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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