ansicon/readme.txt

				    ANSICON

			 Copyright 2005-2014 Jason Hood

			    Version 1.70.  Freeware


Description
===========

    ANSICON provides ANSI escape sequences for Windows console programs.  It
    provides much the same functionality as 'ANSI.SYS' does for MS-DOS.


Requirements
============

    32-bit: Windows 2000 Professional and later (it won't work with NT or 9X).
    64-bit: AMD64 (IA64 could work with a little modification).


Installation
============

    Add "x86" (if your OS is 32-bit) or "x64" (if 64-bit) to your PATH, or copy
    the relevant files to a directory already on the PATH.  Alternatively, use
    option '-i' (or '-I', if permitted) to install it permanently, by adding an
    entry to CMD.EXE's AutoRun registry value (current user or local machine,
    respectively).

    Uninstall simply involves closing any programs that are currently using it;
    running with '-u' (and/or '-U') to remove it from AutoRun; removing the
    directory from PATH; and deleting the files.  No other changes are made
    (although you may have also created environment variables).

Upgrading
---------

    Delete ANSI.dll, it has been replaced with ANSI32.dll.
    Delete ANSI-LLA.exe and ANSI-LLW.exe, they are no longer used.
    Uninstall a pre-1.50 version and reinstall with this version.


Usage
=====

    Options (case sensitive):

	-l	Log to "%TEMP%\ansicon.log".

	-p	Enable the parent process (i.e. the command shell used to run
		ANSICON) to recognise escapes.

	-m	Set the current (and default) attribute to grey on black
		("monochrome"), or the attribute following the 'm' (please
		use 'COLOR /?' for attribute values).

	-e	Echo the command line - a space or tab after the 'e' is
		ignored, the remainder is displayed verbatim.

	-E	As above, but no newline is added.

	-t	Display ("type") each file (or standard input if none or the
		name is "-") as though they are a single file.

	-T	Display "==> FILE NAME <==", a blank line (or an error
		message), the file and another blank line.

    Running ANSICON with no arguments will start a new instance of the command
    processor (the program defined by the 'ComSpec' environment variable, typ-
    ically 'CMD.EXE'), or display standard input if it is redirected.  Any arg-
    ument will be treated as a program and its arguments.
    
    E.g.: 'ansicon -m30 -t file.ans' will display "file.ans" using black on
    cyan as the default color.

    The attribute may start with '-' to permanently reverse the foreground and
    background colors (but not when using '-p').  E.g.: 'ansicon -m-f0 -t
    file.log' will use reversed black on white as the default (i.e. white on
    black, with foreground sequences changing the background).

    If you experience trouble with certain programs, the log may help in find-
    ing the cause; it can be found at "%TEMP%\ansicon.log".  A number should
    follow the 'l':

	0	No logging
	1	Log process start and end
	2	Above, plus log modules used by the process
	3	Above, plus log functions that are hooked
	4	Log console output (add to any of the above)
	8	Append to the existing file (add to any of the above)
       16	Log all imported modules (add to any of the above)

    The log option will not work with '-p'; set the environment variable
    ANSICON_LOG (to the number) instead.  The variable is only read once when a
    process is started; changing it won't affect running processes.  If you
    identify a program or module that causes problems, add it to the
    ANSICON_EXC environment variable (see ANSICON_API below; add the extension
    to exclude a single module).  Be aware that excluding a program will also
    exclude any programs it creates (alghough excluding "program.exe" may still
    hook created programs run through its DLLs).

    E.g.: 'ansicon -l5' will start a new command processor, logging every pro-
    cess it starts along with their output.

    Once installed, the ANSICON environment variable will be created.  This
    variable is of the form "WxH (wxh)", where 'W' & 'H' are the width and
    height of the buffer and 'w' & 'h' are the width and height of the window.
    The variable is updated whenever a program reads it directly (i.e. as an
    individual request, not as part of the entire environment block).  For
    example, 'set an' will not update it, but 'echo %ansicon%' will.  Also
    created is ANSICON_VER, which contains the version without the point (1.50
    becomes "150").  This variable does not exist as part of the environment
    block ('set an' will not show it).

    If installed, GUI programs will not be hooked.  Either start the program
    directly with 'ansicon', or add it to the ANSICON_GUI variable (see
    ANSICON_API below).

    Using 'ansicon' after install will always start with the default attrib-
    utes, restoring the originals on exit; all other programs will use the cur-
    rent attributes.  The shift state is always reset for a new process.

    The Windows API WriteFile and WriteConsoleA functions will set the number
    of characters written, not the number of bytes.  When using a multibyte
    character set, this results in a smaller number (since multiple bytes are
    used to represent a single character).  Some programs recognise this as a
    reduced write and will inadvertently repeat previous characters.  If you
    discover such a program, use the ANSICON_API environment variable to record
    it and override the API, returning the original byte count.  Ruby (prior to
    1.9.3) is an example of such a program, so use 'set ANSICON_API=ruby' to
    avoid the repitition.  The full syntax is:

	ANSICON_API=[!]program;program;program...

    PROGRAM is the name of the program, with no path and extension.  The lead-
    ing exclamation inverts the usage, meaning the API will always be over-
    ridden, unless the program is in the list.	The variable can be made perm-
    anent by going to System Properties, selecting the Advanced tab (with Vista
    onwards, this can be done by running "SystemPropertiesAdvanced") and click-
    ing Environment Variables.


Sequences Recognised
====================

    The following escape sequences are recognised.

	\e]0;titleBEL		xterm: Set window's title (and icon, ignored)
	\e]2;titleBEL		xterm: Set window's title
	\e[21t			xterm: Report window's title
	\e[s			ANSI.SYS: Save Cursor Position
	\e[u			ANSI.SYS: Restore Cursor Position
	\e[#G		CHA	Cursor Character Absolute
	\e[#E		CNL	Cursor Next Line
	\e[#F		CPL	Cursor Preceding Line
	\e[#D		CUB	Cursor Left
	\e[#B		CUD	Cursor Down
	\e[#C		CUF	Cursor Right
	\e[#;#H 	CUP	Cursor Position
	\e[#A		CUU	Cursor Up
	\e[#P		DCH	Delete Character
	\e[?25h 	DECTCEM DEC Text Cursor Enable Mode (show cursor)
	\e[?25l 	DECTCEM DEC Text Cursor Enable Mode (hide cursor)
	\e[#M		DL	Delete Line
	\e[#n		DSR	Device Status Report
	\e[#X		ECH	Erase Character
	\e[#J		ED	Erase In Page
	\e[#K		EL	Erase In Line
	\e[#`		HPA	Character Position Absolute
	\e[#j		HPB	Character Position Backward
	\e[#a		HPR	Character Position Forward
	\e[#;#f 	HVP	Character And Line Position
	\e[#@		ICH	Insert Character
	\e[#L		IL	Insert Line
	SI		LS0	Locking-shift Zero (see below)
	SO		LS1	Locking-shift One
	\e[#;#;#m	SGR	Select Graphic Rendition
	\e[#d		VPA	Line Position Absolute
	\e[#k		VPB	Line Position Backward
	\e[#e		VPR	Line Position Forward

    '\e' represents the escape character (ASCII 27); '#' represents a decimal
    number (optional, in most cases defaulting to 1); BEL, SO and SI are ASCII
    7, 14 and 15.  Regarding SGR: bold will set the foreground intensity; blink
    and underline will set the background intensity; conceal uses background as
    foreground.  See "sequences.txt" for a more complete description.

    I make a distinction between '\e[m' and '\e[0;...m'.  Both will restore the
    original foreground/background colors (and so '0' should be the first para-
    meter); the former will also restore the original bold and underline attri-
    butes, whilst the latter will explicitly reset them.  The environment var-
    iable ANSICON_DEF can be used to change the default colors (same value as
    '-m'; setting the variable does not change the current colors).

    The first time a program clears the screen ('\e[2J') will actually scroll
    in a new window (assuming the buffer is bigger than the window, of course).
    Subsequent clears will then blank the window.  However, if the window has
    scrolled, or the cursor is on the last line of the buffer, it will again
    scroll in a new window.


Sequences Ignored
=================

    The following escape sequences are explicitly ignored.

	\e(?		Designate G0 character set ('?' is any character).
	\e)?		Designate G1 character set ('?' is any character).
	\e[?... 	Private sequence
	\e[>... 	Private sequence

    The G0 character set is always ASCII; the G1 character set is always the
    DEC Special Graphics Character Set.


DEC Special Graphics Character Set
==================================

    This is my interpretation of the set, as shown by
    http://vt100.net/docs/vt220-rm/table2-4.html.


	Char	Unicode Code Point & Name
	----	-------------------------
	_	U+00A0	No-Break Space (blank)
	`	U+2666	Black Diamond Suit
	a	U+2592	Medium Shade
	b	U+2409	Symbol For Horizontal Tabulation
	c	U+240C	Symbol For Form Feed
	d	U+240D	Symbol For Carriage Return
	e	U+240A	Symbol For Line Feed
	f	U+00B0	Degree Sign
	g	U+00B1	Plus-Minus Sign
	h	U+2424	Symbol For Newline
	i	U+240B	Symbol For Vertical Tabulation
	j	U+2518	Box Drawings Light Up And Left
	k	U+2510	Box Drawings Light Down And Left
	l	U+250C	Box Drawings Light Down And Right
	m	U+2514	Box Drawings Light Up And Right
	n	U+253C	Box Drawings Light Vertical And Horizontal
	o	U+00AF	Macron (SCAN 1)
	p	U+25AC	Black Rectangle (SCAN 3)
	q	U+2500	Box Drawings Light Horizontal (SCAN 5)
	r	U+005F	Low Line (SCAN 7)
	s	U+005F	Low Line (SCAN 9)
	t	U+251C	Box Drawings Light Vertical And Right
	u	U+2524	Box Drawings Light Vertical And Left
	v	U+2534	Box Drawings Light Up And Horizontal
	w	U+252C	Box Drawings Light Down And Horizontal
	x	U+2502	Box Drawings Light Vertical
	y	U+2264	Less-Than Or Equal To
	z	U+2265	Greater-Than Or Equal To
	{	U+03C0	Greek Small Letter Pi
	|	U+2260	Not Equal To
	}	U+00A3	Pound Sign
	~	U+00B7	Middle Dot

    G1.txt is a Unicode file to view the glyphs "externally".  G1.bat is a
    batch file (using 'x86\ansicon') to show the glyphs in the console.  The
    characters will appear as they should using Lucida (other than the Sym-
    bols), but code page will influence them when using a raster font (but of
    particular interest, 437 and 850 both show the Box Drawings).


Limitations
===========

    Line sequences use the window; column sequences use the buffer.

    There's a conflict with NVIDIA's drivers, requiring the setting of the
    Environment Variable:

	ANSICON_EXC=nvd3d9wrap.dll;nvd3d9wrapx.dll

    An application using multiple screen buffers will not have separate
    attributes in each buffer.


Version History
===============

    Legend: + added, - bug-fixed, * changed.

    1.70 - 20 February, 2014:
    - don't hook again if using LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx;
    - update the LoadLibraryEx flags that shouldn't hook;
    - restore original attributes on detach (for LoadLibrary/FreeLibrary usage);
    - ansicon.exe will start with ANSICON_DEF (if defined and -m not used);
    - an installed ansicon.exe will restore current (not default) attributes;
    - attributes and saved position are local to each console window;
    - improved recognition of unsupported sequences;
    - restore cursor to bounds, if size reduced;
    * inject into a created process by modifying the import descriptor table
      (-p will use CreateRemoteThread);
    * log: remove the quotes around the CreateProcess command line;
	   add an underscore in 64-bit addresses to distinguish 8-digit groups;
    * ANSICON_EXC can exclude entire programs;
    * switch G1 blank from space (U+0020) to No-Break Space (U+00A0);
    * use window height, not buffer.

    1.66 - 20 September, 2013:
    - fix 32-bit process trying to detect 64-bit process.

    1.65 - 4 September, 2013:
    - fix finding 32-bit LoadLibraryW address from 64-bit;
    - fix \e[K (was using window, not buffer).

    1.64 - 2 August, 2013:
    - improved detection of console output.

    1.63 - 25 July, 2013:
    - don't write the reset sequence (when it's already installed) if output is
      redirected.

    1.62 - 18 July, 2013:
    - indicate if opening HKLM failed;
    * removed ANSI-LLW.exe again, properly this time;
    * add the architecture (32- or 64-bit) to the log.

    1.61 - 14 February, 2013:
    * revert back to using ANSI-LLW.exe, as the new method was unreliable.

    1.60 - 24 November, 2012:
    * new method to get the 32-bit LoadLibraryW address from 64-bit code.
      This removes the need for ANSI-LLW.exe, which caused lots of virus
      warnings, for some reason.
    - set the code page to display some file names properly;
    + expand wildcards for -t (ignoring directories and hidden/binary files).

    1.53 - 12 June, 2012:
    - fix for multiple simultaneous process creation (e.g. "cl /MP ...").

    1.52 - 2 June, 2012:
    + 32-bit processes can inject into 64-bit processes;
    + implemented \e[39m & \e[49m (set default foreground/background color);
    + added \e[#X, \e[#`, \e[#a, \e[#d, \e[#e, \[e#j and \e[#k;
    * changed sequence descriptions to those in ECMA-48, ordered by acronym.

    1.51 - 24 February, 2012:
    - fixed installing into a piped/redirected CMD.EXE;
    - fixed 32-bit process trying to identify a 64-bit process;
    - ignore version within core API DLL names (now Win8 works);
    + hook _lwrite & _hwrite (now Silverfrost FTN95 v6.20 works).

    1.50 - 14 December, 2011:
    - -u does not imply -p;
    - return the program's exit code;
    - -p by itself will not restore original color;
    - output error messages to stderr;
    * logging is always available, with various levels; include the pid;
    * don't automatically hook GUI programs, use 'ansicon' or ANSICON_GUI;
    * always place first in AutoRun; don't run if already installed;
    + global reverse video capability;
    + added ANSICON_VER to provide version/install test;
    + added ANSICON_EXC to exclude selected modules;
    + added ANSICON_DEF to explicitly set the default SGM.

    1.40 - 1 March, 2011:
    - hook GetProcAddress (now PowerShell works);
    + add SO/SI, using the DEC Special Graphics Character Set for G1;
    + add DECTCEM to show/hide the cursor.

    1.32 - 22 December, 2010:
    - fixed crash due to NULL lpNumberOfBytesWritten/lpNumberOfCharsWritten;
    - -p will test the parent process for validity;
    * hook into GUI processes;
    + recognise DSR and xterm window title sequences;
    - fixed MinGW32 binaries (LLW was wrong).

    1.31 - 19 November, 2010:
    - fixed multibyte support (no extra junk with UTF-8 files);
    * provide workaround for API byte/character differences;
    * fixed potential problem if install path uses Unicode.

    1.30 - 7 September, 2010:
    + x64 version.

    1.25 - 22 July, 2010:
    - hook LoadLibraryEx (now CScript works);
    - fixed -i when AutoRun existed, but was empty;
    + support for Windows 7;
    + -I (and -U) use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

    1.24 - 7 January, 2010:
    - fix -t and -e when ANSICON was already running;
    + read standard input if redirected with no arguments, if -t has no
      files, or if the name is "-" (which also serves as a workaround for
      programs that don't get hooked, such as CScript).

    1.23 - 11 November, 2009:
    - restore hooked functions when unloading;
    - reverse the "bold" and "underline" settings;
    * conceal characters by making foreground color same as background.

    1.22 - 5 October, 2009:
    - hook LoadLibrary to inject into applications started via association.

    1.21 - 23 September, 2009:
    + -i (and -u) option to add (remove) entry to AutoRun value.

    1.20 - 21 June, 2009:
    * use another injection method;
    + create ANSICON environment variable;
    + -e (and -E) option to echo the command line (without newline);
    + -t (and -T) option to type (display) files (with file name).

    1.15 - 17 May, 2009:
    - fix output corruption for long (over 8192 characters) ANSI strings.

    1.14 - 3 April, 2009:
    - fix the test for an empty import section (eg. XCOPY now works).

    1.13 - 21 & 27 March, 2009:
    * use a new injection method (to work with DEP);
    * use Unicode.

    1.12 - 9 March, 2009:
    - fix processing child programs (generate a relocatable DLL).

    1.11 - 28 February, 2009:
    - fix processing child programs (only use for console executables).

    1.10 - 22 February, 2009:
    - fix output corruption (buffer overflow in MyConsoleWriteW);
    - recognise current screen attributes as current ANSI atrributes;
    - ignore Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Break;
    + process child programs.

    1.01 - 12 March, 2006:
    * \e[m will restore original color, not set grey on black;
    + -m option to set default (and initial) color;
    - restore original color on exit;
    - disable escape processing when console has disabled processed output;
    + \e[5m (blink) is the same as \e[4m (underline);
    - do not conceal control characters (0 to 31).

    1.00 - 23 October, 2005:
    + initial release.


Acknowledgments
===============

    Jean-Louis Morel, for his Perl package Win32::Console::ANSI.  It provided
    the basis of 'ANSI.dll'.

    Sergey Oblomov (hoopoepg), for Console Manager.  It provided the basis of
    'ansicon.exe'.

    Anton Bassov's article "Process-wide API spying - an ultimate hack" in "The
    Code Project".

    Richard Quadling - his persistence in finding bugs has made ANSICON what it
    is today.

    Dmitry Menshikov, Marko Bozikovic and Philippe Villiers, for their assis-
    tance in making the 64-bit version a reality.

    Luis Lavena and the Ruby people for additional improvements.

    Leigh Hebblethwaite for documentation tweaks.

    Vincent Fatica for pointing out \e[K was not right.


Contact
=======

    mailto:jadoxa@yahoo.com.au
    http://ansicon.adoxa.vze.com/
    https://github.com/adoxa/ansicon


Distribution
============

    The original zipfile can be freely distributed, by any means.  However, I
    would like to be informed if it is placed on a CD-ROM (other than an arch-
    ive compilation; permission is granted, I'd just like to know).  Modified
    versions may be distributed, provided it is indicated as such in the ver-
    sion text and a source diff is made available.  In particular, the supplied
    binaries are freely redistributable.  A formal license (zlib) is available
    in LICENSE.txt.


==============================
Jason Hood, 20 February, 2014.