===================================================================== IS PROTEXT 'THE ULTIMATE AMSTRAD WORD PROCESSOR'? ===================================================================== I recently took Protext for a test drive to see what makes it the Professionals Choice. Having been weaned on a WordStar-work-alike where text formatting commands are manually embedded into the text, I felt strangely at home with Protext. Protext can now be bought for around #45 if you shop around. If you are thinking of upgrading your word processor and need the complete system you could save by buying Protext and get a very sophisticated program as well. Arnor supply Protext on one 3" disc with an attractive ring binder holding a large Users Manual which was written with Protext and printed from a 'camera ready copy' produced by Protext and a laser printer. GETTING STARTED Protext needs to be installed to take account of the system configuration you have (mainly the number of drives and type of printer) and a start-of-day disc has to be copied from the master to personalise your system. The chapter in the manual covering this is quite clear and straightforward. Utility programs are supplied on disc to carry out these tasks and painlessly guide you through the whole process. On the whole the manual is clear, concise and easy to follow. A tutorial disc is available at a modest charge from Arnor. MODES The Protext system consists of Disc Utilities, Mail Merge, Spelling Checker as well as the renowned Word Processor. The latter is broken down into several modes. Command mode, Program mode, Edit mode - where the actual text input is handled - for Creating and Editing documents. COMMAND MODE Upon loading Protext you are in Command Mode which is used to enter CP/M style commands telling Protext which one of the 80 odd tasks you want it to perform. The more useful/unusual are MERGE files; SPOOL screen output to disc file or echo to the printer; SWAP between two documents in memory; COPY, FORMAT discs (CF2 & CF2DD); CALCULATE, a simple calculator; COUNT, a word counting utility; SPELL, a comprehensive spelling checker program. In short, Command Mode's 80+ commands can be classified into a number of main categories: Document Handling, Printing and printer options, Disc drive Cataloguing and selection, Disc Utilities, Disc File manipulation, Text Manipulation and Miscellaneous commands like CALC, COUNT, GOTO, HELP, PAUSE. Command mode can also be used to call external utility programs and this includes any CP/M+ program you may have on disc. If you have text in the Editor, this is automatically SAVEd before leaving Protext, and automatically reLOADed on your return. PROGRAM MODE (as supplied with Arnor C and Maxam II where it is known as APED) is an alternative to Edit mode. Program mode is used in applications that do not require text formatting facilities, such as program development. The CUT and PASTE Editing can be a godsend when writing code and you can easily test a program from within Protext. If you are coding in BASIC, to test the program simply type '*BASIC' and Protext will automatically run your program after loading BASIC (BASIC.COM must be available on disc). EDIT MODE Within Edit Mode you may choose between Insert and Overwrite. Here we have a large number of commands that make use of the special PCW keys. There are many more that provide subtle differences from the commands we are familiar with and some that add a whole new dimension. This is definitely a major (and very welcome) strength of Protext. And just in case you can't remember all the keys to press to get the desired results there is an on-screen HELP panel that is activated by pressing ALT and H simultaneously. Some luxury features available in Edit Mode are: Transpose Characters; Regain accidentally deleted text up to maximum of allocated buffer size; BOX mode to move, copy, delete an area of text; SWAP between two documents in memory; Easily convert capitals to lower case, and vice-versa. Another useful extra is a Caps Lock setting which gives all capitals on the letter keys and by using SHIFT on the others, gain access to the upper characters as normal. BOX CLEVER CUT and PASTE Editing has two modes: Block and Box. Block mode gives conventional CUT and PASTE facilities (acts on continuous sections of text) but with the added feature of being able to recover a block of text that was deleted by mistake. BOX mode is another powerful facility entered by keying ALT-B. Now you can define any rectangular section of text on-screen - can be part lines of text, figures or charts - by marking the top lefthand and bottom righthand corners. This imaginary box-full of characters can be Moved, Copied or Deleted as required. STORED COMMANDS While some Stored commands are acted upon immediately, most are carried out when printing takes place. They are entered into the text after a '>' character. The Stored command >RJ OFF ;(turn off right justification) would reset the default setting selected when Protext was personalised. By using such commands within a document these defaults may be set or reset at will. There are also many stored commands used primarily for Mail Merging that can be made use of generally, to very good effect. Another use of Stored commands is to simply create template files with individual document formats defined. For example, to create a template for A5 letters Save the following with an appropriate name, ready to be Loaded when required: >CO Letter template for A5 plain paper ; >---!-------------------------------------------R >PL 42 ; Page Length 42 lines >TM 0 ; Top Margin 0 >SM 4 ; Side Margin 4 >PS ON ; Paper Sensing on for single sheet PCW FILE, 11 Havenview Road, Seaton, Devon. RULERS The second line of the template file with lots of hyphens and ending in the letter R - is a Ruler. This shows how easy it is to create. The '!' sets a TAB. (L)eft and (R)ight Margins are inserted where desired using the appropriate letter. As many rulers as required can be used in a document. Press ALT-D to copy the default ruler at the cursor point or ALT-R to copy the previous active ruler. THE POWER TO MOVE Protext has all the power one could wish for. Most actions are virtually instantaneous. This becomes most apparent when working on long documents and again this is where Protext outshines its competitors. PROSPELL The Protext spelling checker can be used in three ways: To check a document from within Protext; Access the full SPELL program from within Protext; As a CP/M program independent of Protext. SPELL OPTIONS When SPELL is loaded you are presented with a menu to choose from: Single or Two pass check, the double check is when extra dictionaries are to be used; Catalogue files; Select drive; Select group; Erase backup files; Printer on; Utilities; Quit. SPELL CHECK Unlike LocoSpell, ProSpell sorts the words alphabetically before checking against the dictionary. The supplied dictionary holds some 33,000 words. As variances are identified you are given the choice of Changing the spelling, Storing the word in the dictionary, Ignoring the word or Look up the word in the Prospell Dictionary. ProSpell does not offer a suggested replacement every time an unrecognised word is encountered which does tend to speed it up. BLIND When unrecognised words are found it can be very difficult to remember what context some letter combinations have been used as ProSpell does not show the text on-screen as it is being checked. All unrecognised words are listed in lower case which can also be confusing. To discover where the word is in the text you must select the (C)hange option to view. If you decide to Look up a word you are not able to see the dictionary entries either. ProSpell looks for any likely words in the dictionary and displays them. If the correct word is found you must select the Change option and manually correct the entry. The Look up option is very slow. POTENT The real strength of ProSpell is its utilities. Apart from the usual dictionary maintenance features there are two additional ProSpell utilities which could prove useful in many situations, not least to keen crossword puzzlers. You may FIND words and ANAGRAMS in the dictionary. These two utilities are very powerful in that wildcards like the CP/M '?' and the '*' may be used to replace unknown or variable letters. UTILITIES Protext is supplied with a suite of useful utilities that are accessed directly from command mode. To suit individual tastes and preferences Arnor have included a CONFIG program that allows the user to set these desired default settings to please. This is sure to make even the most fastidious user happy by allowing you to customise many of the Editing options; Spelling checker options; Printing options; General options (this includes the expansion token buffer size, key auto-repeat rate, key startup delay and the default screen colour ie.green letters on black screen or the inverse.); Re-configure keys; Set printer driver options; Re-name EXEC files. SETPRINT This utility is provided to enable the user to customise Protext to suit non standard printers. Printer drivers are provided for Epson and Juki 6100 printers and their compatibles as well as the PCW printer so this utility should not be needed by most. But by its inclusion, shows to what lengths Arnor have gone to provide, as near as possible, everything that the prospective user is likely to need. CONVERT Is a file conversion program that allows the user to convert ASCII to Protext, WordStar to Protext, WordStar to ASCII, or even select suitable convert options himself. DCOPY Is the Protext disc copying utility to copy CF2 disks (not CF2DD). MAIL MERGE Space does not permit a full review of this part of Protext at the moment but suffice to say that this section of the program is as powerful as the others and is capable of performing many procedures not normally associated with Mail Merging applications. The Protext Mail Merge program can be used to perform a straightforward mailshot, merging data from one file with a standard letter in another. Merge can even print out your address labels or create invoices to name two common additional abilities. DATA FILES Any ASCII file can be used by Protext providing it is in a suitable format. Merge can use data files created by most good databases and spreadsheets as well as word processors that can create ASCII files. Merge can also prompt the user for the required data, displaying a suitable message to remind the user what data is required. ADDRESS LABELS Merge can easily handle address labels using a suitable data file of names and addresses. CONDITIONAL PRINTING/SELECTIVE MAIL MERGING Here you are able to specify comprehensive conditional printing of alternative text or no text at all depending upon the outcome of the comparison being made. This takes the form of BASIC's IF, THEN, ELSE statements. CONCLUSION Protext is a complete word processing system that was designed and written for and makes use of the PCW's outstanding features. If you have only used LocoScript then the speed of Protext will come as a very welcome surprise. Protext is a fully integrated package with almost every conceiveable option available, this coupled with the extensive personalising capability, is sure to appeal to the Professional and discerning writer alike. If you need the full word-processing package Protext is a bargain at the price.