Invokes the CDA Viewer, which has a character-cell interface for
viewing text files and an DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS interface
for viewing compound documents and files containing graphics,
images, and tabular data.
NOTE
The CDA Base Services for DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS
must be installed to use new versions of the CDA Viewer and
CDA Base Services converters.
Specify the input file name and format as shown below. The
default input file format is DDIF (DIGITAL Document Interchange
Format). DDIF is a standard format for the storage and
interchange of compound documents, which can include text,
graphics, and images.
DDIF is the format in which the CDA Viewer displays all input
files. When the CDA Viewer processes a non-DDIF file for display,
it invokes the converter for the input file format you specify.
The input file is converted to DDIF, and the resulting output is
displayed.
The CDA Viewer displays file formats supported by converters
installed with the CDA Base Services for DECwindows Motif
for OpenVMS: text, DDIF, and DTIF. PostScript files are no
longer supported. VSI's CDA Converter Library provides additional
converters that support display of other popular file formats. If
you have the CDA Converter Library Version 2.2 or later installed
on your system, see HELP CDA_Converters for more information.
Format
VIEW [input-file]
1 – Parameter
input_file
Specifies the name of the file to be viewed. If you do not
specify an input file name, you are prompted for one. You
cannot use the asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard
characters in the file specification.
The default input file format is DDIF, and the default file type
is DDIF. Valid input file formats are any of those for which
there is an input converter installed on the system.
2 – Qualifiers
2.1 /FORMAT
/FORMAT=fmt-name
/FORMAT=DDIF (default)
Specifies the format of your input file. The input formats that
you can use with the CDA Viewer depend on the CDA converters
installed on your system. The default input format is DDIF. Input
formats supported by converters installed with the CDA Base
Services for DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS and their default file
extensions are as follows:
Input Format File Extension
DDIF .DDIF
DTIF .DTIF
TEXT .TXT
VSI's CDA Converter Library provides additional converters that
support display of other popular file formats. If you have the
CDA Converter Library Version 2.2 or later installed on your
system, see HELP CDA_Converters for more information, or contact
your system manager for a complete list of input converters
available on your system.
2.2 /HEIGHT
/HEIGHT=nn
Specifies the height of the page in number of characters. If
you specify the /OVERRIDE_FORMAT qualifier, or if the document
being viewed has no inherent format, this page height is used.
On the DECwindows Motif display, the default height is 66 lines,
which is equivalent to the default page height of 11 inches.
On character cell displays, the page height defaults to your
terminal's screen height. However, if you use the /OUTPUT
qualifier, the page height depends on the page height of your
document.
2.3 /INTERFACE
/INTERFACE=DECWINDOWS
/INTERFACE=CHARACTER_CELL (default)
Specifies the type of display you are using.
2.4 /OPTIONS
/OPTIONS=options-filename
Specifies a text file that contains processing options applied
to the input file while it is processed for display. The default
file extension for an options file is .CDA$OPTIONS.
2.5 /OUTPUT
/OUTPUT=output-filename
/NOOUTPUT (default)
Specifies a file that you want to receive the output instead of
having it displayed on the screen. You cannot use this qualifier
when you have specified the /INTERFACE=DECWINDOWS qualifier.
If you specify /OUTPUT but you do not specify a file name, the
CDA Viewer creates a file with the same name as your input
file but with a file type of LIS. If you specify the /OUTPUT
qualifier, you cannot also specify the /PAGE qualifier.
2.6 /OVERRIDE_FORMAT
/OVERRIDE_FORMAT
/NOOVERRIDE_FORMAT (default)
Controls whether the CDA Viewer overrides the format of your
document or uses the formatting information stored in your
document.
2.7 /PAGE
/PAGE
/NOPAGE (default)
On a character cell terminal, this qualifier determines whether
the output display of the CDA Viewer pauses after displaying
each page of your file. If you specify the /PAGE qualifier,
you can page backward and forward, or jump to the top or
bottom of the document. Note that if you specify the /PAGE
qualifier, you cannot specify either the /OUTPUT qualifier or
the /INTERFACE=DECWINDOWS qualifier.
2.8 /WIDTH
/WIDTH=nn
Specifies the number of characters per line. If you specify the
/OVERRIDE_FORMAT qualifier, or if the document being viewed has
no inherent format, this page width is used. On the DECwindows
Motif display, the default width is 85 characters, which is
equivalent to the default page width of 8.5 inches. On character
cell displays, the page width defaults to your terminal's screen
width. However, if you use the /OUTPUT qualifier, the default is
132 columns.
3 – Domain Converter Options
When you view a tabular input file (for example, a DTIF file),
the file format first undergoes an automatic domain conversion
from a table format to the DDIF format. The output is then
displayed on your screen.
To help ensure minimal format and content changes when the
tabular file is processed for display, you can create an options
file containing processing options that apply to any CDA-
supported tabular file format. Data tables and spreadsheets are
examples of tabular file formats.
In the options file, type the DTIF_TO_DDIF format name, followed
by the processing options described here. Specify the DTIF_TO_
DDIF processing options in addition to the processing options for
a particular tabular input file format.
3.1 – COLUMN_TITLE
COLUMN_TITLE displays the column titles as contained in the
column attributes centered at the top of the column.
3.2 – CURRENT_DATE
CURRENT_DATE displays the current date and time in the bottom
left corner of the page. The value is formatted according to the
document's specification for a default date and time.
3.3 – DOCUMENT_DATE
DOCUMENT_DATE displays the document date and time as contained
in the document header in the top left corner of the page. The
value is formatted according to the document's specification for
a default date and time.
3.4 – DOCUMENT_TITLE
DOCUMENT_TITLE displays the document title or titles as contained
in the document header centered at the top of the page, one
string per line.
3.5 – PAGE_NUMBER
PAGE_NUMBER displays the current page number in the top right
corner of the page.
3.6 – PAPER SIZE keyword
PAPER_SIZE specifies the size of the paper to be used when
formatting the file. Valid values for the size argument are as
follows:
Keyword Size
A0 841 x 1189 millimeters (33.13 x 46.85 inches)
A1 594 x 841 millimeters (23.40 x 33.13 inches)
A2 420 x 594 millimeters (16.55 x 23.40 inches)
A3 297 x 420 millimeters (11.70 x 16.55 inches)
A4 210 x 297 millimeters (8.27 x 11.70 inches)
A5 148 x 210 millimeters (5.83 x 8.27 inches)
A 8.5 x 11 inches
B 11 x 17 inches
B4 250 x 353 millimeters (9.84 x 13.90 inches)
B5 176 x 250 millimeters (6.93 x 9.84 inches)
C 17 x 22 inches
C4 229 x 324 millimeters (9.01 x 12.76 inches)
C5 162 x 229 millimeters (6.38 x 9.02 inches)
D 22 x 34 inches
DL 110 x 220 millimeters (4.33 x 8.66 inches)
E 34 x 44 inches
10x13_ENVELOPE 10 x 13 inches
9x12_ENVELOPE 9 x 12 inches
BUSINESS_ENVELOPE 4.13 x 9.5 inches
EXECUTIVE 7.5 x 10 inches
LEDGER 11 x 17 inches
LEGAL 8.5 x 14 inches
LETTER 8.5 x 11 inches
LP 13.7 x 11 inches
VT 8 x 5 inches
The A paper size (8.5 x 11 inches) is the default.
3.7 – PAPER HEIGHT value
PAPER_HEIGHT specifies a paper size other than one of the
predefined values provided. The default paper height is 11
inches.
3.8 – PAPER WIDTH value
PAPER_WIDTH specifies a paper size other than one of the
predefined sizes provided. The default paper width is 8.5
inches.
3.9 – PAPER TOP MARGIN value
PAPER_TOP_MARGIN specifies the width of the margin provided at
the top of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
3.10 – PAPER BOTTOM MARGIN value
PAPER_BOTTOM_MARGIN specifies the width of the margin provided at
the bottom of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
3.11 – PAPER LEFT MARGIN value
PAPER_LEFT_MARGIN specifies the width of the margin provided on
the left-hand side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
3.12 – PAPER RIGHT MARGIN value
PAPER_RIGHT_MARGIN specifies the width of the margin provided on
the right-hand side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
3.13 – PAPER ORIENTATION keyword
PAPER_ORIENTATION specifies the paper orientation to be used in
the output file. The valid values for the orientation argument
are as follows:
Keyword Meaning
PORTRAIT The page is oriented so that the larger dimension
is parallel to the vertical axis.
LANDSCAPE The page is oriented so that the larger dimension
is parallel to the horizontal axis.
The default is PORTRAIT.
4 – Creating the Options File
You can create an options file prior to specifying the VIEW
command with the /OPTIONS qualifier. An options file is a text
file with a default file extension of .CDA$OPTIONS on OpenVMS
systems.
The options file contains all the processing options for your
input file format. Processing options help ensure minimal format
and content changes while the CDA Viewer processes your input
file for display.
An options file is not required. Default processing options are
applied automatically when you convert a file. You may, however,
require settings other than the default.
Enter options in the options file using this format, where format
is the name of the file format to which the option applies and
option is the option:
format option [value] applies an input file of the specified
format
Use uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters, digits (0-9),
dollar signs ($), and underscores (_) to specify the processing
options.
Use one or more spaces or tabs to precede values specified for a
processing option.
The following example is a typical entry in an options file:
DTIF_TO_DDIF PAPER_HEIGHT 11
The value specified for PAPER_HEIGHT is in inches by default.
If the options file includes options that do not apply to
the converter for a particular file format, those options are
ignored.
If you specify an invalid option for an input or output format or
an invalid value for an option, you receive an error message. The
processing options described in the following sections document
any restrictions.
5 – Example
$ VIEW MY_INPUT.DTIF/FORMAT=DTIF/OPTIONS=MY_
OPT.CDA$OPTIONS /NOOUTPUT -
_$ /NOPAGE /INTERFACE=DECWINDOWS /OVERRIDE_
FORMAT /WIDTH=80 /HEIGHT=66
This command invokes the CDA Viewer to view a file named MY_
INPUT.DTIF, which has the DTIF format. The display interface
is DECwindows Motif, and the CDA Viewer will override the
document's default format. The display width will be 80
characters, and the display height will be 66 lines.