8-Bit Software Online Conversion

        Version 2.04C by Steven Flintham (15A) Introduction The messaging system is designed to allow 8BS members to send both messages for publication in the disc magazine and private messages to each other. Members use the program to write their messages which they can then send in to the editor on their submission disc. The editor then uses a separate program which sorts out all the messages ready for inclusion in the magazine. Inserting your submission disc When the program is run, it asks you to insert your submission disc in drive 0. At this point you can select a filing or continue with the one you are using. Press D, A or H for DFS, ADFS or HADFS, or SPACE for the current filing system. If you are using DFS you are strongly advised to put absolutely nothing else on the same disc as the message file. Of course, when you no longer need to edit the messages you can copy other files onto the same disc ready to send it off. You should leave the submission disc in the drive at all times. You should also avoid pressing BREAK Entering your user ID and name If you have not previously used this disc to store messages you will be asked to enter your user ID and name. You can just press RETURN instead of entering your name if you wish to remain anonymous. You can also choose what function key layout you want to use. The main menu You can choose an option by either pressing the letters shown at the right hand edge of the screen or using the up and down cursor keys. When you have highlighted an option, pressing RETURN will confirm your choice. You can usually return to the main menu by pressing ESCAPE if you get stuck anywhere else in the program. Writing a new message To start writing a new message, choose the "Start a new message" option from the main menu. You will be asked for the user ID to send the message to, or you can enter 999 to send a general message to everyone. When you enter a user ID, you can also enter their real name if you know it, and it will appear in the message. You are then asked if it is a public message, where it will get sent to everybody; or a private message, where it will get sent only to that one user. Once you have entered the user ID and pressed RETURN the main editing screen will appear. The message editor The message editor is used to edit both new and old messages. If you are writing a new message, the cursor will be placed on the subject line, ready for you to enter the subject. The message editor is similar to a word processor, although there are several important differences making it more of a text editor. Pressing RETURN will move you down onto the next line, as you would expect, and and as you type words which won't quite fit at the end of lines they will be moved automatically onto the next line. You can use the cursor keys to move around and whatever you type will appear at the cursor, as in a word- processor. When you reach the bottom of the screen, either by typing or by using the cursor keys, it will scroll to allow you to continue. There is a limit to the length of a message but this should not be a problem. If you run up against the limit you should rewriting rewriting the message as a complete article. The DELETE key works almost as normal but you cannot DELETE back past the start of a line as you can in some wordprocessors. If you in the middle of a line, only the characters on that line will move up to fill the space. An important point to bear in mind is that if you simply type over the recipient's ID at the top of the message, that will not change the recipient. You must also press SHIFT f9 and type in the new ID when asked. The ID of the person who will actually receive the message is always shown on the bottom line of the screen when you are editing a message. You should ensure that this is the same as the ID at the top of the message. If you find this confusing, simply take care to enter the correct user ID when first starting a new message and don't change the ID at the top of the message. When you are happy with the message, press ESCAPE to leave the editor and save the message to disc. Viewing, editing, deleting and printing existing messages To examine any messages that you have already written, choose the view/edit/ print option from the main menu. Each line in the menu begins with the user ID to which it will be sent and then has as much of the subject line as will fit. As with the main menu, you can use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight. There are no other keys you can press to move the highlight on this menu. When you have highlighted a message you can select one of the following: (V)iew the message (or press RETURN) (E)dit the message (P)rint the message (D)elete the message Printing all the messages If you want to print all the messages, you can choose the "Print all the messages" option from the main menu. You will be asked if you are sure you want to print the messages, printing will only start if you press Y. You can press ESCAPE while the messages are being printed and the computer will stop. However, if you have a large printer buffer printing may continue - this is unavoidable. Tidying the messages When you delete a message it is not actually removed, it is just made "invisible". When you tidy the message file these invisible messages are removed. You are recommended to tidy the message file periodically to prevent it growing too large. In particular, it would be a good idea to tidy the message file before sending your submission disk in, although this is not strictly required. Re-entering your user ID and name Choosing the "Re-enter your user ID/ name" option allows you to correct any errors you made when you were first asked for your user ID and name. Undeleting messages If you have accidentally deleted a message which you wanted to keep you can probably recover it by choosing "Undelete deleted messages" from the main menu. This will not work if the message file has been tidied in the meantime, but no harm will result from trying. Leaving the program To leave the program, you should choose "Quit" from the main menu. Pressing BREAK is not recommended, but shouldn't create problems if at the main menu. More advanced editing features This section is described in full in the unabridged instructions to be found on TBI-00. The function keys can be used to insert various teletext effects and to perform editing functions. The layout can be set when you enter your user ID. Keyboard layout 0 (old): Unshifted SHIFT CTRL f0 Text- Red -Graphics Joined G's f1 Text- Green -Graphics Separated G's f2 Text- Yellow-Graphics Hold G's f3 Text- Blue -Graphics Release G's f4 Text-Magenta-Graphics Double Height f5 Text- Cyan -Graphics Single Height f6 Text- White -Graphics Insert Char f7 Steady New Backgd Insert Line f8 Flash Black Backgd Delete Line f9 Pixel Edit Set dest. Keyboard layout 1 (new): Unshifted SHIFT CTRL f0 Pixel Edit Set dest. Ins. Char f1 ¶ (Block) Text- Red -Graphics f2 Normal Height Text- Green -Graphics f3 Double Height Text- Yellow-Graphics f4 Joined G's Text- Blue -Graphics f5 Separated G's Text-Magenta-Graphics f6 Black Backgnd Text- Cyan -Graphics f7 New Backgnd Text- White -Graphics f8 Hold G's Flash Ins. Line f9 Release G's Steady Del. Line Layout 0 is similar to the TED teletext editor. Layout 1 is similar to the ABZ teletext editor. Keystrips can be printed out using the MsgKEYS program. Reporting problems If you have any problems with the messaging system please let me know. The more information you can supply about the problem, the more likely it is that I can fix it. You should try turning the computer off, disabling any extra ROMs etc., before running the program to see if that solves the problem. If it does, then the problem is incompatibility with some part of your system. If you can track down the problem, I will be pleased to try and fix the it.                