On Disk Monthly's * * * M A I L B A G * * * LETTERS ------- Is there a way to advertise for a donation of some "used," or "new" computer equipment? I am physically disabled with a half of an arm on my left side and two fingers on my right side. I don't know if other readers know of any non-profit organizations which could assist in any way. My local business supply store will allow me to print up items, but it is starting to become costly. I have an IBM compatible computer (Tandy 1400 LT). Greg F. Fuller Hyde Park, PA RESPONSE: Subscribers? I'll forward any correspondence or suggestions to Mr. Fuller. * * * This note is in reference to issue #70. I especially liked the "PCX 'Rangler" program. The clip art which came with the program worked great. Other .PCX grpahics, which came on previous ODM issues, would not work with the printer. I would only get a solid printed block. My printer (a Panasonic KX-P2123) also has the color option added and I was thrilled to see a color clip art picture, however the color picture would only print in B/W. Any help in getting this picture to print in color would be greatly appreciated. I would love to see more colored clip art and Print Shop graphics. Please consider a complement to "PCX 'Rangler" which would allow resizing of the clip art. Alfred Westbrook Ball Ground, GA RESPONSE: Until we developed 'Rangler, we mistakenly thought that all .PCX files are created equal. Not so. Certain paint programs save .PCX files in different ways--different pallet and header information. We've discovered that our previous .PCX files may work fine in some programs and not in others. In short, the pallet is wrong and that is why the "old" images won't print correctly. Try using the "Save As" command in 'Rangler or your own paint program to alter the pallet. Then try to print the re-saved file from 'Rangler. We may add a color printing option to 'Rangler in the future, but doing so will mean reworking all the print routines used in 'Rangler. Why? Memory allocation. Color printing requires a whole lot more memory. Finally, if 'Rangler also resized the images, and allowed them to be edited as others have suggested, it would be, in effect, a paint program. Look for a .PCX compatible paint program in a future issue of ODM. Speaking of 'Rangler, we've fixed a few minor bugs since it was first published on issue #70. The corrected version will be available around the first of October to anyone who calls our 800-831-2694 number and requests it. * * * Two things: #1 - Please mark the outside of the envelope, indicating "Do Not Bend." Our mail-lady just jams the envelope into our mailbox, not caring how it is inserted into the container. #2 - Just when do you send out the subscription diskettes? When I started receiving the diskettes, they came at the end of the month, but now it's into the middle of the next month of the subscription date. It would be nice if you could be consistent. Carolyn M. Smith Warsaw, IN RESPONSE: We've got a new envelope design and you should see the "Magnetic Media; Do Not X-Ray; Do Not Bend" logo prominently displayed. Complain to your postmaster if your disks continue to be bent. Your mail-lady may not be aware of what she's doing or she really may not care...but your postmaster will. In regard to our mailing schedule, you're right...we're off schedule. Don't blame our mailing department, however. We've fallen behind in the program development department as we've tried to give you some signficant programs of late. I.e., Family Tree 3.0, PCX 'Rangler, DOS Manager, Print Shop Utilities 5.0 and others--all of which required more than four weeks of development time. In some cases we had allotted extra time, but in others we hadn't. With a monthly product, there's no choice: "the show must go on"...even if it's slightly late. Another thing to remember: we will not ship an issue with "known" bugs...even if fixing those bugs means you receive a quality product a few days late. * * * As soon as I received ODM #69 I immediately placed the "Family Tree 3.0" on my hard drive and transferred my "Enhanced Family Tree" files. It was great. I love the new format and I find it very easy to use. However, when I printed out an index by ID#, the numbers from #53 to #58 are missing. On the marriage window, no matter what date I place in the space "Marriage Ending Date:" the date is recorded at the top of the page as the date of the death of the spouse. So, if a man had three wives, my records show that all three of the marriages ended on the same day, the day HE died. Michael Dickey Akron, OH RESPONSE: There's an easy fix to the first problem. Go to any print report that gives you a dialog box in which you can change the number of lines on the print out. Change the number from 66 to 60. The index will now print correctly. We're investigating the Marriage Ending Date problem. Call our technical support number (800-831-2694) in a couple of weeks to see if we've found a fix for this bug. * * * I think the menu and graphics are getting better. The characters on the screen are a bit big and have a blocky appearance, making for slower reading. I'd like to see a bigger Mailbag, no Marketplace, less clip art and some programming. Pop-Up Notepad on ODM #67 is great. It has helped me clean up the clutter on my desk. Is there a way to alphabetize the directory displayed when one presses F-4? I also discovered a problem when I activate it in Word Star v. 7 (document mode). The "F" keys are not displayed at the bottom of the screen although the definition of them is. It may have to do with the graphic color defaults selected in Word Star and Notepad? Jeff Erbele Bismarck, ND RESPONSE: First, I try to use a variety of letters in each Mailbag. Keep in mind that we often get many letters on the same topic or with the same question and thus don't use every one, but do use as many as is practical. Second, to skip seeing any Marketplace ads, type "GO /NOAD" at the DOS prompt. Third, clip art--both .PCX and Print Shop is one of our most popular regular features. Not wishing to load any one issue down with both types, however, you'll see them on every other issue. In regard to programming, few subscribers have expressed interest in it as a topic for ODM. Many books and progamming magazines do a far better job in this area than ODM could do. Finally, your assessment of the Notepad-Word Star problem seems to be correct. Word Star is apparently affecting the pallet of Notepad. Try altering your Word Star pallet. * * * I finally got a chance to write you! The Check Tracker program (issue #52) is so far the best of my favorites. I find it very practical, easy, time-saving, convenient to use.... There is just one big short coming in it! You can only input amounts of up to $99,999.99 and you can only have a maximum balance of $999,999.99. If you are manipulating in terms of U.S. dollars, these figures are more than enough for the average small business user. But I am from the Philippines, where the Currency Exchange floats from P23.50-P29.50 (Phil. Pesos) to $1.00 (U.S.). Under these conditions, the Check Tracker is insufficient. I wish you would come up with a "big brother" of Check Tracker that can handle bigger figures and our currency exchange requirements. Mike H. Lagman Pampanga, Philippines RESPONSE: To be honest, we hadn't thought about doing an update to Check Tracker, but your letter makes it sound like a good idea. Maybe you'll see an update in a future issue of On Disk Monthly. * * * So far, I am not even slightly impressed by your programs--nor by my ability to get hardware up and running...'tis tough all over. It is hard to be impressed by programs one cannot get to see or run. I had thought I would long since have gotten my XT back up to 640K...but I still cannot get it to run more than 512K. I suspect that most of your 640K and CGA or better requirements are based on your menu program, which I consider to be shooting yourself in the foot. I strongly suggest you support Hercules video and perhaps mention in the unreadable menu the required memory sizes for the different programs.... Don't count on me re-subscribing until I have actually been able to read and use your programs... Woody McPheeters Gold Hill, OR RESPONSE: I'm sorry you haven't been able to view all of our programs. And there have been some very worthwhile programs in recent issues. Our requirements have been 640K RAM, DOS 3.3 or higher and at least CGA graphics (a CGA graphics card) for some time. Without a graphics card, subscribers won't be able to run any of the programs, including the menu, which contain graphics...only the text-mode programs. The 640K RAM requirement has nothing to do with the menu, which uses only about 80K RAM when it comes up on your screen (for a second or two it uses around 144K, then 64K of that is restored). It has everything to do with our larger, more fully-featured programs. Recent programs that have required most of that 640K include Family Tree 3.0, Grocery Kart, My EntertainMate, Klondike2, Print Shop Utilities, PCX 'Rangler and others. We have never specifically supported Hercules video. Now that Hercules is beginning to "disappear," we probably won't spend time developing routines for it. Finally, click on the Copy button in our menu, arrow through the list of programs and you'll see size and accompanying file information for each program. * * * Having been a former subscriber to ODM, I was pleasantly surprised to compare the difference between the old and the new. As far as what I would like to see in the future, the following has occured to me: a fairly simple program that would allow me to list my collection of cassettes or books or videos and to be able to sort them easily. I mean a KISS program (Keep It Simple for the Stupid). Ralph Grauso Ft. Worth, TX RESPONSE: You're in luck. My EntertainMate, published on issue #71, sounds like the program you've described. Its pick lists are user-configurable and there's no limit on the number of entries per file. You can order issue #71 by calling our toll free number and asking for customer service. I urge all subscribers to scan through their back issue catalogs. The program you've been waiting for may have been published just before your subscription began. * * * For almost a year I have been trying to convert my .PCX files to the landscape mode, with no luck unless I spend about $400.00 on a new program. In comes 'Rangler; I thought I had my .PCX problem solved, but no such luck. Since my printer isn't listed (an HP Paintjet) I tried the two HP products listed and all I get is you don't have enough memory. I tried the other printers listed and all I got was ASCII language. Is there any way you can: 1) upgrade to include the HP Paintjet printer; 2) upgrade to allow a portrait conversion to landscape and saved in the landscape mode? Clifford Franklin Redding, CA RESPONSE: You don't indicate what type of computer, amount of RAM, etc., that you have, but I strongly suspect that the reason you cannot print (the not enough memory message) lies with your computer. 'Rangler must load the entire image into memory before it prints. It will utilize any expanded or extended memory that your computer might contain. You may simply be trying to print an image or a page of images that requires too much memory for your computer to handle. Your printer should print a small .PCX image (try making a very small clip) just fine using one of the two HP drivers listed. If not, consult your printer manual about how to activate ProPrinter or Epson emulation. Without a doubt we will upgrade 'Rangler at some point in the future. However, it is unlikely that 'Rangler will ever allow you to save the image with a different screen orientation (it currently will print in a different orientation). You don't explain what you mean by portrait and landscape. There are two ways of looking at it: changing the shape of the image (including any background) from a vertical shape to a more horizontal one...or rotating the image 90-degrees so that it is sideways on the screen. Both are best accomplished in a drawing program that will load and save .PCX files. Keep an eye out for one on a future issue. * * * I have been a subscriber for some years now and enjoy your programs very much. One thing that bothers me though is I miss not having you send the info sheet which listed what was on the disks and a brief description. I found them very helpful when I was looking for a certain program. Brenda L. Davis Finley Park, IL RESPONSE: There were several reasons why we discontinued the "contents" sheet. First, we saw it as a way for Softdisk to further its committment to the environment (by saving a few more trees). Second, we wanted to keep the subscription cost as low as possible and this decision helped make that possible. And third, we wanted to take the "on disk" concept to its fullest extent--everything you need is actually "on disk." To print out a list of each disk's contents, click on the Departments button, then on the Contents button. Next, press F5 to print it out. Hint: set your printer to print condensed type. You should be able to easily clip out or fold the resulting copy so that it will fit in your disk sleeve. * * * I have been a satisfied customer of yours since issue #49 and have enjoyed many programs and games. I have upgraded to a 386DX 40Mhz system to enable me to function more quickly, but find I am "growing old" waiting on your programs to load (unload and reload). Change is great, but this is a step backward in computers. I am renewing my subscription, but find I'm loading the programs from the DOS prompt instead of using your cute little menu, which makes getting "into and out of" much easier and also limits your advertisements. RESPONSE: Our MENU.EXE program is quite small, considering that it utilizes graphics. One way to speed it up would be to make the text presenter (with which you read all the departments including this one) a separate program. That would mean waiting while the text presenter loaded, each time you select a department. The menu on #67 (not yet developed to its current state) worked this way and we sure got a lot of complaints. Another is to revert to a text only menu and that is counter to current national trends, as well as to the "look" and "style" we've created for our entire issue. You don't say whether you're running from a floppy or your hard drive, but we recommend that you run each issue from your hard drive. Why? Because floppy drives read and write data at about the same speed--no matter how far you've upgraded your computer. In fact, hard drives access the same data about 40 percent faster. I have a 386 16Mhz computer. Using my hard drive, the average text-mode program takes about 4 seconds to load from the menu and a comparable amount of time to return to the menu. Graphics programs take more time because they generally are larger and require more memory. From my floppy drive, that delay is tripled to about 12 seconds for the average ODM program. And that's still often a lot faster than loading Windows or some of my Windows applications, which are also in graphics mode. So you don't want to see or "wait" on the Marketplace ads? Type "GO /NOAD" from the DOS prompt and you won't see a single ad. * * * Upon using my Print Shop Utilities 4.0 to retrieve the graphics from ODM #68, I noticed there were no names under the graphics as there usually is. I proceeded to Edit Image Names and put names for every graphic...except "N" and "X." the pictures stumped me. What are these animals? Madeleine F. Qualter Cambridge, MA RESPONSE: The person who normally "prepares" our Print Shop images was on vacation, so I "subbed" and "flubbed." The "N" was a "Narwhal" and the "X" was a "Xiphosura." Whip out your encyclopedia for these! * * * I have been a loyal subscriber for nearly two years. One aspect that I used to really enjoy about the subscription was all of the beautiful colors that the interface, and most of the programs, put on my Tandy 1000SL. I am quite upset that your firm chose to take that away from we CGA subscribers. Some of us, myself especially, are much too poor to buy expensive EGA or VGA equipment. I feel that I am being penalized for being broke. I have really enjoyed the vast majority of your programs over the past couple of years. Unless ODM is willing to give we subscribers who are in this situation some kind of compromise, I will unfortunately be forced to let my subscription expire as of issue #72 and purchase from another vendor who will allow me to use my Tandy 16-color setup. I do not want it to come to that, because I have really like your software. Gary Skelton Chico, CA RESPONSE: First, let me give you some background. The current menu resulted from two concepts: 1) reduce the size of the menu and 2) keep it graphical. The only way to do both was to use the same "guts" with different graphic overlays (CGA and EGA) that were of the same resolution. Due to the detail our menu demanded (logos, wording, etc.), the resolution had to be fairly high, but still equal to a CGA resolution. We chose medium resolution EGA (640 x 200 pixels) as our "top" end, which matched the highest CGA two-color graphics resolution. The keys here are the words "matched" and "graphics." Though you may well understand the difference between graphics mode and text mode (often referred to by our subscribers as Tandy 16-color), many apparently do not. Text "graphics" are created by assigning colors to ASCII characters. All the text is of the same size and font. It is difficult to impossible to do programs requiring small shapes, complex screen designs, lots of type, etc., in text mode. That's why most games, including ours are usually done in graphics mode, while many productivity programs and utilities, including ODM's, are done in text mode. The ODM #61-#66 menu included a text mode. It required twice as much disk space as the current menu, which meant that each issue contained fewer programs and/or programs that weren't as fully featured as the ones we're now producing. Finally, let me add that we don't want to lose subscribers. However, it's difficult to judge how many people would prefer a text mode menu when we only occasionally receive a letter about it. Subscribers: if you would prefer a text mode menu for ODM, write me. I'll tally the results and we'll go from there. However, I can make no promises or guarantees. * * * Please tell me what to do whith ZZT's City (I'm stuck in the elevator). Christian Dory Otterburn Park, Quebec RESPONSE: A new, "re-mastered" version of ZZT's City is on its way to you. Though we've reported this bug and our subsequent fix in other Mailbag columns, you must have missed it somehow. Enjoy! * * * It's time to speak up. I can understand your reluctance to allow us to run your programs freely and without hassle because of the raft of thieves out there. However, your total obsession with ways to prevent anyone from running your programs except the way you want them run is placing an undue burden on we the subscribers. To run your programs from floppies is absurd, and in my opinion, to run them from the menu is a pain in the butt. I just want to get into the program, do my thing and get out. I also like to split the programs up into several directories, e.g. the games in one directory, the business in another, etc. With this latest incarnation of yours, we can't even run them from the DOS prompt! They must be run from your menu. So much for separating them into useful directories. And the number and placement of your copyright screens is putting On Disk Monthly well into nagware! Robert N. Fagan Erie, PA RESPONSE: If you are unable to run our programs from the DOS prompt, something is wrong. Either with your computer system or our programs. We test every program by running it from both the menu and from DOS. As far as we can tell, everything is working fine...providing the computer running the programs has 640K RAM, CGA or better graphics and DOS 3.3 or higher. Many of our programs won't run (due to memory conflicts) from Dosshell or Windows. Call our technical support department at 1-800-831-2694 if you continue to have this problem. Copying individual programs to different directories is a snap. Choose the Copy button in the Menu. Select the drive you plan to copy to, type the name of the directory you wish to save to, highlight the program you wish to copy and select the Copy button. All the necessary files will copy along with the program's .EXE. At present a copyright and "not shareware" message appears on the title screen (or on the screen immediately after the title screen) for each program. There are several reasons for this. First, though you may view the entire "issue" as a whole, i.e. sort of like a magazine with different parts, the Library of Congress (copyright division) does not. Hence, each program must be copyrighted, etc., as the "stand-alone" program that it actually is. Our menu, which is simply another program on the disk that just happens to tie everything together, must also be copyrighted. Second, when or if we ever market our programs separately, each must contain these notices to protect our artwork, logos, concepts, computer code, etc. Third, our programs are often uploaded to bulletin boards and those messages alert diligent BBS managers to the fact that our programs are not shareware or freeware. We are making every attempt to limit the number of "screens" you must move past in order to reach the main program screen to two--and one screen (a title screen) is preferred. * * * On this floppy you have Print Shop and .PCX. It says on your Help that these pictures can be used with my word processor. How? With other clip art I've seen, you highlight which picture you want and it copies to where you want it copied. How do you do it with this? In later issues I've received it has more .PCX programs. These don't tell you how to use them either! Did I miss the original program where you can use these others with? I'm sure I'm not the only new member who is having problems. Please send information on how to use these programs. Samantha Tanner Louisville, KY RESPONSE: It's easy for those of us who have been using computers for years to innocently "omit" or not fully explain details that can be vital to people who are just getting started. Though you can both view and print our .PCX and Print Shop images from our issues using our "viewer" programs, these viewer programs were designed to allow you to do just that--view the clip art. Other commercial (retail) software is required to use them to their fullest extent. Most PC owners also own one or more of these commercially-marketed programs. In order to use Print Shop images, you must own Broderbund's Print Shop or New Print Shop program. Print Shop images will also work with the Print Master program. You may index and catalog them...or even print labels with them, using Softdisk's Print Shop Utilities 5.0 (published on issue #71). .PCX images can be loaded into and edited in many commercial paint programs, including Deluxe Paint II Enhanced, PC Paintbrush, Paintbrush for Windows, Corel Draw, etc. Many desktop publishing or page layout programs, such as Aldus PageMaker, Publish It, etc., also will allow you to import or "place" .PCX graphics into your page layout documents. Some word processors, such as Microsoft Word for Windows, Word Perfect, Windows Write, and Lotus AmiPro for Windows, also will allow you to place .PCX files into your documents. Check your program manuals to see if your programs have this feature. We published PCX 'Rangler on issue #70. The purpose of this program was to give users a way to save .PCX images with new filenames, clip an image from a "page" of images and save it with its own filename, clip a section of a .PCX image, etc. We plan to publish a paint program that will allow you to create, edit and manipulate .PCX files on a future issue. * * * When you give us something like Word Finder, give us more puzzles without the basic .EXE in later issues...a la Print Shop and .PCX graphics. Bob Surridge Lakeport, CA RESPONSE: Unfortunately, due to the nature of subscription software--new people coming on board EVERY issue--this is not possible. And, as the previous letter illustrates, we can't even be sure that every subscriber owns the commercial programs necessary to utilize items like the graphics to their fullest. By the way, we DO include "viewers," or .EXE files with our clip art. Otherwise, there'd be no way to view them from our menu. * * * I don't like the look of the text programs (DOS Manager, Grocery Kart, etc.). It hurts to look at them. Larry Sexton Harriman, TN RESPONSE: I feel that the colors our design staff is choosing are quite good and that we've developed a nice consistent "graphic" look for our text programs. These programs don't hurt my eyes, but I do have an adjustable monitor. Try adjusting your monitor's brightness. Hint: If you're seeing a "gray border" around the edge of this screen, your monitor is set too bright. Adjust it until the outer "border" appears to be black. If you're seeing dull, dark colors (dark blue looks purple), your monitor's brightness is not correctly adjusted. If your monitor isn't adjustable and everything seems too bright (hurts your eyes), you might consider spending around $40 for one of those "glare reduction" screens (it fits on your monitor) that are advertised in most software catalogs. * * * Mail your letters to: Attn: Ronda Faries ODM Mailbag, 606 Common St., Shreveport, LA 71101 Or fax them to: 1-318-424-0174 NOTE: Letters and Report Cards used in On Disk Monthly's Mailbag may be edited for clarity and length. * * * T H E E N D * * *