ftp.barnyard.co.uk/2015.02.ftp.barnyard.co.uk.tar/ftp.barnyard.co.uk/cpm/walnut-creek-CDROM/CPM/PROGRAMS/WSTAR/WSMAGIC.TXT

Text File | 2000-06-30 | 11KB | 239 lines

                    RE-VIEW.FYL
                                       by Jim Holmes

THEY  HELD A "SHOWBIZ EXPO last weekend (June 27-29,
1985) at the Santa Monica (CA) Civic Auditorium.  My
interest in going was primarily to see the demo that
my friend Rowby Goren was giving.  "WordStar Magic",
was a 40-minute "chalktalk"  (using a marvelous wide
screen projection system and laser "pointer") on how
to "speed up" editing tasks, etc. in WordStar.  This
seemed a good time to "recap" Rowby's tips; I'd also
like to ask YOU to send me your favorites.  If I get
enough response, I'll do another column on this in a
month or two.

YOU CAN SPEED THE PROCESS of loading WordStar  quite
a bit by getting "patches" from your Club Librarian;
ask him/her what the various ones DO (It's amazing),
then decide on which you want. Another speedup is to
hit an <ESC> (after the <CR>), as WordStar starts to
load.  And you can go directly "to a file" if you'll
just   type  "A:WS  B:filename<cr>" when loading.

FROM THE "NO FILE" MENU you can call OTHER programs,
using WordStar's "R" command.  You may wish to check
your  spelling,  transfer  files (to a second  disk,
even  between systems),  print a file (as  you  edit
another) or store a "squeezed" version of your just-
completed  file in an Archive or Library file.   You
can do all this (and more) without leaving WordStar.

ARE YOU GOING TO PRINT (or MergePrint) using default
settings only? After typing in the filename, hit the
<ESC> key; WordStar will take over from there.  When
you're doing several different things in one session
you may want to have WordStar "retype" filenames for
you, using the "^R" command.  This works "inside the
file you're editing, or from the "No File" menu, but
you should be careful of it; WordStar always "finds"
the LAST FILENAME associated with the command... not
necessarily the filename currently in use.

WITHIN A FILE, USE "BOOKMARKS" (".." comment symbol)
to insert non-printing "notes" and place markers.  I
like to end interim revision sessions with a marker,
".. 85/07/05 &LAST".  Next time I "work on" the file
I can start with a "^QF &LAST", which shows me where
I "left off"; I replace the "&LAST" with a reference
to the CURRENT session.  This procedure may not help
in fairly small files or short-term projects (though
it "couldn't hurt"), but it's a real life-saver when
I'm working on a major project.

WHEN DOING "SEARCHES" (especially in a long file) it
speeds things up if you BEGIN at "top of file"; some
like to search Backwards, but it's much slower.  You
may know "^QR" puts you at "top of file"; "^KS" does
too, but the latter's faster (& it "saves your work"
at the same time).

GLOBAL FIND & REPLACE operations go much faster when
you hit <ESC> (rather than <CR>) after entering your
original and replacement "strings".  The search will
be done without "showing it" on the screen, but it's
many times faster.

USE "^QP" TO FIND YOUR PLACE after doing a paragraph
reform (^B)... or ANY cursor move.  I find it useful
when I want to jump "back & forth" between 2 screens
for comparative purposes.

AFTER A BLOCK MOVE, use "^Qv" to put the cursor back
to where the block "originally" was.  Would you like
to "undo" that last move?  Just enter "KV" to return
the block to it's original location.

YOU  MAY PRINT A FILE as you edit (unless  you  have
"patched" your system,  which reduces memory).  Just
do  a "^KS" (to be certain) then a "^KP",  to "bring
up"  the same List of Options you see from  the  "No
File"  Menu.   If you are printing a different  file
than the one you're "in", type in it's name, etc.

YOU CAN MAKE ROOM to save a file, if you get a "DISK
FULL" error message; just delete unnecessary file(s)
with a "^KJ".  If you need a list of filenames, type
"^KF"; you can even change logged disks using a "KL"
(though you may not REPLACE a disk, under CP/M 2.2).
In a pinch, where there ARE no unnecessary files (on
EITHER drive), delete WordStar's "message file"; you
can close the text file you are working on, transfer
it to a "new" disk, and then re-copy the "messages",
from your original (or "backup") WordStar disk.

A FEW MORE HANDY HINTS about those "dot-commands"; I
like to use them in a "Header File" ( you could have
SEVERAL of these), to "set up" different jobs.  With
a little forethought, you can even create letterhead
and "closing statement" files (to be "read in" in at
the proper places, using "^KR") when editing a file.

I KEEP A "CORRESPONDENCE DISK", and when I write the
FIRST letter to firms (& individuals) I realize I'll
correspond with often, I "save" my entire heading to
a disk file (using "KW").  Next time I write, it's a
simple matter to "^KR" that heading in; I change the
date, then type the body of the letter.  Sometimes I
must correspond with more than one person at a firm.
I'd like to credit Mike Rulison from the Raleigh, NC
Osborne  Club (ROCC)with the solution.   Enter  EACH
NAME as if it were a note (using "..", so they won't
print) into the heading.   When you write someone at
that firm, delete the ".." before the name you want.

HAVE YOU EVER had to "fix" a line of text that won't
print, because it starts out with a "..."?  WordStar
doesn't know what you're thinking; when you do that,
it treats it as a non-printing "comment".  If you've
decided the line MUST BEGIN that way, simply type in
"^PS^PS" in column one, like this:
... as you see, the line will print now.

IN A FAIRLY LENGTHY DOCUMENT, you can be certain the
final draft will have been revised at least once.  I
like to "look at" hard copy now and then, and put in
"page separators" for logical (& cosmetic) purposes.
Beware, however, of "moving text" to fit the page; I
recommend you use instead the ".PA" command to force
a page break where you want it.  That way, re-writes
can BEGIN with a "search and replace" operation that
removes the pagination.  First, enter "QA"; when the
prompt asks what to search for, enter ".PA"; just do
a <CR> at the prompt for a "replacement string"; now
enter "GN" (global/don't ask first) at the prompt to
limit operations; finally, hit <CR><ESC>. That's it!

WHEN YOU WANT TO "MOVE TEXT" on the printed page, do
it with the "dot-commands".  WordStar comes with the
"built in" assumption that you're using paper that's
8 1/2 by 11 inches.  it further assumes top, bottom,
left & right margins that (for many) are usually the
most attractive and practical settings.

Sometimes a special job requires different settings.
I suggest (unless you KNOW you'll be repeating it on
a VERY regular basis) leaving the "default settings"
As-Is;  use dot-commands instead.  You COULD indent,
use  "blank" lines,  etc.,  but this wastes too much
"disk space".   You'll recall that WordStar needs AT
LEAST  twice the space,  on disk,  the file uses  in
memory.   That's because of the .BAK file [Actually,
it needs MORE; there's also a "work" file it writes,
which you never see].

When using dot-commands to "structure" your finished
output, the file begins at line 1, column 1.  Please
note that the "status line" (top-of-screen)  DOESN'T
CHANGE when entering a dot-command line.  It will do
it's job (without requiring "extra" disk space), but
any text which follows will not be displaced (as per
the CRT) when printed [also true of "embedded" (that
means "typed into text") "control characters].

Well,  I've already "used up" over 8k (before a good
editor takes "scissors" to my copy), so I'll have to
end this... but not before getting in a "final tip".
If you ever need to know (while editing) how big the
file you're working in IS, just "turn off" the "page
break display" toggle (it's "^OP").  The status line
at top-of-screen will THEN display an FC (file char-
acter) and FL (file line) number.  At the exact sign
of the *, mine tells me I've used 8,880 bytes.  Now,
if I could just get PAID for doing this....

                    RE-VIEW.FYL
                                       by Jim Holmes

A while back I ran a column on WordStar Magic, and I
promised more tricks, "soon". I always wondered just
how long soon was; now I know. As before they're not
usually original with me (I forget which one's ARE).
What's important is, they may help you do a faster,
better job. I'd like to hear if these suggest some
others that you'd care to share; I will be happy to
include them in a future column.

Last time, I mentioned that using ^R after a command
(from the "no file" menu) causes WordStar to "retype
the filename" of the LAST file using the command. I
neglected to tell you that the Right Arrow Key does
the same thing, one character at a time. Sometimes
this is preferable, as when you wish to change the
filename slightly (CHAPTER1, CHAPTER2, etc.).

The other night, a new user asked me how to set up
print-time margins for a thesis; it had to have top
& bottom margins of 1 inch on all pages EXCEPT the
1st; that page required a 2 1/2 inch top margin. A
left margin of 1 1/2 inches & a 1 inch right margin
were standard for all pages.  She was really upset,
and about to have someone type it for her. She just
couldn't understand the book on .LM n/DIS, etc.

I suggested she forget all that, for the time being
anyhow. I told her to set the top margin to 1 inch
(.MT 6), and to simply enter 9 <cr>'s (following her
dot commands) for page 1. The bottom margin was easy
(.MB 6). Then we used .PO 15 for a 1 1/2 inch Margin
on the left. I had her enter a ruler line (beginning
with two ..'s), ----R ending in column 60, then told
her to use ^OF ("set margins to cursor line") each
time she entered the file (it seemed less confusing
than remembering to enter a ^OR 60 every time) to
get her margin of 1 inch on the right side. If page
#1 had been a title page (no text/page length to be
concerned about), she could have opened a separate
file for it, and used .PN 2 to start page numbering
with #2 for her text file; since the first page was
also filled with text, I did it this way.

Sometimes, when entering data in tabular form, you'd
like to see "how it looks" on paper, yet don't want
to wait for a printout. Just do a ^OD, to turn off
(it's a toggle) the screen display of embedded print
control commands. Things will line up just the way
they they're going to print.

The final tip (for now) involves embedded text from
other sources... a lengthy quote, etc. I like to set
these off with different margins. I find it easier
to "leave a marker" (using ..## at the left margin)
where I plan to (later) insert the embedded text. A
separate file is created for each inclusion (NOTE1,
NOTE2, etc.), with appropriate Left Margin (.PO ##)
and line length (^OR ##). These inserts are read in
(^KR) to the main file after editing is completed.
Be sure each "insert" ends with a (.PO ##) return to
the main file's margin setting.