Reference: Thot V2.1a

Date: May 7, 1997

The Thot User's Manual

WARNING

This document describes the operation of the Thot editor and its associated tools. The software is distributed in different packages; some packages do not contain all tools described in this manual. Thus the reader should take into account only the relevant parts of the manual:

1. Thot editor only: ignore section 24, the references to that section and to the manual The Languages of Thot.
2. Thot editor with compilers: read the full document and the manual The Languages of Thot.
3. Application development tool kit: read the four manuals presented below.

Thot is a system designed to produce structured documents. It allows the user to create, to modify and to consult interactively documents that comply with models. These models permit the production of homogeneous documents. Formatting and typography are handled by the system: the user can then focus on the organization and on the contents of documents. Thot performs other operations for the user such as numbering, updating cross references, building index tables, etc.

Thot is an integrated and extensible system. It allows to process with the same tool and within the same document not only structured text but also graphics, complex tables, mathematical formulae, etc. This is not an exhaustive list: users can add other types of information by specifying the appropriate models.

Thot is an open system. It is able to exchange documents with other systems through a flexible exporting tool. It can also be included in other applications through its programming interface and its external call facility.

Manuals available with Thot

This manual is part of a set of four manuals delivered with the editing and application development software. The other manuals are:

• The manual of languages which allow the user to create new document models and to export documents to other systems: The Languages of Thot.
• The programming manual of the tool kit: The Thot Editing Tool Kit.
• The programming manual of the external call facility: The Thot External Call Facility.

Structure of this manual

This manual presents the way in which the system can be used. It contains information needed by users to produce documents with the Thot editor:

• Sections 1and 2 provide some general information on the editor.
• Sections 3 to 6 present the basic commands for editing text, structured elements, references and attributes.
• Section 7 describes the commands for creating, opening and saving documents.
• Sections 8 to 10 deal with document presentation and display.
• Section 11 presents the printing command.
• Sections 12 to 20 explain how to edit different types of documents and complex objects: pictures, graphics, tables, formulae.
• Sections 21 and 22 deal with the tools used for correcting spelling and building index tables.
• Section 23 explains how to parameterize the editor.
• Section 24 shows how to create new types of documents thanks to specialized languages and compilers.
• Sections 25 and 26 give some advice for troubleshooting.

Conventions and notations

In this document, the messages produced by the editor as well as the names of commands, menu and form entries are enclosed ``In quotation marks with a capital first letter''. Names specific to objects (element types, attributes) or to applications are printed in the Courier typeface. The Thot installation directory path is called THOTDIR.

[Section 1] [Table of contents]