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╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ MARSGRAM! DOCUMENTATION ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ Release Version 2.3 April 22, 1989 BY Larry Schuldt NNN0QHD 3123 Northwest Rd. Marengo, IL 60152-0102 This DOC File By Bill Porter NNN0FBP 38771 N. Lewis Ave. Zion IL 60099-3375 ┌────────────────────┐ │ INTRODUCTION │ └────────────────────┘ This program was developed for use by Navy-Marine Corps MARS members and may be distributed freely to MARS members at NO CHARGE. The author requests that no changes be made in the program without his express permission. The MARSGRAM! Program has been developed to allow you to... ... enter text MARSgrams from the keyboard as you are receiving them over the air, .. enter NMAT 1 MARSgrams, again, just as you receive them over the air, ... print selected MARSgrams (text and NMATS) directly from a traffic file saved to disk, ... save and retrieve individual MARSgrams to disk files, ... edit individual MARSgrams, ... print standard computer MARSgrams, BOTH sides, and ... print MARSgrams on regular 8.5 x 11 tractor feed paper. While this feature requires two sheets of paper so that printing can be done on two sides, it is a handy feature when you are out of computer MARSgrams. ... print "stacks" of MARSgrams (all one side then all the other). Perfect for sheet fed printers. ... allow custom setup of individual printer files. ┌───────────────────────────────────┐ │ FILES ON THE MARSGRAM! DISK │ └───────────────────────────────────┘ The following files are contained on the MARSGRAM! disk: MARSGRAM.EXE - The program file. MARSGRAM.DOC - This documentation file. MARSGRAM.DAT - Sample setup file that may be modified for your use. *.PTR - Several printer files with the extension .PTR are included. The following files will be created during program setup: MARSGRAM.DAT - This file will contain the data you have entered when setting up the program for the first time. A sample file is on the disk. MARSGRAM.LIS - This file will hold the completed MARSgrams you wish to print using the sheet feed printer option. \????\ - This will be a subdirectory you create during setup to hold saved MARSgrams. DEFPTR.PTR - This printer file will be created after you have installed your printer codes in the setup file. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS │ └───────────────────────────┘ If you are reading these DOCs, no more need be said about system requirements. The program is designed to work with a color monitor and should work fine with a monochrome monitor. PRINTER COMPATIBILITY: Several printer files have been included on the program disk. If you have one of the printers listed on the disk, simply rename that file using the procedure outlined under Setup. If your printer is not listed, follow the pro- cedure under Setup to install the necessary codes as provided in your printer manual. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ LOADING THE PROGRAM │ └───────────────────────────┘ MAKE A BACKUP COPY: Before going any further, use your DOS com- mands or a file utility to make a backup of the MARSGRAM! program disk. After reading the DOC file and inserting the disk in the appro- priate drive and setting your system to that drive type, "MARSGRAM!" <CR>. NOTE: Throughout these DOCs, do not include the quote (") marks when instructed to enter data. THE FIRST TIME: When MARSGRAM! loads for the first time, if a setup file does not exist, then the Setup mode will be entered automatically. Once all required data has been entered in the Setup File, you will be brought directly to the main menu when loading the program. You may change data in the Setup File at any point by selecting SETUP from the main menu. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ <<<HOT KEY>>> │ └─────────────────────┘ The "Hot Key" or <ESC> key will allow you to return to the MAIN MENU from any place in the program. This feature is especially useful if you have made in incorrect selection. Simply press <ESC) and return to the Main Menu. NOTE: When in Setup Mode, the HOT KEY allows escape back to the Main Menu ONLY from the Setup Options Menu. It does NOT work while in the setup file. ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ SETUP FILE DATA ENTRY │ └─────────────────────────────┘ The Setup Menu contains the following two options: MAIN SETUP DEFINE PRINTER CODES Move the highlight bar to your choice and press <CR>. ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ DEFINE PRINTER CODES │ └────────────────────────────┘ This option will allow you to enter codes for your printer and save these codes in a file called DEFPRNTR.PTR which will be loaded automatically each time MARSGRAM! is started. You are first asked to enter a printer filename. Enter the name of your printer or one of the sample printer files and press <CR>. Do not specify a file extension; the file will have a .PTR exten- sion added by the program. A listing of printer codes used by MARSGRAM! will now appear on screen. Use your printer manual to locate the codes required and enter them as instructed in your manual. If you have any problem entering the codes, or if you are not familiar with how they should be entered, enter the name of one of the printer files already on the disk when asked for a printer filename. Make a "print screen" of the codes that appear and use this as a guide to help in entering your codes. After entering your printer filename, you will be prompted to enter the number of the item to be changed. Select the item number and press <CR>. A window will appear and you will be prompted to enter the code for that specific item. Do so and press <CR>. If you are modifying one of the sample printer files and your printer does not support an enhancement such as italic, enter double quotes ("") for that particular entry. This need not be done when creating a printer file from scratch. Items 14, 15 and 16 of the printer code screen control the number of vertical lines down from top of sheet printing begins. The preset codes are as follows: 14 Number of lines for MARSgram plain address side 19 15 Number of lines for MARSgram form address side 27 16 Number of lines for MARSgram form text side 14 You may use these presets or enter new values depending on your the vertical paper handling/spacing used by your printer. There is no preset value for the text side if MARSgrams when printer on plain paper. When all codes have been entered and you are again prompted to enter the number of the item to change, press <CR> and the codes will be saved in your designated printer file. In order for MARSGRAM! to automatically load the printer file, it must be renamed. To save your printer file under its current name, use the DOS copy command. For example: COPY (YOUR PRINTER FILE NAME) DEFPRNTR.PTR After your printer file has been saved, you will be brought back to the main Setup Menu where you may select DEFINE PRINTER CODES to set up another printer, or move into the main setup section of the program. ┌──────────────────┐ │ MAIN SETUP │ └──────────────────┘ Enter the data exactly as you want it to appear on the printed MARSgram as follows: MARS CALL - Enter your complete callsign including the "T" if you are a Tango member, i.e. NNN0GBPT. The Program will select the portions of your call needed in various areas of the MARS- gram. OPERATOR NAME: Enter your name exactly as it should appear on the MARSgram. ADDRESS (First Line): Enter your street address on this line. ADDRESS (2nd Line): This line is normally left blank. To leave the line blank enter <CR>. If your address consists of four lines such as: Bill Porter ADDRESS 1st Line 100 N. Michigan Ave. ADDRESS 2nd Line Apt. #202 Chicago IL 60606 then enter the special address indicator line in ADDRESS First Line and the street address in ADDRESS 2nd Line. The program will not print the unused blank address line. CITY: Enter your city as it should appear on the MARSgram. STATE: Enter your 2-letter state abbreviation. ZIP CODE: Enter your five digit zip code. If you wish to enter your full nine digit zip code, be sure to enter the "-" in the correct position, i.e. 60099-3375. PHONE NUMBER: Enter your phone number as you wish to have it appear on the MARSgram. For example, 312-249-1789, or (312) 872-2142. NOTE: When entering phone numbers and zip code data into the program itself, MARSGRAM! will automatically place the dash in the proper location. Only in the Setup File must you place the dashes correctly. TIME ZONE: MARSGRAM! will print the correct time no matter where used in the U.S. Enter your time zone using capital letters. TIME OF RECEIPT: Enter the number corresponding to your choice: 1. Local Time - Prints time from the computer clock. 2. GMT - The correct Zulu time is calculated for you. 3. Manual Time Entry - You may enter time of receipt for each message manually, choose local time from the clock, or have Zulu time calculated for you. You must choose one of these for each message if you select this option. PATH FOR SAVED MARSGRAMS: You must enter the path and filename where you wish to have marsgrams saved. Each MARSgram is saved as MG???.TXT. Where ??? represents a number from 000 to 999. The numbering of saved MARSgram files is automatic. If your MARSGRAM! program is installed on a hard drive, you may specify a path such as: C:\MARSGRAM\MESSAGES\ where, "C:\MARSGRAM" is the directory where you have installed the MARSGRAM! program and, "\MESSAGES" is the subdirectory where you wish to have all messages saved. Be advised, with some systems, you must specify a subdirectory such as, .\"SUBDIRECTORY NAME" in order for the save process to work properly. You may, of course, specify any directory and path you wish. If you have any problems with saving messages, try various combinations to see which works best for you. MARSGRAM RETURN ADDRESS: In this section you will be asked for a four line address for your HQ. Enter each line as you wish to have it printed on the address side of the MARSgram. COLOR SELECTION: You are now presented with a color setup selec- tion menu. Use the cursor up/down keys to move the "*" to the selection you wish to change. Use the cursor left/right keys to move through the available color options. After selected the text/background colors, move the "*" to the next selection. Re- peat this process until all colors have been selected. When you move the "*" to one of the "window" options, press the left or right cursor key to bring a window on screen. Cycle through the available color combinations as before then use the up or down cursor key to move to the next selection. The current window will be replaced with a new window. Repeat this process until you have completed your color selection process. Press <CR> to leave color selection and move to the next setup option. NOTE: For those using a monochrome monitor, you may wish to experiment a bit with the color options to see effect each has with shading on your monitor. SETTING THE DELAY VALUE: You now have the opportunity to set the delay value for warning messages and information that flashes on screen. Use the default setting or enter a number to allow the information to appear on screen for the desired time. SAVING SETUP OPTIONS: The final screen will display all data, values and colors you have selected. If everything is okay, press "Y" <CR>. Your setups will be saved to disk and you will be returned to the main option menu. If not, press "N" <CR> and do it over. ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ MAIN MENU SELECTIONS │ └────────────────────────────┘ The Main Menu offers the following selections: RUN TEXT MARSGRAMS FROM THE KEYBOARD RUN NMAT ONE MARSGRAMS FROM KEYBOARD RUN MARSGRAMS FROM A FILE ENTER SETUP EXIT To make your selection, use the cursor up/down keys to move the highlighted bar to the desired choice and press <CR>. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ FUNCTION KEYS │ └─────────────────────┘ The following function keys have been added to MARSGRAM!: F1 - ENTER NMAT ONE MARSgram. F2 - ENTER TEXT MARSgram. These keys may be used to switch from NMAT ONE to ALL TEXT MARS- grams when entering a message from the keyboard in either the RUN TEXT MARSGRAM FROM THE KEYBOARD or RUN NMAT ONE MARSGRAM FROM THE EYBOARD. Using the F1 or F2 keys allows smooth entry of the message from the traffic rep. You may make your selection up to the point where you enter the addee phone number, but before you press <CR> after entering the phone number. The Program will automatically switch between NMAT ONE and ALL TEXT message entry, leaving the header as already entered. As usual, the Program will "remember" your selection for the next message entry. You may switch between the two message formats at any time before entering the addee phone number. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ RUN TEXT MARSGRAMS FROM THE KEYBOARD │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You will be asked to enter data in the same order that the message is "read" over the air. ENTER DATE-TIME GROUP: Enter the DTG just as you receive it over the air, i.e. 030130Z FEB 89, and press <CR>. NOTE; Generally when you are asked to enter data, two "*" will appear in the lower portion of the screen indicating the amount of space allowed for data entry. ENTER NAME OF SENDER: Self-explanatory. ENTER LOCATION OF ORIGIN: Enter here the geographic location of the sender, i.e. CAMP COVINGTON GUAM. ENTER SUFFIX AND LOCATION OF ORIGINATING STATION: Enter station or origin call and location, such as: MOC OA. MARSGRAM! will expand this to NNN0MOC OA. If the source of the message is other than NAVMARCOR MARS, such as AAA0MOA, enter the complete call and no expansion will take place. ENTER ADDEE NAME: When entering the addee name, be aware that if you have a very long addee line such as, "CAPT WILLIAM AND MRS CATHERINE A PETROWSKI", the entire addee line will print on the address side of the MARSgram. The addee line will, however, be truncated to fit the text side of the MARSgram. ENTER ADDEE ADDRESS LINE 1: Enter addee street address on this line. ENTER ADDEE ADDRESS LINE 2: Normally, this line is left blank. If, however you have a special address indicator like, GREENVIEW MANOR APARTMENTS #201, enter this special address indicator on ADDEE ADDRESS LINE 1 and the street address on ADDEE ADDRESS LINE 2. The procedure here is the same as setting up your name/ad- dress in the Setup File. When your PREVIOUS message used address line 2 and your CURRENT message does not, you must clear address line 2 by typing, "SPACE BAR" and pressing <CR>. ENTER ADDEE CITY: Self-Explanatory ENTER ADDEE ZIP CODE: You may enter the addee zip code in any of the\following ways: 60099 60099-3375 600993375 If you enter the 9-digit zip code without the "-", the Program will automatically insert the hyphen where needed. ENTER ADDEE TELEPHONE NUMBER: As with entering the addee zip code, you may enter the phone number in the following ways: 249-1789 2491789 which will convert this to 249-1789 312-249-1789 3122491789 which will convert this to (312) 249-1789 Entering "U" for the phone number will cause MARSGRAM! to print "UNKNOWN". REMEMBER! You may enter F1 here (before pressing <CR>) to switch to an NMAT ONE message format. ENTER MESSAGE TEXT: At this screen, you will see a column of numbers from 1-10 and will be prompted to enter message text. You may enter straight text, ARL numbered text and/or NMAT num- bered text. To enter "straight" text, merely type in the text as you would in a word processor. ARL and NMAT numbers may be entered as needed anywhere in the text, i.e. NMAT: EVERYTHING OK ARL 60 NMAT TWELVE LOVE WARNING: BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU PLACE PERIODS. MARSGRAM! WILL BE UNABLE TO INTERPRET "NMAT 8" OR "NMAT EIGHT". THE NMAT OR ARL TEXT MUST BE SEPARATED BY A SPACE OR <CR> FROM ALL OTHER TEXT. As you can see, you may enter ARL or NMAT numbers by entering the figures or by typing out the numbers. MARSGRAM! will interpret the numbered text and replace it with the appropriate wording. When all text has been entered, type CTRL-Z <CR> to terminate text entry mode. At this point,the header of the message will appear on screen, the header being all from date-time-group to the first BT. You will be asked to enter the number of the item to be changed. If you wish to change any item, enter the number and press <CR>. Enter the new data for that item and press <CR>. If no changes are desired, press <CR>. The text you have entered will again appear on screen. This however, any ARLs and/or NMATs that have been entered will be displayed in full, automatically. In the example above, the text would be displayed on screen as: ARRIVED SAFELY OKINAWA EVERYTHING OK WISHING YOU THE BEST OF EVERYTHING ON ????? REPLY VIA NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS LOVE In the lower portion of the screen the MARSGRAM EDITOR menu now appears. ┌────────────────────┐ │ EDITING TEXT │ └────────────────────┘ The MARSGRAM EDITOR, while not very sophisticated, will allow you to make corrections to text and changes to layout. The instruc- tions that follow are brief, but should sufficient enough for you to get going on editing. Work with the editor until you become comfortable with its use. After you have entered your message text, make any changes or if no changes were required, enter "0" or <CR>. A screen will ap- pear showing you your message with all ARL and NMAT abbreviated text in fully interpreted form. You will also be told how many ARL and NMAT texts were successfully interpreted by the program, as well as how many ARLs and/or NMATs require added text. This would occur when entering ARL SIXTY, for example. The MARSGRAM EDITOR menu will also appear allowing you the fol- lowing options: DELETE TEXT INSERT TEXT MOVE TEXT RESEQUENCE TEXT EXIT EDITOR If no editing is required, make sure that the EXIT EDITOR option is selected and enter <CR>. If you wish to edit text, select the menu option you want with the cursor up/down keys and press <CR>. DELETING TEXT: Move the highlight bar to DELETE TEXT and press <CR>. Let's assume that we wish to add, "MOTHERS DAY" after ARL 60 that you have entered in the text. First, we must delete the "?????" in the ARL text, "WISHING YOU THE BEST OF EVERYTHING ON ?????". After entering the Delete mode, you will be prompted "Delete from what Line Number?" Enter the line number on which the ????? is located, press <CR>. Now, at the bottom of the screen, you will see the line of text for which you entered the line number above. Each word will have a number above. You are now prompted to, "Delete from what Word?" Enter the num- ber above the "?????" and press <CR>. You will then be prompted to, "Delete to What Line Number?" You will delete only one word (the ????? in this case), press <CR>. When you are prompted to, "Delete to What Word?" enter <CR>. The ????? should disappear. To delete more than one word or more than one line, simply enter the appropriate line and word number when asked to do so. INSERTING TEXT: The MARSGRAM EDITOR works basically the same for inserting text as for deleting text. You will be prompted for the new text to be inserted, and then prompted for the Line num- ber and Word number of where the text is to be inserted. Simply follow the prompts as indicated. NOTE: Be sure to enter a blank space before the new text you type in if it is to follow a word. Otherwise, the ex- isting text and the new text will run together. If you wish to insert a word(s) at the beginning of a line of text, use the following procedure: Precede the word(s) to be inserted with two ampersand "&&" signs. For example, if a line of text reads, "BEST WISHES" and you wish to add the words, "GOOD LUCK", select INSERT TEXT from the editor menu. When prompted, enter your additional text as follows: &&GOOD LUCK and press <CR>. Enter the number of the line into which the new text is to be inserted when prompted. When you are asked to enter the number of the word after which the insertion is to be made, enter "1" and <CR>. MOVE TEXT: Moving text works just like deleting and inserting text. This feature is generally used to move lines of text. RESEQUENCE TEXT: The feature, which works the same as the other EDITOR features, allows you to move words. For example, if one line of text is very short while others are much longer, you may use this option to move words to even out line length. EXIT EDITOR: Select this option to move to the PRINT Menu. ┌──────────────────┐ │ PRINT MENU │ └──────────────────┘ To select any of the following print options, move the highlight bar to the option and press <CR>. COMPUTER MARSGRAM FORMS PIN-FEED Plain Paper SAVE MARSGRAM TO FILE RETURN TO EDITOR SPECIAL OPTIONS When you select the first or second option, you will be prompted to make sure your printer is loaded with paper. When ready to print, enter <CR>. PRINTING COMPUTER MARSGRAMS: Because of the differences in printers and their setups, a little experimentation is required here to assure proper vertical alignment. Insert the MARSgram form in the printer then press <CR>. NOTE: The address side of the MARSgram will print first. When the address side has printed, insert the text side of the form and press <CR>. The form will print continue printing. PRINT FILE COPY: After the MARSgram has printed, or during the print process if your printer has a print buffer, you will be asked if you wish to print a file copy. Move the highlight bar to "YES" or "NO" and press <CR>. You may print as many file copies as you need. When finished printing, you will be returned to the main menu. PRINTING PIN-FEED PLAIN PAPER MARSGRAMS: MARSGRAM! includes this feature to allow for printing of MARSgrams (including the full header and address side) when you have exhausted your sup- ply of the computer forms and haven't been able to get any more (or, if like the author of the program, it's not real easy to change from tractor feed to the sheet feeder and back again!). The printing process here requires two sheets of pin-feed paper. The address side is printed on one sheet, the text portion on the other. As when printing computer forms, the address side will print first, followed by the text side. You may have to adjust the paper's vertical positioning for proper alignment. You may also print file copies when using this option. Note that the address printed side of the form has dashes printed to aid in folding the MARSgram in thirds for mailing. When finished printing, press <CR> to return to the main menu. SAVE MARSGRAM TO FILE: This option will allow you to handle several messages, one after the other. Simply save the MARSgram to disk and come back for printing or addition editing later. When you select this option, the MARSgram will be saved to the directory you specified in the Setup File. Each MARSgram will be saved as file MG???.TXT. Where "???" equals a number from 000-999. When you select this option and press <CR>, the message will be automatically saved to disk with the "MG" prefix, and will be numbered sequentially. The ".TXT" extension will also be added automatically. RETURN TO EDITOR: Here is your last chance to make any final changes in the message before saving or printing the MARSgram. Select this option and press <CR> to return to the Editor. If you decide not to complete the MARSgram, press the <ESC> key to return to the Main Menu. SPECIAL OPTIONS: Because of the many options available, this selection is covered separately below. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ SPECIAL OPTIONS │ └────────────────────────┘ When you select this menu item, you are presented with the following menu: APPEND MARSGRAM TO PRINT FILE PRINT MARSGRAM FORM USING SHEET FEEDER PRINT PLAIN PAPER USING SHEET FEEDER CHANGE PRINTER DEFINITION FILE APPEND MARSGRAM TO PRINT FILE: After entering messages from the keyboard or bring them up from a saved traffic run, you may save them to a special file called MARSGRAM.LIS which is created by the MARSGRAM! Program when you select this option. In order to print MARSgrams using a sheet feeder or print MARS- grams using pin-feed paper in "stacks" you MUST save the messages to the MARSGRAM.LIS file first. Select this option and press <CR> for the MARSgram you have just completed. A message will appear advising you that the MARSgram is being saved, after which you will be returned to the Main Menu to take or bring up another message. PRINT MARSGRAM FORM USING SHEET FEEDER: When you are ready to print the MARSgrams using standard MARSgram computer forms, stack them in the sheet feeder address side up. Select this option and press <CR>. The address side of all messages in the file will be printed after which you will be prompted to turn the stack over. Do so and press <CR>. The text side of the stack will now be printed. You are now given the option to print file copies. Select YES and press <CR> to do so. Otherwise, select NO and you will be asked if you wish to elete the MARSGRAM.LIS file. You should DE- LETE the file at this time. If you do not, messages you work on the next time will be appended to the file and ALL MARSgrams in the file will be printed. Be deleting the file after each ses- sion, you will start "fresh" the next time. The Program will always create the file automatically when you select APPEND MARSGRAM TO PRINT FILE from this menu. PRINT PLAIN PAPER USING SHEET FEEDER: This option works much like PRINT MARSGRAM FORM USING SHEET FEEDER. The major dif- ference is that you will print all messages in the MARSGRAM.LIS file, address side first, then tear off the pin-feed paper or turn over the plain paper in the sheet feeder and re-insert it after flipping it over and swapping it end-for-end. Fol- low the prompts as above. CHANGE PRINTER DEFINITION FILE: If, for some reason, you wish to use a printer other than the default printer you specified in Setup, you may do so here. Move the highlighted bar to this option, press <CR> and follow the prompts. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ RUN NMAT ONE FROM KEYBOARD │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ This section of the program makes entering standard NMAT ONE data entry fast and easy from the keyboard as certain entries have been automated. Enter the data when prompted as follows: ENTER DATE-TIME GROUP: Enter DTG as received. ENTER NAME OF SENDER: Enter the Private's name. You need NOT enter "PVT" as the program does it for you. However, if you really want to do so, go ahead. MARSGRAM! will not send a mes- sage from PVT PVT John Doe; one of the PVTs is ignored. NOTE: When entering data for the following items, use the procedure outlined under RUN TEXT MARSGRAM FROM KEYBOARD above. ENTER ADDEE NAME, ENTER ADDEE LINE, ENTER ADDEE ADDRESS LINE 2, ENTER ADDEE CITY, ENTER ADDEE ZIP CODE, ENTER ADDEE PHONE NUMBER. IMPORTANT! You may enter F2 at this point (before pressing <CR> to switch to an ALL TEXT message format. ENTER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: You may enter the Social Security number with or without "-". The program will automatically enter them where required. ENTER PLATOON NUMBER: You need enter only the numbers, i.e. "1002" and press <CR>. MARSGRAM! will insert "PLT for you. ENTER COMPANY: You need only enter the company letter, i.e. "A" and press <CR>. MARSGRAM! will insert "CO" for you. That's it!!! EVERYTHING else is entered for you automatically by the program, right through NMAT TWELVE. Follow the same procedures outlined above under RUN TEXT MARS- GRAM FROM KEYBOARD for editing, if necessary, and printing. MORE THAN ONE NMAT ONE: If you are entering more than one NMAT ONE, the program makes it even easier to do so. After you have printed or saved your MARSgram and returned to the main menu, again select RUN NMAT ONE FROM KEYBOARD. You will note that all information from the previous data entry remains in effect. The only items you MUST change are the date-time group and Social Security number. Of course, you will probably change most items except, perhaps, the PLT number and CO designator. ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ RUN MARSGRAMS FROM A FILE │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ When you select this menu item, you are presented with the fol- owing options: RECALL SAVED MARSGRAM LOAD MARSGRAM FROM SAVED TRAFFIC RUN SPECIAL PRINT MENU Move the highlight bar to your selection and press <CR>. ┌──────────┐ │IMPORTANT!│ When using MARSGRAM! to process a saved traffic └──────────┘ file, keep the following points in mind: 1> Your traffic file must be saved as an ASCII file. 2> The file must be "clean". That is, it should be free of hits. You may have the run the file through your word processor and clean it up. While the built in editor may be used to make corrections, insertions, deletions and text re-allignment, MARS- GRAM!, nor any other program of this type can read and process garbage. Be sure to re-save the file as an ASCII file using your word processor's non-document mode. 3> If, when attempting to process a traffic file, you receive the error message, "Unable to find UNCLAS" it is probably because the broadcast station used a program to prepare the traffic that sends certain codes MARSGRAM! is unable to inter- pret. Run the traffic file through your word processor and editor to delete extra line feeds. In other words, make the file single spaced. RECALL SAVED MARSGRAM: You will be prompted to enter the number of the MARSgram you wish to print. You may enter the number in several ways, all of which will recall it from the file. You may enter, for example: MG001.TXT MG001 001 1 or whatever the number may be. For a directory of the messages you have saved, press <CR>. If you wish to return to the Main Menu without recalling any MARSgram, press <ESC>. NOTE: Since the directory listing will contain a listing such as "MG001.TXT, MG002.TXT, MG003.TXT) etc., it is sug- gested that you note the number assigned to each saved message when you select the SAVE MARSGRAM option from the Print Menu. Pressing <CR> after reviewing the directory will bring you back to the prompt asking you to enter the number for the message you wish to recall. Enter the number assigned to the saved MARSgram and press <CR>. You may now DELETE the MARSgram you have selected. This allows you to "clean up" your file periodically. Press <CR>, and the saved MARSgram will be DELETED. To continue working on the selected MARSgram, press "N" or move the highlight bar to NO and press <CR>. The MARSgram will appear on screen and you can continue as with previous Main Menu Selections. Note that the MARSgram is read before it it deleted! You can Delete it from the disk, Edit it and Print it. You need not go back later to Delete it. After making your choice, you are prompted to enter the number of the item in the message you wish to change. From here on, you may continue just as if you were entering a MARSgram from the keyboard. LOAD MARSGRAM FROM SAVED TRAFFIC RUN: After selecting this option, you will be prompted to: ENTER NAME OF THE MARSGRAM DISK FILE Enter the filename where your traffic run has been stored. You can include a full path name if you wish. Now, you will be prompted to search for: MESSAGE NUMBER DATE-TIME GROUP SELECT NEW MARSGRAM DISK FILE SEARCH FILE BY MESSAGE NUMBER: Enter the traffic run message number, including the broadcast station 3-letter call, such as, "GFH 013" <CR>. MARSGRAM! now searches your traffic file and will display the message you have selected. At this point, only the message data to the first BT is displayed. You are asked: IS THIS THE CORRECT MARSgram? If it is the correct message, press "Y" <CR> and continue with editing or printing of the message just as before. If you enter "N" the program will search for the next message with the number you entered. You need enter the broadcast station call once; MARSGRAM! will "remember" the callsign for the next messages you enter during the current session. You may enter only the figures of the next message you will work with. You will see item 12 EXPAND LOCATION appear on screen along with the from/to data. If you wish to have the geographic location of the message print out completely, enter 12 <CR> when asked to enter item to change. By using this option, OA will print out as Okinawa, JA will print as Japan, etc. NOTE: This option prints ONLY geographic locations for the most common areas from which we receive messages. It does NOT print the geographic location for the states. SEARCH BY DATE-TIME GROUP: If selecting this option, enter the date- time group of the message you wish to print, i.e. 051830Z FEB 89 and press <CR>. Again MARSGRAM! searches your traffic file. When the message is found, all information to the first BT will be displayed. Follow the same procedure as for SEARCH FILE BY MESSAGE NUMBER and complete work on your MARSgram as before. SELECT NEW MARSGRAM DISK FILE: This selection will allow you to choose another traffic run file to work on. ┌───────────────────┐ │ ENTER SETUP │ └───────────────────┘ You may select this option to make any changes or corrections to the setup file. Again, the first time you run the MARSGRAM! Program, if a setup file does not exist, you are automatically placed in the setup file. ┌────────────┐ │ EXIT │ └────────────┘ Selecting EXIT will, of course, terminate the program and put you back at the system prompt. ┌────────────────┐ │ APPENDIX │ └────────────────┘ LIST OF ERROR MESSAGES AND EXPLANATION A choice of 0 or <CR> is not legal here. In the editor, you entered 0 or carriage return when a num- ber was required. Bad DATE-TIME GROUP! The program expects the DATE-TIME GROUP to be in the format DDTTTTZ MMMYY where DD is the day of the month, TTTT is the zulu time, MMM is the three-letter abbreviation for the month, and YY is the last two digits of the year. Since this is vital to know for any service messages that may have to be sent to follow up on a message, there is exten- sive error checking done to make sure that the DATE-TIME- GROUP makes sense. If you get this message, you have entered a bad DATE-TIME-GROUP or read a bad one from a message file. Bad Saved MARSgram file name! Try again. The filename that you entered to recover a saved MARSgram cannot be converted into a filename of the sort MGnnn.TXT where nnn is a number between 001 and 999. Error [some number] opening file [filename] You tried to open a file and got some error other than File not found. Check you DOS manual to find out the meaning of the error. Error processing MARSGRAM FROM line. Attempting to continue A string error occurred in handling the FROM line of a MARSgram. Chances are that the FROM line has a hit and it is shorter than the program expects. Cor- rect the FROM line information (Sender Name, Location of Origin, Originating Station) at the Message Information screen. Error processing MARSGRAM TO line. Attempting to continue. Essentially the same error as "Error processing MARSGRAM FROM line. Error reading DTG or Message Header, continuing... The program is searching for a message in a saved traffic file and found a line in the message that should contain either then message number or DATE-TIME GROUP. However, the line doesn't make sense to the program. This may or may not be the message for which you are searching, but the program lets you know about it just in case it is. Since the program does not know if this is the message you want, it keeps looking, because it probably isn't (unless you're being bitten by Murphy). File not found. Check path/file name. Should be self explanatory. Invalid Line/Word Choice! Try again. In the editor, you entered a line number or word number that doesn't exist. Line longer than [some number] characters! Re-enter. When entering text (probably to an area of MARSGRAM mes- sage information, you attempted to enter a line of text that is too long for the MARSGRAM form or screen display. Enter a shorter version. Limit insert text to 70 characters or less. You tried to insert a string of text into the MARSGRAM text that was more than 70 characters long. If you must do this, do it in two or more pieces. MARSGRAM.DAT non-existent or incomplete. When starting the program looks for the file MARSGRAM.DAT in the default directory. It then reads the setups that you have chosen from this file. If you have selected a different default directory than the one from which you have started MARSGRAM!, or if an End-of- File is encounter- ed while reading setups, or if you have not created (or have deleted) MARSGRAM.DAT, then you will get this error mesage. After this message is displayed, you will auto- matically enter the SETUP mode. Message is too large! Re-enter... When entering message text, you attempted to enter a mes- sage that would take over 10 lines. The MARSGRAM! program can only handle 10 lines of message text. Try re-entering your message with fewer hard returns in it. If you allow the program to format the lines, you may find that you can squeeze the message onto 10 lines. If you still can't do it, then a manual MARSgram is in order. The limitation is due to the fact that the is in order. The limitation is due to the fact that the development software (Borland Turbo Basic) does not really support ment software (Borland Turbo Basic) does not really support split screens, so there is no easy way to allow scrolling the top half of the screen (the text area) while leaving the bottom half. In In a future version of MARSGRAM!, I hope to do away with this limitation. Message Origin too long; truncating. Suspect hits in copy. This results from an error in proces- sing the FROM line. The program finds too much text between the FM and the / in the message. What the program thinks is the location of origin is cut down to fit the space avail- able. You probably took a hit in your copy. Message too long or BT or NNNN not found. Edit manually. The program read 10 lines of what it thought was message text without finding the end of that text (BT or NNNN). You have either a longer message than the program can handle, or you took a hit that wiped out the end of the message. if this is the case, you probably have some of the header of the ext message in the text of this message. No file [filename] found. In retrieving a saved MARSgram, a legitimate filename string was entered, but that file does not exist in the specified directory. No Originating Station found in FROM LINE The FROM line was found, but no / character was found in it. The MARSGRAM! program searches the FROM line for the / and uses everything to the right of it as originating sta- ion and location. This information will have to be entered manually. No word in a MARSGgram is that long! Get serious! When entering text into the MARSgram message, you entered more than 70 characters without a space. Path to [filename] not found When trying to read a saved MARSGRAM or save a MARSGRAM, the program was unable to find the directory specified. Requested MARSGRAM not found. When searching for a MARSGRAM from a saved traffic run, the MARSGRAM that you were looking for was not found. If you were looking for a specific message number, the program looks for the letters DE followed by the message number. If you were looking for a specific DATE-TIME-GROUP the program looks for the letter R followed by the DATE-TIME-GROUP. Pos- sible causes of this error are a bad message number (should be something like ABC 001, not just 001), a hit on the DE or R, a hit on or incorrect message number or DATE- TIME GROUP. The message generated during resequencing is too long The resequence option was selected and the re- sulting message is more than 10 lines long. There is no text on that line! You tried to do something with the editor that requires text to be on a specified line and it was a blank line. Unable to Auto-resequence after move, try manual resequence When moving text, the editor will automatically resequence text from the line that you moved text into as far as it needs to in order to get the text to fit. If the resulting message is more than 10 lines long, you get this message. You may be able to recover by doing a manual resequence of the entire message text. Unable to find CITY! The program found what it thinks is the zip code, but the character immediately before the zip is not a space; it realizes that it's not where it thinks it is! Correct the message header manually. Unable to find Date-Time-Group. Continuing... A message is being accessed by message number in a saved traffic run. The Message number was found, but the program was unable to find a line beginning with the letter R fol- lowed by the DATE-TIME-GROUP. Correct this manually at the message information display. Unable to find FROM line; continuing... The program found the message that you were looking for, but it did not find a line beginning with the letters FM. This line includes the name of the sender, the place of origin, the originating station, and the location of the originating station. Be sure and enter this at the message information screen. Unable to find PHONE NUMBER! The program thought that it was at the line that should con- tain the phone number, but when it looked at the text, it was nonnumeric or did not contain the text UNK. Enter manually. Unable to find TO Line! Cannot handle this message header! The MARSGRAM! program was unable to find a line beginning with TO. This means that it also cannot find the address and phone number information of the addee. This information will have to be entered manually. Unable to find UNCLAS in message; enter text manually! The program looks for the word UNCLAS in the message text. If it is not found, the program doesn't really know where the header ends and the message text begins. You will have to enter the text yourself. Unable to find ZIP CODE! The program looks for a string of numbers at the end of a line that it thinks contains the city and state. If the string of numbers is not there, this message is displayed. Enter manually. You have 999 old MARSGRAMS on file. Delete some before continuing! The program allows saved MARSGRAMS from MG001.TXT to MG999.TXT. If all numbers from 001 to 999 have files on your disk, it is unable to save your message. Either delete some of your saved messages or de- fine a new default directory in which to save them. If this number is a serious limita- tion to anyone, let me know. It's not engraved in stone that there can only be 999 saved messages, but that's a lot of saved MARSGRAMS to keep track of. Error formatting NMAT ONE MARSgram; Text needs Manual edit The program is processing a MARSgram from a saved traffic run that happens to be an NMAT ONE MARSgram and the program encountered some error condition that it couldn't handle. Make sure hits are removed from saved traffic runs before attempting to use MARSGRAM! on them. Illegal character in printer code This error occurs when setting up printer codes. You tried to enter a a numeric character (a character not enclosed in quotes) that had a character that was not a number, or one whose value was greater than 255. Invalid Social Security Number A SSN number was entered with an illegal number of characters. [Some Filename] not found; will be created. You are editing a printer definition file and specified the name of a file that the program can't find. This is not necessarily an error if you are creating a new printer file. ┌──────────────────────┐ │ FINAL COMMENTS │ └──────────────────────┘ WHAT MARSGRAM! WILL NOT DO: This program is not designed to allow the entry of multi-addee or book messages. Those are best handled by other means. Also, MARSGRAM! assumes that the precedence of all messages will be "Routine", since messages of higher precedence are normally delivered by telephone. And finally, it is assumed that the MARSgrams will be mailed within your area. Therefore, where the state abbreviation is to be printed, the Program takes that abbreviation from the setup file. If there appears to be sufficient need to do so, this limitation can be eliminated in a future release. Please let me know your thoughts, suggestions and of any bugs you may find. As with any program, it is hoped that future releases can be made even better. Please use the form provided with this documentation to provide any information concerning the program. If you find a problem when the program is reading a traffic file, please send along the file on disk and note how you asked MARS- GRAM! to search the file; by traffic run number or by date-time group, along with any\ specific details that might be helpful. You might include, with your Bug Report, a print screen showing just what you entered and what happened. Remember, when extracting messages from a traffic run file, you may wish to use your word processor to "clean up" the traffic. Be sure to then save the file as a non-document or ASCII file. If you are using a printer other than one included on the Program disk, please make a "print screen" of the codes you entered in the printer setup file and return it to NNN0FBP, along with the make/model of the printer. A new printer file will be created and included on future distribution copies for others to use. Mail the form to: Larry Schuldt NNN0QHD 3123 Northwest Rd. Marengo, IL 60152-9192 Thanks and enjoy! ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ REVISION HISTORY │ └─────────────────────────┘ CHANGES FROM 2.2 TO 2.3 1> MARSGRAM! can now handle 9-digit zip codes in the addee line. 2> A new option was added to the message info display. Option 12 allows expansion of the 2-letter code for the location of origin. For instance, OA is expanded to OKINAWA, CU become CUBA, etc. This is only for overseas and afloat locations. CHANGES FROM V2.1 TO 2.2 1> Due to an error that slipped in when code was being rearranged for V2.0, when an NMAT ONE MARSGRAM was entered from keyboard and things had to be changed (i.e., zip code), the change would not be updated to the message text. Fixed in V2.2 2> When entering NMAT ONE messages from the keyboard, MARSGRAM would look up the wrong zip code for K CO and L CO and come up with no zip code for M CO. Fixed in V2.2 3> A number of people were having problems with the vertical positioning of the paper for different printers. It seems that different printers seem to want different top margins, making it difficult to set the paper up so the address prints in the right place, for instance. The number of line feeds that the printer makes has been made a setup feature for each printer in this version. 4> MARGRAM! can now handle nine digit addee zip codes. CHANGES FROM V2.0 TO 2.1 1> When searching for MARSgrams by message number in a saved traffic run, it is no longer necessary to give the entire message number every time (ex. ABC 010). Give the entire message number the FIRST time. After the first *successful* search, MARSGRAM! will remember the prefix (in this case ABC). Then, to find any other message, enter the full message number (ex. ABC 011) or the number field (11 or 011). MARSGRAM! will expand the number field to the full message number and search for it. Also, if the message is not found, the error message has been expanded to let you know what the program was looking for. If you were searching for a specific message number, the error message reads "MARSgram (full message number) not found". If by Date-Time Group, the message reads "MARSgram (Date-Time Group) not found. 2> When entering the MARSgram message info section, it is now possible to switch between NMAT ONE and straight text MARSgrams on the fly. Use F1 when you want to switch to NMAT ONE MARSgrams. If you find you have selected NMAT ONE MARSgrams and you really want to handle a straight text MARSgram, use F2. These changes can be made up until the point when you will be entering the NMAT ONE info. Once you are at the point of entering a Social Security Number, it's too late.... CHANGES FROM V1.1-1 TO V 2.0 1> When entering MARSgrams from the keyboard, if you get the DATE-TIME GROUP wrong, you are not forced to re- enter it before you can proceed. A message is displayed, but the program continues. This way, you can continue with the other message info and not miss it. 2> The SETUPS have changed a lot. When entering the SETUP option, you have a new menu. One is the standard setups as before. The other one allows you to set up printer codes to correspons with YOUR printer. 3> The Print Option has been changed. A new choice is added to the Print Menu; that of Special Options. These Special Options allow you to: a> Append the MARSgram you are currently working on to a file. This file is named MARSGRAM.LIS. When you have several MARSGRAMs to print (best with a sheet feeder), you may place all the MARSgrams in one file. b> Print using a sheet feeder. If you have a sheet feeder on your printer, you may select this option. Using it, the address sides of all MARSgrams in MARSGRAM.LIS are printed. You are then prompted to turn the paper over. The program then prints the text sides and asks you if you want to delete the file when finished. c> Select other printer file. Normally, upon entering the print routine for the first time, the program loads the file DEFPRNTR.PTR, which is a file describing the codes of the DEFAULT printer to the program. If you have another printer that you like to use, just specify the name of the file containing the printer codes to be loaded at this option. 4> An overall attempt has been made to improve the flow of MARSgram entry. In previous versions of MARSGRAM!, when entering a MARSgram from the keyboard, you were asked if you wanted to make changes in the Message Information fields before you could enter the message text. Program flow has been re-arranged so that the MARSgram can be completely entered BEFORE you are asked if you want to make any corrections. This should prevent you from missing message text because you got (for instance) the ADDDE's CITY wrong and had to correct it before you could continue. 5> The setup procedure for colors has been greatly simplified. CHANGES FROM V1.1 TO V1.1-1 A minor problem was found and fixed which caused the first character in the call of the originating station to be dropped when retrieving a message from a saved traffic run. CHANGES FROM V1.0-1 TO V1.1 1> A "hot key" was added to the program to allow returning to the Main Menu from any point in the program with the exception of the SETUP routine. If a user makes a wrong choice, he no longer has to go through several entries before the menu allows him to return to the Main Menu. 2> When processing MARSgrams from a saved traffic run, the decoding of the FROM line has been improved. This has been done as follows: a. The program understands the term MCAS as well as CAMP. If it sees either of these in the FROM line of a MARSgram, it will break the line there. b. The program understands initials. If it does not find the words MCAS or CAMP in the FROM line, it will search for initials (take the example of the line PVT A B C DEE SAN DIEGO CA/NNNOMSD SCA. The program would realize that the one letter words A, B, and C were initials. It would then find the next word AFTER the initials, and make the decision that the SENDERS NAME was PVT A B C DEE and that the message origin was SAN DIEGO CA. 3> When processing NMAT ONE MARSgrams from a saved traffic run, the program checks the first line of message text for the string NMAT ONE. If it finds it, it enters a special subroutine to format the MARSgram the same way that NMAT ONE MARSgrams are formatted when entered from the keyboard. **NOTE** It is very likely that if the text area took a hit during the traffic run and requires editing, that the editor will remove one or more of the empty lines. This is unavoidable with the present editor. To prevent this happening, clean up your hits before using MARSgram! on a saved traffic run. CHANGES FROM V1.0 TO V1.0-1 1> A couple places where the code could hang were found and (I hope) fixed. 2> The option to SAVE a MARSgram to a file would hang on 'true blue' PCs if the printer was turned off or was off line. I believe this has been fixed. 3> The algorithm used to break up the FROM line in a saved traffic run has been changed. It will now search for the word CAMP in the FROM line as before. If the word CAMP does not exist, it will assume that the location of message origin is one word long and to the left of the slant bar. NOTE: If anyone has any ideas for a reasonably reliable algorithm to seperate the location from the sender's name in the FROM line of a MARSgram, I'd love to hear it. 4> There is an extra blank line and the words MESSAGE TEXT: above the message text area on a MARSGRAM ┌────────────────────┐ │ REGISTRATION │ └────────────────────┘ If you found MARSGRAM! helpful, why not complete the registra- tion form below and return it as soon as possible. A donation in any amount you feel appropriate will be most apprec iated and will be used to acquire improved/updated programming tools which will, in turn, be used to improve MARSGRAM!. When you register, you will be placed on a mailing list and notified when new Releases of MARSGRAM! are made available. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ REGISTRATION FORM ║ ║ ║ ║To receive mail notification of new versions of MARSGRAM!, ║ ║please complete and return this form: Print or type inform- ║ ║mation. ║ ║ ║ ║DATE: _________ RELEASE # _______ MARS CALLSIGN: _________ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║NAME: __________________________ PHONE: (____)_____________ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║CITY: ______________________ STATE: ______ ZIP: __________ ║ ║ ║ ║(OPTIONAL) ║ ║DONATION ENCLOSED $__________ ║ ║Make checks payable to: Larry Schuldt. ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ┌──────────────────┐ │ BUG REPORT │ └──────────────────┘ Please use this form to submit your comments, suggestions or advise of any bugs you may find. Mail to: Larry Schuldt, NNN0QHD, 3123 Northwest Rd., Marengo, IL 60152-0102 ================================================================ PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE NAME: ______________________ MARS CALLSIGN: ___________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________ CITY: _____________________ STATE: ____ ZIP: __________________ PHONE NUMBER: (____)_____________ RELEASE VERSION # ___________ ================================================================ What were you trying to do? What happened? Is it repeatable; i.e., does it happen every time you do the same thing? What is your hardware setup? If you had the program fail when using a saved traffic run, please put a copy of it on floppy, so the failure can be duplicated and analyzed. If the program doesn't print correctly with your printer, please also enclose a photocopy of the codes that your printer wants to see for the different print styles/commands. This can usually be found in the printer manual. ┌───────────┐ │ END │ └───────────┘