RE-VIEW.FYL by Jim Holmes THEY HELD A "SHOWBIZ EXPO last weekend (June 27-29, 1985) at the Santa Monica (CA) Civic Auditorium. My interest in going was primarily to see the demo that my friend Rowby Goren was giving. "WordStar Magic", was a 40-minute "chalktalk" (using a marvelous wide screen projection system and laser "pointer") on how to "speed up" editing tasks, etc. in WordStar. This seemed a good time to "recap" Rowby's tips; I'd also like to ask YOU to send me your favorites. If I get enough response, I'll do another column on this in a month or two. YOU CAN SPEED THE PROCESS of loading WordStar quite a bit by getting "patches" from your Club Librarian; ask him/her what the various ones DO (It's amazing), then decide on which you want. Another speedup is to hit an (after the ), as WordStar starts to load. And you can go directly "to a file" if you'll just type "A:WS B:filename" when loading. FROM THE "NO FILE" MENU you can call OTHER programs, using WordStar's "R" command. You may wish to check your spelling, transfer files (to a second disk, even between systems), print a file (as you edit another) or store a "squeezed" version of your just- completed file in an Archive or Library file. You can do all this (and more) without leaving WordStar. ARE YOU GOING TO PRINT (or MergePrint) using default settings only? After typing in the filename, hit the key; WordStar will take over from there. When you're doing several different things in one session you may want to have WordStar "retype" filenames for you, using the "^R" command. This works "inside the file you're editing, or from the "No File" menu, but you should be careful of it; WordStar always "finds" the LAST FILENAME associated with the command... not necessarily the filename currently in use. WITHIN A FILE, USE "BOOKMARKS" (".." comment symbol) to insert non-printing "notes" and place markers. I like to end interim revision sessions with a marker, ".. 85/07/05 &LAST". Next time I "work on" the file I can start with a "^QF &LAST", which shows me where I "left off"; I replace the "&LAST" with a reference to the CURRENT session. This procedure may not help in fairly small files or short-term projects (though it "couldn't hurt"), but it's a real life-saver when I'm working on a major project. WHEN DOING "SEARCHES" (especially in a long file) it speeds things up if you BEGIN at "top of file"; some like to search Backwards, but it's much slower. You may know "^QR" puts you at "top of file"; "^KS" does too, but the latter's faster (& it "saves your work" at the same time). GLOBAL FIND & REPLACE operations go much faster when you hit (rather than ) after entering your original and replacement "strings". The search will be done without "showing it" on the screen, but it's many times faster. USE "^QP" TO FIND YOUR PLACE after doing a paragraph reform (^B)... or ANY cursor move. I find it useful when I want to jump "back & forth" between 2 screens for comparative purposes. AFTER A BLOCK MOVE, use "^Qv" to put the cursor back to where the block "originally" was. Would you like to "undo" that last move? Just enter "KV" to return the block to it's original location. YOU MAY PRINT A FILE as you edit (unless you have "patched" your system, which reduces memory). Just do a "^KS" (to be certain) then a "^KP", to "bring up" the same List of Options you see from the "No File" Menu. If you are printing a different file than the one you're "in", type in it's name, etc. YOU CAN MAKE ROOM to save a file, if you get a "DISK FULL" error message; just delete unnecessary file(s) with a "^KJ". If you need a list of filenames, type "^KF"; you can even change logged disks using a "KL" (though you may not REPLACE a disk, under CP/M 2.2). In a pinch, where there ARE no unnecessary files (on EITHER drive), delete WordStar's "message file"; you can close the text file you are working on, transfer it to a "new" disk, and then re-copy the "messages", from your original (or "backup") WordStar disk. A FEW MORE HANDY HINTS about those "dot-commands"; I like to use them in a "Header File" ( you could have SEVERAL of these), to "set up" different jobs. With a little forethought, you can even create letterhead and "closing statement" files (to be "read in" in at the proper places, using "^KR") when editing a file. I KEEP A "CORRESPONDENCE DISK", and when I write the FIRST letter to firms (& individuals) I realize I'll correspond with often, I "save" my entire heading to a disk file (using "KW"). Next time I write, it's a simple matter to "^KR" that heading in; I change the date, then type the body of the letter. Sometimes I must correspond with more than one person at a firm. I'd like to credit Mike Rulison from the Raleigh, NC Osborne Club (ROCC)with the solution. Enter EACH NAME as if it were a note (using "..", so they won't print) into the heading. When you write someone at that firm, delete the ".." before the name you want. HAVE YOU EVER had to "fix" a line of text that won't print, because it starts out with a "..."? WordStar doesn't know what you're thinking; when you do that, it treats it as a non-printing "comment". If you've decided the line MUST BEGIN that way, simply type in "^PS^PS" in column one, like this: ... as you see, the line will print now. IN A FAIRLY LENGTHY DOCUMENT, you can be certain the final draft will have been revised at least once. I like to "look at" hard copy now and then, and put in "page separators" for logical (& cosmetic) purposes. Beware, however, of "moving text" to fit the page; I recommend you use instead the ".PA" command to force a page break where you want it. That way, re-writes can BEGIN with a "search and replace" operation that removes the pagination. First, enter "QA"; when the prompt asks what to search for, enter ".PA"; just do a at the prompt for a "replacement string"; now enter "GN" (global/don't ask first) at the prompt to limit operations; finally, hit . That's it! WHEN YOU WANT TO "MOVE TEXT" on the printed page, do it with the "dot-commands". WordStar comes with the "built in" assumption that you're using paper that's 8 1/2 by 11 inches. it further assumes top, bottom, left & right margins that (for many) are usually the most attractive and practical settings. Sometimes a special job requires different settings. I suggest (unless you KNOW you'll be repeating it on a VERY regular basis) leaving the "default settings" As-Is; use dot-commands instead. You COULD indent, use "blank" lines, etc., but this wastes too much "disk space". You'll recall that WordStar needs AT LEAST twice the space, on disk, the file uses in memory. That's because of the .BAK file [Actually, it needs MORE; there's also a "work" file it writes, which you never see]. When using dot-commands to "structure" your finished output, the file begins at line 1, column 1. Please note that the "status line" (top-of-screen) DOESN'T CHANGE when entering a dot-command line. It will do it's job (without requiring "extra" disk space), but any text which follows will not be displaced (as per the CRT) when printed [also true of "embedded" (that means "typed into text") "control characters]. Well, I've already "used up" over 8k (before a good editor takes "scissors" to my copy), so I'll have to end this... but not before getting in a "final tip". If you ever need to know (while editing) how big the file you're working in IS, just "turn off" the "page break display" toggle (it's "^OP"). The status line at top-of-screen will THEN display an FC (file char- acter) and FL (file line) number. At the exact sign of the *, mine tells me I've used 8,880 bytes. Now, if I could just get PAID for doing this.... RE-VIEW.FYL by Jim Holmes A while back I ran a column on WordStar Magic, and I promised more tricks, "soon". I always wondered just how long soon was; now I know. As before they're not usually original with me (I forget which one's ARE). What's important is, they may help you do a faster, better job. I'd like to hear if these suggest some others that you'd care to share; I will be happy to include them in a future column. Last time, I mentioned that using ^R after a command (from the "no file" menu) causes WordStar to "retype the filename" of the LAST file using the command. I neglected to tell you that the Right Arrow Key does the same thing, one character at a time. Sometimes this is preferable, as when you wish to change the filename slightly (CHAPTER1, CHAPTER2, etc.). The other night, a new user asked me how to set up print-time margins for a thesis; it had to have top & bottom margins of 1 inch on all pages EXCEPT the 1st; that page required a 2 1/2 inch top margin. A left margin of 1 1/2 inches & a 1 inch right margin were standard for all pages. She was really upset, and about to have someone type it for her. She just couldn't understand the book on .LM n/DIS, etc. I suggested she forget all that, for the time being anyhow. I told her to set the top margin to 1 inch (.MT 6), and to simply enter 9 's (following her dot commands) for page 1. The bottom margin was easy (.MB 6). Then we used .PO 15 for a 1 1/2 inch Margin on the left. I had her enter a ruler line (beginning with two ..'s), ----R ending in column 60, then told her to use ^OF ("set margins to cursor line") each time she entered the file (it seemed less confusing than remembering to enter a ^OR 60 every time) to get her margin of 1 inch on the right side. If page #1 had been a title page (no text/page length to be concerned about), she could have opened a separate file for it, and used .PN 2 to start page numbering with #2 for her text file; since the first page was also filled with text, I did it this way. Sometimes, when entering data in tabular form, you'd like to see "how it looks" on paper, yet don't want to wait for a printout. Just do a ^OD, to turn off (it's a toggle) the screen display of embedded print control commands. Things will line up just the way they they're going to print. The final tip (for now) involves embedded text from other sources... a lengthy quote, etc. I like to set these off with different margins. I find it easier to "leave a marker" (using ..## at the left margin) where I plan to (later) insert the embedded text. A separate file is created for each inclusion (NOTE1, NOTE2, etc.), with appropriate Left Margin (.PO ##) and line length (^OR ##). These inserts are read in (^KR) to the main file after editing is completed. Be sure each "insert" ends with a (.PO ##) return to the main file's margin setting.