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SystemMenu
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1991-10-02
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THE SYSTEM MENU
PAR PORT
KEY SEQUENCE: None
A64 can use the parallel port with either it's hardware
interface or with Amiga devices like Amiga printers, but it can
only access one or the other at any one time. The PAR PORT menu
option allows you to switch between the two different ways that
A64 can use the parallel port.
The PAR PORT menu option has two settings: AMIGA and A64. You can
select one or the other of these settings and selecting one
automatically unselects the other. The current selected setting
is shown by displaying a checkmark next to it.
When A64 is selected A64 will use the parallel port for it's
hardware interface.
When AMIGA is selected A64 will use the parallel port for Amiga
devices.
Please note that A64 V2.0 handles the parallel port differently
than in previous versions. You no longer have to set the PAR
PORT menu option to AMIGA for other programs to access the
parallel port while A64 is in memory. The AMIGA setting is used
to tell A64 that you want to use an Amiga device with A64.
IMPORTANT NOTE: See PAR PORT BUG in the KNOWN BUGS section!
SER PORT
KEY SEQUENCE: None
A64 can use the serial port with either modems or other types
of Amiga devices like Amiga printers, but it can only access one
or the other at any one time. The SER PORT menu option allows
you to switch between the two different ways that A64 can use the
serial port.
The SER PORT menu option has two settings: AMIGA and A64. You can
select one or the other of these settings and selecting one
automatically unselects the other. The current selected setting
is shown by displaying a checkmark next to it.
When A64 is selected, A64 will use the serial port for modems
only. You will be unable to use the serial port for any other
purpose or with any other Amiga program.
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When AMIGA is selected you can use the serial port for other
devices like serial printers or with other programs.
NOTES: Unlike the PAR PORT menu option you must set the SER PORT
option to AMIGA when you want to access the serial port
from another program while A64 is memory.
You should not change the SER PORT setting to AMIGA while
A64 is running a C64 telecommunications program. This
could cause the C64 program to lose data and possibly
crash, forcing you to reset A64.
MODEMS
A64 supports Amiga modems. To use an Amiga modem with A64 you
must make sure the SER PORT menu item is set to A64 (See SER PORT
in the SYSTEM MENU section). You do not have to set BAUD, PARITY
or other telecommunications parameters with either A64 Prefs or
the WorkBench Preferences program. The C64 program that A64 is
running will set these parameters. A64 does not support BAUD
rates of 50 and 75 which are available on the C64, but it does
support all BAUD rates from 110 to 19200, however you may find
that BAUD rates over 2400 will significantly slow down A64.
DRIVES
KEY SEQUENCE: [RIGHT AMIGA] [D] (Drives)
The Commodore 64 allows you to connect up to four disk drives to
it. A64 is no different in that it also allows you to utilize up
to four drives, but unlike the C64, A64 allows you to use not
only C64 drives, but you can also use Amiga drives as well. The
C64 uses device numbers to access its drives. Numbered 8-11.
A64 uses these same numbers and the DRIVES menu option allows you
to assign a type of drive to these numbers.
When selecting DRIVES you will be prompted with a requester
containing a number of gadgets. The function of each gadget is
as follows:
DRIVES GADGETS
On the left side of the DRIVES requester are the numbers 8-11,
these numbers correspond to the C64's device numbers mentioned
above. To the right of each of these numbers are two gadgets.
The first gadget (going left to right) allows you to switch
between a C64 drive or an Amiga drive for that particular device
number. This is displayed by showing the word C64 or AMIGA. If
you want to assign a C64 drive to a device number you set this
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gadget to C64 or if you want to assign an Amiga drive to a device
number you set this gadget to AMIGA. The second gadget is a
string gadget and it is only used when you set the first gadget
to AMIGA. If you set the first gadget to C64 then this gadget
will be disabled. The purpose of the second gadget is to tell
A64 what Amiga device you want to assign to a device number.
This is done by typing in the device name that you want to assign
to a device number. This name can be any Amiga drive or any
valid AmigaDOS path name. Some examples of valid device names
are: df0:, df1:, dh0:, and RAM:. You can also use directory
names like df0:TheA64Package/64Prgs or volume names like
WorkBench 1.3:
For example, you want to load the C64 program named "64Colors"
and this program is located on the A64 disk in the 64Prgs
directory, which itself is in the directory TheA64Package. With
the A64 disk in df0: you would do the following:
1. Select the DRIVES menu option with either the mouse or key
sequence.
2. When the requester appears change drive 8 to AMIGA. This
is done by clicking on the first gadget (going left to
right) next to the number 8.
3. The string gadget will then become enabled. Select the
string gadget and type in the following:
df0:The64Package/64Prgs [RETURN]
4. Select the OK gadget so your changes will be preserved.
5. Exit A64 Prefs using the EXIT PREFS menu item in the
PROJECT menu.
6. When you are back in A64 type in the following:
LOAD"64COLORS",8 [RETURN]
A64 will then load the program from the path you assigned to
drive 8, "df0:The64Package/64Prgs." You can now RUN the program
as if were loaded from a C64 drive. Now whenever you perform an
action involving drive 8 A64 will act as if "df0:The64Package/
64Prgs" is drive 8. Please note that you could also have
assigned drive 8 to just df0: and typed the following when you
re-entered A64: LOAD"THEA64PACKAGE/64PRGS/64COLORS",8 [RETURN]
WORK DIR GADGET
For certain functions involving Amiga drives A64 needs to create
temporary files. A64 creates these temporary files when loading
the directory of an Amiga disk or reading from the C64 command
channel 15. The WORK DIR gadget is used to tell A64 where to
put these files. To change the WORK DIR setting click on the
string gadget and then enter the name of the directory where you
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want A64 to put these files. We recommend using a RAM disk
for these files.
OK AND CANCEL GADGETS
Selecting OK will preserve all changes to the DRIVES settings and
selecting CANCEL will ignore any changes and abort the operation.
AMIGA DRIVES
A64 supports Amiga drives for the loading and saving of programs
and data. These drives can be floppy drives, hard drives and RAM
drives. But before you attempt to use any of these with A64 you
must understand an important fact about using them. They are not
as compatible as using a C64 drive with A64 and their use is
limited. The reason for this is that C64 disk drives are what is
referred to as "intelligent devices." This means that C64 drives
have ROM and RAM (memory) giving them the ability to run programs
just like the C64 does. Basically they are computers! The C64
can transfer a program or send a command to the C64 disk drive
telling it to perform some internal action. This action happens
totally independent of the C64. This ability is used for
everything from reading drive errors to copy protection. Amiga
drives on the other hand are not "intelligent devices." They
have no accessible RAM or ROM and basically rely on the Amiga to
perform all actions. Because of this fact, Amiga drives will not
work with C64 copy protection. They only support very simple
operations. If you try to perform some action with an Amiga
drive that it can not handle an error requester will appear (See
A64 ERRORS in the PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS section). You can avoid
these incompatibilities by using C64 disk drives whenever
possible. A64 supports all communications with C64 disk drives
and when using them these incompatibilities do not exist.
NOTES: A64 supports the following file types with Amiga drives:
PRG, SEQ and USR. Relative (REL) files are not supported.
Please note that file types are not saved with the file on
Amiga drives, but the file formats are identical to the
C64's (PRG files include load address, SEQ and USR do
not).
A64 V2.0 supports loading the directory of Amiga drives.
You load a directory in the same way that you would from
a C64 drive, by typing LOAD "$",x (x is the drive number
8-11).
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PRINTERS
KEY SEQUENCE: [RIGHT AMIGA] [P] (Printers)
The Commodore 64 allows you to connect up to two printers to
it. A64 is no different in that it also allows you to utilize up
to two printers, but unlike the C64, A64 allows you to use not
only C64 printers, but you can also use Amiga printers as well.
The C64 uses device numbers to access its printers. Numbered
4 & 5. A64 uses these same numbers and the PRINTERS menu option
allows you to assign a type of printer to these numbers.
When selecting PRINTERS you will be prompted with a requester
containing a number of gadgets. The function of each gadget is
as follows:
PRINTERS GADGETS
On the left side of the PRINTERS requester are the numbers 4 & 5,
these numbers correspond to the C64's device numbers mentioned
above. To the right of each of these numbers are two gadgets.
The first gadget (going left to right) allows you to switch
between a C64 printer or an Amiga printer for that particular
device number. This is displayed by showing the word C64 or
AMIGA. If you want to assign a C64 printer to a device number
you set this gadget to C64 or if you want to assign an Amiga
printer to a device number you set this gadget to AMIGA. The
second gadget is a string gadget and it is only used when you
set the first gadget to AMIGA. If you set the first gadget to
C64 then this gadget will be disabled. The purpose of the second
gadget is to tell A64 what Amiga device you want to assign to a
device number. This is done by typing in the device name that
you want to assign to a device number. This name can be any
Amiga output type device. For example PAR: or SER:.
You should note that using an Amiga printer with A64 can cause
conflicts for the serial or parallel ports. To avoid this make
sure when using Amiga printers that you set the PAR PORT or SER
PORT to AMIGA, depending on the printer type you are using (See
PAR PORT and SER PORT in the SYSTEM MENU section).
CONVERTS CRs GADGET
The C64 uses a different character than the Amiga to end a line
of text sent to a printer. The C64 uses a Carriage Return (CR)
and the Amiga uses a Line Feed (LF). The Convert CRs gadget will
allow you to convert all CRs to LFs that are being sent to the
printer. This gadget has two settings, YES and NO. Selecting
YES will enable the conversion of CRs and selecting NO will
disable this feature. Please note that this feature is only used
when using Amiga printers and the conversion will not occur when
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using C64 printers, regardless of of this gadgets setting.
CONVERT ASCIIs GADGET
The C64 uses a different way of representing characters than the
Amiga. The C64 uses PET ASCII to represent characters while the
Amiga uses normal ASCII. The Convert ASCIIs gadget will allow
you to convert all characters being sent to the printer from PET
ASCII to normal ASCII. This gadget has two settings, YES and NO.
Selecting YES will enable the conversion of ASCIIs and selecting
NO will disable this feature. Please note that this feature is
only used when using Amiga printers and the conversion will not
occur when using C64 printers, regardless of of this gadgets
setting.
OK AND CANCEL GADGETS
Selecting OK will preserve all changes to the PRINTERS settings
and selecting CANCEL will ignore any changes and abort the
operation.
GAME PORTS (JOYSTICKS)
KEY SEQUENCE: [RIGHT AMIGA] [G] (Game port)
The GAME PORTS menu option allows you to tell A64 what kind of
input devices are connected to the Amiga's game ports (Game ports
are the ports that you plug your Amiga mouse and joysticks into).
In the following explanation of the GAME PORTS menu option,
reference is made to each port in the following manner: port 1
means the port that your Amiga's mouse is normally plugged into
and port 2 means the other port. By default, port 1 on the Amiga
corresponds to port 1 on the C64 and port 2 on the Amiga
corresponds to port 2 on the C64.
When selecting GAME PORTS, you will be prompted with a requester
containing a number of gadgets. The function of each gadget is
as follows:
SWAP PORTS GADGET
Selecting SWAP PORTS will swap the game ports on the Amiga. This
is shown by toggling the gadget between YES and NO. The meaning
of both are as follows:
NO, The Amiga's game ports act as normal. Port 1 on the Amiga
corresponds to port 1 on the C64 and port 2 on the Amiga
corresponds to port 2 on the C64.
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YES, The Amiga's game ports are swapped. Port 1 on the Amiga
will become port 2 on the C64 and port 2 on the Amiga will
become port 1 on the C64. This swapping of the ports is in
reference to the actual game ports on the Amiga and not the
PORT 1 and PORT 2 gadgets described below.
For example, you are using a C64 program that requires a joystick
in port 1. Instead of unplugging your Amiga's mouse from port 1
you can plug the joystick into port 2 and select YES as the SWAP
PORTS setting. Now A64 will read the joystick as if it was
plugged into port 1. Please note that you must still set the
PORT 1 gadget to JOYSTICKS as described below. Also note that
SWAP PORTS only effects how A64 reads the game ports and not how
the Amiga and WorkBench read them. With proper use, SWAP PORTS
will allow you to use almost any C64 program and not have to
unplug your Amiga's mouse, unless of course both game ports are
required by the C64 program.
PORT 1 AND PORT 2 GADGETS
Selecting PORT 1 or PORT 2 will allow you to change the input
device for the corresponding C64 game port. This is displayed by
changing the name of the input device for the corresponding port.
Both of these gadgets work in the same way, except that PORT 1
corresponds to the C64's port 1 and PORT 2 corresponds to the
C64's port 2. These gadgets ALWAYS correspond to the C64's game
ports and not the Amiga's, regardless of the status of the SWAP
PORTS gadget described above. That means if a C64 program
requires a joystick in port 1 you MUST set the PORT 1 gadget to
JOYSTICKS. Currently there are only two supported settings for
these gadgets:
JOYSTICKS: Selects joysticks for the corresponding C64 port.
NO DEVICE: Acts as if there is no device connected regardless of
what is actually plugged in.
OK AND CANCEL GADGETS
Selecting OK will preserve all changes to the GAME PORTS settings
and selecting CANCEL will ignore any changes and abort the
operation.
NOTE: While the PORT 1 gadget is set to JOYSTICKS and SWAP PORTS
is set to NO the Amiga's mouse will interfere with the
keyboard and characters will appear on the screen when the
mouse is moved. This is normal. The same thing will
happen if you plug an Amiga mouse into port 1 of the C64.
This problem can be avoided by setting SWAP PORTS to YES or
setting the PORT 1 gadget to NO DEVICE. Also note, because
of the way the SWAP PORTS gadget works this problem can
also be created with the Amiga's game port 2.
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KEYBOARD
KEY SEQUENCE: None
A64 supports two separate keyboard layouts, one for the United
States and one for Germany. The KEYBOARD menu option allows you
to switch between the two keyboard layouts.
The KEYBOARD menu option has two settings: US and GERMAN. You can
select one or the other of these settings and selecting one
automatically unselects the other. The current selected setting
is shown by displaying a checkmark next to it.
When US is selected A64 will use the United States keyboard
layout.
When GERMAN is selected A64 will use the German keyboard layout.
KEYBOARD DIFFERENCES
There are some minor differences between the C64 keyboard and the
Amiga keyboards. The way A64 maps the keyboard is pretty much
"what you see is what you get." In most cases the legends on the
keys represent their equivalent function. The keys that have a
different function than their legends are:
For the US keyboard:
AMIGA KEY C64 EQUIVALENT
--------- --------------
ESC RUN/STOP
BACKSPACE (BACKARROW) DEL/INST
DEL CLR/HOME
HELP RESTORE
LEFT AMIGA COMMODORE
`~ BACK ARROW
\| £ (ENGLISH POUND)
[{ [ (when shifted gives PI)
]} ] (when shifted gives shift @)
For the German keyboard:
AMIGA KEY C64 EQUIVALENT
--------- --------------
ESC RUN/STOP
BACKSPACE (BACKARROW) DEL/INST
DEL CLR/HOME
HELP RESTORE
LEFT AMIGA COMMODORE
`~ BACK ARROW
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\| £ (ENGLISH POUND)
SHIFT 3 #
ß /
SHIFT / ?
^U @
^O : (when shifted gives [)
^A ; (when shifted gives ])
[ (KEYPAD) (
] (KEYPAD) )
The three keys: ^U, ^O and ^A can not be correctly typed on
the US keyboard. They are meant to represent the chars on
the right side of the German keyboard just to the left of the
RETURN key (the ones with two dots above them).
NOTE: The key sequence [RUN/STOP] [RESTORE] that is used to stop
C64 BASIC programs, can be done by pressing [ESC] [HELP].
A PROBLEM WITH THE KEYBOARD
Because of differences in a small number of keys on the keyboards
of the C64 and the Amiga, a minor problem can occur with certain
key sequences. The problem is related to pressing one or more of
the shift keys and one of the numeric or punctuation keys
simultaneously. What will happen is that A64 will think you
pressed a key that you didn't and an unwanted character will
appear on the screen. If this happens use the BACKSPACE key to
delete the unwanted character. You can decrease the frequency of
this problem by using the RIGHT SHIFT key, instead of the LEFT
SHIFT key, when typing shifted punctuation symbols or use the
numeric keypad to enter shifted punctuation symbols. Please note
that this problem is not really a "bug" in A64, but is related to
how the C64 reads the keyboard.
THE NUMERIC KEYPAD
The numeric keypad on the Amiga keyboard is fully supported. It
should be noted that on the US keyboard shifting the keys on the
keypad will give the C64 equivalent and not the Amiga's
equivalent. The German keyboard has the same shift values for
the numeric keys on both the C64 and the Amiga.
For example, using the key sequence: [SHIFT] [2]
On the Amiga: [SHIFT] [2] (2 key at top left of keyboard)
produces the '@'
[SHIFT] [2] (2 key on the numeric keypad) produces
the '"'
On the C64: [SHIFT] [2] produces the '"'
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NOTE: By using the numeric keypad and it's C64 shifted values you
will eliminate most of the keys that can cause the problem
listed above.
SPECIAL KEYS
There are a few keys on the Amiga that will perform a special
function when pressed. These keys and their functions are as
follows:
KEYS FUNCTION
---- --------
ALT, ALT When the two ALT keys are pressed simultaneously
from C64 mode, A64 Prefs will be started.
TAB Force A64 to redraw the screen, this can be done in
both C64 mode and in A64 Prefs.
F9 Enter A64Mon, this can be done in both C64 mode and
in A64 Prefs.
F10 Toggle title bar on and off. This can be done in
A64 Prefs only.
UNUSED KEYS
There are a couple of keys on the Amiga keyboard that are unused
by A64 while in C64 mode. They are as follows: F10 and RIGHT
AMIGA. Also, when pressed simultaneously the two ALT keys will
invoke A64 Prefs, but have no meaning when pressed by themselves.
SUPERSTATE
KEY SEQUENCE: None
A64 can run C64 programs in one of two modes. The SUPERSTATE
menu option allows you to switch between these two modes.
The SUPERSTATE menu option has two settings: ON and OFF. You can
select one or the other of these settings and selecting one
automatically unselects the other. The current selected setting
is shown by displaying a checkmark next to it.
When ON is selected A64 will run C64 programs in SUPERSTATE mode.
When OFF is selected A64 will run C64 program in C64 mode.
For a complete explanation of these modes please read the
following section.
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A64'S THREE MODES OF OPERATION
A64 has three modes of operation: PAUSE MODE, C64 MODE and
SUPERSTATE MODE. The three modes are explained as follows:
PAUSE MODE
A64 is in PAUSE MODE whenever you are in A64 Prefs or in A64Mon.
While in PAUSE MODE you have complete access to the entire Amiga
system and multitasking is completely functional. When in PAUSE
MODE the current C64 program that A64 is running will be paused.
C64 MODE
A64 is in C64 MODE whenever you exit A64 Prefs to the C64
environment. That means whenever A64 is actually running a C64
program A64 is in C64 MODE. While in C64 MODE you do not have
access to the Amiga system, including A64 Prefs. To get access
to A64 Prefs and the WorkBench you must put A64 into PAUSE MODE
by pressing the two ALT keys simultaneously. While A64 is in
C64 MODE multitasking is not disabled and any programs that were
running when C64 MODE was entered will still be running, however
A64 does control a substantial amount of the Amiga system while
in C64 MODE and most programs will not be permitted to receive
ant I/O. For example if a program is running and it expects
keyboard or mouse input it will never get it while A64 is in C64
MODE.
SUPERSTATE MODE
SUPERSTATE MODE is an extension of C64 MODE. These two modes are
identical except while in SUPERSTATE MODE A64 takes over your
Amiga even more. While in SUPERSTATE MODE multitasking will be
totally disabled and all programs that are running (except for
A64) will be stopped. SUPERSTATE MODE allows A64 to run slightly
faster, but disallows the use of Amiga drives and printers from
within A64. You exit SUPERSTATE MODE to PAUSE MODE in the same
way as from C64 MODE, by pressing the two ALT keys simultaneously.
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