¢ #!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#¢ ¢ 8-BIT IMPORTANT TIPS¢ by John J. Anderson, ¢ (Reprinted with THANKS!)¢¢ Here are some tidbits for 8-bit¢Atarians (tested under DOS 2.0): To¢determine which revision of Atari BASIC¢you have, type PRINT PEEK (43234). If¢the result is 162, you have revision A;¢if it is 96, you have revision B; if it¢234, you have revision C.¢¢Need to format a disk from BASIC?¢You don't have to back out all the way¢to DOS. Do it with a one-line BASIC¢program: 1 XIO 254,#1,0,0, "D:" Load¢this program and then don't forget to¢put in a new disk before you run it! ¢¢Want to format a disk in the direct¢mode? ¢Try typing X=USR(3352). Have two files ¢on disk with the same filename? This¢can be a nasty occurance, but there is¢a way around it: Copy the loadable¢(first) file to another disk as a¢backup. From BASIC, type POKE 3118,0¢<RETURN>. Go to DOS, and rename the¢file (only the first file will be¢renamed). Go back to BASIC and type¢POKE 3118,184 <RETURN>. You should¢now be able to access both disk files¢on your original disk.¢¢Want to disable the <BREAK> key in¢your programs?¢Insert the following after every¢GRAPHICS command: POKE 16,64:POKE¢53774,112. Remember, once is not¢enough with this one. You've¢got to keep disabling the <BREAK> key¢after each of the commands listed¢above.¢¢Want to disable the entire keyboard?¢POKE 16,255 will do that for you.¢¢Want to create a run-only file?¢Give this one a try: 32767 POKE¢PEEK(138)+256*PEEK(139)+2,0:SAVE¢"D:FILENAME.EXT":NEW. Insert this¢line into your program (make sure you¢save a normal version of the program¢first), and then type GOTO 32767¢<RETURN>. The resulting file can be¢run normally, but not listed.¢¢Need a random number between 0 and 255?¢Sneak a PEEK at memory location 53770.¢¢Want to create a MEMSAVE file from¢BASIC so you don't lose your program¢when you go to DOS?¢All you need to do is type A=USR(5947) <RETURN>. ¢¢(Owners of XL/XE series computers will¢need to hit <RESET> after the disk¢stops spinning.)¢ ¢¢ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>¢
