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Text File | 1995-02-27 | 35.3 KB | 792 lines

FIVE-STAR version 1.0 by JOE TAYLOR Apt 9B 19/1 Soi Samanchan Sukhumvit 42 Bangkok 10110 Thailand *********************************************************************** * * * COPYRIGHT * * * * FIVE-STAR AND ALL SOFTWARE, FILES, ASSOCIATED MATERIAL, ETC. ARE * * COPYRIGHT (C) 1993, JOE TAYLOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. * * * * NO COPYING IS PERMITTED EXCEPT FOR PERSONAL USE. * * * * THE DEMO VERSION (FIVE-STAR.DEMO), HOWEVER, MAY BE COPIED AND * * DISTRIBUTED PROVIDED THE PROGRAM, MANUAL AND ALL FILES ARE INCLUDED * * AND UNCHANGED IN ANY WAY, AND NO FEE IS CHARGED EXCEPT FOR EXPENSES * * INCURRED IN DISTRIBUTION. * * * *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** * * * DISCLAIMER * * * * THIS SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS". * * * * NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ARE MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE * * ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, CURRENTNESS, OR OPERATION * * OF THIS SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION, AND ALL USE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. * * THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY WHATSOEVER WITH * * RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION. * * * *********************************************************************** CONTENTS 01 ......................... Your Disk 02 ......................... Introduction 03 ......................... A Quick Tour 04..16 .................. Not available in demo A1 ......................... Reading/Printing The Manual 1.............................. YOUR DISK ..............................1 MAKING A BACKUP OF YOUR DISK Use the Workbench copying procedure to make the transfer i.e. insert the FIVE-STAR disk, select it, and drag the 'FIVE-STAR' icon onto your empty disk. TRANSFERING THE PROGRAM TO YOUR HARD DISK Use the Workbench copying procedure to make the transfer i.e. insert the FIVE-STAR disk, select it, and drag the 'FIVE-STAR' icon onto your hard disk window. TO RUN THE PROGRAM FROM WORKBENCH 1. Insert your WorkBench disk. 2. Insert your disk containing the five-star program, files and manual. 3. Select your disk icon. 4. Select the drawer icon. 5. To read the manual double-click the 'manual' icon. 6. To run the program double-click the 'FIVE-STAR' icon. 7. To set up a card template double-click the 'template' icon. TO RUN THE PROGRAM FROM HARD DISK 1. Select the window containing the five-star drawer then items 4...5 above will apply. TO RUN THE PROGRAM FROM THE CLI/SHELL 1. Open a cli/shell window and type stack 7000 press 'return'. 2. Insert your disk containing the program, files & manual (assume df1:). 3. Select directory type cd df1:five-star press 'return'. 4. To read the manual type manual/view80 press 'return'. 5. To run the program type five-star press 'return'. 7. To set up a card type template press 'return' Note 1. In 4. above, a file requester is displayed in which you double- click 'manual_text'. RUNNING OUT OF DISK SPACE? If you make several copies of the games contained on the disk you may find yourself running out of disk space. In this case you can remove the manual and/or View80 from the disk (your copy, not the original). Note 1. The manual can be read from inside the program so this will obviously not be available if the manual is removed. Note 2. If you delete only the manual then 'View80' will be activated when you try to read it. This will display a file requester which you can use for reading other files. Remove the manual :- 1. Open a cli/shell window. 2. Insert your copy of the original disk (assume df1:). 3. Select directory type cd df1:five-star/manual press 'return'. 4. To delete the manual type delete manual_text press 'return'. 5. type delete manual_text.info press 'return'. Remove View80 :- 6. To delete View80 type delete View80 press 'return'. Remove manual icon :- 7. Select directory type cd df1:five-star press 'return'. 8. type delete manual.info press 'return'. 2............................ INTRODUCTION .............................2 FIVE-STAR is a powerful prediction tool for LOTTO, POOLS, SWEEP, DIGIT (eg 4d) and HORSE (races) systems available worldwide. The program uses an identical framework for all five systems but they are run completely individually so that any number of them can be used simultaneously. All records, updates, predictions, bets and results are stored separately and can be saved to disk or sent to the printer at any time. Describing all 5 systems is unnecessary since they use the same format so this manual will concentrate on the lotto system and make references to any differences in the other systems. FIVE-STAR.DEMO is supplied with a very basic manual and is completely functional except for data input. If you like the program, the complete version with a thorough manual can be obtained from Joe Taylor at the above address for 20 U.S. Dollars or equivalent. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this program, please feel free to contact me at the above address in Bangkok. I'll start up a Games Disk if enough people are interested and if I can get the names and addresses of suppliers of historical data. I'm sure this would benefit a lot of people. Its taken me a long time to write this program, using information from various sources, but I think a special mention should go to Anders Bjerin who runs a non_profit company solely to assist Amiga 'C' programmers worldwide. He offers an exhaustive Amiga 'C' encyclopedia filled with examples; free access to public_domain/shareware programs (disks or by modem) specifically selected for 'C' programmers; a colour digitising service; but most of all, a service which I have found to be second to none. All this is virtually free once you register. For more information, he can be contacted at the following address :- Anders Bjerin, Amiga C Club, Tulevagen 22, 181 41 Lidingo, Sweden *** Whether you are an experienced Lotto player or not, you will know that the odds of winning a first prize are extremely high. No method has ever been devised that can guarantee you a win but FIVE-STAR provides methods to significantly improve the odds. This is possible because of trends that occur in every Lotto game, but how do you spot the trends? Most programs generate lists of data in various forms that show, for example, which balls are on a winning streak, or which balls pair well, etc. but it's very dry reading and hard to make an overall judgement. FIVE-STAR, on the other hand, displays data in graphic form and I think you'll find that this visual approach provides a better feel for the game and helps you to make selections. This is important because you will find that most draws include 1 or 2 numbers that are not currently doing well. You should include such numbers in your selection, and the graphs will provide the visual aid needed for comparison. Another feature of FIVE-STAR that will help you considerably is the ability to experiment with data i.e. both predictions and bets can be fine-tuned, computer predictions can be modified with user predictions, bets can be fed random 'next draw' data, experimental results can be observed, etc. This feature is indispensible and to my knowledge is not available in other similar programs. If you want to use this function with your favourite prediction program then you can read in its' data file, and use its' prediction. It is also of great value to the big players (groups) since the experimental feature applies to all sizes of predictions and up to 200 bets. There are 4 areas in which you can improve your chances of winning a Lotto prize:- 1. Play a Lotto game with fewer numbers to choose from e.g. it is easier to win a prize in a 6 out of 39 game than it is for a 6 out of 49 game. FIVE-STAR can follow and keep track of 12 lotto games of various sizes up to and including 9 out of 56 (11 out of 58 for pools). They can be read into the program by opening a 'blank' game and typing in your list of data, or by reading directly from a file (modem or another lotto program perhaps). The program is also designed to read a Games Disk which I could make available to those of you who don't have your own list but I think that will have to wait. The disk is supplied with 4 games of different sizes (6/36, 6/39, 6/42 and 6/49) which you can play around with. These are actual results, although out of date (the other systems are supplied with one example each and are not actual results from any game). 2. Eliminate weak numbers from a Lotto game so that you can bet with fewer numbers. This is the same as 1. but without a guarantee. If you are playing a 6 out of 49 game and eliminate 10 weak numbers then you are effectively playing a 6 out of 39 game IF your 10 numbers are not drawn. FIVE-STAR offers 2 methods of predicting and both eliminate the weak numbers. One method uses the computer to make 4 predictions and you choose which one you think is best, then select how many prediction numbers to eliminate. The other method displays graphs of each ball ball showing its past performance. You use those graphs to make your own list of prediction numbers and then select how many to eliminate. In both cases your prediction numbers will be automatically applied to the past 20 draws so that you can see at a glance how well they operate. 3. Balance your bet numbers and bias their combinations to the game being played. FIVE-STAR offers a variable betting system in which you select the number of bets you want to play and adjust the ball balance and bet range. Adjusting the balance will affect the number of times each ball appears in the list of bets, and the range will adjust their combinations. 4. Increase the number of bets to cover as many combinations as possible. FIVE-STAR allows you to select up to 200 bets using 3..11 numbers per bet. In the Menu Window, you can choose either the computer prediction method or the user prediction method and this will set up the menu accordingly e.g. if you select 'COMP', then the menu will provide access to the Computer Prediction Window, Computer Bets Window and Computer Results Window. Selecting 'USER' will provide access to the User Prediction Window, User Bets Window and User Results Window. The Data Window is common to both methods since this is where you enter draw data for the Lotto game. There are other supplementary windows and all are described in this manual. FIVE-STAR is designed to operate on virtually every lotto game in the world and provides a variable selection and betting system which will improve your chances of winning. I hope it is of great value to you but remember that the odds in any Lotto game are extremely high, so don't expect to win on every try. Keep your confidence up and take your time in making your prediction and bet selections: always remember that you are playing for big money and a little extra effort could make all the difference. There's plenty of opportunity to experiment so use the program wisely and enjoy it. 3............................. A QUICK TOUR ............................3 Starting the program, as described above, will open the Games Window. You first select the system you currently want to follow (e.g. LOTTO) and the games available for this system will be displayed. Now select 'RUN', then the game you want to follow, and the Menu Window will be displayed with the name of your selected game in the title bar. The first thing to do now is select one of the 2 small gadgets at the top of the window. If 'COMP' is selected then the menu is set up for the computer generated system (the computer will make predictions for the next draw). Selecting 'USER' will set it up for the user generated system (you will make your own predictions). Go ahead and select them now and you will see that the 'COMP' and 'USER' systems have their own colour schemes (which can be adjusted by selecting 'COLOUR WIN' from the menu bar). ENTERING DATA Note: the Data Window contains a menu bar with 2 headings: 'WINDOWS' and 'DATA'. All changes/adjustments mentioned below are found under 'DATA'. Data entry is common to both 'COMP' and 'USER' so it doesn't matter which one is currently on. Select 'DATA' and the Data Window will be displayed in which you enter your draw data as they become available. This would normally be done by typing in the entry boxes at the bottom of the tables but a file of data can also be read in (or out) using 'LOAD DATA' (or 'SAVE DATA'). However, for this quick tour it is not necessary to enter data, but you can examine the tables by selecting 'CHANGE DATA' and then 'NEXT DRAW', 'PREV DRAW', 'NEXT PAGE' or 'PREV PAGE'. When finished, select the 'close' gadget at the top left-hand corner of the window and you will be returned to the main menu. MAKING A PREDICTION Note: the Prediction Window contains a menu bar with 2 headings: 'WINDOWS' and 'PREDICTIONS'. All changes/adjustments mentioned below are found under 'PREDICTIONS'. We will examine the computer generated system so select 'COMP' (if not already selected) then 'PREDICTIONS', and the Computer Prediction Window will be displayed. The top set of boxes list the computer prediction numbers for the next draw but only the highlighted numbers will be used (the rest are the weak numbers which are eliminated). The system which generated these numbers is then applied to the previous 20 draws and the results shown in the bottom box (no numbers will be displayed on entry if a 'PRED' has not previously been selected for use). 'CHANGE PRED' is used to select 1 of 4 computer generated predictions and to change the number of highlighted balls in the prediction box e.g. pick PRED 1 and the top box will be updated with its' next prediction and the bottom box with its' past results using the highlighted numbers shown. To change the number of highlighted numbers to say, 30, first select '3' then '0' in the entry box and '30' will be displayed. Now enter it by selecting 'SELECTIONS' and the top & bottom boxes will show the results. What actually happens is that the computer uses the selected 'PRED' to make a full field prediction for each of the last 20 draws but only uses 30 (in this example) of the numbers generated. In other words, if the lotto system is 6 out of 49, then the computer has been instructed to use its best 30 numbers thus trying to predict 6 out of 30 for the past 20 draws. If it correctly predicted 5 of the 6 numbers for one of the past draws, then the bottom box will show a '*' in row '5' for this draw position. The computer then finishes by using the selected 'PRED' for the next (still to be published) draw and displays its full field prediction in the top box with its best 30 numbers highlighted. If 'USE PRED' is now selected then these 30 numbers will be used for betting on the next draw. You can try different values for 'SELECTIONS' on all 'PREDS'. Remember that as you increase the number of highlighted balls, you not only increase your chances of picking the winning numbers (good) but you also increase the number of possible betting combinations (bad). Similarly, as you reduce the number of highlighted balls, you not only decrease your chances of picking the winning numbers (bad) but you also reduce the number of possible combinations (good). The bottom results box will help you find a happy medium. When you have found the most promising combination, select 'USE PRED' and the displayed values will be remembered (pressing 'SEE PRED' then 'COMP' will re-display it at any time). Now return to the menu by hitting the 'close' button at the top left-hand corner of the window. Notice that the date in the menu 'PREDICTION' box has been updated to show that a prediction has been made. PLACING YOUR BET Note: the Bet Window contains a menu bar with 2 headings: 'WINDOWS' and 'BETS'. All changes/adjustments mentioned below are found under 'BETS'. We'll stay in the computer system so 'COMP' should still be highlighted with the menu selections still set accordingly. Press 'BETS' to display the Computer Bet Window. The prediction numbers you previously selected are re-displayed in the status box (centre) and you now want to combine the highlighted numbers into a list of bets for the next draw. 'CHANGE BET' is used to set up the bet size and generate the bet list. We'll start by initializing everything to zero by selecting 'CLEAR BET'. You can play up to 200 bets and for this example we'll use 100. Select 'CHANGE BET' and press '1' '0' '0' in the number entry box, then select 'NUM BETS'. The size of each bet in the list can be between 3 and 11 but the minimum is determined by the lotto game being played (e.g. 6 is the minimum for a 6/49 lotto game and 5 would be the minimum for a 5/36 game). We'll use 6 by entering '6' into 'SIZE BETS'. Balancing refers to the number of times each highlighted ball appears in the list and is affected by the value (1...10) entered in the 'BALANCE' gadget. 1 = good balance ..... 10 = bad balance so we'll enter '5'. Range refers to the sum of all the balls in each line of the list and therefore affects the ball combinations (the program tries to keep the sum of each line within a specific range). A value of 1...10 can be entered into the 'RANGE' gadget where 1 = close range ..... 10 = wide range). We'll enter '5'. Your 100 bets will now be generated. After a few seconds the listing will be displayed in the left-hand box which can be viewed using 'NEXT PAGE', 'PREV PAGE'. The ball balancing and range for this list can be checked by selecting 'SHOW GRAPH' and, if your not satisfied, you can select 'COMMON 00' to generate a new list using the same previously entered values. If you're still not satisfied, then change one of the values to produce a new list from the new entry or, alternatively, press 'CLEAR BET' to cancel everything so that a complete set of new values can be entered. It is also possible to produce a list with one common number in each line which would of course be useful if you felt confident that it would be picked in the next draw (the number has to be one of the highlighted numbers). In this case you would enter your number (e.g. 28) into the 'COMMON XX' gadget which would show your selection (e.g. 'COMMON 28') and generate a new list if all other values had previously been entered. Every line of this list will contain this number (e.g. '28'). A new list will be produced using the same methods described above and this includes selecting 'COMMON XX' without a number. You can play around with these selections and when you've decided which one you want to use, select the 'close' gadget and the displayed bets will be remembered before returning to the menu. Notice that the date in the menu bet box has been updated to show a bet has been made. CHECKING YOUR RESULTS Note: the Result Window contains a menu bar with 2 headings: 'WINDOWS' and 'RESULTS'. All changes/adjustments mentioned below are found under 'RESULTS'. You've now selected your prediction and made your bet so normally you would have filled out your lotto cards waiting for the next draw results to be published. Once you enter them in the Data Window then results would be available and can be examined by selecting 'RESULTS' (and 'COMP' if necessary). However, while you're waiting, you can imitate this process by selecting 'RESULTS' (to display the Computer Results Window) and enter random 'next draw data'. Go ahead and select 'RESULTS' now. You will see your prediction numbers displayed in the status box (centre) but no results are yet available. Normally, if you had entered the next draw data in the Data Window, they would be shown in the small box (at the bottom of the 'results' box) and all other boxes would show the results. To duplicate this action, select 'CHECK RESULTS' and then 'TRIAL RUN' and the small box will be filled with random 'next draw data'. With (experimental) results now available you will be able to check immediately if you would have won any prizes by examining the highlighted numbers in the 'TOT HITS' box e.g. if '05' shows a highlighted count of 3, then there are 3 bets in the bet list containing 5 hits. To find them, first select the '5HIT' so that the position (LHS of list) of all bets containing 5 hits will be highlighted. Now use 'NEXT PAGE' and 'PREV PAGE' to move through the bet list in search of the highlighted games. That's the end of the quick tour for the computer generated system. The user system won't be covered here since it is identical except for the selection of prediction numbers. The PREDICTION and BET modules are the most important areas and FIVE-STAR has several methods for manipulating them so do experiment and read the rest of the manual for more details. A1.................... Reading/printing the manual ....................A1 This manual is being displayed with a text viewer/printer called View80 which is described in the following section by its author Federico Giannici :- View80 ---------- v1.1 by Federico Giannici View80 is a fast and comfortable ASCII files reading program. It allows you to visualize 80 columns texts and to use the scrollbar at same time. View80 is entirely written in C language, except for a little routine for the screen writing, that, from the version 1.1, has been rewritten in assembly language in order to obtain the maximum speed. So, 3 different scroll-modes are available: SMOOTH-Scroll with gradual appearing of the lines, FAST-Scroll rapid but fluent, and TURBO-Scroll that gives you the fastest speed, obtained by not refreshing the scroll-bar which is positioned only when you release the keys. View80 gives you the best when there is some FAST-RAM available. It is due to the fact that it's a multiprocessor program (in Amiga almost every program is multiprocessor), in fact, while the Blitter is scrolling the screen, AT THE SAME TIME, the CPU (680x0) is writing the next line in a temporary buffer. So, if View80 is forced to work in CHIP-RAM, the CPU and the Blitter will come into conflict for accessing the memory. This causes, with long lines, a slowing down of the Fast and Turbo scroll. No problems with the Smooth-Scroll. Another peculiarity of View80, from the version 1.1, is the ability of loading up to three files in memory, and to switch among them by simply pressing a key. View80 is a Public Domain program and you can copy and utilize it freely. You don't have to pay to me anything (every monetary contributions however will be well accepted) but you can't modify, sell or incorporate it in any commercial program without my written authorization. Again, I am not responsible for any damage, direct or indirect, derived by the utilization of View80. And now, formalities off, let's start with the program description. LOADING --------- You can run View80 both from CLI or Workbench. Files can be automatically loaded in the usual way: From CLI, typing View80 followed by the filenames (up to three). The CLI can immediately be used, as if the "Run" command has been used to load the program. From Workbench, using the multiple selection procedure with the SHIFT key, or typing "View80" into the Default Tool of the file to be loaded, and then double-clicking it. You surely know what and where the Default Tool is (it is in the INFO window that is activated by the first menu of the Workbench, under the "Info" label, do you remember?). If no file is supplied, the program will automatically activate the File- Requester (File-Finder by FG, of course!). We'll examine it later on. View80 automatically recognizes if it has been loaded on a PAL or NTSC Amiga and adapts its screen dimension. I haven't actually tested my program on a NTSC machine but I think there should not be any problem. MOVING -------- You can move up and down trough the textfile both by keyboard or mouse. KEYBOARD MOVEMENTS By using the UP-DOWN arrow keys you can scroll the text in SMOOTH-Scroll. If you press them with the SHIFT key you obtain the FAST-Scroll, and pressing the ALT key you obtain the TURBO-Scroll. By using the LEFT-RIGHT arrow keys you can move through the text, page by page (the last line of the previous page will be showed at the top of the screen in order not to loose the thread of what you was reading). If you press the SHIFT key the movement will be carried out in FAST-Scroll. By using the ALT key with the LEFT-RIGHT arrow keys you can jump to the top or to the bottom of the text. The SPACE bar will activate/deactivate the automatic scroll. Again, you can use the SHIFT or ALT keys to speed up the scroll. With the F4 and F5 keys you can jump to a mark that was previously set by pressing the SHIFT and F4 or F5. When a new file is loaded, F4 and F5 are initialized to the first and last line of the file. So, initially, they are an easy substitute for the ALT and LEFT-RIGHT keys. MOUSE MOVEMENTS By using the mouse you can operate on the scrollbar and on the arrow gadgets (a double-click activate the FAST-Scroll). Besides, you can enable the scroll by clicking with the mouse in the top or the bottom halves of the screen (if this is done just near the borders the scroll will turn to the FAST-Scroll). The TURBO-Scroll isn't available with the mouse, because for long movements it's more convenient to use the scroll- bar. MENUS ------- LOAD FILE (Obtained also with F9) This option allows you to load a new file in memory replacing the previous one. To Load a new file without delete the previous one, you have to change the File# (with the F1, F2 and F3 keys, see later...), then you can choose the LOAD FILE command. The File-Finder window will appear as you select this option (File-Finder is a File-Requester I had created some time ago) and the current directory filenames will be displayed. File-Finder works like many other file- requester so I will tell you only its peculiarity. The "Suffix" gadget allows you to select only those files which end with the suffix you chose (obviously, if no suffix is chosen every filename will be displayed). If you let File-Finder complete the last directory reading, the next time you recall it, the current directory list will be immediately displayed. Again, since it's difficult to select by mouse one of the filenames during the directory reading (the filenames scroll down as they are arranged in alphabetical order), File-Finder stops reading as you click in the filenames window in order to let you select, among the filenames read until now, which one you want to load. QUIT (Obtained also with F10) It leaves the program clearing all the files in memory. It will appear a requester asking you to confirm your intentions. You can answer positively by pressing any key but the function and arrow ones. SEARCH STRING This option allows you to search a string in the file with no care for upper or lower case. The search starts from the second displayed line on the screen downward (we'll see why later). If the search is successful the line containing the string is displayed on the screen in Reverse Mode. SEARCH NEXT Like "SEARCH STRING", but without request for the string to search. Since, usually, the last line founded is displayed on the top of the screen (first line), and the search starts from the second screen line, the result is the usual "SEARCH NEXT" function. (Q.E.D.) PRINT RANGE This option allows you to print a selected range of lines. You will be asked for the number of the first and the last line to print. Usually these lines will be previously chosen positioning the screen and pressing the F6 and F7 keys respectively. By default the F6 and F7 values are assigned to the first and last line of the file. View80 makes a 80 columns print (with no care for Preferences settings) so to reproduce exactly what is on the screen, expanding the Tabs properly and replacing the unprintable characters with the "X" character. (see TABS) Commonly the print will be sent to the "PRT:" device (the printer), but it's possible to redirect the output to any file you choose by the "Send to" gadget. If the file already exists the output will be appended to the end of the file. So, it's possible to make a collage of several pieces of different files. It's recommended, for speed problems, to make this operations in RAM:. The printing can be aborted at any time by clicking on the CANCEL gadget. PRINT LINE When this option is selected the first line on the top of the screen is printed, and automatically the whole text is scrolled up of a line. It is useful for printing a small amount of lines avoiding the line range requester. You pay this advantage in terms of speed, because, for each line View80 has to open and to close the "PRT:" (or other) device and this operation requires a lot of time. USE MY COLORS By default, View80 uses the Workbench colors. If they result no good for reading or simply you don't like them, you can choose another pre-defined set of colors (nearly the default of Preferences) by selecting this option. JUMP TO A requester will appear asking you the line number to which to jump. If the line isn't accessible as the first of the screen, the line you chose will appear in reverse (try to jump to a pair of line before the end of file). CLEAR FILE Clears the file corresponding to the current File#. The other files in memory will not be affected. ABOUT KEYS (Obtained also with the HELP key) By selecting this option, View80 will show an help window with the list of the keys (and their functions) you can make use of in the program. It is also showed the total amount of free memory. You can get rid of this window by pressing any key. FILE# (1, 2, 3) (Obtained also with F1, F2 and F3) This command let you switch from a file to another in memory. Note that everytime you come back to a File# you will find it EXACTLY as you left it. In particular it will be memorized: the current position, the marks (F4, F5), the print line numbers (F6, F7), the Word-Wrap and the Tab. WORD-WRAP (OFF, ON) When this function is active (ON) View80 doesn't split the word at the end of the line, but puts it into the following line. TAB (OFF, 1, 2, 4, 8) This option allows you to select the way the Tabs will be displayed. If you select "OFF", View80 will consider the Tabs like the others unprintable characters (it will display them in a single vertical "09" character) (look at the next topic: MISCELLANEA). If you select one of the other numbers (1, 2, 4, 8) View80 will display the right number of spaces in order to adequately tabulate the text. Note that each time you either change from one TAB setting to another or activate/deactivate the Word-Wrap, View80 has to reformat the whole text and this requires some time. Besides, the values of F4, F5, F6 and F7 will be brought back to the default (first and last line of the file). MISCELLANEA ------------- If the scroll is obtained by the keyboard, View80 makes the mouse pointer temporarily invisible. At the first movement of the mouse View80 re-makes the pointer visible. In the drag-bar of the screen the following information are always displayed: the name of the program (View80); the Version number; the number of File#; the name of the loaded File; its dimension in bytes and its length in lines; the number of the current line, that is the first line on the top of the screen (View80 updates this number only when you release the mousebuttons or any key). View80 makes use of a special set of characters which shows any unprintable character contained between 00 and 1F and between 80 and 9F with a single "vertical" character showing the proper hexadecimal value of the character (it seems difficult but it is not; try to load a non- text file and you will see). During the print these special characters are replaced with the "X" character. Sometime a requester with some message for you can appear. You can get rid of it by clicking on the "Continue" gadget or simply pressing any key. When View80 meets a CR and LF characters sequence (Carriage Return and Line Feed) it considers them as a single LF character. FINAL NOTE ------------ For any suggestion, criticism, bug reporting, contribution and, most of all, praises you can contact me at the address shown on the top of the menu of View80. You can also contact me on the Italian BBS Mc-Link (06-4180440), my code is MC4080. I enjoyed very much programming View80. The result has exceeded all my expectations. I hope you like it, too. Federico Giannici Viale Francia 4 90146 Palermo Italy