This text reader is PPMore press the HELP key for details. Yes - of course you can print this text! Did you think this was Day Jar View? Well lets not be too bold! It prints on my ancient (but still going strong) Epson 9 pin......anything else is your problem! Thanks to Francois Lionet for the dinky procedure that lets you run this type of thing from within an AMOS programme. I wonder what it is like never having to use the AMOS manual? Exit PPmore to return to....... =============================================== DTP (C) 1992 Duncan Moran ================================================= The small print: ================ I hereby forthwith authorise you to distribute this PD version of DTP providing that it is supplied free of charge; that it is supplied complete and unchanged and that it is not used for any commercial purpose. This version will only allow you to save a few pages in a couple of books. No deleting is allowed from within the programme. You can only save onto the (copy of your) DTP disc. These limitations are removed on the revised version. The not-so-small print: ======================= If you use this and would like a revised copy please send me 2 Pounds. If you would like the above AND a programme to read your 'books' by flicking through the pages instead of loading them one at a time PLUS copies of future revisions of this programme please send 3 Pounds. OK! This is my final offer - I can't say fairer than this - send me five Pounds and you will get all the above PLUS a copy of the next programme when it is finally finished. Any funds raised from this disc will inspire me to produce even more exciting software (mainly) for children. Future revisions of DTP may include a simple spelling checker (for me!)....A range of animated sprites to enhance the illustrations for your stories..anything else you care to suggest and I feel like doing. Thank you for your support. DTP - A History & Overview: =========================== All this mouse moving malarkey is all very well but my children felt that 'real' computer work was done at the keyboard. So a typing programme was requested. This started out as a simple type-it-in and ignore all the non-alpha/numeric keys programme. After a few refinements it was decided that we needed to be able to add pictures so that the work would look like a real book. The seeds of DTP were sown. As it stands today DTP allows children to quickly make pages of text and pictures which can be combined to make a book. Parents may also like to explore it's potential to produce personalised reading material; work books at exactly the right level for each child etc. As the pages are IFF format they can be enhanced in a DPaint type package or have ready made clip art added as required My programmes are for my children - so they will not be an exact fit for yours. Anything that seems a little strange to you is there to either ease the frustration they have when using the computer or is an attempt to guide their actions in a particular direction. i.e. You will probably find the notion of having to select a new tool to draw with after every drawing operation a real pain but it does let them think about what they are drawing and the shapes they need rather than just using the freehand tool to draw everything as they do in DPaint type programmes. There are still some holes that need patching but these are mostly cosmetic and should not cause too much trouble but I welcome any comments or ideas you may have - don't tell me about the text editor as this is due for a radical rewrite. Also the disc operations are probably best handled by the grown ups until I get to do a friendlier version than the standard AMOS type you have here. There is a demonstration book on the disc. Select Load a page from the menu bar. Enter the name "Demo" on the message bar and you can load the 4 pages from the demo book. DTP - The complete works: ========================= Page layout selection: ---------------------- On entering DTP you are asked to select the type of page layout required. Simply click on the prefered page layout - this can be changed from within the programme. Graphics toolbox screen: ------------------------ Once your page is set you can start drawing your picture. This was found to be the best way of producing work as doing the picture first limited what the text would say giving a clarity & structure to the work. The graphics screen is initially positioned at the bottom of the page. There is a long message bar which will keep you informed about what is going on and what you should do next. At each end of the message bar are arrow heads which will move the screen up or down so that you can view the page beneath. Just click on the direction required and hold the mouse key down until the required position is reached. Below the message bar are a range of buttons from left to right these are: Draw a rectangle - click on one corner drag out to the required size and click on the opposite corner. Draw an ellipse - click on the centre required and drag out till the desired size is reached. Draw a triangle - click on the corners and a triangle is formed. Draw a line - click on the start and end points and they are joined. Draw freehand - hold the mouse key down to draw as the mouse moves release when done. The initial drawing colour is black. The buttons continue with - DROP - if the wrong tool is selected you can click here and drop it. UNDO - the last drawing operation can be undone leaving the picture as it was. FILL - This will fill the selected area with either a solid colour or a pattern as selected from the menu bar. WIPE - this will erase the whole picture but it can be UNDOne in an emergency. HIDE - this will hide the toolbox screen so that the whole page can be viewed. Clicking the mouse will return the screen. That's all there is to it! Clicking the right hand button will bring up - The Menu Bar: ------------- From left to right you have - Musical Menu - This is what they want! I expect that it has been done before but you soon realise why it is not done too often! Selecting 'spare me' will turn off the sound effects while selecting one of the three 'yes' options will offer you an audio expierience to thrill and amaze. Colours - You've guessed it. Just release the mouse over the required colour for all future drawing and painting. Fillings - A range of patterns that can be selected and use to fill your designs. The first one is a straight block of colour and this is the default when you start. Edit - Calls up the (ahem) Text Editor. See 'The Text Editor'. Pages - Page Layout selection screen. Note the warning. Fonts - Eight fonts are available. Just select from the menu and the chosen one will become the current font. The 3rd font on the list is the default font that you start with. Discs - Controls the saving and loading of your pages. If DTP does not know which book you are working on you will be asked to enter its name on the message bar. You can only make a few saves and NO deleting with this PD version - send for the revised version to get full use of these features. Exit - This lets you leave the programme. There are no checks everything is lost unless you save it first. The Text Editor: ---------------- You enter the Text Editor by selecting EDIT from the menu bar. This editor is an amalgam of the best bits of three earlier versions (this doesn't say much for the others!). Please be gentle with it! Q. How do I write a book? A. One line at a time! It was found that a whole screen of text provided a good chance of producing a whole screen of mistakes. So this was cut down to just a single line of text which could be quickly corrected and then 'pasted' onto the page - big and bold. Where there was once frustration there is now enthusiasm. Buttons available on the keyboard or by clicking with the mouse: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Esc - The ESCape key is used to quit the editor and return to the graphic screen & menu bar. <- - The RUBOUT/backspace key will erase the text to the left of the cursor without affecting the rest. Del - DELetes the character at the cursor position. Return - Returns the cursor to the start of the line but CLEARS ALL the text as it does so. Do not press return unless you want to CLEAR. Cursor keys: Left - Moves the cursor left through the text. Right - Go on - have a guess! Up - Inserts a space at the cursor position. Buttons only available with a mouse click: ------------------------------------------ Move the screen - Moves the Text Editor up if it is down or down if its up thus enabling you to see the text on the page. Line count +/- - The arrowheads will change the position of where your line of text is to pasted. Check this before pasting. To erase a line clear the text line and paste the empty line over the line you want to erase. Should the arrow- heads be the other way around? Paste - Will paste your line of text in the current font onto the page at the line position indicated as above. Wipe - Will clear all the text from the page. If you do this by mistake you can hit Esc return to the graphic screen click on UNDO and your text will return - see how I look after you. And that is that. It was decided to keep the PASTE type controls off the keyboard to reduce the frustration level - it was either hit by mistake or required tricky combination multi key (Ctrl/shift/Alt) presses. You will also note that the font selection is safely tucked away in the menu bar and can not be selected from the Text Editor. You can mix fonts on a page but as they are of differing sizes you should not try to erase or overwrite a line of text with a different font as it will not cover all the old one. Printing the pages: ------------------- The sun shines....the beach beckons; and you expect me to write a routine to print your pages with your printer........But wait - 90% of you will have DPaint or some such all ready set up for your printer. As the pages are just IFF screens you can load them into DPaint and print them from there. Failing this may I recommend a PD disc called Print Studio which is ideal for this sort of thing. If you are unable to find a copy send me a blank disc and an SAE and I will supply you with one. If you have a black & white printer prepare your pages in black & white. In Dpaint normal printing will produce something like an A5 page whilst sideways printing is nearly an A4. Coming Soon: ------------ The spacey logicy mathsy gamey thingy is progressing apace as is the testing of CRAYMOS the Cray emulator created with AMOS. Watchout for a demo disc of this around late summer 92. Also coming is a Retail Sector Sales Simulation (OK - it's a basic shopping game). This is a fathers desperate attempt to get out of playing those interminable shop/cafe games that children seem to love. Once when I suggested that I did not want a meal at the play cafe I was greeted with a blunt "I'm a waitress and I've got a gun." I quickly ordered my egg and beans! OK - thats it for now. I hope you enjoy this and it is of some help to someone - somewhere. I am ... Duncan Moran 24 First Avenue Colwyn Bay Clwyd LL28 4DQ June 1992 P.S. Please send me a copy of your best DTP books. -*** X ***-