Keystrip Editor
by Kuldip S Pardesi

The KeyStrip application allows function key strips to be designed and then saved as either a Draw file for printing, an Obey file for execution later to set function key values or in an internal format (kstrip) which is recognised by the KeyStrip application for future editing. Running the application installs an icon on the icon bar in the usual way. The icon bar menu has just two options, Info and Quit, which perform their normal functions.

Clicking Select on the icon bar icon will pop up the KeyStrip Editor window. The window can be scrolled in the usual way to move horizontally along the key strip. 

Clicking Select inside a white function box will allow the required text to be entered. The cursor can be moved on to the next or previous function box by using Shift together with the cursor keys, and the window will automatically scroll if necessary.

The function boxes are arranged in three rows - the lowest is for the action to be performed by the F-key only; the middle row is for Shift+F-key; and the upper row is for Ctrl+F-key. These are marked at either end of the window with the words FUNCTION, SHIFT, and CONTROL.

Clicking Menu inside the Editor window will pop up a menu with the following options: 'Info', 'Save', 'All Fkeys', and 'Clear all'. 'Info' gives program information, while 'Clear all' clears the contents of all the function boxes in the window. 'Save' leads to a submenu offering a choice of three save formats: Obey file, Draw file or KStrip file. 'All Fkeys' leads to a submenu allowing you to choose whether all keys should be suffixed by a carriage return or not (see the description of the Obey file format below).

All save operations are performed by clicking Menu inside the Editor window and following the menu tree through 'Save' and the format you require to the appropriate save box, from which the file can be saved in the normal fashion to a filer window.

If you intend to use KeyStrip to generate a Draw file for printing, it is best to keep the commands in each box as short as possible, as this will ensure they fit properly into each cell. Once the file has been saved, it can be loaded into Draw for examination and amendment if required.

The Obey file save option allows the key strip functions for keys 1 to 12 to be saved as an Obey file. In addition to the commands themselves, each function box can be set to have Return on or Return off, by clicking on the '+RETURN' or '-RETURN' icons. If Return is on, then that command will include a carriage return (i.e. |M) at the end of the function key definition. Double clicking on the Obey file will set the defined keys. Once the file has been saved, it can be loaded into Edit for examination and amendment if required.

The KStrip file option saves the file in KeyStrip's internal format which allows key strip definitions to be saved for later editing. To load a KeyStrip file into the editor simply double-click on the file icon, or drag the file either into the Editor window or onto the icon bar icon. Some sample files are included in the directory !KStrip.Files.
