ZX Plus Documentation
for Version 0.20

Contents

   Introduction
   Installation
   Running
   The Pull Down Menu
   The File Menu
   Load
   Save
   Quick Load
   Quick Save
   Exit
   The Options Menu
   Joystick 1 and 2
   Sound
   Capture Screen
   Screen Mode
   Reset
   The Help Menu
   About
 

Introduction

ZX Plus is a freeware Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K and 128K emulator written by Mark Swinhoe and Justin Wood.  To get the latest version of ZX Plus visit http://come.to/zxplus. This document is also maintained at the site as well as the current progress, screen shots, and various related links. The purpose of this document is to describe how to use ZX Plus. Both this document and ZX Plus is designed to be easy to use so if you are having problems then please email us at zxplus@yahoo.co.uk with the difficulties you are having.  Similarly, if there is something missing in the documentation or it contradicts the implementation of ZX Plus in any way then please email us as well.  The documentation of the emulator is split into parts so specific topics can be found easily. The majority of you that are already familiar with Windows and emulators could skip this documentation and just try it out.  The features are very basic at the moment.  Eventually technical information will be included in this document for authors of other emulators when we eventually create our own file format.
 

Installation

Download the emulator and extract it using PKZIP or Win Zip into a directory.  The core files required are zxplus.exe, 48.rom, and zx80.tab.  Other files such as documentation.html (this document), and a few pictures for this document are also present. The emulator only requires the core files to run.
 

Running

ZX Plus can be loaded in two ways.  The first is to run the executable (zxplus.exe).  If you do this the emulator starts to execute the Spectrum 48K rom as you would expect a normal Spectrum to do when it is powered up.  The second way is to first associate the snapshot file (.Z80 and / or .SNA) with ZX Plus. The emulator will then load a snapshot automatically when you double click on it from Windows Explorer.
 

The Pull Down Menu

The pull down menu allows you to configure the emulator.  It is activated by pressing the Escape key or the fourth button of the joystick.  It can also be canceled in the same way.  The mouse has not been implemented.  You can navigate around the menu by pressing the highlighted character, such as the F key for File, or using the cursor keys.  To select an option press the return key, the highlighted letter, or the first button of the joystick.  For instance, the sequence Escape, F, X, Button 1, would quit the emulator.  Throughout the rest of the document the joysticks have the following options mapped to the keyboard: -
 
 
Joystick(s) Keyboard
Up Up cursor key
Down Down cursor key
Left Left cursor key
Right Right cursor key
Button 1 Return key
Button 2 Page down key
Button 3 End key
Button 4 Escape key
Button 5 Page up key
Button 6 Home key

This layout is designed for six button joypads with sensible ordering (such as the Gravis Xterminator) but in later versions of the emulator every button will be fully configurable. One problem with joystick navigation on the menu is not properly configured joysticks which can cause the menu to not move, such as always trying to go left.  For this reason Alt + F4 has been implemented for an "emergency exit" of the emulator.
 

The File Menu

The file menu is used to load snapshots (.SNA) and (.Z80), save snapshots (.SNA), and exit the emulator.
 

Load

To load game when the emulator is running choose the Load option in the File menu.  A box will appear showing the current directory you are in, a place to type in the game (referred to as the enter file box) and box with a list of drives, directories, and files to select (referred to as the list box).  The format of the list box is drives end in a colon, directories are enclosed in square brackets and filenames are unmodified. Files with an extension of Z80 or SNA are only shown.  The list box is the default when loading a file.  To change between the list box and the enter file box press the Tab key. To navigate the list box use the up and down cursor keys to move through the list and enter to select.  The Home key moves you to the start of the list and the End key moves to the bottom of the list.  The Page up and Page down keys move a up and down a screen at a time respectively.  If you do not want to select a file to load then press the Escape key to exit the menu.  If you prefer you can type the relative path and filename of the file to load in the enter file box and press enter to load the file.  If the file does not exist or is a unsupported file format an error box will be shown and it will return to the menu.  You can also move between directories by typing in the enter box to save time. Once a file is loaded you are returned to the menu.
 

Save

This functions exactly the same as when you load a game apart from if the file does not exist it is created if possible.  An error box is shown if it cannot be saved, such as an invalid filename or saving to a CD-ROM.  When this option is chosen the filename is remembered by ZX Plus and if you choose reload it loads this file and not the file selected from the load option. To create a new file you must type the filename in the enter box.
 

Quick Load

ZX Plus keeps track of what you are loading and / or saving and reloads the last file you loaded or saved.  If you have not loaded a game then it reports an error.  This is usually used in conjunction with quick save so you can load and save quickly in the middle of a game. Unlike Load and Save you are not returned to the menu but the emulator instead.
 

Quick Save

This saves the last file that was loaded or saved last.It is very similar to Quick Load.
 

Exit

This exits the emulator without warning.  this can also be done with Alt + F4.
 

The Options Menu

This is where you can configure the emulator and other miscellaneous options such as setting the type of joystick emulation.
 

Joystick 1 and 2

Both of these options do the same for each joystick. If you cannot select the option (it returns to the menu) ZX Plus cannot find the joystick.  If this is the case then check the "Game controllers" configuration in the control panel.  You can choose what type of joystick emulation, either Kempston, Cursors, or Sinclair II, the joystick is emulating.
 

Sound

Allows you to choose either no sound, PC Speaker (recommended), and Sound Blaster via the BLASTER environment variable.
 

Caputure Screen

This saves a 302K uncompressed bitmap image of the current Spectrum screen to the specified location.  The location chosen is implemented in exactly the same way as the save option but only files with an extension of BMP are shown.
 

Screen mode

Allows you to change the type of screen mode you have.  There are four different modes available, Classic, Scanlines, Interpolation, and both Scanlines and Interpolation.

The Machine Menu

This is where you can choose by hand the machine you wish to emulate.
 

Reset (48K or 128K)

This resets the emulator to the chosen machine mode.
 

The Help Menu

This contains all of the information about the emulator.  Currently there is only the bare details of the emulator and no help but eventually we hope to add in a full help system including game information.
 

About

This displays the name of the program, version number, release date, and the names of the authors.  This is the best way to find out what version of ZX Plus you are running.


Last Modified : 12/06/1999