Topic Properties

Each farBook topic owns a set of properties, the values of which farVIEW uses to manage the topic. You can examine and edit the properties of any topic by selecting the topic with the RMB, then selecting the Properties menu item. This will display the Properties dialog for the topic, which you can use to change the value of any unshadowed property. For example, you can't edit the Name property, but you can edit the Title  property.

(Out of date) When you create a new farBook, farVIEW uses the property names listed in the [Manifest] section of the farview.ini preferences file as the topic properties for the farBook. When you create a new topic within the farBook, farVIEW uses the property list that it associated with the farBook. You can edit the properties in this list by following this procedure:

1. Select the File/Search menu item.
2. Type *prop$list* in the Search edit window.
3. Click the Ok button, or press the Enter key.
4. Double-click the *prop$list* topic in the Search Results window.
5. Proceed to edit the properties in the text window.
6. When done, save.

farVIEW requires that every topic have at least the first two properties. The value of the Name property is unique to the topic, and it is used to identify the topic and its relatives (children, parents, etc) when you open a topic. farVIEW generates the value for the name property when you create the topic. The value of the Title property is, of course, what you see in the Contents window that you use to identify a topic. You specify the title when you create the topic, and you are free to change the title at any time.

Note that you are free to add additional properties to the list. farVIEW will retain and propagate any properties you add, but their value will be your responsibility. For example, I have found a Note property to be useful, which I use to keep a short note about the topic while leaving the Source property free for its prescribed use.

Let's discuss the remaining optional properties under their own headings.

Source

• File name - farVIEW uses standard Windows mechanisms to execute the program associated with the file name extension, passing the file name as the parameter. If the file name is of the form *.ext - e.g., *.doc - the file name is not passed when the associated program is invoked.
• If the  file name is preceeded by the dollar-sign ($), farVIEW assumes that the file is a plain text  file and displays it in its built-in editor.
• Execute farSlang - If the first character of the Source property is a vertical pipe ( | ), the value is taken as a farSlang reference, and when the topic is opened, the specified farSlang proc will execute. The form of the farSlang reference is |moduleName|procName|parameter, with the procName and parameter fields optional.
• Execute command line - If the first character of the Source parameter value is the "greater-than" sign (>), the remainder of the value is taken as a Windows command line and Windows is called to execute the command.
• HTTP URL - If the first characters of the Source property value are http:// or https://, your default internet browser is invoked, passing the Source property value as the parameter.
• MAIL URL - If the first characters are mailto://, your default mail program is invoked, passing the Source value as the parameter.
  
• FAR URL - If the first six characters are far://, then farVIEW attempts to establish a connection with the remote farVIEW machine identified by the URL and open the topic as the root of the farBook specified in the URL. For example, suppose the URL is far://www.fvtech.com:8000/farview. farVIEW establishes a connection to the farVIEW program running on the computer identified as www.fvtech.com on port 8000, and requests access to the farview farBook on that computer. (Of course, if farVIEW is not running on the specified machine, the connection will never occur.) If the farVIEW host finds your user name acceptable, it accepts your request, allowing you to open and access the contents of the farBook. More information is available here. Security is discussed under a separate heading. (TBD)
• Empty - If the Source property value is empty, farVIEW assumes the content of the topic is in the farBook, itself. If it isn't, farVIEW will create a place for the content. Whatever content farVIEW finds to be associated with an topic is displayed in an edit window, where you can view and edit. You can keep notes, documents, or forms in the farBook. Since the farBook is stored as a single .vue file, you can copy and move the file knowing that all the information you have stored in the file will be included. If you have specified file names in the Source property of one or more topics, you will have to be sure to also copy/move those files if you intend to replicate the farBook.

Note (or Notes)

Form

Class

The Form property is also defaulted by the Class property. This makes it convenient to create collections of topics that inherit their content presentation aspects with a single topic.

First Date

Last Date

Owner

Exposure

The first form uses one of the following three words: Public, Link, Browse, or Private. If the topic has Public exposure, it is available to all users for browsing, linking,  and editing. If it has the Link exposure, users can add children topics but cannot edit the topic. If it has Browse exposure, it is available to all users to browse, but is available only to the owner to link and or edit. If the topic has Private exposure, it is available only to the owner. If there is no owner, i.e., the Owner property is empty, then the topic has Public exposure, regardless of what is specified in the Exposure property.

The second form supports a list of "lock" symbols that require specific "keys" to unlock the topic. By this method, you define keywords that you can associate with each of the three levels of exposure.

For example, suppose you divide your company into the following groups:

    Executive(exe)
    Accounting(acc)
    Marketing(mkt)
    Sales(sal)
    Development(dev)
    Support(sup)

You have topics in your company farBook that should only be Public to your executives and invisible to everyone else. Likewise, you have topics that belong to each group who need to change the content, while restricting access to the remainder of the staff.

Set the Exposure property of the first type of topics to Public(exe). Set the Exposure property of each of the second type of topics according to the following list:
 

This establishes the "locks" you need for your company farBook topics. Now,  you need to establish the "keys" for each user of your company farBook.You do this in the farview.ini preferences file in the section you associate with the company farBook. If the farBook name is widgetsInc, then you add a section to the file that looks like

    [widgetsInc]
    John=exe
    Ted=exe
    Mark=acc
    Sally=acc,mkt
    Jeb=mkt,sal
    Zack=dev

and so on.

Assuming that your staff sign on by their first name, they obtain the key(s) you have assigned them and obtain permissions into the farBook according to how their keys fit the locks. Users who are not listed in a locklist are excluded from access altogether. Note that Sally and Jeb have two keys. In each case, the key with the most permission is used for opening a topic.
 

farVIEW permits the owner of a topic to change the value of the Exposure property. For all other users, the Exposure property is shadowed in the Properties dialog.

Run

SortOn

Font

Wrap

Where

Rect