---
title: "Programmer’s Corner"
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slug: "programmers-corner"
url: "http://localhost/article/programmers-corner/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/programmers-corner.md"
published_at: "2022-10-07T12:24:25+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-07-28T00:28:07+00:00"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg"
excerpt: "Here is something I picked up from Chuck Dawson in the Ft. Worth User's Group Newsletter. Did you know that you have access from the keyboard to all of the PRINT options, besides INVERSE? They are accessed from the extended mode, which is reached by pushing the CAPS SHIFT and SYMBOL SHIFT at the same…"
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  title: "LISTing Newsletter"
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authors: "Chuck Dawson"
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    title: "LISTing Newsletter April 1985"
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pages: "20"
pubdate: "April 1985"
archive_link: false
---

# Programmer’s Corner

Here is something I picked up from [Chuck Dawson](http://localhost/indiv/chuck-dawson/) in the Ft. Worth User’s Group Newsletter.

Did you know that you have access from the keyboard to all of the PRINT options, besides INVERSE? They are accessed from the extended mode, which is reached by pushing the CAPS SHIFT and SYMBOL SHIFT at the same time. They are:

#### Extended Mode

- 0-7: Paper color
- 8: Bright off
- 9: Bright on
- SHIFT 0-7: INK color
- SHIFT 8: FLASH off
- SHIFT 9: FLASH on

You ask, “But Chris, how does this work?” Well, when you push these keys, the computer inserts what is known as control characters. Try this:

```
  10 LET a$="__I_love__My_Wife"
  20 LET a$(1)=CHR$ 18
  30 LET a$(2)="1"
  60 PRINT AT 0,0;a$
```

If you look on page 240 of your user’s guide, you will see that character 18 controls FLASH. The “1” character turns flash on. Add this:

```
  40 LET a$(9)=CHR$ 18
  50 LET a$(10)="0"
```

Using the same CHR$ 18 followed by a zero turns flash off. What if you use CHR$ 18 without a 0 or 1 following it? That’s right! You get an INVALID COLOR error. BRIGHT is CHR$ 19 and INVERSE is CHR$ 20, and they both work the same was as FLASH.

The INK control (CHR$ 16) and PAPER control (CHR$ 17) work in similar way, but the number that follows is the color number and should be 0-7.