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- .op
- =================================================================
-
- The
-
- $ R / O
-
- R E A D O N L Y
-
-
- -=( July 1986 Issue )=-
-
-
-
- The monthly news magazine of the Tampa Bay Kaypro User's
- Group and the DataCOM Super Systems(tm)
-
- =================================================================
- News and reviews of programs, hardware, and peripherals for users
- of microcomputers with CP/M, MP/M, MS-DOS, PC-DOS, or TurboDOS
- operating systems.
- =================================================================
-
- Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop)
-
- =================================================================
-
- The DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is a "state of the art" multi-user
- remote database with 40mb of files online. An annual fee of
- $35.00 is required for access, an application may be downloaded
- by calling (813) 791-1454 at 300/1200/2400 baud or send a SASE
- along with your request to:
-
-
- TBKUG / DataCOM Super Systems(tm)
- 2643 Cedar View Court
- Clearwater, FL 33519
-
-
- -==( DISCLAIMER )==-
-
- Articles and reviews of microcomputers, hardware, software, and
- other peripherals reflect currently advertised prices as released
- by the distributors and are included here for YOUR INFORMATION
- ONLY. The TBKUG/DataCOM Super Systems(tm) is NOT being paid
- to advertise these products and we cannot be held
- accountable for the actual retail price and/or performance
- of said products.
-
- =================================================================
- .pa
- .pn
- .fo$R/O - The news magazine of the DataCOM Super Systems Page #
- -={ ZERO LENGTH CP/M FILES }=-
-
- by Mark Walsh, Denver Kaypro Association
-
- I made a mistake once. It could possibly happen again, so I'm
- prepared. There is an old trick used mostly by assembly
- language CP/M hackers called the Zero Length File. It is a very
- simple program that can be used by anyone.
-
- One evening, after diligently entering data for several hours,
- the program (because of poor design of course) took
- offense at something I'd innocently done. She packed her
- bags and without even a beep goodbye caught the Red-eye for New
- York. I had nothing left by my memories and an ugly green
- picture. I pressed Return in hopes that she might return, but
- it was time to accept the inevitable. I pressed CTRL-C.
- Nothing happened! I rationally tried pressing several keys
- simultaneously in a fist pattern, but that tearless green eye
- only stared back at my misery.
-
- It was last resort time. I found a flashlight and prepared to
- search the outback for the fabled re-set button. When I saw
- the familiar sign on message, I knew that I was finally back in
- control. The "A>" prompt had never looked so good. I typed in
- DIR and the list of files reassured me. There was my program
- HARTBRAK.COM still on disk next to the file SAD.TXT. So I
- turned on my printer, pressed CTRL-P and entered TYPE SAD.TXT.
-
- Soon I had a copy of SAD.TXT (Software Ain't Decent) on paper.
- This ode for lovelorn users advised me to cherish my memories,
- and keep them intact in the hope that they could be
- resurrected. Eureka! She might be somewhere over the Ohio,
- but my memories were safe.
-
- The wizards at Digital Research created some resident CP/M
- commands: DIR, ERA, REN, SAVE, TYPE, USER, A:, B:.
-
- These commands don't use program memory. What a relief. If I
- had entered D instead of DIR, CP/M would have loaded D.COM into
- my memory and all my work would have been lost. There was a
- way to get her back from memory. If I created a file with
- nothing in it, and told CP/M to "run" it, it should load
- nothing into memory and then begin executing whatever it found in
- the transient memory of my Kaypro. CP/M only loads and runs
- files with a .COM extension. I could create a file with
- nothing in it by telling CP/M to "SAVE" 0 pages (256 byte
- blocks). I knew that I had everything under control as I
- entered "A>SAVE 0 REDO.COM"
-
- I got this message: NO SPACE.
-
- What? Surely there must be room to load nothing! It seems that
- CP/M has room for 64 directory entries. There were not that
- many files on the disk, but any file longer than 16k will
- take up more than one directory space. No problem. My
- memory still is intact and I haven't given up. Another disk in
- the A drive will solve the problem. I tried again.
-
- Bdos Err on A: R/O
-
- I was getting mad now, but I tried to stay cool. I wasn't
- taking any chances this time. I typed CTRL-C twice. Two
- warm boots and I finally managed to save absolutely nothing in a
- file named REDO.COM. My palms were moist as I prepared to
- try something that hadn't been seen in almost 2000 years. I
- would rename REDO.COM as LAZARUS.COM with the following
- command:
-
- REN LAZARUS.COM=REDO.COM
-
- I entered LAZARUS and hit <CR>. The drive spun and there was
- HARTBRAKer, running with my data intact.
-
- The zero length file can be used for a lot more than simply
- trying to recover from catastrophe. It always tries to run the
- program you had in memory. Experiment a little.
-
- Someone seems to have put REDO.COM on most of my disks, and it's
- there for much more than that remote possibility, which I hope
- may never recur.
-
- If you, too, make a mistake once, you can possibly recover
- your program and data by using the zero length file. Just keep
- your computer's memory safe by using only the resident CP/M
- commands listed earlier. Some programs modify their code
- when they are run and can't be recovered (DDT moves itself into
- high memory). Some programs can be recovered, but they leave
- the data in Central Park. It won't hurt to try, if your
- HARTBRAKer visits the Big Apple. Just be careful not to load
- STAT or D.COM or some other transient program on top of it.
-
-
- -={ What is ANSI.SYS ? }=-
-
- by Steve Sanders
-
- "What is ANSI.SYS", and, "why do I need a CONFIG.SYS file to be
- loaded at boot-up?" These questions keep coming up when I talk
- to new IBM-PC or clone owners and even though I'm no expert, I'll
- attempt to explain their use. To keep this text simple all
- referrences to DOS will mean either MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 2.1
- or newer.
-
- One of the built-in features of DOS is the ability to load
- special device drivers at boot time. When DOS is booted it will
- first look for the file CONFIG.SYS in the default directory and
- executes the commands it finds. These commands can set certain
- DOS parameters like the number of files it can handle at any
- given time or set the number of available buffers for faster disk
- I/O. You can also load special device drivers by including their
- names after the statement "DEVICE=". The most common device
- driver is the ANSI.SYS screen driver that will make your CRT
- respond to the standard ANSI escape sequences. The ANSI.SYS
- driver is included with the support programs furnished with your
- DOS distribution diskettes and SHOULD BE LOADED everytime your
- computer boots up.
-
- Here's a sample CONFIG.SYS file, the comments are for clarity and
- should not be included in YOUR file:
-
- FILES=20 Manipulate up to 20 files
- BUFFERS=20 Assign 20 buffers
- DEVICE=ANSI.SYS Load ANSI.SYS device driver
- BREAK=ON Respond to ^C requests
-
- The CONFIG.SYS file is just an ordinary ASCII text file created
- with any text editor, ED, or the COPY program. If you use
- Wordstar, be sure to create the file in non-document mode or the
- hi-bits and other characters inserted by Wordstar will really
- mess things up. The "BREAK=ON" statement will make DOS respond
- to a control-C request from the keyboard to interrupt the current
- task and serves to abort most programs.
-
- There are several enhanced ANSI drivers available in the public
- domain, two of them are NANSI and FANSI. NANSI means "new ANSI"
- and contains all of the sequences found in ANSI.SYS plus a few
- new ones for inserting/deleting lines and characters not found in
- the original ANSI.SYS driver. FANSI means "fast ANSI" and has
- all of the original sequences plus increases the speed of screen
- writes when in the raw console output mode. NANSI and FANSI are
- not "cure all" drivers and don't always work well with other
- resident programs, experimentation will be your best bet. The
- NANSI driver induces some flickering (snow) on my clone's screen.
- The new FANSI driver (v1.15H) seems to be the best replacement
- for ANSI.SYS and most of its old bugs are now fixed.
-
- What are ANSI escape sequences? ANSI escape sequences can be
- used to position the cursor at a specific x/y coordinate, clear
- the screen, erase lines, change modes, or even re-define keyboard
- keys.
-
- The following tables list the sequences understood by the
- ANSI.SYS device driver:
-
- Cursor Positioning:
- Cursor position ESC[y;xH where x= 1...79
- Cursor Up ESC[nA n = # of lines up
- Cursor Down ESC[nB n = # lines down
- Cursor Forward ESC[nC n = # cols to move
- Cursor Backward ESC[nD
- Device Status Report ESC[6n Find cursor position
- Cursor Position Report ESC[y;xR
- Save Cursor Position ESC[s
- Restore Cursor Position ESC[u
-
- Editing:
- Erase in Display ESC[2J Clear screen
- Erase in Line ESC[K Clear to end of line
-
- Mode Setting:
- Set Graphics Rendition ESC[n;n;...nm Character attribute
- Set Mode ESC[=nh See mode table below
- Reset Mode ESC[=nl " " "
- Keyboard Key Reass. ESC["string"p
-
- The first character of the "string" gives the key to redefine,
- the rest of the string is the key's new value. IBM function keys
- are two byte strings, see the IBM Basic Manual.
-
- Example: ESC[0;"dir a:";13;p
-
- The above example will redefine the F1 key to generate "dir a:"
- followed by a carriage return "13".
-
- Character Attributes:
- The Set Graphics Rendition command is used to select the
- foreground and background colors or attributes. When you use
- multiple parameters, they are executed in sequence and the
- effects are cumulative.
-
- Attribute code Value
- 0 All attributes OFF (white on black)
- 1 Bold (high intensity)
- 4 Underscore (IBM mono only)
- 5 Blink
- 7 Reverse video
- 8 Invisible
- 30-37 Foreground blk/red/grn/yel/blu/magenta/
- cyan/white
- 40-47 Background blk/red/grn/yel/blu/magenta/
- cyan/white
-
- Screen Modes:
-
- The IBM BIOS supports several video modes; the codes given
- in the BIOS documentation are used as parameters to the Set Mode
- command.
-
- Mode Code Value
- 0 text 40x25 black & white
- 1 text 40x25 color
- 2 text 80x25 black & white
- 3 text 80x25 color
- 4 bitmap 320x200 4 bits/pixel
- 5 bitmap 320x200 1 bit/pixel
- 6 bitmap 640x200 1 bit/pixel
- 7 (cursor wrap kludge)
- 13 (EGA) bitmap 320x200 4 bits/pixel
- 14 (EGA) bitmap 640x200 4 bits/pixel
- 16 (EGA) bitmap 640x350 4 bits/pixel
- Mode 7 is an unfortunate kludge; Setting mode 7 tells the cursor
- to wrap around to the next line when it passes the end of a line;
- resetting mode 7 tells the cursor to NOT wrap, but rather stay
- put.
-
- So what can we do with all this? Good question and best
- demonstrated. The following is a .BAT file that you can use to
- give your IBM-PC or clone a very special prompt.
-
- PROMPT $e[s$e[1;1H$d$e[K$e[1;27HLogged Directory is $p
- $e[1;69H$t$h$h$h$e[u$p$g
-
- (Please excuse my line break above and put all this it into your
- NUPROMPT.BAT file as one un-broken line.)
-
- What you end up with is; the current date in your upper lefthand
- corner, the currently logged directory in the center, and the
- current time in the upper righthand corner. This info is updated
- everytime the DOS prompt is re-written. You also end up with the
- current directory name on your prompt.
-
- It looks like this:
-
- Wed 5-28-1986 Logged Directory is C:\ROOT 23:35:49
- C:\ROOT>
-
- If you have a color monitor, try adding $e[44;37m right after the
- $e[s - this will make the line print in white with a solid blue
- background. You will also need to add $e[0m just before the $e[u
- - this will make the prompt and everything else print in normal
- white on black except for your top line. The "$e" is the same as
- ESC when used in .BAT files.
-
- I hope this info is of use to you, if not, it's fun just playing
- with the escape sequences and seeing what comes of it all! My
- thanks to Bond Shands, System Operator of Kay*FOG RBBS in San
- Francisco (415-285-2687) for the original idea of this custom DOS
- prompt.
-
-
- -={ RETRIEVING DELETED TEXT IN WORDSTAR }=-
-
- by Laurie J. Braaten
-
- Anyone who has worked with WordStar for any length of time has
- probably had the misfortune of deleting the wrong line or block
- of text. By some fancy manuevering, you might be able to recover
- the text from your backup file. If you have a photographic
- memory, you may be able to retype it in no time. But if these do
- not work, you should be set for a frustating time trying to
- reconstruct your lost data. Now you can avoid this problem
- altogether by adding a "Yankback" feature to WordStar. This can
- be done quite simply with a series of command strings ("macros")
- which I call "WS Yankback," set up in a key definition program.
- (The more popular commercial key definition programs such as
- Smartkey, Xtrakey and the Backgrounder have been reviewed by
- Glenn Grant in the December 1985 issue of PROFILES. KSSTROKES
- 4.0, QWIKEY21, & GKEY2 are public domain programs which give
- good, but more limited results.)
-
- HOW TO SET UP WS YANKBACK
-
- FIRST, set up four macros which will now be used to delete text
- in place of their WordStar counterparts. The first will delete a
- line. The second will delete a block of text. The third deletes
- text left of the cursor; the fourth deletes text right of the
- cursor. All macros should be entered as continuous text without
- spaces. The ^ symbol is the control key, held down while you
- type the key which follows it; <cr> is a carriage return (or ^M).
-
- MACRO #1: ^QS^KB^X^S^KK^KWA:YANKEE<cr>Y^KY
- MACRO #2: ^KWA:YANKEE<cr>Y^KY
- MACRO #3: ^KK^QS^KB^KWA:YANKEE<cr>Y^KY
- MACRO #4: ^KB^X^QS^S^KK^KWA:YANKEE<cr>Y^KY
-
- SECOND, enter the yankback command:
-
- MACRO #5: ^KRA:YANKEE<cr>
-
- THIRD, on your WordStar disk, open a file named "YANKEE." This
- is where your deleted text will be stored. This file will be
- overwritten every time you delete text, so it does not matter
- what you type in it--a single character will do. But make sure
- that you have adequate disk space for any text you may want to
- delete (2K-6K should be plenty for most operations).
-
- Now, when you want to delete a line, use macro #1. It works just
- like ^Y: place the cursor anywhere on a line and use it to delete
- the entire line. If you want to yank back the deleted line,
- execute macro #5. When deleting a block of text, use macro #2 in
- the same way you would use ^KY. Mark the beginning and end of
- the block with ^KB and ^KK respectively, and execute macro #2 to
- delete the marked block. If the block needs to be recovered,
- macro #5 will yank it back. Numbers 3 and 4 work like ^Q<del>
- and ^QY--only now the deleted text can be retrieved with the
- yankback command. (Macro #1 leaves a blank line where the text
- has been removed. If this is undesirable simple omit the ^S
- after the ^X.)
-
- Before using WS Yankback, be sure to test it thoroughly. If
- there are errors in the way the macros were entered you could
- lose more text than you planned to delete, and not be able to
- recover it. Use a practice file and check all of the commands.
- If they do not work, carefully recheck the macros to make sure
- they have been entered correctly.
-
- N.B. The yankback command WILL NOT WORK if you use ^Y, ^KY,
- ^Q<del> or ^QY to delete text. The four macros given above must
- be used instead of these WordStar commands for the yankback to
- recover the deleted text.
- HOW WS YANKBACK WORKS
-
- WS Yankback simply writes the deleted text onto the file named
- YANKEE, and then deletes it from the working text. When the
- yankback is used, the text is read back into your file at the
- present position of the cursor. This operation takes some time,
- which is its major drawback. When deleting blocks of text,
- however, it may be worth the extra time to have the assurance
- that the data can be recovered. Since WS Yankback always writes
- the deleted line on the text YANKEE, the recovery operation will
- ONLY WORK FOR THE LAST DELETION--you cannot retrieve any
- materials deleted before the last text was deleted.
-
- WHAT ABOUT ^Y ?
-
- If you decide to use the first macro in place of ^Y, you may find
- that you still have problems with ^Y. You may accidentally hit
- ^Y when you want a ^T, or you may attempt to type an upper case
- "Y" (which, believe or not, I use quite often) and hit the
- control key instead of the shift key. I have solved this problem
- by following Ted Silveira's advice in PROFILES, July/August 1985,
- p. 44. Using DDT (etc.) or Winstall's custom patch "+" (which
- does not appear on the options menu), you may change address 054D
- (0535 in WordStar 3.0) to read "19 19" (hex) instead of "19 00."
- The result is that it now takes TWO ^Ys (or ^YY) to delete a
- line, minimizing the possibilities for an accident. Now when a
- ^Y is hit by mistake, the space bar will get you out of the
- partially executed command. If you find yourself rapidly typing
- two or more ^Ts without looking at either the keyboard or the
- results onscreen, you may want to try Melvyn Halbert's solution,
- found on the Tampa Bay KUG board (813-791-1454). He suggests
- changing the "19" at the appropriate address to "1C" (hex), which
- will reassign the delete line function to ^\ instead of ^Y.
-
-
- -={ AVATEX 300/1200 MODEM }=-
-
- The AVATEX 1200 modem is a very attractive alternative to the
- Hayes Smartmodem(tm) 1200 and costs a lot less. The AVATEX is a
- full duplex modem that matches the design specs for Bell 212A,
- feature by feature, and is completely Hayes compatible except
- for settable 'S' registers.
-
- I now own one of the AVATEX 300/1200 modems and it works
- perfectly with MEX 1.14 and the Smartmodem overlay. The AVATEX
- responds to the normal "ATDT" or "ATDP" dialing commands used by
- the Hayes 300 and 1200 Smartmodems.
-
- The AVATEX has eight front panel LED indicators; (1) Power
- ON/OFF, (2) TR (Terminal Ready), (3) SD (Send Data), (4) RD
- (Receive Data), (5) HS (High Speed - 1200 baud), (6) MC (Modem
- Clear [ready]), (7) TM (Test Mode - Analog Loopback), and (8) RI
- (Ring Indicator [for auto-answer]). There are also three push
- button switches on the front; (1) Power ON/OFF, (2) Voice/Data,
- and (3) 300/1200 modem speed.
- Unlike the Hayes and other look-a-like modems, the AVATEX does
- NOT have a speaker for monitoring the phone line. It does have a
- modular telephone jack in the back into which you can plug an
- ordinary phone to "listen in" during dialing.
-
- The AVATEX is supplied as a RS232C standalone external modem
- housed in an attractive beige-colored lightweight plastic
- cabinet. It has eight dip switches located in an "easy to get to
- place" on the backside - but you should never really need to
- change them from the factory setting of all eight up. It also
- comes with its own 6-foot modular telephone cord and external
- wallplug transformer/power supply. You do need to supply your
- own modem cable, it should have a DB25 male connector on each end
- and support pins 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, & 20.
-
- Source: PeopleTalk Associates, Plano, Texas
- Price: $129.00
-
- Call 1-800-PTBOOKS for order information
-
-
- -={ Disable Call-Waiting }=-
-
- Doesn't it drive you nuts when you're trying to use your
- modem and the cherished "call waiting" option on your phone
- interrupts to tell you someone is trying to reach you? Norm
- Hartman, director of corporate communications for Pacific
- Bell, advises us that you can temporarily cancel call-waiting
- before using your modem. Just tap in the string *70 before
- initiating the call. (so that's what the asterisk key on the
- touch-tone phone is for!) If you have a rotary dial, you must
- enter 1170 instead. You should hear a double beep followed by a
- dial tone. Go ahead and place your call; call-waiting will be
- disabled until you hang up. Of course, you ought to be able to
- put the initialization string into your modem program so that it
- will automatically take care of suspending call-waiting. Let us
- know how it works out. Bob VanWagenen informs us that the new
- feature is being installed as part of the conversion of phone
- exchanges to the new easy access system. If it doesn't work for
- you right now, it should later on.
-
- ---Taken from SacraBlue, September 1985. No author indicated.
-
-
- -={ Correction }=-
-
- In the May 1986 issue of Read Only I had stated that Worldwide
- Access had the Adaptec 2070A controller and 20mb Microscience
- drive for the IBM-PC or clones for $499.00. Worldwide had a
- problem obtaining the Microscience drives and cannot supply this
- combination. They do however have the Adaptec 2070A controller
- bundled with a Seagate ST238 20mb hard disk drive for a price of
- $579.00 and they are in stock and shipping. Contact: Worldwide
- Access, 6311-L Desoto Ave., Woodland Hills, CA. 91367 or call 1-
- 800-826-3736.
- -={ WHATSNEW in Public Domain }=-
-
- All files listed are available on The DataCOM Super Systems, your
- One-Stop remote database for personal computer users.
-
- [PC/MS-DOS]
-
- CACHE2.ARC Speeds up disk I/O by using the disk cache method,
- great improvements noticed especially by floppy-only users but
- works effectively to speed-up hard disk systems as well.
-
- GALAXY11.ARC Galaxy is a full-blown text editor that uses the
- same commands as Wordstar. It also features pull-down menus and
- split-screen editing. This is a commercial quality program.
-
- WSSI211.LBR This is the latest update to WSSINDEX, a DOS
- diskette cataloging system. WSSINDEX is an all-in-one program
- that catalogs, sorts, lists, finds, and generally keeps track of
- every file you have on floppies. This is the best for IBM-DOS.
-
- DISKOVR3.LBR A utility that uses the printer's (Epson FX/RX/MX,
- IBM Graphix, Okidata) compressed mode to print-out a listing of
- all files on a diskette. It is just the right size to be pasted
- on the front of your floppy's sleave. Expands ARC & LBR files.
-
- DIRTYDOZ.0Q5 This is a listing of known pirated, bogus, or
- destructive files uploaded to remote systems handling IBM-DOS
- files. Most importantly it lists "Trojan horse" programs, these
- are the ones that do damage to your drives and/or files.
-
- NEWPROMP.BAT This batch file when used on a PC with ANSI.SYS
- loaded will give you a very nice screen display. It prints a
- header line on your monitor consisting of the current date,
- logged directory, and current time.
-
- FBILIST.ARC This archive has a display program and VIDTEXT
- picture files of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Men. Super graphics!
-
- COMM3.ARC Details on how-to-use DOS' COMM3: communications
- port. Hardware modifications are required - not for the novice.
-
- FANSI115.ARC The newest Fast-ANSI console driver, replaces the
- standard ANSI.SYS driver and adds new sequences, faster screen
- writes, and transient color support. (see ANSI.SYS article)
-
- COMANDO3.LBR The latest update to File Commando, a DOS front-
- end processor/file maint utility. This is from the authors of
- PCSWEEP and is a very nice does-it-all program for PCs.
-
- OPTMIZER.LBR This is a disk packing utility, it moves and
- organizes file data into contiguous sectors for faster operation.
-
- [CP/M 2.x]
-
- EPEX11.LBR This is an extended command processor for CP/M 2.2
- systems with most of the features of ZCPR3 and instant
- installation. See the June 1986 Read Only for full details.
-
- GKEY2.LBR This is a key redefinition program from our old
- friend Eric Gans. It offers more features than QWIKEY (QK-21)
- and SMARTKEY and uses less memory. Great for defining keyboard
- macro commands and other special function keys. Loads and saves
- definitions to and from diskfiles for quick or automated start
- ups.
-
- KAY256.LBR Describes and details changing 64k RAM chips for
- 256k RAM chips in the Kaypro 4. This may also be done to most
- any Z80 system using 64k chips (almost all of em.) Requires mods
- to the mainboard (not for the inexperienced!) After the mod you
- can alter your BIOS to use the extra memory as a RAMDISK or
- printer buffer. NOTE: I do not as yet have the modified BIOS
- code the author talks about in one of the files. I will make it
- available ASAP after we receive it.
-
- FILECARD.LBR This is a freeform text database program written
- in Turbo Pascal. It is kind of like an electronic card file and
- has several different sort keys available for fast access to your
- data.
-
- ZMODEM.DQC Text file describing the next evolution of file
- transfer protocols to be used on future versions of popular
- public domain modem programs and XMODEM. These changes are based
- on wide acceptance of the new (and fast) 2400 baud modems and
- will also help overcome delays in packet-switched network
- telephone (satellite) services.
-
- FILT7A.LBR Filters ASCII files, especially Wordstar DOCument
- files. Resets hi-bits, removes unwanted characters like soft
- hyphens and carriage returns or dot commands. It optionally
- removes or adds TABs at all optimum locations.
-
- ZDP.LBR A Z80 de-bugging program, unlike DDT or ZSID, ZDP may
- run in any memory position and does not overwrite the CCP.
-
- CRUNCH11.LBR Updated file compression utilities, similar to the
- SQueeze concept but using a different alogrythm and NOT
- compatible with SQ/USQ programs. CRunch.COM uses the LZW
- (Lempel/Zev/Welch) alogrythm scheme to gain an even better
- compression ratio thus producing smaller compressed files.
-
- SAPP12.LBR This is a sort-and-pack utility for CP/M Plus
- (3.0) users. Sorts the directory, moves deleted files to the end
- of the directory and packs the remaining active entries. Makes
- SD and other programs that access the directory run faster.
-
- ACOPY10.LBR Attribute COPY, a super replacement for PIP, usable
- by any CP/M 2.2 or ZCPR3 system. Syntax is very flexible, use
- either CP/M destination=source format or ZCPR3 du: commands.
- Also copies according to what file attributes have been set and
- checks F1 thru F7 bits with optional switch.
- -={ DOS Wordstar 3.3 Patch }=-
-
- The following patches should be applied to WORDSTAR 3.3 to speed
- up its screen access. Note that the patched routines may not be
- in exactly the same place in your version of WS.COM, so... Use
- on a COPY of your WS.COM only, do not use your original file!
-
- With the following command, DEBUG will apply these patches to
- WordStar.
- debug ws.com <wordstar.pch
-
- Use your text editor and create a file called WORDSTAR.PCH and
- type in the following lines EXACTLY as you see them here.
-
- a2ac8
- db d0,c8,72
-
- a2ace
- db d0,c8,73
-
- a2a66
- jmp 2a8f
- nop
- ret
-
- a2a71
- mov es,[44ce]
-
- a2a85
- jmp 2a8f
- nop
- ret
-
- a2a94
- mov es,[44ce]
- shl di,1
- call 2aa2
- jmp 2a8f
- nop
- nop
- ret
-
- A
- ;.... want COM2: for serial printer?, if so remove the ';' from
- ; the next 7 lines. 00 = COM1: (default), 01 = COM2:
- ;
- ;a81d
- ;mov dx,01
- ;
- ;a832
- ;mov dx,01
- ;
-
- W
- Q
- -={ Expand DOS 3.x Environment Space }=-
-
- by Gee M. Wong
-
- There is an undocumented switch which may be used in both PC and
- MS DOS version 3.x which will expand the default size of the
- environment. This switch may be specified in your CONFIG.SYS
- file using the following format:
-
- SHELL = [d:][\path]\COMMAND.COM [d:][\path] /p/e:##
-
- [d:] is the drive where the command processor is
- located on. If the command processor is located on the boot
- drive, this field may be omitted.
-
- [\path] is the path to the subdirectory which
- contains the command processor. If the command processor is
- located on the root directory, this field may be omitted.
-
- COMMAND.COM is the name of the command processor.
- This is the name of the command processor found in both PC and MS
- DOS version 3.x .
-
- /p is a required switch to make sure that the new
- COMMAND.COM with the expanded environment remains resident in
- memory after DOS initialization. If this switch is omitted then
- DOS will discard the command processor after initialization, and
- leave you hanging somewhere in the twilight zone.
-
- /e: is the undocummented switch which may be used to
- expand the size of the default environment.
-
- ## is a decimal integer between 11 and 63. This
- number represents the number of paragraphs to be allocated for
- the environment. A paragraph is 16 bytes of storage.
-
-
- -={ DataCOM Drop-Outs }=-
-
- The number of CP/M users who fail to renew is getting to be more
- and more every month. Help us spread the word about the
- services and programs we offer - WE NEED MORE ACTIVE USERS !!!
-
- Almost all of the new members these days are IBM-DOS users who
- never used the systems before - this is fine, but where have all
- the old CP/Mers gone? Is this first-stage modemitis or what?
-
- All this fancy hardware (about $10,000 worth) we have dedicated
- to the remote systems costs us a small fortune to run each month
- and can only exist through the support of the users.
-
- Whether we flourish and continue to expand or fade into never-
- never land depends on YOU, the users !!
-
- Until next month...