@@ T T T T T R @:"About this manual" About this manual. This is the documentation for a text editor called MicroStar. MicroStar is being distributed free to registered users of another software product, called Prism. Since Prism is a virtual book reader, this manual has been designed as a virtual book. It can be read using Prism, or MicroStar itself. If you'd like a printed copy, you can use either the MicroStar print command, or the HardCopy utility supplied with Prism. You should have a file called MS-HELP on your distribution disk. This is a copy of MicroStar's on-line help system reduced to a text file. This file contains some details about MicroStar not included here. @:Introduction Introduction. MicroStar is a general purpose text editor. MicroStar offers all the features you'd expect. Block operations. Pagination. Headers and footers. Tab lines. Keyboard macros. On-line help, and more. But MicroStar is not hard to learn or use. If you've never used a text editor before, the pull-down menu system will have you up and running right away. And don't forget, on-line help is a keystroke away. If you've used other editors, you won't have to learn another set of commands. A special utility program will let you install your own primary (and secondary) command keys. Finally, to make your day complete, MicroStar offers intelligent background printing. If left alone, MicroStar will print your file at top speed. If you start to edit another file, MicroStar will continue to print, but at a slower speed. @:"Getting started" Getting started. To run MicroStar, just log onto the drive or directory where you copied the program. Then enter MS at your dos prompt. If you do this MicroStar will open a new file called "NoName", and you can just start typing. Later on, when you save the file, you'll be reminded to give your text a more meaningful name. If there's an existing file you'd like to edit, you can enter MS [filename] at your dos prompt instead. Or, MS *.* to load MicroStar and display a directory listing. Since MicroStar can handle up to six files at once, you could also enter MS [file1] [file2] [..] [file6] at your dos prompt. But, no matter how you load MicroStar, you can always Open*, Save*, or Print* any text file at any time. @:"Installing MicroStar" Installing MicroStar. MicroStar is an easy program to install. Generally speaking, you'll want these files copied onto your program disk or directory. ž MS.EXE This is the main program file. ž MS.HLP This file stores the on-line help text. ž *.PDF This represents your Printer Definition File. MicroStar comes bundled with a number of these. You need only select the one that best matches your particular printer. After you've loaded MicroStar for the first time, you'll probably want to select a "Home directory". This tells MicroStar where to look for the help and printer files. Here's how to select a Home directory: 1. Log onto the drive or directory where MS is stored, and load the program. 2. Press [F10] (for the menu system). 3. Press [O] (for the Options menu). 4. Press [L] (for Load file options). 5. Press [H] (for Home directory). 6. Enter the name for your Home directory. This could be a disk drive, like [A:]. Or, it could be a complete Path like [C:\MSDIR]. 7. Press [Escape] to return a menu level. 8. Press [S] (for Save setup). Now MicroStar will check your Home directory when the help, printer, or macro files are needed. @:"MicroStar Menus" @:main MicroStar Menus. MicroStar's menu system is quick and easy to use. Press [F10] and the main menu appears at the top of your screen. The selections on this menu bar are: File Window Text Block Goto Search Options MicroStar. To select any of these, you can: ž Press the [Left] or [Right] cursor key until the item is hilited, and then press [Enter], or ž Press the first letter of the item's name. When you select an item from the menu bar, another menu will appear just below your selection. This "pull-down" menu usually lists the commands you're looking for. Select the one you want, and it is instantly carried out. @:"MicroStar Commands" @>.hotsub[ menu "MicroStar Menus" ] MicroStar Commands. Besides menu* system, MicroStar also offers command keys. Instead of pointing out the name of the command on a menu, you can press one or more special keys which have been assigned to the command. Using a supplied utility program [MS-KEYS], you can assign commands to whatever special keys you like. In fact, you can have two different sets of keys pointing to the same command. When we shipped MicroStar, we set it up with a command system that mirrors the menu system. To use one of these commands, you press ž a function key for the command's menu, and ž a letter key for the command's name. To save a file using the menu system, you would press these keys: [F10] [F] [S] . To save a file using our default commands, you would press these keys: [F2] [S] . [F2] tells MicroStar you're going to use a File command. The [S] tells MicroStar it's the Save command. Here's a list of function keys and menu bar selections. [F1] Help [F2] File [F3] Window [F4] Text [F5] Block [F6] Goto [F7] Search [F8] Options [F9] MicroStar [10] Menu One of the handiest features of any text processor is block editing. So, by default, we've give alternate commands to the block operations. This way you can press a single key instead of two keys: Command Name Alt Command ------------ ----------- Block Begin [Alt][B] The [Alt] key works like Block End [Alt][E] a [Shift] key. To use it Block Hide [Alt][H] hold down the key labeled Block Copy [Alt][C] [Alt] and press a letter Block Move [Alt][M] key. Block Delete [Alt][D] Block Write [Alt][W] Block Read [Alt][R] Block Format [Alt][F] Find Again [Alt][A] Text Format [Alt][L] File Save [Alt][S] But the best part is that you really don't have to learn all these commands to get started. ž The on-line help system will always tell you which keys can do what (even if you install your own). ž Meanwhile, the menu system will remind you about the command keys. Just watch the top line of the screen as you navigate the menus. @:File The File Menu.  ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Open.. ³ Files are an important part of text ³ Close ³ editing, for this is where you store ³ Save ³ your work for future use. MicroStar has ³ Write to.. ³ a number of file commands, including ³ Print.. ³ commands that Open*, Close*, Save*, and ³ Get info ³ Print* text files. These commands, and ³ Quit ³ some others, can be found under File* ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ on the main* menu. Most of the commands use file names or directory listings. Here's some general guidelines apply to most of these commands: ž You can use any Dos file name, along with a drive and/or directory. ž When MicroStar prompts you for a file name, it will display the last file name entered. You can use it again by pressing [Enter], or edit it, or enter a wholly different file name. If you enter a mask, [ *.PGE ] for example, MicroStar will provide a directory listing. (See also the Directory* command). Pressing [Escape] will cancel the command altogether. ž If you want to edit a file name by adding letters to the end of it, press [Ins] first, so MicroStar knows you're not typing in a brand new name. @:Open Open (Add Window). The Open command on the File* menu creates another text window. You will be prompted for the pathname of a file to edit. If you don't give a name or path, MicroStar will create a new file called "NoName". Later, if you Save* the file, MicroStar will give you a chance to use another name instead. If you give the name of a drive or directory, but leave off the file name, MicroStar will display a list of the files found on the given drive or directory. You can also use the dos wildcard characters to slim down the directory listing. If the file you want is on the list, you can just select it using the arrow and [Enter] keys. If the list is very long, you can use [PageUp] and [PageDown] to scroll quickly through it. Of course, you just type the name of a new file to begin with, MicroStar will simply create it, and display the message "New file" on the status line. @:Close Close (Close Window). The Close command on the File* menu shuts the current window. If the file has been edited (since the last time you saved it), MicroStar will give you a chance to save it. @:Save Save (Save and Edit). The Save command on the File* menu writes the current file to disk, and lets you continue editing. It's a good idea to save your work regularly. For example, whenever you pause to think for a moment, or whenever the idea of saving crosses your mind. @:"Write to" Write to (Save to file). The Write command on the File* menu lets you save the current file under a different name. You will be prompted for a new name. If the file exists, MicroStar will ask if it should be overwritten. MicroStar will then write the current text to that new name, and load the newly written file into the current window. The file you were using is left untouched. If you want to append text to an existing file, see the "Write Block"* command. @:Print Print (Print file). The Print command on the File* menu will let you print any file stored on disk. Note that you have to Save* a file to disk before you can print it. (MicroStar will usually remind you). MicroStar will handle printing as a "background" task whenever possible. This means you can be printing one file, and editing another. (But, Printing will be slower if you are editing a file at the same time). The Print menu will give you a number of options, most of which you will probably set once, save, and then leave be. @@ T R ž Print file now: Start the printing job. ž Name of file: Here's where you tell MicroStar which file to print. This item works like most other file name prompt boxes. It defaults to the last name you entered, and will display a file directory if given a mask. ž Auto formatting: MicroStar offers a number of special print commands that you can insert into your text. If Auto Formatting is on, MicroStar will watch for these and interpret the codes as needed. (See also "Print Formatting Commands"*). ž First Page: Sets the number of the first page to be printed, so you can skip pages at the beginning of a file. (To set the number that prints on a page, use the command @PN #, described under "Print Formatting Commands"*.) ž Last Page: Sets the number of the last page to be printed, so you can skip pages at the end of the file. (The maximum number of pages allowed in a document is 4095). ž Which Printer: Printers vary in the way they handle commands. The Which Printer item lets you choose among the various Printer Definition Files that come with MicroStar. These files use a .PDF extension. ž Device: MicroStar can output to your first or second printer, or to a disk file instead. ž Manual Feed: If you're not using continuous paper, toggle this item ON, and MicroStar will pause between pages. ž Form Feeds: Most printers accept character #12 as a form feed character. When "Use Form Feeds" is set to OFF, MicroStar will send blank lines to fill out a page instead of the form feed character. ž Edit Prn Codes: This item lets you edit the Printer Description File chose under Which Printer. You probably won't need to do this, but if you do, have a copy of your printer's manual handy. If you need to enter a control character directly (for example, [Escape]), press [Scroll Lock] to toggle the "direct" mode, and a second time when you're done entering control characters. See the Edit command under Macros* for more on the mini-editor used here. ž Save Prn Setup: After you change a Printer Description File, you can save it to a new .PDF file, or overwrite the original. The current settings for Form Feed and Manual Feed are also saved. @@ T T T T T R @:"Get info" Get info (Show system info). The Get info command on the File* menu display a variety of statistics about the file your editing, and your computing system in general. These include: ž The current file name, including drive and directory path. ž Whether the file has been edited ("modified"). ž How many lines, words, and characters ("bytes") are stored in the file. ž The current time and date (by your computer's clock). ž How much memory (RAM) your computer has available. ž What version of the operating system ("DOS") you're using. ž How much disk space is left on the current drive. ž The name of the current (logged) directory. Some of these statistics, particulars the number of characters and words, may take a moment to work out. When this is happening, a message will appear on the status line. You can always just press an key to cancel if you're impatient. @:Quit Quit (Abandon file). You can use the Quit command on the File* menu to exit MicroStar when you're finished using it for now. Quit checks any of the files you have opened to see if they've been modified (or edited). If so, you're given a chance to save them. When all the opened files have been checked, you're returned to the operating system. @:Window The Window Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Go to.. ³ With MicroStar you can open up to six ³ Zoom ON ³ windows at once. The Window item on the ³ Previous ³ main* menu lists commands that let you ³ Next ³ resize windows, zoom the current window, ³ Resize ³ and easily jump from one window to another. ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ The windows can be opened on different files, or the same file. If you open more than one window onto the same file, changes made in one window will show in another. This means you can be editing both ends of a file at once. @:"Go to" Go to (Goto Window). The Goto command on the Window* menu lets you quickly jump from one window to another. The name of the file in each window is listed in a pop-up menu. Once you choose a window, the cursor is moved to it. @:Zoom Zoom (Zoom Window). The Zoom command on the Window* menu will either fill the screen with the active window, or change the active window back to it's former size. In either case, the text itself is unchanged. Only the size of the window varies. To adjust the size of a window, see the Resize* command. @:Previous Previous (Previous Window). The Previous command on the Windows* menu lets you jump from window to window in the order they were opened. Previous takes you from window six to window five, for example. @:Next Next (Next Window). The Next command on the Window* menu lets you jump from window to window in the order they were opened. Next takes you from window one to window two, for example. @:Resize Resize (Resize active window). The Resize command on the Window* menu lets you change the length of a window. This is done with the [Up] and [Down] arrow keys. When you are finished, press [Enter] or [Escape]. @:Text The Text Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Format paragraph ³ Under the Text item on the main* ³ Temporary margin ³ menu you'll find a number of ³ Margin release ³ formatting commands. You can set ³ Attribute.. ³ margins, select fonts, center lines, ³ Center line ³ and even "undelete" text. ³ Set marker.. ³ ³ Restore line ³ ³ Undelete ³ ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ @:"Format Paragraph" Format Paragraph (Reformat paragraph). When you first enter text into your file, MicroStar will usually wrap the lines to match with any margins you've set. Later on, after you've edited the text, the lines may not be so nicely wrapped between the margins. Or you may have changed the margins. The Format command on the Text* menu rewraps lines to the end of the paragraph to agree with the current margins. If Justify* is on, the lines will also be padded with spaces. (Like they are here). MicroStar considers a paragraph to end when: ž A blank line is found, or ž A print format character (@) is found at the beginning of a line (column 1). @:"Temporary Margin" Temporary Margin (Set Temporary Margin). The Temporary Margin command on the Text* menu moves the left margin in by one tab stop. This is a quick and easy way to indent text. This command is only available when wordwrap* and Fixed* tabs are both ON. When you press [Enter] the temporary margin is released. @:"Margin Release" Margin Release. The Margin Release command on the Text* menu lets you type beyond the left or right margin when wordwrap* is on. Margin release remains in effect until the cursor is moved to a new line. @:Attribute Attribute. The Attribute item on the Text* menu lets you to put special "control codes" into your text. These, for example, can tell your printer when to double strike or underscore text. The Attribute item will display another menu listing the possible "fonts" on the left, and actual control codes MicroStar uses on the right. The control codes act like toggles. The first time MicroStar sees the [Control][B] character, for example, bold face is turned on. The next time MicroStar sees the [Control][B] character, bolding is turned off. It's important to remember that screens and printers are very different creatures. Each has its own way of handling text. Since most displays can't handle italics, superscripts, or subscripts, MicroStar uses different colors (or "screen attributes") for these effects. See the Options* menu to set these colors* to please your own taste. When you select an Attribute, either through the menu or by pressing the Control key, MicroStar first checks to see if a block is highlighted. If so, the appropriate control characters are placed around the block. If no block is highlighted, MicroStar places a set of control characters on either side of the cursor. Any characters typed will then be shown in the given font. To move out of the "attribute" area, just press one of the cursor keys. If "Font display"* is ON, the characters will be shown in different colors. If Font display is OFF, you'll see markers showing where each control character was placed. When Font display is ON, and the cursor crosses "beneath" a hidden control character, a tell tale will flash on the status line. For example, "^B" for [Control][B] (bold). "^S" for [Control][S] (underscore). And so forth. The cursor also changes shape when crossing over a hidden control character. You can enter the control characters directly if you like. To start bolding text, for example, just hold down the [Control] key, press [B], release the keys, and continue typing. If more than one attribute is being used at once, and Font display is ON, only one attribute will show on the screen. For example, when text is both bolded and underscored , the text is shown in the "Bold" color. The "Which font" command will tell you exactly what combinations of attributes are in use. It also updates all the font displays from the beginning of the document to the cursor. @:"Center line" Center line. The Center line command on the Text* menu centers a line between the left and right margins. @:"Set marker" Set Marker. MicroStar lets you set up to 10 place holders in any of the files you are editing. After you set a marker, you can move to it at any time with a Goto Marker* command. The Set Marker item on the Text* menu will display listing both the available markers and the markers you've already set. When a marker is being used, it's file name and line number is displayed on the marker list. Markers only last for the current editing session. They are not saved when you close a file. @:"Restore line" Restore line. When you edit a line, MicroStar makes a copy of it first. If you change your mind, the Restore line item on the Text menu will undo your changes by inserting the original back into your text. The Restore line command on the Text* menu only works if you haven't left the line yet. See Undelete* for more serious retractions. @:"Undelete" Undelete (Undo last deletion). When you delete text using delete line or Delete* block, MicroStar "buffers" the text you've removed. If you change your mind quickly enough, the text can be recovered with the Undelete item on the Text* menu. When you use Undelete, the most recently deleted line is inserted at the cursor. If you want to restore more than one line, you will have to use undelete more than once. Once you undelete a line, it is removed from the buffer. So you can only undelete a line once. Another command, "Insert undo buffer", will insert the entire undo buffer at the cursor. By default, this command is assigned to [CtrlF4][U]. How much text is buffered is determined by the "Undo limit"* setting on the "Load file options"* menu. @:Block The Block Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Begin ³ Blocking text is an important part of ³ End ³ editing. You'll find most of MicroStar's ³ Hide ³ many block commands listed under Block on ³ Copy ³ the main* menu. ³ Move ³ ³ Delete ³ A "block" is one or more adjacent characters ³ Write.. ³ A block could be one character, or an entire ³ Read.. ³ file. The only rule is that the characters ³ Format ³ in the block have to follow one after ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ another. You can't define a block that contains only the first and last characters in a file. You'd have to block all the characters in between as well. To mark, or define, a block you tell MicroStar where the block Begins and where it Ends. Like everything else, you can do this either through the Block menu, or using keyboard commands. Once you've marked the beginning and end of a block, MicroStar will hilite the block. You can then do a number of different things with the block. Delete it. Copy it. Move it. Write it to another file. And more. We'll discuss each block operation in turn. @:Begin Begin (Begin block). The Begin command on the Block* menu tells MicroStar where a block begins. The marker itself is not visible on the screen. You won't be able to actually see the block until you've marked the End* of the block as well. @:End End (End block). The End command on the Block* menu tells MicroStar where a block ends. The marker itself is not visible on the screen. You won't be able to actually see the block unless you've already used the Begin* block command. Once the beginning and end of the block is marked, you can use it in the other block operations. @:Hide Hide (Hide block). After you've marked the beginning and end of the block, it is usually hilited. But the Hide command on the Block* menu, can be used to turn this hiliting on and off. For your own protection, many of the block operations won't work if the block is hidden. MicroStar is likely to report that "no block is defined," even if a block is marked, but hidden. Use Hide again so the block is visible, and retry the command. @:Copy Copy (Copy block). Once you've marked the beginning and end of the block, the Copy command on the Block* menu will let you insert a new copy of the block anywhere you like. The original is left alone. Every time you copy a block, the "new" block is marked (and the original is unmarked). @:Move Move (Move block). Once you've marked the beginning and end of the block, the Move command on the Block* menu will let you insert the block elsewhere. The original text is deleted, and the block you moved remains marked at it's new location. @:Delete Delete (Delete block). Once you've marked the beginning and end of the block, the Delete command on the Block* menu will let you remove the text from your file. If you make a mistake, you can often restore the text, line by line, using the Undelete* command. @:Write Write (Write block to file). Although MicroStar allows up to six files to be open at once, now and again you just might want to quickly save a block in another file without bothering to Open* it. The Write command on the Block* menu will prompt you for a file name for the hilited block. If the file already exists, you'll will be given the option to overwrite the file, or append the block to the end. If the file doesn't exist, MicroStar will simply create it. @:Read Read (Read block from file). Although MicroStar allows up to six files to be open at once, now and again you just might want to quickly read in text from another file without bothering to Open* it. The Read command on the Block* menu will prompt you for a file name. If the file is available, it's read in at the cursor, and the new text will be marked as a block. @:Format Format. (Reformat block). The Format* command on the Block* menu will reformat the current block (as opposed to a paragraph). See "Format paragraph"* for more about reformatting. @:Goto The Goto Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Page number.. ³ Although you can always use the cursor ³ Line number.. ³ keys to move to any part of a file, ³ Column number.. ³ sometimes you'll want to move to a ³ Top of file ³ specific area of a file more quickly. ³ Bottom of file ³ The Goto item on the main* menu ³ Marker.. ³ features commands for jumping around ³ Start of block ³ your file. ³ End of block ³ ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ Commands on the Goto menu will let you move instantly to the top or bottom of a file, to a specific page, line, or column, to a marker you've set, or to the beginning or end of a marked block. @:"Page number" Page number (Go to page). The first command on the Goto* menu is Page number. When pagination* is on, MicroStar will try to divide your text up into pages as you edit it. You can then use Goto\Page number to jump to a particular page. @:"Line number" Line number (Line number). You can use the Line number command on the Goto* menu to jump to any line in your file. As you move around in your file, MicroStar posts the current line number on the status line. You can either use the line number given there, or a "relative" number. For example, if you want to back up five lines, use -5 as a line number. If you want to fast forward five lines, use +5 as a line number. Or you can always just give the exact line number you want. Line numbers are counted from the beginning of the file. The first line is line #1. @:"Column number" Column number (Go to column). You can use the Column number command on the Goto* menu to jump to any column on the current line. As you move around on a line, MicroStar posts the current Column number on the status line. You can either use the Column number given there, or a "relative" number. For example, if you want to back up five columns, use -5 as a column number. If you want to skip over five columns, use +5 as a column number. Or you can always just give the exact column number you want. @:"Top of file" Top of file (Beginning of file). The Top of file command on the Goto* menu will move the cursor to the first line of the current file. @:"Bottom of file" Bottom of file (End of file). The Bottom of file command on the Goto* menu will move the cursor to the last line of the current file. @:Marker Marker (Jump to a marker). MicroStar lets you set up to 10 place markers in any of the files you are currently editing. These can be inserted by using "Set marker"* on the Text* menu. The Marker item on the Goto* menu will list the available markers and the markers you've already set. When a marker is being used, the file name it's in, and the line number it's on, will be displayed. To jump to a marker, select it from the menu. After you set a marker, it's number will appear "over" the character where it was placed. The original character is still there, and will be saved to disk or printed. Markers only last for the current editing session. They are not saved when you close a file. @:"Start of block" Start of block (Top of block). The Start of block command on the Goto* menu will move the cursor to the first character the currently marked block. @:"End of block" End of block (Bottom of block). The End of block command on the Goto* menu will move the cursor to the position just following the currently marked block. @:Search The Search Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Find.. ³ The Search item on the main* menu lists ³ Replace.. ³ commands for finding a specific word or ³ Use macro.. ³ phrase. You can also find one set of ³ Again ³ characters and replace them with another, ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ or delete them entirely. When you use the search commands, you can also tell MicroStar to search backwards (instead of forwards), ignore case, search only a hilited block, or to find only whole words. You can do any of these things either while searching, or replacing. MicroStar also includes a special "Search and apply macro" command. If you don't know what a macro is, see Macros* for an explanation. Macros are wonderful things. @:Find Find (Find). The Find command on the Search* menu will allow you to locate any word or phrase, up to 67 characters long. Find will remember the last phrase you searched for, and display it as a default. You can use it again, edit it, or type something else entirely. After you press [Enter] to tell MicroStar what to search for, you will be given a chance to enter any "options". Options tell MicroStar how to conduct the search. You set options by typing one or more of the following characters. The order isn't important. GU is the same as UG. B Backward search. MicroStar starts searching from the current cursor position toward the top of your file. G Global search. MicroStar starts searching from the top or bottom of the file, instead of the current cursor position. L Limited search. MicroStar only searches the currently marked block instead of the entire file. This is a good way to restrict Search and Replace to a particular area. U Caseless search. MicroStar will treat UPPER and lower case letters as the same character. W Word-only search. MicroStar will only find entire words, instead of partial words. To repeat a Find, see the Again* command. @:Replace Replace (Find-and-replace). Sometimes you not only want to find a certain word or phrase, but you want to replace it with a substitute. The Replace item on the Search* menu will not only find one 67-character string, but substitute an alternative string. Replace uses the same type of options as the Find, but with one addition: The N, or No-prompt, option. By default, MicroStar will always before replacing. The N option, when given, tells MicroStar to go ahead and make all the changes without asking first. When the No-prompt option is not given, MicroStar will stop at each "find" and ask "Replace? Y/N/A/Q". ž If you press [Y], the replacement will be made. ž If you press [N], the replacement will not be made. ž If you press [A], replacements will be made automatically. ž If you press [Q], the search will end. If you make the search without a G or L option, MicroStar will only perform it once. To perform the search on an entire file or block, you must use the G or L option, or use the Again* command over and over. @:"Use macro" Use macro (Search-and-apply macro). The Use macro item on the Search* menu works a lot like Replace*. The difference is that instead of inserting a substitute string, one of your macros* is run instead. Use macro is an especially powerful command. Since Use macro can be used from within a macro, it is possible to create a vast number of special commands of your own design. The important thing to remember is that a Search-and-apply macro can be made to automatically execute through a file, or block, just like a Find-and-replace operation. @:Again Again (Find next). The Again item on the Search* menu repeats the last search operation. This would include Find, Replace, or Use Macro. Which ever operation was last used is repeated again with the same options as before. If you're looking for multiple occurrences of the same string, avoid setting the G (Global) option. This forces the search to start at the beginning of the file, which means you'll find the first occurrence of the string over and over again. @:Options The Options Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Margins.. ³ MicroStar offers a number of ³ Format options.. ³ options about how text is ³ Tabs.. ³ formatted and displayed. These ³ Load file options.. ³ include text margins, tabs, screen ³ Display options.. ³ colors, and file loading options. ³ Colors.. ³ The commands for these are found ³ Save setup ³ under Options* on the main* menu. ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ @:Margins Margins. The Margins item on the Options* menu allows you to set left, right, top, and bottom margins for your text. The left and right margins affect how text looks when it is printed, as well as how it looks on the screen. ž When you set a left margin greater than one, MicroStar will insert an appropriate number of spaces at the beginning of each line. ž The right margin controls the wordwrap* feature, when it is turned on. Many times, you will want to use the @PO (page offset) print* command rather than the editor's left margin command. The Page Offset print command gives you greater flexibility, since it doesn't insert spaces into your file. It only inserts extra space when the document is printed. To use a print command, make sure the editor's left margin is set to 1, and then, at the beginning of a new line, type the @ sign immediately followed by a two letter command. Like this: @PO 10 but at the left edge of your screen. ž The top and bottom margins tell MicroStar how the file should be paginated when "Page breaks" is set to ON. These don't force MicroStar to insert any characters into your text, like the left margin setting does. MicroStar will simply calculate where the page breaks would occur if the file were printed. @:"Format options" @:wordwrap @:pagination Format. The Format options item on the Options* menu lets you change options about how MicroStar stores and formats your text. These include justification, word wrap, indenting, and pagination. These are all toggles: they can be either ON or OFF. ž Justify (Toggle right-justify). This tells MicroStar to "right-justify" your text. As text is entered or reformatted, MicroStar inserts spaces between the words on each line, so that the text has an even right margin. This paragraph was typed with Justify set to ON. ž Wordwrap (Toggle wordwrap). This tells MicroStar whether to automatically insert a line-break when you type past the right margin. Wordwrap must be on for a number of other commands to work. ž Auto indent (Toggle autoindent). This tells MicroStar whether to wrap a new line under the same column as a previous line. When OFF MicroStar will always wrap a new line to the left margin. When ON MicroStar will preserve any indenting you may be using. This paragraph, for example, was typed with Auto indent ON. ž Insert Mode (Toggle insert mode). When insert mode is ON, new text pushes existing text aside. When insert mode is OFF, new text replaces existing text. Most often you will toggle this mode using the [Insert] key. The current mode (Insert or Overstrike) is given on the status line. ž Page breaks (Toggle pagination). When pagination is ON, two things happen. First, MicroStar sets aside the two leftmost column on your screen for page-break markers. Second, MicroStar begins to calculate where the page breaks would occur if the file were printed. It's important to note that MicroStar does not actually insert any page-break characters into your file. It simply figures out where the page-breaks would occur, for information purposes. When pagination is ON, you can move from one page to another using the Goto* Page number command. ž Compress wrap. This feature is mostly for the benefit of justified text. When ON, MicroStar will remove extra spaces from a line before reformatting a block or paragraph. If you're not justifying text, you should probably leave this OFF. If you were justifying text, and then change your mind, turning Compress Wrap on temporarily will strip the extra spaces that justify would have inserted. @:Tabs Tabs. The main purpose of tabs is to move you further down the line. MicroStar offers two different types of tabs: ž Fixed tabs are like tab stops on a typewriter. Press the [Tab] key and the cursor moves to the next tab stop. You can set the tabs anywhere you like on the line. ž Smart tabs change from line to line. The first letter in each word on the previous line becomes the tab stops for the following line. Smart tabs are handy for writing tables of figures and computer programs. The Tab item on the Options* menu lets you switch between these two types of tabs. You can also save and load fixed tab layouts. ž Set tabs (Set tab line). This command tells MicroStar to look at the current line, and set a tab stop at the beginning of each word. This can be used when you're setting up a table, or after you've used the Put tab command to save a tab setting. ž Put tabs (Save tab line). This command inserts the current tab stops as a formatted line in your file. The tab line begins the print command character [@] so that it will be ignored during printing and text reformatting. The line will show a T wherever you set a Tab and an L and R at the left and right margin. The L and R is for information only, the Set tabs command (above) does not change the margins. ž Restore even (Default tabs). This tells MicroStar to replace the current tab setting with evenly space tabs. The space between the tabs is decided by the Tab size (below). ž Edit tabs (Edit tab line). This command lets you edit the fixed tab stops. The cursor moves to the tab line at the top of the screen, and a prompt line appears above it. You can then press [Insert] to set a new tab stop, or [Delete] to remove a tab stop. [Home] and [End] will take you to the left or right margin. Press [Enter] when done, or [Escape] to cancel. Note: If Fixed is OFF, this command is ignored. ž Display tabs (Toggle tab line). This tells MicroStar whether to display a tab line at the top of the screen. When Display tabs is ON, the tab line is displayed. The tab line also shows the left and right margins. ž Fixed (Toggle fixed tabs). When Fixed is OFF, MicroStar uses Smart Tabs. When Fixed is ON, MicroStar uses the stops show on the tab line. You can toggle Fixed ON and OFF as often as you like. The default tab line spaces stops evenly according to the setting of the Tab size item (below). ž Tab size (Set tab size). By default, MicroStar uses evenly-spaced tabs when Fixed tabs are ON. Tab size tells MicroStar how much space to insert between tab stops. @:"Load file options" @>.hotsub[ Prism "About this manual" ] Load file options. The Load file item on the Options* menu lets you customize some of the "defaults" MicroStar uses. If you change any of these defaults, be sure to use the "Save setup" command if you want to keep them for future use. ž Home directory. Sometimes, MicroStar may need to find a special "support" file. These include the help file, your printer definition file, and your macros* file. See also "Installing MicroStar"*, and the Print* command. ž File extension. When using the many file-oriented commands, MicroStar can add a default file extension when you don't type one yourself. (To use a file with no extension, end the filename with a period [.]). As delivered, the default extension is [.PGE] since this is the extension Prism* expects. You can always substitute your own default extension, or erase it entirely. Just to remember to save your setup afterwards. ž Expand tabs (Toggle tab expansion). Some programs write a special tab character to disk to represent a number of spaces. When Expand tabs is ON, MicroStar will replace tab characters with the number of spaces given by the "Tab size"* item on the Options* menu. ž Write tabs. If you'd like series of spaces converted to special tab characters, set Write tabs to ON. This can save some disk space if your text is heavily indented. ž Toggle strip hi-bit. Some programs, like WordStar, store characters in a special way. If Strip hi-bit is ON, MicroStar will change the characters so that they are stored in the ordinary way. This option will also convert WordStar's "dot commands" to the printer commands MicroStar uses. If you're not converting files from a WordStar-like program, you can leave this OFF. ž Undo limit (Set undo limit). When you delete a line or block of text, MicroStar saves the lines temporarily, in case you change your mind. This option tells MicroStar how many lines to save. @:"Display options" Display options. There's more than one way MicroStar can display your text. The "Display options"* commands on the Options* menu lets you set these to fit your own needs. ž Snow control (Toggle snow check). Some older color monitors get "snowy" if programs write to them too fast. If you don't have this problem, leave Snow control OFF. ž Block cursor (Toggle block cursor). Some people like a larger cursor, other prefer a smaller one. When Block cursor in ON, MicroStar uses a full block cursor, instead of the usual smaller version. ž 43 line mode (Toggle 43-line mode). If you have one of the newer EGA monitors that can display up to 43 lines of text (instead of 25), you can toggle this mode ON. ž Font display (Toggle font display). When you insert Bold, Underscore, and similar printer commands into your text, MicroStar can either display the affected text in a different color, or display the command characters. When Font display is ON, MicroStar uses different colors to show whether text is Bolded, Underscored, and the like. See "Print Formatting Commands"* for more details. ž Key help (Toggle key help). As packaged, every menu command has a matching keyboard command. When Key help is ON, MicroStar will display these keyboard commands as you use the menu system. See "MicroStar commands"* for more details. ž Zoom state (Toggle initial zoom state). MicroStar can have up to six files open at once. MicroStar can also split the screen into smaller "windows" so you can see all six at once. When you open a file and Zoom is ON, the file use the entire screen. If Zoom is OFF, MicroStar will open another window on the screen. You can also use the Zoom* command on the Window* menu to Zoom and "unZoom" the file you're editing. @:Colors Colors (Set colors). MicroStar can use different colors, or screen attributes, for text windows, status lines, menus, blocked text, and other things. The Colors* item on the Options* menu lets you set these to meet your own needs and preferences. You will first be shown a list of the current color settings. When you can select an item to change, a second menu pops up displaying the various colors and attributes your monitor can use. Move the pointer to the color you want to use, and then press [Enter]. Be sure to use "Save setup"* to keep your color scheme for next time. @:"Save setup" Save setup (Save defaults). Once you've configured MicroStar to suit your own needs, use the "Save setup"* command on the Options* menu. MicroStar will then write the changes back to the copy of the program you're using. Before doing this, tell MicroStar the "Home directory"* you are going to use. See "Installing MicroStar"* for details. @:"MicroStar" The MicroStar Menu. ŚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄæ ³ Spelling check ³ The MicroStar item on the main* ³ Macros.. ³ menu features a number of ³ Directory.. ³ miscellaneous utility commands. ³ Change directory.. ³ Here, you can record and playback ³ Operating system.. ³ keyboard macros, run other Dos ³ Help ³ commands, and call up the Help ĄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄŁ system. We'll discuss each in turn. @:"Spell check" Spelling check (Check spelling). This command only works if you have Borland's Turbo Lightning spell checker installed. If you do, MicroStar will start checking the entire file from the current cursor position, unless a block* is marked. As the spelling is checked, progress is reported on the status line through the Line, Col, and xx% items. If an unknown word is found, a menu pops-up listing these options: ž Skip once: Lets the word pass this once. ž Ignore for this document: Lets the word pass for the rest of this spell check session. ž List sound-alikes: Lets you choose from among a list of known words that sound like the unknown word. If none of the suggestions work-out, press [Escape]. ž Edit from keyboard: Lets you type in any other word you like. Press [Escape] if you change your mind. Whatever you type is assumed to be correct, Use Lightning's "Check word at cursor" command if you want to be sure. ž Mark with "~" (tilde): Inserts a tilde in front of the unknown word. Afterwards, you can use MicroStar's Find* command to locate the word. ž Add to dictionary: Adds the word to Lightning's auxillary dictionary file. ž Batch mark rest: Exits the "interactive" mode and marks any other unknown words with a tilde [~]. Press [Escape] if you decide to cancel the spelling session. @:Macros Macros Most people who use a text editor soon find themselves doing the same sorts of things over and over again: typing your address, or the heading for a memorandum, or your name at the end of a letter, and many other things like this. One answer to this drudgery is the keyboard "macro". The idea is that you ž store a number of characters or keystrokes under a single-character or name, and then ž Play-back the keystrokes whenever you need them again. It's much the same idea as the old player pianos. Whatever you type in is stored verbatim, and then played back just like you were typing it all over again. MicroStar will let you Load, Store, Playback, Record, and Edit up to ten macros at a time. Each macro can use up to 255 keystrokes. You can have as many macro files as you like, but each file can only load a total ten macros at a time. ž Load macros. The Load macros command will ask you for the name, or location, of a macro file. Usually, these are files you've already stored with the Store macro command. If you don't type a specific name, a menu of available files will display. ž Store macros. After you've Recorded and/or Edited your macros, use the Store macros command to save them for future use. You can use any file name you like, and MicroStar will add the default .MAC extension. If the macro file is named MS.MAC and stored in your "Home directory"*, it will be loaded automatically when MicroStar starts-up. ž Playback macros. This, of course, is the important part. The Playback macros command will display a menu listing the names of whatever macros you have loaded. To play one back, just select it. By default, you can also playback macros by pressing [Alt][0] through [Alt][9]. The number for each macro is listed next to its name. ž Record macros. To setup a macro, first use the Record macros command to start the "keystroke" recorder. Type whatever commands you'd like to include in the macro, just as you usually would. You can use any command or type any character just as you usually word, up to 255 keystrokes. When you're finished, use the Record macro command a second time. (MicroStar won't save this part.) You'll then be asked which macro to store you're keystokes under, and be given a chance to add a title for the macro. That's it. Now you can play the macro back as often as you like by using the Playback macro command. Just be sure to Store the macro file if you want to use this macro again in the future. ž Edit. After you've recorded your macro, you might find that it isn't "just right". You can either start over from scratch, or use the Edit command instead. First, Edit will have you choose the macro from the usual popup directory. You'll be given a chance to edit the macro's name, and then you'll be in the editor module. The editor module is specifically designed for macros. Most of the special keys you might use, like function keys, control keys, and alt keys, are inserted as characters when you use them. For example, if you press the [F1] key, you'll actually see [F1] inserted into the editing window. Although it takes up four spaces on the screen, the macro editor treats it like a single character. So if you press [BackSpace] once, [F1] disappears altogether. Of course, you need to use some keys, like [BackSpace] and the arrow keys to edit the macro. But at the same time, you might need to use these keys in the macro too. This is why the macro editor can also use a "literal" mode. Then you press the [Scroll Lock] key, the macro editor goes into a "literal" mode until you press [Scroll Lock] again. This means every special key you press (except [Scroll Lock]) will be inserted into your macro. This includes [Enter], [BackSpace], and everything else. If you find macros useful, be sure to try the "Use macro"* command for advanced applications. @:Directory Directory (File directory). The Directory command on the MicroStar* menu will list the file names found in any of your disk directories. For more about directories, see "Change directory"*. @:"Change directory" Change directory. Since disks can hold hundreds or thousands of files, many people divide them up into "directories". This makes it easier to organize your work, since you can group similar files under the same directory. The "operating system"*, dos, also lets you change to, or log onto, a directory. This way you don't have to give the directory's name over and over again. Once you change to a directory, dos uses it when you save a file or try to run a program. Likewise, MicroStar will start out by assuming that you want to Open* or Save* files in the current directory. You can always type in a different directory if you want, though. If you start MicroStar in one drive or directory, and then decide you want to open or close a lot of files some place else, the "Change directory"* command on the MicroStar* menu can save you some typing. Once you use Change directory, MicroStar will look here first for the files you want. @:"Operating system" Operating system (Invoke DOS shell). PC's are general-purpose computers. They weren't designed to run a particular program. They were designed to run a variety of programs, most of which hadn't been written yet. The creature that allows this flexibity is DOS, the Disk Operating System. This is a program that lets you run other programs. It's the first program to load when you turn your computer on, and all the other programs you run make use of it, one way or the other. The Operating System command on the MicroStar* menu also lets you run another program, without leaving the editor. When asked, you can either type the name of another program, just as you would at a dos prompt. For example, [ PRISM ]. Or, you can just press [Enter] to load another copy of dos. You can run a number of dos commands, and then enter EXIT to return to MicroStar. MicroStar tries to set aside just enough memory so you can do something in dos, whenever you want. But if you've been editing a number of files at once, or a a very large file, there may not be enough memory around to run another program. Note that there must be a copy of "Command.Com" found on the boot drive (usually A: or C:). If you're using only floppy drives, this usually means inserting your boot disk into drive A: before using the Operating System command. @:Help Usually, you'll call MicroStar's online help system by pressing [F1]. Alternatively, you can always use the Help command on the MicroStar* menu. Note that the Help system comes in two parts. ž The overview part, available through the Help command or when you press [F1] in the edit window, and ž The detailed part, available when you press [F1] while using the menu system. A help screen for the hilited menu item will popup when you press [F1]. See also the file Ms-Help.pge, which is a text file version of the online help file system. @:Credits Credits. MicroStar was designed by Borland International, and is distributed as part of their "Editor Toolbox". UserWare made only minor changes to MicroStar. So minor that we thought it would be vain the rename the program. We hope that you will find MicroStar useful for your text editing needs. UserWare, January 1990. @* MS.PGE 4.1a Copyright 1989 Ted Husted. @*