CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 1
by Benjamin H. Cohen
Copyright 1987 by Benjamin H. Cohen. All rights reserved.
Crunch and Uncrunch version 2.4 are here. These are two superb utilities that will make the compression and decompression of files a lot less tedious than in the past.
Crunch 'crunches' files: it generally makes them smaller than the squeeze algorithins that we're used to. Text files commonly compress tot less than 50 per cent of their original size. Crunch is easy to use. Just issue the command to crunch, the location of the file you want to crunch in du: format, the name of the file, and the destination. For example, to crunch the file PCD.NDX that's on drive B: in user area 4 over to a floppy disk in drive C: in user area 0, issue this cominand line:
crunch b4:pcd.ndx c0:[cr]
You can, if you want to, add a comment to the file is it's being crunched, adding a space after the destination designation and putting the comment in brackets. The comment can be read by typing the file and is displayed when it is uncrunched.
The beauty of version 2.4 lies in its use with wildcards and the confirm option. When you have a bunch of files that you want moved to another location you can enter a wildcard command to crunch them. If you add the "/c" parameter (confirm) you'll be in a 'filesweep' mode, tagging the ones you want crunched just like NewSweep.
There's more: if the file is already crunched or squeezed, Crunch 2.4 will copy the file to the indicated destination.
When uncrunching, version 2.4 also unsqueezes squeezed files and copies non-compressed files. There's a cofirm mode for uncrunching, too.
Crunch and Uncrunch work quite quickly. You can dump USQ and SQ from your utility disks, since there's not much point in squeezing files when you can crunch them and Uncrunch does the job of your fast unsqueezer.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 2
by Steve Wilcox
[This article was taken from DOG Bytes, the newsletter of the DOG Computer Club (Denver), November 1987 issue. -- bhc]
WordStar CP/M Edition Release Four is loaded with a great collection of new commands. Sadly, two of them (^^ and ^@) are inaccessible from the Osborne 1 keyboard. The problem lies with the Osborne function keys, which are interpreted by the BIOS as user-defined characters rather than their true ASCII values.
The solution is to make the Osborne mimic the proper values by simply defining function key 2 as ^@ and function key 6 as ^^. But that's easier said than done since you need to enter the characters with a keyboard that does not produce them.
The following instructions use the public domain disk utility program DU.COM to circumvent the problem by writing the two hex codes directly to the disk. I used DU-V77 for this example, but DU-V88 on FOG/CPM.020 should work the same.
To make this as simple as possible, first return the function keys to their factory values. With SETUP.COM (from your CP/M utilities disk) on the disk in Drive A: and an extra copy of your WordStar disk in drive B:, enter:
^C
SETUP<cr>
At the Source Diskette prompt, enter B. Then, from the main menu, select E to define the function keys. Now set all ten function keys to their numerical counterpart. That is, function key 0 equals 0, function key 1 equals 1, and so on. To do so, enter:
00[ESC][ESC]
11[ESC][ESC]
22[ESC][ESC]
Continue in a similar fashion through function key 9. Press <cr> to get back to the main menu. Then press <cr> again. At the destination prompt, enter B to save the changes to the disk in the B: drive.
Now replace the SETUP disk in drive A: with the disk containing DU.COM. Leave the WordStar disk copy in drive B:. Enter the following command line, noting that the 0 character is a zero, not the letter "o":
DU LB;T0;S1;=0123456789;A<cr>
After a few seconds, you should see something very similar to this display:
00 *a0a1a2a3a.......*
10 *..............AU*
20 *TOST 0123456789.*
30 *...9....9.......*
40 *................*
50 *................*
60 *................*
70 *................*
80 *................*
Most important is that the "0123456789" appears intact. Now enter this command line (again, the "0" is a zero):
CH27,0,;ch2b,1E;W;A<cr>
And you should see:
00 *a0a1a2a3a.......*
10 *..............AU*
20 *TOST 01.345.789.*
30 *...9....9.......*
40 *................*
50 *................*
60 *................*
70 *................*
80 *................*
Notice that the two and six in the ascending string of numbers have been replaced by periods. Enter an "X" to exit DU. Then re-run the SETUP program to confirm that function key 2 shows ^@ and function key 6 shows ^^.
Press the RESET button. Put the WordStar disk in drive A: and reboot (press the <cr>). Your new WordStar now has access to the new WordStar 4 commands.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 3
by Rick Mattingly, KUAFC
[I found this article in the newsletter of the Pasadena, CA, Osbome group, OKOK. -- bhc]
After you've used your MS-DOS system for a while you will begin to want a bit more assistance from the computer. After all, that's what team spirit is all about, isn't it? There are numerous utility commands bulit into th MS-DOS operating system to provide this type of help. One of these is the "PROMPT" command. This command controls -- what else? -- the prompt! Instead of the plain old A> or C\> prompt, how about something a little more informative, such as: 12:07 A: \WORDSTAR>.
This prompt indicates the present time and that you are operating on drive A in a subdirectory named WORDSTAR (especially helpful if you're using a hard disk). The Prompt command has one parameter: PROMPT <string>, where <string> is any one or a combination of the following characters:
Character Produces d current date p current directory n current drive t current time v DOS version number g greater than sign l less than sign b vertical bar q equals sign e escape character h backspace $ dollar sign _ end of line
To build a custom prompt you must remember one rule: each character which you use from the above list must be preceeded by a $ symbol. Thus to build the prompt string which would display the example give earlier, you would type the following from the normal system prompt
This Prompt command string says to display the current time ($t), the current directory ($p), and a greater than sign ($g). The $h sequence (six of them) backspace to wipe out the seconds display. The $t command will return not only the hours and minutes but also the seconds. Since in our example we did not want the seconds displayed, we would enter a $h (backspace erase) for each character and space involved (this has no effect at all on the speed with which the custom prompt will be displayed). Also, please note the spaces in the Prompt command tail. You must place a space where you want one to appear in the resulting custom layoutA>prompt $t$h$h$h$h$h$h $p $g
You can also create a custom prompt which uses multiple lines if you wish, such as the date and time on the first line and the current drive and directory in the second. This is done by placing a $_ <that's an underscore> in the command string where you wish the resulting prompt to break. To get really fancy you can take advantage of the fact that you can also enter any other characters or words you wish in the command line without a preceeding $ symbol. When a preceding $ symbol the following character(s) will be displayed literally. In this way you could get a prompt like: Your Wish is My Command.
To get back to your normal system prompt at any time just type PROMPT by itself and the good old reliable A> will return.
If you want to have your custom system prompt activated each time you boot up your system, put it in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 4
by Benjamin H. Cohen
Copyright 1987 by Benjamin H. Cohen. All rights reserved.
A lot of WordStar 4 users have probably never had a 'keys' program before and find the uses of Shorthand rather bewildering. Keys programs let you store a bunch of keystrokes on one key so that you can play them back repeatedly while you are running WordStar or any other application. One simply use is to put names or other text strings on keys so that you don't have to type them over and over. The only limit is your imagination. Here's a simple example that I created recently.
I use a memo format file called WSMEMO.FMT. It has formatting codes and a heading with places to insert the name of the person to whom it is directed, the date, and the subject. I put "xxx" at the place where each of these variables goes then search for the "xxx", enter the data, then press ^L to get to the next one.
The "Keys" Program or Shorthand Solution
Now I simply hit [ESC] 5. It's programmed as follows:
^K^Rc:wsmemo.fmt^M^Q^Fxxx^M^M
The Shorthand macro reads in the format file from drive C:, then searches for the first "xxx". I enter the information and press ^L. By the way, there's a "xxx" string at the beginning of the first paragraph of the text so I get there quickly at the end.
Remember, to enter a control code in a Shorthand macro you have to enter ^P first. Thus to get ^K^R into the macro, you have to enter ^P^K^P^R.
This macro costs you 31 of your 511 Shorthand bytes [assuming that you haven't changed the Shorthand allocation from the 4 records <each record represents 128 bytes> that is the default by using WSCHANGE].
The Mailmerge Solution
Another solution to this problem is through Mailmerge. The format file then has a top section like this:
.av name
.av date
.av subject
.cs
.dm Name of file memo is in:
.av file
Then put "&name&" where the name should go, "&date&" where the date should go, "&subject&" where the subject should go, and ".fi &file&" on the line where the text should begin. Write the text under any name you want, then merge print the memo format file. You'll be asked for the name, date, subject, and the name of the file containing the text.
Conclusion:
Each of these solutions has its advantages. The Shorthand technique lets you see the format of the entire memo on screen, and perhaps to edit the heading as required for special occasions. The Mailmerge solution lets you get to the memo text without thinking about the other details and then print it quickly and easily, saving your Shorthand space for other uses. Both solutions are better than retyping the memo format every time you write a memo or simply reading it in from a file. Apply these techniques to the things that you do a lot and save time.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 5
by Michael Andrews and Benjamin H. Cohen
It has been some time since we listed new disks in CFOG's public domain library. We've gathered together the listings of many of the recent additions. This information will be added to the CFOG catalog of disks when the annotations have been completed. We intend to publish supplements like this one from time to time. This will be added to the catalog documents with each disk being listed in the proper place in the CAT-A.DOC or CAT-B.DOC, as the case may be.
-CFOGGAM.012 0k : BUTCH .LBR 25k : MISSLE2 .LBR 31k :
BUTCH.LBR :Adventure game with a bartender; like Eliza
MISSLE2.LBR :Shoot-em-up game with graphics
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 7
Goodbye, Mark, and Many Thanks!
by Kevin P. Murphy
In the August issue of PIP, it was mentioned that Mark Witt was going out of business. It was a brief statement and, like many such things, it took a while for the statement to register fully on me. I realized that I couldn't let the event pass without a personal comment.
Since the collapse of Osborne Computer Corporation, Mark Witt kept my Osborne 1 in fine operating condition, at a fair price, and with the fastest turn-around a person might reasonably expect. As others have commented in FOGHORN and, I believe in PIP, too, Mark has shown the kind of integrity that most businesses like to claim, and too few can validly claim. I believe that the business community could benefit a great deal by following the example set by an admirable entrepreneur.
I don't know what business ventures Mark will undertake in the future, but I wish him the best of fortune, and I'm sure many others share that sentiment.
Thank you, Mark.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 8
Fixing Ozzie
by Bill Kuykendall
[This message appeared recently on CFOG II in response to a query from a caller about getting his Osborne 1 repaired. He reported flaky operation and noted that with Mark Witt gone he did not know where to go for service.
Mark has suggested two possible sources for service: Mission Peak Systems, 169 Whitney Place, Fremont, CA 94539, [415] 490-5003, and Worswick Industries, Inc., 4898 Ronson Court, Suite H, San Diego, CA 92111, [619] 571-5400. Another regular advertiser in the Foghorn which offers Osborne service is the Wizard of Osz, 20630 Lassen St., Chatsworth, CA, [818] 709-6969. Nuevo Electronics, Box 209, Richmond, TX 77469, [713] 341-6001, does upgrades on Osbornes, still, and may be a source for service though it does not so advertise.
Readers of PIP who have had experience with other Osborne repair services, especially any Chicago area Osborne service other than Mark Witt are invited to call or write the Editor -- the address and telephone numbers of all CFOG officers and directors and the Editor are always at the bottom of page two of PIP. Or leave a message. -- bhc]
Welcome to the land of orphaned Osbornes, at last. Mark Witt is indeed through with Osbornes, and I guess he must have been the last.
I've been fixing my own Osborne (and tons of PC clones) for a few years now and though I'm not interested in working on yours for any amount of love or money, I'll tell you how to fix one with your symptoms 95% of the time.
The requirements are simple, but absolutely mandatory:
- A Phillips Screwdriver [four inch shaft]
- A teeny Allen wrench for the video knobs [tan case only]
- A pencil with a fairly new eraser
- A ringer to thumb ratio in excess of 50%
- A good memory for detail or the ability to write things down
You need not know anything about computers or electronics. Use the Allen wrench [if you have a tan case Osborne; on gray case models it's just a friction fit] and screwdriver to get inside the box. The first thing to do is identify the things you DON'T want to touch. Follow the wires from the power cord connector to the conglomeration of parts that says 'HIGH VOLTAGE -- DO NOT TOUCH'. Heed the sign. Also keep your fingers away from the back of the video screen. NOTE: These areas can shock you even if the machine is unplugged (which it should be of course). It cannot store enough juice to hurt you, in any case, but it would be an unpleasant surprise nonetheless. Having said all that, probably convincing you that this job is not for you, let me assure you that you have no reason to go near those areas and there is absolutely no danger of shock elsewhere.
At this point, I should mention static electricity. It can destroy your computer without you even noticing the spark. If you must do this work in a room with carpet, take the precaution of misting the carpet with antistatic spray. If you don't have any, mix 1 part fabric softener with 2 parts water and mist it very lightly with a spray bottle. [If your have carpet in your computer area it's probably a good idea to do this all year around and not just when you are taking the computer apart. Downy, among others works well. -- bhc]
Now that you have the little guy out of his shell, turn him upside down. The big green card on the bottom is the motherboard. Remove the 4 screws that hold it in and lift it away while turning it over -- The wires attached to the top will form sort of a hinge at the rear.
Pay very close attention to the way the wires are attached and then remove them. The board(s) you have in your hands will be the focus of your attention until it's time to put it back together.
If you have double density drives, you'll have a small board (3" X 4", or so) sandwiched onto the motherboard in the right rear corner. If you have an 80 column card it will also be sandwiched on the motherboard covering about 60% of the motherboard.
Look the beast over very carefully. Note all of the connections, particularly where the boards sandwich together. [Make a diagram of where various wires and connectors attach. You'll want it later when you have to put them back on. - bhc] You'll notice that chips have been removed from sockets in the motherboard so that long extensions from the 80 column card can be inserted to connect the two. The chips have been replaced on the 80 column card just above their original positions.
Now take it apart. Remove the white plastic clips that hold the edges of the boards together and carefully pry the boards apart being careful not to bend the connections by lifting one side faster than any other. CAREFULLY remove the one wiring connector on the 80 col. card. The legs are very delicate. You don't need to remove the double density card.
Now, one at a time, taking note of the direction of writing on the chips, remove each chip that is in a plug-in socket. Use the pencil eraser to polish the oxidation off of the chip legs (both sides of each row of pins) and put it back in the way you found it.
To remove a chip without bending the legs up, use a tiny flat-bladed screwdriver to pry up both ends a little at a time.
To replace a chip without bending a leg under or some such, make sure that the legs are all straight, and then rest one row of legs in their holes (don't push them in yet). Push the chip gently but firmly sideways until the other row of legs drops into their holes. Apply even pressure to seat the chip in its socket.
Once you have completed this procedure for all of the plug-in chips on both the motherboard and the 80 column card, use your eraser to clean all of the posts that the wiring connectors attach to. Also take this opportunity to clean the edge connectors that your video shunt and printer cables attach to.
You're ready to put it back together. Use your memory for detail or written observations to accomplish this.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 9
DOS Doings
by Steve Lucius
Lotus 3
PC Magazine in their October 27th issue on spreadsheets reports that LOTUS 3 will be released in early 1988. Wonder when the first low priced clone of it will be produced?Minimums for MS-DOS
I would like to echo some of the comments made in the article by Gary Shaner in the September PIP on MS-DOS. If you are planning to use any of the large programs such as LOTUS or DBASE III (or their clones) assume a minimum configuration of 512k of memory and a 10 meg hard disk. Using my system as an example I've got about 900k of files in the Wordstar 4 directory, 500k in the TWIN directory (a LOTUS 1A clone), and 1.1 meg in the RBASE 5 directory for a student copy of RBASE. WordStar can be run on floppies but you have to swap them in and out of the B: drive when using the dictionary or synonym finder. Twin may be possible to run on floppies in that the main program and overlays take up 340k, but the help file won't fit on the same disk. RBASE would be a nightmare to run on floppies as almost everything you do requires a disk operation. The hard drive is almost a necessity. With the wealth of software available for memory resident utilities 512 and preferably 640k of memory is needed.WS4 Comments:
One thing I would like to add to Ben Cohen's article on WS4 in the September PIP is that the MS-DOS version can print and edit at the same time, only not on the same file. If you must do this you can copy the file to a new file, print the new file, and edit the old one. This is also an excellent way to get confused but it can be done. Even on my trusty OKI the WordStar printer drive appears slow. For example a 3 page 7.4k file took 1 minute 27 seconds to print through WS, and 1 minute 20 seconds to print using the DOS "PRINT" command.Also regarding WS4 on MS-DOS I've installed it on 2 different machines and the statement in CONFIG.SYS that files=20 was adequate.
MicroPro's Gramatik II
While visiting a Micropro presentation on their products I saw a demonstration of a program that they distribute called Grammatik II. (It is actually by Reference Software, Inc.) It is an enhanced version of the CP/M program Grammatik by Aspen Software that comes as part of the Osborne WORD-PAC software package. Since MicroPro is distributing the new package it comes preinstalled for their products.Both packages are the next step beyond the spelling checker in that they comment on how you are writing and offer suggestions for improvement. [See Steve's separate review of both Grammatiks for more details. -- bhc]
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 10
How Much Does Gramattik Help?
by Steve Lucius
How much help on the above article on Grammatik software did I get from it? First I wrote the rough draft and ran it through a spelling checker, then to Grammatik I. After that I ran it through Grammatik II, after that made my corrections. The list below shows what each found.
GRAMMATIK I
Grammatik I has problems with WordStar dot commands in that it tries to interpret them as words and evaluate them. It told me I had many erroneous capitalization (first word of sentence) and punctuation (starting a sentence with a period) errors because of this. When I tried to suppress all punctuation and capitalization error reporting it froze up. A better remedy for this problem is convert your file to an ASCII text file without dot commands, using either WordStar or a utility. (With WS4 print the file using a printer driver called ASCII, with other versions use MailMerge to mergeprint to a file.)
On the plus side of punctuation it did catch several mistakes that I made.
It caught a word I had typed twice and also complained about my use of the words "very" and "quite" describing them as "vague adverbs." It also felt that the phrase "a lot of" was a "wordy phrase."
Grammatik's other program profile produced a listing of words used in the article and showing their frequency of usage. It included short words such as articles that I don't care about. (Did you know I used the word "the" 52 times? Did you care?) It also threw in parts of WordStar dot commands. On the positive side once these problems were ignored the resulting list was useful.
GRAMMATIK II
Grammatik II caught all the punctuation errors that I made, and knows enough about WordStar dot commands that it doesn't tag them as errors.
It also caught the word that I typed twice.
Grammatik II doesn't like passive voice. It flagged me for 7 uses of passive voice. The accompanying manual says that passive voice should be used sparingly. For those like myself who ignored this part of English the previous sentence is in passive voice. If it were rewritten into active voice it would read "The accompanying manual says to use passive voice sparingly."
It also found three vague adverbs but not the same three that version I found. In addition it found a phrase that was "long winded or wordy." (This phrase was "at the same time". It seems the two programs share structure but not the same dictionary.) Grammatik II also issued a few warnings on words that were subject to misuse.
Grammatik produces graphs comparing the article to other references. It found it to be a 66 on the reading ease scale with a grade level of 9th grade. It compares this to a Hemingway short story at 4th grade, the Gettysburg address and a life insurance policy at 11th grade.
Grading words per sentence the article has more words than a Hemingway short story but fewer than the Gettysburg address or an insurance policy.
The summary also wasn't too unhappy about 14% of my sentences being in passive voice and thought that my number of letters per word made the article easier to read than a life insurance policy but harder to read than the other two references.
The word usage listing has sense enough not to bother with articles. The word "is" was the most used word.
In summary either program can be very useful in getting rid of those errors that can escape several proof readers in your office or home only to be caught by a sharp eyed customer or teacher.
CFOG's PIP, November 1987, Volume 6 No. 1, Whole No. 61, page 11
My SFKs for SuperCalc2
by Hanns Trostli
Living in Brazil I do not have the great advantage that most other members of CFOG have: easy interchange of information in meetings and over the phone. Thus I don't know whether what I think is good for me is also good for other Osborne enthusiasts and whether my solutions are the best available.
Since using the function keys below my working with SuperCa1c2 became far easier. Here they are:
^0: ^I^K"<CR>
^1: =A1<CR>/S<ESC><CR>BA<CR>
^3: /LB:
^4: =A1<CR>/S<ESC><CR>OA<CR>
^5: /ODALL<CR>P
^6: SC2<CR>
^7: /E<CR>All these are obtained thru the SETUP function of CP/M. To obtain <CR> press the RETURN key, for <ESC> press the ESCAPE key.
I use SFK #1 and #4 to save the file after jumping to cell A1, so that after loading I always obtain A1 first. #1 provides a backup file, #4 does not but overwrites any preexisting file of the same name.
SFK #3 is for loading a file from the B drive, where they generally are (before using it I often forgot to type B: in front of the file name).
SFK #5 provides a printout of all there is on the screen. SFK #6 is for loading SuperCalc2 after the A> prompt. SFK #7 is the Edit key. The most practical key however is #1: it is for entering all expressions other than numbers or formulae. Try it and life will be easier for you.
I put the SETUP command on my SuperCalc2 disk and this makes the configuration of other SFKs more practical. The other day I needed two asterisks in many cells. I put "**<CR>" on SFK #2 and pronto, no further trouble.
The above ideas are not mine: they were obtained from several articles. But I use them and maybe some novice will be happy with these suggestions. If you have any better ideas, please write to PIP where I and many other people can read them.
[Hanns, you might try FK.COM: it lets you store up to 8 different sets of Osborne function keys, works more quickly than SETUP, and displays the new set when you load them. -- bhc]