|Bษอออออออออออหออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออหอออออออออออป |Bบ |6Brainware|B บ ^1 Convert |B บ |6Brainware|B บ |Bศอออออออออออสออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออสอออออออออออผ ^Cby ^CDan Harrison CONVERT is a fascinating mathematical program that compares standard units of measurement. Enter a value for a specific unit of measurement and CONVERT instantly calculates the equivalent values for a variety of related units. There are 13 different Conversion Tables and a Generic Conversion Table. The Main Menu contains the following choices: A. Length (Distance) H. Force (Weight) B. Mass I. Velocity (Speed) C. Volume (Dry) J. Energy (Work) D. Capacity (Liquid) K. Power E. Area L. Time F. Density (Concentration) M. Temperature G. Pressure N. Generic Table Direct the highlight bar around the Main Menu with the and arrow keys; press to move from the left column to the right. Press to select a highlighted table or simply type in the letter located to the left of the conversion table you want to work with. For example, to bring up the Volume Table, type in at the Main Menu. Getting Started Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius is a common problem. Type in at the Main Menu for the Units of Temperature Table. Move the highlight bar to Fahrenheit with the . NOTE: The and move the highlight bar just like they do in the Main Menu. To convert 100 degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius type in <100>. Erase the extra characters with . Press and CONVERT instantly calculates the equivalent value of 100 degrees Fahrenheit for ALL the units of measure on the screen! A value of 100 degrees Fahrenheit equals 37.77778 degrees Celsius, 310.9278 degrees Kelvin, or 559.67 degrees Rankine. How many Quarts in a gallon? Press to return to the Main Menu. Type in to access the Units of Capacity Screen. Move the highlight bar to Gallon with the ; type in <1>; erase the extra characters with ; and press . One gallon contains four quarts - eight pints - sixteen cups - and many teaspoons! How many Hogsheads are in a gallon? The Function Keys F1 - Help: Access a help screen with information on Editing Numbers, the Insert Mode, Movement Keys, Function Keys, and Special Keys. F2 - Calculate: Perform the four basic mathematical functions with the value highlighted in the Units of Measurement Screen. F3 - Modify: Modify selected conversion formulae. F4 - General Info: General information on a class of measurements: Length, Mass, Area, etc. F5 - Info: Information on a specific unit of measurement: Slugs, Pluto Years, Abvolts, etc. (Check this out!) F6 - Transfer the formula from the highlighted cell to bottom lefthand corner of a Units of Measurement Screen. F7 - Transfer the formula copied with to the highlighted cell. F8 - Copy #: Transfer the cell value from the highlighted cell to bottom righthand corner of a Units of Measurement Screen. F9 - Paste #: Transfer the value copied with to the highlighted cell. F10 - Print: Print the Conversion Table. ESC - Exit: Exit the conversion tables or exit CONVERT to the Big Blue Main Menu from the CONVERT Main Menu. ^CThe Calculations For each table, one unit of measure is set up as the Base Formula which may NOT be changed. Each other value in the table is calculated based on its relationship to the Base Formula. This has an interesting side effect. Try this in the Temperature table. Change the value for Fahrenheit to <0>. The program calculates the Centigrade value (the Base Formula value) from the Fahrenheit value and rounds the Centigrade appropriately. Then, the program recalculates each value in the table from the Base Formula value, including the Fahrenheit value. The resulting Fahrenheit value is very small, but not zero. ^CAdding or Changing Formulae Not all units of measurement are contained in CONVERT. You may want to create a special formula or change an existing one for a specific task. In an existing table you may change any unit of measure, EXCEPT the Base Formula. You must define a formula for calculating the new measure from the Base Formula unit. To calculate centimeters from meters (the Base Formula), you multiply the number of meters by 100. You might write a formula like: number-cent = number-meters X 100. To see how this is described in Convert: On the Units of Length table screen, highlight the value for centimeters. Press to display the Modify Formula screen. The Current Formula line describes our formula: *100 +0. CONVERT uses <*> to represent multiplication. The option of adding or subtracting some value is available, but unnecessary in this example. All new formulas must be described in this manner: new-value = Base-value X multiplier + number. To change the information for a unit of measure, press when the value is highlighted. Type the desired description, then the abbreviation. (Line up the abbreviation with the * appearing above the box.) To change the formula being used to calculate the value, press the arrow key after changing the description. The current value for the multiplier will be displayed, labeled m:. Type in the new multiplier. Press the arrow once more to display the current value for the added-number, labeled b:. Type in the new number. To subtract the final number, type <-> then the . Press to return to the table screen. To add a new unit of measure, highlight the value on a blank line and press . Then continue as with a change, relating the new unit to the Base Formula unit. When leaving CONVERT you will be prompted to SAVE any formula changes you have made. If you want your work to show the next time you run CONVERT, be sure to answer YES. If you have just been experimenting you will probably want to respond NO to the prompt. ^CThe Generic Conversion Table You may add a complete new table for a specific application. Use the selection from the Main Menu to access the Generic Conversion Table. The first entry MUST be for the Base Formula value. Highlight the value field, and press . All you will be able to enter is the description, followed by the abbreviation. (Line up the abbreviation with the * appearing above the box.) Press to return to the table screen. Add additional units to your new table on blank lines, following the suggestions under the heading Adding or Changing Formulae. ^CPrinting the Conversion Table The Conversion Table includes special print characters known as "IBM graphic characters." If the print option is chosen for non-IBM printers, the resulting print will be difficult to read. ^CTechnical Notes When you add or change formulae a new file is created on the disk. This new file, CONVERT.DAT, contains the changes. If there is not enough space remaining on the disk to create the changes file, any changes will be lost. Since space on the BBD distribution disks is limited, this program might best be copied to another disk, using the COPY option from the BBD menu, before making changes. To undo changes after taking the Save Changes option upon exit from CONVERT, return to the DOS command line and delete the CONVERT.DAT file ONLY. ^COutside BBD To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type: ^1CONVERT^0. DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES: ^FCONVERT.EXE ^FCONVERT.INF