Classic Computer Magazine Archive PROGRAM LISTING: 87-07/ANT2.TXT


ANTIC WRITER MANUAL - PART 2

(Disk operating information for Antic
Writer is at the end of this file.)

ADVANCED FORMATTING

The format statement tells the
computer how to print your document.
To put a format statement into your
text, press [ATARI] [F].  (The F will
show up in inverted video) and then
type in all the parameters you wish
to change from the current printer
setup.  For example, [ATARI] [F]
followed by M6 will change your left
margin from the default value of 10
to 6.  To change the right margin
from the default of 64 to 68, enter
[ATARI] [F] W68.

You can of course use a single format
line to change all the printer setups
you wish to change.

You can also change the line spacing
of your printed document by entering
[ATARI] [F]S, then a number between 1
and 99.

[ATARI] [F]A0 lets you prepare
40-column charts that will print
exactly as they appear on your
screen.  This allows you to line up
your columns.

FORMAT STATEMENTS
[ATARI] [F] followed by:
KEY      FUNCTION            DEFAULT
A0       AS IS
A1-A99   NORMAL FORMATTING        A1
B0       BOTTOM MARGIN OFF
B1-B99   BOTTOM MARGIN            B5
J0       JUSTIFY OFF
J1       JUSTIFY WITH SPACE       J1
J2       JUSTIFY PROPORTIONALLY
L0       PAGING OFF
L1-L99   LINES OF TEXT PER PAGE   L56
M0 -     LEFT MARGIN OFF
M1-M99   LEFT MARGIN              M10
N0 -     PAGE NUMBERING OFF
N1-N99   PAGE NUMBER START        N1
P0       PAGE STOP OFF            P0
P1-P99   PAGES TO PRINT BEFORE
S0       LINE SPACING OFF         S0
S1-S99   SPACING BETWEEN LINES
T0       TOP MARGIN OFF
T1-T99   TOP MARGIN               T5
W0-W99   LINE WIDTH               W64

The above chart would be prepared
properly for Antic Writer by using a
format statement of [ATARI]
[F]A0M20W38.

HEADERS

A header is a line of text that
appears at the top of each printed
page of a document.  [ATARI] [H] will
get you started.  All succeeding
characters on that line are the
header.

DEFAULT

If you do a lot of format changing,
it can be confusing to get back the
original format.  [ATARI] [D]
instructs the computer to do that.
However, you must remember to restore
the current page number, as one of
the defaults is page 1.

PAGE EJECT/START

To force a page to start at a certain
place is easy if you use an [ATARI]
[P], which tells the printer to
finish the current page with blank
lines and start a new page.

REPEAT CHARACTER

To repeat a character across a
printed page that starts at the
current left margin and goes the full
line length, press [ATARI] [R],
followed by any character.

THE PRINTED PAGE

Antic Writer's defaults are set to
print a page on 8 1/2 X 11 sized
paper.  The top and bottom margins
are five lines.  The lines of text
per page is 56 lines.  The line (LINE
WIDTH) is set to 64 characters.

The third line of a page contains the
header.  If you change the top margin
with a format statement you should
also change the lines of text per
page with that same format string.
Antic Writer expects an odd number.
If you give it an even number you'll
have to subtract one line of text per
page to make the page size come out
right.

BOTTOM MARGIN

If you left page numbering turned on,
the third line from the bottom will
have the current page number.  Again,
if you change the bottom margin with
a format statement, you should
compensate by changing the lines of
text per page.

RIGHT JUSTIFY

Right justification simply means
lining up the right margin of a
document.  One way to do this is to
find the spaces in the line and add
an extra space for each one it finds
until the line is long enough.  True
justification consists of having the
computer figure out how much
additional distance is required to
fill out the line, adding very small
increments of space between
characters until the line is long
enough.  SOME LINES CANNOT BE
PROPERLY JUSTIFIED.

EQUATES

Equating is a way to tell the
computer that when you type in
[ATARI] [U], for instance, you want
underlining.  And when you type
[ATARI] [u], you want it to turn off
the underlining.

[ATARI] [E] starts the process.  For
"underline" on an ATARI 825 or a
CENTRONICS 727 the complete character
string would look like this:

E[U=O][u=N]

For more complete information see the
chapter called "PRINTER EQUATES".

PRINTER EQUATES

[ESCAPE] -- Press [ATARI] FIRST --
then press [ESCAPE] to display the
[ESCAPE] character.

[CONTROL] keys --Press [ATARI] first
to send control codes to the printer.

EQUATE file -- This instruction,
along with a special file on disk,
SYSTEM.PRT, helps you remember proper
control sequences for your printer.
That file can contain the EQUATEs for
your printer and/or FORMAT defaults.

When you first load Antic Writer, the
program checks for SYSTEM.PRT.  If
so, it loads and translates the data
it finds and holds it in memory.  If
it isn't on disk, then the program
uses the defaults built into it and
doesn't recognize EQUATES in your
text unless you type an EQUATE
instruction sequence or GET one from
disk.

You can look at them in your text you
can create as many EQUATE files as
you like, treat them as normal text
files and GET whichever sequence you
want.

If you name a new EQUATE file
SYSTEM.PRT, it will load
automatically when you boot the
version of Antic Writer that you've
copied to that disk and be in the
"background."

There's only one place in memory for
EQUATES.  When printing, Antic Writer
uses the last EQUATE translated -- so
you can define new EQUATEs anywhere
in your text.

DEFINING EQUATES

An EQUATE statement MUST be on its
own line -- all by itself.

To enter an EQUATE statement:

1. Press [ATARI] once.

2. Enter an uppercase [E], which will
be displayed in invertse video.

3. Enter a [LEFT BRACKET], which
tells the computer that the following
data is EQUATE information.

4. Enter the letter that you're
defining.  For instance, [U] for
underline on, [u] for underline off;
[B] for boldface on, [b] for boldface
off.

Note: The translator sets this
character to invertse video the first
time it encounters it.  To set it
yourself, press [ATARI] before
entering the character.

5. Enter an [=].  This lets the
translator know that the printer
control characters are next.

6. Enter each required printer
control character by pressing [ATARI]
before each character.  [ESCAPE],
[CONTROL] and normal keys are all
entered this way and are displayed in
inverse video.  [CONTROL] keys will
be displayed in their graphics form.

7. Enter a [RIGHT BRACKET] to end the
definition.  You can enter as many
EQUATES as will fit a single line.

The following is a printer setup
chart for these printers:

ATARI 827 & CENTRONICS 727

FUNCTION       KEYING SEQUENCE

10 CPI ON  [ATARI] [ESCAPE] [ATARI]
[CONTROL] [S]
17 CPI ON  [ATARI] [ESCAPE] [ATARI]
[CONTROL] [T]
PROPORTIONAL ON  [ATARI] [ESCAPE]
[ATARI] [CONTROL] [Q]
ELONGATE ON  [ATARI] [ESCAPE] [ATARI]
[CONTROL] [N]
ELONGATE OFF  [ATARI] [ESCAPE]
[ATARI] [CONTROL] [O]
UNDERLINE ON  [ATARI] [CONTROL] [O]
UNDERLINE OFF  [ATARI] [CONTROL][N]
ONE LINE UP  [ATARI] [ESCAPE] [ATARI]
[CONTROL] [J]
ONE LINE DOWN  [ATARI] [CONTROL] [J]
1/2 LINE UP  [ATARI],[CONTROL] [+]
1/2 LINE DOWN  [ATARI] [CONTROL] [-]
DOT SHIFT 1-6  [ATARI] [ESCAPE]
[ATARI] [CONTROL] #
NOTE: #=A THRU F DOT SHIFT LEFT

CUSTOMIZING

The ONLY way to change printer
defaults so that [ATARI] [D] will NOT
set the built in parameters is to
have a "SYSTEM.PRT" file with the new
values on the same disk as Antic
Writer when you load it.

Although your printer EQUATES can go
into your foreground by loading a
file that includes an EQUATE
statement, the file clutters the
beginning of your document.  Also, if
you forget to load it when you begin
editing, the mechanics of adjusting
things becomes awkward.

PRINTER COMMAND CHART

The following chart would be prepared
properly for Antic Writer by using a
format statement of: [ATARI]
DA0M20W38

[ATARI] followed by:
[K]ey       FUNCTION
[C]enter    PRINTS TEXT LINE IN
MIDDLE OF 80 COLUMN PAGE
[D]efaults  RESETS PRINTER FORMATS TO
ORIGINAL
[E]quates   DEFINES CHARACTER
ORIENTED PRINTER COMMANDS SUCH AS
UNDERLINE, BOLDFACE, FONTS, ETC.
[F]ormat    SETS PRINTED PAGES TO A
SPECIFIED LOOK
[H]eaders   ALLOWS THE USER TO ENTER
A LINE OF TEXT THAT COMPUTER WILL
PRINT AT THE TOP OF EACH PRINTED PAGE
[P]age      EJECTS THE CURRENT PAGE
OR STARTS A NEW ONE
[R]epeat    REPEATS THE ENTERED
CHARACTER FROM CURRENT LEFT MARGIN TO
THE CURRENT RIGHT MARGIN
[S]hift     SHIFTS A LINE OF TEXT SO
THAT END WILL BE RIGHT-JUSTIFIED

IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM.PRT FILE

Using DOS, make a system diskette by
formatting and copying DOS files to
it.  If you wish, you may follow this
procedure.

A. Format a disk with DOS.

B. Write DOS files to the formatted
disk.

Copy Antic Writer to the formatted
disk.  You can use the following
procedure:

A. Remove the system diskette you are
generating and insert a disk with
Antic Writer on it.

B. Select item O and press [RETURN].
At the prompt, "NAME OF FILE TO
MOVE?", type "AUTORUN.SYS" and press
[RETURN].  Then insert the source
disk and press [RETURN].  After the
disk drive reads Antic Writer, insert
your formatted disk (with DOS) and
press [RETURN] so that the drive can
write to the new disk.

C. To verify your copy, select item A
and press [RETURN] twice for a
directory.  You should see:

DOS     SYS 039  DUP      SYS 042
AUTORUN SYS 060  566 FREE SECTORS

3. Run your copy of Antic Writer.
You can use the following procedure:

A. Select item [L], press [RETURN].
at the prompt "LOAD FROM WHAT FILE?",
in "AUTORUN.SYS" and press [RETURN].

B. When the screen displays the Antic
Writer menu, load the SYSTEM.PRT
file.

Or:

A. Insert your master Antic Writer
disk into your drive 1.  GET the
SYSTEM.PRT file.

B. To change printer defaults, edit
the FORMAT statement.

5. Save your SYSTEM.PRT file to your
new system diskette.

6. Save the ".LTR" files to your
system diskette.  Your Antic Writer
master comes with sample documents on
it.  Move them to your system disk so
that you can put your master in a
safe place.

7. Rename Antic Writer from
AUTORUN.SYS to something else, but
only if you are sure you want this
done.  Your new Antic Writer system
disk will no longer autoload at boot
time.

FORMATTING TRICKS

Unless you NEVER use the FORMAT
features built into Antic Writer,
it's wise to have a special heading
at the start of any document you
prepare.  At minimum, you should have
[ATARI] [D] (set to defaults) and
[ATARI] [H] (set header) followed by
the date or some other meaningful
string or simply [RETURN] to remove
any leftover header.

The computer always "remembers" the
last special instruction that it has
been given.  Among those special
instructions are formats, headers,
look/change strings, file names,
equates, etc.  So unless you
re-instruct it at the beginning of a
document to start in some KNOWN
state, it may be remembering the
conditions you had set up for a
previously printed document.

HEADER TRICKS

By now you probably know that the top
margin determines where on your page
the header will go.  The header will
"steal" the middle line for itself.
Until the computer has discovered and
processed a header in the act of
printing, it does not know it exists.

You also know that the header can be
CLEARED by simply typing [ATARI] [H]
WITHOUT a header string.

When Antic Writer discovers a header
it PRINTS the top margin with its
embedded header REGARDLESS of where
it is on the page.  There are several
ways to use this, some of which can
be confusing at first, but they let
you do some neat tricks.

To change the header "on the flly,"
follow a page eject ([ATARI] [P])
with [ATARI] [H] for a new header,
which could be a new date, so that
your material is always geared toward
when you entered it:

[ATARI] [P]

[ATARI] [H]July 4, 1985

DISK STUFF

To format a diskette:

1. Remove any write-protect tab.

2. Put a disk in the drive.

3. Press [CONTROL] [F].

4. The prompt will read "FORMAT DISK
(Y/N)?  IN D1".  If D1 is the drive
the disk is in, push [Y].

5.  After the disk is formatted, the
program will return to EDIT mode.

To check, press [CONTROL] [G] (Get
file).  The screen will display "707
FREE SECTORS".  Push [ESCAPE]to
return to where you left off in EDIT
mode.

FILE NAMES

On a formatted disk, you can have 65
files (limited by disk size).  To
save a file and get it later, each
file must have a unique name of up to
eight (upper case) alphanumeric
characters, the first of which MUST
be a letter.

A filename can be extended by adding
a period and up to three capital
letters or numbers in any order.

NAMING FILES

To name a file for the first time,
press [CONTROL] [N] (Name file).  The
prompt will say D1:TEMP.WPC, which is
the default name for a text file.
Unless you plan to have only one
document on disk, you'd be safe to
use a new name.  To change the name,
press [DELETE] for each character to
delete, type in the new filename, and
press either [RETURN] or [ESCAPE] key
to return to EDIT.  To directly save
it, press [CONTROL] [S] (Save text)
instead.

DISK DIRECTORY

Press [CONTROL] [G] (Get file) to get
a disk directory, then cursor to the
filename you want and push [RETURN]
to load it.  That name is moved into
computer memory and used for all disk
accesses until you press [CONTROL]
[N] or [CONTROL] [G] again.

If you just want to CHECK the
directory, press [ESCAPE] to return
to EDIT mode.

DELETING DISK FILES

Press [CONTROL] [K].  After the
computer displays the directory,
cursor to name of the file you want
to delete and press [RETURN].  At the
prompt say "KILL THIS FILE (Y/N)?",
[Y] delete the file, and any other
key [Y] returns you to EDIT TEXT.

SAVING FILES

When you press [CONTROL] [S] (Save
file), the resulting prompt has the
drive number and filename.  If either
or both must be changed, pressing
[DELETE] puts you into NAME mode.
After you've made changes, press
[RETURN] to go back into SAVE file
mode.

GETTING FILES

The default drive is D1.  To change
that, press [CONTROL] [N] (Name
file).  Backspace to the drive number
and enter a new one.  The new drive
number will be used for all disk
accesses until you change it with
another NAME mode operation or reload
Antic Writer.

LOADING A FILE FROM ANOTHER WORD PROCE
SSOR

This is tricky and requires some time 
and patience:

1. Boot the other word processor.

2. Load the file.

3. PRINT the file to disk with a top
margin of 0, left margin 0 and right
margin 38.

4. Load the PRINTED version of this
file and remove extraneous carriage
returns -- at the end of the document,
as well as between "pages."

5. SAVE this file to disk.

6. Boot Antic Writer.

7. GET the file.

8. If the prompt line says "ALIEN
FILE," don't worry.  If there's a
carriage return at the end of each
screen line -- as there MUST be in an
Antic Writer file -- the computer will
rapidly scroll through the file and
return you to the edit mode.  However,
if those carriage returns aren't
there, it'll scroll through slowly,
and word-wrap will be off.

9. To avoid the "ALIEN FILE" prompt,
you need to put an ESCAPE character at
the beginning of the file while you're
using the other word processor.  This
may be difficult, so just make sure
you've followed steps 1-8 and you
should be all right.

QUIT

Press [CONTROL] [Q].  If you retain
the name AUTORUN.SYS for at least
some of your system disks, they'll
work well with that command.  Each
time you quit, insert your next
tailored Antic Writer disk with the
name AUTORUN.SYS and it will load
itself.  If you insert a system disk
(with DOS on it) WITHOUT an
AUTORUN.SYS file, you will come up in
DOS.

THE END

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