GTXT and MakeScroll

Revision as of 13:02, 30 August 2024

GTXT (or whatever it's called) is a utility that converts a text file to an executable file that displays the text in a pager. It was developed by Eric Gans. The original version is for CP/M; later a DOS version was released. The executable format is the ".com" format for the relevant platform.

Both versions imply that their name is "GTXT", and their version number is 1.1, but seem to go out of their way to not state it clearly.

There is also a DOS version that names itself MakeScroll. The files it creates are the same as GTXT, except that instead of ending with bytes 00 0a, they just end wth 00.

(The possibility that MakeScroll is not an authorized release should be considered. It's slightly suspicious, but there's no clear evidence either way.)

Identification

DOS: Generated files start with the 189 bytes in the GTXT.000 or MS.DAT file. For example, the text "GTXT1.1 EGans 05/08/86" appears at offset 105.

CP/M: Unconfirmed, but presumably files start with at least some of the bytes in the GTXT.000 file. Text "GTXT1.1 EG06/18/85" appears at offset 107.

Software

• EGUTIL53.LBR - Collection that includes the CP/M GTXT files (1985-06-18?)
• gtxt.zip - GTXT MS-DOS version (1986-05-08?)
• makescr.zip - MakeScroll
• MAKESCR.ZIP - MakeScroll (newer package with some different files)

Sample files

• CONSOL21.ZIP → *.COM
• nickl_11.zip → NICKLOGO.COM
• CONGINFO.ZIP → README.COM