Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/magazine/volume_06/issue_05

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 287KB | 6,285 lines

6.5
The future of Acorn looks good
6.5
The BETT Show had a very healthy Acorn presence with lots of new
software and some important new hardware Ö see öProducts Availableò and
öThe Ultimate Expansion?ò. (The latter will give a new lease of life to
the A3010, 3020 and 4000 machines.) Judging by the way Acornæs shares
rose so steeply this month, I suspect there is something else in the
air. And the recent 1% drop in interest rates can only help the consumer
market, too.
6.5
The future of Norwich Computer Services?
6.5
It is ironical after the comments I made in the öGod-slotò last month
but N.C.S. is currently suffering the most difficult cash flow problems
it has ever faced. Taking on extra staff and setting up new phone
systems and our new demonstration area and service centre has been
something of a drain on our resources. (This is all so that we can try
to qualify on Acornæs Educational Dealership criteria.)
6.5
We have just launched the Archive Words Discs (see Products Available).
For example, if you want (almost) all the Hints and Tips ever published
in Archive on a disc in Edit format, it is available now. Load up the
file, search for the hint you want and then look it up in the relevant
magazine. I am finding the facility extremely useful Ö I donæt know why
I didnæt think of it before. If you think you might find such a disc
useful, can I ask you to buy it from us sooner rather than later Ö youæd
be helping to keep us afloat!
6.5
Thanks for all your support. Enjoy the magazine Ö itæs another 80-page
one!
6.5
Yours,
6.5

6.5
Products Available
6.5
Å  A3010 digital joystick software Ö At last the A3010 joystick ports can
start being used properly! The Leading Edge have just released a
software package which allows the digital joystick ports on the A3010 to
be used correctly. The A3010 öJoymasterò enables the built-in joystick
ports to be used with games not specifically written to support Acornæs
Joystick Standard. It allows custom design of joystick and keyboard
controls, and includes a unique ömappingò feature which allows a
joystick to emulate keystrokes or mouse controls. In practice, this
means that it should work with just about any game written for the
Archimedes as well as having the capability to work in the desktop. Also
included with the package are several pre-defined joystick mappings
designed to work with many of the more popular games. The Archive price
is ú28. For those of you still in the dark about joysticks and the
supporting software and hardware, we hope to be giving some help in next
monthæs Archive.
6.5
Å  A3020/A4000 Econet upgrade Ö HCCS have beaten Acorn to it Ö they now
have an AUN-compatible Econet upgrade available for the A3020 and A4000
for ú39 +VAT (ú43 through Archive). There is an Econet cable sold
separately for ú10 +VAT (or ú11 through Archive).
6.5
Å  ABC of Art is a set of clipart drawn using Artworks and available in
Artworks or Draw format. The first in the series has nine illustrations,
Aborigine, AC_Cobra, Acorn, Aeroplane, Aerosol, Alsatian, Arches, Arrows
and a letter A. The price is ú8 inclusive from J Jeffery, Tideways,
South Road, Bream, Somerset  TA8 2SE.
6.5
Å  A Beginneræs Guide to Wimp Programming Ö Martyn Fox has written a 180-
page book which sets out to explain wimp programming (in Basic) from the
very beginning. The price is ú14.95 from Sigma Press or ú14 through
Archive. If you want a disc to save you typing in all the programs
yourself, you have to write direct to the author and send ú3.95. The
name and address is given in the book.
6.5
Å  Aldebaran Ö This new game mentioned last month is now available
through Archive for ú32.
6.5
Å  Ancestry upgrade Ö Minerva have produced a new version of Ancestry
which, amongst other things, allows on-screen preview of the sideways
print mode. Also, the key-disc copy-protection system is no longer used.
Send your master disc plus a cheque for ú11.75 to Minerva.
6.5
Å  An Eye for Spelling is an educational program providing a visual
approach to spelling. It contains 3,500 words which are aimed at
children in the 5Ö11 year age range and are grouped according to letter
patterns. An Eye for Spelling is ú35 +VAT (including a site licence)
from ESM or ú38 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Arc Embroidery price drop Ö Techsoftæs computer embroidery package
(see review on page 61) has dropped in price from ú749.95 +VAT to
ú699.95 +VAT. (This may be because they now have competition Ö see page
7.)
6.5
Å  Archive Monthly Program Discs Ö We get asked, fairly regularly, about
the Archive monthly program discs. Basically, all they consist of is any
programs and data files that are referred to in the magazine plus any
other bits and pieces that come our way. We sometimes use the disc to
send out updated versions of PD software, we try to put on it updates of
the ArcScan magazine data for Archive (Shareware 7) and, in future, we
will try to fit on the updates to the Archive Words Discs for Hints &
Tips and Products Available, i.e. the text of that monthæs H & T and
Products Available columns in Edit format. The discs are ú2 each. You
can buy them individually or the whole of the current year for ú24 Ö I
realise that this is not a discount, but ordering them in advance is a
convenience for you and extra admin for us!
6.5
Å  Archive Monthly Program Disc Index Ö If you want to know what the
monthly program discs actually contain, the most up-to-date list we have
is an Edit format index which appears on the Archive Products Available
Words Disc (ú2) Ö see opposite.
6.5
Å  Archive Words Discs Ö A number of people have asked if we can supply
Archive magazine in machine readable format. Thus far I have resisted
the pressure for copyright reasons. However, I recently created some
Edit files of the text of all the Archive magazines that were created on
the Archimedes Ö i.e. from Archive 4.5 onwards. (Prior to that they were
produced on Apple Macs.) I have found it extremely helpful to be able to
load up one file of text containing all the words of, say, volume 5
(2.6Mb of text!) and search through for some reference or other. These
files are now permanently on my pinboard. I have therefore decided to
release these files for sale on disc. They are:
6.5
Wordsáá4.5 Ö 4.8  ú2
6.5
Wordsáá4.9 Ö 4.12  ú2
6.5
Words  5.1 Ö 5.6  ú2
6.5
Words  5.7 Ö 5.12  ú2
6.5
Words  6.1 Ö 6.4*  ú2
6.5
Please note the licence conditions of these discs Ö they are only for
sale to those people who already own copies of the magazines to which
they refer. We are not asking for proof of purchase but are trusting
your honesty. The alternative to this licence condition would be to sell
the discs for, say, ú5 each to make them comparable with the cost of
buying the magazine but this we did not want to do. N.B. If you want the
back issues of the actual magazines, they are all still available at
special prices: Vols 1Ö4 at ú22 and Vols 1Ö5 at ú25.
6.5
á*Volume 6 will have to be on three discs (assuming we continue to
generate these 80-page issues!) as there is too much text, even when
compressed, to fit onto two discs. Volume 5 just squeezes onto two discs
in compressed format.
6.5
N.B. The Edit files are so large that you need a 2Mb machine to un-
compress the files from the individual discs. If you then want to
combine, say, all of volume 5, you will need a 4Mb machine.
6.5
Å  Archive Products Available Compilation. This goes right back to the
very beginning of Archiveæs life because we took the trouble, for our
own purposes, to go back to the issues that were produced on the Mac to
collect all this information. We find it very useful to have all this
information in a single file. If we want to know, for example, if there
has ever been a product that dealt with electronic circuit analysis, we
just load up this file and search for the appropriate words. Also
included on the disc are lists of the contents of the Shareware,
Careware and Archive monthly program discs in Edit format. This disc
costs ú2 from Archive.
6.5
Å  Archive Hints & Tips Compilation. This is another extremely useful
compilation for anybody who uses an Archimedes machine Ö I donæt know
why we didnæt think of doing it before! These discs contain all the
Hints & Tips columns plus some of the specialist hints & tips columns
like Impression, First Word Plus, RISC-OS 2 and RISC-OS 3. As with the
Products Available Compilation, it goes right back to the beginning of
Archive. The way we envisage them being used is that you load them into
Edit, search for the word(s) you are looking for, identify which
magazine contains the hint you want, then go and look it up in the
actual magazine. These Edit files contain no formatting and the sections
that were transferred from the Apple Mac may contain inaccuracies and
some program segments are missing, so please refer to the original text
in the magazine. These discs are ú6 each.
6.5
They are:
6.5
Hints  Vols (1 Ö 4)  ú6
6.5
Hints  Vols 5 & 6  ú6
6.5
Hints  Vols (1 Ö 6)  ú10
6.5
(The Hints 1Ö6 disc is only recommended for use on machines with 2Mb or
more as it will not un-compress into a 1Mb machine.)
6.5
Å  Archive Shareware & Careware Compilations Ö We have just realised that
those who own removable drives might wish to get hold of PD software in
bulk! We have therefore produced two compilation removable discs. All
the Archive Shareware discs (over 40 all together) have been put onto
one 42M cartridge. This disc is ú75. All the Archive Careware discs (19
so far) have also been put onto a single 42M cartridge. The cost is ú100
and, of this, ú75 covers the cost of the media plus duplication and ú25
goes to charity.
6.5
Å  Artroom CD-ROM Ö Matt Black have produced a CD-ROM version of their
Image Club clipart library (Archive 5.11 p2). For ú295 +ú2 p&p (no VAT),
you get over 4,000 clipart images, all in EPS format, that can be loaded
directly into ArtWorks.
6.5
Å  BookMaker Ö BookMaker is a DTP program that allows teachers and pupils
to produce storybooks. It allows you to manipulate text and graphics and
its features can be tailored by the teacher to the age and ability of
the pupils. The price is ú49.95 +VAT from RESOURCE for a single user
licence. This price includes the BookWorm application which allows
BookMaker books to be replayed a page at a time or as an animation.
6.5
Å  BookStore is an educational program aimed at children in Key Stages 1
& 2. It provides a framework for children to write, store and retrieve
book reviews. BookStore costs ú39.50 +VAT (including a site licence)
from ESM or ú43 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Careware 18 Ö Atomwide have released the software for their VIDC
Enhancers into the public domain. We have made it available on Careware
18 and added various other utilities for monitors. (We hope to have the
VIDC Enhancer hardware on sale again soon.)
6.5
The rest of the disc contains: iconbar mode number display, extended
screen modes for the Sony CPD-1402, mode 108 which provides 1024╫448
pixels & 16 colours @ 59Hz, mode 112 for the Acorn AKF18 m/s monitor,
VIDC enhancer modules for NEC 3D, tweaked PC emulator modes for NEC 3D,
extended screen modes (76-102) for NEC 3D, mode creation and editing for
pre-A5000s with AKF18, module for modes 0-15 for use on an A410 with an
AKF18 monitor, alternative to Atomwideæs VIDC enhancer software. The
price is ú5 from Archive.
6.5
Å  Careware 19 Ö This disc contains a range of utilities for graphics
file conversion (much of which used to be on Careware 13) and some
statistics software. The price is ú5 from Archive.
6.5
Graphics utilities consist of the latest versions of: !CGM->Draw (2.60),
!Draw->CGM (1.10), !Draw->EPS (1.10), !Draw->Met (1.00) (Draw to OS2
Metafiles), !Dxf-CGM (1.00), !Plotter (1.30) which allows drawfiles to
be plotted to a SketchMate A4 plotter, !Creator (1.13) which converts
sprites to GIF, TIFF, AIM and PBM and !Translator (6.45) which converts
various graphics filetypes to sprites.
6.5
The suite of stand-alone statistical utilities written in Basic consists
of: Transfer to/from PipeDream/Edit/ASCII text, graph drawing/plotting,
histograms, area under curve, half-life calculation, mean, deviation &
variance calculations, T-tests, regression analysis, linear regression,
F-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Spearman
correlation, chi▓, Fisher exact test, Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman, sample &
survival stats, covariate analysis, one-way independence tests, two-way
independence test, Altman-Bland test, predicted & PC calculation.
6.5
Å  Choices is an educational utility that allows students to do a wide
range of activities by selecting images. Preferences can be expressed as
well as giving right answers. It uses still or moving images, sprites or
drawfiles and allows jigsaws to be made. Teachers can modify existing
activities (four discs of resources are included) or create their own
activities. The price is ú35 +VAT from Widgit Software.
6.5
Å  ClearView hypertext utility (mentioned in Archive 5.8 p2)  has dropped
in price to ú29.95 inc VAT from DEC_dATA.
6.5
Å  Clipart Ö Software42 have three discs of clipart on offer at ú15 per
disc, inclusive. They are 1ÖElectronics, 2ÖAnimals and Birds, 3ÖPeople.
6.5
Bright Ideas have produced eleven discs of clipart: 1ÖGeneral,
2ÖTransport, 3ÖCostumes, 4ÖEntertainment, 5ÖBugs to Slugs, 6ÖRoad Signs,
7ÖSports Equipment, 8ÖSports Figures, 9ÖDinosaurs, 10ÖSymbols, 11ÖTools.
These discs are ú8 +VAT each from Desktop Projects.
6.5
Å  Courses, various Ö The ARM Club are arranging various courses on
topics such as music, games, teaching for teachers(!), Impression,
PipeDream, Squirrel, Genesis. For details, contact Dr Nick Evans, 19
Woodberry Way, Londoná N12 0HE.
6.5
Å  Craftshop 1, Craftshop 2, Jigsaw and Jiglet from 4Mation have all come
down in price. Each is now ú19.95 +VAT from 4Mation or ú22 through
Archive.
6.5
Å  Cyborg the arcade-style, multi-location adventure game from Alpine
Software (mentioned in Archive 6.3 p3) is now available through Archive
for ú24.
6.5
Å  DDE Pascal upgrade Ö Acorn have upgraded their (PD) DDE Pascal to
version 4.10. The main changes are that several bugs have been fixed,
forward function declarations now work, range checking on assignment has
been added, the optimiser has been improved, the predefined type ÉErroræ
has been renamed ÉOS_Erroræ as ÉErroræ caused name clashes with some
programs and Éinputæ and Éoutputæ can now be used explicitly without
declaring them in the program header (except when compiling with -ISO).
6.5
If you want the updated version you can either buy another copy of
Careware 17 at ú5 or send your old Careware 17 back with a donation to
charity and we will upgrade it for you.
6.5
Å  Desktop Folio Ö ESM have reduced the price of their word-processor/DTP
package to ú64 +VAT (ú70 through Archive). A site licence is available
from ESM for ú180 +VAT. They also now have five curriculum packs for use
with Desktop Folio. The subjects are: World War II, Christmas, Space,
Maths and Editors. The latter is a set of material for anyone designing
newspapers, magazines, etc. These packs are ú22.50 +VAT each (including
a site licence) from ESM.
6.5
Å  Eizo prices up Ö As from February 1st, the price of Eizo monitors has
risen slightly. The 9060 has gone up to an Archive price of ú550, the
F550 to ú980, the F750 to ú1650, the T560iT to ú1500, and the T660iT to
ú2100.
6.5
Å  Expanded keyboard Ö Northwest SEMERC have produced an expanded
keyboard for use on Archimedes computers. It works with A300, A400,
A540, A3000, A4000 and A5000 (although the A3000 needs an interface unit
fitted inside the computer). The keyboard comes complete with a
perforated steel key guard which enables users with poor motor control
to rest their hands thus avoiding unwanted key-presses. For those who
find multiple key-presses (e.g. <ctrl-V>, etc) difficult or impossible,
there is an electronic control which allows Ésticky keysæ to be used,
i.e. <shift>, <ctrl> or <alt> can effectively be held down while another
key is pressed Ö all with single key-presses.
6.5
Å  Fades is an addition to Silica Software Systemsæ art package, Flare.
It adds a carousel facility to allow you to build up a rolling display
of Flare pictures or other sprites. The complete pack of Flare + Fades
is ú29.30 (or ú22 for education) and the upgrade to add Fades is ú7 if
you send your original disc back to Silica.
6.5
Å  Gestalt 2: Money & Shopping is an educational program from Basing
Educational Software. This desktop application is aimed at primary and
special needs and allows pupils to deal with coins and notes to exact
quantities and to deal with rounding up. The price is ú30 +VAT from
Basing.
6.5
Å  Gestalt Number is a set of six educational programs for primary and
special needs pupils dealing with counting, number recognition,
sequencing, categorization, number bonds and multiplication. The price
is ú50 +VAT from Basing Educational Software.
6.5
Å  Grannyæs back! Ö Those who remember Grannyæs Garden from the BBC B
days will be pleased to hear that 4Mation have re-released it as a 4-
disc set for the Archimedes. The plot is the same but it has all new
graphics. Grannyæs Garden is ú24.50 +VAT (ú27 through Archive) and there
is a site licence (ú49 +VAT) and a Grannyæs Garden Resource Pack (ú10
+VAT) also available from 4Mation.
6.5
Å  HiVision Digitiser Ö HCCS have produced a colour digitiser in their
Vision range that digitises at 508 line ╫ 720 pixel. You will need 2Mb
minimum to run the software and 4Mb is recommended. The A3000 version
(internal) is ú129 +VAT (ú145 through Archive), the A3000 version
(external) is ú142 +VAT (ú160 through Archive), the standard podule
version (A300/400/5000) is ú129 +VAT (ú145 through Archive), the
MicroPodule version is also ú129 +VAT (ú145 through Archive).
6.5
Å  Ixion Ö This is a futuristic 3D adventure game from Software42. The
price is ú25 inclusive from Software42.
6.5
Å  Joysticks interface Ö Magnetic Image have produced (yet another)
joystick interface. However, this is unique in that it has four digital
joystick ports and supports joysticks with a second fire button Ö
something that other interfaces donæt do. The package consists of a
software module and a hardware dongle for the printer port which has a
trailing lead to the four-port interface box. This dongle is a Éthrough
connectoræ allowing you to connect the printer at the same time and it
has a switch to allow you to select between the printer and the joystick
interface. There is even a second fire button for each port in case your
existing joystick doesnæt have one. As with all joystick interfaces,
there are some games that just donæt support joysticks and it is worth
checking before you buy games. Price is ú34.95 from Magnetic Image.
6.5
Å  Kepler is Spacetechæs satellite orbital predication software. This
RISC-OS application costs ú29.50 inc VAT from Spacetech.
6.5
Å  KidPix is an art package aimed at children in Key Stages 1 & 2. This
costs ú37.50 +VAT from ESM or ú41 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Label Printer is a utility from Software42 for designing labels using
sprites and drawfiles and printing them onto tractor-feed mounted
labels. The price is ú15 inclusive from Software42.
6.5
Å Linguist is a computerised foreign language dictionary currently
containing 18 languages: Afrikaans, Cornish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch,
Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian,
Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Welsh. Linguist
consists of a dictionary, a quiz/game and an Éautomatic dictionary look-
upæ which allows you to drop a text file onto it and, by doing a trans-
literation, it will give you a vague idea of the textæs content although
it will obviously not be a proper translation of the text.
6.5
Linguist is available from Bits æn Bytes for ú30 inc VAT. This includes
all 18 languages and more are currently being added Ö the price includes
a free upgrade to the new languages as and when available.
6.5
Å  Masterfile 3 Ö Risc Developments have released a new version of their
long-standing database in Archimedes format. The price is ú49 +VAT from
Risc Developments.
6.5
Å  Mitre Software Ö Owners of DiscTree and/or TimeWatch need to know that
Mitre Software has ceased trading. However, until 30th June 1993, you
can get your software upgraded to make it RISC-OS 3 compatible free-of-
charge. To do this, send your original system disc together with an
S.A.E. to the address at the back of the magazine.
6.5
Å  My World 2 Ö This is an upgraded version of the application produced
by Northwest SEMERC which allows children to manipulate drawfiles. New
screens include Goldilocks and an improved version of Teddy screen for
infants as well as Make a Town for juniors. Secondary school students
can use My World for Electronics pictures and to investigate Pythagorasæ
theorem. For Key Stage 3 foreign language students, there is Dessin and
Grandeur. New functions include screen-linking for story-telling,
rotate, re-size and flip objects, and pop-up windows for access to
further libraries. It costs ú28 +VAT and there are over 18 My World
resource packs available. The original, simpler version of My World is
still available at ú18 +VAT from NW SEMERC.
6.5
Å  Noot is an animation package for education from 4Mation. It is
particularly aimed at pre-school, infant and junior to provide öa
stimulating environment for language developmentò. The price is ú45 +VAT
(ú48 through Archive) for a single user. Additional key-discs at ú10
+VAT and a site licence at ú90 +VAT are available from 4Mation.
6.5
Å  Parish Magazine is a clipart and text collection from DEC_dATA. It
consists of three discs of clipart plus a disc of the full text of the
King James Version of the New Testament. The price is ú19.95 inc VAT
from DEC_dATA.
6.5
Å  PenDown Etoiles Ö the French version of Longman Logotronæs educational
word-processor is available now. Intended to complement the 5 year
Etoiles French course from the BBC and Longman, it is aimed at Key
Stages 3 and 4 for Modern Foreign Languages. It includes a 72,000 word
French dictionary. The price is ú54 +VAT from Longman or ú58 through
Archive. Longman also do a site licence for ú330 +VAT and there is an
upgrade licence for PenDown and PenDown Plus licence holders.
6.5
Å  Perspectives Ö Techsoft have produced a new 3D design package which
allows wireframe drawings to be created in any of three orthographic
windows, the result being displayed in the fourth window. It can
instantly change from 1st to 3rd angle. The pictorial view can be
isometric, oblique or perspective and the perspective view can be
rotated and zoomed. There is also a special stereo viewing mode for use
with the special glasses provided and the view can be rotated to allow
you to view the object from any direction. Perspectives is ú45 +VAT from
Techsoft for a single copy or ú75 +VAT for an educational site licence.
6.5
Å  PlayBack is Risc Developmentsæ mouse recording software. It allows you
to create demonstrations of programs that run in the desktop. PlayBack
costs ú19 +VAT from Risc Developments.
6.5
Å  Podd Ö This well-known character from the BBC educational world has
now made it into Archimedes format. This is a language-development
program aimed at Key Stages 1 & 2 Ö and itæs also good fun! Podd is
ú27.50 +VAT (including a site licence) from ESM or ú30 through Archive.
6.5
Å  POEM Embroidery System Ö Commotion have produced a computer embroidery
system based on the same POEM500 personal embroidery machine as used by
Techsoft. Commotionæs price, including öPoetryò software is ú699.95
+VAT. Poetry accepts sprites and drawfiles but also has its own built-in
art package. (The software is ready now, but not the manual. We will
review it when it does become available.)
6.5
Å  PowerRouter is an add-on to Silicon Visionæs ArcPCB. It takes an
ArcPCB design in öratæs nestò form and generates a multi-layer routed
design using ö100% rip-up re-tryò techniques. The price is ú195 incVAT
from Silicon Vision. (ArcPCB is ú125 inc VAT.)
6.5
Å  PrimeWord Ö Minerva have released their new word processor aimed at
educational users. It is a font-based wordprocessor with spelling
checker and dictionary. It can import graphics into the text and the
package is configurable to make it suitable at different levels within
the school. The price is ú59 +VAT (or ú64 through Archive) or ú236 +VAT
for a site licence from Minerva.
6.5
Å  QuickShow Ö This is an Éeasy-to-useæ slide show presentation and video
titling package from Desktop Projects Ltd. The price is ú25 +VAT from
Desktop Projects.
6.5
Å  QuickSound Ö Desktop Projects Ltd have produced a utility for handling
sound samples. It allows you to load, play, convert and resave samples.
It takes Armadeus and Tracker samples and can produce modules for use in
other applications. You can also apply special effects to the sound
samples. The price is ú10 +VAT from Desktop Projects.
6.5
Å  QuickTile Ö This utility, also from Desktop Projects Ltd, allows you
to print posters from drawfiles and sprites. It works with any RISC-OS
application and will automatically generate crop marks on the individual
sheets that make up the whole poster. The price is ú25 +VAT from Desktop
Projects.
6.5
Å  Repton is back Ö So now we are up to Repton 4! Superior Software have
just released ÉEgo: Repton 4æ which provides 30 levels of play and, on
each level, you have to build up a jigsaw puzzle of a famous person or
place by collecting pieces scattered around the level. The price is
ú24.95 from Superior or ú23 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Satpack 1 is a satellite orbit prediction package from Unilab. The
price is ú20.23 +VAT from Unilab.
6.5
Å  ScreenPlay is Widgit Softwareæs framework program to help children
create animated stories incorporating pictures, text and sound. It is
aimed for primary use and also for older pupils (or adults) with
learning difficulties. The main pack consisting of an introductory demo
disc, a story disc, a resources disc and a severe learning difficulties
disc costs ú35 +VAT from Widgit. They also have a training video for
teachers which can be hired for 5 working days for ú2 +VAT or purchased
for ú10.50 +VAT.
6.5
Å  SCSI cards for CDROM use Ö We said last month that the Leading Edge
SCSI cards all had CDFS built-in. This wasnæt quite true. The CDFS is
supplied on disc and is not in ROM as it is on, say, the Morley SCSI
card. You have to load the CDFS from disc within your boot file.
6.5
On the subject of CDFS, you should note that all new Morley SCSI podules
will contain the CDFS in ROM and the price remains as it was Ö ú160 for
the uncached one and ú220 for the cached one. Anyone who has an existing
Morley SCSI card can get a new ROM from Morley for ú15 +VAT.
6.5
Å  Sherston Software Ö From now on, we will be selling the educational
programs produced by Sherston Software. Here is a list of those that we
have already mentioned and/or reviewed in the magazine:
6.5
Title                       Archive Price   Reference
6.5
Arcventure Romans  ú32  6.3  p2
6.5
Arcventure Egyptians  ú32
  4.9  p2
6.5
Christmas AllSorts  ú18
  5.3  p49
6.5
Crystal Rain Forest  ú43
  6.2  p58
6.5
Food for Thought  ú18  6.2  p3
6.5
Graph-IT  ú21  5.12  p63
6.5
Help3  ú9  6.2  p3
6.5
Hilighter  ú49  6.5  p71
6.5
Split an Image  ú18  5.11
  p30
6.5
Viewpoints  ú43  4.11  p52
6.5
There are four other Archimedes packages which Sherston produce (and
which we will be selling) that havenæt yet had a mention in Archive.
6.5
Animated Numbers is for children aged 3 Ö 6 and has three activities
illustrating the numbers 1 to 10. The price is ú23 through Archive.
6.5
Badger Trails is a multimedia simulation about badgers. As well as the
computer program, the pack includes a video showing the discovery of a
badger sett and the setting up of a hide to observe the badgers. The
price is ú38 through Archive.
6.5
Connections is designed to support infant maths and number work and is
aimed at 5 Ö 8 year olds. Children simply have to alter the contents of
each window to make the connections true. The price is ú30 through
Archive.
6.5
Splash is an art package specifically designed for young children. (This
should not be confused with Splosh from WECC Ö which is also an art
package for young children!) The price is ú22 through Archive which
includes a free site licence.
6.5
Å  Special Needs Trackerball Ö Northwest SEMERC have now produced a
trackerball which will give access to mouse-controlled software for
people with poor motor control. It includes a guard to act as a hand-
rest for the user to avoid unnecessary ball spin or button pressing.
There are also special buttons to produce double-click and drag effects.
The price is ú269 +VAT from NW SEMERC.
6.5
Å  Spheres of Chaos, the inter-galactic shoot-æem-up game from Matt Black
as mentioned in Archive 6.1 p3, is now available through Archive for
ú23.
6.5
Å  Snippet 2 Ö The new version of 4Mationæs Snippet (see 5.12 p37) has a
new price Ö ú37.50 +VAT from 4Mation or ú40 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Splosh is an art package specifically designed for young children Ébut
with features for everyoneæ. The introductory price from WECC is ú19
+VAT which includes a free site licence.
6.5
Å  Talking books Ö Sherston have just released the first of their Talking
Books series Ö Naughty Stories. These feature recorded human speech and
allow the children to move from page to page listening to the story at
the click of a button. They can even ask the computer to repeat words
they are unsure of. The first three stories are: Billy the Bothersome
Bully, Doris the Dotty Dog and Edwinaæs Energetic Elephant. They are
ú9.95 +VAT each or ú11 through Archive.
6.5
Å  Teletext adaptor software Ö With the new teletext franchise for ITV
and Channel 4, the multitasking teletext software from Ivoryash Ltd no
longer works 100% because of the change of format. Existing customers
can receive a free upgrade by returning the original disk and a stamped
addressed label to Ivoryash Ltd. The current price for new customers is
ú25 inc VAT and p&p.
6.5
Å  Through the Dragonæs Eye is a Look and Read Adventure from Longman
Logotron. It is intended to link with the BBC Schoolsæ Television
program of the same name. The price is ú24 +VAT through Longmans or ú26
through Archive.
6.5
Å  Time-Traveller are ESMæs history packs aimed at children in Key Stage
2. There are currently five packs at different prices Ö Britain since
the 1930s and The Victorians are ú32.50 +VAT each from ESM or ú35
through Archive, Trade & Industry and Medieval Realms are ú39.50 +VAT
each from ESM or ú43 through Archive and the fifth pack is Time
Traveller Personal which is basically a shell into which you can put
your own history Ö local history or whatever. It comes with a sample
data disc for history from 1891 to 1990. This costs ú37.50 +VAT from ESM
or ú41 through Archive. The price of each pack includes a site licence.
6.5
Å  TOM the Computer Simulator Ö This is a computer simulator for use in
Computer Science or Electronics courses. It is a desktop application
that allows you to simulate a processor with 48 bytes of memory. You
program it by poking machine code instructions into the various
locations and watch the program counter and accumulator as your program
runs. This application costs ú29.95 +VAT (or ú99.95 for a site licence)
from Keylink Computers.
6.5
Å  Ultimate Expansion System Ö This is an expansion system for ALL Acorn
32-bit computers. It is such an important new product that I have
devoted a whole article to it Ö see page 11.
6.5
Å  Vanguard Clipart Volume 1 Ö This is a önew kind of design resource for
DTP usersò from Matt Black. It consists of 50+ images designed to be öas
versatile and attention-grabbing as possibleò. As well as the images on
disc, you get a 12-page booklet with an index of the clipart plus design
ideas, hints & tips, etc for getting the most out of Impression,
Artworks, Draw, etc. This first disc has images relating to öfantasy,
tools and stationaryò (sic). The price is ú14.99 + ú2 p&p (no VAT) from
Matt Black.
6.5
Å  WolfPack Ö This is a flight simulation game from Software42 set in
World War 3. The price is ú20 inclusive from Software42.
6.5
Å  Wordz Ö Colton Softwareæs new wordprocessor (as described in the
PipeLine-Z column this month Ö see page 21) is now in stock. The price
is ú99 + VAT (or ú105 through Archive).
6.5
Å  Xword is a desktop crossword puzzle program from David Ramsden. It
includes 50 cryptic puzzles for you to solve plus some rudimentary (his
word) programs for entering and editing your own puzzles (maximum 20 ╫
20 letters). Send ú5.95 to David Ramsden at 7 Chevet Lane, Wakefield
WF2 6HN.
6.5
Review software received...
6.5
We have received review copies of the following: Ancient Greece, Arcade,
ArcTrack, Bright Ideas Clipart, Chatter, Choices, Drop Rock, Ego:
Repton4, Fantasy + Fiddles & Drums (SmArt files), Flare + Fades, Impact,
Ixion, Label Printer, Landmarks Ö Civil War, Linkword (Spanish), PenDown
Etoiles, Perspectives, Picture It!, Precision, Punctuate, QuickShow,
QuickTile, SatPacká1, Soapbox, Software42 Clipart, Splosh, SpySnatcher,
The Puddle and the Wardrobe, ThinkLink, Through the Dragonæs Eye, Tiles,
Whale Facts, WindowEd, Wolfpack, Xword, Yes Chancellor II.ááA
6.5

6.5
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
6.5
So, you tell me that Christianity is a man-made myth. Well, what
alternative plan can you offer me to rescue mankind from the mess it is
sliding into?
6.5
Letæs work on the assumption that God doesnæt exist and assume that man
is basically good so that all we have to do is to educate him and
improve the systems of government and then all will be well. Come on,
who are you trying to kid?! Look around you Ö at Northern Ireland, the
former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, Somalia (need I go on?). Look at
what mankind is doing to itself. Think about the ecological mess we are
making of this planet. Think of the over-population. Think of the way we
are over-using natural resources. How long will it be before the whole
world system falls apart?
6.5
Open your eyes and face the facts Ö the world is in a mess and what
solution can you offer for these mega problems? Better education? Better
government? Well, of course, these things will help but at the heart of
almost every problem is manæs basic selfishness and greed. öI/we
want...ò öItæs my/our right...ò The heart of the problem is the problem
of the human heart!
6.5
Oh, we educated, öniceò people donæt go around killing people or causing
ecological disasters but, be honest, do you find it easy to be more
concerned about other peopleæs welfare than your own? We all know the
theory that it will be better for mankind as a whole if we look after
each other but even öniceò people have a problem with selfishness to
some extent.
6.5
If I were God, I wouldnæt just let mankind stew in its own juice Ö Iæd
go down there, get involved and show them that there is a better way.
Iæm not... ...but He did. God came to earth in Jesus and not only showed
us how to live an unselfish life but, much more importantly, gave us the
fundamental cure for the cancer of human selfishness. What is the cure?
Sorry, Iæve run out of space Ö ask a Christian!
6.5

6.5
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603Ö766592 (Ö764011)
6.5

6.5
4Mation   11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271Ö25353) (0271Ö22974)
6.5
Abacus Training   29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
6.5
Ace Computing   27 Victoria Road, Cambridge  CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559)
(0223Ö69180)
6.5
Acorn Computers Ltd   Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223Ö254254) (0223Ö254262)
6.5
Aleph One Ltd   The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge  CB5 9BA.
(0223Ö811679) (0223Ö812713)
6.5
Alpine Software   P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon  BT63 5UT.
(0762Ö342510)
6.5
Apricote Studios  2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire  PE15 0ND.
(035Ö478Ö432)
6.5
Baildon Electronics   1 Fyfe
Crescent, Baildon, Shipley, W Yorks BD17 6DR. (0274Ö580519)
(0274Ö531626)
6.5
Basing Educational Software   6 Long
Street, Gerlan, Bethesda, Gwynedd  LL57 3SY. (0248Ö602402)
6.5
Bits æn Bytes   26 Grenville Road, Saint Judes, Plymouth  PL4 9PY.
(0752Ö667599)
6.5
Calligraph Ltd  53 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL. (0223Ö461143)
(0223Ö316144)
6.5
Clares Micro Supplies  98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire  CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(0606Ö48512)
6.5
Commotion   Redburn House, Stockingswater Lane, Enfield  EN3 7TD.
(081Ö804Ö1378)
6.5
Colton Software (p20)  2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223Ö311881) (0223Ö312010)
6.5
Computer Concepts (p19)  Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (0442Ö231632)
6.5
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
6.5
DEC_dATA   60 Danes Road, Exeter EX4 4LS. (0392Ö221702)
6.5
Design Concept  30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh  EH9 2HG.
(031Ö668Ö2000)
6.5
Desktop Projects Ltd   Unit 2A,
Heapriding Business Park, Ford Street, Stockport  SK3 0BT.
(061Ö474Ö0778) (061Ö474Ö0781)
6.5
E.S.M.   Duke Street, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire  PE13 2AE. (0945Ö63441)
6.5
HCCS Ltd   575Ö583 Durham Road, Gateshead  NE9 5JJ. (091Ö487Ö0760)
(091Ö491Ö0431)
6.5
ICS Ltd (p10)  1 Kington Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET.
(051Ö625Ö1006) (051Ö625Ö1007)
6.5
Ivoryash Ltd   14 Perwell Close, Bredon, Tewkesbury, Gloucester  GL20
7LJ. (0684Ö73173)
6.5
Keylink Computers Ltd  2 Woodway
House, Common Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire  CV8 2ES. (0926Ö50909)
(0926Ö864128)
6.5
Krisalis Software   Teque House,
Masonæs Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate, Rotherham  S60 2HD. (0709Ö372290)
6.5
Longman-Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223Ö425558) (0223Ö425349)
6.5
LOOKsystems (p24)  47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603Ö764114) (0603Ö764011)
6.5
Matt Black   P.O.Box 42, Peterborough  PE1 2TZ. (0733Ö315439)
6.5
Minerva Systems   Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (0392Ö421762)
6.5
Mitre Software   26 Creechurch Lane, London  EC3A 5BA. (071Ö283Ö4646)
6.5
Morley Electronics   Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear  NE29 7TY. (091Ö257Ö6355)
(091Ö257Ö6373)
6.5
Northwest SEMERC   Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061Ö627Ö4469)
6.5
Oak Solutions (p14)  Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274Ö620423) (0274Ö620419)
6.5
P.R.E.S. Ltd   P.O. Box 319, Lightwater, Surrey GU18 5PW. (0276Ö72046)
(0276Ö51427)
6.5
RESOURCE   Exeter Road, Doncaster  DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
6.5
Risc Developments   117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303) (0727Ö860263)
6.5
Sherston Software   Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666Ö840433) (0666Ö840048)
6.5
Sigma Press   1 South Oak Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire  SK9 6AR.
6.5
Silica Software Systems  Mallards,
Lower Hardres, Canterbury, Kent  CT4 5NU. (0227Ö700279)
6.5
Silicon Vision Ltd   Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex  HA1 2AG. (081Ö861Ö2173)
(081Ö427Ö5169)
6.5
Software 42   109 Ferry Road, Hullbridge, Essex  SS5 6EL.
6.5
Spacetech (p40)  21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753) (0305Ö860483)
6.5
Superior Software   P.O. Box 6,
Brigg, S Humberside  DN20 9NH. (0652Ö658585) (0652Ö657807)
6.5
Taylor Lambert Advertising  Tanneræs
Court, Brockham, Surrey  RH3 7NH. (0737Ö844044)
6.5
Techsoft UK Ltd  Old School Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd  CH7 4DA.
(082Ö43318)
6.5
Unilab Ltd   The Science Park, Hutton Street, Blackburn BB1 3BT.
(0254Ö681222) (0254Ö681777)
6.5
WECC   Manor Hall, Sandy Lane, Leamington Spa  CV32 6RD. (0926Ö413741)
(0926Ö413748)
6.5
Widgit Software  102 Radford Road, Leamington Spa  CV31 1LF.
(0926Ö885303)
6.5

6.5

6.5

6.5
Paul Beverley
6.5

6.5

6.5

6.5
   SEMERCæs expanded Keyboard
6.5

6.5
ICS
6.5
From 6.4 page 16
6.5

6.5
The Ultimate Expansion System?
6.5
Paul Beverley
6.5
This isnæt really a review as such Ö more an extension of the Products
Available column. However, I feel that the subject, HCCSæs Ultimate
Expansion System, is so important that it is worthy of a separate
article.
6.5
The two problems
6.5
(1)ááWe have had quite a few queries recently from subscribers whose
Archimedes computers are full with four podules. They ask whether anyone
makes an expansion box that will allow them to have more than four
podules on an A300/400/540/5000. The answer, sadly, is Énoæ. The reason
is that the electronics of the podule interface will not tolerate cables
of more than a few cm in length.
6.5
(2)ááAnyone thinking of buying one of Acornæs latest batch of computers
Ö A3010, A3020 or A4000 Ö will be only too aware of one major limitation
that these three computers share. They can only take one single internal
mini-podule and, unlike the old A3000, cannot take an external podule.
6.5
How, you may ask, could Acorn make what seems to be such a short-sighted
design decision? Well, the story is that they were hoping that third
party suppliers would produce a range of add-ons that use the bi-
directional parallel port (or the serial port). Then the single internal
podule could be used for a SCSI interface which would give access to a
whole range of other (albeit more expensive) devices.
6.5
So, when we are advising cusomers about buying, for example, a DTP
system, we offer an economy system using a BJ10ex inkjet printer and,
say, an A4000 or even an A3010. However, as soon as the customer thinks
in terms of a Laser Direct printer, the price shoots up and not just by
the difference in price between the two printers. Laser Direct is not
available as a mini podule, so you need a machine, like the A5000, that
will take standard-sized podules... ...or that used to be the case...
6.5
The solution
6.5
HCCS have made the most of the increased electronic miniaturisation
available these days and introduced the ÉMicroPoduleæ. Standard
Eurocard-sized podules are about 17cm ╫ 10cm, minipodules are 16cm ╫
7cm, while the new MicroPodules are only 8cm ╫ 5cm Ö slightly smaller
than a credit card. This means you can mount two MicroPodules side-by-
side onto a standard-size podule and up to three MicroPodules side-by-
side on a minipodule.
6.5

6.5
The MultiPodules
6.5
HCCS are making carrier podules which they have called ÉMultiPodulesæ.
The MultiPodule for the A300/400/540/5000 computers (part number: K3410)
costs ú39 +VAT (ú43 through Archive) and takes, as I have said, two
MicroPodules.
6.5
For the A3010, there is an entry-level MultiPodule (K3110) at ú41.70
+VAT (ú46 through Archive) which provides a user port and allows the
connection of two MicroPodules.
6.5
If you want a hard drive in your A3010, you can have a minipodule that
will fit two MicroPodules and carries a 20Mb IDE drive and a user port
(K3132) for ú271.49 +VAT (ú303 through Archive) or with a 30Mb drive
(K3133) for ú297.02 +VAT (ú330 through Archive) or with a 60Mb drive
(K3136) for ú399.15 +VAT (ú445 through Archive).
6.5
As soon as you expand a MultiPodule by adding a hard drive or a
MicroPodule, you ought really to add a power supply and fan. If you buy
a hard drive version, as above, the power supply and fan are included as
part of the package. If you need to buy them separately, they come as
K3150 which will cost ú30 +VAT (or ú33 through Archive).
6.5
The A3020 and A4000 have space internally for an IDE hard drive, so
there is no need to use up valuable podule space. For these computers,
there is a MultiPodule (K3210) which will take up to three MicroPodules
and has a user port as well. It costs ú39 +VAT or ú43 through Archive.
6.5
(There will also be an A3000 version of this which is an identical
podule but you need an extension cable to enable it to fit properly with
the A3000æs existing cabling.)
6.5
The MicroPodules
6.5
The success of this venture depends on the number of different
MicroPodules available. HCCS themselves have started to produce their
own range of MicroPodules and are obviously going to be producing more.
However, they are also talking to other third-party suppliers with a
view to licensing other podules for production at MicroPodule size.
6.5
HCCS MicroPodules
6.5
There are four HCCS MicroPodules that can, at the time of writing, be
classed as ÉProducts Availableæ. The SCSI MicroPodule costs ú99 +VAT
(ú110 through Archive) and is an 8-bit interface which includes CDFS as
standard so, as well as using it to access hard drives, including
removables, you can access CD-ROM drives. This isnæt a 16-bit interface
but unless you are dealing with large SCSI drives, the speed of data
transfer is going to be limited by the drive and not the interface. You
can run Acorn Replay through one of these podules, although only at 12
frames per second.
6.5
The Colour Vision Digitiser MicroPodule costs ú79 +VAT (ú88 through
Archive). This is the standard resolution Vision Digitiser (see Archive
5.12 p43 and 6.2 p23).
6.5
The HiVision Digitiser MicroPodule costs ú129 +VAT (ú145 through
Archive). This is a colour digitiser that digitises at 508 line ╫ 720
pixel. (You will need 2Mb minimum to run the software and 4Mb is
recommended.)
6.5
The Laser Express MicroPodule costs ú249 +VAT (ú278 through Archive).
This provides the hardware and software needed to link directly to a
Canon LBP4 laser printer that has a video interface fitted.
6.5
Starter Packs
6.5
If you want to buy a MicroPodule but donæt want a hard drive, you will,
as I have said, need a power supply and fan. To keep the initial cost
down, HCCS are doing three Starter Packs as follows (each consists of
the MicroPodule plus a power supply and fan):
6.5
The HiVision Starter Pack (K3140) is ú149 +VAT (ú166) through Archive.
The Laser Express Starter Pack (K3141) is ú269 +VAT (ú300) through
Archive and the SCSI Starter Pack (K3142) is ú119 +VAT (ú133) through
Archive.
6.5
Podules under development
6.5
During the course of 1993, HCCS are hoping to release MicroPodules for:
Analogue input (almost ready and priced at ú29 +VAT or ú32 through
Archive), MIDI/Sound Sampler, Serial, Ethernet and Colour video out
(which will be useful for output to video recorders or large display
monitors).
6.5
Third-party MicroPodules
6.5
HCCS are currently in discussions with Computer Concepts about the
production of MicroPodule versions of Laser Direct and ScanLight. HCCS
are also hoping to find a company who could make a PC MicroPodule.
6.5
Not all standard-size podules will squash down onto a MicroPodule Ö it
depends on the chip count, of course. However, there should, hopefully,
be a number of other interfaces appearing in MicroPodule format over the
coming months.
6.5
The implications
6.5
A number of important implications occur to me as I consider HCCSæ
innovative podule project:
6.5
A300/400/540/5000 computers could (in theory at least) have up to eight
podules. I say Éin theoryæ firstly because there arenæt eight different
podules available yet. Secondly, for most of us, it isnæt a case of
starting from scratch. We already have a number of standard-size
podules, so adding various MicroPodules mounted on MultiPodules isnæt
quite such a clear option for financial reasons Ö but in a new
machine... !
6.5
A3000 owners can also benefit from these new systems. There is no
reason, as far as I can see, why any of the boards originally intended
for A3010/3020/4000 shouldnæt be used in an A3000.
6.5
Schools will, I think, be particularly pleased to see HCCSæ new
developments. The fact that a user port is available as well as various
MicroPodules is a great plus Ö the ability to link to concept keyboards,
interfacing boxes, etc comes, therefore, at no extra cost and without
taking up a podule slot. The combination of user port and multiple
serial ports means that these interfaces are ideally suited for special
needs applications. Also, being able to move MicroPodules around between
machines, including between standard-size podules and minipodules will
make life much easier because of the increased flexibility. (They are
also considerably easier to get in and out than minipodules!)
6.5
If you own an A3010, you donæt have to use a MultiPodule with an IDE
internal drive. You could, instead, buy a three-way MultiPodule and use
one of your three MicroPodule slots for a SCSI interface. Then you could
put an external SCSI drive onto the computer Ö perhaps bigger and faster
than the IDE drives.
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
Am I over-stating the importance of MicroPodules? Only time will tell
and it will obviously depend on how well other podule manufacturers pick
up on the idea.
6.5
I think that Acorn should be extremely grateful to HCCS Ö the increased
flexibility provided by MicroPodules makes A3010, A3020 and A4000
computers much more attractive and can only serve to increase their
sales, albeit occasionally at the expense of the sale of an A5000.ááA
6.5

6.5
Oak Solutions
6.5
From 6.4 page 8
6.5

6.5
Hints and Tips
6.5
Å  A4 pointer loss Ö Using Impression on an A4, it is very easy to lose
the text pointer. If the pointer is somewhere over the text, it takes
the form of a caret and is very difficult to see. The simple solution is
to click <adjust>. This marks a block of text and your pointer is at one
or other end of the block! Ed.
6.5
Å  Ace printer drivers Ö Many people have asked about the differences
between Risc Developmentsæ printer drivers and the Ace Computing drivers
(including the Pro-Drivers.) In practice, the standard Ace drivers (ú17)
and Risc Developmentsæ drivers (ú23) are the same. However, the Pro-
Drivers (ú44) are somewhat enhanced: they support full background
printing, true 24-bit colour, half-toning, dithering and colour
separations. Ace Computing have also recently upgraded their DJ500C
driver to include facilities for the DJ550C. Simon Moy, Archive.
6.5
Å  Background printing with RISC-OS printer drivers Ö Yes it is possible!
RISC-OS printer drivers are capable of printing in the background far
better than third party software due to the fact that the ROM printing
routines are designed to multitask. However, this is not documented and
requires a particular way of printing. Set your printer driver to print
to a file (choose Connection from the Printer Control menu, select File
and enter a pathname to a temporary file). Print the file in question by
the normal method for the application in question Ö this bit doesnæt
multitask! When it has finished, reset the driver to print to the
parallel (or serial) port. Find the temporary printout file and drag it
on to the printer icon on the iconbar. The printer will begin printing
and you will have full control of the machine. If you are using a RAM
disc or a hard disc, you shouldnæt notice any slowing down at all. Simon
Moy, Archive.
6.5
Å  Dating Ö I can never remember what the time is and so, in common with
a lot of others, I used to have the date and time on the iconbar. This
was not completely satisfactory as it was frequently obscured by
windows. Browsing in the User Guide, I discovered that you could alter
the format of the command line prompt and have the date and or time
displayed before the *. You can do this with:
6.5
SetMacro CLI$Prompt <Sys$Time>, <Sys$Date> *
6.5
This went in my boot file. Now whenever I want the date or time all I do
is, <f12>, read the date and time and press <return>.á Edward Naish,
Gwynedd.
6.5
(On RISC-OS 3, all you do is press <shift-f12> to bring the iconbar
forwards and then <shift-f12> to put it back again. Ed.)
6.5
Å  Draw to sprite conversion Ö In answer to Roger Darlingtonæs plea in
Archive 6.3, several people gave us the öobviousò way of converting
drawfiles to sprites Ö you display the drawfile on screen and use the
screen grab facility within Paint to create a sprite. (This emphasises
again the need for a ÉThis is Obvious But...æ column, as mentioned in
the Help!!! Column this month. None of the Éexpertsæ at N.C.S. thought
of it. Ed.)
6.5
One other solution was mentioned... Drawfile to sprite conversion can be
done with the program Revxtra which is supplied with the Revelation
package. However, this is a copyright program and I donæt know of any PD
equivalent.á Ted Lacey, Southampton.
6.5
To add to that... If you have Revelation ImagePro, you can just drop
drawfiles onto a Revelation picture and save it out again as a sprite Ö
no need for a separate program.á Gabriel Swords, Norwich.
6.5
Å  Easiword Ö The printed effects (bold, italics, etc) only start working
if you go into !Printers configuration window and, in the OptionsÖText
Quality, select NLQ rather than No Highlights which is the default.á
Steve Hutchinson, Gloucester.
6.5
Å Filename dragging Ö If you have version 1.21 of Edit, you can shift-
drag any object into an edit window and the pathname of the object
appears at the cursor position. This is just the job for constructing
command files. Avoid all those typing errors!
6.5
I read in another magazine that this facility is only available in OS3.
This is not the case, although it does not work with version 1 of Edit.á
Edward Naish, Gwynedd.
6.5
Å  Fun School Ö All of the Fun School series (3 and 4) have now been
upgraded to work with RISC-OS 3.10 although some tweaks are still
necessary. For the Fun School 3 range, it is necessary to start in mode
15 before running the programs. In the Fun School 4 range, you will need
to RMKill any VIDC enhancer modules that are running as these cause the
music and graphics to work too fast. Simon Moy.
6.5
Å  Inserting RISC-OS (or any other) chips Ö With the recent introduction
of RISC-OS 3, many Archimedes computers are being returned to dealers
with the pins of the ROM chips damaged. Here is how to avoid that!
Usually, ROM chips are delivered with the pins looking like this...
6.5

6.5
They will not go into the computeræs ROM sockets with the pins splayed
out like this.
6.5
Before handling the ROM chips, make sure that you are not carrying a
static charge. This is easily accomplished by touching an earthed metal
object. You will need a flat area to work on Ö a formica-topped table is
ideal. Grasp each end of the ROM chip with finger and thumb of both
hands, so that the sharp ends of the ROM pins are facing you horizon
tally. Place the bottom row of pins onto the formica table top and press
down gently but firmly and move the body of the ROM slightly towards
you. Repeat this operation until the pins are exactly at right angles to
the chip body. Turn the ROM over and repeat the above exercise. You
should now have a ROM with the pin layout like this...
6.5

6.5
With the chip just above its socket and the chip notch orientated with
the diagram supplied with your computer, insert one side of the chip
pins slightly into the corresponding side of the socket. Once you are
sure that all pins on that side do align correctly then lower the other
row of pins into the other side of the socket. Again make sure that all
the pins are aligned and then press the chip completely home.
6.5
If you have been unfortunate enough to have broken a pin off of a ROM
chip, there is a solution providing that a small amount of pin is left
on the chip. You will need a öturned pinò, wire-wrap header socket with
the same number of pins as the damaged ROM. Before inserting the damaged
chip into this socket, cut down each pin of the header socket to about
4mm length. Insert the damaged ROM into this socket, and with a very
fine-tipped soldering iron solder a jumper wire from the damaged pin
directly to the empty socket on the header. Once this has been achieved
do not ever remove the ROM from this socket. The completed assembly may
be mounted with care into the original ROM socket. I have repaired
several ROMs by this method.á Mike King, Guernsey.
6.5
Å  JPEG Ö Under RISC-OS 3, JPEG only works providing the hourglass is
switched off. This can be carried out by inserting the SWI call SYS
öHourglass_Offò at the appropriate place.á Marc Evans.
6.5
Å  Paper for inkjets Ö Daler Superline paper produces excellent results
on my Canon BJ10ex Ö I bought it a long time ago, so I hope itæs still
available.á S Freeman, Middlewich.
6.5
Å  Printer drivers Ö RISC-OS 3 printer drivers assume that there is
enough öscrapò space on a disc to store any temporary files during a
printing operation. In practice, a hard disc is assumed. If you have a
system without a hard disc, then !Scrap can be either on a floppy disc
or a RAM disc. If there is not enough space for the temporary printout
file, !Printers will crash with no warning. To avoid this, keep !System
and !Scrap on a separate disc on their own. Simon Moy, Archive.
6.5
Å  Standard crest in Impression letters Ö In Archive 6.3 p28, Brian Cowan
asks how he can save floppy disc space with his Impression letters where
he has a college crest, the drawfile of which  takes up 10Kb of memory
per letter Ö much more than the text Ö and he fills a floppy disc with
such multiple copies of the crest.
6.5
Surely the answer is to have an empty frame in the standard letter file
into which he drags the drawfile of the crest. All he has to do is to
remember to drag the drawfile whenever he starts a new letter and drop
into the frame a simple dummy drawfile Ö a single square or circle will
do Ö that will occupy far less space, before saving to disc. If he needs
to re-load and re-print the document, all he has to do is drop a copy of
the crest in again Ö surely not a fag. The crest and dummy drawfiles can
be held on the pinboard.á Steve Kirkby, Sutton. (Well, it was his idea
modified by Ed.)ááA
6.5

6.5
Help!!!!
6.5
Å  ╜ö Tape Drive Ö Has anyone successfully attached a ╜ò tape drive unit
to an Archimedes?á J.R.Thorn, Cardiff.
6.5
Å  Archive Words Disc search routine Ö Having produced Edit files for
Hints & Tips, etc within Archive (See Products Available, page 3) it
would be very helpful if we could have an application that would search
an Edit file looking for the occurrence of one word and then check if
another word occurred within, say, 1Kb, 2Kb or 4Kb of that first word.
The idea would be that we want to find, say, a hint about margins on
printer drivers. There would be a lot of references about Éprinter
driversæ and a lot about Émarginsæ, so we want to be able to find a
reference to the one in proximity to the other. Anyone fancy writing
such an application? Has anyone already got such an application? Or
perhaps there is even some clever way to use Editæs amazingly complex
search facilities directly? Ed.
6.5
Å  Beginnersæ Column Ö Are you amongst those who feel that Archive caters
only for the experts? Would you like to see more articles for beginners?
If so, are you prepared to help? Could you write (even a paragraph or
two) about something fairly basic that you didnæt understand but now do?
6.5
I have asked many times in the pages of Archive for people to write
articles for beginners and only  had the occasional article offered but
perhaps there is a better way of going about it. How about writing in
and asking those simple questions that you donæt want to admit you donæt
know the answer to? The answers could then take the form of a Hints &
Tips for Beginners.
6.5
Again, though, itæs up to you. If you donæt write in asking questions or
offering answers, this just wonæt happen. The huge success of Hugh
Eagleæs RISC-OS 3 Column is evidence of what happens when people
respond. So how about it? Oh, and by the way, would anyone fancy editing
this column? If not, weæll edit it in-house as it is something for which
we have had so many requests. Ed.
6.5
Å  Bell sounds Ö Has anyone got any good bell-sound modules? Or is anyone
prepared to take a tape recording of bell sounds and turn it into sound
modules for me? B.J.Edwards, 46 Tilsworth Road, Beaconsfield, Bucks  HP9
1TP.
6.5
Å  CD-ROMs Ö Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a cheap SCSI CD-
ROM as advertised for use with a PC and put it on an Archimedes SCSI?
Also, is it possible to use the Kodak PhotoCD on an Archimedes?á John
Harris, Romford. (In theory, any SCSI device should work on an Archi
medes SCSI interface, but has anyone actually tried a cheap PC CD-ROM?
As far as PhotoCD is concerned, you had better read the Multimedia
Column on page 63. Ed.)
6.5
Å  Cleaning a clogged DeskJet cartridge Ö I have found that sometimes the
DJæs öCleanò routine will fail to open a clogged nozzle. In this case a
bit of Propanol-(2) [isopropyl alcohol] is most effective. All you have
to do is pour about three millimetres depth of the liquid into a glass
and then dip the cartridge into it for about a minute. This will clean
out any blockage. As it also dilutes the ink near the nozzles, you
should then immediately print something (like the power on self-test). á
Jochen Konietzko, K÷ln, Germany.
6.5
Å  Clipart wanted Ö Does anyone have a picture of an overhead projector
with a screen in the background? Paul Johnson, 10a Harborough Road
North, Northampton  NN2 8LU.
6.5
Å  DeskBoot files Ö If you use any commands in your deskboot file which
Acorn considers to be exotic (such as loading a German keyboard driver
module), the file which is produced automatically will not reflect
these.
6.5
I have therefore found that the safest way to modify my boot file is to
copy the old one to a safe place, do the modifications to the desktop
which I want to see at the beginning of a session, create a boot file
from the iconbar Save desktop boot icon and then just copy the relevant
lines into my original file.á Jochen Konietzko, K÷ln, Germany.
6.5
(I drop the new desktop boot icon straight into !Edit, load up my boot
file and copy the relevant bit into that file and re-save it. I use this
most often when I want to add things onto the pinboard. Ed.)
6.5
Å  Econet Column Ö Neil Berry has felt that he has done a fair stint as
Econet Column Editor and that it is time for a break. Thanks for all
your hard work, Neil. Is there anyone out there brave enough to pick up
the mantle? Itæs not an easy column to write as it is such a broad
field. Perhaps a group of people could be formed to prepare the articles
Ö even to produce a column once every two months would be good as itæs
hard writing things by committee! Do get in touch if you think you might
be able to contribute in some way. Thanks. (By the way, I have a load of
material gleaned from the BETT Show that will start anyone off who wants
to have a go.) Ed.
6.5
Å  Education Column Ö There have been various requests over the months
for an Education Column. We had a speculative article that Martyn Wilson
wrote for us (Archive 3.8 p41) Ö it brought a little bit of response but
not enough to start a series. Is there anyone willing to have another
go? Three years on, there may be enough enthusiasm to get something
going. Any offers? (Again, I have a load of material gleaned from the
BETT Show that will start anyone off who wants to have a go.) Ed.
6.5
Å  Inkjet paper Ö Does anyone know of any fanfold paper that is suitable
quality for use with inkjet printers?á Steve Rymarz, Norwich.
6.5
Å  Review quality Ö Your comments about how reviews should be written
(Archive 6.3 p59) were helpful, but Iæd like to add that reviews should
indicate the level of expertise needed for the product. How clear is the
manual for someone who is getting into that particular area for the
first time?á Robert Craig, Finchley.
6.5
 Å  Tablemate Ö Did we send a copy of TableMate out to one of our
subscribers for review? If so, we havenæt any record of who it was. If
that person could contact us, we have some more info about the product
weæd like to send you. Ed.
6.5
Å  TIFF files Ö Ray Dawson is using Creator to produce TIFF files from
black and white (scanned) sprites. However, Creator produces colour TIFF
files. Does anyone know how to produce mono TIFF files from sprites?ááA
6.5

6.5
Help Offered
6.5
Å  Impression to bromide Ö Anyone looking for a service for outputting
Impression files to bromide should contact Taylor Lambert Advertising.
They charged me ú3.50 +VAT per A4 page (min charge ú15) and they were
very helpful Ö they seemed to know all about Impression, Draw, etc.á
Paul Cayton, Guisley.
6.5
Å  Spectrum emulator Ö If anyone would like a Spectrum emulator, Carsten
Witt has one which has data transfer on 232/423 i/o port, screen module,
LOAD and SAVE in Spectrum Basic but executed on Acorn ADFS. Contact
Carsten at Rostockerstr. 5, D 4353 Oer-Erkenschwick, Germany. (Phone
010Ö49Ö2368Ö57910.)ááA
6.5

6.5
PipeLine-Z
6.5
Gerald Fitton
6.5
I have decided to devote this monthæs PipeLine column exclusively to a
review of Wordz. Even if youære an ardent PipeLine fan, Iæm sure you
wonæt be disappointed.
6.5
The availability of Wordz
6.5
Wordz is a new word processor from Colton Software. I have been
fortunate enough to obtain a copy of the software but, as yet, no
handbook. By the time you read this, it will have been launched at the
BETT Show on the 20tháJanuaryá1993.
6.5
Price
6.5
The price is ú99 + VAT (ú105 through Archive). However, until
12tháMarchá1993, registered users of PipeDream (3 or 4) can buy Wordz
direct from Colton Software at ú59 + VAT. You still have time to
register your PipeDream!
6.5
Easy to use
6.5
Unlike too many software users, I generally Éread the bookæ before
trying to use a new piece of software. The documentation I have is
rudimentary, a ReadMe document and a few printed sheets. However, I was
determined to get to grips with Wordz and I was pleasantly surprised at
how easy it was to use. I think this was because most of the Écommandsæ
did exactly what I anticipated they would. Possibly all I will gain from
the documentation is that I will find a few hidden extras.
6.5
The button bar
6.5
The button bar runs along the top of the window. If you place the
pointer over one of the icons, a Éhelpful messageæ appears in the
ÉStatus lineæ immediately below the buttons. For example, when I took
the screen shot below, the pointer was sitting over the S button. The
ÉStatus lineæ tells me that if I were to click on that button I would
Éaccessæ the style dialogue box. Similarly Copy, Cut, Paste, Save, Print
and some other features are accessible through the button bar.
6.5
The button bar and status line are major features of the user interface
which make Wordz so easy to use. As I said, I havenæt got the handbook
so I havenæt worked out how to do it, but one of the handouts says that
the button bar is configurable.
6.5
Imports
6.5
I dragged text files from Edit, Impression, Wordwise and even PipeDream
(using the Paragraph option) into Wordz; the text appears in Wordz in
the default style.
6.5
I dragged both Draw and Paint pictures into Wordz. They appeared in
Wordz where I expected. Clicking on the picture results in a Draw like
box with Égrab handlesæ which allow you to stretch the picture in any
direction. Dragging Éworksæ exactly as a user of Draw would expect.
Something not so obvious is that the picture can be Épinnedæ to the page
by double clicking on its top left grab handle. If you donæt pin it to
the page then it moves around with the text. The logo ZLine in the
figure is a graphic which I imported into Wordz, stretched and slightly
repositioned.
6.5
Pictures can be ÉReferencedæ (that is stored on disc separately from the
Wordz document) or saved as part of the Wordz file. I prefer the former
because then I can use the same picture (say a letter heading or logo)
for every Wordz file. Impression stores my letter heading (12áKb) in
every document and so uses up disc space much more quickly than
PipeDream (see Brian Cowanæs comment about disc usage in Archive 6.3
p28).
6.5
The table is rather more interesting than it first appears. I created
that fifteen cell table in PipeDream and saved it in CSV format directly
into Wordz (without saving it disc). It appeared in Wordz as a small
three by five table with every Écellæ surrounded by a border. I had to
delete the top and left border of the empty top left box (where my
annotation line from öTables can be created or importedò begins). I had
to get into the ÉBoxæ sub menu to do that. I wanted to centre the text
in the second and third columns so I dragged the pointer from the top
left to bottom right (from öHeight in inchesò to ö9ò) to mark the block
I wanted to centre, clicked on the third button of the button bar and
the text in all ten Écellsæ centred.
6.5
Styles and effects
6.5
If you are familiar with the concept of styles and effects, for example
from using Impression, you will find applying, creating, changing and
even deleting styles easy.
6.5
When you click on the S (for Style) button and choose the ÉChangeæ
option, you will be presented with one of about half a dozen screens
such as that shown in the second figure. You can click on one of the
buttons on the left to reveal different sub menus. The one shown in the
second figure is the Text. Applying effects to a marked block of text is
executed through the same set of subámenus.
6.5
Tables
6.5
Bearing in mind Coltonæs experience of writing PipeDream, I would expect
that tables within Wordz would be impressive and, indeed, they are. For
example, the bottom margin of a cell grows downwards automatically as
you type more text into it and every cell of a table can be sized
individually. These two features alone must make Wordz the easiest
package in which to create and adjust those difficult-to-fit tables.
6.5
If you create a table then you create a style. This style can be changed
through the Style menus. Changing an individual cell is treated as an
effect.
6.5
Unfortunately, I was wrong in December when I said that tables in Wordz
were hot-linked from PipeDream. Theyære not hot-linked.
6.5
Labels
6.5
If you want address labels, these too can be created as a style and
loaded from a CSV format database. PipeDream has an option to save in
CSV format, so label printing from a PipeDream database is easy.
6.5
Other features
6.5
Paper margins are shown on screen but you can select a non-standard
size. The spell-checker has a Ébest guessæ feature and user dictionaries
can be created. Copy, Cut and Paste work exactly as you would expect;
mark a block and click on the button. Bold and Italic can be effected
from the button bar as can Save and Print.
6.5
Future developments
6.5
Colton Software have said that Wordz is the first of a set of software
which will feature Dynamic Data Transfer. So what does that mean?
Regular readers will know that I like to digress a little before getting
to the point Ö so here we go.
6.5
Single-tasking
6.5
Under the single-tasking operating system, Arthur, ÉIntegrationæ meant
separate packages which could exchange data. You had to save data to
disc from one package (say a spreadsheet) and reload it into a second
package (say a word processor).
6.5
Then Colton Software launched PipeDreamá2. It was a single package
combining the features of a word processor, spreadsheet and database all
within the same document. With it, even under a single-tasking operating
system, the user could include Éliveæ spreadsheet tables in a word
processed document.
6.5
Multi-tasking & In-memory transfer
6.5
Almost everyone with an Archimedes upgraded from Arthur to RISC-OSá2
because RISC-OSá2 allows multi-tasking. With a multi-tasking operating
system several packages can be running in memory simultaneously.
Furthermore, RISC-OSá2 encourages the export of data from one package to
another by the process of Éin-memory transferæ. For example, you can
drag a drawing from a Draw window into an Impression document without
saving the Draw document to disc.
6.5
Dynamic data transfer
6.5
When creating PipeDreamá3, Colton Software took advantage of in-memory
transfer to introduce Édependent documentsæ. When you have more than one
PipeDream document in memory, you can link them together so that one
reads data from the other. This dependent document form of in-memory
transfer is dynamic; change the data in one document and the change is
communicated to the other automatically.
6.5
PipeDreamá3 is hot-linked, to other packages such as Lingenuityæs charts
package, Presenter. If data in a PipeDreamá3 spreadsheet is changed, the
chart in the Presenter window changes automatically. This feature relies
on the automatic in-memory transfer of data triggered by a change in the
exporting document (i.e.áPipeDream initiates the export of data to
Presenter).
6.5
PipeDreamá4 took the concept of dynamic data transfer further by
including its own hot-linked Charts package and custom functions.
6.5
The Z Set
6.5
With a multi-tasking operating system such as RISC-OSá2 or 3, complete
integration within a single package is unnecessary and, some would say,
undesirable (see below). What is required is that the data must be
dynamically transportable from package to package.
6.5
ÉThe Z Setæ is my name (I donæt know theirs) for the new suite of
packages being developed by Colton Software. The first member is Wordz,
a word processor; the second will be a spreadsheet package. Other
packages such as a database are under construction. All will feature
dynamic data transfer (hot-links) and a common user interface.
6.5
I see The Z Set as a series of packages in which every document created
with any package of The Z Set can be a dynamically dependent document of
any other member. I imagine The Z Set as a Super PipeDream with all the
advantages of full integration but without the structural constraints
inherent in PipeDream which arise from trying to fit a word processor
into the cell based structure of a spreadsheet. By writing separate
packages, each member of The Z Set can be optimised for its own purpose
while supporting dynamic data linking with other members of the Set.
6.5
Colton Software have promised öa common user interfaceò which will
ensure that, having learned the user interface of one of the packages
(probably Wordz), you will find that subsequent packages will work
exactly as you expect!
6.5
With the expertise they have gained from such PipeDream features as
dependent documents and dynamic data transfer, Colton Software are in a
uniquely knowledgeable position to bring to the Archimedes market such a
set of fully integrated packages.
6.5
Finally, as I have said before, it is data unique to you which is far
more valuable to you than platforms (hardware) or packages (PipeDream).
I am confident that The Z Set will feature data file formats that have a
high degree of portability to packages outside The Z Set and, maybe,
outside the Archimedes range of computers. I believe that the time I
invest in creating my own data will be invested safely in The Z Set.
6.5
Whither PipeLine
6.5
Paul Beverley has asked me whether this PipeLine column is going to
become PipeÖWordz. I think the quick answer is öYes Ö but PipeLine-Z and
not Pipe-Wordzò. I hope that youæll still enjoy reading it and writing
to me!ááA
6.5

6.5
Computer Concepts
6.5
New artwork
6.5

6.5
Colton Software
6.5
New artwork
6.5

6.5
Using RISC-OSá3
6.5
Hugh Eagle
6.5
Iæve received such a flood of letters in response to my first column
that I probably wonæt have time to refer to them all. I apologise in
advance if I donæt use your contribution; I am very grateful for them
all and will try to use them next month. In the meantime, please keep
the hints, tips, comments, suggestions, etc flowing.
6.5
A number of the problems mentioned only seem to affect a few users and
may result from unusual combinations of circumstances which could be
difficult to diagnose. If you think you might be able to help by talking
directly to the people affected, please let me know and I will put you
in contact.
6.5
Fitting the Upgrade
6.5
Several people have commented favourably on the service they have
received from dealers. IFEL has been mentioned a number of times. Nik
Kelly was specially impressed by Simtecæs facilities.
6.5
G÷tz Kohlberg received his upgrade surprisingly quickly but then had to
wait several weeks for the fitting instructions for his carrier board.
When the instructions arrived, he found the IFEL carrier board very easy
to fit, taking only about 20 minutes. He didnæt have to remove the
backplane or take out the main board.
6.5
Programs That Do Work
6.5
Microdrive ù A number of people have noticed that, while the new version
requires you to keep the program disc in the floppy drive while you play
the game, the new courses work with the original program which will run
properly from a hard disc.
6.5
Others ù various people have reported that the following work without
any problems:
6.5
FontFX 5.05 (latest upgrade, free from Data Store, recognises the ROM
fonts)
6.5
Flexifile 1.04
6.5
Eureka (has someone found it?)
6.5
Home Accounts
6.5
SigmaSheet
6.5
Arcendium (R.áE.áLeo says he finds it works, contrary to the report from
Mike Williams in December)
6.5
ArcScan III
6.5
DiscTree 2.30
6.5
Art Nouveau (Tim Nicholson says he uses it a lot, and doesnæt need the
fix I gave two months ago.)
6.5
Investigator 2 works on an A310, but not an A5000.
6.5
Elite (although Raymond Wright says that it did once seize up after
about an houræs play, which had never happened in RISC¡OSá2.)
6.5
Arc-Comm
6.5
Fortran 77 (Acorn)
6.5
Acorn DTP
6.5
Speech!
6.5
Frances Obee is keen to know whether her most used programs will work:
Pendown Plus, Atelier, Prime Art, Chocks Away and Extra Missions, Elite,
Saloon Cars, and Man Utd. Europe. (I can vouch for two on her list: Draw
Plus v2.12 and Lemmings.)
6.5
Richard Burnell says that a small modification will make version 1.00 of
!Define (the Watford VIDC screen mode definer) work: add to line 17760
of !RunImage ELSE tk%=FALSE so that it reads:
6.5
IF INKEY(Ö256)=162 THEN tk%=TRUE ELSE tk%=FALSE
6.5
Rob Brown says that the original version of Quazer supplied by the
author Julian Rockey, not Impact Software or Fourth Dimension, needs the
screen memory to be set to exactly 160Kb.
6.5
He also says that Corruption and Jinxter will only work with the very
old version of the Shared C Library supplied with the games. You need to
RMKill the RISC¡OSá3 version and RMLoad the old version from disc. (He
recommends that you quit any application that uses the Shared C Library
first!)
6.5
He adds that you can run Terramex by first ensuring that öFreeò memory
is at least 400Kb then using the command *Run Terracode.
6.5
Programs that May Need to be Upgraded
6.5
From the hints I have received, the general message seems to be that if
a program doesnæt work (and this is more likely to apply to older
programs, especially games) it is worth contacting the supplier or the
manufacturer because they can often supply upgrades (sometimes for quite
nominal sums).
6.5
Among those that have been mentioned are:
6.5
Arcade 3 games compilation from Clares
6.5
Artisan, Artisan 2 and ProArtisan
6.5
Interdictor
6.5
a number of Fourth Dimension games (but Boogie Buggy is apparently
incompatible with an A5000, according to Rob Brown.)
6.5
Droom
6.5
Avon/Murdac (adventure compilation from Topologika)
6.5
ChartDraw, GraphDraw and KeyStrip (excellent PD applications from Chris
Johnson).
6.5
Fonts
6.5
Colin Singleton points out that, although Electronic Font Foundry are
selling (more expensive) öRISC¡OSá3ò fonts, the old ones work perfectly
well. The only difference is that the new ones have automatic kerning
information built in (for the use of programs that know how to use it).
6.5
Alan Gentle warns that the way FontMax settings are defined has changed.
They used, in RISC¡OSá2 to be quoted in pixels, but in RISC¡OSá3 are now
quoted in points. The maximum point size for anti-aliasing seems to
refer to the apparent point size on the screen. Thus to make sure that,
say, 15 point text displayed at 130% is anti-aliased he has to set the
appropriate FontMax to 15╫1.3, i.e. at least 20.
6.5
David Shepherdson reports that DrawPlus version 2.00 cannot convert
Trinity, Homerton or Corpus to paths and suggests using Draw to do the
conversion and ösavingò the result into DrawPlus. (The same seems to be
true of version 2.12. A possible alternative would be to ignore the ROM
fonts and load those you want into a disc !Fonts directory.)
6.5
Marc Evans recommends, contrary to Acornæs instructions, keeping the
!Fonts directory in a sub-directory, not the root, to save memory and
time if you are not using the disc fonts. (I would suggest you only do
this if you are sufficiently experienced to understand the
implications.)
6.5
John Winter says that Impression (2.17) and LaserDirect (2.05) work as
well ù if not faster ù with FontSize set to 128Kb.
6.5
(For more on fonts and LaserDirect see the section headed LaserDirect
further on in this column!)
6.5
Filing Systems
6.5
IDE drives
6.5
R.áD.áAttwood noticed that the hard disc icon on his iconbar had öIDEá4ò
underneath it rather than öIDEDisc4ò. On trying to access the disc, he
got an error box with öBad free space mapò. Watford Electronics have
advised him that he needs another chip (cost ú16) for the hard disc
podule.
6.5
D. T. Software recommended alternative courses of action for one
customer whose IDEFS wouldnæt work with RISC¡OSá3.10: either (a)
reformat the hard disc using the formatter supplied with the system or
(b) fit a replacement EPROM incorporating a work-around for a ömarginal
infelicity in the way RISC¡OSá3 mounts discs.ò
6.5
SCSI drives
6.5
C. Purvis has an A3000 with an external 5╝ö floppy drive and an Oak SCSI
external interface (fairly old). When he turns his computer on, the SCSI
icon is to the right of the RAM discæs and when clicked on gives a öBad
driveò error. He then runs the following file from a floppy:
6.5
*Mount 4
6.5
*RMLoad $.!System.Modules. SCSIFiler
6.5
*RMReinit SCSI
6.5
*RMREINIT SCSIFiler
6.5
*RMReinit SCSIFS
6.5
*ADFS
6.5
after which the SCSI icon disappears from the iconbar. If he then
presses <shift-break> to reset the computer, SCSIDisc4 appears at the
left end of the iconbar and all is well.
6.5
It has been suggested to me that he needs a new ROM on his SCSI
interface. Can anyone confirm this?
6.5
(One thing we have noticed with the Oak SCSI interfaces is that after a
<delete-power-up>, the SCSIdrive configuration is set to 0 and not 4.
What then happens is that the first time you click the hard drive icon,
it says öBad driveò but then if you click again, it works OK. The
solution is simple: press <f12> and type Configure SCSIDrive 4 <return>
and then do a <ctrl-break>. I think you will find that all is well after
that. Ed.)
6.5
Mike Williams says the Shutdown routine wonæt complete unless he has all
his various SCSI drives mounted, so he has to put a disc into his
removable disc drive and spin it up just so that the system can dismount
it for him! He therefore ignores Shutdown, but asks whether there is a
recommended way of safely shutting down a system such as his?
6.5
Mike has also found that if, after switching off, he changes his mind
and switches on again his computer gets stuck half-way through its
initialisation sequence. Is this a RISC¡OSá3 feature, a hardware fault,
or just because he didnæt shut down nicely?
6.5
Using öFree spaceò viewer on SCSI drives
6.5
(This hint from David Lenthall was originally published in Archive 5.5.)
6.5
If choosing the öFreeò option from a SCSI drive icon gives an old RISC-
OSá2 style textual report and you would prefer to get the new RISC-OSá3
window with sliders, include the following line in your boot file:
6.5
Set Alias$Free ShowFree -FS scsi %0
6.5
SΘan Kellyæs alternative solution (which works beautifully with his A440
and Oak SCSI interface, driver version 1.16) is to copy the SCSIFiler
module from Applications Disc 1 into his !System.Modules directory and
to add the following line to his !Boot file:
6.5
RMLoad SCSI::SCSIDisc4.$.!System .Modules.SCSIFiler
6.5
ArcDFS / DFSReader
6.5
In response to S. J. Furnellæs problem with ArcDFS mentioned in Archive
6.3 p14, Keith Raven recommends !DFSReader on Archive Shareware 31. This
needs one slight adjustment: in line 210 of the !RunImage Basic program,
there is a SYS call that is expected to return 0, 1 or 2 to indicate
whether large or small icons or full directory information are selected
for directory windows. Under RISC¡OSá3 this actually returns 64, 65 or
66. If the next three lines of the program are adjusted to reflect this,
it seems to run perfectly. (Richard Burnell suggests adding a new line
instead:
6.5
215 a=a MOD 64
6.5
to achieve the same effect.) (Keith wonders how many similar minor
changes between RISC¡OSá2 and RISC¡OSá3 will come to light.)
6.5
The Wakefield Acorn Computer Group writes:
6.5
Regarding S.áJ.áFurnellæs problem with ArcDFS there is some good news
here. (These errors are liable to occur when you click on the drive icon
to display a directory window.) The most common error is ÉBad driveæ and
you can overcome this simply by Naming the disc with a blank name, i.e.
press <space> and then <return>. The ArcDFS Name option is selected via
the ÉMiscæ menu option, followed by ÉName discæ.
6.5
This doesnæt cure the other (less common) error which is ÉBuffer
overflowæ. In that case, the only option seems to be to use the command
line, i.e, press <f12> to get a É*æ prompt or bring up a task window
with <ctrl-f12> and type DIRáDFS: (not *DISC as you might expect),
followed by DIRá:1 to select drive 1, (if required), then CAT for a
directory listing, etc. You can then use the manual *COPY command to
move files around, e.g.
6.5
Copy DFS::1.$.Index ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Junk.MyIndex
6.5
copies a file called $.Index on the DFS drive 1 into the $.Junk
directory of an ADFS hard disc, renaming it MyIndex in the process.
6.5
You can just as easily copy onto SCSI, IDE and RAM discs of course. Note
that you should use *COPY and not *CopyDFS. The very good news is that
operations such as Format, Backup and Verify work fine, as they donæt
need to display a directory!
6.5
5╝ö discs
6.5
Peter Prewett has been horrified to find that since upgrading to RISC-
OSá3 he can no longer read any of his 5╝ö discs (which he uses for
backing up his hard disc) via his Watford interface. He has tried
resetting the step rate to 6 without success. Luckily, he can still read
discs from his BBC via a DFS to ADFS file transfer.
6.5
Gordon Lindsay-Jones also reports problems with his Watford buffer which
used to work well under RISC¡OSá2. Can anyone help? (Have you asked
Watford?)
6.5
Richard Wells initially found that the Beebug DFS Reader refused to work
under RISC¡OSá3, but he has now found that if he runs the Commands
utility from the Support disc first then it will run.
6.5
Richard also says he configures his 40-track 5╝ö drive (drive 1) with
6.5
*Configure Step 12 1
6.5
and comments that perhaps
6.5
*Configure Step 6 1
6.5
would work for 80-track discs. He says that to restore normal step delay
you should use
6.5
*Configure Step 3
6.5
In response to Roger Poweræs query last month, Howard Snow points out
that the syntax is
6.5
*Configure <Step delay> [<drive>]
6.5
Rather confusingly, the information on the step delay given by *Status
is just the step delay for each of the drives, so if drive 0 is
configured to the normal delay of 3, after typing *Configure Step 6 1
*Status would give Step 3 6.
6.5
W.áN.áRodger has written with a similar hint and also suggests that
perhaps all floppy drives on a system have to be set if any one is to be
changed.
6.5
Mr Rodger has also noted that he has to leave his Cumana switchable 40/
80 track drive switched to 80-track before selecting Format DOS 360Kb to
format a 40-track MS-DOS disc. When he then runs the PC Emulator, he has
to switch the drive to 40-track to read the disc he has just formatted!
6.5
Compression
6.5
S.áR.áFreeman reports that, when using Compression version 1.10 with his
A400/1, if he launches an application from CFS and subsequently quits
CFS without first quitting the application, the computer can hang.
Otherwise he has no problems with it.
6.5
Mike Kinghan says that his system hangs when he tries to kill any CFS
filesystem from the iconbar. He only has to do this, however, in order
to free up the Filecore when shutting his machine down. Now he uses the
operating system Shutdown routine (via <shift-ctrl-f12>) instead and has
no problems.
6.5
Mike also observes that öit is not a clever wheezeò to compress CFS
files using the !Squash application supplied with RISC-OSá3. This will
report a gratifying reduction in the logical byte count but when the
actual size of the new file is checked, it will usually be found that
the file has got larger. (Has anyone found a use for !Squash?)
6.5
Dave Livsey has been told by Computer Concepts, in response to a query
about CFSæs use of a temporary file as an intermediate step in the
decompression process, that they ö ... are working on an upgrade to deal
with this ... ò
6.5
Marc Evans says CFS version 1.10 has problems with large jobs ù 10
Mbytes, for example ù and suggests turning off interactive filer
operations during a large compression, otherwise you may lose files.
6.5
He also writes: Filer_Run can be used in an alias to run CFSæd files
directly from the normal Filer window. To perform this trick, issue the
command:
6.5
Set Alias$@Runtype D96 !Filer_Run CFS#%0
6.5
and just double click on the file to load it.
6.5
Confusing MS-DOS and ADFS discs
6.5
Marc Evans warns that if you regularly use both DOS and ADFS floppy
discs, it is easy to get confused about which is which. You can easily
find yourself copying to a DOS disc thinking it is ADFS; file and
application icons appear in the destination window just as normal and
you can be none the wiser (apart from the copying being rather slower)
until you run out of space after 720Kb.
6.5
Disc corruption
6.5
Keith Raven has experienced two strange floppy disc faults since
upgrading. After deleting the font manager from a PD fonts disc (E
format), he found that three letters from one font had disappeared
although the disc was otherwise intact and verified OK. He was able to
load the font into !FontEd successfully for patching. The other problem
was a öbroken directoryò on a D format disc, just after deleting a
couple of redundant items (including a !System directory) left over from
RISC¡OSá2. The disc verified properly, but a disc sector editor showed
two chunks of continuous Ns in sector 1 (on track 0 head 0). He has
noticed that ADFS buffers is set to 8 (the default?) and wonders whether
there is still a bug there.
6.5
(We reported two months ago Acornæs telephone help line comment that the
bug which made it advisable to configure the ADFS buffers to zero had
been fixed. We also reported Computer Conceptsæ claim that, unless the
buffers are configured to zero, it is vital to dismount disks before
removing them for good from the machine because, otherwise, there may be
trouble later. Does anyone have any proof either way?)
6.5
XOB Remote Logon
6.5
Raymond Wright says that XOB Remote Logon, which allows a BBC Micro or
another Archimedes to access a hard disc attached to an Archimedes via
Econet, is in trouble. He thinks that it is not loading binary files to
the correct locations in the BBCæs memory.
6.5
Printing!!!
6.5
(This seems to be the area that is causing the greatest grief. If anyone
thinks he knows the answers, please get in touch! A number of people
have commented favourably on the Ace drivers. Perhaps, if the people at
Ace think they have got printing sussed, they might be able to help with
some of these problems.)
6.5
(Funnily enough, Tony Cheal of Ace Computing was hoping to write us an
article about printer drivers. As I well know, when you are running your
own business, things can get very hectic. Anyway, if you do get time,
Tony, your fans are waiting in eager anticipation! Ed.)
6.5
Printer buffer
6.5
Several people have commented that the printer buffer doesnæt work
properly. Can this be true or is it that we donæt understand how to use
it properly?
6.5
Richard Burnell says that if he configures the buffer to, say, 300Kb and
tries to print a draw file with lots of text, the computer hangs and not
even the escape key works. (He owns a KX-P1081 dot matrix printer.)
6.5
Mike Kinghan writes: The RISC-OS 3 feature that I had longed for most
was background printing. Running off a manual on my LaserJet II under
RISC-OS 2 could monopolise the computer for half a day. How annoying
then to discover that prints executed from familiar applications are not
automatically run in background under the new OS. A partial remedy,
however, is to use the new Print Manageræs capability to substitute a
file for any installed printer. First take the Printer Control option
from your printeræs iconbar menu. Then select the Connection dialogue
and nominate a file of your choice in place of the installed printer.
This will make applications write to that file when they think they are
printing, and they will do this much more speedily. At your convenience,
redirect the printer connection to your physical printer and drag your
print files to the printer icon. Now they will be printed in background,
allowing you to get on with your work. (But what a palaver! Surely there
must be a simpler way?)
6.5
Change in printer initialisation behaviour
6.5
T. J. Bennett uses First Word Plus version 1 with an A3000 and a Citizen
Swift 24. In order to make best use of this combination, he has written
a !Boot file which redefines screen characters using VDU23 and also
defines some characters not available in the standard printer character
set as download characters to the printer. He has also modified his
printer driver. This all worked in RISC¡OSá2, the printer buffer
allowing the booting process to continue to completion whether the
printer was on line or not. In RISC¡OSá3, however, the !Boot will not
finish until the printer is connected, switched on and on line. (öA
giant step towards the Neanderthal,ò Mr Bennett comments.) He has tried
setting PrinterBufferSize to ridiculous sizes with no discernable
effect, also RMASize and SystemSize. Does anyone have any suggestions?
(I wonder if this problem is related to that described by Mick Day last
month ù see Archive 6.4 p9.)
6.5
Mr Bennett has noticed that there is a limit to the amount of data in
the printer driver for defining each character (contrary to what the
manual says) so this cannot be used as the source of download character
data.
6.5
Disc swapping
6.5
Peter Prewett reports that, after loading the !Printer application on
the iconbar and then loading Impression Junior, whenever he tries to
print, he is required to insert the floppy disc from which he loaded the
original printer application. He says he ötried loading system and scrap
from the printer and other discs, none of which makes any difference.ò
(My suggestion is that the problem is a misunderstanding of the purpose
of the !Scrap application: the result of running this is simply to tell
the computer that the disc it is on is the place to store temporary
öscrapò files. Thus by öloadingò !Scrap from a floppy you tell the
computer to use that floppy for temporary storage during operations like
printing. If you have a hard disc, it is best to copy !Scrap onto its
root directory and to ensure that the first thing you do each time you
turn the computer on or reset it is to open a Filer window on that root
directory so that the location of !Scrap will be öseen.ò)
6.5
Peter goes on to comment that system and scrap files are difficult to
use and must be made totally transparent to the end user. öNobody should
have to set up the computer with these files as it is certainly not
user-friendly.ò Does anyone want to volunteer to write a user-friendly
article about system and scrap files? Does anyone have any ideas about
how these might be better organised in a future version of the operating
system?
6.5
Mono greyscales (!?)
6.5
A number of people have noticed that the so-called ömonoò option in the
RISC-OSá3 printer drivers actually produces grey scales when rendering
drawfiles (although sprites are printed in black and white as might be
expected).
6.5
LaserDirect
6.5
I may have given the impression in the December column that it is
impossible to print rotated text out of a LaserDirect. John Winter has
pointed out that this can be done fairly easily by creating the text in
Draw and using the Convert to path menu option; this will then print
like any drawfile. Furthermore, the rotated text can be imported into
Impression, again just like any drawfile.
6.5
John Winter has also found that in order to run the RISC¡OSá3 !Printers
application after using a Computer Concepts RISC¡OSá2 driver, you have
to run the following * commands (either at the command line or in a Task
window or in an Obey or Command file):
6.5
*RMKill PDriver
6.5
*RMReinit PDriver
6.5
Several more people have reported problems with the quality of print
from LaserDirect printers. Michael Lowe says he has considerable
problems printing sprites, mostly incorporated into Impression docu
ments: black areas are often patterned, grey areas sometimes donæt print
and occasionally the whole of the text area breaks up giving a granular
appearance. However, the worst thing, he says, is the unpredictability
of the behaviour.
6.5
There may, however, be an answer to this (but no solution until the new
drivers appear sometime this year, with luck): Computer Concepts have
written to Tim Powys-Lybbe saying: öWe are now(!) aware of a problem
with the combination of our LaserDirect drivers 2.05 and RISC¡OSá3.1.
The first Landscape page will print correctly, but on subsequent prints,
black output will be speckled. This only occurs when QuickText is off.
6.5
öI would recommend that you turn on QuickText. If necessary, you should
install RISC¡OSá2 versions of Corpus and Homerton into your !Fonts
application on disc. If you get a speckled output, changing printing
resolution or reloading the driver will restore a black image.
6.5
öThe next release of our drivers should clear up this problem.ò
6.5
Timæs comment is that the output and the problem is a little worse than
their letter concedes.
6.5
(And the problem also occurs fairly predictably on the BJ10 Turbo
Driver. Ed.)
6.5
Alan Gentle recommends inserting a FontRemove statement in the !Boot
file, removing the ROM fonts, and to add Corpus, Homerton and Trinity to
the !Fonts directory on disc, i.e. the boot file should end:
6.5
FontRemove Resources:$.Fonts.
6.5
FontInstall <Obey$Dir>.
6.5
(N.B. the dots at the end of each line are significant.)
6.5
Alan also says Computer Concepts have sent him an update of PrinterLD,
version 2.05s (10-Aug-1992) which seems to work OK!
6.5
When I started printing from Artworks, I found that the greyscales at
600 dpi were rather distinctly graduated. At 300 dpi, the gradation is
much smoother but the individual colours have a much dottier appearance.
On CCæs recommendation, I have found that 600╫300 using Screen 2 gives a
good compromise.
6.5
On the question of how long the upgraded printer drivers are taking to
produce, CC said (in a letter dated 17th December 1992): öWe have only
just received the source code (weæd have preferred proper documentation,
but there isnæt any) from Acorn. All our drivers require significant
changes to allow full RISC¡OSá3 compatibility. Since the RISC¡OSá2
drivers work with RISC¡OSá3, their conversion is not a priority.ò
6.5
Printing after Artworks
6.5
Roger King has found that, after printing from Artworks, computers need
to be switched off (<ctrl-reset> is not enough) before using new
applications that need to print hard copy. If this is not done, spurious
fine horizontal lines of about 4mm length are scattered throughout the
printed page. Has anyone any clues about this?
6.5
Unwanted form feeds
6.5
G. T. Smithæs means of preventing his Brother (Epson FX80 compatible
printer) from spewing out extra pieces of blank paper was to load the
driver into !PrintEdit, delete the formfeed code ö12ò from the End of
Text Job and to add ESCö8ò (öignore paper emptyò) in the Start of Job
line.
6.5
Unwanted line feeds in First Word Plus
6.5
Dave Livsey suggests that the printer driver needs doctoring to remove
the extra line feed that it sends to the printer. Can anyone give
details?
6.5
Editing printer drivers
6.5
G. T. Smith says that he made the mistake of assuming that, having
copied his modified printer driver onto his hard disc, !Printers would
find it and the modification would take effect, but it didnæt. He says
you need to load !Printers onto the iconbar and re-install the driver by
dragging it into the Printer Control window from the !Printers menu.
6.5
Tim Nicholson says that if you change the configuration settings of a
printer which is not the currently selected one (i.e. its icon is greyed
out), then the next time you print, the print manager uses the driver
you have reconfigured not the selected one.
6.5

6.5
PC Emulator
6.5
Mike Small has found that PC programs such as Tetris run first time but
when they get to the point where they ought to re-load, i.e. when he
ödiesò, he gets the messages:
6.5
M2ExHandle abort - Bad Entry Sequence
6.5
*CD \Tetris
6.5
FileCore in use (Error number &108A0)
6.5
*Tetris
6.5
He is using version 1.34 of the emulator, patched in accordance with the
Support instructions. (He assumes that the altering of the filetype of
the DOS partition to DOSDisc doesnæt apply to him because he uses
floppies.) He has a user port and MIDI on a basic A3000. Does anyone
have any ideas?
6.5
Nik Kelly finds that his Quick Basic editor scrolls at a useful speed
now that he has an ARM3 and RISC¡OSá3, but has found that the freebie,
QB, that comes with MS-DOSá5, does not read his .BAS files.
6.5
He also says that his real-time clock is now always wrong (using PC
emulator 1.6 and MS-DOS 3.3) and asks why?
6.5
Richard Burnell says that version 1.81 of the emulator wonæt read Atari
format discs with RISC¡OSá3.10 and asks when the new version of the
emulator is due for release.
6.5
Miscellaneous Hardware Tips
6.5
Ground Control teletext adaptor
6.5
Mike Williams found that his problem with this was a hardware problem
and nothing to do with RISC¡OSá3. He had changed to an A5000 and there
is a subtle difference in the hardware of the printer port. Ground
Control are offering an upgrade to a podule version Ö but he doesnæt
know where he is going to find a fifth podule slot!
6.5
SCSI podule and MIDI board conflict
6.5
Richard Burnell found that his Vertical Twist A3000 Econet MIDI/sampler
board would not work with his 8-bit Lingenuity SCSI podule because they
were competing for use of fast interrupts. Version 2.45 of the SCSI
firmware is now available and the MIDI port now works fine. (This
doesnæt sound like a RISC-OSá3 problem to me, but I will include it
anyway!)
6.5
Pineapple digitiser
6.5
The problem Tim Nicholson mentioned in Archive 6.3 p15 was cured by the
addition of an öextra decoupling capacitorò.
6.5
Brainsoft expansion card
6.5
Tim Nicholson reported (Archive 6.3 p15) that this didnæt work. Raymond
Wright says he thinks his works OK, but he has had problems with the
software in RISC¡OSá2, some of which have righted themselves in
RISC¡OSá3! (The sound module still seems to want to hog all available
memory, though.)
6.5
Maths co-processor
6.5
Raymond Wright says there is no built-in support in RISC¡OSá3 for the
maths co-processor card so he still has to load FPEmulator 3.2 from
disc.
6.5
Impression dongle
6.5
Roger Poweræs problem mentioned last month turned out to be a defective
dongle (apparently it was one of the very early ones), which CC have
replaced.
6.5
G. T. Smith had a similar problem and while he was waiting for a
replacement dongle it was suggested that he should try öshorting all the
pins of the dongle with a piece of earthed kitchen foil.ò Apparently it
worked! (I suggest you only try this if you are confident you know what
you are doing.)
6.5
Roger King reports that he had a problem with both laser printers and a
Deskjet 500 ejecting blank sheets of paper with spurious characters on
the first line of the new page, especially when printing from PipeDream
4 documents. When the Impression dongles were removed the problem went
away.
6.5
Keith Raven agrees that there is something strange. Once, after
switching off the computer and restarting, he tried printing from Basic
using <ctrl-B> but the computer locked up as if the printer wasnæt on
line. Loading !Printers and trying to print from !Edit caused the system
disc to run and the iconbar to flash but no output. Loading Impression
then caused most, but not all, of the previously öprintedò output from
!Edit to arrive at the printer. However, he could not repeat this. Since
he had previously used the printer successfully in similar circums
tances, he wonders if the problem might be something to do with printer
initialisation.
6.5
Miscellaneous Hints & Tips
6.5
Screen modes
6.5
Peter Prewett says that mode 31 öflashes fastò on his A440/1 with an
Eizo 9060s Multiscan. He also says that mode 27 will not run on an A310
with an NEC Multiscan. (I also find that mode 31 is unusably flickery on
my Taxan 770 Plus, but surely one of the purposes in giving us such a
wide variety of modes is to give each user a greater chance of finding
some that suit his own particular monitor.)
6.5
Marc Evans recommends non-multisync users to use mode 35 as their
configured mode because it gives a bit more room to work in without
decreasing resolution in the way mode 16 does.
6.5
Desktop Boot files
6.5
Colin Singleton has been puzzled to find that, after creating a Boot
file and rebooting, a number of applications that were running at the
time he created the Boot file failed to start up. The reason for this is
that only öRISC¡OSá3 awareò applications will be inserted automatically
into a !Boot file. (Apart from any other reason, the operating system
needs to be able to find out where on disc each application was loaded
from and it canæt do this unless the application is programmed to be
able to tell the operating system when asked. Originally, RISC¡OSá3
applications werenæt programmed to behave in this way.)
6.5
If you want your Boot file to run an older application (including, for
instance, current versions of Impression) you have to edit !Boot and add
the appropriate instructions by hand. To do this (assuming you have
already created a Desktop Boot file), load !Boot into !Edit (the quick
way is to <shift-double-click> on it) and you will probably find a
number of lines reading öFiler_Boot ... ò followed by some reading
öFiler_Run ... ò. Immediately after these, add another line reading
öFiler_Run ò followed by the full path name of the application, and
repeat for each application you want to run. The process is described in
more detail in the User Guide starting at page 112.
6.5
Colin Singleton has also tried, as the manual suggests, creating two
!Boot files so that he can switch at will from one öworldò to another.
However, when he tries to run them he gets a message öYou cannot have
two copies of !Alarm at once.ò Does anyone have any suggestions?
6.5
When G÷tz Kohlberg had created a Boot file and tried rebooting, he got
an error message: önot enough memory or not within desktop worldò.
(Could this happen if the configured ölanguageò is not Desktop? (Number
10 in RISC-OS 3.))
6.5
Control of ARM3 cache
6.5
G÷tz Kohlberg found that the *Cache on command turned the cache off and
*Cache off turned it on! He also found that when he installed the Aleph
One hare and tortoise module, the effect of clicking on the iconbar
icons was also reversed. His work-around for this problem is to include
*Cache on as the very first command in his !Boot file and to include the
command *Cache off immediately before the line that runs the !Arm3
application.
6.5
ROM modules
6.5
R. D. Attwood asks how he can find out which modules are in ROM so that
he doesnæt duplicate them in the system directory on disc. Simple: press
<ctrl-f12> to open a Task window and type RomModules at the star command
prompt. A list of modules in the system ROM and in the ROMS on any
podules installed on the machine will scroll past. To read the list and
print it or save it: bring up the Task window menu and choose the
öSuspendò option then treat the contents of the window just like any
other Edit window.
6.5
To see what else is in ROM ...
6.5
... bring up the menu over the Apps icon on the iconbar and choose the
öOpen É$æò option. You can now explore all the resources stored in ROM.
6.5
Toolsprites
6.5
Several months ago, the Archive monthly disc included a nice collection
of ötoolò sprites designed to smarten up the appearance of window icons
(including things like 3D-effect sliders that look pushed-in when you
drag them). I found that the original set didnæt quite work properly,
but that simply by adding one extra sprite (öblicon22ò) copied from a
similar set on a recent Acorn User disc, I got a set which seems to work
fine. This set is on this monthæs program disc in a file called
öWin3Toolsò. To use it, I suggest you copy it into your !System
directory and include the command
6.5
ToolSprites System:Win3Tools
6.5
in your !Boot file. (Note: this file only includes ö22ò definitions for
ösquare-pixelò high resolution modes.)
6.5
Shift key behaviour
6.5
R. D. Attwood has found his left shift key giving a ñ symbol. On
investigation, he has found that under the key there are two contacts:
one gives ñ, the other ú. The !IntKey module on the Support disc seems
to solve the problem but, as he says, it should not be necessary to run
this. Has anyone any ideas?
6.5
Shift-double-clicking into editors
6.5
Marc Evans says that if you shift-double-click on a file to load it into
an editor, the editor can be confused about what filetype it is and can
save an Obey file as Text. (This doesnæt seem to happen with !Edit, but
it does with !StrongEd II. Without the PRM, I canæt be sure but I would
guess that what is happening is that a shift-double-click causes the
Filer to broadcast a message inviting applications to load the file as
if it were a text file. If !Edit picks it up, it presumably then reads
the directory information to find out what the filetype is, whereas
!StrongEd carries on assuming it is a text file. I wonder what other
editors like DeskEdit do?)
6.5
Fix for SciCalc
6.5
Colin Dean, one of the authors of SciCalc, has written in with a fix for
the bug in the +/Ö operator mentioned in Archive 6.3 p18.
6.5
The +/Ö operator should always change the sign of the currently
displayed value, unless you are in the middle of entering an exponent,
in which case it should change the sign of the exponent. In practice, it
can produce bizarre results: e.g.
6.5
enter   display
6.5
1E13  1E13
6.5
+/Ö  1E-13
6.5
=  1E-13
6.5
+/Ö  3E-30
6.5
The last displayed result should be Ö1EÖ13!
6.5
To fix this alter the lines that read:
6.5
5340 IF entry$=ö0ò THEN entry$= FNtobase(dreg)
6.5
5350 IF base%=1 THEN
6.5
5360 IF (INSTR(entry$,öEò)=0) OR (F%=TRUE) THEN
6.5
to read, instead:
6.5
5340 IF F%=TRUE THEN entry$= FNtobase(dreg)
6.5
5350 IF base%=1 AND F%=FALSE THEN
6.5
5360 IF (INSTR(entry$,öEò)=0)THEN
6.5
Copying a directory into itself
6.5
You canæt any more! (Marc Evans says.) (For those who donæt remember the
heady days when RISC¡OSá2 was young, one of its features was that it was
quite easy to fill a disc by recursively copying a directory into
itself!)
6.5
Unplugging !Configure
6.5
!Configure can be unplugged if you do not want the machine altered Ö
useful in a school situation! (Marc Evans)
6.5
Bug in BASIC64
6.5
A. G. Rimmer reports that there is a fault in BASIC64 in that the format
specification given by @% frequently behaves incorrectly for fixed
format (but not for E or G format). This is illustrated by the following
program:
6.5
10 REM >Double precision test
6.5
20 @%=öF30.2ò
6.5
30 PRINT; öWith @% = &ò;STR$~(@%);ö:òÉ
6.5
40 REPEAT
6.5
50 INPUT öNumber input: ò x
6.5
60 PRINT ö prints as ò x
6.5
70 UNTIL FALSE
6.5
This produces the following output:
6.5
Number input: 102.63
6.5
prints as 1.03E2
6.5
Number input: 1234.5678
6.5
prints as 1.23E3
6.5
Number input: 12.25
6.5
prints as 12.25
6.5
Number input: 0.16
6.5
prints as 1.60E-1
6.5
Acorn have acknowledged the fault and have told Mr Rimmer that there is
no work-around or fix for this problem at the moment.
6.5
Limited precision of SciCalcæs display
6.5
Mr Rimmer also observes that, whereas SciCalc calculates using floating
point numbers with 52 binary digits, which are equivalent to 15.7
decimal digits, you can only input decimal numbers with up to 10 digits
plus a two digit exponent and the program can only display results with
10 significant figures (and 3-digit exponents up to the maximum possible
308). What is wanted is a display for both input and results of a 15 or
16 digit mantissa plus an exponent of up to 3 digits (up to the limit of
308).
6.5
Again Acorn has acknowledged the limitation but has said that a version
with extended display is not available. (I wonder whether Colin Dean
might be able to help?)
6.5
Legible menus in 1st Word Plus
6.5
In Archive 6.3 p12 there was a hint on altering the palette for First
Word Plus release 1.1 so that the menus are legible. This involved a
special Obey file. Gordon Lindsay-Jones suggests a different solution.
He first changed colour 14 to black and saved the altered palette in the
Library directory on the 1wp disc. Before he runs 1wp, he opens the
Library window and double-clicks on this palette, then when he finishes,
he opens the menu on the iconbar palette icon and selects Default to
restore the palette.
6.5
(Mike Williams says version 0.01 of First Word Plus works fine!)
6.5
Using RMFaster
6.5
Mike Williams points out that C programs run much faster if you perform
*RMFaster SharedCLibrary and, similarly, programs that use the FPE a lot
(e.g. ray tracers) will benefit from *RMFaster FPEmulator. Under
RISC¡OSá2, these modules were loaded from disc so always ran in RAM. In
RISC¡OSá3, we can choose whether to put them in RAM for speed or leave
them in ROM to save memory.
6.5
Draw crashing
6.5
A number of people have had !Draw crash out on them but luckily it saves
work in progress as a valid drawfile in the Scrap directory before it
exits. Therefore, you should be able to recover your work by opening
!Scrap (shift-double-click on its icon), then opening the directory
called ScrapDir inside it.
6.5
Wimp drag and double-click defaults
6.5
Mike Williams finds that settings of 5 for WimpDoubleClickDelay and 10
for WimpDoubleClickMove make detailed work in !Draw much more manage
able. He wonders if anyone knows how to set them exactly like they were
in RISC¡OSá2.
6.5
Mouse menu button behaviour
6.5
In response to my tip in Archive 6.3 p19, Tim Nicholson says his mouse
menu button still returns a continuous 2. I then wondered if it was my
tracker ball that was at fault so plugged in my clapped out mouse, but
no: both mouse and tracker ball still return 2 for a moment then 0 when
the menu button is held down. Tim wonders if the mouse response is
configurable.
6.5
Opening a root directory without running all the !Boot files (and
avoiding viruses)
6.5
Tim Nicholson points out that just as control-double-clicking on a
directory icon opens a filer window on the directory without running the
boot files of all the applications in the directory, control-double-
clicking on a drive icon does the same for a root directory. As he says,
this is jolly useful for inspecting discs of unknown origin if you
suspect they might contain viruses.
6.5
Keys that donæt work
6.5
Tim Nicholson says that he ökeeps losing his Caps Lock buttonò and
occasionally <ctrl-shift-f12> doesnæt work. Is this a problem with an
application? (Or has he been dropping his porridge into the keyboard,
again?)
6.5
Task manager
6.5
(Tim Nicholson warns: before trying this save all your work!) Try
clicking <menu> over the Task Manager and choosing the Info option, then
click <menu> in the grey area where it says NAME: VERSION: AUTHOR:.
(Donæt get too excited.)
6.5
Alarm
6.5
Colin Singleton writes, in response to Ken Cowapæs comments on !Alarm
(Archive 6.3 p15): öI think he is wrong in claiming that it contains a
malfunction, but it is certainly less friendly than it might be. It does
indeed appear to insist that the start and finish dates are in the same
year when setting summertime, so you cannot set Off Oct 1992 and On
March 1993. Since we have now finished with BST for 1992, this is not
now a problem.ò
6.5
He has found that after setting the two dates for 1993, the Alarm file
contains three dates, the third date being 7th February 1994. He
presumes that at 1 a.m. on that day, an alarm will go off to remind him
to set the summertime dates for that year! Does anyone know what the
date is for?
6.5
Change in behaviour of !Boot files
6.5
Under RISC¡OSá2, J.áLageu used to protect directories using the
principle that, whenever a directory was opened, all the boot files in
it were actioned (unless, I think, a sprite with the name of the
application had been loaded into the Wimp sprite pool). He finds that
RISC¡OSá3.10 on an A5000 only sees the !Boot file the first time it
öseesò the application. I wonder whether it is possible to tell the
operating system to forget that it has seen the application?
6.5
JPEG
6.5
Steve Dommett has written, in response to Roger Darlingtonæs query in
Archive 6.3 p28, to point out that there is a very useful implementation
of JPEG included in !ChangeFSI on the Support Disc. The required files
are cjpeg, djpeg and JPEGinfo (which provides instructions). !ChangeFSI
will read JPEG files in the same way as other file types but will need
plenty of spare space on the !Scrap disc. He has converted many sprites,
saving megabytes of disc space, with no appreciable loss of quality.
6.5
Peter Sturdy adds that if you want to use JPEG from the command line, it
is helpful to add the following lines to your !Boot file:
6.5
Set Alias$cjpeg <Obey$Dir>.cjpeg %%*0
6.5
Set Alias$djpeg <Obey$Dir>.djpeg %%*0
6.5
JPEG files can then be manipulated from a Task window without changing
directory or moving the files into the Library directory.
6.5
(The point of JPEG is that it gives much greater savings in filing space
but the compression process is not completely reversible so the
decompressed image will not be identical to the original. For sprites
this doesnæt normally matter.)
6.5
Directory catalogue display
6.5
Raymond Wright has found an irritating change in the display of a
catalogue listing (outside the Desktop): on an 80 column screen you only
get three columns of files instead of 4 and in a 40 column mode you only
get one. Can there be a good reason for the change, he
asks?ááááááááááááááááááááá áááááááááááááááááááááá
6.5
Two Questions
6.5
Backup and the önextò slot
6.5
If you back up an 800Kb floppy with the öNextò slot set to the standard
640Kb, the backup will take two passes. In order to make the computer
copy the whole disc in one go, you have to set the Next slot to more
than 800Kb. Can it be told to use more than the current Next slot if the
memory is available?
6.5
Icon dragging from filer windows
6.5
There is a configuration option (which I canæt find now that I want it!)
that instructs RISC¡OSá3 öawareò applications to drag the whole icon
rather than just an empty square box when saving a file. Why on earth
isnæt the Filer programmed to do the same when you drag an icon from a
Filer window? ááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááá
áááááááááááááááááááááá á
6.5
Improvements over RISC¡OSá3.0
6.5
Paul Skirrow lists the following improvements:
6.5
Å  after a Shutdown the Restart button works properly and restarts the
Pinboard correctly
6.5
Å  the ADFSBuffers configuration now works correctly and speeds up disc
access significantly (although there may still be a problem in 1Mb
machines).
6.5
Å  Paint handles 256 grey scale sprites correctly and also 256 colour
sprites can have any of their colours changed independently (Iæd
appreciate an article on the changes in colour handling in RISC¡OSá3 ù
starting with the basics like the points mentioned here.)
6.5
Å  an HP Laserjet / Deskjet bug has been cured.
6.5
Å  there is a new X, Y offset facility in the printer driver system,
separated from the öpaper marginsò (which now specify which area the
printer driver should allow printing in, although it would make more
sense to set the top left values to be the same). Paul says this could
have some other benefits: you should be able to specify negative offsets
to indicate that the printer must move the print head some distance to
actually reach the paper, which might be useful when printing on labels.
Unfortunately, there is a bug: the X, Y origin is not stored and always
defaults to zero! (My mind goes numb when I read this sort of descrip
tion. Can anyone help with an idiotsæ guide to printer margins?) (Gerald
Fitton, in Archive 6.4 p39, admitted to not really understanding how it
all worked but gave an empirical approach in his PipeLine column. Ed.)
6.5
Å  Printer drivers now set the page length from the önumber of text
linesò specification, and a number of other printer problems have been
cured.
6.5
Å  Starting up is quicker (10 seconds quicker on an A5000).
6.5
Å  Some useful extra screen modes are provided.ááA
6.5

6.5
Oh No! More Lemmings
6.5
Emily Down (age 12)
6.5
Theyære back! Just when you thought you had reached the safe house,
another consignment of suicidal rodents comes so-lem-nly marching out
from the Krisalis mental hospital, to be turned to tomato ketchup...
unless, of course, you generously guide them safely to a good
psychiatrist.
6.5
Basics
6.5
For those of you who Havenæt Got A Clue, here is the basic outline of
the game: tiny green-haired simp-lem-inded zombie-like creatures fall
from a hatch at the top of the screen. It is your job to manoeuvre them
past all the perils of the level, preferably without pulping too many,
and arrive at the safe house with the required percentage of lemmings
still intact, all to the sound of happy tunes and splatting lemmings. To
help you achieve this, you can turn them into climbers, diggers,
bombers, blockers and lots more.
6.5
I tested this version on an ARM 3 A440/1 with RISC-OS 3.1 and a 2 Mb
A3000, both with standard resolution colour monitors, and here are my
discoveries...
6.5
New e-lem-ents
6.5
The Lemmings are the same, of course, even to the point of keeping the
same hairdresser. They still seem determined to jump off cliffs and
drown, but this time there are extra possible deaths like an icicle
which splits them in half or a snake which strangles them. These provide
yet more gory entertainment for any psychopathic lemming-killer who
wishes to watch. The few new dangers are more imaginative and the amount
of blood seems to have increased but it is a pity that more of the old
perils havenæt been replaced.
6.5
There is not a lot of originality in the di-lem-mas Ö they are fundamen
tally the same as before, although with different scenery Ö even though
some levels do take a lot of thought. There are some new ideas but it is
basically more of the same.
6.5
There is a whole new set of tunes to assist your progress to the neuro-
surgeon Ö some good, others even more tedious than the worst of their
predecessors. The graphics are of the same high quality, with plenty of
blood!
6.5
Lemford Christie
6.5
Superlemming is another new feature: he moves about twice as fast as a
normal lemming, making an easy level twice as difficult. Donæt let him
splat Ö he is needed for the 1996 Olempic team!
6.5
Problemmings
6.5
Unfortunately, the Lemmings cannot be speeded up by pressing the f9 and
f10 keys together, a useful feature of the previous version. The tunes
can be extremely boring (the less said about Three Blind Mice the
better!) and difficulty levels are not really right for the average
player: Any person investing in Oh no! would probably at least have
started the Tricky levels in the original, so the Tame levels (equiva
lent to Fun) are pointless. However, once the levels start getting
difficult, they get harder too quickly and a lot more levels that take
some brain power but are not impossible are needed.
6.5
Implemmingtation
6.5
Oh no! is supplied on a single disc in a glossy (but rather flimsy)
cardboard box along with a minimal instruction sheet. However, before it
can be used, you need an original Lemmings disc.
6.5
When running the game from floppy, you must insert the old Lemmings disc
each time you load it. This can rapidly get annoying. Luckily, the game
can be run from a hard disc and although you must still insert one disc
for copy protection purposes, it is a great improvement on having to
search for two floppies.
6.5
Conclusions
6.5
So is it worth the ú19.95 price tag (or ú19 through Archive)? Apart from
the occasional new hazard, and superlemming, there is really very little
new. If, however, you have completed Lemmings and still want more, these
extra levels are your answer, even though it would probably be pointless
for you to do the Tame levels.  It is worth thinking hard about the
value before you buy, and I would only recommend it to hardened
Lemmings players.ááA
6.5

6.5
Small Ads
6.5
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people donæt know what Ésmallæ
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
6.5
Å  47 Mb ST506 hard drive out of A440/1. Sell for ú100 or swap for
unregistered copy of Squirrel. Phone Gary on 0322Ö662222 (eves).
6.5
Å  A310 with col mon, MEMC1a, 4 slot bæplane, 5╝ö disc buffer, RISC-OS
3.10 ú350. Oak SCSI 45Mb internal hard drive with 16 bit podule ú250.
Phone Keith on 041Ö634Ö1938.
6.5
Å  A310 with med. res. colour monitor, 4Mb, MEMC1a upgrade, interfaced
5╝ö twin 80/40 drives, serial link. Quality software and games. ú700
o.n.o. Phone 0572Ö821313.
6.5
Å  A440 with 4Mb, 45Mb Oak SCSI, Acorn colour monitor, A/wide VIDC
enhancer, RISC-OS 3.1, ú600. May split. Phone 0252Ö542431.
6.5
Å  A440 with 4Mb RAM, 20Mb hard disc, RISC-OS 2, good condition, ú299.
Phone 0733Ö67185.
6.5
Å  A410/1 with 4Mb, 40Mb IDE internal hard drive, RISC-OS 3.10, manuals
and various software. ú900 o.n.o. Phone David Lenthall on 071Ö703Ö5675.
6.5
Å  A5000 LC, two 40Mb IDE drives, RISC-OS 3.1, NEC Multisync II,  RO2
PRMæs, software inc Archive and Risc User discs, Careware, Shareware and
D Pilling, other software inc Impression, PipeDream 4, Hearsay II, PC
Emulator V1.8.  Will split.  Worth ú3500, accept ú1500 o.n.o.  Phone
John Collins on 0455Ö272585.
6.5
Å  A5000 LC with 4Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, RISC-OS 3.1, colour monitor, cost
ú1599, offers welcome, sell without monitor. Also, Quantum 245Mb 9mS IDE
3.5ö low profile drive, unused, bought in error. Cost ú539, offers
welcome. Oak 16-bit SCSI Interface board, Syquest 44Mb external
removable drive with cartridges. Look Systems Disk Rescue package also
available. Contact Richard 0784Ö443494 (day) 0784Ö 434927 (eve.)
6.5
Å  Acorn DTP ú39 o.n.o., First Word+ (release 2, inc extra Epson LQ
drivers), ú29 o.n.o. Ö or ú60 for both. Phone 0457Ö863351.
6.5
Å  Acorn DTP ú40. Minerva Gammaplot ú20, System Delta+ ú30, Mailshot (for
SD+) ú15. Games: Nevryon ú8, Powerband ú8, Terramex ú5. CC ROMs (for
ROM/RAM podule): InterChart ú10, Intersheet ú15, InterWord ú15,
SpellMaster ú20. Phone 0737Ö832159 evenings.
6.5
Å  Acorn I/O podule with Midi add-on, ú60. Amstrad SM2400 V22bis modem
ú60. Phone 0397Ö704361.
6.5
Å  CC Turbo Driver for BJ10ex, registered in my name, ú35. Phone
0684Ö573098.
6.5
Å  Digitiser, Techno-I, 25-bit resolution, SVHS upgrade, single-width
podule, ú150. Phone 0463Ö75251.
6.5
Å  Karma ú7.50. Archimedes standard colour monitor (with sound channel),
v.g.c., no problems, original packing, ú65. Phone 0483Ö575870.
6.5
Å  Original Acorn User and Micro User discs: AU 1989 (complete), 1990 (10
discs), 1991 (complete); MU 1990 (10 discs), 1991 (complete). 56 discs
for ú50 +p&p. Contact Colin on 0786Ö461501.
6.5
Å  RISC-OS 3.10 upgrade (ALA31) unused with manuals, ú40. Also unused,
Acorn DTP ú30, PC emulator (V1.7 with DR DOS 5) ú50 and First Word Plus
V2, ú25. Phone 0561Ö62452 evenings.
6.5
Å  Scanlight Plus hand held scanner, latest software (v2.01), ú100. Phone
Chris on 0276Ö20575 after 6pm.
6.5
Å  Simis Flight Sim Toolkit Ö ú25, 1st Word+ v.2 ú40, Acorn DTP ú60,
Break 147 and Superpool ú15, Chocks Away Extra Missions ú8, Saloon Cars
ú10, Pacmania ú5, Genesis Plus ú35, PC Emulator v.1.7 ú45. All orig
inals, accept nearest offer. Phone Shan on 0703Ö677669 evenings.
6.5
Å  Tape Backup. Oak high speed 150Mb tape drive with Oak SCSI interface
and 8 tape cartridges, ú600 o.n.o. Also Oak CDFS software and ROM
upgrade, ú20. Phone Chris on 0276Ö20575 after 6pm.
6.5
Å  Wanted Ö ARM3 processor and sheet feeder for Panasonic 1124 printer.
Phone 0332Ö557751.
6.5
Å  Wanted Ö Command set for Tandberg TCD3800 ╝ö SCSI tape drive. Also any
software to run it from Oak SCSI card. Chris Walker, 16 Finderne Drive,
Wymondham, Norwich  NR18 0HU.
6.5
Å  Wanted for charity work: BBC B/128/Master with disc drive. Phone K.
Miller on 0734Ö731538.
6.5
Å  Z88 with 125Kb extra RAM, Archimedes link, printer link, case, mains
adaptor, manual and programmers guide to operating system, ú150. Phone
Tony Cowley on 0473Ö780298.
6.5
Å  Z88, little used, with handbooks, leads, etc, ú150. Phone Andy Cameron
on 0227Ö832196.
6.5
Å  Zoom Modem V21, V22, V22bis, with fax send facility, ú75 o.n.o. BJ10e
CC Printer driver ú32. Phone Mike Roscoe on 081Ö579Ö0607.
6.5
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
6.5
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
6.5
Arcade Soccer + White Magic ú4, Arcticulate ú6, Arctist (art package)
ú3, Astro (space exploration) ú3, DJ500C Printer Driver (Risc Dev) ú10,
EMACS (D Pilling) ú2, Fan for A310 ú5, First Word Plus (v1) ú3, !Help Ö
Intro to Archimedes ú2, MicroDrive (golf) ú5, Inter-Sheet on ROM ú5,
MicroDrive Extra Courses Vol1 ú4, Pace Nightingale modem (300/300, 1200/
75) ú15, Saloon Cars  ú10, Serial interface for Panasonic KX-P1080,
1091, 1092, 1592 or 3131 ú4, System Delta Plus Ref Guide ú3, UIM ú4,
Wordwise Plus for Archimedes (disc version) inc manuals ú8, Z88 + 128Kb
ram + serial link + carry case + mains adaptor, virtually new, ú120.ááA
6.5

6.5
Thanks, Lemily, for an excellemt review. Ed.
6.5

6.5
ArtWorks Column
6.5
Trevor Sutton
6.5
I am pleased to take over this column from Michael Carter and wish him a
speedy recovery. This monthæs column has been produced very quickly in
order to include the latest information from Computer Concepts. I hope
to adhere to Michaelæs aims for the column and expect to see it evolve
into a lively interchange of ideas over the coming months, as ArtWorks
(AW) develops and as more people ödig deepò and buy it.
6.5
ArtWorks 1.10
6.5
CC have announced the first upgrade to AW which should be available by
the time you read this. AW 1.10 provides full support for the 15bpp
ColourCard screen modes as described in Archive 6.4 p25.
6.5
CCæs press release states that other new features will include better
image support. For example, there are new facilities for colouring
greyscale sprites, displaying scanned sprites at half intensity (ideal
for tracing) and editing sprite palettes. This should be good news for
all you clip artists.
6.5
AW 1.10 is available free of charge to all existing registered users.
Simply call CC and quote your serial number.
6.5
Impression 2.18
6.5
This latest version of Impression should also be available by the time
you read this and will incorporate the ability to render AW files
directly. It will now be possible to simply drop the AW file icon over
the frame. AW picture rendering offers distinct advantages over standard
drawfiles:
6.5
Åáááfull on-screen anti-aliasing of the complete drawing
6.5
Åááámemory savings for drawings that contain blends or graduated fills
6.5
Åááábetter PostScript printing quality of graduated colour fills
6.5
Åáááfaster picture rendering
6.5
Åááábetter screen image quality
6.5
Also of interest is the fact that CC are to make AW rendering technology
available to third party companies so that other developers may
incorporate AW pictures in their applications. This should help
encourage clip artists to choose AW.
6.5
Impression 2.18 is available, I am pleased to say, as a free upgrade to
users of both Impression and AW. Call CC and quote both serial numbers.
If you donæt own AW, there will be a charge of ú10 + VAT.
6.5
ArtWorks clip art competition
6.5
CC have announced a new competition with a Canon BJC800 colour printer
worth more than ú1800 as first prize. (Iæll have to have a go for that!)
Other prizes include ú100 vouchers and to all whose work is ultimately
included on further AW clip art discs, there will be ú10 vouchers. Call
CC for an entry form.
6.5
Fonts
6.5
The saga of how best to store the AW fonts will, I fear, continue and
everyone will have his or her own solution. In addition to these outline
fonts, many people will already have a considerable font list. There is
something of the stamp-collecting bug about font-collecting and AW
provides a veritable album.
6.5
I include here Gerald Moxonæs approach to the problem.
6.5
This is the way I solved it on my 40Mb hard disc. Like most people, I
keep !Fonts in the root directory of the hard disc, so that AW,
Impression, PipeDream and DrawPlus can get at the fonts automatically. I
just have the fonts which came with Impression in !Fonts, plus AvantG,
BookM and Watson from AW.
6.5
First of all, I set up an ordinary directory called Fonts+ on the hard
disc, with a number of sub-directories inside it called a, b, etc.
6.5
Next, I loaded !FontInst from AW disc 2 Ö I found out the hard way that
you should not run this utility from the hard disc. Then I loaded the
contents of all the AW fonts discs beginning with öaò into !Fonts. I
read a book while this was happening... Then I shifted the fonts
directories beginning with öaò into the sub-directory called a in
Fonts+. Finally, I had to delete the fonts from the right-hand window in
!FontInst, until it told me that once again only 27 fonts were installed
in !Fonts. By the time I had read a couple of chapters of my book, all
the 220 fonts were tucked away safely in sub-directories labelled a to
v, at the cost of 6Mb of hard disc space.
6.5
This way, if you decide you are going to use certain fonts in a
document, you just drop them into !Fonts before you load the appli
cation, and delete them afterwards Ö only from !Fonts, of course.
6.5
Geraldæs solution certainly works and gives fairly quick access to all
the fonts but personally I value space on my hard discs, there are some
fonts which I would hardly ever use and there are some that I just donæt
like. Four 1.6Mb floppies will take all but a couple of the AW fonts,
without compression, and organized alphabetically, but that is just my
personal choice. I have to admit, though, to having a small directory on
my internal hard disc of some of my particular favourites. Buying AW
meant that I could finally dispose of all my graphic pens and Biorst
font has meant the italic pen is now in the bin.
6.5
(This is the font that Trevor is talking about Ö- itæs called Biorst.
Ed.)
6.5
The problem of fonts being unavailable when files are reloaded is a
difficult one. The only efficient solution is, I feel, to convert fonts
to paths before saving, this simply means that text must be rewritten if
editing is required.
6.5
Blends
6.5
The blend tool in AW has a similar effect to Interpolate and Grade in
the newer versions of Draw. It can give some beautiful effects
especially when blending between different colours. Gerald Moxon has
found a very practical application for its use.
6.5
I have found the blend tool immensely useful for designing grids Ö a
40╫40 grid can be drawn in minutes. Sometimes, however, it can be
frustrating trying to hit the part of the target object accurately
enough to activate the blend. One solution is to start off with fat
lines in, say, 4pt. This makes the whole operation much easier. Then the
blend can be restored to lines of the required thinness.
6.5
Many thanks, Gerald, for that idea. I have used it in a similar way and
in conjunction with the alignment facility to produce multiple boxes.
6.5
Text and Edit
6.5
In my early days with the Archimedes, I used Draw in conjunction with
Edit to produce single pages containing blocks of text and graphics ù
DTP the hard way! Now, Impression has thankfully removed this need.
However, AW can function very well as a single page document processor
and the text handling is a joy compared with Draw. Just try writing
something in Edit with different line lengths and with a few extra
returns here and there. Now save your work directly to an AW page. It
will appear in AvantG.Book at 32pt initially but full control over each
line is possible. Change the font, change the size, edit the wording or
apply any of the effects that AW has on offer. It is possible to import
directly from Edit in the font, size and aspect ratio of your choice.
Initially, you may find that AW does not do this properly. My solution
is to choose the font in the normal way at the size I want and then
write something to the page. The text from Edit will then load as
required. This might be a bug and I will talk to CC about it.
6.5
So, what of the future?
6.5
I look forward to receiving your letters, whether they be hints,
problems or wishes for future versions of AW. (The recent Archimedean
contained a list of some of these.) I have just two final questions for
you. A good friend of mine is left-handed and chooses, quite naturally,
to use the mouse in his left hand. The problem is that some of the hot
key combinations are difficult to access comfortably. Particularly
tricky is the very useful <shift-alt> combination which is only active
on the left of the keyboard. Do you have a solution for this, or is it
one for CC? Perhaps we need a lateral inversion!
6.5
Would anybody else like <ctrl-Q> and <ctrl-W> to zoom quickly in and out
as does Draw?ááA
6.5

6.5
Comment Column
6.5
Å  Aleph One ö486ò PC card Ö When Aleph One released a 486 card for the
Archimedes at the same price as the old 386, I was quite impressed. Does
this mean that we get five times as much PC power for the same price?
Well, no, not quite... read on.
6.5
The processor that Aleph One are using is not, in fact, what the PC
literate passenger on the Clapham omnibus calls öa 486ò. It is not the
486DX but a Cyrix Cx486SLC unit. This processor lacks certain major
hardware elements that underpin 486 performance:
6.5
ÖáThe 486DX has an integrated hardware floating point unit; the 486SLC
has none.
6.5
ÖáThe 486DX and SX have an 8Kb primary cache; the 486SLC has 1Kb.
6.5
ÖáThe 486DX and SX have an integrated memory management unit supporting
burst-mode (accelerated sequential) memory fetches; the 486SLC has none.
6.5
ÖáThe 486DX and SX have 32-bit i/o bandwidth; the 486SLC has 16-bit i/o
although it has 32-bit internal paths, like the 386SX.
6.5
How do Cyrix see their way to calling this item a 486? Well, it runs the
full 486 instruction set, which is a slightly larger than 386 set.
6.5
The Cx486SLC has some tricks all of its own that certainly boost its
performance beyond that of a 386, as follows:
6.5
ÖáThe 1Kb primary cache helps significantly.
6.5
ÖáThere is a 16-bit hardware multiplier that out-performs the Intel
instruction by a factor of 8.
6.5
ÖáThere is a 5-stage instruction pipeline that achieves 1-cycle
execution.
6.5
Thanks to these speed-ups, Aleph Oneæs customers can expect the 25MHz
486SLC to deliver around 2.5 times the raw power of the 25MHz 386SX that
was formerly the only option. That is even better than they could
theoretically expect from a 33MHz 386DX. However, it is short of what
they would get out of a 25MHz 486SX. Anyone who was thinking in terms of
heavy duty number-crunching will be disappointed. There is no DX and no
co-processor. There is a still a maths co-processor socket on the Aleph
One board, but filling it is a ú99 +VAT optional extra.
6.5
The commercial point of the 486SLC is that it is faster than the 386SX
but pin-compatible with it. That lets Aleph One manufacture the new card
just by sticking 486SLCs in the holes where 386SXs were stuck
previously.
6.5
(Mike included some comparisons here with the Watford Electronicsæ 386SX
card but I do not feel it is fair to compare a commercially available
product Ö indeed, we have them in stock Ö with a product that isnæt even
available yet. Watford have been advertising them since October 1992.
When I spoke to them about availability, they said it would be ready Éin
about a month or soæ. Ed)
6.5
The Cx486SLC only became available last spring and is far the most
powerful CPU that Aleph One could have used without scrapping the 16-bit
expansion board on which they have lavished their design and development
effort. Three cheers for it and three more for them Ö as long everybody
knows what it is and what it is not.
6.5
What about pricing? Well, ú595 (+VAT) today gets you the Aleph One 486
PC card with 4Mb RAM. For exactly ú54 more, you could possess a complete
25MHz 486SX PC with 4Mb RAM, 64Kb secondary cache, 14ö super VGA monitor
and 80Mb hard disc. Then on top of your ú595, you need the PC emulator
1.6 or later so if you havenæt already got it, thatæs another 95 quid.á
Mike Kinghan, Oxford.
6.5
(OK, if all you really want is a cheap, throw-away PC, then buy one.
What we are looking at here is a way of getting the best of both worlds,
MS-DOS and RISC-OS, in one machine. Itæs a fact of life that if you want
the best, you usually have to pay for it!
6.5
Mike also quoted some PCW benchtest results but I have not included them
because I think they can be misleading. This is partly because there is,
as yet, no test for the use of Windows software. I suggest that if you
are being forced to use Windows software, you try out a PC card with
Aleph Oneæs special Windows driver software. You can, in fact, try-
before-you-buy because Aleph One have some 20MHz 386 cards that they are
prepared to loan to potential customers. Then, remembering that the
25MHz 486 will give you about 2╜ times the speed, you can judge whether
this is the right product for you. Contact Aleph One for details. Ed.)
6.5
(Also, look back to Products Available, if you missed it, for some
interesting developments on the PC podule front.)
6.5
Å  Archive house style Ö I changed from Ékæ to ÉKbæ and ÉMæ to ÉMbæ
because I was taken to task over the idea that you cannot have a
thousand nothings Ö you have to have both a multiplier and a unit. Now I
am being taken to task by several readers because I am using ÉKbæ and
not Ékbæ. The SI multiplier is, apparently, Ékæ and not ÉKæ. I would
have thought it more logical to use K, M, G etc for multipliers and m,
╡, n, p, etc for sub-multipliers. I suppose they will tell me that the
ÉKæ of kilobytes will get confused with the ÉKæ of Kelvin but who in
their right mind would think I was writing about Kelvin-bytes?! Do I
really have to change again ? Ed.
6.5
Å  Calligraph Arclaser 300-6 Ö Ever since I got my Archimedes, I had
fancied getting a laser printer Ö to do justice to the quality of the
fonts and drawfiles. I managed to save up sufficient funds and, with a
little help from my bank manager, was ready to buy one. I wrote to both
Computer Concepts and Calligraph asking for up-to-date information and
asking questions on points I was unsure of. Calligraph replied by return
of post. In the end, Calligraph and I had three exchanges of questions
and answers before I bought my Laser. CC have still not replied.
6.5
I ordered my printer about a month before Archive decided to stock them,
which didnæt exactly please me when I saw the price difference(!) but,
by then, I already had the laser printer and it was working hard for its
keep. I posted my order off on a Friday and the laser printer arrived
Wednesday mid-morning. The instruction books are good and explain
clearly how to set up the printer Ö though it took me two hours to get
it all done as I did not want to damage anything. The toner and drum are
packed separately and have to be installed. The first time is difficult
but, once you have done it, it does seem a lot easier.
6.5
The toner cartridges are said to last for 7,000 copies, depending on the
coverage of the page. The economics of the printer mean that it should
cost about 20 Ö 25% as much as a Canon inkjet to run Ö which is another
reason I went for it. It can be used with Impression, Junior, Ovation,
Edit, Draw(plus), etc using the supplied printer driver. Although it is
only a 300 d.p.i. öengineò, I am very pleased with its printout quality.
6.5
Paper jams have occurred, but they are fairly straight forward to clear.
Iæve found that if the paper is crumpled at all it is better not use it
in the laser printer Ö use it for your dot-matrix printer or typewriter
instead. Printing of the page takes over the computer for the duration Ö
it is not possible to print a page then do something else with the
computer Ö but the wait is quite brief. There is also an Epson LQ
Emulator supplied which allows listing of programs or simple printouts
from other programs.
6.5
Using the Arclaser with applications such as Impression or Draw could
not be simpler. Just create your masterpiece then either follow the menu
structure to the print option or press <print> and thatæs it!
6.5
Iæve now got RISC-OS 3.1 which comes with Trinity, Homerton and Corpus
built in the new ROMs, and the improvement in preparation times is quite
impressive.
6.5
Having upgraded from a BBC ÉBæ with Wordwise Plus to the Archimedes,
finally with a laser and Impression, I now find it much easier than even
Wordwise on a dot-matrix printer. Highly impressed!á David Shepherdson,
Ilkley.
6.5
Å  Computer waste? Ö Do you ever think about the waste when you discard
your empty toner cartridges? Con-Serv have recently started a öToner
Recyclingò scheme. Consumers send their toner cartridges back and for
every thirty that they receive, Con-Serv will buy an acre of threatened
rain forest.
6.5
Con-Serv are supporting the öProgramme for Belizeò, an environmental
charity who are working with the Belizean government on a program to
secure 250,000 acres of tropical rain forest for eco-development.
6.5
Because the cartridges are recycled (i.e. with new toner) they are also
cheaper than normal cartridges. Con-Serv give a one year immediate
refund/replace/repair guarantee on all of their products which include
printer ribbons and inkjet cartridges amongst other recycleable
consumables. They can be contacted on 0734Ö886600. Alternatively, return
your cartridges to us so that we can send them in bulk as Con-Serv have
provided us with reply-paid envelopes.
6.5
Å  Omar Sharifæs Bridge Ö I found John Wallaceæs article good reading
(Archive 6.4 p63). I agree that for ú30 you should get some Archimedes-
specific instructions. However, what John hasnæt discovered is that if
you move the mouse to the top of the screen then press <menu>, you get
Édrop-downæ menus. These include, mercifully, the ability to turn off
the ÉThat was not quite rightæ comments. It also allows you to leave the
game or to pass over boring deals. I find the program very addictive
though it is better at playing the cards than at bidding.á Neil Dunford,
Walton-on-Thames.
6.5
Cain Hunt also discovered about these menus (but says you can click with
<select> to get them). He notes that it tells you about these menus in
the PC documentation but since the interface is so different from the
normal Archimedes user interface, Krisalis really should have put in
some Archimedes documentation. He also says...
6.5
You can have a Épartialæ speech option where Omar tells you the
contract, who is to lead, etc but without the banal comments. The menus
allow you to skip to the next hand (perhaps looking for better cards) or
back to the main menu. You donæt seem to be able to change the bidding
system without re-loading the game.
6.5
The bidding and playing algorithms donæt cheat! i.e. you can upset their
communication in the bidding or try a finesse Ö whereas some bridge
computers Éknow where the cards areæ. As an average player, I quite
enjoy the program since it often bids aggressively and does some vicious
card play.á Cain Hunt, Cambridge.
6.5
Å  PCs again Ö I would like to reply to Eddie Lordæs comment in Archive
6.3 p43 on PCs and the öindustry standardò. Here in Cyprus, the only
Acorn dealer we have doesnæt even keep Acorn machines in stock, but has
lots of PCs. Purchasing an Acorn machine requires him to make a call to
Lindis in UK and then we wait for two or three months until a machine
arrives. I could buy a top-of-the-range 486 complete with loads of
bundled pirated software, Windows 3.1, FoxPro, etc, for ú600 or less. As
a teacher of IT, I would though, dispute the claim that PCs are the
öIndustry Standardò, and dismiss it as a self perpetuating myth.
Firstly, what is meant by a standard? Is there, for example, a standard
car? A computer is merely a machine designed to do a job. You would not,
after all, enter a Land Rover into a Formula 1 race.
6.5
Acorn produces machines aimed at specialist markets. Education is one of
these, and the headmaster of Mr Lordæs sonæs school does not appear to
know what he is talking about. IT is about concepts and ideas which
apply to all makes of computer. As for teaching a östandardò, what will
be the östandardò in the öbig wide worldò when Lord Jnr leaves school? I
very much doubt if it will be MS-DOS based.
6.5
Eddie Lord bought an Archimedes several years ago but he does not state
the model. At my school we have fourteen A310s and several other later
models of Archimedes including A5000s and an A540. Only one A310 has
ever died on us Ö the rest soldier on despite the lack of Cyprus-based
support. To upgrade one would cost ú200 or less for an ARM3, ú50 for
RISC-OS 3 and about ú100 for extra RAM. A VIDC Enhancer would add about
another ú30. This would bring any one of my five year old A310s up to
scratch for a model investment. How easy would it be to upgrade a five
year old PC in a similar manner? One might argue that it would not be
worth it as it would be as cheap to replace the machine Ö but then that
is what the consumer society is all about. That is another debate
entirely and one that many people would dismiss as naive or irrelevant,
conserving resources is itself a factor that needs to be taken into
account, especially when educating the young.
6.5
Finally, the cost of software must itself be commented on. Though, as
stated earlier, I have access to unlimited pirated software, sold over
the counter by all dealers here (Windows 3.1 for ú15 for example), I
still stick to original Archimedes material. Cost in a more honest
country must be a major factor, especially for home users and education.
I wonder if the öpeopleò with whom Eddie works use original software...á
Simon Beaton, Cyprus.
6.5
Å  Questions you always wanted to ask (but never dared). I had a letter
recently from a subscriber who said he was confused about the terms
ÉARM3æ and ÉRISC-OS3æ. He used to think they meant the same, so could I
explain them for him? My first reaction was amazement that someone
should not know the difference Ö but then I realised what an unreason
able attitude that was. If someone had just started using Archimedes
machines, why should they know the difference. In case there are others
with the same question in their minds, here is the answer I gave...
6.5
The ARM chip is the processor at the heart of the Archimedes computers
and RISC-OS is the operating system Ö a whole series of computer
programs which do the öhouse-keepingò for the computer Ö running the
desktop, etc. The ARM3 is the latest high-speed version of the ARM chip
and RISC-OS 3 is the latest version of the operating system. They are
both acronyms: ARM = Acorn RISC Machine, (where RISC = Reduced Instruc
tion Set Computer) and RISC-OS = RISC Operating System.
6.5
If you have questions you always wanted to ask and never dared because
they seemed too simple, please ask them and we will answer them in the
magazine Ö perhaps thatæs one answer to my plea for a Beginnersæ Column.
6.5
By the way, before you ask, let me try to explain RISC Ö Reduced
Instruction Set Computer... The trend in computing has always been to
make more and more complex processors that can do more and more complex
things with just a single instruction. However, some clever person (Iæve
no idea who, sorry) looked at the way processors were being used and
found that 99.9% of the time these complex processors were using the
simple instructions. They therefore decided to see what would happen if
they made simpler processors instead. If they are simpler, they can be
cheaper to make and they can run faster. The way it has turned out,
because of the way Roger Wilson and Co designed them, they are also
easier to program. (A bit over-simplified, Roger, sorry... )
6.5
If anyone else has things they want explaining or is prepared to send in
explanations of things that they once found confusing, weæd be happy to
hear from you. Ed.
6.5
Å  SparkFS/ArcFS Ö I have recently received an upgraded version of
SparkFS (1.18) from David Pilling in response to my review. In this
version, he has fixed a number of bugs and added some features. He also
pointed out a couple of errors that I failed to spot when checking the
copy.
6.5
Firstly my errors, I mentioned that SparkFS can handle Mac style
McStuffit archives. There is no such thing Ö in fact, the McStuffit
module handles the following Mac formats, Packit, Stuffit and Compactor.
When describing the DES encryption mechanism an extra A slipped itself
into NSA (=National Security Agency) and turned it into NASA. When
describing the operation of ArcFS2, I stated that archives were not
opened automatically when created. This, of course, depends upon a
setting in the preferences window which I rather glossed over.
6.5
Now the improvements, SparkFS now correctly recognises ArcFS archives
and provides conversion facilities to and from this format along with
the others already available, Iæve checked it and it seems to work OK.
There is an auto quit option which loads the application and then quits
leaving the modules active Ö useful for saving space. Improvements have
been made to the LZH and Zip modules. In particular, Zip Deflate is
supported and, at 16 bits, this promises the fastest and (depending on
source code) greatest compression of all the options. SparkFS now
supports the OS3 image filing system, this means that File Archives are
effectively treated as directories within the base FS (ADFS, IDEFS,
etc), e.g. instead of
6.5
SparkFS#ADFS##Winnie.$.archive.
6.5
file
6.5
we get
6.5
ADFS::Winnie.$.archive.file
6.5
which is much friendlier. I hear rumours that ArcFS2 also now supports
this option but have no first hand information, having had no feedback
from Mark Smith since the review.
6.5
As is usual with DP software, upgrades are available by returning the
original disc with return postage paid.á Tim Nicholson, Cranleigh.ááA
6.5

6.5
Programming the WIMP (continued)
6.5
David Ramsden
6.5
This article is a follow-on from the ÉCreating a RISC-OS Applicationæ
series written by Darren Sillett for Archive (4.8 p40, 4.10 p52, 4.12
p41 and 5.5 p49).
6.5
I was recently programming the WIMP for my CrossWord application using
this series in Archive as a basis and, in the process, added new
procedures and functions to the WimpLib Basic library which are
described below.
6.5
Menu procedures and functions
6.5
There are several new procedures and functions available as follows :
6.5
PROCadd_indirected_menu_buffer(menu%,  pos%, string%,length%,valid%)
6.5
This procedure gives an easy means of adding a string buffer to a
writeable menu item created using FNcreate_menu. The parameters passed
are the menu handle, the menu item position, an area to hold the string
and its size (created using a DIM, e.g. DIM save% 40 would give a 40
character long writeable entry for holding a save filename). Finally
valid% allows you to specify the validation string for the writeable
entry. Use -1 if you do not know anything about validation strings.
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(menu%,pos%, foreground%, background%)
6.5
By using this procedure a menu can be given a coloured effect in place
of the default black text on white background. Foreground% and
background% are numbers between 0 and 15 which correspond to the colours
shown when you click the !Palette icon on the iconbar.
6.5
FNcreate_colour_bar
6.5
Calling this function will create a colour bar as seen in !Paint,
!FormEd, etc for use in your own application.
6.5
Icon procedures and functions
6.5
The extra facilities available are both status setting and also status
returning procedures and functions.
6.5
PROCicon_flag_set(window%,icon%,bit%)
6.5
This will set the required bit in the iconæs status flags. So, for
example, sending bit%=2 would set the iconæs border.
6.5
PROCicon_flag_clear(window%,icon%,bit%)
6.5
This procedure is the reverse of the previous one.
6.5
FNicon_flag_check(window%,icon%,bit%)
6.5
This function will return a value of TRUE if the specified icon flag is
set and FALSE otherwise.
6.5
PROCicon_redraw(window%,icon%)
6.5
Calling this procedure will cause the icon to be redrawn and hence
reflect any change to its contents.
6.5
PROCicon_foreground_colour(window%,icon%, colour%)
6.5
This procedure changes the colour of the icon to that specified by
colour% which should be a number between 0 and 15 as with the menu
colour set.
6.5
PROCicon_background_set(window%,icon%, colour%)
6.5
This is as above but for background colour.
6.5
Window functions
6.5
The functions in this group must be called by <window_handle%>=FN as it
is necessary to delete and then re-create a window to alter its flags.
6.5
FNwindow_colour_set(window%,part%,colour%)
6.5
The part% variable corresponds to the byte controlling the colour in the
windowæs definition block. For example, 34 is the work area foreground
byte.
6.5
FNwindow_flag_set(window%,bit%,flag%)
6.5
This call will alter the window status flags. If flag% = TRUE then the
flag will be set. Conversely, when flag% = FALSE the flag will be
cleared.
6.5
And finally...
6.5
Finally, there is one further new function which does not come into any
of the above categories. Its purpose is to create the familiar message
window containing a warning that you have unsaved data, for example, and
do you really want to quit.
6.5
FNquery(message$,title$)
6.5
The message is the warning you wish to issue and the title is the string
for the window title e.g. öWarning from !CardEdò. The value returned
depends on whether the OK or cancel box was clicked in response to the
query. The value returned will be 1 if OK was selected and 2 if the
cancel box was clicked.
6.5

6.5
DEF FNquery(message$,title$)
6.5
!wimp_block% = 0
6.5
$(wimp_block%+4) = message$ + CHR$(0)
6.5
SYS öWimp_ReportErrorò,wimp_block%, 19,title$+CHR$(0) TO ,click%
6.5
= click%
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCadd_indirected_menu_buffer (menu%,pos%,string%,length%
6.5
,valid%)
6.5
LOCAL buffer%
6.5
DIM buffer% 12
6.5
buffer%!0 = string%
6.5
buffer%!4 = valid%
6.5
buffer%!8 = length%
6.5
menu%!(28+24*(pos%-1)) = &84
6.5
menu%!(36+24*(pos%-1)) = &7000101
6.5
menu%!(40+24*(pos%-1)) = buffer%!0
6.5
menu%!(44+24*(pos%-1)) = buffer%!4
6.5
menu%!(48+24*(pos%-1)) = buffer%!8
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCcolour_menu_item(menu%, position%,foreground%,background%)
6.5
menu%?(39 + 24*(position%-1)) = foreground%  OR  background%<<4
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCicon_foreground_set(window%,
6.5
icon%,foreground%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0  = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4  = icon%
6.5
wimp_block%!8  = 0
6.5
wimp_block%!12 = 0
6.5
wimp_block%?11 = foreground%
6.5
wimp_block%?15 = 15
6.5
SYS öWimp_SetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCicon_background_set(window%, icon%,background%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0  = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4  = icon%
6.5
wimp_block%!8  = 0
6.5
wimp_block%!12 = 0
6.5
wimp_block%?11 = background% << 4
6.5
wimp_block%?15 = 240
6.5
SYS öWimp_SetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF FNicon_flag_check(window%,icon% ,shift%)
6.5
LOCAL result%
6.5
wimp_block%!0 = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4 = icon%
6.5
SYS öWimp_GetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
IF wimp_block%!24 AND 1 << shift% THEN
6.5
    result% = TRUE
6.5
  ELSE
6.5
    result% = FALSE
6.5
ENDIF
6.5
= result%
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCicon_flag_clear(window%,icon% ,shift%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0  = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4  = icon%
6.5
wimp_block%!8  = 0
6.5
wimp_block%!12 = 1 << shift%
6.5
SYS öWimp_SetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCicon_flag_set(window%,icon% ,shift%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0  = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4  = icon%
6.5
wimp_block%!8  = 1 << shift%
6.5
wimp_block%!12 = 1 << shift%
6.5
SYS öWimp_SetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF FNcreate_colour_bar
6.5
LOCAL colour_bar%,loop%
6.5
colour_bar% = FNcreate_menu(öColours,0,1,2,3,4,5,
6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15ò)
6.5
FOR loop% = 0 TO 3
6.5
  PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%, loop%+1,7,loop%)
6.5
NEXT
6.5
FOR loop% = 4 TO 8
6.5
  PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%, loop%+1,1,loop%)
6.5
NEXT
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%, 10,7,9)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,11 ,1,10)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,12 ,1,11)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,13 ,7,12)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,14 ,1,13)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,15 ,7,14)
6.5
PROCcolour_menu_item(colour_bar%,16 ,7,15)
6.5
FOR loop% = 36 TO 408 STEP 24
6.5
    colour_bar%?loop% = colour_bar%? loop% OR 8
6.5
NEXT
6.5
= colour_bar%
6.5

6.5
DEF PROCicon_redraw(window%,icon%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0 = window%
6.5
wimp_block%!4 = icon%
6.5
SYS öWimp_GetIconStateò,,wimp_block%
6.5
SYS öWimp_ForceRedrawò,wimp_block%!0, wimp_block%!8,wimp_block%!12,
wimp_block%!16,wimp_block%!20
6.5
ENDPROC
6.5

6.5
DEF FNresize_window(window%,x1%,y1% ,x2%,y2%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0 = window%
6.5
SYS öWimp_GetWindowInfoò,,wimp_ block%
6.5
SYS öWimp_DeleteWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
wimp_block%!4  = x1%
6.5
wimp_block%!8  = y1%
6.5
wimp_block%!12 = x2%
6.5
wimp_block%!16 = y2%
6.5
SYS öWimp_CreateWindowò,,wimp_block% +4 TO wimp_block%!0
6.5
SYS öWimp_OpenWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
= !wimp_block%
6.5

6.5
DEF FNwindow_colour_set(window%,part% ,colour%)
6.5
wimp_block%!0 = window%
6.5
SYS öWimp_GetWindowInfoò,,wimp_ block%
6.5
SYS öWimp_DeleteWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
wimp_block%?part% = colour%
6.5
SYS öWimp_CreateWindowò,,wimp_block% +4 TO wimp_block%!0
6.5
SYS öWimp_OpenWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
= !wimp_block%
6.5

6.5
DEF FNwindow_flag_set(window%,flag% ,shift%)
6.5
!wimp_block% = window%
6.5
SYS öWimp_GetWindowInfoò,,wimp_ block%
6.5
SYS öWimp_DeleteWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
wimp_block%!28 = wimp_block%!28  OR  1<<shift%
6.5
IF NOT flag% wimp_block%!28 = wimp_ block%!28  EOR  1<<  shift%
6.5
SYS öWimp_CreateWindowò,,wimp_block% +4 TO wimp_block%!0
6.5
SYS öWimp_OpenWindowò,,wimp_block%
6.5
= !wimp_block%ááA
6.5

6.5
Music Column
6.5
Stewart Watson
6.5
This month, I will look at two packages Ö Studio 24Plus from Electro
Music Research and Notate from Longman Logotron.
6.5
Studio 24 Plus version 3
6.5
Studio 24 has been around for some years now Ö in fact, almost as long
as the Archimedes. Some of the early versions were rather rough and
primitive, but so were the early Archimedes word processors and document
processors. Studio 24 Plus has undergone many transformations during the
intervening years until we reach the latest version 3.0b, which is dated
9th September 92.
6.5
Education
6.5
EMR are well known for their work in education, and sometimes this must
be a mixed blessing, as education software is often visualised by those
who have only seen early versions of BBC B programs as being of
indifferent quality. Many of the programs now written for education are
of an extremely high, professional standard and can happily compete with
those programs written for business use.
6.5
Protection
6.5
Rather than a dreaded dongle, EMR have gone for a key-disc protection
policy. When the program is first loaded, you are required to type in
your name and reference number, which is then encoded on the program
disc. When the program is subsequently loaded, a key-disc must be
inserted in drive 0 before the program will run, from hard disc or
floppy disc.
6.5
Robustness
6.5
A sequencer is an extremely complicated piece of software and early
versions of Studio 24 Plus suffered from occasional hang-ups which,
according to Sodæs law, always seemed to happen at the most inconvenient
moments. I have used this latest version for several weeks now, at least
four or five hours every day, and have had absolutely no trouble at all.
6.5
Pattern v Track-based
6.5
Studio 24 Plus is a pattern-based sequencer. That means that you record
pieces of music in chunks (patterns) and then chain the patterns
together to form a song. Each pattern can have its own time signature,
key signature, etc, and when chained together, can be transposed or
cropped as required. A track-based sequencer, on the other hand, works
in a similar manner to a multi-track recorder Ö you build up your piece
by recording on long parallel tracks. A pattern-based sequencer can be
used as as a track-based sequencer by simply using one pattern Ö but
remember to save your composition as a song from the files window or you
will lose several of your file attributes like remote keyboard attrib
utes, title, etc.
6.5
Features
6.5
New features in version 3 include CD-ROM control, up to 999 parallel
reels of 24 tracks, real-time mixing and reverb control from the mixing
desk, real-time tempo input, improved scoring page, direct link to
Scorewriter, MIDI instrument lists and drum lists including MIDI mapping
functions, a clipboard track maker, etc. There are too many features to
cover in one article, so I will concentrate on certain features each
month, hopefully in a bit more depth, starting with the most obviously
useful.
6.5
!S24_SetUp
6.5
On the system disc next to the main application directory, !S24_V3, is
another directory named !S24_SetUp, the contents of which are automati
cally loaded on starting up the program. It is well worth customising
the contents of !S24_SetUp sub-directory, UserFiles, to suit the
equipment you use most frequently.
6.5
MIDI instrument list
6.5
In the UserFiles directory, you will find several files including one or
two MIDI lists which you can edit to your own requirements. To do this,
load Studio 24 Plus then <shift-f3> to bring up the default MIDI
instrument list. Then alter the voice preset voices and numbers to your
own keyboard set up, rename it and save it into the !S24_SetUp UserFiles
directory. Your own list will now be loaded automatically the next time
you load the program. You can keep, or remove, unwanted instrument lists
if you wish but it is tidier to remove them from the UserFiles direc
tory.  Each time you wish to insert a voice change, all you need to do
is to <shift-f3>, scroll through the MIDI list, then <select> when the
required voice is highlighted. This saves having to memorise voice
numbers or having to consult manuals for voice numbers.
6.5
Mapping
6.5
An extremely useful feature of the MIDI instrument list function is that
you can remap one MIDI list to another automatically. This is useful if
you move files from one instrumental setup to another, or if you
exchange files with friends with different sound equipment. You need a
copy of the instrument list from the person who prepared the music file.
To each voice name and number on this list you add your own instruments
with voice numbers. If you now change <off> to <on> at the top middle of
the instrument list, all the original voices will be remapped to your
own setup. This takes a bit of time to set up, but the long term time
saving can be colossal.
6.5
Drum list
6.5
You can perform exactly the same operations to customise and remap drum
lists. Once again, there are one or two examples supplied and I have
included a couple more for inclusion on the monthly program disc.
6.5
Metronome
6.5
I now set the metronome channel to the rhythm channel and set the voices
to bass drum for beat one and snare drum for the other beats. I then
sequence all the melodic parts before recording the rhythm. This I find
easier than either recording the rhythm first, or using a short looped
rhythm pattern which has later to be deleted.
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
Since the early years of the existence of the Archimedes. EMR has had
the music field virtually to themselves but now other companies, Clares
and Longman Logotron in particular, are also producing high quality
music software. Clares are due to produce a major new sequencer,
Serenade, and it will be interesting to see how it compares with Studio
24 Plus. However, EMR have produced, in my opinion, one of the major
software packages for the Archimedes and Studio 24 Plus version 3
compares favourably with any similar product for any machine, having an
enormous number of editing features and facilities for customising the
set-up procedure to the useræs own requirements.
6.5
Studio 24 plus V3 is available from Electro-Music Research for ú249
+VAT. An upgrade from Studio 24 plus Version 1 costs ú140 +VAT.
Upgrading from Version 2 depends upon which version of version 2 you
have: from version 2a-e costs ú89.01 +VAT, from version 2 f-h costs
ú68.91 +VAT and from version 2j costs ú60.10 +VAT. If you are not sure
which version you have, load Studio24 and click <menu> then follow the
info arrow Ö your version number will appear in the window.
6.5
Notate version 1.2
6.5
Longman Logotron have just released an updated version of their
excellent music notation program Notate. For a review of Notate version
1, see Archive 5.4 p37. The new version has several new features, the
most important of which is probably real and step-time input, from a
screen keyboard or from a music keyboard via a midi interface. Other
features include endless loops, increased resolution, improved MIDI file
handling and extra options in choices dialogues.
6.5
Record setup
6.5
The record setup has a comprehensive list of options. Input can be in
real-time or step-time, from a MIDI keyboard on any channel or from a
keyboard which appears on the screen in any one of five sizes. The
metronome can be an internal voice, pitched or unpitched, or any MIDI
note on any MIDI channel.
6.5
Options
6.5
One very useful features is to be found under options <f10>, where you
can specify the removal of either long or short rests. Anyone who has
ever done any music notation from real time input will have noticed that
none of us play as accurately as we think we do Ö and many notes get
slightly clipped. This feature allows you to remove all the short rests
that are inserted to fill the gaps we leave Ö or, in extreme cases, to
remove all rests.
6.5
Summary
6.5
As a straight-forward notation package, Notate has been very well
thought out. There are just one or two omissions which I feel are worth
noting. The excellent chord facility will only allow one chord per bar.
I find this limiting. Also, there are no first and second time bar or
D.C. or D.S. facilities. If you can live with these minor limitations, I
can thoroughly recommend Notate as an extremely powerful and user-
friendly program. áA
6.5

6.5
Micro Trader
6.5
Wallace Butt
6.5
I first had a version of Micro Trader, an Accountancy Package, two years
ago. At that time, it was a translation of a BBC Micro version. It was
then rewritten and made RISC-OS compatible. Since then it has been
greatly improved and I understand that the purchasers of the RISC-OS
program have since received a free upgrade. Version 1.18a, which is the
subject of this review, is satisfactory.
6.5
Editing is very similar to !Edit which can also be used effectively from
within the program. The designated date is entered automatically but
easily altered as needed. Money entries are, as usual, pound based, i.e.
you put in the decimal point, if necessary, otherwise round pounds are
assumed.
6.5
The package is constructed in modules, which are sold separately. If you
use an accountancy package just to control your purchases, or to control
your credit sales, either or both of these modules are useable without
using the module for the nominal ledger.
6.5
Instructions
6.5
The instructions are in a loose-leaf, hard-bound handbook which makes
for easy updating.  They are indexed by sections with card interleaves
which assist in finding your way around. It is likely, however, that
once you have become familiar with the package, reference to the well-
illustrated handbook will be infrequent.
6.5
Purchase ledgers
6.5
The setting up of records for suppliers with whom you have a credit
account, or with whom you deal regularly, is simple. A code is set up
which is illustrated in the handbook by examples using numbers. I prefer
to use a mnemonic, such as BT for British Telecom or ARC for Archive.
However, if you choose this option, I suggest, because of case sensitiv
ity, you will find it easier to keep the CapsLock on. The same screen
gives the address of the supplier, details of the main settlement
discount, together with the settlement period, the total balance and the
Aged Debts, split into the current amounts and those outstanding for
one, two and three-or-more months.
6.5
The instructions for completing the record of invoices received are easy
to follow and are in a logical sequence. If you do not know the account
code, there are browse and find facilities. Both the code and the name
of the account are shown on the screen. Until you accept the details on
the screen as being correct, you can go back and adjust any entries you
have made. There is a warning given to <return> on the account code,
after you are satisfied that you have the correct account shown on the
screen. If you are using a stock control module, the goods being sold
can be entered by using the stock code.
6.5
I suggest to my clients that they number invoices they receive consecu
tively and file them in that order. To assist towards that end, I would
have liked an automatic numbering of invoices received here. (The author
points out that a new batch number is provided each day and says that
most of his customers have found that sufficient.) I would also like a
facility for entering the VAT inclusive amount of an invoice and I
understand that this is being considered for a possible future upgrade.
However, as the majority of goods supplied on credit are usually shown
as Net and VAT, this may not be a problem. There are adequate facilities
for recording discounts, both for each line of an order and for early
settlement which is set separately for each supplier. There is also
provision for recording the immediate payment of the invoice by cash,
cheque or direct debit.
6.5
If you wish to allocate the contents of an invoice to more than one
Nominal Account, it is necessary to split the invoice and enter each
part separately.
6.5
Payments to settle invoices not cleared at the time of entry of the
invoice, involves entering the amount being paid and any discount
claimed. Payments are allocated either to the cash account or to the
main bank account, even if you have more than one bank account set up.
There is no provision for allocating payment to a particular invoice.
You can record the receipt of cash from a customer with whom you have an
account, a facility which is not catered for in some other packages.
6.5
There is provision for a öRaise statementò routine which ensures
ö...that any invoices in the current month and those from last month
will always be available on disc, while overdue items will be included
on a statement, printed out by the period end (routine), and then
removed from the disc. It is then up to the user to check that any
overdue accounts receive proper attention.
6.5
Detailed reports of the current position of any account can be viewed on
the screen and, if required, printed out by any printer driver which has
been loaded on the iconbar.
6.5
Credit notes
6.5
These are dealt with very similarly to invoices, any differences being
adequately documented.
6.5
Non account purchases
6.5
These would normally be dealt with from the Nominal Ledger cash expenses
program in the Nominal Accounts Module. This allows you to pay for goods
and services bought by cash or cheque from sources with whom you do not
hold an account. If you are not using a nominal ledger module, I suggest
you create an account called öSundry Suppliersò and treat these
purchases as if they were a normal account.
6.5
VAT
6.5
There are provisions for ten VAT rates which is adequate to separate
zero rated, non-vatable transactions, vatable goods purchased from a
non-VAT registered source and EEC suppliers. This still leaves room for
multiple VAT rates should this ever become necessary.
6.5
If you are not registered for VAT, the default VAT code is ö0ò which is
initially set at Nil VAT, thus saving you having to tell the program
separately that every item you buy, is to be treated as a non-VAT item.
6.5
From 1st January 1993 it is intended that ÉMicro-Traderæ will comply
with all the new VAT requirements for the single market including the
new layout of the VAT Return and printing the compulsory EC Sales
Listing (ESL) report. Existing users who need that facility will be able
to obtain an update. There is no provision made for VAT Cash Accounting.
6.5
Alterations
6.5
One feature in this package which most accountancy packages will not
allow, is the use of negative entries. This may raise some eyebrows but,
used carefully, it can be helpful. It is an established practice that
for any machine accounting package to be accepted, alterations of
substance cannot be made without a full record being shown, which is why
there are so many safety nets provided. Mistakes can still occur.
6.5
Consider the following case. You have received goods as follows:- Net
ú123.00 + ú21.52 VAT and you may find that instead, you have entered and
accepted an invoice for ú132.00 + ú23.10 VAT. To correct this, you can
prepare a further dummy invoice under the same reference number as the
original (and filed with it) marked öCorrectionò for ú-9.00 and ú-1.75
VAT. Your records will be correct for you to pay and the VAT Inspector,
your Accountant, and the Tax Inspector will be able to see what has
happened.
6.5
Sales ledger
6.5
I have dealt with the purchase ledger fully and most of these remarks
apply, with the necessary adjustments, to the sales ledger. Automatic
numbering of sales invoices is available.
6.5
A particular feature of the program is the control which the user has
over Reports and Invoices. For instance, several different invoice
layouts can be used. The description column has word processing
facilities which can be very useful for entering details of the work
done in a service type business. Instructions are also provided as to
how to use your copy of Impression to add that little extra something to
invoices and this facility is available for all reports. I have not used
this facility and therefore cannot comment on it.
6.5
If you are using a nominal ledger, all receipts are posted to the cash
account and then cash and cheques are banked in the usual way from that
account.
6.5
Statements can be printed which show the analysis of amounts outstanding
into current, over one, over two and over three months.
6.5
Nominal ledger
6.5
There has been a very real attempt to take the mystery out of setting up
the nominal ledger and I commend it. If the instructions are carried out
systematically, it is possible for a person who has virtually no
knowledge of accounting principles to set up the system. It will,
however, take time. In the handbook, there are check-lists for setting
up each ledger, as well as period-end and year-end. These check-lists
are well worth using.
6.5
The setting up has been automated. It follows therefore that, if you are
starting from a known position, which you have recorded, you should be
able to set up the nominal ledger. If, however, you are not sure of your
starting position and you want to have the benefit of knowing what you
are spending on your various expenses, I suggest that, with this or any
other system, you should seek professional advice from an accountant for
setting up the nominal ledger.
6.5
Final accounts
6.5
Besides a Trial Balance, the program will generate Final Accounts and a
Balance Sheet from the Nominal Ledger. As supplied, the Trial Balance is
designed to print zero entries. If this is not required, advice on how
to make the alteration is included in the support services, or if you
wish the modification to be made on disc, then this can be done at a
reasonable price. (This service can also be used for reports & invoices
to your own design.)
6.5
Stock control
6.5
This is fully integrated into the system and is automatically updated
for any relevant transactions. There are provisions for movements,
writings off, returns, etc. The use of any stock control system depends
very much on how well and how easily the various items of stock are
identified.
6.5
Payroll module
6.5
This module is still to be released. It is expected to be ready by the
new tax year on 5th April 1993.
6.5
Mailer module
6.5
This can be used as a stand-alone module for address labels or for
sorting your stock records into alphabetical order or mail-shots.
6.5
The database included has twelve fields which is adequate for these
purposes and is sufficient to provide a card index for, say, membership
records of a club. (But please consider the Data Protection Acts.)
6.5
There is a Tutorial, showing how the Database operates.
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
I can recommend this program as being useful to any small business,
providing that business does not wish to use the VAT Cash Accounting
System. Personally, I would have preferred to see standard use of 136
character wide reports, especially for the audit trail, where it is set
so that each entry takes up two lines. (The author tells me that he has
received no request for this modification which takes into account the
fact that most users have an 80 column printer.) I should also have
liked to see the entries consecutively numbered for reference. This does
not, however, affect the user so much as his accountant.
6.5
The program is protected by a code which is supplied in response to a
æphone call and is a number computed according to the name of your
business.
6.5
If you think that you may be interested in any of the items mentioned in
this review, a free demonstration disc is available. This is described
as öA fully working copy of the program, but does not save. It contains
demonstration data files that allow the full facilities of the program
to be seen. It will also print reports using example documents.ò
6.5
The cost of Sales Ledger, Purchase Ledger, Nominal Ledger and Stock
Control is ú79.75 + VAT each module or ú279 + VAT for the complete
package. The Mailer Module is ú49.95 + VAT. The cost of the Payroll
Module is to be announced.
6.5
The system comes with 30 days unlimited telephone support. After that,
unlimited telephone support is provided for ú34 + VAT per annum.
6.5
The demonstration disc and the program are available from PRES Ltd who
can be contacted on 0276Ö72046, fax 0276Ö51427.ááA
6.5

6.5
Fonts Workshop Ö RISC-OS Printer Drivers
6.5
Roger Spooner
6.5
The Archimedes has been blessed with a decent operating system. This
includes the ability for application programs to use all known printers,
without each program catering for each printer. This is done by
communicating with a standard type of Éprinteræ program which produces
output specially suited to its own printer. Each printer then needs only
the correct printer driver, and all software will work with it.
6.5
Despite common rumour (particularly in Risc User magazine) these printer
drivers are not hard to use. I will describe a simple page to print,
including some text and simple graphics.
6.5
SWI commands
6.5
The printer drivers are modules in the operating system. They are loaded
from disc normally and you will probably have one for each type of
printer. All programs communicate with them by the standard OS commands
called SoftWare Interrupts. These allow you to pass small amounts of
information directly, pointers to memory containing more, or to set up a
certain state of affairs in the machine.
6.5
Principles of printing
6.5
The printer driver requires that you perform a number of operations in a
certain order. This basically means describing the page, then it prints
it. I will cover only a brief outline of a simple page and will allow
you to adapt it to your own use. The font manager calls were described
in last monthæs article.
6.5
The style of redrawing is intended to be very similar to the window
redrawing style, so it should be easy to produce 100% wysiwyg appli
cations by using the same piece of programming to redraw each.
6.5
The printer driver generally claims all the graphics commands which
would normally draw on screen. This means that you can draw the image
easily Ö in the same way as drawing the contents of a window.  It also
means that you must not update the screen while the printer driver is
active.
6.5
When sending coloured images to the printer, it is important to use the
ColourTrans module to select a colour. This is done in the example
program, where you use SYS öColourTrans_SetGCOLò, &BBGGRR00 to choose
the nearest approximation to the colour triplet of Blue, Green and Red.
The number is hexadecimal.
6.5
To multi-task while printing, you can disable the printer driver while
you call Wimp_Poll, but that is beyond the scope of this article.
6.5
To start the printing process, you may like to tell the user the name of
the printer selected. This is helpful in preventing confusion.
6.5
You then claim the printer for your use, to prevent other programs from
getting in the way.
6.5
Next, tell the printer driver that you are starting and describe the
outer limits of the area used. This is often the size of an A4 sheet.
6.5
The printer driver is able to have several different rectangles on the
page, each containing different material. This is not suitable for parts
of the contents of a single page, so the next stage is just a loop. You
keep redrawing the page on the screen, considering some special rules
about colour, until you are told to stop. The printer driver intercepts
all the graphics commands and stores them instead. When you are finished
it makes up the image of the page and prints it.
6.5
Finally, you declare that you will not be talking to the printer any
more.
6.5
The SWIs themselves
6.5
I will describe briefly the SWIs needed for the printer driver but the
best way to understand them is to play with the demonstration program at
the end of the article. I assume use of Basic since that is the easiest
language to demonstrate.
6.5
SYS öPDriver_Infoò TO ,,,,n$
6.5
This returns the name of the printer suitable for displaying to the
user.
6.5
SYS öPDriver_SelectJobò,file%, title$+CHR$0 TO oldjob%
6.5
This selects your job, identified by a file handle which is open to
Éprinter:æ and tells you what, if any, job was already active.
6.5
SYS öPDriver_GiveRectangleò
6.5
This describes the rectangle you will be using in size and position. It
points to a rather complicated block of memory which is shown in the
example program.
6.5
SYS öPDriver_DrawPageò, copies%, buff%, 0 TO more%,, rectid%
6.5
This tells the printer driver to print copies% of the page you have
described. On return, it describes the rectangle in buff% and tells you
if you need to render the picture any more. The rectangle described in
buff% can be ignored, as can the rectangle id, if doing a simple print
as we will here.
6.5
SYS öPDriver_GetRectangleò,,buff%  TO more%,,rectid%
6.5
This will show that you have finished drawing the page and are willing
to draw it again. The rectangle can be different (e.g. bands going down
a page for a dot-matrix printer) so you can print only the part that is
required if you want to be that careful.
6.5
SYSöPDriver_EndJobò,file%
6.5
This tells the PDriver that you are completely finished. After this you
should close the file to printer: so that other programs can then use
it.
6.5
Real life printers
6.5
Some printers have quirks of their own, e.g. LaserDirect printers prefer
not to do vdu primitives like CIRCLE; they convert it to a Draw module
path of Bezier curves and then draw that. This means that it can be
quite slow, sometimes taking half an hour to print a page. The solution
is to use few circles and more straight lines which convert more
quickly.
6.5
Other problems I came across include the LaserJet driver kicking up a
fuss about the sprite at line 760. If this happens to you, just remove
the line with OS_SpriteOp in.
6.5
The example program
6.5
That covers just about all the words there are, so here is a program to
print a simple page on the paper including some text and graphics. Feel
free to adapt it, with reference to the previous article on displaying
text in outline fonts, to display whatever you want. This includes
lines, filled colours, sprites and text.
6.5
REM > TestPage
6.5
REM ⌐ Roger Spooner 10/8/92
6.5
MODE 12
6.5
DIM wb% 1024
6.5
DIM pb% 512
6.5
REM reserved space for general work buffers
6.5
PRINTÉöRISC-OS printer driver demonstrationòæ
6.5
@%=&0100090A
6.5
maxx%=180*8.4
6.5
REM maxx% is the far right margin.
6.5
REM Calculated using inches
6.5
REM Establish if printer is
6.5
REM available, and exit gracefully if not.
6.5
SYSöXOS_SWINumberFromStringò,, öPDriver_Infoò,wb%,100 TO ;flags%
6.5
IF (flags% AND 1) THEN PRINTöPrinter driver not installed.ò:END
6.5
SYS 6,229,0 TO ,oldesc%
6.5
SYSöPDriver_Infoò TO ,,,,n$
6.5
PRINTöPrinting on your ò;n$
6.5
REM Allow ESCAPE to be pressed
6.5
printer%=OPENOUT(öprinter:ò)
6.5
IF printer%=0 THEN PRINTöNo access to printerò:END
6.5
SYSöHourglass_Onò
6.5
title$=öTest Pageò
6.5
SYSöPDriver_SelectJobò,printer%, title$+CHR$0 TO oldjob%
6.5
LOCAL ERROR
6.5
ON ERROR LOCAL RESTORE ERROR:SYS öPDriver_AbortJobò,printer%:
SYSöHourglass_Smashò: CLOSE#printer%:VDU4,7:
6.5
REPORT:PRINTö @ò;ERL:END
6.5
wb%!0=0:REM left x
6.5
wb%!4=0:REM lower y
6.5
wb%!8=maxx%:REM right x
6.5
wb%!12=2500:REM top y
6.5
wb%!256=1<<16:REM transformation table: fixed point  bytebyte.bytebyte
6.5
wb%!260=0:REM so wb%!256=1. These values just indicate
6.5
 Éno scalingæ
6.5
wb%!264=0
6.5
wb%!268=1<<16
6.5
wb%!512=0
6.5
wb%!516=0
6.5
SYSöPDriver_GiveRectangleò,1,wb%, wb%+256,wb%+512,&FFFFFF00
6.5
REM Described limits of required printing area
6.5
SYSöPDriver_DrawPageò,1,pb%,0,0 TO more%,,rectref%
6.5
REM Finished describing whole page.
6.5
WHILE more%<>0
6.5
REM loop while it wants more
6.5
SYSöFont_FindFontò,,öHomerton.Boldò , 36*16,36*16,0,0 TO fbm%
6.5
SYSöColourTrans_SetFontColoursò, fbm%, &FFFFFF00,&00,0
6.5
SYSöFont_SetFontò,fbm%
6.5
text$=öTest Pageò
6.5
SYSöFont_StringWidthò,,text$,1E8, 1E8, -1,1E8 TO ,,xoff%
6.5
SYSöFont_ConverttoOSò,,xoff%,0 TO ,xoff%
6.5
centrex%=(maxx%/2)-(xoff%/2)
6.5
SYSöFont_Paintò,,text$,1<<4, centrex%, 1900
6.5
SYSöFont_LoseFontò,fbm%
6.5
SYSöFont_FindFontò,,öTrinity. Medium.Italicò,14*16,
6.5
14*16,0,0 TO bf%
6.5
SYSöColourTrans_SetFontColoursò,bf% , &FFFFFF00,&00,0
6.5
SYSöFont_SetFontò,bf%
6.5
text$=öfor Online Magazineò
6.5
SYSöFont_StringWidthò,,text$,1E8 ,1E8, -1,1E8 TO ,,xoff%
6.5
SYSöFont_ConverttoOSò,,xoff%,0 TO ,xoff%
6.5
centrex%=(maxx%/2)-(xoff%/2)
6.5
FOR c%=&7F TO &FF STEP 4
6.5
SYSöColourTrans_SetGCOLò,(c%<<24) OR (c%<<16) OR (c%<<8)
6.5
RECTANGLE FILL 400,c%*10-1080, maxx%-800,40
6.5
NEXT
6.5
SYSöColourTrans_SetGCOLò,&00000000
6.5
RECTANGLE 400,190,maxx%-800,1320
6.5
SYSöColourTrans_SetGCOLò,&FFFFFF00
6.5
RECTANGLE FILL centrex%-50,1480, xoff%+100,60
6.5
SYSöFont_Paintò,,text$,1<<4, centrex%, 1500
6.5
text$=öby Roger Spoonerò
6.5
SYSöFont_StringWidthò,,text$,1E8, 1E8, -1,1E8 TO ,,xoff%
6.5
SYSöFont_ConverttoOSò,,xoff%,0 TO ,xoff%
6.5
centrex%=(maxx%/2)-(xoff%/2)
6.5
SYSöFont_Paintò,,text$,1<<4, centrex%,800
6.5
SYSöFont_LoseFontò,bf%
6.5
SYSöWimp_BaseOfSpritesò TO romsprites%
6.5
wb%!0=1
6.5
wb%!4=1
6.5
wb%!8=1
6.5
wb%!12=1
6.5
SYSöOS_SpriteOpò,256+52,romsprites% ,öerrorò,maxx%/2-34,1650,0,wb%,0
6.5
REM Now find out if more renderings are required.
6.5
SYSöPDriver_GetRectangleò,,pb% TO more%,,rectref%
6.5
ENDWHILE
6.5
REM Close various links and exit.
6.5
SYSöPDriver_EndJobò,printer%
6.5
RESTORE ERROR
6.5
SYS 6,229,oldesc%
6.5
CLOSE#printer%
6.5
PRINTöFinished.ò
6.5
SYSöHourglass_Offò
6.5
ENDááA
6.5

6.5
Desktop Basic Editor and DeskEdit 2
6.5
Peter Jennings
6.5
When Risc Developments (Beebug) brought out the first version of
DeskEdit, in September 1991, it took over the functions of Edit, the
Basic Editor and a C editor, with added trimmings, in one application.
Further improvements followed over the next year to culminate in the
greatly enhanced DeskEdit 2 now on offer. Coinciding with this is some
new software from 4mation, DBEdit (Desktop Basic Editor), which appears
to cover much of the same ground and is in the same price range. So how
do they compare?
6.5
There has already been a full review of DeskEdit in Archive 5.4 p63
which is worth reading by anyone unfamiliar with this utility. The
reviewer then called it öa wonderful piece of software... ...that
deserves to be on everyoneæs iconbarò. In this review, I will concen
trate on the enhanced versionæs new features.
6.5
DeskEdit 2.02
6.5
DeskEdit (version 2.02) costs ú31.95 including VAT with a site licence
costing ú146.88. Earlier versions can be upgraded for ú9.95 and the
return of the old disc. It comes with a copy of Acornæs Find application
(a stand-alone multi-file text finder), on a single unprotected disc in
a stiff, plastic covered, folder. Packed with it are an excellent new
71-page manual, a folded double-sided A4 size quick reference card, a
booklet containing a page of release notes and four more pages detailing
the new features, and the largest function key strip I have ever seen.
This provides five lines of commands for each key by using the function
keys with <escape>, as well as with the more usual combinations of
<shift> and <ctrl>. It is extended to include <print>, which makes it
too big to go into the plastic holder fitted on the earlier Archimedes
models. It can be trimmed at the bottom and stuck into a spiral-bound
keystrip pad and, although it protrudes at the right, it will not get in
the way of the other strips if it is put on the lowest page.
6.5
The use of <escape>, which has also been teamed with various other keys,
helps to make up a bewildering number of combinations which are far too
many to be learned. In time, some of the more frequently used ones will
stick in the memory but getting to grips with this software will mean
much searching of the large folded reference card and the 61 entries on
the outsize f-key strip. This is just a comment Ö not a complaint that
the software has too many features!
6.5
Built-in toolkit
6.5
The most notable addition to the earlier versions is a built-in toolkit
with eleven new options. These include a number of Basic program
utilities, among them a renumber feature which will also perform a
partial renumbering on a marked section, a customisable indenter which
automatically inserts spaces after IF-THEN, FOR-NEXT and similar
structures, or at the start of each line if Listo 1 is selected, and a
facility to expand standard Basic V abbreviations as you type them in.
There are also a procedures and functions lister, a programmeræs
calculator, multi-purpose browsers and a complete help file of Basic
keywords. Empty help files are provided for C, which can have the Acorn
help data copied in, and for text. All three files can be customised to
have the useræs own notes and reminders added.
6.5
The facilities provided by the browsers take up all five combinations of
<f2>. Each DeskEdit window can have up to two browser windows displaying
lists of finds, shown as complete lines with the find string highlighted
in red. Clicking on any line in the browser window will take the caret
to the corresponding string in the source. Rather oddly, if the find
string appears more than once in a line, the line is repeated that
number of times in the browser window, each with a different occurrence
highlighted.
6.5
Throwback implemented
6.5
Throwback is now implemented and this allows certain tools and utilities
to pass messages which DeskEdit displays in a special window. Acornæs
DDE release C compiler, the ARM assembler and the Find application all
make use of it. Clicking on a line in the throwback display will
automatically locate the file concerned, load it into DeskEdit if it is
not already there and put the caret on the appropriate line.
6.5
An optional extended save feature makes it possible to save page
settings and other information automatically with the file. When the
file is reloaded, it will then be set up exactly as you left it, with
the cursor in the same position and complete with wordwrap, insert or
overtype, tabs, format width, auto indent and markers. The Undo buffer
can also be saved, if required, making it possible to check through
everything you did during the previous editing session.
6.5
Backup saves, which can be the extended type, can now be made to a
different disc, on another drive, without opening a filer window or
changing the fileæs original pathname.
6.5
DBEdit
6.5
4Mationæs DBEdit, which costs ú35.25 including VAT (ú33 from Archive),
and with no extra charge for a site licence, also comes on a single disc
but this time is protected. It is necessary to initialise the disc by
entering the owneræs name before it can be installed on a hard disc or
otherwise copied. Packed with it, in a plastic folder, are a clearly
written and well illustrated 38-page manual, a registration card and a
öfeedbackò form inviting comments and suggestions from users. A function
key strip is not included although the F keys are used and are listed in
the manual. Two additional utilities are supplied: QuickWord, which
provides a window of Basic commands which can be clicked on to insert
individual commands into a program, and SetCol which inserts the correct
colour command for any shade clicked on in a multi-coloured window.
These are also practical illustrations of how other programs can be made
to communicate with DBEdit, which is explained in the manual.
6.5
When comparing DBEdit with DeskEdit the first, superficial, similarity
noticed is the design of the desktop icons. Both have a scroll with a
diagonal pencil and the letter öBò. In fact, the letter varies on the
DeskEdit icon according the the type of file loaded and this reflects
the big difference between the two programs. DBEdit was designed
specifically for editing Basic programs. It was initially created to
satisfy the requirements of 4Mationæs team of programmers in New
Zealand, who wanted a Basic editor which was both small and fast. The
DBEdit manual says it supports Basic, Command, Obey, PostScript and Text
file types but the support for PostScript and Text is little more than
the ability to load and read them. Entering text has to be done the hard
way as there are no line wrap or formatting facilities.
6.5
Colourful REMs
6.5
On the presentation side, DBEdit scores with easily customisable colours
which can be toggled through in a Profile Options window to set title
foreground, background and highlights; work foreground and background;
comment text and highlighted text. It is nice to load a program and see,
for example, all the REMs picked out in a contrasting colour.
6.5
Another feature I like is that the loaded program can be quickly run,
without saving, by a simple <ctrl-R> or a menu click. This makes it easy
to alter a program and do a trial run without changing the original
version. Rather irritatingly, Basic programs have their line numbers
stripped on loading and are saved with new line numbers incremented by
one, instead of the customary ten or the useræs own preference. There
is, of course, an automatic renumbering if any lines are inserted and if
the outmoded GOTO has been used it will have its line reference
correctly adjusted.
6.5
DBEdit offers eight different ways to carry out searches. I was a little
sceptical about the claim that its incremental search was öthe fastest
search aroundò but seeking (sic) was believing. It can actually find a
word before you have finished typing in the search string. You begin by
pressing either <f8> for forward search or <f7> to search backwards and
the caret changes colour to indicate that you are no longer in edit
mode. You then start typing the word you want to find. Immediately, you
have typed the first letter, the caret moves to its first occurrence and
the line it is on changes colour. As you continue typing, the caret
jumps on to whatever string that matches what you have typed so far,
until the caret is soon moving along the correct word as you finish
typing in the letters.
6.5
Another useful feature is text file sorting which can speedily put a
list into alphabetical order.
6.5
Among DBEditæs other options are the use of macros; the simple creation
of active indexes, with up to nine being displayed at the same time;
undo and undelete; a selectable number of automatic backups, with
incrementing numbers added to the file name, and error message throw
back.
6.5
Which to choose?
6.5
At present, neither DeskEdit nor DBEdit has one useful feature from the
original Acorn Edit application: the ability to create a task window. I
like to use this for indexing discs by cataloguing them into the window
which can then be printed out and/or saved as a text file.
6.5
If you want a program solely for editing Basic, DBEdit and DeskEdit are
both excellent. DBEdit has a couple of nice touches that DeskEdit lacks
and if you need it for school use, its free site licence makes it
considerably cheaper. It also uses about 200Kb less memory than DeskEdit
which may be a consideration on 1Mb machines. Otherwise, DeskEdit, with
its more comprehensive facilities for editing text and C files, offers
rather more and at a slightly lower price for the single user.ááA
6.5

6.5
Transfer2
6.5
Alan Highet
6.5
For those of you who havenæt come across the original version of
Transfer, it is a utility which allows you to capture text from a
writable icon and transfer it to another writable icon. In effect, this
allows you to transfer the contents of save dialogue boxes or, more
usefully, the contents of some database records. The program comes from
Apricote Studios and was developed to be used alongside Prophet, their
combined stock control, invoicing and accounts package, which was
reviewed in Archive 5.8 p31. Although Transfer is very handy, I didnæt
find many uses for it Ö but Transfer2 is a much more useful package.
6.5
It still transfers text from one writable icon to another but now a
window appears with the captured text displayed so that you can edit the
text before moving it. The other major enhancement is the ability to
drop a saved file from a text processor, database or spreadsheet
directly onto the iconbar icon where it will appear in a window. It can
be edited here or it can be dropped into another package. It is meant to
transfer CSV or TSV files and there is an option to specify the field
and record separators along with the number of fields in a record. In
reality, it seems to transfer anything you drop onto the icon Ö which
has some interesting results.
6.5
There are many uses for the package but one Iæve found extremely useful
is its ability to transfer formulae from PipeDream cells. If you have
ever tried to copy cells in PipeDream you will find that unless you
protect each expression, the cell references will change to suit the
formulaæs new location. By using Transfer, the formula is transferred
intact and, by changing formula to text and saving as a CSV file, entire
blocks may be transferred from one file to another.
6.5
Transfer runs from floppy disc but, like most utilities, it really needs
to be installed automatically from hard disc making it instantly
accessible and, as it only uses 32Kb, this is quite feasible. All in all
a very good program which I use every day.
6.5
Stop Press: The good news is that Apricote have given Transfer2 even
more functionality. You can now load virtually anything into it, from
anywhere. You can then manipulate it in various ways and spit it out
again Ö almost anywhere. This is getting to be a very powerful appli
cation for anyone fiddling with data. Apricote found it particularly
helpful when they were translating data from a PC application (Sage, I
think) into an Archimedes one. The data loaded into Transfer, was forced
into a fixed number of fields, and transferred back out again into
Prophet. Oh, the bad news? To reflect the increased functionality, the
price has just gone up to ú14.95 (ú14 through Archive). EdááA
6.5

6.5
Arc Embroidery
6.5
Paul Beverley
6.5
This is a review of Techsoftæs Arc Embroidery which is a complete
computer embroidery system including a computer-controlled embroidering
machine that links to the serial port on your Archimedes plus the
software necessary to control it. Without knowing anything about
embroidery (which is what qualifies me to write this review!), you can
turn sprite and drawfiles into finished embroideries in a whole range of
different colours.
6.5
Whatæs the basic idea?
6.5
The idea of Arc Embroidery is that you take a piece of cloth about 12cm
square and secure it in a plastic frame which then clips onto the
embroidery machine. You can then take a coloured sprite or drawfile and,
by using the software, specify which particular type of stitch is to be
used for each of the different colours in the picture. Then, having told
the computer to start the embroidery, all you have to do is to change
the colour of the thread as and when you are prompted by the program.
6.5
The colours of the drawfile donæt need to relate to the actual colours
of the thread used. You could, for example, do the embroidery in a
single colour, simply using the colours to designate those parts of the
pattern that are to be embroidered using particular stitch types, sizes
and directions.
6.5
The potential
6.5
As a non-technical (in embroidery terms) person, I can say that it is
extremely easy to produce some very effective embroideries. Our
Christmas dinner table had embroidered name labels in festive colours
and my 12-year old son, Jonathan, drew and embroidered a Christmas tree
and the Archive logo as it appears on the front cover of the magazine.
6.5
The range of stitches available includes satin stitch, mesh, zigzag,
ribbed, rising and falling. You can set the stitching length and the
pattern length in millimetres and the filling density in lines per
millimetre. The stitching can either be done vertically or horizontally
and you can even get the computer to be intelligent about it, selecting
horizontal or vertical depending on whether the shape to be embroidered
is long and thin or short and fat. Thus a single style could be set for
a rectangular border so that the top and bottom edges would automati
cally be sown with vertical stitches and the sides with horizontal
stitches.
6.5
Other facilities include the use of a double layer of stitching so that
satin stitch in one direction can be covered by a layer in the other
direction. There are also some Éadvanced optionsæ such as Épull
compensationæ and Éreversing fillæ which can be altered from their
default settings once you know what you are doing. (The only one we used
is mentioned in the next section.)
6.5
The limitations
6.5
As the documentation points out, you canæt just take any old sprite or
drawfile and expect to turn it into a stunning embroidery. For example,
sprites which use graduated fills produced by dithering techniques could
not be expected to be embroidered effectively. Also, you cannot take a
small sprite and expect to blow it up into a large embroidery Ö the
pixels would be embroidered faithfully but it would not look very
effective.
6.5
The main limitation with the use of drawfiles relates to the overlapping
of colours. If you want to draw a red ring, for example, you could draw
a red-filled circle and put a white-filled circle on top of it. This
looks fine on the screen but if you try to embroider such a drawfile, it
would embroider the red circle and then put a white circle over the top
Ö not exactly a classic embroidery technique! One way round this,
suggested in the manual, is to use Paint to take a sprite ösnapshotò of
the file as displayed on the screen.
6.5
Another major limitation (in case you were thinking in terms of doing an
Archimedes version of the Bayeux tapestry!) is that the maximum size of
the embroidery is about 9cm ╫ 9cm. The samples we did were done on
pieces of material about 18cm square but you can, apparently, embroider
on a garment such as a T-shirt by holding the bulk of the material out
of the way. You can even buy an adaptor which will allow you to
embroider on a sock Ö the adaptor has a guard that holds the rest of the
sock out of the way while the embroidery is being done.
6.5
One problem which appeared to be a limitation turned out to be a öread
the manualò job! On many of our embroideries, we were getting various
gaps in the stitching Ö the apple which we were asked to embroider as
part of the tutorial, will act as a suitable example to show you what
was happening.
6.5

6.5
To fill this shape with horizontal stitching, it starts at the bottom of
the shape and works its way up towards the top. When it reaches the V in
the top it continues up the left hand side and then, to finish the
Éfillæ, it goes to the top of the right hand side and works downwards.
Unfortunately, when we tried it, the two bits of filling didnæt quite
meet, leaving a gap where the material shows through the embroidery
silk.
6.5
I continued to think of this as a limitation of the system until I
started reading the manual in a bit more detail in order to write this
review. Then I came across Éreverse fillæ under Éadvanced optionsæ. Here
it points out that with some more Éstretchyæ materials, you may get a
gap because the filling algorithm that is used by default sometimes
fills upwards and sometimes downwards in order to increase the speed and
reduce the number of joining threads criss-crossing the embroidery. If
you switch off the reverse fill option, filling is always done in the
one direction and the gaps disappear.
6.5
When we tried to embroider a sprite file of Donald Duck, we discovered
another limitation. You have to choose a picture that doesnæt have too
many complicated different areas of colour. When Arc Embroidery got
going on DD, it first sowed all the black bits. What came out was
nothing short of a black mess! What happens when the computer does an
embroidery is that it sows one area, does a fastening stitch and then
moves over to another area of the same colour, starts with a fastening
stitch and continues from there. When you have finished the whole
embroidery, you have to cut off the bits of thread that join the
different areas of colour. If, as in this case, the areas of colour are
too complicated, there are so many joining threads that it is almost
impossible to see which are the joining threads that need cutting off
and which is the embroidery.
6.5
Documentation
6.5
There are two manuals provided, one for the POEM 500 (which frequently
refers to the Apple Mac) and one specific to the Archimedes. The 23-page
POEM manual gives general safety information, specification of the
machine, component overview, accessories list, how to set up and use the
embroiderer, advanced embroidery, maintenance, trouble-shooting and a
list of extra accessories you can buy.
6.5
The 24-page Arc Embroidery manual covers the specifically Archimedes
parts of the system including installation, connection to the computer
and specific elements of the Archimedes software which it covers in
quite some detail. It also includes a tutorial which suggests that you
work on a sample drawfile provided on the disc. It takes you through the
setting up of the drawfile in the on-screen öframeò Ö which represents
the plastic frame in which the material is held Ö and setting the stitch
type, direction and size for each of the colours. Then it gets you to
output the data including changing threads. We didnæt get the threading
quite right at first but that was because we only followed the threading
instructions in the POEM manual and didnæt notice the extra comments
about threading that Techsoft made in their manual.
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
I seem to have ended up with rather more under the heading of
Élimitationsæ than of Épotentialæ Ö that is probably very unfair. To
anyone interested in creating embroidered pieces, this is an extremely
powerful tool. Once you are aware of the limitations and can choose
suitable subjects for embroidering, you can produce a lot of material
very quickly. One subscriber who called in at the office while we were
playing with the machine said that someone had been using one at the
Boat Show and was charging ú5 a time to embroider name badges for boat-
owners. (Now letæs see... 40 badges a day for four days... hmm, if the
complete system costs ú699 + VAT, we could just about pay for it.) Err,
does anyone want personalised T-shirts doing at the Spring Acorn User
Show?ááA
6.5

6.5
Multimedia Column
6.5
Ian Lynch
6.5
CD-I Ö Has it a future?
6.5
At a time when Acorn shares are reaching new highs, digital video and
CD-ROM are beginning to realise some of their early promise. Have you
seen the Phillips posters implying that you are only using half of your
TV without CD-I? Itæs interesting that the Phillips half is more than
50% of the cost and most people probably wouldnæt value it at 50% of the
cost! CD-I is designed as a consumer product, like the Sony Walkman, but
it hasnæt had the same appeal so far and I canæt see öSierra Manò being
converted from channel-hopping between ÉSky Movies Plusæ and ÉA Question
of Sportæ to finding his own way through an animated version of the
Encyclopedia Britannica. Perhaps CD-I will survive as an up-market games
platform or in training and education but unless prices fall drasti
cally, I canæt see it as a mass appeal system in any other form.
6.5
An American company, 3DO, plans to use an ARM Ltd chip (VIDC20?) in a
revolutionary new games console which will play music and video from
CDs. Tandy have produced a Windows based console based on a 286 with
seeming intentions to compete with CD-I, so perhaps familiar keyboard
computers have had their day?
6.5
Computers, consoles or books?
6.5
As far as education is concerned, computers still have a lot to offer
because of their versatility in the variety of input (try putting a
sound sample into a CD-I player) and the ability to transfer modified
information. I recently had an encounter with a networked CD-ROM system
on a PC which the student used to find a map of Australia and some text
about Adelaide. Unfortunately, there appeared to be no way of printing
the map, let alone transfer it to another application, and the text
could only be printed in the form on the screen. In my view, the student
would have been better off using a colour atlas and encyclopedia. The
graphics would certainly have been better in the book and she would
probably have found what she needed more quickly. In short, application
design is crucial to multimedia success and it has to relate to the
purpose of the application.
6.5
Important features for digital video
6.5
In the computer world, digital video is still in its infancy and it also
adds significantly to costs but as with many applications there is
greater scope to start by satisfying specialist needs and then to
broaden the market. The flexibility and ease with which users can
construct and edit applications including digital video, may prove
crucial to its worth, certainly in the education and training markets.
6.5
!Replay wishes
6.5
Replay is the best known digital video on the Acorn platform and some of
the first commercial products Ö encyclopedia/picture dictionaries,
incorporating digital video on CD-ROM, are now on sale. There is no
doubt that Replay is a worthy competitor for Quicktime on the Mac or for
the offerings that I have seen running under Windows 3.1 without DVI
hardware assistance. However, there are some limitations which could
restrict Replay from realising its true potential. For example, it is
currently expensive to produce Replay movies and movies must be edited
before they are digitised.
6.5
Ideally, it should be possible to produce digital video quickly, easily
and at low cost. To realise the true potential of digital video, it
should be possible to edit sequences and to add computer graphics and
link effects. In short, we want all the features of an editing studio on
a desktop computer with the ease of use of a document processor.
6.5
Enter Eidos
6.5
Roger Wilson isnæt the only innovator in the digital video field on the
Acorn platform. Dr Stephen Streater of Eidos plc has used a different
method but is able to digitise video in real time and edit digitally
too. What is more, Eidos digital video takes up significantly less
storage than Replay.
6.5
Off-line editing
6.5
Eidos are fundamentally interested in digital video for off-line editing
and it has developed a product similar to Replay but with many more
facilities aimed at this market Ö in particular, real-time capture and
editing as well as a variety of effects to join video sequences together
and also to incorporate films in Ace format. The immediate question is
why two different compression systems have arisen in what is really a
very small market. Advocates of Replay will say that Replay films are
better quality but the Eidos demonstrations I saw last summer were not
too different and I am told that the quality has been improved further
recently. On the other hand, Replay movies are able to play in any
screen mode whereas Eidos movies (at least on my last viewing) were
restricted to one mode though they do play in windows in the desktop.
The issues of which is best are complex and possibly difficult to
resolve because both products are being improved and both are limited by
the 8-bit video system and RISC-OS.
6.5
Practical digitising is expensive
6.5
At present, the only practical solution to producing oneæs own digital
Replay video, is to send video to Uniqueway and they will convert it to
Replay films at a cost of ú100 per minute. You will also only get the
clips you send in the form you send them. In other words, any editing
has to be done before digitising. Apple have cheap (about ú500) boards
which will capture video and produce Quicktime films on the spot. What
Replay needs is real-time capture and an ability to edit the films in
digital format. This is exactly what Eidos provide but an Eidos editing
machine is currently very expensive compared to the prices that
traditional Acorn users are used to and Eidos films are not in the same
format as Replay. Eidos are primarily interested in the professional
video market and so, although it would be possible to make Eidos films
playable through Replay, this has not yet been done.
6.5
Irlam hardware, Eidos software
6.5
Irlam instruments are producing a low cost board which is scheduled to
be launched at BETT æ93. This will allow about 4 minutes of video to be
stored on a 120Mb hard drive from where it can be compressed to Replay
format at 12 frames per second. Eidos software and greater compression
rates will enable this board to digitise, compress and store more video
more quickly and full editing is also possible. In theory, Eidos can
provide a very flexible digital editing system and charge whatever they
like for the software since it is already developed. A complete package
for home or school digital editing is feasible at under ú500.
6.5
Video or DTP?
6.5
It seems to me that it wouldnæt take too much effort to get the Eidos
and Replay systems together in order to more than match what Apple are
doing with QuickTime. It may well be that Acorn should concentrate their
efforts on becoming a video standard rather than battling the commercial
DTP markets which Apple already have sewn up. Unfortunately, both video
and DTP will require VIDC20 in a commercially available machine before
Apple will need to worry.
6.5
PhotoCD
6.5
Talking of DTP, another multimedia product, Kodakæs PhotoCD looks set to
revolutionise low cost colour publishing. PhotoCD allows 35mm film to be
processed onto a CD-ROM which can then be used to store 100 very high
quality images (3072 ╫ 2048 pixels at 24 bits per pixel). Since each
image is also stored at lower resolutions, (128 ╫ 192 pixels, 256 ╫ 384,
512 ╫ 768, 1024 ╫ 1536)  it would be possible to use a low resolution
representation on the screen with a low overhead on local storage and
processing and only use the high resolution image at the time of
printing. Any scaling or image manipulations are performed locally on a
low resolution image and are therefore quick. However, the effect is
transferred to the high resolution version for printing or display. This
is the principle behind OPI or Open Pre-press Interface which is a new
standard in the publishing world. The PhotoCD system is not expensive. A
disc costs about ú5 which works out at about 50p an image. There is no
need for a scanner or massive hard discs or multi-Mbytes of memory to
deal with full colour A4 colour images.
6.5
Kodak images are encrypted and compressed in a proprietary format and
Kodak require a licence agreement which, at this point in time, is not
available in the Acorn world. However, Acorn have announced an agreement
with Kodak which includes the porting of the Kodak Photo CD Access
Developeræs Toolkit to RISC-OS. Acorn will upgrade the CDFS to allow
machines to read Kodak PhotoCDs and, no doubt, Computer Concepts will
revise Impression to provide a version of OPI. As we are all aware,
software takes time to be developed and I would be surprised if Kodak
Photo CD was available on Acorn machines as a commercially available
application much before the summer Ö Impression 3 with OPI must be a bit
further on still. An A540 with a capability of using OPI and including
24-bit colour bit-maps in PostScript files which will go onto IBM or
Apple format magneto-optical discs or Syquests is what the DTP sales
people need for the professional market Ö far more so than 24-bit colour
displays. There is also a desperate need for colour bit-map manipulation
software equivalent to PhotoShop on the Mac. With the plethora of art
packages on the Archimedes it can only be the lack of support for 24-bit
colour in the PostScript printer driver and uncertainty about file
formats which prevents this work being done.ááA
6.5

6.5
ArcFax
6.5
Philip Green
6.5
Users of MS-DOS computers have, for quite a while now, been able to send
and sometimes also receive fax messages through the modem they also use
for contacting bulletin boards. Until recently this facility was not
available to Archimedes users. Computer Conceptæs FaxPack goes part of
the way towards redressing this inequality but I understand that the
FaxPack podule cannot, at present, replace the modem normally used for
data communication.
6.5
When I read in Archiveæs Products Available section about ArcFax, I
checked with my dealer what the part exchange value of my (not very) old
modem would be if I were purchasing a class 2 fax modem. Class 2 is the
minimum requirement for use of ArcFax as yet but David Pilling is
working on a class 1 modem driver. My dealeræs offer was very reasonable
and so I decided to give it a go.
6.5
ArcFax is supplied with two floppies and a very clear 39 page manual
(predictably produced with Ovation) in a sturdy A5-size plastic holder
for ú23.96 inc VAT (ú22 through Archive).
6.5
Installation entails altering your RISC-OS 3.10 printer application to
include the ArcFax printer data or loading a separate !PrinterAF RISC-OS
2 printer driver. The manual describes in ample detail what steps must
be taken to accomplish it.
6.5
ArcFax is not copy-protected and can simply be dragged to the hard disc
(not only ADFS Ö my SCSI caused no problems either) and works from there
without any of the vexatious checks on whether or not the öoriginalò
floppy has been seen that are common to some commercial software.
Indeed, David Pilling advises purchasers of the package to make a backup
copy of the discs for everyday use and clearly relies on his pricing and
upgrade policy and well-known support to users to discourage piracy.
6.5
After installation, or straight from floppy, if you donæt have a hard
disc, ArcFax must be run and the printer driver loaded. The icon appears
on the iconbar, and the task manager shows that 288Kb of RAM is in use.
From any application that can print using RISC-OS printer drivers a file
can be öprintedò in the normal manner after youæve made the ArcFax
printer driver active.
6.5
A TIFF file is created on disc and the ArcFax TXBatch window is opened
showing all the files currently in it. A file can be viewed and/or
allocated to a telephone number/group of numbers. One and the same file
can even be addressed to several different numbers on the fly. The user
can set the number of attempts to send a file, if not immediately
successful, and the interval between the attempts. Faxes can also be set
for transmission at a later time (e.g. when the phone rates are lowest).
6.5
At all other times, ArcFax just sits on the iconbar and waits for
incoming calls. After a set number of rings (configurable by the user of
course) ArcFax answers the phone in readiness for an incoming fax.
However, if you want to use another package that works via the serial
port, ArcFax can be told to ignore signals via the serial port and it is
also useful if you can tell other software not to react to the serial
port while youære using ArcFax.
6.5
How does it work in practice?
6.5
I sent a diagram with plenty of small text and thin lines which arrived
in very good condition at the destination, impressing all who saw it. I
also sent five versions of a full screen sprite, one for each of the
five configuration settings of the printer driver from Mono, small
halftone to Grey, dithered. The resulting TIFF files varied in size from
70Kb to 370Kb as the detail increased and the result at the receiving
end was, of course, evident. I also sent a message back via a fax
messaging system running on the mainframe at work, as well as a couple
of test pages from our laser printer. These I also sent from one fax
machine to another within the office to compare results.
6.5
The first difference I noticed when sending the test pages was in the
time required to send a fax. The two test pages took 199 seconds in
Énormalæ mode and 368 seconds in Éfineæ mode to the Archimedes but only
84 seconds and 143 seconds respectively to the other fax machine. This
may well be due to the fact that the Archimedesæ serial port cannot be
driven any faster than 19,200 baud. With the modem working at 14,400
baud and all the while compressing the data to about one quarter of the
original size you would, ideally, have to drive the serial port at
57,600 baud to get the best possible transmission speed. I have read
messages from Hugo Fiennes on the bulletin boards to the effect that he
is producing a podule that will offer two extra serial ports with a
maximum speed of 115,200 baud on each port.
6.5
The received faxes are every bit as good as those printed on the real
fax machine. Various options are available for processing the files and
they can be saved as sprites if desired. One obvious advantage over
several MS-DOS packages is that received faxes can be rotated. This can
save a lot of neck ache if people send you messages fed upside down into
the sending machine!
6.5
ArcFax also includes its own script language resembling C as far as
syntax is concerned but having a few C++ extensions. Thirteen pages of
the manual are devoted to its use but this is beyond the scope of a
review. The manual also details how the supplied class 2 modem driver is
built up.
6.5
To be able to write this review, I had to invest in a faster modem than
the one I had Ö but that is already proving worthwhile thanks to the
extra speed with normal data communications. This one works at up to
14,400 baud and has V42bis and MNP10 so data that has not been pre-
compressed is transferred over the line at almost 1,900 characters per
second!
6.5
The October 1992 issue of PCPlus had a special report on buying a fax
modem for MS-DOS machines and the table on page 416 of that magazine
shows several stand-alone fax modems with class 2 capabilities that
should work well with ArcFax. I was surprised to read from one adver
tiser in PCPlus that about 80% of their modems were Hayes compatible and
therefore not BABT approved! I donæt know whether itæs true that Hayes
compatibility precludes BABT approval but you should be aware that BT
and Mercury (and telecommunications companies outside the UK) do not
allow you to connect unapproved hardware to their networks.
6.5
Last but not least: the second disc of the ArcFax package contains a
large number of drawfiles that can be used as eye-catching and/or
amusing fax cover sheets.ááA
6.5

6.5
Ovation Column
6.5
Maurice Edmundson
6.5
Several correspondents have written with various comments and queries
concerning the recently introduced mail merge facility in Ovation and
this month I will look at this option in some detail. My main experience
so far has been with a small circulation of about 22 names in which I
had to vary the name and address and the opening öDear...ò to suit the
recipient. I was using Ovation version 1.35S. I also found that I could
amend the database structure to cope with most of the issues raised by
the correspondents Ö but read on!
6.5
Mailmerge
6.5
My style sheet for letters includes three frames; one holds my address,
the other two are blank and intended for the date and the addressee
respectively which are normally entered at the time of writing, the date
of course by using <ctrl-insert>.
6.5
The list of names and addresses has to be in CSV (comma separated
variable) format. This format can be output from a number of databases
including Risc Developmentsæ own recently released Masterfile III.
Alternatively, the address list can be composed using Ovation itself or
Edit. Open a document window and type in the names and addresses with a
carriage return after each record i.e. one record per line. In the case
of a simple, straightforward database, as in my first example below, the
quotes can be omitted and the fields separated by a single comma. If any
field contains spaces or other textual punctuation, the situation is
very different but, for convenience, I will leave this aspect until
later. For ease of glancing down the name list, I prefer to have the
surname as the first field. The list should look something like:
6.5
Barlow,Mr.,J.W.,22 Sedgemore Drive,Bolton,BO5 6XU
6.5
Jones,Mr. & Mrs.,P.,47 Abbey Road, Bury,BU16 9AA
6.5
Evans,Mr.,P.T.,21 Park Road,Blackburn,BB45 6SA
6.5
When the list is complete, choose öSave as Textò with a suitable
filename. Later, when merging, this file will be dragged into the
Ovation Print window. You will see that the fields I have chosen are:
Surname, Title, Initials, 1st address line, 2nd address line, Post Code
Ö six fields per record and matching fields in each one. Thus, if I
prepare the master letter (fig. 2) using <ctrl-I> to enter each command,
it will print correctly as was shown in figure 1.
6.5
The release notes remind you to allow sufficient space for the fields to
replace the merge commands. The page is re-flowed throughout as the
merged text is inserted.
6.5
More sophisticated databases
6.5
The above example is rather artificial. In most lists of addresses,
there will be variations in the number of fields in the records. This
can completely upset a mail merge unless the user understands the
principles built into the merge code, and carefully plans both the CSV
file and the master letter. Ovation version 1.35S has a bug where, in
some circumstances, the command itself e.g. ö[merge6]ò or whatever, is
printed in the letter. Risc Developments tell me they have now elimi
nated the bug and they have also modified the code slightly to conform
to the following rules:
6.5
1. Within a record, a pair of quotes or a single comma will be taken to
mean an empty field.
6.5
   öfield1ò,öò,öfield 3ò, etc. or field1,,field3,
6.5
In neither case will anything be printed for the blank field 2 nor will
later fields be shunted up to take its place. It is felt that this will
give the greatest versatility to the mail merge option.
6.5
2. If a field includes spaces or textual punctuation, the leading and
final quotes are essential.
6.5
   öfield1ò,öfield2 ,ò,öfield3 ,ò
6.5
3. If a field includes quotation marks, a third set of quotes is
required to tell the program what is intended. For example if field 3 is
[öThe Pinesò, ] and it is followed by a blank field, then the record
must be öòöfieldòö ,ò,öò. The first quote is the CSV code to the
program. The next two are the way of telling the program to print a
quote sign and similarly for the two at the end. Then comes a space, a
text comma and finally the single quote for the öend of fieldò code to
the program. The final pair of quotes in the example is a blank field.
You will probably find that your database exports CSV files which obey
these rules.
6.5
Now let us consider a mailmerge with a more realistic database of
addresses. I have taken the examples from one of the correspondents.
First of all, I want to merge the name of the town in the body of the
letter. For this to work, the town field must always be the same number,
e.g. the 5th. field so that [merge5] can be inserted in the text of the
master letter. Also some letters, but not all, require an insertion
within the text e.g.: öN.B. 10% discount for prompt paymentò.
6.5
The principle is to keep to a strict order of fields in all the records
but, where extra fields are required which would upset the address
sequence, these must be the last field(s) in the record. (In practice
each record has a line to itself, ending with a carriage return but this
could not be done here within the width of a column.)
6.5
öBarlow ò,öMr. ò,öJ.W. ò,ö22 Sedgemore Driveò, öBoltonò,öBO5 6XUò,öò,öò
6.5
öWilliams ò,öMr. & Mrs ò,öP.A. ò,ö 47 Abbey Roadò,öBuryò,öBU16
9AA,òöòThe Pinesöò, ö,òö
6.5
öEvans ò,öMr. ò,öT.P. ò,ö21 Park Roadò,öBlackburnò, öBB45 6SAò,öò,öN.B.
10% discount for prompt paymentò
6.5
The second record has an extra address line (öThe Pinesò) which could
not be placed in its normal position or it would have pushed the town
field out of sequence. It is placed at the end as field 7. Thus, in all
the records, field 7 will be an address line which can be called and
merged where it belongs or it will be blank.
6.5
The third record has a blank field 7 after the post code whilst field 8
is the special message. This will be blank in those records where it is
not applicable in the letter. All the other records are similar to one
or other of these three examples. Every record should end with a
carriage return. The ömasterò letter is shown at the foot of this page.
6.5
When writing to business concerns, e.g. to öNorwich Computer Servicesò,
this too tends to upset a mailmerge since it throws the records out of
kilter again. I think the best solution is to have two databases, one
with private names and addresses, the other with business names, in each
case the records matching field by field.
6.5
To finish of this monthæs article, here are a couple of other points of
interest.
6.5
No fault of Ovationæs
6.5
In Archive 6.3 p14, Ken Cowap, describes two problems which he attrib
utes to bugs within Ovation. The first concerns incorrect output when
the first line of text is indented, in a fully justified paragraph. I
have not had this problem using either the ArcLaser or the NEC P7 dot
matrix printer, both of which print the text correctly. Enquiries have
revealed that the trouble lies with some of the printer drivers supplied
by Acorn and how they handle a text string when it is preceded by a tab
or spaces. It is one of a small collection of bugs that Acorn say they
will look into as soon as possible.
6.5
Kenæs second point concerns a öfont cache fullò error message which he
attributes to fonts which have some design short-comings. Again I am
informed that this message is not one issued by Ovation so it must be
being passed back from the Font manager.
6.5
There are other printing matters waiting to be answered which I hope to
deal with next month.
6.5
Ovation version 1.37
6.5
The version of Ovation in which the mailmerge öbugò referred to earlier
has been cured, and which observes all the protocols I have described in
this column is 1.37 and should be available by the time you read this.
Risc Developments tell me they will be happy to exchange version 1.35S
for the newer version free of charge but would welcome a stamped
addressed envelope or label for the return disc.ááA
6.5

6.5
PD Column
6.5
David Holden
6.5
I have recently experienced a problem when ordering Shareware discs from
PC libraries which is unlikely to be encountered on the Archimedes PD
scene but which, nonetheless, I feel readers should be warned against.
6.5
The trouble arose when ordering a series of Shareware discs over the
telephone using a credit card. When my order arrived, in each instance,
I found that I had one or two extra discs which were not requested and
for which I had been charged. In one case, a four disc set was mysteri
ously added to my order.
6.5
The first couple of times it happened, I assumed that it was simply a
mistake, but when it started to become a habit, I investigated further
and discovered that all the companies that were making this Éerroræ were
associated.
6.5
When I complained I was, of course, offered a refund if I returned the
unwanted discs, although this was not done with a good grace. The
company at first maintained that I must have ordered the program in
error. Eventually, when I insisted, it was also agreed that they would
refund my postage costs but by this time I was beginning to realise that
these Éaccidentsæ were too common to be unconnected.
6.5
The lesson is one that I have learned in the past but frequently forget.
When dealing with PC Shareware libraries you should remember that they
are not anything like the various Archimedes PD libraries. They are in
the business to make money! Experience has taught me that if you deal
with a library that offers cheap discs you get late delivery, out of
date versions, missing files, disc errors and now, it seems, unwanted
extra discs.
6.5
There are several PC Shareware libraries that I could recommend to
anyone who is interested, but in each case they charge over ú2 per disc.
I suppose I should take my own advice and give up trying to save a few
shillings because it has always proved a false economy.
6.5
Impact database
6.5
I have just obtained a copy of a new database from Circle Software
called Impact. The thing that makes this different is that it is
distributed by a variation on the Shareware principle.
6.5
The Éfreely availableæ version is fully functional except for one item.
You canæt create your own custom databases but are limited to the simple
Éname and addressæ sample. You can, of course, create your own files but
you canæt alter the standard format. You can go through the motions of
designing your own to see how it is done but you canæt actually create
the file.
6.5
Impact can import and export data in Acorn standard CSV format so it can
interchange data with most other programs, including PipeDream. It also
has a feature which enables it to perform mail merging with Impression.
Otherwise itæs a fairly standard desktop database and anyone who tries
it shouldnæt have any problems working out how to use it, even though
the documentation supplied with the distributable version is rather
sparse.
6.5
If you decide, after trying it, that you like Impact, you just telephone
Circle Software, credit card at the ready and they will give you a
special personal code number which will Éunlockæ the extra features.
Alternatively you can, of course, write to them. You then get the full,
printed, manual which is the only other thing that is missing.
6.5
Itæs not quite the regular Shareware approach but itæs a lot better than
conventional marketing and Circle deserve praise for at least dipping a
toe in the water, even if they werenæt prepared to jump in at the deep
end with Éproperæ Shareware. So far as I can tell from the documenta
tion, there doesnæt seem to be any limitation preventing someone using
the restricted program indefinitely, provided they are happy with the
simple format provided.
6.5
StrongEd
6.5
I would like to mention the PD text editor StrongEd by Guttorn Vik. The
earlier versions of this program were, frankly, not very good, but
StrongEd II is certainly to be recommended.
6.5
This is a desktop text editor with quite a few nice features. It can
edit Basic programs as well as plain text, and can also cope with
various LF/CR combinations of line terminators. Many of its features,
such as Basic program editing, ability to use wordwrap, proper use of
tabs, etc. have been incorporated into the new Edit included with RISC-
OS 3, although StrongED still has many advantages.
6.5
One nice idea is Strong Help. This is really a separate Hypertext style
application which gives help on a variety of subjects. The trouble is
that the help texts included are too brief to be of much use. The only
section that I have found of use is the list of VDU commands.
6.5
Personally, I have never felt at home with StrongEd, although I have
tried to get to grips with it more than once. I donæt like the choice of
function keys used and it isnæt possible to change them. The author has
also failed to provide any proper documentation and has only supplied
instructions via Strong Help. Admittedly, the data for this is in the
form of a text file so you can view and/or print it easily, but it is
simply too short. A program of this complexity deserves a manual, and I
confess that it is this lack which originally made me pass over
StrongEd.
6.5
I realise that this is an area where not everyone will agree with me Ö
some people are quite happy with interactive help Ö but I like something
that I can print out and lay on the desk beside me as I work. The
correspondence I received when I last mentioned this subject indicates
that I am not alone in this and the most common reason why people donæt
bother with PD or Shareware programs appears to be poor documentation.
6.5
Donæt be put off if my reaction to StrongEd seems rather negative. It
really is an excellent package. Itæs just that text editors and
wordprocessors are highly personal things and it simply doesnæt fit in
with my preferences. Most people find it strange that I still use Twin
as my favourite editor. I like its completely uncluttered screen, superb
Search and Replace, and sheer speed which simply cannot be matched by
anything which runs within the desktop.
6.5
If you want something thatæs better than Edit, especially the RISC-OS 2
version, but not as memory hogging as Risc Developmentæs DeskEdit,
(StrongEd uses less that 100Kb), then give StrongEd a try Ö you may well
find it exactly what you need.
6.5
New Dawn
6.5
Regular readers may recall that some while ago I looked at two disk-
based magazines. Since that time, some others have appeared but, until
now, I havenæt seen anything with which I was particularly impressed. I
was therefore rather pleased to be sent a copy of the first issue of a
magazine called New Dawn, produced by a group of enthusiastic Archimedes
PD authors known as Quantum Software.
6.5
There are two reasons why I am impressed with New Dawn. Firstly it is
free. Unlike all the others, it is freely available from good PD
libraries for their normal fee. As this is usually about ú1.50, this
makes New Dawn about half the price of the rest. The second reason is
the content. This disc held more Érealæ material than any of the others
I have seen. Not only are the articles well worth reading with a
contribution from well-known games writer Tom Cooper among others, but
there are two games on the disk as well, and these were written
especially for the magazine.
6.5
So far, I have only seen the first issue. It is always possible that the
authors may not be able to keep up the initial high standard Ö weæll
have to wait and see.
6.5
If you would like to know more about New Dawn, I will send you a copy of
the first issue if you send me four first class stamps, or ú1, at the
address below.
6.5
(Stop Press: David just rang to say that New Dawn Issue 2 has just
arrived and, if anything, it is better than the first issue. He can make
Issue 2 available on the same basis as Issue 1. Ed.)
6.5
Please keep writing to me at the usual address Ö 39 Knighton Park Road,
Sydenham, London SE26 5RN.ááA
6.5

6.5
Three Multimedia Packages Compared
6.5
Robert Chrismas
6.5
A multimedia document is like an electronic book. It has two main
advantages over an ordinary book.
6.5
1)  As well as the usual words and pictures it can present music,
sound, animations, etc.
6.5
2)  The pages can be linked in complicated structures. Ordinary books
contain footnotes and appendices because writers want to go beyond the
simple sequential organisation of the pages.
6.5
It is exciting to read Ian Lynchæs beguiling articles describing the
latest developments in multimedia but most people who want to create
their own multimedia documents are faced with a fairly limited choice of
software. On the Archimedes, three commercial packages have been
available for some time: Genesis, Magpie and Hilighter.
6.5
Genesis
6.5
Genesis has gone through at least two generations, Genesis and Genesis
II. Genesis Plus, the version which comes with the Learning Curve, is
basically a cut down version of Genesis II. Genesis Plus lacks some menu
options, has a smaller manual and does not include the Browser appli
cation. The lack of a Browser is particularly surprising since Oak
Solutions will send you a free copy if you ask for one.
6.5
Genesis has always aimed at being the most powerful multimedia package.
It can present a wide variety of filetypes which Oak Solutions fre
quently expands. Genesis offers more features than its rivals and it
allows much greater control over the appearance of the pages. If you
want a particular effect, you can be pretty sure it is possible to do it
in Genesis.
6.5
An important feature of Genesis is the use of script files. Each window
is described by a script file which is written in a kind of programming
language. Script files can be edited to produce many different effects.
One command in a script file can issue OS commands so other programs can
be started from buttons in a Genesis document.
6.5
It is possible to write multitasking programs using just the script
language. Although it is not as versatile as a conventional high level
language, it is much easier to write a multitasking program in Genesis
Script than in C or Basic.
6.5
If you are thinking that it is not worth reading any further, think
again. Because it is powerful and complex, Genesis is not easy to use.
It is quite easy to get started with Genesis but it takes time to get
the best from it and you will certainly need to read the manual
thoroughly in order to understand the more advanced features.
6.5
The manual is heavy going. The text is often unnecessarily obscure and I
do not think that it is very well organised. I often reached the end of
a section with more questions than I had before. The information is
there, but not always where you would expect to find it. By the end, I
could do all that I wanted but there are often several ways of doing the
same thing and I was not always sure that I knew which way was best.
6.5
A sentence taken out of context can sound worse than it is but I cannot
resist quoting my favourite. Under the heading öWhat happens to
resourcesò the first sentence reads öThe resources of the buttons
described in the shared script are neither copied to !Genlib nor made
shared.ò Does it help if I explain that a ÉResourceæ is a single file (a
sprite say) and that it can be stored in three different ways,
Élocallyæ, Ésharedæ or in a Élibraryæ?
6.5
Genesis was written by people with hard disks. If you do not have a hard
disk, you may try keeping the Genesis applications on one disk, fonts
and system on another and your document on a third.
6.5
Linking pages in Genesis II
6.5
You will quickly find that Genesis loves these floppy disks. It wants to
see them all, all the time.
6.5
The ÉPlease insert ...æ messages soon become unacceptably dense. You can
use a RAM disk or try putting your document on the same disk as the
Genesis application but this will limit the size of your documents.
6.5
Magpie
6.5
Longman has recently released Magpie version 1A.30 (interesting
numbering system Ö hexadecimal?) This version extends the range of files
which Magpie can present to include replay and CD audio.
6.5
Magpie is not as flexible as Genesis. There is nothing like a script
language and some of the options which Genesis has are not available in
Magpie. I particularly missed a fairly simple feature which only Genesis
offers Ö the ability to lock frames onto a grid. Without a grid, the
creation of symmetrical, Éregularæ pages took much longer. Text
formatting was also a bit limited with no options to centre or fully
justify text.
6.5
On the other hand, there are some very good ideas. I particularly like
the way page references can be Érelativeæ or Éabsoluteæ (my terms). The
advantage of Érelativeæ references is that you can insert or delete a
frame in a sequence and the sequence will still be shown in order
without you having to alter any links. Another good feature, Éskeletonæ
pages, make it much easier to create a number of similar pages Ö they
will occupy less space as well.
6.5
When a new page is opened by a button, the button can optionally leave a
Émarkeræ. A marker is a special button which will take you back to the
page you came from. This allows you to create Ésubroutinesæ of pages
which can be Écalledæ from different places in the document. At the end,
the user can be instructed to click on the marker to return to the point
where he/she called the subroutine.
6.5
With Genesis, any graphic or text item can be linked to another page and
any object can act as a button. Magpie distinguishes between items,
which it displays, and buttons, which lead to other pages. If you want a
click on a picture to select a new page you have to place a transparent
button over the picture. However a special option allows items on a page
to appear, or disappear, only when they are clicked on. This is much
easier than creating a new page.
6.5
Magpie makes use of a special contents window which shows how the pages
are organised. Pages must be created in the contents window before any
buttons can be linked to them. The contents window helped me to keep
track of the structure of documents. A menu on this window would have
been helpful because the icons were not as obvious to me as the
designers might have hoped.
6.5

6.5
Magpie contents page
6.5
There are lots of excellent features in Magpie. You can probably do all
these things and more in Genesis using the script language but if you
can do something in Magpie, you can do it comparatively easily. I did
not have to spend much time thinking about whether I could achieve an
effect, it was either possible and fairly straightforward or not
available. It is hard to say just why, but Magpie feels Ésolidæ. I did
not expect it to give me nasty surprises and so far it has not done so.
6.5
Hilighter
6.5
With Hilighter Sherston did not aim to produce a package which was as
powerful as Genesis or Magpie. Instead they designed it to be easy to
use. The quick reference card, which is one side of A4, really does
contain all you need to know. Because there are fewer options, you can
create pages very quickly but with less control over the finished
result.
6.5
The distinguishing feature of Hilighter is its use of Éhighlight pensæ
to indicate page links. On each page you can mark areas with up to nine
different coloured pens. Each colour can be linked to another page. So,
for example, on page 1, the areas marked in red can all be linked to
page 3. On other pages, of course, the red colour might be linked to a
different page. When you mark an area you see the highlight colour, but
the highlights can be made invisible when the document is viewed by a
Éuseræ.
6.5
Highlights have two obvious advantages. It is very easy to link a number
of different areas on one page to another page. If you had a piece of
text about Hampshire, it would be easy to mark all the occurrences of
the word ÉWinchesteræ and have them all linked to one explanatory frame.
In the other programs, you would have to create several buttons or
linked frames. Secondly, the areas do not have to be rectangular. So you
could mark the areas of highland on a map without having to cover it
with lots of rectangles.
6.5
However Hilighter does have some drawbacks. It can only handle text,
sprites and drawfiles. You cannot edit text on the page Ö when you
select the text area, a new text window opens and it is only when you
close this window that you see the changes you have made on the page.
6.5
I found a few of minor bugs. On one occasion, Hilighter crashed out with
ÉFlex memory erroræ. All the pages I had created were intact when I
restarted and loaded the file again. It loaded a mode 28 sprite with the
wrong aspect ratio. You can re-scale it by eye but without a grid, it is
hard to get it right. Marking an area near the top of a page with a
highlight by moving the pen up and down off the title bar can produce
areas of solid colour (they go away when the page is reopened).
6.5
The most serious problem for potential users in education will probably
be the disk copy protection. Pity the poor primary school teacher who
has one computer in the classroom and no use for a site licence. The
possibility of damaging master disks adds one more source of stress to
an already over stretched professional. A note in the manual says that
an unprotected single user version is available from Sherston and that
you can contact them for details.
6.5
Hyper
6.5
An honourable mention should be given to Hyper, a PD program available
from Archimedes World. Hyper will support text, sprites and drawfiles.
Buttons can also issue OS commands, so a button can run another program
which provides some special effect. Hyper is also very easy to use.
6.5
The garish colours used for the windows are not RISC-OS standard and
Hyper will not work on my A5000. I suspect that there is a window or
icon definition which is not RISC-OS 3 compatible. If you come across a
copy which works on RISC-OS 3, itæs well worth the price of a PD disk.
Perhaps you would also let me know about it, I would like to give it a
proper review.
6.5
What types of files can they handle?
6.5
Genesis: Text, Word (editable when browsing), sprite, Draw, Maestro,
sampled sound (some), Splice, Tween, Mogul, Euclid. My version does not
have CD audio control or Replay but Oak say Genesis II will.
6.5
Magpie: Text, sprite, Draw, Maestro, sampled sound Ö Armadeus and
Armadillo (Magpie also includes sound sampling software which works with
these two cards), Notate, CD Audio, Replay.
6.5
Hilighter: Text, sprite, Draw
6.5
I am not sure how useful the more esoteric filetypes are. It seems fun
to include things like Replay and Euclid objects but they will not have
many practical applications unless (until) you have the facility to
create your own files. I have a massive library of clip art sprites but
when I need one to suit a particular job, I usually end up scanning or
painting it myself.
6.5
If you are producing a document to do a particular job, rather than just
playing, you will want specific Replay sequences. Suppose your document
is about ÉArts and Craftsæ, how easy will it be to get a replay file of
someone knitting or a hand loom in operation?
6.5
Storage
6.5
The three commercial programs use different methods to organise their
files.
6.5
Hilighter documents are application directories. Inside the directory
there is a file for each page. A page file contains an overall descrip
tion of the page including information about which areas have been
marked with highlights. The size of a page file depends on the size of
the page and the number of highlights used. About 2Kb seems typical but
I managed one screen sized frame which required about 6Kb. Text is also
included in this file but all the drawfiles and sprites for the document
are stored in ÉDrawæ and ÉSpriteæ sub-directories. A graphic which is
used on several pages will only be stored once. This is the only economy
of space Ö none of the files are compacted. I expect Hilighter could
handle documents compacted with Compression or ArcFS but I have not
tested this.
6.5
Magpie stores the whole document in one file. Some kind of compaction
algorithm is used.
6.5
Genesis uses an application directory. The script and all the Éresourceæ
files for a page are stored in one compacted file. If a Éresourceæ is
used by several pages, it can be stored in a separate file shared by all
the pages.
6.5
All the programs are able to export objects from a page so that you can
use them in other packages. I had a minor problem saving a sound sample
from Genesis Ö it took three goes because I kept getting a save window
without any file icon.
6.5
Stand alone
6.5
With all three packages, you can distribute documents for other people
to view. Both Magpie and Genesis have document reader applications which
you can give away with the document, provided you make no charge.
Hilighter has an option which makes a document Éindependentæ. The
document then becomes a complete stand-alone application. Making a
document independent increases its size by about 50Kb. As with the other
packages, you are free to give away stand-alone documents but you must
obtain permission (and probably pay a fee) if you want to sell them.
6.5
An example document
6.5
I thought it would be interesting to create the same document with each
of the packages. My example document had three pages. There was a 2Kb
drawfile, an 80Kb sprite, about 400ábytes of text and, where possible, a
sound sample.
6.5
The results were:
6.5
Genesis Ö 75Kb including a 21Kb sound sample
6.5
Magpie Ö 51Kb including a 33Kb sound sample
6.5
Hilighter Ö 98Kb without a sound sample
6.5
Since I have had about the same amount of experience with each package,
the time it took to create the documents may give some indication of
user-friendliness.
6.5
Genesis took 70 minutes, which included a long diversion because my copy
of Genesis would not replay the sound sample I had intended to use and I
had a bit of a fight extracting a replacement sample from an example
Genesis document.
6.5
Magpie took 25 minutes.
6.5
Hilighter took 30 minutes.
6.5
I think with a bit more practice, I could now produce all the documents
more quickly. The Genesis document looked the best at the end but even
with more practice with Genesis, I do not think I could beat 30 minutes.
6.5
I had naively assumed that all sound samples were the same. Now I notice
that there are different filetypes. Perhaps someone who understands
these things could write an article about different sorts of sound
samples.
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
It depends what you want. Genesis is the most powerful but it is not as
easy to use as the other packages (and that is putting it charitably).
Hilighter is the simplest package, more limited than the others but easy
to use, the highlights are a novel idea and it is cheaper than the rest.
Magpie is less versatile than Genesis but it has a useful mix of
features which are easily accessible.
6.5
Your choice will depend on the kind of documents that you intend to
create. There are circumstances in which each of these packages would be
the best choice. However, since few readers will have had the chance
which I have had to try all these packages, it seems only fair to state
my preference. I expect to be using Magpie the most. At the moment, I do
not want to do anything which requires the power of Genesis but I do
want to use some music and I donæt need the worry of a disk I cannot
back up. I was also influenced by my subjective Éfeelingæ that I was
Émost comfortableæ using Magpie.ááA
6.5
Highlighter   Sherston Software Ö ú45 +VAT
6.5
Magpie  Longman Logotron Ö ú59 +VAT
6.5
Genesis II  Oak Solutions Ö ú129.95 +VAT
6.5
(Archive prices: ú49, ú64 and ú135 respectively)
6.5

6.5
ááááHilighter tools
6.5

6.5

6.5
Cross-32 Meta-Assembler
6.5
Roger Sewell
6.5
I purchased version 2.1c of the Cross-32 Meta Assembler from Baildon
Electronics some four months ago Ö and obtained the copy with serial
number 13. Despite the strange suppositions some people have about this
number, I have been very impressed with this product and would thor
oughly recommend it to anybody who needs to assemble machine code for
some other processor on their Archimedes.
6.5
A cross-assembler is a program for converting assembly language
instructions for processor A (the target processor) into binary machine-
code for processor A. The unusual feature of a cross-assembler is that
it runs, not on processor A, but on some other type of processor B. In
this instance, an ARM2 or ARM3 in an Archimedes computer.
6.5
Whilst a cross-assembler is one specially written to assemble, on the
host processor, code for a specific type of target processor, the term
Émeta-assembleræ is used here to mean one which is written to do the job
for (theoretically) any target processor. It does this by requiring, as
input, not only the assembly language program to be translated, but also
a table of information about the translation process for the specific
target processor to which the assembly language program relates. Whilst
the assembly language program, unfortunately, still has to be written
specially for the combination of the job to be done and the target
processor, the translation table need only be written once for each
target processor.
6.5
Thus, for example, Cross-32 can be used to assemble 8086 assembly
language into 8086 binary machine code or to assemble TMS320C10 assembly
language into TMS320C10 machine code, or many others. The tables
required for a wide range of processors are supplied with the program;
thus you are buying, not a program for a single target processor, but a
ready-made program for many different target processors, with the option
of writing tables for further target processors if you wish.
6.5
I bought Cross-32 for the specific purpose of assembling code for the
TMS320C30, a processor not included on the list of those with pre-
written tables. My experience with Cross-32 therefore reflects what, I
imagine, must be amongst the most difficult jobs to undertake with it Ö
because I had to write the translation table myself.
6.5
TMS320C30 is a digital signal processor with floating-point multipli
cation possible in 60 ns, with other operations being done in parallel
at the same time. As it has specific floating point instructions, it
also uses floating point constants in its assembly language. This
provided the only major difficulty in writing the translation tables.
6.5
Installation
6.5
This couldnæt have been easier. Cross-32 is provided on a single floppy
disc accompanied by a 66-page A5 manual in a ring-binder. Copying the
relevant files into a directory worked first time.
6.5
I belong to the school of computer users that recommends reading through
the manual from cover to cover during the first week of use. I find this
leads to optimum familiarity with the features of the product. I
therefore cannot comment on how easy it would be to use Cross-32 if you
are somebody who believes in not reading the accompanying documentation.
Suffice it to say that Cross-32 runs from either the desktop or the
command line and that, as a conservative believer in using a keyboard
for talking to computers, I always use the command line!
6.5
Translation table writing
6.5
The manual suggests that three or four hours should suffice for writing
the translation table for a new target processor. I found this a very
optimistic estimate and would guess that it could take more like two to
three days to get a correctly working translation table written from
scratch.
6.5
The instructions provided on writing a translation table are easily
understandable by anybody likely to be wanting to use the program.
Numerous examples are provided to clarify any point necessary. It is
perhaps worth mentioning that Cross-32 originated as a program for a
host processor other than the ARM, and has been ported to the ARM by
Baildon Electronics. I think that they have probably had to extend the
translation table syntax to make it possible for Cross-32 to assemble
for the ARM as a target processor, because the syntax of the ARMæs
assembly language is unique (as far as I am aware). It therefore follows
that it is possible that a new target processoræs assembly language
might not fit into the range of possibilities that Cross-32 can handle.
However, it is likely that minor modifications to the target syntax (in
other words changing the rules of the target processoræs assembly
language) would lead to the same instructions being written in a way
that Cross-32 could handle.
6.5
In the case of the TMS320C30, it became clear that it would be easier to
write a short translation table if some such minor modifications to
syntax were made Ö and the tables I wrote therefore required one to
write LDI ADA,AR4,1,R0 i.e. load R0 from the address in AR4, adding 1 to
AR4 afterwards (ADA standing for Add Displacement After), instead of
LDI *AR4++1,R0 which means the same thing in orthodox TMS320C30
assembler language. However, I think it would have been possible to
write tables to handle the orthodox syntax (possibly more slowly) had I
particularly wanted to do so.
6.5
Assembly
6.5
To write the program to be assembled, you can use a word-processor in
non-formatting mode Ö or a straight text editor. Then, to assemble it,
all you do is issue a command such as:
6.5
  C32 Progname Öl ListFile Öh HexFile
6.5
(or you click a mouse on the appropriate icons). An example program of
mine that consisted of 1055 lines (23 Kb) and required three passes,
because of phase errors caused by programming style, assembled in 33.4
seconds. However, the speed is obviously going to depend to some extent
on the target processor being used and how the translation tables have
been written.
6.5
Unlike some assemblers designed for use on one system, Cross-32 can only
provide output in terms of an executable file, albeit in a variety of
formats; it cannot (at least, not in the version I have) provide files
that can be used as input to a linker. It would, however, be very easy
to write a Basic program to digest the symbol tables at the end of the
listfiles of a number of assembled programs and then output a file that
could be automatically included as part of the input to a second round
of assembly to achieve a similar effect.
6.5
The only bug I found, caused incorrect functioning when the output file
was temporarily turned off by an assembler directive. A phone call to
Baildon resulted in an agreement of the existence of the bug the same
day and a new disc arrived in the post within five days. The new version
didnæt do quite what I hoped it would under the same circumstances but
it did do what its programmers had intended! In the end, I wrote a Basic
post-processor program to cause the effect I wanted.
6.5
Execution
6.5
Then came the biggest difficulty I encountered in using the program Ö
and it was nothing to do with any problems in Cross-32! After assembling
some software for the TMS320C30 and blowing it into EPROMs, I found that
the processors stopped what they were supposed to be doing after about
25 instructions and jumped to a non-existent address. The problem turned
out to be that the data sheet that Texas Instruments had supplied on the
TMS320C30 contained a number of errata in the table of binary opcodes
corresponding to each mnemonic. A letter to TI produced a revised
version of the data sheet which contained corrections to the old errors
and a number of new ones! The reason I mention this is to make the point
that, when writing new translation tables, it is vital to be sure that
the information on which you are basing the tables is accurate!
6.5
Conclusion
6.5
For the Archimedes user who is building hardware using processors other
than the 6502 or ARM, Cross-32 is a must. At only ú175 +VAT, it saves
the purchase of either a range of specific cross- assemblers or indeed
another computer, based on the target processor in question. After-sales
service from Baildon is excellent.ááA
6.5
Humble apologies to Roger who sent in this review almost a year ago now.
I lost track of who had sent it in and only recently realised its
ownership ! Anyway, better late than never! Ed.
6.5

6.5
Music Typesetting on the Archimedes (2)
6.5
Richard Hallas
6.5
I had originally intended that this would be a series of articles
comparing the relative merits of Scorewriter/PMS, Rhapsody II +
ScoreDraw and Notate. Then I decided instead to approach the subject in
a less constraining way and simply review each package on its own
merits, with perhaps some extra comparative comments along the way.
6.5
I looked at PMS in Archive 5.11 p37 but I have decided not to cover
Notate at all because it is not really a Émusic typesetting systemæ Ö
printing out is just an added extra that it happens to be able to do (as
with RISC-OS 3æs version of Maestro) rather than being one of its main
features. However, I must say that I consider Notate to be an absolutely
excellent tool for its intended educational purpose. (For my full
review, see Risc User 5:6.) (Or see Stewart Watsonæs comments in his
Music Column on page 50. Ed.) Since the release of version 1╖2 of
Notate, with its added Record facility and increased range of note-
values, it has become an even better program.
6.5
Notate has a range of hardcopy facilities including portrait and
landscape printing and a choice of overall sizes. However, the output is
based only on sprites and the system font and is restricted by the
limited range of symbols available within Notate scores. It serves its
purpose admirably as a tangible result of studentsæ efforts but no-one
would dream of seriously trying to set music with Notate. It could be
useful in schools by allowing students to play their compositions in
small groups, but as a printing tool in its own right, itæs a non-
starter.
6.5
Rhapsody II/ScoreDraw
6.5
On its own, Rhapsody is broadly similar to Notate, in concept at least,
and I do not intend to cover it here in any great depth Ö there have
been plenty of reviews already (e.g. Archive 4.12 p56 & 5.3 p51).
Whereas Notate is aimed squarely at education, Rhapsody is aimed at
general users and has a much wider range of musical features, not least
the better quality musical layout with proper sloping-beamed groups,
several notes per stave vertically, optional underlay text and various
ornaments. Standing alone, Rhapsodyæs printing facilities take a
definite second place to its playback features. Like Notate, it produces
printouts with sprite-based graphics and the system font.
6.5
Enter ScoreDraw
6.5
This program is intended to be used alongside Rhapsody to produce better
quality printouts. It can take Rhapsody files or, with the later
versions of Rhapsody, it can receive a score directly from Rhapsody
itself. The advert says that Rhapsody II and ScoreDraw together öform
the heart of a complete Archimedes-based music publishing packageò,
producing printed results of a ötrue professional publishing qualityò.
These are pretty impressive claims, so can they be substantiated?
6.5
It is important to realise that ScoreDraw on its own does nothing. You
must first have Rhapsody (or at least a collection of Rhapsody files) in
order to make any use of it. Files can be dragged onto its icon for
processing, or direct in-memory transfer can be used. Rhapsody provides
a ScoreDraw menu item which leads to a formatting box identical to that
used for standard printing from Rhapsody itself. Various options can be
set up here (such as size and orientation) and when OK is clicked,
ScoreDraw takes over.
6.5
ScoreDraw really does integrate seamlessly with Rhapsody. Sending a
piece into ScoreDraw is just like using the standard Format option
(except for being a bit slower). Rhapsody lets you scroll between pages
whereas, in ScoreDraw, the pages must be viewed singly Ö but this is no
great disadvantage. ScoreDraw presents a menu similar to that of
Rhapsodyæs print preview window but with various other options to
control formatting and layout. It is possible to choose time signature
format, bar numbers, stave label style, page numbers and the different
fonts used for titles, dynamics and other text. An added advantage of
using ScoreDraw is that not all staves have to be selected, so simple
part extraction is possible. It is even possible to save the selection
as a new Rhapsody score.
6.5
There is also a zoom facility, which is handy because the on-screen
presentation of the score is pretty poor at standard size, with stave
lines of varying thicknesses. This is, of course, due to the inherently
low resolution of monitors and is not a limitation of the program. As
with Rhapsodyæs own internal printing facility, ScoreDraw can print out
directly once you have made your various choices about layout. However,
much more usefully, it can also save the pages as individual drawfiles.
6.5
What ScoreDraw does when presented with a Rhapsody file is to convert it
directly, just as you see it in the Rhapsody window, into a drawfile.
However, it also does a little bit of tidying up, such as converting the
individual notes of triplets (each of which has a 3 over it in Rhapsody)
into groups with a single triplet marking, as convention dictates. It
also converts the associated text into outline fonts of your choosing.
Once you have decided on your layout and saved the pages as drawfiles,
the rest is up to you.
6.5
From Score to Draw
6.5
Supplied with ScoreDraw is a library of musical symbols in the form of
drawfile objects Ö seventeen of them to be precise. They consist of up-
and down-facing slurs, crescendo and diminuendo hairpins, an acciac
catura note, three types of appoggiatura, up- and down-bow marks, spread
chord and trill extension marks, single-note tremolo marks, dal segno
and coda markings and an x-notehead. These symbols are not available in
Rhapsody itself and so they must be added to the drawfile manually after
using ScoreDraw.
6.5
It is a great pity that Rhapsody does not use hairpins as such Ö rather,
it uses a text-based representation which is ignored by ScoreDraw. In
addition, Rhapsody makes absolutely no use of slurs (phrase marks). This
is, of course, perfectly understandable but it does mean that position
ing of all such markings (with the exception of ties, which Rhapsody
does use) has to be done manually in Draw. Since slurs and hairpins are
just about the most commonly used musical symbols (excepting the notes
themselves), this is a tedious task to say the least.
6.5
I suppose ScoreDraw cannot be a mind-reader and cannot anticipate where
you want the slurs to go. However, I would have thought that, given a
bit of leeway, it could have had a go at placing a few hairpins by
analysing the crescendo and diminuendo information in the Rhapsody
files.
6.5
öFully professional outputò?
6.5
Clares advertise ScoreDraw as being able to take a Rhapsody file and
produce fully professional output from it Ö but it does depend how
öprofessionalò you want to be. I earn my living by producing musical
scores, so that is what öprofessionalò means to me. So, for me, the
question is whether I could use ScoreDraw in a professional environment.
6.5
You could argue that it is entirely possible to produce a fully
professional piece of printed music using nothing except Draw Ö laying
every line, note and symbol by hand. It is also possible to paint an
entire room with a toothbrush but no-one would ever do it! The point is
that the tools you use must be appropriate for the given task.
6.5
ScoreDraw does enable you to convert a Rhapsody file into a drawfile for
higher quality output. However, if you wanted pieces of music, typeset
by ScoreDraw, to be accepted by traditional music publishers, a lot of
careful editing would be necessary.
6.5
It seems to me that ScoreDraw, by its very nature, cannot do all that a
dedicated music publishing package ought to be able to do. For instance,
the dynamics which appear in ScoreDrawæs layout are put in exactly the
same places as they are in the original Rhapsody window. They are a bit
too small and, more often than not, collide with other musical symbols
such as notes or beams. Iæm sure something could be done to make their
positioning more sensible.
6.5
More importantly, ScoreDraw does not attempt to improve the layout of
beamed groups of notes and so forth. These are often perfectly adequate
in Rhapsody and therefore continue to be fine in ScoreDraw. However, in
more complex cases of beamed groups, or in the situation of pairs of
quavers, etc, which span a wide interval, the beaming applied automati
cally is far from adequate. Unpleasantly steep gradients of beams appear
in the latter cases and, in the former, you often find that the beams
are too far away from the notes.
6.5
The setting of music is a supremely subtle art, with many quite complex
rules which are not known to the average person (or even to the average
musician). Some of the most complex of these rules apply to beaming Ö
ScoreDraw appears to ignore many of them.
6.5
For general use, ScoreDraw produces a perfectly acceptable result and
the minimum the user can get away with is to move the mal-positioned
dynamics and add the necessary slurs and hairpins but what about Claresæ
advertised claims for ScoreDraw? Whilst I cannot say that they are not
valid (you are publishing music and it can be to a professional
quality), I think they are rather stretching the point. I donæt believe
that anyone could make a living by trying to use Rhapsody and ScoreDraw
to do music publishing Ö in the way that they could earn a living by
using Impression for doing DTP Ö it just takes too long.
6.5
Although Rhapsody itself is a good, full-featured program, it is let
down by a very cumbersome and slow system for the actual entry of music.
(It could learn a lesson or two from Notate in this respect.) There is
no doubting its overall capabilities but entering an entire piece in
Rhapsody, converting it through ScoreDraw and doing the bulk of the
subsequent editing in Draw, strikes me as a pretty daunting prospect.
And what happens if you want to make some alterations later which
involve changing the layout of the piece? Because of the nature of the
system, you must go through the entire Rhapsody-ScoreDraw-Draw process
again and do all of the drawfile editing again.
6.5
Conclusions
6.5
Whether ScoreDraw will fulfil your needs depends entirely on how much
music you want to publish and how complex that music is. If all you want
to do is print the occasional piece, or if you want to make better
quality printouts of your Rhapsody files, then ScoreDraw is the thing to
buy, and it will serve its purposes perfectly well.
6.5
Quite apart from the question of editing facilities, in the case of more
complicated notation, there are very many things which Rhapsody/
ScoreDraw simply cannot do. It is a fantasy to think that you could
publish any given piece of music using this combination, except by
drawing lots of things by hand. What ScoreDraw gives you is a bare-bones
drawfile transcription of your Rhapsody file and the rest is up to you.
6.5
What it boils down to is that if Rhapsody itself can handle the
complexity of the notation you are using, then so can ScoreDraw.
However, music notation is like the English language: full of complexi
ties, exceptions to rules, flexibility, unpredictability and subtle
nuances. Flexibility and accommodation of the useræs intentions are the
two most important attributes that a music-setting package needs.
6.5
Going back to PMS, discussed in the last article, and comparing it with
Rhapsody/ScoreDraw, a conceptually different approach is in evidence.
PMS was specifically designed for typesetting Ö it gets things right, it
is endlessly flexible and it will typeset virtually anything you want,
given a few minor restrictions. On the other hand, it is, as I have said
before, extremely unfriendly to the novice or non-musician and will not
(currently) play anything back for you. (Stop Press: PMS now includes
playback facilities, I am told. Ed.)
6.5
By contrast, ScoreDraw is geared towards the non-professional user of
Rhapsody. Certainly, it is perfectly capable of producing professional
results for small pieces or musical examples in books, magazines and
journals Ö indeed, it has already been used for just this purpose.
However, if you want to typeset larger and more complex pieces with it,
it simply wonæt measure up to the task, which is why I said in the last
article that PMS was the only choice for professional music printing.
6.5
ScoreDraw is an extension of Rhapsody rather than a publisher in its own
right. Whilst Rhapsodyæs facilities are fine for its intended purposes,
there is no way it can deal with all Éreal-lifeæ musical situations Ö
and ScoreDraw is constrained by Rhapsodyæs facilities. For less
intensive or amateur use, however, it is fine and it can produce very
acceptable results indeed. It is also much easier to learn to use than
PMS. The steep learning curve involved in getting acquainted with PMS is
certainly not justified unless you are really going to make full use of
the system.
6.5
I am grateful to Dave Clare for supplying the Rhapsody-ScoreDraw-Draw
version of the Londonderry Air illustration, which is used as supplied
(i.e. without editing of beams, etc by me). (The associated Rhapsody
file is on this monthæs disc.)ááA
6.5

6.5
Sorry, that was all I could fit in! Ed.
6.5

6.5
You can put two MicroPodules
6.5
side-by-side on a
6.5
standard-size podule.
6.5

6.5
You can put three MicroPodules
6.5
side-by-side on a minipodule.
6.5

6.5
Laser Express MicroPodule
6.5
öslightly smaller than a credit cardò
6.5

6.5
Three MicroPodules in an A3020
6.5

6.5
Two MicroPodules plus a Hard Drive
6.5