Instructions for the Use of GZigZag

$Id: newug.wml,v 1.6 2001/02/07 10:29:44 cat Exp $

This is the third version of Instructions for the Use of GZigZag, written by Katariina Ervasti, who is working with this document whenever she has time. (Documentation is only ONE of my tasks.)

Last update on 7th of February, 2001.

1. About this document
2. About using GZigZag
3. Downloading GZigZag
4. Building a GZigZag structure
4.1. Designing a GZigZag structure
4.2. Functions needed for building a GZigZag structure
4.2.1. Moving in GZigZag
4.2.2. Creating new cells and entering text
4.2.3. Cloning
4.2.4. Creating new dimensions
4.2.5. Rotating the dimensions
4.2.6. Connecting existing cells along new dimensions
4.2.6.1. Marking and unmarking a cell
4.2.6.2. Connecting cells
4.2.7. Changing views
4.2.8. Making changes to the structure
4.2.8.1. Undo
4.2.8.2. Disconnecting cells
4.2.8.3. Deleting a cell
4.2.8.4. Hopping
4.2.8.5. Alpha-shear
4.2.8.6. Cell exchange
5. Navigational tricks
5.1. Returning to the home cell
5.2. Jumping to a cell using the cell ID
5.3. Jumping to a cell on which another cursor is
5.4. Jumping to the original cell from a clone
5.5. Jumping to the end of a rank
5.6. Changing the places of the cursors
5.7. Curseling
6. Modifying the user interface of GZigZag
6.1. Changing the keybindings
6.2. Changing the looks of cells and their contents (Cell views)
6.2.1. Modifying a cell view
6.2.1.1. Getting to know the 'Cell Views' list
6.2.1.2. Changing "Standard Flob Factory" to "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory"
6.2.1.2.1. Changing the name
6.2.1.2.2. Changing the background colour
6.2.1.2.3. Changing the font type and size
6.2.1.3. Other possible modifications
6.2.1.3.1. Changing the margins of the cells
6.2.1.3.2. Changing the width of the cells
6.2.1.3.3. Changing the way fonts are displayed
6.2.1.4. Making a cell view of your own
6.3. Changing the looks of views
7. More about views
7.1. Views for hierachical structures
7.1.1. VTree and VTree with lines
7.1.2. HTree and HTree with lines
7.2. A view for presentations
8. Some applitudes
8.1. Nile
8.1.1. Starting Nile
8.1.2. Writing a title
8.1.3. Writing text
8.1.4. Moving, activating and arranging text
8.1.5. Making a Transclusion
8.1.6. What to do if RASTER ERROR occurs
9. Quiting GZigZag
10. List of keybindings

1. About this document

The purpose of this document is to explain how to use the current version of GZigZag (0.1.4).

If this is the first document you read about GZigZag, please read GZigZag - A Platform for Cybertext Experiments before continuing. The popularized article deals with the reasons for developing GZigZag as well as the main concepts and the advantages of the system. We assume that the reader of this document has read the article, especially the definitions of the main concepts, which will not be repeated here.

We are interested in describing the use of GZigZag as clearly as possible. Any comments on the content of this document are welcome and can be sent to cat@gzigzag.org.

And, since GZigZag is constantly being developed, also this document is always under construction. We are doing our best to inform users of the latest features of GZigZag!

2. About using GZigZag

At this stage of the development GZigZag can be used as an information manager. Using GZigZag as an information manager does not require any programming skills. Yet, if you want to build a specific view for a certain GZigZag structure, you need to know some Java.

The following structures (among others) have been made with GZigZag:

• a family tree
• a timeline of the most important happenings of the history.
• a personal information manager, combining e.g. contact information of people with e-mail messages received from them
• a presentation about GZigZag
• an "organizational finder", which is a combination of a telephone book of an organization, an organizational chart and lists of employees involved in certain projects

Naturally, we have build these structures just to test the functionality of the current version of GZigZag. In the future GZigZag will be a foundation for - as Ted Nelson expresses it - "a high-power personal and media system, with editing and presentation systems that expand the state of art".

If you're interested in visualizations of the future system, see Nelson's page dealing with Floating World.

3. Downloading GZigZag

You can download the recommended version of GZigZag for users on the Downloading GZigZag-page. The page also includes instructions for downloading and the commands needed for starting GZigZag.

4. Building a GZigZag structure

In GZigZag - A Platform for Cybertext Experiments we use a combination of an address book and a family tree to make the main concepts of GZigZag more clear. This section of the guide focuses on explaining how the example was made.

4.1. Designing a GZigZag structure

We started making the structure by drawing our ideas on the paper.

We planned the structure of the address book to be simple: it is a list of names and addresses. The names are listed along a dimension in alphabetical order. We decided to use d.2 for that purpose. The addresses are connected to the names along another dimension, and we chose d.1 for that. (Figure 1)

We didn't have to design the structure of the family tree from the beginning, since we decided to use Ted Nelson's design made for his Holm Family Demo. In this design siblings are connected along d.children, and married couples along d.marriage. An extra cell ("+") is used on d.marriage to make the structure symmetric, and the list of children from the marriage on d.children starts from that cell. (Figure 2)

Thus, designing a GZigZag structure is basically just thinking about the ways cells can be connected along dimensions. The most important thing to keep in mind is that on each dimension each cell has two ends, a negative end and a positive end, and on each dimension only one cell can be connected to one end. This means that on each dimension a cell can have at most two neighbours: a predecessor, which is connected on the negative end of the cell, and a successor, which is connected on the positive end of the cell.

If you want to use the same cell on the same dimension many times, you can use a mechanism called cloning (which is explained in 4.2.3.).

4.2. Functions needed for building a GZigZag structure

4.2.1. Moving in GZigZag

Before you can start building a structure, you need some information of how to move in the GZigZag space.

When you first start GZigZag, you see two windows showing the GZigZag structure. Figure 3 represents a window showing the GZigZag structure after starting. As it can be seen, in GZigZag cells are represented by rectangles and neighbours along a dimension by a line.

The number of dimensions in GZigZag is infinite, but only three dimensions (x, y, z) can be shown on the screen at the same time. The dimensions used can be seen in the top left corners of both windows. If you look at these corners, you'll see that the default dimensions are d.1 (on the X axis), d.2 (on the Y axis) and d.3 (on the Z axis).

Now, there are two cursors you can use to move in the GZigZag space, the left (green) and the right (blue) cursor. If you look at the uppermost cell, which is called the homecell, you can see that the both cursors are currently on the same cell.

The blue cursor defines the center of the right window. The speciality of this cursor is that in addition to navigation, it can be used for manipulating data, for example typing text in a cell . You can use the following keys to move the blue cursor:

As you press the buttons, you can see the cursor moving in both windows and the center of the right window changing.

The green cursor defines the center of the left window. The speciality of this cursor is that in addition to navigation, it can be used for excuting commands, for example starting an applitude.. You can use the following keys to move the green cursor:

As you press the buttons, you can see the cursor moving in both windows and the center of the left window changing.

If you look at the keyboard, you can see that the keys are arranged in diamond patterns on the keyboard, one for the left and another for the right hand use.

You can also use the arrow keys to move the blue cursor and both green and the blue cursor can be moved by pointing a cell with the cursor of the mouse and clicking at the button of the mouse. If you use the mouse to point & click at a cell on the right window, the blue cursor will move. If you use the mouse to point & click at a cell on the left window, the green cursor will move.

If you get lost, press ESC to return to the home cell.

4.2.2. Creating new cells and entering text

We started building the combination of the address book and the family tree by building an address book. First, we created new cells for the names of the relatives along d.2.

The key used for creating a new cell is n. After pressing the n key, you have to press one of the direction keys discussed above to indicate to which direction the new cell is created. For example, to create a new cell up from the blue cursor's location, press n and i. To create a new cell up from the green cursor's location, press n and e.

The new cells for the names of the relatives (Figure 4) where created by pressing n and i five times, when the blue cursor was on the home cell.

To type a name (or any other text) in a cell, you need the blue cursor and the tab key. For example, to type the name of your mother to the cell above the home cell, move the blue cursor on the cell, press the tab key, type the name of your mother and then press the tab key again. (The result of this operation can be seen in Figure5.)

After typing the names of the relatives we wanted to add the addresses to our address book. To add the addresses we created new cells which were connected to the cells containing the names along d.1. For example, to create a new cell for the address of your mother, go to the cell containing the name of your mother and press n and l. Figure 6 represents the example structure after adding a cell for the address of the mother.

The addresses are added to the cells in the manner described above. To add the address of your mother, move the blue cursor on the cell ment for it, press the tab key, type the address and then press the tab key again. Figure 7 shows the example structure after typing the address of the mother.

If you want to make typing text easier, you can use the Edit- window. To get the edit window on the screen, move the green cursor on the cell, which contains the text EDITVIEW and press enter. To find the EDITVIEW cell go to the homecell (press ESC) and move to the positive direction from the home cell on d.2 until you get to the cell containing the text 'Actions'. When you move to the one step to the positive direction on d.1 from this cell you end up in the Actions list, to which the 'EDITVIEW'-cell is connected.

4.2.3. Cloning

If you want to use a cell on the same dimension many times, a mechanism called cloning is needed.

If you want to clone a cell, on which the green cursor is, press Shift-t and one of buttons indicating a direction (in which you want to place the clone). If you want to clone a cell, on which the blue cursor is, press 't' and one of the buttons indicating a direction (in which you want to place the clone).

For example, if your mother and father have the same address, you might want to make a clone of the address cell. You could do this for example by moving the blue cursor on the address cell and the green cursor on the cell containing the name of your father. After doing this, you would press t and f. The result of these functions can be seen in Figure 8. Notice that the colour of a cloned cell is light yellow and the colour of a clone is dark yellow.

The advantage of cloning is that it makes updating easy. When you update one of the cells containing the same information, the change can be seen everywhere. For example, if you change the text on either the cloned cell or the clone containing the address of your parents, the changes can be seen in both cells.

4.2.4. Creating new dimensions

After finishing the address book, we started building the family tree.

Now, two new dimensions are needed for the family tree: d.children for connecting the siblings and d.marriage for connecting the married couples. (When you're making new dimensions any name will do, but we are used to naming the dimensions d.something.)

To add new dimensions, move to the positive direction from the home cell along d.2 until you get to the cell containing the text 'DimLists'. When you move one step to the positive direction along d.1 from this cell you end up in the dimension list. The dimension list contains a cell for each dimension, which are connected to each other in a cyclical manner. The dimesions that are currently used (d.1, d.2 and d.3) are pink.

Making a new dimension simply means adding a new cell on a dimension list and typing the name of the dimension in the cell. Figure 9 shows the dimension list after adding d.marriage and d.children.

4.2.5. Rotating the dimensions

Before we can continue our study of making the family tree, rotating the dimensions has to be explained. The number of dimensions in GZigZag is infinite, but only three dimensions can be shown on the screen at the same time. This is why knowing how to rotate dimensions is necessary.

The following keys are used for rotating the dimensions in the right window:

The following keys are used for rotating the dimensions in the left window:

For example, to rotate the d.marriage dimension to the X axis of the right window, press x until you can see the text d.marriage in the top left corner of the window. Figure 10 shows the right window after rotating d.marriage to the X axis.

4.2.6. Connecting existing cells along new dimensions

4.2.6.1. Marking and unmarking a cell

Before explaining how the cells containing the names of the relatives were connected along d.marriage and d.children, you have to understand how to choose the cells you want to connect. In the GZigZag language this is called marking.

To mark a cell, move the blue cursor on the cell you want to mark and press m. The cell that you have marked is now coloured red. Figure 11 shows the example structure after marking Hippy Chick.

Many cells can be marked at the same time. To mark another cell, move the blue cursor on the cell you want to mark and press m. You can now see two red cells. Figure 12 shows the example structure after marking Hippy Chick and Happy Man.

To unmark a cell, move the blue cursor on the cell you want to unmark and press m.

4.2.6.2. Connecting cells

If you want to connect two cells to each other, mark one cell and point the other one with the blue cursor. (If you mark both cells, they will be connected into a loop.)

If you want to connect three cells, mark two cells and point the third one with the blue cursor. (If you mark all cells, they will be connected into a loop.)

After choosing the cells (in the manner explained above), all you need to know is the key binding for connecting the cells. So, to connected the chosen cells, press the - and then a key indicating a direction of the connection.

Connecting cells requires a lot of practice. If you make a mistake, you can use the u-key ('undo') to delete the latest connection.

Next we explain how the cells of the family members used in the address book can be connected to the family tree structure. The same result can be achieved in various ways. The method of connecting cells explained here is just an example.

First, we rotated d.marriage to the X axis to connect the married couple. Then, Happy Man was marked and the blue cursor was moved on Hippy Chick. (Figure 13.)

The key needed for connecting the cells is -. After pressing the --key one of the direction keys has to be pressed to indicate the direction in which the cells are connected. In our example the connection, which can be seen in Figure 14, was made by pressing - and j.

If - and l had been pressed the result would have been the connection seen in Figure 15. Since in the family tree design the 'dad' cell (Happy Man) is on the left and the 'mum' cell (Hippy Chick) on the right, this is not the connection we want.

After this we added an extra cell (+) between Happy Man and Hippy Chick to indicate that they are married. ( Figure 16)

Then we wanted to connect the extra cell to the children of the couple along d.children To do this, we rotated d.children to the Z axis. (We kept d.marriage on the X axis and d.2 on the Y axis.) We marked Lost Boy, Athena Dean and Big Brother and moved the blue cursor to +. ( Figure 17)

We pressed - and k which indicates that the cells should be connected to the positive direction along d.children, which was on the Z axis.

Finally, to view the family tree we rotated d.marriage to the X axis, d.children to the Y axis and d.3 to the Z axis. The final result can be seen in Figure 18.

One of the advantages of having two windows is that the left and the right window can show different dimensions of the same GZigZag space. The same cells used in the family tree can be viewed in the address book in another window.

4.2.7. Changing views

There are several different visualizations (views) of the GZigZag structure. The name of the active view can be seen in the top right corner of a window. All the figures used in this guide so far show the address book and the family tree using the vanishing view.

You can change the view of the right window by pressing the v and the view of the left window by pressing shift-v. Figure 19 shows the family tree in the row view.

As you keep pressing v (or shift-view), you notice that the current version of GZigZag shows four views: the vanishing view, the strecth vanishing view, the row view and the column view.

Yet, these are not the only views available. The views that are used when the user presses v or shift-v are listed in the Views list, which can be found by moving to the positive direction from the home cell along d.2 until getting to the cell containing the text 'Views'. If you move one step to the positive direction on d.1 from this cell, you are in the Views list.

To see a listing of all views, go to the cell containing the text 'AllViews' (that is connected to the 'Views'-cell on d.2). The list of all views is connected to this cell along d.1.

If you want to use one of the views listed in the 'AllViews' list, clone the cell of the view you want to use to the Views list. Figure20 shows the AllViews list after cloning HTree. The HTree view can now be used by pressing v (or SHIFT-v).

Most of the views of the 'AllViews' list are designed for specific purposes. Section 4.2.7.7. deals with views in more detail.

4.2.8. Making changes to the structure

When you are making a structure of your own, you may sometimes make mistakes or want to change the structure afterwards. The current version of GZigZag offers some possibilities for this.

4.2.8.1. Undo

Undo (=cancelling the last move(s)) was already briefly mentioned before. The u-key, for example, removes the last move of the cursor, the last connection made, the last hop, alpha-shear or cell exchange. (The last three are explained later in this document.) It also brings back a deleted cell.

4.2.8.2. Disconnecting cells

If you notice that you have connected the cells in a wrong way and are no longer able to use undo to break the connection, you can use use the b-key and one of the direction keys (indicating the direction of the connection you want to remove).

For example, when making the family tree structure you may notice that you have connected your cousin along d.children as if he was your brother. In Figure21 Franz Kafka is the cousin in the wrong place. Franz Kafka can be removed by pressing b and , (when the blue cursor is on Big Brother). The result of this can be seen in Figure 22.

If a cell is used on many dimensions, the other connections still remain after breaking a connection on one dimension. In the example given above the cell of the cousin maintains its place in the address book.

4.2.8.3. Deleting a cell

If you have created a useless cell, you can delete it. To do this, move the blue cursor on the useless cell and press delete .

Don't delete a cell on which the green cursor is! If you do that, you'll get a 'RASTER ERROR'.

4.2.8.4. Hopping

When building a GZigZag structure you notice quite often that you have a useful cell, but it is in the wrong place in the structure. Hopping is an operation that - as the name indicates - makes a cell hop over one of its neighbours along a chosen dimension.

For example, if you have arranged the names in your address book in alphabetical order and notice that one of the names is in the wrong place, you can move it to the right place by using the hopping function.

The key used for hopping is h after which you have to press one of the direction keys to indicate the direction of the hop. In Figure 23 Lost Boy is in the wrong place. Lost Boy can be moved to the right place by moving the blue (or) the green cursor on Lost Boy and then pressing h and a direction key. We moved Lost Boy by moving the green cursor on it and pressing the h and c five times. The result of this is shown in Figure24.

4.2.8.5. Alpha-shear

Another operation that can be useful when you want to move a cell in the GZigZag structure is the alpha-shear. The hop makes a cell hop along a dimension, but the alpha-shear moves the connection. The alpha-shear is used by typing a and two directions: first the direction of the connection that is moved and then the direction into which the connection is moved.

The difference between the hop function and the alpha-shear function is easier to understand with an example. So, for example, when making the address book you notice that you have connected the address of your sister to the address of your brother. In Figure 25 Olympos is the address of Athena Dean, not the address of Big Brother.

You can't correct this mistake by hopping because the hop function only hops the address to the other side of Big Brother on d.1. (Figure 26.) So, you can only correct the mistake by using the alpha-share. We pressed a, j and i to move Olympos to the right place. (Figure 27 represents the result of this.)

4.2.8.6. Cell exchange

Cell exchange is an operation that changes the location of two cells in the GZigZag structure. First, two cells are selected using the blue and the green cursor. After this % is pressed.

For example, the family tree structure is designed so that the cells of the children are connected to + cell along d.children from the oldest to the youngest. If you had connected the cells so that the oldest would be the last cell of the list and the youngest would be the cell just below +, you could change the cells to the right places usig the cell exchange.

Figure 28 shows Big Brother, who is naturally the oldest of the children, and Lost Boy, the youngest of the children, in the wrong places. To correct the mistake, the blue cursor was moved on Big Brother and the green cursor was moved on Lost Boy and then % was pressed. Figure29 shows that the brothers are now in the right places in the family tree.

5. Navigational tricks

The basics of navigation in the GZigZag space were introduced in Section 4.2.. When you are familiar with the basics, these tricks might help you to work more effectively with your GZigZag.

5.1. Returning to the home cell

Currently there are two keys that help you to return to the home cell, if you feel completely lost:

1. Pressing HOME returns the blue cursor to the home cell.
2. Pressing ESC returns the blue and the green cursor to the home cell

5.2. Jumping to a cell using the cell ID

Cells of GZigZag have an ID, the purpose of which is to help to recognize the cells. In the current version of GZigZag IDs are numbers and can be used to make navigation easier.

The ID of the cell, on which the cursor is, can be seen in the bottom left corner of a window. The right window shows the ID of a cell on which the blue cursor is. The left window shows the ID of a cell on which the green cursor is.

The IDs can be used to help navigation in the following way:

1. Type the ID of the cell, e.g. '554'. (Yes, if you want to use this, you have to learn the IDs of the cells you consider most important by heart.) If you make a mistake, you can use BACKSPACE to correct the mistake.

1. If you want the blue cursor to move to the cell the ID of which you have just typed, press g.
2. If you want the green cursor to move to the cell the ID of which you have just typed, press shift-G.

5.3. Jumping to a cell on which another cursor is

If you notice that you have lost one of the cursors, this function might be useful. It brings the lost cursor to the cell on which another cursor is.

To make the blue cursor jump to the cell on which the green cursor is, press >.

To make the green cursor jump to the cell on which the blue cursor is, press <.

5.4. Jumping to the original cell from a clone

If you are on a cloned cell (the colour of which is dark yellow) and want to find out were the original cell (from which the clone was made) is, choose one of the following depending on which cursor you want to move:

1. If the blue cursor is on the clone press o to get to the original.
2. If the green cursor is on the clone, press SHIFT-o to get to the original.

5.5. Jumping to the end of a rank

A rank is one of the terms of the GZigZag language. It simply means a set of cells connected to each other along a dimension. For example, Figure 30 shows an incomplete address book, in which Happy Man and Wall Street form a rank along d.1. Also Hippy Chick and Wall Street form a rank along d.1 as well as the cells connected along d.2 from Lost Boy to Bindings (which cannot be seen on the figure).

To get to the end of a rank, press END and one of the keys indicating a direction. For example, if you would like to move the green cursor from Happy Man to Lost Boy (see Figure 30), you would have to press END and e.

5.6. Changing the places of the cursors

Sometimes you might want to change the places of the cursors.

If you have an American keyboard, press ~ for doing this.

In case you are not using an American keyboard pressing ~ does not work. If you want to use the function, change the keydinging. (See for changing the keybinding.)

5.7. Curseling

6. Modifying the user interface of GZigZag

The current version of GZigZag offers some possibilities for changing the user interface. You can change the key bindings and the way cells (and their contents) look like. The looks of the views can also be modified.

6.1. Changing the keybindings

In addition to modifying the bindings of the basic functions, you can modify the bindings of the Edit window and the bindings used for curseling.

To modify the bindings, go to the 'Bindings' list. You find the list by moving to the positive direction on d.2 from the homecell until you get to Bindings. This cell is connected to Normal mode, Text edit mode and Cursel mode on d.1, which are connected to cells enabling the change on d.2.

Say you want to change the key used for changing the places of the cursors. Instead of ~ you want to use F10. You move on the Normal mode list on d.2 until you find a cell containing '~'. (Figure31.) Just replace ~ with F10. (Figure32.) Pressing F10 should now change the places of the cursors.

6.2. Changing the looks of cells and their contents (Cell views)

A cell view determines what cells and their contents look like.

By using a cell view you can affect

• the font type and size
• the way fonts are displayed
• the background colour of the cells
• the width of the cells
• margins of the cells

As you have learned earlier, you can change a view by pressing a certain key. The same principle works with the cell views. A cell view of the right window can be changed by pressing F2 and the cell view of the left window can be changed by pressing SHIFT-F2.

The current version of GZigZag does not show the name of the active cell view on the window the same way the name of the active view is shown. The cell view that you get after starting an empty space in your GZigZag is shown in Figure32. After pressing F2 once, you get a cell view that can be seen in Figure33.

Naturally, you can modify cell views and create a cell views of your own, e.g. a cell view for a bad rainy day with boring grey background colour and small font size (Figure34) and a cell view for a wonderful lovely day with green background, big font size and huge margins (Figure35).

6.2.1. Modifying a cell view

6.2.1.1. Getting to know the 'Cell Views' list

Before you can start modifying a cell view, you have to find the 'CellViews' list.

You can find the list by moving to the positive direction on d.2 from the homecell until you get to the cell containing the text "CellViews". After this, move one step to the positive direction on d.1. You should now be on the 'CellViews' list, which consists of cells containg the names of the cell views.

If you move on the list, you notice that the current version of GZigZag contains five standard views: "Standard Flob Factory" (which is used when you start GZigZag, see Figure32), "Non-enlarging" (see Figure33), "Black background", "Different font" and "SplitCellFlobs". These standard cell views just demonstrate the different possibilities and can be easily changed.

(If you take a closer look at the list, you notice that some of the cells are coloured orange. The orange colour tells that the coloured views are currently used in the two windows. Since the current version of GZigZag does not show the name of the active cell view in the windows, this is the only way to find out what is the name of the cell view used.)

6.2.1.2. Changing "Standard Flob Factory" to "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory"

Say, you want to modify the "Standard Flob Factory". Firstly, you want to change the name of the view to "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory" ;-). Then, you want to change the background colour of the cells to grey, the font type to 'Serif' and the size of the font to '8'.

6.2.1.2.1. Changing the name

Changing the name of a cell view is quite easy. Just go to the cell containing the text "Standard Flob Factory" and change the text to "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory". (If you don't remember how to edit text in a cell, see 4.2.2.)

6.2.1.2.2. Changing the background colour

The state of art of "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory" after the change of the name can be seen in Figure36.

In Figure36 the blue cursor is on a cell containing the text "rcfact1", which is an identifier cell of the programme. Every cell on the 'CellViews' list is connected to an identifier cell like this on d.1. A user should not try to modify this cell.

Figure36 also shows that the cell following "rcfact1" on d.1 is connected to a cell including the text "bg" on d.2. The "bg" cell, then, is connected to a cell containing the text "0xffffff" on d.1.

The roles of these cell are as follows:

• The cell containing the text "bg" (for 'background colour) holds the name of the thing you can change (which is usually called a 'parameter')
• The cell containing the text "0xffffff" includes the value of the parameter, which in this case is the value of the background colour. If you are familiar with the hexadecimal representation of colours used e.g. in HTML, changing the background colour should be easy. Yet, in GZigZag '#' is replaced by '0x'.

So, to change the background colour from white to grey, pick a shade of grey from a RGB Hex Colour Chart and replace "fffff" with an approriate value.

For example, if you replace "ffffff" with "888888", the result can be seen in Figure37.

6.2.1.2.3. Changing the font type and size

Now you would like to change the font type and size of "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory", but there is a problem. If you look at Figure37, there are no cells for placing the values of font type and size . The problem can be easily solved: just create new cells for the parameter and values. Figure39 shows our example after adding the cells for the font parameter and the values of the type and the size.

The next thing you have to do in order to change the font type and size is to type in the values and the parameter. In the current version of GZigZag, you have to start by typing the values . (Yes, it is rather complicated, but if you type the parameter first, you will get an error. This will be fixed in the future.) So, type "8" (or any other value for the font size) in the tailcell of the newly created rank, "serif " (or any other value for the font type) in the middle cell and the text "font" in the headcell of the rank. The example after these changes can be seen in Figure40.

6.2.1.3. Other possible modifications

The background colour and the font type and size are not the only modifications you can make. This section introduces other possible modifications.

If there are no cells needed for making certain modifications, you have to create the cells (in the manner introduced in 6.2.1.2.3.).

6.2.1.3.1. Changing the margins of the cells

Margins add invisible space inside the border of the cells, which pushes the cell's contents away from the border on all four sides.

The following cells (created respectively along d.1) are needed for modifying margins:

• A cell for "margins"-parameter
• A cell for the value of the top and bottom margins (measured in pixels)
• A cell for the value of the left and right margins (measured in pixels)

Figure41 shows "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory" after adding the cells for the "margins" parameter and the values.

6.2.1.3.2. Changing the width of the cells

You can change the width of the cells using the "widthstr" parameter. (As you have probably noticed, the StrechVanishing is the only view that specifies the width of the cells according to the lenght of the text in each cell. In other views, the cells have the same width.)

The following cells (created respectively along d.1) are needed for modifying the width of the cells:

• A cell for the "widthstr"-parameter
• A cell for the value of the width. (This is not a numerical value. The more text you enter, the broader your cells.)

Figure42 shows "My Grey Winter Day Standard Factory" after adding the cells for the "widthstr" parameter and the values.

6.2.1.3.3. Changing the way fonts are displayed

You can affect the way the fonts are displayed on the screen by using the "enlargefont" parameter.

If the "enlargefont" parameter is "true", GZigZag can use bigger font size than specified in the font parameter to highlight the center cell in certain views. Setting "enlargefont" to false means that the specified font size is used everywhere.

The following cells (created respectively along d.1) are needed when using these parameters:

• A cell for the "enlargefont" parameter
• A cell for the value of the parameter. (The value is either "true" or "false".)

6.2.1.4. Making a cell view of your own

You can also - instead of modifying an existing cell view - make a completely new cell view.

To do this, first create a new cell on the 'CellViews'-list and type the name of the cell view in it. (Figure43 shows a new cell (named after a song of R.E.M) in the 'CellViews' list.) Then continue by creating an identifier cell containing the text "rcfact1" and an empty cell, respectively, to the positive direction along d.1. (Figure44.) After this you can start creating the cells for the parametres on d.2. (Figure45)

6.3. Changing the looks of views

7. More about views

This section introduces some of the views listed in the 'AllViews'-list. As it was mentioned in 4.2.7.7., you have to clone the cells of these views from the 'AllViews'-list to the 'Views'-list in order to use them.

7.1. Views for hierachical structures

VTree, VTree with lines, HTree and HTree with lines are views designed for showing tree structures and other hierarchies. VTree is an abbreviation for 'vertical tree', HTree for 'horizontal tree'. VTree shows the tree vertically, HTree horizontally.

The difference between the VTree and VTree with lines is -as the name indicates - that VTree shows lines between the element of the hierarchy. Naturally, the same applies to the difference between HTree and HTree with lines.

7.1.1. VTree and VTree with lines

Say, you would like to present the organizational chart of the Finnish National Road Administarion using VTree with lines.

(The instructions given here also apply to VTree. The reason for using VTree with lines in this example is that the writer of the instructions just happens to like VTree with lines more.)

First, you create two new dimensions. You could call the dimensions for example d.head1 and d.body1. After doing this rotate d.head1 to the X axis and d.body1 to the Y axis. Then, change the view to VTree with lines. Figure45 shows a GZigZag window after these operations.

The board is the highest organizational unit of the hieararchy, so type 'Board' on the cell. Below the board is the director general. Create a new cell for the director general by pressing 'n' and ',' (when the right cursor in on that cell) and type 'Director General' on the cell. Below the director are two units: the central administration and the headquarters. Create a cell for the the central administration first by pressing n and , (when the right cursor is on that cell). Another subunit to the director general can be created by pressing n and l (when the right cursor is on that cell). Figure46 shows the hierachy after these operations (and typing in the names of the organizational units.)

Thus, when you are using the blue cursor, you can create a subcell for another cell of the hierarchy by pressing n and ,. If a cell has more than one subcells, you can create more subcells from the first subcell by pressing n and l.

Figure47 shows one part of the organizational chart of the Finnish National Road Administration after adding more organizational units.

After creating the organizational chart using the VTree with lines you can view it with VTree (Figure48) and other views. Notice that the organizational chart looks quite different in views which are not designed for hiearchical structures. (Figure49 presents the organizational chart in Vanishing View.)

7.1.2. HTree and HTree with lines

If you want to view a tree made using VTree, all you have to do is to change the two dimensions to different axes.

Thus, to view the previous example using HTree or HTree with lines, you'd have to change d.head1 to the Y axis and d.body1 to the X axis. (Figure50)

In this view you can create a subcell for cell by pressing n and l. If a cell has more than one subcells, you can create more subcells from the first subcell by pressing n and , .

7.2. A view for presentations

If you are planning to give a presentation, you could try doing it with GZigZag. There is a specific view called Presentation view designed especially for this purpose. (If your version of GZigZag does not have a cell for the Presentation view on the 'AllViews' list, make a new cell on the list and type 'Presentation' in it (with out '- marks). After doing this make a new cell to the positive direction from this cell on d.1 and type' Prez.R' in it.)

Presentation view shows the structure of your presentation as a list. Figure51 shows a presentation called 'My Speech'. The most important parts of 'My Speech' are 'Who am I?', 'Why am I?' and 'Where am I?'.

In the example the blue cursor is used to move in the presentation. The regular keys ' i , l , , and j are used for moving the blue cursor. Pressing , moves the blue cursor down on the list (Figure52). When the blue cursor is on 'Who am I?', pressing l takes you the 'Who am I?' part of the presentation (Figure53). When the blue cursor is on 'To be honest, I dunno', pressing l takes you to the 'To be honest, I dunno' part of the presentation (Figure54). You can get back to the previous parts of the presentation by pressing i .

After you have learned how to read a presentation using Presentation view, you might want to take a look at the same structure using another view. Figure55 shows the presentation in Vanishing View. If you want to make a presentation of your own, you should understand the structure of the presentation shown in Figure55. (The writer of this guide thinks that a presentation is actually easier to make using Vanishing View than Presentation view, which is just designed for showing presentations.)

If you look at the Figure55, you notice that title of the presentation ('My Speech') is placed in one cell. The positive end of this cell is connected to an empty cell on d.1. The most important parts of the presentation ('Who am I?', 'Why am I?' and 'Where am I?') are also in their own cells, which are connected to each other on d.2. 'Who am I?', then, is a title of a another part of presentation, which consists of 'Huh?', 'To be honest, I dunno' and 'Yes, it's difficult indeed'. Thus, 'Who am I?' is followed by an empty cell on d.1 and 'Huh?', 'To be honest, I dunno' and 'Yes, it's difficult indeed' are connected to the empty cell on d.2.

Do you understand the structure of a presentation now? ;-) To sum up, a cell contain the title of a presentation (or a title of a certain part of a presentation) is always connected to an empty cell to the positive direction on d.1. The parts of the presentation (or the parts of a certain part of the presentation ;-) are connected to the empty cell to the positive direction on d.2. If you understand that you should be able to make your own presentation with GZigZag.

8. Some applitudes

8.1. Nile

We appriciate people who have time to test Nile and comment on it e.g on the developer's mailing list, but we would like to remind that this tool is NOT yet safe. So don't try writing anything precious with it.

8.1.1. Starting Nile

Before you can start using Nile, you should make some empty cells. You can think of these empty cells e.g. as cells that will rescue you if you get RASTER ERROR while using Nile. :-) (See 8.1.6..) You can for example make two empty cells above the home cell. Leave the blue cursor on one of the cells. (See Figure56.)

After doing this, find the cell including the text 'SplitNileDemo' on the 'Actions'-list using the green cursor. This cell can be found by going to the homecell (press ESC unless you are already on the homecell) and move to the positive direction from the home cell on d.2 until you get to the cell containing the text 'Actions'. When you move one step to the positive direction on d.1 from this cell you'll end up in the Actions list, to which the 'SplitNileDemo'-cell is connected.

Once you have found the right cell, press ENTER. Now you should see the Nile window (Figure57) appearing on the screen. Then move the green cursor (on the GZZ window) on the other new cell you have just created.

8.1.2. Writing a title

Click on the left or the right side of the Nile window depending on which side of the window you want to start writing. Write a title for your text. Figure58 shows the Nile window after clicking on the right side of the window and typing 'Story'.

8.1.3. Writing text

Now that you have written a title, press enter to start writing the actual text. You do not need to capitalize the first letter of the the sentence if you remember to press the SPACEBAR two times after ending the previous sentence. Nevertheless, if the first word of the sentence is a name, you should capitalize the first letter. If you later want to move the name word e.g. in the middle of the sentence, the first letter of the name won't be a capitalized one anymore. To start a new paragraph, press ENTER. Figure59 shows the Nile Window after typing some text.

8.1.4. Moving, activating and arranging text

An example. You would like to change the fourth sentence of the example text so that "a student of communication studies" would appear before "a doctor of psychology".

To achieve this is, you would have to do the following things:

1. Move the insertion cursor (which is currently at the end of the last paragraph) near "a student of communication"
2. Activate "a student of communication studies"
3. Move "a student of communication studies" to the new place

The first part of the task is easy to do with the mouse: just click on the place, where you want the insertion cursor to be moved. (See Figure60, which represents the situation after the move.)

You can also move the insertion cursor by using the arrow keys. Yet, before trying to move the writing cursor with the arrow keys, you should learn to understand the three modes of writing, which help you to move the writing cursor with the arrow keys faster. You can also use the modes for activating parts of text (which is currently done only by using the keyboard) in a more effective way.

The three modes are the character mode, the word mode and the sentence mode. You can change the modes by pressing the TAB key. When you first start using Nile, you are in the character mode. When you press the TAB key, the mode is changed into the word mode. Pressing the TAB key after this, takes you to the sentence mode. If you press the TAB once again, you're back in the character mode.

If you want to activate words, use the word mode. If you want to activate sentences, use the sentence mode. In our example case, the use of the word mode is the best solution, because the phrase "a student of communications studies" consists of many words.

Thus, to activate characters/words/sentences (depending in which mode you are), use the arrow keys. If you want to activate more than one character/word/sentence/, keep the SHIFT key down while activating. Figure61 shows "a student of communication studies" activated by pressing the SHIFT key and the left arrow key five times. After this, you can move the activated phrase by pressing ALT and an arrow key indicating the direction to which you want the text to be moved. In order to move "a student of communication studies" to its intented place you would have to keep the ALT key down and press the left arrow key until you'd see the text in the right place. (Note. In our current example you would also have to move the word "and".)

8.1.5. Making a Transclusion

The writer of our example story now decides to make an improved version of her story. To start another version, she clicks on the right side of the Nile window, writes a new, improved title for the story, a totally new first sentence and a beginning for the second sentence. (See Figure61.) After this, the writer of the new version decides that the first sentence of the first version is usable and wants to make a transclusion.

To make a transclusion the writer activates the sentence in question, clicks with the mouse on the place where she wants the transclusion to be made. In our example case the writer clicks after the ','. The key binding for a transclusion, then, is CTRL+T. Nevertheless, because of a bug, the result is not quite what the writer wanted. As Figure62 demonstrates, the transclusion did not end up in the right place. (The bug WILL be fixed.) So, all the writer can do, is to move the sentence to the right place using the method introduced in 8.1.4.. The text after the move (and another transclusion) is seen in Figure63. The use of colours demonstrates the parts of the texts that are the same. (This is likely to change, because the borderlines of the transclusions are a bit difficult to see.)

8.1.6. What to do if RASTER ERROR occurs

The writer of this document has been testing Nile for a while, but all the bugs are not yet fixed. RASTER ERROR occurs frequently. Figure64 shows the Nile Window after a bug.

To get back where you started from activate one of the GZZ-windows, press ESC and move the green cursor and the blue cursor on the empty cells that you have created for this purpose. (See 8.1.1.) Now you can return to the Nile window. (This works often, NOT always.)

9. Quiting GZigZag

When you've had enough, press q. If you want to continue working with the same space next time, use the same cellscrollfile when starting.

10. List of keybindings

Default bindings for the orthogonal rasters

$Id: keybindings.wml,v 1.4 2001/03/02 07:13:37 ajk Exp $

These are still being discussed and are not yet frozen. Note that there is a panic button: if there is no binding for ESC, it invokes undo.

Text edit mode

Curseling (Cursor selection)

As an intermediate for multiple cursors, there is a key binding mode for "curseling:" cursor selection. In the standard keybindings, Alt-c is used to go into this mode, which by default supports the following key bindings:

Note that you can create four additional cursors through executing the CreateCursors command, found in the action list, by centering the left view on it and hitting Enter.