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Section 10: Hot Dots at the Command Line Overview You can perform most Hot Dots operations outside of the menus at the DOS command line. By issuing Hot Dots operations from the command line, or from a batch file, you can operate more swiftly and automatically. Our Batch Files The batch files DOTS1234, DOTS1, and DOTS234 are very useful and may meet all your braille processing needs. You may find it instructive to examine these batch files in your word processor. Examining these files may be much more valuable than reading documentation on how to create your own Hot Dots batch files. Working at the Command Line When you use a Hot Dots program segment at the command line, you start with the command name. Next comes the input file, then the output file. If you leave out a file name, Hot Dots prompts you for it. After all the file names, you can place optional switches (additional parameters). Here is the list of Hot Dots commands: DOTS1234 <input file> <word processor type> <output device> <optional rules file> -- Takes an input file through all the steps (importing, translating, formatting, and output) DOTS1 <input file> <word processor type> <optional rules file> -- Imports a file into a Hot Dots .HD$ file DOTS234 <input base name> <output device> -- takes existing file <base name>.HD$ and translates, formats, and outputs it G2FWD <input file> <output file> -- grade two translation FTEXT <input file> <output file> -- format a file. Switches: /W=33; (width is 33) /F=27 (form length is 27); /B (braille style formatting); /I (inkprint style formatting). FTEXT assumes braille formatting unless the carriage width is over 45. Use the /I or /B to force the style you want. VIEW <input file> -- display a braille formatted file on the screen. Use /S to suppress braille cheat sheet. GLOBAL <input file> <output file> <rules file> -- global replace G2BACK <input file> <output file> -- back translation VANILLA <input file> <device> -- output file to regular brailler (one not requiring special handling) CRANMER <input file> <device or file name> -- output to a Cranmer. Use /F to set form length. LED120 <input file> <device or file name> -- output to an LED-120. Use /W to set carriage width DIPNER <input file> <device or file name> -- output to Dipner Dots. Use /R for printable dots on a Diablo 650, use /E for printable dots on an Epson style printer, use /I for printable dots on an ImageWriter. OHTSUKI <input file> <device or file name> -- output to an Ohtsuki. Use /N for normal spacing (25 lines per page). Section 11: Interfacing Braille Equipment to your MS-DOS computer With your purchase of Hot Dots, you are probably anxious to start producing braille. It can be frustrating to try to set up the Hot Dots software and to learn how to use your embosser all at once. We have included these instructions to make it easier to get your embosser working. Because the pace of technological change is rapid, these instructions may become outdated. Please read the instructions provided by your brailler vendor for further information. We also provide additional interfacing notes and updates in the Raised Dot Computing Newsletter. If you notice anything which is wrong (or misleading) in this section, please call or write to Raised Dot Computing. Two Kinds of Interfaces Some embossers have only serial ports, some have only parallel ports, and some have both. If your embosser has both, you need to decide which interface to use (based on how many ports of each kind your computer has and what other equipment is connected to the computer). In general, parallel connections are easy. To make a parallel connection, use a standard parallel cable (available at all computer stores) to connect the 25-pin female jack on the computer to the wide parallel jack on the embosser. Most computers have only one parallel port, known as LPT1. If there is a second parallel port, it is called LPT2. If you use a serial connection, there are more complications. Some serial jacks on computers use 25 pins (male), and some use 9 pins (male). For all the embossers discussed in this section, the jack on the embosser uses 25 pins. Some embossers have male jacks, and some have female jacks. When you use a serial connection, the settings of several serial parameters must be the same on the computer's serial port and on the embosser, to avoid getting garbage data. We recommend setting both the computer's serial port and the embosser for 9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. When you use a Hot Dots batch file, DOTS1234 or DOTS234, to direct braille through a serial port, it automatically establishes these recommended settings on that port. If you use a different method for outputting, you must use the MODE command to set parameters on the serial port. MODE COM1:96,N,8,1,P sets COM1 (serial port number one) to the recommended settings. Similarly, MODE COM2:96,N,8,1,P sets COM2 (serial port number two) to the recommended settings. The instructions for each brailler in this section include setting the brailler for these same recommended settings. When you use the Hot Dots Printer Menu for outputting text, Hot Dots is set up to output through LPT1. To print through a different port, you must first tell the system to redirect LPT1's output through a different port. You do this with a different use of the MODE command. To set up for printing through COM1 from the Hot Dots menu, use MODE LPT1:=COM1 <enter> in addition to the command MODE COM1:96,N,81,P <enter>. To set up for printing through COM2 from the Hot Dots menu, use COM2 instead of COM1 in these commands. To set up for printing through LPT2 from the Hot Dots menu, use only MODE LPT1:=LPT2. Cables RDC does not sell parallel cables. Unless otherwise noted, parallel connections use a standard parallel cable, available at any computer store. We do sell a number of serial cables. If you choose, you can purchase these cables elsewhere by using the descriptions below. All RDC serial cables for the PC come with a female 25-pin connection for the PC end and with a free, additional 9-pin to 25-pin adapter. By using the cable with or without the extra adapter, you can connect your cable to either a 9-pin or a 25-pin PC serial port. Our 6F cable is a straight through male-to-female cable. Our 8M cable is a male-to-female cable which swaps the following pairs of wires: 2 and 3, 4 and 8, 5 and 20, and 6 and 9. Wires 1 and 7 are straight through. Our 8F cable is the same as the 8M except that it is female-to-female. Bookmaker The Bookmaker interfaces to the computer just like the Romeo. See the instructions on the Romeo. Braille Blazer The Braille Blazer cannot produce braille that is 40 cells across. You need to tell Hot Dots to format braille for a narrow width. At the command line (or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file), type the command SET HDWIDTH=32 (or any number up to the Blazer's limit of 34). The Braille Blazer has both a parallel and a serial connection. To set up the Braille Blazer for parallel connection to the PC, do a total reset. To do this, hold down all three buttons on the righthand side as you power on. When you release the buttons, the Braille Blazer voice asks you if it is okay to reset. To go ahead with the total reset, press the three buttons again. After you have done this, the Braille Blazer is all set up for the PC parallel port. If you get a blank page after each page of braille, Hot Dots and the Braille Blazer are both deciding that it's time to flip the page. If this happens, tell the Braille Blazer it has zero lines/page (in the printer menu as shown below in the configuration dialogue for serial connection). The Braille Blazer uses voice for the dialogue in its configuration menu system. The three buttons on the right side are, from top to bottom: on/off line, line feed, and form feed. Press all three buttons at the same time to get into the configuration menu. If you want to change a value, press the form feed button; the form feed button means "change." If you are satisfied with a value and want to advance to the next question, press the line feed button; the line feed button means "advance." If you want to back up to the previous question, press the on/off line button; the on/off line button means "back up." To exit a menu or a sub-menu, press all three buttons together. When you enter the configuration menu system, the choices available are speech menu, printer menu, serial menu, service menu, and quit (to take the Blazer back to being an embosser). Here is the dialogue to set the brailler to serial: Press all three keys Configuration Speech config Change port: serial Change port: off All 3 keys Printer config Change port: Parallel active Change port: Serial active Advance Left margin: 0 Advance Right margin: 34 Advance Top margin: 0 Advance Bottom margin: 0 Advance Lines/page: 25 Change Lines/page: 26 Change Lines/page: 27 Change Lines/page: 28 Change Lines/page: 29 Change Lines/page: 30 Change Lines/page: 0 Advance Page length: 11 All three keys Serial config Change 9600 baud Advance bits per char: 8 Change bits per char: 7 Advance Stop bits: 1 Advance Parity: none Advance Handshake: software Change Handshake: hardware All 3 keys Service Menu Advance Exit For a serial connection to the PC, use an 8M cable. Braillo All Braillo embossers have a serial interface. Effective February 15, 1991, Braillo embossers will be available with both serial and parallel interfaces. The instructions here are for the serial-only model. The Braillo has two sets of 8 DIP switches. Set the upper bank for "alpha numeric mode", 6 dots, 5mm, 22 holes/page, "S max-2", and 40 char/line. This is 00100001. Set the lower bank for 1 stop bit, 8 data bits, no parity, and 9600 baud. This is 00000110. When you purchase your Braillo, a cable is included at no charge. Be sure to specify to the vendor that you are using a PC serial port. A Raised Dot Computing 8M cable will work also. Cranmer Brailler The Cranmer Brailler has only a serial connection. Use an RDC 8M cable to connect the Cranmer to one of your serial ports. The Cranmer Brailler has eight internal DIP switches. You need to unscrew the bottom plate and remove the bottom circuit card to get to the DIP switches. Raised Dot Computing recommends the switch settings: OFF ON OFF ON OFF OFF ON OFF. We have noticed a bug in the Cranmer's software which was never fixed. The Cranmer will occasionally introduce a spurious carriage return in the line after a form feed. We have therefore equipped Hot Dots with a special driver program called CRANMER, which makes sure that the brailler does not receive any form feeds. Include the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET HDDRIVER=CRANMER (to tell the Hot Dots batch files to output for a Cranmer Brailler). After you turn on the Cranmer, enter chord-H H chord-S Y chord-R. Then your Cranmer is ready to braille. When you get to the end of a page, the brailler beeps. After inserting a new page, press chord-(dots 4-5) to indicate that you are ready for another page of output. To force a page eject, press chord-(dots 4-5-6). Dipner Dots Braille can be embossed or printed as flat, inkprint dots with some inkprint printers using a technique known as Dipner Dots. To create Dipner Dots, Hot Dots turns each braille character into a pattern of period characters representing its braille dots. Each braille character is sent to the printer as nine characters, each either a space or a period. Six characters are for the six dot positions, and the additional three characters are spaces to separate each cell from the next one. When your printer is doing Dipner Dots, it therefore prints nine times fewer characters per second than it does normally. Dipner Dots, Embossed To produce embossed Dipner Dots, you must have a daisy wheel printer. Dot matrix printers do not work. For a discussion of producing "inkprint Dipner Dots," (not raised) with several kinds of printers, see the next heading "Dipner Dots, Inkprint." To make embossed Dipner Dots, the daisy wheel printer must have several characteristics. First, the printer must be able to hit fairly hard with its hammer. Second, the printer must obey the same spacing commands as the Diablo 650 printer. Virtually all letter quality printers can respond to the Diablo 650 command set, so this should not be a problem. The Dipner Dot method uses a single character, the period, to emboss dots into lightweight paper backed by a soft roller. Although you do not produce Library of Congress quality dots, the dots are quite readable. This is not recommended for schools or transcriber groups. But it may be just the ticket for a blind individual in an office setting. The most important modification needed for the printer is to modify the roller. There are two approaches. One approach is to wrap some soft material around the existing roller. You can use something like "flannel rubber sheeting" available from medical supply houses. You need a layer several millimeters thick. Wrapping your roller changes its diameter. Because the printer turns its roller a fixed number of times per page, this changes the printer's page length. To avoid a dramatic change in page length, do not make the wrapping too thick. The more you alter the page length, the more quickly the top of form creeps down as printing continues, until the bottom of the page reaches the perforation. Another drawback of wrapping your existing roller is the inconvenience of switching from braille to print or from print to braille. The other approach is to purchase a spare roller and have it wrapped with soft material. Then, switching modes literally just means switching rollers. First, buy a spare roller for your printer. This may cost about $100. Next, get the spare roller recovered. We recommend that you find a computer or office supply dealer who can recover your roller with a "low resilience" material. Ask for "30-Durometer rubber." (Durometers are the unit of measurement of resilience.) If possible, remove the printer ribbon to save it for printing inkprint text. Consider getting a separate print wheel reserved for Dipner Dots embossing only. Otherwise, you might end up wearing down the period character on your print wheel by making braille. If you get a metal printwheel, it will last much longer. To emboss Dipner Dots with Hot Dots, include the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET HDDRIVER=DIPNER (to tell the Hot Dots batch files to output for Dipner Dots). Dipner Dots, Inkprint Using the same method, Hot Dots can also produce inkprint (flat) braille dots. This method works with some letter quality and with some dot matrix printers. A letter quality printer needs to obey the spacing commands for the Diablo 650. A dot matrix printer needs to obey the spacing commands for Epson-style printers or for the Apple ImageWriter. As with embossing Dipner Dots, include in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the line HDDRIVER=DIPNER with a space and an extra modifier after the word DIPNER (to tell the Hot Dots batch files to output for inkprint Dipner Dots). If you are using a letter quality printer, add /R (slash R) after the word DIPNER. If you are using an Epson or IBM style dot matrix printer, add /E (slash E). If you are using an ImageWriter dot matrix printer, add /I (slash I). For example, to get inkprint dots on an Epson-style printer, include the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET HDDRIVER=DIPNER /E Index The Index has both a serial and a parallel port. For use with a PC, we recommend using the parallel connection. Just set the S/P switch to P (parallel). If you use the serial connection, use an 8M cable, and set the Index for 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and hardware handshaking. To do this, set the DIP switches to: off on on on off off off on. On most devices, turning the power off and on again sets the parameters back to the DIP switch settings. Not so on the Index. To force the Index to read the DIP switches, you must press the square "reset" button. Other parameters for the Index are established by sending escape sequences from your computer. To reset those parameters back to their default values, you must instead do a "system reset." To do a system reset, first turn the Index off. Then hold the form feed and paper rocker switches away from you while you turn the power on. Only this full system reset clears away parameter changes established by escape sequences. LED-120 The LED-120 is a now-historic embosser produced by Triformations, now Enabling Technologies. It has only a serial connection. Use an 8M cable, and set the brailler to 1200 baud. You must also set the computer's serial port to 1200 baud. When you configure the computer's serial port with a MODE command, use 12 instead of 96. You must also modify the MODE commands inside of the batch files DOTS1234 and DOTS234, to change 96 to 12. To use the LED driver, include the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET HDDRIVER=LED120 (to tell the Hot Dots batch files to output for an LED-120). Some LED-120's have special software requirements. Some need a several second delay between pages, and some need to receive a control-K instead of control-L to advance to the next page. If your unit requires a control-K instead of a control-L for a form feed, use: SET HDDRIVER=LED120 /k Marathon The Marathon interfaces to the computer just like the Romeo. See the instructions on the Romeo. MBOSS-1 The MBOSS-1 is no longer produced. Each MBOSS-1 was sold with either a serial or a parallel interface. If you have the parallel model, we believe that the connection is straightforward (but we do not have the settings for the DIP switches). If you have a serial connection, use an RDC 8M cable. Set switch bank 40 to: open open closed closed open closed open open. Set switch bank 41 to: open open open closed closed open open open open open. MBOSS-35 The MBOSS-35 is no longer produced. Despite its name, the MBOSS-35 is not related to the MBOSS-1. It was actually a prototype for the Index brailler. The MBOSS-35 is a serial embosser. Use an RDC 6F cable (straight through male-to-female) to connect the brailler to your PC. There are no DIP switches. All parameter changes are done from an external braille keyboard or from escape codes sent by a computer. The MBOSS-35 is rigged so that its default parameters are: 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity (the preferred settings for Hot Dots). Ohtsuki The Ohtsuki has both a serial and a parallel connection. The serial connection does not really work, and it is not recommended except for those who enjoy frustration. The parallel connection works very well. You need a special parallel cable. On a standard parallel cable, wire 17 from the PC connects to wire 36 on the printer, and wire 11 on the PC connects to wire 11 on the printer. On the modified cable, disconnect both of these connections, and then connect wire 11 on the PC to wire 36 on the printer (wires 17 on the PC and 11 on the printer should not be connected to anything). For a parallel connection, set the switches in bank one to: off off off on off off. The switches in banks two and three affect only the serial port. The Ohtsuki brailler has a wide variety of printing and embossing modes. The usual application is to produce print and braille from a grade two file (that is what the above switch settings do). Be aware that the inkprint is generated by a translator from braille to print inside the Ohtsuki. The braille file sent to the Ohtsuki must contain uppercase ASCII characters for the Ohtsuki's braille-to-print translator to work. That is why there is a special Ohtsuki driver. To activate the Ohtsuki driver, include the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET HDDRIVER=OHTSUKI (to tell the Hot Dots batch files to output for an Ohtsuki brailler). When the Ohtsuki is set for print and braille, it spaces out the lines so that only 19 lines can fit on a page. To fit the standard 25 lines on a page, add /N (space, slash N) after the word OHTSUKI. Personal Brailler The Personal Brailler is no longer produced. It has only a serial connection. Use an RDC 8F cable. You must use care in setting the switches on the Personal Brailler, since Enabling Technology reversed the conventional meaning of on and off for a rocker switch. A rocker switch has two ends. One end is flush with the surface, and the other is raised from the surface. On the Personal Brailler, when the end of the switch labeled "on" is raised, the switch is on. The Personal Brailler has four banks of switches, with eight switches per bank. The fourth bank is set by the factory to control timing of the embosser. Never change bank four unless you have been instructed to do so by the vendor. Set bank one to: off on on on on on on off. Set bank two to: on off on off off off off off. Set bank three to: off off off off on off off off. Do not change bank four. To find out if you have the switches set correctly, hold down the on line button as you power up. You will get a status report. This report should mention that it is set for 9600 baud. RESUS The first units were very sensitive to differences in communications parameters. The RESUS has both a serial and a parallel interface which are controlled by DIP switches. We recommend that you use the parallel port to eliminate potential problems. New units, those with serial numbers higher than 200, do not have the sensitivity of earlier units. Check the RESUS manual for details on how to set the DIP switches to meet your needs. Romeo The Romeo has both a serial and a parallel connection. The Romeo's menu number 1 is set for the IBM. Item 2 in the menu determines whether the Romeo is set for parallel or serial (1=parallel, 0=serial). The default is parallel. Menu 1 unmodified from the factory is good for parallel connection to the IBM. To make menu 1 the default, enter the following: <off line> 0.1E 1.0E 1.1E The serial connection requires an RDC 8F cable. Here is how you load menu 1; set menu 1 to serial; change the values to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, and no parity; and then make menu 1 the default. Enter the following on the keypad: <off line> 0.1E 2.0E 3.9600E 4.8E 6.0E 1.0E 1.1E Some early Romeo units sometimes lock up entirely. To totally reset the Romeo (losing all your stored menus), enter the following: <off line> 0.0E 95E 98E 99E TED-600 We are not sure of the interfacing details with the TED-600. Contact Enabling Technologies for the details. However, we do know that you need to include SET HDDRIVER=LED120 in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to get correct output from the Hot Dots batch files. This driver pads each line with spaces, which the TED-600 requires. Thiel The Thiel has only a serial connection. Use an RDC 8F cable. To set the parameters on the Thiel, you have to go through a configuration dialogue in braille. All the critical parameters on the Thiel are set from a simple YES/NO keyboard. Set the on-line/local switch to local. To begin the dialogue, hold down the YES button a few seconds and then release. Here is the dialogue: Start of the set-up program: Dialog in detscher sprache? Outprint in German language? No Display parameters? No Select Fixed Parameters? No Change Character Set? Yes Character Set German? No Character system U<;S-ASCII? Yes Change format of printing? Yes 6-dot presentation? Yes Continuous Print? No Page length 13 inches? No Page length 12 inches? No Page length 11 inches? Yes Change line spacing? No 26 lines per page is possible. Change number? No Number of characters per line: 42 Change number? No Word Wrap? No Indent following line overflow? No Paperfeed at end of page? Yes Change computer connection? Yes Allow escape sequences? No Change baudrate? Yes 9600 baud? Yes Change data format? Yes Parity on? No Number of stopbits 1? Yes Change Synchronization? Yes Synchronization Xon/Xoff No Synchronization DTR? Yes Synchronization DTR-positive? Yes Half-Duplex? Yes Change mode of read key? No Selftest? No The Thiel displays all the selected parameters and asks Save Parameters? Answer Yes. These parameters are remembered even when you turn off the power. To get ready to print, make sure the top of form is appropriate and flip the switch to on-line. VersaBraille (tape based) A VersaBraille is a linear braille device. When you send a file to the VersaBraille, you want to exclude formatting commands and hardcopy formatting that would make reading more difficult. To do this, set the environmental variable LINEAR to 1 with the command SET LINEAR=1 <enter>. Place this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you want it most of the time. Setting the variable LINEAR equal to 1 tells Hot Dots that you have a linear braille device. That suppresses extra dollar sign commands when you import a file into Hot Dots. It also eliminates the step of formatting the file for hardcopy output when you use the Hot Dots batch files. If you want to begin processing for hardcopy output again, enter SET LINEAR= <enter> (nothing after the equals sign). To interface with the older tape-based VersaBraille, you need the special I/O cable that comes with the VersaBraille. Examine it. One side is hammer shaped, and it goes into the VersaBraille. The other side is either a female or a male 25-pin connection. If it is female, you need an 8M cable. If it is male, you need an 8F cable. Load the terminal overlay and set the parameters as follows: b 9600; d 8; p n; s 1; t c; ll 80; pl 0; ci sp (or y if you want to capture carriage returns); cr 0; et eot; dx f; hs dtr; ai n; co cr; ak n; dci n; cts y; cd n Save these parameters with a chord-o. Open a new chapter and get into remote mode with a chord-r r. Make sure that the cursor is up. Then you are ready to send material to the VersaBraille with the DOTS1234 or DOTS234 batch file. To upload from the VersaBraille to the PC, you need to lower the baudrate. We recommend 1200 baud. (You might experiment to see if a higher baud rate works on your system.) Load the hardcopy overlay and set the parameters as follows: b 1200; d 8; p n; s 1; t c; ll 72; pl 0; ci u; cr 0; et eot; dx f; hs dc3; ai n; co crlf; ak y; dci y; cts y; cd n Save the overlay with a chord-o. Also create a chapter called UPLOAD on the VersaBraille which has only one character: control-Z. Also set the IBM's serial port to 1200 baud: change the MODE commands in the DOTS1234 and DOTS234 batch files. On the PC, issue a command like: COPY COM1 <filename> <Enter>. Find the chapter on the table of contents. Do not load it. Instead, issue a chord-x p to send it to the PC. Finally, send the UPLOAD chapter (consisting of just a control-Z) to the PC to tell the PC that the file transmission is over. VersaBraille II (disk based) The VersaBraille II is a linear braille device. When you send a file to the VersaBraille, you want to exclude formatting commands and hardcopy formatting that would make reading more difficult. To do this, set the environmental variable LINEAR to 1 with the command SET LINEAR=1. Place this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you want it most of the time. Setting the variable LINEAR equal to 1 tells Hot Dots that you have a linear braille device. That suppresses extra dollar sign commands when you import a file into Hot Dots. It also eliminates the step of formatting the file for hardcopy output when you use the Hot Dots batch files. If you want to begin processing for hardcopy output again, enter SET LINEAR= <enter> (nothing after the equals sign). Use a 6F cable (straight through male-to-female) between the PC and the DCE (corner) port on the VersaBraille II. Set the communications parameters as follows: 9600 baud 8 data bits 1 stop bit half duplex no parity DC IN no DC OUT no DTR handshake DSR yes CTS yes RTS handshake To send a file to the VersaBraille, select the files menu, then select print, and then select input. After you specify the file name, you have to specify the device. Answer No to the prompt "Do you want to send a command?". To send a file from the VersaBraille, select the files menu, then print, and then serial. Specify the file name and the device. You are then asked if you want the file formatted or not (your choice) and if you want to pause. On the PC use the COPY command to copy the serial port to a file name. You need a control-Z at the end of the file to terminate the transmission. You may find it useful to keep a file on the VersaBraille that just consists of a control-Z. Send it last. Another way to transfer data There is a product from Cornucopia Software [1625 Beverly Place, Berkeley CA 94707; (415) 528-7000] called IBM-VBII which allows an IBM computer with a 3.5 inch drive to read and write VersaBraille II disks. Your computer must have a 3.5 inch drive that can handle 720k disks. Some older IBM XT's or quasi-compatibles may not work. IBM-VBII costs $250. Contact the vendor for details. VersaPoint The VersaPoint has both a serial and a parallel connection. We recommend using the parallel connection. There are no DIP switches for setting the parameters on the VersaPoint. Instead, you go through a dialogue in braille, as with the Thiel. The VersaPoint remembers 5 different collections of parameters (numbered 0 through 4), and it is easy to switch between them. It is much easier to switch between "set up 0" and "set up 4" than to go through the entire dialogue. So it helps to save the settings you need at different times as separate set ups. Note: Set up 0 is fixed (always goes back to its factory-set values when you turn off the VersaPoint). To do a total reset on the VersaPoint, set the A/B switch to A, set the on line/off line switch to on line, turn off the unit, and hold down all four buttons while you power on. This resets all the set ups to their original factory settings. It sets the default set up to be set up 0. The "default set up" means the set up that the VersaPoint uses when you turn on the power. Once you do a full reset, the set ups are as follows: set up 0 is for the Apple II; set up 1 is also for the Apple II; set up 2 is for PC parallel; set up 3 is for PC parallel sideways; set up 4 is for PC serial. To switch between these set ups, Hold down the LF button during power up. In the dialogue, the FF button means yes, the LF button means NO, and the TF button means exit. A typical dialogue is as follows: TSI VERSAPOINT SET UP MENU PUSH LF-NEXT FF-ENTER, TF-EXIT BRAILLE OUTPUT: YES Yes RECALL SET UP: 2 No RECALL SET UP: 3 No RECALL SET UP: 4 Yes LANGUAGE: U.S.A. Exit STORE SET UP: 4 Exit There is one major quirk about how the VersaPoint configuration process works. A set up becomes the default only through the act of being loaded, not by being saved. For example, suppose you load set up 4, make some changes, and then save the results in set up 3. You might expect that set up 3 (the revised parameters) would be the default. Wrong. The last set up that was loaded (set up 4) is the default. However, once you load configuration three (which contains the changes you saved), it becomes the default set up. When you save a set up, the configuration program offers you a chance to load that set up again. Do it. That will make that set up the default set up.