific Standard Time, "EST" for Eastern
Standard Time, etc. If the Time-Zone is not set on your PC, this
Variable will respond with "NONE".
Example: $TIMEZONE$ = PST
$DOW$ ... Day of week fully spelled out (e.g., Friday)
------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into the Current Day
of the Week. The name will be fully spelled out. This
Variable can be any of the values: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Example: $DOW$ = Saturday
$ADOW$ ... Abbreviated Day of Week (e.g., Mon, Tue, etc)
--------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into the Current Day
of the week, in abbreviated form. This variable may be any
of the following values: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat.
Example: $ADOW$ = Mon
$WDAY$ ... Weekday where 0 is Sunday (0-6)
------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a one-digit number
representing the Number of the Day of the Week. Possible values
for this Variable are 0-6, where 0=Sunday (the first day in the
week).
Example: $WDAY$ = 2
$WOY$ ... Week of current year 00-53; Sunday=1st Day of Week
------------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a number from 00-53,
representing the Week Number in the current year. Even though
there are 52 weeks in a year, a week might not begin exactly on
the first day of the year, so a maximum value for this variable
can be 53 under these circumstances. For this Variable, SUNDAY
is considered to be the first day of the week.
Example: $WOY$ = 32
$WOYM$ ... Week of current year 00-53; Monday=1st Day of Week
-------------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a number from 00-53,
representing the Week Number in the current year. Even though
there are 52 weeks in a year, a week might not begin exactly on
the first day of the year, so a maximum value for this variable
can be 53 under these circumstances. For this Variable, MONDAY
is considered to be the first day of the week.
Example: $WOYM$ = 32
$RIPVER$ ... RIPterm version (e.g., "RIPSCRIP015100")
-----------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a key-phrase which
will identify a RIPterm software package. It is designed to
be used by a Host BBS to detect what version of RIPscrip
graphics your Terminal can support. When this Text Variable
is used, it will respond back with "RIPSCRIP" followed by
the full Version Number (e.g., 01.51.00), without the periods.
Example: $RIPVER$ = RIPSCRIP015100
$STATBAR$ ... If Status Bar is on, returns YES, otherwise NO
------------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a "YES" if the Status
Bar is currently On on the Terminal. If the Status Bar is not
visible, then this Variable will be "NO".
Example: $STATBAR$ = YES
$X$ ... X Mouse location (format: XXXX)
-----------------------------------------
This Text Variable is for reporting the current X location of
the Mouse to the BBS. This could be used interactively by the
BBS (or a game on the BBS) to deterimine the location of the
mouse cursor. Only the X value of the Mouse (X,Y) location is
returned to the BBS. The value will be 0000-9999 depending on
what the current position is.
Example: $X$ = 0523
$Y$ ... Y Mouse location (format: YYYY)
-----------------------------------------
This Text Variable is for reporting the current Y location of
the Mouse to the BBS. This could be used interactively by the
BBS (or a game on the BBS) to deterimine the location of the
mouse cursor. Only the Y value of the Mouse (X,Y) location is
returned to the BBS. The value will be 0000-9999 depending on
what the current position is.
Example: $Y$ = 0244
$XY$ ... X/Y Mouse Location (format: XXXX:YYYY)
-----------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a combination of
both the X and Y locations of the Mouse Cursor. A colon (:) is
used to separate the two values. Either the X or Y values may
range from 0000-9999 depending on the current location. The
format that this value takes on is: XXXX:YYYY
Example: $XY$ = 0297:0321
$XYM$ ... X, Y & button status (format: XXXX:YYYY:LMR)
------------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a combination of
the X and Y Mouse Cursor location, and a status of which
Mouse Buttons are pressed (if any). The format of the returned
text is XXXX:YYYY:LMR where XXXX is the X cursor location in the
range 0000-9999. YYYY is the Y cursor location in the range
0000-9999. Finally, LMR stands for Left/Middle/Right. If any
of these buttons are depressed (clicked), then the corresponding
position will contain a 1. If a button is NOT depressed, then it
will contain a 0.
Example: $XYM$ = 0123:0297:110
This means that the (X,Y) location of the cursor is (0123,0297),
and that the Left and Middle buttons are depressed, but that the
Right Mouse Button is not depressed.
$M$ ... Mouse Button Status: LMR (e.g., 101)
--------------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a 3-character code
representing what the Status of each Mouse Button is. This
variable can work with either 2-button Mice, or 3-button Mice.
In either event, the format of the code is LMR where L=Left,
M=Middle (if any), and R=Right. If any of these buttons are
depressed (i.e., clicked), then the code for that button would be
a "1". If the button is not depressed, it is a "0". So, a value
of "100" would mean that the Left Mouse Button is depressed, but
none of the others are.
Example: $M$ = 001
$MSTAT$ ... Mouse Status (format: YES/NO)
-----------------------------------------
This Text Variable will be transformed into a "YES" if there is
a Mouse installed on the RIPterm computer. If no Mouse is
installed, this variable will contain "NO".
Example: $MSTAT$ = YES
$SBARON$ ... Turn ON the Status Line
------------------------------------
This Text Variable is somewhat different than the other Text
Variables described above. Rather than send something back
to the Host, it performs a specific operation - it turns ON
the Status Line. In this respect, it is considered an ACTIVE
TEXT VARIABLE. It evaluates to a null string (nothing). Its
sole purpose in life is to enable the Status Line.
Example: $SBARON$ = <nil>
$SBAROFF$ ... Turn OFF the Status Line
--------------------------------------
This Text Variable is somewhat different than the other Text
Variables described above. Rather than send something back
to the Host, it performs a specific operation - it turns OFF
the Status Line. In this respect, it is considered an ACTIVE
TEXT VARIABLE. It evaluates to a null string (nothing). Its
sole purpose in life is to disable the Status Line.
Example: $SBAROFF$ = <nil>
$ETW$ ... Erase Text Window
---------------------------
This Text Variable is somewhat different than the other Text
Variables described above. Rather than send something back
to the Host, it performs a specific operation - it Erases the
current Text Window (much like a Clear Screen code does). This
command is particularly useful in Host Commands when you click
on a Mouse area, and after it is finished clicking, it could
erase the text window THEN transmit the remainder of the host
command (if any) to the BBS.
Example: $ETW$ = <nil>
$EGW$ ... Erase Graphics Window
-------------------------------
This Text Variable is somewhat different than the other Text
Variables described above. Rather than send something back
to the Host, it performs a specific operation - it Erases the
current Graphics Window (much like a Reset Windows command does).
This command is particularly useful in Host Commands when you
click on a Mouse area, and after it is finished clicking, it
could erase the graphics window THEN transmit the remainder of
the host command (if any) to the BBS.
Example: $EGW$ = <nil>
$MKILL$ ... Kill all Mouse Fields currently defined
---------------------------------------------------
This Text Variable is also an "Active Text Variable" in the
sense that it doesn't transmit anything per se to the Host.
What it does do, is upon execution it deletes all currently
defined Mouse Fields exactly like the RIP_KILL_MOUSE_FIELDS
does. The net benefit of this is that when the user clicks
on a Mouse Button, the Mouse Fields are removed, but the
graphics remain on the screen so that the fields could be
subsequently re-defined quickly and easily without having to
re-transmit an identical menu over again.
Example: $MKILL$ = <nil>
$BEEP$ ... Beeps the terminal (like a CTRL-G does)
--------------------------------------------------
This command is an Active Text Variable. It's sole purpose
in life is to issue a Beep to the Terminal, thus producing
a CTRL-G sound.
Example: $BEEP$ = <nil>
$BLIP$ ... Makes a short "blipping" sound (like a Barrier)
----------------------------------------------------------
This Active Text Variable is much like the BEEP variable,
except that the sound produced is different. It produces
a sound more akin to a "barrier" sound; something that
sounds like you're running into a wall or something to that
effect.
Example: $BLIP$ = <nil>
$MUSIC$ ... Makes a musical (cheerful) sound
--------------------------------------------
This Active Text Variable also produces an Audio result. The
sound that is generated is a cheerful sound, representing
some kind of success. The sound is exactly the same as the
Sound you would hear when you receive a successful download,
or when you achieve a connection when dialing the modem in
RIPterm.
$DTW$ ... Disable Text Window
-----------------------------
This Text Variable is somewhat different than the other Text
Variables described above. Rather than send something back
to the Host, it performs a specific operation - it Disables the
current Text Window (preventing any received text from showing
up on screen). This command is particularly useful in Host
Commands when you click on a Mouse area, and after it is
finished clicking, it would halt any further text output to
the text window.
Example: $DTW$ = <nil>
$PCB$ ... Paste Clip Board at last location
-------------------------------------------
This command will physically paste the contents of the clipboard
at the last location that the clipboard was "clipped" from.
This even works with Icons that are loaded. The last location
taken in this situation, is the location the Icon was stamped
when it was originally loaded. This text variable is very
useful in situations where you want to "pop-up" a dialog box
on the screen (saving the previous area behind the dialog onto
the clipboard), and when the user clicks on the "OK" button,
restoring the screen contents (by adding a $PCB$ in the host
command string).
Example: $PCB$ = <nil>
$SMF$ ... Save Mouse Fields
---------------------------
This text variable will physically save all currently defined
Mouse Fields and Mouse Buttons to a temporary file for later
retrieval. This is designed especially for the graphical
designer who wishes to pop-up a dialog box on the screen with
one or more mouse fields, and when finished, to restore the
screen and original mouse fields (if any) so that the user is
not left "floating". This command is intended to be used with
the Restore Mouse Fields text variable $RMF$.
Example: $SMF$ = <nil>
$RMF$ ... Restore Mouse Fields
------------------------------
This text variable physically restores any previously saved
Mouse Fields saved with the $SMF$ text variable. You may
have only one set of mouse fields saved at any one time. If
there were no mouse fields saved, or if the number of mouse
fields that were saved was 0, then no mouse fields will be
active. Any fields that were defined at the time of this
command's execution will be erased.
NOTE: You may restore Mouse Fields more than once if you wish.
In other words, if you perform a "Save Mouse Fields"
command, you may execute Restore Mouse Fields one or
more times after that point.
Example: $RMF$ = <nil>
$COFF$ ... Disable the text cursor
----------------------------------
This command will physically shut off the ASCII text cursor that
is normally seen in the text window. This is automatically reset
whenever a $CON$ command (Cursor ON) or a Reset Windows command
is received.
Example: $COFF$ = <nil>
$CON$ ... Re-displays the text cursor
-------------------------------------
This command will physically turn ON the ASCII text cursor. This
is the exact opposite of the $COFF$ command which disables the
text cursor.
Example: $CON$ = <nil>
$STW$ ... Save text window information
--------------------------------------
This command will physically store all of the text window
settings. The window's X/Y dimensions are preserved, as is the
current cursor location, ANSI attributes, cursor ON/OFF status
and the vertical scrolling margins. Even the current System Font
will be saved (if necessary).
Example: $STW$ = <nil>
$RTW$ ... Restore text window information
-----------------------------------------
This command will restore the text window to whatever settings
were active when the $STW$ (save text window) command was issued.
The cursor, ANSI attributes and any other piece of text window
information will be restored (including the System Font setting).
NOTE: The textual contents of the window will not be restored.
Example: $RTW$ = <nil>
$SCB$ ... Save Clip Board
-------------------------
This command will save the Clipboard to disk for later retrieval
by a subsequent Query or Host Command. If the clipboard does
not exist, then the temporary file is deleted automatically to
indicate to the Restore Clip Board that there shouldn't be a
clipboard active.
Example: $SCB$ = <nil>
$RCB$ ... Restore Clip Board
----------------------------
This command restores the clipboard from the temporary disk file
called SCRAPBUF.SAV. This file is created by $SCB$ (save clip
board). Not only is the actual clipboard contents saved, but
so is the last clipboard location, so that the Paste Clip Board
command ($PCB$) will restore the clipboard's location as well.
Example: $RCB$ = <nil>
$VT102ON$ ... Turn VT-102 keyboard mode ON
------------------------------------------
This command enables the VT-102 keystrokes ability. This makes
the following keystrokes send something to the Host:
F1 ... ESC [ M
F2 ... ESC [ N
F3 ... ESC [ O
F4 ... ESC [ P
F5 ... ESC [ Q
F6 ... ESC [ R
F7 ... ESC [ S
F8 ... ESC [ T
F9 ... ESC [ U
F10 ... ESC [ V
PGUP ... ESC [ I
PGDN ... ESC [ G
HOME ... ESC [ H
END ... ESC [ F
INSERT ... ESC [ L
CURSOR UP ... ESC [ A
CURSOR DN ... ESC [ B
CURSOR LEFT ... ESC [ C
CURSOR RIGHT ... ESC [ D
The purpose of having this as a text variable is that the Host
can instruct the terminal to enter this mode automatically, thus
making it simpler on the user.
Example: $VT102ON$ = <nil>
$VT102OFF$ ... Turn VT-102 keyboard mode OFF
--------------------------------------------
This variable disables the VT-102 keystrokes mode, returning your
keyboard to the standard keyboard operation.
Example: $VT102OFF$ = <nil>
$DWAYON$ ... Turn Doorway Mode ON
---------------------------------
This variable enables Doorway Mode. This is intended to be used
by a Host system that wishes to take advantage of the Doorway
mode available in Marshall Dudley's Doorway (tm) software
package.
Example: $DWAYON$ = <nil>
$DWAYOFF$ ... Turn Doorway Mode OFF
-----------------------------------
This variable disabled the Doorway keyboard mode. This will
return the keyboard to normal operation.
Example: $DWAYOFF$ = <nil>
$SAVE$ ... Save graphics screen
-------------------------------
The SAVE variable will completely save the contents of the entire
graphics screen to a disk file called RIPTERM.SAV. No Mouse
Fields, Text Window locations or Clipboard data are saved - just
the graphics screen. The entire 640x350 region is saved to disk.
If you wish to save the entire state of the RIPterm system, use
the following text variables all at the same time (spaces are
added for clarity):
$SAVE$ $STW$ $SCB$ $SMF$
\ \ \ \
\ \ \ --- Save Mouse Fields
\ \ \
\ \ ------- Save ClipBoard
\ \
\ ----------- Save Text Window
\
--------------- Save Graphics Screen
$RESTORE$ ... Restore graphics screen
-------------------------------------
The RESTORE command will read the saved file RIPTERM.SAV in from
disk and restore the graphics as they were originally saved with
the $SAVE$ command. Only the graphics screen is restored, not
the Clipboard, Mouse Fields or Text Window settings. To restore
the entire context of the graphics environment, issue the
following text variables:
$RESTORE$ $STW$ $SCB$ $SMF$
\ \ \ \
\ \ \ --- Restore Mouse Fields
\ \ \
\ \ ------- Restore ClipBoard
\ \
\ ----------- Restore Text Window
\
------------------ Restore Graphics Screen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
$SAVE0$-$SAVE9$ & $RESTORE0$-$RESTORE9$ ... Save/Restore screens
These ten text variables are identical in nature with $SAVE$
described above with sole exception to the fact that the temp
files (RIPTERM0.SAV - RIPTERM9.SAV) are immediately deleted
when restored. The $SAVE$ and $RESTORE$ commands do not do this.
With this, you can keep restoring screens if you use $SAVE$.
These ten variables are provided so that you can have more than
one screen saved simultaneously.
=====================================================================
== LOCAL RIPscrip FILE PLAYBACK ==
=====================================================================
You can re-play a .RIP file that you have locally on your hard disk
from anyplace that allows text variables. The format of the variable
is somewhat different than user variables, or pre-defined text
variables. After the initial dollar sign ($), enter the greater-than
symbol (>) followed by the filename (with or without the .RIP
extension), then ending in another dollar sign ($). Several examples
of this are as follows:
$>MYFILE.RIP$
$>FILE1$
$>FILE1.RIP$$>FILE2.RIP$$>FILE3$
$>ANSIFILE.ANS$
Note in the last example, a file extension other than .RIP was used.
You are not limited to playing back local .RIP files. In fact, you
can play-back any file you want. You could load any simple text
file, ANSI picture image, or other such thing. When loaded, the data
is not sent to the host; it is strictly echoed on your local screen.
If the file is a .RIP file, it will replay any graphics that were in
the file and if any Mouse Regions are defined, it will create those
fields for you as well, thus allowing you to pop-up dialog screens or
other such things that are not built-in to RIPterm normally.
Each "local RIP playback" variable you enter will search for the .RIP
file in the current host's icon directory. If it cannot find the
file in that directory, it will check the ICONS\ directory.
=====================================================================
== POP-UP LISTS ==
=====================================================================
Any place that you can use a Text Variable, you can take advantage
of a unique feature of RIPscrip - Popup Pick-Lists. A Popup Pick-
List is simply a list that pops up allowing you to choose from one
of several available values. Whichever entry in the list you choose
will be inserted into your Keystroke Macro in place of the List
Definition.
In order to use Popup Pick-Lists, you must define the List in the
text of your Host Command.
A List is created by putting the special List instructions inside of
two parenthesis (( and )). The list instructions consist of an
optional Question, followed by one or more entries to put in the
List. For example, ((Send Email to?::Sysop,Cosysop,Joe)) says to
Pop-Up a list asking you "Send Email to?", giving you the choices of
"Sysop", "Cosysop", and "Joe".
By default, if you hit <ESCAPE> instead of picking an entry in the
list, then nothing will be inserted into the text of your Command.
You can indicate that the user MUST pick an entry by puttin an
asterisk (*) at the beginning of the question. For example,
((*Send Mail to?::Sysop,Joe)). This would make it so that the User
MUST choose either SYSOP or JOE.
In the previous examples, SYSOP, COSYSOP and JOE are the actual text
responses that are inserted into your Macros. These commands are
also the same things that are displayed in the Listing. If you want
to use something else instead of the actual "return text", you can.
When you enter the List Entry, add a @description to the end of it.
For example, ((Send Mail To?::Sysop@Head Honcho,Cosysop,Joe))
One final feature of Popup Pick-Lists allow you to specify a hotkey
for each entry in the List. For example, if you wanted the first
character of each entry to be hilighted (thus allowing you to select
that character to activate the entry), simply put a tilda (~) or an
underline (_) before and after the keystroke. For example "_S_ysop"
would hilight the "S" in "Sysop". You can hilight more than one
character, but only the first one will be the active hotkey. If you
omit the second tilda or underline, then the remainder of the
description will be hilighted.
NOTE: If you use a Tilda or an Underline in the actual Text
Response command (not the description), then those
characters will be automatically inserted into your
Macro when it gets transmitted to the BBS. This is
probably not what you would want to do. Bottom line,
only use Hotkey features on List Entries where you
specify a Description!
If you do not specify a Question, then the List will
ask you:
"Choose one of the following:"
You may specify up to twenty List Entries for any
one list.
Examples:
((Send E-Mail to?::Sysop,Joe,Mike))
((*Send EMail to?::Sysop@The Head Honcho,Joe,Mike@My Brother))
((::Sysop@_T_he Head Honcho,Joe,Mike@My _B_rother))
((Sysop,Joe,Mike,George))
=====================================================================
== HOST COMMAND "TEMPLATES" ==
=====================================================================
This feature is somewhat complex in nature, but ultimately powerful
in the long run when creating interactive mouse-driven GUI systems.
Often times you might want a Button on your screen to do one thing
in one situation, but to do something completely different in
another situation. In the past, this required having a separate
menu file for each different function that this Button needs. This
cumbersome method is "history" with Command Templates.
Command Templates are probably best described with a brief example.
Let's say that you have a menu screen for reading and writing
messages in your public message forums. On this menu, you can have
buttons for each forum on your system, and at the same time have
buttons for READ, WRITE, ERASE, MODIFY, etc. Now, how can you make
the READ/WRITE/etc buttons work differently for each Forum?
Templates!
To further refine our example, let's say that if you click on the
button for Forum #1, it should send the command "S FORUM1" to the
host to select that forum. After that, simply clicking on the
READ or WRITE buttons will read through the current section. But,
what if you want to interactively move about on the menu quickly?
Make each of the Forum selection buttons define a template. Each
template will instruct RIPscrip how to process the other Buttons.
In the above example, the Forum #1 button would define a template
like this:
S FORUM1 $?$^m
This Template will return "S FORUM1" followed by the Host Command
for whichever button is clicked, followed by a carriage return.
The special text variable $?$ is only used in Command Templates,
and is used to indicate "insert the text into the template here".
It references the text of some other button that was clicked that
is stuffing it's data INTO this template.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TEMPLATES
----------------------------
Before you can actually go about defining templates, you
need to know how they work, interact and how other functions
interact with templates.
You are allowed up to 36 different templates, each of which
can be different and can all be active at the same time. Each
of the 36 templates correspond to a Button Group (see the
Button Command). Templates can be defined and/or activated
in any order. In other words, you can have a template #1, 5
13 and 32, but none of the others defined. Templates remain
defined until re-defined by another template.
DEFINING A TEMPLATE
-------------------
To create a template, when asked for a Host Command, simply
type in the Template similar to the following:
[5:]S FORUM1 $?$^m
The [5:] at the beginning of the command indicates that you
wish to create template #5 with the following text as the
template. Remember, a $?$ is considered a "macro" that will
insert some text into this template from some other source.
Valid template numbers are 0-9, A-Z. So, with this in mind,
all of the template definitions are valid:
[0:]S FORUM1 $?$^m
[9:]S FORUM2 $?$^m
[G:]S FORUM3 $?$^m
USING TEMPLATES
---------------
When you want to make a button "feed its command" into a
template, you do so in a format similar to defining a
Template, but with a subtle difference. Don't include
the colon (:) in the template reference. An example of
this would be the following:
[0]HELLO
This says, take the text "HELLO" and feed it into template
number 0, and send the final result to the BBS. Note how
simple it is to create and reference templates by either
using a colon or omitting it.
If you do not specify a Template reference in the format
[#] at the beginning of your Host Command, it will be
considered to be a "normal Host Command" that does not
get stuffed into any templates. For completeness, you
may specify []HELLO to send the word "HELLO" to the BBS
without going through any templates (a "null" template).
So in other words, using a [] or using nothing at all is
the same thing, don't use any templates for this Host
command.
CHAINING ONE TEMPLATE RESPONSE INTO ANOTHER (TEMPLATE CHAINING)
---------------------------------------------------------------
In the preceding examples we showed how you can feed the
Host Command of one button through a single Template
definition. This is the "simplest case" of template
processing. As part of the "big picture" of templates,
you can actually "chain" the input of one template into
another template, into another, so on and so forth and
then transmit the result of all composite template stuffing
to the Host as one big command. After all is said and done
with template processing, the text buffer sent to the host
can be anywhere from 0-4095 bytes in length.
To chain one template into another, follow a format similar
to the following:
[0372]HELLO
This will feed the word "HELLO" into template #0, then the
result into template #3, then that result into template #7,
then finally the result will be stuffed into Template #2.
The final result will be then transmitted to the BBS.
You may specify from 0-36 different templates in any one
chaining operations. You MAY use the same template more
than once in the same chain, like the following:
[0370]HELLO
Note, that template #0 is used twice, both at the beginning
and the end of the processing. This feature, potentially
dangerous, is provided for completeness and flexibility.
EMBEDDED TEMPLATES
------------------
You can embed the contents of one Template into another
template (or into a Host Command) by using the special
Text Variable $?x$ where "x" is the Template number to
insert. This command functions much like the insert-text
variable $?$ does, but gives you a great deal more power
and flexibility.
If you specify to embed one template inside another, the
embedded template can contain text variables, pick-lists
and other such things. It can even have another embedded
template in it as well, but that sub-embedded template
cannot have ANY text variables, or any special commands,
not even control characters!
To sum it up, an embedded template can have anything you
want in it, including other embedded templates. All
text variables in an embedded template are expanded, as
are pick lists, control characters and the like. If you
have an embedded template INSIDE an embedded template,
the deepest embedded template will have NO text variable
processing done on it - i.e., the text is sent to the
host verbatim, exactly as it appears in the template.
If a template that is referenced is not yet defined, the
template embed command will be skipped (i.e., blank) providing
that the embedded template doesn't refer to a Radio Group.
Radio Groups are "dependencies" in this manner. Anything
that tries to embed a Template from a Radio Group will
not be processed if a template in that area hasn't been
defined yet. Embedded templates from Checkbox Groups can
be skipped if none of the check-boxes are active.
TEXT VARIABLES, PICK-LISTS AND CONTROL CHARACTERS IN TEMPLATES
--------------------------------------------------------------
You may use Text Variables, Pick-Lists and Control Characters
anywhere in any template definition, or reference. You are
limited such that, a text variable is translated to its
real value when the template is being processed, not after
all templates are processed. The net result of this is,
you cannot use one template to construct another template's
pick-list, text variables, or the such.
In other words, you cannot "nest" text variable definitions,
pick lists, or control characters. You can have these
commands in any or all templates used in a given template
chain, but they are independent of each other.
EXAMPLES OF SOME TEMPLATE-CHAINS
--------------------------------
Below are several examples of different template setups.
These are intended to give you ideas on how templates
may be used:
Example #1:
[0:]D $?$ Z^m ... Used to download a file with Zmodem
[1:]D $?$ X^m ... Used to download a file with Xmodem
[0]FILENAME.ZIP ... Use this with #0 to download Zmodem
[1]FILENAME.ZIP ... Use this with #1 to download Xmodem
In this example, template #0 is used for downloading with
Zmodem. Template #1 is for downloading with Xmodem.
Depending on which FILENAME.ZIP button you click on, you
might download it with one protocol or with another. It
all lies on which template you reference. The text
transmitted to the BBS if you clicked on the buttons could
be either:
D FILENAME.ZIP Z^m
or, D FILENAME.ZIP X^m
Example #2:
[0:]D $?$ ... Make this the "DOWNLOAD NOW" button
[1:]$?$ X^m ... Radio Button #1 (X-Modem)
[1:]$?$ Y^m ... Radio Button #2 (Y-Modem)
[1:]$?$ B^m ... Radio Button #3 (Y-Modem Batch)
[1:]$?$ Z^m ... Radio Button #4 (Z-Modem)
[01]FILENUM1.ZIP ... Button to download file #1
[01]FILENUM2.ZIP ... Button to download file #2
[01]FILENUM3.ZIP ... Button to download file #3
This example is a bit more involved. It brings the concept
of "radio buttons" into the picture. This is something
that is part of the Button command. A Radio button is
like having a list of options on your screen, only one
of which can be active at any one time. When using
templates with Radio buttons, you can quickly and elegantly
define a menu that can do one thing in one mode, or
something totally different in another mode. An example
of the above menu might be as follows:
Protocols: Download which file?
__ __
|\/| | |
|/\| X-Modem | | File #1
-- --
__ __
| | |\/|
| | Y-Modem |/\| File #2
-- --
__ __
| | | |
| | Y-Modem (batch) | | File #3
-- --
__
| |
| | Z-Modem _______________________
-- | |
| BEGIN DOWNLOAD NOW! |
|_______________________|
MORE ABOUT TEMPLATES
--------------------
When you use the $?$ text variable inside a template definition,
you are not limited to using it only once. In fact, you can use
it as many times in your template definition as you wish. This
can be useful under many circumstances where the user might have
to enter the same thing twice.
In the preceding example #2, a group of Radio Buttons was used
on the right side of the screen to determine which file should
be downloaded. In that example, there was no ability to specify
an arbitrary filename to download. You were only allowed to
download one of three given files. What would be perfect, would
be to have the ability to pop-up a question to the user asking
what filename they wanted. The solution is easy, insert a
text-variable that hasn't been defined yet! To illustrate, the
above example could be modified to accomodate this as follows:
[0:]D $?$ ... Make this the "DOWNLOAD NOW" button
[1:]$?$ X ... Radio Button #1 (X-Modem)
[1:]$?$ Y ... Radio Button #2 (Y-Modem)
[1:]$?$ B ... Radio Button #3 (Y-Modem Batch)
[1:]$?$ Z ... Radio Button #4 (Z-Modem)
[01]FILENUM1.ZIP ... Button to download file #1
[01]FILENUM2.ZIP ... Button to download file #2
[01]FILENUM3.ZIP ... Button to download file #3
[01]$FILENAME$ ... Button to download ANY file
The screen might appear something like this:
Protocols: Download which file?
__ __
|\/| | |
|/\| X-Modem | | File #1
-- --
__ __
| | |\/|
| | Y-Modem |/\| File #2
-- --
__ __
| | | |
| | Y-Modem (batch) | | File #3
-- --
__ __
| | | |
| | Z-Modem | | Enter Filename
-- --
_______________________
| |
| BEGIN DOWNLOAD NOW! |
|_______________________|
Note the addition of the "Enter Filename" button. If the user
clicked on that button, it would first try to replace $FILENAME$
with a text variable. It will find that such a variable does
not exist, and will then pop-up the following question on the
screen:
_____________________________
| |
| Enter "FILENAME" |
| _______________________ |
| | | |
| |_______________________| |
| |
|_____________________________|
If the user typed in "DEMOFILE.TXT", then that filename is
inserted where $FILENAME$ was located, then it is piped through
template #0, resulting in:
D DEMOFILE.TXT
The result of that is then stuffed through Template #1 which
gives the following return string sent to the BBS:
D DEMOFILE.TXT Z^m
This is only an example, your mileage may vary.
=====================================================================
== TEXT VARIABLE CREATION, AND QUERY ==
=====================================================================
As mentioned in preceding sections, Text Variables were described
as either "pre-defined" variables, or as "User Variables". Pre-
defined variables are variables that RIPscrip products know things
about "out of the box". They will always know what the variables
mean, from the day you install them. User Variables on the other
hand, are variables that you, the user of RIPscrip products define,
and teach the system information.
WHAT ARE USER VARIABLES?
------------------------
A User Variable is a Text Variable that RIPscrip doesn't
already know exists. They are custom-defined text variables
that contain information that the RIPterm user will fill-in.
If a variable already contains information, a BBS will be auto-
matically told [IF TOLD TO DO SO] what that variable contains
without the user having to intervene (i.e., transparent informa-
tion exchange).
Examples of Text Variables might be:
$FULL_NAME$ ... What is your full name?
$COMPANY_NAME$ ... What company do you work for?
$AGE? ... How old are you?
$DATEOFBIRTH$ ... What is your Date of Birth?
$PHONENUMBER$ ... What is your Day-time phone number?
User Variables will "keep track" of these responses for you,
on the Terminal program end. You can tell the Terminal to
store these values "permanently" in a disk-file, or they may
be active only during the current online session, or they
may be defined as "temporary" where they are not stored for
more than a brief moment.
Note, this ability is configurable so that information exchange
can be either interactive, or automatic. Automatic transfer
of information does NOT prompt the user with the information
unless the variable has not yet been defined. If it has not
been defined, a pop-up question will appear asking the user
a particular question, thus defining the text variable.
If the exchange is "interactive", the data is displayed in a
pop-up editor box, asking you if the information is correct.
If it is, simply tap <ENTER> and the retrieved information is
sent to the BBS for you. If it is not correct, or it has not
been created yet, just type it in and tap <ENTER> and it will
be saved automatically, and sent to the BBS all at once.
HOW CAN USER VARIABLES BE IMPORTANT?
------------------------------------
Let's take an example. Let's say you are a System Operator
of a large RIPscrip BBS. As you have read, RIPscrip can take
advantage of "database like" ability on the terminal-end of
the communication. If you can alter your BBS to ask questions
with RIPscrip "text variables" built in, you can have the
terminal calling your system automatically fill-in questionaires
on your system. Imagine if a user could "sign-up" on your BBS
without having to type more than a single keystroke (i.e., "YES,
this information is correct"). With User Text Variables, you
can do this very thing.
CREATING USER VARIABLES
-----------------------
There are two ways of defining User Text Variables in RIPaint.
You can use either "Define Text Variable" commands, or you
can use Text Variable Queries, as described in the next
section.
DEFINING TEXT VARIABLES
-----------------------
The RIPscrip command "Define Text Variable" is by definition,
an interactive command with the User. The RIPscrip command
will attempt to define a "User Variable". This Variable is
some piece of information that the System Operator deems
important. You may specify a question, a default response,
and how many characters long the response may be.
Once the "define command" has been sent to the Terminal, it
[the terminal] pops up an appropriate question box on the
User's screen asking him the desired question that should be
saved to a particular Text Variable. If you did not specify
a question, a suitable "default" question will be displayed.
Once the User has entered his response, it is recorded and
saved. How long it is saved depends on how the BBS told
the terminal. The BBS can tell the terminal "save this
on your hard disk forever". The BBS may also tell the
terminal, "don't save this to disk, but remember this value
until your connection with our BBS is lost". You also have
the option of saying, "don't remember this value at all,
just simply pop-up a question on-screen, and send the value
to me NOW - i.e., don't save it at all - just enter it and send
it to the BBS).
QUERYING TEXT VARIABLES
-----------------------
Now that you know how to define information on the terminal,
you need to know the last method of asking the terminal
about text variables. This feature is called "data query".
Data Query is a generic "query" command that can ask the
terminal one or more questions, and tell it how to transmit
the information back to the host. This command is for use
in non-button situations where you do not want to wait until
the user clicks on a button to get your data back.
A Data Query is actually a special RIPscrip command that can
be used to ask the contents of one or more Text Variables.
EXAMPLES OF TEXT VARIABLE QUERY
-------------------------------
Let's take a simple example. Let's say that you wanted to ask
the Terminal program some address information. You could do
so with the following query (remember, the query also tells
the terminal HOW to send the data back to the BBS):
$FULL_NAME$^m$COMPANY$^m$STREET_ADDR$^m$CITY$, $STATE$ $ZIP^m
This would query the terminal the contents of 6 text variables,
and format them in a manner similar to any normal address on
an envelope. The results of this query might send the following
back to the host (again, your mileage may vary):
Jeff Reeder
TeleGrafix Communications, Inc.
16458 Bolsa Chica #15
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
If a text variable is queried, and it has not been defined yet,
a pop-up question will appear asking the user to fill-in the
information.
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