ftp.whtech.com/ftp.whtech.com.tar/ftp.whtech.com/articles/Sughrue/tiw1.txt

Text File | 2006-10-19 | 10KB | 199 lines

     .IF DSK1.C3



     SO YOU HAVE THIS POWERFUL INSTRUMENT: THE T.I.WRITER.  NOW WHAT
     DO YOU DO WITH IT? (ANSWER: ANYTHING!)

          by Jack Sughrue



          BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO GET STARTED...



          You're excited! At last you have a word processor.  You open
     the package and see a cartridge, a disk, a very large notebook.
     All of a sudden the whole thing seems rather overwhelming.  "I'll
     never be able to learn all this stuff.  I thought it was going to
     be like a typewriter.  You just plug it in and type."
          If you felt that way when you opened the package, join the
     club.  I felt that way and, with the exception of a few techies
     who thrive on that sort of thing, so did most people.
     Computer word processors for most people tend to be rather
     overwhelming when first encountered.
          No sweat.
          The T.I. Writer, besides having all the marvelous features
     contained in processors costing as much as five times its price,
     is a relatively easy and very powerful tool (or toy, depending
     upon your perspective).

          Let's skip the manual for a while.  Instead, let's dip write
     in and print something we've typed (the purpose of a word
     processor, after all).

         Turn on your P-Box.  Turn on your monitor.  Insert the
     T.I.Writer cartridge into the computer.  Turn on the computer.
     Turn on your printer.  Place the T.I.Writer disk into your drive.
     Press enter to move from the logo screen.  Press <2> for
     T.I.Writer. Press <2> again for the English version.  And we're
     all set!

          Now, we're going to do a couple things without explanation
     just to get you started.  Once you see HOW to do these things,
     we'll come back to explain these choices to you.

          First, type <T>.  This is for TABS.  You'll see a line of
     numbers beginning with L.  L is the Left Margin.  Leave it.  Move
     your cursor with the FCTN/S-combination to the first letter T.
     When you get there, change it to an I.  This is an automatic
     Indentation.  Then continue with your cursor beyond the Number 2
     and beyond the Number 3 until you reach the 8 after the Number 3.
     Type an R.  This, obviously, will be your (temporary) Right
     Margin.  This will let you view all of your text right on the
     screen.  We can quickly and very easily (in the same way you just
     made these changes) change the margins before we print.
     We will not use the Formatter for our first few print jobs.  No
     need.


          Press <Enter>.

          You are in the Edit mode.  This is the mode on all word
     processors where you do the typing.
     On the left you'll see Line Numbers.  Let's get rid of them by
     pressing the FCTN/Zero combo.
     At this point, if you haven't substituted your T.I.Writer Strip
     for the regular Command Strip above the number keys, do so.
          That's better.
          Now we can see the processes we'll need to use now and then.
     (The process we just did, for example, is defined as "LINE #'s"
     on the strip.  To get them back just press FCTN/Zero again.  Many
     of the commands go in and out like that. It's called 
Toggling.)
          When you look at the strip you can see that some of the
     functions are exactly the same for BASIC (1-Delete Character;
     2-Insert Character; 3-Delete Line; etc.), but most are new.
     We also finally get to use that Control Key, which usually sits
     doing nothing in BASIC.  The Red Dot Strip on the top row is a
     Control Command Strip.  The Grey Dot Strip on the bottom row is
     the Function Command Strip.

          Forget all that for now.

          Press the enter key a few times.  This will jump down a few
     lines, indenting along the way.
     Still, you'll see the annoying "End of File Version 1.0" at the
     bottom.  That's just there to let you know where your text ends.
     After a while you'll forget it's there.  But I wish T.I. had used
     asterisks instead.
          Ah, well.

          Take the Alpha Lock Key off.  Use the Shift Key to make
     caps, just as you would on a typewriter, and begin typing.
     If you can't think of anything to write, type what you had for
     breakfast or lunch.  JUST KEEP TYPING.  DO NOT PRESS ENTER AS YOU
     WOULD IF YOU WERE ENTERING LINES IN BASIC.  [The T.I.Writer
     word-wraps automatically.]
          Type and type and type until you have 10 or 20 lines.  And
     stop.

          See the command on the Grey Dot Strip above #9 Key? THIS IS
     THE BIGGIE! The Command/Escape Key on all word processors is the
     most important.  It gets you back to the Command Menu.
          Press FCTN/9.

          Now we're back up to where we started with the cursor
     blinking under the Tabs statement.
     This time type PF for Print File.  And press <Enter>.
     When it asks for Device, type <PIO> [or RS232, if you're not
     using a Parallel printer].  Press <Enter>.
     What you've typed will print out immediately in the narrow screen
     width you've Tabbed.
          Fast, eh?
          Easy, too.

          But you don't want that width, and you do want to learn how
     to do some of the neat things this processor has to offer.

          My Old Pappy used to say, "Patience is a virtue that never
     can hirtue."

          And you are back to exactly where you left off.  With the
     cursor exactly where you ended.  All commands when completed
     return you right to the exact location you finished.  This is a
     powerful feature, as you'll soon learn.

          Let's do one more thing before we get out of this Get You
     Started On Your Processor activity.

         Press FCTN/9 again.
          Then type T.

          Where the I is change it to an L.  Change the next T to an
     I.  Then run the cursor through all the "Windows" until you get
     to the very end.  Then back up to the 7 and type R and press
     <Enter> .  When you get back to your text, run the cursor up to
     the first word in your text by using the FCTN/(arrow keys).  Then
     press CTRL/2.  This will Reformat your text into the new width.
     It'll do it right on the screen, creating those weird but
     marvelous "windows," and will do the same for your printer.
          Let's try it.
          FCTN/9 (the Command/Escape).
          Type PF.
          Now the PIO will appear with the cursor.  Just press <Enter>
     and the printing will start immediately.

          If you never learn another thing about your T.I.Writer, you
     can at least use it as a typewriter (and making those easy
     corrections word processors are most famous for).

          You'll find, now that you are typing and printing with ease,
     that the manual will begin to make some sense.  But the important
     thing is 
You have started!

          For now, let's get out of the processor.  FCTN/9 again.
     Type Q for Quit.  Type E for Exit.  YOUR MASTERPIECE WILL BE
     LOST FROM THE COMPUTER MEMORY, but you have a printed copy of it
     in two forms, anyway.
          If you had wanted to save the file to disk, you would simply
     go back to the Command Mode with FCTN/9, type SF (for Save File).
     Then you would type DSK1.FILENAME (FILENAME being whatever YOU
     name it in 10 letters or less without spaces, commas, or
     periods).  The next time you load T.I.WRITER you could type LF
     (for Load File) if you wanted this file again.  Then type
     DSK1.FILENAME and your file will load back up automatically.
     
CAUTION: Each file name SAVEd on a disk must have a DIFFERENT
     filename.  You will overwrite any file of the same name on the
     same disk.
          Anyway, experiment a bit.  Once you've used the T.I.WRITER
     for a while, you'll probably want to graduate to enhanced and
     more user-friendly versions.  Some are commercial, some public
     domain.  Some Fairware (You pay a modest sum if you decide to use
     it.)  Examples of the last: BA WRITER (from Italy), TK WRITER
     from America, and FUNLWRITER (and the further updated FUNLPLUS!)
     from Australia (and Canada and America).  They are all excellent
     and are superior to their excellent grandfather discussed in this
     article.
          Check with your user group for these disks.  I use
     exclusively the FUNLPLUS! update of FUNLWRITER, but any of the
     above would greatly increase the power of an already-powerful
     word processor.  [AUTHOR'S NOTE: This article was originally
     published a few years ago.  Today I use the new FUNNELWEB and
     PLUS!, both extremely expanded and powerful versions of these
     earlier Fairware programs.]

          A great part of the fun with a processor is discovering what
     it can do for you.  Stay with it.  Put in a half-hour a day for a
     month.  After that, you will be changed for life.  Never will you
     use a dinosaur (I mean, 
typewriter) again.

          [Jack Sughrue, Box 459, E.Douglas, MA 01516]

          ********

          If any newsletter editor prints these articles, please put
     me on your mailing list.  Thanks - JS

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