NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/bit/listserv/notabene/3131

Text File | 1992-12-23 | 5.4 KB | 207 lines

Comments: Gated by [e-mail]
Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!auvm!VM2.UNI-C.DK!INNWN
Message-ID: <NOTABENE%92122311340256@TAUNIVM>
Date:         Wed, 23 Dec 92 10:34:10 DST
Sender:       Nota Bene List <[e-mail]>
From:         "Nicolai Winther-Nielsen" <[e-mail]>
Subject:      manuscript-linking, configuration, and other puzzles
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.notabene
Lines: 196

Dear list-fellows, on holliday, busy NotaBene-playing, and hunt-
ing for intellectual stimulation for the next few days or weeks.
I see no reason to dissappoint you, and therefore offer you some
problems to crack, if you please.

I should appreciate very much some discussion on MANUSCRIPT
PRINTING.

I have with interest followed the remarks of
[e-mail], who on Wed, 16 Dec 92 20:43:00 CST com-
plained about PRINT @FILENAME.MS ,47- which doesn't work. That is
indeed serious, and I have of course not solved that problem
either.
I did, however, notice that he is talking about a seven chapter
manuscript, and 17 Dec 92 18:58:00 he claims to have used linking
successfully since 1986. He suggests the successful strategy of
including a modified CMS style sheet at the top of every file
that is linked, and end each file with an empty RH delta.
I wish I was that lucky. I really side more with Allan Needell of
Thu, 17 Dec 92:
  I continue to have no end of problems with the link(now ms)
  feature. .... I still reserve the ms feature for generating
  working Tables of Contents, and print each chapter separately
  (with SP deltas added and continually updated).

But, how can Allan have cross-references, and how could Robert
succeed???

Let me explain some of my problems with LINKING

My linking-file (DS00.MS) holds the files:
  C:\NB4\MS\DS1.MS C:\NB4\MS\DS2-1.MS C:\NB4\MS\DS2-2.MS
  C:\NB4\MS\DS2-3.MS

The problems are:
1. I have so far not been able to generate a Table of contents. I
   simply can not get it to work on DS00.MS
2. Cross-references are problematic:
    Thus, in DS2-1.MS a reference (Table <<REFOutline>>) picks up
   an immediately following <<C7Outline>>. In this case the Table
   is numbered in its proper sequence in the linked manuscript,
   i.e. even if the first table in this respective file it is
   numbered Table 5.
    However, in DS1.MS (say p. vii of the Preface) there is a
   reference to a later file DS2-3.MS (say p. 78), e.g. (<<REFPC-
   Code>>, p. <<REPPC-Code>>) should pick up Figure <<C8PC-
   Code>>, but that manifestly does not happen.

  The alternative of MERGING does not work either. When I merged
all files, printing of the first 100 pages was first extremely
slow, with occasional reboots. When having passed p.52 or so
hours later, I had to give up in the early morning after no
sleep, Blah Blah Blah. Anyhow, I could not even print a smaller
version of 257 KB, although some people in the past have claimed
to be working with 800 KB, or more.
  That is an extremely hard stroke. Because if ms-merging does
not work, how do you then put a book of 250 pages together, so
that it will pick up references, generate Contents, etc...

  Possibly this is related to problems with short-commings in my
CONFIGURATION. I have the machine-power (AST 386SX, 4MB RAM, 45
MB (soon plus 170) harddisk, etc). I can boast of holding the
best configuration that can ever be, a Bodin-authorized improve-
ment of a CONFIG.SYS. This kind, all-helpful person, who unlike
our late NBI, answers e-mail and with short notice (on regular
day to day basis), helped me through a reconfiguration. I can now
use a Ram-drive for owerflow, speller will work despite huge
files, etc. To share his valuable comments with you, among his
suggestions were:

  First try increasing the amount of EMS memory your system makes
  to 256.  If that doesn't help, try moving the page frame by
  changing m9 to m8, m7, m6 and so on down to m5.  There would be
  no benefit going lower than m5.  If neither of these measures
  work you will probably have to stop using EMS for your speller.
  On some machines it just doesn't work very well, probably
  because of BIOS irregularities. (Paul Bodin).

Accordingly "we" changed my config.sys to:
  device=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
  device=C:\WINDOWS\emm386.exe 256 m8 ram
  dos=high,umb
  devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\ramdrive.sys 1024 /E
  devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\smartdrv.sys 256
  country=045,850,c:\dos\country.sys
  devicehigh=c:\dos\display.sys con=(ega,,1)
  files=30
  buffers=15
  STACKS=9,256
The present configuration appears to work for Lingua. But it is
certainly not unproblematic. I cannot now run Windows 3.1, my
wife cannot use Word Perfect, etc. So eventually, the master,
Paul Bodin, in the end suggested that I abandon my present tools
altogether:
  Some AST VGA adaptors use strange addresses for some
  of their ROM, especially if you let the system shadow video.
  You might want to consider purchasing one of the after-market
  memory managers to help you figure this system out. I have
  heard good things about both QEMM and 386^Max.  Personally I
  have used QEMM and found it reliable.
Should anybody have different experiences with configuration I
would be glad to know.

This is just some of my problems, of course. But that should be
sufficient for a lovely manuscript discussion for a couple of
days.

So: Merry X-mas, or happy hollidays, whichever way you feel.
Yours Sincerely Baffled
Nicolai Winther-Nielsen <[e-mail]>