The Last Word 3.1 Released

[+bf2k+]

I suppose the only change I'd want is to have LW.EXE autoload if that's possible (not sure because I'm no Atari expert). With AtariWriter, I can just load the atr (800XL with SDrive) and AtariWriter will load automatically. With The Last Word, I have to load the atr, then type "L" "LW.EXE" from DOS to load it. It doesn't kill me to do this, but the less steps the better.

 

It's a good thing you noticed the text colour problem in the status bar. That was the only other small problem I was going to mention.

 

Try renaming it to AUTORUN.SYS - it should work.

 

In SpartaDOS, you can run it from Autoexec.Bat

[+Stephen]

There'll be a (final) update of version 3 of this program in the new year, with just a few fixes and changes. I just found another bug in version 3.1: can't alter the luma of the status bar text using the CTRL+K command.

 

Feedback's gone virtually silent on LW lately, which I assume is a good thing (i.e. it must work for those using it).

 

That's right. I'm using it and haven't said much because I haven't found any problems with it. I'm pretty happy with it.

 

I suppose the only change I'd want is to have LW.EXE autoload if that's possible (not sure because I'm no Atari expert). With AtariWriter, I can just load the atr (800XL with SDrive) and AtariWriter will load automatically. With The Last Word, I have to load the atr, then type "L" "LW.EXE" from DOS to load it. It doesn't kill me to do this, but the less steps the better.

 

It's a good thing you noticed the text colour problem in the status bar. That was the only other small problem I was going to mention.

Which DOS is on the ATR? If it's DOS 2.5 just rename the Last Word executable to "AUTORUN.SYS". If it's MyDOS, rename it to "AUTORUN.AR0". If you're using Sparta DOS X (and should be ) you can create a batch file.

 

Stephen Anderson

[Kernal]

greatprogram

[Mathy]

Hello Stephen

If it's MyDOS, rename it to "AUTORUN.AR0".

I'm not sure when exactly, but MyDOS at some point in time switched from AUTORUN.SYS to FILENAME.ARx. FILENAME can be any filename you want, so LASTWORD.ARx would work. x can be any number, but MyDOS starts at .AR0, then loads .AR1, etc. I guess 4.50 still uses AUTORUN.SYS, 4.53 and later versions (all beta at this moment) use the FILENAME.ARx format.

 

greetings

 

Mathy

[+Stephen]

Hello Stephen

If it's MyDOS, rename it to "AUTORUN.AR0".

I'm not sure when exactly, but MyDOS at some point in time switched from AUTORUN.SYS to FILENAME.ARx. FILENAME can be any filename you want, so LASTWORD.ARx would work. x can be any number, but MyDOS starts at .AR0, then loads .AR1, etc. I guess 4.50 still uses AUTORUN.SYS, 4.53 and later versions (all beta at this moment) use the FILENAME.ARx format.

 

greetings

 

Mathy

Right - I should have remembered that. My Ice-T boot disk has the file named ICET850.AR0.

 

Stephen Anderson

[Mr.Amiga500]

It's DOS 2.5. I tried renaming it to AUTORUN.SYS many times, but I keep getting errors. I'm probably using the wrong syntax (I've never renamed an Atari file before). The prompt says:

 

RENAME - GIVE OLD NAME, NEW (so I assume syntax is: NAME, NEW)

 

LW.EXE, AUTORUN.SYS

ERROR - 165 (file name error, so I try again)

E

LW.EXE AUTORUN.SYS (without comma then)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE , AUTORUN.SYS (comma with space)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE (I try carriage return after each)

ERROR - 165 (NOPE!)

 

Then I tried all that again with a different shorter name, with the same results.

 

So what's the proper way of doing this then?

Edited December 10, 2009 by Mr.Amiga500

[+Roydea6]

It's DOS 2.5. I tried renaming it to AUTORUN.SYS many times, but I keep getting errors. I'm probably using the wrong syntax (I've never renamed an Atari file before). The prompt says:

 

RENAME - GIVE OLD NAME, NEW (so I assume syntax is: NAME, NEW)

 

LW.EXE, AUTORUN.SYS

ERROR - 165 (file name error, so I try again)

E

LW.EXE AUTORUN.SYS (without comma then)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE , AUTORUN.SYS (comma with space)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE (I try carriage return after each)

ERROR - 165 (NOPE!)

 

Then I tried all that again with a different shorter name, with the same results.

 

So what's the proper way of doing this then?

 

Run load 'LW.EXE'

 

CRTL+D

 

Scrool to LW.EXE and press 'R' at prompt type AUTORUN.SYS [RETURN]

 

Press ESC and then CRTL+X .. back to DOS and reboot.

[flashjazzcat]

LW got a nice mention (again) in the retro column of Micro Mart today. In an article describing how old computers can still be useful today and how information can be ported to the PC and back, GeoWrite for the C64 and The Last Word for the Atari both get a mention.

[+Ransom]

I finally got around to trying this program. All I can say is, "Wow!"

 

Oh, and: Thank you!

Edited December 10, 2009 by Ransom

[Mr.Amiga500]

Run load 'LW.EXE'

 

CRTL+D

 

Scrool to LW.EXE and press 'R' at prompt type AUTORUN.SYS [RETURN]

 

Press ESC and then CRTL+X .. back to DOS and reboot.

 

That did the trick. Thanks. I didn't think of using the program to rename itself.

 

I'm still wondering what I did wrong with the DOS rename. Can somebody tell me?

[flashjazzcat]

I finally got around to trying this program. All I can say is, "Wow!"

 

Oh, and: Thank you!

Thanks - it's truly my pleasure! I'm really thrilled to see people using LW, and for it to be synonymous with word processing on the Atari 8-bit in the national computing press is fantastic!

 

Run load 'LW.EXE'

 

CRTL+D

 

Scrool to LW.EXE and press 'R' at prompt type AUTORUN.SYS [RETURN]

 

Press ESC and then CRTL+X .. back to DOS and reboot.

 

That did the trick. Thanks. I didn't think of using the program to rename itself.

 

I'm still wondering what I did wrong with the DOS rename. Can somebody tell me?

I've got this funny feeling you included a space to the left or right of the comma in DOS. "oldname,newname" should be completely free of spaces.

Edited December 10, 2009 by flashjazzcat

[Mr.Amiga500]

I've got this funny feeling you included a space to the left or right of the comma in DOS. "oldname,newname" should be completely free of spaces.

 

Ah.. I see. I put a space because the syntax example showed a space. I hate when syntax examples show the wrong syntax.

[flashjazzcat]

The problem is made worse because some DOSes (such as SpartaDOS) use spaces (or commas) as delimiters.

Edited December 10, 2009 by flashjazzcat

[kenfused]

It's DOS 2.5. I tried renaming it to AUTORUN.SYS many times, but I keep getting errors. I'm probably using the wrong syntax (I've never renamed an Atari file before). The prompt says:

 

RENAME - GIVE OLD NAME, NEW (so I assume syntax is: NAME, NEW)

 

LW.EXE, AUTORUN.SYS

ERROR - 165 (file name error, so I try again)

E

LW.EXE AUTORUN.SYS (without comma then)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE , AUTORUN.SYS (comma with space)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE (I try carriage return after each)

ERROR - 165 (NOPE!)

 

Then I tried all that again with a different shorter name, with the same results.

 

So what's the proper way of doing this then?

 

For Dos 2.5, I would try

D:LW.EXE,AUTORUN.SYS

[flashjazzcat]

Some interest in LW over at comp.sys.atari.8bit has reminded me about the new high speed screen redraw, so expect the version 3.11 update in a couple of days. As well as the faster screen update, bugs fixed:

 

- Can't adjust the luma of the status bar text

- Edited file flag showing even if no characters in an unsaved file

 

That's about it. This will be probably the final revision of the text-based version of LW for unmodified 8-bits. There is no code space left in the current configuration and even after a complete rewrite of the screen refresh a few weeks ago, I can't get any more speed out of the program (in fact, the rewritten test version was a fraction slower than the original).

 

What will come next is the VBXE version of The Last Word. We're talking about a VERY fast 80 column editor utilising VBXE's gorgeous text display. Expect more use of colour, great performance, and oodles of new features to fill the 14K of space freed up by the discarded mode 15 screen display, software 80 column rendering code, scrolling routines, and font buffers. This will also be a pre-cursor to a stripped down text editor version of the program aimed at programmers, which will be optimised for SpartaDOS X and will run in whichever screen mode is prevalent at the time (i.e. default 40 column mode or VBXE 80 column mode) by adhering to SDX's console output architecture.

 

But back to the VBXE version of LW: I have two options. Add no new features and shoehorn all the code back into conventional memory so that the RAM under the OS is available again (so the program will work with Sparta 3.x). OR - I keep on programming until the executable is 45K long!

 

Views?

Edited December 17, 2009 by flashjazzcat

[+bf2k+]

Well... I am probably in the minority but I'd like to use LW with SpartaDOS 3.2.

[+bob1200xl]

As reported, "oldname.ext,newname.ext" with no spaces.

 

The diskfix.com program on the DOS 2.5 master will rename a file by it's position in the directory rather than "oldname.ext", just in case your filename is trashed.

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

It's DOS 2.5. I tried renaming it to AUTORUN.SYS many times, but I keep getting errors. I'm probably using the wrong syntax (I've never renamed an Atari file before). The prompt says:

 

RENAME - GIVE OLD NAME, NEW (so I assume syntax is: NAME, NEW)

 

LW.EXE, AUTORUN.SYS

ERROR - 165 (file name error, so I try again)

E

LW.EXE AUTORUN.SYS (without comma then)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE , AUTORUN.SYS (comma with space)

NAME TOO LONG

E

LW.EXE (I try carriage return after each)

ERROR - 165 (NOPE!)

 

Then I tried all that again with a different shorter name, with the same results.

 

So what's the proper way of doing this then?

[flashjazzcat]

Not only is it my Birthday today (hint, hint), but it's also the first anniversary to the day of my first ever post on the AtariAge forums. Also a year since I started work developing the 80 columm version of The Last Word. I hope 2010 is as fruitful.

 

 

 

[+bf2k+]

Not only is it my Birthday today (hint, hint), but it's also the first anniversary to the day of my first ever post on the AtariAge forums. Also a year since I started work developing the 80 columm version of The Last Word. I hope 2010 is as fruitful.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Jon!

[MrFish]

Not only is it my Birthday today (hint, hint), but it's also the first anniversary to the day of my first ever post on the AtariAge forums. Also a year since I started work developing the 80 columm version of The Last Word. I hope 2010 is as fruitful.

 

Hey, happy birthday man! ...and congrats on your Atari work. It looks like you're 1,048 posts old. hehe

[flashjazzcat]

Thanks people!

[Mr.Amiga500]

Happy birthday... and happy birthday to the 80-column version too.

 

Wow, over 1000 posts in one year? Does that include any SPAM?

[+Philsan]

Happy birthday!

I think you are the only AA member able to write many post AND to code professional applications at the same time.

[flashjazzcat]

Wow, over 1000 posts in one year? Does that include any SPAM?

Very little...

 

Happy birthday!

I think you are the only AA member able to write many post AND to code professional applications at the same time.

If only I could actually code and post at the same instant! It surely time I stopped talking about the latest projects and got on and wrote them...

[Mathy]

Hi Jon

 

Congratulations!

 

greetings

 

Mathy