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================================================================= The $ R / O R E A D O N L Y -={ October 1985 }=- The monthly news magazine of the Tampa Bay Kaypro User's Group and the DataCOM Network RCP/M Systems Group ================================================================= Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop) ================================================================= The DataCOM Network consists of three remote databases with 60 megabyte of files available to members 24 hours. An annual fee of $30.00 is required for access, an application may be down- loaded by calling System #1 at (813) 937-3608 at 300/1200/2400 baud or send a SASE along with your request to: TBKUG/DataCOM Network 14 Cypress Drive Palm Harbor, FL 33563 NOTE: Articles and reviews of machines, hardware, software, and other peripherals reflect currently advertised prices as released by the distributors and are included here for YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. The TBKUG/DataCOM Network is NOT being paid to advertise these products and we cannot be held responsible for the price and/or performance of said products. ================================================================= -={ THE TBKUG IS MOVING !! }=- I will be moving into a new location on November 15 and the new address will be: TBKUG / DataCOM Network 2643 Cedarview Court Clearwater, FL 33519 Please note that ALL telephone lines both voice and data will also be changing and the new numbers will be in effect as of November 15. I would expect at least a day or two of interrupted chaotic service before things get back to normal so please be patient. Modem Line 1 (813) 791-1454 Modem Line 2 (813) 791-1455 -={ Solid Underlining with Wordstar & Okidata }=- by Randy Reder At the last TALKUG meeting someone had a question on how to do solid underlining using Wordstar with the Okidata printer. There were a couple of methods suggested by other members. The one I find easiest is to utilize the special printer codes that can be set using Winstall. Everybody should have received a program called WINSTALL.COM on the disk that contains their Wordstar Package. Transfer that program and WS.COM to a blank formatted disk. At the A> prompt, type in WINSTALL. The program will take you through a few sets of instructions on how to install Wordstar. It will then present a main menu. At this point select the function which concerns the customization of printers. You will then be presented with another menu which will let you select the options for entering the printer codes for boldface, superscript, subscript, etc. On my program the "O" option is labeled as user defined codes. Select this option. The screen will then advise you that the first user-defined function is ^P^Q and will ask you how you want to define this function. The code to begin solid underlining for the Okidata 92 printer is found on page 85 of the printer manual. The hex code is 1B 43. To instruct WINSTALL that you are using hex code you need to type an "h" after each pair of characters. So at this point type in "1Bh 43h." The program will ask you to verify this selection before moving on to the next screen which will prompt you to insert the function for ^P^W. On the same page of the printer manual you will find that the hex code for ending the underlining is "1B 44." So type in "1Bh 44h." The program then will continue on in a similar manner prompting you to define the functions ^P^E and ^P^R. I have defined the ^P^R key to print in double space. This allows me to write the text on the screen in single space, but then have the document printed in double space. The hex code for the Okidata 92 is found on p. 82 of the manual. It is 1B 25 31 32. Now finish the instructions of the program. When you are done, it will inform you that Wordstar is installed and return you to the A> prompt. Now try your new printer functions out. Enter Wordstar and create a test document. When you want to begin underlining type in ^P^Q. Like all of the other printer functions, the ^P does not show up on the screen. Instead you will only see the ^Q. Now type a few words and then type ^P^W. Save your document and print it. You should find that all the characters including spaces between the ^P^Q and ^P^W are under- lined. Naturally, the ^P^Q and ^P^W will not show up at all. If you want to underline text that extends past one line and continues onto another, note that the margin preceding the second line will also be underlined. To avoid this you need to enter a ^P^W at the end of each line and begin the underlining again by entering ^P^Q at the beggining of the next line. -={ WHATSNEW in the Public Domain }=- For the ZCPR3 enthusiasts we submit the following: ARUNZ04A.LBR This is the new Alias-Run utility that does for alias script files what LRUNZ does for .COM files. Many different alias scripts may be stored in one file called ALIAS.CMD and then run when called from the commandline. This is a big space saver especially on machines like the Kaypro 10 with a 4k minimum block allocation. BIOSMR12.LBR is an upgrade to Michael Rubenstein's BIOSMMR for the Kaypro 10 owner. This update was done by John Smith and now allows the use of Echelon's ZRDOS+ replacement for Digital Research's CP/M BDOS. BIOSMR12 also supports some new features added by John to allow much quicker loading of the STARTUP files and includes them in the B drive overlay. LUZ3.LBR contains library utilities for use under ZCPR3 and includes a nice LDIR-type program, a LGET to extract members, and a LX program which is the fastest CMDRUN I've seen yet for use with a COMMAND.LBR file. VALIAS11.LBR is the official release version of Jay Sage's video alias editor. Enough cannot be said about this fine utility, especially if you re-write aliases as often as I do. You can edit/insert/delete/change any portion of the alias script desired and then re-save to disk. VERROR13.LBR is a new type of video-oriented error handler that allows you to go back and edit the commandline in error using Wordstar-style cursor commands. VFILER37 is the latest in a long line of NewSweep-type disk maintenance utilities for ZCPR3 users. Al Dunsmuir has done an excellent job of optimizing the code and it now runs faster then ever before. It now has all the features of NSWP except for the ability to squeeze a file. -={ WHATSNEW for the CP/M-80 users }=- DAZLSTAR.LBR contains a unique full screen, multi-windowed disassembler for Z80 programs. It has a complete tutorial on it's useage built in and can be called on-screen anytime you need help. DZ is a simple and fun program to help you learn the inner mysteries of what makes Z80 programs run. (This is also available as TBKUG User Disk #079 by mail - all TBKUG User Disk volumes are $10/ea, we furnish the disk, the mailer, and the postage.) DCAT10.LBR has a utility for listing all files on each individually cataloged disk in your MAST.CAT file. It reads in the MAST.CAT file produced by MCAT45 and then outputs the results to the printer. DDRAWTUT.WQ is a complete tutorial on the use of Dan Griffith's graphic utility DDraw. It was written by our good friends at PeopleTalk Associates in Dallas Texas. If you have been having a hard time figuring out how to make DDraw do one thing or another - it's covered in this file. DDRAWTUT.WQ is a Wordstar formatted file ready for "P"rinting by WS.COM FINPAK-C.LBR is a menu-driven multi-function financial package consisting of 7 different functions. (1) Compound Interest & Loan Amortization, (2) Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, (3) Depreciation, (4) Simple Interest & Interest Conversion, (5) Sum of the Periods-Digits Amortizations, (6) Fixed Principal Payment Amortization, and (7) Complex Discounted Cash Flow Analysis. Need I say more? GSUB13.LBR is a SUBMIT or EX replacement that puts it command buffer in memory instead of in a $$$.SUB file. It allows for: internal program input seperate from CCP input, chaining of batch files, run from command line or SUB file, unlimited command space, variables $1 - $9, control characters, wait for console input, and comments. (As always - all programs listed in WHATSNEW are available online on the DataCOM Super Systems(tm), some files may be on system #1 and some may be on system #2.) -={ A LOOK AT KAMAS }=- By Carol McGinnis (KUGIG) KAMAS -- the Knowledge and Mind Amplification System -- is an integrated software package for the Kaypro and other CP/M machines, which includes a built-in remote bulletin board system, a built-in language, and an outline processor, the subject of this review. Unlike word processing, outline processing deals with the manipu- lation of ideas. It's a method of constructing -- as the title implies -- an outline. Because KAMAS is not specifically made for genealogists, you will not be able to construct pedigree charts or traditional family group sheets. But KAMAS is a good tool to use to keep track of an ancestor and his or her descendents. In fact, the form the KAMAS outline takes reminds me of outlines I've seen in family history books. Someone working on their own book might want to check out KAMAS for this reason. Since the KAMAS outline processing manual uses terms already familiar to the genealogist to describe the outline -- such as ancestor, descendent, parent, child -- the genealogist will have a head start on learning to use this program. The smallest unit in the KAMAS outline is the "key," which is the required part of the "title." The key can be as long as 31 characters and each key in the outline must be unique. This makes the key the ideal spot for an ID number. Unlike traditional genealogy programs which place limitations on the kind of ID numbers or codes that can be used, there are no restrictions on the characters that can be used for the key. Numbers, letters and hyphens can all be used, virtually giving the KAMAS user an unlimited combination of keys. The key, as I said, is the required part of the title. The optional part of the title is the "subtitle," which can be as long as 63 characters. The sub-title would be a good place for the name of the person. Each title can have an optional "leaf." The leaf can be as long as 2420 characters, which is the equivalent of 38 full lines of type. The leaf be a good place to include all the information known about the person named in the title. The KAMAS word processor -- used to construct the leaves -- cannot compete with WordStar. (Sorry Perfect Writer fans, I'm not familiar with that one.) However, the KAMAS word processor is adequate for the task and easy to use. Each item in the outline (consisting of the title and leaf) is known as the "stem," the basic unit in the outline. An item or stem with all of it's descendents is a branch. The entire outline or file is known as a "topic." According to the manuel, up to 16 topics can be accessed at once. (This is a feature I did not try.) There can only be one item at the top of the outline , known as the "top." The rest of the outline is arranged in levels. Each item (excluding the top) is immediately below one other item, known as its "parent." Every item (including the top) can be immediately above any number of items, known as its "children." Although this may sound confusing, it is not confusing when one is actually using KAMAS and can see how one part relates to another. Items in an outline do not have to be entered consecutively. Once entered, items can be moved up or down within the outline. Items can be added at any point in the outline and they can be deleted. Genealogists will find this most helpful, since most of us are constantly finding new kin. One feature of KAMAS I especially appreciated was the ability to output the outline to disk for storage, to the printer to get a hard copy, or to a CP/M file so that the outline can be further edited with a word processor. Each line of the CP/M file ends in a hard carriage return, which might cause some minor problems in editing with WordStar. It's my understanding that this would not be a problem with Perfect Writer. Files can be sent to the printer formatted or unformatted. To begin construction of an outline with KAMAS, place KAMAS in drive A and a formatted data disk in drive B. (Make sure you have a disk in B. I didn't the first time I tried KAMAS and my computer grunted and groaned and KAMAS wouldn't start up.) KAMAS signs on in the Rove mode, which is the mode used to work with outlines. If you are creating a new outline, type T -- the abbreviation for "topic environment." Then type P to prepare a new topic or outline. The computer will ask for the size of the topic. You may select any size from 8K to 8000K depending on your disk capacity. However, the manuel suggests starting with a 64k file. (It didn't say if a file can be enlarged later.) Once the size is specified, the file then takes up that amount of space on the data disk, regardless of how much data is in the file. When you wish to check, the T command under T (topic environment) will tell you the percentage of space used in each topic file. After specifying the size of the file, you must name the file. Apparently, you are not limited to 8 characters for a name, but only 8 characters with the extension TOP (for topic) appear on the disk's directory. The name of the file appears as the first line or title in the outline, so some care should be taken in selecting a name. Once in the edit mode the name or title can be changed. However, the name of the file also would change. Once a topic is created, you may begin editing the outline by typing E at the Rove prompt, and then typing O for outline. You will be presented with the title of the topic across the top line of the screen and the cursor will be at the far left of the line blinking over a "." The "." later changes to a "+" when the item gains "children" -- items which are subordinate. Typing E for edit at this point, gives you the option of editing the title or the leaf. Typing I gives up the option of inserting a new item. Overall, I was impressed with KAMAS. During the short time I spent with it, I did not feel I had mastered it, but right away I could see it had potential for genealogists. If a genealogist only wants to purchase one program or only wants the bother of learning one program, I would hesitate to recommend KAMAS as the one program to get. However, I would recommend KAMAS as a powerful auxiliary program. -={ Make The Reset Button Your Friend }=- by Charles Stafford, SKUG That little red button labeled "RESET" in the manual, is the real subject of this dissertation. Not only is it really your friend,as we shall see, but it can easily be relocated to make it much more convenient (if I can do it, on the first try without screwing something up, anyone can!!!). The physical function of the RESET button is to tell the reset pin on the main chip (the Z-80) to do a "cold boot". (If you already know all this, just skip to the part after "HOGWASH". In spite of the fact that KAYPRO cleverly "hid" it to prevent inadvertent use, and colored it red to make us fearful, the red does not mean that everything will blow up. What's more, it takes a fair amount of pressure to operate, making "accidents" unlikely. The only switching involved is an extremely small, low voltage signal. There is no AC switching at all, so there are no large transients running around the drives to "scramble" a diskette. You will, however, lose whatever is in the RAM at the time. Why in the world then, you ask, would I ever want to do a "cold boot"? There are three situations I can think of, right offhand, that would call for it. First, a new and untried piece of software that "locks up" the keyboard; second, to check on a new sysgen, that you've added "autostart" instructions or an initial command line to; third, when you've fouled up whatever is in the RAM (I know YOU'D never be in this situation, but I have been) so irretrievably that it's just easier to start over rather than try to salvage anything. In these situations, the only solutions are: shut the whole works off, and head for the Margaritas; or, use the magic red button. Unfortunately if you choose the magic button, you need arms like Wilt Chamberlain and eyes in your finger tips, (no, I never have any trouble finding it or reaching it, HOGWASH). Now comes the interesting part. Relocating that elusive little red monster to the front panel actually involves very little trauma, and even less money. They (the factory) made it easy for us, they didn't even tighten the ring on the button more than "finger tight". Here we go: 1. Unplug the computer, and remove the power cord from its socket on the back. (All instructions for anything start this way.) 2. Remove the 10 screws that hold the hood on your computer, they're "Phillip's" and are very tight unless someone has had it apart since it left the factory. 3. Remove the hood, and set it aside. 4. Find the reset button and its two white wires and observe their route back to the printed circuit boards; they join a couple of the other wires (with plastic wire ties) and go right past the back of the front panel. 5. The best (most convenient) place to put the reset button seems to be between the drives and the video tube. The exact location will be dictated by your desires. I put mine above the power light and just even with the slot in the "A" drive. The space behind this part of the panel is clear so all the metal chips from the next operation will fall to the bottom and can be vacuumed out. 6. At the selected location, drill a small pilot hole, and then a 3/8 inch hole and vacuum out the shavings and chips. 7. Now use a small pair of nippers (finger nail clippers will do if used with care), cut the two plastic wire ties, that restrain the wires that come from the reset button. 8. Unscrew the ring around the reset button on the outside of the case, move the button to the new hole and reinstall the ring as tight as your fingers can get it. There's nothing that will really disturb it, and it's only plastic, so don't use pliers. 9. For those real purists, now's the time for a trip to HSC where a few cents will make you the owner of two new plastic wire ties, the right size which you can install to hold the wires in their new location. (Us normal folks can skip this step.) l0. Reinstall the hood, put all 10 screws back in. You're finished, and will no longer need those grotesque arms (maybe you can trade them to Mike for some new software). Enjoy your new found freedom! -={ Review: Qwikkey v 2.1 }=- by Randy Reder Have you ever dreamed about buying one of those wonderful programs such as Prokey or Smartkey so that you could define certain keys to perform several functions while using Wordstar, but never felt you could afford it? Then look at the program QK21.COM which is found in the QK-21.LBR file. This program is updated version of the original QK.COM. The main difference is that it now works with Wordstar. At the A> prompt, type QK21. The screen will aske you to designate an attention/termination key and an escape sequence key. The same key can be designated for both functions. This key is the one which will tell your computer that you want to define a key to perform different or series of functions. It can be hit at any time, during any program or at the A> prompt. Designate a key which you will not be using for any other reason. I have designated my backslash key, "\", to be both the attention/termination and escape sequence key. The program will then inform you that Qwikkey is loaded and will return you to the A> prompt. Now enter Wordstar and begin typing a test document. When you want to define a key to perform a different function, hit the key you have just designated. In my case I press the backslash key. The screen then displays the following prompt: "Key:" At this point I select a key which I won't be using while working on the document. The screen will display that character followed by an equal sign. For example if I select the "[" key, the screen will show: "Key:[=" Then I type in the new definition. For example, I could type in "^Q^R^K^B^Q^C^K^K^K^W". This sequence instructs the cursor to go to the beginning of the document, mark the beginning of the block, go to the end of the document, mark the ending of the block, and then write the entire block to a file. You will then be prompted for the name of a file to write the block to. Once you have entered several definitions for different keys, you can save these definitions to a file so you want have to reenter them everytime you want to do this. You save the definitions by typing "QK21" at the A> prompt. The definitions will then be saved in a filed called QK21.DEF. You can make up your own file names. Like the original version, these new key functions are not saved once you turn the computer off or cold boot it. So the next time you want to use the new key functions you have to reload them. This updated version allows you to do this quite easily. At the A> prompt, type in "QK21 L." This will instruct the program to load the definitions that were originally saved in the file QK21.DEF. -={ PRODUCT NEWS }=- From the Nashville KUG Perfect Software / Word Plus Self-Help Package from Rememberbooks. Richard L. George of the Tidewater KUG has prepared a set of 14 flip charts that contain the "guts" of the manuals (plus undocumented commands) for the Perfect programs and The Word Plus. The package also includes extensive disk narratives (over 245K) and a two-year Index (30K) of the major computer magazines. $12.95. Write Rememberbooks, Box 2501, Virginia Beach, VA 23450. People's Choice Computer Information Network. Another alternative to CompuServe and The Source. Local access in more that 500 cities. Offers electronic mail, a bulletin board, classified ads, public domain software, games, an encyclopedia and information in several other categories, and special interest groups (including one for CP/M). Base price is $9.50. Connect time is $10/hour during the day, $4/hour evenings. There is no surcharge for 1200-baud. Call 916-966-4317 or write People's Choice, Box 1807, Fair Oaks, CA 95628. Programmed Press now has an investment-oriented statistical software package available for all Kaypro models. The collection of 50 programs - covering statistical forecasting, stocks, bonds, options, futures and foreign exchange-require only one disk drive and 64-K memory. They also offer a 220 page Computer-Assisted Handbook that explains all the programs. The ready-to-run diskette containing all 50 programs is $l00; the book is $l9.95. Contact them at 230l Baylis Ave., Elmont, N.Y, 11003, or call 516-775-0933. PBCS is offering a line of packaged software available in both CP/M and PC-DOS. Programs include Loan Manager, Phone Manager, Menu Manager, Nutrition Manager and Friendly (home management). They also design or customize software for home or business use. Call [206] 641-7390 or write 13701 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98005. WORKBOOK.FIN by Linda Latta, helps you get the most out of your Perfect Writer software, including "pretty printing". Specifically, it's a manual for Perfect Formatter, and explores the dark crevices of PFCONFIG.COM. The manual is 38 pages (including a command index), costs $12, and will surprise even the experienced PW user. Published by Triple L Manuscripts, Box 77, Monmonth, OR 97361. Sheepshead Software has reduced the price of their Kaypro Universal Drive Test Kit to $99. The kit includes a Dysan Digital Diagnostic Disk and program disk, and it works on either old Tandon TM-100 or newer half-height drives, but not on the Robie. Additional or update copy-program disks are $15, and a new Dysan DDD is $40. Call 1-800-654-9275 or write Sheepshead Software, Box 486, Boonville, CA 95415. Internal/external hard disk upgrade kits. The Kaypro 2, 4, 10, and 16 can be fitted internally or externally with formatted hard-disk drives ranging from 10MB to 240MB. Price range is $950-16,495. The pre-tested kits come with complete installation instructions. Also available are backup systems consisting of a 20MB-60MB steamer tape or 10MB removable cartridge disk; price range is $1,550-2,195. Contact Technology Information System Inc., 3621 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85012, or call 1-800-821- 1989, ext. 448. -={ Avoiding The 1989 PF Crash }=- Did you know that part of the Perfect Filer Version 1.xx is designed to fail in 1989? Beginning then PF won't accept the "current date", meaning that you won't be able to use that template to date letters and reports. Also, PF won't automatically record "date entered" on new records, making it harder to select subsets on the basis of elapsed time. By simply changing one byte in the file "SETUP", the life of Perfect File will be extended by 11 years to 1999. By then someone can crack the 2000 barrier, if anyone cares. The deadly byte is a hex "58" (decimal 88) at address 0715 (hex) of SETUP. Change it to a hex 63 (decimal 99). While you are at it, you may wish to change the nearby byte at hex 0719 for hex 50 to hex 55 (decimal 85), so that PF will reject erroneous current years of less that 1985. You can change these bytes using DDT. Put a copy of SETUP (this is a 4K file on your Perfect Filer disk) on a disk with CP/M's DDT.COM, and proceed as follows. (<CR> means carriage return.) you enter . . . A>ddt setup <--- "ddt setup <CR>" DDT VERS 2.2 NEXT PC 1000 100 -s715 <CR> <--- "s715 <CR>" 0715 58 63 <--- "63 <CR>" 0716 00 <--- "<CR>" 0717 E5 <--- "<CR>" 0718 21 <--- "<CR>" 0179 50 55 <--- "55 <CR>" 071A 00 . <--- ". <CR>" -g0 <--- "g0" Warm Boot A>save 15 setup <--- "save 15 setup <CR>" Copy the modified SETUP to your FILER disk and verify that PF now accepts current years up to 99, but not less that 85. -={ Until Next Month... }=- Many thanks to all the TBKUG / DataCOM Networks members for your support. The new system is fast coming together and should be in the "on-line" testing phase very soon. Until next time -- Steve