Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/magazine/volume_05/issue_05

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 213KB | 5,201 lines

Products Available
5.5
Å    A5000 floppy drive extension cables Ö Ray has made up some extension
cables (ú18 each) so that you can have a socket at the back of your
A5000 to plug an external floppy drive into without going inside the box
each time you want to connect and disconnect. Note that these are not
electronic buffers. Acorn say they donæt need to be buffered although,
in view of the problems noted in the Comment Column on page 9, it might
be good to have an interface. Thatæs not for buffering but to provide a
degree of flexibility over the various control lines used by different
types of drives Ö not all floppy drives are recognised if they are just
plugged straight into the socket.
5.5
Å    A5000 availability Ö We still cannot get enough A5000æs, especially
the Learning Curve version Ö well, they come in fits and starts. Acorn
have said that their will be more available in mid-February so, if you
want an A5000, I suggest you send in a cheque to book your place in the
queue.
5.5
Å    Acorn Publishing System Ö Acorn have launched a DTP bundle comprising
a 4M A540, Eizo 9060S monitor, and Computer Concepts HiRes 8 printer,
Scanlight Professional flatbed scanner (300 d.p.i. 256 grey levels),
Impression II, Equasor and the Impression Business Supplement. All for
ú4995 +VAT = ú5869. The price of these products separately is ú6196 even
at Archive discount prices.
5.5
(I know what you are thinking, öWhy use an A540? Why not an A5000?ò.
Part of the reason is that, being realistic, to make good use of a 300
d.p.i., 256 grey level scanner, 4M of ram is hardly going to be enough
and, officially, the A5000 is only a 4M machine. Also, the Acorn multi-
sync may be cheap but itæs not realistic to think of using it for a
system of this calibre. So, now that Atomwide are shipping their 8M
upgrades for the A5000, what would an 8M system cost using each
computer. Adding ú315 for a 4M upgrade to the A540 gives ú6182. Compare
that with making it up with a 2M A5000 plus ú590 for a 2Ö8M upgrade
including replacing the 40M IDE with a 100M high speed SCSI and the
Acorn multisync with an Eizo. That would cost you, at Archive prices,
ú5935. For the extra ú247, you gain the ability to go up to 16M but you
lose the ability to use 1.6M floppy discs and, at present, access to
RISC-OS 3, though that will soon (?) be available for A540 costing in
the region of ú100 thus increasing the difference to approx. ú347.)
5.5
Å    Acorn SCSI card / Syquest removable drive solution Ö Those of you who
have had problems running the 42M and 84M Syquest removable hard drives
on the A540, (i.e. on the latest version of the Acorn SCSI podule), will
be pleased to know that we have a fix which seems to work OK. Acorn are
working on a öproperò fix Ö they have been for some considerable time
now Ö but at least this will allow you to use the removable drives. If
you want a copy of the software patch that Adrian has written, just send
us a blank, formatted disc and a small donation for our charity pot and
weæll send you a copy.
5.5
Å    Aleph One ARM3 prices down (again!) Ö Aleph One have now joined CJE
Micros in providing ARM3 upgrades at ú199 +VAT (ú225 through Archive).
5.5
Å    Atomwide SCSI drives Ö The prices of Atomwide drives has decreased
this month and the range has been extended to 400M. This is good news
because they use the fast, high quality, Pro-Quantum drives which seem
to be about the best drives around at the moment. I am using a 200M Pro-
Quantum as my main drive and, as I have said before, it is ffffast! They
are the same drives that Oak use for their High Speed range but the 100M
and 200M now work out cheaper, even with the Oak SCSI boards. The prices
are....
5.5
    50M    Internal Ö    ú285
5.5
    100M    Internal Ö    ú395
5.5
    200M    Internal Ö    ú685
5.5
    400M    Internal Ö    ú1055
5.5
    50M    External Ö    ú370
5.5
    100M    External Ö    ú485
5.5
    200M    External Ö    ú775
5.5
    400M    External Ö    ú1145
5.5
Add ú200 to each for an Oak SCSI podule so that you can compare prices
with the Oak HS range.
5.5
Å    BibleMaster Ö Many readers have asked if there is a computer version
of the bible available for the Archimedes. I have looked around for ages
and found nothing. (Does anyone know different?) So, I am breaking with
my normal rule of not supplying PC products! BibleMaster is a new
computerised bible for PC compatibles, which works under the PC emulator
provided you have at least 4M free in your PC partition. It is based on
the New International Version and is sold by Hodder & Stoughton for
ú49.95 inc VAT (ú45 through Archive). You can look at two passages at
the same time, export text to disc for inclusion in word-processed
material (but check the copyright situation first!) and you can keep and
edit a verse list for study purposes. It has over half a million cross
references and an on-line help facility.
5.5
Å    !Bulletin is a bulletin board communication system from XOB for use
over Econet networks. It provides the usual bulletin board services
including electronic mail, special interest groups and closed user
groups. This fully RISC-OS compliant software runs on any Archimedes,
supports up to 1,500 users and comes with a site/network licence for ú67
from XOB.
5.5
Å    CableNews is Lingenuityæs new frame-based presentation system. It
allows you to prepare presentations from sprites and draw files and with
text using outline fonts. The price is ú169 +VAT from Lingenuity with
educational prices and site licences also available.
5.5
Å    CalcSheet Ö Following comments from a reviewer, (the review was never
published) Trail Software has removed CalcSheet from sale with immediate
effect. Any customers who are unsatisfied with the product can have a
full refund from Trail Software.
5.5
Å    CoCo is a control language for the Archimedes produced by Commotion.
For ú49.95 +VAT, it provides a RISC-OS environment control language that
will allow you to operate an interface device with switch inputs and
outputs as well as motors with variable power and direction control.
Lego UK have adopted CoCo for use with their InterfaceA.
5.5
Å    Concept keyboard Ö Northwest SEMERC have produced the Oldham Overlay
Keyboard (a concept keyboard by any other name). This A3 board with 128
switches costs ú166.67 +VAT from NW SEMERC. There is an optional switch
input (ú50 +VAT) to allow special needs switches to be connected for
people with severe physical difficulties.
5.5
Å    Detour is a file manipulation utility to enable you to overcome
problems with software written to run on a specific filesystem, drive or
directory. It can be used for a number of purposes including acting as a
virus protector. The price is ú19.95 inc VAT from Electronic Solutions.
5.5
Å    DrawPlus update Ö This has now been updated to version 2.10. It
includes some minor bug fixes and is compatible with the A5000. The
updated version has been put onto Careware Disc 13. Existing Careware 13
owners can send their discs back for update Ö a further small charity
donation would be appreciated but is not obligatory.
5.5
Å    DTP For All Ö Bruce Goatlyæs new book has just been published by
Wileys / Sigma. It costs ú12.95. For details, see the review on page 22.
5.5
Å    Electronic Bible Ö Hereæs the ultimate(?) add-on for your Archimedes.
A pocket-sized electronic bible (smaller than a personal organiser) with
LCD display and full ASCII keyboard that contains the whole of the bible
Ö both old and new testaments Ö plus concordance and thesaurus. It
allows you to look for the occurrence of multiple words Ö you could
find, say, all the places where the words öJesusò and öPhariseeò
occurred in the same verse or within a couple of verses (you choose) Ö
this is much more powerful than a straight concordance. The Electronic
Bible has a serial link, so we are working on a cable and software to
allow the output to be fed into an Archimedes. Electronic Bible costs
ú250 from Hodder & Stoughton or ú235 through Archive and the link will
soon be available for ú25, we hope.
5.5
Å    Ethernet card for A3000 Ö Atomwide are now marketing an Ethernet card
for the A3000 at ú229 +VAT (or ú255 through Archive). It can be used
with thin Ethernet cabling and Acornæs TCP/IP or AUN software to provide
cost-effective networking to mainframes, minis etc. This is an internal
8-bit podule but a 16 bit standard podule version for use on thick or
thin Ethernet will also be available in a couple of weeks time. The
price will be the same as the A3000 version.
5.5
Å    FastType Ö Micro Guide have published a typing tutor under the title
FastType. It is a fully RISC-OS complaint application. It is also
supplied with a disc of PD special needs software as the author is
continuing to develop FastType particularly for those with special
needs. The cost is ú19.95 inclusive from Micro Guide.
5.5
Å    Floating point accelerator Ö DT Software have harnessed some PC
hardware Ö an 80287XL FPA Ö to improve the speed of the Archimedes
floating point functions. It comes on a single podule and, in software
terms, is linked in to where the floating point emulator normally
resides. It has the great advantage (unlike the Acorn FP co-processor)
of being ARM3 compatible. The 80287XL is, apparently, almost equivalent
to an 80387 and it runs at 37 MHz. (A 60MHz version is under develop
ment!) It provides 3 to 4 times speed increase on multiply on an A540
and even better improvement on lesser machines. Trig and transcendental
functions show an even more marked improvement. The price is ú174.95
inc-luding VAT from DT Software or ú165 through Archive.
5.5
Å    Geoscan the world geography database has been updated to take account
of some of the changes that have taken place in world geography
recently(!) and has also had various new features added including
!Geobrief which contains background information on over 200 countries
and territories. This is in a common text format which allows for easy
inclusion in WP / DTP work by students. There is also an application
which allows students to print out the main information in various ways
to a standard dot-matrix printer. The price for the new version of
Geoscan is ú45 from Passkey Marketing or ú42 through Archive.
5.5
Å    Good Impression Ö is a book of layouts, designs and graphics which can
be created with Impression. It costs ú26.95 from ÉWord Processingæ or
ú25 through Archive. For more details, see the review on page 47.
5.5
Å    Helix Basic is a öfully functional Basic V language interpreterò
designed to allow öanyone, whatever their programming experience to
write professional RISC-OS compliant multi-tasking programs.ò Quite a
claim! The price is ú99.95 inc VAT from Craddock Computer Systems.
5.5
Å    Insight is a data-logging package from Longman Logotron. It provides
the software interface for data-logging interfaces such as Sense and
Control, LogIT and Philip Harris. It allows data to be taken in either
at very high speed or on a ötime-lapseò basis and provides analysis and
display of the received data. The price is ú69 +VAT from Longman
Logotron or ú75 through Archive.
5.5
Å    James Pond, the fishy special agent, is now available. This is an
arcade adventure with a ögreenò slant and a degree of humour. ú25.99
from Krisalis or ú24 through Archive.
5.5
Å    Key Author Ö a multi-media Presentation System produced by ITV Schools
division. It aims to provide a multi-media system that links in with
their Key Plus database system. The cost depends on the type and size of
establishment purchasing it from an individual user at ú55 and a (<150
pupil) primary school at ú65 to a (>800 pupil) secondary at ú180 and a
FE/HE college at ú450.
5.5
Å    Mah Jong, The Game Ö Mah Jong Patience has been out for quite a while
now but here is the proper Mah Jong game. You have to pit your wits
against three other players, all of whom are the computer playing a öno
holds barredò game. This implements the Western rules of Mah Jong, not
the original Chinese rules. The cost is ú22.50 from Cambridge Interna
tional Software or ú21 through Archive.
5.5
Å    MatchMaker seems to be the ultimate in interfacing for special needs
applications. It will allow öany switch to... operate any Archimedes
programò. Quite a claim, but Matchmaker itself contains a sophisticated
micro-processor system and has its own 20 ╫ 4 character LCD display.
This is available for ú850 +VAT from SRS Systems Ltd.
5.5
Å    PC emulator upgrades (listen carefully, please, while I try to
explain... ) There are two upgrade products to allow you to obtain the
1.7 version of the PC Emulator, one for MS-DOS users (öthe AKA48 PC
Emulator 1.7 upgradeò) and one for DR-DOS users, i.e. those who bought a
Learning Curve pack (öthe AKA45 PC Emulator 1.7 + DR-DOS 5.00 upgradeò).
5.5
Who should upgrade? Itæs only really users of A5000æs (since 1.6 doesnæt
work on RISC-OS3) or those with versions before 1.6 that need to
upgrade.
5.5
How much does it cost? For MS-DOS users, the AKA48 costs ú17.62 inc VAT
if you already have 1.6 or ú34.07 if your version is earlier than 1.6.
For DR-DOS users, the AKA45 which includes an upgrade from 3.41 to 5.00,
costs ú45.82.
5.5
Where do I get it from? You can only get your upgrade by mail order
(though they do accept official orders from educational establishments)
from Acorn Direct in Wellingborough.
5.5
What do I have to send? Send a cheque payable to ÉAcorn Directæ (or
official order) with your PC Emulator disc to Acorn Direct, (not us!).
If you have version 1.6, send the ösmall PC Emulator (CGA) discò. For
AKA48 (MS-DOS) do NOT send your MS-DOS disc. For AKA45 (DR-DOS) you must
send your DR-DOS registration number.
5.5
How long does the offer last? You must upgrade before 27th March 1992.
5.5
If there is anything you donæt understand, please DONæT ring Norwich
Computer Services but address your queries to Acorn Customer Services on
0223Ö245200.
5.5
Å    PC expansion card Ö (breaking the normal rules about only mentioning
products that are actually available now) Aleph Oneæs 386 PC expansion
card should be available by the end of February at ú495 +VAT (or ú545
through Archive). It is claimed to offer between 10 and 20 times the
speed of the software emulator alone (though that is presumably
comparing with a non-ARM3 machine). It uses a 386SX compatible micropro
cessor and has 1M of ram upgradable to 4M and occupies a single half-
width podule. In operation, it is just seen as an extension to the
original PC emulator but it does allow very rapid, almost single key
switching between the PC environment and RISC-OS. We saw it operating at
the BETT Show with Flight Simulator running at a very respectable speed.
(Watford Electronics were also supposed to be showing their PC card at
the BETT Show but potential customers were told that it would be
available ösoonò but that they were unable actually to demonstrate it.)
5.5
Å    Printer drivers  Ö We are going to be stocking Ace Computingæs printer
drivers including their latest one for the Deskjet 500C colour printer.
They are ú16 +VAT each or ú17 through Archive. Printer drivers available
are Deskjet 500C, Paintjet, Epson JX and compatibles (inc Star LC10,
XB24 and Citizen Swift-24 with colour ribbon), Canon PJ 1080-A and
ColourCel.
5.5
Å    Removable SCSI drive prices down Ö The prices of the removable drives
and cartridges have dropped again this month. The 42M drives are now
under ú500 Ö well, ú495 Ö but that includes VAT and carriage. The extra
42M cartridges are now ú70. The 84M drives are down to ú680 and the
extra cartridges to ú120.
5.5
Å    Shareware Disc 17 update Ö Acorn have now released a RISC-OS Extras
Extras disc which we are distributing as Shareware Disc 17. The disc
contains the latest printer drivers, modules, etc (version numbers shown
below) along with a virus killer and protection module. If you already
have Shareware 17, send it in for an update but we would be grateful for
a small donation to charity to accompany it. Thanks.
5.5
Modules: Econet 5.48, Hourglass 2.02, IRQUtils 0.12, NetFiler 0.24,
NetFS 5.53, NetPrint 5.30, NetStatus 2.01, SoundScheduler 1.13, VGAModes
1.45; printer drivers: !PrinterDM 2.46, !PrinterIX 2.46, !PrinterLJ
2.46, !PrinterPS 2.46; system: !Scrap 0.53, !SysMerge, !System 0.52
which includes Clib 3.75, Colours 0.52, FPEmulator 2.80, MessageTrans
0.06, WimpUtils 0.04; utilities: BigDelete, FSVersion, SetStation; virus
kit: !Killer 1.17, VProtect 1.06.
5.5
Å    Twilight is a screen saver program with a difference from The Really
Good Software Company. It is multi-tasking so that applications that are
running can continue even after the screen has been switched off. It
also has password facilities and a hot-key combination that sends your
screen to sleep instantly. The price is ú29.95.
5.5
Å    Want a dirt cheap A540?! Ö You may have seen adverts for A540æs at
ú1999 +VAT (ú2349); well, we know a man who can sell you one for even
less! Seriously though, if you are interested in a new A540, we may be
able to get one for you at (just) under ú2000 inc VAT. They wonæt be
covered by Acorn warranty because they are already several months old
(although unused and boxed) but we would cover them with our own NCS
warranty. Give us a ring if you are at all interested.
5.5
Å    A3000 spares Ö A company that uses A3000 motherboards has a fair
number of A3000 cases, power supplies and keyboards sitting around
gathering dust. We can sell them at about half the normal spares price,
i.e cases ú15, p.s.u.æs ú24, keyboards ú18. Give me a ring if
ineterested.
5.5
Review software received...
5.5
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Insight, Graphbox Professional, Mah Jong The Game, Converta-Key,
Archivist, TurboType & FastType (Is there an RSA typist who can assess
them?), Detour, Helix Basic, Twilight.ááA
5.5

5.5
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.5
I received a letter this week that assured me, basically, that the bible
was totally unreliable. Now, I donæt think that most scholars (Christian
or non-Christian) would agree with that view but it does highlight a
problem for many people, öCan we really trust the bible?ò
5.5
I faced this one when I was a student; I read the bible and it seemed
reasonably self-consistent; I read books that said that the historical
and archaeological evidence was very supportive; I read books by eminent
scientists who believed the bible; I saw, and was impressed by, the
lives of fellow students who believed the bible but still I wasnæt sure
if I personally could trust what the bible said.
5.5
What clinched it for me was when someone said, öWould the kind of God
that the bible portrays, give you an unreliable document and ask you to
base your whole life on it?ò   I hope that helps.
5.5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5.5
öIf the evidence is so strongò my correspondent would say, öwhy doesnæt
everyone believe in the Jesus of the bible?ò Why indeed? If you read the
bible and supporting books, the evidence is compelling.
5.5
Let me ask you a question. Why are Mac owners so reluctant to believe
that the Archimedes is a serious contender for DTP use? If someone
challenges the basic beliefs which you have always held, it takes a good
deal of courage to risk looking into it. It may be costly. You might
have to sell your Mac, buy an Archimedes and admit to your Mac owning
friends that you think youæve found a better way! Now,áthat takes a good
deal of courage! Are you prepared to risk it?
5.5

5.5

5.5
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.5

5.5
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
5.5
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.5
Acorn Direct     13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.5
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (210685)
5.5
Ace Computing     27 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559)
(69180)
5.5
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223Ö811679) (812713)
5.5
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689Ö838852)
(896088)
5.5
Base5 (p7)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.5
Cambridge International Software      Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London, N1 3QP. (071Ö226Ö3340) (3408)
5.5
Capsoft (p30)    8 Old Gate Avenue, Weston on Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.
5.5
CJE Micros    78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex, BN11 2EN.
(0903Ö213361)
5.5
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(48512)
5.5
Colton Software (p20)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223Ö311881) (312010)
5.5
Commotion     Redburn House, Stockingswater Lane, Enfield  EN3 7TD.
5.5
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (231632)
5.5
Craddock Computer Systems    20 Osyth
Close, Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton  NN4 0DY. (0604Ö760991)
(761800)
5.5
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.5
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.5
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223Ö841099)
5.5
Electronic Solutions    Ceralyn,
Maindy Croft, Ton-Pentra, Mid Glamorgan. (0443Ö430355)
5.5
Godders Ware    13 Prestbury Close, Blackpole Village, Worcester, WR4 9XG.
5.5
ITV Software    6 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH (071Ö247Ö5206)
5.5
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Masonæs Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60á2HD. (0709Ö372290)
5.5
Lingenuity (Lindis)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986Ö85Ö476) (460)
5.5
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223Ö425558) (425349)
5.5
LOOKsystems (p19)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603Ö764114) (764011)
5.5
Micro Guide    58 The Square, Newtongrange, Midlothian  EH22 4QE.
(031Ö663Ö0888)
5.5
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(0353Ö720433)
5.5
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091Ö257Ö6355)
(6373)
5.5
Northwest SEMERC     Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061Ö627Ö4469)
5.5
Oak Solutions (p31)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274Ö620423) (620419)
5.5
Passkey Marketing    P.O.Box 649, Shenley Lodge, Milton Keynes, MK5 7AX.
(0908Ö669879)
5.5
Ray Maidstone     421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060)
(417447)
5.5
Risc Developments Ltd (p8)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303) (60263)
5.5
Spacetech (p34)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753)
5.5
SRS System Ltd    Unit 6, Benacre Drive, Fazeley Street, Birmingham.
(021Ö643Ö2877) (0442)
5.5
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
5.5
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.5
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071Ö625Ö8455)
5.5
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.5
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)
5.5

5.5
Computer Concepts
5.5
New
5.5

5.5
Computer Concepts
5.5
New
5.5

5.5
PC Software Compatibility
5.5
Mike Clinch
5.5
Thanks to those who sent in information on software compatibility with
the new emulator. The results of the first batch are tabulated below. I
have quite a bit of other information on peopleæs experiences with some
of the items and I will put this together later on. Where known, I have
put in the DOS version.  I have found that, with some software, the DOS
version is critical. There are major differences between versions 3.2
and 3.3 Ö the Backup and Restore utilities are not compatible between
these versions.
5.5
    DOS    Remarks
5.5
A86 8088/8086 Assem    3.2
5.5
Auto Route    3.3
5.5
Bannamania    3.3    Slow!!!
5.5
Bible Illustrator (1990)    DRDOS 5
5.5
Checkit V1.0    3.2
5.5
Chi Writer V4.0    3.2    Slow
5.5
Compserve Info Manager    3.3 & 5    V.
Slow
5.5
Dataease V4    3.3 & 5
5.5
Deep Space 3D V2.0    3.3
5.5
Flight Simulator 4    3.2
5.5
Galaxy V2.2    3.3
5.5
Microsoft C V5.1    3.2
5.5
Mirror 111    ?
5.5
Norton Utilities V4.6    3.2
5.5
PC Tools V3 & 4.2    3.2
5.5
Quick Verse Bible Concrd    DRDOS 5
5.5
SID86    DRDOS 5
5.5
SPSS-PC+ V3.0    3.2    Big
5.5
Supercalc V5.01C    3.2
5.5
Trees II    3.3
5.5
Wordstar 6    3.3
5.5
Ventura Publisher    5.0
5.5
Xtree 1.0    3.2
5.5
Non Runners:
5.5
Lotus 123 3.0 & 3.1    ?
5.5
Notes: Compsoft Information manager runs too slowly to use. Bannamania
is slower than on an old IBM. Dataease and Chi Writer both take a bit of
time to load and Chi Writer runs slowly. I was not able to install
Dataease using DOS 3.2. I had some problems installing DOS 5 via the
upgrade path. SPSS-PC+ is a statistical package and it takes up 12.7 M
of disc space.
5.5
My phone number is 0322Ö526425 and my Silicon Village Mbox is
322526425.ááA
5.5

5.5

5.5
Base 5
5.5
From 5.4 page 22
5.5

5.5
RISC Developments
5.5
new
5.5

5.5
Comment Column
5.5
Å    A5000 problems Ö We have had a number of A5000 owners reporting the
same sort of hard drive problems as we mentioned last month but on the
internal IDE hard drive. It looks as if it may be a RISC-OS 3 problem
but weære still not sure. Here is one of the comments so that you can
compare notes....
5.5
Following on from your comments on hard disc problems with the A5000, I
thought you might be interested to hear of my problems. Both myself and
a friend caused our hard drives to become inaccessible with RISC-OS
reporting öàDisc not recognised Ö Is it formatted?ò whilst attempting to
fit external floppy drives to our A5000s. (*See below. Ed.) My dealer
contacted Acorn and was given the following rather odd cure which did in
fact work: ÉRun the old A400 series HFORM program, accepting all the
default values; it will generate loads of errors but let it run for 10-
15 seconds and then reset the machine.æ This worked and the disc was
restored with nothing lost Ö the problem is presumably with the
controller getting in a mess rather than the disc itself being cor
rupted. When I spoke to Acorn later, the person I spoke to said it
wasnæt a known problem and the fix was just àöa known method of waking-up
dead hard discsò! My friend managed to make it happen twice, myself only
once, but I have still not actually managed to get an external floppy
working. Iæve tried both a 3╜ö and 5╝ò drive but neither work Ö I get
different errors in both cases! I wonder if anyone has successfully
added a second floppy to the A5000 and can help me. Acorn say it should
just àplug in and goò but not for me.  Brian Debenham, Chelmsford
5.5
*Another reader had similar problems of apparently trashed hard drives
as a result of trying to connect floppies and eventually solved it by
changing link 21 which is connected to the ödisc change registerò of the
interface controller chip. Itæs a bit of a black art as no one seems to
know why it works but it does! All link 21 does is to change the öfloppy
drive typeò. What we found was that using two different makes of 3╜ö
drive, with the link in one position, it would recognise one but not the
other and in the other position it would recognise the other but not the
one. If you want to try your luck, we now have floppy drive extension
cables at ú18 each. (See Products Available, page 2) Ed.
5.5
Å    A5000 problems Ö You asked for negative A5000 comments Ö I donæt have
too many really apart from the one above. There are bugs in RISC-OS 3 of
course, most of which are quite minor, but there are some annoying
oddities. *BACKUP from the command line only copies used sectors like
RISC-OS 2 does, but the desktop backup on RISC-OS 3 copies all sectors
used or not whereas RISC-OS 2 only copied used sectors.
5.5
My only other negative comment is not really Acornæs fault but it
concerns the non-loading of protected or illegally-written software Ö
mainly games. Obvious candidates are Eterna and 4th Dimension. The
latest Krisalis games Iæve bought have been unprotected Ö an admirable
policy. I see Eterna are asking A5000 owners in their latest ads to
ösend the disc back to our French addressò although they donæt say
whether that is for replacement or refund. I bought three new Eterna
games at the Acorn User Show when I bought my A5000 Ö none of them will
load. Brian Debenham, Chelmsford
5.5
We can echo the comments about problems with games on the A5000. The
answer is to check with the supplier before buying. We are reticent
about publishing a list of those that donæt work because the suppliers
will be trying to get them to work again and may have done so by the
time any list is published. Ed.
5.5
Å    A5000 problems Ö After using the Pace Nightingale modem very success
fully with BBC ÉBæ, Master and A3000 computers, accessing Prestel,
StarNet, TTNS etc., I found that it would not work with the A5000.
5.5
Acorn eventually explained: öThe RS232 serial port of the A5000 does not
support split baud-rate working, e.g. 1200/75. It is therefore necessary
to use a modem which can buffer the 75 and re-transmit at 1200.ò
Evidently the Nightingale doesnæt, being as unintelligent as its owner!
5.5
This information is not documented, so far as I can tell Ö the handbook
simply notes that the interface is RS232, whereas I see from the
handbooks for earlier machines that their interfaces were RS432. Perhaps
that explains it Ö I wouldnæt know. E. Cobbold, Great Yarmouth
5.5
Å    A5000 good points Ö Here are a few comments which I havenæt seen
mentioned yet...
5.5
Ö All my discs, even my cheapest bulk packed ones, can be formatted to
1.6M with no defects. (True, but it will be interesting to see whether
you start to get data errors on them quicker than you do on 800k. Ed.)
5.5
Ö There are high definition sprites available for the multisync modes,
and it is possible to redefine your own window tools (Close, Back,
Toggle, Scroll Bars, etc.) ù I have redefined mine to look like Windows
3 on the PC, as I like the 3D look and am a regular user of a PC at
work. (The !Windows3 and !3dIcons applications are on the monthly
program disc.)
5.5
Ö The font catalogue is now cached in RAM so starting applications such
as Impression is very quick. It no longer has to search through all
those font directories on disk, which used to take about 20 seconds for
me. It now takes about 4 seconds to load Impression from the hard disc.
(cf 30 seconds to load PageMaker 4.0 on a Mac Plus with a 45M SCSI
drive! Ed.)
5.5
Ö Shift-Double click loads any ₧le into !Edit. This is extremely
convenient.
5.5
Ö There is now a rechargable battery powering the CMOS RAM, so you donæt
need to worry about changing the batteries.
5.5
A5000 Bad Points
5.5
Ö The so-called SVGA modes (29-31) are not really SVGA resolution
(normally 1024á╫á768), but are in fact EVGA (800á╫á600).
5.5
Ö !Paint 1.41 (18-Sep-1991) has many bugs in it (Iæve only noticed b & c
when using Mode 31):
5.5
a)    When adding sprites to an existing ₧le, if they would be outside
the existing sprite ₧le window, then the toggle size icon does not cause
them to be displayed, and dragging on the Scroll bars will not bring
them into view. The window size icon must be dragged to the left so that
the layout of the sprites is reformatted. (This is difficult to put into
words!!)
5.5
b)     Sometimes when editing files with large numbers of sprites in them
(such as 22 sprites from !SetIcons) the ₧le name in the save box is
gobbledegook (e.g.       ). I havenæt been able to repeat this to order,
so I donæt know the situations exactly, but trying again to save it
brings up the correct filename.
5.5
c)     When expanding a sprite by inserting columns or rows, or by
adjusting the size, I sometimes get öInvalid column or rowò messages
coming up, sometimes completely crashing the machine, requiring a re-
boot and losing all my unsaved data ₧les.
5.5
Ö Many games do not work, as they write directly to the CMOS RAM before
rebooting, and this seems to be arranged differently, so the new
configuration is often meaningless. This is particularly a problem on
games from Eterna, which remove the hard disc and other things. Mike
Gregory, Fareham.
5.5
Å    DeskEdit Ö Lee Calcraft of Beebug writes... Thank you for the very
positive review of DeskEdit which you published in Archive 5.4. The
review was based on version 1.02 of DeskEdit. A new version (1.20) was
released on 15th January which contains a number of enhancements and, in
particular, improves the performance of DeskEdit in Basic and C modes.
5.5
Your reviewer felt that programs containing GOTOs etc. were less easy to
edit using DeskEdit because it could (obviously) not strip line numbers
in such cases; but working with numbered Basic programs has now been
made much easier with the new version. An automatic LISTO 1 is applied
when numbered programs are loaded, and these spaces are automatically
stripped when a program is saved. Moreover, since new line numbers are
automatically inserted when you press <return> and warnings are given if
overlaps occur Ö editing with line numbers is quite painless.
5.5
In Basic mode, there is now also a single key save-and-run from the
desktop, allowing virtually instantaneous testing of programs and
applications as you edit them. The procedure and function browser has
been improved too, so that you can browse procedure and function
definitions in both directions (<ctrl-D> takes you to the next defini
tion, while <ctrl-shift-D> takes you to the one above etc).
5.5
Other new features that may be of interest include dynamic date
insertion, left and right justify, bracket matching, align columns and
the char info option (<ctrl-?> puts up a box giving the ASCII code of
the character at the caret in hex and decimal, and any special function
it may have Ö e.g. Bold On etc.).
5.5
Existing users may upgrade to 1.20 by sending their original disc,
together with ú2 and an SAE to DeskEdit Upgrade 1.2, Risc Developments
Ltd., 117 Hatfield Road, St Albans AL1 4JS. New purchasers automatically
receive the new version (price ú24.95 inc VAT).
5.5
Å    Hearsay II advertising claims Ö I need a VT220 terminal emulation and
so I need to be able to re-program the six keys at the right of the
keyboard (Insert, Home etc). I was interested in the fact that Hearsay
II is advertised as having a öfully definable keyboardò. I rang Risc
Developments (who answered the phone as öBeebugò despite their protesta
tions that they want to be known as öRisc Developmentsò) and asked them
about it. Apparently it means that the function keys are fully defin
able, not the whole keyboard as I had inferred from their advert! Oh
well, does anyone know how I can get a VT220 emulation? Alan Highet,
Nottingham.
5.5
Å    Imagine & PrimeArt Ö Thank you for Peter Thomsonæs review of Imagine
and PrimeArt (5.4 p56). As the author of the first (and cheaper!)
product, Iæd like to correct a few inaccuracies in his report.
5.5
On icons and menus, I can only say that none of the thousands of
children who passed through the Art Machine exhibition in London (where
a no-keyboard Imagine was running with no instructions) reported any
difficulty; indeed, we received many comments that menus were öeasier to
understand than those pictures (i.e. icons)ò. I would also note two
things: the menus remember your previous choices, so no mouse movement
is necessary; and (ruefully) my original version, before the testers got
at it, had about 30 choices all on display rather α la PrimeArt!
5.5
Your reviewer noted that selected colours ödidnæt quite match the same
colour when placed on the screenò. Heæd better check his monitor, say I!
The match is, of course, perfect Ö how could it be otherwise on a 256-
colour mode screen? What may have confused him is the 16-colour attempt
by the mouse pointer to mimic the 256-colour choice; blame Acornæs
hardware Ö we programmers do our best!
5.5
The reviewer is incorrect when he claims that öyou cannot place a copy
that overlaps the original without risk that the copy covers part of the
original before it has been copiedò. Since the copy is a sprite (! how
else would one do it??) and can be moved between the two screens, I
wonder where he got this idea from?
5.5
I defy anyone to run a program with two mode 15 screens alongside, say,
Paint, on a 1M machine Ö which is what most schools possess. Hence the
loss of one screen for printing Ö there just isnæt room on a basic
machine. The same problem applies to exporting sprites Ö no room on a
small machine. Users found the second screen so useful (for doodling or
testing an idea, say, or for holding lots of bits which could be placed
properly on the other screen at will) that we decided its pluses
strongly outweighed the space minuses.
5.5
I would have liked to have seen some more öspecial optionsò mentioned:
the grid, zoom, outliner, etc. Ah well...
5.5
But, having said all the above, all programs have their super points as
well as the good ones. I love the outliner, for example. But yes, Iæd
like to fool around with PrimeArtæs fills, Atelieræs wrapping, Revela
tionæs colour processing; but at the price Iæll leave them. One day,
maybe. Thanks again for the review. Peter D. Killworth, Oxford.
5.5
Å    Imagine & PrimeArt Ö The reviewer replies....
5.5
Icons and menus Ö We tested the programs by showing a class of 8 year
olds and a class of 7 year olds how to use both programs. They were then
asked to draw pictures with both programs (one child per computer with
their form teacher + myself present). We made note of how often the
children asked for help and what signs of pleasure or frustration were
shown. These children have free use of the computer room for lunch time
activity and we observe what programs are in use and how they are being
used.
5.5
It was very clear to both of us that these children found PrimeArt much
easier to use. They quickly became frustrated with the menus system for
Imagine but, when using PrimeArt, changed their options every few
seconds to create the effect that they wanted. In the free activity
period, PrimeArt became very popular and has been put to a lot of use
whereas Imagine gets no use at all. Older children are quick to try out
anything new that comes into the school. PrimeArt has become the main
art package for GCSE work displacing Artisan and Paint. I donæt think
any child has used Imagine after trying it out.
5.5
Colour menus Ö I have got the standard monitor with the first 310æs,
standard monitor with A3000 Taxan 795 and A5000 standard monitor. I have
just set up Paint (small colours), PrimeArt and Imagine on all computers
to display their colour palette and asked a group of 15 year olds (in a
maths lesson) to comment on the colours without indicating any reason
for the request. I was surprised by the unanimity of their verdict.
5.5
The colours of Paint, even though only the small colours were displayed,
were described as the clearest and giving a good range. The colours on
PrimeArt were described as clear. Those of Imagine as being predomi
nantly blues and greens shading into black. Their views coincided with
my own.
5.5
Copy Ö In Imagine, if a copy is made using the transform option, and the
copy is placed over the lower right part of the original, then the copy
becomes a copy of the copy. I have rechecked that this is the case.
5.5
Memory Ö In the review I say that I have used a 2M system for running
PrimeArt alongside other applications. I think that this full compliance
with RISC-OS is very important. We have upgraded all our A3000æs to 2M
and will do the same with our 310æs this year. All new computers will be
4MB or higher.
5.5
I think that the low costs of these memory upgrades make them excellent
value for money. I would agree that it is not possible to run PrimeArt
alongside Paint in a 1M system but I donæt accept that this is a reason
for preventing those with more memory from utilising it fully.
5.5
Special Options Ö Most have been mentioned. I donæt think a reviewer has
to cover every possibility, but enough to give a good Éfeelæ of the
program.   Peter Thomson, Casterton School
5.5
Å    Monitor resolution Ö May I make some comments following on from those
in issue 5.2 of Archive concerning Acornæs multisync monitor. I decided
to do a few calculations concerning what resolutions are achievable for
a given dot pitch and screen size. I have assumed that monitor tubes
provide the same 4:3 rectangle as TV tubes, and that the dots are as
high as they are wide. The results, I think youæll agree, are quite
revealing.
5.5
    Screen    áDot    Max pixels    For example
5.5
      size    pitch    (x)á    (y)á
5.5
    (diag)    (mm)
5.5
    14ö    0.42    677    508    Std col.
5.5
    14ö    0.39    729    547    A5000 m/s
5.5
    14ö    0.28    1016    762    Eizo 9060
5.5
    14ö    0.26    1094    821    Taxan 795
5.5
    14ö    0.25    1138    853    Sony CPD
1404E
5.5
    16ö    0.28    1161    871    Eizo 9070
5.5
    17ö    0.26    1329    996    Eizo T560i
5.5
    19ö    0.28    1379    1034
5.5
    20ö    0.31    1311    983    Microvitec
2038
5.5
    21ö    0.28    1524    1143
5.5
It seems quite obvious that Acornæs multisync monitor is only just
capable of displaying the standard RISC-OS modes and was probably chosen
with that in mind. However, when it comes to the really big high res
modes provided by Computer Concepts or Atomwide then the A5000 monitor
is just not up to it. Apart from its being able to scan at the higher m/
s rates, it is only marginally better than the standard colour monitor.
Even the Eizo 9060 represents a considerable improvement. Interestingly,
the Eizo T560i though having a smaller screen size, can achieve a
slightly higher resolution than the 2038 (though presumably the extra
size of the 2038 makes it look more impressive!)
5.5
Iæve tried three separate monitors (all Acorn A5000 types) and on all
three the Vertical Gain (Man/Auto) switch is totally useless. In the
Auto position only a couple of the available screen modes fit on the
screen. Also, the Horizontal Gain (Nor/Add) switch is almost useless Ö a
variable control would have been much more useful than a two position
switch. As the Auto doesnæt do what it should I have to contend with
adjusting the vertical gain and horizontal shift controls when switching
between my preferred Mode 39 and Modes 12, 15, 21 etc.
5.5
After all those gripes, Iæd better say something complimentary. Having
previously only used a standard monitor, the A5000 monitor does provide
an improvement with Modes 12, 15, 66, etc. Also, being able to use the
m/s modes makes it a considerable step from the standard monitor. It
also looks nicer Ö the standard monitor was very box-like. And finally,
itæs cheap!
5.5
David Lenthall, London
5.5
Å    PD software Ö In the comments I made last month about Beebugæs policy
on using PD discs to attract computer sales, I made a factual error
which overstated Beebugæs charges for PD software. I said that they were
charging ú4 +VAT for their discs when in fact it is ú4 including VAT.
Apologies for that but looking at the actual adverts, I see that it
doesnæt say whether the ú4 includes or excludes VAT. Also, Mike Williams
would also like me to point out that the ú4 is made up of ú3 for the
disc plus ú1 postage and packing. The reason I quoted ú4 is so that it
could be compared directly with the ú3 that we charge which includes VAT
and postage and packing. Beebug then charge only an extra 50p postage &
packing for each extra disc, so if, for example, you buy two discs, they
cost ú6 + ú1.50 which is only ú3.75 per disc. Sorry for the misleading
information. Ed.
5.5
Å    RISC-OS3 Ö Here are some idiosyncrasiesæ in RISC-OS 3 firmware.
5.5
With !Configureæs off-screen switch settings, if the öto bottom and
rightò is OFF and öin all directionsò is ON then, when attempting to
drag beyond the right (or bottom) of the screen, the window is bounded
though the pointer continues to move (though without dragging the
window). Moving the pointer back (button still held down) the window is
not picked up by the drag operation until the pointer is back to the
same position as when the separation occurred.
5.5
Also, when either of these switches is ON, and one attempts to resize a
window beyond the right (or bottom) of the screen, the window grows to
the left (or upwards). This is really nice, though I feel it deserves a
switch setting of its own, rather than being associated with the
bounding Éoff screenæ switches.
5.5
You can drag the scroll bars with <adjust> and this enables you to
scroll in both x and y dir-ections using either of the scroll bars. This
is very handy, particularly with Draw files, though I didnæt notice it
mentioned in the documentation.
5.5
Task Manager ShutDown Ö I am not sure how complete the shutdown
procedure is, though the restart is definitely not up to scratch. My
hard disc !Boot file contains Pinboard commands, all of which are
ignored during the restart process although the remainder of the !Boot
file is performed correctly. I use good-old <ctrl-break> to restart.
Also, the restart option doesnæt go through the RAM test (which is fair
enough, it having been done at power on). Iæve now started using a PD
!ShutDown utility which works fine. Upon restarting, it causes a harder
break than Acornæs utility, with RISC-OS going through the RAM test and
complete execution of the !Boot file. David Lenthall, London
5.5
Å    Scanners, OCR and PCæs Ö I read Tord Erikssonæs enthusiastic report on
the Scanlight 256.  In his enthusiasm, he omits to mention one fatal
flaw in the current scanners for the Archimedes.  There is no Character
Recognition Software, so anything that is scanned remains as a sprite.
5.5
In the same issue, the benefits of the Archimedes over the Apple Mac are
trumpeted.  One of the major advantages of the Mac is the ready
availability of scanner software that includes character recognition,
and very well it works, too.
5.5
I would also like to take to task all the reviewers who praise the PC
Emulator to high heaven.  No doubt it IS a clever piece of software, but
is too little, too slow.
5.5
I have some software, written with Clipper 5, which I need to use on a
regular basis for my work.  Not only is it exceedingly slow, (the
opening logo takes 45 seconds to run, instead of the 2 seconds on a 386
and the 2 to 3 minutes to update files is painful.)  It also keeps
crashing!
5.5
As far as I can see, anyone with the money to buy an Archimedes and who
needs MS-DOS is far better off with a 386 or 486 now that prices have
fallen recently.    Eddie Lord, Crawley.
5.5
Å    Schema-line? Ö I had hoped to start off this series by writing an
article last month. After conversations with Dave Clare, I put it off
hoping that Clares would provide me with an update on problems with
Schema which had come to light from usersæ letters. However, nothing was
forthcoming from Clares either last month or this, so I feel I must
start the ball rolling.
5.5
Firstly, the thing that seems to have attracted most people to Schema is
its powerful macro language. The collecting and publishing of macros was
one of the objectives of this column. If you have any interesting ones
please pass them on to me and I will ask Paul to put a few in the
monthly program disc.
5.5
The other main reason for this column, is to publish the various
problems that users have found and pass them on to Clares. I hope that,
by this method, I can get answers both from you, the users, and from the
program writers in Northwich and Glasgow and so provide an interactive
column that both PipeDream and Impression have enjoyed for some time in
this magazine.
5.5
If you have any comments that might help these articles, please drop me
a line or call me on 0903Ö813524. James Buckley, Bramley, Goring Road,
Steyning, West Sussex  BN44 3GF.
5.5
Å    Waterloo Ö I bought Waterloo as soon as I saw it mentioned in Archive
and I have a number of comments and additions to make to Tord Erikssonæs
review of the game. I would recommend this program to anybody interested
in wargaming. I like the way in which the game simulates the confusion
of military conflict and, in particular, I am impressed by the way that
the game captures the ebb and flow of a real battle. I also feel that
the game provides a good historical reconstruction of the battle of
Waterloo.
5.5
Landscape Ö The landscape is not 100% flat as Tord remarks, but
contoured, with dark green lines representing the various slopes. Hills
restrict line-of-sight and their slopes have an important effect on
combat. The maximum line-of-sight is 2 miles, but it is rare to be able
to see anything more than 1╜ miles away.
5.5
Graphics Ö The graphics are certainly not state of the art, but Tord
does not mention that the program is exceptionally fast and, as always,
there must be a trade off between speed and more realistic graphics.
Personally, I find the graphics acceptable and feel that the cube
structures used to represent troops reasonably resemble a block of
uniformed men seen in the distance.
5.5
Wellingtonæs rout Ö I think that Tord misses the point with respect to
Wellingtonæs penchant for panicking. The generalæs rout for much the
same reason as other soldiers. If Wellington or Napoleon come under
heavy artillery fire, or if they are are directly attacked by enemy
troops, they will panic and run. So, if you donæt want find yourself
unable to give orders, donæt get too close to the fighting and, for the
same reason, watch out for where your counter-part is currently
stationed in order to direct shelling or troops at him.
5.5
Wellington set his troops up in a very strong defensive position. One
important element of his strategy was that he situated much of his force
on the reverse slope of the road which leads from Braine Laleud to just
north of Smohain and thereby concealed from the French troops. This is
an aspect of the battle which the game brings out extremely well. An
unfortunate consequence of this strategy, however, is that Wellingtonæs
own field of view is restricted, so that if he wants to directly observe
the course of the battle (instead of staying at Waterloo and relying on
battle reports) he is forced to get close to the front line thus leaving
himself vulnerable.
5.5
Changing the course of history Ö It is possible for Napoleon to win. It
is necessary, as Napoleon himself realised, to knock the Allies out
before the Prussians arrive in strength. It is important to realise that
a significant amount of the Allied army are Militia units and that
Wellington has few troops of the calibre of the French Guards. Further
more, the bulk of the Allied mounted units are light cavalry. Lastly, if
the French can push the Allies back and in general get them off balance,
the Allies will have difficulty in regrouping their artillery.
5.5
One strategy that I have used to great effect is to mount a rapid attack
in force against Wellingtonæs east flank. This strategy begins with
sending DæErlon, Kellerman and Milhaud, supported by Drouot, against La
Haie and the ridge just to the north of it. You should be able to send
the Allied flank reeling and, from this vantage point, be able to swing
your troops west along the ridge all the way to La Haie-Saint itself
(and if you are lucky even to Mont-St. Jean Farm) whilst also leaving a
defensive force in La Haie, Frichermont and Plancenoit in order to hold
the Prussians back. Gareth Bellaby, Nottingham
5.5
Å    W(h)ither the Archimedes? Ö Here are some thoughts from a long-term
Acorn-user with a particular interest in Civil & Structural Engineering
and technical graphics applications.
5.5
These musings have been prompted by various recent developments and
events, with rather more time for thought in these depressed times than
one would wish and, more recently still, an unexpected trip overseas
where I was helping a large UK consultancy finish a major elevated
expressway project just before Christmas.
5.5
First an apology Ö perhaps there are no other similar Archimedes users
out there in which case this article is about as much use as a spare set
of Arthur OS chips! The indications are not hopeful: several contribu
tions to Archive on subjects such as PDT, Plane Draft and CASA have
elicited very few contacts or queries. PDT, which is Oak Solutionsæ
flagship CAD program has sold öin the thousandsò and CASA, a structural
analysis suite from Vision Six certainly deserves to sell. One or two
other articles/products with some relevance have appeared, e.g. Jim
Marklandæs !Works and recent thoughts on getting over the RISC-OS hurdle
for öown-useò applications. However, the vast majority of interest in
Archive (and elsewhere) has been in connection with DTP, education, non-
technical graphics, DTP, games, bits of music/ sampling ...oh! and DTP!
5.5
No complaints if the Archimedes starts to sell widely in the DTP world,
but itæs just such a shame that such a good öuseræsò computer has
apparently made no inroads in the real world of professional engineering
design. PC Engineering programs are plentiful, and many are very pricey
indeed. Why so few for the Archimedes? Letæs take an example in
CAD....in a word, Autocad.
5.5
When the Archimedes was young and 1M was vast, and 640 ╫ 512 resolution
was the business, AutoDesk released AutoSketch, and rumours circulated
to the effect that they would port over Autocad when the potential user-
base became viable. They never did.
5.5
Now I have played with Autocad over the years on various machines and at
various release levels but could not get on with it. AutoSketch has
never been a serious contender. PDT was a much more likeable program Ö
but: PDT was not the ideal vehicle for my sort of work, although I have
actually produced many drawings with it. It has been steadily improved
and can be thoroughly recommended for Mechanical Design. However, it
does impose certain constraints upon the user and, above all, it is a
öclosed programò. No real öhooksò or means of access/enhancement are
available to the user save DXF file exchange, which is only part of what
is required. I also purchased WorraCad which does provide some of the
Émissingæ features not in PDT at the expense of frustration due to
having to use RISC-OS menus to get at everything. I am firmly of the
opinion that single-tasking is the best format for CAD, as speed is
paramount. Moreover, PDTæs menus are much easier and more predictable
than WorraCadæs, but why-oh-why canæt they be user-modified?
5.5
Enter Autocad release 11 which I recently saw being used on a project
featuring some 5000 separate drawings, produced entirely on PCæs (386æs
with a few 486æs) and my eyes were somewhat opened. For a start, the
usability of the software on current fast PCæs was a surprise. Next, the
add-ons which had been written in-house for the requirements of Civil
Engineering detailing, vastly increased productivity. Further, the
tricks which were being dreamed up to integrate Lotus and other
specialist software enabling data extraction, processing and reintegra
tion were very tasty. Take for example the processing of Autocad
Reinforced Concrete drawings to automatically compile Bending Schedules
Ö this was a user produced routine, not a commercial product. This is
not possible with PDT as the file structure is not documented.
5.5
The point is, against my inclination, I was impressed. OK, so the
software is expensive at around ú3000 but so is the time one expends on
learning and using any system. More and more professional users are
turning to industry standard programs which, like Autocad, will simply
not run on a non-PC machine. (Even if you accepted the slowness of
Archimedes emulation, Autocad insists on a 386/387 machine, so no go
unless you have a PCcard.) (That is on its way Ö I saw it working on the
Aleph One stand at the BETT Show, running Flight Simulator (what else?).
Production versions should be available shortly. Ed.) However, as speed
is vital for CAD work why havenæt we got a Énativeæ version? Further
more, is even ARM3 technology up to the task? Computer shopper recently
referred to Acornæs RISC family as Édatedæ.
5.5
Of course the A5000 is a welcome machine; but is it the technology or
the price which is right? Also RISC-OS 3 must represent a great deal of
work, but it is apparently not staggeringly better than 2. Not surpris
ing as 2 was such a big leap forward. However the point is why have the
perfect operating system if few people Éout thereæ are using it and the
marque becomes a programmeræs/useræs cul-de-sac?
5.5
You know things are getting serious when the logic for Éthat new
machineæ starts pointing towards a 486 PC thingy instead of the
preferred A5000/A540 approach. Question : has anyone seen AutoCad
running on an A260 under Unix? You see, PCæs have moved on. Theyæve
actually got a lot better. Extended memory management (transparent to
the user in Autocad 11), Mouse versions of programs like Norton
Commander and even Windows make the DOS headache less onerous.
Reluctantly, one has to acknowledge that the reasons for staying with
Acorn become less obvious, even for an avowed Acorn-ophile.
5.5
I would still prefer to keep buying British (hardware and software),
keep my trusty Basic V (or VI) platform, have access to genuinely good
programs such as PipeDream at realistic prices, and I donæt want to be
excommunicated from Archive!
5.5
So where does that get us? Some possible conclusions are :
5.5
ÅáAcorn need a fast ARM4 machine soon to stay ahead on speed if not
compatibility.
5.5
ÅáAleph One need to succeed with their PC card. I would be keen to see
this run Autocad with a 387 installed.
5.5
ÅáOther software houses need to support wider professional interests
than currently fashionable; as an act of faith.
5.5
ÅáWe Acorn-users need to stand fast also as an act of faith, or
alternatively....
5.5
ÅáWe could all shut up shop and move over to PCæs.....
5.5
In an effort to further the debate (what debate?), the following is a
list of Civil Engineering Software which I have written which, although
not yet at a commercial level of polish RISC-OS-wise, is never-the-less
capable of serious application, together with typical prices of PC type
equivalents. It may be of interest to someone Ö if so, please contact
me.
5.5
!Highway Ö horizontal alignment design of road networks including
circular and spiral curves, verges, footways, spurs; full screen
display; data output and export of DXF drawing files with all curve,
chainage information etc, automated. PC say ú500Öú700+
5.5
!Vertcur Ö vertical curve super-elevation design, direct output of HPGL
(or DXF) file to plotter etc. PC say ú200Öú400
5.5
I have hopes of combining the above in a suite with (perhaps) Euclid
control of 3D data for visualisation, drive-throughs etc.
5.5
!Storm91 Ö Storm and Foul drainage design suite using Modified Rational
method; full invert computation and automatic plotting, labelling,
manhole table output etc in DXF. PC say ú600
5.5
!PlotWise Ö HPGL plotfile controller and optimiser. (This is my most
advanced effort in RISCware to date!)
5.5
!Digitiser Ö Produce DXF file of point data from plotter acting as a
digitiser.
5.5
!Frame90 Ö 2D Frame Analysis program
5.5
!Design Ö Miscellaneous structural design routines for R/C, Masonry,
Steel design etc.
5.5
PDT.FontEdit Ö Edits PDT fonts!
5.5
Anyone care to collaborate with me in order to at least polish some of
these up to commercial quality so that the choice of software is
widened? I wouldnæt mind some return for the months of effort involved
to date, but if there are no takers perhaps Iæll offer them all to Paul
for a CareWare (CivilWare?) disc.
5.5
Finally, if this does nothing else but prompt a storm of protest as to
why Iæm missing the point, great! Letæs talk about it! Richard Fallas,
Buckinghamshire.ááA
5.5

5.5
Cartoon Collection
5.5
Len Randall
5.5
The Cartoon collection from Micro Studio is a graphics library for the
Archimedes series. The collection comes on four discs and covers... Disc
one Ö animals and toys: animals has a bee, butterfly, cat, dog, hare and
a tortoise. The hare and the tortoise are illustrated on the cover of
the disc box to give you a flavour of the type of thing you can do with
them. Toys cover wooden type toys, dog, horse, soldier, teddy etc.
5.5
Disc two has more animals Ö frog, cow, rabbit, monkey, etc. The objects
cover a lamp, radio, TV, chair etc.
5.5
Disc three has almost four times as many pictures as the previous two
discs. The characters range from butcher and baker to a shepherdess and
a vicar. No Iæm sorry they didnæt put in the candlestick maker Ö a bit
remiss.
5.5
Disc four covers transport and gives you a selection of cars, planes and
other vehicles including a fire engine, tractor and train.
5.5
So you can see there is quite a selection for making, for example,
posters for toy fairs and sales, specialised birthday cards, etc.
5.5
All the pictures are in Paint format so they can be coloured easily by
following the instruction sheet enclosed with the discs. The pictures
are large and will need sizing. This can be done quite simply in Paint
by using the sprite as a brush and changing the x and y scale of the
sprite_brush when you create your new sprite. On the other hand if you
have !Scaler by Midnight Graphics you will be able to scale the image up
and down at will. Once you have your image as its own sprite, you can
you colour it as you wish.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
The way that the clip art is presented, using Magpie, could have been a
little slicker and all four discs could have some form of linkage.
5.5
However, as you can see from the illustrations, they can be made to fit
different sizes and shapes. (Itæs easy in Impression frames.) So, as
with most clip art type pictures, itæs up to you what you do with them
but this package could be useful for youngsters creating their own
stories. Also, with some work in Tracer (or David Pillingæs Trace.) you
could produce Draw files to animate.ááA
5.5

5.5
Sky Hunter
5.5
Richard Rymarz
5.5
Longman Logotron have produced a number of high quality software
packages for use in schools: Pendown, Revelation, Magpie and, most
recently, Pinpoint spring to mind. So it was with a certain amount of
excitement that I opened the brown packaging to review Sky Hunter.
5.5
As usual, the accompanying booklet was beautifully produced and written
with a splendid picture of a peregrine falcon on the front. Opening it,
I discovered that the software has been written for the whole range of
Acorn computers. Immediately my suspicions were aroused that this might
perform under BBC emulation or was an Éenhancedæ Archimedes version.
This proved correct because when clicking on the Sky Hunter application
the computer was taken over by the program and no further use was made
of the wimp environment. It was like stepping back in time as the
program asked me to press the space bar, arrow keys and the return key
over and over again. However, in practice, this did not seem to matter
as the children who field tested the software were used to a mixed Acorn
environment and had no difficulties.
5.5
The program
5.5
Sky Hunter is an adventure program linked to the BBC television program
for 7-9+ year olds called ÉLook and Readæ (although it can be used
independently). This will be broadcast during the whole of the spring
term 1992 and tells the story of two crooks who are involved in the
illegal sale of peregrine falcons. The children track down the nasty
pair and, with the help of the police, bring them both to justice.
5.5
The software provides a number of problems that the children have to
solve, including anagrams, suffixes, a logical tiling problem, naming
parts of a bird, animal recognition and a sliding block puzzle. There
are twelve problems in all, the last being a traditional öadventureò
involving no text entry. A menu is provided to allow the children to
continue having completed particular chapters.
5.5
Responses become easy as familiarity grows but the sliding block puzzle
always caused frustration. Most problems are language based and readily
lead to activities away from the computer. Here the booklet is very
helpful giving lots of ideas to develop and extend the themes and
provide enough work to last many weeks. More help is given at the back
of the booklet, guiding the teacher through a whole range of English,
Mathematics, Science, Geography and Technology attainment targets (for
those who are interested). Further themes include any branch of
ornithology, canals, zoos, puzzles and anything else the imaginative
teacher or child can come up with.
5.5
Use in the classroom
5.5
It is suggested that work around the computer should be group Ö based to
provide the necessary discussion, hypothesising and collaboration. Two
groups were given the opportunity to consumer test the program, albeit
under strained conditions: the last week of the term before Christmas.
5.5
The first group Ö bright year 3 children (7+) enjoyed the program but
struggled with some of the language. They found the puzzles stimulating
but there was a need for teacher involvement since they were unsure of
some words and the nature of one or two of the problems. However, with
support work away from the computer, they would surely succeed.
5.5
The second group Ö average Yr 5 children (9+) had far fewer problems.
They loved every bit of it, revelling in the logical mature of the
story, coping with the puzzles admirably and becoming totally embroiled
in the story. Perhaps it was a touch too easy for them but this is not
necessarily a bad thing Ö the accompanying work is just as important.
5.5
Conclusions
5.5
Sky Hunter is an excellent program which may or may not be used with the
television programme and is ideal for school group use. It is well
suited to the target age group. The documentation is first rate,
providing a springboard for many weeksæ work. One small quibble: why do
Archimedes users have to pay more than Model B and Master owners for the
same program?ááA
5.5

5.5
The DTP Column
5.5
Rob Sherratt
5.5
Yes, the DTP column has started up again, thanks to a Éteamæ of four
Archive members who have volunteered their help. The editorial task will
rotate on a monthly basis. A öfeatureò of the team is that we will be
independent of everybody except Archive DTP users, and we will not even
show favouritism to NCS, although Paul Beverley does have the ability
not to print what we have written! (The editor utters an evil laugh as
he wields his electronic scalpel!)
5.5
The Éfirst priorityæ being worked on by the team is to put together a
list of possible future DTP-related articles. We have some ideas which
are not necessarily the same as those of the Archive public, so please
write with any ideas relating to DTP on the Archimedes that you would
like covered in future articles (or submit the articles yourselves!)
5.5
So far, it looks like the DTP column will contain the following topical
areas:
5.5
Å        News, rumours and comment.
5.5
Å    Reviews Ö new products relating to DTP and comparisons with existing
products.
5.5
Å    Hints, tips, questions and, wherever possible, answers.
5.5
Å    Design Ö a series of articles on what makes one design ögoodò and
another one öbadò.
5.5
Å    DTP öswap areaò. The idea of this is to increase each othersæ skills
and techniques in DTP by swapping work we have done. A list will be
maintained of Archive members wanting their names, addresses and phone
numbers published together with the type of work they are doing and
there can then be a general öfree for allò where we contact each other
and exchange material. Please send details to Rob if you want to
participate.
5.5
We cannot always write individual replies, but your views and letters
will be very welcome and will be taken into account when the DTP column
goes to print.
5.5
If you plan on writing a long article on a DTP topic, get in contact
with Rob first to avoid possible duplication of effort Ö sadly four
people sent in contributions on !Trace last month Ö sorry to Jochen and
Ian that your excellent accounts apparently arrived too late to be
Émergedæ with Tord Erikssonæs and my bit!
5.5
öYou canæt be serious... can you?ò
5.5
The DTP editorial team and several other Archive readers discussing
priorities for the DTP column, consider that the Énumber oneæ factor
prejudicing the ability of the Archimedes to make major impact in the
öreal worldò DTP market place is not the machine, its operating system,
the application software available, IBM compatibility, Mac compatibility
or any other technical factor, but is instead the fact that hardly
anyone out there knows a thing about it!
5.5
We are sorry to have to say this because, technically, Acorn is such a
brilliant company and has given those of us öin the knowò some fantastic
value-for-money DTP and educational equipment, but Acorn seems to have
concentrated all its effort on technical developments. (There is a
rumour that there will soon appear an Archimedes notebook and even
further into the future we hear an advanced graphics machine is on the
drawing board.) (Keep your eyes and ears open for the portable but donæt
hold you breath for the big, super graphics machine would be my advice.
Ed)
5.5
Rather than these facts inspiring us with the enthusiasm they would once
have done, they instead fill us with great concern. Why dump millions of
pounds into the development of new equipment when what you already have
is a potential market leader and just needs a big marketing and sales
push? We cannot see how a company the size of Acorn can market a
öplatformò of about a dozen variants of leading-technology hardware
without a sales and marketing department which approaches the size of
the technical and manufacturing departments. Surely Olivetti can tell
Acorn this?
5.5
Some of the öDTP editorial teamò have considerable professional
experience of competing platforms for DTP use, such as the Macintosh and
PC/Windows 3 platforms. We all get our work done faster on the Archi
medes and find it easier to use and would very much like it to become
öworld best practiceò. The trouble is that the rest of the world hasnæt
heard of it.
5.5
We would welcome a considered response to the above from Acorn; even
perhaps a statement of what the rumoured tie-up between Acorn and CC
means to the marketplace? Also a public statement from Acorn on the
future possibility of Olivettiæs marketing strength giving assistance to
the Archimedes / DTP market place would be welcome.
5.5
(You may have noticed that Impression II won the Computer Shopper Award
for the öbest non-PC business package for 1991ò. The judges said that it
was örated as comparable to market leaders like Quark Express and
PageMakerò. Ed)
5.5
The Tempest is over
5.5
Claresæ Tempest DTP package has been withdrawn from sale. They had been
promising an upgrade for quite some time but have finally admitted
defeat and have offered a refund to people who feel aggrieved.
5.5
Stand up and be counted!
5.5
We have received a copy of öThe Good CD Guide 1992ò published by General
Gramophone Publications and sent to Archive by Ivor Humphreys who is the
Audio Editor.
5.5
Priced at ú12.95, this 680 page reference guide will be really useful to
all listeners of Classical Music, but of particular interest to this
column was the fact that it was entirely produced using Impression on an
Archimedes. The Good CD Guide also contains many full colour photo
graphs. (I suspect these were öpasted upò after Impression had done its
bit. Iæd like to know if anyone has öcrackedò the technicalities and
economics of doing full 24bit colour work with publications of this
size.)
5.5
Ivor Humphreys also sent one of Gramophoneæs öAwards 1991ò Ö a CD of
extracts from the 1991 Gramophone award winners. Of significance is the
fact that the disk label was printed using Impression, with FontFX being
used to bend the copyright notices around the perimeter.
5.5
Well done, Gramophone! Perhaps Archive magazine should start its own
Annual Awards to be able to award you one for being the first major
publication outside the öArchimedes ownersæ marketplaceò to make serious
DTP use of the Archimedes Ö unless any reader knows otherwise!
5.5
Whistle while you wait ...
5.5
We have been disappointed to learn that the öCPU hoggingò function of
the release 2 printer drivers has not been fixed in the current releases
with RISC-OS3. Many people have asked for a proper queueing system to be
implemented which would allow the printer drivers to do background
printing of Sprite, Draw and Impression files. As it is, if you print
onto a dot matrix printer in öbit image modeò you may have to wait 15 to
20 minutes before you can have your machine back.
5.5
Background printing of graphics files is something that Mac and PC users
have been able to do for several years. We would welcome comment from
anyone at Acorn reading this!
5.5
DTP on the Archimedes Ö DTP for all
5.5
A new book from Bruce Goatly has just been published by Sigma Press,
price ú12.95.
5.5
Until now, the only tutorial book I have found which covers DTP on the
Archimedes is Stephen Ibbsæ öFirst Impressionò (Reviewed by Robert
Chrismas in Archive 5.1 p17). First Impression is, of course, a specific
guide to the use of Computer Conceptæs Impression software. (A review of
Stephenæs follow-up, öGood Impressionò appears on page 47.)
5.5
Goatlyæs öDTP for allò is aimed at someone starting from scratch,
thinking that the Archimedes is a good machine, and then asking öhow do
I get good DTP results on it?ò. The book has sections covering all
leading Archimedes WP/DTP software (yes, 1WP, Acorn DTP, Ovation and
EasiWriter are all covered as well as Impression), and is split into
twelve sections:
5.5
1    What is DTP?
5.5
2     Equipping Yourself
5.5
3     DTP with Word Processors
5.5
4     Edit and Draw: Budget DTP
5.5
5     DTP Software for Education
5.5
6     Essentials of DTP
5.5
7     Text Handling
5.5
8     Graphics in DTP
5.5
9     Rudiments of Design
5.5
10     DTP in Practice
5.5
11     Preparing the Camera Copy
5.5
12     Duplication and Finishing
5.5
What is DTP?
5.5
Many people thinking of buying a book on DTP would think they already
know what DTP is. However, in this first chapter, Goatly explains very
concisely some of the technical öpitfallsò that many of us trip over. He
describes how outline font technology works from screen to printout, and
the full set of terminology used in the printing trade Ö points, picas,
setting, leading, baseline, ems, ens, standard paper sizes, full tone
and half tone illustrations, etc.
5.5
Equipping yourself
5.5
The initial section is entitled öThe RISC-OS Advantageò and describes
all the features we know and love. However, I was disappointed that
Goatly didnæt draw more of a comparison with the Macæs System 6/7 and
Windows 3 on a PC because many believe that RISC-OS as an application
support platform is greatly superior to both of these. Would any reader
like to volunteer to draw up a comparison table for publication?
5.5
However, the remaining 80% of the chapter gives very useful advice
including presenting a number of öpros and consò tables for all the
Archimedes WP / DTP packages on the market. Sensible advice is given on
what hardware will be needed and then a set of hints and tips is given
on how to get started Ö explaining how all the Font Manager configura
tion parameters work.
5.5
DTP with word processors
5.5
Text based packages covered here are First Word Plus, PD3 and Easi
Writer. Goatlyæs öget you goingò approach will be useful to new users of
these packages and also to those considering such a purchase. The bulk
of the chapter is devoted to EasiWriter which Goatly admits can achieve
documents öwith the outward appearance of DTPò, while still being
predominantly text based rather than graphic-based.
5.5
Edit and Draw: Budget DTP
5.5
I found this a very interesting chapter because I did not realise that
so much could be done when importing text into Draw. (I really must read
the User Guide some time!) Goatly exploits the full extent of Drawæs
capabilities to show how multi column layouts including graphics can be
achieved. There are also some tips on how to avoid pitfalls when using
Draw for DTP Ö the most common trap being italicised characters having
their overhangs cropped off by the öframeò which Draw constructs around
them.
5.5
DTP software for education
5.5
Two educational packages are covered Ö PenDown and Desktop Folio. I am
glad that educational packages have been covered in a book on öDTP for
allò because, in the Archimedes marketplace, the majority of users are
still in education.
5.5
Essentials of DTP
5.5
Using Impression and Ovation as models, Goatly explains all the
terminology and concepts behind frame-based DTP on the Archimedes. The
comparison between the way Ovation and Impression operate would be
useful to anyone wondering which product would suit them best.
5.5
Throughout the rest of the book, Ovation and Impression snapshots are
jointly used to illustrate Goatlyæs material.
5.5
Text handling
5.5
A really excellent chapter which explains everything you ever needed to
know about laying out and manipulating text for use with a DTP package.
The use of special effects with FontFX, FontDraw, Poster and others is
also covered.
5.5
Graphics in DTP
5.5
After an initial discussion of where you can get graphical material and
software from, a large part of the chapter discusses scanning techniques
and how to incorporate and manipulate pixel-based and object-based
graphic files within a DTP document.
5.5
Rudiments of design
5.5
Most of the ögoldenò rules in document design are given here. I found
especially useful the section describing the many different ways
paragraphs on a page could be adjusted to fit the space available.
5.5
DTP in practice
5.5
This chapter is over 40 pages Ö I think the longest in the book Ö and
rightly so. Several complex example documents are illustrated, which
Goatly then explains, so that the reader can see how they were con
structed.
5.5
Preparing the camera copy
5.5
This covers the various different ways of getting DTP documents printed
out, comparing pros and cons of each method. Goatly goes through the
detail of how to get adequate DTP output on a dot matrix printer (if you
wait long enough), and then spends the majority of the chapter discuss
ing page printers and PostScript.
5.5
Duplication and finishing
5.5
This final chapter covers different ways of mass-producing your work,
giving a tick list of advantages / disadvantages for each method. Goatly
also explains, in some detail, how pages are laid out for folding and
stitching
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
Bruce Goatly has done a magnificent job with this book which represents
very good value for money at ú12.95. Construction of the book is a
significant achievement in itself, because it was entirely done using an
Archimedes and Impression, and camera ready printout was done on a
Computer Concepts LaserDirect/LBP8 printer.
5.5
The Readers Write!
5.5
Å    Printing on an FX80 from within Impression Ö Patrick Dowling from
Australia writes that he would like a DTP column!! He also sends the
following tip which was contained in a letter to him from Computer
Concepts:
5.5
Using Impressionæs PrintLX module in draft mode to an Epson FX80 printer
for plain word processing, it is simpler to use the Corpus (mono-spaced
Courier typewriter equivalent) font instead of the default 14pt Trinity.
12pt Corpus font on screen prints Pica font on paper (10 chars per
inch). 10pt Corpus font prints in Elite (12 c.p.i.). The former allows
72 characters across the default Impression A4 page, the latter 86.
Selecting Bold produces emphasised Pica or double-strike Elite.
5.5
Patrick also asked CC whether there was a way of getting Impression to
make use of proportional spacing on the FX80 while printing in draft
mode. CC said (Dec æ91) that they hadnæt found how to yet.
5.5
Can any reader with Impression and an FX80, or compatible, contact Rob
if they know how to do this? It would probably involve an understanding
of the innards of CCæs PrintLX module and how to add the codes ESC, p, 1
to cause the printeræs proportional spacing to be turned on.
5.5
Note: prior to purchasing a Laser Direct HiRes4 printer, I used to own
an Epson RX80 printer (which did not have in built proportional
spacing). I had to live with the fact that it took 20 minutes to print a
justified page from Impression in high resolution mode Ö but the results
were really good and comparable with those on a 300 d.p.i. laser
printer.
5.5
Å    Graphic file formats Ö Neil Whiteley-Bolton (now a co-Editor of the
DTP column) from Amsterdam writes that his main Écomplaintæ about the
present Archimedes / DTP setup is that the RISC-OS printer drivers do
not, at present, support 24-bit colour file formats such as TIFF or
Clear, and hence there is no point (currently) in persuading CC and
other application writers to incorporate TIFF or Clear file import /
print capability within their products.
5.5
CCæs ÉArtworksæ combined with the Laser-Direct Hi Res interface may
offer a Éway outæ of the loop for low resolution (600 dpi) output, but I
agree that PrinterPS badly needs an upgrade that will be compatible with
the full capabilities of packages such as Artworks. I have written on
behalf of Archive to CC to ask about Artworks among other things, and we
will let you know as soon as I hear back Ö I believe their letter was
lost in the post and so missed this copy date!
5.5
I will also try writing to Acorn on behalf of Archive readers on this
topic, but would prefer to öcollect togetherò one or two more items
first.
5.5
Å    Graphic drivers for printers Ö John Evans from Winchester has written
his own typesetting and printer interface program to drive an HP
Laserjet IIISi printer using HPæs PCL 5 language. His driver works
perfectly for sprites and text, but he does not currently have the
capability of rasterising Draw files.
5.5
He asks the following:  (a) Does anyone have any C subroutines for
rasterising Draw files?  (b) Is there any product which allows you to
convert from a Draw file to a Sprite file (other than by doing a
screendump first!)  (c) Is there a way of converting from Draw/Sprite
format into TIFF format to enable file interchange with people using
PCs?
5.5
In partial answer to question (c), you need a copy of John Kortinkæs
!Creator (C/W 13), !Translator  (C/W 13) and !GreyEdit (S/W 40) programs
which will allow conversion and image processing between Sprites and
most foreign graphic file formats including TIFF. Registration costs ú10
cash only to John Kortink, Middelhuisstr. 17, 7482 EL Haaksbergen, The
Netherlands.
5.5
You can convert sprites to Draw files using David Pillingæs !Trace
program reviewed last month, but I do not know how to do the reverse
other than by doing a screendump.
5.5
Å    Wierd and Wonderful Ö Rob Sherratt (who?) uses Impression v2.13 and
sometimes encounters crashes when working on documents of more than 7 or
8 pages. The crashes arise after cutting and pasting at or around
Écontrol-Gæ frame breaks and occur when trying to save the Impression
document, but saving selected text works OK.
5.5
The error messages are either öInternal error code Eskw or ER00 or Eu02
or Epsb.ò Following these, the only way öoutò of the error alert loop is
to click on cancel and abort Impression and your unsaved work. Help
please? (Donæt panic, Rob, it is known about and corrected in later the
version I am using now, 2.14i. Ed.)
5.5
One important role of an öIndependentò DTP column is to build up a
database of significant problems in each version of the leading DTP
packages and to be able to advise readers on the current status, any
workarounds, and if the suppliers are working on providing a fix. If
people would like to write to Rob with any currently unresolved problems
they have, he is willing to build up the öfault logò database and liaise
with suppliers once sufficient öevidenceò has been collected.
5.5
DTP Swap Area
5.5
This area will contain the names and addresses of önewò people who have
agreed to swap DTP material they have published. The aim of this is to
improve one anothersæ skills by the exchange of printed ideas. No money
should change hands.
5.5
If you want to öswapò with anyone, you must first publish your name and
address and area of interest, and then write directly to whoever you
want to do a öswapò with.
5.5
If we get hundreds of öswappersò, Archive may consider publication of a
small directory. Such a directory would not be öpublicly availableò, but
only on request to those who have asked for their own names and
addresses to be included in it.
5.5
If anyone wants to supply me with any original graphic they have
published and would like to see printed in this column then please send
it on disk and in a form which I can import to Impression. Try to supply
something which will fit in a 2.5 inch square area.
5.5
New Names and Details:
5.5
John F.O. Evans produces a church magazine called the Dever, which has a
circulation of 300+. He would like to öswapò with others doing similar
work. His address is Mijas, Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester,
Hants. SO21 3DG.
5.5
Rob and Carole Sherratt produce a weekly church magazine called In
Transit, which has a circulation of 120+. They have also produced
software technical guides and a book of verse and short stories. They
are interested in doing öswapsò with anyone prepared to accept a church
magazine in return! Their address is 134, High Road West, Felixstowe,
Suffolk. IP11 9AL.
5.5

5.5
Panorama + The World
5.5
Just recently, a combination of two low-cost programs have given my
children (well, me really) so much educational pleasure that I thought I
should write about them and pass the tips on. The programs are firstly
David Pillingæs öPanorama Ö Draw the Worldò (Disc 33) at ú5.99, and
secondly Glynn Clementæs öThe Worldò which is available on the Risc User
Volume 4 Special Disk at ú4.95. (I thought if that name gets printed it
would show how unbiased Archive really is!)
5.5
Panorama
5.5
David Pillingæs latest masterpiece comes on (and can be run from) a
single floppy with helpful !ReadMe instructions, and is a fully RISC-OS
compliant application coupled with a huge database of 180,000
coordinates of continental outlines, lakes, rivers, state boundaries,
positions and names of most cities, etc. Using the database, the
application can produce ösatellite viewsò from any point above the
world, or can produce various types of continental maps of any specified
area of the world.
5.5
The program operates to up to 5 levels of resolution Ö 5 (the lowest)
taking only a few seconds to plot (a rather sketchy) globe, and 1 (the
highest) taking a minute (or three if youære not using an ARM3). The
highest resolution plots can be zoomed 50 times (or more) their original
size (both in Panorama and in !Draw) to produce detailed maps of (for
example) the southern part of the UK, or of Texas, USA.
5.5
Globe coordinates
5.5
To get the most out of Panorama and The World (which Iæll come on to in
a minute), you and your children will need a globe marked with degrees
longitude and latitude. What we used was a really excellent cardboard
öcut out and makeò globe Ö The Tarquin Globe Ö which costs about ú3 from
Tarquin Publications, Stradbroke, Diss (0379Ö 84218). This ödo-it-
yourself kitò comes with a little fact-book about the Earth which will
answer any questions about world geometry / time zones / date line etc
your children may have.
5.5
The World
5.5
Glynn Clementæs program displays an approximate Écylindrical projectionæ
view of the world at any selected centre of longitude, and superimposes
onto that the Ésinusoidal-ishæ pattern of day and night cast by the sun.
The sunæs position can either be displayed in Éreal timeæ (reading the
date and time from your Archimedes), or at a point in date/time
specified by you. It is really useful to be able to see at what time
daybreak and sunset will ocur in a different part of the world to be
able to gauge how receptive someone living there will be to receiving a
phone call from you. I donæt find the Étimezone differenceæ gives me a
good enough idea of what mood theyæll be in! This program in conjunction
with Panorama and a suitable Globe will complete the set of Éeducational
toolsæ needed to allow children to further their knowledge of world
geography.
5.5
Introductions
5.5
It may be of interest to you to know who the main DTP contributors will
be....
5.5
Rob Sherratt is an Electronics Engineer working in Network Management
System Design at BTæs Research Labs. His wife Carole (with Robæs help at
present) is using her Archimedes/Impression setup to produce literature
and newsletters for the local church. The longer term plan is for the
business Ö EasyCo Ö to break even!  (Rob is going to act as coordinator
for the DTP column.)
5.5
Richard Hallas in Huddersfield is a freelance music typesetter and does
commercial desktop publishing using Impression. Among other things he
will be handling reviews of all scorewriting packages.
5.5
Richard Else is Head of the Film and Media department of Sheffield City
Polytechnic. He mainly uses Impression on his Archimedes but has used
many other packages and has produced material for both TV and print.
5.5
Neil Whiteley-Bolton in Amsterdam is using his Archimedes / Impression
for professional DTP use in producing a Hi-Fi magazine and technical
journals. His current PostScript output files for the Hi-Fi magazine are
40 Mbytes in size, so he uses a Syquest removable disk to post his work
off for typesetting! Neil is a Systems Developer with the European Space
Agency.
5.5
The new address to which all contributions and questions for the DTP
Column should be sent is: Rob Sherratt, 134 High Road West, Felixstowe,
Suffolk. IP11 9AL.ááA
5.5
(We had a letter from a reader asking why we were totally ignoring
Ovation. I have passed the letter on to Rob and next monthæs column will
no doubt deal with it. However, it is interesting to note that all the
four contributors are using Impression rather than Ovation. Could we
hear, please, from anyone who is using Ovation for serious DTP work?
Ed.)
5.5

5.5
PD Column
5.5
David Holden
5.5
Not a virus
5.5
I have mentioned before the fact that copyright material keeps finding
its way into the catalogues of seemingly quite respectable libraries and
onto magazine disks. The recent Éincidentæ by Archimedes World is
probably one such example.
5.5
In the December issue of the magazine customers were asked to return
their November disk and offered two new disks in return. No explanation
was given. Despite assurances to the contrary, many people believed that
the disk had been infected with a virus and although the magazine has
been full of denials ever since, there is still no explanation.
5.5
The real reason is very simple. On the November disk there was a PD
program called !ModeUtil. This is a Éfront endæ for screen mode modules
allowing you to select your chosen mode from a menu. Nothing particu
larly startling, except that the modes available were obtained from the
Newmodes module which is part of with Computer Concepts ÉImpressionæ and
the Newmodes module was included with the program! As usual, the person
who did this proudly, signed his name and address!
5.5
Passing over the fact that itæs almost impossible to understand how
anyone at Archimedes World could have failed to spot this because the
module isnæt disguised in any way and contains Computer Concepts
copyright message (unless, of course, they never looked), I am left
wondering why they didnæt simply tell the truth. Iæm quite sure that,
for months, many people who obtained this disk have been worried about a
possible virus and the lack of any explanation for the recall has done
little to reassure them. So, if you are one of these, please worry no
more.
5.5
(This IS a virus
5.5
Just to show how easily these things happen, the February Archive
magazine disk and Shareware 42 were both sent out with the icon virus on
them! Sorry about that, folks. Adrian is very careful about this sort of
thing. The trouble is, Paul received an update of the !Daylight
application, tried it out on his computer at home, picked up the icon
virus which his sons had picked up from school and updated the two discs
just in time for them to be sent out to the unsuspecting subscribers.
5.5
Still, heæs not alone... the magazine disc with the February Archimedes
World contained the module virus, a rather worse virus than icon as it
is more difficult to remove and seems to spread far more easily. Ed.)
5.5
Hard disk backup
5.5
In the January issue, the subject of hard disk backup was raised and the
PD program on Shareware 36 mentioned as a good solution. While this is
an excellent program, I would suggest that a conventional backup program
is not what most people need, and I will describe the solution that I
adopt.
5.5
The first problem to be considered is the amount of data that needs to
be backed up. If you have a 40M disk and it is about half full then,
assuming around 750k of data on each floppy, you will need over 54 disks
to hold your backup using conventional methods. Why 54 and not 27 since
27 ╫ 750k is 20.25M? Well, Murphyæs Law (ÉAnything that can go wrong
will go wrongæ) means that a backup is only worth having if the backup
has a backup. You therefore need at least two sets of backup disks
(normally called ÉFatheræ and ÉSonæ) and backup to each alternately. So,
if there is an error in the most recent set, you still have the previous
ones. If your data is particularly precious, a third set of disks
(ÉGrandfatheræ) should be used as well.
5.5
In fact, most of the time, a large part of a hard disk doesnæt need to
be backed up. Major applications, Draw, Edit, Pipedream, Impression,
fonts, etc. can easily be recreated from the originals if necessary. You
must of course back up any configuration files but these are normally
quite short. What you actually need to back up is all the files created
with these applications, !Boot and !System directories and Library (if
you use one).
5.5
The number of files can be much reduced if you keep some of your data on
floppies instead of the hard disk to start with. Programs such as
PipeDream and 1WP donæt really need to have their files on a hard disk
so if you put them on floppies and keep a backup of the floppies not
only does this drastically reduce the amount of data on your hard disk
but it also makes it a lot easier to find the file you want.
5.5
Using this strategy greatly reduces the amount that needs to be backed
up. Further suggestions were given in the article ÉSaving Disk Spaceæ by
Mike Hobart in last monthæs Archive. Less data = fewer disks = less time
required, which means that you will be more inclined to make regular
backups. If you are wondering what all this has to do with PD I shall
now tell you. I use the PD program !PackDir written by John Kortink to
back up my hard disk. This is not a conventional backup program but it
IS designed specifically for hard disk backup. It uses LZW compression
techniques to compress an entire directory or directory structure.
!Packdir reduces the size of most data files to around 50% of the
original, so you need fewer disks for your backups. You can also use it
to compress backups of floppies which further reduces the number of
disks required. Itæs quite fast, taking about one minute to compress 1
Mbyte of data, which is no slower than most conventional backup programs
and a lot faster than !Spark.
5.5
!PackDir is available from most good PD libraries and I can heartily
recommend it.
5.5
Beebug Éfreeæ PD again
5.5
You may have read Mike Williamsæ comments on my remarks about Beebug
giving away ten disks of PD with each computer sold. While I believe my
original reason was valid, I confess that I was moved more by a feeling
that there was something wrong about the practice, even though I wasnæt
sure exactly what, than from conviction that the reason I gave was the
best one. The answer that our Editor gave to Mike Williams, that it is
against the spirit of PD to use it for financial gain, even if the gain
is indirect, is the correct one. I am happy to accept the rebuke that I
should have thought of it myself and I am pleased to find a better
reason to support my original feelings.
5.5
This should by no means be taken as a criticism of Beebug. It is simply
one of those things upon which everyone must make their own moral
judgement. Since my sympathy is with the principle of PD, I find myself
opposed although there are perfectly valid arguments to the contrary.
5.5
Finally...
5.5
The frantic boom last year when new PD libraries appeared almost daily
seems to have ended at last. Most of these were run by inexperienced
well intentioned enthusiasts who believed that all that was necessary
was to buy some blank disks, send for copies of programs from estab
lished libraries and then sit back and collect the money. Many of them
have discovered that thereæs a LOT more to running a successful library
than that, and they are now disappearing at about the same rate that
they appeared.
5.5
Possibly, as a consequence of this, I have received some reports of
customers sending money to libraries and not receiving disk(s) in
return, or only after further letters and/or phone calls, although the
cheques have been cashed. This seems to apply mainly to catalogue disks
and a couple of names have appeared more than once. There are many
perfectly valid reasons why this could have happened and I donæt want to
make anyone unduly apprehensive about sending money to libraries but if
you have had any problems please write and tell me.
5.5
Please write to me at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London SE26
5RN.ááA
5.5

5.5
Small Ads
5.5
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people donæt know what ösmallò
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.5
Å    A3000 colour 2M ram (expandable to 4M), monitor stand ú650. Lingenuity
42M SCSI external drive + A3000 interface ú400. Phone David on
0223Ö842505 (after 6).
5.5
Å    A3000 2M ram, CM8833 + stand + expansion card case ú620. Panasonic
KXP1124 ú150. Phone 0275Ö843322 (Bristol).
5.5
Å    A310 with 2 M ram (Atomwide), 20 M SCSI (Oak) drive, Electrohome
Multisync monitor (14ö), PCemulator 1.7, FWPlus, Genesis, Acorn DTP +
various PD software, ú795. Phone 081Ö579Ö0607.
5.5
Å    A310 + 4-slot bplane, manuals + software, ú500 (ú600 with std colour
monitor), inc. discount vouchers towards RAM/ARM3 upgrades. Acorn JP150
Ink Jet printer (new), ú225. Citizen C120-D 9-pin Dot Matrix NLQ
printer, ú80. Armadillo A448 Sampler card and s/w, ú70. Phone Lenny on
071Ö703Ö5675.
5.5
Å    A410/1 with 4M ram, ARM3 (30MHz), VIDC enhancer, Oak 70M internal
(fast) drive, Acorn multi-sync. Offers (serious) phone 0276Ö20575 (after
6).
5.5
Å    A440 4M ram, 20M drive, Ex cond ú550 o.n.o. NEC Multisync II ú275, PC
Emulator 1.6 ú30. Phone Graham on 081Ö943Ö6163 (day), 0784Ö 244881
(eves).
5.5
Å    A5000 computer (2M HD) with monitor. New unused, was ú1761, accept
ú1699. Ring Roger on 061Ö799Ö9845 (eves).
5.5
Å    A5000 with multisync, 2M, 40M IDE, JP150. Absolutely as new. ú1750.
(or will split) Phone 0494Ö522704.
5.5
Å    Brother HR15 daisywheel printer + 3 wheels + ribbons ú200, Graphbox
ú35, Interword ú15, InterSheet2 ú15, SpellMaster ú25 (all Archimedes
disc versions). Phone 081Ö989Ö2666.
5.5
Å    Camcorder and Hawk V9 digitiser. Phone 0366Ö501001 for details.
5.5
Å    Canon BJ130e wide carriage, sheet-feeder, new cartridge, ú300 o.n.o.
Phone 051Ö606Ö0289.
5.5
Å    CC podule for Laser Direct LBP4 ú300. Phone Leslie Wiggins on
0602Ö421413 (day) or 607822 (eves).
5.5
Å    Chocks Away ú12.50, Extra Missions ú10, Break147/Superpool ú12.50,
Saloon Cars ú12.50, E-Type ú5, Olympics ú10, Holed Out ú5, Pacmania ú10,
Interdictor 2 ú10. Phone 0672Ö 810545 (5p.m. onwards or Saturdays).
5.5
Å    Citizen Swift 24 Colour printer, inc. cable + Aceæs RISC-OS printer
driver + colour sprite dump, ú190 o.n.o. Phone 081Ö655Ö0399.
5.5
Å    EasiWriter (v 1.04) unused ú75. Phone Don on 0942Ö716860.
5.5
Å    Econet Filestore E20 plus 4 Master E.T. Terminals. Offers. Phone Mr M
Gwynne on 0584Ö872846 (day) or 0568Ö85410 (eves).
5.5
Å    External 3╜ö drive + interface for A3000 ú70 + postage. Phone Alan on
061Ö247Ö1198 (work) or 0204Ö41459 (home).
5.5
Å    Father requires help understanding the operation of late sonæs A305
and printer. City of Cambridge area. Phone John Pearson on 0223Ö 860500.
5.5
Å    HP Deskjet 500 + spare cartridges + FX80 emulation cartridge + printer
driver. ú300 o.n.o. Phone Steve on 0302Ö535891.
5.5
Å    MultiFS ú18, First Word Plus1 ú12, Power Band ú12, UIM ú12, Nevryon,
Twin World ú10, PacMania ú8, Word Up Word Down ú5. Phone Mr Wickham on
0992Ö712836.
5.5
Å    Saloon Cars, Midnight Graphics Clip Art 2, Tactic, Leaderboard,
Tracer, Z88 + accessories, PD Elite commander editor, laser printing and
scanning services. Contact Michael Pargeter on 0462Ö434061 (eves).
5.5
Å    ST506 hard disc interface plus 20M drive + 4-slot backplane, ú125.
Phone Brian on 091Ö536Ö 4462 (eves).
5.5
Å    Voltmace Delta-Cat Joystick unused ú9, Twin ú4, Interdictor 1 ú3.
Phone Richard on 0264Ö 361475 (eves).
5.5
Å    Wanted SCSI interface for A310. Also ARM3. Phone Brian on 091Ö536
Ö4462 (eves).
5.5
Å    WE Hand Scanner 2 ú70, First Word Plus 2 ú30. Both o.n.o. buyer
collects or postage extra. Phone Miles Sabin on 081Ö980Ö2455.
5.5
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.5
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.5
RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 ú5, Saloon Cars ú19, PC Emulator 1.6 MS-DOS ú50,
VIDC Enhancer ú18, Masterfile II ú25, Watford Electronics ú5 voucher ú3,
InterDictor 1 ú10, Conqueror + Corruption + Quazer ú18.ááA
5.5

5.5

5.5

5.5
Capsoft
5.5
New artwork
5.5

5.5
Hints and Tips
5.5
Å    A5000 PC delete danger ù I found out the hard way that deleting the PC
directory (and probably Drive_C as well) gives a disc error over the
area of the deleted partition. The only solution is to reformat the hard
disc and restore the last backup. J.R.McLachlan, Hertford.
5.5
Yes, there does appear to be a problem here. The same thing happened to
us. In theory, the idea is that Drive_C is a filetype that is not
deleteable. The trouble is that on the A5000, it seems to get confused
and half delete it, leaving a blank entry in the file table (seen as a
blank line in the filer window if you use öfull infoò). The answer is to
change the filetype to, say, FFF with
5.5
*SETTYPE $.<pathname>.Drive_C FFF
5.5
before you try to delete it. Ed.
5.5
Å    BBC Tracker Ball Ö In Decemberæs Archive, Paul asked for a wiring
diagram to convert a BBC tracker ball to an Archimedes one. I have
converted an old Marconi tracker ball for use on the Archimedes using
the following diagram.
5.5
The nine wires come out of the bottom of the tracker ball socket as I
have drawn it. Socket 1 is marked, or it is on mine.
5.5
The connections are as follows...
5.5
    9-pin    Trackerball
5.5
    mini DIN    Socket
5.5
    1    3    yellow
5.5
    2    6    black
5.5
    3    7    brown
5.5
    4    9    grey
5.5
    5    2    orange
5.5
    6    1    red
5.5
    7    4    green
5.5
    8    8    white
5.5
    9    5    blue
5.5
The colours are the colours on mine. They may differ between various
tracker balls. A mark 1 Archimedes mouse lead will also fit this
particular tracker ball but two leads need swapping round.
5.5
Connectors 6 and 7, in my case red and brown, need to be changed over.
This can be accomplished with a needle by gently lifting the black
plastic clip above the connector with the needle whilst pulling gently
on the wire to be removed.
5.5
Decemberæs article was, I think, for a mark 1 AMX mouse. I have a later
AMX mouse which is the same design as the early Archimedes mouse and the
lead is a straight swap.
5.5
Dave Morrell, Middlesbrough
5.5
Å    Elite Cheat Ö Here is program that will create a commander file for
use with Elite. It gives you the most needed items to get around a
little better than before, especially the docking computer, (most
welcome). When you have successfully loaded it in, use galaxy map to see
where to go, a little bonus is waiting: Front beam laser, rear beam
laser, large cargo bay (35 tons), docking computer, E.C.M. system, four
missiles.
5.5
REM>:0.$.Elite_com
5.5
REM Program by Scott Edwards
5.5
REM 3-1-92
5.5
REM It is important that you have
5.5
REM the correct checksums on the
5.5
REM right line, the program will
5.5
REM inform you if you have a wrong line.
5.5
MODE0:OFF
5.5
DIM store% &1000
5.5
checkcode%=38901:code$=öò
5.5
line%=390:inc%=0
5.5
FOR l%=0 TO 17
5.5
FOR blk%=0 TO 15
5.5
READ code$
5.5
dat%=EVAL(ö&ò+code$)
5.5
checksum%=checksum%+dat%
5.5
?(store%+inc%)=dat%
5.5
PRINT dat%,~dat%
5.5
inc%+=1
5.5
NEXT
5.5
READ checkcode%
5.5
IF checksum%<>checkcode% THEN
5.5
PRINT öYou have a data byte incorrect at ò;line%
5.5
STOP
5.5
ENDIF
5.5
line%+=10:finalcheck%=checksum%
5.5
checksum%=0
5.5
NEXT
5.5
IF finalcheck%=checkcode% THEN
5.5
PRINTöYou have a correct file for savingò
5.5
REPEAT
5.5
INPUTöEnter the commander name for your file  ò;A$
5.5
UNTIL A$<>öò
5.5
SYSöOS_Fileò,10,A$,&C87,,store%, store%+&11C
5.5
ENDIF
5.5
PRINTöProgram is Finished,now run ELITE and use your new commanderò
5.5
END
5.5
:
5.5
REM Commander file for ELITE
5.5
:
5.5
DATA 16,B5,DC,72,DF,DD,20,C9,F2,3C, 54, EB,32,6F,EF,09,2244
5.5
DATA E5,F9,61,E3,31,12,B8,70,85,F3, FE,A9,EB,11,02,DD,2439
5.5
DATA 31,43,F2,80,D5,F6,81,FA,70,92, 9A, 72,B9,EB,FC,B9,2707
5.5
DATA C9,B1,42,CE,85,DD,F6,7F,5D,00, D2,9A,92,D2,6F,FC,2553
5.5
DATA B9,2F,F9,62,CF,B5,62,B8,7B,5E, 98,7E,AF,68,DC,AA,2413
5.5
DATA DD,39,30,CD,40,D6,B5,EF,53,70, 9E,91,E9,99,EC,DB,2568
5.5
DATA F1,2C,B1,50,C1,F5,4D,F7,EE,72, 97,52,A1,59,FC,A7,2558
5.5
DATA FD,78,B2,CD,22,CA,AD,FF,54,7F, 3D,52,67,0A,66,D7,2204
5.5
DATA F8,23,39,20,A2,B4,86,B4,6C,7D, 0B,1D,09,4A,D3,44,1663
5.5
DATA D3,37,3F,07,0F,06,A6,63,23,E3, 1D,18,84,80,84,D4,1541
5.5
DATA AA,8A,6B,10,8D,3B,39,43,EB,56, C6,B6,81,48,9F,1E,1846
5.5
DATA 9A,77,2C,64,DC,BA,A5,49,10,CE, BD,17,33,EF,5E,D4,2091
5.5
DATA A5,01,E8,E0,8D,12,71,30,6B,53, F9,F5,E9,47,02,B2,2110
5.5
DATA 91,37,22,7D,F1,F6,A4,7A,DC,C2, 9C,8A,B5,FE,7C,CB,2602
5.5
DATA 38,E2,DA,CF,49,E0,80,BF,CF,20, 6A,6E,E7,24,69,39,2207
5.5
DATA 7E,74,89,36,A6,69,0B,36,B7,A9, 33,46,99,DD,35,07,1676
5.5
DATA 34,D0,D6,93,1D,CF,F0,9B,03,0F, 61,EC,D6,13,E8,71,2181
5.5
DATA 48,83,01,29,F7,5A,82,75,32,A8, BA,41,00,00,00,00,1298
5.5
S Edwards, Stourbridge
5.5
Å    First Word Plus 2 Ö In Archive 3.12 someone was bemoaning the lack of
a key that would toggle insert mode on and off. In fact the <insert> key
itself will do just that.
5.5
Robert Fuller, Basingstoke.
5.5
Å    Lemmings Passwords Ö For all you bald headed insomniacs....
5.5
Taxing Leveláááá
5.5
02 Justforyou    03 Runandflee    04
Doortodoor
5.5
05 Stillalive    06 Fixedmyfix    07
Anurebevan
5.5
08 Helpmemate    09 Drinknwine    10
Tenpercent
5.5
11 Stickuptwo    12 DiginDelve     13
Hisbadluck
5.5
14 Teensforth    15 Teensfifth    16
Notsosweet
5.5
17 Driveukcar    18 Votesforme    19
Tenstonine
5.5
20 Doublesten    21 Lockandkey    22
Twoelevens
5.5
23 Justforme    24 Lemmingmore    25
Jiveanjive
5.5
26 Lemsinafix    27 Lemsheavon    28
Gardengate
5.5
29 Startowine    30 Fivexsixis
5.5
Mayhem Leveláááá
5.5
02 Nearlygone    03 Spendspree    04
Onthefloor
5.5
05 Uncleclive    06 Clogclicks    07
Difference
5.5
08 Waitanwait    09 Eatanddine    10
Tentontess
5.5
11 Binisthree    12 Twotimesix    13
Returntome
5.5
14 Twicelucky    15 Nineandsix    16
Charitynum
5.5
17 Stillyoung    18 Comesofage    19
Olderstill
5.5
20 Numbtwenty    21 Olderlemms    22
Lemminduck
5.5
23 Soonbefree    24 Lemmsstore    25
Lemmsdrive
5.5
26 Yourinafix    27 Lemtodevon    28Twostoplay
5.5
29 Oneafterme    30 Lemmgfinal
5.5
Robin Jefferies,  West Sussex.
5.5
Å    Improving Logistix (v0.01) RISC-OS compatibility Ö As anyone who has a
copy of Logistix will be aware, the RISC-OS support files to öupgradeò
the package to run from the desktop do nothing except allow the
application to be launched from the desktop! (I do not know if there was
ever a subsequent release of Logistix since v0.01 Ö I assume not, as I
was a registered owner and was never informed of any update.)
5.5
In the case of old programs upgraded through the support disk, itæs
likely that some of the software houses did not have any real experience
of RISC-OS before the deadline date for the disk, so they may be excused
for the minimal level of compliance. (Acorn could not be considered to
have had any such excuse, but Logistix wasnæt actually written by them,
they only marketed it for Grafox.)
5.5
The directory structure of the öupgradedò !Logistix was rather messy,
and all pathnames were specific to the directory structure, therefore
not transportable from drive 0 and the $ directory. This makes it
impossible to install on a hard disk without some editing. The major
annoyance in using the application is that clicking on Logistix data
files does nothing except give an error message! Files can only be
loaded by first loading Logistix, then keyboarding through the menu
system.
5.5
The application directory can be arranged far better for RISC-OS by the
movement of a few files, and a little editing with !Edit. Dealing with
the directory structure first...
5.5
All that the user wants to see of Logistix is the !Logistix application
icon which can be double clicked on to start it. Your !System directory
should contain a directory called Modules which contains the latest
version of the FPE, Clib, Colours etc. As upgraded after using the
support disk, a Logistix floppy disk contains the following directories:
5.5
!System Ö A system folder which still requires updating with the RISC-OS
extras disk for the newer versions of Clib etc. (The latest Floating
Point Emulator (2.80) should also be placed in the Modules directory
inside this.)
5.5
!Logistix Ö The RISC-OS startup directory containing the !Boot,!Run and
!Sprites files.
5.5
Logistix Ö The actual Logistix program files and a (now outdated)
Floating Point Emulator.
5.5
MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR DISK then, using the backup copy...
5.5
Move the Logistix directory into the !Logistix directory.
5.5
Copy the latest FPEmulator you have into the !System.Modules directory.
5.5
(You may then delete the copy in the Logistix directory.)
5.5
Using !Edit, edit the !Logistix.!Boot file to contain the following
lines:
5.5
| !Boot for !Logistix version 0.01
5.5
| Updated to allow autoload
5.5
| (This is an OBEY file)
5.5
Set Logi$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
IconSprites <Logi$Dir>.!Sprites
5.5
Set File$Type_DFF Logistix
5.5
Set Alias$@RunType_DFF Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0
5.5
Edit the !Run file so that it becomes:
5.5
| !Run for !Logistix version 0.01
5.5
| with better RISC-OS compatability
5.5
| (This is an OBEY file)
5.5
IconSprites <Logi$Dir>.!Sprites
5.5
WimpSlot -min 500k
5.5
RMEnsure FPEmulator RMLoad <System$Path>Modules.FPEmulator
5.5
Dir <Logi$Dir>.Logistix
5.5
LGX
5.5
The use of ö<System$Path>Modules.ò to reach the FPEmulator and setting
up the system variable <Logi$Dir> allow proper transportability of the
application, and it can now quite happily be installed anywhere in the
directory structure on a hard disk. Clicking on a data file causes RISC-
OS to check if a command has been matched to that file type. The system
variable Alias$@RunType _xxx has to be set up for files of the type in
question. If it has not been set up then you will get the error message
öNo run action specified for this file typeò. This is exactly what
happens with Logistix and similar applications written before (and even
since!) RISC-OS made its appearance. The addition of the line Set
Alias$@RunType_ DFF Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0 in the !Boot file
corrects the original omission, along with the following Obey file.
5.5
The file described here can be used with most applications which require
keyboard input to load files, the exceptions being those which clear the
keyboard buffer on start up. In principle, the method is simple. An Exec
file is used containing the commands or keystrokes to be executed as
though they had been entered at the keyboard. Due to the fact that only
Obey files can process the Obey$Dir system variable, it could get a
little bit confusing.
5.5
One way around this is from an Obey file:
5.5
1. Collect the startup pathname from RISC-OS and put it in a system
variable.
5.5
2. Using an Obey file, create an Exec file (by using Spool and Echo)
containing all the commands which require to be carried out to start the
application and set it up for a load operation.
5.5
3. Echo the system variable containing the full pathname into the Exec
file.
5.5
4. Exec the file which has just been created.
5.5
There is one small problem. When trying to write to the FIRST file being
created by a *Spool operation, extraneous data flows into it before the
data! A dummy file is spooled first to get rid of this before the real
file is created.
5.5
Using !Edit, create a new Obey file as follows, (You may miss out the
comment lines, but please leave in the fact that it is public domain and
attributed to me.)
5.5
| öInitFileò Ö Public Domain by
5.5
| D.Potter 26/6/90
5.5
| Allows keyboard emulated loading
5.5
| by double-clicking on a data file
5.5
| in the RISC-OS desktop.
5.5
| Intended in this version for
5.5
| Logistix, but the principal will
5.5
| work for other programs which do
5.5
| not clear the keyboard buffer at
5.5
| startup.
5.5
| This is an Obey File. (Exec files
5.5
| do not allow passing of system
5.5
| parameters.) To pass actual
5.5
| commands to Logistix, (or any
5.5
| similar application), an Exec file
5.5
| must be used.
5.5
| The Exec file is built by this
5.5
| file, including the full path for
5.5
| the startup file that was clicked
5.5
| on.
5.5
| The !Boot file for app. must be an
5.5
| Obey file containing the commands
5.5
|      Set Logi$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
|      Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0
5.5
| (As well as any other commands
5.5
| already there)
5.5
| Where xxx is the filetype for the
5.5
| data file (DFF for Logistix).
5.5
| Logi$Dir will be the directory
5.5
| where the application resides, and
5.5
| is automatically set up when the
5.5
| applicationæs !Boot is first seen.
5.5
| Note : the | characters at the
5.5
| start of the above lines should
5.5
| NOT be in the !Boot file!
5.5
|
5.5
| Put the pathname information in
5.5
| temporary system variable Lload$
5.5
Set Lload$ %*0
5.5
| Clear extraneous data which
5.5
| appears when a file is written to
5.5
| at this stage by dummy spooling.
5.5
| This data is not needed here any
5.5
| more!
5.5
Spool <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo <Lload$>
5.5
spool
5.5
| Now create the actual Exec file
5.5
| which will run LGX and issue the
5.5
| commands.
5.5
Spool <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo || !LoadFile Ö Transient program built by InitFile
5.5
 (PD) by D.Potter 1990
5.5
Echo *Run <Logi$Dir>.!Run
5.5
|
5.5
| Send the Logistix load sequence Ö
5.5
| Note : NO SPACES in the sequence!
5.5
| /L = load, L= Logistix data file,
5.5
| <Lload$>= Full filename,
5.5
| A= All to be loaded  (You might
5.5
| want to use a different load
5.5
| sequence)
5.5
| (Where a return is required such
5.5
| as after the filename here,
5.5
| simply start a new Echo statement
5.5
| for the next command.)
5.5
|
5.5
Echo /LL<Lload$>
5.5
Echo A
5.5
|
5.5
| Close the file
5.5
Spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Set its file type
5.5
SetType <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile Command
5.5
|
5.5
| Lose the temporary system variable
5.5
UnSet Lload$
5.5
|
5.5
| And run the file just created!
5.5
Exec <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Save the above file as InitFile in the !Logistix directory.
5.5
Now click on the !Boot file in the !Logistix directory to set the system
variables. (You wonæt always have to do this, as the !Boot file will be
run the first time you open the directory containing !Logistix. You only
need to do it at this time because you have been messing about with the
files, and the !Boot file may be different now than when it was last
run.) Clicking on any Logistix data file will now load Logistix and the
data file ready for use. You will still have to set up any default
prefixes etc.
5.5
It is not possible to do this automatically with a simple file such as
the above, because the full pathname would require to be split up to
provide the path to your file directory minus the filename. i.e. you
would require string handling facilities such as in Basic.
5.5
Note: The Logistix application itself still sets the CSD to the Logistix
directory within the !Logistix application directory. Implementing a
fully RISC-OS compatible version would require rewriting of the actual
coded LGX file, which is not possible without both the source code file
and the full approval of both Acorn and Grafox.
5.5
Other applications requiring a parameter block in memory Ö Other
programs (in Basic) written before RISC-OS, which will autoload a data
file at startup if a parameter block is set up in memory, could be made
to auto load using a version of the following routine. Again, this
builds an exec file which is run in Basic, using simple string handling
to split off the filename from the full pathname.
5.5
This example file was built to implement auto loading under RISC-OS on
an old BBC program which was written for DFS, and without re-writing
could not handle full pathnames, therefore it includes a line to set the
current directory to the application directory.
5.5
Note: This particular version works due to Basic being selected during
the execution of the Exec file and the memory accessible to both the
file and the program is that assigned by the selection of Basic. Any
other programs (e.g. integrated packages) which are to use the shared
parameter block must (obviously) use the same memory, so must not move
out of Basic (return to the desktop) in between the programs, but simply
chain each other.
5.5
This actual file will be irrelevant to most users, but it does show a
method of getting around the conversion of system variables to actual
data therefore easing the amount of work involved in conversion of BBC B
and Master programs to Archimedes. I know that re-writing the appli
cations might be more sensible, but this is aimed at people who know how
an application works, but didnæt write it in the first place!
5.5
|    öAutoloadò
5.5
| A Customised version of öInitFileò
5.5
| Ö  Public Domain by D.Potter
5.5
|                             7/7/90
5.5
|       ÿÿ Information ÿÿ-
5.5
| Allows parameter block loading by
5.5
| double-clicking on a data file
5.5
| in the RISC-OS desktop.
5.5
| Intended in this version for the
5.5
| upgrade of an old BBC/Master
5.5
| program called Datbase, but the
5.5
| principal should work for other
5.5
| Basic programs which when started
5.5
| up check a parameter block in
5.5
| memory, and if found to be valid,
5.5
| will load the file referred to in
5.5
| the block.
5.5
| eg. Old öIntegratedò suites of
5.5
| programs which allow files to be
5.5
| left as active or current for each
5.5
| program in the suite.
5.5
|
5.5
| This is an Obey File.
5.5
| An Exec file is built by this file
5.5
| including the filename for the
5.5
| startup file that was double
5.5
| clicked on.
5.5
| The !Boot file for app. must be an
5.5
| Obey file containing the commands
5.5
|       Set DatBa$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
|       Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Obey <DatBa$Dir>.AutoLoad %%*0
5.5
| (As well as any other commands
5.5
| already there)
5.5
| Where xxx is the filetype for the
5.5
| data file. (DatBa$Dir will be set
5.5
| to the directory where the program
5.5
| & this file reside when the !Boot
5.5
| file is run)
5.5
|
5.5
| Put the full pathname information
5.5
| in system variable DBload$
5.5
Set DBload$ %*0
5.5
| Clear extraneous data which
5.5
| appears when a file is written to
5.5
| at this stage by dummy spooling.
5.5
| This data is not needed here
5.5
| anymore!
5.5
Spool <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo <DBload$>
5.5
spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Now create the actual Exec file
5.5
| which will run the program and
5.5
| load file.
5.5
Spool <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo || !LoadFile Ö Transient program built by AutoLoad
5.5
 (PD) by D.Potter 1990
5.5
Echo *Basic
5.5
Echo REM this particular application requires the CSD to be it -
5.5
Echo *Dir <DatBa$Dir>
5.5
Echo REM The startup parameter block for this application
5.5
 is at &F000, with
5.5
Echo REM the filename held at &F100, any conditions for
5.5
 printing at &F110,
5.5
Echo REM the record number to display at start up held in R%,
5.5
Echo REM and HIMEM held in H%
5.5
Echo HIMEM=&F000
5.5
Echo H%=&F000
5.5
|    Echoing a system variable
5.5
|    causes it to be converted to
5.5
|    the real data.
5.5
Echo F$=ö<DBload$>ò
5.5
Echo REM Split off the actual filename itself (This
5.5
 particular example is
5.5
Echo REM for conversion of a BBC B/
5.5
Master program which
5.5
 has restricted
5.5
Echo REM filename length, and therefore canæt handle
5.5
 full pathnames)
5.5
Echo REPEAT:F$=MID$(F$,INSTR(F$,ö.ò)+1):UNTIL INSTR(F$,ö.ò)=0
5.5
Echo $&F100=F$ : $&F110=öò:R%=1
5.5
Echo MO.12
5.5
Echo CHAINöDATBASEò
5.5
|
5.5
| Where a return is required after a
5.5
| command such as L for load, simply
5.5
| start a new Echo statement for the
5.5
| next command Ö a return will be
5.5
| put in.
5.5
|
5.5
| Close the file
5.5
Spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Set its file type
5.5
SetType <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile Command
5.5
|
5.5
| And do it!
5.5
Exec <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Douglas Potter, Glasgow
5.5
Å    Oak SCSI on A5000 Ö Using the Éfreeæ menu option on a SCSI disc on the
iconbar doesnæt make use of the new Free module in the RISC-OS 3 ROM. To
correct this, include the following line in your hard disc boot file :
5.5
Set Alias$Free ShowFree -FS scsi %0
5.5
Thatæs all there is to it. Now, whenever you select Éfreeæ from the SCSI
menu, a Free window pops up. The É%0æ picks up the device (disc drive)
name. Should you then subsequently wish to use Free from the command
line, use :
5.5
%Free [<disc spec>]
5.5
Typing ShowFree at the command line (with no parameters) reports the
command syntax.
5.5
David Lenthall, London
5.5
Å    Refilling ink cartridges Ö We have, in past issues, published comments
about refilling inkjet cartridges with various types of ink. Tord
Eriksson sent in another such comment a while ago but I didnæt publish
it. He now writes....
5.5
Remember my recommending using water or fountain pen ink to keep your
printer going when your ink supply is gone? You didnæt publish it
(sensibly enough!) and I ran into deep trouble with it. I thought the
printhead was a goner (and messed it up further...), as the printer
didnæt work properly. After buying a new ú100 head, with no improvement,
I found out that the reason you shouldnæt refill the cartridges is that
air easily leaks into the paint container if you disconnect it many
times (as when injecting ink) because the membrane gets worn. This means
that suction isnæt up to specification and you get uneven paint
delivery.
5.5
You may publish this as a warning Ö water does not harm a Canon BJ-what-
ever printer Ö but the side-effects can be very troublesome! I could
have spent the ú100 on something more sensible!!!    Tord Eriksson,
SwedenááA
5.5
Impression Hints & Tips
5.5
Å    Function key changes (contæd) Ö In addition to Michael Ben-Gershonæs
excellent hint in Archive 5.2, p.12: Why not go the whole way and put
all those styles (like those fonts you use regularly to enhance your
texts) into your Impression default document, after you have assigned a
function key to each of them?
5.5
There are quite a lot of possibilities; in addition to those fields on
the function key strip that are quite empty, you can remove the default
styles you may not need (like hanging indent) and if there are some of
those ten scales offered which you never use, you can simply take over
those keys for your own styles.
5.5
You will find that the editable field which allows you to define a
keyboard short cut is slightly unusual: It accepts only certain entries
(function keys, <Shift>, <Return>,..), and it is not necessary to delete
the existing content with <Ctrl-U> Ö just click in the box, enter the
new combination and click on OK. (Donæt press <Return>, because that
simply means that the short cut for your style is the Return key!)
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, K÷ln, Germany
5.5
Å Sprite files in Impression Ö Kevin Beales told us (Archive 5.4 p5)
about Impressionæs ability to scale pictures in Draw format. In this
context, he forgot to mention something even more remarkable: Impression
can also scale sprites! This works in exactly the same way as he
described.
5.5
Of course, due to the well known problems of jagged edges/loss of
detail, you shouldnæt scale up or down too much; but if you have a
sprite that is just slightly too big or too small for its intended
place, then this feature of Impression is certainly extremely useful!
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, K÷ln, Germany
5.5
Å    Illustrated Impression documents Ö I often include sprite and draw
files in my Impression documents (for test papers and the like).
5.5
One minor problem is that one canæt really edit those graphic frames in
an Impression document. Therefore, to have the corresponding files
always on hand, I save them into the documentæs directory (after opening
a window on this directory by <shift>-double clicking).
5.5
This is one more reason for buying Compression: A typical sketch I make
with DrawPlus is reduced from about 6k to about 2 kbytes. A screen shot
made of an oscilloscope application I use takes up 100 kbytes; Compres
sion reduces this to just about 5k bytes (!). This means that even
pictures that appear in several documents donæt clog up the hard disk
too much, if you always save them together with the documents they
appear in.
5.5
(Surely, though, the Draw files are already in the Impression document
directory? Why not edit them directly from there? Two drawbacks, I
suppose... you donæt know which file is which because they have names
like Story2 and Story4 (but you could identify them if you have full
info set in the filer window because of their size) and secondly the
changes to the Drawfiles are only displayed then next time you load the
Impression document. Ed.)
5.5
(By the way: Can anyone tell me whether this hint will become obsolete
once Computer Conceptsæ much vaunted Impulse II will be available, that
is, whether you will then be able to open a graphic file saved somewhere
by clicking on a graphic frame in an Impression document?)
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, K÷ln, Germany
5.5
Å    Tiny left hand margin Ö I often wondered why the default document on
the Impression disc has a left hand margin set on the base style of a
couple of millimetres. Because of my sense of symmetry, I reduced that
to zero as soon as I started using Impression. Surely, if you create a
new master page with, say, 10cm margins, you donæt want the lefthand
margin to be 10.2cm?
5.5
Suddenly it dawned on me... yes, I know Iæm slow... the reason for the
small lefthand margin is to make it easier to position the cursor to the
left of the first character on a line. If, as I do, you have zero margin
in the base style, youæve got to judge the mouse cursor fairly accu
rately otherwise it goes onto the paper margin and turns into a hand.
Well, yer pays yer money... but I think Iæll stay as I am. I have too
many documents to change them all. Ed.
5.5
Å    Impression speed usersæ tips Ö I find that if you can get into the
habit of using <adjust> reverse scrolling, it really does save time,
especially when I am laying out the magazine and the screen is cluttered
with windows. Just press <select> to scroll down and switch quickly to
<adjust> to go back up again without having to move the mouse and locate
the other end of the scroll bar Ö which could be under another window
anyway.
5.5
Also, <adjust> can be extremely useful, again with a cluttered screen,
for moving windows whilst keeping them where they are relative to the
other documents. It takes practice, but it speeds things up in the long
run. Ed.ááA
5.5

5.5
Help!!!!
5.5
Å    Artificial neural networks Ö I donæt suppose there are many, but is
there anyone out there who is using the Archimedes for work on anything
to do with artificial neural networks? If so, please phone Dr Alan
Fielding on 061Ö247Ö1198 (work) or 0204Ö41459 (home).
5.5
Å    Canon BJ-10e bubble jet printer Ö I cannot recommend this printer
highly enough. I purchased mine for ú190 + VAT and it gives me printout
to rival that of a laser printer at a fraction of the cost. I do have a
problem though ù paper. Some paper is not suitable for use on inkjets,
as the ink soaks into the fibres of the paper and forms a tiny blot
which shows itself as irregularities along what should be a clear smooth
edge. Other paper is very good. Is there any way of telling which is a
good paper before purchasing 500 sheets of it? Could anyone recommend a
good paper?
5.5
You can get single colour cartridges for this printer, and with some
colour separation software, you could use it as a colour printer. Anyone
know of any such software? Mike Gregory,  Fareham
5.5
Å    Cross32 Meta Assembler Ö Two people sent us reviews of Baildon
Electronicsæ Meta Assembler. I published one but the second one has some
useful further information. Unfortunately, I can not find the name of
the person who wrote it and I donæt like publishing anonymous articles.
5.5
Å    Interference with dongles ù Could anyone suggest a way of restoring
the screening on the printer cable on an Archimedes. I have a WorraCAD
and an Impression dongle with a dongle dangle to get the dongles down
below the desk. Can anybody tell me if there is any self adhesive
screening tape or other cure available? J.R.Mc Lachlan, 23 Sadlers Way,
Hertford SG14á2DZ.
5.5
Å    Keyboard/mouse recorder Ö Has anyone written a module which will
record keypresses, mouse movements and button presses and then replay
them at a later date? Mr K. R. Cox, 14 Bramley View, LightCliffe,
Halifax  HX3 8ST.
5.5
Å    Multi-ring binder Ö Where can one obtain a multi-ring binder suitable
for replacing the spiral wire system used for the PipeDream and ProText
manuals? C A Martin, Shanklin.
5.5
Å    Scrabble for the Archimedes? Ö Does anyone know of a Scrabble program
for the Archimedes? Elaine Fieldhouse, London.
5.5
Å    Software installation on hard disc Ö Now that there are lots of people
out there with various different species of hard disks (ADFS, SCSI and
IDE), I think it would be a good idea for Archive to produce a table of
which software can be run from which type of disk.
5.5
I would be happy to act as a contact point so that anyone who can fill
any gaps in the table or make any additions or corrections could drop me
a line and I could produce you a table from time to time for publication
in Archive.
5.5
In general, it seems only to be games programs that are difficult to put
onto hard disks. The only non-game that I have of that refuses to run
from my SCSI removable is EMRæs Soundsynth.
5.5
I have produced the following table based on examining the games that I
own and on reading reviews in magazines.
5.5
In the table, öyesò indicates that it can be from disk either by just
copying the files or by running a supplied installation procedure.
öeditò indicates that the !Boot or !Run files need to be edited. örootò
indicates that the program can only be run from hard disk if it is in a
specific directory, usually $, $.Library or $.Resources. öprotò
indicates that the game can be run from hard disk, but that the original
floppy is still required for the copy protection mechanism. önoò
indicates that it cannot easily be run from hard disk. (In some cases it
may still be possible to alter the code to get it to run from hard disk
but only with some difficulty.)
5.5
Program    ADFS    SCSI    IDE
Comment
5.5
Apocalypse    no    no    no
5.5
Arcendium    edit    edit    ?
5.5
Chocks Away    no    no    no
5.5
Conqueror    no    no    no
5.5
Corruption    no    no    no
5.5
E-Type    no    no    no
5.5
Fish    yes    yes    ?     Memory is tight.
5.5
Herewith Clues    no    no    no
5.5
Holed-Out    no    no    no
5.5
Hoverbod    ?    no    ?
5.5
Inertia    no    no    no
5.5
Interdictor-1    yes    yes    ?     Memory
is tight.
5.5
Iron Lord    yes    yes    ?
5.5
Jet Fighter    no    no    no
5.5
Lemmings    yes    yes    ?
5.5
MIG29    yes    ?    ?
5.5
Nevryon    no    no    no
5.5
Pacmania    edit    ?    ?
5.5
Plague Planet    root    root    ?
5.5
Quazer    prot    prot    ?
5.5
Terramex    no    no    no
5.5
Twin World    yes    ?    ?
5.5
UIM    yes    yes    ?     Memory is tight.
5.5
Wimp Game    prot    prot    ?
5.5
Wonderland    yes    ?    no
5.5
Zarch    no    no    no
5.5
On a 1Mb machine there may be memory problems when a game requires so
much memory that there is little room for the SCSI or IDE controller
software.
5.5
There are rumours of a fix for getting Wonderland to work on SCSI.
5.5
Mike Williams, 111 Evering Road, London  N16 7SL.
5.5
Å    Software installation on hard disc (2) Ö Ever since I purchased a new
machine with a hard disc several months ago, I have been frustrated/
annoyed by the inability to install some items of software due to heavy
disc protection or just badly written code.
5.5
To enable me to have these items of software readily available on my
hard disc, I have waded through reams of Basic and assembler in an
effort to install them. Luckily, due to my experience as a programmer, I
have managed to install everything I wanted sooner or later.
5.5
However, I realise that I am probably in the minority and that there are
many people who simply have to put up with using floppies because they
cannot install their software on to a hard disc.
5.5
To this end I propose the following solution.
5.5
I would be willing to offer my experience in these matters as a service.
That is, people would send me originals of their software and I would
extract a version that could be easily installed on a hard disc.
5.5
This obviously raises a few problems.
5.5
Firstly, would I be breaking or breaching copyright by altering
published software to enable it to be installed?
5.5
Secondly, would the publishers take kindly to me producing versions of
their software which are easy to copy?
5.5
The only solution I can see to this problem is a co-operation between
myself and the publishers whereby I insert, at various points in any new
version I produce, an encoded serial number. This serial number I record
along with the details of the user that sent it and the product
concerned.
5.5
By doing this, if any illegitimate copies were found, the company
concerned, by contacting me, could find the source of the copies through
my records.
5.5
Therefore by offering this service I see the following advantages and
disadvantages:
5.5
Advantages to users:
5.5
1. Ability to have previously uninstallable software easily accessible
on their hard disc.
5.5
2. Ability to archive/backup this version to floppy therefore not
endangering their original copy.
5.5
Disadvantages to users:
5.5
1. The cost of the service on top of the original price of the software.
This would probably be somewhere in the region of ú5 depending on how
many discs the new version requires.
5.5
Advantages to publishers:
5.5
1. Greater use of their software.
5.5
2. More satisfied customers at no cost to themselves.
5.5
3.    Serial coded software protection built into each installed piece
of software.
5.5
Disadvantages to publishers:
5.5
1.    Software easier to copy.
5.5
I would welcome any advice, comments or suggestions on this subject by
users and publishers alike to see whether it would be a viable (and
legal) service to provide.
5.5
I can be contacted at 43, Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot, Hampshire
GU12 6RF.
5.5
Darren Sillett.ááA
5.5
Help offered
5.5
Å    Tierra Ö Some time ago there was a query in Archive magazine from
somebody looking for a program called Tierra, a sort of evolution
simulator.
5.5
Well, Iæve managed to get a copy of the program and would like to pass
it on.
5.5
The program itself consists of documentation, C sources and IBM
executables and comes to about 500k in total. Itæs the sort of thing
that takes an overnight run on a PC, so itæs not really suitable for
running on the Archimedes under the PC Emulator. Indeed, itæs very
complex and powerful, and not for the casual user. I suppose it could be
compiled to run on the Archimedes in native mode, but itæs not a trivial
task and Iæm certainly not up to it.
5.5
Anyone whoæs interested can have a copy in return for a formatted floppy
and an SAE.
5.5
Lorcan Mongey, 56 Salisbury Court, Dublin Road, Belfast BT7 1DD.
5.5
There was also an article in the Computer Section in The Guardian on
Thursday 9th January about Tierra. Ed.ááA
5.5

5.5
? öNow PC compatibleò ?
5.5
With the coming of Aleph Oneæs 386 board for the Archimedes, we have
more ammunition for those who say, öOh, but I must have PC
compatibilityò. It still wonæt satisfy everyone in that area but it will
draw a few more of those who can see the potential of the Archimedesæ
processing power and operating system but have to convince their bosses
of the commercial viability.
5.5
? öBetter than an Apple Macò ?
5.5
As a DTP system, the Archimedes, and the A5000 in particular, is capable
of giving the Macs a run for their money. Rob Sherratt, in our newly
launched DTP Column, has something to say about this. I would just add
that Mac users are extremely difficult to convince that anything could
be as good as their beloved Macs. One Mac adherent came into our office
and asked about the Archimedes (more to convince himself of what he
already knew, I suspect, than to be prepared to change his mind). He
wasnæt all that impressed by what I told him so I offered to give him a
demonstration.
5.5
When he saw me load Impression AND a 64 page 1.2 Mbyte magazine file in
under 8 secs his jaw dropped ever so slightly. (Pagemaker alone on my
Mac Plus takes 30 secs to load, then a further 38 secs to load a half
Mbyte document.) Then I showed him Draw, Paint, Edit, Calculator & Alarm
all loaded instantaneously from ROM and got them all running (at the
same time as my 1.2 Mbyte Impression document). He paled visibly Ö
especially when I threw up the task display and showed him that, out of
4 Mbytes, I still had nearly a Mbyte left to play with!
5.5
öWhat percentage kerning can it do?ò, says he.  öI donæt knowò says I,
öletæs try... Wot? Wot? Wot do you think?ò  öOhò, he said öbut what
percentage can it stretch and compress the characters?ò  öWell, I donæt
knowò says I, öletæs try... Wot? Wot? Wot do you think?ò He didnæt buy
an Archimedes but his prejudice was slightly dented!
5.5
Cheers,
5.5
   Paul B
 Look! vertical kerning too !!!!!!
5.5

5.5
PipeLine
5.5
Gerald Fitton
5.5
Although, as I write, the current version of PD4 is 4.11 I have been
told that version 4.12 will be available as a free upgrade before the
end of January 1992. If you have not done so yet, then send both your
master PD4 program disc and your PD4 Examples disc to Colton Software
together with a self addressed label and return postage. Mark your
envelope ÉEnhanced Charts Upgradeæ. I cannot carry out this upgrade.
5.5
Bugs in PipeDreamá4 Version 4.11
5.5
If you find any Ébugsæ in PD4, please let Colton Software know about
them (not us here at Abacus Training). They will appreciate it if you
send them an example on a disc together with a ReadMe file explaining
the bug, problem or difficulty you are experiencing; it really is
difficult to decide exactly what problem you are experiencing without an
example on a disc.
5.5
The first of two Ébugsæ in version 4.11 (cured in version 4.12) which
troubles many of you is that sometimes recalculation is incomplete. I
have had quite a few letters (and discs) giving examples of sums which
have given you the wrong answer. When I have loaded the corresponding
disc file, PD4 gives me the right answer. You can see how confusing I
have found this Ébugæ. My suggestion to you is that, until you get
version 4.12, save the file, delete it, reload it and then look at the
calculated answers. Suspect that your PD is corrupt only if calculations
are wrong after reloading.
5.5
The second Ébugæ concerns path names to dependent documents. Sometimes,
but not always, a slot reference to a dependent document is corrupted if
the dependent document has not been loaded into memory first. A Éwork
aroundæ until you receive version 4.12 is to load the dependent
documents first and then load the document which calls them. An
alternative, which I use, is to double click on the Étopæ document which
then loads all the dependent documents, delete the Étopæ document (which
appears to be corrupt) and then reload it from the disc.
5.5
PipeDreamá3 to 4 upgrade
5.5
As I write (13th January 1992), already more than one third of our
PipeLine user group have upgraded to PD4 and this proportion is
increasing rapidly. Making reasonable assumptions, I expect that at
least three quarters will have upgraded before this issue of Archive is
in your hands.
5.5
Whilst asking for a conversion from PipeLineá3 to PipeLineá4, many of
you have taken the opportunity to write me a letter telling me what you
think of PipeLine and PD4.
5.5
Firstly, many thanks for all the pleasant remarks about PipeLine.
Secondly, apart from two readers who are yet to be convinced, all
comments about PD4 glow with praise and conclude that, at ú94, it has
been worth upgrading. Much of this praise is for the much improved
Graphics User Interface (I am told ÉGUIæ is pronounced ÉGooeyæ and not
ÉGee-you-eyeæ) which makes marking blocks, changing column widths,
entering functions and their arguments, etc, so much easier. However,
there is also praise for the more Éinstantæ feel of PD4; this is because
it executes more tasks in the background so there is no Étype aheadæ and
almost no waiting for the hourglass to stop running.
5.5
Since there are still Ébugsæ in PD4.11 (nearly all of which can be
Éworked aroundæ), I find this a remarkable tribute to the faith you have
in Colton Softwareæs ability, integrity and willingness to put right
anything you find wrong with PD4 (contrast this with, say, the Acorn
DTP). (or Schema! Ed) Undoubtedly, this faith is due, in part, to all
the substantial improvements (upgrades) to PD3 provided by Colton
Software free of charge.
5.5
Now, and in the foreseeable future, upgrades from PD3 to PD4 can be
obtained only through Colton Software. The price is ú94.00 (UK)
including VAT unless you bought PD3 on or after 1stáAugustá1991.
5.5
Credit where itæs due
5.5
I want to mention a particular someone here and also say that I wish
that I hadnæt mentioned my hard disc in the November PipeLine column!
Yes! In mid-December the original 20Mb hard disc on my A440 died
suddenly in the middle of printing out a file. I know it wasnæt due to
overheating because Iæd installed one of the NCS fan filter and battery
kits a couple of months earlier. I think it must be the electronics
because it died so suddenly and catastrophically. Is it repairable?
5.5
(Nope, I think youæll find that itæs not worth the cost of doing so, in
our view, as you still end up with a potentially unreliable hard disc Ö
which is not a ögood thingò to have. Ed)
5.5
Anyway, I telephoned Norwich Computer Services at 3.00ápm on a Wednesday
afternoon and received a plug-in 40Mb replacement by courier at 11.00 am
the following day. It took less that half an hour to change the hardware
(most of you would take much less time than this) and, thanks to the
fact that I keep (nearly) all my data files on floppy with only
applications on the hard disc, I had everything important up and running
within an hour. So, my congratulations to Norwich Computer Services for
a rapid and efficient service Ö please take a bow. (To be fair, because
Gerald is a contributor, he does get slightly preferential treatment!
Ed)
5.5
Mind you, what I had not done was to save on floppy my personal
configurations of applications such as my PipeDream ini file and my
Impression and DrawPlus preferences, nor had I saved my customised hard
disc !Boot file. So beware, save your application configuration files as
well as your data. In the case of PD4, this means that you should save
your Templates, Pictures, Dictionary and customised Printer drivers on
floppy in case your hard disc, like mine, goes down.
5.5
PipeDreamá4 ÿ the Trend(,) function
5.5
Some of you have had problems understanding the explanation of Trend(,)
given in the PD4 reference manual. The syntax for this function is
correctly given as Trend(Linest, x_data) but you are not told the nature
of the arguments. Linest is a row vector such as {1 ,2} representing the
line yá=á2xá+á1; in its most general form, Linest is {c , m} and its
arguments are the c and m of the straight line yá=ámxá+ác. The second
argument of Trend(,) which I have called x_data, is a row vector of
values of x. The function Trend(,) returns a row vector Éhiddenæ in the
one slot containing the values of y returned by the formula yá=ámxá+ác
for the corresponding values of x.
5.5
The problem most of you have had is that you have used a column of data
for the x values and Trend(,) will not accept a column vector for the
x_data argument. The easiest way around this problem is to use the
function Transpose(). For example, if the x data is in the column A3A9
then Trend({1 , 2},Transpose(A3A9)) will return a row vector with the
values of y corresponding to yá=á2xá+á1.
5.5
As a final example, suppose you have xádata in A3A9, the corresponding
scattergraph yádata in B3B9 and you want to output into C3C9 the values
of y on the line of best fit corresponding to the range A3A9 of xádata.
To do this you enter the following rather long function in slot C3:
5.5
set_value(C3C9,transpose(trend (linest(B3B9,A3A9), transpose(A3A9))))
5.5
I have included a simple example of this formula on the Archive monthly
disc. By the way, in column D of the example, I have calculated the
Éerrorsæ and in slot D11, I have used array multiplication to find the
residual sum of squares using the formula Sum(D3D9*D3D9). Please let me
know how you get on!
5.5
Multi-file documents in PipeDreamá4
5.5
Although there is no documentation supporting multi-file documents, you
can load such a document into PD4 using <CtrláFL>. After loading, you
can use all the other PD3 commands for next file, previous file etc.
5.5
Linking files in PipeDreamá4
5.5
No, there are no linking files in PD4, but D A Crossley has sent me a
set of files with custom functions which partly overcomes the problems
of the missing facility. Generally, the strategy is to define a (do-it-
yourself) custom function which intercepts the PD3 Read and Write
functions and acts appropriately. If you do this, you will not have to
modify your PD3 document for it to run correctly in PD4.
5.5
I have included all D A Crossleyæs files on the Archive monthly disc.
5.5
In conclusion
5.5
I have been surprised at the speed at which you are upgrading to PD4.
Please keep informed of your need for continued support for PD3. Write
to me at the Abacus Training address on the inside back cover.ááA
5.5

5.5
 Good Impression
5.5
Robert Chrismas
5.5
Good Impression, from ÉWord Processingæ, is a book of layouts, designs
and graphics which can be created with Impression. The suggestions
include posters, titles, logos, letter heads and stationery. It is
intended to complement the tutorial, First Impression, reviewed in
Archive 5.1 p17.
5.5
Like DTP Seeds?
5.5
You may well have seen 4Mationæs book of designs, created with Poster,
called DTP Seeds. The author of Good Impression has certainly been
influenced by DTP Seeds. He says in his introduction that many of his
ideas are based on those in DTP Seeds. Even some of the example titles,
like ÉArmchair Mountaineeringæ, have appeared in both books. However,
the designs in Good Impression are all created with the Impression
software and, unlike DTP Seeds, there are detailed instructions
describing the creation of each design.
5.5
With Good Impression, you also get three disks which contain all the
designs shown in the book. They were not available for review but I
understand that they will contain the Impression files from which the
book was printed, with just the text removed. So you will be able to see
exactly how each design is built up in Impression.
5.5
Contents
5.5
Although the book is divided into chapters but many examples use a range
of techniques and so the chapter headings provide only a rough guide to
the contents.
5.5
Å Using FontDraw
5.5
Å Two column design
5.5
Å Frame control
5.5
Å Creative titles
5.5
Å Using characters effectively
5.5
Å Using borders creatively
5.5
Å Using Dingbats as borders
5.5
Å Shadows and tints
5.5
Å Using Gradtint
5.5
Å Text grids
5.5
Å School stationery
5.5
Å Business stationery
5.5
Å Further ideas
5.5
There are about 100 pages and, as a rough guide, there is about one
example or idea on each page.
5.5
While there are some comments about what makes a design Éworkæ, and even
a few deliberate examples of design faults, most of the book is about
how to produce different effects.
5.5
Although it seems to be intended chiefly for people who have recently
started using Impression, I expect that even the most experienced users
will find some useful suggestions. The idea which pleased me most was
one of the simplest: if you define a style with just the background
colour set you can get a bar across the whole line by selecting the
style and pressing <return>. The bar will keep its position in the text
if it is reformatted, and its height will match the size of the
surrounding font.
5.5
The illustrations are excellent. In many cases, several stages during
construction are shown as well as the final design.
5.5
Although the text does show some development, the earlier explanations
being more detailed than later ones, you could dip into this book and
use designs without working through it all. Indeed, reading the whole
book (as a reviewer must) is pretty boring since a typical section
sounds like this ÉDouble-click in the top left frame to open the Alter
graphic dialogue. Set the angle to 45 degrees and click <adjust> on Fit
to frame ...æ
5.5
No artistic skills required
5.5
A surprising feature of the book is that it does not suppose any
artistic or drawing skill. In some places !Draw is used, but usually
just to change fill and line colours and to rotate objects. The text
frequently reminds you that the graphics can be rotated in Impression if
you do not want to use !Draw. Near the end, the author suffers a minor
lapse and suggests that you produce a circle in !Draw, but quickly adds
that you could use !FontDraw to convert a circular Dingbat to a Draw
file instead.
5.5
You would think that this severely limited the designs which could be
produced. I was surprised at the variety of graphics which can be
produced without Éfreehandæ use of !Draw. One trick which is used
frequently is to convert a single character into a draw file with
!FontDraw. The draw file is then loaded into a frame and enlarged so
that only a small part of the character is visible in the frame. This
certainly makes you more aware of the variety of shapes in both the
normal characters and the Dingbat font.
5.5
While I was impressed by the authoræs skill at producing a variety of
designs there were times when I felt his determination to avoid any
drawing was unreasonable. For example, one example shows how to produce
a bar graph entirely from Impression frames. Anyone who can learn to use
Impression should not have too much difficulty creating simple geometri
cal designs in Draw, and there are times when this is the simplest way
to get a particular effect.
5.5
Reservations and warnings
5.5
The pages have been reduced from A4 to A5 size. This means that the
measurements of the designs do not correspond to the values given in the
text.
5.5
Some of the examples were produced with the extra borders pack from
Computer Concepts. The book also uses a range of fonts from Poster and
from the Electronic Font Foundry.
5.5
The book contains lots of ideas and suggestions, but not much guidance
on good practice. More comments about appropriate ways of using the
ideas would have been welcome. I suspect that most people using DTP
packages have more trouble with design than they do with the computer
software, they just donæt notice it.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is the only book on using advanced Impression effects which I have
seen. It costs ú26.95 which I felt was a little bit expensive Ö even
allowing for the good quality binding and three disks. However it has
lots of interesting ideas and examples with clear, easy to follow
instructions.
5.5
(Note: The Illustrations are from ÉGood Impressionæ, but I have had to
change a couple of fonts.)ááA
5.5

5.5

5.5
From an idea in ÉGood Impressionæ
5.5

5.5
FOUR CORNERS MARKETS P.L.C.
5.5

5.5
Butterflies
5.5

5.5

5.5
and
5.5

5.5

5.5
  Moths
5.5

5.5

5.5
From an idea in ÉGood Impressionæ
5.5
 Ö notice theáá big letter ÉSæ.
5.5

5.5
Developing a RISC-OS Utility Ö Part 4
5.5
Darren Sillett
5.5
After a few months break, Darren continues his series about developing
your own RISC-OS utility. The first three parts were in 4.8 p40, 4.10
p53 and 4.12 p41. Ed
5.5
By popular demand, Iæm back with another instalment. This month I am
going to look at how to implement those nice file load/saves that all
your favourite applications achieve by the dragging of file icons.
5.5
Background
5.5
I have decided to expand the utility being developed to enable the user
to load and save the CMOS ram settings of the computer. As this is not a
simple task, I will just tackle the loading this month and look at the
saving in the next article.
5.5
Loading is achieved by dragging a file icon to the application icon. We
need to make sure that we have defined the file type for the file we are
going to load and that a suitable sprite exists for this file type.
5.5
To ensure that the file type is defined, add the following line to both
the !Boot and !Run files of the application:
5.5
Set File$Type_FF2 Config
5.5
Next create in your !Sprites file a sprite called Éfile_ff2æ (and
optionally one called Ésmall_ff2æ). This will be used as the file icon
for any of the files that the application saves.
5.5
N.B. Config/FF2 is Acornæs official file type for this type of file.
5.5
RISC-OS messaging system
5.5
All dragging operations concerned with icons are handled using the RISC-
OS messaging system. This comprehensive system allows different tasks to
communicate by sending and receiving messages. To implement file load/
saves, our task must communicate with the desktop Filer.
5.5
When you drag a file icon onto any taskæs icon or window, the Filer
sends a message to that task informing it that a drag has occurred.
5.5
This message is a block of data which contains the following
information:
5.5
Ö the size of the block in bytes (maximum 256),
5.5
Ö task handle of the message sender,
5.5
Ö the senderæs reference for this message,
5.5
Öáa previous messageæs reference, or 0 if not a reply,
5.5
Ö message action code,
5.5
Öámessage data, dependent on the message action code.
5.5
The message action codes concerned with transfer of data between tasks
are:
5.5
1 Ö Data Save,
5.5
2 Ö Data Save Acknowledge,
5.5
3 Ö Data Load,
5.5
4 Ö Data Load Acknowledge.
5.5
So, when you drag a file icon onto our taskæs icon, the Filer sends a
Data Load message to our task. Our task retrieves the details about the
file from the message data and, if it is a file which it is interested
in (i.e. has the correct filetype), it loads the file and sends back to
the Filer a Data Load Acknowledge message.
5.5
Additions and amendments to !RunImage
5.5
To incorporate the CMOS load/save routines into the application, you
will need to add/amend the following lines:
5.5
 286 PROCicon_string_set(info%,4, ö1.01 (12-Jan-1992)ò)
5.5
 321 WHEN data_load% : PROCdata_load
5.5
1300 DEF PROCdata_load
5.5
1310  LOCAL my_ref%,size%,file_typ% ,file_name$
5.5
1320
5.5
1330  PROCget_data_load_info(my_ref% ,size%,file_type%,file_name$)
5.5
1340  IF file_type% = &FF2 THEN
5.5
1350    PROCsend_message(data_load_ ack%,my_ref%)
5.5
1360    PROCload_cmos(file_name$)
5.5
1380  ELSE
5.5
1390    PROCok(öSorry, donæt recog- nise that type of fileò)
5.5
1400  ENDIF
5.5
1410 ENDPROC
5.5
1500 DEF PROCload_cmos(file_name$)
5.5
1510  file% = OPENIN(file_name$)
5.5
1520  FOR location% = 0 TO 239
5.5
1530    SYS öOS_Byteò,162,location%, BGET#file%
5.5
1540  NEXT location%
5.5
1550  CLOSE#file%
5.5
1560 ENDPROC
5.5
Program notes for !RunImage
5.5
286 Ö Sets the string in the Information Window to reflect the current
version number/date.
5.5
321 Ö Calls PROCdata_load whenever a Data Load message is received by
the application.
5.5
1300, 1330 Ö Retrieves the data from the Data Load message. This is the
senderæs reference, the size of the file, the file type and the file
name.
5.5
1340, 1360 Ö If the file type is the correct one then send back a Data
Load Acknowledge message and call PROCload_cmos to load the file.
5.5
1380, 1410 Ö Otherwise display an error box informing the user that you
do not recognise that type of file.
5.5
1500 Ö 1560 Ö Routine to load in the CMOS ram setting from the specified
file name.
5.5
Additions and amendments to Wimplib
5.5
To add the template and error routines to the Wimplib program, the
following additions should be made:
5.5
  68 data_load%=3 : data_load_ack%=4
5.5
1820  SYS öWimp_LoadTemplateò,, template%,icon_space%,
5.5
icon_space_end%,-1,name$,0
5.5
 TO ,,icon_space%
5.5
2300 DEF PROCget_data_load_info (RETURN my_ref%,RETURN size%,
5.5
RETURN file_type%,
5.5
RETURN file_name$)
5.5
2310  my_ref%    = wimp_block%!8
5.5
2320  size%      = wimp_block%!36
5.5
2330  file_type% = wimp_block%!40
5.5
2340  file_name$ = FNget_string( wimp_block%+44)
5.5
2350 ENDPROC
5.5
2600 DEF FNget_string(pointer%)
5.5
2610  LOCAL a$
5.5
2620  WHILE (?pointer% <> 0) AND (?pointer% <> 13)
5.5
2630    a$       += CHR$(?pointer%)
5.5
2640    pointer% += 1
5.5
2650  ENDWHILE
5.5
2660 =a$
5.5
2700 DEF PROCsend_message(message_ id%,my_ref%)
5.5
2710  wimp_block%!16 = message_id%
5.5
2720  wimp_block%!12 = my_ref%
5.5
2730  SYS öWimp_SendMessageò,17, wimp_block%,wimp_block%!20,
wimp_block%!24
5.5
2740 ENDPROC
5.5
2800 DEF PROCok(message$)
5.5
2810  !wimp_block%     = 0
5.5
2820  $(wimp_block%+4) = message$ + CHR$(0)
5.5
2830  SYS öWimp_ReportErrorò,wimp_ block%,1,application$
5.5
2840 ENDPROC
5.5
Program notes for Wimplib
5.5
68 Ö Define constants for the message actions that we are interested in.
5.5
1820 Ö Fixes a bug in the last article which caused problems when
loading more than one template.
5.5
2300, 2350 Ö Retrieves the data from the message. Note the use of RETURN
variables to send the values back to the caller.
5.5
2600, 2660 Ö Returns a string giving the memory location that it is
stored at.
5.5
2700, 2740 Ö Sends a message.
5.5
2800, 2840 Ö Displays an error box with a single OK button.
5.5
Saving your CMOS ram settings
5.5
In order to test that your application is loading the file, you will
need a file to load! The following program will save your settings to a
file called ÉConfigureæ in the current directory.
5.5
10 file% = OPENOUT(öConfigureò)
5.5
20 FOR location% = 0 TO 239
5.5
30 SYS öOS_Byteò,161,location% TO ,,byte%
5.5
40 BPUT#file%,byte%
5.5
50 NEXT location%
5.5
60 CLOSE#file%
5.5
70 OSCLI öSettype Configure FF2ò
5.5
80 END
5.5
Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have RISC-OS 3, you can use
the !Configure application in the Apps folder to save your settings.
5.5
What next?
5.5
In the next article I will expand the application to allow you to save
the CMOS ram files as an illustration of how a simple file save can be
implemented.
5.5
Finally, if anyone has any ideas, problems or suggestions, I can be
contacted either through Archive or at 43, Kingfisher Walk, Ash,
Aldershot  GU12 6RF.ááA
5.5

5.5
Language Column
5.5
David Wild
5.5
Since the last language column, I have received an interesting letter
which I reproduce in full. I am sure that the best way forward is to
move to the idea of assembling programs, in the industrial sense of the
word, from pre-written parts which have already been tested and made
crash-proof as far as is humanly possible. The language in which these
parts have been written should be totally irrelevant except to the
original programmer and those whose job it is to maintain it.
5.5
Apart from reducing the problem of testing, designing program segments
to be used in this way would also lead to a vast reduction in the cost
of producing programs tailored to specific users. In many cases, the
difference in the requirements of Bloggs & Co, on the one hand, and
Juggins & Co on the other, is quite small and could be dealt with by
using different procedures in among the standard structure of the main
program.
5.5
Designing programs in this way is different and many people will,
perhaps, resent having to change methods but it is the only way that we
will get programs that are not öfragileò. There have been many examples
of commercial software where minor changes to one aspect of the program
have led to bugs in other parts and we need to get away from this in
future. Impression has suffered from this kind of a bug, according to
CCæs own magazine, and there was no doubt about the fragility of the
early versions of PipeDream 4.
5.5
Designing as an assembly of sub-assemblies should enable us to design
programs which are crash-proof from the start, even if all the options
donæt work immediately, by the use of östubò modules which just return a
message until the final version is written.
5.5
Graham Carter writes...
5.5
In Paul Skirrowæs article on the A5000 and RISC-OS 3 in Archive 5.3 p38,
he mentioned that the shared C library is not available to other
languages. This has prompted me to let you know some of my experiences
and wishes for the future of programming languages on the Archimedes. I
canæt decide whether what follows is a plea for Help, Feedback, or
something to be included in your Languages column....
5.5
I have the Acorn Fortran, Pascal and C compilers. I use Pascal a lot,
can get by in Fortran and am slightly familiar with C. I started to
develop a collection of graphics routines in Pascal which duplicate the
commands available in Basic but, as well as producing on-screen
graphics, create a Draw file at the same time, for high quality
printing. Although it would be easy to duplicate this code in Fortran,
it would be so much better if Fortran could call these routines
directly.
5.5
I have wanted to do mixed-language programming on the Archimedes for
several years but the Acorn compilers all differ in their interpretation
of the APCS. The manual for C release 3 says (page 463) that ö[the
procedure call and stack disciplines] are observed by Acornæs C language
implementation for the ARM and, eventually, will be observed by the
Fortran and Pascal compilers too.ò On page 480 it says, for Fortran and
Pascal, that öThe Acorn / TopExpress Arthur /RISC-OS Fortran-77 [Acorn /
3L Arthur / RISC-OS ISO-Pascal] compiler violates the APCS in a number
of ways that preclude inter-working with C, except via assembler
veneers. This may be changed in future releases of the Fortran-77 [ISO-
Pascal] product.ò
5.5
I have contacted Acorn several times to enquire about updates to the
Pascal and Fortran compilers but am not optimistic. An interesting point
is that the Fortran and Pascal compilers supplied with RISC iX are Acorn
front-ends to the C compiler back-end (code generator); does this mean
that mixed language programming is available under RISC iX? Since the C
compiler for RISC-OS is more or less the same as that for RISC iX, does
anyone know why the RISC iX Pascal and Fortran front-ends canæt be used
with the RISC-OS C back-end, thereby making mixed language programming
possible? It is probably more complicated than I imagine, but it would
be interesting to know just how difficult this would be to achieve Ö if
anyone from Acorn is reading this, would they care to comment? It would
be useful to be able to call the functions from the shared C library
directly from other languages, for the same reasons that they should be
used from C in preference to linking in ANSIlib.
5.5
Nick Smithæs XLib and PCompile discs (available from David Pilling) make
Pascal usable from the desktop, and enable WIMP programs to be written
in Pascal. These discs are really useful as they show just what can be
done with Pascal under RISC-OS.
5.5
I donæt think there is a big enough user base for Fortran or Pascal to
encourage Acorn to further develop these products; support for them
appears to be very limited. For example, the desktop debugger canæt
display source for Pascal whereas the older version could. Also, the
linker supplied with C version 3 works with Pascal and Fortran and
produces much smaller executables but does not include any of the
traceback information provided by the older release. For example, a
failing Pascal executable produced with the old linker gives this
output:
5.5
öExecution error Ö input has been requested when EOF is true
5.5

5.5
Executing line 42 in TIDY_SPOOL starting at line 1 of module tidy_spool
CHARACTER = Chr(13)
5.5

5.5
input has been requested when EOF is true in TIDY_SPOOL at line 42 of
module tidy_spoolö
5.5
but the new linker gives:
5.5
öExecution error Ö input has been requested when EOF is true
5.5
program failure, event 14 11 0ò
5.5
which is not very helpful, particularly when the program is very large,
as there is no indication of where the error occurred.
5.5
For the last year, I have been trying to track down a Modula-2 compiler
being written by Rowley Associates. I was told that it followed the APCS
and allowed linking with routines written in C. It appears that this
project has been shelved for the time being, although I believe a
version is available for RISC iX.
5.5
I would be very happy to hear from any readers who know:
5.5
(a) what öassembly language veneerò is required to perform mixed
language programming under RISC-OS, or
5.5
(b) why Acorn doesnæt release the RISC iX Fortran and Pascal compilers
for RISC-OS, using the NorCroft C compiler back end, or
5.5
(c) how to call routines in the shared C library from languages other
than C, or
5.5
(d) what plans Acorn have for future support of Pascal and Fortran, or
5.5
(e) any news of a Modula-2 compiler for RISC-OS,
5.5
 Graham Carter
5.5
Grahamæs letter is very relevant to the matter in hand and I would be
grateful for any comments from readers who have had any experience of
mixed language programming. I have had success with linking modules
written with ObjAsm into Pascal programs but have not yet tried the
other way round.
5.5
Page 18 of the supplementary manual for release 2 of the Pascal compiler
gives details of the öassembler veneerò needed to make Pascal modules
usable from other languages and I will try this out in the next few
weeks.
5.5
Computer languages
5.5
A while ago I mentioned the magazine öComputer Languagesò which I picked
up at an exhibition but which seemed to be unobtainable in this country.
After seeing a small article in öComputer Shopperò, I wrote to an
organisation called Pascal Language Forum, of PO Box 30, Fareham, Hants
PO16 8LZ and obtained details of membership of their organisation. For
ú30 a year, they provide a newsletter, bulletin board, annual confer
ence, a software library, assistance from other members and the magazine
öComputer Languagesò. Not surprisingly, most of the material at the
moment is PC or mainframe based but the administrator tells me that all
Archimedes users would be very welcome. The 1992 Pascal conference will
be held at Reading University on April 3rd/4th and non-members of the
Forum are welcome to attend.ááA
5.5

5.5
Sparkle
5.5
Peter Thomson
5.5
Sparkle is a simple structured control language from Morley Electronics
Ltd. It costs ú59 +VAT.
5.5
It was reviewed using a öLegoò interface connected to the user port on
the Morley expansion board and with an AnDi Oddule connected to an I2C
connector on the expansion port of an A3000.
5.5
The program is fully RISC-OS compatible, sitting on the icon bar and
displaying all its features in windows. Most menus are displayed by
clicking on the icon on the bar rather than in the window displayed.
5.5
Writing programs
5.5
You need to have !Edit installed in order to write a program. This means
that there is no reporting of errors as you write. The program uses a
series of statements without line numbers and should be saved to disc as
a text file. Sparkle loads the program and displays it in a window,
although it cannot be edited in this new window. The current line is
highlighted as the program is run. If there is an error in the useræs
program then execution stops and the error is reported in another
window. In order to correct the error you must check which line is
highlighted when the error is reported, load the program into !Edit,
correct the error, resave the program to disc and then reload it into
Sparkle.
5.5
Device drivers
5.5
There are different versions of Sparkle are available depending on which
devices are to be controlled. This is so that the options available for
input and output in the program and on display are restricted to those
available at the interface. You must specify which interface units you
plan to use when you order Sparkle. I think it would be much better to
have a file of device drivers on the disc so that the user could select
from a comprehensive list and reconfigure it if required.
5.5
Structured language
5.5
Sparkle makes use of the following structures:
5.5
IF Ö THEN Ö ELSE
5.5
WHILE Ö ENDWHILE
5.5
FOR Ö NEXT
5.5
REPEAT Ö UNTIL
5.5
and the use of PROCEDURES
5.5
Each channel of digital input can be counted with a counter dedicated to
that channel. There are also eight timers which, when switched, on
increment at 0.01s intervals. In the program, these times can be
expressed as seconds, minutes or hours. There are no other variables
available to store numerical data in a control program.
5.5
Input to the control program can come from digital input or from
analogue input and it can also make use of a mouse button, but not the
keyboard at the same time.
5.5
A control program is very readable with short simple phrases. e.g.
5.5
MOTOR 0 FORWARDS
5.5
IF INPUT 4 ON THEN MOTOR 0 STOP
5.5
Special features
5.5
The language has several unusual features that improve the screen
display when a control program is executed. Draw files can be displayed
to illustrate the control process.áIt has the ability to load a Tracker
music module or sound samples and to play them. It can also control the
display of animations from Tween or Mogul.
5.5
Data logging mode
5.5
This is a separate mode of operation and does not run at the same time
as a control program. It collects values from the analogue port or from
the AnDi Oddule. Only one time interval can be used at one time with a
minimum interval of 1/100s. Up to four channels are logged with the
results displayed as a linear graph in a window that can be scrolled and
zoomed to examine the values in more detail. The logged values can be
saved in CSV format for use by other programs. The data logging mode is
easy to set up and use.
5.5
The guide book
5.5
The user guide is well presented in A5 format in a wire comb binding. A
tutorial section explains the operation of the language in a straight
forward manner. Each command is then described on a separate page. This
section is particularly well set out and easy to understand. The program
disc also includes examples that illustrate the use of all key words and
all the special features of the language.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is an excellent program for teaching control to children aged 8 to
14 years. It would also be very useful as a tutorial for the teacher new
to the subject. I found it particularly effective with the öLegoò
interface.ááA
5.5

5.5
The Engineer is Back Again !
5.5
Ray Maidstone
5.5
Scanner sockets
5.5
Having now had to repair several scanner podules on both 3000 and 300/
400 series machines, I have noticed a weakness in the socket used for
the hand held scanners. The edges of the plug pins are squared off at
the ends so that they are able to snag the metal electrodes of the
sockets and cause the socket to fall to pieces! Other than choosing a
different type of connector, the only successful advice Iæve been able
to give to those people unfortunate enough to have had theirs repaired,
was to push the plug in gently and, if resistance is felt before the
plug is fully home, oscillate the plug very gently as it is pushed in Ö
particularly when the socket is new. So far, this advice has been 100%
effective.
5.5
VIDCæs still blowing up
5.5
Having succeeded in stopping VIDCs being damaged by static (using the
mod Iæve developed for the A310æs and old A440æs) I have still been
receiving machines with damaged chips. However, this time it is due to
the fact that the owners have fitted unbuffered audio take-off leads to
their sound sockets (10 way pin set). (As explained in Archive 4.7 p21,
Ooops! Ed.). Anything which is earthy or leaky (technical terms for
electronically iffy) plugged onto this connection can directly blow up
the output current transistors, the audio pre-amp chip and indeed the
VIDC itself. What people may not realise is that this connection point
is NOT a safe place to just connect any old thing up to. This is why I
made the Hi-Fi adapter kit. Unfortunately, in a later issue of Archive,
Jeremy Mears questioned the need for my piece of hardware, and stated
that it was cheaper to just connect straight onto these connections.
Firstly this is not very Éhygienicæ electronically and also you will
hear raw quantisation noise that my board has been specifically tuned to
remove. Well, at the price the Hi-Fi boards sell for, Iæll never be a
millionaire, but at the rate Iæm still changing VIDCs, I might become
richer that way. Keep up the good work! (Replacement VIDCæs are ú38
without labour.)
5.5
A5000 podule sizes
5.5
If you are the proud owner of an A5000 and youæve decided to connect
your 400 series podules into it, you may not have noticed that they
donæt fit properly. In fact, they are about 2mm too short, and so, to
guarantee proper connection into the backplane, a couple of spacer
washers will have to be put between the boardæs fixings and the external
metal plate to make up the difference. This measurement difference was
due to the fact that Acorn have now apparently standardised the podule
board size.
5.5
A5000 power connectors
5.5
Another little Énastyæ spotted on a few A5000æs whilst upgrading the
memory was that the ╝ö spade terminals used to connect the power to the
motherboard have not been soldered properly. If your machine was
received without any memory upgrade, it might be worth a look before a
dodgy connection starts upsetting the precious files on your hard drive!
(But donæt even THINK of getting your soldering iron out if the
terminals are loose! Ed.)
5.5
A310 Memory upgrades
5.5
I feel very saddened by the number of cases of people who have had to
send in their 310æs because they attempted to install a memory upgrade
and came unstuck as it is quite easy to damage the PCB in some way. The
various firms producing these memory PCBs are not to blame, but perhaps
I would comment that there are nowhere near as many competent solderers
out there as people who think they are. BE WARNED Ö the motherboard is
delicate and manual solder suckers are just not suitable, which is why
Acorn Service Centres have to buy a desoldering station (for a mere
ú700).
5.5
Terminal burn-out
5.5
In the course of repairs, an odd job made itself known. Upon checking
current and heat levels, I decided to find what was causing the ╝ö spade
terminals to actually burn out at the wire crimp point. I checked the
system and found that upon switch-on there was no characteristic beep
and the desktop environment was also missing. I would have tried a
<ctrl-break> but this particular unit didnæt have a keyboard so I had to
suffice with power off.
5.5
I stripped out the obvious visible damage and replaced the four spade
connectors, checked the work with a meter and then switched on again. I
switched off again after about 8 seconds, as there was still no visible
sign of life. I confirmed continuity and noticed the presence of a fair
amount of heat had been generated. There were no power indicators
present, so I decided to refer back to the manual but was surprised to
find that nowhere in the Acorn backup material was there any reference
to a Swan Electric Urn N║ 526Ö3kW unit. It was at this point that I
noticed the absence of the usual Archimedes sticker and decided to ask
Paul about this discrepancy, whereupon he informed me that he had in
fact slipped the N.C.S. Tea Urn in with the other repairs hoping I
wouldnæt notice!
5.5
(Actually, it was one of the churchæs urns but he made an excellent job
of repairing it Ö I think Ray can repair just about anything! Ed.)
5.5
Silly icons
5.5
On an even sillier note, I have noticed that my Rabbit (Hare? Ed) and
Tortoise (comical icons for those of us who possess the wonderful ARM3)
have wandered far and wide. Soon, an animated version of the Bunny will
be available. Let me know if youære interested.
5.5
MR45 vacuum cleaners
5.5
A rather disconcerting problem with removable drives is rearing its
head. Any spinning surface causes airflow dispersal and by nature of
centrifugal forces, air that is thrown off the outside of the disc is
replaced by incoming air at the centre of the disc. This will cause the
disc to attract dust not only into the drive mechanism, but also onto
the surface of the disc. I have successfully cleaned several of these
machines now, but I would not advise the general populous to attempt
this. Also, I do not know of a way to clean the DISC in the cartridge!
Please be warned, and consider ways of keeping your removable drives in
as dust-free an area as possible. Perhaps some kind of small door
covering the face of the drive might help, but as this is a new finding
NO information is currently available.
5.5
310 upgrade etc
5.5
As far as I am aware, all the companies who produce upgrade boards and
add-ons include satisfactory instructions, but there is one point that I
feel that is often not made clear. If you are thinking of doing one of
these upgrades yourself, just how much skill and knowledge are required?
I have had to rescue several people who started doing an upgrade
themselves and got into a mess. If you can do it yourself, you obviously
save money but, if you get into a mess, it can often end up costing you
rather more than the dealer-fit cost.ááA
5.5

5.5
Music Column
5.5
Stewart Watson
5.5
Multi-timbral synthesizers and sequencers
5.5
I have had a fair amount of correspondence lately from people who have
had trouble getting their sequencers working so as to take full
advantage of the facilities provided by their synthesizers.
5.5
Letæs take, as an example, a Korg M1 being used with Studio 24+. The M1
is eight part multi-timbral (it can produce up to eight different kinds
of sound at one time), and 16 note polyphonic (it can produce up to
sixteen different notes at one time).
5.5
Getting started
5.5
The first thing to do is to set up the M1 so that it can be controlled
from the computer.
5.5
1.    Select a combination that you are prepared to overwrite. (When you
save your new combination the previous one will be lost.)
5.5
2.    Enter global mode and switch off memory protect internal (so that
you can store your new combination).
5.5
3.    Make sure that program change enable is on. (This will allow you
to select different voices for each part during the course of a song.)
5.5
4.    Switch Local off. (This separates the keyboard from the synthes
izer, so that playing the keys produces no sound directly.)
5.5
5.    Press combination edit (to edit your chosen combination).
5.5
6.    Select Multi. (This allows the M1 to be used as a multi-timbral
synthesizer.)
5.5
7.    Select the eight voices you use most often including drums.
5.5
8.    Assign each voice to a different midi channel, e.g.
5.5
Voice    Programme    Midi
5.5
    Number    Channel
5.5
Piano    41        2
5.5
Acoustic Bass    26        3
5.5
Drums    09        4
5.5
Guitar    04        5
5.5
Pan Flute    08        6
5.5
Brass    01        7
5.5
Dreamwave    20        8
5.5
Tenor Sax    62        9
5.5
    It is best not to use channel 1 as it is, by default, the global
channel which means that any changes received on that channel affect
every part.
5.5
9.    Save the combination that you have just assembled.
5.5
10.    Enter global mode.
5.5
11.    Switch on memory protect (to protect your new combination).
5.5
Setting up Studio24+
5.5
1.    Make sure that midi thru is selected. (This will send the
information received from the keyboard of the M1 back out from the midi
out port to the M1 and will make it play the chosen voice on the current
midi channel.)
5.5
2.    Set the midi channel of the metronome to the same as the channel
for drums on the M1.
5.5
3.    Set the pitch of the metronome to suit your taste.
5.5
4.    Set up a default pattern for Studio 24+ with the midi channels set
to match the M1.
5.5
You can now control the M1 from the computer and enter programme changes
into each part as required.
5.5
The Korg programme numbering system starts at 1 rather than the usual 0,
which means that you have to add 1 to the programme number of the voice
you are selecting: e.g. to select piano voice 41 you would have to enter
42 in the preset window.
5.5
The system I have outlined above can be altered to suit most available
multi-timbral synthesizers.
5.5
I have included a drumlist for an M1, a dummy file for Studio 24+ and a
clipboard of some basic rhythm patterns for inclusion on the monthly
disc.ááA
5.5

5.5
!CL Ö Psion Link
5.5
Peter Creed
5.5
Perhaps, like me, you were eagerly awaiting the arrival of version 1.6
of the PC Emulator, in the hope that, at last, the Comms Link software
for the Psion Organiser would actually run on it! If so, you are about
to be extremely disappointed. Once again, the Comms Link software bombs
out with the all too familiar message, öUndefined Opcode, System
Halted...ò
5.5
I had previously tried every programming trick that I could think of, to
make the Comms Link software work and had been thwarted at every turn,
so I was delighted to hear that a new software house called öGodders
Wareò had designed a program called !CL for the Archimedes & Psion
Organiser, that was rumoured to be fully multitasking. I immediately
offered to review it since I have had some dismal experiences with
previous Psion-Archimedes comms software.
5.5
I was not to be disappointed though, initially, getting things up and
running was far from easy and required several calls to their technical
expert, Mark Godwin. To be fair though, this was due to an unusual SCSI
Hard Disc setup on my part and Mark Godwin was able to remedy the
problem in the software promptly and since then the program has worked
correctly.
5.5
Presentation
5.5
!CL comes on a single 3╜ö disc with an on-disc manual in both !Edit and
First Word Plus formats. This could possibly be a limitation to those of
you without printers but you can still easily view the manual on screen
whilst !CL is running.
5.5
On the disc are several applications:Ö !CL, !OnTime, !Opendir and
!PS_Split. The first, !CL, is the multi-tasking communications program.
!OnTime is a freebie which the company has supplied as an appetiser for
their future range of programs. It is designed for modem freaks who run
up massive phone bills. Using it, you are able to pre-set a warning time
which will pop up a suitable message when you have been on-line for too
long.
5.5
!Opendir is also rather useful. Once it is loaded onto the icon bar, you
simply drag an application over to it and release, whereupon it opens a
filer window into the application directory, no more shift-double-
clicking.
5.5
!PS_Split is another rather useful application. Once loaded, you can
drag an OPL (Organiser Programming Language) program icon onto the
!PS_Split icon and release it which then splits into an OPL text file
which is readable in !Edit and an Obj (Object) file which is the
compiled OPL code. This is very useful if, like me, you are an OPL
program developer and you wish to supply your end users with the object
code only.
5.5
Installation
5.5
!CL can be run from floppy disc or installed on a hard disc. However,
you must briefly insert the floppy disc into its drive whilst the
program seeks its security code. I had a very long discussion with the
company regarding this method of protection since I had given up using
System Delta in the past simply because I could not be bothered to keep
finding the master disc and putting it into the drive. A professional
programmeræs time is money and when you have spent nearly a thousand
pounds to get SCSI Hard Disc speeds, you do not want to waste time
messing about with floppy disks. I was met with what I consider to be
the most positive and refreshing attitude on the part of any software
company that I have ever dealt with and what they suggested was this.
They would re-write the protection so that after one check, the software
could run for about a month before asking for another security check. If
that security check failed, then the software would not run again.
5.5
The idea behind this was that the company was fully aware that more
unscrupulous users would be tempted to copy !CL and swap it amongst
their friends and with this method they could! The friends could then
use it for a trial period of one month to see if they liked it, before
it stopped working. Furthermore, the company felt that they would like
to reward loyalty to their products and so each time you buy a further
product from them you get a bigger and bigger discount! What is more,
your friends, on presentation of your security code would get an
introductory discount too! Well, all I can say is that if their
programming is as innovative and positive as their marketing strategy,
then we are likely to see some very good products from them. I am
surprised no-one has thought of the idea before!
5.5
!CL in use
5.5
Of !CL itself, I can only say that it is a joy to use. Clicking on the
application loads a Psion Organiser icon onto the icon bar. Pressing
<menu> over the icon, brings up a menu with various setup options. Baud
rates, timeouts, retries and even the time spent multitasking, can be
set from this menu as can file paths and printer options. If you have
the Psion Organiser plugged in, using the CommsLink cable and the
adaptor, then once the !CL application is loaded, the Psion will wake up
in the same way that it does when you run the more familiar CL.EXE
program on a PC.
5.5
What sets this program apart from all the other Psion-Archimedes
programs that I have seen, is its ability to use the proper Psion
communications protocol. This gives access to some pretty sophisticated
file swapping from Archimedes to Psion and back again.
5.5
XFunctions
5.5
The company has also thoughtfully supplied a suite of OPL programs to
run on the Psion which give a range of commands that mimic the XTSEND
and XTRECV functions on the Psion. Further commands mimic the XFOPEN and
XFCLOSE type functions which give access to the full Archimedes type
path names and allow you to remotely access files on the Archimedes,
from the Psion Organiser itself.
5.5
However, if you are not keen to program such advanced file transfer
functions, the MGCOM program supplied will allow you to back-up and
restore every single file on an LZ. Users of a CM or XP Organiser can
backup their data files too, but any other type of file has to be sent
using the X Functions since the CM & XP lack the DIRW$ function.
5.5
By selecting transmit from within the comms menu on the Organiser and
clicking öOnlineò on the !CL menu, you can send the full range of File,
Procedure or Notes files to the Archimedes and these are routed straight
to a default set of directories contained within the !CL application
itself. The program automatically detects the filetype and routes the
incoming file to the appropriate directory. This can give rise to an
amusing ten minutes or so trying to find what you thought was a text
file in the text directory only to find it has appeared in the data
directory. This is no particular problem as long as you are reasonably
familiar with the file types that the organiser can send. My only real
criticism here is that it would be handy if there was a menu option to
open and view the various file directories rather than having to keep
clicking <shift+select> on the !CL Icon. Still, you can use the !Opendir
application that they have supplied. Alternatively, you can alter the
default file paths using the öFile pathsò option on the !CL main menu.
5.5
Printing
5.5
Using !CL, it is also possible to print directly from the Psion, via the
Archimedes, to a parallel printer, again from an option set on the main
!CL menu. If you have a serial printer, you can print to a file first,
disconnect your comms link, connect the serial printer and print out the
file that way. I have also tested the !CL program with the popular
Autoscribe program for the Psion and found that the transmit and receive
options from Autoscribe also work with !CL.
5.5
Compatibility
5.5
!CL has been tested on an A410 with ADFS Hard Drive and ARM 3, an A310
with Oak SCSI hard disc, 4M ram and ARM3 and an A5000. It will work at
the full 9600 baud rate though you will need a special adaptor cable,
details of which are given in the manual.
5.5
If you think I sound impressed, yes, I am. This software vastly out-
ranks both the CommsLink software for the PC and all the other
Archimedes-Psion programs that I have seen and, at ú25 + p&p, is
exceptional value, although for this amount you do not get a pre-printed
manual.
5.5
Godders Ware are currently working on a version for the Psion Series 3
though I have heard various horror stories about the Series 3 though
Mark Godwin reports that his Series 3 has behaved impeccably. In short,
it is well worth hanging on to your LZæs and buying !CL, just to see how
good it is!ááA
5.5

5.5
Using ArcFS
5.5
Tord Eriksson
5.5
In the January issue of Archive (5.4 p41) Mike Hobart wrote about
compression programs, comparing Compression (Computer Concepts) and
!Spark (David Pilling).
5.5
There is now an alternative available from David Pilling: ArcFS, written
by Mark Smith.
5.5
This is somewhere in between Compression, that makes a complete separate
filing system with new drive icons etc, and !Spark which is a compres
sion utility that sits on the icon bar, that unpacks Éarcedæ
directories, recognisable by a flash across the directory icon.
(!Sparkplug is a PD version of !Spark that only unpacks.)
5.5
!Sparkæs drawbacks
5.5
The major drawback with !Spark is that you must unpack an application,
by dragging it to another directory, before you can run it.
5.5
To take an example: An Impression document has to be dragged out before
you can use it and that is both bothersome and time consuming. !Spark
indicates this by showing the default icon and not the applicationæs
icon. If you try to run it anyway, you will be greeted by an error
message!
5.5
Compression, or CFS, does run applications directly but does not
compress directories. This means that, for example, Impression docu
ments, with a lot of small files inside (each document is a pseudo-
application in itself), does not compress very well.
5.5
!ArcFS Ö the golden compromise?
5.5
ArcFS behaves very much like !Spark, as it installs itself on the icon
bar, but it does not make a complete new filing system, like CFS or
PCDir.
5.5
The compression format seems to be the same as for !Spark, so a
directory compressed with !Spark is readable with !ArcFS and vice versa.
Even the menus and the options are similar, so the ardent !Spark user
will feel very much at home.
5.5
What is it good for then? Well, let me show you by taking a directory
with 17 Impression documents, most containing illustrations. There was
also a minor text file; in all 2,086,972 bytes. According to Mike
Hobart, Impression documents, with a lot of chapters and illustrations,
like my documents, compress very badly if you use CFS.
5.5
Not having a fully functional version of CFS (I just got the PD version)
I couldnæt make a full test, as I couldnæt compress the directory with
both programs. Mike did a test of a single chapter Impression document
and CFS compressed it to 51.2%, !Spark 45.0%.
5.5
!ArcFS compressed my 2,086,972 byte directory to 953,573 bytes; that is
a 45.7% reduction! That compares very well with !Sparkæs compression of
a single file (according to Mike Hobart): 45.0%.
5.5
So !ArcFS does what !Spark does and more. Also, it is as easy to use as
CFS and costs next to nothing in comparison!
5.5
Problems
5.5
No compression system is a panacea, neither CFS nor !Spark nor !ArcFS.
5.5
First, compression takes time: I compressed a huge library of sprites
yesterday. With !ArcFS I had to wait half an hour before I could access
the computer again! It freed a lot of space on the hard disc so it was
worth it and, fortunately, un¡packing is much faster. Anything that
loads faster than a floppy disc drive is OK with me....
5.5
CFS, or Compression, is probably much faster, as Mike Hobartæs tests
show (even if he used !Spark instead of !ArcFS).
5.5
David Pilling himself warned me that compression programs sometimes
create havoc and that the first release of !ArcFS was problematic: If
you decided to delete a sub-directory in an arced directory the whole
lot went AWOL Ö lost and gone forever!
5.5
This have now been fixed and I have not experienced any problems with
version 1.07. As long as you do not compress the programs you normally
use, I canæt see anything dangerous happening. Huge programs, like
Impression itself, are better left alone as their unpacking takes some
time. Loading Impression documents that have been compressed can be
troublesome if you use the auto-save facility, because Impression
doesnæt always know if the program is properly saved into the arced
directory, so you can get an error message.
5.5
One solution is to set the auto-save to Épromptæ, then you will not have
any mysterious messages and the file will be saved correctly. Also, I
would say that nothing essential should ever be left on your hard disc
without back-ups, as hard discs are prone to collapsing at the most
unfortunate moment.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
My hard disc was, a week ago, filled up almost completely. Now, thanks
to !ArcFS, I have 16 Mbytes free to use!ááA
5.5

5.5
Enter the Realm
5.5
Stephen & David Sloan (aged 11 & 9)
5.5
Enter the Realm, which is one of the latest offerings from the Fourth
Dimension, has been dubbed, in many magazines, the sequel to Nevryon. It
comes in a video container which seems the standard packaging for 4th
Dimension games.  The game is contained on three disks and has a small
playersæ manual like Nevryon.
5.5
The game
5.5
Enter the Realm is hardly like Nevryon except for the sound and graphic
quality which are as good, if not better than Nevryonæs. The scenario is
the usual 4D style except it is better than Nevryonæs and goes like
this: öYou have to travel to Karidor, a land of magic, to fight Evil,
(which always finds its way into arcade games in one way or another) and
bring Good back to Karidor. You lead a knight, by the name of Kharas,
and find weapons to proceed through different areas of Karidor, fighting
evil and helping to revive good.ò Loading is strangely through the
desktop instead of the now familiar <shift-break> routine.
5.5
The first thing that you notice is that the sounds during load-up are
synchronised with the disk drive noises and this soon leads on to a good
piece of sampled music. Pressing <space> leads to the öProphecies of
Karidorò and then a note informing you to insert the second disk. After
doing so, a scroll appears telling you to press <fire> to start or <R>
to redefine keys. Pressing <fire> brings you to a piece of text which
tells you about the level you are going to start on, with accompanying
music. Pressing <space> brings you to the level start and one major
difference from Nevryon is now revealed (unless you have guessed
already) that you are on foot. Other differences are that there is no
music, only sampled sound, which is either an improvement or disappoint
ment, depending on your tastes. It scrolls in both directions and there
are no password options. The playability is excellent; the best of any
arcade game, even outside the Archimedes, though at first it is a little
bit hard to get far.
5.5
The graphics claim to be all hand drawn and there are good end-of-level
pictures which look like digitised paintings and all the sounds are
sampled. Voices come on for starting and ending the game area and the
weather effects are brilliant.
5.5
As Kharas, you first set off across a land not unlike Antarctica, in
search of the great wizard, then into a rural area of forest and town,
later into a cave to destroy a dragon, eventually back across the rural
area and on to a desert. After this it is on to the city gates, the city
itself and then into a tunnel type level, to fight the evil wizard. I
donæt know if there are any more levels because I havenæt got any
further and there arenæt any screenshots of another level.
5.5
Adversaries come as bouncing or rolling spherical objects, falling,
rising, stationary, flying and walking or running objects. Colliding
with any of these decreases your energy. When all energy is lost you
lose a life but continue from where you are. The pickups include
weapons, which boost the damage rating of a shot or upgrade it or
downgrade it; hearts, which replenish lost energy in the life being
used; skulls which decrease energy; shields which give five seconds of
invulnerability; alien freezes which stop all objects for five seconds;
wideshot and spreadshot which fans out weapons, and straightshot which
cancels out this effect; smart bombs which destroy all on-screen aliens
and background features; powerups which increase the damage of a weapon;
extra lives; and gems, gold bags and crystals which give 100 points.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is a great game with excellent graphics, sound and playability and,
at ú24.95, surely makes it the next game to get and probably the best
game for the Archimedes to date.ááA
5.5

5.5
ScanLight 256 update
5.5
Tord Eriksson
5.5
In my recent review of the ScanLight Junior 256 from Computer Concepts
(Archive 5.4, p30) I stated that I had problems using the four bit and
eight bit modes (16 and 256 levels of grey).
5.5
Since writing the review, these problems have disappeared altogether and
the probable cause was a badly fitting backplane! (Sorry, Computer
Concepts!) I have converted hundreds of pictures by now, and I can only
say that I canæt understand how I managed without a scanner before!
5.5
After a while, you realise that a flatbed scanner is a blessing in most
cases, as it is very tricky to pull the scanner at the correct speed and
straight across the illustration you want to scan. You often end up with
a twisted illustration, like Judge Dredd! (See opposite.)
5.5
For the adventurous
5.5
Any individual sprite named Éscan_imageæ can be processed with the
ScanLight 256 software. You will see some odd results if the sprite
originally was a 256 colour sprite, as a mode 15 screensave. But help is
at hand:
5.5
!Translator and !Creator, by John Kortink, both available from Archive
(on Careware 13), can convert the sprites to monochrome before further
manipulation with ScanLight software. There is a also a utility from the
same author called !GreyEdit (on Shareware 40, amongst others) that can
process your grey sprite by increasing contrast, adding various types of
sampling etc.
5.5
!GreyEdit is very easy to use, after you have converted your sprite to
the Clear format. This is yet another format that one has to live with
due to a software writeræs idea of a so-called better format
(!Translator can produce Clear files).
5.5
Anyway, the end result can be very far from the original sprite! If you
are not content with manipulation of the image with !GreyEdit or
!Translator, the sprite can then be re-converted into a Énormalæ sprite
and manipulated with ScanLightæs software. Enjoy yourself!
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
When you buy a scanner, buy a flat-bed scanner if you can afford it!
This will, in the long run, be a very wise investment, as long as you
have enough RAM! 16Mb chips are becoming available, so an A4 400dpi, 256
grey levels, scan is now possible (more than 8 Megabytes!), but not for
owners of unexpanded A3000s!
5.5
If you have got less than 2M you might as well forget using scanners, as
they do need lots of room for their sprites, even before saving to disc!
5.5
The ScanLight 256 Junior works perfectly for scanning small photos,
stamps, even negatives, but is not ideal for bigger things.
5.5
After the initial problems which I mentioned in my review last month,
scanning and converting sprites with !Trace have become my favourite
occupation in front of the computer. Computer Concepts can only be
congratulated for the ScanLight Junior 256 pack!ááA
5.5
(The problem is that, at the moment, Computer Concepts are having
trouble getting supplies of the scanning heads so they donæt think there
will be any ScanLight 256æs available for the next few weeks. Ed.)
5.5

5.5
The Font Book
5.5
Stewart Watson
5.5
The Font Book is the latest product from Toby Richards, the creator of
the excellent piano and guitar fonts reviewed in Archive 5.3 p44. It
describes itself as öAn easy-to-follow Guide for the Archimedesò and
that is exactly what it is.
5.5
Contents
5.5
Included are chapters on the history of fonts, how to make a fonts disc,
using the font manager, draw and sprite fonts, a buyeræs guide, etc. The
book comes with a free disc with four outline fonts, some draw fonts and
some clip art.
5.5
The book
5.5
The book is 107 page, A5-sized and is comb bound, similar to many
software manuals. It is well laid out and I found it an entertaining
read. It is full of useful information on how to use the fonts you have
available, as well as having pages of examples of text manipulated in
Draw, Poster, FontFX and Stretch.
5.5
It is the kind of book that Acorn should have commissioned and supplied
to everyone buying an Archimedes, as it explains clearly, in language
that is easy to follow, what it is possible to produce using the
facilities available.
5.5
The disc
5.5
The four featured fonts can be used with any application which makes use
of outline fonts and have been tested by the author on the following
programs:
5.5
Impression, Ovation, Acorn DTP, Draw, Poster, PipeDream 3, FontFX and
DrawPlus (PD).
5.5
The fonts are:
5.5
1    Art Deco Ö a 1920æs style of typeface, effective in titling, design
work or as an alternative body type.
5.5
2    Inline Ö a bold display font for posters and magazines.
5.5
3    Phineas Ö a display font.
5.5
4    Quiz Ö a modern face, probably best suited to titling and display.
5.5
The fonts donæt feature a full set off 255 characters but the author
promises free upgrades on receipt of the original disc accompanied by an
S.A.E.
5.5
The three Draw fonts on this disc can all be manipulated just like any
other Draw file (i.e. rotated, line thickness changed, given colour
fills etc.). They are:
5.5
1    Animate Ö a rather cartoon-like script font for less formal design
jobs.
5.5
2    Lombardic Ö a traditional ancient style of lettering which can be used
to create a feeling of the Éold worldæ.
5.5
3    Phineas Italic Ö an italic version of the outline font which can be
used for headlines or posters.
5.5
Decorative & shape clip art
5.5
A set of decorative panels and shapes are included, which can be used to
spice up your DTP pages or graphic design job. The panels, for example,
could be dropped into DTP picture frames to form decorative borders or
headers.
5.5
Summary
5.5
I wish I had been able to buy this book four years ago. It would have
saved me many hours of head scratching. Though most of the information
might be available from other sources, it is extremely useful to have it
all together in one reference book. If you use fonts at all, I would
suggest that you buy it Ö youæll enjoy it as well as learning from it.
5.5
The Font Book is available from, Dalmation Publications, 37 Manor Road,
Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8AA, price ú10.50, inc p&p (cheques payable
to ÉToby Richardsæ).ááA
5.5
Variable Filetype Variables
5.5
David Lenthall
5.5
I have just read David Tayloræs interesting article on Astronomy in
Archive 5.4 p39, where he mentions in passing the possibility of clashes
caused by different programs using the same non-registered filetype.
Having come across this problem where some of my own software conflicted
with PD software which I had subsequently obtained, I decided to come up
with the following scheme, along with a couple of general purpose Basic
routines.
5.5
Requirement
5.5
This proposed scheme would enable programs which used non-registered
filetypes to be user-configurable as to which filetypes they actually
used. After all, variables are variable.
5.5
The basic idea is to use system variables which are set up in the !Run
file (and thus easily alterable by the end user) and for the program to
read the associated values and use these within the program.
5.5
I am not proposing that one should change standard filetypes Ö that
would lead to chaos. However, a PD address book program, for example,
with its own private filetypes would be an ideal candidate.
5.5
The idea is even more relevant for programs written in C, as these
programs canæt be changed by the end user, whereas those with the know-
how could modify Basic programs without too much difficulty.
5.5
My solution is only mildly tedious for the end user and is certainly
preferable to not being able to use a piece of software just because its
filetypes clash with something else.
5.5
For programmers
5.5
Include within the !Run file along with the usual (for example)
5.5
  Set File$Type_7FF DataFile
5.5
definitions, something like :
5.5
  Set FT$DataFile 7FF
5.5
which sets up a variable which can then be inspected by the program. In
the programæs initialisation stage include the line (e.g.) :
5.5
  myftype% = EVAL(ö&ò+FNreadsysvar( öFT$DataFileò))
5.5
and include the following functions within your program code :
5.5
DEF FNreadsysvar(varname$)
5.5
 LOCAL len%,reply%
5.5
 SYS öXOS_ReadVarValò,varname$, block%,256,-1,0 TO ,,len%
5.5
 IF len%=0 THEN
5.5
   reply%=FNreport(öSystem variableÉö+varname$+
5.5
òæ does not existò,1)
5.5
   END
5.5
 ENDIF
5.5
 SYS öOS_ReadVarValò,varname$, block%,256,0,3 TO ,,len%
5.5
 block%?len%=13
5.5
=$block%
5.5
:
5.5
DEF FNreport(message$,flag%)
5.5
 !block%=0
5.5
 $(block%+4)=message$+CHR$0
5.5
 SYS öWimp_ReportErrorò,block%,flag% ,task$ TO ,reply%
5.5
=reply%
5.5
You will also need to have dimensioned block% to 256 (or more) bytes in
the main initialisation routine.
5.5
Then, in the programæs save routine use a command of the following form
:
5.5
  SYS öOS_Fileò,10,fname$,myftype% ,,start%,end%
5.5
and wherever tests are made on the filetype, use these variables rather
than constants, ie
5.5
  IF b%!40 = myftype% THEN
5.5
rather than
5.5
  IF b%!40 = &7FF THEN
5.5
though you shouldnæt be using constants anyway, should you?
5.5
Besides being useful for providing general error messages and prompts,
the FNreport function is also useful whilst developing a program, as it
can be used to display the value of a variable at a particular point
within the program. E.g. to see the value of a variable count%, use the
line:
5.5
  reply%=FNreport(öcount = ò+ STR$count%,17)
5.5
The returned value can generally be discarded, though it becomes of use
if a value of 3 is passed to flag%, which will cause the dbox to contain
two action icons (Ok and Cancel). In this case, if Ok is clicked, 1 is
returned. Clicking on Cancel returns 2. Provided your program was
started from within the desktop, this function can even be called prior
to a call to Wimp_Initialise.
5.5
Letæs go further
5.5
With RISC-OS 3æs new Filer_Run command, the possibility of nested Obey
files is much greater than it was with RISC-OS 2, and so using the
variable Obey$Dir within a program will produce unexpected results
should nesting have occurred. So always use a private system variable,
e.g.
5.5
  Set MyApp$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
in the !Run file and then lines of the following form:
5.5
  SYS öOS_Fileò,255 ,ö<MyApp$Dir>. Configò,baseaddr%,0
5.5
within the program. The above line would load into memory (at baseaddr%)
a configuration data file contained within the application directory.
The principle outlined above can be extended to modify lines such as
these, e.g.
5.5
  appdir$ = FNreadsysvar(öMyApp$Dirò)
5.5
in the initialisation, and then
5.5
  SYS öOS_Fileò,255,appdir$+ ö.Configò,baseaddr%,0
5.5
For end users
5.5
For an end user confronted by a program incorporating this feature and
making use of filetypes which clash with some piece of software already
owned, all that is needed is to change the values assigned within the
!Run file,
5.5
  Set FT$DataFile xxx
5.5
along with any definitions of the form :
5.5
  Set File$Type_xxx DataFile
5.5
  Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Run <MyApp$Dir>.!Run %%*0
5.5
(changing the values xxx). Then edit the names of the file sprites
(within the !Sprites file) to reflect the new filetype value(s), and
finally use SetType on any relevant data files amongst your collection
of discs.
5.5
And finally
5.5
It may be a good idea to compile a list of non-registered filetypes used
by programs which are publicly available. Maybe somebody already has, if
so then how about sharing it?ááA
5.5

5.5
Colton
5.5
From 5.5 page 21
5.5

5.5
Oak
5.5
From 5.5 page 16
5.5

5.5
Risc Developments Ltd (p8)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303) (60263)
5.5
Spacetech (p34)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753)
5.5
SRS System Ltd    Unit 6, Benacre Drive, Fazeley Street, Birmingham.
(021Ö643Ö2877) (0442)
5.5
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
5.5
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.5
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071Ö625Ö8455)
5.5
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10á6LR.
5.5
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)
5.5

5.5

5.5

5.5