-*-TAGS-*-  File: RNO, Node: Top, Up: (DIR)Utilities Rno is a fast easy text preparation method. It lets you write text with only moderate concern for form. You feed your text to RNO after editing in instructions, and RNO formats it the way you want. * Menu: * Introduction:: * File Generation:: * Switches:: * Source File Format:: * Special Characters:: * Commands: (RNO2)Commands * Sample: (RNO2)Sample  File: RNO, Node: Introduction, Up: Top Next: File Generation RNO is a system program available under RSTS/E. It facilitates the preparation of typed or printed manuscripts, such as memos, manuals, reports, lists, and documentation. the user prepares material at any timesharing terminal, using a system text editor. the material is then saved on the disk as an RNO sorce file. Included in the text are special instructions which will direct the text processor (i.e., RNO). The file is then submitted to RNO in order to produce formatted final copy. This formatted text may be output to a terminal, local printer, or line printer. It may or may not be saved as a disk file. Almost any desired format is possible. RNO allows case shifting, line justification, automatic page number- ing, chapter numbering, centering, list generation, indexing, and many other sophisticated features. RNO provides two major advantages over conventional text typing methods. First, RNO files are easily edited and corrected. Major re- formatting is done by manipulation of the formatting commands in the source file. The user is spared the trouble of retyping the entire document over again merely to change the format. (RNO does most of the work). In addition, any amount of text material may be added, de- leted, or rearranged with a minimum of retyping. Secondly, multiple copies of lengthy material are easily produced on the line printer, or on a hardcopy teleprinter with upper and lower case capability. Users intending to use RNO may acquire complete documentation from the Computer Center.  File: RNO, Node: File Generation, Up: Top Prev: Introduction, Next: Switches To generate an RNO text file, the user first creates a source file using a system text editor. Interspersed within the text are command lines which direct the action of the text processor (RNO). This source file is saved using ".RNO" as the filename exten- sion. To process the file into final document form RNO is called by typing: RUN $RNO RNO will respond with a prompt as follows: RNO> The user then enters a file specification string with the following form (the system disk is assumed to be destination device here): OUTPUT FILE NAME/OPTIONAL SWITCHES=INPUT FILE NAME In the examples to follow, "RNO>" is a system prompt. User input is underlined. If the user has saved an RNO source file under the name, "FILE.RNO", the following file specification string will generate a formatted text file with the name, "FILE.DOC": RNO>FILE=FILE --------- Note that the input file is assumed to carry the extension, ".RNO", while the output file (or "DOC" file) will carry the extension, ".DOC". This output file may be displayed at the terminal using PIP. An alternative to the above technique is to specify the terminal as an output device in place of an output file. The form of this specification is as follows: RNO>KB:FILE ------- In this case, formatted text corresponding to FILE.RNO will appear at the terminal. No output file is saved in the user's directory. A useful variation on this theme is to add the switch "/WA" which will cause the terminal listing to be suspended between pages of the output file. RNO waits for the user to hit the RETURN key before listing another page. The following file specification has this effect: RNO>KB:/WAFILE ---------- To exit from or abort RNO, type control-C (^C). RNO users should take care to delete RNO output files (i.e., ".DOC" files) at the end of each terminal session. Output files are quickly and easily regenerated by RNO from source files whenever ne- cessary. Saving such output files during the term only serves to impact the system disk and slow the system down!  File: RNO, Node: Switches, Up: Top Prev: File Generation, Next: Source File Format Several file specification switches are available to the RNO user, the most useful of which are described here. The interested user should consult the complete RNO documentation for more informa- tion. 1. /WA Wait for a carriage return at the beginning of each page. 2. /PA:L:H Output only indicated page range. "L" is the lowest page number printed, "H" is the highest page number printed. This switch is not applicable to chapter-oriented material. 3. /UL:L Underline via line overprint with underline char- acter. In other words, create underscoring by giving a sin- gle carriage return at the end of the line and overprinting the line appropriately with the underscore character. This switch is recommended for use with the EXTEL and line printers. 4. /UL:B Underline with a backspace-underscore combination. This switch yields rather curious results on the EXTEL printer as the EXTEL cannot backspace. 5. /UC Force all uppercase output.  File: RNO, Node: Source File Format, Up: Top Prev: Switches, Next: Special Characters The source file contains the textual material which will appear on the final copy, interspersed with information to specify format- ting. All material in the source file is taken to be source text with the exception of any line beginning with a period in the first column. Characters following such a period must be legal RNO commands. The commands provide the formatting information and control various op- tional modes of operation. Usually the text is filled and justified as it is processed. That is, the program fills a line by adding successive words from the source text until one more word would cause the right margin to be ex- ceeded. The line is then justified by making the word spacings larger until the last word in the line exactly meets the right margin. The text in this document has a right justified (even) margin. The user may occasionally wish to reproduce segments of source text exactly, which can be done using the ".LITERAL" command. This command suspends both filling and justifying action. (Note that the special mode change characters [listed below], are not disengaged by this command). Alternately, the program may be set to fill but not justify. In this case the output will be normal except that the right margin will be "ragged" (uneven). When the fill mode is on, spaces and carriage returns occurring in the source text are treated only as word separators. Multiple sep- arators are ignored. That is, words separated by several spaces are treated the same as words separated by only a single space. Some of the commands cause a break in the output. A break means that the current line is output without justification, and the next word goes at the beginning of the next line. This occurs at the end of paragraphs, for example. The program will advance to new pages as necessary, placing a title (if given) and the page number at the top of each page. The user may call explicitly for a page advance where desired, or may in- hibit the occurrence of a page advance within specified material. Both upper and lower case letters may be used or generated by RNO. It is suggested that the beginning RNO user learn to use RNO on a terminal providing both cases. If the mode is set to upper case (see the .UC command), then upper and lower case letters will appear in an RNO output file exactly as input at the terminal. Mode changing characters and commands for case are discussed in detail in the com- plete documentation.  File: RNO, Node: Special Characters, Up: Top Prev: Source File Format, Next: (RNO2)Commands A number of characters may be used to change the "mode" of text material in an RNO source file. These characters include &, #, _, ^, \, <, and =. Several of the most useful will be described. For more information, see the complete documentation. 1. & AMPERSAND The ampersand character is used to specify underscoring. This character will cause the single character following it to be underlined. It is generally more useful to underscore a word or series of words or characters with a single mode specification. The two character sequence, ^&, will cause all following characters except space to be underscored, until the mode is disengaged by the two character sequence, \&. The underlined word above appeared as ^&underscoring\& in the source file for this manual. In order to produce un- derscoring at output, one of the underline switches must be specified by the RNO file specification string (see SWITCHES). Otherwise, underscore characters will be ignored. 2. _ UNDERLINE To allow the appearance of the special characters in the out- put, they must be preceded by the underline character. The character immediately following an underscore will be transmitted to the output with no formatting effect (quot- ing). The sequence, ^&underline\&, appears in the RNO source file for this manual as, _^_&underline_\_&, which itself re- quires further underline characters in a source file. Note that the underscore itself requires quoting. 3. # NUMBER SIGN It is occasionally necessary to include spaces in the text which should not be treated as word separators. RNO will treat the number sign character as an explicit space. It will not be expanded or changed.  TAGS: :SGAT Top:15 Introduction:439 File Generation:2175 Switches:4551 Source File Format:5760 Special Characters:8512