Archive Magazine 1997/ARCHIVE_97.iso/text/hints/vol_10/issue_04

Text File | 1997-08-11 | 11KB | 253 lines

Hints and Tips
10.4
Archive CD Ö Weæve found a slight Éfeatureæ in the TextFind program
on the Archive CD. It searches Volume 8 twice and doesnæt search
Volume 9! It isnæt actually the program thatæs at fault, but the Data
file it uses. When it was updated from the æ95 version to the æ96
version, the changes in the Data file were not done properly. Sorry
about that.
10.4
This is how to modify it. Copy the whole of the !TextFind application
to your hard disc. The program searches a path set by an OS variable
and this is set in the !Run file, so this will need to be changed.
Alter the line:
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Set TextFindSearch$ Path<Obey$Dir>.^.TEXT
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to:
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Set TextFindSearch$Path CDFS::ARCHIVE_96.$.TEXT
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That will make it look on the CD even though itæs being run from
somewhere else.
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Now load the file ÉDataæ in the applicationæs directory into a text
editor. This file defines all the files to be searched. If you look
at the list of magazine filenames, you will see that the VOLUME 8
references were duplicated, but we forgot to change the directory
name to ÉVOLUME 9æ.
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So, look for lines like:
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9 MAGAZINE.VOLUME_08.ISSUE_xx
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and change them to:
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9 MAGAZINE.VOLUME_09.ISSUExx
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but only alter the lines beginning with É9æ.
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Thereæs a similar mistake in the products section, so youæll need to
modify the last line of the file in a similar way.
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Sorry for the confusion. Weæll put a modified version on the monthly
program disc if you donæt want to be messing about editing data files.
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Ed. <[e-mail]>
10.4
Archive magazine storage (10.3 p64) Ö I have been using cardboard
magazine boxes to store a variety of publications for years. At
different times, I have bought ÉEsselteæ, ÉEastlight Storeallæ
(93051) and Éa.i.m Packagingæ (013171), but I would not know where to
go for these now.
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I do have a mail order catalogue from ÉNeat Ideasæ office supplies
which lists them. They are oná0800-500192, fax:á0800-600192. The A5
boxes are made by ÉR-Kiveæ (sounds appropriate) in woodgrain finish.
The order number is 42856 and packs of 12 cost ú7.29 bought in
quantities of 10+.
10.4
(This sounded like good news, but I ordered a set, just to see how
they compared with the, now discontinued, Fellowes ones that I
mentioned last month Ö they ARE the, önow discontinued, Fellowes
onesò! Bother!! Ed.)
10.4
Steve Drain, Bridport
10.4
Credit card numbers by email Ö Iáhave just read the article in
Archive 10.3 p42 about sending credit card numbers by email. I agree
it is a very convenient way of ordering goods. If the credit card
details were Éencodedæ into a Squash/Spark/Arc file, then sent as a
mail attachment, wouldnæt this be sufficient to prevent card number
detection?
10.4
(An excellent idea, Gary!! OK, it wouldnæt stop someone who was
determined, but using Squash would be pretty effective. For once,
being in the minority would be a singular advantage Ö how many
criminals are öAcorn-awareò?! Feel free to use a Squashed Edit file
to convey your credit card details if you like. Ed.)
10.4
Gary Jones <[e-mail]>
10.4
Email management and address storage Ö As you can imagine, I receive
large numbers of emails (up to 60 a day just after the magazine has
gone out). Since the Marcel instructions say that files over 100
messages or so become unwieldy, backing up the mail could be a bit of
a nightmare, but I have developed a technique which seems to work
well.
10.4
In the main ÉMailæ directory, where the ÉINBOXæ and Ésentæ files are
stored, I have text files called É_Addrsæ, É_Receivedæ and É_Sentæ,
and other Marcel files called Énowæ, Éwaitæ and Ékeepæ. (The É_æ
characters at the beginning of the names, simply makes them appear at
the end of the directory, alphabetically.)
10.4
When some emails come in, I load É_Receivedæ, and drag ÉINBOXæ into
it, and re-save it. This archives the messages in case I decide I
want to refer to them after they have been deleted from the Marcel
file. Iáthen open the Énowæ file and drag all the incoming messages
from ÉINBOXæ into this file. This ensures that I donæt archive the
messages twice.
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(The uses of Éwaitæ and Ékeepæ should, hopefully, be fairly self-
explanatory, and É_addrsæ is the text file of my email addresses Ö
see below.)
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The É_sentæ text file provides a backup to the Marcel Ésentæ file
which fills up rapidly and becomes unusable because of the huge
length of time it takes to open and close it in Marcel Ö even with
StrongARM.
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My emails come from many hundreds of different people, so storing
their email addresses needed some thought too. Rather than trying to
store them all in Marcelæs Address Book, I use !Zap (because I
havenæt found out how to do it in StrongED yet!!) with its öSearch To
Bufferò facility to go through the huge files of archived email
messages, looking for öFrom:ò. The effect of this is to create a file
of all the addresses from each of the emails. With a bit of massaging
in StrongED, and sorting in PipeDream, I have a textfile of email
addresses, and StrongEDæs interactive search facility means I can
quickly locate anyoneæs email address.
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(Help, please?! As the weeks and months go by, this file gets bigger
and bigger, and the addresses of those who email me frequently are
repeated over and over again. Would someone be prepared to write me a
simple application which takes a text file as input, and removes
adjacent lines that are identical? Shouldnæt be too difficult for
someone who knows what they are doing!)
10.4
Ed. <[e-mail]>
10.4
File download with ANT Suite Ö Now, I know you all know this (but I
didnæt)... If you are told thereæs a file you want at, say, ftp://ftp.
acorn.co.uk/pub/riscos/patches/printers153.arc, how would you get it?
Well, I would have loaded the ftp client application, accessed ftp.
acorn.co.uk and then worked my way laboriously through each of the
directories. Try this instead...
10.4
Have a Marcel file containing a dummy email. Load the Marcel file
into your text editor (shift-double-click), add the ftp address on a
blank line anywhere in the email text and save it again. Load it into
Marcel and simply click on the address. It loads Fresco (not the ftp
client), finds the file and presents it (after a certain download
time) as a draggable directory Ö much easier!
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For users of StrongED, itæs even easier still!! You can simply drop a
text file containing the address onto the iconbar, or type in the
address, and then double-click on the address in StrongEDæs editing
window. It will load Fresco for you and hey presto!
10.4
Ed. <[e-mail]>
10.4
Keyboard fault? Ö Today the letter ÉNæ on my A310æs keyboard gave up
the ghost. Not being one to baulk at the idea of DIY repairs (or
attempted repairs!), out came my trusty screwdriver.
10.4
After switching the machine off, I unplugged the keyboard and mouse,
and took the keyboard to a cleared table, complete with tablecloth.
10.4
Turning the keyboard over revealed eight fixing screws, easily
removed. The case splits in two, and a further seven screws remove
the keyboard assembly from the case, and another 21 screws remove the
printed circuit board (PCB) from the keys. If you attempt this, I
suggest that you keep the assembly upside down or the bits may fall
out.
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The bottom of each key switch has a small silver disc which makes
direct contact with two semi-circular contacts on the PCB when
pressed. On my machine, it was these contacts which had accumulated
much Égrelpæ Ö it was a surprise that only the ÉNæ had stopped
working!
10.4
It was tempting to use cotton wool and isopropyl alcohol, but cotton
wool is too hairy, Iæm told, so Iáused a screen cleaning pad Ö You
know, the ones that are similar to KFC finger wipes, though
Iáwouldnæt suggest you used one of those!
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As you can see from this, the letter ÉNæ is working fine now. As they
say, reassembly is the opposite to disassembly.
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Perhaps someone could comment on the equivalent procedure for later
machines.
10.4
Tim Hill <[e-mail]>
10.4
Keyboard cleaning is something that gets covered every so often, but
itæs over three years since the last time it was mentioned. If you
want more details, you can refer to: 3.9 p10,  4.7 p5,  5.1 p37,  5.2
p28 and 7.1 p32. Ed.
10.4
PC partitions (10.3 p 66) Ö If you have version of !PCx86 later than
about 1.89, the !PCConfig application has another application,
!PCFormat, inside its Resources directory. This can be copied from
there and run independently to create as many DOS partitions as you
want, with any names. I use this to provide partitions for my Pocket
Book files to preserve names. It is quicker and simpler than keeping
them in archives, and DOS mapping is in force too.
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As the partitions are RISC OS files, they can be copied and moved and
you can have Drive_Cæs in more than one directory, or rename one as a
backup. Just be sure to have one of them where the PC expects to find
it, and that it has been formatted at some stage with the /s, system,
switch.
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When copying files between partitions only, Étruncateæ has no effect,
at least in RISCáOS 3.6.
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Another useful trick is to specify drive partitions on a path
variable, e.g. <PCDrives$Dir>.C or on a pseudo-filing-system, e.g.
PCDrives:C. Then the location of the drives does not have to be
fixed. Examine the application É!PCDrivesæ to see what Iámean.
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Lastly, as the partitions are files you can change their extent. What
good is that? If you create, say, an initialised 100Mb partition most
of it is empty; only the beginning contains disc data and space for
FAT etc. By removing the blank space you can have that 100Mb disc
occupying only 216Kb in RISCáOS if it is empty of DOS files.
Conveniently, as DOS files are added, RISCáOS extends the partition
to accommodate them, but not from DOS inside !PCx86. I have used this
for a while and had no problems at all (so far) to store and backup
DOS files. Active drive partitions will not work if shortened.
10.4
The partitions created by É!PCFormatæ are not actually the sizes you
would expect, always smaller. How far you can reduce the extent
without overwriting the FAT area can probably be determined, but I
did it by trial. The reduced files are still nearly all empty so they
compress very well. Iáhave made an ArcFS archive of a useful
selection which you can copy out and rename.
10.4
(Available on this monthæs program disc. Ed.)
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Steve Drain, Bridport
10.4
TurboDrivers Ö Having reinstalled TurboDrivers following my upgrade
to StrongARM, I found that I could not remember how to fix the
position of the TurboDrivers status window and it took some time to
find. So I thought this might be of interest to others.
10.4
To locate and fix your TurboDrivers status window, position the
status window where you want it, then press <f12> and type:
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*PQFSSaveWindows
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or
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*PQFS.
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(donæt forget the ö.ò after the öSò). If you donæt want it to appear
at all on start-up, close the window altogether and then use the
*PQFS. command.
10.4
Chris Dawson <[e-mail]>
10.4