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Text File | 1990-07-29 | 6.0 KB | 110 lines

                         ASCII to Wordstar - The Macro

                                       by

                             Brad Harris (BHARRIS)


        In ASCII-TO.WS (PIPMAG5) I discussed using Wordstar's Search and
     Replace function to convert straight ASCII text to Wordstar format.
     This time around, I'd like to use that procedure as an example in a
     discussion of Shorthand keys, otherwise known as Macros.

        The Shorthand function may well be one of Wordstar4's most
     versatile features.  It allows you to do with two keystrokes what
     might otherwise take you several, or even many.  Most people, if they
     use it at all, only use it to preform simple operations like adding
     salutations or closings to letters.  But you can use it to build
     extremely complex operations, including anything that can be done with
     the Control-key combinations.

        Here are some things to remember.  When entering Control-keys in a
     macro, they have to be preceded by ^P.  So to enter a [CONTROL-Q], we
     have to hold down the [CTRL] key and hit P, then while still holding
     it, hit Q.  In the examples that follow, all the ^P's will be shown.
     As you enter them, however, they will not be visible.  ^QA would be
     entered as ^P^QA, but would appear as ^QA.  To enter a carriage return
     that ends a search or replace string, use ^P[RETURN] (a [CONTROL-P]
     followed by hitting the Return key).  To enter one that is part of a
     string, use ^P^N.  If you've used WSCHANGE to set Wordstar to use as
     little memory as possible, you might not have enough space allocated
     for the Shorthand definitions to hold the macro we are going to
     create.  If this is the case, you will either have to go back and set
     aside more room, or delete any macros that are already defined.  The
     maximum number of characters in a macro is 36.

        Let's start with the first part of the conversion process.  What we
     want to do is find all the occurrences of pairs of hard carriage
     returns, and replace them with a place-holding character.  We do this
     by hitting ^QA (holding down the control key and hitting Q, then
     releasing both keys and hitting A) to call up the Search and Replace
     function.  We then hit ^N two times followed by the Return key to tell
     Wordstar to look for the hard carriage return pairs.  Next we enter
     our place-holder and hit Return again, then hit Return a third time to
     let Wordstar know to use our default options (which we've previously
     set as <G>lobal, ig<N>ore case, <A>lign using WSCHANGE, haven't we).
     These are the same keystrokes we'll enter to begin our Shorthand.

        So we begin.  Open a document.  Hit ESCAPE (which will be
     abbreviated as [ESC] from here on) to call up the Shorthand menu.  Hit
     ? to get the editing screen.  Hit the key that you want to use to
     invoke the macro.  Finally, enter a description of the macro and hit
     [RETURN].  Don't hit the Return key again until I tell you to.  Now
     we're ready to begin entering the first part of our conversion
     procedure.  Enter the following:

                           ^P^QA^P^N^P^N^P^M`^P^M^P^M

        Note that my place-holding character is the back accent (`).  I use
     it only because I've never seen one in any text that I've ever edited,
     and it's the top left character on my keyboard, right below the [ESC]
     key, which makes it real easy to hit.

        The next part of the conversion routine simply finds all single
     occurrences of hard carriage returns and deletes them.  All global
     Search and Replace operations require that you hit [ESC] when they
     end, so that's what we need to start the next part of our macro with.

        The [ESC] is entered like a control key -- it is preceded by a ^P,
     and shows up as ^[.  To clear out the place-holder, which is left
     over from the first Search and Replace, we'll need to enter a space.
     Moving right along then, we would continue with:

                         ^P[ESC]^P^QA^P^N^P^M ^P^M^P^M

        The last part of the conversion is to find the place-holder, and
     replace it with pairs of hard carriage returns.  Once again, we have
     to lead off with an [ESC]:

                       ^P[ESC]^P^QA`^P^M^P^N^P^N^P^M^P^M

        That's as far as I went in the last article, but since we're
     automating the process, let's add a few bells and whistles.  Not only
     do we have to hit [ESC] at the conclusion of a Search and Replace, it
     also leaves us at the end of the document, as does a global reformat
     (^QU).  Since we'd like the text to be formatted, and we want to be
     left at the top, we can add the following:

                             ^P[ESC]^P^QR^P^QU^P^QR

        What you now have should look like this:

            ^QA^N^N^M`^M^M^[^QA^N^M ^M^M^[^QA`^M^N^N^M^M^[^QR^QU^QR

        If that's what you have, hit [RETURN].  You'll be returned to the
     top Shorthand editing screen.  Hit ^U to exit Shorthand, and Y to save
     your macro.  Then go ahead and try it out.  To invoke your new macro,
     just hit [ESC] followed by the key you entered earlier.  And make sure
     you read what I had to say about working on the only copy of a file in
     the article ASCII-TO.WS in PIPMAG5.

        Note that this macro is set up to work with text that has one blank
     line between paragraphs.  If yours has more, add ^Ns in the first part
     of the definition as needed.  If there aren't any blank lines, replace
     the ^Ns with the same number of spaces as the first line of each
     paragraph is indented by.

        Now you've experienced the real power of Wordstar Shorthand macros.
     Write your own, and pretty soon you won't have to type at all.  And if
     you come up with a good one, be sure to tell us about it.