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Loadstar 23
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t.ed in chief bo
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2022-08-26
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EDITOR IN CHIEF
by
Ron Coffen
Every product of your imagination
and labor deserves a personal touch--
even your computer programs. EDITOR
IN CHIEF makes getting that special
touch easy by allowing you to design
your own character sets or use one of
seven fonts already provided.
A SPECIAL FONT PRIMER...
A font is the set of characters
used to form the words and symbols
that your programs print out across
the screen while your program is
running. For example, these words
themselves are formed from characters
with a particular font design.
Why would you want to change fonts?
Well, one of the biggest reasons is
that changing fonts from the standard
Commodore font can give your program
the variety and polish it would
otherwise lack.
Another reason you would want to
change fonts is that some fonts can
add a whole new atmosphere and
cultural flavor to your programs.
For example, if you were writing an
adventure game set in King Arthur's
time, a Celtic design for your
letters would be a nice touch for
your program. An adventure set in
the future would benefit from a
high-tech, futuristic font.
Another benefit of being able to
design your own characters is that
you can take a character, alter it,
and then let it stand as a symbol for
an artifact or character in an
adventure game such as a treasure
or a monster. Also, a character
editor like EDITOR IN CHIEF is
essential if you need to create
special symbols like musical notes.
As you can see, EDITOR IN CHIEF can
add a whole new dimension to your
programs.
To make use of EDITOR IN CHIEF in
your programs, you must first store
the file containing the font you will
be using. Then adding the code--
listed at the bottom of these
instuctions-- to the beginning of
your program will let you access that
font. After this, any text printed
to the screen will appear in the new
font.
USING EDITOR IN CHIEF
When running this program, you will
first be asked if you wish to clear
the character set currently in
memory. If you are using the program
for the first time or after having
turned the power off, you need to
answer (Y)es. But if you are
returning to your work when the
computer has not been turned off,
pressing (N)o will reveal the
character set you were working on.
After you have responded to this
question, the computer then sets up
the main program. At the bottom
right of the screen, you will see the
character set you are editing. In
the upper right of the screen are
sixteen representations of the
character you are editing at that
moment. (The program starts with
"A").
In the top left corner is the
editing grid where you make changes
to each character. Again, you will
see that a large "A" is the starting
point.
Below the editing grid is a list of
your seven options:
1. Edit Character
2. Get Normal Font
3. Move Characters
4. Load Font
5. Save Font
6. Print Values
7. Hard Copy of Values
8. Return to Loadstar
Pressing the corresponding number
chooses the option.
Note that pressing F1 or F7 will
change the screen color. And the
"REPEAT ON/OFF" sign found in the
middle of the screen lets you perform
an editing function such as rotation
repeatedly merely by pressing the
correct key repeatedly if this option
is activated. If the "ON" sign is in
a lighter color than the rest of the
screen, the function is activated.
To turn this option on and off,
merely press "R".
EDIT CHARACTER
After you select this option, you
are prompted to enter either the
ASCII value for the character you want
or the character itself. For
example, entering either a "1" or an
"A" will let you edit the first
letter of the alphabet.
The character you select is
displayed in an enlarged form over
the editing grid. At the upper left
corner of the grid is a flashing
cursor that is moved with the cursor
keys.
Pressing "=" sets the pixel under
the cursor; pressing the SPACE BAR
will clear the pixel under the
cursor. By filling in or clearing
the blocks of the grid, you can alter
the character almost any way you like.
Once you have the character like you
want it, pressing RETURN will make
that change in the character set.
Commands used to manipulate the
editing grid are listed below the
grid and largely self-explanatory:
1. Cursor keys move cursor
2. F1/F7 raises/lowers screen color
3. "=" sets pixel under cursor
4. SPACE BAR clears pixel under
cursor
5. "@" rotates grid clockwise
6. SHIFT + "@" rotates grid
counter-clockwise
7. "M" mirrors grid
8. "I" inverses grid
9. U/N moves the grid up/down
10. RETURN makes changes
11. "C" cancels changes
12. CLR clears grid
GET NORMAL FONT
The second option lets you replace
part of your character set with a
normal font. Entering the ASCII
values of the beginning and ending
characters of the string will replace
it with a block of characters in
normal font.
MOVE CHARACTERS
This option moves strings of
characters to other positions within
the character set. Again you must
specify the ASCII values of the
beginning and ending characters of
the string as well as the the value
of where you want to place the
string.
This option is primarily a copy
option that lets you save a number of
symbols close together in the
character set. This option is
especially valuable when you are
dealing with symbols like musical
notes that are very much, but not
quite alike. Sometimes a
side-by-side comparison is necessary
to discern the difference between
symbols under these circumstances.
LOAD FONT
This option will load your own
fonts or one of seven fonts already
provided. The seven fonts are stored
as FONT0, FONT1, FONT2, etc. Type in
the filename and press RETURN to load
the desired file.
SAVE FONT
This option saves the font you
presently have in memory so that you
can modify it later or use it in your
own programs. If you save it under
a filename that is already on the
disk, the old file will be removed
and replaced with the new font.
PRINT VALUES
This option displays the grid
pattern and the decimal values of a
series of characters. When you
select this option, you are prompted
for the ASCII values of the beginning
and ending characters of the string
you wish to view.
The grid pattern along with the
decimal values of each letter is
displayed. Pressing RETURN sends you
to the next letter.
HARDCOPY OF VALUES
The last option will dump the
decimal values of the selected
characters to your printer with a
device number of 4 and a secondary
address of 4.
TO USE FONTS IN YOUR OWN PROGRAMS...
To use the fonts created with
EDITOR IN CHIEF in your own programs,
use the following lines at the
beginning of your program:
5 IF ML=1 THEN ML=0:GOTO 15
10 POKE56334,PEEK(56334)OR1:
POKE53272,(PEEK(53272)AND240)+12
12 ML=1:LOAD"font name",8,1
15 rest of program here
After this code is added to your
program and after you have saved the
file containing the font you wish to
use on your disk, any text printed to
the screen will appear in your new
font.
FILES REQUIRED:
ED IN CHIEF BOOT
EDITOR IN CHIEF
FONT0 ... FONT6
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