Align 1.6 build: 9639 released: 2010-02-03 Align text in columns. Copyright: (c) 2017 Canadian Mind Products. C command line utility. Download from: http://mindprod.com/products3.html#ALIGN ---- Notes: This program can only be used from the command prompt, (or via an command line style icon shortcut) e.g. under Windows command.exe or JPSoft tcmd.exe, formerly called the DOS box. Just clicking the programs in a directory listing will not do anything useful. Just typing the program names at the command prompt will not either. This program requires a manual install! See below. This program works with vanilla text files, (e.g. ASCII files or UTF-8 Unicode files). You will need a text editor to create and view them, not a word processor. e.g. notepad, Visual Slick Edit or other suitable text editor http://mindprod.com/jgloss/editor.html. You must use a monospaced font http://mindprod.com/jgloss/monospacedfonts.html (aka fixed pitch, aka programmer font) to view your files, or they won't look properly aligned. I put out an avalanche of free software into the world, and submit PAD files to hundreds of distribution sites, but I rarely hear back from anyone. What's happening? Does it all just work fine? It is so complicated nobody can figure out how to use it and they give up on it? It is it useful? Since everyone has the source, do people just fix the programs to their liking themselves? Did you have trouble installing? Do I presume you know too much? I would be happy to hear from you about your experiences, positive or negative and your requests for improvements. A one-line email to roedy@mindprod.com would be great. ===> Free <=== Full source included. You may even include the source code, modified or unmodified in free/commercial open source/proprietary programs that you write and distribute. May be used freely for any purpose but military. For more details on this restriction, see http://mindprod.com/contact/nonmil.html If you include any Canadian Mind Products code in your own applications, your app too must be labelled non-military use only. http://mindprod.com/contact/nonmil.html All C source and EXE files code are included. ---- Prerequisites: This program runs under Microsoft Windows from the command line (e.g. Win2K/XP/Vista) ---- Installing on a PC: Download source and executable files to run on your own machine as a standalone utility. To install, extract the zip download with WinZip (or similar unzip utility) into any directory you please, often J:\ -- ticking off the use folder names option. ---- Installing on a MacIntosh: Use Safari to download source and executable files to run on your own machine as a standalone utility. The EXE files will not work. You will have to recompile, perhaps making minor changes to the source code. Safari will automatically unpack the zip into ~/Downloads (version 10.5) [or on the Desktop (version 10.4 and earlier)]. First install a recent Java JDK or JVM. See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/installingjava.html. You may optionally move the download tree to a permanent home. ---- Rebuilding: The zip already contains the necessary exe, so unless you modify the program, there is no need to recompile the source or recompile it. Configure.java basedir="E:/" in rebuild.xml to the drive where your files are and tweak rebuild.xml. Use ANT and rebuild.xml, not build.xml, to rebuild and link. ---- Use: ALIGNaligns data in ASCII text files into neat columns. Also converts comma-delimited files to columns with 2 spaces between each column. Input fields must be separated by commas or white space. Fields may contain spaces if they are enclosed in single or double quotes or C comments /* ... */ or //. The best way to understand this program is to try it on a COPY of any ASCII Text file, especially one that contains badly aligned columns of data. It left justifies the output so it is designed for columns of text, rather than numbers. C source is included. Copyrighted, but may be distributed freely and used for any purpose except military. To use: align.exe somefile.txt Don't use it on Microsoft Word docs, except plain ASCII or RTF. There is a companion program available CSVAlign that is more advanced, supporting comments. http://mindprod.com/products1.html#CSV Align.exe aligns text in columns. It not require commas the way CSVAlign does. ---- Version History: 1.0 1998-09-20 1.1 1998-11-08 embed new address 1.2 2008-01-02 convert to Windows from 8.3 DOS. convert to POSIX convert to safe char handling library 1.3 2008-01-03 correct placement of temp display banner on any error 1.4 2008-04-09 get working on MS Visual Studio 1.5 2009-03-11 bundle with ANT build script 1.6 2010-02-03 rename variables and methods to Java stardards expand maxCols from 40 to 1024 -30-