





                              Circle Software Company
                                   P.O. Box 7954
                                    Department G
                             Clearwater, FL  34618-7954
                                          
            
                 JOT_IT, a software scratch pad, is designed to provide
            maximum utility at minimum cost.  Your contribution will
            help me continue to provide quality products for MS-DOS
            computers.  The following rate schedule lists several
            options available to you.
            
            1.   Registration                                $10.00
                 Includes product registration, notice of updates,
                 and list of other quality software products.
            
            2.   JOT_IT Program                              $15.00
                 Includes the above plus a disk with the JOT_IT
                 program and documentation file.
            
            3.   Source Code                                 $35.00
                 Includes all the above plus well-documented
                 assembly language source code, including theory of
                 operation and suggestions on how to modify or
                 customize the program.
            
                 Your support will be greatly appreciated.






























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                                Program Description
            
                 JOT_IT is a memory resident scratch pad useful for
            recording notes while running another program.  With command
            line options, you can adjust the space available for jotting
            down information, change the hot key used to activate the
            program, and change the name of the file where your notes
            are stored.  You can even load multiple copies of JOT_IT at
            the same time.  But don't try to activate one on top of the
            other.
            
                 The latest version includes a screen capture function
            you can use to extract and save information from application
            programs.  I have also changed the file format to be
            compatible with word processors and text editors.  That is,
            each line is no longer padded with spaces to the right of
            the last character.  I have also fixed a problem with the
            cursor when using the program with monochrome displays.
            
                 A possible alternative use for JOT_IT is as an on-line
            help facility, activity reminder or schedule, or list of
            frequently called telephone numbers.
            
                 JOT_IT will run on any PC-compatible computer equipped
            with any of the popular video adaptor/monitor combinations
            when they are operated in a text mode.  JOT_IT will not
            activate when your computer is in the graphics mode.  It
            requires about 6000 bytes of memory, including 4000 bytes to
            store the previous screen contents, plus buffer space to
            accommodate the number of note sheets you have chosen to
            use.
            
            
                                 Program Operation
            
                 JOT_IT's command syntax is as follows:
            
                 JOT_IT s hhhh filename
            
            where
            
               s is a one digit hex number (1 through F) representing
               the number of note sheets you wish to use.  Each sheet
               is one screen or 2000 characters.  The default is five
               sheets.
            
               hhhh is a four digit hex number representing the hot
               key code.  The default is CTRL-A.  You may use a value
               from the table below if the default interferes with
               another program.
            
               filename is the name of the text file where your notes
               will be saved when you execute the save command (CTRL-
               S).  The default name is \JOTS which creates a file



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               named JOTS in the root directory.  You may enter a
               path name along with the filename as long as the total
               number of characters doesn't exceed 32.  For example,
            
                           \WORD\FILES\NOTES.TXT.
            
            
                 If you are satisfied with the defaults, you may enter
            simply JOT_IT without the command-line parameters.  However,
            if you use any command-line parameters, they must be entered
            in the order shown.  If you only wish to change the number
            of sheets, you need only enter JOT_IT s.  If you want to
            change the filename, it is necessary first to specify both
            the number of sheets and the hot key code.
            
                 In any case, the command should be entered in your
            autoexec.bat file so the program will be ready when you need
            it.
            
                             Hot Key Control Code Table
            
            Alt-A     1E00      Alt-J     2400      Alt-S     1F00
            Alt-B     3000      Alt-K     2500      Alt-T     1400
            Alt-C     2E00      Alt-L     2600      Alt-U     1600
            Alt-D     2000      Alt-M     3200      Alt-V     2F00
            Alt-E     1200      Alt-N     3100      Alt-W     1100
            Alt-F     2100      Alt-O     1800      Alt-X     2D00
            Alt-G     2200      Alt-P     1900      Alt-Y     1500
            Alt-H     2300      Alt-Q     1000      Alt-Z     2C00
            Alt-I     1700      Alt-R     1300
            
            CTRL-A    1E01      CTRL-J    240A      Ctrl-S    1F13
            CTRL-B    3002      CTRL-K    250B      Ctrl-T    1414
            CTRL-C    2E03      CTRL-L    260C      Ctrl-U    1615
            CTRL-D    2004      CTRL-M    320D      Ctrl-V    2F16
            CTRL-E    1205      CTRL-N    310E      Ctrl-W    1117
            CTRL-F    2106      CTRL-O    180F      Ctrl-X    2D18
            CTRL-G    2207      CTRL-P    1910      Ctrl-Y    1519
            CTRL-H    2308      CTRL-Q    1011      Ctrl-Z    2C1A
            CTRL-I    1709      CTRL-R    1312
            
            
            
                                  Editing Commands
            
                 JOT_IT will be activated when you press CTRL-A, or
            whatever hot key you have chosen.  JOT_IT interrupts the
            program in progress, saves the screen contents, and displays
            a completely blank screen or the first sheet from the JOTS
            file, if it exists.  When you reactivate JOT_IT, it will
            display the sheet you were last using.  Press Esc to return
            to the interrupted program
            




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                 The best way to learn the editing commands is to
            experiment.  The arrow keys move the cursor as you might
            expect.  When the cursor is on the top or bottom line of a
            sheet, pressing the up or down arrow key will display the
            previous sheet or the next sheet, respectively.  You can
            also use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move to adjacent sheets.
            The Home key moves the cursor to the upper left corner of
            the sheet, and the End key moves it to the lower left
            corner.  The Tab key moves the cursor in ten space
            increments, but does not push the underlying text.
            
                 When you enter text, you can press Enter at the end of
            each line or the text will word wrap when you type a space
            character beyond column 70.  Text entered over existing text
            will push the old to the right, but not down to the next
            line.  Text pushed off the screen is lost.  The Delete key
            will erase the character under the cursor, pulling the
            remaining text to the left.  The Backspace key erases the
            character to the left of the cursor, pulling the remaining
            text to the left.
            
                 When you press the Enter key, any text to the right of
            the cursor on the same line is erased.  This is a convenient
            way to erase or replace one line.  CTRL-D erases the entire
            sheet.  Be careful!  JOT_IT does not ask if you really want
            to do it.
            
            
                                  Other Functions
            
                 JOT_IT always looks in the root directory for JOTS (or
            in the directory and for the filename you specify on the
            command line) and will load it if found.  Otherwise, JOT_IT
            will create an appropriately named file when you execute the
            save command. The contents of the sheets will be saved when
            you press CTRL-S.
            
                 If you reload JOT_IT and specify a different number of
            sheets, the data in the original sheets (if saved) will be
            retained.  When you reactivate JOT_IT, the original sheets
            will appear as before and the new sheets will be blank.
            
                 Press CTRL-P to print the contents of the sheets.  The
            sheets are printed 54 lines to the page with no break
            between sheets.  If the printer is not on line, the program
            will hang.
            
                 If you load multiple copies of JOT_IT, each should use
            a different hot key and different filename.  Don't try to
            activate one on top of another.
            
                 The capture function allows you to save the contents of
            any text-based application screen to the current sheet.  If
            saved, you can load the resulting file into a document for



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            further processing.  You can save as many screens as you
            have sheets.
            
                 When the screen you wish to capture is displayed,
            activate JOT_IT, select the sheet you wish to use, then
            press Ctrl-C.  The previous screen will reappear and replace
            any text that might have been in the current sheet.  Note
            that the attribute (color, underlining, etc.) of the
            original screen is not captured.
            
                 I have tried to keep JOT_IT small to minimize RAM
            usage.  Therefore, it has only minimal error handling
            capability.  Be sure to enter the command line correctly.
            JOT_IT will coexist with most other memory resident
            programs, but do not activate another memory resident
            program while JOT_IT is active.  That is, while the JOT_IT
            sheet is displayed on the screen.
            







































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