
















                        HotVu Version 1.0


   Copyright (C) 1993, by David Talmage.  All rights reserved.






                       869 Fireplace Road
                     East Hampton, NY  11937

                          516-324-1183



-I-


                           Trademarks


ASAP is a trademark of MicroTalk.

IBM, IBM PC, and PC-DOS are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines     Corporation. 

MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MicroSoft Corporation.

Turbo C is a registered trademark of Borland International
Corporation.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation.


                        License Agreement

     All rights and title to HotVu and its accompanying
documentation are retained by the copyright holder.  Upon receipt
of the applicable registration fee, the user is granted a license
to use the enclosed software with the terms and restrictions set
forth in this agreement.  The enclosed  software and  its
documentation are protected from unauthorized duplication  by
Federal law.  You may not copy or reproduce this material except as
specifically set forth in this license agreement.

1. You may make copies of this software for your own use provided
   you reproduce all copyright notices and that only one
   individual has access to the utility, function, and features
   of the software at any specific time.

2. You may not distribute copies to others.  You may, however,
   transfer the original and all copies, as long as you provide
   the producer with written notice and the transferee agrees to
   be bound by the terms set forth therein.


                           Disclaimer

     This software is sold as is.  The producer assumes no
liability for damages of any kind that may arise from the use,
misuse, or inability to use this software and makes no claims about
its fitness for any particular purpose.  

     The exclusion of implied warranties is not permitted by some
states.  The above exclusion may not apply to you.  This warranty
provides you with specific legal rights.  There may be other rights
that you have which may vary from state to state.



-II-


                        Table Of Contents



Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I

License Agreement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I

Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I

Table Of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

Program Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

Disk Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

Installing HotVu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3

Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
     Running HotVu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
     Identifying The Data File To HotVu. . . . . . . . . . Page 4
     File Name Extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5
     Running HotVu When It Is Already Loaded . . . . . . . Page 5
     Normal Program/TSR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5
     HotVu Hot Key Combinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
     Build Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7

Running Multiple Copies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8

Memory Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9

Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9
     Exiting HotVu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9
     Removing HotVu From Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10
     Menu Choices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10
     Searching For A Menu Category . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10
     Reviewing Your Reference Data . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 11
     Searching Your Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12
     Getting Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12

Manually Building A HotVu Application. . . . . . . . . . .Page 12
     The Reference File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12
     Constructing A Menu File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12
     Menu And Data Files That Work . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 13
     Menu And Data Files That Will Not Work Correctly. . .Page 14
     The Offset File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 15
     Important Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 15
    


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Appendix 1: Sample HotVu Applications. . . . . . . . . . .Page 16

Appendix 2: Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 16

Appendix 3: Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 18





Page 1


                          Introduction

     HotVu is a software package designed to provide users with the
maximum flexibility to develop their own custom reference
utilities.   Its primary strengths are its flexibility, and ability
to run as either a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) utility, or as
a normal dedicated application.  HotVu was also developed with ease
of use in mind.  It is a simple matter to adapt existing data
files, or develop new ones, for use as a reference data bases. 
HotVu is best suited for reference data that is fairly static in
nature, that is, material that does not change on a day to day
basis.  When run as a memory resident TSR, HotVu allows your
reference data to be just a key stroke away.  When run as a normal
program, HotVu provides users easy and quick access to material
that is occasionally needed.  The non-TSR mode provides the user
with the same simple commands enjoyed in the TSR version, without
the need to dedicate a portion of valuable memory.


                          Requirements

     HotVu will operate on machines running under MS-DOS or PC-DOS
versions 3.1 or greater.  These machines include IBM PCs and
systems that are sometimes referred to as clones or compatibles. 
When run as a TSR, HotVu requires approximately 30 to 50 Kilobytes
of memory in addition to the memory requirements of your other
applications.  Memory usage depends on the size of your menu file
which will be explained shortly.  HotVu will deliver its best
performance when run from either a hard drive or a RAM disk, but
will also work fine on floppy drive only systems.


                       Program Limitations

     When run as a TSR, HotVu is restricted to popping up from
applications using text screens.  Currently programs using a
graphical method of displaying data are not supported.  Typically
games, drafting, paint, and desk-top publishing applications use a
graphical interface.  While, data bases, spread sheets,
telecommunications, text editors, and word processors normally use
text screens.  The best rule of thumb here is to try HotVu with
your other applications before entering any data you can not afford
to loose.  If when popping up HotVu from another application, the
computer bonks at you or locks up, the program probably uses a
graphical interface.  One word of caution should be made in
reference to using HotVu in conjunction with a telecommunications
application.  When HotVu is popped up it takes over the CPU.  If
you happen to be in the middle of receiving or transmitting data,
HotVu will stop this action dead, and may cause you to be dropped
by the other computer you are communicating with, or cause you to
loose data.



Page 2


                          Disk Contents

     The HotVu installation disk comes with a number of files
necessary for developing your pop up reference utilities.  In
addition to this file, HotVu.TXT, the README.TXT file contains
important information that should be reviewed before installing
HotVu.  You will also notice a file named INSTALL.COM which is an
installation program designed to make getting HotVu running as
painless as possible.  There are also five different versions of
HotVu on your disk.  These are HotVu1.EXE through HotVu5.EXE. 
These files are the same with the exception of the size of the .MNU
(menu files) that they are capable of working with.  In an effort
to be as conservative as possible with memory requirements for your
reference utilities, these files are provided.  HotVu1 allows you
to develop tiny menus for accessing your data file, while HotVu5 is
provided for menus that have a huge number of selections. HotVu2,
3, and 4 fall somewhere between the two extremes.  For those users
who do not wish to concern themselves with which memory model would
be best, the Install program automatically selects the most
efficient version for you.  For an idea of what size of .MNU files
are associated with which version of HotVu the following table is
provided.


      ͻ
                                              
         MENU FILE SIZE    HOTVU MEMORY MODEL 
                                              
      ͹
                                              
                                              
         1.0  Kilobytes          HotVu1       
                                              
         3.0  Kilobytes          HotVu2       
                                              
         5.0  Kilobytes          HotVu3       
                                              
         7.5  Kilobytes          HotVu4       
                                              
         15   Kilobytes          HotVu5       
                                              
      ͼ



Page 3


     In addition to the a-fore mentioned files HotVu uses three
other files with each reference utility you load.  Of these two are
created, or provided, by you, and one is built by HotVu.

     The most important file is of course your data file.  HotVu
requires that data and menu files you intend to use with it be
standard ASCII files which are sometimes referred to as text files. 
These ASCII files should have no more than 80 characters per line
and should end with a carriage return.  For example, this file is
a standard ASCII text file.  The data file is the actual text which
you wish to access.  For a sample reference file you have been
provided with EXAMPLE.TXT on your HotVu distribution disk.

     The .MNU file is a file of menu items which duplicate lines,
or portions of lines, in the data file.  These menu items are what
you first see when you pop up your reference utility.  This list of
subject categories provides you with a menu of items for quick
access to the actual text contained in the data file.  The data
file and menu file must have the same name excluding the filename
extension.  Therefore, if your data file was named MYDATA.TXT, the
menu file must be named NYDATA.MNU.  One further restriction on the
.MNU menu file is that it should contain no blank lines.  Please
see EXAMPLE.MNU on your HotVu distribution disk for a sample menu
file.

     The third file is a .OFF file (offset index).  This file
provides HotVu with the location of each menu item within the text
of the data file.  What this means to the user is, that when you
make a selection from the HotVu menu, the program goes immediately
to the data associated with that menu item within your data file. 
This fore goes the need for HotVu to search through your data.  The
.OFF file is built whenever you run HotVu and it does not find a
.OFF file by the same name as your data and menu file, or when you
add new menu items.  As the files in the previous example were
called MYDATA.TXT and MYDATA.MNU, the offset file would therefore
be assigned the named MYDATA.OFF by HotVu.  You can also get HotVu
to build a new offset index by passing it a command when it is
initially run, but that will be covered later.


                        Installing HotVu

     HotVu comes with an installation program called INSTALL.COM
which does much more than just copy the software to your system.
                **Install features to be added**



Page 4


                         Getting Started

                          Running HotVu

     To run HotVu it is necessary to provide it with some
information.  It is not however a requirement to be in the same
directory as your HotVu files.  If you created a batch file to run
your reference utility when you installed HotVu, or if you modified
your AUTOEXEC.BAT to include a PATH statement indicating the
directory where HotVu resides, the system should be able to find
the program.  If however you are not running HotVu from a batch
file, as in any other application, you must include the drive and
path designation so the disk operating system can find the HotVu
program.  The information HotVu looks for IS as follows.

                 HOTVU3 datafile [hot-key] [/B]


               Identifying The Data File To HotVu

     The first item of additional information you will need to pass
to HotVu, through what is known as a command line argument, is the
name of your data file.  This is accomplished by following the
program name with a space, and the name of your data file.  If you
are located within the same directory as your data file, the drive
and path designations are not needed.  Therefore, 

                   HOTVU1 C:\TEXT\EXAMPLE.REF

would run my EXAMPLE reference utility from anywhere on the system
since my HotVu program is located in a directory indicated by a
PATH statement in my AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and EXAMPLE.REF is in a
directory named TEXT.  If the HotVu directory was not specified in
my PATH statement the following would yield the same results.

               C:\HOTVU\HOTVU1 C:\TEXT\EXAMPLE.REF

     In another example, if my HotVu directory was indicated by a
PATH statement, and I was currently located in the C:\TEXT\
directory, the following would work equally as well.

                       HOTVU1 EXAMPLE.REF

**NOTE: It is essential that the data file always be available when
you pop up HotVu.  Therefore, you do not want to have your data
file on a floppy disk that you have taken out of the disk drive, or
switched to another drive, when you pop up HotVu.



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                      File Name Extensions

     The last bit of information regarding file names pertains to
the file name extension, which in all the above examples was .REF. 
If your data file ends with the extension .TXT, its inclusion is
optional.  What this means is that if in my last example my data
file was actually named EXAMPLE.TXT, the following would work fine.

                         HOTVU1 EXAMPLE

             Running HotVu When It Is Already Loaded

     It should be noted that HotVu will not let you run the same
reference application concurrently.  If you have already run your
HotVu application and attempt to run it again, HotVu will sound a
bonk tone and print a message to the screen advising you that you
have already run a reference utility by that name.  For added
convenience, HotVu will also display your hot-key combination on
the line below the error message.


                       Normal Program/TSR

     In all the above examples, HotVu would be running as a normal
program.  That is when you ran HotVu it would come up immediately,
and when you exited HotVu, it would be removed from memory.  That
is because a "Hot-Key" was not specified.  If you wish to have your
HotVu reference available at all times so you can pop it up from
within other applications, you will want to run it in the memory
resident mode.  These applications are often referred to as TSRs
(Terminate and Stay Resident), pop up utilities, hot-key utilities,
and of course memory resident utilities.  What this means is that
your reference is always just a keystroke away.  This ability to
pop up is accomplished by allotting a portion of memory for your
HotVu utility and dedicating it to it.  This means that you will
need enough memory for your HotVu program, as well as any other
applications you will wish to run concurrently.  As with all TSR
programs HotVu can be a bit finicky about when it is run in
relation to any other memory resident programs or drivers. 
Normally, it is necessary to run HotVu before any other TSR
programs from which you will want to pop it up.  I say normally,
but as in most things there are exceptions.  The best course of
action here is to experiment.  Please remember however, that all
TSRs are tricky and can be quite fickle, and HotVu should be tested
thoroughly with any other programs prior to using it for serious
work.



Page 6


                   HotVu Hot Key Combinations

     In an effort to provide maximum flexibility, When run as a TSR
(Terminate and Stay Resident) application, HotVu is able to use a
variety  of key combinations to pop up your data.  It should be
noted that all hot key combinations require two keys to be pressed
simultaneously.  The hot key combination is designated when the
program is initially loaded.  For instance, the following example
would run HotVu using ASAP.TXT as your data file with a hot key
combination of the Control and the Left Shift keys.

                     HOTVU3 ASAP CTRL-LSHIFT

In this example all keys have been entered as upper case, but in
actuality case is irrelevant.  Keys can be entered as upper case,
lower case, or in any mix.
     In selecting a hot key combination the primary concern should
be one of compatibility with other programs you intend to use. 
Therefore, if you intend to use HotVu with an application such as
WordPerfect that uses the Ctrl-UpArrow to move to the beginning of
a paragraph, it may not be wise to select this combination for your
hot key.  If by chance you do select a hot key combination that
causes a conflict one of three outcomes will probably result:

1. HotVu will intercept the keystroke and never pass it along to
   your other application;

2. Your other application will intercept the keystroke and never
   let you pop up HotVu.

3. When you hit your hot-key combination you will pop up first one
   TSR, and upon exiting you will be dropped in the other TSR.

For the above reasons you will want to test your hot key
combination with your other applications before writing the great
American novel or calculating your next tax return.

     The following is a list of allowable hot key combinations.

                            Alt-Ctrl
                           Alt-LShift
                           Alt-RShift
                           Ctrl-LShift
                           Ctrl-RShift

*NOTE: The order of the above combinations is not significant. 
Therefore, Ctrl-Alt and Alt-Ctrl will both work equally well.



Page 7


     The following keys can be used with either the Alt or Ctrl
keys, and would be passed as: Ctrl-H or Alt-H.

                             0 to 9
                             A to Z
                                =
                                \
                                [
                                ]
                                ;
                                '
                                ,
                                .
                                /
                               ESC
                               TAB
                             RETURN
                            SpaceBar

     The following keys will only work in combination with the Ctrl
key.

                             DArrow
                             UArrow
                              HOME
                               END

     It should be noted that when designating the hot key the
combination should be passed to HotVu with the desired two keys
separated by a - (hyphen) and with no spaces.  


                           Build Index

     In addition to the data file name and/or the hot key argument,
HotVu accepts an instruction to build a new .OFF file.  The Build
Index argument can be passed to HotVu regardless of whether a hot
key is passed or not.  The format of the Build Index argument is
/B[n], where n is an optional occurrence number.  What this means
is, that if you pass HotVu /B2, HotVu will look for the second
occurrence of the first item in your .MNU file before it starts
calculating menu item locations.  This feature is primarily
provided to allow users to skip over table of contents listings at
the beginning of a file.  In using a number with the /B option, any
number is allowed, as long as it immediately follows the /B with no
intervening space.  If just a /B alone is passed then a 1 is
assumed, and HotVu looks for the first occurrence of the first menu
item in your .MNU file and starts building the .OFF file from



Page 8


there.  The full format of the command to get HotVu running with
the ASAP data file is therefore:

                    HOTVU3 ASAP CTRL-ALT /B2

                               or

                         HOTVU3 ASAP /B2

     When using this method to build your .OFF file, it is
important to remember that HotVu searches for each menu item in
your .MNU file in order.  This means that once HotVu finds one of
your menu items it looks for the next menu item immediately. 
Therefore, if your next menu item in your .MNU file is contained in
a portion of the text related to the menu item just found, the .OFF
file will not be built correctly.

     There are two ways of correcting this problem with building
offset files.  The first method is to assure that all menu items
in your .MNU file are unique within your data file.  That is, make
sure that the menu item as it is in your .MNU file has only one
exact match within your data file between the start of the previous
menu item's data and the spot where you want the current category
to begin.  If this method is not practical, you can use the
Select Menu Items choice from the install program to move through
your data file and pick menu items.  This method automatically
saves the offset location when you select a menu item and builds
both the .MNU and .OFF files.  This latter method also has another
benefit, in that the sequence of your menu items in your .MNU file
do not have to be in order of occurrence.  So as an extreme
example, the first menu item could be at the end of the file, while
the last menu item could be at the beginning of the file.  If the
Select Menu Items feature of Install is not used the menu items
must be in order of appearance as contained within your data file. 
Please remember, if you go to the trouble of building a .MNU and
.OFF file with the Install program, be sure to back up the files
when you are done.


                     Running Multiple Copies

     It is perfectly acceptable to run multiple HotVu Reference
Utilities concurrently.  The only limiting factors are available
memory, the reference file names, and hot key combinations.  The
more copies of HotVu you have running at once the less memory you
have for your other applications.  It is also necessary to have
each HotVu application associated with a different data file name



Page 9


excluding the file name extension.  Therefore,  the two following
examples would not work if run together

                   HOTVU3 ASAP.TXT CTRL-LSHIFT

                               and

                    HOTVU3 ASAP.REF CTRL-ALT

These two would not work because the data files both have the same
file name prefix.  The following two examples would however work
fine if run together.

                   HOTVU3 ASAP.TXT CTRL-LSHIFT

                               and

                   HOTVU3 EXAMPLE.TXT CTRL-ALT

     It is also important to give each HotVu application, run as a
TSR, a different hot key combination.  Otherwise, if two HotVu
applications have the same hot key combination, you will only be
able to pop up the last one you installed.


                          Memory Usage

     As previously stated, HotVu requires between 30K and 50K of
memory when run as a TSR.  The actual amount of memory necessary
depends on which memory model of HotVu you have running (HotVu1 -
HotVu5) and the size of your .MNU file.  For approximate usage
please see the above table.
     If you have a 286, 386, or 486, and wish to load HotVu in
upper memory, it has been tested with a number of memory managers
and seems to work fine.  As with most things however, please be
sure to test HotVu thoroughly.


                            Commands

                          Exiting HotVu

     When running HotVu as a TSR, the most important thing to know
after popping it up, is how to get back out.  This can be
accomplished in a number of ways.  The quickest way to get out of
your HotVu reference from anywhere is to hit the F3 key.  This will
put you back right where you were when you popped up HotVu.  The
second way to exit HotVu is to use the ESC key.  If you are
displaying one of your reference categories however, it will take
two presses of the ESC key to exit the program.  Since the ESC key
is also used to cancel an operation it will only exit the program
from the menu.



Page 10


                   Removing HotVu From Memory

     Another way to exit HotVu is of a more permanent nature.  By
hitting the Ctrl-Q key at your HotVu menu, the program will ask you
if you wish to remove your HotVu application from memory.  It is
necessary that HotVu  be the last TSR that was loaded.  If you try
to remove HotVu and it was not the last TSR run, it will sound a
bonk tone and return you to your application.


                          Menu Choices

     When you enter HotVu, either as a normal program or pop it up
as a TSR, the first screen will be your menu categories from your
.MNU file.  If you are running HotVu as a TSR, and you have already
popped it up, the first category displayed will be where you were
when you last exited HotVu.  You can move around with the arrow
keys and select a high lighted item by hitting the Return/Enter
key.  You can also move forward through your menu by hitting the
first letter or number of the desired category.  When you use this
latter method, HotVu searches for the next category that begins
with that letter or number.  So therefore, by striking the "A" key
repeatedly you would move to the categories beginning with A.  

     In addition, if your menu has more than one screen of
categories, you can move a screen at a time by using the Page Up
and Down keys.  If you do in fact have more categories than one
screen will display, your prompt line at the bottom of the screen
will reflect this fact by advising that Pg-Up and Pg-Dwn are valid
choices.
     If you wish to move quickly to the beginning or end of your
menu, you can accomplish this by hitting either the Home or End
keys.  The Home key can be particularly useful when you want to
search as searches only look forward.

                  Searching For A Menu Category

     If you want to search for a specific word or phrase among your
menu categories, HotVu provides a "Find" feature.  You begin your
"Find" by hitting the Space-Bar, and HotVu responds with a "Find:"
on the prompt line.  You can then enter a word or phrase of up to
25 characters, followed by the Enter to begin your search.  If you
wish to cancel the search before you hit the Enter key, you can do
so by hitting the ESC key.  After finding the first occurrence of
your search string, HotVu will display your menu with the matched
category as the first menu selection.  If no matches are found,
HotVu will respond with "Not Found, hit any key to continue."  If
you found a match and wish to look for more, you can just hit the
Tab key to find the next category with a match, or if you forget
and hit the Space-Bar, you can just hit Enter.  HotVu retains the
last search string, and it can be edited with the left and right



Page 11


 Arrow, Backspace, and Del keys.  The Backspace removes the
character to the left of the cursor, while the Del key deletes the
character under the cursor.  The search string edit mode defaults
to overwrite mode, but this can be toggled to insert by hitting the
Insert key.  Remember that your maximum search string can contain
only 25 characters, and while in insert mode, any previous search
string is pushed right and counts as part of the new string.  When
you hit the Enter key, unless the cursor is on the first character,
the search string is ended at the cursor position.  For this
reason, the End key has been provided so you can move to the end of
a string quickly when editing it.  Likewise, the Home key when
editing a search string will move you to the start of your search
string.  As previously mentioned, if the cursor is at the beginning
of a string, and you hit Enter the string is retained.  While
searching, all searches are non case sensitive.  So all characters
you enter will be automatically converted to upper case by HotVu.


                  Reviewing Your Reference Data

     Once you have selected a menu category, by moving the high
lite bar to it and hitting Enter/Return, HotVu will present you
with the first screen of information associated with the category. 
The data will start on line three, with two blank lines above it. 
Here you have a number of options for moving through your data. 
Again, as when moving around the menu, the Up and Down Arrows will
move you through, but this time by screens.  Additionally, the
Left Arrow, Right Arrow, and Page Up or Down keys will move you
through screens of data.  If you are at the beginning of a category
and hit either an Up Arrow, Left Arrow, or Page Up, HotVu will
display the last screen of data associated with the previous menu
category.  Likewise, if you are at the last screen of data of your
current menu category, the Down Arrow, Right Arrow, and Page Down
will move you to the first screen of the next category.  

     Two additional commands have also been provided to allow you
to move to the beginning of adjacent menu categories.  The
Ctrl Left Arrow will move you to the beginning of the previous
category while, the Ctrl Right Arrow will move you to the start of
the next category.

     The Home key also provides you a quick way to move to the
beginning of your current menu category.  If you are reviewing data
in a category with a number of screens, and you wish to go back to
the start again, just hit the Home key.

     The Ctrl-Home key allows you to move to the first line of your
reference data file.  This command can be useful when you want to
search your entire text for matches.  It should be noted that this
directive puts you at the start of the data file, not necessarily
at the beginning of your first menu category.  Therefore, with the



Page 12


Ctrl-Home key you may, in some instances, move to a position in
your file before the first category.

     To exit the data review screens just hit the ESC key.

                       Searching Your Data

     While reviewing your reference data, full text searches can be
performed.  The searches are not limited by menu category
boundaries, except that all searches look forward only.  As the
same rules apply to searching your data as in searching menus,
please refer to "Searching For A Menu Category" for further
information.


                          Getting Help

     A quick reference feature has been included to provide you
with a synopsis of the available commands.  To bring up the help
screens just hit a "?" anywhere except while entering a search
string.  To exit help just hit the ESC key.


              Manually Building A HotVu Application

                       The Reference File

     If you wish to create your own HotVu application and do not
want to use the Install program, there are just a few simple steps.

     First you will need a data file which you wish to access.  The
data file should be a standard ASCII text file and works best when
you have headings for each category which is to appear on your
menu.  The file can be of virtually any length, limited only by
your storage, but it needs to always be available to HotVu when the
reference application is popped up.  The file can have any legal
name and end with any extension (the portion after the .), but if
it ends with .TXT you will not have to include the extension when
you run your application.  To get an idea of what a data file can
look like please look at EXAMPLE.TXT on your HotVu distribution
disk.

                    Constructing A Menu File

     Second you will need a menu file.  This file should again be
a standard ASCII text file and have the same file name prefix (the
portion before the .) as your data file.  It needs to consist of
individual lines of text which should be your reference category
headings, as they appear in your data file.  The carriage return at
the end of the line is not a part of the string, so it is
permissible to have just a portion of a line as it appears in your
data file as a menu item.  The only thing that matters is that the



Page 13


menu item be unique after the last menu entry and before the start
of the desired menu category.  So therefore, the middle portion of
a line is perfectly acceptable as a menu item.  It should be noted
that case is significant, so mixing uppercase with lowercase
letters will make a difference.  The menu file must not have any
blank lines.  For a better idea of what a menu file looks like,
please look at the EXAMPLE.MNU file on your disk, and For samples
of menu and data file entries that will, and will not, work
properly please see the examples on this and the next page.


                  Menu And Data Files That Work





͹
                         AUTOEXEC.BAT                          
                          BATCH FILES                          
                                                               
Ķ
Example of menu items in your .MNU file that will work properly
ͼ





ͻ
                                                               
                         AUTOEXEC.BAT                          
                                                               
 The batch file AUTOEXEC.BAT when located in the root direc-   
 tory of your boot drive, is automatically executed at system  
 startup.                                                      
                                                               
                                                               
                          Batch Files                          
                                                               
 Batch files Are ASCII text files ending with a file name      
 extension of ".BAT".  These files are used to direct the com- 
 puter o perform a number of operations, in sequence, which    
 could otherwise be accomplished one at a time from the        
 command line.                                                 
                                                               

Example of a data file that will work with the above menu file 
ͼ




Page 14


        Menu And Data Files That Will Not Work Correctly





͹
                         AUTOEXEC.BAT                          
                          BATCH FILES                          
                                                               
Ķ
Example of menu items in your .MNU file that will not work.    
ͼ





ͻ
                                                               
                         AUTOEXEC.BAT                          
                                                               
 These "BATCH FILES", when located in the root directory of    
 your boot drive, are automatically executed at system         
 startup.                                                      
                                                               
                                                               
                          Batch Files                          
                                                               
 Batch files Are ASCII text files ending with a file name      
 extension of ".BAT".  These files are used to direct the com- 
 puter o perform a number of operations, in sequence, which    
 could otherwise be accomplished one at a time from the        
 command line.                                                 
                                                               

Example of a data file that will not work with the above menu. 
ͼ



     In the last two examples, you will notice that the heading
BATCH FILES appears within the definition of the first menu item. 
Under the menu heading of AUTOEXEC.BAT you see the two words for
the next menu item as "BATCH FILES".  Therefore, the offset index
would start at that occurrence instead of the one you probably
intended.



Page 15


                         The Offset File

     The third file associated with your reference utility is the
offset file.  This file has the same file name prefix as the data
and menu files, but ends with .OFF.  This is a binary file which
contains the location of each menu item within your data file.  It
is automatically created by HotVu if it does not already exist.  As
long as your first menu item appears only at the start of the
information you wish to access, the building of this offset file is
irrelevant.  If however, your data file has a table of contents or
the first menu item appears somewhere in your data file before the
relevant data, you will need to use a /B option the first time you
run your application.  The /B option tells HotVu to build a new
offset file, but more importantly, you can tack a number on to it
to tell HotVu which occurrence of the first menu category you wish
to use as the start of your reference data.  So therefore, if you
added a /B3 to your command line the first time you ran a HotVu
application it would rebuild your offset file, looking for the
third occurrence of the first menu item before starting to
calculate menu category offsets.

                         Important Notes

     The important thing to remember when constructing a reference
utility manually, is that the menu categories need to be in order
of appearance as they are in the data file.  Further, after the
first menu item, the subsequent menu categories should not appear
in your text after the start of the current category and prior to
the point you want the next category to start.
     If you wish to have categories at the end of your data file in
front of selections at the beginning of your data file, or the menu
items, after the first one, can not be made unique before the
intended start of the category, you will need to use the Install
program to create your menu file.  A helpful hint in making menu
items unique is to remember that case here is significant.  So it
may be helpful to convert the case of the items you want for menu
categories within the text of your reference file.  Another
possibility is to add a number or punctuation mark to the item
within your reference text prior to saving a copy of it to your
menu file.




Page 16


              Appendix 1: Sample HotVu Applications


     In writing HotVu, my purpose was primarily to provide myself
with a tool to create pop up help screens.  I wanted something to
give me access to the ASAP manual while in other application
programs.  I also thought it would be helpful to have a pop up
database for my Borland Turbo C reference library.  After looking
around at a number of help packages I felt they were not flexible
enough to provide me with the ease of use and adaptability I
wanted.  So as with most things, this started out to be a simple
project which kept growing.
Aside from the two uses just mentioned, other applications which
HotVu should be helpful with are:

             Organization By-Laws and Policy Manuals

                       Historical Records

                      Zip Code Directories

                          Address Books

                 Help Screens For Other Software

     While there are products which already fall into the above
categories, the strength of HotVu is its adaptability.  Instead of
having to buy a different software package for each application and
learning a slew of different commands, just adapt existing text
files to HotVu and learn one program.

     As I have previously stated that HotVu is continuing to grow,
I feel that feedback is an important part of program development. 
So suggestions for improvements and changes are always appreciated.

                   Appendix 2: Troubleshooting

Q:After running HotVu as a TSR I can't pop it up.
A:The menu file (.MNU) may be to large for the memory model
selected.  Try running a larger memory model of HotVu with the
same reference file.  The only differences between HotVu1
through HotVu5 are the size of the files they can work with,
and the amount of memory they allocate for HotVu.

Q:When I try to pop up HotVu from certain applications it bonks
at me.
A:The application probably displays screens in graphics mode
which HotVu does not currently support.



Page 17


Q:When I try to pop up HotVu from certain applications it locks
up my system.
A:The application probably displays screens in graphics mode
which HotVu does not currently support.

Q:When I try to exit HotVu, after popping it up as a TSR, from
certain applications I get garbage on the screen.
A:The application probably displays screens in graphics mode
which HotVu does not currently support.

Q:When I pop up HotVu in place of my menu items I get nothing
but garbage.
A:You may have blank lines within your menu file which are not
allowed.

Q:When I select the first menu category the data is not what it
should be.
A:The offset HotVu is using for the menu item is not correct. 
Your menu category probably appears within your data file
before the one you want, such as in a table of contents.  Try
rebuilding the offset file (.OFF) with the /B2 command.  If
that doesn't work keep increasing the number associated with
the /B (i.e. /B3, /B4, etc.).  If you are still unsuccessful
you will need to recreate your menu file with the Install
program.

Q:After a certain point in my menu the data associated with the
menu selection is not the correct part of my reference file.
A:The phrase you are using for your menu category is probably
not unique between the start of the data associated with the
previous menu category and the point where the current
category should start.  If you can go into your data and menu
files and make the category unique.  This can be done by
adding characters, or maybe by changing capitalization.  You
will then need to rebuild the offset file with the /B option. 
If this is not practical you will need to rebuild your menu
file with the Install program.

Q:I have made changes to my menu file and data file, but my menu
does not reflect this.
A:If you changed your menu file by either adding or deleting
lines you will need to rebuild your offset file. In any case,
you will first need to remove HotVu from memory with the
Ctrl-Q option.  Make sure however, that no other programs were
loaded after HotVu if you are going to remove it.



 Page 18


Q:In certain applications I can't pop up HotVu.
A:If the application is another TSR, you probably need to try
the order of loading HotVu in relation to the other TSR.  If
the other application is not a TSR, you may have a conflict
with the Hot Key, or the other application is remapping the
keyboard.  In the first case you need to choose a different
Hot Key combination, and in the second instance HotVu will
probably not work.

Q:When I run HotVu I get, ERROR opening EXAMPLE.MNU.
A:HotVu cannot find the EXAMPLE menu file.  Check that your
reference and menu file have the same file name prefix; and,
that the .MNU file is in the same directory as either your
data file or the HotVu files.

Q:When I run HotVu I get, ERROR opening EXAMPLE.REF.
A:HotVu cannot find the data file EXAMPLE.REF.  Check that the
file name passed to HotVu is correct; and, that it is in the
same directory as your HotVu files, or you have passed HotVu
the full drive and path designation.

Q:When I run HotVu I get, ERROR creating EXAMPLE.OFF.
A:HotVu cannot find an offset file with the same file name
prefix as your data file and it cannot create a new one. 
Check the amount of free space , and that the disks are not
write protected.

Q:When I run HotVu I get, ERROR WITH [my-menu-item].
A:HotVu cannot find the menu item indicated after the previous
menu category in your data file.  Verify the order of
appearance of the indicated menu item within both your data
and menu files, as well as checking that it is an exact match.

Q:When I run HotVu I get, ERROR Invalid argument passed to
HotVu.
A:When you are running HotVu you are either passing too many
arguments, or an incorrect one.  The syntax is:
HotVu5 [data-file] [hot-key] [build-index-flag].



                      Appendix 3: Glossary

     Please note the following definitions refer to the terms as
used in this document.

Application- A program or software package that performs specific
functions or tasks (i.e. word processing, telecommunications,
spread sheet, etc.).



Page 19


Argument- A string or item, with a leading space, passed to a
program when it is run by including it on the same line as the
command which runs the program.  If more than one argument is
to be passed, they should be separated by spaces.
ASCII- American Standard Code for Information Interchange.  Refers
to the method of representing characters as a standardized set
of numbers, for storage and communications between computers
and other devices.  

Batch File- An ASCII text file ending with a file name extension of
".BAT".  These files are used to direct the computer to
perform a number of operations, in sequence, which could
otherwise be accomplished one at a time from the command line. 
The file "AUTOEXEC.BAT" when located in the root directory of
your boot drive, is automatically executed at system startup.

Binary File- A file that consist of computer code and/or data,
which is not in a standard format as is a text file (i.e.
there are not lines of characters of 80 or less).  Binary
files should not be edited with a text editor or word
processor.

Boot Drive- The drive, which at system startup, the computer loaded
DOS from.

Byte- A storage unit equivalent to one character.

Command Line- The line of text entered at the computer's system
prompt instructing it what to do next.

Command Line Argument- See argument.

Command Line Prompt- See System Prompt.

CPU- Central Processing Unit.  The part of the computer system that
controls all actions.

Data File- A standard ASCII text file which contains the reference
material you wish to access.

Default Drive- The drive the computer automatically accesses when
storing or retrieving data unless another has been
specifically referenced.

DOS- Disk Operating System.  The program that is loaded at system
startup, which controls how the computer performs operations
such as storing and retrieving data, as well as running
programs.  In the case of systems running HotVu, the DOS is
either PC-DOS, MS-DOS, or a derivative.
Enter- See Return.



Page 20


ESC- The escape key on the keyboard.

File Name-The combination of the file name prefix and extension.
File Name Extension- The portion of the file name after the
period.  The extension can be from zero to three characters
long and cannot contain any spaces.  It is usually used to
indicate the type of file (i.e. .TXT for text, .EXE for
programs, etc.).

File Name Prefix- The portion of the file name preceding the
period.  The prefix can be from one to eight characters long
and cannot contain any spaces.  It should be meaningful to the
user and should give some indication as to the content or
function of the file.

INS- The insert key on the keyboard.

Graphics Mode- Being in a state where the computer puts items on
the screen by many individual pixels (dots) instead of as
whole text characters.  The computer is said to draw the
display.

Graphical Interface- A program that uses text mode for its
displays.

Hot Key- A key, or combination of keys, used to pop up a TSR.
Usually consist of one or more modifier keys, such as the Alt,
Ctrl, Shift, etc., which usually do nothing when pressed by
themselves.  A typical hot key would be Alt-H which would be
enterred by holding down the Alt key and pressing the H key.

K- See Kilobyte.

Kilobyte- A unit of measure consisting of 1024 bytes. 

Lowercase- A small letter.

Memory Resident- See TSR.

Menu Category- One of the lines contained in your [my-data].MNU
file which is used to build your HotVu menu, and refers to the
reference material associated with it in your data file.

Offset- Refers to the location of data as calculated from the
beginning of the file.

Path Name- The full directory reference to where a file is stored
(i.e. \DOS\ or \HOTVU\DATA\).



Page 21


Path Statement- A DOS feature which allows users to direct the
computer where to look for programs and batch files if it does
not find them in the current directory.  For more information
on this topic please see your DOS reference manual.

RAM Disk- Sometimes referred to as a virtual disk.  Not an actual
disk drive, but instead a portion of upper memory that has
been allocated for use as temporary storage.  For all
practical purposes it appears to the system as a drive and can
be used for data files to speed up data recovery.  Accessing
memory is much quicker than true disks.  Caution: never leave
files on a RAM disk that you have not copied to a real disk
unless you don't want them anymore.  When you turn off your
system the contents of a RAM disk are history.

Return- Key on the keyboard sometimes marked as Enter or with a
backwards L with a left pointing arrow at the end.

Standard ASCII Text File- A file with not more than 80 ASCII
characters per line terminated by a carriage return.

String- A sequence of letters, numbers, spaces, or special
characters such as punctuation marks, brackets, asterisks,
etc.

System Prompt- The message that appears on the screen indicating
the computer system is waiting for you to input data or
instruct it what to do next.  In the case of DOS the prompt is
usually something like "C:" or "C:\>", which indicates that
the system is using your "C" drive as its default drive.

Text File- A file containing ASCII characters.

TSR- Terminate and Stay Resident.  Programs that load and stay in
memory after they are exited.  This allows them to be "popped
up" from within other programs.  The TSR is "popped up"
usually by hitting a specific combination of keys
simultaneously.  When you exit the TSR they restore the screen
and place you back in your application right where you were.

Uppercase- Capital letters.
