Peter Hale, P.O. Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114
Last time, we explored a number of differences between Quill and text87, the new word processor for the Sinclair QL and Thor.
Mostly, we discussed features found in Quill and the comparable features in text87. This time we are going to discuss BLOCK handling and a number of features (and how to use them) that make text87‘s visual presentation so remarkable.
BLOCK HANDLING replaces a number of Quill commands: Copy, Erase, Print-to-file, and painting print enhancement (F4, P for paint) and adds the ability to modify a section to be design/margin/tab/font compatible with some other part of the document.
Block handling is far more powerful and flexible than in Quill. As with any increase in power and flexibility there is a learning curve because the sequence of operations is the reverse of Quill’s.
In Quill, one selects an operation (e.g. Copy), then defines the Block with the cursor. text87 first defines the block, then the operation. There are real advantages to this approach.
From the main menu selecting Block creates a pair of white cursors under the red cursor.
All cursor functions may be used (up to 40 lines at a whack) to move one of the white cursors to another location (the one not moved first, cannot be moved later). Pressing ENTER sets the location; pressing ENTER a second time highlights the entire block. The block is set only if ENTER is pressed when the red cursor is over the moved white cursor and text87 automatically returns to the document after Block setting.
The next time Block is called a range of options is presented: Copy, Delete, Move, Ruler, Type, Unset, and a weird one called Goto.
Copy, Delete, and Move, are self-explanatory. Delete erases the highlit area, but has the civil feature of verifying to Delete if the text is more than 100 words. Move deletes the block and inserts it whereeever you have moved the cursor to; similarly with Copy, and the original remains. The advantage of this approach is evident to anyone who has tried to Copy a block of text or Erase it in Quill: cursor movement is swifter without having to carry other information with it, and when back in the main menu you can go directly to any line in the document.
Ruler and Type are functions without directly comparable equivalences in Quill. Ruler under Block changes the highlit area to whichever Ruler is currently selected. Type changes the highlit area to whichever Type is defined as Type 0 under the F3, Type command.
There is a new command in version 3.00 of text87 called DOC that permits universal exchanges of a Ruler or Type throughout a document. It is particularly helpful with two printers and a need to change screen fonts in an existing document to match the codes applying to the second printer.
Goto is Fun! F3, B, G takes the cursor to the beginning of the Block from where ever it happens to be at the time.
A major advantage of this approach is that it is possible to keep a block highlit for an extended period, get on with other word processing chores, then utilize the block later. The highlit block is even saved with a document and is available when you return to it another time.
The word text87 is a tricky bit of font mixing that appears frequently in this article. It is highlit during most of the writing. Whenever it is used, it is copied.
Unset releases the highlighting.
WYSIWYG and HOW to GET IT
text87 has the ability to present on the screen text in screen fonts that by shape and color indicate the printer font that will be printed.
This is not automatic, because the driver choice depends on which printer you have and your taste in screen appearance.
In Quill, the screen representation of Bold, Underlined, Superscript and Subscript is a fair visual presentation of the output at the printer.
text87 requires that you select a screen font and attach it to a printer font before it shows.
Out of the box the program has a proportional font called Default 11 (for 11 characters per inch). As you type away, characters are spread across the screen with the letter “i” taking up less horizontal space than the letter “m”.
However, unless you attach a specific screen font to a specified printer font, the text on the screen will be in Default 11 irrespective of the actual printer font chosen. (By pressing F2, the command window reports the actual printer font under the cursor.)
The good news is that the screen will only show half as many characters for double-wide as for single-wide, but otherwise it is sloppy.
text87 also comes with 10 other fonts ranging from the QL font in single and double-wide to Super and Subscripts, Roman 21 and Orator 10.
If you have founted89, you can create your own fonts or if you have fountext88, there are 33 more supplied.
None of them are available to you unless you load them (which can be done automatically from within text87 if you follow the simple instructions to create an auto-loading instruction file called FOUNTS_A87.) The FOUNTS file can load as many different screen fonts as you want at once, but 8 is a recommended maximum. The screen will only show 8, by number and example, and each additional font takes up more memory.
text87 comes with a large selection of 9 pin and daisy wheel printer drivers. One of them will fit your printer. There are drivers for Epsons, IBMs, QL printers, and even a GLP. (A dozen 24 pin printers are supported, but only from an optional disk, 2488, for £15.00.)
Each driver has the information to support most of the features in your printer. Although you can load it separately by name after text87 is up and running, if it is backed up as a file called driver_P87, it automatically loads on power up.
A sample document illustrating each printer’s capacity is included together with a general INFO file on all printer drivers.
From the CONTEXT command in the main menu there are a bewildering array of choices, most of which will be discussed next time.
The important one is Attach. Press A and the choices are Attach (again), Feature and View. These are fairly obscure choices if you haven’t read the manual. The first is View, so you can get an idea what’s happening by looking at it.
The screen shows a named and numbered printer font under the heading FEATURE. Depending on the printer, there are up to 14 enhancements like Underlining, Bold (actually double-strike)* and Super and Subscript under the heading OPTIONS. The heading FOUNTS has 6 color choices and an example of each loaded screen font.
A FEATURE is a combination of Printer font, pitch(es) and certain enhancements. One Feature is called SanSerif (a printer font), Proportional space, Italic, Single-wide, Double-high.
Examples of up to 99 additional FEATURES are scrolled by pressing V for View. Better to read the DRIVERS_INFO_T87 file and get the hang of the numbering system, which is logically organized.
What strikes the eye immediately is that each OPTION has a different color(colour?) – red, green and white, with and without underlining – for each example of an option.
The screen fonts attached to each option of a feature are normally the same but with different colors and/or underlining. However, there is the opportunity to attach a font to just one option of a feature. You can attach Superscript font (from the _F87 file of that name) to the Superscript option of any given FEATURE.
After you have attached a number of screen fonts to a number of printer fonts, don’t do a thing until you have saved these Attachments to the driver.
*** An English queen once observed in a Wonderland that “A word means exactly what I choose it to mean”**
In addition to carrying all information about a given printer, the file named driver holds all information about the attachments. So save the choices from the CONTEXT sub-menu Driver, Save either as “driver” or another name to identify a collection of screen/printer font attachments.
BY THIS POINT you are ready to cry “Mommy, I finished my home work. Can I go out to play?” but the answer is “No, not until you have cleaned your room!”
text87‘s cleaning-the-room is that you still can’t get at any of these screen font/printer font combinations until you hotkey a combination.
Shift-F3 and Shift-F4 are the hotkeys and are set from the TYPE command. The Options are Select, Feature, Option, Key and View, very similar to the choices from CONTEXT‘s Attach command.
Press V for View here so you can see what is happening. On the right is a column of rows numbered 0 to 9. A first, each row will be the Feature/Option combination 0/0.
The idea is to attach one or more Keys to different Feature/Option combinations. First, identify the most common printer font you will be using. This will be attached to Key 0 (zero).
Press K for Key, then 0. Hereafter, until another Key is chosen, any selection of Feature and/or Option is attached to Key 0.
Next, press S for Select. Choose a Feature, by its number, then an Option, by its number. Immediately, the Feature and Option chosen is reported in the row for Key 0. This can be edited by selecting just Feature or Option from the Type menu.
Add several other Feature/Options to other key choices, being sure to pick some double-wide and 12 pitch or condensed fonts as well, then save them to the driver_P87 file so they will come back the next time you run text87.
“Can I go play, yet?” “Yes, my dear, and doesn’t your room look lovely!”
In the main document press F2. Below the document window will appear the font that you selected for Key 0.
Type a few words, then press Shift-F3 to select a new printype (combination screen font and printer font in text87-speak) to go under the cursor.
Any of the Keys except zero will now pop a graphic character under the cursor. It will have an abbreviation of the selected printer font, underlining if that applies, and the chosen color. The character will also be in the screen font you attached to the Feature/Option.
As you continue typing the text will be in the new screen font so long as the graphic character is to the right of the red cursor. If the graphic character is erased, the text will be in the font attached to Key 0. If the F2 is on, you will know exactly what is going on under the cursor.
When ever you want to return to the font attached to Key 0, even in the middle of some other font, merely press Shift-F4.
Again, Enough!
The next article in this series will explore the different features that are saved in the configure_C87 file: including Inverse video, Windows, Scale and various default settings.
text87 is £60 from Software87, 33 Savernake Rd., London, NW3 2JU United Kingdom for £60. It includes Qtyp, an integrated spelling checker with English, French and German dictionaries – a £30 value alone. It is available in the USA for $94.95 from EMSoft, P.O. Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114-8763 (617) 889-0830.
A SuperBASIC tip:
To make a hard copy of a SuperBASIC listing, it’s not necessary to open a channel to the printer (OPEN#3,ser1: LIST#3: CLOSE#3).
Load the program into memory, then type save ser1 <ENTER> in the command mode (from the keyboard). (Just be sure the printer is on.)