Loadstar 128 15/q15.d81/t.ej boot

Text File | 2022-08-28 | 7KB | 136 lines

                            E A S Y    J A C K E T

                               by Marshall Cook

     My friend Russ is addicted to CD's, and once in a while he'll throw a
sampling of his latest buys onto tape for me.  The problem is that he never
labels them.  That leaves me with some great music, but no way of knowing
who (or what) I'm listening to.  Then it dawned on me, what Russ needed was
an easy way to make cassette jackets; and EASY JACKET was born.

     Creating a new jacket is simple.  When the program starts, you're
presented with a menu of choices.  Pick CREATE, and you'll be guided through
the process as follows:

 INTERFACE SELECTION
 -------------------

      EASY JACKET works particulary well with the Xetec Super-Graphics
Printer Interface.  If you want to use a font from the interface, choose
Xetec.  (You must load the font before running EASY JACKET.)  Or, to use a
different interface, choose Normal Mode.  At this point you'll be shown what
printer driver is installed and asked if it's OK.  An Epson FX driver is
included that works with Epson compatibles, but by saying No, you'll be able
to create a driver for your own printer or load drivers you've already made.
More on this later.

PITCH -- If you chose Normal Mode, you'll be asked which pitch you want to
use.  The "pitch" is the amount of space between the characters.  With
Xetec, you'll automatically be given Elite pitch, which gives you more
characters per line.

NOISE REDUCTION -- Tell the program what type of noise reduction you used on
the tape, from Dolby B to Dolby S to none at all.

     You'll now be prompted for the TITLE and ARTIST on side A.  Just type
these in and press RETURN.  Use the DELete key if you make a mistake.

     Next you'll be asked for the list of SONGS on Side A.  Again, just type
them in and press RETURN.  After entering the last song for Side A, hit
RETURN on the next line.  You'll be asked for the same information for side
B.  When you finish, you'll find yourself back at the Main Menu.

     Now you can review what you just entered.  Choose REVIEW/EDIT to look
at and change any of the data.  When you're done, press BACK ARROW or the
CRSR LEFT key.

     At this point, it's a good idea to save your jacket; so choose SAVE.
You'll have the option of changing your current device number and/or seeing
the current directory.  When you're happy with these selections, pick SAVE
CURRENT JACKET.  Type in the name you want to give the file, and press
RETURN.

     Want to print your jacket?  Choose PRINT from the Main Menu and one of
two things will happen.  If you previously chose Xetec interfacing, you'll
be prompted for the font you want to use.  Otherwise you'll be shown which
printer driver is in use, and asked if it's OK.  Your jacket will start
printing after you answer the prompts.

     To print a jacket again in the future, run EASY JACKET and pick LOAD
OLD JACKET from the Main Menu.  Select LOAD from the next menu and you'll be
presented with the names of all jackets on the current device.  Use the menu
to pick the one you want and it will be loaded for you to review and print.

     So remember, it's easy!  Stop torturing your friends, and use EASY
JACKET.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A word about Printer Drivers:

     A printer driver is really nothing more than a file containing
information on what makes your printer different from others -- its printer
codes.  For example, to make my printer use Pica type, I have to send it a
command made up of the following series of numbers: 27 80.  To accomplish
the same thing on your printer, you might only have to send: 15.  All the
information you need is in your printer manual.  To make things easier, the
codes are usually divided up into different sections according to the kind
of job they do -- like Character Size, Line Spacing, and Graphics.  At first
glance this stuff can look pretty scary, but its just a classic example of
information overload.  Remember, you only have to find a few codes, not
memorize the whole thing.

     Each code is usually given in three different formats -- ASCII,
decimal, and hexadecimal.  All you need is the decimal codes.  For instance,
under Elite Pitch your book might have: ASCII = ESC :, Decimal = 27 58, and
Hex = 1B 3A. When EASY JACKET prompts you for the Code for Elite Pitch, type
in 27, a SPACE, and 58, then press RETURN.  That's all there is to it.

     There are two other things you need to know to make your printer driver
work -- the secondary addresses that your interface uses for Transparent
Mode and Upper/Lower Case Mode (With Line Feed).  These will be in your
interface manual, usually in a table called Secondary Addresses.  Again,
they will be decimal numbers that you type in when prompted.

     To see how all this comes together, you can Review the Epson driver
that's included.  Say No at the 'Current Driver is Epson FX -- Proceed?'
screen, and you'll be at the Printer Driver Menu.  Choose CREATE/REVIEW,
then REVIEW CURRENT DRIVER.  This will step you through all the prompts, and
show you what I entered to create the Epson driver.  After the last prompt
you'll have the chance to TEST the driver on your printer.  If everything
looks OK, then the Epson driver works for you, and you don't need to make a
new one.  If you're not so lucky, then you'll have to do some bookwork.  In
either case choose DON'T SAVE, and you'll be back at the main Printer Driver
Menu.  From here you can CREATE a new driver or use the back-arrow key to
step back as far as the Main Menu.  Upon SAVING or LOADING a new driver,
EASY JACKET automatically installs it as the new default driver.  The next
time you run the program, your driver will be loaded instead of the Epson
one.

     So don't be intimidated by your printer manual.  Once you see how the
codes work, you'll want to start using them in your own programs.  But
that's another chapter.  For now, just enjoy EASY JACKET.

MC

FENDER'S NOTE: I found this program quite useful since I have a 90-minute
cassette of songs written by Knees Calhoon back in the 60's and 70's.  The
jacket is saved on the disk under the filename "j.doggerel days".  Check it
out with EASY JACKET to see what kind of song titles the depraved mind of
Calhoon has come up with.  Better yet, send me $5 and I'll send you the tape
posthaste.  Don't worry, I can assure you that Knees will not receive any of
the profits from this venture.  Indeed, there are no profits.  $5 will just
cover the cost of postage, blank tapes and the nausea pills I must chew like
M&M's while making copies of the master tape.  Send check, money order or
cash to:

     Knees Calhoon
     443 Gladstone
     Shreveport, LA 71104

This is not a rip-off!  You will receive the tape within days.  Listen to it
at your own risk.

                            **** End of Text ****