Filename: STFTUT.TXT  Copyright (c) 1993 by RPMcCormick
STF compares 2 ASCII text files side-by-side.
In the default text mode, only the first 39
characters are visible. There are 3 things you can
do to see what is currently hidden.
1. Hold down the <Ctrl> key and hit the 
   right arrow several times. Notice the Sliding
   Centerline.
2. Use the Right Arrow key by itself, that is,
   without the <Ctrl> key. This moves your
   viewing position 10 columns to the right.
   Note that for one Right Arrow, a "+10" appears
   on the top info bar. Scroll back with the Left
   Arrow, and the "+10" disappears.
3. If you have VGA graphics, hit the F6 function key.
   That gives you a view of the file using a custom font
   which allows you to see 62 columns initially.
   Use the F5 function key to return back to text mode.
   This resets the centerline to the middle of the screen.

-- Please hit the "Page Down" key to continue. --


If two lines are identical, they are both
bright white. If a line is different, the
version on the right is dimmed. The top lines in
this demo are different due to the filenames.
This comparison is case sensitive. An upper case letter
is considered different from lower case. Note that on
this line, Arrow is not capitalized in the .OLD file.
Sometimes lines will show up as different when they
appear identical to you. This may be due to
an unseen extra space as in this line,
or a "tab" character as in this one, or an
extra Carriage Return like this line has.
If you would prefer that these are not marked
as different, hit the <Alt> B key to "toggle"
blanks. Try it now. Notice the lines on the right
are no longer dimmed. You can see the current
state of this 2 position toggle in the first
help file screen. Access the help screen by using
the F1 function key. To get right back here,
hit Escape.
                      
-- Please hit the "Page Down" key to continue. --

When one or more lines are inserted in one file and
not the other, they will get out of synchronization.
All lines will appear as unequal, or different. To
re-synch these files, first observe the bright white
squares before each filename on the top information
bar. By default both files are active, so both bright
squares are "on". Hit F4 to make file 2, the one on
the right, active, while deactivating file 1. Note
that the square for file1 has extinguished. Now hit
the up arrow key twice to bring the files back into
alignment. Hit F2 to make both files active as before.

To search for text, use <Alt> F. The F is for Find.
We will search for the string "Home" without the
quotes. You can enter the letters in upper or lower
case, as case is ignored in the search. Imbedded
spaces do count, however. Go to the start of the file
by hitting the Home key, then hit <Alt> F. You will 
be prompted, on the upper info bar, to enter the
search string after the word Find: type in "home" and
hit the Enter or Return key. This should bring you 
back here. Hit <Alt> A to search for "Home" again.
-- Please hit the "Page Down" key to continue. --

If you want to cancel your "find" while entering the
search string, you can hit the Escape key. Note that
the search works only on file 1.

If you have been following this tutorial, the files
will be "out of synch" at this time. To get them back
in line, activate File 2 and hit 2 up arrows. Then
activate both files with the F2 key.

For items not covered in this tutorial, read the help
screens, which can be reached either by the F1 key while 
active, or by typing "STF h" at the DOS command line.
Also see the file STF.DOC. To view the .DOC file now,
hit Escape to see the current directory, then select
STF.DOC from the list. When asked for the second file,
choose "No 2nd file" from the second directory screen
to view the .DOC file full width. When finished, you
can "back out" by hitting Escape until you are back
in DOS, or use "<Alt> X" for a quick exit.
