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Archive Magazine 1997
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hints
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vol_05
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issue_10
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1995-02-16
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Hints and Tips
5.10
Å RISC-OS 3 & DOS filenames Ö DOS filenames (including extensions) are,
in general, longer than the maximum length of a valid ADFS filename (10
characters). It is not always possible to copy or move DOS files from
hard disc partition or floppy discs directly to the ADFS.
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The !MultiFS utility, as supplied with the PC Emulator, solves this by
allowing you to truncate the DOS filename while the translation process
takes place. Another very useful option (which I often use when copying
files from C programs) is to force !MultiFS to handle DOS extensions as
directories (hierarchical).
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However, when the filetype of a DOS partition on your ADFS hard disc is
set to ÉDOSdiscæ, RISC-OS 3 will display a filer window for the
partition when you try to open the folder, while !MultiFS just ignores
it (i.e. no :C drive on the iconbar). This is all very nice but RISC-OS
3 doesnæt offer the nice name translation options mentioned above. To
enable !MultiFS to display your DOS partitions just set their filetype
to Édataæ before you start !MultiFS. Remember to use the command line
and not the filer menu, because the latter doesnæt allow you to change
the filetype of DOSdiscs. I inserted three lines for each DOS partition
in the !MultiFS !Run file to swap between ÉDOSdiscæ and Édataæ type
partitions when !MultiFS is started:
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*Filer_CloseDir <PCe$Drive_X>
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*SetType <PCe$Drive_X> Data
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directly after setting the system variable <PCe$ Drive_X>, and
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*SetType <PCe$Drive_X> DOSDisc
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at the end of the !Run file (although the comment tells us not to do
so).
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Unfortunately, there are some bugs in !MultiFS: When you copy to a
MultiFS filer window, you must ensure name translation is not set to
hierarchical, otherwise you will end up with wildcards (É?æ) in
filenames. When this happens, you must use DOS itself to delete the file
because RISC-OS fails to wipe those objects. Another bug appears if you
shut down your system after using !MultiFS. This results in an error
report and a task manager crash.á Paul Groot, Holland.
5.10
Å Sprite does not exist error Ö In answer to last monthæs query in the
Help! section, the ÉSprite does not existæ error only occurs with the
old version of the printer drivers. It can be solved by simply using a
later version of the printer driver e.g. v2.44 or later (as per
Shareware Disc 17).
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Progammers take note: The error is cause by programs that print sprites
using their names and not their pointers.
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Many thanks to all those who called Ö too numerous to mention!
5.10
Å High resolution PostScript? When printing sprites to !PrinterPS, the
resulting output may be lower quality than, for example, a 600 dpi
LaserDirect (using !ShowPage), even when printing at 300 dpi. A solution
is to change the configuration file of !PrinterPS to make it think the
resolution is higher e.g. change the Épxresæ and Épyresæ parameters to
600.á J Thorn, Cardiff.
5.10
Å Problem with Font$Path Ö I recently experienced a problem with
Impression 2.16 that took a long time to solve. The problem manifests
itself by Impression, on starting, reporting an error ÉNot Foundæ. If
you select OK to continue, the following error is reported ÉIllegal
window handleæ and at this point you have to quit, because continuing
results in the second error message. After about two hours of trying to
find the problem Ö as the error messages are not particularly helpful Ö
I discovered that the problem lay with Font$Path.
5.10
I have two !Fonts directory, one with a small number of outline fonts
and one with a large number. Also, my second font directory pulls in the
fonts in my first directory by use of the Font$Path variable. I had
moved the locations of these directories from an Apps folder to the root
folder of my hard disc and this was causing the problems. The ÉNot
Foundæ error is caused by Impression not finding the first directory in
the Font$Path and the second error is caused by the fact that a Font
Menu canæt be created, as the specified directory does not exist.
Indeed, most applications that support outline fonts will also give
similar error messages.
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I have written a small program (on this monthæs program disc) that will
test the validity of Font$Path and a call to this program should be
placed as the last line in any !Fonts.!Run file. A copy of FontTest will
need to be copied into all !Fonts directories i.e.
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| !Run file for !Fonts (version 0.11, 10-May-89)
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|
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Iconsprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
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|
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| Kill newer versions of Font Manager
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|
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RMKill FontManager
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RMKill SuperSample
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|
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RMEnsure FontManager 2.42 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Fonts
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RMEnsure SuperSample 0.04 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Super
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|
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SetMacro Font$Path adfs::
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HardDisc.$.!Fonts., <Font$Prefix>.
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Set Font$Prefix <Obey$Dir>
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|
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<Obey$Dir>.FontTest
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The program firstly checks that Font$Path exists and then reads the
environment variable and checks its size. The length of this variable
has to be greater than zero for it to point to a valid !Fonts directory.
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It then checks that every reference in Font$Path points to a valid
directory. This is done by an OS_File call (line 680) which will return
2 if the filename given is a directory. If the file reference does not
exist, an error will be generated and the Fonts directory !Run file
needs to be modified.
5.10
I have included an example of the problem on the program disc in the
ÉExampleæ directory. If you click on !Fonts2 an error will be generated
as the Font$Path contains a reference to a file !Fonts3 (not a direc
tory). Andrew Ferguson, London.
5.10
Å ArcFS and sticky backdrops Ö I have a backdrop application on my
machine with all the sprites for the various applications held in an
archive in order to save disc space. In order that the sprites can be
seen, in theory they should be de-archived first. Thanks to my son,
Neil, I have the following set of ArcFS commands in the !Run file of my
!Boot application on the hard disc.
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RMEnsure ArcFS 0 RMLoad System: Modules.ArcFSMod
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RMEnsure ArcFS 0 Error I cannot find the module
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OpenArchive <Boot$Dir>.SpriteLib Sprites
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IconSprites ArcFS#Sprites:$. !Sprites
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CloseArchive Sprites
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C Walker, Wymondham.
5.10
Å Elite Commanders Ö On this monthæs program disc, there is a program
which allows you to edit Elite commander files. There are also three
commander files with missions to accomplish. S Edwards, StourbridgeááA
5.10
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Vector Hints Ö not in the manual!
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If the paths rotate the wrong way, you get...
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If the paths rotate the örightò way, you get...
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If the paths originate at the same point, you get...
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Remember, always have the same number of points in the paths. The
interpolation in the first example was without reversing or flipping
either of the paths.
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The paper margins are shown on the main window and the printer setup
menu is used to deselect those pages you donæt need.
5.10
The Eppler profile was öplottedò on an A0 page. The paper margins shown
are A4 size.
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Impression Hints & Tips
5.10
Å Mailmerge in Impression: So it seems that there are no tips like old
tips (Archive 3.9 p20). I claim that Charles Moir learned the trick he
uses from me! Just one point to add, though. You have a choice between
linking frames on a master page and not linking. If you link, the text
flows through the frames on a page and then on to the first frame of the
next page. This is probably convenient for small mailing lists without
use of a database. If you do not link frames, text flows from page to
page within the homologous frame. I recently helped to run a biggish
scientific meeting which involved mail shots to about a thousand
potential delegates and a full feedback of booking information to about
450. The database resided on a Mac, the most widely-used computer in the
lab, and an output file was generated in <Tab> separated format, ported
to a DOS disk, then to PipeDream. Individual columns (fields) or groups
of columns were then extracted, linefeeds replaced by
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s, and the fields dropped into the right frames of the first page.
Perfect registration was retained: the last personæs details did belong
to him! All I had to do was to edit some of the less wise entries in the
öcommentsò field of the database, which might have been taken as casting
aspersions on the intelligence, rationality and financial or moral
rectitude of some the participants! This method obviates the need to
generate a report format for your database. You just extract the data
you want for each of your frames and drop it in. Some fields get used
twice, such as parts of names, once for the address (lined up with an
envelope window), and once for the Dear... line.
5.10
We also produced sheets of individualised meal tickets. The purpose here
was to ensure that none of the three eating places got all the dele
gates. We operated a öswap-shopò but needed to know who was swopping
with whom. Named tickets solved this. In this case, I extracted the
names once and dropped then into the first (unlinked) frame. To make a
copy in the next frame (╫450), <Ctrl-T> to mark all the text in the
frame, 450 pages deep, <Ctrl-C> to copy it and then <Ctrl-V> to paste it
into each frame. The printer who perforated the sheets was quite
impressed by the product: he had never seen the like. He certainly had
no idea how easy it was (save for feeding 450 sheets of card into the
laser printer).á Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
5.10
Image setting Ö Another firm which does image setting is Stylus
Publications Bureau of 98 Wilberforce Road, Finsbury Park, London N4
2SR. They also do colour slides and CibaChrom prints and overheads from
Draw and Impression. However, they covered so much of their literature
with gold leaf that I wonder if they are still trading!á Mike Hobart,
Cambridge.
5.10