Big Blue Disk 23/bbd23.zip/UPDATE.TXT

Text File | 1988-06-24 | 8KB | 165 lines

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   This column contains updates, bug fixes, etc. regarding earlier issues.


^C^1States & Capitals

   We goofed: in the States & Capitals program on issue #20, we incorrectly gave
the capital of North Dakota as Fargo.  Actually, the correct answer is Bismarck.
We apologize to all North Dakotans for misplacing their capital.  It's been
fixed on newer editions of the issue, so recent back-issue purchasers should
have the right capital for this state.  (You can tell if your issue is the
updated version by the numbers at the bottom of the copyright screen when you
start up BIG BLUE DISK; if the code after "Ed" begins with a 1, it's the old
version with the wrong capital, while a 2 or later indicates the fixed version.)

   You can patch your copy as follows:  With issue 20, disk 1 in your drive,
type PASRUN BLUELINE from the DOS prompt.  When asked for a filename, select
QUIZ3.DAT.  Use the arrow keys to get to the line with FARGO, then press Ins
to get into overwrite mode.  Now, type BISMARCK.  Press F4 to save the file, and
F10 to quit.  You may wish to make a backup before you do this, so you don't
accidentally damage the original.


^C^1Print Utility

   In issue #21 of BIG BLUE DISK, we published a program called The Print
Utility, by Gary M. Simpson, Sr.  This is a program to format text for printout.
However, in the crush of issue deadlines, we somehow omitted mention of some
very powerful features of the program in our instructions.  Hence, we are now
presenting an update to the documentation, to help you make better use of the
program.  (If you don't have BIG BLUE DISK #21, it can be ordered from us for
$9.95, or less if you buy several other back issues at the same time.  Write us,
or call [phone] toll-free, for more information or to place your order.)

   One handy feature is that you can include the name of the file you are
printing on the DOS command line when you invoke Print Utility.  Just type (from
the DOS prompt) PRTUTIL filename (e.g. PRTUTIL LETTER.TXT), and the indicated
filename will be used as the file to print.  This avoids the need to use the
"File" menu option to set the name.

   The major feature that we failed to mention was the extensive set of embedded
formatting commands you can use within your text.  These commands are active
only if the "Reformat" menu item is set to On; otherwise, "what you type is what
you get."  They are as follows:

   If a "@" symbol is placed on the first character position of a line, the line
is centered.  The text to be centered must be enclosed in parentheses.

Examples:
@(This text will be centered.)
@        (So will this.)

   Lines beginning with "#" will be ignored, and a blank line will be printed.

   Lines beginning with ":" will be left "as is" without justification or
formatting.

   The end of paragraphs should be marked with the "^^" symbol.  If this symbol
is missing, the text will not be properly formatted.

   The following commands, enclosed in parentheses, must be placed on lines by
themselves:

   "(PAGE)" forces a new page regardless of where on a page the current text is.

   "(PAUSE)" causes the printer to stop temporarily at that point, until the
ENTER key is pressed.  Use this when you need to do something manually at a
given point, like changing the print head on a daisy wheel printer.

   "(FORMAT ON)" and "(FORMAT OFF)" control formatting.  After a "(FORMAT OFF)"
is encountered, no justification or other formatting is done until formatting is
reinstated with "(FORMAT ON)".  However, if a left margin has been set by a
previous command, it will continue to be used.

   "(SPACE X)", where X is a number, sets the line spacing.  For example, 1
represents single-spaced, and 2 represents double-spaced.

   "(FORMAT PAGE P MARGIN M)" sets the page width and margin size.  P and M are
numbers; P represents the actual physical page width, while M is the number of
characters to use as a margin.  This supersedes the values for these parameters
which were selected from the Print Utility menu, and allows them to change over
the course of the document.

   "(CENTER W)", with W being the width of the block to be centered, causes the
text that follows to be centered.  This is done by setting the margins so that
only W characters, in the center of the page, are used, and justifying all
subsequent text accordingly.  This continues until superseded by a "(FORMAT PAGE
P MARGIN M)" command to restore normal margins.

   Here's a brief text containing examples.  This is how the "source" text
looked before it was sent to Print Utility:

^1────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@                            (Example 1)
@ (This line will be centered.)
@(So will this one.)
# This line will be ignored; only a blank line will be printed here.
:These lines will be printed as is,
:      with no reformatting.
:
(SPACE 2)
(FORMAT PAGE 75 MARGIN 10)
      These lines will be formatted and justified.
Notice the line spacing has been set to 2.
The end of the paragraph is marked with a "^^"
symbol, like this.^^
(SPACE 1)
(CENTER 40)
       This block of text will be centered, until another formatting command is
found.  Since this block is formatted, the end of the paragraph must be marked.^^

(FORMAT OFF)
       These lines won't be formatted, but the margin
is still as it was set by the CENTER command.
No end-of-paragraph is needed here.

(FORMAT ON)
(FORMAT PAGE 75 MARGIN 10)
       Now, formatting is back on, with the margins set back to normal,
superseding the leftover values from CENTER.
(PAUSE)
       The printer just paused.^^

       It's time for a new page.^^
(PAGE)
^1────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Now, let's see how it prints out:

^1────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                                    Example 1
                           This line will be centered.
                                So will this one.

These lines will be printed as is,
      with no reformatting.

      These lines will be formatted  and  justified. Notice  the  line

spacing has been set to 2. The end of the paragraph is marked  with  a

"^^" symbol, like this.

                   This   block of text  will  be  centered,
                   until  another  formatting   command   is
                   found.  Since  this  block  is formatted,
                   the end of the paragraph must  be marked.

                          These lines won't be formatted, but the margin
                   is still as it was set by the CENTER command.
                   No end-of-paragraph is needed here.

       Now formatting is back on, with the margins set back to normal,
superseding the leftover values from CENTER.
       The printer just paused.
       It's time for a new page.
^1────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

   We hope this helps you make better use of this program, and we apologize to
our readers and the program author for failing to adequately document the
program in the initial release.