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What is a Word Processor?
Whether you're a student facing a term paper, a business professional
with frequent reports to write, or an aspiring novelist, ST Writer can
help you beat those deadlines -- with time to spare. No more tedious
typing and retyping of drafts; ST Writer lets you edit and reorganize
your copy until it's just right.
What exactly can ST Writer do for you? One advantage is that you
never have to press the [Return] key to end a line of text while
typing -- the program does it for you automatically. Also, you can
change all or any incidences of a given word in your text to another
word -- for instance, you can instantly change the word "pleased" to
"glad" anywhere it appears in your text with just a few keystrokes.
ST Writer lets you center text or print it flush against the right
margin, and you can print with left and right justification. You can
mark a block of text and then delete, copy it, or move it to anywhere
else in the text (or to another file!). Made a mistake? Just press
the [Undo] key and start fresh! There's lots more, and you'll find
out about it by reading this manual.
Quickly and step by step, this guide shows you everything you need to
know to use ST Writer. The first section tells you how to load ST
Writer into your ATARI ST computer, and presents an overview of the
program. The second section gives you a brief text to enter, edit,
and print, along with how-to instructions for each step; after
printing your first ST Writer document, you'll also learn how to store
and retrieve what you write using a disk drive. By working with a
longer passage in the third section, you'll learn about the advanced
editing, formatting, and printing features of ST Writer. Finally,
you'll find a complete, alphabetical Reference Guide to all the
features of ST Writer in the back of the guide.
Getting Started
Here's how to load your ST Writer word processing program into your
Atari ST computer.
1. With your computer turned off, turn on your monitor and disk
drive(s). Insert your ST Writer disk. If you do not have TOS in ROM,
you will have to insert your TOS System Disk instead. Turn on your
computer.
2. When the GEM desktop appears, remove your TOS System Disk (if you
have used it) and place your ST Writer disk in the drive, or if you
have two drives, place the ST Writer disk in the second drive. Open a
window for the disk drive by double-clicking on the icon for that
drive.
3. Run ST Writer by clicking twice on the icon (or text filename)
labelled STWRITER.PRG.
Note: You can run ST Writer in any of the ST's three resolutions: low,
medium, and high. Low resolution gives you 22 lines and 40 columns;
with medium resolution, 22 lines and 80 columns, and with high
resolution you get 25 lines and 80 columns. Also, using high
resolution gives you the option of 37 screen lines. Simply use the
GEM desktop to set the resolution you desire before running ST Writer.
You may also wish to change the default screen colors and key repeat
rate from the desktop before running ST Writer, although you can
change these once ST Writer is running if you are in GEM mode (GEM
mode will be explained later).
What's on the menu?
Take a minute now to look over the selections available and see what
you can use each one for. While working with ST Writer, you can
return to this menu at any time by pressing the [Esc] key in the upper
left corner of your computer keyboard.
CREATE File - Start writing a new text file.
DELETE File - Erase a file that you've stored on diskette.
EDIT File - Revise a file that you've just printed or loaded from
diskette.
FORMAT Disk - Format a data diskette for storing text files you write
with ST Writer.
INDEX of Files - Call up a listing of the text files on a diskette.
HIRES Flip-flop (high res only) - switch high res display between 22
lines and 37 lines.
LOAD File - Load a file from diskette into your computer.
PRINT File - Print a text file on the printer, the screen, or to a
disk file.
SAVE File - Save a file on diskette.
RECEIVE AtariWriterTM - Receive file transmitted from 8-bit Atari
Computer using Atari 850 Interface Module and null modem cable, or
load in an intact AtariWriter file obtained by other means (eg., from
a bulletin board).
TRANSFORM Colors - reverse screen colors -- black to white and
vice-versa.
QUIT - Stop using ST Writer and exit to the desktop.
Talking to ST Writer...and making it run.
With the ST Writer menu on the screen, type C for Create File. Take a
few minutes to become familiar with the edit screen that now appears.
The small flashing rectangle (or square) near the upper left corner of
the screen is the cursor. It shows you where you are on the screen
while you're working with ST Writer -- whether you're writing,
editing, or responding to the prompts and questions that appear in the
Message Window at the bottom of your screen.
Many of the questions that ST Writer asks you require a yes or no
response. You can answer by typing Y or N.
If ST Writer finds a mistake in an entry or command, or detects a
problem in your computer system, it displays an error message in the
Message Window. In most cases when you see an error message, you must
press a key before continuing.
In this guide you'll find several instructions such as "press [control
P]" or "press [Shift Tab]." To execute these keystroke combinations,
hold down the first key while typing the second. You may already be
familiar with this technique; if not, you'll soon get the hang of it.
Clean copy in minutes
When they first learn to use a word processing system, many people
want to tell their friends about it. So here's a letter for you to
type, edit, and print that won't just teach you about ST Writer -- you
can also use the finished copy to show a friend what a fine word
processor you are using.
But first, a couple of features of ST Writer that you'll need to
understand to type your letter.
With ST Writer you don't use the Return key on your computer keyboard
the way you do on a conventional typewriter. When you're typing a
word that will overflow the right margin of the screen, ST Writer
automatically moves the cursor -- and the word -- to the beginning of
the next line. Press [Return] (or [Enter]) at the end of each
paragraph, or to insert blank lines in what you're writing. ST Writer
inserts an inverse video "less-than" sign (<) (colored red in low and
medium res) at that point to show the [Return] and moves the cursor to
the left margin of the next screen line.
To mark the beginning of a paragraph, press [Control P]. ST Writer
displays an inverse video (red in low and medium res) letter P at that
point on the screen.
Now you're ready to go. Select Create File from the ST Writer menu,
if you haven't already. The display switches to the editing screen.
For now, ignore the Print Formatting Block at the top of the screen.
Just enter today's date on the first line, fill in the name of the
person you want to write to after the word "Dear," and type away. And
don't worry about typos -- you'll be able to fix them in a jiffy when
you edit with ST Writer.
Today's date [Return]
[Return]
[Return]
Dear .........[Return]
[Return]
[Control P] As you can see, I'm not writing this letter on
my old typewriter. Instead, I'm breaking in my new
ST Writer word processing program, composing
and editing on my monitor screen. When I've finished
writing, I can print a copy -- or dozens of copies -- just
by pressing a few keys on my computer console.
[Return]
[Control P] And no more typos -- or at least, no more
retyping to get rid of them. I can easily delete or
change letters, words, sentences, or paragraphs. Or
say I use a word or phrase several times in a piece of
writing, and decide later that I want to change it. I
can have the computer automatically search out
every use of it and substitute something different.
[Return]
[Control P] ST Writer will print the things I write just
about any way I want. I can vary the margins, in-
dent paragraphs or blocks of text, and change line
spacing just as with a typewriter, but more easily. I
can also print pages with justified right margins.
[Return]
Now add a paragraph of your own if you like, preceded by [Control P]
and followed by [Return]; then add a closing and press [Return]
again.
Quick editing with ST Writer
Now that you've created your first text file, you can go back and fix
any mistakes you made. And if you want to rephrase anything to make
it more your style -- by all means!
No need to return to the ST Writer menu and select Edit File; you can
edit a text file while still in the Create File mode (select Edit File
to revise a text file that you've retrieved from diskette, as
explained in "To load a text file").
While editing, you'll probably want to move the cursor quickly around
the screen from one problem area to the next. Refer to your Quick
Reference Guide (see file QUIKREF.TXT) for the Cursor movement
controls you can use to do this.
To start editing at the top of your letter, for example, press [Shift
F1] to move to the top of your file. F1 is the first key in the row
of ten function keys at the top of your keyboard. Now you can use
[down arrow] to scan quickly through what you've typed, and [left
arrow] and [right arrow] to move the cursor to anything you want to
change or correct. When you reach the last line of text on the
screen, just keep moving the cursor down -- the text will scroll up to
show more of what you've written. You can also page through your text
file, up or down, by pressing [Shift up arrow] or [Shift down arrow].
Press [Control A], or [Control (left arrow)] to move to the beginning
of a line, and [Control Z], or [Control (right arrow)] to move to the
end of a line. To move instantly to the end of a file, press F1.
To correct a typo or replace a word or phrase, you first must either
delete the wrong characters or words, and type in the correction, or
press [Insert] to enter the "type-over" mode, allowing you to type
directly over the incorrect text. Be careful, though, not to type
over wanted text, as once this is done, the typed-over text is not
retrievable. Pressing [Insert] again returns you to the insert mode.
Refer to the Delete text commands in your Quick Reference Guide.
After deleting what you want, just type in your correction or change.
ST Writer automatically makes room for as much new material as you
want to add. To insert a whole new sentence, paragraph, or more, just
position the cursor where you want to add text and type in the new
material.
Whenever you delete a line or block of text, the last line or block
deleted is retained in the failsafe text buffer of your computer. To
restore the deleted text, press [Undo] to insert the deleted text at
the current cursor position.
From screen to paper
You're now ready to print your clean, edited letter. Make sure that
your printer is properly connected to your computer and turned on.
Press [Esc] to return to the ST Writer menu, and select Print File by
pressing [P].
Then press [Return] four times at the four prompts with which ST
Writer presents you -- they will be discussed in detail later in this
manual. Next ST Writer looks for a printer configuration file on your
disk (see Printer Configuration File in Reference Guide). Now ST
Writer formats, then prints your letter. To halt printing at any
time, press the [Esc] key (or [Control S] to pause) on your computer
keyboard.
You may have to experiment a bit, adjusting the paper in your printer
before printing your files, to get the correct top margin on your
printed pages. The top margin on your letter should be about one
inch.
How much can you write with ST Writer?
You can enter between 180,000 up to about 3,800,000 (depending on
system) characters, or bytes, in ST Writer's text editor. While
editing or creating a file, the amount of remaining free memory
appears constantly in the Message Window. The free edit space is
shown in bytes. A byte is roughly equivalent to one typed character.
You can figure on about 1500 bytes for each standard double-spaced
page. It's a good idea to leave yourself an adequate margin of free
memory in every file you write, just in case you want to add to a file
later on.
When your computer is close to running out of free memory, the message
"WARNING - memory low" (at 500 bytes left) or "!!!WARNING!!! Almost
out of memory" (at 200 bytes left) appears in the Message Window.
When this happens, it's a good idea to stop writing and save what
you've written -- you'll need a margin of free memory if you decide to
revise or add to the file later on. After saving the text, start a
new file to continue the document you're working on.
To save a text file
Here's the procedure for saving a text file. Try it now with the
letter you've written about ST Writer.
First return to the ST Writer menu and select Save File by pressing
[S]. ST Writer prompts you to enter the Save filename.
Insert a formatted diskette (if your disk isn't formatted, you can
have ST Writer format it for you -- see Format Disk in the Reference
Guide). Then type a filename or Path name for your text file.
Filenames may be up to eight characters in length, optionally followed
by a period and an extender of up to three characters (e.g. STWRITER
or STWRITER.TXT). A path name indicates the name of a folder that is
to contain the file, as well as the file name, separated by a slash
(e.g. LETTERS\STWRITER). See Path name in the Reference Guide for
further information. All alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, and 0-9),
except a space, and punctuation can be used in ST Writer filenames.
If you enter lower case letters, they will be converted to upper case.
After entering the filename, press [RETURN].
If while saving a file ST Writer finds that there's not enough space
on your diskette to accommodate the file, the program gives you the
message Disk is full. Press any letter to return to the main menu and
try another disk -- format one if necessary.
If you want to lock (prevent overwriting) a text file that you've
saved to diskette, see Locking files in the Reference Guide.
It's always a good idea to make a backup copy of every diskette you
store files on -- just so you'll have a duplicate in the event that
something happens to your original diskette.
Long documents -- anything that will more than fill your computer's
memory -- must be created and saved in segments, with each segment
assigned a different filename. This is where the filename extender
comes in handy. You can tie together the various segments of a long
piece of writing by giving them all a common filename, and use the
extender for each to keep track of their proper order. As you saved
each segment of a document named REPORT, for example, you could name
successive segments REPORT.1, REPORT.2 and so forth. You can easily
print the various segments of such a document in any order you wish;
see Chaining print files in the Reference Guide.
To load a text file
Using ST Writer to load a text file from a disk drive into your
computer's memory is much like saving a file. You just move the file
in the opposite direction. Here's the procedure; try it now with your
letter about ST Writer.
Though you've just saved the letter, it also remains in your
computer's memory. To load it back in from your disk drive, first
return to the ST Writer menu and select Create File by pressing [C].
ST Writer asks, Erase file in memory, Y/N? Type Y. ST Writer erases
the letter from your computer's memory and presents you with an empty
edit screen.
Now return to the menu (press [Esc]) and select Load File by pressing
L, at which point ST Writer asks, Load File:. Insert the data
diskette that contains the file you want to load and type the complete
filename or path name for that file and press [Return]. If the file
loaded is not an ST Writer file, you will be asked if you want any
embedded tabs changed to spaces (5 spaces per tab). If you simply
press [Return], they will be converted. If you are trying to maintain
the same tab spacing and are planning to "SAVE ASCII", you may wish
not to have the tabs converted. If so, just don't try to print the
file if you chose not to convert the tabs, since any lines containing
the tab character [Control I] will be blank.
If while loading a file ST Writer overflows your computer's free
memory, the loading process is halted and the message Buffer full,
file not loaded appears on your screen. That part of the file that
was loaded prior to this message is erased from memory.
A word processing wonderland
To show you more of what you can do with ST Writer, this section gives
you another text file to type, edit, format, and print. You may
recognize it.
Go to the menu and select Create File. If there's a file in your
computer's memory, ST Writer asks, Erase File in Memory, Y/N? Type Y
to erase the file from your computer's memory.
Again, ignore the Print Formatting Block at the top of your screen for
now -- you can experiment with various formats after you've typed and
edited the text file. Just type the passage below (from Alice in
Wonderland) as it appears, but do not type the paragraph numbers in
the left margin -- they're for ease of reference during the editing
you'll do later on. Before you begin typing, here's a tip and a
reminder.
To begin underlining some text, press [Shift F3], which inserts an
underline character. To turn underlining off, press [Shift F3] again
to insert another underline character. All text between pairs of
underline characters, including spaces between words, will be
underlined. You can underline as you type, or return to a document
after it's typed to underline passages.
Don't forget to mark the beginning of each paragraph by pressing
[Control P], and the end of each paragraph by pressing [Return].
1 "Why," said the Dodo, "the best way to explain it is to do it."
(And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I
will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)
2 First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, ("the exact
shape doesn't matter," it said,) and then all the party were placed
along the course, here and there. There was no "One, two, three, and
away!" but they began running when they liked, and left off when they
liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over.
However, when they had been running half-an-hour or so, and were quite
dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out, "The race is over!" and they
all crowded round it, panting, and asking, "But who has won?"
3 This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of
thought, and it stood for a long time with one finger pressed upon its
forehead, (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the
pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo
said, "Everybody has won, and all must have prizes."
4 "But who is to give the prizes?" quite a chorus of voices asked.
5 "Why, she, of course," said the Dodo, pointing to Edith with one
finger; and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out, in
a confused way, "Prizes! Prizes!"
6 "But she must have a prize herself, you know," said the Mouse.
7 Edith had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her
pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits (luckily the salt water had
not got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly
one a-piece, all round.
8 "Of course," the Dodo replied very gravely. "What else have you got
in your pocket?" it went on, turning to Edith.
9 "Only a thimble," said Edith sadly.
10 "Hand it over here," said the Dodo.
11 Edith thought it rather absurd to give away her thimble just so the
Dodo could give it back to her. But she handed it over, just to humor
the old bird.
12 Then they all crowded round her once more, while the Dodo solemnly
presented the thimble, saying, "We beg your acceptance of this elegant
thimble"; and, when it had finished this short speech, they all
cheered.
Advanced editing with ST Writer
If you recognized the passage you just typed -- it's from Lewis
Carroll's whimsical Alice in Wonderland -- you may be aware that it
contains some errors. Here are some ST Writer techniques for putting
it in order. Each of these major functions is also highlighted in
your Quick Reference Guide.
Deleting blocks of text
With ST Writer you can delete a long passage from a piece of writing
without having to erase it letter by letter or line by line. In your
passage from Alice in Wonderland, for example, paragraph 11 doesn't
belong there and should be deleted.
To delete a block of text you must first place markers at the
beginning and end of the text to be deleted. First position the
cursor under the first character of the passage you want to delete --
in this case, under the paragraph marker before "Edith thought it..."
-- and press [Shift F5]. ST Writer inserts an inverse quotation mark
at that point on the screen.
Next, move the cursor down to the end of what you want to delete -- in
this case, under the paragraph marker at the beginning of paragraph 12
(in order to include the [Return] symbol at the end of the passage you
want to delete) -- and press [Shift F5] again. ST Writer places
another inverse quote mark at that point.
To erase the text block, press F5. The block will be erased without
any prompts. However, if you change your mind about deleting the
block, you can bring it back simply by pressing the [Undo] key. In
fact, you can insert the deleted block anywhere in your text by moving
the cursor to the desired location, then pressing [Undo].
Each time you delete a line or block of text, a failsafe text buffer
(a temporary holding section of memory) is reinitialized and the
deleted text is placed in the buffer, and remains there until the next
deletion. The failsafe buffer holds about 40,000 characters. If a
block is too large for the buffer, the prompt Too large for Cut
Buffer, cut anyway? appears. Pressing Y will delete the block without
saving it in the buffer.
Moving blocks of text
There's also a paragraph in your passage that's out of place -- the
Mouse's remark in paragraph 6 should follow paragraph 7. To put
things in order, you don't have to delete the out-of-place paragraph
and retype it where it should be. ST Writer will move a block of text
for you.
The procedure for moving a block of text is much like that for
deleting a block of text. Press [Shift F5] at the beginning of what
you want to move and again at the end. ST Writer places an inverse
quotation mark at each point.
Finally, place the cursor where you want to reposition the text to be
moved -- in this case, under the paragraph marker that begins
paragraph 8 -- and press [Shift Insert]. ST Writer deletes the
specified text block from its old place and inserts it where it
belongs.
Search and replace with ST Writer
In your passage from Alice in Wonderland, the girl who hands out the
prizes is of course not Edith, but Alice herself. But with ST Writer,
you don't have to go back and change each use of Edith to Alice. ST
Writer will search out and replace any specified string wherever it
appears in a text file.
To use this search-and-replace function, first position the cursor at
the top of your file (a quick way is to press [Shift F1]), then press
[Shift F7]. When ST Writer prompts you to enter the Replace <ESC>:
string, type in the word Edith and press [Esc]. Using the [Esc] key
to terminate search strings allows you to search for strings that
include the [Return] character. This is the text for which ST Writer
must search.
Next ST Writer prompts you to enter the text you want to substitute
for the search string with the prompt With <ESC>:. Type in the word
Alice, then press [Esc]. ST Writer now searches the entire text for
the word Edith, and replaces it with the word Alice wherever it
occurs.
This is known as a global unqueried search-and-replace, which means
that all occurrences of the search phrase are replaced without further
prompting. ST Writer can also perform a case-by-case replacement
operation, in which you are prompted to confirm each substitution.
Press F7 to perform a query search-and-replace operation.
Notes on Search-and-Replace
When you enter a word or phrase to be searched for, you must type it
exactly as it appears in your text file. When the string is a single
short word, like son, that might appear in your file as part of longer
words, it's a good idea to type in blank spaces before and after it.
If you do this, however, be sure to include the same blank spaces
before and after the phrase you're substituting for the search string;
and keep in mind that ST Writer will not recognize occurrences of such
a search string that are immediately preceded or followed by
punctuation marks.
You can also use the search-and-replace function as a
search-and-delete tool. To do this, simply press [Esc] when ST Writer
asks for a replacement string. ST Writer will delete the search
string and close up the resulting blank space, whether you proceed
with a case-by-case or global search.
Getting your text files in shape
With ST Writer you can print what you write in just about any shape
you want by using a variety of formatting commands. Some of these
commands, entered in the Print Formatting Block at the top of your
screen, control the overall formatting of your text file. Others,
entered within your text file while you're creating or editing it, are
used to specify variations from the overall format. Others still are
used to specify some special formatting features of ST Writer.
In the next several pages, you'll find instructions for using all the
formatting commands, along with some suggestions for using most of
them to shape up your passage from Alice in Wonderland. The
formatting commands are also outlined in your Quick Reference Guide.
Print Preview
As you experiment with various formatting commands, you might wish to
observe the results of these commands on the final printed form of
your text without waiting for an actual printout. You can preview
your final document on the monitor screen by printing the text to the
screen instead of paper. To do this, press [Esc], if necessary, to
return to the ST Writer menu, then select Print File. You are
prompted Enter Printer, Disk, Screen, spooLer? Type S, press [Return]
twice, and your text will be printed to the screen exactly the way
you've formatted it. Stop and start the scrolling text by pressing
[Control S] to stop and any key to restart, or escape to the menu by
pressing [Esc].
Overall file formatting
By now the Print Formatting Block at the top of a text file should be
a familiar sight. Each of the inverse video (colored in low and
medium res) letters in it represents a command that will affect the
overall formatting of the file. The number to the right of each
letter is the formatting value for that command.
Shown below -- and in the Print Formatting Block each time you begin a
new file -- are the default values for overall formatting. ST Writer
will use these values to format your file unless, of course, you
change them.
To set your own formatting values, just move the cursor into the Print
Formatting Block (pressing [Shift F1] is the quickest way), delete the
number displayed for the value you want to change, and type in the new
value. Try reformatting your passage from Alice in Wonderland to some
new values, as suggested on the next two pages, or to values of your
own choice.
B12 Bottom margin: 12 half-lines, or 1 inch
D4 Paragraph spacing: 4 blank half-lines (double spacing) between
paragraphs
G0 Print style: 10 characters per inch (CPI)
I5 Paragraph indentation: 5 spaces from left margin
J0 Justified right margin: OFF
L10 Left margin: 10 spaces from left edge of page
R70 Right margin: 70 spaces from left edge of page
S2 Line spacing: 2 half-lines, or single spacing
T12 Top margin: 12 half-lines, or 1 inch
Y132 Page length: 132 half-lines, or 11 inches
Line spacing, S, is set in terms of half-lines. For double-spaced
printing, delete 2 and type in 4. For triple spacing, set this value
at 6. Only even numbers can be used. (Entering odd numbers will
cause ST Writer to use the next highest even number.)
Paragraph spacing, D, is set in terms of blank half-lines between
paragraphs. For single spacing between paragraphs, delete 4 and type
in 2. Only even numbers can be used.
Paragraph indentation, I, is measured in character spaces from the
left margin. For more or less indentation than the default value of 5
spaces, delete the 5 and type in the value you want (up to 20). The
number may be negative for outdenting. For block-style paragraphs,
without any indentation of the first line, enter the number 0 (and
make sure that your paragraph spacing is greater than your line
spacing).
Top and bottom margins, T and B, are measured from the top and bottom,
respectively of each page. So, to change them both from one inch (12
half-lines) to one and a half inches, set them at 18 instead of 12.
Only even numbers can be used.
Left and right margins, L and R, on the other hand, are both measured
from the left edge of the page. For wider margins, try substituting
15 for 10 as the value for L, and 65 for 70 as the value for R.
You'll probably want to experiment a bit to find the left and right
margins you prefer, depending on the print style you select (see
below) and the kind of printer you have. ST Writer will accept values
1 through 188 for the left margin and 11 through 198 for the right
margin. If you have a 40-column printer, be sure to set your right
margin within the range of 2 through 40.
The justified right margins command, J, works like a simple On/Off
switch. The default value of 0 gives you nonjustified (ragged) right
margins. For justified right margins, delete the 0 after the J and
type in 1.
Page length, Y, does not determine the number of lines printed on a
page (that's set by your top and bottom margins). Rather, ST Writer
uses the page length setting to determine where the next printed page
will begin. Keep your page length set at 132 for 8 1/2 by 11-inch
paper. 224 is ST Writer's maximum page length (for 14" paper length
and printer setting of 8 lines per inch [Note: default lines are 6
per inch]). Only even numbers can be used.
To print out a text file continuously, without page breaks, set your
top and bottom margins to 0.
In print styles, G, also known as fonts, your choices depend on what
kind of printer you have.
The default print style of ST Writer is 10 CPI (PICA), represented by
the 0 next to the G in the Print Formatting Block. To format for
condensed print, delete the 0 and type in 2; for italics, type in 4;
for ELITE, type in 8.
Although the print styles you select are not represented as such on
your screen in print preview, the number of characters displayed per
line is normally the same as it will be in your printed file.
For double-column printing, you must enter formatting commands and
values for the margins of the second (right-hand) column of print.
Enter these commands and values at the top of your text file to format
the entire file for double-column printing -- just insert them as if
you were adding text at the beginning of the line just below the Print
Formatting Block. To set the left margin for the second column, press
[Control M], then type the number of the margin setting you want
(measured in character spaces from the left edge of the page). To set
the right margin for the second column, press [Control N] and type the
number of the setting you want. To discontinue double-column
printing, set the second left margin [Control M] to 0 (zero). You
cannot change print pitch while printing double-column.
Of course, you may also have to adjust your settings for L and R,
which control the margins for the first (left-hand) column of print in
double column printing. Always be sure that your first-column right
margin and second-column left margin do not overlap. Also, do not
make the T or B margin settings different for the two columns.
Formatting variations within a file
You can specify variations in the format wherever you want within a
file by entering commands directly in your text. In addition, ST
Writer offers a number of special formatting features; for these, too,
you enter commands directly in your text.
You can enter these commands singly or in combination, when creating
or editing a text file. For best results, enter new format commands
on a separate line (that is, don't type text on the same line), type a
space after the numeric value for each command, and press [Return] to
start subsequent text on a new line. Note: the one exception to this
case is Print style, ([Control G]), with which you can include text on
the same line. For example, you can italicize a single word on a
line. Follow the [Control G] with the number (0 through 15) for the
print style followed by a hyphen (or any character except for a
number. This delimiting character will not be printed in the text.
However, remember, you cannot change print pitch while printing
double-column. You may do bold, italics, or elongated print in double
column, nevertheless.
To specify variations from the overall formatting values displayed in
the Print Formatting Block, use the commands shown below, followed by
the new value. ST Writer displays the appropriate letter (in inverse
video) and number wherever you enter one of these commands. (These
letters and numbers will not appear on your printed pages.)
Bottom margin [Control B]
Double-column printing:
2nd-column left margin [Control M]
2nd-column right margin [Control N]
Justified right margins [Control J]
Left margin [Control L]
Line spacing [Control S]
Paragraph indentation [Control I]
Paragraph spacing [Control D]
Print style(font) [Control G]
Right margin [Control R]
Top margin [Control T]
At the end of the portion of text that you want varied from the
overall format, use the same commands to re-enter the original overall
formatting value -- or whatever new value you want for the text that
follows.
The special formatting features of ST Writer also require you to enter
commands directly in your text. Again, you can enter these commands
singly or in combination with other formatting commands, while
creating or editing a file. ST Writer displays the appropriate letter
or letters in inverse video wherever you enter one of these commands.
Elongated print
With some printers, including the ATARI SMM 804 Dot Matrix Printer, ST
Writer enables you to print text in elongated characters, which are
twice normal width. Any print style can be elongated.
To format a portion of text for elongated print, press [Shift F9] at
the beginning of that portion of text and [Shift F9] again at the
end.
If you like, try this feature in combination with the next feature
described to add a striking title to your passage from Alice in
Wonderland.
When you examine a formatted text file in print preview, elongated
characters are displayed as normal. But keep in mind that when
printed they'll be twice as wide as normal, so anything more than half
a line of text that you format for elongated print will run over to
the next line.
Centering text
To center lines of text -- a useful option for titles and headings --
press [Control C] at the beginning of each line to be centered. At
the end of the line, press [Return]. (If you decide to center a line
while editing, don't forget to insert a [Return], if necessary, at the
end of the line.)
If you like, add a centered title in elongated print at the top of
your passage from Alice in Wonderland -- something like:
[Control C][Shift F9] Alice Gets a Surprise [Return]
[Control C] For Her Prize [Shift F9] [Return]
Always be sure that no line of text to be centered exceeds the overall
line length determined by the left and right margins that you set.
Blocking text right
To have a line of text print out flush with the right margin of the
page, press [Control C] twice in succession at the beginning of the
line to be blocked. Each line to be blocked right must be ended with
a [Return].
If you like, try this out by adding something like this at the end of
your passage from Alice in Wonderland:
[Control C][Control C] -- from Alice in Wonderland [Return]
[Control C][Control C] by Lewis Carroll [Return]
Always be sure that no line of text to be blocked right exceeds your
overall page margins.
Headers, footers, and page numbering
A header is a line or two of text that is printed at the top of every
page of your final printed output. A footer appears on the bottom of
each page. If you want, ST Writer will place headers or footers of
one or two lines on each page of your printed text files. By using a
page numbering command in combination with a header or footer command,
you can also have ST Writer number your printed pages.
To specify a header, press [Control H], then type the text of the
header and press [Return]. Enter [Control H], then the text and a
[Return] for each separate line of a two-line header.
To specify a footer, press [Control F], then type the text of the
footer and press [Return]. Enter [Control F], then the text and a
[Return] for each separate line of a two-line footer.
Headers appear two and four half-lines below the top of the page, and
footers two and four half-lines above the bottom of the page.
Therefore, to use headers or footers, the top [Control T] or bottom
[Control B] margin settings must be at least 8 to leave room. By
default, headers and footers are aligned to the left margin of the
printed page; however, you can also have them centered or blocked
right (aligned with the right margin) by following your headder or
footer command with a center text command ([Control C]) or block text
right command ([Control C][Control C]) just before your text (and on
the same screen line). If you want your headers or footers printed in
elongated print, enter a [Shift F9] before and after the header or
footer text.
If you want headers or footers on every page of your text file,
beginning with the first page, enter the appropriate commands and text
at the beginning of your file on the screen line or lines just below
the formatting commands and values displayed on the first line.
If you want headers or footers to begin on a page other than the first
page, or if you want to change the text of a header or footer within
the file -- say, for a multisection document where you want headers or
footers that match each section -- you can enter the appropriate
commands and text within the file. In this case, however, be sure to
enter the commands and text (preceded if you like by elongated print,
center text, block text right, or new left and right margin settings
commands) as the only material on a screen line.
No header or footer text line should exceed the overall page margins
that you've set (and remember that elongated print is twice as wide as
normal). Any header or footer text that exceeds your page margins
will be dropped when ST Writer formats and prints your file.
To discontinue printing headers in your file, type [Control H]
[Control H] [Return]. Use two [Control F]'s for discontinuing
footers.
To number your printed pages, type the @ symbol ([Shift 2]) at that
point in your header or footer text where you want page numbers to
appear. ST Writer displays a @ symbol to show you where your page
numbers will be printed. If you want page numbers only, just enter @
as your entire header or footer text.
By default, ST Writer numbers the page where a page numbering command
is entered as 1, and subsequent pages in order. To specify a
different starting page number -- a useful option when you're
combining separate text files into a larger document -- press [Control
Q] after the [Return] that concludes your header or footer text, then
enter the starting page number you want. ST Writer accepts starting
page numbers of 1 through 999. A negative number (e.g. -1) instructs
ST Writer to alternate blocked RIGHT headers and footers with blocked
LEFT headers and footers.
To add a blocked right header with a page number to each page of your
passage from Alice in Wonderland, enter this at the beginning of your
text file:
[Control H][Control C][Control C]ST Writer Exercise - @ [Return]
You may specify a different print style [Control G][number][hyphen],
or different left [Control L][number] or right [Control R][number]
margins within your header or footer without affecting the print style
or L or R margins within your main text body. The header or footer
disregards double column instructions, creating a line length up to
the entire width of the page.
Indexing and deleting text files
There are two more selections on the ST Writer menu that can help you
manage your text files: Index of Files and Delete File.
Before trying these options, save your passage from Alice in
Wonderland -- it will make for a more interesting index and, along
with your letter about ST Writer, will give you a choice of files to
delete!
For an index of files on a diskette, insert the diskette into your
disk drive. If your system has two drives, use either one. Then
select Index Disk Files from the ST Writer menu. ST Writer then
prompts 'P' to printer, 'S' to screen: S -- press [Return] to accept
the default (screen print), or P to send the index to your printer.
Next ST Writer prompts you for a Path name: and prints the specifier
for the current drive, that is, the drive from which you loaded ST
Writer (or from which you last obtained a directory). For instance,
if you loaded ST Writer from drive A:, you're prompted Path name: A:.
You can change the drive specifier by pressing [Backspace] a few times
and entering the new specifier. If you want a directory of a specific
folder on your disk, enter the drive specifier, then a reverse slash
(\), then the name of that folder. Then press [Return], at which
time ST Writer displays a list of files and folders on the diskette.
Folders and files created with ST Writer will be indicated as such in
the listing. Also shown is the number of bytes occupied by each file;
any file that you've locked (using the GEM desktop) is noted with an
asterisk (see Diskette Management in the Reference Guide).
When there are more than 21 files on a diskette, ST Writer scrolls
your directory upward on your screen to show you every entry. To halt
this scrolling, press any key; press any key again to restart the
scrolling.
For a printed directory, simply type P at the first prompt, and make
sure your printer is connected and turned on.
To delete a file on diskette, you follow much the same procedure as
when you save or load a file to or from diskette. First make sure
that the diskette containing the file that you want to delete is in
your disk drive, then return to the ST Writer menu and select Delete
File. When ST Writer prompts you to enter the File to be deleted:,
type in the drive specifier followed by a colon and the filename and
extender of the file you want to delete, and press [Return]. As a
precaution, ST Writer prompts Type 'Y' to delete file:. When you
respond by typing Y, ST Writer erases the specified file from your
diskette.
Some further features of ST Writer
Like Alice, the Dodo, and the Mouse, you've probably now been "running
half-an-hour or so" at least with ST Writer -- but don't stop yet!
Briefly described, here are a few additional features of ST Writer.
You can find complete instructions for using each one in the
Reference Guide.
Byte count at cursor position. You can tell at a glance where you are
in the file by pressing [Alternate =]. Although this number
represents all characters including formatting data and comments, you
can get an idea of how far you are in the document.
Chaining print files. If you have a disk drive, this feature allows
you to chain text files together in any order to be printed as if they
were one file.
Duplicating text. This feature enables you to take a word, sentence,
or more from one part of a text file and duplicate it wherever else
you want within the same file.
Format disk. You can use this selection from the ST Writer menu to
prepare a blank diskette for storing your text files.
Form printing. Especially handy for business or form letters, this
feature lets you leave blanks in a text file -- for names and
addresses, account numbers, and the like -- and fill them in with
specifics each time ST Writer prints the file. You can, if you like,
create a separate DATA file containing the words or phrases, each
separated by a carriage return. Just be sure that they match the
spaces left in your form, and are in the correct order. The DATA file
must be printed to disk with top and bottom margins set to 0 (zero), L
set to 1, R set to 198, G set to 2 and Y set to twice the number of
lines in the file (maximum Y is 224). Alternatively, you can also use
mailing addresses created and sorted by DB Master One. Simply print
the sorted addresses to a disk file. The computer will prompt you
asking for the file name of your DATA file if you indicate that
STWRITER is to use a disk file as the data source. If you do not wish
to use a data file as a source of your insert data, you may simply
type in each specific as you are prompted to by the computer.
Merging text files. This feature allows you to merge an ST Writer
text file on disk together with the file currently in your computer's
memory. Files not saved in ST Writer format should be first loaded
separately, saved, then merged with the desired file.
Page eject. Basically a formatting command, this feature enables you
to halt printing on a given page and space to the top of the next page
before resuming printing. It can be useful when you're formatting and
printing a multisection document where you want each section to begin
on a fresh page. By typing a number greater than zero after [Control
E] you can specify a conditional page eject, with the number
representing the number of lines to appear on the same page. If they
will not fit, they will appear in a block on the following page. This
feature is useful for printing tables and material with fixed numbers
of lines. To work with paragraphs and formatable blocks of print with
variable numbers of lines, one would first need to print the entire
document and count by hand the number of lines in the paragraph which
are not be broken at a page break.
Page wait. Also a formatting command, this feature allows you to
print your text files on individual sheets of paper -- a convenient
option when you want to do your printing on bond, letterhead, or your
personal stationery. If this command is active when printing to the
screen, scrolling will halt when the screen is full. Pressing any key
except [Esc] continues scrolling. [Esc] cancels printing.
Printer controls. You can send special decimal-code commands to your
printer by entering them directly in your text files -- a useful
option if you have a printer that ST Writer does not support, and do
not have a printer driver.
Section headings. Use this feature to number section and subsection
headings in the body of a text file.
Special characters. You can access the special characters in the
international character set by typing [Alternate X]. A letter [A]
appears near the bottom right of the screen indicating alternate
character mode. Use the table in STWCODES.DOC to find what key
combinations to use to print the character you want. Foreign
characters can be obtained directly without using the [Alternate X]
function by using the deadkey function. Type [Control][Clr Home], and
a "D" appears in the status line near the bottom of the screen. You
can get foreign characters by using the following combination of key
strokes:
First type ",',~,`,^,_,-, or /,
then the vowel or letter that the mark is used in combination
with.
For example, to get a small umalut u, type ["] first, then [u]. If
you merely want a quote mark ["], you must either exit the deadkey
mode by typing [Control][Clr Home], or by typing quote ["] twice in
succession while still in deadkey mode.
In addition, you can also include characters with ASCII values between
0 and 31 in your text file. Note, however, that most of these
characters are unprintable, and may do strange things if you attempt
to print them on the printer. Nevertheless, you can get them by
typing [Control X] before and after the character. For example, to
get a [Control J] (ASCII 10) to be in the text, type:
[Control X][Control J][Control X]
These characters will not be counted as taking up space on a line like
normal characters. The [Control X] is needed to tell the formatter in
ST Writer Elite that these are NOT formatting characters, but ones
which need to be sent to the output device. All control characters
can be printed by using [Control] plus a letter key with the following
exceptions:
To get: Use:
ASCII 0 (null) [ Return ]
[ Control A ] [ Control U ]
[ Control U ] [ Shift F5 ]
[ Control X ] \[ Control X ]
[ Control Z ] [ Control : ]
[ Escape ] [ Control [ ] or [ Control ; ]
ASCII $1C [ Control < ] or [ Control \ ]
ASCII $1D [ Control = ] or [ Control ] ]
ASCII $1E [ Control > ] or [ Control ^ ]
ASCII $1F [ Control ? ] or [ Control _ ]
Subscripts and superscripts. Especially useful when you're writing
about mathematical or chemical formulas or including footnote numbers
in your text, subscripts and superscripts can easily be included in
your printed text files.
Tabs. With ST Writer you can set and use Tab stops much as you do
with a conventional typewriter. Tab stops can be especially useful
when you're setting up columns or tables in a text file.
GEM mode. By popular request, features of Digital Research's GEM
(Graphics Environment Manager) have been added to ST Writer. This
allows use of drop down menu items, Dialog Boxes, File Selector Boxes,
and use of the mouse. The GEM mode is activated by pressing one of
the mouse buttons. An "Alert" box appears allowing you to select or
reject GEM mode. If you are happy with ST Writer as it already is,
click on "CANCEL". Clicking on "OK" will produce a blank screen with
the familiar GEM menu bar at the top. You can make your menu
selections from here using the mouse. In GEM mode, keyboard menu
commands will no longer work.
S T W R I T E R R E F E R E N C E G U I D E
ALTERNATE RIGHT AND LEFT BLOCK HEADERS/FOOTERS. To have ST Writer
take headers and footers set for right blocking, and on alternate
pages block them left, use a negative number after the [Control Q]
(page number start) command. This is useful for pages which will go
"back to back" as in a textbook or newsletter.
ALTERNATE CHARACTERS. Use the Alternate key in combination with the X
key to toggle the alternate characters set. A capital 'A' will appear
near the bottom right of the screen indicating alternate character
mode. Pressing [Alternate X] again returns to normal characters.
Since the keys are not marked for alternate characters, you can often
find the proper key to use by subtracting 128 from the ASCII value of
the alternate character you wish to type, and finding the
corresponding key on the keyboard. For example, to print the 'pi'
symbol, press [Alternate X], then type a lower case 'c'. For some
characters, it will be necessary for you to refer to the ST Writer Key
Code Table. Note: If you have pressed the [CapsLock] key, a capital
'C' will indicate this at the bottom right of your screen. Also see
SPECIAL CHARACTERS.
BLOCK TEXT RIGHT. To block right, or print a line of text flush with
the right margin of the printed page, press [Control C] twice in
succession before typing the line, and [Return] at the end of the
line. When editing, insert [Control C] twice at the beginning of each
line to be blocked right, and be sure that each such line ends with
[Return]. Always be sure, also, that no line of text to be blocked
right exceeds your overall page margins.
CAPITALIZATION. See Upper and lowercase characters.
CENTER TEXT. To center a line of text, press [Control C] before
typing the line, and [Return] at the end of the line. When editing,
insert a [Control C] at the beginning of each line to be centered, and
be sure that each such line ends with [Return]. Always be sure, also,
that no line of text to be centered exceeds your overall page
margins.
CHAINING PRINT FILES. You can use this feature to tie together any
number of files, in any order that you wish, to be printed as if they
were one file. This is especially useful when you want to print a
long document that you've written and saved in segments with
distinctive filenames or extenders.
Here's how to chain two files named REPORT.001 and REPORT.002, for
example. While writing or editing REPORT.001, position the cursor at
the end of the file and press [Control V]. Then type REPORT.002
(include the drive specifier, if necessary, before the filename) and
press [Return]. It does not matter whether you enter the filename or
specifier in upper or lower case. While printing these chained files,
ST Writer would display the message CHAINING REPORT.002 as it finished
with REPORT.001 and proceeded to find and format REPORT.002 prior to
printing it. After printing, the first file is reloaded from disk.
Each file in a chain will be formatted according to the formatting
commands and values within it. So if you want consistent overall
formatting throughout a chain of files, be sure that the values in the
Print Formatting Block are the same in every file. A header or footer
entered in the first file in a chain will be carried through
subsequent files -- unless, of course, you modify it -- and a page
numbering command entered in the first file will give you
consecutively numbered pages throughout the chain.
Note: You cannot load a file, edit it, then print it out while
chaining to another file -- if you try, the message Cannot chain
appears after the first file is printed. In order to chain properly,
save the first file before printing it out. This is because when you
load a file and then edit it, ST Writer will not let you load another
file without verifying that you want to erase the existing text.
COMMENT. Use [Control K] before and a comment in your text which you
do not wish to have printed out. Terminate the comment with a
[Return]. Since [Control K] also is used to cancel a search command,
you may still search for a [Control K] character in your text. Use a
[Control +] combination of key strokes for this.
CONDENSED PRINT. See Print styles (fonts).
CREATE FILE. Select this from the ST Writer menu to begin writing a
new text file. While in the Create File mode, you can write, edit,
rewrite, and enter or change formatting commands. Each time you
select Create File, ST Writer refreshes the default values for
formatting in the Print Formatting Block at the top of your monitor
screen.
DEADKEY FUNCTION. This function is toggled on and off with
[Control][Clr Home]. If the character you wish to use has an accent
mark, for example, type the ['] character followed by the appropriate
vowel.
DEFAULT VALUES. Each time you select Create File, ST Writer refreshes
the default values for formatting in the Print Formatting Block at the
top of your monitor screen. ST Writer will format your entire file
according to these values unless you change them, or modify them by
entering the appropriate formatting commands and values within the
body of the file. Here are the default values:
B12 Bottom margin, 12 half-lines (1 inch)
D4 Paragraph spacing, 4 blank half-lines (double spacing)
G0 Print style, 10 characters per inch
I5 Paragraph indentation, 5 spaces from left margin
J0 Justified right margins OFF
L10 Left margin, 10 spaces from left edge of page
R70 Right margin, 70 spaces from left edge of page
S2 Line spacing, 2 half-lines (single spacing)
T12 Top margin, 12 half-lines (1 inch)
Y132 Page length, 132 half-lines (11 inches)
ST Writer also defaults to a starting page number of 1 when you enter
a page numbering or print file command -- unless of course you enter a
different starting page number.
DELETE FILE. To delete a file from diskette, select Delete File from
the ST Writer menu by pressing D. Then enter the Path name of the
file (see Path name) to delete. As a precaution, ST Writer prompts
Type 'Y' to delete file:; Type Y to erase the file. You cannot delete
a locked file from the disk -- if you try, ST Writer will give you the
message Unable to delete file.
DELETE TEXT. See your Quick Reference Guide for the keystrokes used
to delete text. You can delete: a character, line, or portion of a
line at a time; all text from the position of the cursor to the end of
your text file; a defined block of text, or the entire document.
In case you change your mind about a deletion or delete something by
accident, you can press the [Undo] key to restore the last line or
block of text (up to about 40,000 characters) that you've deleted; the
restored material is inserted at the position of the cursor. Note:
exceptions to this are deleted single characters, blocks larger than
40,000 characters (warning message appears), and deletion of the
entire text ([Clr Home]).
DISKETTE MANAGEMENT. In order to load the ST Writer program into your
Computer, if you don't have TOS in ROM, you must first load the TOS
operating system from your ATARI TOS System Disk. Consult your ST
Computer Owner's Manual for further instructions.
Before you can store your ST Writer text files on a data disk, the
disk must be formatted -- that is, organized into sectors so that your
disk drive can keep track of where information is stored on it. You
can format blank diskettes from the GEM desktop (see Owner's Manual).
Or use the Format Disk selection from the ST Writer menu to format a
blank disk while in the middle of a work session with ST Writer.
For your own peace of mind, always make a backup copy of any disk you
store ST Writer files on -- just so you'll have a duplicate in the
event that something happens to your original. Your ST Owner's Manual
also contains further details on this and other disk management
functions.
DOUBLE-COLUMN PRINTING. You can format a text file for double-column
printing on any printer. To do so, you must enter formatting commands
and values of the second (right-hand) column. You can do this either
at the beginning of your file -- to print the whole file in double
columns -- or at that point in the file where you want double-column
printing to begin.
To set the left margin for the second column, press [Control M], then
type the number of the setting you want. Then press [Control N] and
type the number of the setting you want for the right margin of the
column. You may also have to adjust your settings for L and R, which
control the margins for the first (left-hand) column of print in
double-column printing. Always be sure that your first-column right
margin and second-column left margin do not overlap, and that T and B
margins are set the same for both columns.
When you print to the screen a file that you've formatted for
double-column printing, the two columns appear as they will print.
DUPLICATING TEXT. To duplicate a portion of text from one part of a
text file to another part of the file, first position the cursor at
the beginning of what you want to duplicate and press [Shift F5].
Next, position the cursor at the end of what you want to duplicate and
press [Shift F5] again. Finally, position the cursor where you want
the text to be duplicated (the cursor must be outside the marked
block), and press [F2]. From this point until you perform another
deletion or duplication, the marked block of text is held in a
failsafe buffer, and can be inserted anywhere in the document simply
by positioning the cursor and pressing the [Undo] key.
You may duplicate a block of text as many times as you like. If you
want to duplicate it more than once, however, be careful not to delete
anything until you've completed your duplication procedures. A block
of text that you duplicate is stored in the failsafe text buffer of
your computer, where it will be replaced by the next deletion.
Also keep in mind that the capacity of your failsafe text buffer is
about 40,000 characters of text. So if you want to duplicate a block
of more than 13 pages or so, do it in segments.
EDIT FILE. Select this option from the ST Writer menu when you want
to revise or reformat a text file already in your computer's memory.
ELONGATED PRINT. See Print styles (fonts).
ERROR MESSAGES. When ST Writer finds a mistake in an entry or command
that you've given, or detects a problem in your computer system, it
displays the appropriate error message in the Message Window at the
bottom of your screen. Press any key to continue.
FILENAMES. Filenames may be up to eight characters in length,
optionally followed by a period and a three-character extender -- for
example, RFGUIDE.001. You must give every file a filename in order to
save it on a disk. ST Writer uses the same conventions as your TOS
operating system for allowable characters in filenames -- letters,
numbers, and punctuation are permissible. Lower case letters are
converted to upper case in the actual filename.
FONTS. See Print styles.
FOOTERS. See Headers, footers, and page numbering.
FORMAT DISK. In order to store your ST Writer text files, disks must
be formatted with TOS. While it's always a good idea to keep an extra
formatted diskette on hand, (see Diskette management), you can use the
Format Disk selection from the ST Writer menu to format a disk during
a work session with ST Writer. Simply insert the diskette you want to
format in your disk drive and select Format Disk from the menu by
pressing F. The Message Window shows All data will be erased, 'Y' to
format. Type Y to continue with the format operation. Type any other
letter to return to the SELECT LETTER prompt. After typing Y, type A
or B for the drive containing the disk you wish to format. Next
you're asked Sides to format ( 1 or 2 ):2. Note that the default
response for a double-sided drive is already supplied, and you need
only press [Return] to begin such a format. To format single-sided,
if you have an SF354 drive, type 1 and press [Return] -- the 2
disappears at the first keypress. At the prompt Enter name for disk:
enter in a disk name following filename conventions (up to eight
characters with an optional three-character extender), or just press
[Return] for no disk name. The message Formatting disk appears and
the disk is formatted. If there are any problems (such as the disk
being write-protected), the message Unable to format disk. appears.
Press any key to return to the SELECT LETTER prompt.
FORMATTING TEXT FILES. How ST Writer formats your text files is
controlled by a variety of formatting commands and values entered
either in the Print Formatting Block at the top of each file or within
the body of the file. Each time you select Create File from the ST
Writer menu, the program's default values for formatting are refreshed
in the Print Formatting Block, but you can change them or add to them
as you wish. You can edit formatting commands and values -- delete or
modify them -- just as you can text. See your Quick Reference Guide
for a summary of all formatting commands used with ST Writer.
You can examine a formatted text file on your screen prior to printing
by using Print to Screen.
FORM PRINTING. (Also called Database Merge.) You can leave blanks in
a text file that you want to use as a form, and fill them in -- with
names and addresses, account numbers, and the like -- each time you
print the file. Wherever you want to leave a blank, press function
key F9. An inverse video ? appears at that point on your screen.
Press F9 at the desired location for each entry that you'll be filling
in.
When ST Writer prints the file, it stops when it encounters each such
command and prompts you FORM DATA FROM FILE Y/N? If you have
previously created a data file, type Y. The prompt DATA FILE NAME?
will appear. Type in the data file name and press [Return]. ST
Writer will read the data file and insert the data in sequence into
your text. If you do not have a data file, you will be prompted to
MAKE ENTRY?. Type what you want to fill in the blank -- up to 55
characters per blank -- and press [Return]. When you complete each
entry, ST Writer continues printing the file.
Alternately, you can supply information for each blank from a text
file output by a database management program such as the mailing list
option of DB Master One. After sorting the desired addresses with DB
Master One, "print" them to disk. See the instructions from
compatible database managers for further instructions.
If you're using the hand-entry method and have left a number of
blanks, it's a good idea to jot down a list of them, because you won't
be able to see the file on your screen when you're prompted to make
your entries during printing.
FREE MEMORY. When first creating a file in ST Writer, you start off
with approximately 200,000 bytes, or characters, of memory (more or
less depending on system) available for your text -- room for over 130
double-spaced pages. This number is reduced if you have any of the
accessories such as the Control Panel installed in your desktop. To
remove desktop accessories, use the GEM desktop to change resolution
with a non-system disk in the default drive, or if you have a
monochrome monitor (cannot change resolution), rename the desk
accessories on your system disk and reboot the system. ST Writer
constantly displays the available memory, expressed in bytes, in the
Message Window at the bottom of your screen. One byte equals roughly
one typed character, and you can figure on about 1500 bytes for each
standard double-spaced page.
In any case, it's a good idea to leave yourself with a margin of free
memory with every file you write, just so you'll have some memory to
work with if you want to edit (or add to) a file later on. When your
computer's memory will accept only about one more screen full of text,
ST Writer alerts you by displaying a "memory low" message. When this
happens, save the file and start a new file to continue the document
you're working on.
GEM MODE. To get the features of GEM, click one of the mouse buttons.
An alert box will appear to allow you to select GEM or CANCEL.
Besides allowing you to use the mouse in Menus, Dialog and Alert
Boxes, on the EDIT screen you can place the alpha cursor anywhere in
the text on the screen instantly. You can also exit edit mode by
clicking on Esc in the last line of the command box, and you can
scroll up or down a page by clicking on the up and down arrows on the
same line. You can exit GEM mode from the main menu by clicking on
"Mouse" in the Options menu. NOTE: Sometimes when you press the
[Esc] key, you will seem to be "stuck" on the Edit screen. This
occurs when the mouse is on the top line, regardless if you are in
GEM mode or not, or whether the mouse is visible or not. A
peculiarity of GEM makes it necessary for you to move the mouse
downward to exit the Edit screen if this should occur.
GLOBAL FORMAT. In GEM mode only, Global Format allows you to set up
the Format line at the top of a file you are about to Create. It does
not work on files already created in memory.
HEADERS, FOOTERS, and PAGE NUMBERING. For headers or footers of one
or two lines on every page of your printed text file, enter the
appropriate commands and text at the beginning of the file, on the
screen line or lines just below the formatting commands and values
displayed on the first line. To begin headers or footers elsewhere
than on the first page, or to change the text of your headers or
footers, you can also enter the required commands and text within the
file. In this case, however, each header or footer command and line
of text (preceded, if you like, by elongated print and center text or
block text right commands) must be the only material entered on a
screenline. In either case, be sure that no line of header or footer
text exceeds your overall page width margins.
To specify a header, press [Control H], then type the text of the
header and press [Return]. For a two-line header, enter a [Control
H], then the text and a [Return] for each separate line.
To specify a footer, press [Control F], then type the text of the
footer and press [Return]. For a two-line footer, enter a [Control
F], then the text and a [Return] for each separate line.
To discontinue a header or a footer, type two [Control H]'s or two
[Control F]'s followed by a [Return].
For consecutively numbered printed pages, type @ ([Shift 2]) at that
point in your header or footer text where you want page numbers to
appear (for page numbers only, use the @ symbol as the entire text of
your header or footer). ST Writer will number the page where you
enter your page numbering command as 1, and subsequent pages in order,
unless you specify a different starting page number. To do this,
press [Control Q] after the [Return] that concludes your header or
footer text, then type in the number of the starting page number you
want (from 1 through 999). A negative value following the [Control Q]
indicates that you want your left and right blocked headers and
footers to each block to the opposite margin on alternate pages.
Headers or footers appear one full line below or above the top or
bottom of your printed pages. By default, ST Writer prints headers,
footers, and page numbers in the print style you've formatted for the
entire text file, and aligns them to the left margin. If you want to
change the print style or left or right margins, or want elongated
print, centered or flush right, enter the appropriate commands just
after your header or footer commands. The main text body will not be
affected by these formatting commands in your header or footer.
INDEX OF FILES. For a directory of files on a disk or within a
folder, press I from the ST Writer menu. At the prompt 'P' to
printer, 'S' to screen: S, press [Return] to accept the default
(screen print), or P for a printed index (make sure your printer is
ready). Next ST Writer asks for the Path name: -- see Path name for
details. When you enter the Path name, ST Writer reads the disk
directory and prints it on the indicated device. Also shown are the
number of bytes contained in each file. Files generated by ST Writer
and folders are indicated as such, and locked files are marked with an
asterisk (see Locking files). If you have more than 21 files and
folders on your disk, ST Writer scrolls the directory listing upward
on your screen to show every entry. To momentarily pause the listing,
press any key; press it again to restart the scrolling. At the end of
the directory listing, ST Writer again presents you with the
printer/screen prompt, in case you wish to index a different disk or
folder. To return to the menu, press [Esc]. There is no
corresponding selection for Index in GEM mode, as File Selector Boxes
contain filenames. Unfortunately, information on file size or whether
or not they are ST Writer files is not available in GEM mode.
INSERTING TEXT. To insert text, simply position the cursor where you
want and begin typing. ST Writer pushes the text to the right of and
below your insertion as far as necessary to accomodate the new text.
Use the same procedure to enter formatting commands within a text file
that you've already written. Pressing the [Insert] key toggles
between insertion and type-over mode. A capital 'I' near the bottom
right of the screen indicates insert mode, and an inverse capital 'T'
indicates type-over mode.
INSTALL PRINTER. The Install Printer accessory from the Desk menu on
the GEM desktop allows you to choose the type printer you will be
using (dot matrix or daisywheel, black and white or color, dot
configuration), paper use (single sheet or continuous feed), and
quality of print (draft or final). If the codes for draft or final
have been placed in your printer configuration file, you can selec
single- (draft) or double- (final) strike printing. You may also
change ports so that your text gets printed via the modem (RS232)
serial port, rather than to the parallel printer port.
JUSTIFIED RIGHT MARGINS. The justified right margin command works
like a simple On/Off switch. The default value of 0, displayed next
to the inverse video J in the Print Formatting Block, gives you
nonjustified (ragged) right margins. For justified right margins,
change this value to 1. You can change from one to the other within a
text file by entering [Control J] and the appropriate value.
LINE SPACING. ST Writer measures line spacing in half-lines. The
default value for line spacing is single spacing, represented by the 2
next to the inverse video S in the Print Formatting Block. For double
spacing, change this value to 4. To vary line spacing within a
document, press [Control S] and type in the appropriate value wherever
you want the spacing to change. The new value must be an even
number.
When you use [Return]s to create blank lines in a text file, keep in
mind that ST Writer inserts blank lines according to the value of S
for each such [Return].
LOAD FILE. To load a text file from a disk drive, select Load File
from the ST Writer menu by pressing L. At the Load file: prompt,
enter the Path name (see Path name) for the file you wish to load. If
you've previously loaded or created a text file during the current
session, ST Writer first asks, Erase file in memory, Y/N ?. An
exception to this happens if you've previously saved the file and did
not edit it after the last save -- the new file is simply loaded when
you enter its name. If you press Y, the file in memory is erased,
whether or not you proceed with the load.
In GEM mode, you are supplied with a File Selector Box from which you
click on the file you want loaded. See PATH NAME for details.
If while loading a file ST Writer finds that your computer's memory is
full, Buffer is full, file not loaded appears in your Message Window.
That part of the file that's been loaded is erased from memory. If
you load in a non-ST Writer file, the file must be converted to ST
Writer format, and this takes some time. Essentially, all line-feeds
are discarded, and all carriage returns replaced with nulls. Also,
all tabs are replaced with 5 blank spaces. You can toggle off the tab
conversion when prompted by answering 'N' (No) to the query Change
Tabs to Spaces? In this case, your file may be punctuated with a lot
of [Control I] characters, which represents the tab character. This
would usually be done only by experienced computer users.
LOCKING FILES. To lock a text file that you've saved to disk, you
must return to the GEM desktop (see Quit). Open a window for the
drive that contains the file to be locked, and select the file by
pointing to its icon (or filename) and clicking the left mouse button
once so the icon is highlighted. Then point at the File heading on
the Menu Bar, and select the Show Info option.
This is the same Dialog Box you would use to rename the file. To lock
the file, select Read-Only, then OK.
If you load a locked text file, revise it with ST Writer, and then try
to save it again under the same filename, ST Writer asks, ALREADY
EXISTS, 'Y' to replace it. If you type Y (no [Return] necessary) ST
Writer gives you the message ERROR trying to open the file. Press any
key to return to the Save file: prompt and enter a different name
under which to save the file.
MARGINS. ST Writer measures a page from top to bottom in half-lines,
and from left to right in character spaces. The default values for
page margins are represented in the Print Formatting Block as
follows:
T12 B12 L10 R70
Top Bottom Left Right
To change any of these margins for the entire text file, simply delete
the value shown and type in your own. You can also change margins
within a file; just press [Control] and the appropriate letter, then
type in the value you want. Values for the top and bottom margin must
be even numbers.
You may have to experiment a bit, adjusting the paper in your printer,
to get the correct top margins on your printed pages. With the
default value of 12 for T, your top margins should be one inch.
For a continuous printout of a file, without page breaks, set your top
and bottom margins at 0 and delete any headers or footers from the
file.
MERGING TEXT. You can merge a saved ST Writer file, or other ASCII
file from disk with the file currently in your computer's memory with
this command. Keep in mind, though, that when merging files you run
the risk of overflowing your computer's free memory.
To merge two files, first position the cursor where you want the
merged text to appear in the file currently in your computer's memory.
Then press function key [F8]. ST Writer then prompts Load file:, at
which you should enter a Path name for the file to be merged (see
Path name).
If while merging one file with another ST Writer finds that your
computer's free memory is full, a warning message appears in the
Message Window, the merge is halted and that portion of the merged
file that has loaded is erased.
MOVING TEXT. To move a block of text from one place to another in a
text file, position the cursor at the beginning of the passage you
want to move and press [Shift F5]. Then move the cursor to the end of
the passage and press [Shift F5] again. Next, move the cursor to the
point where you want to reposition the passage, and press [Shift F2].
Remember that you can move only about 40,000 bytes of text (the
capacity of your failsafe buffer) at a time. If you want to move a
larger block of text, do it in segments.
PAGE EJECT. Use this command when you want ST Writer to halt printing
at a given point in a text file and space to the top of the next page
before printing is resumed -- for example, in a multisection document
where you want each section to begin on a fresh page. To enter this
command, position the cursor where you want a page eject to take place
and press [Control E]. A number following [Control E] specifies a
conditional page eject. The number is the number of lines to appear
in a block, and should not exceed the number of lines between the top
and bottom margins. If the block will not fit on the current page, it
will appear on the following page.
PAGE LENGTH. When formatting and printing a text file, ST Writer uses
this formatting command -- represented by the inverse video Y in the
Print Formatting Block -- to determine where the next printed page
should begin. Keep your page length set at the default value of 132
(half-lines) for 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper. For a continuous printout of
a text file without page breaks, set your top and bottom margins at 0
and delete any headers or footers from the file. Values for page
length must be even numbers, and 224 is the maximum value of Y that ST
Writer allows.
PAGE NUMBERING. See Headers, footers, and page numbering.
PAGE WAIT. Use this command when you want to print a text file on
separate sheets of paper -- for example, on bond, letterhead, or your
personal stationery. Enter [Control W] in the Print Formatting Block
at the top of your file for a page wait on every page of the file. ST
Writer will stop printing at the bottom of each page; after inserting
a fresh sheet of paper in your printer, press any key to start
printing the next page. You may also invoke this command by using the
Install Printer desk accessory, and using the "single" sheet
selection. When printing to the screen, [Control W] causes the screen
scrolling to halt when the screen is full. Hit any key to continue
scrolling, or [Esc] to exit.
PARAGRAPHS. Mark the beginning of every paragraph by pressing
[Control P] -- ST Writer displays an inverse video letter P at that
point on your screen. Press [Return] at the end of each paragraph --
ST Writer displays an inverse video 'less than' symbol at that point.
Two formatting commands control how your paragraphs appear when
formatted and printed by ST Writer. The default value for paragraph
spacing, displayed next to the inverse video D in the Print Formatting
Block, is 4 blank half-lines, or double spacing, between paragraphs.
To change this value, just delete the 4 and type in the value you
want. The default value for paragraph indentation, displayed next to
the inverse video I in the Print Formatting Block, is 5 spaces (from
the left page margin). For a different paragraph indentation, delete
the 5 and substitute the value you want.
To vary paragraph spacing within a new file, press [Control D] and
type a new value where you want the spacing to change, then press
[Return]. To change paragraph indentation, press [Control I] and
enter a new value. For bibliographies, ST Writer also allows negative
indentation (outdenting or undenting). Type [Control I] followed by a
negative value (eg., [-5]). Each time a [Control P] is encountered
thereafter, the first line of the paragraph will be alligned flush
with the left margin, and succeeding lines will be indented.
PATH NAME. Path names are used to indicate files held in folders on
your disk. See your ATARI ST Owner's Manual for a description of
folders and how to use them. Path names can be entered at any of ST
Writer's prompts for filenames or Path names. A path name is similar
to a filename, but may also optionally indicate a folder name (or
folder names) in order to tell ST Writer what path to take through
your various directories and subdirectories in order to access your
file.
Say, for example, that you would like to use a folder named TEXT to
hold your ST Writer files. To create the folder, follow the
instructions for Creating Folders in your ATARI ST Owner's Manual.
Then, after invoking ST Writer and creating your file, press [Esc] to
return to the main menu and select Save File by pressing the S key.
At the prompt, first enter the drive identifier (A:, B:, or C:), then
type a reverse slash (the key to the right of the [Return] key), then
the folder name (TEXT), then another reverse slash, then the filename
under which you wish to save the file (e.g. B:\TEXT\MYFILE.TXT).
Thus, a path name is simply a filename with one or more folder names
inserted, offset by reverse slash marks. To obtain a directory
listing of the folder TEXT, select Index of Files from the main menu,
select Screen or Printer, then at the prompt for Path name:, type
B:\TEXT and [Return].
Since folders can contain folders, you can use more than one folder
name in a path name. For instance, if the disk in drive B: contains a
folder named LETTERS in the folder named TEXT, a path name to file
MYFILE would resemble this: B:\TEXT\LETTERS\MYFILE.
In GEM mode, file selection is done slightly differently. A File
Selector Box appears with the current "path" on the top line. You may
change the path by placing the cursor on the line by pointing and
clicking the mouse, then either back-spacing over it, or pressing
[Esc].
You can then type in the above path name ( B:\TEXT\LETTERS\*.* ).
Move the mouse inside the File Selector Box and click. All files in
the LETTERS folder will be listed. This is because you used a "wild
card" specifier [*]. If you only wanted files ending with .TXT, you
would have typed:
B:\TEXT\LETTERS\*.TXT [TAB]
(Note: File Selector Boxes use the [TAB] key in place of the [RETURN]
key.) You may then click on the file wanted followed by clicking the
OK box, or double click on the selected file, and it will load, be
saved, or delete, depending which function you had selected.
PRINTER CONTROLS. If you do not have an Epson or Epson-compatible
printer (including the ATARI SMM804), you can still format and print
your ST Writer text files by entering the desired printer controls
directly in your files.
Wherever you want to enter a printer control, first press [Control O],
then type in the decimal equivalent of the appropriate code understood
by your printer. For instance, to send a decimal code 15, type
[Control O]15. Be sure to type a space after the number -- ST Writer
uses this space as a delimiter. You should be able to find a listing
of codes used by your printer in the manual that came with it. Note:
when you enter a printer control code with [Control O] on a page,
that entire page will be formatted by the code you enter.
PRINT FILE. You can print your text to the screen (see Print
preview), to a disk file, to a serial printer or modem, or to a
parallel printer. (Note: To print to a printer or modem connected to
your computer's RS232 serial port, first use the Install Printer
option from the GEM desktop Desk menu to set the Printer Port to
Modem, -- see your ST Owner's Manual -- then print to the printer as
usual.) To print a file, load it in memory if not already present, go
to the ST Writer menu, and press P. ST Writer prompts, Enter
Printer, Disk, Screen, spooLer? -- press the highlighted capital
letter of the desired output device. For further instructions on
printing to the screen, see Print preview.
The message Searching for printer config file on disk appears in the
Message Window as soon as ST Writer has loaded into the computer, and
the disk drive spins momentarily. When this happens, ST Writer is
looking for the file XYZZX.DAT on your default drive; the drive from
which you loaded the ST Writer program. For further information on
this file, see Printer Configuration File. Whether or not the printer
configuration file is found, ST Writer still can print your file.
From the ST Writer menu, to print your file to a printer, press P.
Note: If your printer supports proportional print and you wish to use
this, you must first return to the GEM desktop and use the Install
Printer option from the Desk menu to set Printer Type to Daisy. To
send the formatted text to a disk file that you can later transmit to
another computer or print out directly from the GEM desktop, press D.
ST Writer prompts you for a file name and then sends the formatted
text to that file. The spooler option (press L) lets you print to a
disk file with all your printer control codes embedded along with your
text. A properly formatted file for your printer can later be printed
directly to your type of printer from the GEM desktop.
The next prompt, Enter number of copies?, is followed by the number 1.
Press [Return] to accept the default value of one copy. To print more
than one copy, type the new number of copies, then press [Return].
Next ST Writer prompts Print whole document Y/N?. Type Y (or just
press [Return]) to print the entire text, or type N to print a range
of pages. If you press N, ST Writer asks you for the beginning page
number with the prompt Enter first?. Press [Return] to accept the
default value, page 1, or press [Backspace] once and type a new
beginning page number and [Return]. Then at the prompt Enter last?,
press [Return] to accept the default last page 999, or use [Backspace]
to edit the entry. Finally, you are asked if you want letter quality
print, and a 'Y' appears if you have selected letter quality print in
the printer configuration desk accessory, or an 'N' if you did not.
You may change the 'Y' to 'N' or vice versa at this point, or simply
press [Return] if the correct letter is present. To temporarily halt
printing, press [Control S], and to resume, press any key. You can
stop printing and return to the main menu at any time by pressing the
[Esc] key.
Hint: Printing your file to a disk file is a convenient way of
creating documentation on disk for a program you've written. Users
can show a file printed to disk on the screen or print it out from the
GEM desktop by double-clicking the file's icon or filename. Type
instructions for your program into ST Writer, then print the text to a
file named README.DOC, then write "Show (print) README.DOC for
instructions" on your disk label. Remember to adjust the left margin
to one.
In GEM mode, there is one dialog box which allows you to select the
number of copies, the range of pages to print, and the device to print
to.
PRINT PREVIEW. This feature of ST Writer lets you examine a formatted
text file on your monitor screen prior to printing it. You can use
Print preview at any time while creating or editing a file.
For a print preview, press [Esc] from the editor to return to the ST
Writer menu, then select Print File. At the prompt Enter Printer,
Disk, Screen SpooLer? press S for screen print. For directions for
responding to the next prompt, Print whole document Y/N?, see Print
File above. Next, ST Writer prints your formatted file to the screen,
showing each page break with a dotted line across the screen width.
To pause this screen print, press [Control S], then press any key to
resume the listing. Return to the ST Writer menu any time by pressing
[Esc].
PRINT STYLES. (fonts). ST Writer offers you a choice of sixteen
combinations of print styles or fonts -- check the manual that came
with your printer to see which ones your printer is capable of.
The default print style of ST Writer, represented by the 0 next to the
inverse video G in the Print Formatting Block is Pica, or 10
characters per inch (CPI). To format your entire file for condensed
print (16.7 CPI), change this value to 2. For bold print, change it
to 1, and to print in italics, change it to 4. To print in Elite
style, type 8 after the inverse video G.
To vary the print style within a file, position the cursor where you
want a new print style to begin, press [Control G], and type in the
value desired. You can add the above values to use more than one
style at a time -- use this table:
CONTROL G STYLE
CODE
0 Pica
1 Bold
2 Condensed
4 Italics
8 Elite
To combine print styles, add the values for the required styles. For
instance, to print Bold Elite, type [Control G]9, then a hyphen, then
the text. The hyphen will not appear in the text printout. The print
styles you select are not represented as such in Print preview except
for elongated, which appears as letters with single spaces in
between.
The GLOBAL FORMAT dialog box simplifies this task. See GLOBAL
FORMAT.
PRINTER CONFIGURATION FILE. ST Writer comes with a special printer
configuration program called CONFIG.TOS. When run, CONFIG.TOS looks
on disk for a file names CONFIG.TXT and reads it into memory.
CONFIG.TXT is nothing more than a saved ST Writer file containing all
necessary printer codes for the user's individual printer. After
reading CONFIG.TXT, CONFIG.TOS converts the text into special code and
saves it back to disk, creating a file named XYZZX.DAT. ST Writer
searches on the disk it was booted from for XYZZX.DAT and uses its
codes to properly interface with the printer.
Once you create an XYZZX.DAT file for your particular printer, you
never need to go through it again. Be sure to make a backup copy of
CONFIG.TXT. The only two files you need on any disk to operate ST
Writer are the STWRITER.PRG program itself and XYZZX.DAT.
To modify the printer configuration file, pull up your printer manual
and load a backup copy of CONFIG.TXT into ST Writer and examine it.
Any line of text beginning with an asterisk (*) is a comment for your
information only and is ignored by the CONFIG.TOS program.
For the moment, let's skip over the first section of the file and edit
a fairly simple example. Look for the comment: *underline on.
Following *underline on are a list of numbers: 27, 45, 1, 255, 255,
255, etc. Each of these numbers is a printer code in decimal
representing the command to turn on the underline. The 255's are
fillers where there is no printer code number.
Look in your printer manual for the proper codes to turn on the
underline. If your printer codes are listed in decimal--sometimes
shown as CHR$(27), CHR$(45), CHR$(1)--you're lucky. Printer codes are
also often listed in hexadecimal or ASCII form. Hex is indicated by
either a preceding dollar sign or by the presence of the letters A
through F. The underline on codes above would appear in hexadecimal
as: $1B, 2D, $01. In ASCII notation underline on would be: Esc., -,
SOH. Whichever the case, if your printer codes are in hexadecimal you
wil need to convert them to decimal with a table, and if they are in
ASCII, you will need an ASCII chart. Fortunately, many printer
manuals have conversion charts in their appendeces.
Go down the line of CONFIG.TXT codes and replace any codes that
disagree with those codes in your printer manual. If your printer
requires, say, four codes for a function that prviously contained
three, replace one of the the 255's with the fourth code. Likewise,
if your printer is one code short, replace the old, extra code number
with a 255. It is very important that each function segment in
CONFIG.TXT contains eight codes, so edit carefully. If you are
uncertain about a particular function, leave it alone. Change as
little as possible. You can always re-edit and try again.
Go back and look at the top of CONFIG.TXT. A short chart at the top
shows the necessary code numbers to use for certain parameters. It is
set up for 80-column printers, but if you have at least 132 columns,
substitute 8712 for 5280. This number is critical if you want more
than 160 columns (condensed elite on an 80-column printer). You can
get 198 columns (condensed on a 132-column printer) if you don't try
printing more columns than your printer can handle. The character
translation table may appear confusing, but it merely lists the ASCII
equivalent of all the characters in the character set, from 0 to 255.
Unlike the remainder of CONFIG.TXT, these numbers are in hexadecimal
(represented in this case by 0x), so if you are not sure what they
represent, see a table or the character set in your printer manual.
Beyond the standard range of alphanumeric ASCII characters is an extra
character set. The ST sees these extra characters as one thing, but
your individual printer sees them as another. Many printers have
their own special character set. The character translation table in
CONFIG.TXT is designed to make the two jibe as much as possible.
Currently, the table is set up for Atari printers. If you don't have
an Atari printer, you won't have all the special characters, so you
can configure your printer driver to print the characters you do have,
even if they have a different ASCII number. For example, my Star
Micronics NX-10 printer has the paragraph symbol located at 0x14
(decimal 20), but on the ST, that symbol has the value 0xbc (decimal
188). I found 0xbc in the table and replaced it with 0x14. Now,
every time I use the paragraph symbol in text to be printed, it will
print as though I were using an Atari printer. Don't bother changing
table values below 0x20 because ST Writer uses those for formatting
codes, and they will never be sent to your printer.
Once you have completed editing CONFIG.TXT, save it back to disk under
the same name. Return to the GEM Desktop and make sure you have both
CONFIG.TOS and the newly edited CONFIG.TXT on the same disk.
Double-click on CONFIG.TOS. In as short while, it will create a
XYZZX.DAT file on your disk. Place this file on the same disk as
STWRITER.PRG and you're ready to go. You might create a short ST
Writer file which uses all the printer commands you wish to test.
This way you can quickly try out the different functions and see how
successful your edit has been.
QUIT. Use this command to exit ST Writer and return to the GEM
desktop. From the main menu press Q. If you have made any changes to
your text file since the last time you saved it, ST Writer prompts
Quit without saving file in memory?. Press Y or y to exit ST Writer,
or any other key to return to the main menu.
RECEIVE ATARIWRITERTM. Use this function to transfer a file from an
ATARI 400, 800, XL or current XE Computer using AtariWriter or
AtariWriter Plus to your ST. You must have an ATARI 850 Interface
Module (or equivalent) connected to your 400, 800, XL or XE Computer
and a "null-modem cable" (see below) in order to make this transfer
(300 baud). You may also load in an 8-bit AtariWriter file from disk,
and ST Writer will convert the file.
A special cable called a "null modem cable" is required to connect the
two computers. You probably will not be able to find such a cable
ready-made -- you must either make it yourself or have it made for
you. Most cities have stores that will custom-make a cable for a
reasonable fee. To make the cable, obtain a female 25-pin connector
for the ST end, a female 9-pin connector for the 850 end, and a length
of cable with at least five wires. Connect these pins on the two
connectors:
25-pin pin # TO: 9-pin pin #
------------ --- -----------
2 4
3 3
4 8
7 5
8 7
To transfer a file, first load AtariWriter or AtariWriter Plus and the
file to be transferred into your ATARI 400, 800, XL or XE. Make sure
that you have downloaded the RS232 handler from the 850 -- follow the
instructions with your DOS manual. If using AtariWriter Plus, make
sure your 850 Interface is connected and turned on before you load the
program disk. Next, on your ST, run ST Writer. Connect the two
computers with your cable. Next, press R on the ST keyboard to
activate the Receive file from 850 command. Then press S on the other
computer's keyboard to Save File. When prompted for DEVICE:FILENAME,
enter R: and press [Return]. The file is then transferred to the ST
Writer text buffer, where you see it appear. After the transfer is
finished, it's a good idea to save the transferred file to disk for
safekeeping before editing it.
SAVE ASCII. This is a MENU selection in GEM mode, but in non-GEM mode
when you type 'S' to SAVE a file, you will be asked if you want to
"Save in ASCII format?" The default is 'N' (No), and merely pressing
the [Return] key negates an ASCII save. However, selecting ASCII SAVE
allows you to write an ASCII file to disk. This is the same as
printing to disk, as every line gets a carriage return and line feed
appended to it. The major exception is that the left margin will be
1, and the right can be set up to 160 (for an 80 column printer
driver). All blank spaces at the end of a line or page will be
discarded. If you MUST have blanks at the end of a line, use the
Elongated text control [Shift F9] followed by exactly 1/2 the number
of blank spaces needed, and then a terminating [Shift F9]. This
tricks the formatter into writing blank spaces at the end of a line or
page. SAVE ASCII files will not re-load into ST Writer Elite without
conversion to ST Writer format, but can be easily loaded into other
word processors or text editors. It is a good idea to use a ".DOC"
extender on ASCII filenames so as not to confuse them with files saved
in ST Writer format.
SAVE BLOCK. After marking the beginning and end of a block of text
with [Shift F5], you can save the marked block to a disk file. Mark
the block, then press [Shift F8]. ST Writer prompts for a filename
with: Save block as:. Enter a filename or Path name, then press
[Return] to save the block on disk. You can merge this text with
another file with the F8 key (see Merging text.) Hint: an easy way to
delete the block markers after saving the block (40,000 bytes or less
only) is to press [F5] to delete the block, then [Undo] to restore
it.
SAVE FILE. To store a text file on a diskette, select Save File from
the ST Writer menu by pressing S. When asked "Save in ASCII format?",
hit the return key. Insert a formatted disk in your disk drive (if
you don't have a formatted disk on hand, you can have ST Writer format
one for you -- see Format Disk.) Then type a filename (optionally
including Path name -- see Path name), and press [Return].
If your file already has a filename associated with it (i.e. you
previously loaded it from disk, rather than creating it from scratch),
ST Writer prints out that name after the Save file: prompt. Simply
press [Return] to save the file.
Important Note: In the latter case, or if the filename you have
entered already exists on disk, ST Writer does not print a warning
message in the Message Window. Therefore if you wish to retain an
original copy of the document you are editing, save the edited version
under a different filename.
In GEM mode, this is done by selecting "Save". Selecting "Save AS..."
allows you to specify another filename to save it under.
SEARCH AND REPLACE. Use this feature of ST Writer to search for,
replace, or delete any string of text up to 57 characters in length.
On command, ST Writer executes a search from the current position of
the cursor to the end or the beginning of a text file, in either
direction.
There are four ways to search; Search Reverse, Search Forward,
Replace, and Query Replace. To conduct a Forward Search, from the
cursor position to the end of a file, press function key F6. ST
Writer then prompts Forward search <Esc>: in the Message Window.
Enter the character, word, or phrase you wish to find, then press the
[Esc]. Using the [Esc] key as a terminator in the search phrase
allows you to search for phrases that include the [Return] character.
You can also search for other non-alphanumeric characters, including
all [Control] key combinations. Pressing [Esc] activates the search,
whereupon ST Writer moves the cursor to the first incidence of the
sought phrase. If it does not appear in the text, the Message Window
shows String was not found.
If found, to search again for the same phrase, press F6 again. The
Forward search <Esc>: prompt reappears, followed by the last seach
phrase. Simply press [Esc] to search for that phrase. To search for
a different phrase, press any key and the old search phrase is
automatically deleted, making room for a new search phrase.
To search backwards in your file, press [Shift F6]. Reverse Search
works identically to Forward Search, except that it searches from the
cursor position to the beginning of the file, rather than to the end.
Forward Search and Reverse Search use the same buffer for the search
phrase.
If you want to replace the phrase you're searching for with a
different phrase, use function key F7. Pressing F7 alone causes ST
Writer to confirm each replacement operation with you, and [Shift F7]
effects replacement of all occurrences of the sought phrase without
verification, also known as global replace. After pressing either, ST
Writer prompts: (Query) Replace <Esc>:. Enter the search phrase
(including presses of [Return], if applicable), then press the [Esc]
key. Next, ST Writer prompts: With <Esc>:. Enter the phrase that is
to replace the search phrase. For instance, you can use Replace to
change the name John to Jack through your entire manuscript. If you
have selected Query Replace, and the search phrase is found, the
message window prompts: Type 'Y' to replace string:. Pressing Y
replaces the phrase and moves the cursor forward to the next
occurrence of the search phrase (if any). Pressing any other key does
not perform the replacement, but still moves the cursor to the next
incidence of the search phrase. Note that Replace and Query Replace
search forward only from the cursor position.
Note: if, while entering a search or replace phrase, you decide not to
make the search after all, press [Control K] to abort the process and
return to editing your document.
If you press [Shift F7] for global replace, all incidences of the
search phrase are automatically replaced by the replace phrase without
query. This is a powerful command, and should be used carefully!
When entering a search phrase, you must type it exactly as it appears
in your file. When the string is a single short word that might
appear in your file as a part of longer words, it's a good idea to
type in blank spaces before and after it. If you do this, though,
include the same blank spaces in your replace phrase. And keep in
mind that ST Writer will not recognize occurrences of such a search
phrase that have punctuation marks immediately before or after them.
To halt a search-and-replace operation, press [Esc].
SECTION HEADINGS. Use this feature of ST Writer to number section and
subsection headings in a multisection document. The easiest way to
explain its use is with an example.
Say you're writing a text file about nutrition. In outline, it
includes the following sections and subsections:
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits
Fresh fruits
Preserves
Vegetables
Dairy Products
To number each of these section and subsection headings when entering
them in your file, press [Control U] and type the number of the
section level, then the text of the heading and [Return]. In this
case, Fruits and vegetables is the highest level of headings, so you
type 1 after [Shift F8]. The section level for both Fruits and
Vegetables is 2, and 3 for both Fresh fruits and Preserves. For
Dairy products, you return to a section level of 1. You can specify
section levels of 1 through 9. Wherever you enter a section heading
command and number, ST Writer displays a European paragraph symbol
followed by the section level number you've entered.
When it formats and prints your file, ST Writer numbers your section
headings, raising the numbers for each occurrence of a section heading
command at a given level. In other words, the section headings in
your file on nutrition would be numbered as follows:
1 Fruits and vegetables
1.1 Fruits
1.1.1 Fresh fruits
1.1.2 Preserves
1.2 Vegetables
2 Dairy products
You should format your section headings according to your preferences.
Add as many spaces between each section level number and heading as
you want between the section number and heading. And use paragraph
markers, center or block text right commands, and print style commands
in combination with your section heading commands to format your
headings the way you want them.
To reset your numbering of section headings -- say, in a large
document where you want a numbered system of headings in each chapter
-- press [Control U] and type the number 0. Then press [Control U]
again and the desired level number when you enter your next heading.
SOURCE FILES. You can create source code files in BASIC, LOGO, C,
etc. with ST Writer. Set [Control B] to 0 (zero), [Control G] to 10,
[Control L] to 1, [Control R] to 160 and [Control T] to 0. Be certain
that none of your lines of code exceed the 160 (80 column printer
driver) or 198 character (136 column printer driver) limit without an
intervening carriage return. Also, the last page of your source code
may not fill up the whole page, and when printed will have several
carriage returns following the text. Use the print preview to find
the page break (occurring at the end of the each page). When you see
the beginning of the last page, make note of the position and number
of lines on the final page in the file. Then edit your file by
inserting [Control Y] followed by a number that is double the number
of lines on the last page, somewhere in the text prior to the end.
Then Print your file to disk. It is a good idea to also Save your
text file under another name in case you wish to edit it later.
SPECIAL CHARACTERS. Ordinarily, all ST characters with ASCII values
less than 32 ($20 Hex) cannot be used in your text, as these have
special meaning to printers, and are used internally by ST Writer as
formatting directives. However, using [Control X] before and after
such characters will temporarily shut off the interpretation of such
characters in their usual meaning and will actually insert them into
your text (particularly useful if you are planning to "SAVE ASCII"
(GEM mode only) and the disk file you are creating requires such
characters to maintain its integrity. This feature is for experienced
programmers. Most control codes can be produced using [Control
X][Control {Key}][Control X]. You may use as many [Control {key}]
characters between the [Control X] formatting commands as needed, but
no normal chararacters (ASCII numbers greater than 31, $1F Hex) with
the exception of [\] which is used solely before a [Control X] to
differentiate it from a terminating [Control X] formatting command.
Exceptions to the normal {key} characters are:
To get: Use:
ASCII 0 (null) [ Return ]
[ Control A ] [ Control U ]
[ Control U ] [ Shift F5 ]
[ Control X ] \[ Control X ]
[ Control Z ] [ Control : ]
[ Escape ] [ Control [ ] or [ Control ; ]
ASCII $1C [ Control < ] or [ Control \ ]
ASCII $1D [ Control = ] or [ Control ] ]
ASCII $1E [ Control > ] or [ Control ^ ]
ASCII $1F [ Control ? ] or [ Control _ ]
SUBSCRIPTS AND SUPERSCRIPTS. Printed a half-line below or above the
line, subscripts and superscripts are especially useful when you're
writing about chemical or mathematical formulas or including footnote
numbers in your text files. (Check the manual that came with your
printer to see if it's capable of printing subscripts and
superscripts.)
To specify a subscript, press function key F10 before typing the
material to be subscripted and [Shift F10] after. To specify a
superscript, press [Shift F10] before and F10 after the material to be
superscripted.
ST Writer displays inverse video up and down arrows where these
commands are entered. So the chemical formula for water would appear
on your screen as H(down arrow)2(up arrow)O, and Einstein's famous
Theory of Relativity as E=mc(up arrow)2(down arrow). If you wanted to
use a superscript o as a degree symbol, the boiling point of water
would appear as 212(up arrow)o(down arrow)F.
TABS. The series of arrows that appear every five spaces along the
top of your Message Window each time you begin a work session with ST
Writer are the default Tab settings of ST Writer. To remove any of
the default Tab settings (or stops), first move your cursor to a Tab
stop and press [Shift F4]. ST Writer prompts you to Type 'Y' to
clear current tab stop: -- pressing Y clears the stop and removes its
arrow from the Message Window. Conversely, to set a new Tab stop,
simply position the cursor at the desired setting and press function
key F4.
To clear all Tab stops, press [Control Tab], and to restore ST
Writer's default tab stops, press [Shift Tab].
Here are some important facts to know about using Tabs. Using the Tab
key alone always inserts spaces to the next Tab stop. To tab forward
to the next stop without inserting spaces, press [Shift (right
arrow)], and to tab backward to the previous tab stop, press [Shift
(left arrow)]. Also, Tab settings are saved along with your text
file; thus, you don't need to reset them each time you load and edit
the file.
Tabs are perhaps most often used to create columns of numbers or
words. In such applications, we highly recommend that you use ST
Writer in TOS's medium or high resolution to take advantage of the
80-column screen for proper layout of your document.
UNDERLINING TEXT. To enter underlined text in a file, press [Shift
F3] before typing in the text. An inverse video underline character
appears. Press [Shift F3] again to return to ordinary text.
UPPER AND LOWERCASE CHARACTERS. To enter a single upper-case
character, of course, you hold down the [Shift] key while typing the
character. For all uppercase letters, press the [Caps Lock] key,
whereupon the letter C appears in the right half of the message
window, and press it again to return to all lowercase.
With ST Writer you can also change letters that you've already entered
from lower to uppercase or vice versa. To do this, position the
cursor on the letter you want to change and press function key F3. To
change a series of characters, simply hold down the F3 key.