+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+¢¢ Review of¢ ChickScratch Word-Processor¢ by Alan Sharkis, member of¢ THE OL' HACKERS A.U.G.,Inc.¢¢ WARNING:¢ If you wish to modify this¢ word-processor as described in the¢ review and in the documentation,¢ please be aware that there is not¢ enough room on the library copy¢ (which is in single density.) You¢ MUST prepare an enhanced density (or¢ double density, if you wish) disk as¢ follows:¢¢ 1. Format a blank disk in¢ enhanced or double density.¢ 2. Write the DOS you will be¢ using to that new disk.¢ 3. Copy "AUTORUN.SYS" from the¢ library copy to your new disk.¢ 4. Copy "*.*" (the rest of the¢ files) from the library copy to your¢ new disk.¢ 5. Rename "SCRATCH.OBJ" to¢ "CS.OBJ" on the new disk¢ 6. Put the new disk in drive 1,¢ reboot your computer and select¢ "SCUSTOM.BAS" from the menu.¢ 7. Follow the on-screen¢ instructions from there. Be prepared¢ to wait a considerable amount of time¢ while the new version is being¢ written to disk.¢¢ WHERE HAS IT BEEN?¢¢ With that warning out of the way,¢ it's now time to talk about a dandy¢ little word-processor that should¢ have had more recognition than it¢ did. ChickScratch word-processor is¢ shareware. The version being¢ reviewed (v. 5.9) bears a copyright¢ date of 1987. The author, Robert E.¢ Chick, listed his address in Guam at¢ the time, and asked for donations,¢ but didn't suggest an amount. ¢ However, he did state that an¢ appropriate donation would get the¢ user a copy of the source code of¢ this word-processor; either on disk¢ or as hard copy. I hope that offer¢ is still good, because this word-¢ processor is a good choice for both¢ beginners and experienced users.¢¢ HELP, ANYONE?¢¢ The feature that most people will use¢ frequently, at least initially, is¢ the series of help boxes that you can¢ access by pressing CTRL-H. Don't be¢ mislead by the copyright notice at¢ the bottom of the second help box. ¢ ChickScratch has five such boxes, and¢ they give the keystrokes for all of¢ the important functions. They can be¢ called up any time the edit screen is¢ active.¢¢ LIMITATIONS¢¢ Any word-processor has to be a series¢ of compromises. The limitations¢ imposed by the 40-column screen, the¢ processing speed of the 6502, and the¢ memory capacities typical of the¢ installed user base are significant. ¢ This word-processor has a small text¢ buffer (25,366 characters) and a¢ smaller delete buffer,as measured¢ against the standards of such word-¢ processors as AW+ and Paper Clip, and¢ there's no way to use the extra¢ memory banks of the 130XE. It will,¢ however, chain files very nicely. ¢ More about that later. ChickScratch,¢ at least in this version, has a limit¢ of forty characters on the screen. ¢ It will not scroll horizontally, as¢ does AW+. You can set it for a¢ screen width of less than forty-¢ columns, and there are advantages to¢ such a display. It also doesn't¢ allow for any block operations. You¢ can't highlight blocks of text and¢ ask that they be cut, pasted, copied¢ or print-formatted in any way. The¢ print-formatting is done via imbedded¢ commands, as described later in this¢ article. Block moves and copies are¢ done in a different, less familiar¢ way, which I'll describe for you¢ now.¢¢ TWO IMPORTANT BUFFER COMMANDS¢¢ ChickScratch has two commands that¢ take text out of the main memory and¢ puts it into the typical delete¢ buffer. Those commands are CTRL-E¢ (erase to the right of the cursor)¢ and CTRL-D (delete to the left of the¢ cursor.) Each command produces a¢ prompt that asks if you wish to¢ delete or erase a sentence, a word,¢ or a paragraph. You can do this¢ repeatedly, and the units of text¢ thus erased or deleted will enter the¢ buffer sequentially. You recall the¢ buffer at the cursor position with¢ CTRL-R, again, one unit at a time. ¢ You can kill the entire buffer with¢ CTRL-K. This can be handy when you¢ need more buffer space (the erase¢ buffer has a small capacity by¢ today's standards. In a sense, while¢ this block-less method of cutting,¢ pasting and copying text puts more of¢ a management burden on the typist, it¢ also represents a plus. Except for¢ real memory hogs like WordPerfect for¢ DOS, most word-processors¢ automatically kill the text in the¢ delete buffer when the next unit of¢ text goes in. I've seen¢ ChickScratch's method of handling¢ units of text before; indeed, it's an¢ option that's available along with¢ block operations in some of the MS-¢ DOS, Mac and ST/Falcon word-¢ processors. Block operations, like¢ horizontal scrolling, take tons of¢ memory and longer code. Robert Chick¢ made a compromise that seems strange¢ today, but might have become a¢ standard if his program was more¢ well-known in 1987.¢¢ USEFUL FOR SOURCE CODE, etc.¢¢ When I first got this word-processor,¢ I was beginning to think that there¢ were some major details left out,¢ like word-wrap on the screen. As it¢ turns out, the word-processor has to¢ be put into "text" mode, not the¢ "program" mode it defaults to for¢ this to happen. Why, then, have a¢ mode in which word-wrap is not shown¢ on the screen? The "program" name is¢ a hint. This mode is very good for¢ those who wish to create and/or edit¢ source code in BASIC,assembler, or¢ some other language. In "program"¢ mode, then, the word-processor is¢ really an elaborate text editor.¢¢ MORE COMMANDS¢¢ Any really efficient word-processor¢ has both insert and type-over modes¢ and some indication on the screen of¢ which mode is selected. In¢ ChickScratch, not only do you have¢ all of this, but you can also¢ configure the program to start in one¢ mode or the other. When insert mode¢ is selected via the CTRL-I toggle or¢ configured that way at boot-up, the¢ words, "Insert Mode Active" appear at¢ the bottom of the screen. I prefer¢ insert mode to be the active mode,¢ and ChickScratch on the library disk¢ defaults to typeover mode, so I¢ simply customized it with the¢ "SCUSTOM.BAS" program at the same¢ time that I selected screen and¢ charactor colors and a few other¢ options.¢¢ WANT TO FIND SOMETHING?¢¢ ChickScratch has a find-and-replace¢ system that can be used to simply¢ find words, or to replace them one-¢ at-a-time or globally. It also takes¢ some getting used to if you have used¢ other word-processors before, because¢ the commands are a little different. ¢ However, it's and efficient and fast¢ operation.¢¢ EASE OF CURSOR MOVEMENT¢¢ A simple concept like moving a cursor¢ around a screen in a word-processor¢ can get to be complicated in¢ practice. ChickScratch makes it¢ easy. CTRL-Left Arrow and CTRL-Right¢ Arrow do what you'd expect them to do¢ -> move the character one space at a¢ time. The motion is fast and smooth. ¢ CTRL-Down and CTRL-Up take you¢ forward and back one sentence at a¢ time. SHIFT-Left Arrow and SHIFT-¢ Right Arrow move the cursor one word¢ at a time in the indicated direction.¢ SHIFT-Up Arrow and SHIFT-Down Arrow¢ move you one paragraph at a time. ¢ The tab key moves you a preset number¢ of spaces forward. This number¢ defaults to five, but can be set to¢ any number using CTRL-TAB. You¢ cannot tab backwards. Nor can you¢ preset tabs on the screen. I believe¢ that this is a limitation of the¢ forty-column screen more than an¢ oversight on Robert Chick's part. ¢ CTRL-T will move the cursor to the¢ top of the currently-displayed screen¢ on the first press. The second press¢ takes you to the beginning of your¢ text. CTRL-B takes you to the end of¢ your text. CTRL-A takes you back 512¢ characters. CTRL-X exchanges the¢ charactor under the cursor with the¢ one to the right of it -- handy for¢ correcting transposition errors. ¢ CTRL-Z will take you forward one¢ screen.¢¢ WHATS USED, AND WHATS NOT¢¢ ChickScratch gives a running¢ character count at the bottom of the¢ screen. If you need a word-count,¢ CTRL-W will do that for you. ¢ Remember that special formatting¢ characters are included in either¢ count. CTRL-U can be used to show¢ you how many characters you still¢ have free in memory.¢¢ MORE FEATURES¢¢ nother nice feature allows you to¢ show false spaces on the screen. A¢ false space is a space that you¢ dind't type, but is inserted by¢ ChickScratch when it does word-wrap¢ at the end of a line. If you press¢ CTRL-O, the false spaces are¢ indicated with dashes. You'd use¢ this feature if you had to insert a¢ word at the end of a line and wanted¢ to know where the real and false¢ spaces were.¢¢ TABS ANYONE?¢¢ Tabulating is a problem for any 40-¢ column word-processor. It's usually¢ futile to try to get the word-¢ processor to allow setting tabs¢ wherever the user wants them without¢ using large blocks of memory. That's¢ probably why ChickScratch makes no¢ attempt to provide this feature. ¢ Tabs are set, by default, at every¢ five spaces, but you can change that¢ spacing with the CTRL-TAB command. ¢ Nor does ChickScratch make an attempt¢ at backward tabs, decimal tabs or¢ other goodies so common in 80-column¢ word-processors. The visual¢ component would just interfere.¢¢ PRINT COMMANDS¢¢ There are many print-formatting¢ parameters whose defaults can be¢ changed by using SCUSTOM.BAS, but all¢ of them, and perhaps a few more, can¢ also be changed with commands¢ imbedded in the text. Some of these¢ are familiar, and some are unique, I¢ believe, to this program. If there¢ are any that are missing from this¢ program, I haven't found them. ¢ Remember: we can't realistically¢ discuss such things as special fonts¢ and redlining. I leave those to¢ programs like DD3. But, I will tell¢ you that these imbedded commands are¢ entered in inverse video, which you¢ access with a SELECT-CTRL-(letter)¢ command. If you accidentally type a¢ command that ChickScratch doesn't¢ understand, it fills in the command¢ with a null (heart) character on the¢ screen to warn you. The print-¢ formatting commands, then, will allow¢ for all of the following:¢¢ 1. setting left, right, top¢ and bottom margins;¢ 2. setting page length;¢ 3. printing page numbers;¢ 4. defining headers and¢ footers up to two lines long;¢ 5. releasing the left margin¢ for "outdenting" a line;¢ 6. printing a line flush to¢ the right margin;¢ 7. toggling indent on and off¢ and setting the number of¢ spaces in an indent;¢ 8. centering a line of text;¢ 9. toggling page-wait;¢ 10. varying line-spacing from¢ single to 255 spaces;¢ 11. putting in a non-printing¢ "information line";¢ 12. forcing a page feed (see¢ comment below);¢ 13. linking the next file;¢ 14. toggling justification;¢ 15. Setting print column width;¢ 16. defining the starting page¢ number;¢ 17. beginning print with a¢ specific page number;¢ 18. toggling underline.¢¢ REASSIGN NUMBER KEYS FOR PRINTING¢¢ There are also ten number keys that¢ are preset to the Atari XMM801¢ printer, but can be reassigned for¢ your own printer codes. They send¢ the escape character, turn double-¢ width printing on and off, select¢ pica, elite or condensed type, turn¢ bold on and off, and turn continuous¢ underline on and off.¢¢ HOW ABOUT LETTER KEYS?¢¢ In addition, any letter key that has¢ not been assigned by the program can¢ be assigned by you to some other¢ printer function. The documentation¢ tells you how.¢¢ DOC FILES APLENTY!¢¢ Speaking of that documentation, it's¢ on the disk in three separate files. ¢ The text buffer in ChickScratch isn't¢ long enough to hold all of the docs,¢ so learn how to use file-chaining if¢ you're going to use this program to¢ produce long documents. If you set¢ your print formatting in the first¢ file, it will carry through for all¢ files that are then chained.¢ It's important to put the "force page¢ feed" (ASCII 12) command at the end¢ of your document. ChickScratch puts¢ one at the end of every page¢ automatically, EXCEPT the last page. ¢ Your printer will stop in the middle¢ of the last page if it's not a full¢ page. This hint is especially¢ important if you're using an ink-jet¢ or laser printer.¢¢ FINALLY TO PRINT, OR TO SAVE ON DISK¢¢ The actual printing of a document is¢ done with CTRL-P. You're prompted¢ for a device and filename. The usual¢ device is "P:", but a¢ "Dn:filename.ext" will print the¢ document to a disk file with¢ formatting intact. Printing to "E:"¢ gives you a quasi-preview of the¢ formatted text (remember, we have a¢ 40-column screen!). The preview will¢ scroll, and the scroll can be stopped¢ and restarted with CTRL-1, but you¢ can't escape from the scroll and back¢ to the edit screen; you must let the¢ scroll finish.¢¢ LOADING¢¢ You can load a file from the edit¢ screen. If you do, the file will be¢ inserted at the cursor position. ¢ This is handy for inserting¢ previously-saved blocks of text. You¢ press CTRL-L and you're prompted for¢ the filename. If you leave out the¢ drive number, the program will¢ default to the last-accessed drive¢ (or to drive 1 if you've just booted¢ up.) Similarly, you can save a file¢ from the edit screen. Here, you're¢ prompted for a filename. If a file¢ was previously loaded into the edit¢ window, the program will ask if it's¢ OK to use that filename. You can say¢ "no", and give a new filename. If¢ you say "yes", the program will ask¢ if you want to overwrite the file on¢ disk or to make a backup. You type¢ the appropriate letter and the file¢ is saved.¢¢ DOS, ANYONE?¢¢ There is also a DOS menu screen,¢ which you access with CTRL-M. The¢ upper part of this screen shows the¢ files on the current drive. There's¢ a highlight bar that you use to¢ select the file on which you want to¢ operate. You move the highlight bar¢ with the arrow keys. You can also¢ use CTRL- combinations to load,¢ delete, rename, lock or unlock a¢ file, or format a disk. If you load¢ a file from this screen, however, it¢ will replace whatever you have in the¢ edit buffer! Note that YOU CANNOT¢ SAVE a file FROM THIS SCREEN. ¢¢ DRIVES 1 OR 2 OR RAMDISK 8¢¢ ChickScratch recognizes only physical¢ drives 1 and 2. It will recognize a¢ Ramdisk (drive 8) if a Ramdisk Driver¢ has been loaded.¢¢ MY FEELINGS, AND TT TOO!¢¢ I was enthusiastic enough about¢ ChickScratch to write this review on¢ it. I was also recently at the¢ Connecticut AtariFest, where I met¢ Brad Koda of Best Electronics. Brad¢ had set up a demonstration of the XE¢ Touch modification for the 130XE. I¢ had been bemoaning the soft feel of¢ this keyboard for years, and even¢ preferred, until recently, to do all¢ my writing on my DOS machine. Now¢ that I have ChickScratch and the XE¢ Touch has been installed, I can go¢ back to using my Atari for writing¢ long documents. Score another point¢ for ATARI 8 BIT!¢¢ +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+¢¢
