ZASP Utility for ZET 8 version 2

================================

ZASP is an external utility program which sorts and creates HTML

formatted aspects lists for Astroprocessor ZET 8. At present ZET
calls ZASP transparently to create sorted aspects lists (this may
change), so unless you want to know more about ZASP, e.g. because
you have a special requirement, you do not need to read this document.

NEW IN VERSION 2: CSS styles sheet (zasp.css) allows formatting to be

customized.

Usage:
-----

ZASP [ -s0 | -s1 | -s2 ] [-1 | -2] [-a<aspect-types-file>]

[<aspects-file>]

where:

-sN
optional sort key. Currently supported keys are: 0 - by planet,
1 - by orb value, 2 - by aspect name. Omitting this parameter is
equivalent to -s0.

-1
forces single chart type sorting (optional).

-2
forces dual chart type sorting (optional).

-a<aspect-types-file>
optional list of keys for sorting in aspect-name order. This
option is utilized only with the -s2 option.

<aspect-types-file>
optional plain text file of aspects created by ZET 8. If this
option is missing the file [ZET]\Wrk\Aspects.txt is assumed.

Notes:
-----

1. The input file is by default assumed to be "[ZET]\Wrk\Aspects.txt".

Any file (in compatible format) can be sorted by including its
name as the last item in the command line.

2. The output file is by default "[ZET]\Wrk\Aspects.html". If an input

file name was specified, the output file has the same name but with
the extension ".html", and is written to the input file folder.

3. A log file "zasp.log" is written to the [ZET] directory. If ZASP

seems to be misbehaving, examine this file to see if it is finding
the correct input file(s), etc.

4. Version 2 of ZASP uses a simple Cascading Style Sheet specification

for formatting the output HTML document. This is the file "zasp.css".
It should be kept in the same folder as the output from ZASP. You can
 edit this file as desired.

5. The options -1 and -2 are used to force a view on the aspects list.

Astrological aspects may or may not form an ordered pair. In the

case of most dual type (prognostic) charts an aspect A(<p1, p2>)
is an ordered pair, i.e. p1 refers to say a transiting planet
and p2 to a natal planet, and the aspect p1-A-p2 is NOT the same
as p2-A-p1. In other cases (e.g. natal charts) the aspect A(p1, p2)
does not form an ordered pair, and in these cases it is useful to
list all planets in aspect to another, e.g. for "Sun square Mars"
to be handled as an attribute of both Sun and Mars when sorting
by planet name.

As the list of aspects produced by ZET treats all aspects as ordered,

ZASP infers whether the aspects are or are not ordered by examining
the header of the input file, i.e. "Natal - Natal" implies unordered
aspects, and "Natal - Transit" and "Natal - any other chart type"
implies ordered. If it considers them unordered, it generates
duplicates which are reversed. You can use these options to override
this default behavior.

6. When sorting by aspect name, ZASP derives the sort order from ZET orb
table files (in the [ZET]\Aspects folder). When the aspects are inferred
to be unordered (and with the -1 option) the orb table file used is
Natal.asp. If the aspects are inferred as ordered (and with the -2 option)
the file used is Transit.asp. Any aspects not contained in the orb
table files are appended to the end of the aspect names sort order
as established from the orb table file.

You can make ZASP read a custom aspect name order file by including
its name in the -a option. The file name can be absolute or relative.

The format of this file is plain text file, with aspect names in
descending order, one per line, and each line is terminated by a
semi-colon character, e.g.

Conjunction;
Parallel;
Oppoisition
Contraparallel;
:

7. The planet ordered sort utilizes the ZET "planets.txt" file in the
[ZET]\Language\XXX\ folder. Aspecting bodies not mentioned in this
file are appended to the end of this order.

8. Localization. ZASP is localized for Russian and English users, along

the lines of ZET. The UI language is discovered from "zetstart.log",
thus if this file does not exist (very unlikely) ZASP processing may
be incorrect. Other localizations on request.

Independent operation
---------------------

1 Create a shortcut on the Windows Desktop to "zasp.exe" in the

ZET folder.
2 Right-click the shortcut, select Properties.
3 Select the Shortcut tab, click "Change icon". In the Change Icon
dialog, Browse to the ZET folder, select "zasp.ico", and
click "OK".
4 In the Target field, enter the required command line paramters
(inside the quotation characters).
5 In the Shortcut tab, select "Minimized" in the Run listbox.
6 Click "OK" to close the dialogs.
7 To run ZASP, double-click the Desktop shortcut.

History
-------
v1.0 Initial release for Russian and English users of ZET 7.
v2.0 Updated for ZET 8.

Adrian Orlowski
sunzoomsprk@yahoo.co.uk