Publisher(s): Robert Fischer
Newsletter about enhancing Pro/File 2068. Each issue contained a number of patches or modifications to Pro/File, along with a description of how the enhancement worked.
| Title | Description | Computers |
|---|---|---|
| Add Space Between Files When Printing ALL | When you set up the print format, you can just enter ALL to print out the whole file. Unfortunately, no space is printed between files. I could be wrong, but I think in most cases a space would be desired so I changed the routine so that whenever ALL is the print format, a blank […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Adding a Switchable Beep | This Key click can be turned on or off by entering “T” as a search command from the main menu (I use “T” for tone instead of “C” for click to avoid any confusion with Copy). The Keys will click on any key press, not Just on the ADD or EDIT routines. 5050 If you […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Avoid Printing “Search Is Complete” Or Directory Files On Auto Searches | Being a band director, I often made printouts of my students by instrument. First I would print all the flute players, then clarinets, etc. However, I always had SEARCH IS COMPLETE printed in between each section. Also, I use a number of codes in my files, so to help me keep track of their meaning […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Cancel Name Reverse Routine | The name reverse routine can be cancelled out while operating with the following changes. Remember that any time you press ENTER the routine is activated and if you press the space bar, it is deactivated. You can switch back and forth as it runs if you wish. | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Change the way data is saved | I kind of hate to say this, but I’m going to change the way we save data only. There are several reasons for this. First, it insures better compatibility with any changes Tom Woods may come up with because the order of the main variables will be restored to their original status. Second, it will […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Combining Files | Combining files is another of those routines which can change the way you approach PRO/FILE. In my case, I have lists of band music for Georgia. There are 6 lists, but there is only enough room in the program for 2 at a time. Originally I had one file containing lists 1 and 2, another […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Compact Menus And More Savings | The display menu and edit menu each consist of several sections. | prefer to see as many options at one time as possible. Also, if you have a long search command (more than one line long) you will run into a problem with the screen SCROLL. These changes solve both situations and save about 350 […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Cursor wrap when editing files | The cursor always appears in the top left hand corner when editing so if to want to edit data in the lower right corner you must do a lot of cursor movement. This routine allows you to move from the top line to the bottom by moving the cursor UP and from the left side […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Dealing with a bug in the sort routing | First lets deal with a bug I found in the machine code sort routine. There is one situation when this routine will lock up the computer. If you sort by a line which will in some cases be the last line of the file and in other cases will not AND the line you sort […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068 |
| Edit To Add or Add To Add | When adding or editing a file you can close it using the token ” TO ” and you will go to a blank screen where you can add another file instead of returning to the menu. It may be a good idea at this point to make up a little card which you can keep […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Edit To Next Improvement | The original version of this routine does not really go to the next matching file although in most cases it has that effect. In reality it starts a new search from the beginning, but since the edited file is now at the end of the file space, the program does seem to go to the […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| ERROR REPORT | Two lines need fixing in this issue of Extensions #3. If you use the new data save in this issue, you must also change line 1080 (I left it out, sorry). If you don’t make this correction, you will be able to edit the file which says “SEARCH IS COMPLETE” which will cause all kinds […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Finally!!! | Now you can transfer any of those data tapes in as previously described. Just follow these instructions: You should already have made backup master copies of the program so now you can just save the data if you put in my save routines or save one of the other ways if you prefer. When done […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Fix For Tally Routine | The following is only for those who have added the TALLY routine from the manual AND the MACHINE CODE SORT routine from Tom Woods’ Breakthrough newsletter. When the mc sort is added to a program containing the tally function two bugs appear. The first and most important is that you can no longer do an […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| How To Transfer Data To New Versions | If you have more than one tape of PRO/FILE, you are aware of the problem of making improvements since they must be typed into each copy individually. To simplify this, follow these instructions (to use my SAVE routine described later you need to do this anyway so do it now). The only thing we have […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Make duplicate files | Here’s a hint to save time when editing many files at about the same screen location. In line 5002 the variables L (for line) and C (for column) are set to zero, which means the upper left corner of the screen. That’s why the cursor always starts there when editing. If, for example, you will […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Making Backups | Before we get too involved with making changes let’s provide a simple way to make backups of your master program (that is an empty basic program and machine code). Break into the program (see instructions in the Pro/file manual-page 97) and then add these two lines: WARNING: Later we will use many variables to save […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Middle Search | This is not a very good name, but what it does is allow you to do a search and then begin a new search from the next file. Why? Well, suppose you were printing out files and your printer went haywire half way through. Normally you would have to start all over, but with this […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| MISC | At the end of line 5040 there is a delay loop in some versions which I have found to be unnecessary in my experience. You can simply delete the section which reads: Also, the routine for editing new or old files seems to work better with the following change: That should cut down on the […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Name Reverse Routine Update | You may also prefer to have the name reverse routine operate on a line different from line 1. Any change on this must become a permanent change in the program unlike the previous improvement which allows a selection process. The lines which tell the program to work on line 1 are listed below. In each […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Paste AT | In our never-ending efforts to improve and simplify the creation and editing of files, we have added UPDATE, DUPLICATE, and other options. Here’s one more. There may be many cases where you want to put the same data in different files, but UPDATE is not appropriate. The following changes allow you to input a set […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| PRO/FILE in Spectrum mode | If you purchased a Spectrum emulator like myself you may prefer to use PRO/FILE in Spectrum mode. I use the ROM Switch but I assume this should work with any emulator or a regular Spectrum. If you have added Sinclair microdrives, I have added routines for their use as well. I use them regularly and […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Reverse sort order for normal printing | There are many situations where you want the last name listed first for alphabetizing purposes, but would prefer any printout to be in normal order. The next routine will allow you to print out any name on the first line in either order you prefer. The screen will not change and your files will be […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Save more memory by using more variables | We will use H = 2, K = 10, Q = 32, and R = 256. All these are added to line 9996. Now adjust any appropriate program lines. Remember that if you used my previous variables, you may have used U+U for 2 and CODE ” ” for 32. Change these as well. Also […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Saving Memory | The use of variables, the VAL function, and the CODE function will allow you to save almost 2000 bytes as done below. Actually, more could be saved with more variables, but I limited it to the most useful values. First change line 9996: The letter “0” stands for the number zero. Instead of using LET […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| SET DATE | Here’s a little item which doesn’t seem very useful at first, but 1 refer to it all the time now. In the first file (the one that says “SEARCH IS COMPLETE”) 1 added a second line that holds 8 characters for the date such as 12/25/85. Any 8 characters (or less) can be used. When […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Setting Caps Lock Automatically | It is not a big deal, but I don’t like having to set caps each time I load the program (I rarely use lower case). Adjust line 8100. If you will always be loading a master copy first as I described earlier you don’t need to make the above change, but if you sometimes use […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| SUM routine | I needed a different type of routine for number crunching instead of the TALLY routine. Basically, I needed an entire line to be treated as one value instead of half and half, and 1 needed some of the answer printed out if necessary. The following is the result. I call it the SUM routine and […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| TALLY or a SUM search on any line you select | One of the changes in this issue permits you to do a TALLY or a SUM search on any line you select. When I was limited to one line, I made little use of the SUM routine and no use of TALLY. Now I can set up a file for each of my products which […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Thank you for your support | I want to thank everyone for your support. Many very complimentary letters have been received and repeat orders would certainly seem to imply satisfaction. At the time I write this, I am about out of ideas and 1 don’t particularly want to turn this into a newsletter that does little more than provide new ways […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Three Way Save With Verify | On the original PRO/FILE you could only save the data with the basic part of the program. It required you to load in a master program at first to get the machine code section but didn’t have the speed advantage of only saving the data. This section allows you to save ALL (including machine code […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| UPDATE Routine | When at the main menu, enter a search command that ends with the reverse slash and the letter “U”. The program will then ask what line you wish to change followed by what data will be changed, and then ask for the new data. When all that information has been entered, the program will find […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Welcome to issue number two of PRO/FILE EXTENSIONS | I think you will really enjoy the additional capabilities available by adding the following routines. As things are added to the program the inter-relationships become much more complicated. To give you an idea of what I mean consider this: If you have two sets of three objects each, you could take one from each set […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
| Welcome to the first issue of Extensions | Welcome to the first issue of EXTENSIONS, an unofficial and irregularly printed newsletter for PRO/FILE 2068 owners. As of now I have another issue planned which will feature an update routine. The routine will permit you to change the data on any line to different data. For example: On line 6 you list a product […] | Timex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program |
Last updated: February 3, 2024