CFOG's PIP, June 1988, Volume 7 No. 4, Whole No. 66, page 63

Patching WordStar 4 to change Video Attributes

by Bob Snider

[This article was taken from a file, WS4KP.DZC, which is in the CFOG library. The text of the patches is omitted since it would be unenlightening to read, tedious to enter, and is available in the library for those who want to use it. -- bhc]

I just upgraded WordStar for my Kaypro 4 (1984 version) to version 4.0 (CP/M Edition). I found that the appearance on my Kaypro screen left much to be desired: dim characters were the unreadable default, and the bright reverse video for messages was irritating. Why couldn't they have done it the same as 3.3 was originally shipped with my Kaypro with neat dim reverse video? Who knows? Anyway, I figured out how to use the WSCHANGE facility to fix it. This document describes how you can install my changes on your CP/M WS 4.0 too. I've also thrown in a couple of non-obvious patches that I've found to be useful in editing.

At the bottom of the file WS4KP.DZC you will find patch text you can use to install WS4 to install my changes. Using WS4 or any other editor, mark the patch section as a block and write it as a file called PATCH.TXT on the disk where you will be installing WordStar.

You'll need WSCHANGE.COM and its related files as provided on your installation disk, and a fresh copy of WS.COM on the disk. Enter WSCHANGE WS<cr>.

Go through the Console menu and make your Monitor Selection "Kaypro 2X/4X". It will ask you if you want to change the arrow keys. Reply "N".

Now go back to the main menu and select the Patching section. Choose the Auto Patcher, to read patches from a file. Enter PATCH.TXT as the file name and watch while WSCHANGE installs the patches. When WSCHANGE is done, you can make any other changes you want, or you can press ^X and save your new WS.COM.

Rename the WS.COM on your working WordStar disk as OLDWS.COM (or whatever suits your fancy) and copy the new WS.COM to the working disk.

The patched version should look a lot better on your screen. It won't look exactly like version 3.3 did because they have changed things beyond what this patch can fix, but I've found it workable. See the notes below on what the other patches I've included do.

Notes on the patches:

CRTID is just the name of your computer at startup of WS4.

ERASCR is the inital erase screen command string.

VIDATT is the custom video attribute routine assembled from WS4K4.ASM which is available for further customization if you desire. Note: with this routine installed, the BRITE flag will be ignored, because it isn't particularly useful anyway with this patch.

RLRVID specifies the ruler line as a message so it will appear in reverse video.

MOVCHR is a table that defines which characters are considered part of a word for moving around them (^F, ^A, ^T etc.). With these settings, most special characters won't be skipped or deleted when you edit programs. In version 3.3, a single ^T while the cursor was on: ALPHA=BRAVO+CHARLIE-DELTA(ECHO) deleted the whole thing. If you liked the way WS 3.3 worked, take this patch out by deleting its two lines. You can modify this table yourself in WSCHANGE under "Lines and Characters."

DDISK specifies a shorter delay to hold off from disk access while typing.

VMSIZE, EDSIZE, TYSIZE, HANMAX, and BFSIZE specify buffer sizes that allow a larger file to be edited before WS has to swap on disk. (Still, 4.0 has to swap with a lot smaller file than WS 3.3 did.)

DLONG, DMED and DSHORT specify the length of delays WS uses before it does things like display menus. I like them all half as long as the defaults.

[I tried the patched WordStar 4 on my Kaypro 10. I found it didn't suit my taste, but de gustibus non est disputandum. If you liked the way WordStar 3.3 looked on your video-enabled Kaypro and don't like the way WS4 looks, try it. -- bhc]