Original Usenet thread from alt.ascii-art, started 11 Oct 1996.
Tips on viewing Ascii Animations
alt.ascii-art
· 11 messages · 11 Oct 1996 - 29 May 1998
====================================================================
Tips on viewing .vt animations with MSDOS
====================================================================
Requests often appear for help on viewing .vt animation
files. I therefore decided to write the following notes which refer
to viewing under MSDOS. I do not think the steps will be much
different on other Operating Systems.
Don't ask me how to fix up bad pictures - it usually involves a lot
of tedious work with a text editor - with little reward or
satisfaction. It simply is not worthwhile.
-cfbd- 11 October 1996
===================================================================
I use MSDOS to view .vt files.
Most animations seem to be produced on Unix systems.
Unfortunately .vt files do give variable results.
Some produce a lot of unwanted garbage on the screen. Others give
unsatisfactory pictures with symbols mixed up with letters in the
pictures.
Anything that looks too messy I just throw away. I don't want to
spend hours trying to fix whole files giving poor pictures.
Fairly minimal garbage I just edit out in a session with my word
processor editor. Any WP or Text editor should do the job.
Having said all that - the procedure I use is as follows:
PROCEDURE
1) Download the file from the newsgroup using normal methods.
2) Rename the .vt file FILENAME.UUE ( not filename.vt which would give
trouble later ). ^^^
3) Use a UUDECODE program to decode FILENAME.UUE:
C> UUDECODE FILENAME.UUE
This automatically produces a new file, FILENAME.VT, which appears
in your directory.
4) I then use a CRLF conversion program, such as FLIP.EXE, which
converts the line endings in the file from the Unix ending ( LF
linefeed only ) to the MSDOS line endings which end in CRLF (
Carriage Return plus Linefeed ).
C> FLIP -mvb FILENAME.VT
The -mvb switch in the command line ensures that FLIP.EXE will
convert the file although it "sees" the ESC Codes as a binary
format. Without the -b switch FLIP would refuse to convert the
file because it identifies it as a binary file.
Omission of this step often, but not always, gives you a broken
up picture when you try to view the .vt file, due to the absence
of Carriage Returns in the Unix format.
5) Check that you have the MSDOS program ANSI.SYS active on your
machine.
Ensure that your CONFIG.SYS file contains the line:
device = ansi.sys
6) If all is well, all you need to do now to see the animation
is use the MSDOS "type" command:
C> type FILENAME.VT
"cat" - the cat command is simply the Unix equivalent of the
MSDOS "type" command.
"list" - Some other systems use "list" for this same command.
====================================================================
FLIP.EXE is available on the Simtel Archive and its main Mirror Site
oak.oakland.edu:
Directory pub/msdos/textutil/
Filename Type Length Date Description
==============================================
flip1exe.zip B 14466 890731 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
1of2
flip1src.zip B 21577 890713 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
2of2
====================================================================
PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know !
Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your
wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it.
Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own.
Post the results here.
Bye,
====================================================================
Tips on viewing .vt animations with MSDOS
====================================================================
Requests often appear for help on viewing .vt animation
files. I therefore decided to write the following notes which refer
to viewing under MSDOS. I do not think the steps will be much
different on other Operating Systems.
Don't ask me how to fix up bad pictures - it usually involves a lot
of tedious work with a text editor - with little reward or
satisfaction. It simply is not worthwhile.
-cfbd- 11 October 1996
===================================================================
I use MSDOS to view .vt files.
Most animations seem to be produced on Unix systems.
Unfortunately .vt files do give variable results.
Some produce a lot of unwanted garbage on the screen. Others give
unsatisfactory pictures with symbols mixed up with letters in the
pictures.
Anything that looks too messy I just throw away. I don't want to
spend hours trying to fix whole files giving poor pictures.
Fairly minimal garbage I just edit out in a session with my word
processor editor. Any WP or Text editor should do the job.
Having said all that - the procedure I use is as follows:
PROCEDURE
1) Download the file from the newsgroup using normal methods.
2) Rename the .vt file FILENAME.UUE ( not filename.vt which would give
trouble later ). ^^^
3) Use a UUDECODE program to decode FILENAME.UUE:
C> UUDECODE FILENAME.UUE
This automatically produces a new file, FILENAME.VT, which appears
in your directory.
4) I then use a CRLF conversion program, such as FLIP.EXE, which
converts the line endings in the file from the Unix ending ( LF
linefeed only ) to the MSDOS line endings which end in CRLF (
Carriage Return plus Linefeed ).
C> FLIP -mvb FILENAME.VT
The -mvb switch in the command line ensures that FLIP.EXE will
convert the file although it "sees" the ESC Codes as a binary
format. Without the -b switch FLIP would refuse to convert the
file because it identifies it as a binary file.
Omission of this step often, but not always, gives you a broken
up picture when you try to view the .vt file, due to the absence
of Carriage Returns in the Unix format.
5) Check that you have the MSDOS program ANSI.SYS active on your
machine.
Ensure that your CONFIG.SYS file contains the line:
device = ansi.sys
6) If all is well, all you need to do now to see the animation
is use the MSDOS "type" command:
C> type FILENAME.VT
"cat" - the cat command is simply the Unix equivalent of the
MSDOS "type" command.
"list" - Some other systems use "list" for this same command.
====================================================================
FLIP.EXE is available on the Simtel Archive and its main Mirror Site
oak.oakland.edu:
Directory pub/msdos/textutil/
Filename Type Length Date Description
==============================================
flip1exe.zip B 14466 890731 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
1of2
flip1src.zip B 21577 890713 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
2of2
====================================================================
PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know !
Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your
wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it.
Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own.
Post the results here.
Bye,
====================================================================
Tips on viewing .vt animations with MSDOS
====================================================================
Requests often appear for help on viewing .vt animation
files. I therefore decided to write the following notes which refer
to viewing under MSDOS. I do not think the steps will be much
different on other Operating Systems.
Don't ask me how to fix up bad pictures - it usually involves a lot
of tedious work with a text editor - with little reward or
satisfaction. It simply is not worthwhile.
-cfbd- 11 October 1996
===================================================================
I use MSDOS to view .vt files.
Most animations seem to be produced on Unix systems.
Unfortunately .vt files do give variable results.
Some produce a lot of unwanted garbage on the screen. Others give
unsatisfactory pictures with symbols mixed up with letters in the
pictures.
Anything that looks too messy I just throw away. I don't want to
spend hours trying to fix whole files giving poor pictures.
Fairly minimal garbage I just edit out in a session with my word
processor editor. Any WP or Text editor should do the job.
Having said all that - the procedure I use is as follows:
PROCEDURE
1) Download the file from the newsgroup using normal methods.
2) Rename the .vt file FILENAME.UUE ( not filename.vt which would give
trouble later ). ^^^
3) Use a UUDECODE program to decode FILENAME.UUE:
C> UUDECODE FILENAME.UUE
This automatically produces a new file, FILENAME.VT, which appears
in your directory.
4) I then use a CRLF conversion program, such as FLIP.EXE, which
converts the line endings in the file from the Unix ending ( LF
linefeed only ) to the MSDOS line endings which end in CRLF (
Carriage Return plus Linefeed ).
C> FLIP -mvb FILENAME.VT
The -mvb switch in the command line ensures that FLIP.EXE will
convert the file although it "sees" the ESC Codes as a binary
format. Without the -b switch FLIP would refuse to convert the
file because it identifies it as a binary file.
Omission of this step often, but not always, gives you a broken
up picture when you try to view the .vt file, due to the absence
of Carriage Returns in the Unix format.
5) Check that you have the MSDOS program ANSI.SYS active on your
machine.
Ensure that your CONFIG.SYS file contains the line:
device = ansi.sys
6) If all is well, all you need to do now to see the animation
is use the MSDOS "type" command:
C> type FILENAME.VT
"cat" - the cat command is simply the Unix equivalent of the
MSDOS "type" command.
"list" - Some other systems use "list" for this same command.
====================================================================
FLIP.EXE is available on the Simtel Archive and its main Mirror Site
oak.oakland.edu:
Directory pub/msdos/textutil/
Filename Type Length Date Description
==============================================
flip1exe.zip B 14466 890731 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
1of2
flip1src.zip B 21577 890713 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
2of2
====================================================================
PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know !
Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your
wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it.
Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own.
Post the results here.
Bye,
In article <5ajir9$cv...@orm.southern.co.nz> cfb...@southern.co.nz (Colin Douthwaite) writes: >PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know ! > Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your > wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it. > Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own. > Post the results here. ANSI or VT-100 animations work by using the cursor relocation code which is ^[[line;colH, where the ^[ is ASCII 27. Instead of laboriously coding long animations by hand, you can use a nice ANSI editor like THEDraw to do it for you. It works well for viewing them too, as it will slow them down if necessary. Try searching the net or getting an account with BBS.MUSTANG.COM via telnet and downloading it there.
how much for chaemeleon job? In article <now...@all.com>, now...@all.com (Me) wrote: >In article <5ajir9$cv...@orm.southern.co.nz> cfb...@southern.co.nz (Colin Douthwaite) writes: >>PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know ! > >> Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your >> wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it. >> Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own. >> Post the results here. > >ANSI or VT-100 animations work by using the cursor >relocation code which is ^[[line;colH, where the ^[ is >ASCII 27. Instead of laboriously coding long >animations by hand, you can use a nice ANSI >editor like THEDraw to do it for you. It works well >for viewing them too, as it will slow them down if >necessary. Try searching the net or getting an >account with BBS.MUSTANG.COM via telnet >and downloading it there.
====================================================================
Tips on viewing .vt animations with MSDOS
====================================================================
Requests often appear for help on viewing .vt animation
files. I therefore decided to write the following notes which refer
to viewing under MSDOS. I do not think the steps will be much
different on other Operating Systems.
Don't ask me how to fix up bad pictures - it usually involves a lot
of tedious work with a text editor - with little reward or
satisfaction. It simply is not worthwhile.
-cfbd- 11 October 1996
===================================================================
I use MSDOS to view .vt files.
Most animations seem to be produced on Unix systems.
Unfortunately .vt files do give variable results.
Some produce a lot of unwanted garbage on the screen. Others give
unsatisfactory pictures with symbols mixed up with letters in the
pictures.
Anything that looks too messy I just throw away. I don't want to
spend hours trying to fix whole files giving poor pictures.
Fairly minimal garbage I just edit out in a session with my word
processor editor. Any WP or Text editor should do the job.
Having said all that - the procedure I use is as follows:
PROCEDURE
1) Download the file from the newsgroup using normal methods.
2) Rename the .vt file FILENAME.UUE ( not filename.vt which would give
trouble later ). ^^^
3) Use a UUDECODE program to decode FILENAME.UUE:
C> UUDECODE FILENAME.UUE
This automatically produces a new file, FILENAME.VT, which appears
in your directory.
4) I then use a CRLF conversion program, such as FLIP.EXE, which
converts the line endings in the file from the Unix ending ( LF
linefeed only ) to the MSDOS line endings which end in CRLF (
Carriage Return plus Linefeed ).
C> FLIP -mvb FILENAME.VT
The -mvb switch in the command line ensures that FLIP.EXE will
convert the file although it "sees" the ESC Codes as a binary
format. Without the -b switch FLIP would refuse to convert the
file because it identifies it as a binary file.
Omission of this step often, but not always, gives you a broken
up picture when you try to view the .vt file, due to the absence
of Carriage Returns in the Unix format.
5) Check that you have the MSDOS program ANSI.SYS active on your
machine.
Ensure that your CONFIG.SYS file contains the line:
device = ansi.sys
6) If all is well, all you need to do now to see the animation
is use the MSDOS "type" command:
C> type FILENAME.VT
"cat" - the cat command is simply the Unix equivalent of the
MSDOS "type" command.
"list" - Some other systems use "list" for this same command.
====================================================================
FLIP.EXE is available on the Simtel Archive and its main Mirror Site
oak.oakland.edu:
Directory pub/msdos/textutil/
Filename Type Length Date Description
==============================================
flip1exe.zip B 14466 890731 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
1of2
flip1src.zip B 21577 890713 Convert text files MSDOS<->UNIX format,
2of2
====================================================================
PS Don't ask me how to make vt animations - I don't know !
Tip: Get a simple animation and study it using your
wordprocessor and try to figure out how the author has done it.
Then try your hand at a very simple animation of your own.
Post the results here.
Bye,
Hmmm, that's odd, not that it should have decoded this message (which it
shouldn't have), but I see why AOL sucks so much with decoding files. Half of
your first uue was underlined and went on like that through the rest of the
message.
>ENC.COM.B&F=
>%00%@@PZ-rm-rm-L#P_R^N15RX-qn-qnP-@!PY-!p-!`-!0P]=
>X-b!P_WR^!5GG!5GG!5GG!5GG!5_RX-`K5pPP^15GG15GG15GG15GG-~!5Z>#P^15Q_t#u!
>COMT_is_copyright_Alex_Pruss.
>RX3FcEE<Zt+=
>t"-AA
>Good-dayR^!5P^15Gu'Hi,Howdy??BJtKM
>MPOAHAHFNIOHDGALMDJLAOOCCPOKFHJDLIHPPFHFMKMDBCEH>FDMCCCCHHPMDAEDHDP
>KIAOMKMCCCANMNANANANMNANANKKMKMCCCANMNANANANM>NANANKKMKMCCCANMNANAN
>ANMNANANKKLOLMILPPMENMBCHFOLJDCAJLACAADPEKPFPPHO>LIPMOFLCOMBEBNJOPL
>S&$ig(Apuu0000000490<
>z1\9F(4=>$??*+;<=D;*;W>>=W>-5$??>$??*+;<=D;*;W>>=W>->:?:>2?*=%=?*
>zO;=?3=;-(3=;V*==2?*;==?=&;-*D;@
It started right after that last @. I wonder if there is some kind of code
that's kicking in that AOL is reading? Oh well, thanks for the info.
.
http://members.aol.com/lester5374/index.htm - Ansi home page
FTP://members.aol.com/lester5374/ansi - To download the ANSI format
Colin Douthwaite wrote: > Lester5374 <les...@aol.com> wrote: > > Hmmm, that's odd, not that it should have decoded this message (which it > >shouldn't have), but I see why AOL sucks so much with decoding files. Half of > >your first uue was underlined and went on like that through the rest of the > >message. > > >>ENC.COM.B&F= > >>%00%@@PZ-rm-rm-L#P_R^N15RX-qn-qnP-@!PY-!p-!`-!0P]= > >>X-b!P_WR^!5GG!5GG!5GG!5GG!5_RX-`K5pPP^15GG15GG15GG15GG-~!5Z>#P^15Q_t#u! > >>COMT_is_copyright_Alex_Pruss. > >>RX3FcEE<Zt+= > >>t"-AA > >>Good-dayR^!5P^15Gu'Hi,Howdy??BJtKM > >>MPOAHAHFNIOHDGALMDJLAOOCCPOKFHJDLIHPPFHFMKMDBCEH>FDMCCCCHHPMDAEDHDP > >>KIAOMKMCCCANMNANANANMNANANKKMKMCCCANMNANANANM>NANANKKMKMCCCANMNANAN > >>ANMNANANKKLOLMILPPMENMBCHFOLJDCAJLACAADPEKPFPPHO>LIPMOFLCOMBEBNJOPL > >>S&$ig(Apuu0000000490< > >>z1\9F(4=>$??*+;<=D;*;W>>=W>-5$??>$??*+;<=D;*;W>>=W>->:?:>2?*=%=?* > >>zO;=?3=;-(3=;V*==2?*;==?=&;-*D;@ > > > It started right after that last @. I wonder if there is some kind of code > >that's kicking in that AOL is reading? Oh well, thanks for the info. > > Here is a repeat ( uuencoded...HeHeHe ) in case your copy got munged > somewhere along the way but I suspect, as you do, that the sequence > following ;-*D;@ must have triggered a macro or the command to > uudecode in your AOL set-up. Similarly some sequence must have > triggered the Underlining of the UUE. I guess that even pure ASCII > sequences can act as control codes if the software is written that > way. *8-( > > So there you go...see what AOL does to that! > > Bye, the underlining was due to the fact that there was a piece of text in the file that the AOL-newsreader interpreted as HTML ... it was <U> check it in the original post Greetz, Maarten -- /--------------------------------------------------------\ |Maarten Bukkems =^..^= | |buk...@xs4all.nl ICQ#: 7318240| |http://www.il.fontys.nl/~bukkem | |Rincewind on DiscMOO - morriss.grid9.net 8080 | \--------------------------------------------------------/
> Here is a repeat ( uuencoded...HeHeHe ) in case your copy got munged > somewhere along the way but I suspect, as you do, that the sequence > following ;-*D;@ must have triggered a macro or the command to > uudecode in your AOL set-up. Similarly some sequence must have > triggered the Underlining of the UUE. I guess that even pure ASCII > sequences can act as control codes if the software is written that > way. *8-( Ha, it worked that time! <g> God, I need a REAL ISP. > So there you go...see what AOL does to that! For a change, it did what it was supposed to do. :) . http://members.aol.com/lester5374/index.htm - Ansi home page FTP://members.aol.com/lester5374/ansi - To download the ANSI format
Lester5374 <les...@aol.com> wrote: >> Here is a repeat ( uuencoded...HeHeHe ) in case your copy got munged >> somewhere along the way but I suspect, as you do, that the sequence >> following ;-*D;@ must have triggered a macro or the command to >> uudecode in your AOL set-up. Similarly some sequence must have >> triggered the Underlining of the UUE. I guess that even pure ASCII >> sequences can act as control codes if the software is written that >> way. *8-( > Ha, it worked that time! <g> God, I need a REAL ISP. >> So there you go...see what AOL does to that! > For a change, it did what it was supposed to do. :) Well OK, but the idea of the Pure Ascii-Text UUdecode is that it could be sent to people who had no UUdecode program and had no way of getting one because any Executable UUdecoder would have had to be uudecoded before it could be used...a Catch 22 situation. When I first joined the Net I had no uudecoder and a user at my ISP sent me the "Ascii Decoder" in an email message. I was totally astonished when it worked like an executable *.com file and I still consider it to be magic. In fact what you have is an auto-uudecoder built into your ISP's set-up at AOL which auto-decodes even when it is not required to do any uudecoding. What happened when your AOL set-up got to the cat's tongue in the picture below? It should have triggered the Underline function and munged the picture thereafter? ROWWWWRR! /\_/\ |/ |o -| =(__*__)= . ,'<U>', )) 8''''' , , '''''8 )\\ // ''''''. .'''''' _``\`,- '''' ''- ,,,/ / .' '. .---'a> , < ,<' << ,<, ' / \ .' , '., `v^w ' , << ,< ' < < / \ Eep. .' , ,, ''8 ````--' \ ,,,---''/ <' // _ _ / ,, ,'',, ',.' ''''' !! ;; ( ' / \ ( )( ) ___ , ''',,' ', '8 !!</ \ `\ / \../-' \_ '''' '' <</ / /</ \///___/// (FL) <</ .====='/ -Matthew MacIntyre- Bye,
>What happened when your AOL set-up got to the cat's tongue in the >picture below? It should have triggered the Underline function and >munged the picture thereafter? > > > ROWWWWRR! > > /\_/\ |/ > |o -| > =(__*__)= . > ,'<U>', )) > 8''''' , , '''''8 )\\ // > ''''''. .'''''' _``\`,- '''' ''- ,,,/ / > .' '. .---'a> , < ,<' << ,<, ' / \ > .' , '., `v^w ' , << ,< ' < < / \ Eep. > .' , ,, ''8 ````--' \ ,,,---''/ <' // _ _ / > ,, ,'',, ',.' ''''' !! ;; ( ' / \ ( )( ) ___ > , ''',,' ', '8 !!</ \ `\ / \../-' \_ > '''' '' <</ / /</ \///___/// > (FL) <</ .====='/ > -Matthew MacIntyre- > > Damned if it ain't all underlined after the "<" "U" ">"! You peged it. Hmm. AOL sucks. <g> . http://members.aol.com/lester5374/index.htm - Ansi home page FTP://members.aol.com/lester5374/ansi - To download the ANSI format
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