Archive Magazine CD 1995/Archive Magazine CD 1995.iso/text/hints/volume_08/issue_03

Text File | 1995-02-16 | 17.1 KB | 323 lines

Hints and Tips
8.3
•  A3000 bulging case (Archive 8.2 p62) − In the hint last month, I
suggested replacing the plastic cases of A3000 computers. In the text I
sent to Paul, I made some mention of safety aspects but Paul edited them
out. (Oops, sorry!) Please note that, for a variety of reasons, you
should not attempt to change the bottom case if your power supply is the
cardboard-covered type. If you are unsure, I would be happy for you to
write to me or ring me on 01564-776745.  Keith Coton, 118 Purnells Way,
Knowle, Solihull, B93 9ED.
8.3
•  Binder problems − A number of people have said that, when they
reached the end of Volume 7, the last magazine wouldn’t fit into the
binder. Let me assure you that they do fit in the binder (well, just).
If you can’t get them in, it could be because you have been putting the
rods into the holes instead of into the slots. The holes are there only
for use when the volume is incomplete, i.e. with a half-full binder, the
magazines tend to flop about and the rods easily come out unless you put
the rod for the top issue into an appropriate pair of holes. I suppose
we ought to send out instructions with the binders, but having used the
same binders for 8 years, I forget that they are new to some of you.
Sorry! Ed.
8.3
•  Day of the week function − I agree entirely with the basic message of
Cain Hunt’s article, “Why bother programming?” (8.1 p29). When I write
number-crunching programs in Basic, I ‘print’ the results to a spool
file, which I drag into Impression and format into a suitable
presentation document.
8.3
One helpful comment, if I may, is that the calendar shouldn’t need to be
told the day of the week of January 1. The function to use (which
returns a value in the range 0=Sunday to 6=Saturday) is:
8.3
DEFFNNewYear(Y%)=(1+1461*(Y%−1)DIV4−(1+ (Y%−1)DIV100)*3DIV4)MOD7
8.3
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
8.3
•  Impression’s single-file document icon − In Archive 8.2 p.19, Paul
complained about the very dowdy grey icons that Impression Publisher and
Style use for their documents.
8.3
Fortunately, this is easily changed: All you have to do is look for the
sprite called file_bc5 in the three directories !Sprites, !Sprites22 and
!Sprites23 inside Impression’s application directory, and the sprite
called docsprites inside Resources.Sprites; you can replace them with
whatever icons you prefer − I took the Impression II document sprite and
changed its background from white to pale yellow to be able to tell the
two types of documents apart.  Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
8.3
This was one of many similar suggestions. Thanks to all who attempted to
put me out of my misery. My desktop is now resplendent with white I’s
and yellow I’s, so now I can see which I is which. Ed.
8.3
•  Inkjet paper quality (8.2 p63) − Reyjet paper can be obtained from
‘Staples (Office Superstores)’. The price, a few months ago, was £2.39
(+VAT) per ream. I have found these stores to be well worth a visit, in
terms of both choice and price. Their catalogue contains a paper/printer
type compatibility chart and lists five types suitable for b/w inkjets
(from 80gsm to 100gsm, one in A3 size) and three for colour inkjets. The
Superstores tend to be Home Counties-based (Croydon, High Wycombe, and
Staples Corner in London) but they have other stores through the country
(e.g. Leeds, Cambridge, Swansea, etc.) though I do not know if they
carry full stocks.  Bob Bourne, Ware.
8.3
If anyone can’t get Versoix paper locally, it is readily available from
Viking Direct at £5.49 per ream or £19.95 per 5 reams, both excluding
VAT and delivery. Eight reams or more are delivered free, usually
overnight. Viking Direct are on Freephone 0800-424444 and have a very
wide range of general computer and office supplies.  Jim Nottingham,
York.
8.3
•  Impression’s “Some fonts not found” − Since the arrival of Impression
Style and Publisher, I have read repeated complaints about the fact that
both versions still replace fonts that have been used in a document but
are currently not available, with the default font. Coupled with this
complaint, usually, is a wish that there should be an option to abort
and install the missing fonts (most recently in Archive 8.1, p.31).
8.3
I can’t quite see the point of these complaints. I work with just three
or four fonts most of the time, so that one of the all-singing, all-
dancing font handlers like FontDirectory would be a waste of money for
me. Therefore, I have simply distributed my fonts over four directories
− a small one with those few fonts that I use most often and, one step
down in the directory structure, the rest, grouped according to their
general look.
8.3
When Impression Style now gives out its “not found” message, all I have
to do is let RISC OS 3.10 “see” the relevant font directory, then press
<f12><return>, and the missing font will be loaded into Style.
8.3
Problems really only occur when you load someone else’s document with
fonts which you don’t have. In this case, it would be nice if Impression
gave the option to choose the replacement font. You could then use
something really noticeable like Dingbats, so that it would be easy to
locate the style or effect that needed changing.  Jochen Konietzko,
Köln, Germany.
8.3
•  NoCaps II − After the hint in Archive 8.1 regarding disabling the
capslock key I had a request for a version that would respond normally
to capslock, but turn it off when shift was pressed. This could be
useful for things like postcodes, where it is easier to turn capslock on
than to get confused about when you need to press <shift>. Rather than
adding this functionality to the original module, I generated a new
version, which is more economical on space than having both in one, and
you are only likely to use one or the other. The two modules are on this
month’s disc as NoCaps (disable capslock as before) and SNoCaps (shift
disable capslock).  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.3
•  Powersave & libraries − Several people have expressed interest in the
powersave program from issue 8.1 of Archive, but have had difficulty
incorporating it into their !Boot sequence. I will therefore describe
how to install it. (The methods apply equally to other command line
programs you may wish to run − just replace powersave in the description
below with the program you wish to install.)
8.3
There are three basic ways around this problem. The first thing to do
(whichever method you use) is to find your boot file. If your machine
has RISC OS 3.11 or earlier, the boot file will be in the root directory
of your hard disc (unless you have moved it). On the Risc PC you will
have to hold down shift (to open application directories) and double-
click on !Boot, Choices, Boot, Tasks, in that order, as you go down the
directory structure (clicking with <adjust> each time will close the
previous filer window − useful in this situation). Once you have located
your boot file (called ‘!Boot’) hold shift and double-click on it to
load it into !Edit. Find where in the boot sequence you wish to run the
program and insert a blank line. Make sure the cursor is at the start of
the blank line, ready for the command that will execute the desired
program.
8.3
Probably the easiest method is to use an absolute reference. Copy
powersave somewhere ‘safe’ and preferably out of the way so that it does
not clutter the hard disc. Type “RUN ” and then hold down <shift> and
drag the ‘powersave’ icon, from where you put it, into the text window
containing the boot file set up above. When you release <select>, you
should see the full pathname appear in the text file following the run
command. You can then set up the parameters as described below.
8.3
The second possibility is to set aside a special directory where you
keep all your command line programs. Fortunately, Acorn provide such a
system, the Library directory, which on pre-Risc PC machines is, by
default, a directory called ‘Library’ in the root of your hard disc. On
the Risc PC, there is a directory inside the !Boot application, also
called ‘Library’. Open the appropriate Library directory and copy
powersave into it. You can then type ‘powersave’ into the blank line in
the boot file ready for the parameters to follow.
8.3
This is fine except that it relies on default settings, and puts
programs into Library that you only use very rarely. The method I use
therefore is to put the programs, and utility applications that I load
only during the boot sequence (backdrop picker, configuration tester,
for example), into a directory, say ‘BootLib’. I then have a line in my
Boot file ‘set BootLib$Path full::pathname.$.for.BootLib.’ as
appropriate for the location of the BootLib directory. Again, this can
be found by Shift-dragging BootLib into the text editor, but note that,
to be successful, the path must end with a full stop. I can then run any
program in Bootlib with the command ‘BootLib:progname’. This is longer
for a single program, but I only have to set bootlib once, and then
reference it several times. I have an absolute reference, so the default
settings do not affect it, and the library directory is kept for
frequently used programs. It is also far simpler to move the directory −
if you use the first method, you have to re-enter the full pathname for
every program that has moved. If I move BootLib, however, I only have to
change the line where BootLib is set, and all the programs will work as
before.
8.3
Once you have got the program ready to run by one of the three methods
above, all you need to do is to add any parameters to the end of the
line as appropriate for the program. In the case of powersave, an
example would be ‘delay 4 120’ for a two minute inactivity delay before
spinning down the drive. Do not use ‘spindown’ in your boot sequence.
Doing so will force the drive to spindown part way through the boot, and
immediately spin back up again, causing unnecessary strain.  Matthew
Hunter.
8.3
•  Publisher: editing effects − It is possible to edit effects as if
they were styles and even then to turn them from effects into styles. If
you look inside !Publisher, in the Resources directory is a file called
UK. In it is a line: “Cnf1:” and if you change this to read “Cnf1:E” and
re-save it, then from the next time you load Publisher, you will find
that effects become editable just as if they were styles.
8.3
This partially solved a problem caused by the change to Publisher.
8.3
With Impression II, when articles came in that had bits in bold, I would
just put them into the magazine and the “bold” bits would come out as
Plantin.Semibold. (I prefer to use Plantin.Bold because the body text is
Plantin.Light and the full bold face, although OK for headings, looks
too dark within the body of the text.) This worked because, prior to
Style and Publisher, anything using the bold effect was given the name
“bold” and, in the magazine, the “bold” style was defined as using
Plantin.Semibold.
8.3
However, if contributors us <ctrl-B> for bold, when I load it into the
magazine, it forces the text into Plantin.Bold. At first, I had to edit
“by hand” every single occurrence of the bold effect, changing it into
my bold style! The way I now get round it is to go to the incoming file,
click on a piece of “bold” text and press <ctrl-f6> to edit the style.
The effect then appears in the style editing window as something like
“Effect17”, or whatever. All I have to do then is to change this name to
“Bold” and this then becomes a style rather than an effect and, when
loaded into the magazine, it automatically assumes my Plantin.Semibold
style.  Ed.
8.3
•  Publisher: finding styles and effects − If you are given a document
that contains a huge range of effects and styles, as I often am, it is
good to simplify it before pasting it into another document. (You would
be amazed at the complex combinations of styles and effects people use
in their documents!!) You have the choice of a quick <ctrl-A><ctrl-N> to
remove all styles and effects and then re-insert the styles you really
want or of leaving in some styles and removing others. But how do you
know which style/effect does what? Well, styles are easy because you can
use search and replace to find them. The menu button next to the “Find
what:” box allows you to enter the name of a style. Then add an “@” and
it will find the first occurrence of anything in that style.
8.3
Finding effects is more tortuous and can only be achieved if you have
used the Cnf1:E trick mentioned above. So, if you press <ctrl-A> and
look across on the Style menu, you will see a list of ticked styles and
effects. Suppose you decide you want to find what and where “Effect 598”
is. The trick is that you double-click on a word and use the Style menu
option to apply Effect 598 to it. Pressing <ctrl-f6> will then bring up
Effect 598 on the Edit style window. Click on “Show on style menu” and
OK it. Now you can go to the top of the document and use <f4> to find
that effect as it will now appear on the find style menu. The only bit
of really bad planning here is that, if you want to look at each of the
occurrences of this effect and get rid of some of them, you cannot use
<ctrl-N> to remove the effect because <ctrl-N> is taken to mean “next
match” when you are searching! Drat! Keystroke to the rescue again. I
have programmed <alt-N> to give me the menu selection, Style − Clear all
styles. Ed.
8.3
•  Screenload on the Risc PC − It has been pointed out that the
*screenload command appears to work differently on the Risc PC from
previous machines, in that it no longer loads into the current graphics
window but loads at the bottom left corner of the screen instead. In
fact the operation has not changed, but is modified by the new mode
system. A screenload will load the sprite to the screen, changing mode
if necessary, and it is the mode change that causes the problems. For
example, if, while in mode 31, you screenload a sprite, defined in mode
27, the computer will change to mode 27 first. Changing mode redefines
the graphics window, so you will find that (on any machine) the result
of the following program will be to place the sprite in the bottom left
hand corner of the screen (assuming there is a sprite called ‘test’,
defined in mode 27 in the currently selected directory).
8.3
MODE 31
8.3
VDU 24;100;100;600;600;
8.3
*SCREENLOAD test
8.3
This is because the graphics window set by the VDU 24 is reset by the
mode change implied in the *screenload. Adding the lines.
8.3
VDU 24;200;200;600;600;
8.3
*SCREENLOAD test
8.3
to the end of the program will successfully move the sprite to 200,200
before plotting... except on the Risc PC. This occurs because the mode
is already set to 27, so the mode is not changed, and the graphics
window remains intact. The problem with the Risc PC is that when the
machine tries to change into mode 27 (after the first screenload) it
ends up as a 640 by 480, 16 colours, 60Hz mode. Therefore, although the
sprite is loaded, the machine is not actually in mode 27, so the next
screenload also tries to change to mode 27, resetting the graphics
window again. Unfortunately changing the mode in which a sprite is
defined is does not cure the problem. If you need to move the sprite
away from the bottom left corner, you will need to use sprite calls to
load and plot the sprite yourself.  Matthew Hunter, NCS.
8.3
•  Style file size − The Impression Style manual says that: “Deleting
unused master pages does not make the document significantly smaller”
(page 180) and “Single file format has the advantage that files are
smaller. This is useful for short documents such as letters” (page 17).
However, there is no comment on the merits of deleting unused styles, so
I thought I would check it out.
8.3
Taking a two page letter built on a letter master page and with a sprite
picture (25,240 bytes), I have tested these statements out. The Info Box
gave:
8.3
Document  Pages: 2  Size: 171Kb
8.3
Text  Stories: 19  Memory: 6Kb
8.3
  Chapters: 1  Words: 452
8.3
Graphics  Pictures: 5  Memory: 147Kb
8.3
When saved, the document took up 175,912 bytes (single file) or 176,543
bytes (directory)
8.3
The reason for the massive size is that I had four master pages for
different letter-type documents, each with the logo graphic. So, after
removing three unused master pages, the document took up: 42,792 (single
file) or 44,367 (directory).
8.3
The document had fifteen other unused master pages which took up between
188 and 1,216 bytes each − when all were removed, the document shrank
to: 35,316 (single file) or 36,851 (directory).
8.3
If I saved the text only, with no style information, it only occupied
2,332 bytes.
8.3
As I already have the picture stored elsewhere, I only need to keep the
text and that does not need any style or frame information and so my
final storage needs will not be 176Kb but about 2Kb which can then be
very effectively archived.
8.3
What I have learnt from this: (1) save all writing as text files if
possible, (2) redundant styles do not take up a large amount of space
and there is no benefit in removing them for storage reasons and (3) be
careful how many times you save graphics, especially in dormant master
pages!
8.3
I will now remove many of the master pages from my default document and
save them in separate documents (or in useful groups as I don’t think
you can merge master pages into one document!) for when I need them.
This will also have the knock-on effect of having smaller initial
documents in memory which will load more quickly!  Robert Lytton,
Leeds.  A