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1994-09-21
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STARTING
Here's how to start using Q&A versions 3 and 4 for DOS. (If
you're still using version 1, 1.1, or 2, follow my instructions
for version 3, which is similar. Better yet, upgrade!)
I'll assume you have a hard disk whose CONFIG.SYS file mentions
``files'' and ``buffers'' (as I recommended in the MS-DOS
chapter).
Copy Q&A to the hard disk
Version 3 comes on seven 5¼-inch floppies. Version 4 comes on
eight 5¼-inch floppies. (If you want 3½-inch floppies, ask your
dealer for the 3½-inch version.)
Here's how to copy Q&A to the hard disk.
Version 3 Turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A.
After the C prompt, type ``md qa'' (so you're making a
subdirectory called QA). After the next C prompt, type ``cd qa''
(so you're changing to the QA subdirectory).
Put Q&A System Disk 1 into drive A, and type ``copy a:*.*''
(which copies all the floppy's files onto the hard disk). Follow
the same procedure for all the other Q&A floppy disks, in
numerical order: do Q&A System Disk 2, then Q&A System Disk 3,
etc., and finally the Q&A Tutorial.
Version 4 Turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A.
When you see the C prompt, put the Q&A #1 Install Disk in drive A
and type ``a:install''.
The computer says, ``Q&A Version 4.0 Installation''. Press
ENTER twice.
The computer says, ``DESTINATION DRIVE SELECTION''. Press the
down-arrow key twice, so the ``C:'' is darkened. Press ENTER.
The computer says ``C:\QA4''. Tap the BACKSPACE key (so you
change the computer's message to ``C:\QA''). Press ENTER twice.
Here's what happens next (when you're using 5¼-inch floppies).
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 2''. Put the Q&A #2 Disk
in drive A and press ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 3''. Put the Q&A #3 Disk
in drive A and press ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 4''. Put the Q&A #4 Disk
in drive A and press ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 5''. Put the Q&A #5 Disk
in drive A and press ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 6''. Put the Q&A #6 Disk
in drive A. Press ENTER 4 times.
Then the computer shows the top of an alphabetical list of
printers. Press the down-arrow key several times, until your
printer is darkened.
Press the SPACE bar (so a check mark appears next to your
printer). Press ENTER 4 times.
Here's what happens next:
The computer shows a list of tutorial files. Press the F5 key.
Press ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 7''. Put the Q&A #7 Disk
in drive A. Press ENTER 4 times.
The computer shows a list of databases. Press the F5 key. Press
ENTER 4 times.
Then the computer shows a list of utility files. Put check
marks next to ASC-CODE.ASC, LINE-DOC.DOC, and QABACKUP.EXE. (Do
not put a check mark next to HIMEM.SYS, since that version of
HIMEM.SYS is obsolete.) To create a check mark, press the
down-arrow key repeatedly until the item you want to check is
darkened, then press the SPACE bar. When you've created all three
check marks, end the whole process by pressing ENTER.
The computer says, ``Please insert disk 8''. Put the Q&A #8
Disk in drive A. Press ENTER 5 times.
Make Q&A act better
After you've copied Q&A to the hard disk, make Q&A act better.
Here's how.
Step 1: get to the utilities menu Type ``qa''. Computer says
``Q&A MAIN MENU''. Press U then ENTER. Computer says ``UTILITIES
MENU''.
Step 2: select automatic execution Press S then ENTER. Press
the down-arrow key several times, until the words ``Automatic
Execution'' are highlighted. Press the left-arrow key (so that
the word ``Yes'' is highlighted). Press
the F10 key. Computer says ``UTILITIES MENU'' again.
Step 3:
select a printer Press P. The computer will say ``PRINTER
SELECTION''. Press ENTER twice.
If you're
using version 3, here's what happens next:
Computer says ``LIST OF PRINTERS''. Press the PAGE DOWN (or PgDn)
key repeatedly until you see the name of your printer (or a
similar printer). Use the arrow keys to move to your printer's
name. Press ENTER twice. Press the F10 key.
If you're
using version 4, this happens instead:
Computer says ``LIST OF PRINTER MANUFACTURERS''. If you don't see
name of your printer's manufacturer, press PAGE DOWN (or PgDn)
key. Use arrow keys to move to your printer's name. Press ENTER.
You see a list of printer models. Use arrow keys and PAGE DOWN
key to move to your printer model. Press ENTER twice.
Finally, the
computer says, ``Your printer has been installed''. Press N. The
computer says ``UTILITIES MENU'' again.
Step 4: exit
Press the ``Esc'' key. Press X. You'll see a C prompt. Turn off
the computer, so you can start fresh.
Run Q&A
To run Q&A,
turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A.
If you've
put the DO.BAT file onto your hard disk (as I recommended in the
MS-DOS chapter) and put Q&A into the QA subdirectory (as I
recommended above), your life is easy! Just type ``do qa''.
If you have
not put DO.BAT onto your hard disk, do this instead: type ``cd
qa'' and then ``qa''.
The computer
will print this on the screen:
Q&A MAIN MENU
F - File
R - Report
W - Write
A - Assistant
U - Utilities
X - Exit Q&A
That main
menu is a list of the various activities the program can perform
for you.
If you're
using version 4 and have a mouse, you'll see a small red
rectangle in the middle of the screen. Move that rectangle out of
the way ___ to the screen's top right corner ___ by rolling the
mouse toward your desk's back right corner.
Get into typing
To use Q&A's word processor, choose ``W - Write'' from the main
menu by pressing the W key. (That works if you followed my
instructions about ``select automatic execution''. If you did not
follow those instructions, you must press ENTER after pressing W
___ and you must press ENTER after choosing any item from any
menu!)
The screen will show the write menu:
WRITE MENU
T - Type/edit
D - Define page
P - Print
C - Clear
G - Get
S - Save
U - Utilities
M - Mailing labels
That menu is a list of what Q&A's word processor can do for
you.
To begin, choose ``T - Type/edit'' from the write menu (by
pressing T).
The lower right-hand corner of the screen will say ``Line 1 of
Page 1 of 1'', which means you can begin typing your document.
Type the document
Begin typing whatever document you wish to create. For example,
try typing a novel that begins like this:
Once upon a time, a man was walking down the street, when lo and
behold, his house was gone. As he gaped into the hole, a burning
sensation in his shoes warned him that . . .
I'll let you complete that paragraph yourself! Be creative!
Shift keys To capitalize a letter, type the letter while
holding down a Shift key. (One Shift key is next to the Z key;
the other Shift key is next to the ? key. Each Shift key has an
up-arrow on it.)
BACKSPACE key If you make a mistake, erase it by pressing the
BACKSPACE key, which erases the character you just typed. (The
BACKSPACE key is in the upper-right corner of the keyboard's main
section. It's to the right of the + key, and it has a left-arrow
on it.)
ENTER key As you type that paragraph and get near the right
margin, do not press the ENTER key. Just keep on typing! The
computer will press the ENTER key for you automatically.
If you try to type a long word near the right margin, and the
word's too long to fit before the margin, the computer will
automatically move the entire word to the line below. The
computer's ability to automatically move an entire word to the
line below is called word wrap.
Since the computer automatically presses the ENTER key for you,
never press the ENTER key yourself until you reach the end of a
paragraph. Pressing the ENTER key there makes the computer return
to the left margin, so that you can begin a new paragraph.
Pressing the ENTER key means: begin a new paragraph.
If you want to double-space between paragraphs, press the ENTER
key twice.
TAB key If you want to indent the new paragraph's first word,
press the TAB key before typing that word. (The TAB key is next
to the Q key and has arrows on it.) Pressing the TAB key indents
the word a half inch.
To indent the word even farther, press the TAB key extra times
before typing the word. Each extra time you press the TAB key,
the word indents a full inch farther.
Lists To type a list of short lines, such as this recipe for
White Death Cookies ___
3 cups of powdered milk
2 cups of water
1 pound of sugar
1 pound of cocaine
mix & shape
bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
serves 7 ghosts
press the ENTER key at the end of each line.
Try typing
this English-French dictionary:
ENGLISH FRENCH
love amour
pain peine
tenderness
tendresse
Here's how. Type the first column's heading (ENGLISH), press the
TAB key several times (to move far to the right), type the second
column's heading (FRENCH), and press ENTER. Type ``love'', press
the TAB key repeatedly until you're under FRENCH, type ``amour'',
and press ENTER. Use the same technique for the table's other
lines.
CAPS LOCK
If you press
the CAPS LOCK key, the letters of the alphabet will be
automatically capitalized (and you'll be in caps mode), until you
press the CAPS LOCK key again. When you're in caps mode, the
screen's bottom center says ``Caps''.
If your
keyboard is modern, its top right corner has a Caps Lock light.
When you're in caps mode, that light glows.
NUM LOCK
On the
keyboard's right side, you'll see a group of keys containing
numbers. That group of keys is called the numeric keypad.
Try this
experiment: on the numeric keypad, press the 5 key. If that made
a ``5'' appear on your screen, you're in number mode. If that did
not make a ``5'' appear on your screen, you're not in number
mode. To switch to or from number mode, press the NUM LOCK key.
When you're
in number mode, the screen's bottom center says ``Num''.
If your
keyboard is modern, its top right corner has a Num Lock light.
When you're in number mode, that light glows.
In this
chapter, we'll use the numeric keypad for purposes more advanced
than typing numbers. So to follow the instructions in this
chapter, do not use those keys to type numbers: do NOT be in
number mode. (Do not have the bottom of the screen say ``Num''.
Do not let the Num Lock light glow. Do not let the 5 key put a
``5'' on the screen.)
Press the
NUM LOCK key if necessary, so that you're not in number mode.
Move the cursor
After you've typed a few paragraphs (and pressed the ENTER key
at the end of each paragraph), you can move around the screen and
edit your document.
Arrow keys On your screen the short, blinking underline is
called the cursor. To move the cursor up, press the key that has
an up-arrow on it. You can move the cursor in all four
directions, by pressing the up-arrow, down-arrow, left-arrow, and
right-arrow keys. Each of those keys automatically repeats: so to
move the cursor up several lines, just keep your finger on the
up-arrow key a while.
(If the arrow keys don't work, that's because you're in number
mode. Get out of number mode by pressing the NUM LOCK key.)
Word hop While holding down the CONTROL key (which says
``Ctrl'' on it), you can tap the right-arrow key. That makes the
cursor hop to the right: to the next word.
While holding down the CONTROL key, you can tap the left-arrow
key. That makes the cursor hop left to the beginning of the
current word; if the cursor's already at the word's beginning, it
will hop to the beginning of the previous word.
Pages A sheet of paper is called a page. The typical page is
tall enough to hold 54 lines of your document. The page is taller
than your screen, which holds just 21 lines.
As you type, the computer automatically divides your document
into pages and screenfuls.
When you're at the top of a page, the screen shows the top of
that sheet of paper, like this:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
When you're at the bottom of a page, the screen shows the bottom
of that sheet of paper, like this:
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
When you're moving from one page to the next, the screen shows
the bottom of one page and then the top of the next page, like
this:
│ │
╞══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
│ │
Near the top and bottom of each page, the screen shows a blank
space, for the top and bottom margins.
Far hop To make the cursor hop far, press these keys:
Keys you press Where the cursor will move
HOME the beginning of the line
HOME HOME the top of the screen
HOME HOME HOME the top of the page
HOME HOME HOME HOMEthe beginning of the document
Ctrl with HOME very top (same as four HOMEs)
END the end of the line
END END the bottom of the screen
END END END the bottom of the page
END END END END the end of the document
Ctrl with END very end (same as four ENDs)
PAGE UP (PgUp) the previous screenful
PAGE DOWN (PgDn)the next screenful
Ctrl with PgUp the previous page
Ctrl with PgDn the next page
DELETE key
To delete the character
you just typed, press the BACKSPACE key. To delete a character
you typed long ago, move the cursor to that character, then press
the DELETE key (which says ``Del'' on it). To delete a passage
typed long ago, move the cursor to passage's beginning, then tap
the DELETE key several times (or hold down the DELETE key a
while), until the passage disappears.
Combine paragraphs After
typing two paragraphs, here's how to combine them to form a
single paragraph that's longer.
By pressing the up-arrow
key, move the cursor to the first paragraph's bottom line. Move
to the end of that line, by pressing the END key. Delete the
end-of-paragraph mark, by tapping the DELETE key.
Tap the DELETE key a few
more times (to delete unwanted TAB spaces and ENTERs).
INSERT key
Q&A can be in two modes:
typeover or insert.
When you start using
Q&A, it's in typeover mode. In typeover mode, the cursor's an
underline.
To switch to insert
mode, tap the INSERT key (which says ``Ins'' on it). When you're
in insert mode, the bottom of the screen says ``Insert'' and the
cursor's a square (instead of an underline). To switch back to
typeover mode, tap the INSERT key again.
How to type over Suppose
your document contains incorrect characters. Here's how to
replace them.
Move the cursor to where
the incorrect characters begin. Make sure you're in typeover mode
(so that the cursor's an underline). Then type over the
characters you want to change.
How to insert Here's how
to insert extra characters into the middle of your document.
Move the cursor to where
you want the extra characters to begin. Make sure you're in
insert mode (by tapping the INSERT key if necessary), so that the
bottom of the screen says ``Insert'' and the cursor's a square.
Then type the characters you want to insert.
The other characters on
the screen will automatically move out of the way to make room
for the extra characters.
Split a paragraph Here's
how to split a paragraph into two shorter paragraphs.
What word should begin
the second short paragraph? Move the cursor to that word's first
letter.
Make sure you're in
insert mode (by pressing the INSERT key if necessary), so that
the bottom of the screen says ``Insert''. Press ENTER. Now you've
split the long paragraph into two!
If you want to
double-space between the two short paragraphs, press ENTER again.
If you want to indent the second paragraph, press the TAB key.
FUNCTION KEYS
On the keyboard, you'll see function keys labeled F1, F2, F3,
F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, and F10. If your keyboard is modern,
those function keys are on the top of the keyboard, along with
two extra keys (F11 and F12).
By pressing the function keys, you can give these commands:
Command Keys to pressNotes for version 3 users
Assign fontsCtrl F9
CalculateAlt F9
CapitalizeF8 then B then AThis command is just in version 4.
Center F8 then A then CIn version 3, press F8 then C.
ContinueF10
Copy F5
Copy to fileCtrl F5
Define pageCtrl F6
Delete blockF3
Delete lineShift F4
Delete to rightCtrl F4
Delete wordF4
Double spaceF8 then A then DThis command is just in version 4.
Draw F8 then L then DIn version 3, press F8 then D.
Enhance Shift F6
Export Ctrl F8
Field Alt F7
Footer F8 then L then FIn version 3, press F8 then F.
Go to Ctrl F7
Header F8 then L then HIn version 3, press F8 then H.
Help F1
HyphenateAlt F6
Insert docF8 then D then IIn version 3, press F8 then I.
Left F8 then A then LIn version 3, press F8 then U.
LowercaseF8 then B then LThis command is just in version 4.
Macro Shift F2
Macro runAlt F2 This command is just in version 4.
Move Shift F5
Move to fileAlt F5
New pageF8 then L then NIn version 3, press F8 then N.
Print F2
Print blockCtrl F2
Restore Shift F7
Right F8 then A then RThis command is just in version 4.
Save Shift F8
Scroll upF9
Scroll downShift F9
Search F7
Set tabsF8 then L then SIn version 3, press F8 then S.
Single spaceF8 then A then SThis command is just in version 4.
Spell Shift F1
Spell wordCtrl F1
StatisticsCtrl F3
Temp marginF6
ThesaurusAlt F1 This command is just in version 4.
Title F8 then B then TThis command is just in version 4.
Triple spaceF8 then A then PThis command is just in version 4.
Put that chart (or a photocopy of it) next to the computer.
When you buy Q&A, you get a plastic template that you put next
to the function keys. The template contains an abridged version
of the chart.
While you're using Q&A, the bottom of Q&A's screen displays a
different abridgment of the chart.
Here's how to use those function keys. . . .
Delete word (F4)
To delete a word, put
the cursor at the word's first character, then say ``Delete
word'' (by pressing the F4 key).
Delete line (Shift F4)
To delete a whole line
of text, put the cursor in that line, then say ``Delete line''.
(Here's how to say ``Delete line'': while holding down the Shift
key, press the F4 key.)
Delete to right (Ctrl F4)
To delete the far right
part of a line, put the cursor where that part begins, then say
``Delete to right''. (Here's how to say ``Delete to right'':
while holding down the Ctrl key, press the F4 key.)
Go to (Ctrl F7)
To make the cursor hop
to page 3, say ``Go to'' (by pressing Ctrl with F7), then type 3
and press F10.
Statistics (Ctrl F3)
If you say
``Statistics'' (by pressing Ctrl with F3), the computer will tell
you how many words, lines, and paragraphs are in your document.
It will also tell you how many words, lines, and paragraphs are
in your document's first part (the part before the cursor) and
how many are in the second part (the part after the cursor).
When you finish looking
at those statistics, press the ESCAPE key (which says ``Esc'' on
it).
Align (F8 A)
If a line of text is
short, you can make the line be aligned in three ways: flush left
or centered or flush right.
This line is flush left.
This line is centered.
This line is flush right.
The computer assumes you
want each line to be flush left, unless you say otherwise. Here's
how to change the line's alignment.
Version 4 Move the
cursor to the line whose alignment you want to affect. (It can be
a line you typed already or a line you're going to start typing.)
Press F8 then A. (The A
stands for ``align''.) Then press L (to make the line be flush
left) or C (to make the line be centered) or R (to make the line
be flush right).
Version 3 Move the
cursor to the line whose alignment you want to affect. It can be
a line you typed already or a line you're going to start typing.
If you want to center
the line, press F8 then C.
If you want the line to
be flush left, put the cursor on the line's first word (or
anywhere to the right of that word), then press F8 then U. (The U
stands for ``uncenter'').
Version 3 doesn't
understand how to make the line be flush right.
Help (F1)
If you forget how to use
Q&A, say ``Help'' (by pressing the first function key, F1).
You'll see a chart that reminds you what each function key does.
Then press the ESCAPE key (which says ``Esc'' on it).
BLOCKS
You can manipulate a large portion of your document with a
single keystroke! The portion you're manipulating is called the
block. It can consist of several words, several sentences,
several paragraphs, or even several pages.
To manipulate a block, put the cursor at the block's beginning.
(For example, to manipulate a whole paragraph, put the cursor at
the paragraph's beginning.) Then give one of these commands. . .
.
Delete block (F3)
To delete the block, say ``Delete block'' (by pressing F3).
Then put the cursor at the block's last character, and press F10.
Copy (F5)
To copy the block (instead of deleting it), say ``Copy'' (by
pressing F5). Then put the cursor at the block's last character,
and press F10. Put the cursor where you want the block's copy to
appear, and press F10.
Move (Shift F5)
To move the block (so it vanishes from its current location and
reappears elsewhere), say ``Move'' (by pressing Shift with F5).
Then put the cursor at the block's last character, and press F10.
Move the cursor where you want the block's new position to be,
then press F10 again.
Enhance (Shift F6)
To enhance the block (so it looks different from the rest of
the document and stands out), say ``Enhance'' (by pressing Shift
with F6).
Then say which enhancement to perform:
press U to Underline (so the block looks like this)
press B to make Bold (so the block looks like this)
press I to italicize (so the block looks like this)
press X to X out (so the block looks like this)----------
press S to Subscript (so the block is lowered, like this)
press P to suPerscript (so the block is raised, like this)
press R to make Regular again (so the block looks like this)
Put the cursor at the block's last character, and press F10.
Don't see the bold? If you pressed B (to make Bold) but the
block doesn't look bold, adjust your screen's contrast and
brightness knobs.
Don't see the underline? If you're using a CGA, EGA, or VGA
monitor and pressed U (to underline), the block will change color
on the screen but won't be underlined until you print it on
paper.
Don't see other enhancements? If you pressed I (to italicize),
the block will change color on the screen. It will be italicized
just on paper, and just if your printer knows how to italicize.
You face the same hassle with other enhancements (X out,
subscript, and superscript): on your screen the block just
changes color. The desired enhancements occur just on paper, and
just if your printer knows how to perform them.
FINAL STEPS
After you've edited your document, you'll want to copy the
document onto the hard disk and onto paper, and move on to a
different document or task. Here's how. . . .
Save (Shift F8)
While you're typing and editing a document, that document is in
the computer's RAM chips. It's not on a disk. If the computer's
electricity goes out (because of a thunderstorm or because your
cat pulled the plug), the RAM chips will be erased ___ and so
will your document!
Another way to accidentally erase your document is to hit a
wrong key. For example, if your cat jumps onto your keyboard and
then sits on your DELETE key for several minutes, your document
will be deleted. Other accidents can be caused by dogs, babies,
novices, and you!
To protect against accidents, copy your document onto a disk.
Copying a document onto a disk is called saving.
To save, just say ``Save'' (by pressing Shift with F8).
Then the computer will ask you to invent a name for your
document. The name must be short: no more than 8 letters. For
example, the name can be ``jennifer'' or ``al''. Type the name
you wish and press ENTER.
The computer will copy the document onto the hard disk (drive
C) and put that document into the QA subdirectory.
Afterwards, if you improve the document by editing it further,
the improved version will be in the RAM chips, but the disk will
still contain the old version. To copy the improved version onto
the disk, say ``Save'' again (by pressing Shift with F8) and
press ENTER. The computer will replace the disk's old version by
the new version.
If you're typing a long document, say ``Save'' every 10
minutes. Then if an accident happens, you'll lose at most 10
minutes of work!
Print (F2)
Here's how to copy your writing onto paper.
Make sure the printer is turned on. Make sure you've saved your
document (to protect yourself in case the printer doesn't work).
Then say ``Print'' (by pressing F2). The computer will say
``PRINT OPTIONS''. Press F10.
Clear (Esc C)
Here's how to erase the screen (so you can start creating a new
document).
Press the ESCAPE key (which says ``Esc'' on it). You'll see the
write menu. Choose ``C - Clear'' (by pressing C).
If the computer asks ``Are you SURE you want to continue?'',
press Y.
Get (Esc G)
Here's how to copy a document from your hard disk to your
screen.
Press the ESCAPE key (which says ``Esc'' on it). You'll see the
write menu. Choose ``G - Get'' (by pressing G). Either type
``jennifer'' (and press ENTER) or choose JENNIFER from a menu (by
pressing ENTER, moving the cursor to JENNIFER, and pressing F10).
If the computer asks, ``Are you SURE you want to continue?'',
press Y.
Exit (Esc Esc)
When you've finished
using Q&A's word processor, press the Esc key twice. If the
computer asks, ``Are you SURE?'', press Y.
You'll see the main
menu. Choose ``X - Exit Q&A'' (by pressing X).
The screen will show a C
prompt, so you can give a DOS command.
PAGE LAYOUT
Your page's general appearance is called the layout. Here's how
to improve it.
(In version 4, some of the following commands require you to
type the letter L. The L stands for ``Layout''.)
Header (F8 L H)
Normally, the top 6 lines of each page are blank, to form the
top margin. Anything you scribble in that margin is called a
header.
For example, suppose you're writing a top-secret memo and want
to scribble this note in the top margin of every page:
Reminder! The info in this memo is TOP SECRET!
Here's how to do it.
Say ``Header''. (To do that in version 4, press F8 then L then
H. To do that in version 3, press F8 then H).
Type the header:
Reminder! The info in this memo is TOP SECRET!
Then press F10. The computer will put that header in the top
margin of every page.
If you don't like that header, try one of these:
Please do not copy! It's copyrighted by starving author!
ACHTUNG! To keep your job, reply to this memo by Friday!
SALE! To order any of these items, call our 800 number!
I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!!
If you change your mind and want to edit the header, just say
``Header'' again, retype the header, and press F10 again.
The header can be several lines long.
While typing the header, you can use all of Q&A's editing
techniques. For example, while typing the header, you can center
it by saying ``Center''. (In version 4, that's F8 then A then C;
in version 3, that's F8 then C.)
Page numbers The computer can print page numbers on each page.
Here's how to make the computer print ``Page 1 of the Great
American Novel'' at the top of page 1, print ``Page 2 of the
Great American Novel'' at the top of page 2, etc.
Say ``Header'' (by pressing F8 then H). Type this ___
Page # of the Great American Novel
and press F10.
That makes the computer number all the pages. The computer
prints ``Page 1 of the Great American Novel'' on the first page,
``Page 2 of the Great American Novel'' on the second page, etc.
Footer (F8 L F)
To print in the bottom margin (instead of the top margin), say
``Footer'' instead of ``Header''. (In version 4, ``Footer'' is F8
then L then F. In version 3, ``Footer'' is F8 then F.)
Define page (Ctrl F6)
The computer assumes
that when the document is printed on paper, you want each
character to be a tenth of an inch wide and a sixth of an inch
high. To change that assumption and others, say ``Define page''
(by pressing Ctrl with F6).
Then the computer says:
Left margin: 10 Right margin : 68
Top margin : 6 Bottom margin: 6
Page width : 78 Page length : 66
Characters per inch.............: 10 12 15 17
Begin header/footer on page #...: 1
Begin page numbering with page #: 1
That means:
the left margin's width is 10 characters (1 inch)
the right margin begins 68 characters (6.8 inches) from the
paper's left edge
the top and bottom margins are each tall enough to hold 6 lines
(1 inch)
the paper's width is 78 characters (7.8 inches)
the paper's height is 66 lines (11 inches)
the printer will make each character a 10th of an inch wide
headers and footers will be printed on all pages (beginning at
page 1)
pages will be numbered starting at page 1
To edit those numbers,
move the cursor (by pressing the arrow keys or ENTER). For
example, if you want ``Right margin'' to be 75, move the cursor
to ``Right margin'' (by pressing the right-arrow key repeatedly,
or pressing TAB or ENTER once) and then type 75. If your paper's
width is 8½ inches (85 characters), move the cursor to ``Page
width'' (by pressing arrow keys repeatedly) and then type 85.
Characters per inch To
make each character to be small (just a 17th of an inch wide),
move the cursor to ``Characters per inch'' and then move the
cursor to 17.
The first time you use
Q&A, I recommend that you stick with 10 characters per inch, for
two reasons:
1. Some printers have
difficulty printing more than 10 characters per inch.
2. If you change the
number of characters per inch, you must also change the margins.
For example, suppose you want the left margin to be 1 inch wide.
If you change to 17 characters per inch, you must tell the
computer to make the left margin be 17 characters wide instead of
10 characters wide.
Begin headers/footers
Suppose you create a document in which the first three pages are
special. (For example, a title page, then an acknowledgment page,
then a table-of-contents page.) Suppose you want to omit the
header or footer from those first three pages, so that the header
or footer appears just on pages 4, 5, 6, etc. To do that, move
the cursor to ``Begin header/footer on page #'', then type 4.
Begin page numbering If
your header or footer says to print a page number, the computer
normally makes the first header or footer say ``page 1'' and the
headers or footers on later pages say ``page 2'', ``page 3'',
etc.
If you want the first
header or footer not to say ``page 1'', tell the computer what
page number to say instead. For example, if you told the computer
to omit the header or footer from three special pages, so that
the first header or footer is on page 4, you probably want that
header or footer to say ``page 4''. To do that, move the cursor
to ``Begin page numbering with page #'' and type 4.
Finish When you finish
editing, and the entire screenful of numbers looks correct, press
F10.
New page (F8 L N)
Here's how to leave the bottom part of page 2 blank, so that
you can scribble a diagram in the blank and make the next topic
begin on a fresh new page.
Type whatever words you want on page 2. At the end of last
paragraph you want on page 2, press ENTER.
Then say ``New page''. (To do that in version 4, press F8 then
L then N. To do that in version 3, press F8 then N.)
The computer leaves the bottom of page 2 blank and hops to the
top of page 3. What you type next will appear at the top of page
3 instead of the bottom of page 2.
Page-break symbol Saying ``New page'' is called inserting a
page break. When you say ``New page'' at the bottom of page 2,
the computer puts this symbol at the bottom of page 2's screen:
╝
That symbol is called the page-break symbol. It appears just on
your screen, not on paper.
If you say ``New page'' but then change your mind, put the
cursor on the page-break symbol and press the DELETE key.
Set tabs (F8 L S)
You press the TAB key to indent the top line of a paragraph, or
to hop to a new column when typing a table.
Whenever you press the TAB key, the cursor moves toward the
right, until it reaches the next tab stop.
If you want to change the positions of the tab stops, say ``Set
tabs''. (To do that in version 4, press F8 then L then S. To do
that in version 3, press F8 then S.)
You'll see a ruler that has several T's on it. Each T is a tab
stop.
To erase a tab stop, move the cursor to that T, then press
DELETE. To create a new tab stop, move the cursor across to where
you want that tab stop, then type T.
When you finish editing the tab stops, press F10.
Decimal tabs When you type a column of numbers, you want their
decimal points to line up, like this:
74.9
5,382,931.726
-.82
Those decimal points are aligned with each other. Here's how to
type that column of numbers with aligned decimal points. . . .
Say ``Set tabs''. Move the cursor as far right as you want the
decimal points to be. Type D, so that you see a D on the ruler.
(The D stands for decimal tab stop.) Then press F10.
Move the cursor to the line where you want the first number to
appear. Put the cursor at the beginning of that line (by pressing
HOME if necessary). Press the TAB key several times, until you
reach the position where you want the decimal point. Then type
the first number (74.9). As you type it, the computer
automatically shifts it towards the left, so its decimal point
winds up where you requested. Press ENTER.
Now you're ready to type the second line. To do so, press TAB
repeatedly, until the cursor's where you want the decimal point
(underneath the first number's decimal point). Then type the
second number (which is 5,382.931.726) and press ENTER.
For the third line, press TAB repeatedly until the cursor's
where you want the decimal point, then type the third number and
press ENTER.
Temp margin (F6)
Here's how to widen your
document's left margin temporarily, so that an entire section of
your document will be indented.
Indenting the next
section To indent the next section that you'll type, put the
cursor where you want the section to begin. Move the cursor to
the right, as far as you want the section to be indented, so that
the cursor's where you want the temporary left margin to be. Say
``Temp margin'' (by pressing F6) and ``Left'' (by pressing L).
Then type the words,
sentences, and paragraphs that you want to be in the section. The
entire section will be indented.
At the end of the
section's last paragraph, press the ENTER key. Then say ``Temp
margin'' (F6) and ``Clear'' (C). That ends the temporary margin,
so the rest of your document will have the usual margin and not
be indented.
Indenting a previous
paragraph Here's how to indent a paragraph that you typed
previously.
Put the cursor at the
paragraph's beginning, so the cursor's on the first character of
the paragraph's first word.
Make sure you're in
insert mode (by pressing the INSERT key if necessary). Press the
SPACE bar or TAB key several times until the paragraph's first
word is indented as far as you wish. Then indent the rest of the
paragraph by saying ``Temp margin'' (F6) and ``Left'' (L).
Unindenting a previous
paragraph Here's how to unindent a paragraph that you typed and
indented previously.
Put the cursor at the
paragraph's beginning, so the cursor's on the first character of
the paragraph's first word.
Make sure you're in
insert mode (by pressing the INSERT key if necessary). Press the
BACKSPACE key several times until the paragraph's first word is
unindented. Then unindent the rest of the paragraph by saying
``Temp margin'' (F6) and ``Clear'' (C).
Draw (F8 L D)
Here's how to draw a
line.
Put the cursor where you
want the line to begin. Say ``Draw''. (To do that in version 4,
press F8 then L then D. To do that in version 3, press F8 then
D).
Then draw the line, by
pressing the arrow keys. For example, to make the line go to the
right a distance of 3 characters, press ■ three times. To make
the line go to the right and then down, press ■ and then . To
draw a box of size 5, press ■ five times, then five times, then
five times, then five times.
To draw a diagonal line,
press the 1, 3, 7, or 9 key on the numeric keypad. To draw a
double line, press the 2, 4, 6, or 8 keys on the numeric keypad
while depressing the Shift key or turning on the Num Lock light.
When you finish drawing,
press F10.
VOCABULARY
The computer can improve your vocabulary.
Spell (Shift F1)
Q&A comes with a disk that includes a list of all popular
English words. That list is called a dictionary. Although that
``dictionary'' does not include definitions of those words, it
does include each word's correct spelling. The dictionary
contains 100,000 words.
You can tell the computer to check each word in your document
against the dictionary, to make sure all the words in your
document are spelled correctly. That's called checking your
spelling or doing a spelling check or doing a spell check or
spell checking.
If the computer notices that a word in your document is not in
the dictionary, it highlights the word.
For example, type a short document that contains just this one
sentence:
Be huppy!
To spell-check the document, move the cursor to the beginning of
the document, then say ``Spell'' (by pressing Shift with F1).
The computer looks up each word in the dictionary. The computer
finds ``Be'' in the dictionary but can't find ``huppy''. The
computer highlights the strange word ``huppy'' and prints this
spell-check menu:
L - List possible spellings
I - Ignore word & continue
A - Add to dictionary & continue
S - Add to dictionary & stop
E - Edit word & recheck
Choose ``List possible spellings'' (by pressing L). The
computer prints this list of suggestions:
1 puppy
2 happy
3 guppy
4 hippy
5 puppies
If you meant one of those words, type the word's number. If none
of those words is what you meant, press the ESCAPE key (Esc) to
return to the spell-check menu.
Here's how to use other choices on the spell-check menu.
Choosing ``Ignore word and continue'' makes the computer ignore
the ``huppy'' problem, so ``huppy'' stays in the document.
Choosing ``Add to dictionary & continue'' makes the computer add
the slang word ``huppy'' to its dictionary. Choosing ``Edit word
& recheck'' makes the computer wait for you to type a word to
replace ``huppy''; when you finish typing the replacement,
press ENTER.
When the computer finishes checking
the entire document, the bottom of the screen says ``Spelling
check completed''.
Be careful about adding If the
computer gripes about a word you typed, do not add your word to
the computer's dictionary unless you're sure that you've spelled
it correctly!
Start at the beginning Q&A
spell-checks just the part of the document that comes after the
cursor. To spell-check the entire document, make sure you put the
cursor at document's beginning before you say ``Spell''.
Spell word (Ctrl F1)
If you say ``Spell word'' (Ctrl F1)
instead of ``Spell'', the computer will check the spelling of
just one word: the word where the cursor is. Say ``Spell word''
if you're nervous about the spelling of just one word and don't
want to wait for the computer to check the spelling of your whole
document.
Thesaurus (Alt F1)
Version 4 includes a thesaurus.
(Version 3 does not. If you have version 3, skip ahead to the
next topic.)
For example, suppose you'r writing a
love story and type the word ``caress''. Can you think of a
different word instead, that means roughly the same thing as
``caress'' but is better?
If you can't, the computer can! Just
ask the computer to use its thesaurus to find synonyms for
``caress''.
Here's how. In your document, type
the word ``caress''. Move the cursor to that word. Say
``Thesaurus'' (by pressing Alt with F1).
The computer prints these synonyms
for ``caress'':
noun: embrace, fondling, hug, kiss, squeeze, touch.
verb: clutch, embrace, grasp, hold;
feel, fool around, hold, make out, neck, nuzzle;
cradle, cuddle, embrace, fondle, hug, love, pet, snuggle,
stroke.
That means the noun ``a caress'' has 6 synonyms: an embrace,
fondling, hug, kiss squeeze, and touch. ) The verb ``to caress''
has 17 synonyms: to clutch, embrace, grasp, hold, feel, fool
around, etc.
If one of those words interests you,
go explore! For example, if the word ``fondle'' interests you,
move the cursor to ``fondle'' and say ``Thesaurus'' again (Alt
F1). The computer will print these synonyms for ``fondle'':
verb: examine, feel, finger, grope, handle, manipulate, maul,
palpate, paw,
probe, touch;
caress, cradle, cuddle, embrace, hug, love, pet, snuggle,
stroke.
Notice that the computer is like a
therapist: it realizes that a lover who wants to ``fondle'' might
really want to ``maul''!
If you want to replace ``caress'' by
a synonym, move the cursor to the synonym you want and press F10.
If you don't want to replace ``caress'', press the Esc key
instead.
Have fun Is your sex life boring ___
or out of control? Ask the computer for a synonym!
Some of the computer's suggestions
are peculiarly appropriate. If you request a synonym for ``sex'',
the computer suggests ``congress''. If you want to ``screw'', the
computer recommends having a ``shaft''. If you're looking for a
``rabbi'', the computer suggests a ``padre'' instead. Homosexuals
will enjoy looking up the word ``gay'', which the computer
considers to be ``scintillating'' and ``ecstatic''. Prostitutes
don't fare as well: the computer considers them to be
``mishandled'', ``misemployed'', and ``perverts''. Don't be
fooled by a man who acts ``amorous''; just ask the computer for a
reaction, and the computer will say ``horny''.
Go ahead: write a feminist article
entitled, ``Sexual Myths Perpetrated by Computer Thesaurus''. Or
write a sociolinguistic article entitled, ``Sexual Practices
Arising (Bigger and Bigger!) from the English Language ___ And
Vice Versa''. After all, our culture is defined by our language,
isn't it?
ADVANCED TRICKS
Q&A lets you perform these advanced tricks!
Alt #
Look back at page 125, column 1. It shows a list of special
symbols, with their code numbers.
For example, it shows that the code number for the symbol ñ is
164. So to type the symbol ñ, do this: hold down the Alt key; and
while you keep holding down the Alt key, type 164 by using the
numeric keypad (the number keys on the far right side of the
keyboard). When you finish typing 164, lift your finger from the
Alt key, and you'll see ñ on your screen!
Bad code numbers Codes 20 and 21 don't work when you're using
Q&A (though they work when typing MS-DOS commands). On laser
printers (such as the Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 2), code 249 is ∙
instead of ∙, and code 252 is ⁿ instead of ⁿ.
Search (F7)
Here's how to make the computer search through your document to
find whether you've used the word ``love''.
Say ``Search'' (by pressing F7). This menu appears:
Search for..:
Replace with:
Method......: Manual Automatic Fast automatic
Type ``love'', so the menu looks like this:
Search for..: love
Replace with:
Method......: Manual Automatic Fast automatic
Then press F7 again.
The computer searches for the word ``love''. If it can't find
``love'' in your document, it says ``NOT FOUND''. If it does find
a ``love'' in your document, it says ``FOUND'', puts the cursor
there, and waits for you to press F7 (to find the next ``love'')
or Esc (to stop searching).
Replace fast Here's how to replace each ``love'' in your
document by ``idolize''.
Say ``Search'' (by pressing F7). Make the menu look like this:
Search for..: love
Replace with: idolize
Method......: Manual Automatic Fast automatic
To do that, type ``love'' and press ENTER, then type ``idolize''
and press ENTER, then press END (or ■ twice). When the menu looks
like that, press F7.
The computer replaces every ``love'' by ``idolize''. Then it
says ``COMPLETED''.
Replace manually Here's how to tell the computer to replace
each ``love'' by ``idolize'' ___ but make the computer pause at
each ``love'' so you can double-check whether you really want to
replace it by ``idolize''.
Say ``Search'' (by pressing F7). Make the menu look like this:
Search for..: love
Replace with: idolize
Method......: Manual Automatic Fast automatic
To do that, type ``love'' and press ENTER, then type ``idolize''
and press ENTER, and then ___ if ``Manual'' isn't highlighted
already ___ press HOME (or repeatedly). When the menu looks
like that, press F7.
The computer stops at the first ``love'' in your document.
If you want to replace that ``love'' by ``idolize'', press F10
then F7.
The computer stops at
each ``love'' in your document and goes through the same routine
(by waiting for you to press F10 then F7).
When the computer
reaches the end of the document, it says ``Search and replace
completed''.
If you want to stop that
process before the computer finishes, press Esc (to stop the
process entirely) or F7 (to avoid replacing the current ``love''
by ``idolize'' but continue searching for other ``loves'' to
replace).
Wrong capitals When you
tell the computer to replace, the computer doesn't bother to
capitalize.
For example, consider
this document:
I love you. Love you! LOVE YOU!
If you tell the computer to replace each ``love'' by ``idolize'',
the computer produces this:
I idolize you. idolize you! idolize YOU!
Notice that the computer doesn't bother to capitalize
``idolize''. You must edit the document manually, to produce:
I idolize you. Idolize you! IDOLIZE YOU!
Phrases When the
computer asks you what to search for, you can type a whole
phrase. For example, instead of telling the computer to search
for any ``love'', tell the computer to search for ``love to
sing''.
Why search? Suppose
you've written a history of America and want to find the part
where you started talking about Lincoln. If you forget which page
that was, no problem! Just put the cursor at the beginning of the
document and tell the computer to search for ``Lincoln''.
Advanced menu Try this
experiment: say ``Search'' (by pressing F7), so you see the
search menu. Then press the PgDn key; that makes the search menu
becomes longer, so it looks like this:
Search for..:
Replace with:
Method......: Manual Automatic Fast automatic
Type........: Whole words Text Pattern
Case........: Insensitive Sensitive
Range.......: All To end To beginning
If you say to search for
``love'', the computer assumes you want to search for the word
``love'' but not for variants such as ``loves'', ``lover'', and
``lovely''. If you do want to search for such variants also, move
the cursor to the word ``Text'' (so the word ``Text'' is
highlighted). Then the computer will search for any word that
contains ``love''. When it searches, the computer will stop at
words such as ``love'', ``loves'', ``lover'', and ``lovely''. It
will also stop at words such as ``glove'', ``clove'', ``clover'',
``pullover'', ``slovenly'', and ``auriculoventricular''.
If you say to search for
``love'', the computer assumes you also want to search for
``Love'' and ``LOVE''. If you do not want to search for such
variants, move the cursor to the word ``Sensitive'' (so the word
``Sensitive'' is highlighted).
If you say to search for
``love'', the computer assumes you want to search through the
entire document. The computer searches through the part of the
document that comes after the cursor, then the part of the
document that comes before. If you want to search through just
the part of the document that comes after the cursor, highlight
``To end''. If you want to search through just the part of the
document that comes before the cursor, highlight ``To
beginning''.
Macro (Shift F2)
The computer can help you write love letters.
For example, suppose you want each love letter to end with this
message: ``As always, I love you passionately, forever, my
darling!!!''. Instead of typing that long message at the end of
each love letter, you can make the computer automatically type
the message for you!
To do that, choose a letter of the alphabet to stand for the
message. For example, you can choose A or B or C. Here's how. . .
.
Say ``Macro'' (by pressing Shift with F2). Then press D (which
means ``Define'').
The computer says:
Type the macro identifier. For example: ALT-A, ALT-B, etc.
Choose a letter of the alphabet, such as A or B. Type that letter
while holding down the Alt key.
(If the computer asks ``That key is already defined; do you
want to redefine it?'', you should say ``No'' by pressing ``N'',
then start the whole procedure over and choose a different letter
of the alphabet.)
The screen's lower-right corner shows a flashing square. Type
the message you want to record. For example, type:
As always, I love you passionately, forever, my darling!!!
At the end of the message, say ``Macro'' again (Shift F2). Then
if you're using version 4, press F10.
The computer says:
If you want to save your macros to disk now, press ENTER.
Press ENTER.
In the future, whenever you want the computer to automatically
type the passionate message, just press the chosen letter while
holding down the Alt key.
Jargon The message that you're recording (``As always, I love
you passionately, forever, my darling!!!'') is called the macro.
The macro's name is ``Alt A'' or ``Alt B'' or whatever other name
you choose.
Why use macros? Whatever you type often, you should turn into a
macro. The macro can even contain commands that make the computer
underline, boldface, center, and do other fancy tasks. The macro
can be any sequence of keystrokes you wish!
Creating a macro is like turning on a tape recorder: yes, the
computer will record any keystrokes you wish! For example, the
macro can even be a recording of the sequence of keystrokes that
make the computer save your document onto the disk and then print
your document on paper.
QAMACRO.ASC When you invent macros, the computer puts their
definitions onto the hard disk, in a file called ``QAMACRO.ASC''.
Unless you erase that file, the computer remembers your macro
definitions forever.
Assign fonts (Ctrl F9)
Here are samples of popular fonts. . . .
This is a sample of the Courier font.
This is a sample of the Lineprinter font.
This is 8-point Times Roman, 10-point Times Roman, 12-point Times
Roman.
This is 8-point Helvetica, 10-point Helvetica, 12-point
Helvetica.
In the Courier font, each character is 1/10 of an inch wide; so
Courier's a 10-characters-per-inch font. In Lineprinter, each
character is 1/17 of an inch wide. In Times Roman and Helvetica,
each letter of the alphabet has its own width: for example, the
letter ``m'' is wider than the letter ``i''.
Since Courier's characters all have the same width as each
other, they're called monospaced. Lineprinter's characters are
monospaced also. Times Roman and Helvetica are not monospaced;
they're proportionally spaced instead.
A point is 1/72 of an inch. The first sample of Times Roman is
called 8-point because it's 8 points high: the top of the capital
T is 8 points higher than the bottom of the small p. The other
samples of Times Roman are larger.
The computer assumes you want a 10-characters-per-inch font
(such as Courier). To print the document in a different font,
teach the computer which 9 fonts are your favorites. Here's how.
. . .
Say ``Assign
fonts'' (by pressing Ctrl with F9). Then press F6. The computer
will say ``LIST OF FILES''.
Move the
cursor to the name of your printer (or a similar printer) by
pressing the down-arrow key several times. (If you're using
version 4 with just one printer, use this short cut: just tap the
END key.)
Press F10.
Choose a
regular font (the font you plan to use most often, on a regular
basis), as follows. Move the cursor down to the word ``Regular'',
and press F6. You'll see a list of fonts. (If the list is too
long to fit on the screen, press PgDn to see the rest of it.)
Move the cursor to whichever font you want to become the regular
font. (Make sure to choose a font that's in your printer or
computer already, rather than an extra-cost optional font that
you didn't buy yet.) Press F10.
Congratulati
ons! You've chosen the regular font. Choose fonts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, and 8 in the same way. So altogether, you're choosing a
regular font plus 8 supplementary fonts.
When you
finish choosing fonts, press F10.
Finish
typing and editing your document. When you tell the computer to
print the document on paper, the computer will print most of it
by using the regular font you chose.
If you want
a block in your document to use a different font instead, move
the cursor to the block's beginning and say ``Enhance'' by
pressing Shift with F6. (Then if you're using version 3, press
F.) Type the desired font's number (1 through 8), move the cursor
to the end of the block, and press F10.