The Last Word 3.21 Released

[flashjazzcat]

Running on CM8833 Mk II... Mk II:

 

 

Struggling with a blitter bug concerning the progress bar. I will have to seek Sebastian's assistance this evening.

[flashjazzcat]

Just cracked the blitter bug (progress bar).

 

Now too tired to do anything more...

[w1k]

bug? (3.21b)

 

i save file to D2, then i want open another file from D2.. and text is in status bar

Edited March 1, 2012 by w1k

[flashjazzcat]

Congratulations... never seen this before. However, it's unclear from your description exactly what is happening. If you made a video, it might help.

[w1k]

here is a video:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAvdzwgjm1U

[w1k]

LOL.. maybe i type CTRL+O, not CTRL+L... loool, joke of month.. :/

Edited March 1, 2012 by w1k

[flashjazzcat]

Ah yes - loading a text file as a configuration file will cause an error to be reported showing the syntax error. That's what was happening in your original (now removed) screenshot.

Edited March 1, 2012 by flashjazzcat

[Kyle22]

Hi Jon,

 

I don't mean to ask an obtuse question... I have read everything I can find, but still can't figure how to load a large file (39K) in LW.

 

When I use ^D and select it, it loads and says Linked at the lower left. I tried selecting the other banks, but they are empty. Do I need to find a way to manually split the file into smaller chunks? This is a LONG listing of a BASIC program with many many references of D1: I would like to change to D:, plus lots more changes to make it more efficient with TurboBASIC-XL running on SDX.

 

Thanks,

 

-Kyle

[flashjazzcat]

Yeah - you need to manually split the file, unfortunately. Just go into the next empty bank, type CTRL+L to get the "Load" prompt up, then CTRL+L again (this is a short-cut for the name of the last loaded file in the input line), then add ,C to the end of the file name, and press Enter. This will load the next chunk of the file into the next bank. Do the same for the third chunk.

 

Now, when saving the file back, you can save the first chunk, then append the other sections with the ,A switch at the end of the name. Indeed, when pressing SHIFT+CTRL+S (Save As) with the second or third chunk of a linked file in the editor, LW automatically appends the ,A switch for you. In addition, it won't let you auto-save (with CTRL+S): it always brings up the file name with the append switch added, as a safety measure.

[+Roydea6]

filename,C to continue after selecting the new Bank

 

The Last Word 3.21 Manual.pdf

 

Well here is the Manual one of the chapters tells all..

[flashjazzcat]

Indeed: section 3.8 to be precise ('Editing Large Files').

[Kyle22]

Thanks! I'll try it.

 

-K

[flashjazzcat]

Encountered an odd problem while testing a printer (to fix bugs reported by Kyle: thanks Kyle!). If I plug the ICD Printer Connection directly into the 1200XL's SIO connector, all is well, but if I plug it into the pass-thru on the SIO2SD / SIO2PC, print comes out all screwy. Does the Printer Connection require lines other than Command / Data In / Data Out? Bit of a pain having to repeatedly disconnect and reconnect stuff in the SIO chain. Symptom is the print comes out with a gap down the middle, with repeated information, and overspills the right margin.

[flashjazzcat]

Hmmm... P:R: Connection does exactly the same thing, regardless of whether or not it's last on the chain. Plug an SIO2SD into the PRC's pass-thru, and the print-out goes wonky.

[+bob1200xl]

Make sure that you have R63 shorted. R63 limits the +5v on the SIO.

 

Sounds like a bad SIO2SD... Can you try both the P:R and P:Conn without the SIO2SD? (print to Px: to select which device responds) That will load down the SIO signals as a test.

 

Bob

[flashjazzcat]

Make sure that you have R63 shorted. R63 limits the +5v on the SIO.

 

Sounds like a bad SIO2SD... Can you try both the P:R and P:Conn without the SIO2SD? (print to Px: to select which device responds) That will load down the SIO signals as a test.

 

Yeah - as I said, everything works fine without the SIO2SD. R63 is shorted. I'll try a different SIO2SD...

 

Heh... traced the fault to Aspeqt, which appears to be intercepting the printer device (both SIO2SDs have SIO2PC built-in and were hooked up to the PC). Not sure how to persuade Aspeqt to ignore the printer device... anyway, if I shut Aspeqt down, the problem goes away.

Edited August 15, 2013 by flashjazzcat

[flashjazzcat]

Debugged The Last Word version 3.3 released:

 

http://www.atari8.co.uk/lastword/

 

Thanks again to Kyle for all his troubleshooting help with printers. The previous couple of versions wouldn't open the printer under SpartaDOS X if the environment variable LWDSXDEV was set to 1 (enabling SDX kernel device names to be used in the program). I found out a few interesting things fixing that... not least that SDX banks in the library (cart ROM) when driving the printer via the PRN: kernel device name. So I stuck with "P:"...

 

Haven't got around to updating the manual or compiling new extensions, etc (so there's no spell-checker with this one yet), but I'll get around to it eventually. Everything other than the VBXE driver (included) and extensions from previous versions should work with this one. Note that the PADCHAR and EOLCHAR characters (set in LW.CFG) are now ATASCII codes rather than internal ones, though. All the internal / ASCII conversion has been gotten rid of, making the program faster again... and a bit smaller (or at least providing room for new stuff and bug fixes). So, you'll need to update your CFG files, lest you get odd-looking characters on the screen.

Edited August 15, 2013 by flashjazzcat

[flashjazzcat]

Kyle just pointed out that the SDX TD Line looks all wrong with this version: that's because TLW now re-organizes the font data to do away with ATASCII/Internal code conversions. This wasn't a trivial change: it was expedient to store the text in the buffers as ATASCII codes because this is the way VBXE fonts are organized. I'm inclined to drop support for TD Line entirely because of this: it always required kludges to keep if from spoiling the title screen, and it won't work with the VBXE display anyway. I'd be more inclined to use the codespace saved for an on-screen clock built into the editor.

[MEtalGuy66]

HAs it been tested with the P: device on the MIO or P:R: Connection?

 

[flashjazzcat]

HAs it been tested with the P: device on the MIO or P:R: Connection?

 

P:R: Connection - yes - and it works (I have one). No idea if it works with the MIO's printer device.

[Kyle22]

and it won't work with the VBXE display anyway. I'd be more inclined to use the codespace saved for an on-screen clock built into the editor.

 

Do you think it would be possible for the SDX guys to make TDLine work with VBXE? A built-in TDLine would be great, maybe automatically disable SDX TDLine (if on), set a flag somewhere (if on), and re-enable (if previously on) at exit?

 

 

Just a thought....

 

 

-K

[flashjazzcat]

Yeah - good idea. The question is where to put the information. There's insufficient RAM left to put an extra display line on the editor screen (it takes 320 bytes for an 80-column line), and then we need extra code to obtain the time itself, and I have about 64 bytes free...

[Kyle22]

How about a 40 col. line in gr.0? Would it be possible to gain a little space by removing the ^K function? Users could easily set their preferences in the LW.CFG file.

 

Just an idea...

 

-K

[flashjazzcat]

Is that the change colour function? Hmmm... what puts me off using a GR.0 line is that a) it doesn't look so nice alongside the 80 column display (when it's activated), and b) it naturally reflects the currently selected text-mode font, which may or may not match the 80 column font choice (they're independently selectable). I'd like to plant the time / date somewhere in the existing display, but this is difficult, given the program operates in two (or three) different display modes. Before we know where we are, we're doing a major re-write.

[Kyle22]

Is that the change colour function?

Yes, it is. I was trying to think of something that most people will set once, and not normally change while using the software.

 

-K