On 9/5/07, Mark Tapley <mtapley at swri.edu> wrote:
> Also in the "you should know about" category is "Inside Macintosh",
> the Apple manual set for how to write Mac Applications, of which the
> oft-quoted description is "(n > 10) volumes, to understand the
> content of any one of which you have to have already read the other
> (n-1)".
There's a set of those at a downtown bookstore in Madison, WI, but the
individual volumes are priced at more than a few dollars each. I
don't know the exact total, but I would suspect that you'd need to
show up with between $80-$120 to walk away with the 8-10 volumes.
They are moving soon, so perhaps they'd bargain...
-ethan
On 9/5/07, Mark Tapley <mtapley at swri.edu> wrote:
> All,
> spotted in the San Antonio Goodwill Computerworks:
>
> A Mac 512k, but with a minor difference. On the back side,
> above where the power switch normally is and far away from the rest
> of the connectors, is a 25-pin D connector reminscent of the Mac
> "SCSI" connectors on Mac Plus and other machines. I did not
> disassemble or power up the machine (no KB or Mouse in evidence), so
> I don't know what it is.
Could be SCSI.
I have one myself - it was one of the 512K Macs my mother used in the
mid 1980s for her typing and typesetting shop. I upgraded that one to
a 512Ke (double-sided floppies and replacement ROMs), then installed a
"Dove Snap" 512K and SCSI expansion. You removed the 512K mobo, then
positioned the Dove Snap over the right part of the mobo, then pressed
down with a *large* amount of force to "snap" the expansion board
connectors right over the legs of chips on the mobo. Think of a bunch
of 5mm-tall Gompers Clips and you aren't too far off. I don't recall
what pins were tapped, but it was certainly all the necessary signals
>from the memory field to refresh another 512K. There must have been
some unused memory select on a 74LS138 or something to enable the new
memory, and probably the 5380 SCSI chip. The connector for this one
was on the back of the battery door - you removed the factory battery
door, threaded a 24-pin cable through the back of the battery
compartment, then plugged it into the Dove Snap before reassembling
the case.
In effect, the Dove Snap turned her 512Ke into a Mac Plus, with DE9
serial/printer connectors. She was using Farallon PhoneNet, with a
networked Apple LaserWriter, so the lack of DIN serial/network didn't
matter.
This was all in the 1985-1989 timeframe - I was happy to be her
in-house Mac hardware dude, especially since it meant that I had a key
and could work on papers after hours with, in effect, a personal laser
printer. If you think back to those days, that was a nice perk. (We
also used to go over and play NetTrek on her collection of 512Kes and
Pluses and SEs, but the laser printer was what really did it for me).
> Don't know whether they'll pak/n/ship. They were asking $5
> for the machine.
If you don't already have a 512K machine, that certainly sounds cheap.
Keyboards and mice shouldn't be hard to find.
> Forgotten what the correct designation for those D-connectors
> is, and wanted to get this out fast in case anyone wants it.
Mac SCSI is a DB25F - it's one of those times when it _really_ is a DB
connector.
-ethan
At 9:48 -0500 9/5/07, Trag wrote:
> Later, they based
>their examples on Codewarrior, but Codewarrior arose around the time of
>the PPC era, so Think C is probably the better choice. I'm pretty sure
>that early Codewarrior included the ability to compile for 68000, but I'm
>not certain and if you're developing on the IIfx, Codewarrior might be a
>bit cycle hungry.
I can pretty much confirm this. CodeWarrior is a thing of beauty, but
it's a thing of beauty with a substantial disk footprint. 411 MB for
a full install, literally thousands of files.
It seems fast on my PB3400, but I don't think that much speaks to its
usability on a IIfx.
Turbo Pascal rocks on the Mac Plus, FWIW; I'd expect Turbo C to be
roughly as good but don't know from experience.
MPW (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop?) hasn't been mentioned yet;
that was the Apple-supported environment, but rarely held up as a
standard of usability.
http://developer.apple.com/tools/mpw-tools/
Also in the "you should know about" category is "Inside Macintosh",
the Apple manual set for how to write Mac Applications, of which the
oft-quoted description is "(n > 10) volumes, to understand the
content of any one of which you have to have already read the other
(n-1)".
I think at least some of the content is available at
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos8/mac8.html
Good luck!
--
- Mark, 210-379-4635
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Large Asteroids headed toward planets
inhabited by beings that don't have
technology adequate to stop them:
Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.
> Message: 16
> Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:36:41 -0700
> From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at msu.edu>
> Subject: 68k Mac development environments
> I'm looking to do a bit of (simple) development targeting a 68k Mac (or
> two, or three, or six...) and since I've never done any programming on a
> Mac before I'm curious if anyone out there has any recommendations for a
> development environment to use or to avoid. I'd prefer C/C++, but I'm
> flexible :). I'd like to be able to run my code on a Mac Classic/SE (so
> I need to be able to compile to 68000 code) but I'll be doing the
> development itself on a IIfx.
>
You might look around for a copy of Think C 5.x by Symantec (It's on 4
floppies). It had a great reputation in its day and some of the learning
books used examples which were based on Think C's IDE. Later, they based
their examples on Codewarrior, but Codewarrior arose around the time of
the PPC era, so Think C is probably the better choice. I'm pretty sure
that early Codewarrior included the ability to compile for 68000, but I'm
not certain and if you're developing on the IIfx, Codewarrior might be a
bit cycle hungry.
Jeff Walther
Well trust me to forget Mentec. They have gone very quiet.
I doubt they have made (or have had made) any processor boards in a
while.
Pity ... But there it is..
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of David Cantrell
Sent: 05 September 2007 12:02
To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only
Subject: Re: British Computers
On Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 01:57:12PM +0100, Peter Coghlan wrote:
> Several multinationals had or have a presence in Ireland ...
>
> Many of these built computers or peripherals here for the European
market.
> However, it is pretty much the same as equipment thats found
> everywhere else in the world. I am not aware of anything that could be
> regarded as being uniquely Irish in the same way that for example
> Acorn kit could be regarded as being British.
I'd be inclined to count the Mentec PDP-11s, even though they didn't
create them to start with.
--
David Cantrell | Godless Liberal Elitist
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life
-- Samuel Johnson
Chris M asks:
> if it's practical to get to Boston from NYC by train?
The northeast corridor is the best train service in the US between Boston/NYC/
Washington downtowns and a number of the suburbs.
> Amtrak is just to expensive (~120$ round trip).
Having to go up and down between downtown Washington and NYC
for work, Amtrak is way too convenient compared to airline travel. There's
no friggin way I'm ever gonna sit on a runway at LaGuardia for hours again.
For getting between NYC/Boston/Washington very very cheaply, google
up "chinatown bus". Most make some stops in the Bronx, the burbs, etc.
The bus stops are frequently just people sitting on their luggage in the
streets, and the operations may seem a little shady, but a lot of people
on a budget go this way.
Tim.
Now for something a bit more serious. I have been building up my
collection of DEC equipment. The vast majority of it works at least to a
level where it passes the diagnostics.
DEC equipment was always well built. The OEM market installed DEC
equipment in all kinds of bad environments.
As the equipment is robust you can be fairly heavy on the cleaning side.
The yellowing on VT series cases responds to a Brillo Pad
No, it does not scratch it for the same reason they use wire wool and
turpentine on antique furniture
On LK series keyboards you can remove the key caps put then in a bucket
and zap with a power washer.
No, the letters will not come off they are two part moulded. The letter
is part of the plastic.
Whilst I don't travel much these days. (Broadband means I can get to a
customers system in seconds) I must make an effort to come up to BP.
Rod Smallwood
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Jules Richardson
Sent: 05 September 2007 01:24
To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: British Computers.
Rod Smallwood wrote:
> So I can come along sit down and start knocking out some code then?
> That might cause a crowd to collect. Then something dynamic.
> Line printers thumping away, Paper tape reader on a long loop.
> Tape punch doing a Woody Woodpecker. IBM 029 doing verify.
> Two security guys dragging me out of the building.
> The visitors would love that!!
Heh :-)
Being as hands-on as possible is still one of our primary goals -
although there's always going to be caveats on what's left running, or
what level of supervision any given system has of course, but for the
majority of machines we actively encourage people to sit down and have a
play.
The best will in the world probably isn't going to keep this stuff
operational much beyond a few decades, and I'm not sure if anyone really
knows what's going to happen to the plastics a few more decades beyond
that; whilst we have a duty to store inactive systems for future
generations, it also seems wise to let people extract maximum enjoyment
out of these systems now whilst they still can...
cheers
Jules
DEC Did indeed make systems in Ireland. There where two plants one in
Galway and something else at Clonmel
I went to Galway loads of times. It was a big FA&T operation assembling
11/34's, 11/70's etc. VAX I suppose later. I think Clonmel was a
software duplicating and packing operation for Europe. There was also a
plant at Ayr in Scotland.
The Scottish plant was called Silicon Glen and the Irish one Silicon
Bog.
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Roger Holmes
Sent: 02 September 2007 23:35
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: British Computers
>
>> I was going to ask about Irish machines and see that James got there
>> first; did Ireland ever make any micros?
>
> I thought I read on some faq that DEC had some computers made in
> Ireland.
> I think potatoes not puters when it comes to Ireland
Many an Apple was made in their factory in Cork.
Seriously though.a lecture plus demo of programming (next performance
3:30)
Might enhance things a bit.
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of woodelf
Sent: 04 September 2007 20:46
To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: British Computers.
Rod Smallwood wrote:
> So I can come along sit down and start knocking out some code then?
> That might cause a crowd to collect. Then something dynamic.
> Line printers thumping away, Paper tape reader on a long loop.
> Tape punch doing a Woody Woodpecker. IBM 029 doing verify.
> Two security guys dragging me out of the building.
> The visitors would love that!!
>
> Rod
Well if you have Hard Drives Dancing to music from the *DISCO* panel
lights, I am sure you would have I nice padded cell waiting for you as
well.
Ben Alias Woodelf
PS.With Broadcast Band Valve Radio Blasting away the DISCO music from
the CPU,I guess the security just don't like music. :)
I found this in my ancient documents collection. Thought it might have some
reminiscence value.
WORDSTAR 5.5 PROBLEM REPORTS
Ed Zollars [72235,1234]
Date: June 25, 1989
The following file summarizes some of the possible bug
reports and undocumented features in the WordStar 5.5 editor.
These listings apply to Revision A of WordStar 5.5 and represent
only a summary of those items reported on the WordStar Forum on
Compuserve. If you find any errors in this document, or believe
you have found something else that should be included in this
document, please post a message on the WordStar forum on
Compuserve and I will work it into a new file.
This file only summarizes problems and undocumented features
with the editor itself--I have not attempted to describe possible
problems with the printer drivers.
I have attempted to give credit to the individuals who first
posted the problem or undocumented feature on the WordStar
forum--I apologize to anyone I left off.
This file is meant to serve the same purpose for WordStar
5.5 that the BUGS.WS4 file written by Robert J. Sawyer did for
WordStar 4, and that BUGWS5.COM does for WordStar 5.0.
----------------------------------------------------------------
BUGS AND DOCUMENTATION ERRORS
----------------------------------------------------------------
ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW SHOWS LINE HEIGHT CHANGES TAKING PLACE ONE
LINE HIGHER THAN THEY ACTUALLY DO: (Reported by Kurt
Gebauer)
Problem: Advanced Page preview shows a line height change as
taking place one line before it actually will during
printing. A line height command will actually control the
amount of space after the line following the command--APP
shows it as affecting the line preceding the command.
ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW WILL RESET A HERCULES INCOLOR CARD TO
MONOCHROME MODE: (Reported by Gary Gibson)
Problem: The README file indicates that you set colors for a
Hercules InColor Card by using the PALETTE.COM program prior
to entering WordStar. This will work just fine until the
user enters page preview using ^OP. At that point the card
will be reset to monochrome.
AUTOMATIC LEADING DOES NOT CHANGE LINE HEIGHTS ON THE PROPER
LINE: (Reported by Kurt Gebauer)
Problem: When using automatic leading (.LH AUTO), line height
changes on the line AFTER a font change is made, which is
one line after it should in order to maintain proper
spacing.
Workaround: Trick WS55 by placing a font change on the end of
the line before the line you want to use the new font. That
will cause WordStar to use the proper spacing.
WordStar International reports that this problem will be
corrected in Revision C of the program, to be released at
the beginning of July.
AUTOPATCHING FROM A WORDSTAR 5.0 COPY WITHOUT REMOVING CERTAIN
LABELS CAN CAUSE LOSS OF FILES: (Reported by James
Burton/WordStar International)
Problem: The following is taken directly from a message posted
by James Burton.
CAUTION must be used when creating a patch file in WordStar
5.0 and reading it into WordStar 5.5 with the Auto-Patcher
in WSCHANGE. Some labels from WordStar 5.0 are obsolete and
should be removed from a WordStar 5.0 patch file before it
is read into 5.5; there is a list of these labels in README
Section 20.2.1.
One problem related to this: ^KQ can sometimes delete a file
if WordStar 5.5 has been patched indiscriminately from a
WordStar 5.0 Auto-Patch file.
CURSOR POSITIONING FOR PROMPTS IS ERRATIC IN ROM BIOS MODE:
(Reported by Chuck Christenson)
Problem: The following description of a problem was posted by
Chuck Christenson:
On my HP150 (running in ROM BIOS mode), when a prompt is
displayed onscreen, the cursor is typically positioned
somewhere to the southeast of the field in which the
response is supposed to be typed, and the response character
is displayed onscreen where the cursor is positioned. This
is sometimes cleared up when the screen is refreshed after
the response is entered, and in any case can be cleared up
by using ^\.
CURSOR IS IMPROPERLY POSITIONED ON THE SCREEN FOLLOWING A GLOBAL
REFORM:
Problem: Following a global reform (^QU), the cursor is
positioned at the top left corner of the screen, rather than
at the end of the file. The cursor also refuses to respond
to most positioning commands.
Workaround: Press ^\ after doing a global reform. WSI is aware
of this problem, and has announced that it should be fixed
in the first inline release due at the end of June.
CURSOR SIZING AND OVERWRITE MODE (Reported by Jim Gainsley)
Problem: WordStar 5.5 includes a feature to set the cursor to
differing sizes depending upon whether insert mode is on or
off. Unfortunately, if insert mode is set off as the
default, WordStar 5.5 won't set the cursor to the correct
size upon entry into WordStar. The cursor will also be set
to the incorrect size if you use Advanced Page Preview or
run a DOS command while insert is set off.
Workaround: If the cursor is out of synch, pressing ^V or insert
twice will bring it back into agreement with the state of
the insert mode.
WSEX for WordStar 5.5 (a copyrighted free program available
in Library 4 of the WordStar Forum on Compuserve) will fix
this bug in most situations.
WSI has announced that this bug should be fixed in the
Revison C inline for WordStar 5.5, due out at the end of
June.
DELETING TO THE LEFT OF THE LINE (^Q<DEL>) ON A LINE IMMEDIATELY
BEFORE A PAGE BREAK CAN CAUSE THE LOSS OF THE LINE
IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE PAGE BREAK: (Reported by Roger Mayer)
Problem: Attempting to delete to the left of the cursor on the
line before a page break can result in WS deleting both the
characters to the left of the cursor and the line above the
page break. Also, the page break itself will disappear and
can only be brought back with ^QR/^QP.
Workaround: No real workaround except to remember to hit ^U to
restore the deleted text if this happens to you.
DISPLAY OF ENHANCEMENTS ON THE SCREEN IS IN ERROR WHEN A PRINT
CONTROL IS WRAPPED ONTO COLUMN ONE: (Reported by Daniel A.
Murphy)
Problem: If you are editing a document and a print control code
gets wrapped into the column one (as will happen if the
first word affected by code happens to come at the beginning
of the line), WordStar will display the wrong attributes on
the screen for the code in question. For instance, if the
code is a ^S for underlining, all the text on the screen
that isn't going to be printed with underlines will be
displayed with underling.
Workaround: Hit ^\ when this happens. That causes WS to redraw
the screen. When WS does that, it will "notice" the problem
and correct it.
EDITING A DOCUMENT FILE THAT USES STYLES IN NONDOCUMENT MODE WILL
CAUSE A SYSTEM CRASH:
Problem: If you open a document file in nondocument mode in
WordStar, the program will freeze as you attempt to cursor
past a style setting. WSI has acknowledged this problem and
has announced plans to correct it in the Revision C inline
upgrade for WS5.5, due out at approximately the end of June.
ENTERING A LINE HEIGHT COMMAND IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A CONDITIONAL
PAGE BREAK WILL CAUSE A CRASH: (Reported by James
Burton/WordStar International)
Problem: If you attempt to enter a line height command
immediately before a conditional page break, the program
will crash with a Divide Overflow. Note also that
attempting to edit a line height command immediately
preceding a conditional page break could cause the same
problem.
Workaround: Comment out the conditional page break before
editing the line height command. It is best to move the
line height command way from that position if at all
possible, or to use a style to replace the line height
command. WSI has acknowledged this problem and has
announced plans to correct it in the Revision C inline
upgrade for WS5.5, due out at approximately the end of June.
FOOTNOTE SEPARATOR CANNOT BE SET TO AN UPPER ASCII (> 128) VALUE
IN WSCHANGE. (Reported by Robert Vanatta)
Problem: If you attempt to use a character in the upper ASCII
set (like the line drawing horizontal bar) as your footnote
separator, WS will strip off the high bit and treat the
character as its lower ASCII equivalent.
FINAL PAGE OF A DOCUMENT IS NOT EJECTED IN SOME CASES: (Reported
by Robert H. Herrin)
Problem: If pause between pages is turned on when printing,
WordStar will not eject the last page (at least when using
certain daisy wheel printers).
FUNCTION KEY LABELS DISAPPEAR AFTER SELECTING A PRINTER:
(Reported by Jerry Cudmore)
Problem: When a printer is selected with ^P?, the function key
labels will disappear from the bottom of the screen.
Workaround: Hit ^\ to force a repainting of the screen. The
function key labels will reappear. This problem has been
acknowledged by WSI, and is supposed to be fixed in the
Revision C inline version of WS5.5, due out at the end of
June.
GLOBAL REFORM WILL NOT UPDATE THE SCREEN WHILE RUNNING EVEN IF
THE OPTION IS SET IN WSCHANGE: (Reported by Robert
Vannatta)
Problem: If you turn on the option in WSCHANGE to cause WS to
not suppress the display when doing a global reform (^QU),
the program will not properly show the reform taking place.
While the cursor will move up and down the screen, no text
will be rewritten.
Workaround: None. This problem has been acknowledged by
WordStar International and will be fixed in the Revision C
inline upgrade to WS5.5, which should be released at the
beginning of July.
HIGH BITS ARE BEING STRIPPED OFF FILES WHEN THEY ARE SAVED FROM
NONDOCUMENT MODE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If you load a file that contains "high bit" characters
(ECS characters) that aren't surrounded by the appropriate
WS document mode fence characters (such as a file downloaded
from a BBS), WS will strip off the high bits when it saves
the file. Note that WS has always displayed such characters
as if the high bits were gone, but it used to still save the
high bits unless you explicitly issued a ^QU to clear those
bits.
Workaround: The following patch was posted by James Burton of
WordStar International on the forum to fix this problem:
You reported that nondocument mode was stripping high bits
on saving. I've been provided with a patch for that effect,
to wit:
REN WS.EXE WS
DEBUG WS
-R
(Check the DS register and add 2000 to its value,.ie.,
3237+2000=5237. Let nnnn = the result).
-E nnnn:74B0 <ENTER> (you'll see): .7F . (Enter): FF
-W
-Q
Rename the file back to WS.EXE and you should be fixed.
This problem is also fixed in the current version of WSEX
that is available in Library 4 of the WordStar forum on
Compuserve.
WordStar International has acknowledged this problem, and it
will be fixed in the Revision C inline that will be
available at the beginning of July.
HIJAAK TRANSLATED GRAPHICS FILES SOMETIMES CAN'T BE DISPLAYED BY
PAGE PREVIEW: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: Some Hijaak translated files (some TIFF format files
have been implicated) will not be displayed in APP, and
instead you will receive an improper graphic format
complaint. The graphic will print fine, and you can use
Inset to preview the graphic on the text screen.
ITALICIZING TEXT THAT HAS BEEN BOLDED WITH A STYLE DOES NOT WORK
CONSISTENTLY: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If text has been set to boldface by using a style, you
may not get italicized text if you attempt to set italics
with ^PY.
Workaround: If you encounter this situation, use hard formatting
(^PB) to set boldface rather than using the style. WordStar
International has acknowledged the problem, and this will be
corrected in the Revision C inline upgrade available at the
beginning of July.
LEFT MARGIN SET TO LARGE NUMBER THAT IS WIDER THAN THE RIGHT
MARGIN WILL RESULT IN AN INFINITE RIGHT MARGIN WHEN LEFT
MARGIN IS CORRECTED: (Reported by Mark Peterson)
Problem: If you happen to enter a large left margin value (such
as 150) that is greater than the right margin, WordStar will
reset the right margin to an infinite length. This can
easily happen if you work with insert on and go to the dot
command line to change the left margin. For instance, if
you typed in ".LM 10" as your original right margin command,
then went back to change it to 20, you might place your
cursor on the 1, type a 2 and then delete the 1. When you
do this, you will find your right margin has been reset to
an infinite length.
Workaround: Return to the top of the file (^QR) then return to
your old edit position (^QP). This will force WS to reread
the dot commands and set its margins accordingly.
LINES IN THE MIDDLE OF PARAGRAPHS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A PAGE
BREAK ARE MISALIGNED AT TIMES ON THE SCREEN: (Reported by
Peter Mierau)
Problem: If a paragraph spans a page break and the left margin
is set to a value other than zero, the first line following
the page will be offset approximately twice as much as it
should be to the left on the screen. The printout is not
affected, and Advanced Page Preview shows that the line is
properly aligned. This doesn't always happen when reforming
across a page break, but will eventually appear if you edit
the paragraph.
Workaround: You can force WS to move the line back if you want
the onscreen display to be correct. Turn on soft space
display (^OB) and print control code display (^OD). You
will see two "tabs" to the left of the first character. Go
to the left margin and delete BOTH of them--WS should reform
the line with just one of these characters.
WordStar International has acknowledged this problem and it
should be fixed in the Revision C inline upgrade, to be
available in early July.
LOGGING ONTO A NEW DIRECTORY WHILE EDITING A DOCUMENT FOR THE
FIRST TIME WILL CAUSE THE FILE TO BE SAVED IMPROPERLY:
(Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If the directory is changed with ^KL while editing a
brand new document that has not previously been saved,
exiting the document with ^KD will cause the document to be
saved with the proper filename, but with the temporary file
extension of $B$. That name will flash briefly on the
status line during the save when this problem is
encountered.
The $B$ file will not be visible in a WordStar directory
listing (unless the default exclusion list has been
changed). Attempting to edit this file will cause an
immediate loss of the information in the file.
This problem has also been reported by other users in
slightly different circumstances.
Workaround: If you do create the $B$ file, rename the file and
then edit it as normal in WordStar.
You can protect yourself from deleting the file accidentally
by setting up WordStar through WSCHANGE as if it is being
used on a multiuser system--then when it detects the
presence of the $B$ files, it will refuse to edit the file.
PAGE PREVIEW AT TIMES SHOWS THE WRONG FONT WHEN THIRD PARTY FONTS
ARE ADDED: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: At times, Page Preview will show a number of your third
party fonts which you have generated screen for as the same
font in the preview page.
Workaround: From a message left by Richard Zuris of WordStar
International:
Page Preview gets confused by some fonts and puts in
the wrong font code in FONTID.CTL. The font code is a four-
character hexademinal word that comes at the end of the line
where the font is listed in FONTID. This number is supposed
to be read from the PDF. You can read it from the PDF and
straighten FONTID out yourself.
In PDFEDIT, select Typestyle/font information, choose a
typeface, then hit enter on "Key (# and characteristics)."
This reveals the font code, which can be used in FONTID to
replace the incorrect number the.
The symptom of having wrong font codes in FONTID is
that all of your third-party (i.e., LSRFONTS-generated)
fonts will display in Preview with the style/face of
whatever the LAST font is in the FONTID list.
PARAGRAPH NUMBERING SOMETIMES SHOWS IMPROPER NUMBERS ON THE
SCREEN: (Reported by Thomas J. River)
Problem: At times, the paragraph numbers shown on the screen
contain incorrect values.
Workaround: Go out to Page Preview or go to the top of the file
and return (^QR^QP). That should restore the proper
onscreen numbering.
PHRASES MARKED FOR INDEXING WITH ^PK THAT WRAP OVER TWO LINES
WHERE THE LEFT MARGIN IS NOT 1 WILL NOT INDEX PROPERLY:
(Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If the left margin is set to a value other than one and
^PK is used to mark a phrase for indexing, a problem can
occur if the phrase is split over two lines.
Workaround: Use ^ONI to indicate phrase index entries in areas
of text where the left margin will be other than 1.
PRCHANGE WILL NOT GENERATE PROPER SCREEN FONTS IF A FONT IS
AVAILABLE ONLY IN BOLDFACE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If you allow PRCHANGE to generate screen fonts in a
case where some of the fonts are available only in boldface,
you will lose the ability to display any fonts in boldface
in page preview.
Workaround: First install only those fonts that have standard
weight fonts available. Generate those screen fonts and
exit PRCHANGE. Later, reenter PRCHANGE and add the other
fonts. DO NOT generate screen fonts for these fonts, but
instead use the defaults.
PREVIEW CRASHES IF INSET IS LOADED AND A GRAPHIC EXISTS ON THE
PAGE: (Reported by Robert P. Vannatta)
Problem: If Inset has been loaded as a TSR (from the DOS command
line and not using ^P&), attempting to preview a graphic
will cause WS to lock up, requiring a reboot.
Workaround: Inset should not be loaded as a TSR when working
inside WordStar.
PRINT COMMAND SOMETIMES FAILS TO WORK ON COMPLICATED DOCUMENTS:
Problem: The "P"rint command from the main menu sometimes fails
when confronted with a complicated document to print. For
example, most users have had problems using the "P"rint
command to print out the WSEX 1.05 documentation. The
program will freeze at certain points in the printing
process, requiring a reboot.
Workaround: Use the merge command to print the file. Merge has
not had the problems the print command has had in printing
the files. As a practical matter, the merge command can be
used as the "standard" printing system for WS5.5, unless you
intentionally want to supress the action of merge commands.
PRINTING WHEN THERE IS A "MODE=LPT1:,,p" IN EFFECT WILL CAUSE A
SYSTEM HANG:
Problem: If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a MODE setting for
LPT1 that includes the "p" parameter or you later invoke
that command while working with your computer, WordStar will
hang when you attempt to print.
Workaround: Don't use the MODE command in this manner. WSI has
announced that this bug will be fixed in the first inline
for WordStar 5.5 (scheduled for the end of June).
RECURSIVE MACROS CANNOT BE EXITED WITH ^U IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES:
(Reported by Jerry Cudmore)
Problem: If WordStar is given a macro that calls itself (a
recursive macro), you may not be able to stop execution the
macro with ^U and will find that the only way out is to
reboot the machine.
Workaround: Put a ^P<space> in the repeating portion of the
macro. During the execution of that command, WS will check
the keyboard buffer for a ^U. Since the command does
nothing, it has no real effect on the macro.
SEARCHING FOR A CARRIAGE RETURN BY ITSELF CAUSES AN UNUSUAL
DISPLAY IF THE FOUND CARRIAGE RETURN IS AT THE END OF A
PAGE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If the search function is looking for a bare carriage
return (^M^J), when it finds one at the end of a page the
display will be corrupted.
Workaround: Press ^\ when the display is corrupted--the actual
text in your file has not been damaged, and ^\ will update
the screen to reflect this fact.
SETTING EDITING VALUES IN WSCHANGE APPEARS TO HAVE NO EFFECT:
(Reported by James Burton/WordStar International)
Problem: The following comment was posted by James Burton on the
forum message board:
Resetting some default values in WSCHANGE will appear to
have no effect while editing. This is because the Body Text
Paragraph Style currently overrides those settings (left and
right margins, tabs, default font, etc.). To set defaults
for those parameters, make the changes to the Body Text
Style and save them to the library. This is covered on the
OOPS sheet that came with the package.
SETTING THE HELP LEVEL TO AN ERRONEOUS VALUE CAUSES AN ERRONEOUS
ERROR MESSAGE TO BE ISSUED: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: If you type an invalid response (such as a letter) when
attempting to change help levels using ^JJ, WordStar will
respond with an error message that states "Only numbers and
the + and - characters are valid". In fact, the + and -
signs are also invalid.
SOFT FORMATTING DOES NOT WORK (Reported by Elias Davis)
Problem: If you have turned off the insertion of dot commands in
WSCHANGE, WordStar will not change margins when you exit the
tabs & margins dialogue box.
Workaround: There really isn't one, except to go ahead and
insert hard formatting codes into the document, or define
and use a style.
STYLES SOMETIMES DON'T TAKE EFFECT DEPENDING UPON THEIR POSITION
IN THE LINE: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Problem: Style sheet attributes sometimes don't take effect
depending upon their position with regard to soft spaces in
the line.
Workaround: Try moving the style in the line if you encounter
this problem. The best place to put a style code is at the
beginning of a line.
STAR EXCHANGE IGNORES STYLE SHEET SETTINGS: (Reported by Elias
Davis)
Problem: Star Exchange does not pick up changes that are made to
a WordStar file through the use of styles. The last hard
formatting command entered will control the translated
formatting.
Workaround: Any document that is to be shipped to another format
using Star Exchange should be formatted with dot commands,
and *not* with styles.
TABS CANNOT BE CONVERTED FROM LEFT ALIGNED TO DECIMAL: (Reported
by Jerry Cudmore)
Problem: If a tab is first entered with the ruler line showing
the tab as left aligned, changing the tab in the ruler line
to a decimal tab will not cause the text to align correctly,
even after reforming.
Workaround: Delete the tab and reenter it.
WSSETUP DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY WITH DOS 4.0X IF SHARE.EXE IS
LOADED: (Reported by John Jurewicz)
Problem: DOS 4.0x users with large hard disk partitions (greater
than 32 Meg.) have reported problems running WSSETUP. The
conflict appears to be with the SHARE.EXE that DOS 4.0x
loads to support the larger partition. WSSETUP will report
that it can't find WINSTALL.HLP and won't recognize the
Advanced Customization Disk.
Workaround: The only way around this one is to do a manual
installation, copying your files from the distribution disks
to the hard drive. Some users have reported success by
removing SHARE.EXE from their CONFIG.SYS and using DOS 4.0's
automatic load (by having SHARE.EXE in the root directory).
Apparently the automatic load does not cause conflicts with
WSSETUP.
WordStar International has acknowledged the problem, and the
Revision C inline (due out at the beginning of July) should
fix this problem with WSSETUP.
----------------------------------------------------------------
UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES
----------------------------------------------------------------
^] TO REDUCE SIZE OF SECOND WINDOW (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Description: If you are using a help level of 3 or lower, you
can use ^] to reduce the size of the second window. At help
level 4 this command puts the cursor on the pull down window
line (performs like Alt-Space).
^L IN DIALOGUE BOXES: (Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Description: WordStar 5 will let you use ^L to move backwards
through a dialogue box, in addition to the Shift-Tab command
that is documented.
^O? DISPLAYS MEMORY USAGE: (Reported by Peter Mierau)
Description: The undocumented ^O? command will display the
amount of memory usage of WordStar while editing a document.
In addition, it displays the current language in use and
whether Inset is currently loaded.
^P1 - ^P9 FOR EXTENDED CHARACTERS: (Reported by Robert J.
Sawyer)
Description: In addition to using ^P0 to call up the ECS entry
window, you can call up the window by hitting any of the
other number keys after hitting ^P. The number you hit will
be automatically entered as the first number in the dialogue
box.
^Q~--SET INSERT MODE AND DON'T FLUSH BUFFER
Description: When WS5 receives this command, it automatically
turns insert on and disables the flushing of the keyboard
buffer that WS normally does until the buffer is empty.
This command is useful for external keyboard enhancers that
need to be able to disable WS5's keyboard buffer flushing
and want insert mode set on. This command is not new in
WS5, but existed in Release 4.
^QU WILL CONVERT A FILE TO ASCII IN NONDOCUMENT MODE:
(Reported by Chuck Christenson)
Description: ^QU will remove the WS5 header from a document
file, convert tabbed symmetrical sequences to spaces, remove
all other symmetrical sequences and strip off any high bits
set in the file. What it does not do is remove print
control codes (like ^PB, ^PS, etc.).
CONFIGURATION FILES CAN BE USED WITH WORDSTAR 5.5: (Reported by
James Burton/WordStar International)
Description: Beginning with the 09x releases of WordStar 5.0,
configuration files were supported. These files allow you
to put together various patched versions of WS without
having to have an entire extra copy of WS on your hard
drive. In Release 5.5 they appear to have disappeared
again, but you can get them back. The steps to use are
taken from a message from James Burton of WordStar
International Corporation that is listed below:
Run WINSTALL, select WSCHANGE. (Don't just run WSCHANGE).
Select E for Patching.
Hit "=", enter the label MPMFLG.
Add 4 to the left digit of the first byte, i.e.:
30
+4
=70
Enter the result.
Hit "." to display the change.
Hit "X", "^X", and "Y" to exit and save changes.
As you leave WSCHANGE, you'll hit the CFG selection screen.
The current setup sort of locks you in to using CFG files,
but I personally have not found this to be a burden.
Additional information: CFG files cannot be used to define
the default paths for WordStar. WS will continue to use the
defaults that were set in the WS.EXE file before you switch
to CFG files.
DOUBLE UNDERLINING CAN BE FULLY IMPLEMENTED USING ".XX_":
(Reported by Robert J. Sawyer)
Description: The WordStar manual and the PRINT.TST file says
that if the user sets the strikeout character to "_" and
then surrounds the text to be double underlined with both ^X
and ^S characters, the text will be double underlined. All
that is necessary is the ^PX command--once you reassign the
strikeout character to "_", WS will do all of the work of
building a true double underline character.
If you set your default in WSCHANGE to make the strikeout
character "_", then by default ^PX will invoke double
underlining.
FILES CAN BE SELECTIVELY INCLUDED IN THE FILE DIRECTORY:
(Reported by Peter Mierau)
Description: If you want to include files with extensions listed
in the NOTYPE table in the default directory rather than
exclude them, you can patch the undocumented USETYP flag to
do so.
FONTID.CTL IS AN ASCII FILE THAT CAN BE EDITED USING NONDOCUMENT
MODE TO CONTROL VARIOUS DEFAULTS IN ADVANCED PAGE PREVIEW:
Description: The FONTID.CTL file that is copied to your hard
disk during the installation of Advanced Page Preview is a
pure ASCII file that can be edited in nondocument mode.
This file allows setting the type of graphics adapter that
WS should use (rather than allowing WS to autosense the
adapter), the aspect ratio that should be used by APP for
displaying text, the type of grid that should be displayed
when on is requested (6 per inch, 10 per inch, or 4 per
inch) and the page size.
CAUTION: Do not allow edit this file in document mode--if
you do, WordStar will most likely freeze at your first
attempt to preview text. I would strongly suggest that you
make a backup of the FONTID.CTL file before attempting to
modify values in the file.
LANGUAGE TABLES ENTRIES MUST BE INSTALLED FOR ALL MEMBERS OF A
FONT FAMILY IF IT IS INSTALLED FOR ANY: (Reported by Jim
Gainsley)
Description: When using PDFEDIT to change a font, if a symbol
set table is added for one variety of the font, it must be
defined for all varieties of that font. Failure to do this
will cause error messages to be generated at print time and
possibly enter the printout.
LINE HEIGHT CAN BE SET IN POINTS: (Reported by Ed Zollars)
Description: Line height can be set in points by using the fact
that WordStar allows mathematical equations to be placed in
most dot commands. To set a line height in points, the
following dot command is entered:
.lh n/72"
where n is replaced by an appropriate point value.
LINE NUMBERING UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES: (Reported by Gary Gibson)
Description: The following excerpt is from a message left by
Gary Gibson on the forum about line numbering:
1. The last byte in the INIEDT patch area controls the line
numbering defaults. PATCH.LST file's comments describe this,
but they don't say that bits 0-6 of this byte control the
DEFAULT value for the "spacing". As released, this value is
zero. If set non-zero, all documents are line numbered by
default UNLESS you turn it off (.l# 0) at the top of a page.
Also, this isn't really "spacing", but an indication that
for spacing=n, every nth line is numbered, the others just
have the bars. The manual also shows only values 0, 1, and
2. Values up to 127 work just fine.
2. You can omit the "style" in the .l# command: .l# p1
and .l# 1 are the same.
3. Unusual "column" values have unusual results, like
fractional values or a column value of 32768.
MAILLIST CAN USE DEF FILES FROM THE OLD DATASTAR PROGRAM:
(Reported by Phil Burnside and Ed Greenberg)
Description: MailList can use the "DEF" files from the old
DataStar program. You can also use FORMGEN to edit and
create DEF files for MailList. DataStar was sold by itself
and as part of the old InfoStar database package that
MicroPro used to sell.
MARGINS IN A DIALOGUE BOX CAN BE SET IN COLUMNS: (Reported by
Peter Mierau)
Description: If you add an "R" after the setting, WS5 will
interpret your setting entered in the margins & tabs
dialogue box as being expressed in characters.
ONSCREEN JUSTIFICATION CAN BE SUPPRESSED WHILE STILL JUSTIFYING
THE OUTPUT BY USING AN ALWAYS FALSE CONDITIONAL COMMAND:
(Reported by Ed Zollars, based upon an idea discussed by
Mojo Jones and Ed Greenberg for use with WordStar 2000)
Description: The fact that WordStar doesn't evaluate conditional
commands until print time can be used to suppress the
onscreen display of justified text. The following dot
commands will result in unjustified text appearing on the
screen, but the output being justified.
.OJ ON
.IF 10#=5
.OJ OFF
.EI
This solution can also be used to set up onscreen rulers
that allow all of the text to be seen on the screen, while
actually using a different ruler for printing purposes. In
that case, you probably will need to add a ".PF ON" command
at the top of the file to force WordStar to reform the
paragraphs at print time.
"POINT AND SHOOT" WORKS TO CHANGE DIRECTORIES IN HELP LEVEL 4:
(Reported by Ed Zollars)
Description: If WordStar is working in help level 4, you can
change the current directory from the opening menu by moving
the cursor into the directory listing (using the down arrow
or ^X). If you point at a directory name, WS will log onto
that directory. If you point at a filename, WS will open it
up to edit.
Remember that selecting ".." directory in the directory
display will take you back one level in the directory tree.
RELATIVE VALUES ARE SUPPORTED IN A NUMBER OF DOT COMMANDS BESIDES
THOSE LISTED IN THE MANUAL: (Reported by Gary Gibson)
Description: You can use a "+" or "-" value for a number of dot
commands besides the left margin and right margin dot
commands that are documented. Specifically, you can change
the line height by using "+" and "-" to change it relative
to the last setting.
SPELL CHECKS PERFORMED ON NONDOCUMENT FILES WILL CHECK DOT
COMMANDS: (Reported by Robert Vannatta)
Description: If you run the spelling check while in non-document
mode, text in dot commands will be spell-checked.
UNDOCUMENTED KEYS ON THE OPENING MENU: (Reported by Gary
Gibson):
Description: Although not listed on the menu, the H, W and Z
keys will have certain affects when the Opening Menu is
displayed. "H" will take you directly to the change help
level screen (the equivalent of pressing "JJ" using the
officially listed commands). Pressing W or Z will cause the
file directory to scroll in the appropriate direction
without having to hold down the control key.
VERSION 5.0 PRINTER CAN BE USED WITH VERSION 5.5 WITH CERTAIN
LIMITATIONS: (Reported by James Burton/WordStar
International)
Description: The following is from a message posted by James
Burton on the forum:
Can you use a WordStar 5.0 Printer Definition File (PDF)
with WordStar 5.5? Yes, although there are limitations.
First, you can't use the Auto Leading feature (.LH A) with
these PDFs. Second, you can't use WordStar 5.5 PDFEDIT to
edit them; the PDF format has changed slightly to
accommodate the addition of previewed graphics.
-----
976. Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer, deserves to be. -- David
Thornburg
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
