When I purchased a 1581, the menu programs I had at my disposal quickly proved inadequate. I had been using "Auto Run" by Joe W. Rocke from the April 1986 issue of RUN. I liked it but it ,too, was inadequate for the large capacity 1581.
I have written a program, Super Auto RUN 64, that is similar but does much more. It loads any number of machine language programs then activate them providing they don't overwrite my program. It also loads Basic programs and executes the RUN command.
If you can't find the file you are looking for on one disk, it allows you to change disks any number of times and supports up to four drives. Those drives include the 1581, the 1541 and the 1571 disk drives. There is no limit to the number of files that it can display. If you have 200 files on a disk it displays them all, 26 files to a page. You can flip forward or backward through the pages with a single keystroke and like AUTO RUN select a file to load with a single keystroke.
After you load and run Super Auto RUN 64, a marque appears on screen that displays information. The disk name and ID is top center. The next line displays the Blocks Free. The third line contains the title of the program Super Auto RUN 64. The next line down displays the number of programs on the disk. The fifth line displays an animated "Press a letter key to load a program" and "Press F1 to rerun Super Auto Run".
The next thirteen lines are filled with a maximum of 26 program names in two columns. The last three lines contain page number, number of pages, how to switch pages and how to end the program.
Getting Started
When you press a letter key the bottom half of the screen is erased and, depending on the address of the program you have choosen, a message appears. In the message is the name of the program you have chosen and the address from which it was saved.
Most Basic programs are saved from below 4000 decimal. Also ML programs that are started with "RUN" typically have a load address of 2049. It's generally to your advantage to know what kind of program you are loading because you have to answer the question "O.K. to relocate", "Y/N".
If you answer "Y" the program is loaded as Basic and the "RUN" command will be executed. Some programs such as RunScript overwrite Super Auto RUN 64 and preclude loading any other programs. A good rule of thumb is to load fast loaders and other machine language utilities first.
If the program's address is below 2049 or above 40960, no message appears. The program is loaded, activated and the menu of Super Auto RUN 64 reappears. If you chose not to relocate, a message appears with appropriate instructions. After a ML program is loaded that does not 'RUN', but is activated, the menu is displayed again allowing you to load other programs.
If you can't find the program you want on the current disk, press F1 and follow the instructions that appear on the screen. They are the same ones that appeared when you first ran the program. You are asked for the device number then instructed to insert a disk and press Return.
I have used two Magic Tricks" from RUN. From the October 1987 issue there's trick number $434 called "64 Cursor Locator" and from April 1989, "64/128 Directory Array", number $522. There are some lines that take advantage of the 2 MHz Fast mode if you are using a C-128, even though it's in 64 mode. They have no effect on a C-64, though. These same lines merely blank the screen on the C-64.
