SEARCH_HISTORY (in Makefile)
Version: 0.01
E-mail: filipg@paranoia.com (best)
fmgst+@pitt.edu (so so)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro:
This patch adds the ability to search for words and phrases in
the History buffer.
Do I
Need
It:
If you use the "SCROLL MODE" (History Buffer) and wish to be able
to search said buffer for words and phrases (case-less search is
supported, but no regexp's!) then this patch is for you.
About
History
Buffer
Search:
The History Buffer is a circular buffer[+] of a preset number of
lines that holds the contents of your previous 'screens'. I want
to point out that this buffer is not a "carbon copy" of
_everything_ that you have had on your screens. In fact, some
programs can 'fool' minicom into not saving even one line of what
was perhaps a dozen screen-fulls of information! (ie. lynx) Still,
even with these problems, and the fact that a 5000 line buffer
(maximum) increases the size of the minicom executable to several
megabytes (!!), the history buffer is _very_ handy. I always wanted
an ability to search this buffer (because 5000 lines is a lot of
info to scan visually!) but could not wait any longer for _someone
else_ to do it... so here we are :-)
Notice:
To begin using this patch, you must ensure that your History Buffer
is enabled in the Options screen. Enter minicom as usual and open
up the Options screen with "C-A O". This will display a menu:
+=====[configuration]======+
| Filenames and paths |
| File transfer protocols |
| Serial port setup |
| Modem and dialing |
| Screen and keyboard |< Select this option
| Save setup as dfl |
| Save setup as.. |
| Exit |
+==========================+
And a new menu will pop up:
+=================[Screen and keyboard]=================+
| |
| A - Command key is : ^A |
| B - Backspace key sends : BS |
| C - Status line is : enabled |
| D - Alarm sound : No |
| E - Foreground Color (menu): YELLOW |
+=| F - Background Color (menu): BLUE |
| | G - Foreground Color (term): CYAN |
| | H - Background Color (term): BLACK |
| | I - Foreground Color (stat): GREEN |
| | J - Background Color (stat): BLACK |
| | K - History Buffer Size : 2000 << << << |<<
| | L - Macros file : .macros |
| | M - Edit Macros |
| | N - Macros enabled : Yes |
+=| |
| Change which setting? (Esc to exit) |
+=======================================================+
The line you want to edit is marked with "<<"'s. Even though
the default in minicom is 250 buffer lines, you may wish to
increase it to something more reasonable. 2000 works for me.
Hit ESC, and move to "Save setup as dfl" in the previous menu
and select to save the current configuration.
Acti-
vation:
I assume that you have an _existing_ and configured version of
minicom on your system. If not, please see the minicom man
page and setup everything _first_!
Unless the "-D_SEARCH_HISTORY" option in the "OPFLAGS" in the
Makefile was defined _before_ the current minicom you have was
built, you will need to re-compile. Apply all the patches you
want, edit the Makefile to active them (it's very simple), and
type "make".
The minicom binary generated from the above compliation, will
have all the necessary code to search the history buffer. If
you do not plan to debug (there are no bugs :-).. you may wish
to "strip minicom" to remove debugging info and make the file
a bit smaller. This is optional.
Note:
You can not search the history buffer until there is something
in it. This means that you will need to connect to some service
or BBS to actually test the searching function as nothing short
that will add any lines to the History Buffer!
Status
Line:
If enabled (I suggest that you do it for a while), the status
line is used to inform you of the allowed key-commands and other
info. The typical status line for minicom looks like this:
CTRL-A Z for help |115200 8N1 | NOR | Minicom 1.75 1996 | VT102 | Online 03:37
When you enter the History Buffer view mode, using "C-A B", this
status line will change to:
HISTORY: U=Up1 D=Down1 F=PgDn B=PgUp s=Srch S=CaseLess N=NextHit ESC=Exit
Where:
Letter Note Function & Notes
====== ==== ===================================================
U Move up one line
D Move down one line
F Move down one page (<SPACE> also works)
B Move up one page
s(or /) [+] Search (from beginning - oldest end - of buffer)
for _exactly_ the pattern you can enter.
Note: if you hear a <BEEP>, nothing was found!
S(or \) [+] Search (from beginning - oldest end - of buffer)
for the pattern you can enter _ignoring case_.
Note: if you hear a <BEEP>, nothing was found!
N Search for _next_ match (ie. continue search first
initiated with either the \ or / command keys).
<ESC> Exit from HISTORY mode back to the terminal session.
Note [+]:
Both search commands will display another status line and enter
the input mode:
SEARCH FOR (ESC=Exit)(nn):
Where you will be able to type in the word(s)/phrase to search
for. The "(nn)" is the maximum number of characters (this can
be changed in ../src/minicom.h as MAX_SEARCH (set to 30 by default))
Note that hitting <ESC> will take you back to the HISTORY mode!
When you accept the entry, the display will be move to the first
occurence of the search term. If none is found, you will just hear
a <BEEP> (tone). Otherwise, the first match will be highlighted
(and advanced to the top of the page)... other matches (if any)
will also be high-lighted. You can now press "n" to advance to the
next hit (if none are found from the current match to the end of
the end of the document, you wee get a <BEEP> AND pressing 'n'
again will wrap you around to the first match!). You can also
use the page up/down and line up/down keys... any matches of
the pattern that are encountered this way will ALSO be high-
lighted.
Hitting <ESC> at any time will dismiss the HISTORY screen and
restore the terminal session. If, for some reason, the screen is
not correctly redrawn, hitting ^R (C-R) will refresh it.
Bugs:
Minicom appears to have some windowing bugs that show themselves
when the screen is not correctly restored when windows are closed.
These bugs seem to occure more often when used with "odd" console
screen sizes (I run 100x37 :-) and now and then I need to refresh
the screen with ^R (C-R) after window-operations. I will track
this down when I have some time... It's been in minicom as long as
I can remember... it just never bothered me enough :-)
Feel free to e-mail me with suggestions and feedback:
E-mail: filipg@paranoia.com (best)
fmgst+@pitt.edu (so so)
WWW: http://www.paranoia.com/~filipg/
http://www.repairfaq.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
// fmg 8/20/97 - Added History Buffer search (very unstable)
Lots of bugs found and squashed... floor got
really slippery for a while... yuck :-)
----------------
// fmg 8/21/97 - Added case and case-less options and fixed 'N' search
Started using this minicom as "production". 3 new bugs
found and squashed.
----------------
// fmg 8/22/97 - Rewrote parts of code, cleaned up variables, #ifdef'ed
everything, and tested make'ing. Added display of
compile options on startup screen. No bugs found.
(sorry, does not mean there aren't any :-)
----------------
// fmg 8/31/97 - Finished up and cleaned up this page :-)