The entries in the File menu are "New", "Open", "Save", "Save As", "Page Setup", "Print Function" and "Quit". Quit is used to exit from this program. Page Setup and Print Function are related to printing. The first four commands relate to the use of files. The files used in this program allow you to save any interesting collection of functions that you might define. The files also record any examples you create for the utilities.
The New command will reset the program to its default initial state. The list of functions will contain the predefined functions such as tan(x) and abs(x) that are always available, and no other windows will be open. Any examples created for utilities will be deleted. This has the same effect as quitting the program and restarting it by double-clicking on the program icon.
The Open command will prompt you to choose a file previously saved by this program. The file will be opened: The list of functions available when the file was saved will be restored, along with all the function display windows that were open at that time. If the file contains any utility examples, those will also be loaded, and you will be notified that they exist. Note that xFunctions allows only one file to be open at a time; when you open a file, display windows that are currently open will be closed and the current list of functions will be discarded.
The Save and Save As commands are used to create files that can later be reopened using the Open command. If you have already opened a file, the Save command will rewrite that file; otherwise, it will prompt you to create a new file. (Actually, if the file you have opened was created by a version of xFunctions numbered before 2.0, the program will not rewrite the file; when you use Save, a new file will be created.) The Save As command always prompts you to create a new file.
If you have created, modified, or deleted any functions or utility examples, and you choose one of the commands New, Open, or Quit, you will be warned that the changes you have made will be lost if you continue. You will be given the option of canceling the command so that you can save the changes before proceeding.
By the way, Open, Save, and Save As prompt you for a file using the standard Macintosh file dialog boxes. These boxes allow you to choose a file anywhere on any of your disk drives. There is a list of files and folders; you can move into a folder by doubling clicking on its name. Above the list is the name of the current folder or disk drive; click and hold down the mouse on a folder name in this position to get a menu of folders in which the current folder is nested. When you have located the file you want to open, just double click on its name. When saving a file, you should move to the folder in which you want to create it, type a name for the file, and press return.
The Page Setup command presents you with a standard page setup dialog, which might be used, for example, to change the orientation of the material printed on the page from its usual vertical orientation to a horizontal (or "landscape") orientation. It might also offer a useful 50% reduction option. (The exact options depend on the printer you are using.)
The Print Function command is available only when the active window is displaying a function, in a style other than "black box." This command will print the single function displayed in the front window, in the style in which it is currently displayed. (The name of the command changes to "Print Expression", "Print Graph", "Print Diagram", or "Print Table", depending on the style of the function displayed.) When you use the print command, you will be presented with a standard print job dialog box. This dialog box is useful mainly for setting the quality of printing to be used. Make sure that the quality level is NOT set to "Draft" (at least for ImageWriter printers), or all of the graphics part of the print job will be ignored. Click on "OK" to send the job to the printer.
