File Operations

Saving Files

You can save an entire document to a named file. Alternatively, you can save just a range of columns or a marked block. You can also save all rows satisfying a condition, enabling you to create a subset of a database or a document. The Save dialogue box enables you to specify the format of the file to be saved.

If you have finished editing a file and you want to save it, the simplest way is to close the window.

If the file has been modified, a prompt will appear asking you whether you want to save the updated file.

Click the Yes button. The Save dialogue box then appears.

Type in the name with which you want the file to be saved. If you originally loaded the file from disc or have previously named the file with the Rename file command, the filename already appears at this point.

To save the file, click the OK button or press Return↵

Another way to save the file is to drag its icon from the Save dialogue box into the directory you want to save it in. Obviously, you need to have the required directory display on the screen. Then drag the file’s icon from the Save dialogue box into the directory display. It will be saved there with the leafname you gave it in the Save dialogue box.

To save a marked block

  1. The block you want to save must be marked before you give the Save command.
  2. When the Save dialogue box appears, type in the name of the file if necessary.
  3. Click Select on the Save only marked block option.

To save a selection of rows

  1. Give the Save command.
  2. When the Save dialogue box appears, type in the name of the file if necessary.
  3. Click Select on the Save selection of rows option.
  4. Type in the condition you want to apply.

The condition you type in will be evaluated before each row is saved. Only if the result is true will the row be saved. The condition will normally contain ranges. These references are updated one row for each new line.

Example:

If you type B1B100>600 as the condition, all rows up to row 100 where the second column evaluates to a number greater than 600 will be saved.

You can include text strings in the condition, but they must be placed within double quotation marks.

Example:
A1A100>"Fred"

will save all rows up to row 100 lying alphabetically after Fred.

A string can contain the wildcards ^? (any single character) and ^# (any multiple character). All string comparisons treat lower-case and upper-case letters as matching.

You can save rows which satisfy more than one condition by using the & (AND) operator and rows which match one of several conditions by using the | (OR) operator.

To save a document in different formats

The format of the file you loaded will appear as the default setting. Click on the format you want.

Loading Files

You can load an entire document into the computer. You can also add to a document already in memory. You can load part of a document by specifying a range of row numbers that you want to load; this enables you to load a file in sections that would be too large to load in one piece. Plain text from another program can be loaded into PipeDream; fields separated by TAB characters will automatically be put into separate columns on the document. PipeDream automatically recognises the format of files and loads them in the correct format.

To load a PipeDream document

The simplest way to load a PipeDream document is to get the directory display containing the file on the screen and double-click Select on the file’s icon.

To load another file format

If the file is not a PipeDream file, drag the file’s icon from the directory display onto the PipeDream icon on the icon bar.

Loading a file on start-up

If you are not already running PipeDream, double-clicking on a PipeDream file’s icon will start up PipeDream and load the file.

To insert one file into another

Position the caret at the point in one document (file-a) where you want the other file (file-b) to be inserted. Drag file-b’s icon into file-a’s window. The merged file will take file-a’s column structure and settings.

To load part of a document

  1. Give the Load command. You will see the Load dialogue box.
  2. Type in the name of the file of which you want to load part.
  3. Click Select on the Load only range of rows option.
  4. Type in the first and last rows of the range.

To load a file in different formats

Select the required format option in the Load dialogue box.

Auto is the default format. If you do not change this, PipeDream looks at the start of the file to decide what type of file it is and loads it assuming that format. It is possible, albeit rare, for PipeDream to make the wrong choice for unusual files. If this happens, reload the file but this time specify the type explicitly. To do this, bring up the Load dialogue box from the Files menu. This will have remembered the name of the file last loaded. Select the desired file format and then click the OK button or press Return↵. When PipeDream has loaded a file in a particular format, it sets the default format in the Save dialogue box to match, so that when you save the file again, it will be replaced in its original format.

If the file was a ViewSheet file, PipeDream will set the file type in the Save dialogue box to PipeDream because it cannot save ViewSheet files.

Renaming Files

To name or rename the file in memory, give the Rename File command:

Menu Command Cmd-sequence Key
Files Rename file FC

The name you specify appears on the window’s title bar and in the Save dialogue box when you save the file.

For information on See
Using file templates Template Files
Different formats ASCII and Paragraph File Formats
CSV File Format
First Word Plus File Format
PipeDream File Format
VIEW Transfer
ViewSheet Transfer
Z88 Transfer