home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- CREATING MULTIPLE COLUMN DOCUMENTS WITH POCKET WRITER 2
- (C-128 VERSION ONLY)
-
- THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM ISSUE #14 OF TWIN CITIES 128. TWIN CITIES 128
- IS A COPYRIGHTED PUBLICATION WHICH HAS GRANTED PERMISSION FOR THIS
- EXCERPT TO BE RELEASED FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING
- CRITERIA IS BY INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS DISTRIBUTING THIS EXCERPT:
-
- 1. THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT OR FILE IS DISTRIBUTED IN ITS ENTIRETY
- INCLUDING THIS COPYRIGHT INFORMATION AND THE INFORMATION ABOUT
- TWINtCITIESt128 BELOW.
-
- 2. THIS FILE OR DOCUMENT IS USED FOR NON-PROFIT INTERESTS ONLY. THIS
- EXCERPT MAY NOT BE SOLD, REPRINTED, OR RETRANSMITTED IN WHOLE OR
- PART BY INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES SEEKING TO GAIN PROFIT WITHOUT THE
- WRITTEN PERMISSION OF TWIN CITIES 128. (This includes other for
- profit publications and individuals selling "public domain" disks,
- but excludes telecommunications services which charge only for
- connect time, and not for the receipt of this information
- specifically.)
-
- Okay, now that the legal department has had its fun...
-
- Question: from Mark Johnston of Madison WI: Issuet#12 of Twin Cities
- 128 featured a review of Pocket Writer 2 from Digital Solutions.
- Based on that review, I recently purchased Pocket Writer 2, and I am
- happy to report that like you, I am thrilled with it. However I do
- have a question. In the review you mentioned that you use Pocket
- Writer 2's new block range facility to create double column outputs
- (specifically the ones used to create the layout for Twin Cities 128).
- Would you please elaborate on this subject in a future issue of Twin
- Cities 128, as the manual is somewhat vague on this procedure.
-
- The Answer Man speaks: The ability to create double column output is
- indeed one (of many) excellent features of Pocket Writer 2.
- Unfortunately, Mark is not alone in experiencing difficulty
- comprehending how to make use of block range function to create
- multiple column output. Many of our readers on GEnie have also asked
- me to outline this procedure in depth, so here goes:
-
- To begin, although it is possible to create multiple column output
- without utilizing Pocket Writer 2's powerful "alternate document"
- facility, I do because it makes the entire process much easier.
-
- Step 1: Use the shift ALT key sequence to setup the 32K alternate
- document area. By using the alternate document area you will
- be able to easily set up your multiple column output without
- altering the orginal unformatted text. This is desirable in
- case you make a mistake or decide to re-work your layout at a
- later date.
-
- Step 2: Type or load the entire document into one of the text areas.
-
- Step 3: Format the entire document as if it were one long column,
- using the appropriate margins, justification, page length etc.
- Example: A typical page of TwintCitiest128 is made up of two
- 50 character, 70 line columns of fully justified text. So I
- set up the first text area with the following format settings:
-
- Left Margin 1
- Right Margin 50
- Justify ON
- Page Length 88
- Printed Lines 70
-
- Step 4: Using the ALT key move to the other text area and set the
- appropriate format settings for your multiple column page (not
- the individual columns). Again, using a typical page of
- TwintCitiest128 as an example, I use the following settings
- for the actual layout in the second alternate text area:
-
- Left Margin 1
- Right Margin 110
- Justify ON
- Page Length 88
- Printed Lines 70
- Pitch 15
-
- Note: Be sure to set the pitch size to the proper value or
- your printed output will be a mess!
-
- Step 5: Return to the alternate text area using the ALT key and begin
- selecting the first column (the leftmost one in your final
- output) by placing your cursor on the upper left corner of the
- text you wish to select and using the CTRL R sequence. Then
- use the cursor keys to highlight the column of text you wish
- to select. Once you have highlighted all of the text that
- will comprise the column, make sure your cursor is on the last
- column of the last line of the column you wish to select and
- press the CTRL B sequence to select a block range of text.
- Note: You must use your cursor keys and not a mouse or a
- joystick to selet the block range because the only normal
- ranges, not block ranges can be selected using those
- peripheral devices.
-
-
- Step 6: Now move back to the other alternate text area (the one which
- will contain your multi-column output) by pressing the ALT
- key. Place your cursor at the line and column at which you
- want the column to begin and use the CTRL C (copy range) or
- CTRL M (move range) sequence to electronically paste your
- column into place. Note: Using the either the CTRL C or CTRL
- M will commands not disturb the block range in the you defined
- in the other (source) text area.
-
- Step 7: Repeat steps 5 & 6 for as many columns as you wish to layout
- on as many pages you wish to create, electronically pasting
- the column at the exact position you desire. (At Twin Cities
- 128 we position our columns seven characters apart.) I
- suggest you periodically save your multiple column layout to
- disk or RAMdisk just in case you make a mistake. In this way
- you can easily recover by re-loading your previous work.
- Personally I do one page at a time and save them as separate
- files, but there is no reason why you can not put more than
- one multiple column page per file. Keep in mind however, that
- when using alternate files with Pocket Writer 2, your 64k text
- area is effectively haved into two 32k areas. Be careful not
- to run out of text memory in either area when doing any range
- operation because this will cause the program to "go away and
- sulk" and force you to re-boot the entire system. (Thank God
- for RAM-disks that retain their data even when the reset
- button is pushed!)
-
- I hope this has been helpful.
-
- SPARROW.J GEnie Commodore Flagship SYSOP
- a.k.a Loren J. Lovhaug
- Managing Editor of Twin Cities 128
- North America's only C-128 specific magazine
-
- Twin Cities 128
- P.O. Box 4625
- Saint Paul MN 55104
-
- $25.00 per year/$2.50 per issue