First Steps

To install Scriptum, read the instructions enclosed in the README.INS file in the Scriptum CD. Once you have installed Scriptum, you'll have to check for the INTER_SOFT environment variable to be set correctly. Once it is installed, at the OS prompt simply type scriptum to run the program. When ran without arguments, Scriptum only shows a simple window, with the Scriptum logo and a File menu with a few options.

The Main View

This window is called the Scriptum Main View.

The Scriptum Main View

This window appears always, even when Scriptum is started with a file as an argument. If the user exits the main view, the application will end.

The File menu in the main view offers the following options:

Scriptum Main View options

Each option's meaning is explained in the section that follows.

File Menu

New

Scriptum will ask for the name of the file to open (i.e., what type of file is going to be edited) and will create with it the view template corresponding to its extension.

If the name doesn't match any pattern, Scriptum will ask for the file type using the File Types window. The file types that appear in this window are defined in a configuration file. For more information on configuration files, see ``Configuring Scriptum'' on page 35.

Open

Open a file, letting Scriptum decide which type of file it is, and then opening the corresponding view template automatically. Scriptum will decide the type of file based on the definition given in the View template in the Scriptum configuration file (using a regular expression or in the type of file returned by the UNIX file command). If Scriptum doesn't find a match it will present a File Type dialog box, as with the Open As option.

The File Open dialog Box

This dialog has the following options:

It is important to note that the file which appears in case Scriptum has found an administered file to use in the correspondent directory doesn't actually exist, but is just a representation of what's inside the administered file. Also, the Check in and Check out procedures are independent from Scriptum and should be configured separately at installation time. The version control management system must be defined at installation time, information on this topic appears throughout the installation procedure..

To change from site to site, or change directories in a given site, single-click on the desired site/directory. To open a file, double-click on the desired file. To open a new site, change the site name in the site text entry (upper left of the window) and then click Apply. Scriptum will present a login dialog box, asking for a login name and password, or anonymous login. Remember that Scriptum uses FTP to do remote connections, so the FTP services will have to be activated in the target machine.

Open as

Opens a file with a view defined by the user. after selecting the file with the Open File dialog box, Scriptum will show a menu of all the available views to open the file. This selection window is the same as the New option.

The File Types selection window

The available views are defined in the Scriptum configuration file.

Exit

This option exits Scriptum and closes all the open views, asking for confirmation before proceeding, and each view will ask for confirmation if the file that was being edited has not been saved.

Views

A view, like the name indicates, a particular vision (window) of an object (usually a file) with menus, toolbars, color and highlighting definitions that suit the given object type. For example, the default C++ source view includes a toolbar with icons like Definition Browser or Section Browser, both functions are specific to source code editing.

A C++ View

The different views are defined in the Scriptum configuration files. InterSoft includes several pre-defined views, and the user can change them or create new ones easily.

All the views, however, have some common options that are used for all types of files. These options (for menus, toolbars or keyboard shortcuts) will be explained in the next chapter.

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Last Modified: 01:16am , January 20, 1996