The Astrologer's Assistant is a SHAREWARE program. Registration is required! The registration fee is $75 and should be sent to the above address, checks made payable to Alfred B. Andersen. Students should note that providing a copy of your student registration form brings the registration fee down to $50. Please provide your name, address, and preferred diskette size/density. Latest versions of the program can be downloaded from CompuServe, Newage forum, Library 2.
Special thanks to Sue Thornburg, Theda Adcock, Mike Erlewine, Randy Harwood, Beverly Parks, David Barnett, Mark Hochman, Will Linden, Theresa C. Kinney, Mark Webb, Lou Wilkinson, and all the other Newage Forum members in Section 7 for their contributions and support.
DRAG Mode MAIN
The current window is being moved or resized. Press [Enter] to keep the current position, or [Esc] to restore the former position and/or size.
MENUS Help MAIN
This help section describes what functions the various menu's offer. The Menu Bar is located at the top of your screen. There are several ways to access the Menu Bar
1) Click on a menu item with your mouse.
2) Click on the [F10] Status Line option.
3) Press the [Alt] key in combination with
the letter that is highlighted on the
menu you wish to select.
4) Press the [F10] key to highlight the
menu you last selected. If you never
selected a menu, the first menu on the
Menu Bar will be selected. Once a menu
is highlighted, you may use the cursor
keys to navigate through the Menus.
[Enter] will either drop a menu down
for further investigation, or if it is
already visible, will select the current
option that is highlighted.
Select which menu you would like help on.
Topics: H
Charts
Displays
Options
Prefer
System
Transform
Windows
No help for hcExtras!
No Help for hcAbout!
CHARTS Help MENUS
Help
The Charts Menu option of the Menu Bar is the nucleus of The Astrologer's Assistant. From here, you create, edit, retrieve, save, clear, and convert astrological charts. You can also exit the program from this menu.
Topics:
Chart
Retrieve
Chart
Save
Chart
Edit
Chart
Edit
Chart
House
System
Ctrl-H
Zodiac
System
Ctrl-Z
Clear
Memory
Ctrl-C
Erase
Chart
Ctrl-C
Quit
Program
Alt-X
NEW CHART Help CHARTS
Help w
The NEW CHART option of the Charts Menu allows you to key in data to create Composite, Natal, or Relationship charts.
RETRIEVE CHART Help CHARTS
Help |
The RETRIEVE CHART option of the Charts Menu allows you to retrieve data to view Natal, Composite, or Relationship charts.
SAVE CHART Help CHARTS
Help p
The SAVE CHART option of the Charts Menu allows you to save data for Composite, Natal, or Relationship charts.
EDIT CHART 1 Help CHARTS
Help O
The Charts Menu allows you to edit Natal charts that are currently in memory. Selection of the EDIT CHART 1 option will redisplay the current Natal charts' data in the Natal Data Input dialog (see the DIALOGS section for details). Editing of chart data is the same as creating a new chart. See the NEW CHART section for more details. B
NOTE: You can NOT edit Composite or Relationship charts. These are charts that have been created using the data from two charts, and editing such a chart would defeat the purpose of its existence. If you want to change a Composite or Relationship chart, either create a new one, or retrieve a different one from disk.
EDIT CHART 2 Help CHARTS
Help
The Charts Menu allows you to edit any secondary charts that are in memory. Selection of the EDIT CHART 2 option will redisplay the dialog responsible for the creation of the type of secondary chart currently in memory. This may be a bit confusing, so let's look at a few examples. t
If your secondary chart is a progressed chart, you will not be given a Natal Chart Input dialog that allows you to edit the various data fields for that type of chart. Instead, you will be given a Progressed Year dialog that will allow you to re-input the year to progress your primary chart to. Or, if your secondary chart happens to be a relocation type chart, a Relocation Input dialog would appear, allowing you to input new data to relocate the primary chart to. The Astrologer's Assistant knows what type of primary and secondary charts it is dealing with, and supplies the appropriate dialog to edit that chart with.
HOUSE SYSTEM Help CHARTS
Help {
Once you have a chart in memory, you may change the house system it is using by selecting the HOUSE SYSTEM option from the Charts Menu. Please note that if you have only a primary chart in memory, you are changing the house system for it. However, if you have a secondary chart in memory, you will be changing its house system, and not the house system for the primary chart.
ZODIAC SYSTEM Help CHARTS
Help
You may select and/or convert any chart between the Sidereal and Tropical zodiacs. The Astrologer's Assistant defaults to the Tropical zodiac for its calculations.
CLEAR MEMORY Help CHARTS
Help
The CLEAR MEMORY option of the Charts Menu allows you to wipe out both primary and secondary charts in memory and make a fresh start. This option only applies to charts in memory, not charts that have been previously saved to disk! Your desktop will be cleared of any open windows, and the Status Line and menu options will be toggled accordingly to disable features that require a chart in memory. Preferences and the type of zodiac in use are not affected by this feature.
KILL 2ND CHART Help CHARTS
Help `
The KILL 2ND CHART option of the Charts Menu provides you with a convenient way of removing only the 2nd chart from memory. This option only applies to charts in memory, not charts that have been previously saved to disk! Your desktop will be cleared of any open windows. Preferences and the type of zodiac in use are not affected by this feature.
QUIT PROGRAM Help CHARTS
Help U
The Quit Program option of the Charts Menu does just that; it quits the program and returns you to MS-DOS. Selecting this option will bring up the Quit Program dialog, which will ask you if you're sure you want to quit. The dialog appears to preclude premature termination of the program through an accidental keystroke or menu selection.
DISPLAYS Help MENUS
Help z
This menu provides you with selections on how to display your chart data. You can view harmonic, house, midpoint, planetary, and transiting aspects; chart data in specific data windows; an orbital projection map of the primary planets; a traditional chart wheel; the various qualities, triplicities, and quadriplicities; and a monthly transit calendar for your transit charts.
You must have a chart in memory for any of the Displays Menu options to work. If there are no charts is not in memory, the Displays Menu options will be disabled, and therefore unselectable.
Topics: F
First
Chart
Ctrl-F
Second
Chart
Ctrl-S
Aspects
Ctrl-A
Ephemeris
Ctrl-E
Orbital
Ctrl-O
Wheel
Ctrl-W
Arabic
Parts
Ctrl-B
Qualities
Ctrl-Q
Transit
Ctrl-T
FIRST CHART Help DISPLAYS
Help
The First Chart option of the Displays Menu allows you to view all of the Data windows associated with the first chart in memory. These Data windows are the very same windows you saw after you selected a house system for any
f the chart types under the Charts Menu.
For example:
NATAL DATA
TRNPS
PLNTS
Full Name: Erlewine, Mike
CH 03Le56
Su 25Ca49
Location: Lancaster, PA
AD 16Ar20 R
Me 07Ca21
Date: 18 July 1941
AP 13Vi24
Ve 19Le57
Time: 05:03:00 PM EDT
CU 11Vi09
Ma 09Ar06
Time Zone: 5.0
HA 20Ar39
Ju 11Ge51
Latitude: 40 N 02
KR 17Ta49
Sa 26Ta07
Longitude: 76 W 19
PO 04Li55
Ur 29Ta24
Local Sidereal Time: 11:42:50
VU 19Ge00
Ne 25Vi24
Zodiac In Use: Tropical
ZE 17Le09
Pl 03Le41
]ANG
Morinus
As 08Sg00
1 25Sg19
7 25Ge19
Mh 25Vi19
2 27Cp41
8 27Ca41
ASTRD
MOON DATA
VX 22Cp06
3 27Aq58
9 27Le58
CE 26Sg45 R
Latitude: -04 21
EP 26Sg04
4 26Pi04
10 26Vi04
JU 15Vi07
Longitude: 23Ta29
5 23Ar50
11 23Li50
PA 23Sc22
Mean Node: 25Vi38
6 23Ta23
12 23Sc23
VE 15Vi54
True Node: 24Vi39
These windows supply you with the pertinent astrological information for this chart. Starting in the upper left corner of your screen, and proceeding in a clockwise motion, you will note that the windows are numbered 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The information in each window breaks down as follows: E
1) Chart data, in this case Mike Erlewine's natal data.
2) Declinations of the planets.
3) Transneptunian geocentric positions.
4) Planetary geocentric positions.
5) Moon data.
6) Asteroid geocentric positions.
7) Placidus house cusps.
8) Geocentric positions of the various angles.
So, where is window #2? It is hidden under window #3, the Transneptunian window. You can activate any one of the windows by pressing the [Alt] key and the window number, or you can simply click the mouse on the window you want. Notice that right now window #8 has its border highlighted. Press "Alt-1" and note that the highlight moves from window #8 to window #1. Now press "Alt-2" and note that the Transneptunian window is replaced by the Declination window. Press "Alt-3" and the Transneptunian window reappears.
Remember that the first chart will always be a Composite, Natal, or Relationship chart. Any other type of chart must be viewed as a secondary chart.
Selecting the First Chart option, or using the "Ctrl-F" shortcut keys, causes the desktop to be wiped clean before displaying the relevant chart data.
SECOND CHART Help DISPLAYS
Help 2
FIRST
CHART
The Second Chart option of the Displays Menu allows you to view all of the Data windows associated with the second chart in memory. The second chart is the chart that you create when you select any item from the Options Menu. If there is no second chart in memory, the first chart's data will be displayed.
Selecting the Second Chart option, or using the "Ctrl-S" shortcut keys, causes the desktop to be wiped clean before displaying the relevant chart data. y
Please refer to the FIRST CHART HELP section for a detailed account of what windows appear, and what data they contain.
ASPECTS Help DISPLAYS
Help
The ASPECTS option of the Displays Menu allows you to view the various aspects of the current chart in memory. Aspects for all of the angles, Moon and its nodes, planets, and transneptunians are available for display. 3
Help for the following aspectarians is available: 5
House
Midpoint
Planet
Synastric
Transit
NOTE: Harmonic aspectarians are a sub-type of one of the above aspectarians.
Aspectarians allow you to view the various aspects of the current chart in memory. The contents of any aspectarian vary, according to how you have your aspectarian preferences set. Preferences are set from the Prefer Menu, ASPECTS and PLANETS options. \
Aspectarians are comprised of "cells." Each cell is the focal point of two planetary bodies. Whether a cell contains anything, or not, depends on whether the two planets are in aspect with each other. If the planets are in aspect, then the abbreviation for that aspect is placed within the cell. (Refer to APPENDIX D for aspect abbreviations). |
How you read the aspectarian is up to you. You may read "down" vertically, or "across" horizontally. It all depends which part of the aspectarian is visible. The entire aspectarian data may, or may not, be visible within the confines of the aspectarian. Again, this all depends on how you have your aspectarian preferences set in the Prefer Menu ASPECTS and PLANETS options.
Glancing at the scroll bars, you can see that the Scroll Bar Indicator is at the beginning of both the horizontal and vertical Scroll Bars. This is indicative that there is further data that may be viewed by scrolling through the aspectarian. If there were no Scroll Bar Indicator, on either line, you would know that all the data is currently displayed within the confines of the window, and no further scrolling is possible. x
Note that initially, there is a highlight box contained in the first "cell." You may use the cursor keys to move this highlight box about the aspectarian, or click once on the aspect cell to position the highlight box there. Alternatively, you may click on the appropriate arrow attached to either Scroll Bar to move the highlight about the cells of the aspectarian. Once the highlight is in a particular cell, you may press [Enter], if you are using the cursor keys, or if you are using the mouse, double click on that cell to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect.
EPHEMERIS Help DISPLAYS
Help
The EPHEMERIS option of the Displays Menu allows you to create an annual graphical ephemeris for the current chart in memory. All planetary positions will be mapped from Jan 1 to Dec 31 for the chart year. b
Detailed help is supplied here because the normal help system is not available in graphics mode.
NOTE: If you do not have the proper hardware, you will get an error message stating you must have a VGA card capable of displaying 640x480 graphics to use this option. Color is not an issue, but resolution is! S
When requesting an ephemeris, you will be asked how you want the planets graphed. Y
Type Of Ephemeris
( ) 45 Degree
( ) 90 Degree
( ) 180 Degree
(.) 360 Degree
OK
Cancel
After you make your selection, the program goes into graphics mode and starts the drawing process. E
The top of the graph will indicate the calendar month with 10 day intervals marked off just below each calendar box. The left and right of the graph box will show the maximum allowable degree the planets are graphed for. This maximum degree is based on your selection from the Type Of Ephemeris dialog that appeared above.
The graphing process starts with the placement of the planetary names along the left edge of the graph at the appropriate degree for Jan 1. All of the planets are then graphed for the entire year, each planet individually color coded for easy visual reference. When the graphing process is complete, the planetary names are again placed down the right side of the graph. The names for the planets are also drawn along the top and the bottom of the graph so you can discern which line belongs to which planet at a glance. S
The bottom of the screen contains pertinent information applicable to this chart.
Once the graphing process is complete, pressing the following keys will allow you to perform additional actions to the graph:
[L] - Draw the radical positions along the left side of the graph,
including a line that goes through the graph to show where the
radicals would be.
[R] - Redraw the entire graph.
[G] - Throw a grid into the graph to ascertain what degrees and date a
planet is at.
NOTE: The [L] and [G] options are permanent. They can not be erased.
Pressing the key sequence "Ctrl-P" will dump the ephemeris to your printer. What you get is a graphics screen dump. The resolution of the dump is dependent on your printer type. The ephemeris appears in VGA resolution. k
Once you are finished viewing the graphic ephemeris, simply press the [Esc] key to return to the desktop.
ORBITAL MAP Help DISPLAYS
Help
The ORBITAL MAP option of the Displays Menu allows you to view charts in a graphic format based on the orbital projections of the planets against the backdrop of a world map.
Detailed help is supplied here because the normal help system is not available in graphics mode. Once in graphics mode, the following are applicable: n
The top and bottom of the map contain labels which mark the graphic plots for the ascending and descending motions of the planets. There are also labels for the planetary Medium Coeli and Imum Coeli positions which appear as solid circles and solid diamonds respectively, but which have no connecting lines to the labels. This was done to prevent screen clutter. -
The following label abbreviations are used:
AS - Ascendant, the rising position of the planet.
DS - Descendant, the setting position of the planet.
IC - Imum Coeli, the point at which the planet stops setting
and begins rising.
MC - Medium Coeli or Midheaven, the point at which the planet
stops rising and begins setting. Called the Zenith by some.
The current chart data will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Pressing the [X] key while the map is displayed will toggle a "cross-hair" feature with which you may move about the map to ascertain the various latitudes and longitudes of the planetary orbital projections and positions. You may use the keys described in APPENDIX C to move the cross-hair about the screen. Note that this cross-hair will wrap around the screen if the map boundary is exceeded in any direction and the latitude/longitude display shown in the upper left corner of the screen will be updated accordingly.
Pressing the key sequence "Ctrl-P" will dump the map to your printer. What you get is a graphics screen dump. The resolution of the dump is dependent on your printer type and screen resolution. The map appears in EGA resolution. p
Once you are finished viewing the orbital projection map, simply press the [Esc] key to return to the desktop.
WHEEL Help DISPLAYS
Help b
The WHEEL option of the Displays Menu allows you to view charts in an astrological wheel format. b
Detailed help is supplied here because the normal help system is not available in graphics mode.
NOTE: If you do not have the proper hardware, you will get an error message stating you must have an EGA card capable of displaying 640x350 graphics or a VGA card capable of displaying 640x480 graphics to use this option. Color is not an issue, but resolution is!
When displaying a synastry chart wheel, you must decide how you want the synastric chart data to be displayed. After pressing "Ctrl-W" a Type Of Synastry Wheel dialog will appear, asking you to make this decision.
Type Of Synastry Wheel
( ) a. Radical Houses / Radical Planets
(.) b. Radical Houses / Secondary Planets
( ) c. Secondary Houses / Radical Planets
( ) d. Secondary Houses / Secondary Planets
OK
Cancel
When displaying a transit chart wheel, you must decide how you want the transit chart data to be displayed. After pressing "Ctrl-W" a Type Of Transit Wheel dialog will appear, asking you to make this decision.
Type Of Transit Wheel
( ) a. Radical Houses / Radical Planets
(.) b. Radical Houses / Transit Planets
( ) c. Transit Houses / Radical Planets
( ) d. Transit Houses / Transit Planets
OK
Cancel
Select the display type you want by using the arrow keys, the [Alt] key and highlighted letter of the display type, or clicking on one of the four options with your mouse. Once desired display type is highlighted, press the [Enter] key or click on the OK button to select that item.
Detailed help is supplied here because the normal help system is not available in graphics mode. Once in graphics mode, the following are applicable: d
After you make your selection, the program goes into graphics mode and starts the drawing process.
All of the planets, Moon, and the Moons' mean node will be displayed within their proper house locations. Each of these points will be shown in bright yellow. The house cusps will be in green. All retrograde positions will be indicated with a bright magenta "R."
The bodies that actually appear inside the houses are dependent on which ones you selected to appear from the Prefer Menu ASPECTS -> Wheel and PLANETS -> Wheel Display. In addition, you may also choose to list non-selected planets in the lower right corner of the screen. This is also done from the Prefer Menu, WHEEL. If a house contains too many planets to fit within the confines of that house, the excess will be listed at the bottom left corner of the screen. t
There are two types of wheels available, and which one is displayed depends on how you set your preferences under the Prefer Menu, WHEEL. You may view an "equal house" wheel, in which all of the houses of the wheel are divided into equal 30 degree sections, or you may view an "unequal house" wheel, where the houses are divided up according to the difference in degree between the house cusps. The latter method shows the actual size of a house, and also includes a 360 degree "ruler" that runs along the 2nd largest circle of the wheel. The ruler is accurate enough to determine the nearest degree of a body or house cusp.
The top left corner of the screen will contain the name associated with this chart, the location, date, time, latitude, longitude, sidereal time, type of chart, zodiac system, and house system. If this is a transit type chart, the top left corner of the screen provides the primary chart information and the top right corner of the screen provides the secondary chart information.
Once the wheel has been drawn, there are several options available to you. The [F1] key will pull down a help screen in the top left corner of the screen. After it is displayed you simply press any key to remove it. a
You can draw aspect lines between the planets in the wheel by using the number keys as follows:
[1] - Display all series 1 aspects (conjunctions). A conjunction glyph
appears just inside the second largest circle of the wheel.
[2] - Display series 2 aspects.
[3] - Display series 3 aspects.
[5] - Display series 5 aspects.
[7] - Display series 7 aspects.
[9] - Display any miscellaneous series aspects.
[A] - Display all aspects for all the different series.
Which aspects for a given series are drawn is dependent on how you set your preferences in the Prefer Menu ASPECTS -> Wheel and PLANETS -> Wheel Display.
Pressing the key sequence "Ctrl-P" will dump the wheel to your printer. What you get is a graphics screen dump. The resolution of the dump is dependent on your printer type and screen resolution. If your dot-matrix printer has less than 24 pins, the screen will switch to EGA resolution, redraw the wheel, dump it to your printer, and switch back to VGA mode. Of course, if you only have EGA this switching of screen modes won't transpire.
NOTE: When this switching of screen modes transpires, additional items you may have added to the wheel since it was originally drawn will *NOT* be included. What this means is that if you fall in the above category, aspect lines or transiting planets will not be printed. O
For the most part, all wheels are circular when printed, with two exceptions. If you have an EGA card, HP Laserjet and 24-pin dot-matrix printers will produce "egg-shaped" wheels on the horizontal axis. This is due to screen resolution. My apologies to those who fall in either category -- it's the best I could do for the moment.
If you are viewing a transit chart, pressing the [O] key will place the names of the planets from the other chart within the outer wheel rim. These planets are drawn in bright red to distinguish them from the planets drawn inside the wheel houses. In addition, the degree and minute of the other planets are placed as a four digit number along the outer rim of the wheel, much in the same manner as the house cusps are, without the dash between the degree and minute. b
NOTE: When viewing transit charts, after you have pressed the [O] key to insert the other planets in the wheel rim, any further drawing of aspect lines will be based on the positions of the planets in the outer wheel rim. You will have to press [R] to redraw the wheel if you want to re-investigate the aspect lines for the planets within the houses.
Pressing the [R] key will completely redraw the wheel. This comes in handy if you're investigating the various aspect lines and need to clean up the screen periodically. [
Once you are finished viewing the wheel, you simply press [Esc] to return to the desktop.
ARABIC PARTS Help DISPLAYS
Help a
The Arabic Parts option of the Displays menu allows you to view quite a few of the Arabic Parts associated with the current chart in memory. You'll see an Arabic Parts window that shows the more common Arabic Parts associated with the current chart, and Arabic Parts that deal with crop prognosticaion and equinox, solstice, and full/new moon charts.
QUALITIES Help DISPLAYS
Help
The QUALITIES option of the Displays Menu allows you to view the various planetary qualities of the primary bodies. You get a Chart Qualities window that shows the planet name, sign, quality, quadriplicity, triplicity, polarity, and angularity of these bodies.
TRANSIT CAL Help DISPLAYS
Help
The TRANSIT CAL option of the Displays Menu allows you to display all of the transits for a monthly period on the current transit chart in memory. This option is not available unless a transit calendar is in memory. <
Selecting this option will bring up a Calculating Transit Calendar window that displays the specifics of the transit chart in memory. If you look closely you'll note that the date changes as you watch. A chart for each day of the month is being calculated and the aspects for that day are being stored in memory.
OPTIONS Help MENUS
Help
The Options Menu option of the Menu Bar allows you to modify your primary chart and thereby create various types of secondary charts. From here you can create harmonic, progressed, relocation, synastry transit, lunar return, and solar return charts.
You must have a chart in memory for any of the Options Menu items to work. If there are no charts is not in memory, the Options Menu items will be disabled, and therefore unselectable.
Topics:
Harmonics
Progressions
Relocations
Synastry
Transits
Lunar
Return
Solar
Return
HARMONICS Help OPTIONS
Help ?
There are a few things you should note about harmonic charts.
You may modify any chart currently in memory to be a harmonic chart, be they natal, composite, relationship, progressed, relocations, transit, lunar return, or solar return. However, once you have created a harmonic chart the Harmonic selection of the Options Menu will become disabled to prevent you from creating a harmonic of a harmonic chart. The Harmonic option is re-enabled the next time you clear memory, create, modify, or retrieve a chart. L
All aspectarians switch to harmonic aspect and orb defaults, as set in the Prefer Menu for harmonic aspectarians. This means that if you have your Planetary Aspectarian aspects and orbs set for Addey orbs, they are ignored when viewing a Planetary Aspectarian for a harmonic chart; the Harmonic aspects and orbs are used instead.
Pay close attention to the window labels. If there is a [H?] preceding the label, where the question mark is a numeric value from 1 to 360, then the chart data being manipulated is that of a harmonic chart. The [H?] will also appear in your printouts, to remind you of this fact.
If you select any other item from the Options Menu, the harmonic chart is discarded and that option will be executed for the primary chart in memory.
PROGRESSIONS Help OPTIONS
Help >
The Progressions selection of the Options Menu allows you to create secondary progressions for the primary chart in memory. Secondary progressions are based on the "day for a year" principle, whereby the primary chart event date is incremented by one day for each year that has passed since the original event date. .
To belabor the "day for a year" principle, note that the event date for the primary chart was 18 July, 1941. We progressed the chart to 1993. 1993 minus 1941 is 52. 52 days were then added to 18 July, 1941, which comes out to be 8 September, 1941. This is how the "day for a year" principle works.
RELOCATIONS Help OPTIONS
Help
The Relocations selection of the Options Menu allows you to create a relocation chart for the primary chart in memory. A relocation chart is simply a primary chart cast for a different latitude and longitude.
SYNASTRY Help OPTIONS
Help
The Synastry selection of the Options Menu allows you to create a secondary chart to which the primary chart is compared. This option is used for synastric comparison purposes, by creating or retrieving previously saved charts to use as a synastry chart.
TRANSITS Help OPTIONS
Help >
The Transits selection of the Options Menu allows you to create a secondary chart to which the primary chart is compared. While this usually applies to the creation of transit charts, you may also use this option for synastry purposes, by creating or retrieving previously saved charts to use as a transiting chart.
LUNAR RETURNS Help OPTIONS
Help u
The Lunar Return selection of the Options Menu allows you to create a Lunar return for the primary chart in memory.
SOLAR RETURNS Help OPTIONS
Help u
The Solar Return selection of the Options Menu allows you to create a Solar return for the primary chart in memory.
PREFER Help MENUS
Help >
The Prefer Menu option of the Menu Bar allows you to customize the Astrologer's Assistant to suit your preferences. From here you may set the types of aspects you desire, and their orbs; black-and-white or color graphic displays, to increase clarity on laptop computers; selection defaults for the dialogs; mouse button preference and sensitivity, depending on whether you're right or left-handed; which planets to include in the various aspectarians and the wheel display; printer type and control codes, and whether or not to send printer output to a disk file; defaults for casting local transit charts; equal or unequal houses in the wheel display, and the option to show planets not selected for inclusion inside the wheel; and the placement of the Transneptunian Data window or the Declination Data window on the desktop.
Several of the Prefer Menu options have arrows after them. These arrows indicate that selection of these items will bring up sub-menus within the Prefer Menu. The sub-menus are necessary to allow you to home in on the option you wish to modify.
Aspects
Colors
Dialogs
Mouse
Planets
Printer
Transits
Wheel
Windows
ASPECTS Help PREFER
Help
This menu option brings up a sub menu that allows you individually select the type of aspects you want displayed, and their orb range, for Harmonic, House, Midpoint, Planetary, or Transit aspectarians.
Topics: E
Harmonic
House
Midpoint
Planetary
Transit
Trees
Wheel
HARMONIC ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help
A Harmonic Aspectarian does not appear anywhere in the program. However, after choosing the Harmonics option from the Options Menu, all aspectarians will utilize whatever preferences are set from this area.
HOUSE ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help s
This option allows you to choose the specific aspects and orb ranges you prefer when viewing a house aspectarian.
MIDPOINT ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help v
This option allows you to choose the specific aspects and orb ranges you prefer when viewing a midpoint aspectarian.
PLANETARY ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help w
This option allows you to choose the specific aspects and orb ranges you prefer when viewing a planetary aspectarian.
TRANSIT ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help u
This option allows you to choose the specific aspects and orb ranges you prefer when viewing a transit aspectarian.
TREE ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help b
This option allows you to determine which midpoints to include in your trees based on the degree of orb between the radical for that tree and those aspects before and after the radical that fall within that orb. Seeing as there are four types of trees you may create, you may set the degree of orb for each type, i.e., 45, 90, 180, or 360 degree trees.
WHEEL ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
Help m
This option allows you to choose the specific aspects and orb ranges you prefer when viewing a chart wheel.
COLORS Help PREFER
Help
No help for hcColor_Defaults!
GRAPHICS COLOR Help PREFER
Help
Selecting the Colors option from the Prefer Menu allows you to view your graphics displays in either black-and-white or color. Selecting Black-and-White greatly improves clarity on non-color laptops.
DIALOGS Help PREFER
Help
Choosing the Dialogs option of the Prefer Menu allows you to set the default selection of the various dialogs that appear when you need to make a choice on some option the program will present you. For example, you may wish to use Koch houses, instead of the default Placidus houses, and grow weary of always having to always re-select Koch from the House Selection dialog. You can permanently set the dialog options you prefer right here.
Topics:
Aspect
Order
Create
Retrieve
House
Selection
Midpoint
Order
Midpoint
Type
Sidereal
System
Type
Aspectarian
Type
Chart
Type
Ephemeris
Type
Synastry
Wheel
Type
Transit
Chart
Type
Transit
Wheel
Zodiac
Selection
ASPECT SORT ORDER Help DIALOGS
Help k
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to sorting aspects by angle, orb or planet.
CREATE OR RETRIEVE Help DIALOGS
Help b
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to creating or retrieving a chart.
HOUSE SELECTION Help DIALOGS
Help T
This option allows you to choose which house system this dialog should default to.
MIDPOINT LIST ORDER Help DIALOGS
Help v
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to placing midpoint lists in midpoint or zodiac order.
MIDPOINT LIST TYPE Help DIALOGS
Help m
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to 45, 90, 180, or 360 degree midpoint lists.
SIDEREAL SYSTEM Help DIALOGS
Help W
This option allows you to choose which sidereal system this dialog should default to.
TYPE OF ASPECTARIAN Help DIALOGS
Help x
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to a House, Midpoint, Planetary, or Transit aspectarian.
TYPE OF CHART Help DIALOGS
Help l
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to Natal, Composite, or Relationship charts.
TYPE OF EPHEMERIS Help DIALOGS
Help s
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to creating a 45, 90, 180, or 360 degree ephemeris.
TYPE OF SYNASTRY WHEEL Help DIALOGS
Help
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to creating synastry chart wheels that reflect radical houses and radical planets, radical houses and secondary planets, secondary houses and radical planets, or secondary houses and secondary planets.
TYPE OF TRANSIT CHART Help DIALOGS
Help
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to creating a transit chart from scratch, creating a local transit chart from your system clock and transit default settings, or retrieving a chart from disk to use as a transit chart.
TYPE OF TRANSIT WHEEL Help DIALOGS
Help
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to creating transit chart wheels that reflect radical houses and radical planets, radical houses and transit planets, transit houses and radical planets, or transit houses and transit planets.
ZODIAC SELECTION Help DIALOGS
Help j
This option allows you to choose whether this dialog defaults to choosing a tropical or sidereal zodiac.
MOUSE Help PREFER
Help
Selecting the Mouse option of the Prefer Menu allows you to set the mouse sensitivity to double clicks, and which button you would prefer to use.
PLANETS Help PREFER
Help
The Planets option of the Prefer Menu allows you to select which planets will appear within the various aspectarians and the wheel. A sub-menu appears listing the options available.
Topics: 2
Midpoint
Planets
Other
Planets
Wheel
Planets
MIDPOINT PLANETS Help PLANETS
Help a
This option allows you to choose which planets to aspect available in the Midpoint Aspectarian.
OTHER PLANETS Help PLANETS
Help Y
This option allows you to choose which planets to aspect in all the other aspectarians.
WHEEL PLANETS Help PLANETS
Help R
This option allows you to choose which planets to aspect within the Chart Wheel.
PRINTER Help PREFER
Help
The Printer option of the Prefer Menu allows you to select which type of printer to use, whether or not to strip out high-bit ASCII characters should your printer not support them, and to alternatively route printer output to a disk file.
TRANSITS Help PREFER
Help
The Transits option of the Prefer Menu allows you to enter the your locality information for use by the Local option of the Type Of Transit Chart dialog.
WHEEL DEFAULTS Help PREFER
Help
The Wheel option of the Prefer Menu allows you to select how your wheel will be displayed. You may have the wheel appear with equal or unequal house cusps, and choose whether or not to display planets not included inside the wheel to appear in the lower right of your screen. Planets for inclusion inside the wheel are selected under the Planets option of the Prefer Menu, as cited above.
TOP DATA WINDOW Help PREFER
Help
The Windows option of the Prefer Menu simply determines whether the Transneptunian or Declination Data window appears on top when the Data windows are placed on the desktop.
SYSTEM Help MENUS
Help
The System Menu option of the Menu Bar allows you to perform various system functions from the Astrologer's Assistant. From here you may delete charts, shell out to MS-DOS to execute DOS commands or run other DOS programs, change to a new directory, or re-load the desktop.
Topics:
Erase
Chart
MS-DOS
Ctrl-D
Directory
Load
Desktop
ERASE CHART Help SYSTEM
Help
The Delete Chart option of the System Menu lets you delete charts you have previously saved to disk. You may delete Composite, Natal, or Relationship charts.
NEW DIRECTORY Help SYSTEM
Help
Choosing the New Directory option of the System Menu allows you to peruse the various directories on your hard disk, and select which one you would like to become the default.
LOAD DESKTOP Help SYSTEM
Help
The Load Desktop option of the System menu allows you to restore the desktop to what its initial state when you first started this session of the program. This feature is handy if you want to go off and experiment with a few options and then restore the desktop to its original state.
If the desktop was empty, you will notice no change. However, if the desktop contained any windows, the current desktop is erased and replaced by the previous session's desktop.
TRANSFORM Help MENUS
Help
The Transform Menu of the Menu Bar allows you to choose three alternate coordinate systems to view your chart data in. From here you may view Azimuth/Altitude, Prime Vertical, or Right Ascension coordinates. You must have a chart in memory for any of the Transform Menu options to work. If there are no charts in memory, the Transform Menu options will be disabled, and therefore unselectable.
Topics: o
Azimuth/Altitude
Prime
Vertical
Right
Ascension
AZIMUTH/ALTITUDE Help TRANSFORM
Help
The Azimuth/Altitude option of the Transform Menu allows you to view your chart data in Azimuth/Altitude coordinates. The usual Data windows are replaced by modified Data windows to reflect the new coordinate transformations. Starting from the top right corner of the desktop, and working in a clockwise direction, Data windows will appear showing the Azimuth/Altitude coordinates for the planets, asteroids, transneptunians, and angles.
NATAL DATA
AZIMTH ALTIT
Full Name: Erlewine, Mike
Su +183 15
+ 37 37
Location: Lancaster, PA
Me +171 49
+ 21 38
Date: 18 July 1941
Ve +210 14
+ 52 59
Time: 05:03:00 PM EDT
Ma +111 15
- 47 45
Time Zone: 5.0
Ju +153 56
+ 2 47
Latitude: 40 N 02
Sa +146 08
- 10 58
Longitude: 76 W 19
Ur +146 28
- 7 12
Local Sidereal Time: 11:42:50
Ne +270 57
+ 52 57
Zodiac In Use: Tropical
Pl +187 02
+ 46 06
AZIMTH ALTIT
Mn +146 30
- 14 24
CH +196 11
+ 38 03
No +270 28
+ 51 42
AD +115 33
- 40 14
AP +250 39
+ 55 04
CU +246 44
+ 55 19
] AZIMTH ALTIT
HA +119 34
- 37 17
AZIMTH ALTIT
As +331 12
+ 0 00
KR +139 25
- 16 31
CE +338 26
- 17 51
Mh +270 00
+ 51 50
PO +283 02
+ 47 15
JU +254 12
+ 56 39
VX + 0 00
- 34 58
VU +157 29
+ 9 02
PA + 3 20
+ 32 25
EP +341 41
- 14 48
ZE +207 19
+ 50 19
VE +257 13
+ 60 18
PRIME VERTICAL Help TRANSFORM
Help
The Prime Vertical option of the Transform Menu allows you to view your chart data in Prime Vertical coordinates. The usual Data windows are replaced by modified Data windows to reflect the new coordinate transformations. Starting from the top right corner of the desktop, and working in a clockwise direction, Data windows will appear showing the Azimuth/Altitude coordinates for the planets, asteroids, transneptunians, and angles.
NATAL DATA
LNGITD LATIT
Full Name: Erlewine, Mike
Su +217 39
- 2 34
Location: Lancaster, PA
Me +201 50
+ 7 36
Date: 18 July 1941
Ve +236 55
- 17 39
Time: 05:03:00 PM EDT
Ma +108 13
+ 38 49
Time Zone: 5.0
Ju +183 06
+ 26 02
Latitude: 40 N 02
Sa +166 52
+ 33 10
Longitude: 76 W 19
Ur +171 23
+ 33 14
Local Sidereal Time: 11:42:50
Ne +270 43
- 37 03
Zodiac In Use: Tropical
Pl +226 19
- 4 52
LNGITD LATIT
Mn +162 53
+ 32 19
CH +219 11
- 12 41
No +270 22
- 38 18
AD +117 00
+ 43 32
AP +256 58
- 32 42
CU +254 42
- 31 31
] LNGITD LATIT
HA +122 57
+ 43 48
LNGITD LATIT
As + 0 00
- 28 48
KR +158 41
+ 38 36
CE + 19 06
- 20 29
Mh +270 00
- 38 10
PO +281 46
- 41 24
JU +259 50
- 31 57
VX + 34 58
+ 0 00
VU +189 46
+ 22 13
PA +327 32
+ 2 48
EP + 15 33
- 17 42
ZE +233 36
- 17 02
VE +262 48
- 28 54
RIGHT ASCENSION Help TRANSFORM
Help
The Right Ascension option of the Transform Menu allows you to view your chart data in Right Ascension coordinates. The usual Data windows are replaced by modified Data windows to reflect the new coordinate transformations. Starting from the top right corner of the desktop, and working in a clockwise direction, Data windows will appear showing the Azimuth/Altitude coordinates for the planets, asteroids, transneptunians, and angles.
NATAL DATA
ASCNSN DCLNT
Full Name: Erlewine, Mike
Su +117 48
+ 20 59
Location: Lancaster, PA
Me + 97 48
+ 19 47
Date: 18 July 1941
Ve +142 53
+ 16 21
Time: 05:03:00 PM EDT
Ma + 9 49
+ 0 13
Time Zone: 5.0
Ju + 70 26
+ 21 33
Latitude: 40 N 02
Sa + 54 19
+ 17 15
Longitude: 76 W 19
Ur + 57 14
+ 19 49
Local Sidereal Time: 11:42:50
Ne +176 17
+ 2 59
Zodiac In Use: Tropical
Pl +127 05
+ 23 29
ASCNSN DCLNT
Mn + 52 13
+ 14 26
CH +124 45
+ 13 12
No +176 00
+ 1 44
AD + 15 03
+ 6 26
AP +164 42
+ 6 32
CU +162 36
+ 7 23
] ASCNSN DCLNT
HA + 19 04
+ 8 04
ASCNSN DCLNT
As +246 14
- 21 39
KR + 45 21
+ 17 09
CE +266 20
- 27 43
Mh +175 43
+ 1 52
PO +184 31
- 1 57
JU +167 01
+ 7 36
VX +293 53
- 21 38
VU + 78 02
+ 22 59
PA +241 30
+ 22 29
EP +265 43
- 23 23
ZE +139 36
+ 15 42
VE +169 18
+ 10 53
WINDOWS Help MENUS
Help E
The Windows Option of the Menu Bar allows you to navigate between the various windows that appear on the desktop, close windows that are no longer necessary, zoom windows to view a greater amount of data, resize and move windows around the desktop, and expand the desktop to a greater size if your EGA/VGA card supports it.
Topics: 9
Close
Alt-F3
Close
Ctrl-Del
Next
Previous
Shift-F6
Zoom
Move/Resize
Ctrl-F5
43/50
Lines
NOTE: These options are enabled/disabled depending on the state of the desktop. For instance, if there are no windows to close, the Close and Close all options are disabled.
CLOSE ALL Help WINDOWS
Help /
Choosing the Close All option of the Windows Menu will close and remove every single window on the desktop. Usually, modifying a chart in some manner will accomplish this, but there are times when the desktop will get cluttered and you want to remove all the windows without changing your chart data.
43/50 LINES Help WINDOWS
Help
The 43/50 Lines option of the Windows Menu will allow you to "expand" the desktop. This is done by replacing the usual 25-lines-per-screen video mode with either 43- or 50-lines-per-screen, depending on the capability of your video card. EGA cards usually allow up to 43-lines-per-screen, and VGA cards up to 50-lines-per-screen. This option is permanently disabled if your video card does not support one of these modes.
Use this feature if you have lots of windows open on the desktop, and find it comfortable enough on your eyes. It is quite handy for viewing many aspectarians and sort lists at once, for you can move the windows around on the desktop to make them less cluttered.
No help for hcKey_Commands!
No help for hckbShift!
No help for hckbCtrl!
No help for hckbAlt!
AM OR PM INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
You may enter a letter combination of AM or PM (case is not important). You will be beeped if you enter more than 3 letters. If you enter an invalid letter combination, or if you enter no input at all, PM will automatically be assigned.
DATE OR POSITION INPUT Help DIALOG
Help _
This field only appears if you selected to view a Lunar return. You may enter D or P, or type the word DATE or POSITION, in either upper or lower case to indicate whether the Lunar return should be calculated for a date or a position. You will be beeped if you try to exceed the length of the word POSITION. You must enter at least one character.
DAY INPUT Help DIALOG
Help )
Enter a numeric value between 1 and 31.
FILE NAME INPUT Help DIALOG
Help 0
Enter the filename you wish to save this chart to. A filename must consist of not more than 8 characters and conform to the MS- DOS file naming conventions (see your MS-DOS manual). The Astrologers' Assistant adds the appropriate filename extension depending on what type of chart is being processed.
HARMONIC INPUT Help DIALOG
Help U
Enter a numeric value between 1 and 360 to indicate which harmonic you wish to use.
LATITUDE INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
The proper format is DD?MM. *
DD must be a numeric value from 0 to 90. I
? must be either an N for a north latitude or a S for a south latitude. *
MM must be a numeric value from 0 to 59. I
You may use either N or S for an equatorial latitude, i.e., 0S0 or 0N0.
LONGITUDE INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
The proper format is DDD?MM. ,
DDD must be a numeric value from 0 to 180. I
? must be either a W for a west longitude or a E for an east longitude. *
MM must be a numeric value from 0 to 59. G
You may use either W or E for a Greenwich latitude, i.e., 0E0 or 0W0.
LOCATION INPUT Help DIALOG
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
You may enter the birth place of the native, or any printable character combination of up to 30 characters. You will be beeped if you try to exceed this limitation. You must enter at least one character, and the [@] character is not allowed.
MONTH INPUT help DIALOG
Help -
You may enter a numeric value from 1 to 12.
NAME INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
You may enter the full name of the native, or any printable character combination of up to 30 characters. You will be beeped if you try to exceed this limitation. You must enter at least one character, and the [@] character is not allowed.
POSITION INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
The proper format is DDD.MM.
When you first see this field, the current Moon's position will be displayed. This is the position to calculate a Lunar Return for. If you wish to change it, enter a value in the format shown above.
DDD is the degree of the Moon in the current chart, in 360 degree notation and must be a numeric value between from 0 to 359. q
MM is the minute of the degree the Moon occupies in the current chart and must be a numeric value from 0 to 59.
NOTE: The MM is the not a "decimal" value, but rather the actual minutes of the Moon's position. For instance, if the Moon is at 0 degrees and 30 minutes of Aries, the decimal position would be 0.5, however, the program shows it to you as 0.03. This allows you to not worry about decimal conversions. Simply type in the position as degrees, period, minutes. To further illustrate this, 7 degrees 48 minutes of Libra would be entered as 187.48.
PRECESSED INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
This field only appears if you selected to view a Lunar return. You may enter a Y or an N, or the word YES or NO, in either upper or lower case to indicate whether or not precession is to be used when calculating the return. Precession is a sort of lazy mans' use of the Sidereal Zodiac, and most return charts will not use it. You will be beeped if you try to exceed the length of the word YES. You must enter at least one character.
PROGRESSED YEAR INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
You may enter a numeric value that is greater than the year for which the current chart has been cast, to any future date. Note that B.C. dates must be preceded by a minus sign. Note that the program automatically subtracts 1 from B.C. dates. It also converts the year 0 to the year 1, as there is no such thing as year 0. Pope Gregory struck the dates Oct 5 through Oct 14, 1582 from the Gregorian calender. If you input one of these dates, it will automatically be converted to Oct 15, 1582.
TIME INPUT Help DIALOG
Help !
The proper format is HH:MM:SS T 6
HH must be an hour, with a numeric value of 0 to 11. 7
MM must be a minute, with a numeric value of 0 to 59. 7
SS must be a second, with a numeric value of 0 to 59. b
Note that the program does not require seconds. For instance, 11:00:00 may be entered as 11:00.
T tells the program if this time is for Standard Time, Daylight Time, or War Time. Enter S for Standard Time, D for Daylight Time, or W for War Time. The program defaults to Standard Time. If the time is for Standard Time, you may simply enter 11:00, or you could enter 11:00 S. 11:00 D would be the appropriate entry for Daylight Time, and 11:00 W would be the proper entry for War Time. z
Note that there is much confusion regarding how noon and midnight should be entered. There is no twelfth hour. 12:00 A.M is considered midnight and would be entered as 0:00 (or 0). This is the beginning of a day; therefore, be sure the date you entered above is the correct date. You should now know that 12:15 AM is 15 minutes after midnight and would be entered as 0:15.
12:00 PM is considered noon and would be entered as 0:00 (or 0). This is the middle of a day; therefore be sure the date you entered above is the correct date (there shouldn't be any doubt here). You should now know that 12:15 PM is 15 minutes after noon and would be entered as 0:15.
Though the inputs are the same, the AM or PM input you provided in the previous input prompt makes the distinction of whether the 0 hour is noon or midnight. Be careful, for if you mean one thing and enter the other, your chart will hardly be accurate.
USER ASCENDANT INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
The proper format is DDD.MM. g
DDD is the degree of the Ascendant in 360 degree notation, and must be a numeric value from 0 to 359. ]
MM is the minute of the degree for the Ascendant, and must be a numeric value from 0 to 59.
NOTE: The MM is the not a "decimal" value, but rather the actual minutes of the Ascendant's 's position. For instance, if the Ascendant is at 0 degrees and 30 minutes of Aries, the decimal position would be 0.5, however, you would enter it as 0.03. This allows you to not worry about decimal conversions. Simply type in the position as degrees, period, minutes. To further illustrate this, 7 degrees 48 minutes of Libra would be entered as 187.48.
YEAR INPUT Help DIALOG
Help
You may enter a numeric value from 4713 B.C. to any future date. B.C. dates must be preceded by a minus sign. Note that the program automatically subtracts 1 from B.C. dates. It also converts the year 0 to the year 1, as there is no such thing as year 0. Pope Gregory struck the dates Oct 5 through Oct 14, 1582 from the Gregorian calender. If you input one of these dates, it will automatically be converted to Oct 15, 1582.
TIME ZONE INPUT Help DIALOG
Help /
TIME
ZONES
The proper format is HH:M K
HH would be the hour of the time zone and must be in the range -12 to 12. 9
M is optional, and, if used, must be either a 0 or a 5.
For example, 7 or 7.0 would be valid entries for Mountain Standard Time, and -9.5 would be the correct entry for South Australia Time. W
These values are derived from the standard time zones which are listed in APPENDIX E.
No help for hcDCancel!
No help for hcDNo!
No help for hcDOK!
No help for hcDYes!
ABOUT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
This dialog box describes the name of the program, the author, the authors' mailing address, and other pertinent information. To close the dialog box, press any of the keys indicated on the status line at the bottom of your screen.
MIDPOINT LIST ORDER DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select what type of order you want your midpoint listing in. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the chart type, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
ASPECT SORT ORDER Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select how you want your aspects sorted. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the chart type, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
TYPE OF ASPECTARIAN DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Select the aspectarian you want by using the arrow keys, the [Alt] key and highlighted letter of the aspectarian, or clicking on one of the five options with your mouse. Once the desired aspectarian is highlighted, press the [Enter] key or click on the OK button to select that item.
GRAPHICS COLOR DISPLAY DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select which type of display you wish to use. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the display type, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
TYPE OF CHART DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select which type of chart you want to create. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the chart type, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
CREATE OR RETRIEVE DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select whether you want to create a new chart or retrieve a chart from disk. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the two options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
DELETE A FILE DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
The Delete A File dialog consists of a Name List Box, which displays the chart names available for deletion, a window pane beneath the Name List Box which shows the current name that is selected and its associated file name, and a Delete, OK, and Cancel button. b
You may use any of the cursor keys mentioned in APPENDIX C to highlight one of the chart names shown in the Delete A File dialog. Move the highlight bar to the name you wish to Delete and then press [Enter]. The chart associated with that name will be marked for deletion. Alternatively, you may click on the Delete button instead of pressing [Enter].
As you move through the Name List Box, you will note that the filename window pane beneath it reflects the name currently selected, and the filename that is associated with this chart.
You may delete as many charts as you wish. Once you are deleting charts, click on the OK button or enter "Alt-O" to delete all of the charts you marked.
Clicking on the CANCEL button, or entering "Alt-C" will abort the dialog and return you to the desktop, who's contents will remain intact.
CHANGE DIRECTORY DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
The Change Directory dialog that appears shows which directory you are currently logged to under the Directory Name label. In addition, that directory is highlighted under the Directory Tree label. You may either type in the full pathname of the directory you wish to log to, including the drive specifier, under the Directory Tree label, or you may use the [Tab] key to move to the Directory Tree and move the highlight bar to the directory you wish to use.
The Directory Tree shows the current directory as being highlighted. Any directories inside the current one are shown after the highlight, and all directories that must be navigated to get back to the main directory of the current drive are shown before the highlight. Use the arrow keys, or click on the appropriate directory with your mouse, to navigate about the tree. Selecting the "Drives" directory at the top of the tree will display a list of available disk drives you may log to.
Once you have selected a directory, by either typing it in, or highlighting it on the Directory Tree, enter "Alt-C" to log to that directory, or click on the Directory Tree that is highlighted twice with your mouse. The tree structure and Directory Name field update themselves to reflect the changes. Once you have reached the directory you want, enter "Alt-O" to stay in that directory and remove the Change Directory dialog. r
The Revert button will revert everything back to the way it was when the Change Directory dialog first appeared.
Also, note that the Directory Name field has a history button after it. This means you may click on the button with your mouse, or press the down arrow to activate the history window, thereby allowing you to quickly select directories you had previously chosen.
TYPE OF EPHEMERIS DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select what type of ephemeris you want to create. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the two options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
HARMONIC VALUE DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help +
Enter the harmonic value you want to use. {
Once you have entered the proper harmonic value, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
MIDPOINT LIST TYPE DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select the sort order you want your midpoint listings to appear in. You have the option of sorting by 45, 90, 180, or 360 degrees. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the chart type, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
CONFIRM DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
You are about to exit the program. Select the YES button if you really want to exit at this time by clicking on it with your mouse or by entering "Alt-Y". If you do not wish to exit the program at this time, select the NO button by clicking on it with your mouse or entering "Alt-N".
ERROR OR INFORMATION DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
An error has occurred, or the program is giving you an informational message. In either case, click on the OK button or enter "Alt-O" to acknowledge that you have read whatever message is being displayed.
WARNING DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help 6
You are about to perform an action that you might regret. If you are absolutely sure you want to continue on this course, press the YES button by clicking on it with your mouse or entering "Alt-Y". If you want to abort this action, press the NO button by clicking on it with your mouse or entering "Alt-N".
PRINTER PREFERENCES Help DIALOG
Help
Press the [Alt] key and the highlighted letter for the item you wish to modify. You may also use the [Tab] key to move forward through each item, or the "Shift-Tab" sequence to move backward. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the item you want.
SELECT A FILE DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
The Select A File dialog consists of a Name List Box, which displays the chart names available for retrieval, a window pane beneath the Name List Box which shows the current name that is selected and its associated file name, and an Open and Cancel button
You may use any of the cursor keys mentioned in APPENDIX C to highlight one of the chart names shown in the Select A File dialog. Move the highlight bar to the name you wish to select and then press [Enter]. The chart associated with that name will be retrieved from disk.
As you move through the Name List Box, you will note that the filename window pane beneath it reflects the name currently selected, and the filename that is associated with this chart. r
Clicking on the OPEN button, or pressing [Enter] or "Alt-O" will retrieve the currently selected file from disk.
Clicking on the CANCEL button, or entering "Alt-C" will abort the dialog and return you to the desktop, who's contents will remain intact.
TYPE OF SYNASTRY WHEEL DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Select the type of chart wheel you want displayed by using the arrow keys. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the the four options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
No help for hcDTranCal!
TYPE OF TRANSIT CHART DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Select the type of transit chart you want displayed by using the arrow keys. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the the three options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
TYPE OF TRANSIT WHEEL DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Select the type of chart wheel you want displayed by using the arrow keys. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the the four options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
USER ASCENDANT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Enter the value of the User Ascendant. For detailed help on acceptable values, move the cursor to the input line and then press [F1]. i
Once you have entered a value, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
WHEEL DEFAULT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help H
This dialog allows you to further customize your chart wheel displays. {
List Unselected Bodies - Allows you to view or hide those planets that were not selected for inclusion within the houses. ]
Use Unequal Houses - Allows you to view the chart wheel with either equal or uneven houses. k
Wheel Aspects - Overides all aspectarians and uses those you set for the wheel in Prefer->Apsects->Wheel.
Use the cursor keys to select one of the options. Once that option is highlighted, click on the brackets with your mouse to toggle the option on or off. Alternatively, you may use the [Spacebar] to toggle the option. If the option is on, an "X" appears in that options brackets. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
TOP WINDOW DEFAULT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help $
Use the arrow keys to select whether the Declination or Transneptunians window appears on top of the other when displaying data windows on the desktop. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the four options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
ZODIAC SYSTEM DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use the arrow keys to select whether you want to use the Tropical or Sidereal Zodiacs. Alternatively, you may use the [Alt] key and the first letter of the two options shown, or click on the option you want with your mouse. l
Once you have selected an option, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
No help for hcDDirName!
No help for hcDDirTree!
No help for hcDChdir!
No help for hcDRevert!
No help for hcDName!
No help for hcDFiles!
ASPECTS TO DISPLAY DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
To access any of a particular series, press the [Alt] key and the highlighted number for that series. You may also use the [Tab] key to move forward through each series, or the "Shift-Tab" sequence to move backward. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the item you want.
Once a series is highlighted, use the [SpaceBar] to toggle an aspect on or off. If it is on, an "X" appears in the brackets before the aspect. You may also modify the degree of orb that appears after each aspect. The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation! ;
When you are finished modifying the aspect data, type "Alt-O" to accept your modifications, or "Alt-C" to abort any changes you've made and remove the Select Aspects To Display dialog. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the OK or CANCEL button, depending on whether you want to keep or abort your changes.
NOTE: Because aspect orbs are such a personal issue, I have taken the liberty of categorizing the various types of aspects into two areas. The House, Planetary, and Wheel aspectarians default to "Addey" orbs, a system devised by English Astrologer, John Addey. The Harmonic, Midpoint, and Transit Aspectarians default to sufficiently small degree of orbs that I personally use. This categorization will not please everyone, ergo the inclusion of the option to set your own defaults.
PLANETS TO DISPLAY DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help 4
To access any of a particular planet, press the [Alt] key and the highlighted letter for the group the planet appears in. You may also use the [Tab] key to move forward through each planetary group, or the "Shift-Tab" sequence to move backward. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the item you want.
Once a planetary group is highlighted, use the [SpaceBar] to toggle a planet on or off. If it is on, an "X" appears in the brackets before the planet. G
When you are finished selecting which planets are to appear, type "Alt-O" to accept your modifications, or "Alt-C" to abort any changes you've made and remove the Select Planets To Display dialog. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the OK or CANCEL button, depending on whether you want to keep or abort your changes.
NOTE: You must select a minimum of two planets. Otherwise, you may have as many planets as you want. The Midpoint Aspectarian option is the only exception to this rule. Because of the large number of midpoint possibilities, and the physical constraints of computer memory, you may only select up to 16 planets for midpointing. This rule does not apply if you are running the protected mode version of the Astrologer's Assistant.
MIDPOINT TREE ORBS DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help :
This dialog allows you to determine which midpoints to include in your trees based on the degree of orb between the radical for that tree and those aspects before and after the radical that fall within that orb. Seeing as there are four types of trees you may create, you may set the degree of orb for each type. .
Press the [Alt] key and the highlighted number for the tree you wish to change, and enter the orb you wish for that tree. The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation! 4
When you are finished modifying the aspect data, type "Alt-O" to accept your modifications, or "Alt-C" to abort any changes you've made and remove the Midpoint Tree Orbs dialog. If you are using a mouse, simply click on the OK or CANCEL button, depending on whether you want to keep or abort your changes.
MOUSE PREFERENCES DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help Q
Use the arrow keys to move the Scroll Bar Indicator toward "Fast" for increased sensitivity responsiveness to double clicks of the mouse button, or toward "Slow" for decreased sensitivity. If you want to use the right mouse button instead of the left, use the [Tab] key or "Alt-R" sequence to highlight the Reversed Mouse Buttons option, and press the [Spacebar] to toggle this option on. Alternatively, you can just click on this option with your mouse. Once you have made your modifications, press the [Enter] key, type "Alt-O", or click on the OK button to make your changes permanent.
MODIFIED CHART INPUT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
You type in the modified composite data for each line, and press the Tab key to go to the next line or field. You press Shift-Tab to go to the proceeding line or field. Or, if using a mouse, you move the mouse cursor to the line you're interested in, and then click on it. Remember, the down arrow accesses the History Icon, which brings up History window for the current input line you are on. If you have created any charts previous to this one, there will be data in the history buffer, which you may, or may not, want to make use of.
Be sure to enter all of the data requested above. When you are done, you may select the OK, CANCEL, or ERASE buttons by clicking on them with your mouse, or by pressing the [Alt] key in conjunction with the letter highlighted for a particular button. b
OK indicates that you are reasonably sure the data is accurate and want the program to continue.
CANCEL means you want to abort this dialog and return to the desktop. All entries will be aborted and the current desktop contents will remain intact. V
ERASE means you want to erase all of the input fields and start with a blank dialog. c
Note there a some exceptions to inputting data, according to the type of chart you are modifying:
COMPOSITE CHARTS: 9
All input lines are blank and must be filled in by you.
RELATIONSHIP CHARTS: d
The Latitude and Longitude fields already contain the proper data and you should not replace them.
RELOCATION CHARTS: R
All input lines contain the current charts data and must be modified accordingly
LOCAL TRANSIT DEFAULTS: N
All input lines contain your locality data and must be modified accordingly.
CHART INPUT DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
You type in the chart data for each line, and press the Tab key to go to the next line or field. You press Shift-Tab to go to the proceeding line or field. Or, if using a mouse, you move the mouse cursor to the line you're interested in, and then click on it. Remember, the down arrow accesses the History Icon, which brings up History window for the current input line you are on. If you have created any charts previous to this one, there will be data in the history buffer, which you may, or may not, want to make use of.
Be sure to enter all of the data requested above. When you are done, you may select the OK, CANCEL, or ERASE buttons by clicking on them with your mouse, or by pressing the [Alt] key in conjunction with the letter highlighted for a particular button. b
OK indicates that you are reasonably sure the data is accurate and want the program to continue.
CANCEL means you want to abort this dialog and return to the desktop. All entries will be aborted and the current desktop contents will remain intact. V
ERASE means you want to erase all of the input fields and start with a blank dialog.
LUNAR/SOLAR RETURN DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
You type in the chart data for each line, and press the Tab key to go to the next line or field. You press Shift-Tab to go to the proceeding line or field. Or, if using a mouse, you move the mouse cursor to the line you're interested in, and then click on it. Remember, the down arrow accesses the History Icon, which brings up History window for the current input line you are on. If you have created any charts previous to this one, there will be data in the history buffer, which you may, or may not, want to make use of.
Be sure to enter all of the data requested above. When you are done, you may select the OK, CANCEL, or ERASE buttons by clicking on them with your mouse, or by pressing the [Alt] key in conjunction with the letter highlighted for a particular button. b
OK indicates that you are reasonably sure the data is accurate and want the program to continue.
CANCEL means you want to abort this dialog and return to the desktop. All entries will be aborted and the current desktop contents will remain intact. V
ERASE means you want to erase all of the input fields and start with a blank dialog. c
Note there a some exceptions to inputting data, according to the type of chart you are modifying:
LUNAR RETURN CHARTS: >
The Full Name field is not available. There are three additional fields called Position, Date/Position, and Precessed. Detailed help is available for these items by positioning the cursor on that field and pressing [F1]. The Month, Day, and Position fields are already filled in and should be modified accordingly.
SOLAR RETURN CHARTS:
The Full Name field is not available. There is an additional field called Precessed. Detailed help for this field is available by positioning the cursor on that field and pressing [F1]. The Month and Day fields are already filled in and should be modified accordingly.
HOUSE SELECT DIALOG Help DIALOG
HELP =
Use an arrow key to move the highlight bar to one of the thirteen house systems you would like to use. Alternatively, you may click on the house system of your choice with the mouse, or use the [Alt] key in conjunction with the highlighted letter of the alphabet that precedes each house system. Once your preferred house system is highlighted, press the [Enter] key, enter "Alt-O", or click on the OK button with the mouse to select that item. Clicking on CANCEL or entering "Alt-C" indicates you wish to abort everything done to this point and return to the desktop.
SIDEREAL SYSTEM DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Use an arrow key to move the highlight bar to one of the ten sidereal systems you would like to use. Alternatively, you may click on the sidereal system of your choice with the mouse, or use the [Alt] key in conjunction with the highlighted letter of the alphabet that precedes each sidereal system. Once your preferred sidereal system is highlighted, press the [Enter] key, "Alt-O", or click on the OK button with the mouse to select that item.
PROGRESSED YEAR DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help 3
Enter the year you wish to progress the chart to. q
Once you have entered the proper year, press "Alt-O", press [Enter], or click on the OK button with your mouse.
Clicking on the Close Icon or the CANCEL button will abort your selection and return you to the desktop. Alternatively, you may press [Esc] or enter "Alt-C".
DATA FILE NAME DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
Once you have entered a filename, either click on the OK button to write this chart to disk with the filename, or click on the CANCEL button to abort saving this file and return to the desktop. g
Alternatively, you may enter "Alt-O" to select the OK button, or "Alt-C" to select the CANCEL button.
A filename must consist of not more than 8 characters and conform to the MS- DOS file naming conventions (see your MS-DOS manual). The Astrologers' Assistant adds the appropriate filename extension depending on what type of chart is being processed.
REENTER FULL NAME DIALOG Help DIALOG
Help
You have been informed that this chart is already on disk and have selected not to overwrite it. Now you are being given a chance to enter a different chart name to save the chart to.
If you want to save this chart, be sure you've entered a new name. Then click on the OK button to save the chart under the new name, or click on the CANCEL button to abort saving this chart. y
Alternatively, you may enter "Alt-O" to save the chart or "Alt-C" to cancel saving the chart and return to the desktop.
SERIES 1-2-3 ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
Position your mouse on the brackets before each aspect in this series and click on that are to toggle using a particular aspect on/off. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the aspect and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off. $
Series 1 aspects are conjunctions. 6
Series 2 aspects are the "hard" aspects; the Octile, Square, Tri-Octile, and Opposition. The Octile and Tri-Octile are also known as the Semisquare and Sesquiquadrate. The "octile" names are used because the program utilizes two-letter abbreviations for the aspects, and there are only so many combinations. Z
Series 3 aspects are the "soft" aspects; the Semi-Sextile, Sextile, Trine, and Quincunx.
SERIES 5 ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
Position your mouse on the brackets before each aspect in this series and click on that are to toggle using a particular aspect on/off. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the aspect and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
SERIES 7 ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
Position your mouse on the brackets before each aspect in this series and click on that are to toggle using a particular aspect on/off. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the aspect and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
SERIES 9 ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
Position your mouse on the brackets before each aspect in this series and click on that are to toggle using a particular aspect on/off. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the aspect and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
MISC SERIES ASPECTS Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
Position your mouse on the brackets before each aspect in this series and click on that are to toggle using a particular aspect on/off. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the aspect and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
BI-NOVILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
BI-QUINTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
BI-SEPTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
CONJUNCTION ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
DECILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
NOVILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
OCTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
OPPOSITION ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
QUATRI-NOVILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
QUINCUNX ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
QUINDECILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
QUINTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SEMI-OCTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SEMI-SEPTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SEMI-SEXTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SEPTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SEXTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
SQUARE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
TREDECILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
TRINE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
TRINOCH ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
TRI-OCTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
TRI-SEPTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
VIGINTILE ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
UNDECAGON ORB Help ASPECTS
DISPLAY
To modify this aspect, type in the degree of orb that you prefer, in the format DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
45 TREES Help MIDPOINT
Help
The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
90 TREES Help MIDPOINT
Help
The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
180 TREES Help MIDPOINT
Help
The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
360 TREES Help MIDPOINT
Help
The proper entry for the orb degrees is DD.MM, where DD is a number from 1 to 12 degrees and MM is a number from 0 to 99 minutes. Note that the minutes are in decimal notation!
MOUSE DOUBLE CLICK Help MOUSE
Help
Use the arrow keys to move the Scroll Bar Indicator toward "Fast" for increased sensitivity responsiveness to double clicks of the mouse button, or toward "Slow" for decreased sensitivity.
REVERSE MOUSE BUTTON Help MOUSE
Help
If you want to use the right mouse button instead of the left, use the [Tab] key or "Alt-R" sequence to highlight the Reversed Mouse Buttons option, and press the [Spacebar] to toggle this option on. Alternatively, you can just click on this option with your mouse.
ANGLES Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
ASTEROIDS Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
COMPOSITE ANGLES Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
MOON Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
PLANETS Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
TRANSNEPTUNIANS Help PLANETS
DISPLAY
To toggle a body on or off, position your mouse on the brackets before the body you are interested in and click on it. Alternatively, you may use the arrow keys to highlight the body and press the [Spacebar] to toggle the aspect on/off.
TYPE OF PRINTER Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Use your arrow keys to highlight the type of printer you want. Alternatively, click on the vertical scrollbar arrow icons to traverse the list until the printer you want is highlighted.
If you choose the Custom Printer option, ensure that your printer can support the Epson "ESC * m n1 n2 data" sequence, or your graphic printouts will become garbage!
10 CPI Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that make your printer output at 10 characters per inch. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space.
12 CPI Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that make your printer output at 12 characters per inch. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space.
15 CPI Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that make your printer output at 15 characters per inch. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space. J
If your printer doesn't support 15 CPI, use the codes to turn 17 CPI ON.
17 CPI ON Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that make your printer output at 17 characters per inch. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space.
17 CPI OFF Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that turn off printer output at 17 characters per inch. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space.
UNI ON Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that make your printer output in Uni-directional mode. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space.
The Unidirectional On and Off printer codes do not apply to the HP Laserjet printer. Instead, these fields are used for the primary symbol set and the dots per inch codes, respectively.
UNI OFF Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
Enter the printer control codes that turn off Uni-Directional output to your printer. Enter them in as decimal numbers, separating each number with a space. R
If you don't have an "OFF" mode, enter the codes to turn bi-directional mode on.
The Unidirectional On and Off printer codes do not apply to the HP Laserjet printer. Instead, these fields are used for the primary symbol set and the dots per inch codes, respectively.
OPTIONS Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES g
Toggling the Filter Graphic Characters option will filter extended ASCII drawing characters to appear as normal ASCII representations in your printouts. This feature is useful if your printer doesn't support printing these type of characters, or if you re-direct your printer output to a disk file for upload to a system that doesn't support extended ASCII.
Toggling the Print To Disk option will re-direct print data to a disk file. The Astrologer's Assistant automatically assigns a unique file name to each print file, starting with ASSIST.001 and incrementing the file extension by +1 up to ASSIST.999. Once 999 has been reached, the program starts over with .001. Be sure to periodically erase unwanted print files to ensure your data does not get overwritten!
TIMEOUT Help PRINTER
PREFERENCES
The Timeout Value is used to determine how long MS-DOS waits to decide your printer is offline or in an error condition mode. DOS can wait up to 45 seconds to decide there's something wrong with your printer, and lock up any programs being run for the interim. The Astrologer's Assistant reassigns the timeout value to 2 seconds while printing, and replaces the regular DOS value when it is done with a print job. You may enter any value you like, within the range of 1 to 60 seconds.
ASPECT INFORMATION Help ASPECTS
Help
The Aspect Information window that appears supplies detailed information concerning this aspect. The information that appears is based on whether the window is displaying House, Midpoint, Planetary, or Transit aspects.
HOUSE: q
The first line shows the position of the planet involved in this aspect in zodiac notation, 360 degree notation, and their declination. The second line is the same, but it shows the House involved. The last line indicates the type of aspect, whether it is applying, exact, or separating, the angle of the aspect, and the degree of orb involved in making this aspect.
MIDPOINT: i
The first line shows the position of the midpoint involved in this aspect in zodiac notation, 360 degree notation, and their declination. The second line is similar to the first, except that it shows the planet involved in this aspect. The last line indicates the type of aspect, the angle of the aspect, and the degree of orb involved in making this aspect.
PLANETARY: 7
The first two lines show the position of the planets involved in this aspect in zodiac notation, 360 degree notation, and their declination. The last line indicates the type of aspect, whether it is applying, exact, or separating, the angle of the aspect, and the degree of orb involved in making this aspect.
SYNASTRIC and TRANSIT:
The first two lines show the position of the planets involved in this aspect in zodiac notation, 360 degree notation, and their declination. The last line indicates the type of aspect, the angle of the aspect, and the degree of orb involved in making this aspect. o
To close the Aspect Information window, press any key, or click on any area of the Aspect Information window.
HOUSE ASPECTARIAN Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The top of the aspectarian contains the house cusp numbers for the aspectarian cells. The left and right side of the aspectarian contain the planet abbreviations for the aspectarian cells. Navigate the highlight box through the aspectarian until you reach the cell you are interested in. Alternatively, you may click on the cell with your mouse. Once the appropriate cell is highlighted, either click on it twice or press [Enter] to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect. b
Refer to the ASPECTS Help section for detailed information on how to navigate the highlight box.
MIDPOINT ASPECTARIAN Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The top of the aspectarian contains the abbreviations for the aspectarian cells that match the planets for the current chart. The left side of the of the aspectarian contains the abbreviations for aspectarian cells that correspond to the midpoint pairs of the current chart. Navigate the highlight box through the aspectarian until you reach the cell you are interested in. Alternatively, you may click on the cell with your mouse. Once the appropriate cell is highlighted, either click on it twice or press [Enter] to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect. b
Refer to the ASPECTS Help section for detailed information on how to navigate the highlight box.
PLANET ASPECTARIAN Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The top and left sides of the of the aspectarian contain the planet abbreviations for the aspectarian cells. Navigate the highlight box through the aspectarian until you reach the cell you are interested in. Alternatively, you may click on the cell with your mouse. Once the appropriate cell is highlighted, either click on it twice or press [Enter] to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect. b
Refer to the ASPECTS Help section for detailed information on how to navigate the highlight box.
SYNASTRIC ASPECTARIAN Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The top of the aspectarian contains the planet abbreviations for the synastry charts aspectarian cells. The left and right side of the aspectarian contain the planet abbreviations for the radical chart. Navigate the highlight box through the aspectarian until you reach the cell you are interested in. Alternatively, you may click on the cell with your mouse. Once the appropriate cell is highlighted, either click on it twice or press [Enter] to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect. b
Refer to the ASPECTS Help section for detailed information on how to navigate the highlight box.
TRANSIT ASPECTARIAN Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The top of the aspectarian contains the planet abbreviations for the transiting charts aspectarian cells. The left and right side of the aspectarian contain the planet abbreviations for the radical chart. Navigate the highlight box through the aspectarian until you reach the cell you are interested in. Alternatively, you may click on the cell with your mouse. Once the appropriate cell is highlighted, either click on it twice or press [Enter] to bring up an Aspect Information window which provides you with detailed information about this aspect. b
Refer to the ASPECTS Help section for detailed information on how to navigate the highlight box.
ARABIC PARTS Help DISPLAYS
Help a
The Arabic Parts option of the Displays menu allows you to view quite a few of the Arabic Parts associated with the current chart in memory. You'll see an Arabic Parts window that shows the more common Arabic Parts associated with the current chart, and Arabic Parts that deal with crop prognosticaion and equinox, solstice, and full/new moon charts.
The Arabic Points window is scrollable. You may click on the appropriate arrow attached to either scrollbar to scroll the window in that direction, or you may simply use the appropriate arrow keys. P
Selecting the [P] option from the status line will print out the Arabic Parts. N
Pressing the [Esc] key will remove the Arabic Parts window from the desktop. J
NOTE: Sources differ as to when an Arabic part should be calculated one
way for a day chart and another for a night chart. The Arabic Parts
window is broken up into three sections. The top portion contains
the common Arabic Parts associated with the chart. The middle section
shows the parts associated with crop prognostication, and the last
section displays Arabic Parts associated with equinox, solstice,
and new/full moon charts.
The first set of Arabic Points conform with the way Blue Star
calcualtes the points, which ignores daylight/nightime charts
for the most part. The crop and equinox Arabic Parts use the
daylight/nightime methods.
TRANSIT CALENDAR Help DISPLAYS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
The Monthly Transit Calender window is scrollable. You may click on the appropriate arrow attached to either Scroll Bar to scroll the window in that direction, or you may simply use the appropriate arrow keys. R
The original chart data appears in the upper left corner of the window. The transiting chart data appears in the upper right corner of the window (not shown because the window needs to be scrolled to the right). The transits are displayed in boxes by days, with the day of the week at the top of the boxes, just like a regular calendar.
Because of the physical limitations of what can be put inside each daily box, only the primary planets (Sun through Pluto, Moon and Mean Node) are shown. The orbs are determined by your preferences in the Prefer Menu under ASPECTS -> Transit l
NOTE: The month that appears in the window depends on the type of transit chart you have in memory. If it is a transit chart you created, the month is what you entered when creating the transit chart. If it is a local transit chart, the month is grabbed from the system clock. If it is a retrieved chart, the month is based on the date of the retrieved chart.
CHART QUALITIES Help DISPLAYS
Help
The QUALITIES option of the Displays Menu allows you to view the various planetary qualities of the primary bodies. You get a Chart Qualities window that shows the planet name, sign, quality, quadriplicity, triplicity, polarity, and angularity of these bodies.
The CHART QUALITIES window shows the primary bodies down the left side of the window. Labels across the top of the window identify the sign the body is in and the quality, quadriplicity, triplicity, polarity, and angularity that is applicable for that body.
There are several other tables that also appear in this window, further breaking down the quadriplicities, triplicities, polarities and angularities so you may see the aggregate totals involved.
The Chart Qualities window is scrollable. You may click on the appropriate arrow attached to either Scroll Bar to scroll the window in that direction, or you may simply use the appropriate arrow keys.
SORTED ASPECTS (HOUSES) Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing aspects in order by sorted angles allows you to quickly see all of the actual aspects grouped together, i.e, Conjunctions, Sextiles, Squares, Trines, Oppositions, etc. The 1st column indicates the planet as noted in the left hand side of the aspectarian. The 2nd column indicates the Houses as noted across the top of the aspectarian. The orb column shows the degree of orb involved in this aspect. The angle column shows the angle of the aspect, and the Aspect column shows the name of the aspect. Seeing as you selected to sort by Angle, the Angle and Aspect column are the areas you will be most interested in.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted orbs allows you to quickly see which aspects are the most influential, and which ones are just barely within orb. The information is the same as described above, except that your focus should be on the Orb column contents. :
Viewing aspects in order by sorted planets allows you to quickly see what the aspects are to a particular house. The important column here is the 2nd column, which is sorted by house. I know, the Aspect Sort Order dialog option you chose was "Planet" but this aspectarian differs from all others in that you are aspecting planets to houses. In this instance, your "focus" is on the houses, so you get a sort by house. Please note that this is not an alphabetical sort, but by house order, i.e., from the 1st house to the the 12th house. The 1st column is in planetary order, from the Sun out to Pluto, with the Moon following, then the Transneptunians, Asteroids, and finally the Angles. What is actually displayed is dependent on how your preferences are set from within the Prefer Menu, PLANETS -> Other Aspectarians.
Regardless of which type of sorted aspect data is displayed, you can move the highlight bar down the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar. Press [Enter] or double click on a selection to bring up the Aspect Information window.
SORTED ASPECTS (MIDPOINTS) Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing aspects in order by sorted angles allows you to quickly see all of the actual aspects grouped together, i.e, Conjunctions, Sextiles, Squares, Trines, Oppositions, etc. The 1st column indicates the midpoint as noted in the left hand side of the aspectarian. The 2nd column indicates the planet as noted across the top of the aspectarian. The orb column snows the degree of orb involved in this aspect. The angle column shows the angle of the aspect, and the Aspect column shows the name of the aspect. Seeing as you selected to sort by Angle, the Angle and Aspect column are the areas you will be most interested in.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted orbs allows you to quickly see which aspects are the most influential, and which ones are just barely within orb. The information is the same as described above, except that your focus should be on the Orb column contents.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted planets allows you to quickly see what the aspects are to a particular planet. The important column here is the 2nd column, which is sorted by planet. Please note that this is not an alphabetical sort, but by planetary order, i.e., from the Sun out to Pluto, with the Moon following, then the Transneptunians, Asteroids, and finally the Angles. What is actually displayed is dependent on how your preferences are set from within the Prefer Menu, PLANETS -> Midpoint Aspectarian..
Regardless of which type of sorted aspect data is displayed, you can move the highlight bar down the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar. Press [Enter] or double click on a selection to bring up the Aspect Information window.
SORTED ASPECTS (PLANETS) Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing aspects in order by sorted angles allows you to quickly see all of the actual aspects grouped together, i.e, Conjunctions, Sextiles, Squares, Trines, Oppositions, etc. The 1st column indicates the planet as noted in the left hand side of the aspectarian. The 2nd column indicates the planet as noted across the top of the aspectarian. The orb column snows the degree of orb involved in this aspect. The angle column shows the angle of the aspect, and the Aspect column shows the name of the aspect. Seeing as you selected to sort by Angle, the Angle and Aspect column are the areas you will be most interested in.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted orbs allows you to quickly see which aspects are the most influential, and which ones are just barely within orb. The information is the same as described above, except that your focus should be on the Orb column contents.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted planets allows you to quickly see what the aspects are to a particular planet. The important column here is the 2nd column, which is sorted by planet. Please note that this is not an alphabetical sort, but by planetary order, i.e., from the Sun out to Pluto, with the Moon following, then the Transneptunians, Asteroids, and finally the Angles. What is actually displayed is dependent on how your preferences are set from within the Prefer Menu, PLANETS - Other Aspectarians.
Regardless of which type of sorted aspect data is displayed, you can move the highlight bar down the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar. Press [Enter] or double click on a selection to bring up the Aspect Information window.
SORTED ASPECTS (SYNASTRY) Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing aspects in order by sorted angles allows you to quickly see all of the actual aspects grouped together, i.e, Conjunctions, Sextiles, Squares, Trines, Oppositions, etc. The 1st column indicates the planet as noted in the left hand side of the aspectarian. The 2nd column indicates the planet as noted across the top of the aspectarian. The orb column snows the degree of orb involved in this aspect. The angle column shows the angle of the aspect, and the Aspect column shows the name of the aspect. Seeing as you selected to sort by Angle, the Angle and Aspect column are the areas you will be most interested in.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted orbs allows you to quickly see which aspects are the most influential, and which ones are just barely within orb. The information is the same as described above, except that your focus should be on the Orb column contents.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted planets allows you to quickly see what the aspects are to a particular planet. The important column here is the 2nd column, which is sorted by planet. Please note that this is not an alphabetical sort, but by planetary order, i.e., from the Sun out to Pluto, with the Moon following, then the Transneptunians, Asteroids, and finally the Angles. What is actually displayed is dependent on how your preferences are set from within the Prefer Menu, PLANETS -> Other Aspectarians.
Regardless of which type of sorted aspect data is displayed, you can move the highlight bar down the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar. Press [Enter] or double click on a selection to bring up the Aspect Information window.
SORTED ASPECTS (TRANSITS) Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing aspects in order by sorted angles allows you to quickly see all of the actual aspects grouped together, i.e, Conjunctions, Sextiles, Squares, Trines, Oppositions, etc. The 1st column indicates the planet as noted in the left hand side of the aspectarian. The 2nd column indicates the planet as noted across the top of the aspectarian. The orb column snows the degree of orb involved in this aspect. The angle column shows the angle of the aspect, and the Aspect column shows the name of the aspect. Seeing as you selected to sort by Angle, the Angle and Aspect column are the areas you will be most interested in.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted orbs allows you to quickly see which aspects are the most influential, and which ones are just barely within orb. The information is the same as described above, except that your focus should be on the Orb column contents.
Viewing aspects in order by sorted planets allows you to quickly see what the aspects are to a particular planet. The important column here is the 2nd column, which is sorted by planet. Please note that this is not an alphabetical sort, but by planetary order, i.e., from the Sun out to Pluto, with the Moon following, then the Transneptunians, Asteroids, and finally the Angles. What is actually displayed is dependent on how your preferences are set from within the Prefer Menu, PLANETS -> Other Aspectarians.
Regardless of which type of sorted aspect data is displayed, you can move the highlight bar down the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar. Press [Enter] or double click on a selection to bring up the Aspect Information window.
MIDPOINT LIST Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing the midpoints in order by planet allows you to quickly see all of the actual midpoint pairs grouped together, i.e, Ascendant midpoints, Chiron midpoints, Jupiter midpoints. There are two Mdpnt columns, both holding the midpoint names. This is an alphabetical listing, from A to Z. The angle column shows the position of the midpoint in 360 degree notation. The zodiac column shows the position of the midpoint in zodiac notation. Seeing as you selected to list by planet, you should focus your attention on either of the Mdpnt columns. *
Viewing the midpoints in order by zodiac allows you to quickly see all of the actual midpoint pairs grouped together by zodiac, i.e, all of the midpoints in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc. There are two Mdpnt columns, both holding the midpoint names. This is a numeric listing, from 1 to 360. The angle column shows the position of the midpoint in 360 degree notation. The zodiac column shows the position of the midpoint in zodiac notation. Seeing as you selected to list by zodiac, you should focus your attention on either then Angle or Zodiac column.
Midpoint lists show the radical position of the planet as a single entry. For example, in the above list the radical position of the Sun is denoted by "Su- ", and that of Mercury by "Me- ".
NOTE: Midpoint Lists have no highlight bar, but they do have a vertical scrollbar that allows you to scroll through the list.
Regardless of which type of midpoint list is displayed, you can move through the list with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar.
MIDPOINT TREE Help ASPECTS
Help /
ABBREVIATIONS
Viewing the Midpoint Tree allows you to quickly see all of the actual midpoint pairs grouped together by radical, i.e, all of the midpoints to the Sun, Mercury, Venus, etc. The top of each tree indicates the radical planet the tree belongs to. The actual radical position in the tree is marked by a "box" on the tree trunk. Any other radicals in a tree that are within midpoint orb are displayed with a double line branching off the right hand side off of the trunk, as you may note with the Moon in the Mars tree above. The Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Midheaven personal points, when combined as midpoint pairs, are denoted by a double line branch. If you scroll the midpoint tree you'll find such a personal midpoint pair in the Saturn tree between the Sun and Midheaven. The midpoint trees are based on planetary order within the Midpoint Tree window; Sun through Pluto, Moon, Transneptunians, Asteroids, Angles, etc.
Regardless of which type of midpoint tree is displayed, you can move through the tree with the cursor keys or by using the mouse on the vertical scrollbar.
NOTE: Midpoint Trees have no highlight bar, but they do have a vertical scrollbar that allows you to scroll through the tree.
ALL ABOUT DIALOGS MAIN
Help l
No man is an Island, or so the saying goes. The same holds true for computer programs, for without user interaction, a program has no knowledge of what you may require of it. The Astrologer's Assistant is designed to allow you to converse with it, to tell it what you want it to do, and by the same token, let it tell you when it can not carry out your wishes.
Interaction with the program is done through specialized windows called dialogs. Whenever the Astrologer's Assistant needs information from you, it puts up a dialog, requesting you enter the proper data, or make an appropriate selection. If the program encounters a problem, or just wants to ensure that you are aware that some action is taking place, it puts up a message in a dialog and waits for you to respond to it.
Topics:
What
Dialog?
CheckBoxes
Close
Controls
Dialog
Buttons
Frames
History
Input
Lines
Labels
List
Boxes
Radio
Buttons
Scrollbars
Sliders
Titles
WHAT IS A DIALOG? DIALOG
Help
Dialogs are like Data windows, in that they are also a rectangular region on the screen, with a distinct solid double line border around them. The major difference between a dialog and a Data window is that the dialog not only displays information, but it waits for you to either modify that information or acknowledge it. Therefore, dialogs contain specialized "controls" to focus your attention on what needs to be done.
DIALOG FRAMES DIALOG
Help
When a dialog appears on the desktop, it receives "focus." This means that the dialog is the window that is currently in use. When a dialog receives focus, it wants all of your attention. Unlike regular Data windows, you may not ignore the window by jumping to another window that is on the desktop, nor can select items from the Menu Bar or the Status Line. The dialog is trying to talk to you, and will cancel all program actions until you either acknowledge it or dismiss it.
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Window Frame-->
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG TITLES DIALOG
Help
Like it's cousin, the Data window, dialogs also have a title, centered inside the window frame on the very top of the dialog. The Printer Preferences dialog has a title of "Window Preferences."
Dialog Title
|
|
v
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG CONTROLS DIALOG
Help
Controls are anything that appears within a dialog window. Controls are usually grouped together, so you can easily associate what type of information is available for you to manipulate. Controls are also associated with an identifying label, so you know what the control does.
DIALOG BUTTONS DIALOG
Help
Buttons are small rectangular windows that appear in dialogs. If you have a color monitor, the Buttons will appear as brown, or red, depending on whether you have a VGA or EGA video card. Buttons are shaded underneath, so that if you click on them with your mouse, and hold the mouse button down, the shadow will disappear, thereby giving the impression that the button is being depressed.
Buttons usually indicate that you want to perform some specific action that is related to the functionality of that dialog. They are usually labeled as OK, Cancel, Yes, No, Erase, Delete, etc.
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
^ ^ ^
| | |
| | |
Buttons
DIALOG CHECKBOXES DIALOG
Help
Checkboxes are a type of control that appear in dialogs. They allow you to toggle various program features on or off with the [SpaceBar] key, or by clicking on them with the mouse. When toggled on, an "X" appears within the brackets. When toggled off, the brackets are empty.
The Printer Preferences dialog has a Checkbox that allows you to enable filtering of graphic characters or sending your output to disk instead of the printer.
The Close Icon is situated in the upper left corner of the window frame. It is represented by a square enclosed by brackets. The purpose of this icon is to allow you to close a dialog by clicking on the icon with your mouse. When a dialog is closed, it is permanently removed from the desktop. Closing a dialog is usually equivalent to saying, "I don't want to do this." Alternate methods of closing a dialog are pressing [Esc] or the "Alt-F3" keys. a
Close Icon
|
|
v
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG HISTORY ICONS DIALOG
Help
This icon is not reproducible here in the documentation, but is easily distinguished by the large white down arrow that appears inside a purple square. History Icons are only associated with an Input Line, and therefore only appear in dialog windows. They indicate that a History window is available for this Input Line. Click your mouse button on this Icon, or press the [Down Arrow] key to activate the History window.
The Printer Preferences dialog doesn't contain any History Icons, but the Data File Name dialog has a History Icon at the end of its Input Line.
Data File Name
erlewine X <--- History Icon
OK
Cancel
DIALOG INPUT LINES DIALOG
Help @
Input Lines are only found within dialogs. They are there for you to enter data that the program may require at any given moment. Input Lines are semi-intelligent, in that they know what format the data must take, and in that they usually remember what has been previously entered through the use of History windows. s
Refer to APPENDIX C for specifics regarding cursor movement and editing capabilities associated with Input Lines.
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80 <--- All
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77 <--- of
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103 <--- these
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15 <--- are
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18 <--- Input
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1 <--- Lines
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0 <---
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2 <---
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG LABELS DIALOG
Help
Labels are found only within the confines of a dialog. Seeing as dialogs can have many Controls within their boundaries, Labels provide a mechanism whereby these controls can be quickly selected from the keyboard. 5
A Label consists of a word, or group of words, that define what a specific dialog control does. One letter in this word, or group of words, is usually highlighted. Pressing the [Alt] key, and while holding this key down, pressing the highlighted letter will activate the control associated with the Label.
Mouse users will find Labels only useful for their information content, seeing as they can click on any area within a dialog to activate the desired control.
The Printer Preferences dialog has 10 different labels, all of which are preceded in the example below by an asterisk. Note that the asterisk is only used in this example and does not normally appear before a label in a real dialog.
Printer Preferences
*Type Of Printer *10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin *12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
*15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
*17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
*17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
*Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer *Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
*Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars *Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG LIST BOXES DIALOG
Help
These are much like a scrollable window, except they only appear within a dialog. There are times when the available program options far surpass the physical confines of the screen for display purposes. This is where List Boxes come in useful.
A listbox will display a consecutive list of items for selection. You scroll the highlight bar through the List Box until it falls on the option you want to use. This allows the items to remain grouped together, and provides you with an easy-to-use selection mechanism. ^
The Printer Preferences dialog has a List Box immediately beneath the Type Of Printer Label.
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
List Box ---> HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG RADIO BUTTONS DIALOG
Help
Radio Buttons are a type of control that appear in dialogs. They allow you to select one, and only one, item from amongst a group of options. Their name comes from the old-style radios that had similar buttons to select channels with. k
Whereas Checkboxes are indicated with by brackets, Radio Buttons are indicated by the use of parenthesis.
The Type Of Chart dialog has a set of Radio Buttons that allows you to choose what type of chart you want to create or retrieve.
Type Of Chart
Radio ---> (.) Natal
Buttons ---> ( ) Composite
---> ( ) Relationship
OK
Cancel
DIALOG SCROLL BARS DIALOG
Help
Scrollbars are attached to List Boxes to indicate that not all of the data available is being displayed. In other words, this List Box can be scrolled to display additional data.
Scrollbars can be vertical or horizontal, and usually indicate which way a List box can be scrolled. A List Box can have either a vertical or horizontal Scrollbar, but never both. ^
The Scrollbar will have an arrow at each end of it, with a Slider between the arrows. You can click on the arrows to scroll one step at a time, or you can click on the Slider, and while holding down the mouse button, move it to wherever you want on the Scrollbar. See APPENDIX C for details on which keys are available for Scrollbar manipulation. x
The Type Of Printer List Box of the Printer Preferences dialog has a Scrollbar to the immediate right of the List Box.
Printer Preferences
Type Of Printer 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
ProPrinter 8-Pin
<--SCROLLBAR
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
DIALOG SLIDERS DIALOG
Help
A Slider is always associated with a Scrollbar. It is the little square situated between the two arrows that mark each end of the Scrollbar. A Slider indicates the relative position from the beginning or end of a view you are currently situated at. h
You can use the mouse to grab a slider and move it, or any of the cursor keys described in APPENDIX C. }
Note the slider at the top of the ScrollBar to the right of the Type Of Printer List Box in the Printer Preferences dialog.
Printer Preferences
SLIDER
Type Of Printer | 10 cpi: 27 80
Epson 8-Pin v 12 Cpi: 27 77
Epson 24-Pin
15 Cpi: 27 103
HP Laser Jet
17 Cpi On : 15
ProPrinter 8-Pin
17 Cpi Off: 18
ProPrinter 24-Pin
Unidirect On : 27 85 1
Custom Printer Unidirect Off: 27 85 0
Options
[ ] Filter Graphic Chars Timeout Value: 2
[ ] Print To Disk
Ok
Cancel
Reset
WINDOWS Help MAIN
Help ~
The Astrologer's Assistant, while an MS-DOS application, is windows oriented; that is, it uses windows as its mode of communication with you, the user. All data generated by the program is placed within the confines of various windows. To help you get the most out of the program, it is essential that you understand the various windows concepts upon which the program is based.
Topics: M
What
Window?
Frames
Icons
Movement
Navigation
Scrollbars
Titles
WHAT IS A WINDOW WINDOW
Help
Windows are simply a rectangular region on the screen, usually with a distinct border around them. The Astrologer's Assistant uses these windows to display various pieces of information to you, in response to your menu selections. z
While any rectangular region with a border around it is technically a window, you should note that there are distinct differences in the types of windows. There are Menu Bars, Menu Items, Status Lines, desktops, dialogs, and Data windows. This section covers the latter, those windows that appear within the confines of the desktop and display various types of data in them.
WINDOW FRAMES WINDOW
Help
Windows receive and lose "focus" as you jump about the various windows that appear on the desktop. Focus simply means that you are presently using a window, in which case it is in focus, or not using it, in which case it is not in focus.
The window frame is important in that it tells you if the window is presently focused. If the frame is a solid double line, as shown in the Chart Qualities window above, then that window is focused. When a window is focused, all cursor keys operate on that window, the Status Line reflects what's available for that window, and printing will be for that windows contents. The window frame changes to a single solid line when the window loses focus.
CHART QUALITIES: Natal - Erlewine, Mike
Name/Sign Quality Quad Trip Polarity
Su - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Window Frame-->
Me - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Ve - Le
Fire
Fixed
Masculine
WINDOW TITLES WINDOW
Help +
Every window has a title, centered inside the window frame on the very top of the window. The Chart Qualities window has a title of CHART QUALITIES: Type of Chart and Name Of Chart. The title may be larger than the actual window -- it depends on the size of the window and the size of the title. )
Window Title
|
|
v
CHART QUALITIES: Natal - Erlewine, Mike
Name/Sign Quality Quad Trip Polarity
Su - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Me - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Ve - Le
Fire
Fixed
Masculine
WINDOW ICONS WINDOW
Help
An icon is a graphical representation that invites you to click on it with your mouse to execute a specific action. The Astrologer's Assistant's windows use icons, but seeing as the program is an MS-DOS application, the icons are text-based instead of graphical.
Windows may have up to several Icons. Note that while Icons may only be accessed with a mouse, they still provide valuable information on the characteristics of a window, which may also be accessed via the keyboard or a menu option.
Close Icon Zoom Icon
v v
CHART QUALITIES: Natal - Erlewine, Mike
Name/Sign Quality Quad Trip Polarity
Su - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Me - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Ve - Le
Fire
Fixed
Masculine
^
Resize Icon
WINDOW CLOSE ICON
The Close Icon is situated in the upper left corner of the window frame. It is represented by a square enclosed by brackets. The purpose of this icon is to allow you to close a window by clicking on the icon with your mouse. When a window is closed, it is permanently removed from the desktop. You should close windows only when you are done using them. Alternate methods of closing a window are to select the CLOSE option from the WINDOWS Menu on the Menu Bar, or by pressing [Esc] or the "Alt-F3" keys while the window is focused.
WINDOW RESIZE ICON R
The Resize Icon is located on the bottom right corner of the window frame. It is represented by a single solid line and is only noticeable when a window is focused. Remember, window frames are double solid lines when focused and single solid lines when not, therefore a Resize Icon would not be noticeable on an unfocused window. Clicking on this icon and holding the mouse button down, allows you to "pull" the corner of the window out, down, up, or back in, thereby resizing the window. You would want to resize a window if you want to expand the window to allow visibility to more data.
Not all windows can be resized, and even if they can be, there may be resizing limitations on the window itself. If you are trying to resize a window and it won't resize in the direction you want it to, chances are it can't be resized that way. Look at the scrollbars attached to a window. If there is no scrollbar for that particular direction, it can't be resized that way. The same holds true if there is a scrollbar, but no scrollbar slider.
If you are using a keyboard, you can resize windows by either selecting the Move/Resize option of the Windows Menu on the Menu Bar, or by pressing the "Ctrl-F5" keys. This causes the window frame to turn the same color as the Close Icon. While the frame is colored, use the "Shift-Arrow" keys to resize the window in the direction you want, where "Arrow" is either the up, down, left, or right arrow. When you are done resizing, simply press the [Enter] key to return the Window Frame back to its normal state.
WINDOW ZOOM ICON
The Zoom Icon is located in the top Right corner of the Window Frame. It is recognizable by an arrow enclosed by brackets. This icon indicates that the window may be expanded, thereby allowing you to view a larger amount of data. If the arrow within the brackets is pointing upward, then the window is ready to expand. If the arrow is pointing both upward and downward, then the window has already been expanded and is ready to contract back to its original state.
To zoom a window, simply click on the Zoom Icon with your mouse. Keyboard users may select the Zoom option of the Windows Menu on the Menu Bar, or press the [F5] key to zoom a window. 6
Note that windows have predefined size limits, however, the amount of data inside a window is variable, based on preferences you set in the Prefer Menu area. Therefore, a window may have a Zoom Icon, but do nothing when you try to zoom it. It may even contract and stay contracted, or zoom and stay zoomed!
WINDOW SCROLLBARS WINDOW
Help (
To minimize the occurrence of a window completely covering up another window, predefined size limitations exist for all windows. This means that if a window has a lot of data inside of it, it can't possibly be displayed all at once. Therefore, windows are have the option of being scrollable, ?
Windows may scroll either up and down (vertically) or left and right (horizontally). Windows have scrollbars attached to them to indicate that this feature is available. A window may have no scrollbars, a vertical scrollbar, a horizontal scrollbar, or both. It all depends on what type of data the window contains.
CHART QUALITIES: Natal - Erlewine, Mike
Name/Sign Quality Quad Trip Polarity
<--Scrollbar
Su - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
Slider
Me - Ca
Water
Cardinal
Feminine
<--Vertical
Scrollbar
Ve - Le
Fire
Fixed
Masculine
^ ^
| |
| |
Scrollbar Slider Horizontal Scrollbar
Scrollbars are comprised of three items: the actual scrollbar, an arrow at either end of the scrollbar (not shown in above diagram), and a slider mechanism that traverses the length of the scrollbar as it is used.
Let's look at the arrows at either end of a scrollbar first. These arrows indicate the direction of movement on the scrollbar. [
If you're looking at a vertical scrollbar, you have an up arrow at the top of the scrollbar, and a down arrow at the bottom of the scrollbar. Makes sense, because the only direction you can go is up or down, right? Clicking your mouse on the up or down arrow of the scrollbar will make the window scroll in that direction in one line increments. S
If you're looking at a horizontal scrollbar, you have a left arrow at the left of the scrollbar and a right arrow at the right of the scrollbar. Naturally, these indicate you may scroll the window to the left or the right. Clicking on the appropriate arrow will cause the window to scroll in that direction in one character increments.
As the window scrolls, you should note that the slider attached to the scrollbar moves too. If you want to quickly move about the window, click on the slider with your mouse, hold down the mouse button, and drag the slider wherever you want on the scrollbar. Once you get there, let the mouse button go. By the same token, you may click on the scrollbar between the slider and one of the scrollbar arrows to scroll in "window" increments, which is sort of like a page at a time.
If you're using a keyboard, there are no menu equivalents for scrollbar manipulation. However, the following key commands will do everything that is available by mouse, and then some.
[Left Arrow] - Move left one character position.
[Right Arrow] - Move right one character position.
[Down Arrow] - Move down one line.
[Up Arrow] - Move up one line.
[Ctrl]-[Left Arrow] - Move left the width of the current window.
[Ctrl]-[Right Arrow] - Move right the width of the current window. Y
[Ctrl]-[PgUp] - Move up to the very first line.
[Ctrl]-[PgDn] - Move down to the very last line.
[PgUp] - Move up the height of the current window.
[PgDn] - Move down the height of the current window.
[Home] - Move to beginning of the line.
[End] - Move to end of the line.
WINDOW MOVEMENT WINDOW
Help
Just because the Astrologer's Assistant places a window at a specific point on the desktop doesn't mean that it has to stay there. You are allowed to grab windows, move them anywhere you want, and then drop them there. You may do this with a mouse, or with the keyboard. ?
If you are using a mouse, click anywhere on the Window Title area, but be careful not to click on the Close Icon or the Zoom Icon. If the window is focused, you only need to click once and hold the mouse button down. If the window is not focused, you'll need to click once to focus that window, and then once again. W
When you click on a Window Title, and hold the mouse button down, the window frame changes to the same color as that of the Close Icon. This indicates that the window is ready to be moved. While holding the button down, simply drag the mouse cursor to wherever you want to put the window, and once you're there, let go of the mouse button.
If you're using the keyboard, you may either select the Move/Resize option in the Windows Menu of the Menu Bar, or press the "Ctrl-F5" keys. Once the window frame turns the same color as that of the Close Icon, use the following keys to move the window about the desktop.
[Left Arrow] - Move window left on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Right Arrow] - Move window right on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Down Arrow] - Move window down on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Up Arrow] - Move window up on desktop. Works only if window
[Ctrl]-[Right Arrow] - Move window 8 characters right
[End] - Move window flush right on desktop.
[Home] - Move window flush left on desktop.
[PgDn] - Move window flush over Status Line.
[PgUp] - Move window flush under Menu Bar.
WINDOW NAVIGATION WINDOW
Help
As you select the various menu options, more and more windows will pop up on the desktop. You'll want to be able to navigate back and forth amongst the windows, and that's what this section describes.
The easiest method of navigating between the windows is to use your mouse. You simply click on the window you want, and it becomes focused.
If you are using the keyboard, you may select the various options in the Windows Menu on the Menu Bar, or simply type in any of the following key commands.
[F6] - Select to next available window.
[Shift]-[F6] - Select previous window.
[Alt]-[Number] - Activate window with this number.
Not all windows have numbers.
ABBREVIATIONS Help MAIN
Help
The Astrologer's Assistant makes use of quite a few abbreviations. I've tried to keep them standard with other astrology packages and books. There may be a few oddball ones here and there though, so a complete listing follows:
Topics: F
Angles
Aspects
Asteroids
Planets
Transneptunians
Canada
PLANETS ABBREVIATIONS
Help
Ju - Jupiter
Ma - Mars
Me - Mercury
Mn - Moon
Ne - Neptune
No - Moons' Mean North Node
Pl - Pluto
Sa - Saturn
Su - Sun
Ur - Uranus
Ve - Venus
ANGLES ABBREVIATIONS
Help p
As - Ascendant
Ca - Composite Ascendant
Cv - Composite Vertex
EP - East Point
Mh - Midheaven
VX - Vertex
TRANSNEPTUNIANS ABBREVIATIONS
Help y
AD - Admetos
AP - Apollon
CH - Chiron
CU - Cupido
HA - Hades
KR - Kronos
PO - Poseidon
VU - Vulkanus
ZE - Zeus
ASTEROIDS ABBREVIATIONS
Help 1
CE - Ceres
JU - Juno
PA - Pallas
VE - Vesta
ASPECTS ABBREVIATIONS
Help 3
Abbr Name Aspect Angle
Cj = Conjunction - 0.0
Vi = Vigintile (Semi-Decile) - 18.0
So = Semi-Octile - 22.30'
Qd = Quindecile - 24.0
St = Semi-Septile - 25.42'51.4"
Ss = Semi-Sextile - 30.0
Ud = Undecagon - 32.43'48"
De = Decile (Semi-Quintile) - 36.0
No = Novile (Nonagen) - 40.0
Oc = Octile (Semi-Square) - 45.0
Sp = Septile - 51.25'42.9"
Sx = Sextile - 60.0
Qt = Quintile - 72.0
Bn = Bi-Novile - 80.0
Sq = Square - 90.0
Bs = Bi-Septile - 102.51'25.7"
Td = Tredecile (Tresile) - 108.0
Tr = Trine - 120.0
Tc = Tri-Octile (Sesquiquadrate) - 135.0
Bq = Bi-Quintile - 144.0
Qx = Quincunx (Inconjunct) - 150.0
Ts = Tri-Septile - 154.17'08.6"
Qn = Quatri-Novile - 160.0
Th = Trinoch - 165.0
Op = Opposition - 180.0
US AND CANADA ABBREVIATIONS
Help
UNITED STATES h
AL Alabama MD Maryland PA Pennsylvania
AK Alaska MA Massachusetts RI Rhode Island
AZ Arizona MI Michigan SC South Carolina
AR Arkansas MN Minnesota SD South Dakota
CA California MS Mississippi TN Tennessee
CO Colorado MO Missouri TX Texas
CT Connecticut MT Montana UT Utah
DE Deleware NE Nebraska VT Vermont
FL Florida NV Nevada VA Virginia
GA Georgia NH New Hampshire WA Washington
HI Hawaii NJ New Jersey WV West Virginia
ID Idaho NM New Mexico WI Wisconsin
IL Illinois NY New York WY Wyoming
IN Indiana NC North Carolina CZ Canal Zone
IA Iowa ND North Dakota DC District Columbia
KS Kansas OH Ohio GU Guam
KY Kentucky OK Oklahoma PR Puerto Rico
LA Louisiana OR Oregon VI Virgin Islands
ME Main
CANADA
AB Alberta NF Newfoundland PE Prince Edward
BC British Columbia NT Northwest Island
LB Labrador Territories PQ Quebec
MB Manitoba NS Nova Scotia SK Saskatchewan
NB New Brunswick ON Ontario UT Yukon Territory
GLOSSARY Help MAIN
Help
The terminology used throughout this documentation can get pretty confusing at times. Therefore, this appendix is devoted to defining the various terms mentioned, but not defined elsewhere in the documentation.
Topics:
Chart
Accuracy
Composite
Angles
Composite
Ascendant
Composite
Vertex
Desktop
History
Icons
Menu
Status
Tropical
Sidereal
Zodiacs
CHART ACCURACY GLOSSARY
Help /
The Astrologer's Assistant can calculate planetary accuracy to within +/- one degree of orb. Note that Transneptunians have the same accuracy as the planet calculations, while the asteroids will have an accuracy of +/- several degrees of orb, and should only be considered as "ballpark" calculations.
COMPOSITE ANGLES GLOSSARY
Help
The following is a condensed synopsis of the composite Ascendants' and composite Vertexs' use in a composite chart, taken from a more thorough explanation in the book "Planets In Composite" by Robert Hand, Para Research, Rockport, MA, ISBN 0-914918-02-8, (C) 1975:
COMPOSITE ASCENDANT GLOSSARY
Help
The composite Ascendant is a midpoint derived from the Ascendants of two natal charts. It is a sensitive point in the composite chart and may be aspected like any other planet. It increases the importance of any planet which is conjunct or opposite it in the composite chart and it describes through it the ways in which the energies of the relationship affect you and your partner. The composite Ascendant may fall anywhere between the eleventh and second houses. Seeing as the composite Ascendant actually includes in its symbolism the composite Descendent, you should treat it as an axis line which runs through the entire horoscope.
COMPOSITE VERTEX GLOSSARY
Help
The Vertex of a natal chart usually indicates karmic or fateful encounters with either persons or circumstances over which the native seems to have no conscious control. These encounters have the effect of changing the natives' life and altering its course. The composite Vertex is calculated in two ways. The first is derived from the actual nearer midpoint of the two natal vertices and is called the composite Vertex. The second is derived from the composite Midheaven for the latitude at which the two natives' reside and is called a derived composite Vertex. The composite Vertex usually falls anywhere between the fifth and eighth houses. p
Note that The Astrologer's Assistant uses the Vertex derived from the nearer midpoint in its composite charts.
DESKTOP GLOSSARY
Help
The desktop is simply that area which lies between the Menu Bar and the Status Line. All dialogs and windows will be placed within the confines of the desktop. B
Charts Displays Options Prefer System Transform Windows
A History window is a window that keeps track of all entries made on an Input Line. It allows you to quickly display previous entries for an Input Line, scroll through them, and select whichever entry you want. This is a time save, as it negates the necessity of retyping data over and over again.
History windows are only available on Input Lines that have a History Icon tagged to the end of them. To activate a History window, simply press the [Down Arrow] key while on an Input Line, or click on the History Icon with your mouse. l
Here is an example of the Data File Name dialog that has the History window for it's Input Line displayed.
Data File Name
erlewine
leary
andersen
MENU BAR GLOSSARY
Help
The Menu Bar is a specialized window that runs horizontally across the top of the screen. It is accessed by pressing the [F10] key, or by clicking on any of its options with the mouse.
The Menu Bar provides you with various options to manipulate and display your data. It also allows you to set system preferences and access MS-DOS to run system commands or other system programs. I
The Menu Bar for The Astrologer's Assistant will always look like this: B
Charts Displays Options Prefer System Transform Windows
STATUS LINE GLOSSARY
Help
The Status Line is a very specialized window that either describes what a dialog control does, or supplies commands available for whatever window you are currently in. In addition, the Status Line displays the amount of free memory available to the program in the far right corner.
The Status Line is constantly changing so it displays the most current options available to you at any given time. The Status Line for a blank desktop looks like this: R
Seeing as both the Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs are used by many astrologers, The Astrologer's Assistant provides a ZODIAC option in the CHARTS pulldown menu of the Menu Bar to allow you to select the zodiac system you are most comfortable with. While both systems are "valid", they measure different things. The Tropical zodiac relates to the inclination of the Earths' axis to the Ecliptic, or the Earths' orbit, as a whole. The Sidereal zodiac relates the Ecliptic to the background of stars and Cosmic Structure. The Astrologer's Assistant defaults to the Tropical zodiac, which is used by most astrologers in the United States.
KEY MOVEMENT Help MAIN
Help
What a cursor key, or key combination does, depends on which area of the program you are working in. The following will describe each of the general areas in The Astrologer's Assistant, and how the cursor keys function in that area.
Topics:
General
Cursor
Movement
Desktop
Movement
Dialog
Options
Input
Lines
Movement
Wheel
Drawing
Scrolling
Non-Scrolling
Windows
GENERAL CURSOR KEY MOVEMENT KEY
Help
The Up, Down, Left, and Right arrow keys on your keyboard are used to move through the various Menu Bar options and menus, to make selections within various dialogs, to scroll through data in various windows, or to move actual dialogs and windows about the desktop.
Please note that if you are using the arrow keys that are in the numeric keypad section of your keyboard, be sure you press the [Num Lock] key so it is turned off! These keys do double duty as cursor keys or number keys, depending on whether the [Num Lock] key is on or off. The IBM expanded 101 keyboard has a grouping of cursor keys that are situated between the normal keyboard and the numeric keypad. I would suggest you utilize these cursor keys, as opposed to the ones on the numeric keypad.
NOTE: Users who have a keyboard that offers additional diagonal cursor keys should note that these keys are not functional in The Astrologer's Assistant. ;
[Left Arrow] - Move left one character position.
[Right Arrow] - Move right one character position.
[Down Arrow] - Move down one character position.
[Up Arrow] - Move up one character position.
[Alt]-[First Letter] - Pressing the first letter of any option of a dialog,
Menu, or window, will select that option for
processing.
[Spacebar] - Select current option.
[PgUp] - Move up the height of the current window.
[PgDn] - Move down the height of the current window.
[Home] - Move to beginning of the line.
[End] - Move to end of the line.
[Esc] - Abort and close current dialog, Menu, window,
or action.
[Alt-F3] - Abort and close current dialog, Menu, window,
or action.
[Enter] - Execute current command or proceed to next item.
[F1] - Display on-line help for current item.
DESKTOP MOVEMENT KEY
Help
The desktop may contain multiple windows at any given moment. You can reposition these windows or you can select different windows for further inspection. ;
[F6] - Select to next available window.
[Shift]-[F6] - Select previous window.
[Alt]-[Number] - Activate window with this number.
Not all windows have numbers.
[F5] - Zoom this window larger or smaller. This is a toggle.
Only works on scrollable windows.
[Ctrl]-[F5] - Select this window for moving or resizing.
[Left Arrow] - Move window left on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Right Arrow] - Move window right on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Down Arrow] - Move window down on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Up Arrow] - Move window up on desktop. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing.
[Shift]-[Left Arrow] - Shrink window to left. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing. Does not
work on dialogs.
[Shift]-[Right Arrow] - Expand window to right. Works only if window
selected for moving or resizing. Does not
work on dialogs.
[Shift]-[Down Arrow] - Expand window from bottom. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing. Does not
work on dialogs.
[Shift]-[Up Arrow] - Shrink window from bottom. Works only if window
is selected for moving or resizing. Does not
work on dialogs.
DIALOG OPTIONS KEY
Help
Dialogs have many "controls" within them: Buttons, Input Lines, Radio Controls, Checkboxes, List Boxes, Scrollbars, and all sorts of other items. Please read APPENDIX A to become familiar with all these items.
You can access any of these controls by pressing the [Alt] key in conjunction with the highlighted letter associated with the control item. This will either take you to that area of the dialog, or actually select that item, depending on what the control does.
Most of The Astrologer's Assistant dialogs are simple ones, usually offering a selection of items from which you need to pick one. Others are complex, offering several selections, each of which might offer multiple selections of their own.
Hopefully, following key list will help you in navigating about the dialog box, and in choosing and selecting the various options that you will be offered.
NOTE: The Up and Down arrow keys will usually not work in a dialog that has Input Lines. Please read the section INPUT LINE Options for further information. 0
[Left Arrow] - Move to previous item.
[Right Arrow] - Move to next item.
[Down Arrow] - Move to next item.
[Up Arrow] - Move to previous item.
[Alt]-[First Letter] - Select appropriate option by its highlighted letter.
[Tab] - Move to next control.
[Shift]-[Tab] - Move to previous control.
[Enter] - Execute current command or proceed to next control.
[Spacebar] - Select an item.
[Esc] - Abort and close current dialog in its entirety.
[Alt-F3] - Abort and close current dialog in its entirety.
[F1] - Display on-line help for current item.
INPUT LINES KEY
Help :
You can use the Left and Right arrow keys to move about on an Input Line. This is usually done to correct typing mistakes, etc. While the Up arrow key will occasionally allow you to move to a previous Input Line, you will find that the down arrow key will not perform an equivalent action. Instead, it will bring up a History window that is attached to that Input Line. Instead, use the Tab key to proceed to the next Input Line, or the "Shift-Tab" key sequence to proceed to the previous line. If you have a mouse, simply click on the Input Line you wish to access. 0
Input Lines also make use of the [Home] key to take the cursor to the beginning of the line, or the [End] key to move the cursor to the end of a line, providing the line already has data in it. The [End] key always goes to the last character of data on an Input Line, and NOT the very end of the line. ;
[Left Arrow] - Move left one character position.
[Right Arrow] - Move right one character position.
[Down Arrow] - Activate History window, if one is attached.
[Home] - Move to beginning of the of current line.
[End] - Move to end of data on the current line.
[Alt]-[First Letter] - Pressing the first letter of any Input Line label
will select that Input Line for use.
[Del] - Delete a character at the current cursor position.
[Backspace] - Delete character to the left of the current cursor
position.
[Ins] - Toggle insert mode on to insert a character at the
current cursor position, or off to overwrite a
character at the current cursor position.
[Enter] - Accept data and proceed to the next control.
[Esc] - Abort and close the current dialog in its entirety.
[Alt-F3] - Abort and close the current dialog in its entirety.
[F1] - Display on-line help for current item.
MAP MOVEMENT KEY
Help =
The following features are available while viewing the map: h
[X] - Toggle "cross-hairs" on/off. This feature displays
a cross-hair on the screen so you may navigate about
the map to see what latitude and longitude the various
projections are at. Latitude and longitude positions
are toggled on/off in the upper left portion of the screen.
[Up Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs up (north) one pixel.
[Down Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs down (south) one pixel.
[Left Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs left (west) one pixel.
[Right Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs right (east) one pixel.
[Shift]-[Up Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs up (north) ten pixels.
[Shift]-[Down Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs down (south) ten pixels.
[Shift]-[Left Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs left (east) ten pixels.
[Shift] [Right Arrow] - Moves the cross-hairs right (west) ten pixels.
[Ctrl]-[P] - Dump map to your printer.
[Esc] - Remove the map and return to the desktop.
[F1] - Display on-line help for the orbital map.
WHEEL DRAWING KEY
Help E
The following features are available while viewing the chart wheel: <
[1] - Display the 1st harmonic series aspects.
[2] - Display the 2nd harmonic series aspects.
[3] - Display the 3rd harmonic series aspects.
[5] - Display the 5th harmonic series aspects.
[7] - Display the 7th harmonic series aspects.
[9] - Display the 9th harmonic series aspects.
[0] - Display the miscellaneous harmonic series aspects.
[A] - Display all available aspects.
[Ctrl]-[P] - Dump the chart wheel to your printer.
[Esc] - Remove the wheel and return to the desktop.
[F1] - Display on-line help for the chart wheel.
[O] - Draw other planets in rim wheel (Transits only).
[R] - Redraw the wheel.
SCROLLING AND NON-SCROLLING WINDOWS KEY
Help 6
Many of the windows that appear on the desktop are scrollable, that is, the data within the window may be scrolled up/down or left/right. You can use the Up, Down, Left, and Right arrow keys to scroll a line at a time through these windows. You can also use the PgUp/PgDn keys to scroll a screen at a time. c
Scrolling windows also make use of the "Ctrl-Arrow" key sequence. Pressing the [Ctrl] key, holding it down, and then pressing one of the four arrow keys will cause the window to scroll all the way in the appropriate direction. The [Ctrl] key can also be used with the [End] and [Home] key to move to the very first, or very last, position in the window. w
Note that scrolling windows will have a Scrollbar attached to them. You can use the mouse on this scroll bar. Clicking on the arrows at either end of the Scrollbar will scroll the window once in that direction. Holding down the mouse button on that arrow will smoothly scroll the window until you let the button go. Each Scrollbar also has a "Slider" which indicates how far you have scrolled in this window. Moving the Slider with the mouse allows you to quickly move to the general area you want within a window. If there is no Slider present on the Scrollbar, then the window is complete and does not need to be scrolled. L
NOTE: Keys associated with movement do not work on non-scrolling windows. ;
[Left Arrow] - Move left one character position.
[Right Arrow] - Move right one character position.
[Down Arrow] - Move down one line.
[Up Arrow] - Move up one line.
[Ctrl]-[Left Arrow] - Move left the width of the current window.
[Ctrl]-[Right Arrow] - Move right the width of the current window.
[Ctrl]-[PgUp] - Move up to the very first line.
[Ctrl]-[PgDn] - Move down to the very last line.
[PgUp] - Move up the height of the current window.
[PgDn] - Move down the height of the current window.
[Home] - Move to beginning of the line.
[End] - Move to end of the line.
[Esc] - Abort and close the current window.
[Alt-F3] - Abort and close the current window.
[F1] - Display on-line help for the current window.
TIME ZONES Help MAIN
Help
As every astrologer learns, the world is divided up into many different time zones. You must be aware of what time zone a particular latitude and longitude coordinate lies within when casting any type of chart. A listing of the standard time zones is provided here for easy reference. $
Standard Time Zone Standard Daylight Wartime Meridian Number
Selecting the MS-DOS option of the System Menu drops you directly into a DOS shell. From here you can run DOS commands or other DOS programs.
Type EXIT to return...
Microsoft(R) MS-DOS Version 6 3
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1993
C:\ASSIST> s
Once you are through using the DOS shell, type "EXIT" at the DOS prompt to return to the Astrologer's Assistant.
NOTE: Please note the amount of memory available on the Status Line before you enter the MS-DOS shell. This is how much memory you will have available while in the shell to run your programs. At this time, the program does not free up memory before entering the DOS shell.
MOVE/RESIZE Help WINDOWS
Help
Selecting the Move/Resize option of the Windows Menu allows you to resize the shape of a window, or to move it around the desktop. There are various ways of accomplishing this action, all of them requiring that the window you wish to move/resize be the currently selected window.
Entering "Ctrl-F5" will change the double solid line that frames the active window to a single solid line. If you are using color, the outline turns bright green. Once the window is selected for resizing/moving, you may use the arrow keys to move the window about the desktop.
Down Arrow - Move window one character down.
Up Arrow - Move window one character up.
Left Arrow - Move window one character to the left
Right Arrow - Move window one character to the right.
Ctrl-Left Arrow - Move window 8 characters to the left
Ctrl-Right Arrow - Move window 8 characters to the right.
End - Move window so right edge is flush right screen.
Home - Move window so left edge is flush left screen.
When you have moved the window to the place you want it, press [Enter] to return the window to its normal state and anchor it at that position. Pressing [Esc] will return the window to its normal state at its original position.
You may also move a window by clicking once on it's label, and while holding down the mouse button, drag the window to where you want to position it. Letting go of the mouse button returns the window to its normal state and anchors it where you "dropped" it. !
NOTE: All windows are movable. a
To resize a window, enter "Ctrl-F5" but use the [Shift] key in conjunction with the arrow keys.
Shift-Down Arrow - Move window bottom down one character.
Shift-Up Arrow - Move window bottom up one character.
Shift-Left Arrow - Move window right in one character.
Shift-Right Arrow - Move window right out one character.
Not all windows are resizeable. You may determine which windows are resizeable by looking closely at the bottom right corner of a window. When a window is active, it is framed in solid double lines. Resizeable windows change the frame in the bottom right corner of the window to a single line.
You may also resize a window by clicking on the Resize Icon located in the bottom right corner of resizeable windows. Click on the Icon, hold down the mouse button, and drag the window corner in the direction you want. The window expands/contracts accordingly. '
NOTE: If a window has scrollbars, be sure you look at the scrollbar first before trying to resize the window in a similar direction. If the scrollbar does not contain a scroll indicator, it means the window is already at it's maximum size in that direction, and can therefore only be shrunk.
ZOOM Help WINDOWS
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Selecting the Zoom option of the Windows Menu allows you to fully expand a window, or shrink it back down to size.
The Zoom option works like a toggle. Initially, windows are set to a predefined size. Zooming the window will expand it. Once it is expanded, zooming it again will shrink it back down to its original size.
Not all windows are zoomable. Zoomable windows are distinguished by a Zoom Icon that appears in the upper right corner of the window. K
You may also accomplish this action by simply clicking with your mouse on the windows Zoom Icon. An arrow pointing up in the Zoom Icon means the window is ready to expand. A double arrow in the Zoom Icon pointing both up and down means the window is already expanded and zooming it now will shrink it back to its original size.
NOTE: Clicking twice anywhere on the window title area will accomplish the same action as clicking on the Zoom Icon. Be careful not to click on the Close Icon or your window will be removed!
NEXT Help WINDOWS
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The Next option of the Windows Menu will move you out of the current window and into the next available window. This allows you to navigate forward amongst the various windows you may have open on the desktop.
You may also accomplish this action by simply clicking with your mouse anywhere within a different window than the one that is currently selected.
PREVIOUS Help WINDOWS
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The Previous option of the Windows Menu will move you out of the current window and back to the previous window you may have been in. This allows you to navigate backward amongst the various windows you may have open on the desktop.
You may also accomplish this action by simply clicking with your mouse anywhere within a different window than the one that is currently selected.
CLOSE Help WINDOWS
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The Close option of the Windows Menu allows you to remove a window from the desktop when you are finished viewing it. This action is equivalent to pressing escape, or clicking on the window Close Icon with your mouse. C
The window that is currently selected is the one that is removed.
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