========================================================================= (C) 1994 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== Category 13, Topic 15 Message 1 Fri Jun 12, 1992 COMPO at 16:41 EDT That's Write and Write ON ------------------------- You may have heard of That's Write - it's been available in Europe for over four years. In fact, it's the number one selling word processor in Germany. Well, after several years of limited availability in North America, COMPO Software has opened an office in the U.S. to support it's products, including That's Write and Write ON. What are That's Write and Write ON? They're the fastest, most powerful word processors available for Atari computers. Of course, that's a subjective matter but we think you'll agree. Write ON is the standard version, and That's Write is the professional version. Write ON has all the standard features you've come to expect from a word processor - yet its many unique features make it stand out. Take, for example, font and printer support. Thus far there have been two types of word processors - text processors that use your printer's built-in fonts for printing (generally the fastest method) and graphic text processors, which can use many different fonts and styles, but typically are much slower. Write ON lets you use both, in the same document! Even a single word may be made of printer resident, downloaded, and graphic fonts - even if it's proportional and justified - all the while completely WYSIWYG. Write ON's output speed and quality, with either font type, is sure to impress. Write ON supports ALL of the fonts included with most printers, and gives you access to unlimited numbers and varieties of typefaces with graphic fonts. It comes with at least ten fonts, depending on your printer type. What type of graphic fonts can Write ON use? Write ON uses standard GEM bitmap fonts, like those that might use with GDOS. However, Write ON runs without any memory-grabbing, system-slowing AUTO programs. Additionally, with our C-Font program installed in your system, you can use Calamus format outline fonts with Write ON! The benefit of paragraph tags Write ON uses an extremely powerful and efficient system for document style and formatting - paragraph tags. Say you're doing a document that's left justified in Times 12 font except for headings, which are centered Helvetica 14. After typing in the whole document, you decide that headings should be Avant Garde - simply change the font in paragraph tag "Headlines" to Avant Garde. Of course, Headlines is just an example - you create and edit the tags, with options like justification, line and paragraph separation, style, font, etc. Expandability Write ON has a protocol that allows it to communicate with desk accessories; it is infinitely expandable via these accessories (which, like everything else in Write ON, can be activated and controlled via the keyboard). Included with Write ON are a snapshot utility and Key Show, which displays the keyboard and where characters (in the currently selected font) are mapped to the keyboard. No more hunting for special characters! If you're not happy with the location of a particular character, simply remap it with the included keyboard editor. Also included are a font editor and a Signum-to-Write ON font converter. Write ON takes standard word processing features and improves them. Here's a short list : -- Unlimited definable macros, be it program functions or text abbreviations - whatever -- Edit multiple files on screen at the same time -- Cut/Copy/Move block, with six buffers, including the Atari Clipboard for transfer with other programs! -- Word count, and available memory -- Automatic installation -- Headers/Footers, and widow/orphan control -- Pictures may be shown or hidden individually and scaled to any resolution, including that of the installed printer! -- Built-in mail merge using industry standard comma delimited files -- All standard text styles, including Double Underline and Strike Through -- Left, Right, Decimal, and Center tabs -- Display font sample on screen -- Hyphenation, either prompted or automatic, which can be configured to your liking -- Optional password protection for any document -- Optional automatic save at user defined intervals That's Write, the professional version, adds even more features : -- More fonts included, even Symbols, Greek, and Cyrillic! -- Spell checker with American English dictionary. We think it's the best spell checker available, period. Even corrects capitalization and accent errors! -- Automatic Index and Table of Contents generation -- Outliner included - structure your document with up to 8 levels -- Footnotes/Endnotes -- Page, line, picture, word, and stroke count -- Chaptering - if your document is too large to fit in memory, you can break it into chapters, for easy editing and automatic footnote/endnotet updating! -- Multiple columns -- Table drawing Write ON retails for $99.95. We'd like you to give Write ON a shot, so we're making a special upgrade offer : Through August 31, 1992, you can upgrade to Write ON from any word processor for only $30.00. If you later decide that you need That's Write, no problem. You can upgrade to That's Write and transfer all of your Write ON files. That's Write retails for $199.95. Upgrades from Write ON cost $100.00. If you would like to go ahead and try That's Write, you may upgrade from any other word processor for $130.00. To upgrade, please return your original disk with your order. Any questions? Let us know. We at COMPO at dedicated to Atari and its users. We're here to make sure you get the most out of your ST, and the most for your money. COMPO Software 104 Esplanade Avenue Ste. 121 Pacifica California 94044 Tel 415-355-0862 Fax 415-355-0869 ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 2 Fri Oct 29, 1993 COMPO at 17:58 EDT That's Write 3 COMPO Software Corp. ============== ==================== That's Write version 3 is now available from COMPO Software. A massive upgrade to version 2, That's Write 3 sets a new standard in high performance word processing software. While this text does not attempt to address every improvement, it does describe many important features of That's Write 3. Images ------ o Scaled bitmaps of embedded images may be cached to disk, accelerating the loading of documents. o Images may be individually displayed and/or printed. A pop-up menu lets you quickly scale images to the screen, printer, or other popular resolutions. o Images may be placed on a single line or behind the text. Text may be flowed around images. o Images may be edited within That's Write. Search and Replace ------------------ o Wildcards can be used in the Search and Replace dialogs; the wildcard is definable (so you can search for asterisks, for example). o A selected block may be copied to the Search or Replace fields in the Search and Replace dialogs. This copy operation can be done from either the document window or the Search and Replace dialogs. Blocks ------ o New methods of marking a block have been implemented. You can mark a block by dragging the mouse cursor through your text. In previous versions this marked whole paragraphs; it now marks text one character or line at a time. You can mark a word by double left clicking on it, and mark a paragraph by double right clicking on it. You can also mark blocks by selecting the block start and end (useful for large blocks). MultiTOS support ---------------- o That's Write 3 is enhanced under MultiTOS (and Gribnif's Geneva). You can drag multiple documents and/or configurations to the That's Write program for automatic loading; you can drag images to the That's Write window to be loaded into your document at the mouse position. That's Write also supports submenus under MultiTOS. o Support for the XACC protocol has been improved, allowing you to transfer information with other programs under MultiTOS. A 'Programs' menu lists all active programs and accessories that support XACC. o Dialogs may be placed in windows so concurrent processing is not disturbed. Interface --------- o That's Write 3 supports COMPO's NoSystem which allows an attractive 3D color interface, independent of TOS version and display mode. The 3D display is available even in monochrome video modes. o New window gadgets and visual indicators have been implemented. Window gadgets allow the selective placement and removal of a window's scrollbars and tabulator ruler. Small window gadgets are used in accessory windows at low resolutions to increase the work area. o Visual markers indicate that a document hasn't been saved, that a macro is being recorded, and that the ESC key has been pressed (to run a macro). Vertical markers aid in moving tab stops. o New mouse cursors indicate program status. o Many pop-up menus have been added to more easily select dialog, window, and program options. A special pop-up menu lets you use the mouse to access program functions previously available using only the keyboard. All program functions are now accessible with both the mouse and the keyboard. o Markers can be placed and retrieved with the mouse. New menus display a marker's location in the document. Documents --------- o An author and editor can each store names, comments, and other details in a document. o A document may be used as a template. When loading a template document, That's Write opens the document and treats it as a newly created, unsaved document. This allows you to use letterhead, fax forms, etc. without the possibility of overwriting the master document. Printing -------- o A 'Manual Selection' option lets you print selected pages of your document. o In addition to the 'All' and 'Query' mail merge modes, a 'Manual' mode inserts each address into a document and gives you the opportunity to manipulate the merged document however you like. After editing, saving, or printing it, a 'next address' option lets you load the next address. o You can install as many printers as you'd like and switch between them within That's Write. Fonts ----- o That's Write 3 supports Bitstream Speedo, GEM, and printer resident fonts simultaneously. SpeedoGDOS is not required as the same Speedo scaler is built into That's Write 3. o Speedo fonts may be cached to disk for faster loading and scaling. Printer fonts may be kept in memory (to accelerate document printing) or discarded (to maximize available memory). o Caching status and size limits, as well as printing status, are definable for each typeface and style. Other font information and settings may be displayed and changed within That's Write 3. Settings can be viewed and edited for all fonts, for a single family, or for a distinct font. o A new dialog for removing fonts indicates which fonts are in use. You can remove/replace multiple fonts at once. A 'Clean Up' function removes all unused fonts from memory. Page and Paragraph Layouts -------------------------- o New dialogs utilize pop-up menus for changing layout short and long names, paragraph and line spacing, measurement units, default fonts, linked layouts, and more. Fonts may be loaded from the paragraph layout dialog. o A pop-up menu indicates which layouts are in use, and a 'Clean Up' option removes all layouts not in use. o A new function, 'Next Layout,' lets you link paragraph layouts for automatic layout changes in your document. A 'New Page' option automatically starts selected paragraph layouts on a new page. o A horizontal line of variable weight and position may be placed between footnotes and the main text of a document. Spell Checking and Hyphenation ------------------------------ o The spell checking system has been completely revised. New dictionaries are much faster, and larger in scope. A new interface displays flagged words in context. o A 'Correction List' feature scans an entire document and displays a list of all words flagged as misspelled. This is particularly efficient for checking long documents, and lets you remove all occurrences of flagged words that are spelled correctly with a single mouse click. o That's Write 3 employs three dictionaries - main, user, and text. The user dictionary may be assigned to an individual document. The text dictionary is specific to a single document, and is saved in the document itself. o Words can be quickly added to a dictionary, and dictionaries may be freely edited. o Spell checking can be executed from disk to conserve memory. o Both American English and British English dictionaries are included with That's Write 3. o Automatic spelling correction and hyphenation is improved, with optional dictionary-based correction and hyphenation. Automatic correction of errors in typing, capitalization, and accentuation is quick and efficient. Macros ------ o A new, configurable macro window lists macros by key and name. Macros can be selected and executed with the mouse. You can assign alternative shortcuts to execute macros, particularly suitable for expanding abbreviations. Status Window ------------- o A new, configurable status window displays document information as well as the current page and paragraph layouts, font and style, and more. These items may be quickly changed and edited from the status window. Miscellaneous ------------- o That's Write 3 is faster than previous versions, in both internal operations and display. o Text deleted with keyboard shortcuts is automatically placed in the Delete buffer. o Saved preferences are more comprehensive, saving the status of almost every program option and feature. Multiple configurations may be saved, overriding saved preferences when loaded. o Default printers, font lists, and other configuration options may be set within That's Write. o Optional fast screen display on monochrome displays. o Improved support for the Atari keyboard command set. o Selectable keys for moving through the document with the keyboard (for compatibility with other applications). o New built-in file selector. o Context sensitive on-line help. That's Write 3 supports most popular printers, including Epson, Star, NEC, Brother, and Panasonic dot matrix printers, Canon Bubblejet printers, HP Deskjet and Laserjet printers, and Atari laser printers. All resolutions, including 360x360 dpi and 600x600 dpi, are supported where applicable. That's Write 3 supports all of the resident fonts on most printers. In addition to the printer-resident fonts (and matching screen fonts), That's Write 3 includes a variety of GEM fonts and fourteen Bitstream Speedo fonts (Times family, Helvetica family, Courier family, Symbol, and Formal Script 421). That's Write 3 has a retail price of $199.95. Registered users of previous versions may upgrade for $50.00. A special 'Multifont' version of That's Write 3 adds 22 Bitstream Speedo fonts to the package, including the Avant Garde Gothic, Bookman, Helvetica Narrow, New Century Schoolbook, and Palatino families, and Zapf Chancery and Dingbats. That's Write 3-Multifont has a retail price of $249.95. Registered users of previous versions may upgrade for $100.00. For more information, please contact: COMPO Software Corp. 104 Esplanade Avenue Suite 121 Pacifica CA 94044 USA Tel: 415-355-0862 Fax: 415-355-0869 GEnie: COMPO ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 3 Sun Nov 21, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 00:45 EST I have downloaded the Calligrapher 3 and That's Write 2 demos. I still prefer the speed of That's Write but there is one thing I find attractive about Calligrapher. It lets you pick any size for any font. The That's Write 2 demo only allowed whatever six was loaded in. Does That's Write 3 allow any size to be chosen for any font? Also, how do you access the printer fonts? How do they appear on screen? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 4 Sun Nov 21, 1993 J.KRZYSZTOW [JEFFREY] at 02:15 EST Compo, I've been having some problems with the new version of That's Write, specifically 3.1c. So I'd like to post them here and see if anyone else is having the same difficulties as I am, or if it is unique to my set up. I'll start with my configuration: TOS 2.06 (12 meg of ram) and 1.04 (4 meg of ram), SM147 monochrome, Mega 2, ICD 6.2.3 hard disk software. I've also tested without any desk accessories or AUTO programs. AUTO: in order DA: XBOOT .PRG EDHAK .ACC 16MHZ .PRG EOSTIMER.ACC UNSQUISH.PRG NEO_CLI .ACC AUXINIT .PRG SENTRY .ACC JAR15 .PRG TASKMAN .ACC GENEVA .PRG WARP9_CP.ACC NEOLOAD .PRG XCONTROL.ACC STFAXMGR.PRG WARP9_ST.PRG CSHOW63 .PRG DMIRROR .PRG DATARESC.PRG SILKMOUS.PRG CODEKEYS.PRG TPDVR .PRG SPDGDOS .PRG SERFX20 .PRG And now for the problems: 1) Turning on the preference: Dialogs to Windows causes the system to get unstable. That's Write starts to give 2-4 bombs when loading files for instance. 2) There are some problems with the key board short cuts: Menus: ^FP - Should go to Print. Goes to Programs..., then to Print. ^FE - Should go to Programs..., but doesn't do anything. Within the Print Text dialog: ^E doesn't turn on Even ^O doesn't turn on Odd Using the SLM printer driver: ^P should toggle Print graphics, but instead I get Print (direct) and Print (standard) suddenly show up on the screen. When I start printing I get a dialog box that titled "Creating Font" and in it, it states something about creating font "fur 300 x 300." The "u" in fur has two "." over it. Within the Remove/Replace Font dialog: The button "Clean Up" has the "C" underlined indicating that ^C should select it, but ^C will select a font from the Replace list. The Preference dialog: ^B should toggle Cursor blinking, but ^C does ^F should toggle Confirmations, but does not ^I should toggle Internal file selector, but instead toggles Save configuration and ^D toggles Internal file selector ^P should toggle Fast screen display, but does not ^O toggles Dialogs to Windows, but is also assign to toggle move word by Control Menus: ^W does not Repeat Search as indicated in the Menu ^EX does not Generate Index, but using the mouse to select the function works ^EI will Generate Index, but is assign to Load Image ^EL is assign to Correction List, but first goes to Load Image, then Correction List ^OC is assigned to both Immediate Checking and Load Configuration and in fact does both. The Hyphenation/Correction dialog: ^S doesn't toggle Semi-automation ^O doesn't toggle Off ^D doesn't toggle Use Dictionary The driver for the Panasonic KX-P1124 is spelled Panasonik The KX-P1124 360 driver in not in English for selecting paper feed The Installation program, none of the keyboard shortcuts work the the Extras menu, ^E doesn't select Extra From none of the dialogs does the HELP key bring up HELP ========= I have installed That's Write several times to make sure that there wasn't any problems during installation. I have installed with everything listed above loaded and without anything loaded. There doesn't seem to be any differences. Other that these problems, the programs output is very good. It is quite quick! I am mostly pleased. I do learn and use the keyboard shortcuts, so I hope you'll be able to get them working soon. Jeffrey A. Krzysztow ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 5 Sun Nov 21, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 03:48 EST RAF, That's Write 3 includes scalable fonts so you can choose any size font you want. It's also a major upgrade from the demo of That's Write 2. Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 6 Sun Nov 21, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 03:51 EST Bill, is the Times Roman font a Speedo font or an internal DeskJet font? If it is a DeskJet font, then it fits in with the assumption that the problem is with the Speedo fonts. On the other hand, if Times Roman is a Speedo font, then the problem must be with the driver for the Atari laser. Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 7 Mon Nov 22, 1993 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 02:20 EST Harvey, Good question! But in fact it is a Speedo font from TW3. I'm not sure how to use my Times Roman cartridge with TW3. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 8 Mon Nov 22, 1993 COMPO at 20:22 EST RAF - That's Write has a definable time-delay autosave function. I don't think we'll have a demo any time soon (sorry). And That's Write 3 is substantially improved over version 2, and in ways that a list of changes doesn't really describe; the look and feel is dramatically improved. That's Write 3 includes dictionaries for American and British English. Dictionaries for other languages are available separately. We have dictionaries for Spanish, French (including French and French Canadian), Swedish, German, Finnish, Dutch, Portuguese (Iberian and Brazilian), Italian, and Danish. There may be a couple others I've forgotten, but that covers most of them. That's Write 3 uses Speedo fonts (among other formats) which can be scaled to any size. The program includes screen fonts to match your printer's fonts, so you still get WYSIWYG and you don't have to deal with graphic/printer-resident fonts - just pick the font you want and That's Write takes care of it. Bill - Your task of creating columns of numbers, with subtotals, can easily be accomplished with Instructions. And I appreciate your vote for a tutorial; perhaps there is a demand after all... The 'undocumented tricks' will be added to the manual and/or the readme file. I expect the update will have such a comprehensive readme file. I think the 'problem' of five or six lines of text to an inch may be one of language; I think we're all really getting the same thing, which is six lines of text without any line spacing. If you're getting six lines with spacing, it sounds like it's using the Deskjet's built-in font. Jeffrey - Thank you for your list of bugs. To be honest, they've already been corrected or fixed. An update (3.1e, probably) will be going out to everyone shortly. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 9 Tue Nov 23, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 01:28 EST > I used the R/L Shift to interrupt printing as you suggested. The > one thing I would suggest adding is a page eject after it > interrupts. No reason a partial page should be treated any > different than if the printing had completed fully. Roger, now Robert will have one vote in favour of leaving it exactly the way it is. I've always liked the fact that I can interrupt printing on TW without it wasting a sheet of paper (I waste enough paper as is :-). However, Robert, if you do like that idea, then please implement it as an option. Then everyone will be happy. Thanks, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 10 Tue Nov 23, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 01:29 EST Robert, here's my latest comments. 1. > Re: status window topped/untopped - If you can't see the status > window, its usefulness is wasted. It must be visible to be useful. > We could make it so when the status window is topped, it displays > info on the last active document/paragraph/style etc. But what's > the point? Do you really want to have to top that window every > time you want to see such information? Seems like a real drag to > me, but tell me if I'm wrong. After due consideration, I've concluded that you're right. > By the way, you have made the window > real small by selecting 'no titles' and 'small text', right? (It > gets better in the next release with the addition of small window > gadgets). Since I thought that the status window would be topped, I couldn't figure out why there was a small text option. However, now it makes perfect sense. I've now selected small text and removed the scroll bars and a number of the fields that I didn't require and the status window now appears to be much more usable since it only occupies a very small part of the screen (but I still wouldn't mind a 19 inch monitor :-). By the way, if I bring up a DA window,(e.g. EdHak, STeno, etc.) and then top a TW3 file window while leaving the DA window open, everything works fine. However, if I close the DA window, although the TW3 file window again becomes the top window, the status window is not reset, i.e. it still shows question marks. This is very easy to duplicate. 2. > At one time I had intended to write a tutorial on using > instructions, but to be honest, there's little demand for it. I > would like to come back to that, but in the meantime, check out > the demo files. Many have excellent examples of practical uses for > instructions. Check out THESIS, for one. I've been examining the demo files, but I'm sure that I'll have lots more questions. For a start, exactly when should a semi-colon be used? 3. > The character set is not the same for all fonts. In That's Write, > the character set is dependent on the encoding table (.ENC). > You'll see that most fonts use either BICS.ENC or SWA.ENC, but > there are a couple exceptions. Thanks for the detailed replies to all my questions. I was wondering what the ENC files were for. 4. > True double quotes are found at ALT-SHIFT-8 and ALT-SHIFT-9. As > for the left single quote, well As I mentioned in my last message, I'd already found the single left quote. What I couldn't find was the single right quote. 5. > All of this 'encoding table' business may seem troublesome, but it > is really a time saver, because it goes a long way towards > addressing compatibility problems, and if you do work in multiple > operating systems or different font environments (such as Speedo > and PostScript), That's Write spares you the troubles you would > otherwise encounter when characters don't match up like they > should, and your output isn't what you entered. I don't think that it's at all troublesome. To me, it seems like an excellent idea. 6. > A macro to search for quotes and replace them with true quotes is > a piece of cake. Just search for ", then backspace, then true left > quote, then again with a true right quote replacement, then call > the macro again. I didn't realize that it was that easy :-). 7. > To get small roman numerals, use a macro that calls the 'word to > lowercase' function. If I do that, then how do I prevent the macro from converting everything else and not just my roman numerals? Either way, I just fingured out how to do it by creating a series of instructions at one tab stop. 9. Finally, I have a few other comments and I'll be leaving you a message in Email. Thanks, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 11 Tue Nov 23, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 02:06 EST > I think the 'problem' of five or six lines of text to an inch may be one of > language; I think we're all really getting the same thing, which is six lines > of text without any line spacing. If you're getting six lines with spacing, it > sounds like it's using the Deskjet's built-in font. Robert, I wish that were the case. However, I am talking about a situation where I am using 12 point text with line spacing set at the minimum of "1" and paragraph spacing set at "0". By the way, please ignore my earlier question about using semi-colons in instructions. After I wrote that part of my message, I discovered that they were separators to allow a series of instructions at one tab stop. However, I still didn't see any reference to that fact in the manual. ===================================================================== > Harvey, Good question! But in fact it is a Speedo font from TW3. I'm not > sure how to use my Times Roman cartridge with TW3. Bill, now I'm really confused. This just doesn't make any sense at all, unless there is a problem with the driver for the Atari laser. I know I'm being repetitive, but I do want to confirm that you actually have measured the type and not just eyeballed it. The other point is that you're referring to it as Times Roman. However, if it is the Speedo font that comes with TW3, then I assume that you're referring to the font TW3 calls Times. Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 12 Wed Nov 24, 1993 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:29 EST Harvey, I should have been more precise. The font is the Speedo font called Times 12. When printed out with the minimum interlinear spacing (1 line, I think) it gives 6 lines to the inch measured from the top of line 1 to the bottom of line 6. I presume that's what Robert means. I see that that could also be described as 5 lines to the inch, roughly, if you measure from the top to the top or the bottom to the bottom of the lines. Anyway, if you are not getting what I'm getting, I think it is fairly conclusive that the fault is with the printer driver and not with TW3. Hope this helps. Regards, Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 13 Thu Nov 25, 1993 COMPO at 05:45 EST Harvey - Six lines of a 12 point font will measure more than one inch. Actually, if you have That's Write print six lines of 12 point type (any Speedo font), it should measure one inch from the top of the first line to the top of the sixth line, but that includes a minimum amount of line spacing. Rather than counting lines per inch (which varies), measure the font - and points are measured from the top of the characters to the bottom of the descenders. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 14 Sat Nov 27, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 11:32 EST Robert - After buying TW3 from you at Glendale, I've finally had a chance to get up and running. Thanks for the WP6 Font Pack files - 70+ fonts now online in TW3. How's the availability on more Speedo font packs? Now, the comments: Regarding the string on vertical lines per inch. I've just tested TW3 using 18 lines set in 10 pt. Pica, Times Roman, Helvetica Narrow, and Vag Rounded. Next in Word Plus, the same thing in 10 pt. Pica. then, in Ed Hack, the same thing in 10 pt. pica. Finally, in PageStream, I did the same thing, with different 10 pt. fonts: Windsor Light, Bus-O-Rama, and Tekton (Type 1 PostScript fonts). I printed everything to the DeskJet 500C in black mode. That's Write, Word Plus, and Ed Hack 10 pt, pica, along with any 10 pt. PgS font - all identical. Every baseline matches. Clearly, the DeskJet's internal pica font was used in some cases. That's Write varies when using Speedo fonts: Times, Helvetica Narrow, Vag Rounded: all different (also from pica). TW3's leading (leading is a term brought forward from old time typesetting where they actually used pieces of lead to set the vertical spacing between racks of mechanically set type) is clearly affected by the varying ascender and descender heights in a given font's bounding box. The simple cure for this would be to switch TW3 to an internal font bounding box system, forcing the baselines of any Speedo font to match the internal baselines of TW's internal bounding box. This would allow typesetting style leading control, wherein the expression 10/14 ("ten over fourteen", meaning ten point font with four points leading) would be possible. This also allows for two different point sizes to be used on the same line _without_ affecting the leading of the line below as it forces, say, a 20 point font to reside on a 12 point line leading without bumping the line below. I'm not convinced, however, that this is necessarily the domain of a word processor. Such complete control beckons one to turn to high end DTP systems like PageStream or Calamus, where you can do just about anything imaginable to text copy. As word processors go, That's Write is an amazing product. Comparing TW3 Calligrapher - which I also own, well, all I can say is, for all its touted bells and whistles, I've had to chalk up Calligrapher as expensively unusable due to poor non-PostScript output and as such, have dumped it long ago from my hard drive. W3 wins hands down because I can't tell if a printed page from TW3 came from an Atari, IBM or Mac program. TW3 reaches world class output standards, even on a DeskJet, and therefor reaches parity with anyone else's WP solution. A page from Calligrapher (non-PostScript) unmistakably looks like a page from Atari Calligrapher. I can see it from across the room without my contact lenses. And all this after just five days and 70 hours using TW3. 14 hours a day? I write professionally. So far, I've been able to "teach" TW3 into thinking it is a $1,500 dedicated scriptwriting system, only it's faster and capable of holding a _whole_ screenplay, not a third or half of one as its expensive cousin does. For those curious about TW3 advanced capabilities: Macros can be tied to paragraph formats with text input extremely easily. Paragraph formats can be linked to following paragraph formats even more easily. Required single and double spacing can be tied to interparagraph spacing within paragraph formats, outmoding the return key (and with greater control). Scene numbering (something we do to scripts upon breakdown and budgeting) can be tied to paragraph formats through instructions tied to tab stops - in other words, automatic scene numbering and after revisions, flawless renumbering. Wild stuff. Now, a question or two: 1. Is there a way to tie CAPSLOCK to a macro? So far, I've been unable to find a key combination to trigger CAPSLOCK on in a macro, something truly useful to the flow of screenwriting. 2. This would not be a problem if TW3 could work with Spelling Sentry's macro facility. Right now, a Spelling Sentry macro that types, say, "LOCATION IN CAPS" gets converted to "location in caps," losing the UPPERCASE in the translation. Any fix in the works? 3. This would also not be a problem if a macro could be tied to a string, perhaps like ESC+FA yields "FRANK'S APARTMENT". How about strings of more than one character to trigger macros? 3a. How about CONTROL, ALT, and SHIFTP Function Key macros, where F1, ALT F1, CTRL F1, and SHIFT f1 were four different macros? 4. This would also not be a problem if there were "Look-Up Tabs" or "Abbreviation Tabs" or "Replacement Tabs" (suggesting a new feature here) which would store a writer's predetermined list of shortcuts that acted like the Spelling Sentry abbreviation facility, but specific to a tab location. For example, the $1,500 scripting package I mentioned is sensitive to tab positions, and cascades on CHARACTER NAMES from a defined list based on the minimum number of letters needed to uniquely define a character's name. For example, you could make a list of characters: TED TOM TIMOTHY THOMPSON THOMAS TINA OSCAR When you reach the tab for CHARACTER NAME, when you type: T or TE = TED, the first name beginning with T in the list. tin = TINA, as "tin" is unique to TINA in the list. TIM = TIMOTHY TO = TOM, as "to" is unique only to TOM. THOMP = THOMPSON THOMA = THOMAS O (o) = OSCAR, as "o" is all you need to uniquely identify OSCAR. This feature is active. The names pop in as soon as the computer finds a match, and the names will change, cascading through matches as you continue typing until you get to the minimum unique combination of characters to define a CHARACTER. You could even call this a "Look-Up Tab," a special tab that would have its own definable look-up substitution table that functions in the manner described. Such "Look-Up Tabs" or "Abbreviation Tabs" or "Expansion Tabs" would be widely usable - how about invoicing systems: F14q3 = "Falcon 030, 14 megs Fast RAM, Quantum 340Mb HD, complete." Nuff said, Great product, Robert! Here's egging Compo on to make it even better! -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 15 Sat Nov 27, 1993 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 16:06 EST Richard: my wife writes teleplays, and I'm switching over to TW3 from wordPerfect. If you're so inclined, I'd love it if you could share a couple of those macros with me - thanks, John Nolan ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 16 Sun Nov 28, 1993 COMPO at 00:45 EST Richard - Your ideas about line spacing are good ones, and in general they might be beyond the scope of a word processor; however I think highly-definable line and paragraph spacing are right up That's Write's alley. It currently gives you more control than other word processors, but I'd like to see extra leading control in there, and I think that's very possible in a future version. You can't really use CAPSLOCK during a macro, but affected characters will stay affected, ie - if you use CAPSLOCK while entering a macro, it will be played back the same way. You might also be able to make use of the function to make the current word all caps (Control-D,U). There isn't a look up table, but you can tie a string to a macro. Open the macro window and click on a macro with the right mouse button to configure it. The Shortcut field lets you assign an abbreviation (or logical shortcut) to a macro. Then you can either enter the macro by typing the shortcut and pressing UNDO (TE=TED, tin=TINA, etc) or by using the keys originally assigned to the macro. Since you mentioned invoicing, our invoicing is done in That's Write, making use of macros (and shortcuts) and instructions to almost completely automate it. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 17 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 01:17 EST How can I get the Spanish dictionary after I purchase That's Write? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 18 Sun Nov 28, 1993 COMPO at 04:03 EST RAF - Additional dictionaries for That's Write are available direct from COMPO. They cost $50.00 (US) each. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 19 Sun Nov 28, 1993 JIM.K [Jim~ST Sysop] at 13:05 EST Messages #1-182 have been archived and are in the library-File #30897. TWRITE_2.ARC 12/6/92 to 11/21/93 Jim Kudron 28Nov93 ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 20 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 14:02 EST John Nolan - Teleplays are a bit different from screenplays, but not by too much. Though there's not too many of us using Ataris (there should be!), I'll make a stab at a set of macros for teleplays as well, and upload both, in separate files. You should see it within the week. My first version of the screenplay system is *very* fast and solid in use. Robert - I'm already using strings in these macros. Thanks for reminding me about the shortcut field. Most useful. The thing about caps lock is that the particular macro ends right at a point where you must manually begin typing in caps. Coming into the macro, caps lock is always off: ex: 43 INT. BOARD ROOM - DAY The buzz of conversation cuts short as Tramiel walks in, meeting universal gazes of astonishment with a triumphant grin. --- This is a simple slugline its following action description, or "business." My macro selects the slugline paragraph format (a ONE LINE paragraph), which sets the correct spacing between the last hunk of dialogue or action description to the new slugline, uses an instruction to number the next slugline "43, 44, etc.," tabs over and types in "INT. " with the space so that all I do is type in "BOARD ROOM" and then hit the next macro, which types in the "- DAY" or "- NIGHT," issues a to drop down while using the 'Next Layout' feature from the preceding slugline paragraph format to set the correct spacing to the following action description or dialog. The only glitch: to make these macros really sing, it'd be nice to trigger caps lock ON just before exiting the slugling macro, and trigger it OFF after the time of day macro ( - DAY ). Any inclusion of this ability in TW4 would be a boon: how about CONTROL+CAPSLOCK = ON and ALT+CAPSLOCK = OFF within a macro? I hope this idea is more than specific to the needs of pesky screenwriters. Maybe we'll just have to learn to hit "CapsLock _then_ F1." One additional note: there seems to be a limit of one instruction per line of text. Is there a way around this, or perhaps this could wind up in Version 4? A slugline should be numbered at both margins, left (which I do now) and right (which I'm pondering how to make automatic). I have seen scripts numbered on one side only, but I'm trying to standardize as much as possible, and of course, automatically. In my short experience with That's Write, I've found that, unlike other WP choices, with a little preplanning, it can serve to focus your mind on creativity and away from the banality of formatting, which, in the case of screenwriters, can be unfortunately more important than creativity in getting your material read in Hollywood. - Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 21 Sun Nov 28, 1993 JRH [Roger] at 18:36 EST Robert, I was wrong about being wrong! :-) This is regarding the use of TW3 with my printer set to landscape mode. Turns out what happens is that if I am using internal printer fonts (Pica) then I can indeed set the printer for landscape printing and adjust my page/paragraph layouts to get very nice landscape mode output, as I mentioned in one of my last messages. However, if I switch to a Speedo font - then it does not work properly, which was the problem I initially reported. It was just that I did not realize it was restricted to the Speedo fonts. When I first tried it, I was using large point sizes (24, 28, 30). to create some overhead slides. Today I also tried it using the Speedo Pica 10 font at 12 points. Still no go. So the bottom line is still that I would like to see a landscape printing capability in TW3 at your earliest convenience. I tend to do a lot of presentations and I like a horizontal format. For the time being I still have to use PageStream (which ain't bad - its just that I am getting to like TW3 more and more). A question: I am trying to get myself a coherent set of page and paragraph layouts set up. In the process I would like to clear out some of those that came as part of the default setup. I have been successful in clearing everything out except A1, which comes up as the paragraph identified in the info bar for the empty file new1.tw when TW3 is first run. BTW when I click on A1 the Select Layout dialog that comes up shows paragraph B1 (which is a body text style that I have selected as default) as being the selected paragraph. I don't get it. How do I get rid of A1? Why does B1 show up as selected when I click on A1? Even when I "Remove" A1 and then save layouts, it is still there when I go to new text. How is it going on WordPerfect import/export? The fonts and drivers manual? Not sure which I would rather have first. Probably both. :-) Regards, Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 22 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 20:46 EST Robert: Toiling pays off! Perhaps only screenwriters need it, but after trying everything, I found out how to trigger CAPSLOCK on IN A MACRO! Simple as pie: create a macro, any macro, in which you want the macro to terminate with CAPS LOCK ON. Use the shift+ESC combo and record from the keyboard normally. END THE MACRO WITH A SINGLE SPACE FROM THE SPACE BAR. Next, invoke the TW-Macro Editor accessory and edit the last command, which will read "SPACE". This is done in non-text mode where each command is a separate command line. Click on this last, "space" command, and replace it with a SHIFT+SPACE. You will see the command turn to "C..SPACE," which apparently means, and certainly functions as: 'CAPSLOCK ON + SPACE.' Invoking this macro smoothly integrates CAPS LOCK into the mix. It's fabulous... This undocumented stuff may prove very interesting. Will advise all 'discoveries.' -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 23 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 21:11 EST Robert: A tiny correction: Taking a look back in the macro editor, the SHIFT+CAPS yields the following, as viewed in the macro editor: {.. .} SPACE After ten hours of goofing to find this combo, I forgot what it looked like in the last message. You will also see the same up arrow if your macro includes any capitalized text. The up arrow generally indicates uppercase, but the Shift+Space functions as "CapsLock-On." -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 24 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 21:19 EST One last time: GEnie doesn't like extended ASCII, it seems. The macro should read, roughly, {..^.} SPACE where the carrot is used in place of an UP-ARROW, which did not read when uploaded the last time. Sorry for the multiple messages to get it straight... -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 25 Sun Nov 28, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 22:56 EST Famous first words... Oops! Too much hoopla and too little testing. Sorry, folks..! I've got to take it back. The macro combo doesn't work. "Test to certainty before you speak." A new motto to be sure... It seems the caps lock key itself is active in the macro editor, and although it can register as a "C" _along with_ the up carrot, _seemingly_ giving the "magic combination," it was merely a trick played on the eyes of someone _truly_ goofing for 10+ hours on this nasty little problem, leaving TW3 in caps lock upon exiting the editor. It is _not_ a function of of the macro itself. Still working on it, though... -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 26 Mon Nov 29, 1993 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 00:54 EST > I should have been more precise. The font is the Speedo font > called Times 12. When printed out with the minimum interlinear > spacing (1 line, I think) it gives 6 lines to the inch measured > from the top of line 1 to the bottom of line 6. I presume that's > what Robert means. I see that that could also be described as 5 > lines to the inch, roughly, if you measure from the top to the top > or the bottom to the bottom of the lines. Anyway, if you are not > getting what I'm getting, I think it is fairly conclusive that the > fault is with the printer driver and not with TW3. Bill, sorry for the delay in getting back to you and thanks for the detailed reply. When I measure TW's output with a 12 point Speedo font from the top of line 1 to the bottom of line 6, it is greater than one inch. Instead, what actually fits in a space of one inch is only 5 lines of type. Since we are getting completely different results, my initial conclusion was that this would seem to indicate that the problem is in the driver for the Atari laser. However, if I understand Robert correctly, then he is saying that there is nothing wrong with the driver for the Atari laser. Instead, he is saying that if the font is a Speedo vector font and the point size is 12, then it would be impossible for you to get 6 lines to the inch, i.e. 5 lines to the inch is normal. This is because a particular point size of a particular Speedo font will print with the same line spacing, regardless of the printer. At this point I can only think of one other question. When you look at the font in the load font selector, is it shown as a scalable font, i.e. if there is an equal sign beside it, then it is not a scalable font? Obviously if it is shown as a scalable font, then I'll be very interested in Robert's comments :-). On the other hand, if it has an equal sign beside it, then it is a fixed point font and everything is working as it is supposed to. By the way, I hope my comments don't give you the impression that I'm criticising what you've said. I really appreciate your effort. Instead, I'm only raising this point because, if I understand Robert correctly, then what you are saying should be impossible :-). Thanks again, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 27 Mon Nov 29, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 00:59 EST Does TW3 have a thesaurus? If not, when will one be available? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 28 Mon Nov 29, 1993 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 02:07 EST Harvey, I may have said somewhere that I am not a techie. I have to add that I tend to rush things. I now think I can resolve the contradiction. I now believe that I measured my six lines to the inch from the top of the letters without ascenders to the bottom of the letters without descenders. In that case, Robert is right, as usual, and I have been at cross purposes with both of you. I simply forgot that ascenders and descenders had to be taken into account in measuring. My apologies. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 29 Mon Nov 29, 1993 J.LEMLEY [Jack] at 20:11 EST Compo, UPS just ran and still no TW3 upgrade:-( You've had my upgrade request for 3 weeks this coming wednesday. I know in E-Mail you stated you had been closed for a week. Could you please check on the status of my upgrade and let me know something. I would also like to know how it will be shipped ie UPS USPS etc. Thanks Jack ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 30 Mon Nov 29, 1993 COMPO at 21:30 EST Richard - You can have as many instructions per line as you'd like. If you want automatic numbering on both sides of the page, use a tab at the left and a tab at the right. You probably know that instructions can be aligned at the margins, also (without tabs). I use several templates with instructions at the left and right margins. Roger - You can't really remove a layout with the short name A1, because That's Write uses A1 internally. This is a compatibility measure, and sets a common ground between documents with different layouts. You can remove layout A1, but That's Write will insert it when you run the program again. To save a layout slot and keep things tidy, you may want to have a layout with the short name A1. RAF - That's Write doesn't have a thesaurus. We are looking at the possibility of including one in a future version. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 31 Mon Nov 29, 1993 COMPO at 23:20 EST Jack - I apologize for the delay; we usually ship orders the same day we get them, but two weeks ago we ran out of manuals. Then our printer had a problem where he couldn't print the manuals. Anyway, the goods showed up late today, and your order will be going out tomorrow. Thank you for your patience; your That's Write package should be there in the next few days, delivered via Post. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 32 Fri Dec 03, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 05:15 EST Robert: Try as I will, I cannot get two instructions to work on the same line. Perhaps you could try this: 'chapter+:1;!text:chapter' left side, and '!text:chapter' on the right. - without the quotation marks, of course. These work fine if on separate lines, but only the left side works if they are both on the same line. Then, I wonder if I may have some small bug in TW3: I cannot use Control + arrows in macros. I can shift+ESC record a macro using Control+arrows (cursor control) but, upon entering the macro editor, it bombs (4 bombs) very time. If I try entering a Control+arrow IN the macro editor, 11 bombs. I also get lockups from time to time - no bombs, but a system freeze that won't even allow a CTRL ALT DEL reboot - I have to switch off. These happen almost exclusively when working at the BOTTOM of the display, and especially when entering the paragraph style menu, CTRL A. For those interested: I have a screenwriting macro set: 40+ macros that do amazing things for screenwriting that I'm very close to finishing. It will be uploaded with instructional file. -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 33 Fri Dec 03, 1993 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 19:20 EST Richard: I for one am looking forward to that macro set! ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 34 Sat Dec 04, 1993 J.KRZYSZTOW [JEFFREY] at 19:26 EST Compo If we have version 3.1c of That's Write, how do we get the one with the known bugs removed? Will it be sent automatically or do we need to request it special? Jeffrey A. Krzysztow ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 35 Sun Dec 05, 1993 COMPO at 02:52 EST Jeffrey - There will be one update to 3.1c, and it will be sent to everyone automatically. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 36 Mon Dec 06, 1993 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 23:21 EST One addition I would very much like to see in a future version is columns with block protection, i.e. a means of lining up paragraphs in columns opposite each other. This is something I have had to do in my writing more than once. WordPerfect can do it, rather cumbersomely, but once you've done it it is a nightmare to edit, with blocks migrating all over the place from their original position. I don't know how difficult it would be to add it to That's Write, but I for one would appreciate having it. It is getting quite hard to think of things TW still hasn't got and should have! Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 37 Wed Dec 08, 1993 COMPO at 17:25 EST Bill - Yessir, what you're describing is indeed tough, and I don't know of any word processor that provides automatic alignment between definable blocks in separate columns. You said 'block protection' which That's Write provides - we're talking block alignment, right? Or rather, a means of placing a block in a specific position, then being able to edit your document without affecting that position/alignment... > It is getting quite hard to think of things TW still hasn't got > and should have! Ya okay, your request IS rather obscure, but I like it... it's these kinds of things that aren't requested every day, but drive word processing technology forward. I'll talk to our programmers to see what it will take to implement something like this. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 38 Thu Dec 09, 1993 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:51 EST Robert, Thanks for your positive reply. Yes, you have correctly understood what I had in mind. I don't think what WordPerfect does for aligning blocks with each other in adjacent columns could be called automatic by any stretch of the imagination, but it is possible to do it manually, though I never found out how to edit the result without extreme mental pain and much swearing. I wonder if their facility depends on the fact that unlike TW, WP does have the capacity to show columns alongside each other on screen, as an option. You can then see what you are doing. If your wonderful programmers can find a good way to do it, I'm sure I'm not the only person who would benefit. I have another question today, a less obscure one, I think. I would like to be able to use the internal fonts of the Times Roman Cartridge on my DeskJet Plus. The necessary pseudo fonts came with the earlier versions of TW. Now we have the excellent Speedo Times fonts with apparently the same names. They are in fact better than the internal ones, but take much longer to print, because they print as graphics. So it would be useful to have the DeskJet Times fonts for fast draft print out, and perhaps do the final version, if it is not too long a document, with the Speedo fonts. Can I do this? Perhaps it is possible already, and I have maybe missed something. Or should one rename some fonts? Best. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 39 Thu Dec 09, 1993 R.ZALISCHUK [ ROBZAL ] at 01:28 EST Hello Robert @ Compo.... I have TW3 with its .PF speedo fonts and Atari/Toad speedo font packages with .TDF fonts. I would like to use my Atari/Toad fonts with TW3 and I wouldn't mind using my TW3 fonts with other programs. The manual mentions contacting Compo for matching .PF file info. What information can you help out with. Thanks, Robert Z. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 40 Thu Dec 09, 1993 COMPO at 17:14 EST Bill - Sure, you can use the internal/cartridge fonts; they aren't included in That's Write, but if you already have the fonts you're almost set. All you need is the matching .PF files - which I'll email you. All - I've gotten several requests on how to move font files and directories in That's Write, so - here's the deal. Relocating font files in That's Write 3 ======================================= Moving font configuration files By default, That's Write installs font configuration files (.PF) in the TWRITE3 folder with other external files. You can group these files together in their own folder if you desire. 1. Create a folder named BTPF within the TWRITE3 folder. Copy all .PF files from the TWRITE3 folder to the BTPF folder. 2. Launch That's Write. The program will initially reload all .PF files and automatically save the new configuration. Moving Speedo font files By default, That's Write installs Speedo font files (.SPD) in a folder named BTFONTS within the TWRITE3 folder. Because it is part of Bitstream's specification, Speedo font files MUST reside in a folder named BTFONTS. However, that folder can be moved out of the TWRITE3 folder. 1. The BTFONTS folder may be moved to the root directory of any hard drive partition. It must remain at the root level, and not within another folder. 2. If you move the BTFONTS folder to the root directory of the same partition where That's Write is located, That's Write will find it automatically and you needn't do anything more. 3. If you move the BTFONTS folder to the root directory of another partition, That's Write will not find it automatically. After moving the BTFONTS folder launch That's Write and attempt to load a Speedo font. That's Write will report that the files cannot be found and ask you if it should search for them. Click on 'Search' and That's Write will locate the BTFONTS folder. This configuration must be saved. Select 'Save Preferences' within the 'Preferences' dialog to permanently save the new configuration. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 41 Thu Dec 09, 1993 B.BEAUCHEA [Bob Beauchea] at 17:18 EST Robert, I've been using TW3 for about a week now and I am very impressed with it. Compo has really done an excellent job. I do have a couple of questions. 1. Do you have PF files for the Bitstream Wordperfect 6.0 font pack? 2. Do you have PF files for the speedo fonts supplied with Speedo GDOS? 3. Do you have the screen fonts for the HP Laserjet 4 internal fonts? 4. Do you have the screen fonts for the HP Deskjet 550C internal fonts? 5. Are there any plans to support color printing with the HP550C? 6. Is there a Postscript printer driver? And maybe the standard 35 PS fonts screen fonts? Thanks, Bob Beauchea ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 42 Thu Dec 09, 1993 JRH [Roger] at 21:18 EST Robert, >Yessir, what you're describing is indeed tough, and I don't know of any word >processor that provides automatic alignment between definable blocks in >separate columns. You said 'block protection' which That's Write provides - WordPerfect does it. It lets you get effects like the following: This is column 1, block 1 This is column 2, block 1 It has 2 lines It has three lines, this is #2 This is number three Then next block is here And it may have a whole paragraph with its own word wrap etc. The blocks are aligned as Topics are kept together this way. as necessary to keep block protection which ever column has more lines in its block. Finally, this is block 4. This is block 4 of column 2. The whole thing actually works quite well and is useful. I actually use it quite a lot in WordPerfect at my office, and have found some techniques for editing the blocks/columns without too much difficulty. It is a feature that I would certainly appreciate seeing in TW3. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 43 Fri Dec 10, 1993 COMPO at 01:01 EST Rob - Neither Atari nor Toad publish stand-alone font packages, but Atari does publish SpeedoGDOS (with 14 fonts) and I believe Toad resells the WordPerfect SIX.0 Font Pack from Bitstream... is that what you have? If you can tell me specifically which packages you have, I will email you the .PF files straight away. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 44 Fri Dec 10, 1993 COMPO at 02:26 EST Bob - 1. We have PF files for the WordPerfect SIX.0 Font Pack from Bitstream. I'll email them to you. 2. We have PF files for Atari's SpeedoGDOS, as well as COMPO's Speedo Starter Kit (which has six more fonts). I'll assume you meant SpeedoGDOS and email you those files. 3. Using the Laserjet's internal fonts isn't so easy - they're scalable Intellifont format fonts substantially different from the Speedo format. Bitstream recently completed work on special Speedo fonts with widths that match the Intellifont fonts. We will soon release an add-on that lets you use Speedo on screen and the Intellifont fonts resident in your Laserjet 4, transparently. 4. As for the Deskjet 550C, it depends. I don't have a 550C, but if it uses the same fonts as the Deskjet, we have GEM screen fonts to match the internal fonts (CG Times Letter Gothic and Courier) as well as external font cartridges - but if it has scalable Intellifont fonts, the answer again is 'Soon.' (early next year). 5. We will be supporting color printing on color printers. Definitely. 6. With regard to PostScript, again, it isn't so easy to match Speedo fonts to PostScript. We could use PostScript fonts instead, I suppose, but we went the route of using Speedo on screen with PostScript output. The reason for this is speed. This involves a separate program file and a couple drivers. The coding is complete, but the translation is not. There will be one more release of That's Write 3.1, and the PostScript version will most likely be released immediately afterwards (as an upgrade). There is a special version of That's Write already available with the standard 35 PostScript fonts - we call it Multifont. If you have a PostScript printer, I recommend it because the fonts have PostScript matching widths, are internally compatible, and have PostScript standard character sets. In fact, the basic version of That's Write 3 has PostScript compatible Speedo fonts (the Times, Helvetica, Courier, and Symbol) but it is the older PostScript standard - the newer standard having 35 fonts rather than 13. These PostScript compatible fonts, as well as having the basic 35 PostScript fonts, will be necessary for using the PostScript version of That's Write. With the standard version, it is an added convenience. All this is one reason why Speedo fonts packs (except those sold by other vendors) include Type 1s. Roger - Thanks for the tip on aligning blocks. I appreciate the clarification. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 45 Fri Dec 10, 1993 R.ZALISCHUK [ ROBZAL ] at 03:00 EST Robert, Yes...I've gotten both SpeedoGDOS and the Wordperfect packages. If you could e-mail me the .PF files that would be fabulous. Thanks very much. Robert Z. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 46 Fri Dec 10, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:25 EST Robert, Bill's talking about cross-column alignment. It's a feature of pro DTP packages. Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 47 Sun Dec 12, 1993 JRH [Roger] at 13:17 EST Robert, Glad the comment on columns helped. BTW, this type of column is called "Parallel With Block Protect" in WordPerfect. It is one of two types in the Atari version of WP. The other one, which is the one currently in TW3, is called "Newspaper". The two are obviously used in very different ways, but both are extremely useful and both allow layouts which are very difficult to achieve any other way than through the particular column definition. While you are looking at this whole area, let me raise a comment on column display. I recognize the advantage of not showing both columns at once to get increased display speed (which I really appreciate). However, it would be nice under some circumstances to have the option of displaying them side-by- side. I also encountered an unexpected difficulty yesterday that results from having the RH column display on the left side of the screen. For reasons that are more complex than I want to try to explain here, I ended up with right- aligned text for the RH column on a two column page not having the same right margin as on a standard page without columns, even though the RH margins were set the same for both page layouts. So here's my "update request" that would take care of this situation: - to display the columns in the correct relative location on the page, including the tabs,etc. on the ruler bar, as one scrolls down the document. They do not need to be displayed side-by-side. Simply shifted to the correct relative position, rather than all columns being displayed as though they were at the left margin. - it would also be helpful to show markers for both the LH and RH limits of all columns when doing this to give a good visual reference of how things line up. That's it for columns. I do have some other things I have noticed: - I have set up footers to display the page numbers in a document. I found that the displayed page number indicator changes from PAG to # when I switched from Pica to Times font. No big deal, but seemed odd. - I just started using the status display, since I have a 19 inch monochrome screen with plenty of room for it. I have a document with three different page layouts and several paragraph layouts in it. The status box shows a change in the paragraph and font layout as I move through the document. It does not seem to show the change in page layout _unless_ there is also a font change: ie, if I move from P1 to P2 but stay in paragraphs with Times 12 pt font the page display in the status box does not change. If I put the cursor on a paragraph with Times 12BD, or some other font, then the page is shown as changing. - A minor cosmetic item: the File Selector shows the number of items in German. You have mentioned some interesting things coming up in recent messages. I'm looking forward to them. The more I use this program the more impressed I am with its versatility and power. Thanks, Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 48 Tue Dec 14, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 20:29 EST I recently received my upgrade to TW3 and I'm pretty happy with it. I have a number of comments and questions, but right now I only have time for two: TW3 seems to want MUCH more memory that TW2. I can't even get it to work on my 1-meg machine. Is this right, or am I doing something wrong. Is there any way to program a macro to do a search and replace, replacing a character from one font to another? Using the block command I can't get the second font recognized. Here's an example: I would like to do a search and replace that would look for any occurance of the " in the Times font and replace it with the leading/trailing quote mark in the Courier font.(Alt/Shift 8or9) or Using a macro... I would like to replace the @ symbol in the Helvetica font with the copyright symbol in the Symbol font. Can this be done? Alternately, Is there any way to edit the Speedo fonts? It seems strange to me that Times and Helvetica do not have leading and trailing quote marks. Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 49 Wed Dec 15, 1993 COMPO at 03:11 EST Rick - That's Write 3 does require more memory that previous versions, with the program alone clocking in around 800K, and depending on your usage, Speedo fonts require more than bitmap fonts. You can run That's Write 3 on a 1 meg machine, but 2 megs is a practical minimum. Again, that depends on the kind of work you're doing. You can create single page documents using printer-internal fonts quite peacefully. Sure, you can create the macro you're looking for. Record a macro that searches for a particular character, then changes the character, then blocks the character and changes the font. Fairly straightforward, really. Let me know if you can't get it and I'll email you an example. You can edit the encoding tables (character mapping) of Speedo fonts. The .ENC files contain these tables - they're ASCII files that can be edited in That's Write. You may also want to view them just to locate a particular character in the high end of the ASCII set. Times and Helvetica do have the characters you're looking for, but they have PostScript compatible encoding so certain characters may not be where they are in standard fonts. All of the fonts that come with That's Write are PostScript compatible. If you're having trouble accessing a particular character, first try using KEYSHOW to see which key it is mapped to. If it isn't mapped to a key, check the ENC file (the exact ENC file used by a font is identified in the .PF file - access the PF Editor and load a PF file to get this info). I highly suggest making a backup of the ENC file before making permanent changes. Remember that if you alter a PostScript-compatible encoding table, it is no longer 100% PostScript compatible. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 50 Wed Dec 15, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 20:07 EST Robert, I made a mistake, the leading and trailing quotes are in the Speedo fonts Helvetica and Times. They just do not show on the screen (or via Keyshow) at ten points or smaller. They show as regular " marks at this point size. I may ask for more help with the macros but I may not need to use it now. That's great news that I can edit the .ENC files to get the characters that I want. I did find the file and the character I want is in there, but I just can't figure out how to get it. The character I want is the copyright symbol. It would be great if I could put it where the @ symbol is now. I found them both in the Helvetica ENC file, which is SWA.ENC. They are written like this: 34,2,quotedbl 239,332,copyright Where do I go from here? I tried various ways of exchanging but no luck. Help please? Rick p.s. Regarding using TW3 with a 1-meg machine, I find that there is about 85k left after loading which is fine. The problem is that when the mouse pointer touches the OPTIONS menu heading, the program bombs. I've tried installing with and without printer and get the same result. Is this a bug? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 51 Thu Dec 16, 1993 COMPO at 03:22 EST Rick - Okay, here's how to change the Encoding tables - The first value is the ASCII value, the second is the specific character, so if you have: 34, 2, quotedbl ... ... 239, 332, copyright and you want to swap them, change the second number in each line: 34, 332, ... ... ... 239, 2, ... get it? The third part of each line is just an identifier to make the files easier to follow. This descriptor is not used by the program. IMPORTANT! Before changing an encoding table, delete the contents of your CACHE folder. Since cached fonts contain related encoding data, you may make a change only to find the old encoding data being used! Worse, it's likely that only some point sizes (those that aren't cached) would be affected. So keep things tidy, and dump everything in your CACHE folder before making any changes. As for bombs when running on a one meg machine, do you have any accessories or AUTO programs loaded? I've never previously seen or heard of such a problem, but it could be due to running with such little memory. That's Write should be more elegant in handling such situations, and it will usually tell you that you're running out of memory, then eventually tell you that it can do no more - rather than crashing out. I'll check the latest version and see if I can duplicate it. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 52 Fri Dec 17, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 00:53 EST I just got That's Write 3.1c and am having problems accessing my HP Deskjet 500's internal fonts, I can only get courier, and then it's only 10 point. How can I get to the internal CG-Times and Letter Gothic fonts. The manual says that COMPO can supply a driver for these. Shouldn't it be on the disk? Is it online? Help! ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 53 Fri Dec 17, 1993 COMPO at 03:02 EST RAF - The reason that you're only getting the internal Courier font is that That's Write includes a Pica font, found in almost all printers. The Deskjet substitutes Courier for Pica (they're basically the same design - 10 cpi). We have extra disks for the Deskjet's internal fonts (including CG Times and Letter Gothic), as well as Times and Helvetica font cartridges. They cost $20.00 each and are available directly from COMPO. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 54 Fri Dec 17, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 20:14 EST Robert, Is there any way you can supply me with a guide to which keystroke(s) affect the numbers in the ENC file? I don't know my Adieresis from my guillemotrights. What I would really like to do, if possible is insert my copyright symbol in one of the two empty keys which are alt/shift Q or alt/shift W. Do you have numbers for these? Regarding the bombing on the 1-meg machine. No accessories or auto prgs loaded except for LA.prg. It is a tos1.0 machine. Doesn't bomb but locks up without LA.prg when cursor hits OPTIONS Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 55 Sat Dec 18, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 02:25 EST It is the internal CG Times and Letter Gothic fonts that I wish to access. Shouldn't I be able to access them with the Deskjet driver included with That's Write instead of paying more money for an additional driver? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 56 Sat Dec 18, 1993 GREEN at 21:42 EST I have the copy of Write on which came wih with Streview some time ago I have just started to use it. Very nice, however I have been unable to get new GDOS fonts installed to work properly. Two fonts, which were on a ST Format cover disk, that I particulary like print out with the line spacing too close, thus cranmping the lines together and eliminating descenders from the line(s) above. How may I adjust the fonts so that they will work in That, oops, Write on? ANy help apprecitated. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 57 Sun Dec 19, 1993 COMPO at 00:05 EST GREEN - Although GDOS and That's Write both use GEM fonts, they have slightly different requirements, notably in the resolution (That's Write requires screen fonts of 90x108 dpi). If you email me your address, I'll send you printed information on this. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 58 Sun Dec 19, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 03:36 EST Robert - The reason I brought That's Write 3 over Calligrapher was to use access the built in fonts in my Deskjet 500, which I was told I could do without paying for it. I could understand if I had a cartridge but I just want to use the normal internal fonts of my printer. Couldn't you upload the driver? Raf ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 59 Sun Dec 19, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 13:29 EST Just want to let TW users know that there is a file in the GERMANY roundtable for an accessory called AddressJB (or something like that). It is an address database like Cardfile. I downloaded it over a year ago, but it is all in German and it is lacking some features that I find essential in Cardfile. The reason I mention it is that it seems to be uniquely designed to work with TW. It will send an address to TW along with a salutation message and it will even set the proper layouts. It may be a forerunner of That's Address. I haven't figured out if it is shareware or a freeware disabled version as it only takes a certain number of addresses. The reason I won't use it is that it doesn't save it's files with mailmerge compatibility. I wonder, does That's Address? I wish Cardfile could be adapted to send properly to TW. I have to use my text editor in Harlekin as an intermediary, using the clipboard. Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 60 Sun Dec 19, 1993 GREEN at 13:41 EST Yhanks, Compo. I'll send you email today! ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 61 Tue Dec 21, 1993 COMPO at 01:16 EST RAF - You're right. I made a mistake. While the font disks for font cartridges costs $20.00 each, the Deskjet internal fonts disk is free upon request. Please include a request when you return your registration card. Rick - AdressJB is a little address program written by a That's Write user in Germany. It is public domain, and actually has little in common with That's Address. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 62 Wed Dec 22, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 02:09 EST Robert Thank you. Unfortunately, I returned my registration card the day I received That's Write. Could you send me the disk when you receive the card? I appreciate the way you handled this. I feel more secure now in my investment and that I can get the most out of That's Write. It shows well on the company. Also, exactly what is That's Address. Is it out yet? Thanks again. Raf ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 63 Wed Dec 22, 1993 COMPO at 21:51 EST RAF - Sure, I'll go ahead and send you the Deskjet fonts disk. The reason the Deskjet's internal fonts aren't included in the first place is simply disk space; there are a couple where we offer the disks separately upon request. That's Address is a contact/address manager that integrates with That's Write. It will be released next year. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 64 Thu Dec 23, 1993 R.BROWN30 at 01:20 EST Robert, Nearly finished with my scriptwriting macro set, inclusive of a unique breakdown feature (creating a tab-delimited listing for later processing in a spreadsheet or DB) for people so inclined. As a teaser: ALL forms of sluglines, stage direction, dialogue, personal direction, and formatting such as continuing scenes or dialogue, automatic slugline numbering or renumbering, proper automated page breaks for stage direction or dialogue with one button undo, one button transitions, document movement controls, conversion of personal direction to stage direction, databasing of sluglines with complete sub details - and more. Useage is not unlike Movie Master on the IBM - only better and more complete. With this system, screenwriting takes far less keystrokes and is utterly flexible to any writing style. You can do a stream of consciousness then INSTANTLY whip your work into 100% standard form. A lot of the standard form simply happens as you go anyway. On to other things, some new notes: Something I've noticed in making some _very_ complex macros is that, on the TT, the macro execution can lock up (not bomb, simply stopping short of finishing the execution order), requiring a reworking of the macro, including inserting pauses to slow down execution so that the "lock up" does not occur. Some of my complex macros also behave a little oddly in NOT exactly duplicating actions with each use of a given macro. (Screenwriters take heart: all the creative macros are PERFECTLY SOLID. The problems all lie within the breakdown/databasing features). It seems, though I'm only guessing, that the macro execution is affected by the huge number of screen redraws a complex macro demands. * It would be extremely useful to have a macro command to TURN OFF screen redraws during macro execution. Things would definitely be faster. An old note: Has the control+cursor problem regarding macro useage been fixed in the next version of TW? I can REALLY use them to facilitate my macro set. (Wait 'til you see my workaround in the screenplay macros!) Finally, I also have a Deskjet (500C): regarding the internal fonts, if there's some files I need to access them, perhaps you could send them along in e-mail? No hurry, the 70+ fonts I've already got are working fine. -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 65 Thu Dec 23, 1993 COMPO at 02:19 EST Richard - Congratulations on your macro set. It sounds very nice indeed. Interesting about the complex macros. I'll have to check on that... there were several obscure buglets in version 3.1c that have been fixed. When macros fail to execute perfectly, are you sure you don't have an option checked in a dialog or something? Are you using the commands to switch everything in dialogs on or off, or the restore layout functions? The problem using Control+Cursor in macros hasn't been fixed. That's Write seems okay, but the macro editor itself chokes when you try to edit a macro, specifically the Control+Cursor bit. If you record macros with the program you should be okay. I'll send you the Deskjet fonts. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 66 Thu Dec 23, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 07:54 EST Thanks again. Do you need my address? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 67 Thu Dec 23, 1993 COMPO at 18:55 EST RAF - I can email you the Deskjet fonts. If you want them by Post, please email me your mailing address. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 68 Thu Dec 23, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 20:53 EST Richard, I am also looking forward to seeing your macro sets. Even if I my writing is such that I have no use for them, I'm sure I will learn a lot. I have a few simple macros that I'd like to share and I invite anyone else to do the same. For most printing tasks, I prefer the internal Roman font of my 24-pin for speed. However, I like to use leading and trailing quote marks in my docs, so I have programed a macro to jump into the Speedo Times font and enter the proper quote mark. I do the same for em dashes. One of the commands I liked in WordWriter was the delete to end, which I have also programmed a macro to do. Another macro I programmed is save and quit, which works best when only one document is loaded. It saves a few key strokes. Since Cardfile doesn't send properly to TW, I have created a list of commonly used addresses. With a macro, I can type a few letters of a name or address, hit the macro key and the macro will block it, go to a new window, load my address file, find the proper address, and bring it back to the document I'm working on. These are quite simple, but if anyone wants the exact sequence, please let me know. Robert, Maybe you could list all the drivers that are available. As a further thought, maybe you could do a catalogue of all the Compo products, from extra dictionaries for TW, to other programs like That's Address. Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 69 Fri Dec 24, 1993 J.LEMLEY [Jack] at 00:23 EST Rick, I would like to look at your Cardfile work around macro. Could you E- Mail it to me? Thanks Jack ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 70 Fri Dec 24, 1993 COMPO at 02:38 EST Rick - You want a list of available drivers? What kind of drivers, printers? Or are you talking about extra disk kind-o-stuff, like cartridge font support? Let me know, and I'll put the list together. I'm working on a catalog now, actually. I'm not sure when it'll be done, but it'll probably be sent to all of our customers. An update to That's Write will be going out shortly, and it will also have lists of extra printer/font drivers and dictionaries. There will be new demo files, files that should be helpful with things like character sets, keyboard mapping, and instructions. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 71 Fri Dec 24, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 13:33 EST Jack, I will with pleasure, but I won't have time til after Christmas. I guess I could send you my whole macro file. I'll give it a try. Robert, I have a Citizen GSX 140, and to be honest, I don't know if I have any need for a special driver, everything works great. I was asking because it would be nice to have all the info on what you sell in one package. You know, a list of all the dictionaries that are available with prices, and fonts too, plus other programs that I might not even know about. I just thought of a question. When I add a new macro and want to save my macro file, why does TW open to the folder last used, (usually the doc folder) and not the TWRITE3 folder, even though I have my preferences set properly? Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 72 Sun Dec 26, 1993 R.GREGORY4 [Rob] at 11:38 EST Robert: Merry Christmas, and thanks for all the support you've offered for That's Write. By being accessible, Compo has a major selling point over the competition with this program. Hope you received a Christmas bonus worthy of your efforts! Rob ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 73 Sun Dec 26, 1993 COMPO at 17:23 EST Rick - When you select 'Save Macros' (or Layouts or Configuration) from the drop down menus, you will get the currrent document path. This is because those drop down menu functions are mainly for saving non-default settings and you may want to save them anywhere. You might want to save them with a particular document, or group of settings, for example. If you select 'Save...' Macros/Layouts/Configuration within the Preferences dialog, the settings are saved as defaults (TWRITE3.??? in the TWRITE3 folder). Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 74 Mon Dec 27, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 15:07 EST Robert, Got it. Thanks. By the way, one suggestion for TW3 updates. When I have a paragraph designated as default, it would be nice to overide it with say, a control return or a shift return. Do you know what I mean? Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 75 Tue Dec 28, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 00:23 EST Please Email them. Thanks. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 76 Tue Dec 28, 1993 COMPO at 03:15 EST Rick - If you mean that by hitting Control-Return (or something) instead of Return, you get the previous layout rather than the default layout, ya, I get you. Not a bad idea. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 77 Tue Dec 28, 1993 R.BODEN [Rick] at 17:13 EST Robert, Re: using Control-Return to overide default layout. I could use this feature. I tried to make a macro (Esc-Return) to do this but I wasn't sucessful. Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 78 Wed Dec 29, 1993 R.HERMOSO [RAF] at 13:25 EST Robert at COMPO Could you please send the printer driver for the Deskjet internal fonts to me by Email? Thanks. Rafael ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 79 Thu Dec 30, 1993 COMPO at 00:53 EST RAF - I'll have the files emailed to you this weekend. I've just received some new materials and I'm trying to make the font pack as nice as possible. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 80 Sun Jan 02, 1994 J.MOLNAR4 [Neanderthal] at 12:48 EST I would like to report a bug or two that I've come across on TW 3.1 I'm running That's Write on my 1040 ST with 4 Meg. Today I started a new document by loading an old one and deleting most (6 pages) of text leaving only headings, formats etc. This is my perfered method for starting a new document that is similar to an existing one. Anyway, when I was ready to start I pressed Control + Insert to toggle the insert block on. (this isn't the first time I did this on this document today) I got two bombs then my computer re-booted. This happened a second and a thrid time so I'm sure it is not some kind of fluke, yet it didn't happen every time. This also happened once to me when I clicked the mouse on the "O" on the top bar. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Another problem but related: Later after recovering my senses, I went back into my document. I again had occasion to toggle from overstrike back to insert mode. I pressed Control + Insert, this time nothing happened, I wasn't frozen, I didn't bomb, but nothing happened, I tried clicking on the "O" on the top bar, and still nothing happened. I saved my work, got out of TW, and rebooted then continued on. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's one more, I'm getting irritated by now, I've got some work due out real soon, it's Sunday, and I'd rather be with my family ... I pressed Control + V by mistake. (I'm not ever sure what this is supposed to do.) Anyway, my "A" drive light came one and stayed on, and nothing happened, I was frozen! I put in a blank disk, the drive light went off but I was still frozen. I had to re-boot loosing a whole lot of work again. I tried to re-produce this. The next time I did this the "A" light came one, but it did not freeze me. Putting a diskette in turned off the light. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ready for one more ... I must have hit the wrong key combination while rapidly touchtyping (the blood presure is really high now). Perhaps I hit control + something. What was in my copy buffer popped up. Not noticing for half a second I kept on typing, then my keyboard froze and I could not get out of it. Again I had to re-boot. Any assisance/insight would really be appreciated. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 81 Sun Jan 02, 1994 R.BROWN30 at 14:50 EST J.MOLNAR4: I'm finishing up developing a sophisticated screenwriting system for That's Write 3.1, and in doing so, have found some quirks that can create frustration as you mention (crashes and lockups). You should know that That's Write is, even as we speak, being reworked into a newer, more solid version. I have found that workarounds exist that can turn frustration into productivity, but in doing so, have also found that it takes quite a bit of time to find the tricks. I'm the first to hate learning curves with regard to software, but this one has proved well worth the effort. When you are working with a reasonably complicated document(s), I've found it wise to set the autosave feature to under 10 minutes. In this way you will never be more than a few minutes from restoring your work. Once your mode of work gets very solid and dependable, you can up the minutes, but, with a fast hard drive, you get used to it in short order. Another thing, rather than using old documents to maintain formatting, etc., perhaps you might try your hand at creating macros that allow you to do sophisticated formatting on the fly. This is what my screenwriting system does, and in effect, it allows the writer to stop thinking about the rigid formatting requirements a screenplay requires and concentrate instead on the creative process. You can even make "utility macros" to do various clean up operations that may be necessary. That's Write offers an astounding depth of sophistication to do some pretty amazing tricks through macros. Another thing to keep in mind: That's Write 3.1 rivals everything on the ST/TT as far as word processing goes, and certainly holds its own with just about everything any other platform has to offer. The fact that this is a heavily supported program means that this is one of the few programs where your voice online will not only be heard, but acted upon, and this is a rare treat in the Atari market. -Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 82 Tue Jan 04, 1994 COMPO at 04:01 EST Joe - That's Write 3.1c, while relatively stable, can be bombed. It's been through lots of internal changes and the current (unreleased) version is solid as a rock (those who have used That's Write 2 know that it is exceptionally stable). I expect to mail everyone updates in the coming month. Just the same, your experience is ridiculously bad. Something is wreaking havoc with the system. Can you tell me what's in your AUTO folder, and what desk accessories are installed? What printer(s) are installed? Have you manipulated the installation in any way? I'd like to try to duplicate the problems you're experiencing, and with more information it should be pretty easy to figure out. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 83 Thu Jan 06, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:11 EST Robert, I understand from Dan's post of today on the Geneva topic that he feels the responsibility for getting the accessories of TW3 that use the XACC protocol to work is COMPO's rather than Gribnif's, and that at least some progress has been made towards doing it. He also says some accessories do work already. If so, can you tell me which, since my impression is that none of them do in multitasking mode? Further, can you tell me if the problem will be fixed in the forthcoming upgrade to TW3? Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 84 Thu Jan 06, 1994 COMPO at 05:19 EST Bill - XACC is a protocol developed by COMPO, but it's open for any developer to use - and other developers do use it. For example, Gem-View supports XACC and can pass images directly to That's Write under a multitasking operating system. The original XACC relied on an unofficial, but 'de facto' (and unavoidable), scenario to do its work - it was updated for MultiTOS and and was made completely legit in the process. That's Write supports the newer standard, but the accessories don't. That will change. I've spent but a few minutes with the latest Geneva release, and it appears that it supports XACC (in that it doesn't break it - which it shouldn't). We are upgrading the accessories, including support for the current XACC spec, but they won't be ready in the immediate future. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 85 Thu Jan 06, 1994 R.C.GOSEWEHR [Roy] at 23:20 EST Robert: I have a complaint about the ASCII export function (unless I am doing something wrong of course - then this is a plea for enlightenment :-). When I export text that has TABS or INSERTS (specifically from the left margin) using the ATARI ASCII filter, the TABS and INSERTS are stripped out leaving some nicely formatted text all scrunched up against the left margin. This is a serious problem for me when using TW3 to compose office memos to be sent via electronic mail. What SHOULD happen is what 1st Word does: The appropriate number of spaces should be inserted to cause the text to "start" at roughly the same ruler position in the ASCII file as it did within That's Write. Now don't give me the "story" about how the fonts can vary and so it doesn't know how many spaces ... blah, blah, blah ... since it doesn't have to be an exact science. :-) In any case, the all the text starting with the same font should at least end up with the same indent in the ASCII file. Can you do this with the 3.1c upgrade? Now if another selection on the filter block will do this for me, then I will take all of the above back. But I will still ask why the ATARI ASCII filter doesn't do it. :-) Roy C. Gosewehr ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 86 Fri Jan 07, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:45 EST Robert, Thanks a lot for the clarification, which seems to leave no remaining confusion. It also explains Dan's (to me somewhat cryptic) references to it being up to COMPO to change the accessories, which seems in a way to be true. Meanwhile, now I know I can use the Keyshow and Macro editor with TW3 in single tasking mode, which is no great hardship since I always used to, I am quite content to wait for the accessories to be upgraded. However, my impression is that TW3 itself does multitask under Geneva without problems. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 87 Tue Jan 11, 1994 COMPO at 06:07 EST Roy - Sorry, but That's Write strips tabs (and other formatting bits) when exporting as ASCII, as most word processors do. I agree with you that this is unfortunate, but ASCII simply isn't designed to hold formatted text. That's what RTF and other transfer formats are for. I'm also sorry you expected me to give you some sort of 'story.' I won't ever give you the 'story' - just the truth. PS - Sorry for the delay in replying - I've been at CES in ' Vegas. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 88 Wed Jan 12, 1994 HMIRKIN at 00:16 EST That's Write still has a problem with Warp 9. It isn't terribly obvious, so it might trap some people. When you are writing a long document wit large number of endnotes Warp 9 will screw up the endnotes. (long = about 30 double spaced pages; large number of endnotes = 25) The endnotes go about halfway through and then freeze up. Warp 9 doesn't make a noti (sorry) noticable difference in speed, so it isn't worth fooling around with. (scroll speed is about .5 second per page faster) A second minor problem involves the little upgrade sign if you are working on an ASCII file. If you save the file the ! still stays, and when you go to quit That's Write will say that you haven't saved the file. The "!" sign works perfectly in That's Write files, soit is only a minor problem. [The problem might be due to Geneva -- I haven't tested it outside of the Geneva environment. Question: Does NVDI speed things up a lot, or is it just a minimal change? Harris ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 89 Wed Jan 12, 1994 COMPO at 04:13 EST Harris - Interesting about the endnote conflict w/ Warp 9. I'll check on that. As for NVDI, screen accelerators don't do so much for That's Write since the display routines are already optimized, but you will get about a 10% improvement by switching to NVDI. When you export a document as ASCII, That's Write still considers the file unsaved - that's by design. If you save a document as ASCII then accidentally quit, you wouldn't have the complete document, with formatting, etc. intact, on your hard disk. Saving in That's Write format, so you can return to exactly where you left off, is the only way to remove the 'unsaved' flag. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 90 Thu Jan 13, 1994 R.C.GOSEWEHR [Roy] at 21:09 EST Robert: I'm sorry about the "story". :-) Seriously, I was just kidding. :-) :-) I made the comment because another developer did give me that story one time. COMPO's support is truly OUTSTANDING and I know you would only give me the straight scoop. I guess I should have put more smilies in the text. Back to the request: There are some word processors that don't just strip the tabs when exporting ASCII - they *substitute* the appropriate number of spaces (which, of course, is still ASCII). That is a real boone to those of use that might need indented paragraphs or columns as opposed to trying to line things up with spaces. 1st Word is one such program; there are others. Perhaps a simple option on the Export screen such as "Covert tabs to spaces?"? (Now it would really be slick to ask "how many spaces", but I won't push it. :- ) Is there any chance you might consider something like that? Thanks much. Roy P.S. How was CES? Did you enjoy it? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 91 Fri Jan 14, 1994 COMPO at 02:52 EST Roy - Consider it considered! The ASCII support keeps improving version to version, and quite honestly I would use a 'tabs-to-spaces' function, too. I've been in constant communication with the programming team as That's Write 3 (and now 4) develop, so I'll be sure to bring it up. CES was - and usually is - a fun show. If you like gadgets, you gotta go! Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 92 Sun Jan 16, 1994 J.MOLNAR4 [Neanderthal] at 10:14 EST Dear Compo, Joe Molnar here again ... A few weeks ago I've complained about TW3.1 bombing out repeatedly over a course of a day or two. Since then, the problems have disappeared just as mystereously as they have appeared. I don't know what has happened! (and, no I'm not a computer neophyte). I hope no one shopping for a word processor (and more) has been turned off by my message, because I really enjoy using That's Write and recommend it to anyone. Joe Molnar P.S. It still has a few German dialog boxes. Tisk Tisk. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 93 Sun Jan 16, 1994 R.GREGORY4 [Rob] at 13:36 EST Joe: My wife uses That's Write 3.1 for work, so it's up & running at least 5 days a week. The initial set-up you use, with your AUTO folder programs & memory- resident accessories, usually play a big part in whether a program will run trouble-free. I've heard that problems can result from the fastload bit being turned on, particularly for these memory-resident programs. The fact that we've been running TW 3.1 (on a 4 meg STe with TOS 1.6) trouble free for months would suggest that your problem was one of an incompatable program in your current set-up. Hope you figure out what caused the problem! Rob ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 94 Sun Jan 16, 1994 STAN.S.PAGE [STAN PAGE] at 23:00 EST Robert, here is a question someone besides me might like the answer to. Is there away of turning off some of the screen displays. In particular, I change fonts many times since I use lots of mathematics symbols. So I have a macro trigered by F2. With tw2 all I needed was crtl T and then the number of the font. Now I need crtl F then T and then the number of the font. Of course this brings up the dialog box. So now when I use the macro, of course the dialog box flashes on the screen. This is only slightly annoying, but it would be nice to shut if off if possible. More generally, if dialog boxes could be shut off while when running a macro, I'd like it better. Take this as a suggestion for something for the future. Cheers, Stan ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 95 Tue Jan 18, 1994 COMPO at 00:07 EST Joe - Good to hear from you! I was about to try to contact you... your reports were bothering me. It's very strange that the problems went away, but I was sure that something was interfering. That was strange itself, since That's Write very rarely has problems with TSR software... German dialog boxes?! Tisk tisk, indeed! I'll send you a new set of disks shortly (within the next two weeks) that have that cleaned up. There are some new things, too. By the way, Rob brought up a good point. If the first accessory to load has the fastload bit set, you're in for trouble. This is due to a bug in TOS. The only way around this besides clearing the fastload bit is to use Pinhead. I understand it solves the problem. Stan - I don't believe anything changed between That's Write 2 and 3 with regards to changing a font; both required two keypresses to open the dialog, and the dialog opened with both versions. Regardless, I hope to have an option for disabling screen redraws during macro execution in the next version. Long macros will really benefit with the faster execution. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 96 Wed Jan 19, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 06:31 EST Robert, >German dialog boxes?! Tisk tisk, indeed! I'll send you a new set of disks >shortly (within the next two weeks) that have that cleaned up. There are some >new things, too. Sounds like the new release is on its way soon. I'm pleased to hear that, and am looking forward to seeing what new stuff is in it. I am still using TW3 extensively, and the more I use it, the more I like it. As you can tell from the lack of recent questions from me, I am moving up the learning curve and getting more familiar with it. I can see, though, that there is still a lot of untapped potential in the features I have not yet had a chance to play with. Now that I am here, I do have a couple of questions. Is there a way to alter the default font from Pica 10 to Times 12? I have tried a couple of different things that seemed logical, but they did not work. I almost never use Pica, so I would like to have Times appear when I call for a new file. Also, is there any convenient way to set up for printing labels? I would like to set up a format that matches a sheet of labels (say, 2x10 or 3x10 on a sheet), and then overwrite text into the various labels as I want, using whatever font I select at the time and have it stay lined up properly so I stay within the confines of the label (and can tell that I have not run over onto the next label. Thanks, Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 97 Thu Jan 20, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:52 EST I second Roger's request for a way of making Times 12 the default font. I have also tried in vain to achieve it. I never use pica 10. I am likewise delighted to hear that the update won't be long now. Another problem I have is with layouts. I use two page and paragraph different ones, one for letters, which includes my letter head as a two line header, and one for articles and so on. I have the letter format as the default. If I load up the other, which I have called my standard layout, I get a mixture of the two, which screws up a number of macros that depend on the position of the paragraph layout in the file selector. I keep thinking I have this one beaten, and then the problem recurs. Am I missing something obvious? Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 98 Thu Jan 20, 1994 COMPO at 07:08 EST Roger - Yes, the long-promised 'update' is on its way. I've been catching some sleep about every other night trying to get the littlest details finished, and packages will be going out over the next few days. Where 3.1c demonstrated, 3.1g delivers. I think this will be it until version 4 is finished... It's got improved Laserjet 4 drivers, too, among others (are you still using a LJ4?). Specifically, the landscape and envelope feeder options work correctly... You really hit it on the head saying that the more you use it, the more you like it. I think it's that way for a lot of folks; more than most software packages That's Write is 'potential on disks', if you will. It's just so open ended... and I'm not just saying that because I work for COMPO... I think you'll agree that you never 'max out' with That's Write. If it does the job for you in the first place, it'll only get better. Sure you can change the default font from Pica to anything else. There are two reasons that Pica is coming up as the default. First, it's saved in the default font list. Delete it and save the font list. Second, you probably have a default paragraph layout that has Pica as its default font - change the default font in your default paragraph layout to Times 12 and you're in business. Don't forget to save your layouts (save them as default by selecting {Options}{Preferences} then clicking on SAVE-LAYOUTS). If you're printing labels, there are a couple ways to go about it. If you're using labels in a single column, like those for dot matrix printers, make a page size identical to the label size. If you're using letter sized sheets of labels, like Avery labels for laser printers, set up a page layout with several columns. Given your specific needs, I'd set it up with 2 or 3 columns, fill up the page with text and carriage returns so it matches, then replace the filled in text with whatever you need. I used to do this same thing with PageStream, I now use That's Write for it (it's faster). If I'm not being specific enough, why don't you email me about the specific sheets you're trying to use and I'll email you a template. Bill - I hope the above explanation on dumping the annoying PICA font is sufficient. The reason PICA is installed as the default in the first place is because almost every printer has a PICA font, so it makes an excellent standard. On the other hand, a lot of folks never use it. I'll put a note in the documentation on changing the default font. I don't really understand your problem with layouts, and particularly I don't understand if the problem is with page or paragraph layouts, or both. The layouts shouldn't be changing position in the Layout Selector dialogs (by design, that's pretty important). If it's with page layouts, could it be due to not having a hard page break between different page layouts? And if it's with paragraph layouts, could it be because one is marked as the default layout? It might be easiest if you can email me your layout and macro files along with an example of how to duplicate the problem. Or you can call me so we can go through it together on the phone. It should be pretty easy to identify and solve. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 99 Fri Jan 21, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 02:05 EST Robert, I'm sorry I didn't express myself clearly. I'll have another go before trying E-Mail or the phone, in case anyone else is bothered by it. Specifically, what happens is this. I have a set of paragraph definitions which I use for letters, saved along with the page layouts as LETTERS.LAY. Since I write letters more often than anything else, I also have this layout saved as the default. However, when I write an article or something similar that is not a letter, I don't want to use that layout, so I have another which I called STANDARD.LAY. Now, if I want to change from LETTERS.LAY to STANDARD.LAY, I would naturally use Load Layout. If I do this, the existing layout is not erased, but the paragraph definitions at least are added to the existing ones, in alphabetical order, I think, so that particular definitions now appear in unaccustomed places. As a result, macros don't work as they should. The same thing seems to happen if I simply invoke New Text before creating any text, and again Load the new Layout. What I want to do is to get rid of the default layout before loading another. I feel this must be obvious to everyone but me, and that I've missed something that's staring me in the face. If this is not clear, I will certainly try E-Mail or the phone. Thanks for the other information as well. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 100 Fri Jan 21, 1994 COMPO at 04:05 EST Bill - I'll first suggest keeping all of the layouts in one file - the default. That said, what layouts are in the default layout list? Does all of your writing use either LETTERS or STANDARD? If so you may want to make at least one set the default... If you want to keep using two separate layout files, remember that when you select LOAD LAYOUT... new layouts are added to the list. Old layouts having the same name as new layouts will be deleted in favor of the new layouts. This also happens when you load a document that uses layouts not already in the layout list (since used layouts are saved in the documents, too). You might want to load the new layout file, then select CLEAN UP from the Paragraph/Page Layout dialog(s). That will wipe out the old layouts (assuming you're not doing this in the middle of a document where the old layouts are in use) and voila - only the new layouts in the layout selector. You might want to create a macro to do this, say F1 for loading LETTERS.LAY, and F2 for loading STANDARD.LAY, where the macros load the new layouts and delete the old ones through the CLEAN UP function. And when you select NEW TEXT, the list of layouts doesn't change. I hope this helps. Let me know. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 101 Fri Jan 21, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 06:36 EST Robert, Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I am still using the LaserJet 4. I don't think there is a day goes by that it does not see some pretty good use, so I am pleased to hear that there are some improved LJ4 drivers. Landscape and envelope printing... great! I assume there is also improved support for internal fonts, which I am looking forward to. How about the "Fonts and Drivers" kit you mentioned a while ago. Is that coming along, too? [Do you get the feeling that we are never satisfied? Its just that when something this good comes along, one wants more of it. :-)] And thanks for the tip on the Times 12 font as default. I think what got me before was that it needed to be saved in both the font list and the Paragraph Layout - I must have missed one or the other. It works fine now. Starting a new page gives me a clean sheet with Times 12 as the default. I have not yet tried the labels. I will try to get to it this weekend. If I have trouble I will e-mail the specs on the labels I use. There are several of them - all Avery laser labels, so they are pretty standard. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 102 Sat Jan 22, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 10:29 EST My wife is reluctant to switch from WordPerfect to TW3 because she's used to the look of the Atari system font, and finds the cursor hard to position with proportional fonts; she also finds it hard to tell if she has more than one space between words with proportional fonts on screen....BUT her writing often requires slight revisions in margin and other formats which would be much easier in TW3, plus she'd like to fax from TW3, soo...my question is this: what fonts would people recommend to simulate the Atari font in TW3, or what fonts do people think are most readable on screen? We could always replace and reformat to a better looking font for printing, but maximum on screen legibility is very important to her. Thanks in advance, John Nolan. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 103 Sat Jan 22, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 12:45 EST John Nolan, Robert of Compo can ably handle all of your questions, but I'd just like to stick in a quick pointer: I teach word processing (among other things), and tell folks to do a search-and-replace at some point to get rid of double spaces (search for two, replace with one). Word-processed documents should not have double spaces in the text, since it confuses the heck out of the justification. Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 104 Sat Jan 22, 1994 COMPO at 18:46 EST Roger - There isn't support for the LJ4's internal scalable fonts yet. As for the Fonts & Drivers Kit, it's almost done (it will be done this week). There is some info on it in the new That's Write 3.1g package... it costs $10.00. John - There are Calamus format fonts that match the ST's sytem font in the File Library here. Download one and convert it to GEM with C-Font. And Al's point about replacing double spaces with single before printing is a good one. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 105 Sun Jan 23, 1994 R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 00:12 EST >Word-processed documents should not have double spaces in the text, >since it confuses the heck out of the justification. Of course, if you are a writer submitting manuscripts, you would seldom use justification anyway and the editor wants those double spaces in there. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 106 Sun Jan 23, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:24 EST Richard, I can't speak for other editors, but I've been an editor for three decades, and I definitely don't want to receive a text with any double spaces in it. The first thing that would cross my mind is that the author has no idea of what editors really want these days, and no idea of what happens to justification when double spaces are included. The second thing that crossed my mind would be the same as the first thing. :) BTW, when referring to justification in my business (I'm a newspaper systems editor, a writer, a news editor, a teacher and a programmer), I don't mean what we call quad left-and-right (what is loosely called right justification); I merely mean lines of text that have been justified according to the formatting rules employed. Flush-left lines can't have double spaces in them any more than quadded lines can. BTWBTW, all our editing systems are set up to take all incoming text and strip out every space that follows a space. Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 107 Sun Jan 23, 1994 COMPO at 06:10 EST Well, I've never met anyone 'in the business' who prefers double spaces. Interesting, Richard. In general, double spaces aren't considered typographically correct. They've never been used in typesetting, but they were with typewriters, due to the limitations of typewriters and their output. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 108 Sun Jan 23, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 07:37 EST Robert: thanks for the tip on the system font. About C-Font: was it supposed to be included in TW3? I got the manual but not the program with my copy. I had the idea it would be coming in the fonts & drivers package. To all: yes, my wife often puts double spaces in...she also uses lower case L for the number one! She can't help it, she was taught to type that way! ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 109 Sun Jan 23, 1994 R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 12:53 EST Well every book on manuscript format I've read says to use the double spaces. I've also never had an editor complain. Of course I've only had two editors accept electronic submissions. Most I deal with still use paper submissions. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 110 Sun Jan 23, 1994 VANDENHEUVEL at 14:49 EST I think if you were submitting the text electronically single spacing would be prefered, but my magazine editor has my column retyped and so he DEMANDS that it's double-spaced so it's easier for the dat input person to retype. --Dirk-- ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 111 Sun Jan 23, 1994 R.BODEN [Rick] at 15:22 EST Richard, Is it possible that you are thinking about spaces between LINES instead of spaces between words, which I believe is being discussed? John, Those old typewriter habits sure die slowly, don't they? I'd like to recommend a book that I first heard (read) about in the Calligrapher topic. It's called "Your Mac is not a Typewriter". It's small, relatively inexpensive, and is a great tutorial on how to bring your writing out of the dark, typewriter age. One example is using proper leading and trailing quote marks instead of the "inch" marks of the typewriter. The great beauty of That's Write is that you can use the printers' built-in fonts for speed, and still have these graphic capabilities. When I'm typing a letter, I simply hit ESC 8, which activates a macro that changes fonts, puts in the leading quote mark, and returns to the regular font. ESC 9 does the same with the trailing quote mark. You can do the same with en and em dashes, etc. Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 112 Sun Jan 23, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 22:18 EST Richard, Trust me (and Robert) on this one. It'll save me the postage expenses of sending you a dozen books on document style.... :) Double spaces wreck any word processor's ability to format the text. Dirk, We're not talking abnout double-line spacing, but double spare-bar spacing after a period and so on. My editor (for the magazine of which I am a staff columnist) always wanted TRIPLE spacing until I convinced him that this was a little overboard. Rick, Great book. The actual title is "The Mac Is Not a Typewriter," and it's from Peachpit Press. They can be reached at: Peachpit Press 2414 6th St. Berkeley, CA 94710 Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 113 Sun Jan 23, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 23:58 EST I haven't met a publisher who specifically forbade double spaces between sentences in the old typewriter mode, but line spacing is another matter. My last publisher required triple spacing and wide margins, and with two copies of a 250,000 word book, that meant a heavy package. I tried what Al suggested with an article I'd just done, and with Times Roman 12 Speedo, there is no question it looked better without the double spaces, and the justification (Al's quad) was very neat. That's it for me with old typewriter habits. To think I haven't used a typewriter for about seven years. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 114 Mon Jan 24, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 08:35 EST Bill, :) Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 115 Mon Jan 24, 1994 COMPO at 17:53 EST John - C-Font will be included with the Fonts & Drivers Kit. There's additional documentation for using it with That's Write 3. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 116 Mon Jan 24, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 18:42 EST Robert: can hardly wait for that Fonts & Drivers kit. Should I call to arrange for you to send it with the upgrade, or can I arrange Visa payment through E- Mail? -John. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 117 Tue Jan 25, 1994 COMPO at 19:53 EST John - I'm sending you the That's Write update today. If you want to order the Fonts & Drivers package, you can order it through email. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 118 Wed Jan 26, 1994 R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 02:40 EST >Is it possible that you are thinking about spaces between LINES >instead of spaces between words, which I believe is being discussed? No I'm talking about putting two spaces between sentences which is proper manuscript format. Most writers who submit to traditional magazines, those that require hard copy, Need only the Pica font, double spaced lines, and two spaces at the end of sentences-- nothing fancy. The reason for doing it that way is to allow easy editing and typesetting of the manuscript. If you use electronic submission, all that changes, depending on the editor(s) of the magazine. Of course it's nice to have all the power of That's Write available, even if you don't often use all the fancy fonts. :) Al, It doesn't matter if the double spaces wreck a word processor's ability to format text if the typesetter is working from hard copy-- as ninty percent of all magazines do-- it makes it easier for the typesetter to read, as does the double spacing between lines. If you are talking only about electronic submissions, I agree with you, if that's what the editor wants. I'll still use the double spaces and remove them later. However, the two magazines I deal with that accept electronic submission have never complained about the double spaces. Another thing a writer should never do is use a proportional font in a hard copy manuscript. Editors can't properly estimate word count with proportional fonts. (No, they don't always accept your word count.) Just a quick check in the _Writer's Digest Guide to Manuscript Formats_ page five: "Skip two spaces after punctuation ending a sentence." Also the _Harbrace College Handbook_ suggests the same thing. Fortunately That's Write allows you to change the double spaces later if neccessary. See, I'm still on topic! :) ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 119 Thu Jan 27, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:26 EST Richard, I know what you are saying. I don't agree, that's all. It doesn't matter if the fonts are proportional or not. if a double space appears at the end of a line, the word processor can just as easily split that double space up into two lines, in which case your document will look like dung. But I know this is what you have been instructed to do (and what your sources are saying to do), and I'll poll the folks who wander in and out of my office about what they've been told. We have a lot of stringers who must have had some sort of exposure to this. I suppose the only time I'd forgive double spaces is in typed manuscripts, in which YOU control where the spaces do. In a word-processed manuscript, of course, you cannot control that. Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 120 Sun Jan 30, 1994 HMIRKIN at 00:13 EST I got my upgrade today. Seems to have fixed most of the problems that I was aware of (all the problems that I was aware of -- at least so far) and to have added some new things. Thanks. It's good to deal with a company that actually fixes things! Harris ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 121 Mon Jan 31, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 21:15 EST Robert, I received and installed the upgrade today. Thanks very much. It looks like a nice job. However, I find a new problem with Geneva. Now the Macro Editor and Keyshow accessories will not work even in single-tasking mode, as they would with the previous version. If the Macro Editor is present, TW will not load. If I load it first and then load the accessory through the Geneva Taskmanager, the accessory will not load. In either case it still displays the message that That's Write 2.03 or higher is required -- no demos. The Keyshow accessory can be loaded, but only shows the system font, not the one loaded in TW, which must mean that it is not communicating with TW. These are unfortunate steps backward along with considerable improvements. The problem only exists under Geneva, of course. Can we look forward soon to re-written accessories that do function under Geneva? I know these are promised for some future date, but this release has made it considerably more urgent. I have found one German message, one I've never seen before, when I tried to copy all my text files over and ran out of memory temporarily. The message flashed on and off too quickly for me to remember what it said, but I assume it dealt with the memory problem, as not all my files were copied over until I dealt with the problem. These are relatively minor problems in what looks like a very polished and well-developed version of my favourite wordprocessor. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 122 Mon Jan 31, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 23:07 EST Robert, A further minor problem with the new version. There seems to be a new method of saving a block to the Clipboard. I have used this in the past to communicate with GEMvelope, my envelope printer. I have been marking the address as a block, saving it to the Clipboard, and then pasting it into GEMvelope. I even had a macro for saving the block, which required a number of keystrokes under the previous version. I was able to save the block complete with accents, and paste it into Version 2.94 of GEMvelope, which no longer filters out accents,and can therefore print them. I now find that under Geneva, the PRG version of GEMvelope does not paste anything from the clipboard; it works under TOS 2.05, however. Is this perhaps due to the new method of saving to the Clipboard, instead of going through the Atari ASCII filter, which was so time-consuming in the previous version. Could there be any work around for this? It was very nice to be able to paste an address containing accents to the envelope printer. As I say, it can still be done under TOS. Perhaps then this is another problem of interaction with Geneva, not present in the previous version of TW. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 123 Mon Jan 31, 1994 COMPO at 23:11 EST Bill - Well, I can't duplicate your problem with KeyShow - it works fine on my system. As for the Macro Editor, I can't get it to come up at; That's Write runs fine when the Macro Editor is installed, but the Macro Editor won't open up when selected from the Desk menu. I have no idea what the problem could be; the accessories haven't changed since the last version. The accessories are being completely rewritten for the next release of That's Write, where they will be external modules rather than desk accessories. I'll get in touch with Dan Wilga and see if we can't find this current problem. I'm surprised at your report of finding German text; there shouldn't be any. I don't quite understand how you found it; you said you were 'copying files.' Can you be more specific? I tried to force an 'out of memory' error by loading long documents until it ran out, but I didn't see any dialogs in German... Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 124 Tue Feb 01, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:36 EST Robert, One further oddity for today with the new version. I find in editing an existing text, if I invoke the information dialogue from the top of the File menu, I lose the cursor in the text of the document. I can get it back by invoking Print Preview. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 125 Tue Feb 01, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 01:14 EST Robert, Thanks for your speedy (Speedo?) reply. I will try several times more with the accessories to see what's happening consistently, and report. I suspect that if Keyshow comes up at all, it ought to work. It may be a question of the order things are done in. Anyway, we seem to both get a problem with the macro editor under Geneva. The flash of German text was so quick that I may not have correctly remembered when it happened. But I now _think_ it was when I was trying to open a file of letters that I had copied over from the folder containing the previous version. (My last explanation _must_ have been wrong, and that's why you couldn't understand it.) What seemed to happen was that because of a memory shortage not all the files in the folder were available for loading. Since I have made sure I have enough memory since, I haven't seen it again so far. But this doesn't make much sense to me, and probably won't to you. If I meet it again, I'll take much more careful note and tell you. I was concentrating on getting things installed and working rather than on anomalies. The interaction between TW and Geneva seems to have a lot to do with the problems I've met so far. I will now try and see if the cursor problem exists under TOS, and complete this message when I've found out. Okay, a little more precision. The cursor problem exists only if I invoke the Text Information dialogue, but it happens under TOS as well as under Geneva. The Keyshow accessory at least if loaded before TW does work, provided TW is set to single-tasking. I had been trying it in multitasking mode, as I had previously had the impression it _didn't_ help with the accessories in this version. We agree it doesn't with the macro editor. I think we may have reached a common experience now, except for the cursor, and I await your results on that. Regards and thanks, Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 126 Tue Feb 01, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:37 EST Robert, That's Write version 3.1g arrived here in Ottawa yesterday, and I am really looking forward to checking it out. I have installed it, but have not yet added the extra fonts, layouts, etc. that are currently in with my v3.1c folder. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the great product support! Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 127 Tue Feb 01, 1994 J.MOLNAR4 [Neanderthal] at 07:56 EST Dear Compo; First, Thanks for shipping version 3.1 g, I didn't even have to ask for it. I love it. However I do have a problem TWrite 3.1 in general. I have several large documents which I've written in TW 2. When I load any of them I get a message "Font SSYMBOL is missing". Then I get to click the OK box. But it's not ok. Not ok at all. I do have all the symbol fonts, I have no problem accessing them when I create a document in 3.1g. I'm sure it's not a big problem re-editing the document, but I've got symbols scattered throughout the documents and I'm sure I'll miss a few. Any suggestions to load the equivelant font would be helpful. Thanqs Joe Molnar Keep up the good work. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 128 Tue Feb 01, 1994 COMPO at 15:24 EST Bill - Hate to say this, but I can't find the problem with the disappearing cursor! What video mode are you using? Are you using noSystem? I have been running That's Write with Geneva, and now the accessories all work fine. Perhaps I had a problem with the macro editor because I was fiddling with the flags... but it seems okay now. What flags have you set for That's Write under Geneva? Are you using anything but the default flags for the accessories? Are you loading the accessories at boot up? I'd like to duplicate as closely as possible your environment to see why you're having these problems. Also, you mentioned a problem getting text from That's Write to GEMvelope via the clipboard - I can't find a problem. That's Write 3.1g automatically puts in carriage returns and line feeds, where the previous version asked you. That's Write saves the text as both SCRAP.TXT and SCRAP.ASC, because some programs assume one or the other. It also does export ASCII characters up to 255, so accented characters are correctly saved to the clipboard. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 129 Tue Feb 01, 1994 COMPO at 15:48 EST Joe - Because there is a Speedo Symbol font, the GEM Symbol font has been renamed Symbol1. There is a file that controls how fonts used in documents created with That's Write 2 are treated in That's Write 3; this file is named TW2NEW.CNF and it is located in the TWRITE3 folder. It is an ASCII file. As it is originally installed, it looks like this: SHELBO16>SHEL14 SYORK>STIM09 SROCK18>STIM15BD To have Symbol1 loaded when an older document requests Symbol, add this line to TW2NEW.CNF: SSYMBOL>SSYMBOL1 That'll do it! Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 130 Wed Feb 02, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:58 EST Robert, Thanks for your further reply. I have been re-checking, and now I too can run the macro editor. I think the problem must have been that I initially found I couldn't make the accessories work, and decided to go to multitasking mode in Geneva if it made no difference. However, it does. What have I done differently? (1) I have reinstalled TW3.1g under TOS. I think that made some difference, though it is hard to be sure. (2) I went back to single-tasking mode. (3) I had an extra copy of GEMvelope loading because I'd been trying to see if I could create an accessory version of 2.94, the program version of GEMvelope that doesn't filter out the accents from the text in the clipboard. I took it out, but that is probably irrelevant. So now the accessories do work okay as they did with 1e. I still have the disappearing cursor problem. The GEMvelope problem only occurs with the new 2.94 program version. The accessory version works as it did before, adding an extra digit to the zip code as a rule, but otherwise okay. Bizarrely, the problem of nothing being pasted can be cured if I operate the set-up button for file import first. The text from the clipboard then immediately appears. This does work with a text containing an accent. So I am satisfied the problem is not primarily, if at all, due to That's Write, though it remains curious that I didn't have the problem with the previous version. If it helps, this is my set-up: Auto programs: JAR 10, DESKMG33, GENEVA, WARP9ST, ANTIBOMB, QVFIX1, CODERAM, DCFF, HP_HIRES, SILMOUSE, HOTWIRE, INKSAVER, DMIRROR, SPGDOS, CSHOW3B, MDDIALENG, NEOLOAD, NOSYSTEM. Accessories: TASKMAN, GEMVELOP, CLOCK (Bermuda), MULTIDIAL, SMC,CAL63a, CARDFILE,MULTDESK, to which I add the macro editor and Keyshow after bootup but before running That's Write. The macro editor still give the dialogue about requiring Version 1.3 or higher and no demos, but that doesn't stop it working. So as far as I can see we are down to the disappearing cursor. By the way, if you are looking for residual German, the file selector boxes show n Dateien in small text, where n is the number of files, and Dateien should read Items. Regards and thanks, Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 131 Wed Feb 02, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 01:02 EST Robert, As soon as I'd sent my last message, I re-read yours and realized I hadn't replied about video mode. I use ST High, on SM125 monitor. I have a Mega STe with 4 Megs of RAM and TOS 2.05. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 132 Wed Feb 02, 1994 COMPO at 03:04 EST Bill - Glad to hear the accessories are working now. Wish I knew what happened... Let me get this disappearing cursor thing straight. You open the Text Information dialog (the one with author/comment lines, Template/Cache Images/etc options, right?) and when you close it you can't see the cursor in the document window? Is opening a Preview window the only way to get it back? Do you have 'Blinking cursor' selected in Preferences? Does it make any difference if you open the Text Information dialog with the mouse or keyboard? Would it be possible for you to check for this without Geneva, and with no desk accessories or AUTO programs loaded? Thanks for the rest of the info on your setup... it'll help. Anything else you can tell me will be appreciated. And thanks for the bit on the File Selector... I'll get that changed (oops). Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 133 Wed Feb 02, 1994 R.BROWN30 at 03:48 EST Robert, Regarding 3.1g: I thought I'd not bug you so much in e-mail, but here's another quirk I've noticed: no repeat keys. For example, holding down DELETE deletes one character, and only one character. In the same vein, if I wanted to type Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I'd have to hit "a" 20 times, rather than holding the "A" key down for half a second. Also, regarding my screenplay macros: looks like I've got to redo a bunch of them. Something's changed making quite a few of the macros not work as they did in 3.1c ?? Also #2: printing to the HP4MP: there is a 3 pica offset to get even one inch margins. The left margin of the page must be set to 7 picas, the right to 10 to get one inch. In the Page setup dialog, it would be nice if the toggle to inches supported fractions: .75, .83, .67, etc. so that more DTP style control over printing placement could be acheived. Regarding the font problem we discussed in e-mail, all folders and files are in fact copied to the new folder exactly as they should be, but the program will not update the list past the "PostScript 35" equivalents. The status line says it's looking where it should, but nothing gets appended. 50+ fonts still missing and unavailable... Very strange... I'm still checking for user error on my part, but just haven't found it yet. Also #3: For TW4, PLEASE goad them into having a CAPSLOCK trigger function executable inside a macro. Just to turn CAPSLOCK ON and OFF. It will complete a macro system that lets TW compete with dedicated, thousand dollar software... Not to mention speed up the writing process. PLEASE #2: function keys: F1, ALT+F1, CTRL+F1, SHIFT+F1 should be individually assignable so instead of 10, we have 40 FKEY combos.... This, too, would be heaven. -- Richard Brown ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 134 Wed Feb 02, 1994 J.MOLNAR4 [Neanderthal] at 07:28 EST Robert, I think our last messages crossed paths (electronicly). Concerning my problem of TW3.1c bombing out (again this problem went away as mystereously as it started) : 1. I am using Pinhead 2. My ACCs and contents of AUTO are pretty stable, I haven't been chainging them at all ... 3. But hold on, for reasons I'm not sure of myself I loaded an older product which requires GDOS to be loaded. I bet GDOS (not SPEEDO GDOS) was active while I was having problems. Later I removed GDOS when I was finished so I bet that's when the problem went away. If I have a spare half hour when I get home from work tonight I'll test this hypothesis. (Sorry I don't have a concrete answer I thought of this as I'm typing.) Joe Molnar ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 135 Wed Feb 02, 1994 COMPO at 21:34 EST Richard - In email I suggested that the new installation might be using the defaults from the last version (wrong INF file in NOSYS folder?). It now sounds even more like you're getting some sort of crossover between two different versions. That's Write changes the keyboard repeat rate to match the speed of your display; that way you can hold down Delete and when you release it it stops rather than continuing past where you intended to stop. When you quit the program (or switch tasks) the repeat rate is reset. However, this can fail when you run two different versions of That's Write. If you have 3.1c and 3.1g both on your hard drive, and regularly switch between them, key repeat may cease altogether. I'm quite sure that this is also the problem for the fonts not being recognized, assuming they're installed correctly. When you update the font list, and it displays the directories it's searching, is it hitting the right drive and directories? I think you should make sure you've deleted all of your 3.1c files (saving your default files and documents, of course), and all of your INF files (either in the program's directory or the NOSYS directory) Load That's Write (3.1g) and make sure that the key repeat is working. Save the preferences. If it still doesn't work correctly, are you using XCONTROL? Macros: some macros may have to be changed because some keyboard commands were changed in 3.1g. Joe - I'm not sure that the bombing you experienced had anything to do with That's Write; it may have been the victim of a different conflict. This occured to me because That's Write runs fine with GDOS and/or SpeedoGDOS installed, but not all other programs do... strange. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 136 Thu Feb 03, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:43 EST Robert, Yes, that is the text information dialogue I mean. It doesn't matter whether I open it with the mouse or the keyboard, and I get the same result on a blank system with only the ICD booter and its cache. I haven't tried turning off the cache. I haven't found any way of recovering the cursor -- and I just tried everything else I could think of -- except by opening the print preview and closing it with the Undo key. I do have blinking cursor set. I will try it without and report later. Thought I'd report progress with checking so far. It begins to look as if the problem has some connection with TOS 2.05 or my particular machine. No, it makes no difference whether I have blinking cursor set or not. Also it makes no difference to load a new text. Once the cursor has gone, it's good- bye until I use the print preview. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 137 Thu Feb 03, 1994 J.MOLNAR4 [Neanderthal] at 20:34 EST Dear Robert, etc. Your advice on my SSymbols font was a great help, it did the trick. Now another question. I'm using TW to write documentation to software I'm writing on IBM's AS/400. (That's really why I bought itin the 1st place.) My partner (the DOShead) suggests I create the manual in a notebook size format, just like you did for the TW manual. Could you pass along the page layout you used in TW to produce your manual? (I might have asked you this long before in the distant past, please excuse me for asking again.) Thanks Joe Molnar ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 138 Fri Feb 04, 1994 COMPO at 00:36 EST Joe - The page layout is as follows: Paper size : Length - 49 lines, Width - 58 picas Margins : Left - 5 picas, Right - 5 picas Top - 4 lines, Header - 2 lines Bottom - 6 lines, Footer - 4 lines The default paragraph layout (body text) has a left margin at 3 picas and a right margin at 48 picas. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 139 Sat Feb 05, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 19:30 EST Robert: running TW3g on my TT, either in ST High or TT Med, with the NoSystem file active results in losing the cursor whenever I access any of the otions in the top of the window bar; eg.: go to, text info, page and paragraph styles. Using the menu or key commands, or the pop-up menu to access these functions leaves the cursor visible, removing NoSystem.prg from my auto folder also eliminates the problem, and calling print preview restores the cursor...I haven't stripped my system of all auto prg., but the problem exists with and without Warp 9, and both under Geneva and my tos 3.06. Nothing to odd in my auto folder, usually only XControl for accesories...I think this is a bug, not a feature? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 140 Sun Feb 06, 1994 COMPO at 01:13 EST John - It certainly isn't a feature! I think I found the problem... do you have 'Dialogs to Windows' checked? Try it without it... and please tell me if it's different. Thank you, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 141 Sun Feb 06, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 22:07 EST Robert, Hey!! I think your solution to the lost cursor works for me too. But it does seem to be a bug, in that case. Thanks so much. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 142 Sun Feb 06, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 23:35 EST Robert, A further note on the cursor and dialogues in windows. MultiDialog also permits dialogs to be placed in windows, and does not carry the penalty of losing the cursor. So far, at least, on a quick try. If I'm right, there is a temporary fix, therefore, for those who need dialogs in windows. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 143 Mon Feb 07, 1994 COMPO at 03:02 EST Bill - Yes, just as I was just starting to lose my mind, it's coming together. I'll have the 'disappearing cursor' fixed. Thanks for your help on this one. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 144 Mon Feb 07, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 06:07 EST Robert, I have been experiencing the lost cursor problem also, running in TT high under Geneva. Have not tried it without Geneva, but see no reason the results would be different than for John. I am running without the noSystem program installed in the AUTO folder - I have not yet had a chance to try that out. In response to the question you asked him, I have had the problem with "Dialogs to Windows" checked. After reading your message, I have unchecked it, and do not seem to be getting a lost cursor any more. However, I have had several instances this afternoon of having the whole screen/system freeze up. Seems to be happening when I do some editing of text. It always catches me by surprise, so I can't say exactly what the circumstances are. Sunday was my first chance to really have a change to try the new version. Some of the changes I really like. The ones that lead to the above behaviour I don't. :-) BTW, thanks for the label template. I see what you have done, and should have no trouble modifying it to adjust for the specific labels I have in mind. There are a couple changes I would _really_ like to see in the way the pages layouts are handled. I am preparing a large report, with a number of figures to be placed thoughout. At this point, my plan is simply to leave blank space so that I can print over a page with pre-printed figures from another program and have the text be positioned properly. That is not big deal in concept. The problem is that I am using two column page layouts, but want full width figures. The only way I can see to do it is leave a _big_ header space, which will give me room to lay in the figure. Unfortunately, when done that way I can not see the figure number and title on the screen (it will be in the header), and I have to have a separate page layout created for each figure - and there are lots of them. What would make this a lot easier is if: - page layouts allowed for multiple regions on the page, and they could be mixed between single and multi columns, and - header and footer text were treated more like they are in Word Perfect, that is the text could be changed at various points in the document and the new text would continue until changed again - without having to create and use a different page layout. It would also help if there was an option to allow the header/footer text to be displayed on screen as each page break is shown. Thats all for now. I will be using this a lot over the next few days, so I may have some more later. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 145 Mon Feb 07, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 18:45 EST Robert, Did you send out the package you said you were sending yet? (Not sure if my syntax is right there....) Al ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 146 Mon Feb 07, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 19:03 EST Robert: I may have had dialogue to windows checked - I don't now, and after posting on Staturday, I eliminated XControl, the problem went away, and then I re-added it, and the problem didn't come back!, BTW, I mean Saturday, not Staturday. I hope it stays fixed! Thanks, John. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 147 Mon Feb 07, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 21:55 EST I have found that the new serial fix program HSMODEM doesn't get on with That's Write. It causes the text in the macro and status windows to move more and more to the left and finally to disappear. No such problems with the alternative SERFIX2. Be warned! Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 148 Wed Feb 09, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 01:28 EST Robert, The mysterious German alert I mentioned has reappeared. I was trying to save a document to a folder that contained a rather large number of files, and the following alert came up: Zuwenig Speichen. Von 167 Dateien werden 119 angezeignet. I take this to mean that not all the items can be displayed at once. However, once I hit return, the document was saved without further problems. No doubt your programmers will know what they meant. Regards, Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 149 Wed Feb 09, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 18:25 EST Robert: any idea when landscape printing will be supported for LJ4 printers...I can now print in pica, but using Speedo fonts the landscape option prints in a kind of messed up portrait. BTW, thanks for the great new version - my cursor problem has disappeared since I turned off dialogues to windows. -John ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 150 Wed Feb 09, 1994 COMPO at 22:07 EST Thanks Bill! I'll have that fixed... Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 151 Wed Feb 09, 1994 COMPO at 23:04 EST John - Glad we've (temporarily) 'solved' the disappearing cursor problem. I'll send you a new program file when it's fixed. Landscape printing on the LJ4 only works with printer-resident and downloaded fonts. That's Write doesn't (yet) support the scalable PCL fonts, but it will. The PostScript version of That's Write DOES support the internal PostScript and downloaded fonts, so with it you can use all fonts in landscape printing. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 152 Thu Feb 10, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:53 EST Robert, I would like to be able to use endnotes for a list of References so that as I move things around and add text, my reference list stays in the right order. However, I would like to be able to have multiple references to the same document, and only have it listed once in the endnotes. Is there a way to use the same endnote number more than once in the text? I have not been able to find it, if so. Thanks, Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 153 Thu Feb 10, 1994 J.NOLAN5 [John Nolan] at 19:13 EST Robert: what's the scoop on TW3 postscript with CompoScript? Is there any special deal for us who own C_Script when upgrading to TW3-PS? ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 154 Fri Feb 11, 1994 COMPO at 03:49 EST Roger - You cannot use the same endnote number more than once. Perhaps it would work better to create an index rather than use endnotes since that does the multiple-references job, except for the reference numbers in the text. You could manually insert the reference numbers. Depending on how you're going about it, you could place a marker each time you mark a block for the index to more easily identify the references in the text. Or you could put in the reference numbers as you edit the text. That would be particularly easy if the references list is short, or if you have it committed to memory. If you've got hundreds of references, you could mark each reference in the text with some sort of text marker, then do a search/replace when you're done to clean it up. You could even ignore the reference numbers for the time being, and when you're done print out the index, which gives you a nice list of where each reference number goes in the text. You've got a nice list of references and page numbers where the references should be identified. On those pages, each bit needing a number is displayed as marked. So the answer to your question is no, but I hope this gives you some ideas. John - Nope! That's Write 3 PostScript doesn't need CompoScript (and vice versa), but they can hook together to give you PostScript output on non-PostScript printers, transparently. If someone wants to use That's Write to output PostScript files (say, for final output on an imagesetter) but doesn't have a PostScript printer to proof the pages, then CompoScript can be quite handy, so we're giving it up at a discount for those customers. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 155 Fri Feb 11, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:17 EST Robert, >John - > >Glad we've (temporarily) 'solved' the disappearing cursor problem. >I'll send you a new program file when it's fixed. Would you please send one to me as well. I have unchecked the "Dialogs to windows" for the same reason, but I prefer to have them in windows since I am running under Geneva, with STraigt FAX in the background. Although the dialogs are not on screen a lot of the time, I have gotten FAX calls while they are up, and it is sometimes a scramble to ge them cleared in time for STFAX to answer. >Landscape printing on the LJ4 only works with printer-resident and >downloaded fonts. That's Write doesn't (yet) support the scalable PCL >fonts, but it will. I wasn't clear what you meant by this. All of the resident fonts on the LJ4, including Courier (pica) are scalable. I haven't had a chance yet to try printing in landscape, so maybe this will be clear when I do. >The PostScript version of That's Write DOES support the internal >PostScript and downloaded fonts, so with it you can use all fonts in >landscape printing. I got the flyer announcing the PostScript version, but I do not know what the advantages are to PostScript. I know there are some additional fonts, but I use only a few of those available on the LJ4 anyway, so I suspect that is not enough to shell our the $$ to get the PS SIMM to upgrade my machine. With 600 dpi anyway, I don't imagine the quality of printouts is any better. Is there an improvement in print speed. Does the PS version of TW3 use the all of the internal fonts on the LJ4, which would certainly give a speed advantage? Are there other benefits? Any info you can give me would be appreciated, since I will upgrade if there is an incentive, but do not want to do so if there is no real advantage. Thanks, Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 156 Fri Feb 11, 1994 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 19:15 EST Robert, I recently received version 3.1g of That's Write. So far, I just have a few preliminary questions and comments. 1. Is there any way that I can edit the NOLOOK.INF file so that I can change the default colours of TW? It looks like all sorts of useful information is stored there, but I can't see any way to interpret it, let alone edit it. 2. In a future version, it would be convenient if the list of fonts shown in "select font" were sorted. 3. In 3.1g, as far as I can tell, Scrap.txt and scrap.asc are now identical. Neither of them seems to save without carriage returns at the end of each line. Depending on the situation, sometimes I need a block with carriage returns and sometimes I don't. Is there some way I can still save a block to the clipboard that doesn't have carriage returns at the end of each line? The only way that I've been able to do it now is to copy the entire file to another window, delete the portion I don't want and then export the remainder. This is a lot more cumbersome than just selecting "to clipboard". 4. Since is appears that for a while yet, the only way to draw lines will be with the box and line font, is there some way to scale the font? I tried to do it with Fontz and with Tfont and got nowhere. Neither of them seemed to be able to read the font properly. 5. I also have encountered the invisible cursor phenomenom and it stopped happening when I followed your suggestion and disabled the "dialogs to windows" option. However, I also noticed that either switching to another file window or even just selecting a desk accessory is enough to restore the cursor. Accordingly, in spite of that minor problem, I'll probably continue using the "dialogs to windows" option because it's so convenient. It also seems to be a lot more stable than in the 3.1c. Thanks, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 157 Fri Feb 11, 1994 B.BEAUCHEA [Bob Beauchea] at 21:17 EST Robert, Do I have to ask to have the TW3 update sent to me? I'm still usibg 3.1c and I thought all users would automatically have the new version sent to them? Thanks, Bob Beauchea ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 158 Fri Feb 11, 1994 COMPO at 21:25 EST Roger - Landscape printing on the LJ4 currently works only with internal fonts. But That's Write only supports some of them. Line Printer (a bitmapped font) is supported, so you can use that. We have supplementary disks with certain sizes of Courier, Times, and Letter Gothic, so those fonts will also work. If you try to print landscape with graphic fonts (Speedo or GEM fonts sent to the printer as graphics) you'll get garbage. The PostScript version of That's Write doesn't really give you more fonts; it uses the same Speedo fonts on screen. However, it does require that you have the standard PostScript 35 font set (Multifont). For many folks, PostScript isn't necessary. The quality isn't really better from That's Write's native Speedo output (and I think you'll agree that the 600dpi output is unparalleled), but some folks will want the flexibility - being able to print files on imagesetters or any PostScript printer can be a plus, especially if you use That's Write at home and Macs at work, say. Some people just need PostScript support, for a variety of reasons. That's Write PostScript requires the fonts be in the printer (either resident or downloaded) so it is fast. Then again, we will soon have the standard That's Write using all of the LJ4's internal fonts (That's Write already supports all of the fonts in most every other printer). I'll send you a couple output samples in Speedo and PostScript, okay? Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 159 Fri Feb 11, 1994 COMPO at 22:17 EST Harvey - 1. No, you cannot (currently) edit NOLOOK.INF. We will have an editor for it, though, sometime this year. 2. The font list isn't sorted for a reason - macros. If you have a macro that expects a font in a certain slot, well, it's got to be in that slot. 3. Re: saving a block to the clipboard: Because some programs expect to find scrap.txt and some expect to find scrap.asc, That's Write saves them both. You don't get some of the options you normally get when you export ASCII; that's to save time (we presume that since you're going to the clipboard, you intend to load the text into another program, and complete paragraphs are almost always best for that). If you want to save a block as ASCII to the clipboard with a CR/LF at each line, mark the block, select {Block}{Save}, then select ASCII. You'll get the standard Export ASCII dialog where you can specify whether or not to save as lines or paragraphs. Then just save the text in the clipboard folder with the appropriate name. 4. Fontz and TFont should both be able to manipulate the Box & Line font. It's a standard GEM font. We will be updating the drawing tools in That's Write, probably in the next release. In fact, I've been working on a Speedo version of Box & Line... 5. Thanks for the tip on 'dialogs to windows.' That buglet will be fixed - I'll post here when it is. Bob - Updates are going out automatically, but not all have gone yet. Specifically, your's hasn't. A bunch are going out tomorrow, and yours is in there. You should have it early next week. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 160 Sat Feb 12, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:02 EST Robert, Thanks for the tips on using index marks. It is a usable work-around for what I would like to be able to do. Consider the original question as a suggestion for an enhanced feature of end-notes in a future upgrade. Even if used as endnotes rather than for "References" as I had wanted, it is likely that the same note could apply in more than one location, so the ability to have multiple endnote/reference numbers in the text pointing to the same item in the list could be useful in a number of situations. Thanks. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 161 Sat Feb 12, 1994 COMPO at 07:34 EST Roger - Thanks. We already plan on creating a 'references' system like you describe, as well as a more open-ended system for references within the main text. Because the powerful Index/TOC stuff is already in there, it will only be a matter of tuning to have an automated referencing system. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 162 Sat Feb 12, 1994 R.GREGORY4 [Rob] at 11:47 EST Robert: We just received our upgrade to version 3.1g yesterday! Many thanks for the support. It was great to see that the new version works perfectly on exitting to Neodesk, & that the Direct print is now fixed. I read & re-read the information on NoSystem, & fully expected that TWRITE3.INF would be saved in the NOSYS folder on my boot drive, having booted with NOSYSTEM.PRG in the AUTO folder & select SAVE PREFERENCES. That wouldn't happen on repeated attempts. Have I misread the information (again:)? Rob ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 164 Sat Feb 12, 1994 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 13:23 EST Robert, thanks for another of your very informative replies. > 1. No, you cannot (currently) edit NOLOOK.INF. We will have an > editor for it, though, sometime this year. I guess I'll have to wait for it, more or less patiently :-). > 2. The font list isn't sorted for a reason - macros. If you have a > macro that expects a font in a certain slot, well, it's got to be in > that slot. That's exactly what happens sometimes when I use the macro recorder to select something in the file selector :-(. That takes me to another suggestion I hope you'll consider for a future upgrade. Where a macro is referring to an item that is currently in a certain slot, e.g. in the font list or the file selector, would it be possible to have the macro recorder automatically substitute the name of the selected item and then the program could look for that when the macro is run. Then sorting would be feasible. Otherwise, the lack of sorting is a minor nuisance when there are only 4 or 5 items in the font selector; but I'd like to keep a lot more choices readily available, particularly once I get Multifont, and then it would be a real headache trying to find a particular font, style and size out of a very long list. In other words, if there is no other alternative and if I had to choose, I'd think it would be a smaller problem editing the macro than having a long unsorted font list. > 3. If you want to save a block as ASCII to the clipboard with a CR/LF > at each line, mark the block, select {Block}{Save}, then select > ASCII. You'll get the standard Export ASCII dialog where you can > specify whether or not to save as lines or paragraphs. Then just > save the text in the clipboard folder with the appropriate name. Thanks for the suggestion. I completely forgot about that alternative, even though it's right in the manual. > 4. Fontz and TFont should both be able to manipulate the Box & Line > font. It's a standard GEM font. We will be updating the drawing > tools in That's Write, probably in the next release. In fact, I've > been working on a Speedo version of Box & Line... I just tried them again on a stripped system and got nowhere. Have you tried them? Actually, I couldn't seem to get them to work with any of the bitmapped fonts in version 3. They load the font, but they obviously can't read them properly since they show nothing but garbage for the characters. Now I just unarced the old box and line font and it loads perfectly into Fontz. > We will be updating the drawing > tools in That's Write, probably in the next release. In fact, I've > been working on a Speedo version of Box & Line... Yea! I've also noticed some references to printing in landscape mode on the HP IV. Any chance of this being available for the Atari laser in the next version? Thanks again, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 165 Mon Feb 14, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 06:26 EST Robert, Thanks for the info on PostScript. I certainly agree with you that the 600 dpi output from TW3's Speedo can't be beat, and I've bordered on making a nuisance out of myself telling that to everyone I can. I don't need the transportabiity - at least not yet. I do foresee the possibility that I may need that in the future. For now, it sounds like something I can do without, but will hold it in mind for the future. I would be interested in seeing the sample outputs. Sounds like you are getting close on your support of the internal LJ4 fonts. I'm pleased to hear that - I am looking forward to that capability. I don't expect the quality to be any better than I'm now getting with Speedo, but the increased printing speed should be great. (Although I should add that I'm using 300 dpi as a _draft_ mode for printing, and keeping all my printer fonts memory resident, so the output pours out fairly quickly.) "updating the drawing tools in That's Write"..."working on a Speedo version of Box & Line" Great!!! I could use that today if I had it. So the sooner the better. You don't need to sleep, do you? :-) Also "great!" on the automated referencing system. I am writing a large number of technical papers these days, and would find that very helpful. This has been another week long blitz of heavy TW3 usage, and its not over yet, so some more comments/questions about its use are coming up. When I'm got a bit more time, I will try to consolidate them into some coherent questions for you. Two things so far: - I am not quite sure about noSystem. I see that it makes a difference in the look of things on the TT mono, but I'm not sure I would use it just for that. Does it do anything else that serves to enhance the performance? I read the README with v3.1g about multiple installations of TW3, but I am not set up that way, so do not need that. I don't seem to see any difference in where the Preferences get saved, on the other hand I am now finding that one of the items (Internal file selecter) does not seem to get save whether or not noSystem is being used. Any enlightenment? - I am running under Geneva, so that I can keep STraight FAX active while I am working. Key Show does not seem to work for me. I have it loaded as an accessory, and it do not even come up on the screen when I click on the name. I did note that Key Show comes up ok if TW3 is _not_ loaded, or if I run without Geneva. Am I missing something? I seem to recall reading that people are now finding to work ok with the new release. Part of my problem is that I am so busy using TW3, that I have not had a chance to really check out some of the minor little things that I am not clear about, or that seem to do quite what I want in the way that I want it to. And I stress that they are minor. I am so impressed with this program! The written material being generated using TW3 looks very impressive. Thanks for a great product and your superlative support. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 166 Tue Feb 15, 1994 COMPO at 21:29 EST Rob - TWRITE3.INF should be saved in the NOSYS folder if noSystem is correctly installed. You do have NOLOOK.INF in the NOSYS folder, right? Are you getting the noSystem stuff when you run That's Write? When noSystem (and noLook) are installed, TWRITE3.INF will be saved next to NOLOOK.INF in c:\nosys. Harvey - When using macros in the file selector, rather than selecting the slot (Control-#), hit ESC and type the name. That'll do for the file selector. As for the font list, your suggestion is a good one. About the Box & Line font, perhaps the problem is because it's a compressed (GEM/3) font - Fontz probably doesn't support compressed fonts. But TFont should... I'll check it. Good to hear you used the old (uncompressed) Box & Line - I was going to suggest that. The font is the same, it just wasn't compressed in version 2. That's Write doesn't support landscape printing, but the LJ4 does; that's why it works on the LJ. We may add landscape support in the future, in which case it will work independently of the printer. Roger - When the complete LJ4 internal font support is there, the standard version of That's Write, using PCL 5, will be faster than the PostScript version. Since you mentioned having the printer fonts 'memory-resident,' I'll mention that the next release will have the ability to cache printer fonts (like the current version does screen fonts). If you have the disk space, it'll be extremely fast (the fonts will never have to be scaled!). The ability of noSystem to have programs share resources will come in handy as we release more software that supports it. As it is, you only have the noLook portion of it You may agree that it improves the interface, and if so use it - there aren't any drawbacks to having it installed. noSystem unloads itself as soon as it loads the noLook file. Strange about the internal file selector preference not being saved... same about the TWRITE3.INF file, since Rob also mentioned it. You do have this file structure, right? : c:\auto\nosystem.prg c:\nosys\nolook.inf Please confirm this. KeyShow doesn't work in multitasking mode. And if you have any questions or problems with 'minor stuff,' make notes as you're using That's Write, or something. I want you to be completely satisfied with it. Thanks, Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 167 Wed Feb 16, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:06 EST Roger, The Keyshow and Macro Editor accessories will work under Geneva if TW3 is set to single tasking and they are loaded into memory before TW itself. There are a number of ways of doing things in which they don't work however, so be patient! I have found this method to be reliable to the best of my recollection. You will get messages saying that the Macro Editor requires That's Write 1.3 or above, no demos. Ignore these. Hope this helps. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 168 Wed Feb 16, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 01:52 EST Robert, I am also finding that TWRITE3.INF is not being saved to the NOSYS folder. NOLOOK.INF is there, and I am getting the look and feel of noSystem. I am also having persistent trouble with one of my macros, which sets the date at the right margin by means of an instruction copied from the manual which does not update itself when re-copied later. This worked flawlessly with the previous version. When I try to use it I sometimes get a dialogue box from Geveva that I haven't seen before saying "Load error," and offering three buttons, numbered 1,2, and 3, whose function I don't know. I think however I may have solved the problem of getting the right layout for my macros. But sometimes when I remove a paragraph setting it returns with a new name, thus screwing up my macros once more. I am still a little unsure of the exact circumstances in which this happens. I have re-installed everything just now to see if it helps, and will let you know if the problem returns. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 169 Wed Feb 16, 1994 COMPO at 18:40 EST Bill - >I am also finding that TWRITE3.INF is not being saved to the NOSYS folder. >NOLOOK.INF is there, and I am getting the look and feel of noSystem. I am also >having persistent trouble with one of my macros, which sets the date at the >right margin by means of an instruction copied from the manual which does not >update itself when re-copied later. This worked flawlessly with the previous >version. When I try to use it I sometimes get a dialogue box from Geveva that >I haven't seen before saying "Load error," and offering three buttons, >numbered 1,2, and 3, whose function I don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I understand that you have a macro that sets the date at the right margin, but then you lose me. Does this instruction auto-execute when you load a file, or do you select 'Follow Instructions' to run it? Do you have it saved in a specific file, or is it in a set of layouts that you load for different documents? Please be specific so we can find what's going wrong. Harvey - I tried loading the compressed Box & Line font (both SBOXLINE.FNT and LBOXLINE.FNT) into TFont, and it worked fine. This is the TFont included with That's Write version 2; the file size is 54510 bytes. Are we using the same TFont program and Box & Line fonts? Roger - I've tried everything I can think of and the status of the 'Internal File Selector' button is always saved when I select 'Save Preferences.' Perhaps you can try moving the TWRITE3.INF into NOSYS (see below) and tell me if it still works incorrectly. I think I've found the 'problem' regarding the location of TWRITE3.INF. When That's Write is installed, an INF file is created and installed in the program's directory. As long as an INF file is there, That's Write will use that file, and load and save to/from that directory. If you delete TWRITE3.INF from TWRITE3.PRG's directory, then select 'Save Preferences,' the preferences will be saved in the NOSYS folder. The idea behind this is that noSystem will let different programs share resources, but you aren't forced into it. What if you want to have different programs running with different fonts and printer drivers? You must have a way to control whether or not a program uses it's own resources, preferences, configurations, etc. or uses the shared files controlled by noSystem. I'm sorry this isn't clear in the noSystem notes - I'll correct it. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 170 Wed Feb 16, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 22:56 EST Robert, I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear. I'm learning that being a professional writer in one field doesn't guarantee that one can write clearly in another. I will try again. The macro I made has the purpose of inserting the date in long form,North American style, at the right margin. It therefore calls the paragraph style for right aligned, which has one tab set at the right margin. At that tab I've entered an instruction, which is copied directly from page 218 of the manual. It is a conditional instruction whose purpose is to insert the date of the letter, and to retain the original date if the file is called up again at a later date. It should do this automatically, and has up to now. Now nothing happens if I call this macro. I can however make it work manually if I first tab over to the right margin, and then invoke Follow Instructions from the drop down menu. I expect the simplest solution would be to reconstruct the macro, but it took me a long time to get that instruction copied correctly. This macro is one of the set of macros that I have made for writing letters, my most common activity at present with TW. Others deal with various aspects of formatting a letter, as well as some things like proper quotes and the em dash. This is now my default set of macros, and is loaded before I start to write a letter. Thanks for the help on other points. Some strange things are happening to me at the moment with That's Write, and they may have nothing to do with the program itself. I will have to do some careful checking of the circumstances in which they are happening before I know what to ask about. I am not yet sure that my earlier suggestion to use MultiDialog instead of setting the preferences for dialogues in windows was a good idea. It may be the cause of some of my troubles. I have had quite a lot to do simply using TW in the last few days, and little time for experimentation. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 171 Thu Feb 17, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 00:49 EST Robert, Further to my last reply about my macro problem, here is a little more of the specific information you rightly requested. First of all, the problem so far only occurs with this particular macro. The macro editor shows the macro as correctly entered. The cursor goes down to the wrong place in the file selector, then the macro executes this wrong paragraph definition, and I get the Geneva alert box with the exclamation mark, the words "Error in Alert Format" and three buttons, 1,2 and 3, of which #1 is highlighted as the default. It doesn't seem to make much if any difference which I select. At the same time, a second copy of the wrongly selected paragraph definition is inserted in the file selector with a new title, causing errors in further macros. When we go back to the screen, it appears as if nothing has happened, as I said in my previous post,and the cursor is on the left margin. This is all completely new to me, and never happened with any previous version. The above, together with my post of earlier this evening, describes what happens as completely and precisely as I know how to. But please ask if there is anything that is still not clear. The problem is definitely reproducible and not a one-time affair. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 172 Thu Feb 17, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 01:38 EST Robert, Message 3 on the macro problem. I have tracked it down and solved it! My face is rather red in consequence, because I have put you to some trouble reading lengthy descriptions of what happens, which I can only hope served some purpose. Well, what was the problem? Somehow or other the macro had been saved without the control character before the position in the box at which the right paragraph style definition was listed. As soon as I inserted the control character in the macro editor, all was well. There is no problem whatsoever with That's Write in this respect. But dummies (I am not a dummy in other areas) should make sure that in defining a macro they have a control character before the number indicating which paragraph style is to be selected for execution. Regards and thanks for your patience. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 173 Thu Feb 17, 1994 COMPO at 05:18 EST Bill - All right! That was easy! Well, easier for some of us than others... I appreciate the detail you provided... the more the better, really. I was all ready to begin my attempt at finding your problem when I checked in and got your last message. I'm glad you've got it working to your design. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 174 Thu Feb 17, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:18 EST Robert, >c:\auto\nosystem.prg c:\nosys\nolook.inf >Please confirm this. Yes, that is how I have them installed. I did a bit of a test this morning, both with and without noSystem and running with and without Geneva. In all 4 setups the TWRITE.INF file is saved, and saved to the correct location depending on whether or not noSystem is active. In _all 4_ cases, the file selector status does not stay "unchecked". If I opt for the system file selector, save preferences, quite TW3, and then immediately restart TW3 the file selector has gone back to the internal TW3 selector. Other preferences that I changed remained changed (dialogs to windows, fast display). >KeyShow doesn't work in multitasking mode. I have found that out. I hope you can get this one sorted out with Dan. If it has to be a choice between Key Show and Geneva, I go with Geneva since I make heavy use of the multi-tasking. But I sure would like the key display to find those non-standard characters easily. >And if you have any questions or problems with 'minor stuff,' make >notes as you're using That's Write, or something. I want you to be >completely satisfied with it. Thanks for your response. That is what I am doing. And just so there is no question in your mind, I am _extremely satisfied_ with TW3. I finally have the use of a word processor that has the kinds of capability that I feel the Atari platform deserves. Particularly with a TT, lots of memory and a large high speed disk drive this program really sings. I love it. The "minor stuff" I mention is just that. But I will keep letting you know, as there is always room for improvement, even in the best. A small item from yesterday, actually. In selecting "manual print" it would be very handy to be able to choose a range of pages as well as individual pages separated by commas. For example, I wanted to print pages 2,4,6-10,25 and it would be nice to specify it just like that. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 175 Thu Feb 17, 1994 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 07:32 EST > I tried loading the compressed Box & Line font (both SBOXLINE.FNT and > LBOXLINE.FNT) into TFont, and it worked fine. This is the TFont > included with That's Write version 2; the file size is 54510 bytes. > Are we using the same TFont program and Box & Line fonts? Robert, we are using the same fonts, but not the same TFont program since I upgraded directly from version 1.52. I didn't even realize that there must be a newer version of TFont because I'd also forgotten that version 2 used compressed fonts and that therefore Fontz and my version of TFont obviously wouldn't be able to handle them. Sorry about that. I'll just use the uncompressed fonts that came with version 1.52 Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 176 Thu Feb 17, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:45 EST Robert, I bit of Aladdin lag. I set up my replies and then do an autopass - so my comments to you this morning came before I saw your message from Wed evening. Just to add to what I said earlier, in each of the trial runs I checked, I first deleted the existing TWRITE3.INF file whereever it was located. So each time I started with a fresh system, and let it save to the appropriate location. It went to the correct place each time. So I am not having a problem saving or reading TWRITE3.INF, it is just that it consistently does not save the file selector setting. I have a Mega ST4 in addition to the TT. I will give it a shot on that system and let you know what I find. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 177 Thu Feb 17, 1994 R.GREGORY4 [Rob] at 20:20 EST Robert: >If you delete TWRITE3.INF from TWRITE3.PRG's directory, then select >'Save Preferences,' the preferences will be saved in the NOSYS >folder. It worked. I was making the mistake of using the same TWRITE3.INF file & merely moving it to the NOSYS folder... but that wasn't helping. Thanks yet again! Rob ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 178 Thu Feb 17, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 23:55 EST Robert, I tried deleting my TWRITE.INF file and saving preferences, and what appeared in my NOSYS folder was TWRITE.TWC. Did I do something wrong? Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 179 Fri Feb 18, 1994 COMPO at 18:14 EST Roger - KeyShow doesn't work correctly in any multitasking system; it has nothing to do with Geneva. It has already been rewritten (fixed) to run as an external module in the next release of That's Write. I like your idea about specifying ranges in the Manual Print option. About the file selector setting not being saved, I bet you have a configuration file that is overriding the preferences. Check all the default files (with names TWRITE3.*) and try running without them (rename 'em) to find out. Harvey - I can send you the newer TFont if you like (yes, it was changed to support compressed and GEM/3 fonts). If you do much work with fonts, I suggest getting Fontkit Plus. It's great, and has lots of stuff specific to That's Write. It does everything (and much more) that TFont does except edit keyboard tables. Bill - You saved the configuration (.TWC) instead of preferences (.INF). Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 180 Sun Feb 20, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 03:40 EST Robert, I'm still having problems with saving TWRITE.INF to the NOSYS folder. Now that I have deleted TWRITE.INF from the TWRITE2 folder, I have no file with that extension anywhere. When I try to save Preferences, nothing is written in the NOSYS folder, and no TWRITE.INF file appears in the TWRITE3 folder. I have tried several times to save Preferences. Each time the submenu comes up after I click in the Save box and Preferences is highlighted, but no INF file is generated. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 181 Sun Feb 20, 1994 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 07:55 EST > I can send you the newer TFont if you like (yes, it was changed to > support compressed and GEM/3 fonts). If you do much work with fonts, > I suggest getting Fontkit Plus. It's great, and has lots of stuff > specific to That's Write. It does everything (and much more) that > TFont does except edit keyboard tables. Robert, thanks for the generous offer, but I wouldn't want to put you to the trouble since it's not really necessary. I used to do a fair amount of font modification (more than I liked). That's why I bought Fontz. However, since I got TW3, I've been happily ignoring my bitmapped fonts. The only reason I started to look at them again was because I decided that it would be nice to have the box and outline font in some different sizes. Now that I know what was causing the problem, I'll simply scale the old uncompressed font with either Fontz or Tfont. Thanks again, Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 182 Sun Feb 20, 1994 C.NICHOLLS [BILL] at 17:18 EST Robert, Further to my message of last night, I now find that I do have a TWRITE.INF file saved, but in the main folder in which the files for That's Write are stored. However, deleting it and resaving Preferences does not save it in the NOSYS folder but where it was before. Bill ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 183 Mon Feb 21, 1994 JRH [Roger] at 07:28 EST Robert, >About the file selector setting not being saved, I bet you have a >configuration file that is overriding the preferences. Check all the >default files (with names TWRITE3.*) and try running without them >(rename 'em) to find out. That did it! Thanks. I renamed them all and brought them back one at a time unitl I found the one the was overriding - it was TWRITE3.TWC that was doing it. Roger ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 184 Mon Feb 21, 1994 COMPO at 19:33 EST Bill - Try booting without NOSYSTEM and saving the preferences. Then the INF file (TWRITE3.INF) should definitely appear in the same directory as TWRITE3.PRG. If you want the INF file saved in the NOSYS folder, you can then boot up with NOSYSTEM, delete the INF file, load That's Write and save the preferences. The INF file should then appear in the NOSYS folder. You have to boot That's Write without an INF file (and with noSystem active) to have TWRITE3.INF saved in the NOSYS folder. Otherwise, the INF file is updated (and not moved), wherever it may be. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 185 Wed Feb 23, 1994 R.BODEN [Rick] at 23:49 EST I just picked up a Canon BJ-10e printer and have had excellent results using the drivers with the TW3 package. The one problem is that there doesn't seem to be a proportional italic font so whenever I load the BJ driver I get asked for which replacment font I would like. Is there any way around this other than not using the proportional font? Rick ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 186 Thu Feb 24, 1994 COMPO at 01:21 EST That's Write version 3.1H is now available. It's the same as version 3.1G, but the cursor won't disappear if you have 'Dialogs to Windows' enabled and select something in the info bar. Anyone who wants it should drop me a note in email; there is no cost for the update. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 187 Thu Feb 24, 1994 J.HERZ at 21:25 EST Robert, Any thoughts yet on using TW3 with my Panasonic daisywheel printer? With the Brother driver supplied and either the propor- tional or Pica fonts I keep getting the error message "Font RPROPTRD missing, corrupted or too large" - the screen output looks nice but I sure wish I could print something! Thanks, Josh PS. I appear to have plenty of memory and disk space available. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 188 Sat Feb 26, 1994 H.WOLFE1 [Harvey] at 07:42 EST This might be of interest to some That's Write users. I just bought the February issue of ST Applications from one of my local dealers and I saw that it had a 3 page interview with Neal O'nions, the head of COMPO UK. Harvey ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 189 Sat Feb 26, 1994 COMPO at 18:31 EST Rick - Does the BJ10e have an internal Proportional Italic? I don't have a BJ here so I can't completely test it... You can install it for LQ emulation though, in which case That's Write does give you a Prop. italic, because the LQ has one... does it work correctly if you use the LQ emulation and driver and print with Prop. Italic? Josh - I tried the Brother HR driver and printing with Pica works okay, but Proportional doesn't. It looks like there's an error in the installation script, because the Proportional screen fonts are named SPROPTRD but the printer fonts are named XPROP. I'll change the script but in the meantime, rename all the XPROP fonts to XPROPTRD (they're in the folder named TYPEWRIT). There are four of them, with the extensions .FNT .IT .SML .SIT. If you just change each one (ie - XPROP.FNT to XPROPTRD.FNT) it should work. It's also possible that the problem is due to the wrong font files being installed rather than a naming error. But I think it's the names. Please tell me if renaming the fonts works, then I'll know what to change. Robert ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 190 Mon Feb 28, 1994 J.HERZ at 22:05 EST Robert, That did the trick, the proportional printer fonts just needed to be renamed, and I guess it messed up the pica fonts just because they were on the list of loaded fonts, even though they weren't necessarily being used. Thanks, and on to the next question: is it possible that in the Atari command mode there's no way to delete a block short of going to the drop-down menu? Nothing works, not the delete key, or control-x (since text doesn't disappear until it's pasted), much less simply typing over the blocked text, as in Word. Other than this major shortcoming, I'm delighted. ------------ Category 13, Topic 15 Message 191 Tue Mar 01, 1994 COMPO at 02:02 EST Glad the renaming worked. I'll have the masters fixed. That's Write won't delete a block when you mark it and start typing; it doesn't change its behavior just because you have a block marked. You can mark a block and keep doing whatever you like - new characters are inserted at the cursor position, all commands work as normally, etc. It is my opinion that the popular technique of replacing a block with whatever you type is flawed; it's illogical and inefficient. There is no key to delete a block in the Atari command system; that's a limit of the system. Switching to Atari commands may have benefits, but you give up a lot in the process - mainly, losing keyboard commands for many menu items and functions. The problem is, you have many more functions than you have keys. We've implemented the basic set of 14 functions and assigned keystrokes (per Atari's command set) then put all other keys to other functions. Now we're out of keys! If you think we should remove one to assign that key to 'Delete Block,' I'd like to hear it. Otherwise, I suggest you make a macro to delete a block. Menu selections made with the mouse are recorded, so just start recording the macro, select 'Delete' from the 'Block' menu, then end the macro. Assign it to whatever key you find convenient. Robert ------------