Lazyread 1.9 README by Ryan Kulla

Description
===========
Lazyread is a program that auto-scrolls files on your screen in movie
credit fashion. You just sit back and read without needing to touch your
keyboard to manually scroll files. There are a few commands you can enter
while the program is running such as changing the scroll speed, viewing
file info, pausing etc. All the commands are listed below and by specifying
the -h option to lazyread on the command line (by typing: lazyread -h)

I originally wrote lazyread because I wanted a way to read long files while
I sat back in my chair and read without needing to touch my keyboard to 
scroll down the pages as I read them. I've since added many features.

Here are some examples of uses for lazyread:

- You want to take notes of what you're reading without having to put down
  your pencil and paper to scroll down the file.

- You want to be able to eat while you're reading without getting food all
  over your keyboard.

- You want to read while laying or sitting too far away from you keyboard to
  reach it.

- You want to be able to read a file while doing some exercises in front
  of your computer.

- You want to practice speed reading. Just set the program at a fast
  speed and see if you can keep up!

- A screen saver..

- You could even use it as a fitness tool by typing random commands in a
  text file, such as 'right punch', 'left front kick', 'right side kick'
  etc. Then run the file through lazyread and everytime you see a command,
  execute it. Make the scroll speed faster and/or add more commands to
  make your training harder!

[Insert your own ideas here :)]


Using lazyread
--------------
Say you want to view your dmesg log and highlight any lines containing 
the string 'ide1'. Just type:

    lazyread /var/log/dmesg -w ide1

Or maybe you want to scroll a file very slowly and in all uppercase letters:

    lazyread /stories/moby_dick.txt -s 5000 -case upper

You can even scroll the output of other programs by piping lazyread:
[NOTE: You won't get full functionality this way though]

    who | lazyread 

If you want full functionality of piped commands its best to not use
piping and instead redirect the commands output to a text file for lazyread 
to read: 

    who > who.txt ; lazyread who.txt -w root 


There's an alternate mode in lazyread that lets you scroll letter by letter
instead of line by line. Just use the -l flag:

   lazyread file.txt -l -s 40 

Lazyread now supports color. Choose from red, blue, bgblue, green, yellow,
and magenta. Just supply "-color <color>" on the lazyread command line.


Some of my favorite commands
===========================

Normal viewing:

    lazyread file.txt -color green -w word -b

Character at a time viewing mode:

    lazyread file.txt -l -color bgblue -case upper -s 100

View URLs:

    lynx -dump http://site.com/page.html > page.txt ; lazyread page.txt

View gzip compressed files:

    gunzip -c foo.gz > foo.txt ; lazyread foo.txt

You get the idea.  Adjust lazyread anyway you like.

Type: 

    lazyread -h

to get a full list of commands.

[NOTE: You have to put the filename before the other command line
arguments unless you use "-f filename"]


Dynamic Options
---------------
While lazyread is running you can use the following option keys:

'q' to quit
'p' to pause
'spacebar' to scroll superfast (hit again to slow back down)
'c' to clear the current screen
'n' to turn off the status bar
'v' to turn the status bar back on
'f' to speed scrolling up in 25 percent increments
's' to slow scrolling speed down in 25 percent increments
'o' to go back to the original scroll speed
'a' to toggle Auto-pausing on/off
'e' to open the file you're scrolling in an external editor. (Uses the 
environment variables $VISUAL then $EDITOR or /bin/vi if none are set)
'i' to view detailed file/program/etc information


Wrapping a text file
--------------------
If you have a file with long lines that you need to word wrap then use the
"wrap" script that is included in the lazyread package. You must have perl
installed to use it, however. To use it just type:

    perl wrap.pl foo.txt

Please note that it will overwrite foo.txt.

BUGS
----
If it crashes and you can't see what you're typing at your terminal 
then blindly type 'reset' or the equivalent to get back to normal.

You can report bugs to the author: 

Ryan Kulla 
ambiod@sbcglobal.net
gt3 on irc.openprojects.net

Author's Home Page: http://www30.brinkster.com/gt3world/myworld.html
Lazyread's Home page: http://seekrut.com/rk/lazyread.html
