🚀 go-pugleaf

Addressed to: Nota Bene List <NOTABENE@VM.TAU.AC.IL>
              "Thomas F. Mayer 7462" <himayer@AUGUSTANA.EDU>

** Reply to note from Nota Bene List <NOTABENE@VM.TAU.AC.IL>         Fri, 27 Mar
 1998 15:23:38 CST

> a MDNM command had slipped its final command
> bracket which had instead become a right arrow. All
> the text beyond that point does not come up on
> screen no matter what I've tried. The file on disk is
> just fine (I checked w/ Norton Utilities). Any ideas?

If you have the Norton Utilities, you should have the
Norton sector editor... it displays every byte of every
sector on your disk and allows you to change its
value.  This kind of hex editor effectively operates
only in Overtype mode, which you need to remember
as you plan your strategy.  You have 2 options:

1. Insert the missing >> bracket after the MDNM.  This
will probably overwrite some text character, but you'll
probably be able easily to recognize and replace it
once you have the file loaded into NB.  The problem is
that the missing bracket may not display in the hex
editor anything like it appears in NB, making it hard to
know just what to edit.

2. Replace the MDNM *along with its opening
command bracket* with regular text characters.  This
should be very easy: you can work entirely on the
text side of the split display.... Find the troublesome
MDNM, back up the cursor 1-2 places before the
initial M, then just overtype.... I'd suggest using a
string of $ or @ characters so that you can find them
easily in the repaired file.  At that point you insert the
needed MDNM, delete the placeholder characters, and
make any other needed repairs.

Buena suerte!


  David G. Becker
  Dept. of Government
  Dartmouth College