For a newcomer to word processing, Quill may seem rather complicated and confusing. However, with practice, it will be as natural as a pencil and paper to use. I am by no means an expert myselr in its use but sharing what I have learned with other new QL users will help you get over that initial shock.
The first thing to know about Quill is that you have very little room in memory for your documents: only about 1100 words can be written before a “Memory Full” will appear. Adding more memory through some of the aftermarket devices will greatly increase your document size. Meanwhile, when you do get the “Memory Full” message, immediately save the document to microdrive, perhaps with the a name like “letter1” and then create the rest of your document as “letter2”, “letter3”, etc.
In the lower left hnand corner of your screen is the MODE you are in. You can type faster in INSERT mode, so only use OVERWRITE when you actually need it then go back to INSERT. By the way, you switch between the two by holding down either shift key and pressing F4,
After using Quill for a few days you will notice how long it takes to call up a command using F3 and waiting for the upper window of the screen to display the list of available commands. Once you’ve learned the basic commands, turn off that upper window by pressing F2. Now watch the MODE prompt in the lower left of your screen. It will always tell you which comand you are accessing and you will be able to move much more quickly in your work without the wait associated with updating the upper window of your screen. Turning off the prompts with F2 also gives you about four extra lines of text on screen at once.
Are you using a monochrome screen? Use F3 and DISPLAY to change your type color from green to white. Quill assumes when it first comes on that you are using an RGB monitor and does text in green, which is not as clear on a monochrome screen as white.
Quill automatically indents the first line of each new paragraph. Earlier versions of Quill could not be changed, but the 2.1 version being shipped with American QLs allows this to be modified using F3 and the MARGIN command. I always set my “left margin” and “indent” to the same position then use the space bar to indent.
Do you want to turn off the page numbering at the bottom of each page? Use F3 and FOOTER. Select “None” to turn it off.
Do you have certain formats–that is, headings, column widths, indents, etc. that you use over and over. Then set up your screen just as you would want to have it but without typing in any of your text. Now save this “blank” file to microdrive. All the parameters you set will be saved. Each time you wish to use that format, load that empty file back to the screen and begin to work. When the text is all entered, save it under a different file name. The empty file will still be on your microdrive ready to be used next time.
Did you know that Quill has “hidden hyphenation”? Hidden hyphenation allows the marking of places in words where a hyphen may be used if Quill needs to divide the word at that place to end the line and go to the next. If it uses it, a hyphen is inserted in the text; if not, no hyphen is displayed on the screen. This is most helpful when a text may later be edited or reformatted so that hyphens will no longer appear in the same places. To place a hidden hyphen in the text, place the cursor where the hyphen should appear, press F3 twice (to get to second command screen) and press “H” twice then enter. This puts a hidden hyphen at that point ready to be used when Quill needs it. Practice with this for a while and you will wonder how you could ever get along without it.
Getting tired of moving back and forth through your text using the cursor keys and moving one line at a time? Holding down SHIFT while pressing the up or down arrow will move you one paragraph at a time. To go to the beginning or end of a document, press F3 then GOTO; “B” will go to the bottom of your file, “T” to the top of your file.
Finally, a word about customizing Quill for your printer. When F3 and PRINT are selected, Quill always briefly accesses the microdrive to load its customized printer routine. To customize the printer routine just for your printer, see the “Information” section of your manual. The procedure is basically as follows. While in SuperBASIC, not in Quill, place the Quill program cartridge in microdrive 1 and type “LRUN MDV1 PRINTER BAS” to and run the printer installation program. Wait until mdvi turns off (it will stop and start several times). The program will ask if you are using a serial or parallel interface. Then a menu of different printers will be displayed. Yours will probably not be among them unless you have an Epson or Smith Corona. However, your printer may emulate one of those listed. If so, choose the appropriate printer. If not, choose “Other” and press the F2 key to set up a file with the parameters of your printer. Consult your printer manual and modify the various “Default codes” displayed. Read the manual carefully at this point. To use features of your printer not listed, use the “Translate” codes. This will allow codes like italics on and off and elite on and off to be “hidden” under seldom used characters on the keyboard. When all parameters have been entered, press F5 to save this new printer setup and install it with Quill. If all was done right, Quill will now boot up with your printer automatically configured for.
This should be enough to get you going and enjoying the power of Quill. Future articles will give more hints and tips. Any reader learning other useful ways of accomplishing work with Quill can send in their techniques to SUM.