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Back & Forth Professional Version 2.00 1 February 1992 Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 by Progressive Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved Progressive Solutions Sandi & Shane Stump Box 276125 San Antonio, Texas 78227 Sales: (800) 833 4400 : (512) 670 0882 Technical Support: (512) 670 1061 Fax: (512) 670 1061 BBS 1200/9600: (512) 670 0954 BBS 2400/9600: (512) 670 1809 Compuserve: GO ZENITH section 13 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 1 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Shareware Principle Shareware is one alternative to the increasingly high price of commercial software. Good software is made available for a limited test period to users for their evaluation. Once that test period is over, you should determine if you think the program is useful. If you use the program, you should send the requested contribution to the author of the program. Otherwise, you should delete the software from your machine. This software is not intended as a "freebie". Just as you work hard for a living and do not want people taking advantage of you by not paying you for your work, this is our occupation and it takes a TREMENDOUS amount of time, $$$money$$$, energy, and effort. If software authors are not reimbursed for their work, they will eventually quit writing for the shareware public. Unregistered All unregistered copies of Back & Forth display a registration Copies information screen and require a randomly generated key to be pressed. Unregistered versions also allow only 2400k of swap space for use. When you register your copy of the program, you receive a key file which eliminates this nuisance. This key file may be used with all later versions of Back & Forth. This lets you easily update B&F whenever you find a new version. Single User On the opening screen of Back & Forth, our name, address,phone Registration number, limits, and requested registration price is displayed. The phone number is only provided for use in registering your copy or for REGISTERED users to call for phone support. We cannot give extensive phone support to unregistered users. If you have a question or a problem, we will try to help you, but if you do not intend to register your copy, please do not call Registered users receive the latest version,full phone support, and a complete, printed manual. Registered users also get a key file which is used to remove the annoying Shareware screen from all future versions of the registered product. Registration We accept Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, checks, money orders, and purchase orders. The registration fee is $69.95 plus shipping. If registering by mail, please send your name and address printed clearly along with a check or money order for the registration fee plus $6.00 shipping. When ordering outside of the United States, either send a check or money order drawn on a US bank in US funds or use your bank card. For overseas orders, please add $15.00 for Air mail delivery. Otherwise, we have to send it by boat (and you know how long that can take!). Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 2 ______________________________________________________________________________ If you wish to make any comments or suggestions, we recommend that you write us a letter rather than phone so that we can keep a record. If you are not a registered user and you wish a response to your letter, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Corporate & Registration is based on the number of users using the program Multiple and the number of systems that the program is installed on. Copy/ What this means is that the single-user registration fee does Network NOT register an entire user group, business, school district, Registration or any other multiple user/computer organization. For cases like these, we have quantity pricing. Please see ORDER.DOC for volume purchases, network pricing, and site licenses. Dealers!!! Please call 512-670-1061 for dealer pricing! Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 3 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 1: Introduction Program Back & Forth Professional is a versatile program management Description tool that gives you the power to load up to 20 programs at once. Now you can switch between your favorite word processor, database, graphics program, and TSR utilities at will without having to exit one to open and use another. Its features include: * Delivers a flexible task management environment where up to 20 programs may be open in memory, with each provided as much memory as needed. * Occupies only 23-40k of memory, less than 1k if loaded high. * Offers an easy-to-use, colorful, & customizable environment. * Supports CGA, EGA, Hercules, VGA, SVGA, and 1024x768 video modes. * Enables the use of a Microsoft-compatible mouse. * Uses expanded memory (EMS), extended memory, RAM disks, hard disks, and conventional memory to store swapped programs. * Permits you to select the hot keys used to pop up Back & Forth, other B&F commands, and all defined programs. * Accepts the definition of 50 programs for use within Back & Forth. * Provides an alternative menu list for use in defining menus and programs for use within Back & Forth. * Runs a selected list of programs automatically when first loaded. * Provides a set of desktop accessories that include an address book, time and event scheduler, graphics screen capture, editor, tape and RPN calculator. * Signals when specific appointments occur. Tasks can also be set to run at scheduled times using the Overtime! appointment handler. * Lets you cut text from a running program and either place it in a folder for later pasting, print it, or write it to a separate file. * Allows you to edit the contents of the cut buffer and save text. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 4 ______________________________________________________________________________ * Dials a number from the screen if a modem is available. * Assigns a sequence of keystrokes to a single macro key for use in simplifying command execution within a program or DOS. * Replaces special abbreviations with commonly-used words, names, and phrases to save typing time. * Permits color customization where you can choose the colors that suits your tastes rather than someone else's. Supports all video modes provided by UltraVision. * Switches the [Ctrl] and [Caps Lock] keys. System To run Back & Forth, your computer system must meet or exceed Requirements the following specifications: * IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or 100% PC compatible with 512k of main memory. * EMS memory, XMS memory, RAM disk, or hard disk for use in storing file information swapped to disk. * MS-DOS 3.0, PC-DOS 3.0, or later version, DRDOS, or 4DOS. * A Microsoft-compatible mouse is optional. If a mouse is to be used with Back & Forth, its driver must be installed in memory before Back & Forth is run. * A color monitor is optional. * A modem is needed if the dialer is to be used. * EMS with either 386-to-the-Max, QEMM, Netroom, EMM386, QRAM, or Move'em loaded, if high memory is to be used. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 5 ______________________________________________________________________________ Back & Forth The Back & Forth package contains the following files. Files BFP.EXE The full Back & Forth program. BFPHIGH.EXE The part of B&F loaded into high memory. BFPLOW.COM The part of B&F loaded into lower memory. This must be run immediately after BFPHIGH. BFPLOAD.COM Back & Forth high memory loader. BFP00#.OVL The 11 Back & Forth command overlays. BFP00#.HLP The Back & Forth help files. BFPA.EXE, Version of BFP.EXE and BFPHIGH.EXE without the BFPHIGHA.EXE print buffer, clock, screen blanker, and keyboard macros. This reduces the amount of memory Back & Forth uses by 10k. BFPB.EXE, Version of BFP.EXE and BFPHIGH.EXE without the BFPHIGHB.EXE print buffer. This reduces the amount of memory Back & Forth uses by 2.5k. BFPC.EXE, Version of BFPA.EXE & BFPHIGHA.EXE without a BFPHIGHC.EXE command stack for users of DOSKEY, PCED, etc. BFPD.EXE, Version of BFP.EXE and BFPHIGH.EXE without the BFPHIGHD.EXE print buffer and command stack for users of DOSKEY, PCED, etc. BFPE.EXE, Version of BFP.EXE and BFPHIGH.EXE without the BFPHIGHE.EXE command stack for users of DOSKEY, PCED, etc. BFPHELP.EXE Back & Forth help function. BFPSETUP.EXE Creates the executable batch files. BNFCLOCK Lets you turn off the clock within a partition. BNFEGA.EXE Video driver TSR used by Back & Forth to correctly store EGA video settings. *.ACC The Back & Forth BackPack accessories. KBSTEAL.EXE Utility run before programs like Windows which is used to allow the use of hot keys for switching between B&F, other tasks,and Windows. KEYLOAD.EXE, Loads/Saves keyboard macro file at the DOS KEYSAVE.EXE prompt. KEYPLAY.COM Plays back a macro from the DOS prompt. SWITCH.COM Utility which lets you switch partitions from the DOS prompt. NOBNFPRO Used with Higgins version 2.4 and later to replace the limited version of B&F provided with Back & Forth Professional. TSRWAIT.COM Program that allows special TSRs to be loaded within Back & Forth. Such TSRs require a program to be run within it. WHICHBNF Utility used in batch files to determine which B&F executable file to run. VIDTYPE.EXE Utility used to determine whether BNFEGA needs to be loaded. README.B&F Last second hints / additions to Back & Forth. COMPAT.DOC Hints on using Back & Forth with some specific software and hardware configurations. HISTORY.B&F Lists bug fixes and changes made to B&F. *.DOC, *.B&F Other files including order form, product list, etc. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 6 ______________________________________________________________________________ Permanent Back & Forth creates several files which are used to store Data Files configuration information for various aspects of the program. The "###", as used below, represents the network user number. B&FPRO.BAT The batch file used to set up and execute Back & Forth. Run this way, B&F uses 23-40k. B&FHIPRO.BAT The batch file used to set up, load high,& run Back & Forth. Run this way, B&F uses 1k. BPVARS The file that holds all Back & Forth settings including swap space allocation, program list, hot keys, color scheme, etc. CLIPBORD.### The contents of the Cut & Paste buffer. KEYFILES.### Master list of all Cut & Paste key folders. KEY#####.### Individual Cut & Paste key folders. *.M## Key macro storage files. The eight character file name is defined by the user. Temporary Back & Forth also creates several temporary storage files which Storage Files are deleted after B&F is exited. AUTOTYPE.### Keystroke files used by B&F to pass data to DOS DIRTREEx.MAP The directory tree of the named disk. SWAPFILE.00# The files used to store program data. About this Two divergent philosophies exist about the writing of program Manual manuals. Some manuals are written from the point of view that a user intends to sit down with the book and read it from cover to cover before attempting to use the program. When a writer adopts this attitude, the manual can be written without excessive detail, since the writer assumes that once the process of using a menu or invoking a quick key has been described, the user will remember that procedure and not need to have it described again. This assumption can significantly streamline the writing process. Unfortunately, it has been our experience that most users jump right into their recently-purchased program, perhaps only skimming the first pages of the manual for information about installing the program. These users may never open up the manual until a problem occurs. The big problem with this attitude is that the writer cannot ever be sure that the user has read a particular page describing the use of a particular aspect of the program. With this in mind, this manual has been written in the style of a reference book, with each section treated as if you have not read the rest of the manual. Instead of describing the process of invoking a command or menu once then assuming throughout the rest of the manual that you have read and understood that paragraph, we detail the process step-by-step within each command as needed. You occasionally will be referred to other parts of the manual for more information on specific commands when the subject in question is more involved than a single paragraph can cover. Most of the time, however, you only will have to go to one section of the manual to find the answer to your questions about the operation of a command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 7 ______________________________________________________________________________ This manual has been broken down into seven sections and seven appendices. Section 1: Introduction contains a program description, the system requirements, the program files, and this description of the manual. Section 2: Back & Forth QuickStart outlines the steps necessary to get up and running quickly. Section 3: Installing Back & Forth delineates the steps necessary for installing Back & Forth on your system and setting up the swap space requirements. Section 3: Configuring Swap Space for Back & Forth Pro details the swap space requirements and the allocation process. Section 4: Setting Up Back & Forth Pro itemizes the options provided within the default [F7] Setup menu. Section 5: Running Back & Forth describes the use of the default display mode of Back & Forth once it has been set up. Section 6: Special Features of Back & Forth Pro contains descriptions of the command stack, Cut & Paste, Back & Grab (a graphics screen grabber), key macros, Shorthand, and other features provided for use with tasks run from Back & Forth. Appendices A-G contain our program credits, a list of error messages and their probable causes, a troubleshooting guide, a description of the use of memory resident programs (TSRs), network installation instructions, optimization instructions and a glossary. For those of you who habitually read a software manual from beginning to end before using the program, we apologize for the excessive detail. If it is any consolation to you, while sifting through some of the necessarily extraneous information, you may find many useful commands which may not be obvious to other users who do not read the manual. Other Three reference utilities are available for use in locating Reference program information. These are the table of contents, the Information index, and the help utility included with the program. Each is sufficiently detailed to make the process of locating seemingly elusive items of information about any subject a relatively painless task. The README As with most programs, the version of Back & Forth that you File have in your hand (or in your disk drive) may have already undergone a few modifications and additions since the printing of the manual. A description of any such changes is provided within the Back & Forth README.B&F file. All users should read this file before using Back & Forth. In this way, you are notified of any interesting changes to the program and you may pick up some useful tips on using Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 8 ______________________________________________________________________________ If You If you experience any difficulties with any of the commands, Experience first read the more detailed explanation of the command and its Problems usage contained in the appropriate section of the manual or refer to the extensive help provided on-line. A list of error messages produced by B&F can be found within Appendix B. If this does not help, consult the README.B&F and COMPAT.B&F files. These files cover additions and modifications made to Back & Forth since the manual was printed and outline hints on using B&F with other programs and hardware configurations. If the above suggestions do not help, then consult Appendix C: Troubleshooting. This section lists common problems and ways to overcome them. Please read this section before contacting us. Remember, the more unnecessary phone calls we take, the less time we have to produce more features, additions, and updates. Common Most computer-specific terms used within this manual are Terminology defined within Appendix G: Glossary. Other terms are used interchangeably throughout this manual. These include: Program, Task All refer to the program being run. Task and Application Application are generic words describing a program and its use. Partition Partition refers to the system environment used by the program; it covers the swap space, memory, and program in use. DOS partition A partition where you are placed at a DOS prompt within Back & Forth. At this prompt, you may run any program and still use the hot keys to swap to other programs. Execute, Run All refer to running a program within Back & Open, Load Forth. Open refers to opening a new partition for the program's use, Load places the program into memory either by running it or by retrieving it from the swap drive. Switch, Swap Used in conjunction with hot key use. These Pop back words refer to the process of switching from one program to another. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 9 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 2: Back & Forth QuickStart This QuickStart manual outlines the basic procedure used to install Back & Forth on your system, allocate swap space, configure program entries, and execute these tasks. Installing An Install program has been included to help you install Back & Back & Forth Forth. This copies the files to a selected directory, extracts them, and creates a batch file for use in running Back & Forth. To install Back & Forth, place the B&F Install diskette in a floppy drive, log to that drive, and type INSTALL. For example, if the Install disk is in drive A, type the following: A: [Enter] INSTALL [Enter] Now follow the instructions shown on the screen. The Back & Once Back & Forth has been installed, you will find that either Forth Batch one or two batch files have been created. The first batch file, Files named B&FPRO.BAT, runs Back & Forth using conventional memory; the second batch file, B&FHIPRO.BAT, loads B&F into high memory. B&FHIPRO.BAT is created only if high memory is detected and a program such as QEMM, QRAM, Netroom, 386-to-the-Max, Move'em, or EMM386 is used to initialize it. These batch files must be copied to a location along your DOS path so that they can be available at all times. Changing the Before running Back & Forth for the first time, check the CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.SYS found in your root directory on your primary drive to ensure that at least 80 file handles are available. Important: FILES=80 are the minimum number recommended for use by Back & Forth. If you attempt to run B&F with less, an error message is shown. Any text editor that creates ASCII text may be used to edit the CONFIG.SYS file. If you do not have an ASCII editor, you may be able to use a word processor that lets you either save or export a file in non-document (unformatted) mode. Running B&F Once the installation process has been completed, run Back & for the First Forth by typing B&FPRO or B&FHIPRO at the DOS prompt. Time If a problem is encountered when running one of these batch files, verify that the batch files are located within a directory along your DOS path. Swap Drive When Back & Forth is first run, the Swap drive setup screen is Setup shown. This is where swap space is allocated for Back & Forth. Swap space is used to reduce the amount of memory Back & Forth uses while it is not active, i.e. when Back & Forth and its inactive tasks are not shown on the screen. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 10 ______________________________________________________________________________ Initially, let's set up a simple swap space configuration. You can later come back to the Swap Drive setup and reset these values, if necessary. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Nov 1, 1991 Back & Forth Pro version 2.0 6:47:00am │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Manage EMS memory: No │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Save EGA/VGA fonts: No │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Print buffer size: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Swap to XMS memory: Off 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Swap to EMS memory: Off 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 1: D:\ 5008 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 2: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 3: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Total swap space including 619 of conventional memory 5625 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Some DOS applications manipulate the EMS memory in a way that is │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ incompatible with B&F's mark/release function. If you experience EMS│▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ (or unexplained) lockups, toggle this option to No. │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ U D Move between fields L R Move within field F1 Help F9 Accept F10 ExitBF Press the [Down] cursor key five (5) times to move the selection bar down to the first program swap drive entry. Type in the name of a drive and directory where at least 5000k is free for use. To use our example above, type D:\ and press [Enter] Now enter the amount of swap space to be allocated, in this case 5000. This should be enough to load and use 6-8 programs simultaneously within Back & Forth. When [Enter] is pressed, the number is rounded up to the next multiple of 16, which in this case is 5008. If running a shareware version of B&F, only 2400k of swap space is allowed. The second and third program swap drive entries are available for use if you need to allocate swap space on more than one drive. If you have XMS or EMS memory available for use by Back & Forth, you can move the cursor to the correct entry and pressing the [Left] cursor key until "On" is shown. Now press [Enter]. The Back & The main Back & Forth screen is composed of four distinct Forth Screen parts. In the center of the screen is shown two program lists, with all open tasks identified in the top list, and all tasks available for execution named in the bottom. The first time B&F is run, both program lists should be empty. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 11 ______________________________________________________________________________ Pull-Down The top lines show the pull-down menu entries, consisting of Menus BackPacks, Program, Setup, Usage, and Quit. These entries are activated when the [F2] Menu key is pressed. Use the [Left] and [Right] cursor keys to open one of these pull-down menus, use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to highlight the desired menu option. The BackPacks menu contains the optional B&F desktop utilities such as the Calculator, Editor, graphics screen Grabber, Overtime! event scheduler, and RoloBack address and telephone database. The Program menu contains the task definition and execution options of B&F. The Setup menu holds the various configuration options available, like hot key setup and color selection. The Usage tracking menu contains the log commands that let you monitor what tasks are used and how long each are used. Function Keys The function key commands are shown at the bottom of the screen. [F1] displays the help information available within Back & Forth, [F2] activates the pull-down menus shown at the top of the screen, [F5] summarizes the memory, swap space, and print buffer space in use, [F6] clears the screen and password protects your system while you are away from your computer, and [F10] removes all tasks from memory and exits Back & Forth. The Program setup is found within the [F2] Program menu. Using a Mouse For those of you with mice scampering around on your desks, with Back & Back & Forth may be set up to run with a Microsoft compatible Forth mouse. When a mouse is used with Back & Forth, a separate blinking block mouse cursor is shown on the screen. With it, you may move to and select any option shown on the screen including function key commands and program list entries. Simply position the mouse cursor within the desired item and press the [Left] mouse button. To exit a menu, press the [Right] mouse button. [F1] Help The [F1] Help key displays information describing the use of selected Back & Forth options. When pressed, help is shown about the currently displayed window. The help text is a compilation of the contents of the User manual. To change the help index, press the [F5] Index key. A menu lists all defined help topics. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired index. Press [Enter] to view the help information for the highlighted index. To scroll the help text one line at a time, use the [Up] or [Down] keys. Use [PgDn] or [PgUp] to show the next or previous pages of text. When you have finished, press [Esc] to exit Help. [F2] Menu The Program setup is available for selection within the pull-down menus, shown at the top of the screen. To define one or more tasks for use within B&F, press [F2] to activate the pull-down menus, press [P] to open the Program menu, and press [P] again to select the Program setup option. You can also activate the Program menu by pressing [Alt][P], then pressing [P] to open the Program setup. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 12 ______________________________________________________________________________ Adding a To add a new task to the Program setup list, press the [F2] Program Entry key. This shows a task information screen containing all of the information needed by Back & Forth to run the task. More specialized task and environment information is shown within the [F8] Advanced task definition window. Many of the entries contained within this menu can be used to customize the use of Back & Forth with the task being defined. Below is a brief description of each entry. Use the mouse or cursor keys to move the highlighted entry bar to each field. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field. If the entry is a Yes/No field, pressing the [Left] or [Right] key changes the setting between Yes/No. Press the [Ins] key to switch the text entry mode between Insert (small block cursor) and Overwrite (underline cursor). Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Description Enter a description of the task being defined. Memory needed Set the amount of memory needed by the task to run to 0, which allocates all available memory. Later you may want to determine the actual amount of memory needed, to maximize swap resources and minimize swap time. Icon Enter an eight character description that is used within the description Icon menu view option to identify this program entry on the screen. ID Type a 2 character identification code for use in quickly jumping to and executing a task in the Program list. All entries must have an ID; however, you may wish to assign an obscure ID like "()" to programs that you do not want to execute by accident. Hot key Press [F7] to open the hot key definition window. Now select a hot key that you wish to use to jump to and run this task. Hot keys let you jump between various open tasks and/or Back & Forth at will. To select a hot key combination, simply press the key combination desired. The hot key must be a combination of one or more key flags [Alt], [Ctrl], [Left Shift], [Right Shift] and a function or alphanumeric key. Press [F9] to save the hot key. Type of task Select the type of task. For now, leave this set to "Program". The other three options are: "DOS partition", "Program without Comspec", and "Special TSR". DOS command If the task being defined is an actual DOS command like COPY, DIR, or CHDIR, set this to Yes; otherwise leave this set to No. Program path Identify the directory path where the executable program file can be found. You can either type in the drive and directory path or you can press [F7] to pick the path from a directory tree. While within the directory tree, press [F8] to select another disk and press [F9] to save the path. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 13 ______________________________________________________________________________ Program name Type in the name of the executable program file to be run. This file must end with the extension EXE, COM, BAT, or BTM. To select from a list of all executable files located within the defined program path, press [F7]. If the program is not shown in this list, change the program path. Work path Name the directory containing the data files used by the program. If this path is set, the program is actually run from this directory, using the program directory only to locate the program files. Some programs (like some versions of WordStar) must be run from their program directories; for these tasks, leave this field blank. [F7] may also be used to select a directory for this field. Fixed options If you ordinarily type in consistent command line information when running this task, enter this information here. For example, when defining the DOS FORMAT program to format a 3½ inch, 720k diskette located in drive B:, the fixed command line information would be: B: /n:9 /t:80 (or) B: /f:720 (depending on your version of DOS). Ask for Set this ON only if you wish to be prompted each time the options program is run for command line information. Custom prompt If "Ask for Options" is turned On, type in the prompt that you wish to appear when the task is chosen for execution. This should be used to describe the command line information needed by a program. Action when Leave this entry set to "Return" unless the program either is a done TSR or short DOS / utility programs. If configuring a TSR that runs itself then exits to a DOS prompt, you should set this to "Stay at DOS". If setting up a utility that runs itself and exits, like CHKDSK, set this to "Pause". Other program definition options are available within the [F8] Extended program definition window. These options are generally not necessary to setup programs for execution. In fact, most of these entries configure aspects of B&F like macro use, clock display, screen blanker mode, etc. To see a description of these entries, consult the Program setup documentation in Section 5. Press [F9] to save the program configuration. You are then returned to the Program setup list, where the newly defined task should be shown. To define more program entries, press [F2] again; to edit the highlighted task in the list, press [F7]. Once you have defined the tasks to be used, press [F9] to save and exit the Program setup. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 14 ______________________________________________________________________________ Sample Program Below are two sample program definition screens. The first one Definitions configures a partition to execute Word Perfect and open a phone notebook. The second one sets up a DOS prompt environment where you can execute any program. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: Word Perfect Phone Notes Memory needed (K): 0 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: WP Phone ID: PN│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-N │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: Program DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: C:\WP │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: WP.EXE │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: D:\NOTES │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: PHONBOOK │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ To define a task entry that executes Word Perfect and automatically loads the data file called PHONBOOK.DOC, follow these steps: [F2] Enter task definition window to add a new Word Perfect PhoneNotes[Enter] task 0 enter task description WP Phone set the maximum amount of memory PN[Enter] enter 8 character icon description [F7] enter ID characters to be used [Alt][Ctrl][N] enter the hot key selection menu [F9] simultaneously press the hot keys to be used [Enter] save the hot key selected [Enter] leave program type set to Program C:\WP[Enter] leave DOS command set to No WP[Enter] path where program is found D:\NOTES[Enter] name of program PHONBOOK[Enter] path where data file is found [Enter] info typed after task name when run [Enter] leave Ask for Options set to No [Enter] leave custom prompt blank [F9] leave action type set to Return [F10] save program definition exit Program setup Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 15 ______________________________________________________________________________ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: DOS Partition Memory needed (K): 0 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: DSPrompt ID: DP│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-D │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: DOS Partition DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ To define a task to open a DOS prompt where any program can be run at your discretion, follow these steps: [F2] Enter task definition window to add a new DOS Partition [Enter] task 0 enter task description DSPrompt[Enter] set the maximum amount of memory DP[Enter] define an 8 character icon description [F7] enter ID characters to be used [Alt][Ctrl][D] enter the hot key selection menu [F9] press the hot keys to be assigned P[Enter] save the hot key selected [Enter] set the program type to DOS partition [F9] leave DOS command set to No [F10] save program definition exit Program setup More sample program setups appear within the Program setup, found within Section 5. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 16 ______________________________________________________________________________ Familiarizing Yourself with Back & Forth Using Back & Now that a few programs have been set up for use within Back & Forth Pro Forth, you are probably ready to try using them. Once you have exited the Program setup, you are returned to the main Back & Forth screen with the defined tasks shown in the Program list window. The Back & The following is a representation of the Back & Forth main Forth Screen program screen. BackPacks Program Setup Usage Quit ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────Active Programs─────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ No active tasks found │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌───────────────────────────────Program List──────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ Word Perfect Phone Notes 618 'Alt-Ctrl-N ' [PN] │▒▒ ▒▒│ DOS Partition 618 'Alt-Ctrl-D ' [DP] │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Quick run: _ Tab Change windows U D Move bar Ent Open task │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Menu 5Info 6LockKb 9RetPgm 10ExitBF Active Program The Active Program list identifies all active tasks open within List Back & Forth. Up to 20 tasks may be open at once. Tasks are "active" when they have been run within Back & Forth and have not been exited and removed from memory. When no tasks have been opened, a message is shown stating "No tasks are active". Program List The Program list window names all tasks defined within the Program setup for execution within Back & Forth, the estimated amount of memory needed by the task to run, the task ID code, and its hot key. Program List At the bottom of the current program list (the one with the Commands selection bar), the following commands are shown. Quick Run Jumps to and executes a task when its task ID code is typed. This ID is shown on the far right side of the Program list. For example, to run the DOS Partition from the above screen, type DP. [Tab] Change Moves the selection bar between the Active windows Program list and the Program list. [Up][Down] Moves the file selection bar. [Enter] Runs the highlighted program. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 17 ______________________________________________________________________________ Running a Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to Program highlight the task to be run then press [Enter] or [Ins]. You can also run a task by typing its two character task ID or by pressing its hot key. For example, to execute Word Perfect from the above Program list, either highlight "Word Perfect Phone Notes" in the Program list and press [Enter], type "PN", or press [Alt][Ctrl][N] simultaneously. While within a task, you can cut & paste selected blocks of text. Other features include: keyboard macros, onscreen clock, screen blanker, and a DOS partition command stack. Switching Back & Forth may be used to open up to 20 tasks in memory at Between Active once if enough swap space is available. To switch between Tasks tasks, either use the Back & Forth hot key to return to the Back & Forth Active Program list to select the next task, or use the hot keys assigned to each task to open and switch between them at will. To switch from one program to another, press the program's hot key. Pressing the hot key assigned to an open program swaps the current program out of memory to the allocated swap space and swaps the program identified by the hot key into memory, restoring it to the state that it was in before it had been swapped out. For example, if you are typing in Word Perfect and decide that you wish to jump to the DOS Partition, press the DOS Partition hot key, [Alt][Ctrl][D]. To jump back to Word Perfect, press [Alt][Ctrl][N]. Switching Back To pop-back to Back & Forth, press the Back & Forth hot key. to Back & This is set within the Setup menu Hot key option. To use the Forth default Back & Forth hot key to pop back to Back & Forth from a running program, press [Alt], [Ctrl], and [Space] keys simultaneously. When you exit a program, you are returned to the Back & Forth Active Program list. From here you may return to another open program within this list or you may use the Program list to select other programs for execution. To jump back into the Program list, press the [Tab] key. Caution! Do not pop-back while a communications program is connected to another system and input is expected. When a program is swapped out of memory, it ceases execution until it is recalled to the screen. One other caveat, do not use disk modification programs while Back & Forth is open and other tasks are in memory. Many programs create temporary files while open which are deleted when the programs are exited normally. These files could be altered, truncated, or removed by programs like disk optimizers or CHKDSK /F. Using one of these programs may result in loss of data or a program "lock up". Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 18 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F10] Exit To exit Back & Forth, first exit all active tasks. To do this, Back & Forth move the selection bar to highlight each program entry within the Active Program list and press [Enter]. Once within that program, save any open data files and use the program's Exit command to remove the program from memory naturally. If the highlighted task is a DOS partition, type 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt. Once the program has been exited, control is returned to the Active Program list. Continue this procedure until the Active Program list shows the message "No tasks are active". Now press the [F10] ExitBF key. If all tasks have been properly closed, the swap files are then deleted, Back & Forth is removed from memory, and the program is exited. If any tasks are still open when the [F10] key is pressed (either because of accidental oversight or because the program is unwilling to relinquish memory), you are then prompted to verify whether you wish for all open programs to be forcibly removed. Press [Y] to exit Back & Forth and remove all programs, press [N] to remain within Back & Forth. You should make every attempt to exit all open programs naturally so that you can ensure that all data files are properly closed and all temporary files are correctly handled. Warning! If all open programs are not exited normally, i.e. via their own exit command, all data files may not be updated and closed, and temporary files may still exist on the disk. If this occurs, upon running CHKDSK /F or other disk checking software, you may find a number of lost clusters or unidentified program swap files. Do not turn off your computer before exiting Back & Forth. If Back & Forth is not exited normally, i.e. via the [F10] ExitBF key, not only may lost clusters occur but also its swap files will still occupy space on your disk. The On/Off power switch is not a viable alternative to the [F10] ExitBF command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 19 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 3: Installing Back & Forth Pro The Install An Install program has been included to assist you in Program installing Back & Forth Professional onto your system. This copies the compressed files to a selected hard disk directory, extracts them, and creates a batch file for use in running Back & Forth. The Installation program does NOT modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT. To install Back & Forth, place the B&F Install diskette in a floppy drive, log to that drive, and type INSTALL. For example, if you have placed the Install disk in drive A, type the following: A:[Enter] INSTALL [Enter] Selecting the When Install is loaded, you are prompted to press any key. It B&F Directory then seeks out the SET B&FPRO variable. If found, the B&F files are copied from the diskette to the path designated by that variable. Else, you are prompted for the path to be used to store Back & Forth. The default path is C:\B&FPRO. Extracting B&F Once the directory is chosen, the Back & Forth files are extracted from the storage file and listed to the screen. Creating the Once Back & Forth has been installed, you will find that either Back & Forth one or two batch files have been created. The first batch file, Batch Files named B&FPRO.BAT, runs Back & Forth using conventional memory; the second batch file, B&FHIPRO.BAT, loads B&F into high memory. B&FHIPRO.BAT is created only if high memory is detected and a program such as QEMM, QRAM, Netroom, 386-to-the-Max, Move'em, or EMM386 is used to initialize it. Once the batch files are created, copy them to a directory along your DOS path. The SET B&F An important component of both batch files is the SET B&FPRO Statement statement, which is used to locate Back & Forth's executable files, overlays, help, and data files without having to rely on the DOS PATH command. If for any reason, you change the path used to hold Back & Forth, you must be sure to edit these batch files and reset the path specified to the new path containing B&F. Loading B&F The contents of the B&FHIPRO.BAT file is the same as that of High with B&FPRO.BAT except for the method in which Back & Forth is B&FHIPRO.BAT executed. The high memory loader used by B&FHIPRO.BAT is BFPLOAD.EXE, which is included with B&F. Using this loader, B&F can remove itself from high memory when it is exited. The last two lines of B&FHIPRO.BAT appear as follows: BFPLOAD IF errorlevel == 0 BFPLOW %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 20 ______________________________________________________________________________ Loading B&F If you choose to use the high memory loader included with QEMM, High 386-to-the-Max, or other memory management software product to load Back & Forth into high memory, B&F will not be able to remove itself from high memory when it is exited. This is a limitation imposed by the third-party high memory loader used, not by Back & Forth. Back & Forth must be the last program loaded into high memory. To load Back & Forth high, use the high memory loader to load BFPHIGH.EXE, then run BFPLOW.COM immediately after it. For instance, to load Back & Forth into high memory using QEMM, change the last two lines of B&FHIPRO.BAT to the following: C:\QEMM\LOADHI BFPHIGH BFPLOW %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 Command Line Command line options are those options typed at the DOS prompt Options following the executable batch file name (either B&FPRO or B&FHIPRO). These options control the Back & Forth environment. GO Bypasses the Swap drive setup screen and goes directly to the Program List window of Back & Forth. LITE Executes a smaller, "stripped down" version of Back & Forth. This version is 10k smaller than the standard version of Back & Forth with the following features removed: print buffer, clock, screen blank, and keyboard macros. NOPRINT Runs Back & Forth without the Back & Print option. USER Identifies an individual using Back & Forth on a network by his or her assigned user number. When used, this takes the form "USER:###", with the actual user number typed in the place of ###. The "USER" option is documented under Appendix E: Network Installation and Use. VIDEO Defines the video mode. Back & Forth can normally determine what video mode is being used. But a few VGA and Hercules cards may not be correctly interpreted. For these cards, set VIDEO:VGA or VIDEO:HERC. These options disables non-standard video display modes. Also, when using a Hercules video card, make sure that BNFHERC.EXE is loaded first. Once you have established a pattern of usage, you may wish to preset the command line options that you use every time you run B&F. To do this, edit the executable batch files and add the desired command line option to the executable program line. For example, to add the command line option "GO" to B&FHIPRO.BAT, change the last line of the batch file to the following: IF errorlevel == 0 BFPLOW GO %1 %2 %3 %4 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 21 ______________________________________________________________________________ Copying the Once the batch files have been created, copy them to a location Batch Files along the DOS path for easy use. This lets you invoke Back & Forth at any time, irrespective of the current path. Changing the Before running Back & Forth for the first time, check the CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.SYS found in your root directory on your primary drive to ensure that at least 80 file handles are available. If you attempt to run Back & Forth with less file handles allocated than 80, an error message is shown. File handles are allocated via use of the following statement: FILES=80 Important: The amount shown for FILES command above is the minimum recommended for use by Back & Forth. To determine a more representative number, multiply the number of tasks you expect to run within Back & Forth at one time by 8 and use this value if it is greater than 80. Some programs, like databases, open more files. Keep this in mind when you set the FILES variable. Any text editor that creates ASCII text like EDLIN.COM or the Back & Forth editor may be used to modify the CONFIG.SYS file. If you do not have an ASCII editor, you may be able to use a word processor that lets you either save a file in non-document (unformatted) mode or export the file to an ASCII text format. Editing the Once you have checked the CONFIG.SYS, examine the contents of AUTOEXEC the AUTOEXEC.BAT and remove any unnecessary TSR programs. Most TSRs should be run within Back & Forth to save memory and minimize conflicts. Exceptions include: disk cache programs, mouse and other device drivers, and DOS commands like MODE, PATH, PROMPT, and SET. Adding Back & To load B&F automatically each time you turn your computer on, Forth to append the contents of B&FPRO.BAT or B&FHIPRO.BAT to the end of AUTOEXEC AUTOEXEC.BAT. Remember to include "GO", if desired. If the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS is changed, exit all open programs and reboot your computer to reset this information before continuing. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 22 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 4: Configuring Swap Space for Back & Forth Running Back & Once the installation process has been completed, run Back & Forth for the Forth by typing B&FPRO or B&FHIPRO at the DOS prompt. This sets First Time the DOS variables, changes directories, and runs the appropriate version of Back & Forth. If a problem is encountered when running one of these batch files, verify that the batch file is located within a directory along your DOS path. Also make certain that no other executable file exists along the path with the same name. Swap Drive The first time Back & Forth is run, the Swap drive setup screen Setup is shown. This is also shown whenever Back & Forth is executed without the "GO" command line option. Back & Forth controls the amount of memory that it uses by swapping most of itself out of memory to a storage file when a task is run. The storage space used is allocated here within the Swap drive setup. If Back & Forth is loaded into high memory, less than 1k of main memory and 23-40k of high memory is used; else approximately 23-40k of main memory is needed. Either way, DOS requires an additional 3-4k of memory. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Nov 1, 1991 Back & Forth Pro version 2.0 6:47:00am │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Manage EMS memory: No │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Save EGA/VGA fonts: No │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Print buffer size: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Swap to XMS memory: Off 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Swap to EMS memory: Off 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 1: D:\ 5008 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 2: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Program swap drive 3: 0 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Total swap space including 619 of conventional memory 5625 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Some DOS applications manipulate the EMS memory in a way that is │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ incompatible with B&F's mark/release function. If you experience EMS│▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ (or unexplained) lockups, toggle this option to No. │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ U D Move between fields L R Move within field F1 Help F9 Accept F10 ExitBF Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 23 ______________________________________________________________________________ Swap Drive The Swap drive setup identifies the resources used to store Setup Menu swapped program information. Most of its entries require the selection of a swap path and the allocation of disk space. Manage EMS If set to Yes, removes tasks from EMS memory memory when they are exited. Set to No if "lock-ups" occur that cannot be resolved using the procedures outlined within Appendix C. Save EGA/VGA Saves the additional screen information fonts generated by tasks that either use their own text fonts or use text modes other than 80x25, 28, 43, or 50. Set this to No if you are using B000 on some 80286 machines as high memory. Print buffer Sets aside EMS/XMS memory for use by Back & size Print, the print redirection and buffer utility. This amount is removed from the total amount of EMS and XMS allocated below. Swap to XMS Sets whether extended memory (XMS) is to be memory used, and if so, how much. If an XMS compatible device driver is not detected, this is not shown. Swap to EMS Sets whether expanded memory (EMS) is to be memory used and if so, how much. If none is found, this option cannot be chosen. Program swap Selects the paths used to hold the swap files paths 1-3 and the amount of allocated disk space. This swap space is used as an extension of memory, storing programs that are open but not currently in use. Up to 3 disk-based swap areas may be chosen. Note: allocating several smaller swap files to the same drive is slower than using one large swap file on one drive. Total swap Shows the total swap space allocated above space plus conventional memory. Conventional memory is the memory available for use after DOS, device drivers, TSRs, and Back & Forth are loaded. To determine the maximum amount of swap space needed, multiply the maximum number of tasks to be run at any one time by the amount of conventional memory available. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight the setting to be changed. When entering a path, either type in the directory path or press [F7] to use the directory tree. When selecting the swap space amount, type in the amount to be allocated. When choosing between Yes and No, press either the [Left] or [Right] cursor key. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 24 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F7] Directory If the [F7] Directory tree is used to select a path, the Tree directory structure of the chosen drive is displayed. If a drive letter has been specified on the path line, that drive is used. Otherwise, the current system path is used. Use the [Up], [Down], [Left], [Right], [Home], and [End] cursor keys to highlight the desired directory and press [Enter] to set. To show the directory tree of another disk, press [F8] and select the drive letter from the menu. Swap Space When a task is swapped out of memory, Back & Forth saves an Requirements exact replica of the system environment and task screen. The amount of swap space occupied by each task depends upon the amount of space allocated to the program within the Program setup, the amount of system information to be stored (based on the programs loaded globally), and the video mode in use. Each task requires at least 16k of system information storage space. If PCED has been loaded globally, add 32-64k of storage space per task, if ANARKEY is used, add 16k per task. If KeyBack! macros are used within a task and EMS memory is used for storage, allot 16k per task for macro buffer space. The amount of video storage space required for each partition depends upon the video mode in use and the complexity of the screen being saved. If UltraVision is loaded globally, add another 32k to the estimated video space requirements for each task. For example, if you are running a text-based VGA program requiring 600k of memory to execute with UltraVision loaded globally and using EMS memory to store the contents of the macro buffer, you should expect to need approximately 712k (600k + 16k + 48k + 32k + 16k) to store the program when it is swapped to disk. Video mode Graphics mode Text mode Monochrome, MDA N/A 16k CGA 16k 16k Hercules 64k 64k EGA 16-256k 48k VGA 16-256k 48k SVGA 16-512k 48k 1024 x 768 mode 256-1024k To estimate the amount of swap space needed, multiply the number of tasks (maximum of 20) that you intend to have open at once by the estimated amount of program, system, and video storage space needed by the tasks as outlined above. For example, if you have 600k of conventional memory and you normally expect to run up to 2 graphics-based VGA programs and 4 text-based programs using the maximum amount of conventional memory, with 2 of these tasks making use of KeyBack!, you should allocate 4,688k of swap space (approximately). [4,688k = 256k (B&F storage space) + 600k x 6 (program memory needed) + 16k x 6 (system information space) + 256k x 2 (maximum VGA graphics space) + 48k x 4 (VGA text space) + 16k x 2 (macro buffer space)]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 25 ______________________________________________________________________________ Disk Selection When selecting the drives to be used as swap locations for Back Criteria & Forth, the fastest storage devices available on your system should be chosen. We recommend that you use EMS memory, XMS memory, RAM disk, and hard disks as available. Of course, you must balance Back & Forth's need of swap space with the needs of other programs that you use. If your other programs are configured to use EMS memory or other disk space, you must make certain that the amount allocated to Back & Forth does not conflict with the amount needed by those other programs. When Back & Forth is run, the specified amount of swap space is automatically allocated to files named SWAPFILE.00# on each respective drive. This ensures that enough swap space is available when a program is swapped and lets Back & Forth manage the contents of those files efficiently. The drawback to this is that the space is occupied and not released until Back & Forth is exited. If using Back & Forth on a network, only specify swap directories where you have read/write privileges. Function Keys Three function key commands are shown at the bottom of the screen. They are: [F1] Help Shows Help for the Swap drive setup menu. [F9] Accept Saves the selected settings, exits the Swap drive setup menu, and runs Back & Forth. [F10] Cancel Exits the Back & Forth Swap drive setup menu without saving the changes made. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 26 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 5: Setting Up Back & Forth Pro After pressing [F9] to save the changes made within the Swap drive setup, control is passed to the main Back & Forth screen. You are now ready to not only define the programs that are to be made available for execution from Back & Forth but also configure other operational aspects of Back & Forth, including its hot keys, print buffer, autoload list, color selection, et cetera. This section describes the commands available within Back & Forth. The Back & The following is a representation of the main Back & Forth Forth Screen screen. This screen is composed of four distinct parts. The top line contains the pull-down menu options. Below this is shown two program lists, with all open tasks identified in the top list, and all tasks available for execution named in the bottom. At the bottom of the screen, the function key commands are shown. The first time Back & Forth is run, both program lists should be empty. BackPacks Program Setup Usage Quit ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────Active Programs─────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ No active tasks found │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌───────────────────────────────Program List──────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Quick run: _ Tab Change windows U D Move bar Ent Open task │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Menu 5Info 6LockKb 9RetPgm 10ExitBF Program List The Active Program list identifies all active programs open Windows within Back & Forth. Up to 20 tasks may be open at once. Programs are "active" when they have been run from within Back & Forth and have not been exited and removed from memory. The Program List window names all programs defined for use within Back & Forth and their relevant hot keys, command ID codes, and swap space amounts. The first time Back & Forth is run, both of these windows should be empty. To define the programs that are to be made available, press [F2], press [P] to select the Program menu, and press [P] again to select the Program setup option. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 27 ______________________________________________________________________________ Using a Mouse For those of you with mice scampering around on your desks, with Back & Back & Forth may be set up to run with a Microsoft compatible Forth mouse. When a mouse is used with Back & Forth, a separate blinking block mouse cursor is shown on the screen. With it, you may move to and select any option shown on the screen including pull-down menus, function key commands and program list entries. Simply position the mouse cursor within the desired item and press the [Left] mouse button. To exit a menu, press the [Right] mouse button. A scroll bar is shown on most Back & Forth windows for use in positioning the selection bar on the screen with the mouse. This vertical bar is found on the far right side of the screen with up and down arrows located at each end. When the mouse cursor is moved to and clicked on one of these arrows, the selection bar highlights the item above or below it in the active window. Moving the mouse cursor to a location within the scroll bar and pressing the [Left] mouse button moves the selection bar to highlight the entry at that relative position within the window. To use a mouse, the mouse driver must be installed on your system before Back & Forth is run and mouse support must be ON. This driver should be placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT for automatic installation. The mouse support setting is located within the Setup Miscellaneous options menu. Function Keys The following function key commands are shown at the bottom of the Back & Forth screen. [F1] Help Shows help information for Back & Forth. [F2] Menu Activates the pull-down menus. Its options include BackPacks, Program, Setup, and Usage. The contents of these menus are outlined above. [F5] Info Summarizes the memory and swap space in use and the space allocated to Back & Print. [F6] LockKB Clears the screen and password protects your system while you are away from your computer. [F9] RetPgm Returns to the last active program in memory. [F10] ExitBF Removes all programs run from Back & Forth from memory and exits Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 28 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F1] Help The [F1] Help key displays information describing the use of selected Back & Forth options. When selected, help information is displayed about the currently displayed window. The help text is a compilation of the contents of this manual. To change the help index, press the [F5] Index key. A menu lists all defined help topics. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired index. Press [Enter] to display the help information for the highlighted index. To scroll the help text one line at a time, use the [Up] or [Down] keys. Use the [PgDn] or [PgUp] keys to show the next or previous pages of the text. When you have finished reading this information, press [Esc] to exit Help. [F2] Menu Pressing the [F2] Menu key activates the pull-down menus shown at the top of the screen. Once the [F2] key has been pressed, use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to open the desired menu or press the first letter. A quicker method of activating a menu is to press the [Alt] key simultaneously with the first letter of the menu label. BackPacks Contains the desktop accessory functions available within Back & Forth. These include a calculator, text editor, graphics screen grabber, RoloBack address book, and Overtime! appointment scheduler and automated program execution option. Program Contains the program definition and execution functions of Back & Forth. These are Autoload and Program setup. Setup Contains the commands used to configure the operation of Back & Forth. These include setup options for the BackPack accessories, Back & Print, cursor, disk monitoring, hot key usage, icon display mode, keyboard options, miscellaneous Back & Forth settings, screen blanker timer, and clock setup. Usage Contains the usage tracking display and setup functions of Back & Forth. These include usage log setup, delete usage records, and browse existing usage records. Quit Exits Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 29 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F5] The Information summary details the maximum amount of memory Information that can be allocated to a single task, the total amount of swap space allocated within the Swap drive setup, and the amount of swap space left over after opening the tasks shown in the Active Program list. The amount of memory available for a task is based on the amount of memory installed in your computer, the version of DOS used, the device drivers and programs run before Back & Forth, and the amount of memory Back & Forth itself requires (approximately 23-40k if not loaded into high memory, 1k if loaded high). Back & Forth occupies about 256k of the allocated swap space, the rest is provided to the open tasks. Swap space is allocated when Back & Forth is first run, thus ensuring that enough is available to run any tasks. These swap files are removed from the disk when Back & Forth is exited. To change the amount of allocated swap space, exit and execute Back & Forth without the "GO" option to modify the Swap drive setup values. If space for Back & Print has been allocated, information about its status is shown. Also, if the "Manage EMS memory" option is set On within the Swap drive setup, EMS usage by each task is listed. [F6] Lock The Lock keyboard command lets you restrict access to your Keyboard system while you are away from the computer. This keyboard lock is not intended as full security protection for your system, if the system is turned off then turned on again, another person could conceivably gain access to your system. This is meant only to keep co-workers and passersby from using your computer and getting into your files without your knowledge while you are away from your computer briefly. When selected, you are prompted for a password to be used to control access to your system. The password can be up to 30 characters in length. Capitalization and use of spaces and punctuation must be exact. Once a password has been chosen, the screen is blanked and the message "Press a key to unlock" is moved around the screen. To return to Back & Forth, press a key. At the prompt, enter the password you had selected. Once the password is entered correctly, control is returned to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 30 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F10] Exit The [F10] ExitBF command exits Back & Forth, deletes its Back & Forth temporary files, and removes the program from memory. If BFPLOAD.COM was used to load B&F into high memory (this is used by default within the B&FHIPRO.BAT), the EMS memory used by Back & Forth is then freed. If another memory management loader was used, the computer system must be rebooted to regain that memory. To exit Back & Forth, make certain that the Active Program list shows the message "No tasks are active" then press [F10]. If any tasks are still open when the [F10] key is pressed (either due to accidental oversight or because the program is unwilling to relinquish memory), you are then prompted to verify whether you wish for all open tasks to be forcibly removed. Press [Y] to exit Back & Forth and remove all tasks, press [N] to remain within Back & Forth. You should make every attempt to exit all open programs naturally so that you can ensure that all data files are properly closed and all temporary files are correctly handled. Caution! If all open programs are not exited normally, i.e. via their own exit command, all data files may not be updated and closed, and temporary files may still exist on the disk. If this occurs, upon running CHKDSK /F or other disk checking software, you may find a number of lost clusters or unidentified program swap files. Do not turn off your computer before exiting Back & Forth. If Back & Forth is not exited normally, i.e. via the [F10] ExitBF key, not only may lost clusters occur but also its swap files will still occupy space on your disk. The On/Off power switch is not a viable alternative to the [F10] ExitBF command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 31 ______________________________________________________________________________ The [F2] Five options, BackPacks, Program, Setup, Usage, and Quit, are Pull-Down Menu shown at the top of the screen. These are selected by pressing Options the [F2] function key and using the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to open the desired menu or pressing the first letter of that menu entry. A menu may also be selected by pressing the [Alt] key combined with the first letter of the menu label. Finally, if you have a mouse, you can select one of the menu entries simply by moving the mouse cursor to the desired menu and clicking the [Left] mouse button to open the menu. The options contained within the pull-down menus activated by the [F2] Menu option are as follows: BackPacks - The desktop accessory functions of Back & Forth. Calculator - Provides a simple tape calculator and a sophisticated RPN calculator with financial, statistical, scientific, and computer number functions. Editor - Opens a simple-to-use ASCII text editor that can be used to edit selected files. Grabber - Grabs a graphics image from the screen and saves to a PCX file. Overtime! - Sets up and displays the time management program created for use within Back & Forth. It acts as an appointment book with a calendar, daily memo, and to-do list. When an appointment time arrives, it can be set to sound an alarm, pop a message onto the screen, run a defined task, or do nothing. RoloBack - Displays an address book/phone listing which can be used to store names and personal information for viewing, searching, printing, and dialing. Program - The task definition and execution functions. Autoload - Specifies the tasks run automatically when Back & Forth is loaded. Program - Opens the Program editor, where tasks are defined for use within Back & Forth. Setup - The Back & Forth configuration options. BackPack setup - Lets you set the hot keys and keyboard macro settings used with each BackPack. back & Print - Contains the Back & Print settings including: destination of output, port trapped, throughput, etc. Cursor - Lets you select the shape of the text cursor. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 32 ______________________________________________________________________________ Disk monitor Activates a disk monitor symbol to be shown whenever a disk is written to or read from. Hot key - Defines the hot keys used within Back & Forth. Icon menu view - Sets B&F to display the task icons defined within the Program setup. With this mode, all active and defined tasks are shown on the screen for selection. Keyboard - Chooses such options as: keyboard buffer, click,speed-up, and [Caps Lock]/[Ctrl] key switch. Miscellaneous - Lists the following: screen background character selection, color setup, CGA snow checking, [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] reboot restriction, number of text lines shown, mouse activation toggle, external editor, and screen title. Screen blanker - Sets the screen blanker mode and the number of minutes between the last keystroke entered and the blanking of the screen. This can be set to either display a graphics image or blank the screen. Time (clock) - Sets the default clock settings. Usage - Usage tracking log control. Browse usage database - Lists the usage log entries occurring between two dates, sorted by either date, task description, or project code. Change project code - Sets the 15 character project code used to group log entries by job. Delete records from database - Removes records from the usage log based on a date range. Setup usage tracking parameters - Activates program usage tracking and project code entry. When selected, a menu is shown listing two entries: Keep usage log and Require project codes. Setting the Usage tracking option to Yes activates the usage log which keeps a list of all programs run from Back & Forth with the times that they were used. Setting the Project codes option to Yes prompts you for a project code each time Back & Forth is run. Quit - Back & Forth exit command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 33 ______________________________________________________________________________ The BackPacks Menu The BackPacks menu entry contains the desktop accessory functions available within Back & Forth. These include: Calculator Provides a simple tape calculator and a sophisticated RPN calculator with financial, statistical, scientific, and computer number functions. Editor Opens a simple-to-use ASCII text editor that can be used to edit selected files. Grabber Grabs a graphics image from the screen and saves to a PCX file. Overtime! Sets up and displays the time management program created for use within Back & Forth. It acts as an appointment book with a calendar, daily memo, and to-do list. When an appointment time arrives, it can be set to sound an alarm, pop a message onto the screen, run a defined task within a new partition or do nothing. RoloBack Displays an address book / telephone listing which can be used to store names and personal information for viewing, searching, printing, and dialing. To select one of these BackPacks from the BackPack menu, press the [F2] Menu key. When activated, this menu should be highlighted and opened at the top of the screen. Use the [Right] cursor key to highlight the desired BackPack and press [Enter] or press the first letter to select. To set up the operational aspects of these BackPacks, use the BackPack setup option, located within the Setup menu. This allows you to specify a hot key, keyboard macro file, starting macro, and other settings. The BackPack accessories are documented within Part II: The Back & Forth BackPacks. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 34 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Program Menu The Program menu contains the task definition and automatic loading options of Back & Forth. Autoload Specifies the tasks run automatically when Back & Forth is loaded. Program Opens the Program editor, where tasks are defined for use within Back & Forth. To select one of these options, press the [F2] Menu key and either press the [Right] cursor key or [P] to highlight the Program menu. When highlighted, the above menu options should be shown in a pull-down menu. Use the [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired option and press [Enter] or press the first letter to select. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 35 ______________________________________________________________________________ Autoload Setup The Autoload setup is used to select tasks or BackPacks for automatic loading when Back & Forth is first run. Tasks selected for autoloading should be those that you use on a day-to-day basis. Only the BackPacks and those tasks defined within the Program setup are selectable. Programs requiring user-input, i.e. those with the Program setup "Ask for Options" entry turned On, cannot be loaded using this option. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒┌─────────────────────Autoload Statistics─────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ Number of partitions to autoload 0 │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ Size of autoload partitions 0 k│▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ Autoload delay time (in seconds) 0 │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒┌───────────────────────────Program List──────────────────────────────┐▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Time to Wait before │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Task Description Memory Loading Next Task │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Calculator 192 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Editor ALL │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Grabber 224 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ Overtime! 256 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ RoloBack 320 │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ DOS Partition ALL │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒│ » Marks autoload task Use cursor keys to move selection bar │▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 3SetOn 4SetOff 5Start 10Exit Screen The top window shows the number of programs chosen for Description automatic loading, the amount of swap memory they require, and the total amount of time needed to load them. The bottom window contains the program list defined within the Program setup and the BackPacks list. Programs marked for automatic loading show the » character immediately to the left of the program description. Cursor Keys Use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to scroll the selection bar through the list of defined programs. Pressing the [PgUp] or [PgDn] keys moves up or down 11 entries in the list. The [Home] or [End] keys move to the first or last entry in the list. Function Key The following function keys contain the commands available Commands within the Autoload setup. [F1] Help Presents help describing Autoload setup. [F3] Set On Activates the autoload capability for the highlighted task. You are then asked for additional Autoload information. [F4] Set Off Removes the autoload designation from the highlighted task. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 36 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F5] Start Marks the highlighted task as the last program to be loaded using Autoload. Once this program is loaded, you are left within this program rather than being returned to the Back & Forth Active program list. [F10] Quit Exits the Autoload setup and returns to the Setup menu. Selecting a Move the selection bar to highlight the task to be Task for automatically loaded and press either [Enter] or [F3] Set On. Autoloading When selected, you are prompted for the following information: Task description Describes the highlighted task in the Program list. This field cannot be changed within the Autoload setup. Action type Sets the action used to determine when the task has finished loading. The "Wait for keyboard request" option waits for the program to request a key before starting to load the next task. Most tasks can be loaded using this method since key input is usually not requested by the program until after it has completed loading. This method is faster since it is based on the actual amount of time needed to load the task rather than your best guess. The "Time countdown" option waits a specified number of seconds before loading the next task marked in the Autoload list. This should be timed carefully so that the computer is not left idle for too long while allowing for deviations in load time due to changes in data file size, etc. We recommend that you first try loading your tasks using the "Wait for keyboard request". If a task does not load completely, switch to "Time countdown". Press the [Space] key to toggle between these two values. Time to wait: Designates the number of seconds needed to load a task when the "Time countdown" option is selected. To determine the number of seconds needed, display the clock then load the program to determine precisely how many seconds should be designated. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move to the field to be edited. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit this window, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Note: For Overtime! alarms to be able to notify you of defined events, this BackPack must be active in memory. For this reason, we recommend that you select this task to be one of those that you automatically load each time Back & Forth is run. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 37 ______________________________________________________________________________ Program Setup The Program Setup is one of the most important aspects of Back & Forth. It is used to define the tasks listed within the Program List that are available for execution within Back & Forth. Up to 50 tasks may be defined. When selected from the Program menu, a program list similar to that shown on the main screen is shown. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌────────────────────────Setup Program List───────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ B&F Manuscript 618 'Alt-Ctrl-B ' [MB] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Back-up work files 256 'Alt-Ctrl-LShift-B ' [BC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ DOS Partition 618 'Alt-Ctrl-D ' [DP] │▒▒ ▒▒│ File Commando 618 'Alt-Ctrl-F ' [FC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Format disk 64 ' ' [3½] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Lotus 123 Checkbook 618 'Alt-Ctrl-L' ' [LC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ PC-Paintbrush 618 'Alt-Ctrl-P ' [PB] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Small DOS Prompt 128 'Alt-Ctrl-S ' [SD] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Word Perfect Letter 618 'Alt-Ctrl-W ' [WP] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Word Perfect Phone Notes 618 'Alt-Ctrl-N ' [PN] │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Quick run: _ │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Add 3Copy 4Delete 5Move 7Edit 8Sort 10ExitBF Function Key The function keys shown at the bottom of the screen contain the Commands commands available under the Program Setup. [F1] Help Presents help describing the Program Setup. [F2] Add Adds a new task to the list. [F3] Copy Copies the highlighted task entry to a new entry. This is useful when you have to define several entries using the same basic program information. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted task entry. [F5] Move Moves the highlighted task entry to another position in the list. [F7] Edit Edits the highlighted task entry. [F8] Sort Sorts the entries by description, hot key, icon label, or ID. [F10] Quit Exits and returns to the main Back & Forth screen. Edit Program Once [F2] Add or [F7] Edit is selected, the standard program Entry information window is shown. If [F7] was selected, the information shown is that of the task highlighted in the Program setup list; if [F2] was selected, the information window is blank. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 38 ______________________________________________________________________________ Standard Entry The standard program setup window lists the basic information Fields generally required by Back & Forth to successfully execute a task. Extended program setup options are contained within the [F8] setup form. These options let you configure the amount of EMS memory and environment space used by the program, the position of the clock, the interval before the screen is blanked, the availability of Overtime!, the particulars of macro usage, etc. Within either window, use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field. Press the [Ins] key to switch the text entry mode between Insert (small block cursor) and Overwrite (underline cursor). Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Task description Describes the task in the Program list. This field is 20 characters long. Memory needed Defines the amount of memory needed by the task to execute. When set to 0, all available memory is allocated. Icon description Assigns an eight character description used within the Icon menu view option to identify this program entry on the screen. ID Designates a 2 character identification code, which is used as a quick method of jumping to and executing a task from the Program list. All entries must have an ID; however, you may wish to assign an obscure ID like "()" to tasks that you do not want to execute by accident. This ID may also be used to switch between partitions via the SWITCH program. SWITCH is described within Section 7. Hot key Designates the hot key used to run this task. Hot keys let you jump between open tasks and/or Back & Forth at will. Press [F7] to show the hot key prompt and press the key combination to be defined. The hot key must be a combination of one or more key flags [Alt], [Ctrl], [Left Shift], [Right Shift] combined with a function or alphanumeric key. Press [F9] to save the hot key. Type of task Determines the type of task: Program, DOS partition, Program without Comspec, and Special TSR. When set to "Program", the defined task is run after COMMAND.COM or 4DOS.COM is loaded. Batch files must be run using this option. If "Program without Comspec" is set, the COMMAND.COM is not loaded before the task is run. The "DOS Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 39 ______________________________________________________________________________ partition" option opens a DOS environment where any program can be run from the DOS prompt. The "Special TSR" option should be used when running a TSR (like Sidekick Plus) that requires a program to be run within it. This loads the TSR then runs a dummy program. DOS command Identifies the task as a DOS or 4DOS command when set to Yes. Use [Right] or [Left] to select between Yes or No. DOS commands include COPY, DIR, but do not include FORMAT or CHKDSK (these are programs and should be defined as such). Program path Locates the directory where the program can be found. Either type in the path at this prompt or press [F7] to pick the path from the directory tree. To change drives within the tree, press [F8] and select the drive letter. Press [Enter] to set the path. If the task being defined is a DOS command, no path need be set. Program name Identifies the program to be run. This file must end with the extension EXE, COM, or BAT. Either enter the file name at this prompt or press [F7] to select from a list of executable files found within the Program path. If using the file list, move the selection bar to highlight the file and press [Enter]. If the program is not shown in this list, change the program path. Work path Names the directory holding the data files of the task. If this path is set, the task is actually run from this directory, using the program directory only to locate the program files. Some programs (like some versions of WordStar) must be run from their program directories; for these tasks, leave this field blank. [F7] may also be used to select the path. Fixed options Defines the information usually entered after the program name when the task is run. This field is 57 characters long. For example, to format a 3½ inch, 720k diskette placed in drive A: using DOS FORMAT, the fixed options should be set to: A: /n:9 /t:80 (or) A: /f:720 (depending on the version of DOS). Ask for options Determines whether you are prompted for command line information each time the task is run. Use the [Left] or [Right] key to select Yes or No. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 40 ______________________________________________________________________________ Custom prompt When "Ask for Options" is On, defines the prompt that is shown when the task is run. This should be used to describe the command line information needed by a program. The field is 57 characters long. Action when done Establishes what happens after the task is exited. The options are: Return, Pause, or Stay at DOS. "Return" (default) returns to B&F once the task is exited. "Pause" returns after a key is pressed, letting you see the screen produced when the task is exited. "Stay at DOS" is used to run TSRs that exit to a DOS prompt after installing themselves in memory. Use [Left] or [Right] to set this option. [F8] Extended The [F8] Extended program setup window contains the less often Entry Fields used aspects of the program setup. Most of these entries control the way Back & Forth operates with the task, the other entries set little-used program operation options. Environment size Sets the amount of extra space allocated for the COMMAND.COM. When set to 0, the default DOS amount is used. If this task sets any DOS variables, set this value to 1024. Maximum EMS Limits the amount of expanded memory the allocated task is allowed to use. When set to 0, the program is allowed to determine the amount of EMS that it will use. Some programs automatically grab as much EMS memory as they can, whether they need it or not. Examples of programs that do this are Quattro Pro and Paradox. For these programs, either disallow EMS usage by setting this to -1, or define the maximum amount of EMS that you wish for it to use. Disable hot keys Chooses whether the hot keys defined within Back & Forth are disabled while this task is running. Only the B&F Super key (default [Ctrl][Alt][Left Shift]) is left active. This is useful when running a program which makes extensive use of keyboard commands. Use [Left] or [Right] to set this option. Clock display Defines the appearance and placement of the clock on the screen. When [F7] is pressed, 5 options are listed: mode, format, row, column, and color. Mode may be set to "Default", which uses the default settings defined within Time setup, "Off", which keeps the clock off the screen, and "On", Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 42 ______________________________________________________________________________ which shows the clock in the below format. Format choices are HH:MM-AM/PM, HH:MM:SS- AM/PM, HH:MM-Military,HH:MM:SS-Military. Row and column sets the clock's screen position. Color selects the color used to display the time. Screen blanker Sets the screen blank mode and interval for support the task. Set the mode OFF when defining a task making extensive use of a mouse, since mouse input is not recognized as key input by the screen blanker. Overtime! support Establishes whether Overtime! is allowed to interrupt operation of the task. Set this to "No" when defining a communications task. UV mode Presets an UltraVision video display mode. This is only shown if UltraVision has been loaded into memory before B&F. Press [F7] to list all UltraVision modes available. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight a mode and press [Enter] to set. The default setting is 80x25. Macro/paste delay Resets the rate at which text is fed to the task from the Macro and Paste commands. If random characters are lost, increment the delay to compensate. Auto Shorthand When On, automatically scans the typed text for defined shorthand abbreviations, deletes those found, and inserts the words or phrases they represent. Shorthand delete Names the key used within the program to sequence backspace over text to the left of the cursor. This is required when a Shorthand sequence is encountered, where the abbreviation must be deleted and the correct replacement word or phrase inserted. The options are <Bksp>, <Ctrl-Bksp>,<Left-Del>. Some programs, like older versions of WordStar, do not support the [BkSp] key, instead the [Ctrl][BkSp] is used to delete characters to the left of the cursor. If a program does not support either key, use the [Left][Del] to simulate a backspace. Max number of Determines the number of keyboard macros macros that may be defined for use within the task. Macro buffer size Configures a storage area used to store the (0-16k) macros used with this task. Each keystroke occupies 2 bytes of space. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 43 ______________________________________________________________________________ Macro save option Sets the method used to save newly defined key macros when a task is exited. The options are: "Don't save macros", "Automatic save", and "Prompt for filename". The "Don't save macros" option does not save the macros unless the Save file option is selected from the Macro menu File command. The "Automatic save" option saves the macro buffer automatically to the open macro file when the task is exited and the partition is closed. The "Prompt for filename" option prompts for the file to be used to store the macros when the task is exited. This lets you select from a list of all existing macro files or lets you create a new file. Macro file name Identifies the file used to store the key macros for this task. Either enter the file name at this prompt or press [F7] to select from a list of macro files. If the file list is used, highlight the file & press [Enter]. Starting macro Names a macro that is replayed automatically when the task is run. This is useful in feeding keys to a program to get past opening screens and configuring it for use. If this task is chosen for autoloading, this macro is not played. Programs to be Some programs should not be run from within B&FPro, others Cautious Of require special treatment. These categories are listed below. Disk cache program and programs that optimize, edit, check, or diagnose disks should not be run within Back & Forth. Many programs open temporary disk files without properly allocating them at the DOS level. By deleting or moving these files, precious data may be corrupted or lost. Asynchronous communications software can only be used while it is on-screen and in memory. Once the program is swapped out of memory, it is deactivated. Programs that intercept all keystrokes may be run, but only the B&F super key, [Alt][Ctrl][Left Shift], will be available for use in swapping back to Back & Forth. Programs that directly change EGA video settings may cause garbled screens. Attempt to avoid this by using the program in a standard text format or by redrawing the screen once you return to that program. Memory resident programs (TSRs) may be run from within Back & Forth as long as they are set to stay at DOS when done. Windows version 3.0 can be run from within Back & Forth as long as the program KBSTEAL.COM is run before Windows. This allows the B&F hotkeys to operate.Windows can only be run in Real mode from Back & Forth. To use Back & Forth with Windows in enhanced mode, you must run Back & Forth from inside a Windows DOS box. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 44 ______________________________________________________________________________ Sample Program Below are some sample program configurations. To begin defining Definitions a new program entry, press [F2]. Once you have finished defining a program definition entry, press [F9] to save. When you are finished defining program entries, you may wish to press [F8] to sort the program entries by either description, hot key, or ID. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: Word Perfect Letter Memory needed (K): 0 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: WPLetter ID: WP│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-W │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: Program DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: C:\WP │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: WP.EXE │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: D:\LETTERS │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: Yes │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: Enter name of letter file to edit: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: PC-Paintbrush Memory needed (K): 0 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: WPLetter ID: PB│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-P │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: Program DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: C:\PC-PAINT │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: PAINT.BAT │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 45 ______________________________________________________________________________ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: Back-up work files Memory needed (K): 256│▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: WPLetter ID: BC│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-LShift-B │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: Program DOS command: Yes│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: COPY │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: C:\DATA\*.DAT B: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: Small DOS Partition Memory needed (K): 128│▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: SmallDOS ID: SD│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-LShift-D │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: DOS Partition DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Task description: Lotus Checkbook Memory needed (K): 0 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Icon description: Checkbk ID: LC│▒▒ ▒▒│ Hot key: Alt-Ctrl-L │▒▒ ▒▒│ Type of Task: Program DOS command: No│▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program path: C:\123 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Program name: 123 │▒▒ ▒▒│ Work path: D:\CHECKBK │▒▒ ▒▒│ Fixed options: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Ask for options: No │▒▒ ▒▒│ Custom prompt: │▒▒ ▒▒│ Action when done: Return │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 46 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Setup Menu The Setup menu contains the various configuration options of Back & Forth. When the Setup menu is opened, the following options are listed. BackPack setup Lets you set the hot keys used and the keyboard macro settings used with the Back & Forth BackPacks. back & Print Contains the Back & Print settings including: destination of printed output, port trapped, throughput, the print buffer hot keys, etc. Cursor Lets you select the shape of the text cursor. Disk monitor Sets up a disk monitor symbol to be shown whenever a disk is written to or read from. Hot key Defines the hot keys used within Back & Forth including the Cut & Paste keys, Back & Grab keys, Hercules keys, the clock toggle, macro definition keys, and Back & Forth hot keys. Icon menu view Sets B&F to display the task icons defined within the Program setup. With this mode, all active and defined tasks are shown on the screen for selection. Keyboard Chooses such options as: keyboard buffer, click, speed-up, and [Caps Lock] / [Ctrl] key switch. Miscellaneous Lists the following options: screen background character selection, color setup, CGA snow checking, number of text lines displayed, [Ctrl][Alt]32768▒[Delete] reboot restriction, mouse activation toggle, external editor, and screen title. Screen blanker Sets the screen blanker mode and the number of minutes between the last keystroke entered and the blanking of the screen. This can be set to either show a graphics image or blank the screen. Time (clock) Shows a menu listing the default clock settings. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 47 ______________________________________________________________________________ BackPacks The BackPacks setup menu lets you configure the hot keys and Setup macro information used by the BackPack accessories. When a BackPack accessory is selected from the BackPack menu, it is executed just like any other defined program within Back & Forth. This lets you use a hot key to jump between accessories and other tasks. It also lets you define and use the keyboard macro commands of Back & Forth. When selected, the BackPack entries are shown with their designated hot keys, amount of swap memory needed to be loaded, selected macro file, number of macros allowed, and macro file size. To select an entry from this menu for modification, use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to highlight the desired BackPack accessory and press [Enter]. Once a BackPack accessory is selected, the following entries are shown on the screen. Description Identifies the BackPack in the Program list. This field can not be modified. Hot key Designates the hot key used to run this task. Hot keys let you jump from the BackPack to other tasks and/or Back & Forth at will. Press [F7] to show the hot key prompt and press the key combination to be defined. The hot key must be a combination of one or more key flags [Alt], [Ctrl], [Left Shift], [Right Shift] combined with a function or alphanumeric key. Press [F9] to save the hot key. Max number of Determines the number of keyboard macros macros that may be defined for use within the BackPack. Macro buffer size Configures a storage area used to store the (0-16k) macros used with this BackPack. Each keystroke occupies 2 bytes of space. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 48 ______________________________________________________________________________ Macro save option Sets the method used to save newly defined key macros when the BackPack is exited. The options are: "Don't save macros", "Automatic save", and "Prompt for filename". The "Don't save macros" option does not save the macros unless the Save file option is selected from the Macro menu File command. The "Automatic save" option saves the macro buffer automatically to the open macro file when the BackPack is exited. If a file has not been loaded and macros have been defined, you are then prompted for the name of the file to be used. The "Prompt for filename" option prompts for the file to be used to store the macros when the BackPack is exited. This lets you select from a list of all existing macro files or lets you create a new file. Macro file name Identifies the file used to store the key macros for this BackPack. Either enter the file name at this prompt or press [F7] to select from a list of macro files. If the file list is used, highlight the desired file and press [Enter{Enter}]. Starting macro Names a macro that is replayed automatically when this BackPack is selected. If this BackPack is chosen for autoloading, this macro is not played. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field. Press the [Ins] key to switch the text entry mode between Insert (small block cursor) and Overwrite (underline cursor). Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 49 ______________________________________________________________________________ Back & Print The Back & Print setup menu contains the operational settings Setup of the printer redirection utility provided for use with Back & Forth. This option can be selected from the Setup menu only if print buffer space has been allocated within the Swap drive setup. Mode of Chooses the destination of output printed once operation Back & Print is activated via the Back & Print hot key. The options are: Straight to printer, Print buffer, Redirect to file, or Bit bucket. The Straight to printer option does not affect the operation of the printer. This should be used when printing to printers that have no hardware buffer or when printing long graphics files using downloadable fonts, like that produced by desktop publishers. The print buffer option uses EMS/XMS memory set aside within the Swap drive setup to buffer output destined for the printer. This reduces the amount of time the system is tied up waiting to finish printing. The Redirect to file option sends the output to a file instead of the printer. This file can later be edited or printed using a print utility. The last option, Bit bucket, discards the output being sent to the printer. This is useful when a program has an automatic print command or when printing is inconvenient. Press the [Left] or [Right] key until the desired setting is shown. Printer port Picks the parallel port used by the program as a destination for the printed output. Select either LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to scroll the entries until the desired one is shown. Throughput Measures the speed in which output is fed to the printer from the buffer. This is measured in multiples of 18 characters/second. If set too high, printing may slow down because not enough time is given to the program; if set too slow, the printer will not make optimal use of its time. On 8088 machines, set this to 54-100, on 80286s, set to 100-200, on 80386s, set to 200-300, on 80486s, set to 300-400. Use the increase and decrease hot keys to fine tune the print speed. Wait time on Designates the number of seconds (1-9) that errors Back & Print will wait before halting printing when a print error occurs. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 50 ______________________________________________________________________________ Strip 8th bit Sets whether the 8th (or high) bit is stripped from printed output. Each ASCII character is symbolized by an eight bit value, with the 8th bit represents the 127th - 255th part of the ASCII character code. The 8th bit is often used as a control character embedded by a program for formatting text. A notable example is the text of WordStar files. Redirection Names the file used to store print output when filename the operation mode is set to Redirect to File. This file contains exactly what is sent to the printer. In the case of more sophisticated printers (i.e. laser printers), this output may not appear the way you expect it to. Back & Print Sets the hot key used to activate/deactivate hot key Back & Print. Once pressed, any output sent to the printer is processed by using the options set within this menu. The default hot key is [Alt][BkSp]. Increase print Selects the hot key used to increase throughput speed key without having to stop printing and return to Back & Forth to reset the Throughput value. The default hot key is set to [Alt][+]. Decrease print Chooses the hot key used to decrease throughput speed key without having to stop printing and return to Back & Forth to reset the Throughput value. The default key is set to [Alt][-]. To move the cursor to a field within this menu, use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor keys to change the menu setting. Press [F9] to save the changes made to this menu, press [F10] to return to the Setup menu without saving. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 51 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cursor Setup The Cursor selection menu lets you choose the shape of the text cursor shown within Back & Forth and the programs executed from it. This does not affect the shape of the cursor shown within programs in graphics mode. Mode Activates or deactivates text cursor redefinition. When ON, the cursor defined by this menu will be shown within Back & Forth and all text-based programs run within B&F. Shape Determines the shape of the cursor. Four options are available, they are: underline, overhead bar, half-block, and full block cursor. Interval Sets the number of seconds before the cursor shape is reset to the above shape. Most programs do not change the shape of the cursor, for these programs set this value to 60 seconds. To move the cursor to a field within this menu, use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor keys to change the menu setting. Press [F9] to save the changes made to this menu, press [F10] to return to the Setup menu without saving. Disk Monitor The Disk monitor setup lets you monitor disk access by Setup activating a signal shown in the top leftmost corner of the screen when the disk is accessed. This displays a "R" when the disk is being read from, a "W" when the disk is being written to, a "F" when formatting a disk, or an "O" when other disk activities are performed. Mode When On, activates the disk monitoring feature. Color Selects the color of the disk monitor symbol shown on the screen. Press [F7] to display the color palette. Use the [Up], [Down], [Left], [Right] cursor keys to move the selection box to outline the desired color and press [Enter] to select. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 52 ______________________________________________________________________________ Hot Key Setup The Hot key setup menu lets you select the combination of keys used to invoke the various Back & Forth commands listed below. For example, the default hot key used to return to Back & Forth from an open task is [Alt][Ctrl][Space]. Before continuing, make sure that the hot key combinations do not conflict with the commands of programs that you normally use. If a hot key is set to the same key combination as that of a command of a program run from Back & Forth, that command is deactivated in favor of the hot key. When pressed, a menu is displayed listing the following Back & Forth program hot keys with their default settings. Active task menu hot key [Ctrl][Esc] Back & Forth super key [Alt][Ctrl][Left Shift] Back & Forth hot key [Alt][Ctrl][Space] Cut & Paste menu [Alt][Left Shift][C] Cut / Grab hot key [Alt][Ctrl][C] Paste hot key [Alt][Ctrl][P] Clock toggle [Alt][Left Shift][\] KeyBack off/on hot key [Ctrl][6] Next task [Ctrl][Up] Previous task [Ctrl][Down] Hercules text key [Alt][Ctrl][T] Hercules video page 0 [Alt][Ctrl][0] Hercules video page 1 [Alt][Ctrl][1] Macro begin/end record [Alt][=] Macro menu [Alt][\] Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the hot key to be changed and press either [Enter] or [F7] to open the hot key selection window. Press [F10] to exit this menu. Hot Key When an option other than the B&F Super key is selected from Selection the Hot key menu, you are asked for the key combination to be used. Press either [Alt], [Ctrl], or both along with one alphanumeric or function key. The [Left Shift] and/or [Right Shift] keys may also be used as part of the hot key. For example, to select [Alt][Ctrl][F10] as the B&F hot key, press the [Alt], the [Ctrl], and the [F10] keys simultaneously. Each hot key is key specific. What this means is that if you use the [Shift] key found on the left side of your keyboard with the [Alt] key and the [1] key found on the number keypad, these are the only keys that can be used to invoke the command assigned to that hot key. [F9] Save Hot Once the desired hot key has been selected, press [F9] to save. Key Press [F10] to exit the hot key screen without changing the set hot key. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 53 ______________________________________________________________________________ B&F Super Key If the Back & Forth super hot key entry is selected, you are shown a short list of possible key combinations. The super hot key is used to pop back when the program intercepts all key input (for example, XYWrite) or when you select to disable hot keys within that program. To select, move the selection bar to highlight the desired hot key. The available keys are: [Alt][Ctrl] [Alt][Left Shift] [Alt][Right Shift] [Ctrl][Left Shift] [Ctrl][Right Shift] [Alt][Ctrl][Left Shift] [Alt][Ctrl][Right Shift] [Alt][Ctrl][Left Shift][Right Shift] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 54 ______________________________________________________________________________ Icon Menu View The Icon entry window option resets the display mode to show the eight character task icons defined within the Program setup. With this mode, all active and defined tasks are shown on the screen for selection. This simplifies selection of tasks by those of you who make use of a mouse. BackPacks Program Setup Usage Quit ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────Active Tasks────┬───────────────────Program List────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ WPLetter▒ DSPrompt▒ │ B&F Doc ▒ Checkbk ▒ DSPrompt▒ FCmmndo ▒ Format ▒ │▒▒ ▒▒│ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ WPLetter▒ DSPrompt▒ │ PC-Paint▒ SmallDOS▒ WkBackup▒ WPLetter▒ WP ▒ │▒▒ ▒▒│ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒│ │ │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Menu 5Info 6LockKb 9RetPgm 10ExitBF Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 55 ______________________________________________________________________________ Keyboard Setup The Keyboard setup contains the keyboard configuration options of Back & Forth. When selected, the following options are displayed: Buffer When On, expands the size of the keyboard buffer to 128 characters. The keyboard buffer is the storage area used to store the keys typed ahead of the computer response. For example, when you type DIR then type another command like COPY, the COPY command is stored in the keyboard buffer until the DIR command finishes listing to the screen. Click When On, activates a key click, which sounds each time a key is pressed. Fixup When On, switches the function of the [Caps Lock] and [Ctrl] keys. This fixes the irritating and illogical setup of the newer keyboards. Speedkey When On, speeds up key entry. When the keyboard buffer is filled, more keys are not accepted until the buffer empties. Delay Sets the time interval used to control repeating keystrokes. This determines how long a key must be held down before it begins typing the repeating character. Repeat Sets the repeating character rate used to control the number of repeating characters allowed per second. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move to the option to be selected or press the highlighted letter. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit this window, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 56 ______________________________________________________________________________ Miscellaneous The Miscellaneous setup menu contains various operational Setup settings for Back & Forth. Boot watch Deactivates the [Ctrl][Alt][Del] DOS reboot command, if On. Color Contains the color setup of Back & Forth. Select from five preset color combinations or customize your own set of colors. Exit Determines whether control is returned to Back & handling Forth or to another task when a task is exited. Fill Sets the character used to fill in the background character of the Back & Forth screens. When chosen, the 254 ASCII characters available are shown. Use [Left], [Right], [Up], [Down] to move the cursor to highlight the character and press [F9] to accept. Indicator When On, shows a "Swapping" message when a (swapping) program is being swapped in or out of memory. Lines Determines the number of text lines shown within Back & Forth. If an EGA video card is detected, either 25 or 43 line mode may be selected. If a VGA card is detected, either 25 or 50 line mode may be chosen. If UltraVision is detected, a list of all 80 column screen mode settings for your video card is shown. Programs run from Back & Forth are not affected by this display mode. Mouse Activates/deactivates mouse support. This is shown only if a Microsoft compatible mouse is detected. Snow Toggles snow checking On or Off for CGA video checking systems. "Snow" is the flickering seen when the screen is redrawn by a program. This option is only available when a CGA system is detected. Title Defines the title shown at the top of the Back & Forth screen, between the date and time. eXternal Replaces the default editor used to edit the Cut editor setup & Paste clipboard and the key macros. When this option is chosen, you are first asked to select either Internal (the B&F editor) or External. A picklist then names all executable files within the current directory. To pick another directory, press [Tab] and highlight the path where the program is located. Now press [Alt][F] to move the selection bar back into the file list, highlight the program name, and press [F9]. The editor must be able to not only edit and save text in a straight ASCII format but also accept the text file name on the command line. Use [Up] or [Down] to move to the option to be selected or press the highlighted letter. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit this window, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 57 ______________________________________________________________________________ Color Setup The Color setup contains the color options of Back & Forth. Several preset color combinations have been included for you to choose from, or you may create your own color scheme. A Customize colors Lets you select your own set of colors to be used to display Back & Forth. B Black & white Sets the mode to black and white for use with liquid crystal or composite displays. C Blue & cyan set Selects the blue and cyan color set. The background is blue with text in cyan & white, the menus are cyan with blue text. D Black & blue set Selects the black and blue color scheme. The background is black with text in cyan & white, the menus are blue with cyan text. E Black & green set Selects the black and green color scheme. The background is black with text in green & yellow, the menus are blue with green text. F White & black set Selects the white and black color scheme. The background is white with text in black & blue, the menus are cyan with black text. To select, use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the highlighted selection bar to the desired option and press [Enter], or press the label letter. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. Customize When [A] is selected, the screen is redrawn showing a menu on Colors the left side breaking down the screen regions of Back & Forth. On the right, a sample Back & Forth screen is shown. This is provided to help you in deciding not only what each named region and text type is, but also what colors would look best there. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 58 ______________________________________________________________________________ Color Regions The menu options shown below select the screen region whose colors are to be changed. Application screen Sets the colors of the main B&F screen. Error colors Sets the colors of the error window, which is shown when an error is detected. Function key colors Sets the colors of the function keys shown at the bottom of the screen. Help colors Sets the colors of the help window. Input colors Sets the colors of the input menus, which are used to gather information. Examples include the Standard and Advanced Program definition windows. Menu colors Sets the colors of the Setup menu and its sub-menus. Pop-up colors Sets the colors of the pop-up menus, which are menus that list options for selection. An example is the Program setup task list. Verify colors Sets the colors of the verify windows. These are the Yes/No windows, like the Quit Editor window. Restore original Restores the colors to those found in the colors Back & Forth configuration file. Quit,don't save Exits the color setup without saving the changes changed color settings. Save changes and Saves the colors settings to the BPVARS exit file and exits. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter] to select, or press the first letter of the menu option. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 59 ______________________________________________________________________________ Region Items When a screen region is selected, a list of up to four items are shown describing the different parts of the region. Each region has slightly different items. The following lists the region and the screen parts that can be set. Application screen Border Normal Text Selected Item Title & Prompts Error colors Border Message Text Title Function key color Function key number Name of command Help window Border Index Normal text Title Input colors Border Prompt text Response text Title & instructions Menu colors Border First letter Normal & unavailable Selected item Pop-up colors Border Normal & unavailable Selected item Title & first letter Verify colors Border Prompt text Selected item Title & first letter Use the [Up] or [Down] keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired item and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the option. Press [F10] to exit and return to the color setup menu. The Color Once a specific screen item is selected, a color palette is Palette displayed on the left side of the screen showing the 128 color combinations available. Use the [Up], [Down], [Left], and [Right] cursor keys to move the selection bar around the palette until the correct color is outlined. At the same time, the sample Back & Forth screen on the right shows you an approximation of what that item in the actual Back & Forth program would look like. Once the color is set, press [Enter]. You are then returned to the region item menu. Exiting the Once all of the color regions and their items have been Customize customized to your liking, press [S] to save the changes made Command and exit the Color customization menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 60 ______________________________________________________________________________ Screen Blanker The Screen blanker setup option lets you set the number of Setup minutes between the last keystroke entered and the blanking of the screen and what is actually shown on the screen when it is blanked. You have a choice between blanking the screen completely or displaying a graphics image. If the mode is set to display a graphics screen image, you are given the ability to select a PCX file or Back & Grab image for display. One note: In order to display a graphics image within a task, both Overtime! and screen blanker support must set On within the task definition window. Mode of Determines what takes place when the screen blank operation interval is exceeded. The actions are: Hardware screen blanking and Display graphics image. Image file If "Mode of operation" is set to display a name graphics image, this specifies the image that is shown. This accepts either a PCX graphics file (files conforming to the PCX file format and having the file name extension PCX) or a Back & Grab graphics screen image folder. When selected, 3 function keys are shown. They are: [F2] View image, which displays the selected graphics image onto the screen for previewing; [F7] Pick a PCX file, which lists all PCX files found in the designated directory; and [F8] Pick a Back & Grab folder, which lists all Back & Grab folders found in the current directory. Interval Sets the number of minutes of keyboard activity (minutes) required before the above action is initiated (either blanking the screen or displaying the graphics image). One note: mouse activity is not considered keyboard activity. If a program makes heavy use of the mouse, use the Program setup to reset the screen blank mode to Off. Set this to 0 to deactivate the screen blank function. To redisplay the screen after it has been blanked, press any key. The contents of the screen are not affected. Blanking the screen after several minutes of inactivity prevents monitor burn-in. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 61 ______________________________________________________________________________ Time (Clock) The Time setup option presents a menu listing the available Setup clock display options for use within the programs run within Back & Forth. The clock, if turned On, is shown in the designated format at the selected spot on the screen of each program run within Back & Forth. When the Time option is selected from the Setup menu, the following items are displayed within a sub-menu. Don't display time Turns off the clock displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. AM/PM clock display Displays a clock showing the hour and minutes based on the 12 hour, AM/PM system. Military (24 hour) Displays a clock showing the hour and clock display minutes based on the 24 hour system. Seconds clock display Adds a seconds display when either the (use with A & M) AM/PM or military clock is selected. Row Sets the row where the clock is shown within each partition. Col Sets the column where the clock is placed on the screen within each partition. If the column value entered is greater than can be correctly displayed, it is adjusted to fit on the screen, ending in column 80. cLock colors Sets the color of the clock shown on the screen within each partition. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the option to be selected or press the first letter. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit this window, press [F10] to exit without saving the changes. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 62 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Usage Tracking Menu The Usage tracking menu lets you configure and view the usage log produced by Back & Forth. The usage log keeps track of all programs run with the time and date they were run, the project code (if one was used), and name of the user. This log may be sorted in three different ways, either by task description, project code, or by date/time. When selected, the following menu is shown: Browse usage database Lists the usage log entries occurring between two dates, sorted by either date, task description, or project code. Change project code Sets the 15 character project code used by the usage tracking function to group log entries. Delete records from Removes records from the usage log based database on a date range. When selected, you are prompted to define the Start and Stop dates of the usage records to be deleted. Setup usage tracking Activates program usage tracking, and parameters logon and project code requirements. When selected, a menu is shown listing three entries: Keep usage log, Require Logon, and Require project codes. Setting the Usage tracking option to Yes activates the usage log which keeps a list of all programs run from Back & Forth with the times that they were used. Setting the Project codes option to Yes prompts you for a project code each time Back & Forth is run. Browse Usage The Browse usage database option displays the records collected Database by the usage tracking feature of Back & Forth. Usage records are only kept when "Keep a usage log?" under Setup usage tracking parameters is set to Yes. This usage log, when activated, keeps track of every task run from the Back & Forth Program list and notes the date and time it was used, the project code, and the name of the user. Project Code One hint, do not select the project code as a primary or Use secondary sort key unless both "Require project code?" is set to Yes within the Setup usage tracking parameters menu and several different project codes have been used while within Back & Forth to group programs. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 63 ______________________________________________________________________________ Usage Record When selected, you are first prompted for the usage record Selection selection criteria. Primary key Selects the topic used to sort the usage records by. This may be set to Task description, Date/Time, or Project code. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor keys to change the setting to correspond with the desired sort option. Secondary key Selects the sort key used to differentiate between two or more usage records having matching primary sort field entries. This may be set to one of the two remaining sort options as mentioned above. Start date Sets the earliest date for which program records should be included within the usage log. Stop date Sets the last date for which records should be included in the displayed usage log. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to move between the fields shown in this menu. Press [F9] to use these settings and create the usage log, press [F10] to cancel and return to the Setup menu. Usage Log Once the display parameters have been defined, the selected range of usage records are sorted and saved to a temporary file. Once this file is created, the first usage records are listed to the screen. Each usage record is two lines long, identifying the name of the user, the date and time (start and stop) when the task was in use, the description of the task, the project number (if one is used), and the amount of elapsed time spent within that program. At the bottom of the screen, the available function keys are shown: [F1] Help Displays help for the Usage log. [F5] Totals Summarizes the usage records based on the primary sort key. [F7] Export Exports the displayed usage log entries to a selected file in the selected ASCII format: either one field per line, comma delimited records, or fixed length records. [F9] Print Prints the usage log in the format specified by the print formatter provided. [F10] Exit Exits the Usage log. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 64 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F5] Totals The [F5] Totals option condenses the log entries based on the primary sort key. All usage log records sharing the same entry field are grouped together in one line of data. For example, if the primary sort field is set to Date/time, all usage records having the same date are grouped together as one line of data. Summarizing the usage log based on different sort keys provides different types of information. With the sort key set to Date/time, the summary shows the amount of time each day that Back & Forth was used. With the sort key set to Task description, the summary breaks down the amount of time spent in each program. With the sort key set to project number, the summary identifies the amount of time spent within each project. To reset the primary sort key, you must exit the usage log command, re-select the Usage tracking option from the Setup menu, and pick a different primary sort key. [F7] Export The [F7] Export command saves a copy of the usage log to a file in a selected ASCII format. Using this file, you can then import its contents into your favorite database, editor, etc, to incorporate usage log information into reports, charts, or usage history file. Once the usage records have been safely exported to a data file or printed to paper, they should be deleted from the Back & Forth usage log. This lessens the amount of time spent in sorting unwanted records and the amount of space used in storing the data. To delete usage records, use the Delete option found within the Usage tracking menu. Export Menu When selected, a menu is shown prompting for the following information: File format Determines the ASCII data format used to store the usage records in the exported file. The options are: comma delimited, one field per line, and fixed length records. An example of each follows. Output dir Specifies the drive and directory used to store the exported data file. To select, either type in the path at the cursor or press [F7] to use the directory tree. If the tree is chosen, use the cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired path and press [Enter] to select. To change drives, press the [F8] Newdrv key. File name Names the new file created to hold the exported usage log. The file name can be up to twelve characters in length and cannot already exist within the above directory. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 65 ______________________________________________________________________________ File Format Three file formats are offered to make transporting usage Example records from Back & Forth to your other programs as painless as possible. Most programs allow importation of ASCII data. Consult your program's documentation for more information on the recommended format of imported data. If the following sample usage record is shown within the Browse window, selecting each of these file formats produces the following lines of data within the exported data file. User: Shane Stump Start: 02/14/1991 Stop: 21:54 Task: File Commando II 21:31 Elapsed: Proj#: None 00:22:48 Comma When the Comma delimited format is used, each record entry is Delimited enclosed within quotation marks and is separated by commas. "Shane Stump", "File Commando II", "None", "02/14/91", "21:31", "21:54", "00:22:48" One Field per When the One Field per line format is used, each record entry Line is placed on a separate line enclosed in quotation marks. Each record is separated by a blank line. "Shane Stump" "File Commando II" "None" "02/14/91", "21:31", "21:54", "00:22:48" Fixed Length When the Fixed length record format is used, each record entry Record is shown at its maximum length. Each field is also enclosed in quotation marks and separated by commas. The column position of each record entry follows the example. "Shane Stump ", "File Commando II ", "None ", "02/14/91", "21:31", "21:54", "00:22:48" User name 2 - 31 Start date 76 - 83 Task description 35 - 54 Start time 87 - 91 Project code 58 - 72 Finish time 95 - 99 Elapsed time 103 - 110 [F9] Print Log The Print command prints the usage log using the information provided by the displayed, customizable print formatter. This print formatter controls many aspects of the printed appearance of the usage log, such as page length regulation and use of page numbers, line numbers, headers, subheaders, and footers. Before printing the usage log, check the printer to make certain that it is properly connected to your computer, that it is turned on, and that plenty of paper is available. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 66 ______________________________________________________________________________ Print Once the [F9] Print usage log option is selected, a window is Formatter displayed to the screen naming the usage log and outlining the various print options that can be set. Number of copies Sets the number of copies to be printed. Pause between If On, you are prompted before each page is pages printed. This is used when you must hand-feed each page to the printer. Add line numbers Prints a line number on each line of output. Strip high bit Strips the high bit from the printed output. This is not used in printing the usage log. Truncate long If On, the contents of the line extending lines past the right margin is not printed.If Off, the remaining text is put to the next line. Starting page Sets the value of the first page number number printed (the page number must be specified in either the header, subheader, or footer). Page length Sets the number of lines that can be printed onto one page. This is used to align the next page after a page is printed. With the printer set to print 6 lines per inch, 8½ x 11 paper contains 66 lines per page. Line spacing Sets the number of lines shown between each printed line. If set to one, no blank lines appear between text lines. Tab expand size Sets the number of spaces a tab character is replaced by. Top margin Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the first line of text is printed Left margin Sets the number of columns from the left side of the page to be skipped before the first character of each line is printed. Right margin Sets the number of columns from the right side of the page where printing is stopped. Bottom margin Sets the number of lines from the bottom of the page where printing stops. Header Defines a line of text to be printed at the top of a page. Header offset Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the header is to be printed. This must be less than the top margin value. Subheader Defines a second line of text to be printed below the header. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 67 ______________________________________________________________________________ Subheader offset Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the subheader is to print. This also must be less than the top margin. Footer Defines a line of text to be printed at the bottom of the page, below the last line of text. Footer offset Sets the number of lines from the top line of the bottom margin. This cannot be greater than the bottom margin value. Move the highlighted selection bar by pressing the [Up] or [Down] cursor key. To exit this menu and return to the browse window, press [F10]. Press [F9] to begin printing the selected files. Headers, The information printed within the header, subheader, and Subheaders, footer may be divided into three groups. These groups are left and Footers justified text, centered text, and right justified text. To separate the contents of these groups, use the "|" character. Do not place any spaces in the text other than where you want spaces to appear. For example, the following line creates a header with your name, your company's name, and your phone number. Header: Your Name | Your Company's Name | (xxx) xxx-xxxx To center a title at the top of each page, enter the following: Header: |Title Print Macros Several macros have been provided to allow you to insert file and system specific information. To select any of these options, enter the macro onto the line as text. Each two character macro is preceded by a caret, "^". The following macros are available: ^CD Displays the current system date. ^CT Displays the current system time. ^FD Displays the file date. ^FT Displays the file time. ^FN Displays the name of the file. ^FP Displays the entire path of the file. ^PN Displays a sequential page number, starting with the value defined under Start page number. For example, to print a footer with the file name and date on the left and the page number on the right, enter the following: Footer: ^FN ^FD | | ^PN Printing Files Once [F9] is pressed, a message box is displayed naming the file being printed. Once the usage log has started to print, you can exit by pressing [Esc]. No other command may be issued until the usage log is finished printing. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 68 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 6: Running Back & Forth Pro Using Back & This section assumes that you have run Back & Forth at least Forth Pro once, at which time you had set up the swap areas, had used the Program setup to define a list of programs to be run, and had used the Setup menu to configure the color scheme, hot keys, and other settings to be used. If you have not, please refer to Section 4: Configuring Swap Space for Back & Forth Pro and Section 5: Setting Up Back & Forth Pro. Back & Forth is a task switching program which allows you to open and switch between as many as 20 different programs. Switching between tasks is easy, either use the hot keys, the ID codes, or the Program list. You can move "back & forth" between programs smoothly and efficiently without the inconvenience of exiting one program when you need to use another. When Back & Forth is loaded into conventional memory, using B&FPRO.BAT, only 23-40k of system memory is occupied. Using B&FHIPRO.BAT to load Back & Forth into high memory requires only 1k of system memory. If the high memory loader included with Back & Forth is used, upon exiting Back & Forth, all high memory used by B&F and programs run within B&F is released. B&F Command Several command line options are provided to make executing Line Options Back & Forth easier and more flexible. These options let you bypass the Swap drive setup menu, use multiple B&F data files, run a reduced memory version of B&F, and specify network users. The GO Option The "GO" command line option bypasses the Swap drive setup, moving you directly into the main Back & Forth screen. If you need to reset any of the swap settings, do not use the "GO" option. To bypass the Swap drive setup, type the following: B&FPRO GO (or) B&FHIPRO GO The NOPRINT A separate version of Back & Forth has been provided for those Option of you who do not wish to use the Back & Print option. Running Back & Forth with this command line options reduces the amount of memory required by Back & Forth by approximately 2.5k. B&FPRO NOPRINT (or) B&FHIPRO NOPRINT The LITE For those of you who have no need for the print buffer, clock, Option screen blanker, and keyboard macros, a special version of Back & Forth has been provided. The amount of memory used by this version of B&F is reduced by approximately 10k. B&FPRO LITE (or) B&FHIPRO LITE Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 69 ______________________________________________________________________________ The USER Back & Forth was written to function as a single-user task Option switching environment. To use B&F on a network, a unique Back & Forth data file must be configured for each user. This file contains the swap area settings, the program list, and other Setup options. The "USER" option is used to identify each user and his or her data file when Back & Forth is loaded. Assign each user a unique number between 1-999. For instance, to run Back & Forth using the fifth user's data file. B&FPRO USER:5 (or) B&FHIPRO USER:5 For more information about setting up and running B&F on a network, consult Appendix E: Network Installation and Use. Note If multiple users will be using Back & Forth on a network, a special network version must be purchased for each file server. Project Codes If the usage log has been set to require project codes, you Prompt will be prompted each time Back & Forth is run for a project code identifying the job that you are performing. Project codes are used to group tasks within the usage log according to the job that they are being used to do. The project code may be reset within the Usage tracking option. Autoloading If programs had been selected for automatic loading within the Programs into Program menu Autoload option, once Back & Forth is active, Back & Forth those programs are loaded. The amount of time required to load each task depends upon the method chosen to end program loading. If Back & Forth does not completely load a program within the Autoload list, reset the load method to "Time countdown" or increment the number of seconds needed to load the program. The program is not affected by the interrupted load process, when you switch back to that partition, it will finish loading and be ready to run. The Back & The following is a representation of the main Back & Forth Forth Screen screen. This screen is composed of four distinct parts. The top line contains the pull-down menu options. Below this is shown two program lists, with all open tasks identified in the top list, and all tasks available for execution named in the bottom. At the bottom of the screen, the function key commands are shown. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 70 ______________________________________________________________________________ BackPacks Program Setup Usage Quit ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌─────────────────────────────Active Programs─────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒│ No active tasks found │▒▒ ▒▒└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒┌───────────────────────────────Program List──────────────────────────────┐▒▒ ▒▒│ B&F Manuscript 618 'Alt-Ctrl-B ' [MB] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Back-up work files 256 'Alt-Ctrl-LShift-B ' [BC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ DOS Partition 618 'Alt-Ctrl-D ' [DP] │▒▒ ▒▒│ File Commando 618 'Alt-Ctrl-F ' [FC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Format disk 64 ' ' [3½] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Lotus 123 Checkbook 618 'Alt-Ctrl-L' ' [LC] │▒▒ ▒▒│ PC-Paintbrush 618 'Alt-Ctrl-P ' [PB] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Small DOS Prompt 128 'Alt-Ctrl-S ' [SD] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Word Perfect Letter 618 'Alt-Ctrl-W ' [WP] │▒▒ ▒▒│ Word Perfect Phone Notes 618 'Alt-Ctrl-N ' [PN] │▒▒ ▒▒│ │▒▒ ▒▒└───────Quick run: _ Tab Change windows U D Move bar Ent Open task─────┘▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Menu 5Info 6LockKb 9RetPgm 10ExitBF Active Program The Active Program list identifies all active tasks and List BackPacks open within Back & Forth. Up to 20 tasks may be open at once. Programs are "active" when they have been run within Back & Forth and have not been exited and removed from memory. When no tasks have been opened, a message is shown stating "No tasks are active". Program List The Program list window names all programs defined for execution within Back & Forth, the estimated amount of memory and swap space needed by the program to run, the program ID code, and its hot key. Press the [Tab] key to move the selection bar into the Program list from the Active Program list. If the program you wish to run is not shown within this list, you must either run the program from a DOS partition or select the Program setup option to define the program for use. Program List At the bottom of the current program list (the one with the Commands selection bar), the following commands are shown. Quick Run Allows the entrance of a two character ID code used to jump to and run a program. This code is shown on the far right side of the Program list. For example, to run File Commando from the above screen, type FC. [Tab] Change Moves the selection bar between the Active windows Program list and the Program list. [Up][Down] Move Moves the selection bar to highlight the bar next or previous entry in the list. [Enter] Open Runs the highlighted program entry as configured. The [Ins] key may also be used. [Del] Close Removes the highlighted task.Do not use this as a replacement of the exit command for the program. Instead, use this to close memory resident programs, DOS partitions, programs with no means to exit, or "locked" programs. This is an Active Program list command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 71 ______________________________________________________________________________ Types of When a task was defined, it may have been set up as a program, Programs a DOS partition, or a TSR. If a task defined as a program entry is picked, Back & Forth executes the program defined within the Program Setup; whereas if a task set up as a DOS partition is chosen, a DOS environment is created where any program or DOS command can be run from the DOS prompt. If the task configured as a Special TSR is selected, the program defined within the Program Setup is run followed by a special dummy program. This dummy program stabilizes some TSRs, like Sidekick Plus, that require a program to be run after them before they allow the system to be switched from. Program entries provide quick, easy execution of commonly used programs set up within Back & Forth, Special TSRs take care of special cases of TSR programs, and DOS partitions allow flexible access to a DOS prompt for execution of random programs, utilities, and DOS commands. Command Line Some programs require user input before they can be run. For Options instance, if 'Word Perfect Letter' is selected from the program list, you are prompted for the file name of the letter to be edited. When a task requiring user input is selected from the Program list, a prompt is shown asking for this information. Running a To move the selection bar into the Program list, press the Program [Tab] key. Now use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the task that you wish to run then press [Enter] or [Ins]. You can also run a program by typing its two character program ID or by pressing its hot key. If the program needs user input, you are prompted for it as explained above. Back & Forth then runs the program. While within the programs, several Back & Forth features are available. These include: cut & paste, screen clock, keyboard macros, graphics screen capture, event notification via the Overtime! scheduler, and a command stack for use within a DOS partition. These features are described in Part II: The Back & Forth BackPacks. Switching Back & Forth may be used to open up to 20 tasks in memory at Between Active once. To switch between tasks, either use the Back & Forth hot Tasks key to return to the Active Program list to select a program, or use the hot keys assigned to each program to open and switch between them at will. To switch from one program to another, press the program's hot key. Hot keys are assigned to programs when they are defined within the Program Setup, and are shown on the right side of the Program list. Pressing the hot key assigned to an open program swaps the current program out of memory to disk and swaps the program identified by the hot key into memory, restoring it to the state that it was in before it has been swapped out. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 72 ______________________________________________________________________________ Switching Back To pop-back to Back & Forth, press the Back & Forth hot key. to Back & This is set within the Setup menu. To use the default Back & Forth Forth hot key to pop back to Back & Forth from a running program, press [Alt], [Ctrl], and [Space] keys simultaneously. When you exit a program, you are returned to the Back & Forth Active Program list. From here you may return to another open program within this list or you may use the Program list to select other programs for execution. Caution! Do not pop-back while a communications program is connected to another system and requires input. When a program is swapped out of memory, it ceases execution until recalled to the screen. One other caveat, do not use disk modification programs while Back & Forth is open and other tasks are in memory. Many programs create temporary files while open which are deleted when the programs are exited normally. These files could be altered, truncated, or removed by programs like disk optimizers or CHKDSK /F. Using one of these programs may result in loss of data or a program "lock up". The Function The following function key commands are shown at the bottom of Keys the Back & Forth screen. [F1] Help Shows help information for Back & Forth. [F2] Menu Activates the pull-down menus. Its options are BackPacks, Program, Setup, Usage,& Quit. [F5] Info Summarizes the memory and swap space in use and the space allocated to Back & Print. [F6] LockKB Clears the screen and password protects your system while you are away from your desk. [F9] RetPgm Swaps B&F from memory and returns control to the last program loaded. [F10] ExitBF Removes all programs run from Back & Forth from memory and exits Back & Forth. Using a Mouse For those of you with mice scampering around on your desks, with Back & Back & Forth may be set up to run with a Microsoft compatible Forth mouse. When a mouse is used with Back & Forth, a separate blinking block mouse cursor is shown. With it, you may move to and select any option shown including function key commands and program list entries. To select an item, put the mouse cursor on the desired command and press the [Left] mouse button. A scroll bar is shown on most Back & Forth windows for use in positioning the selection bar with the mouse. This vertical bar is found on the far right side of the screen with up and down arrows located at each end. When the mouse cursor is moved to one of these arrows and clicked, the selection bar highlights the previous or next entry in the active window. Moving the mouse cursor to a spot within the scroll bar and pressing the [Left] mouse button moves the selection bar to highlight the entry at that relative position within the window. To use a mouse, the mouse driver must be installed on your system before Back & Forth is run. This driver should be placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT for automatic installation. Consult your mouse documentation for more information. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 73 ______________________________________________________________________________ The mouse support toggle is found in the Setup Miscellaneous menu. Exiting Back & To exit Back & Forth, first remove all programs active in Forth memory. To do this, move the selection bar to highlight each program entry within the Active Program list and press [Enter]. Once within that program, save any open data files and use the program's Exit command to remove the program from memory naturally. If the highlighted task is a DOS partition, type 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt. Once the program has been exited, control is returned to the Active Program list. Continue this procedure until the Active Program list shows the message "No tasks are active". Now press the [F10] ExitBF key. If all tasks have been closed as recommended above, the swap files are deleted, Back & Forth is removed from memory, and the program is exited. If any tasks are still open when the [F10] key is pressed (either because of accidental oversight or because the program is unwilling to relinquish memory), you are then prompted to verify whether you wish for all open programs to be forcibly removed. Press [Y] to exit Back & Forth and remove all programs, press [N] to remain within Back & Forth. You should make every attempt to exit all open programs naturally so that you can ensure that all data files are properly closed and all temporary files are correctly handled. Caution! If all open programs are not exited normally, i.e. via their own exit command, all data files may not be updated and closed, and temporary files may still exist on the disk. If this occurs, upon running CHKDSK /F or other disk checking software, you may find a number of lost clusters or unidentified program swap files. Do not turn off your computer before exiting Back & Forth. If Back & Forth is not exited normally, i.e. via the [F10] ExitBF key, not only may lost clusters occur but also its swap files will still occupy space on your disk. The On/Off power switch is not a viable alternative to the [F10] ExitBF command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 74 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 7: Special Features of Back & Forth Pro Overview Several special features have been provided to give you more power and capability when running programs or DOS environments. These commands let you: * Cut and paste selected text from one program to another, * Record and replay macro keystrokes for use in simplifying program execution, * Replace special abbreviations with commonly-used words, names, and phrases to save typing time, * Save and re-use commands issued from the DOS prompt via use of a command stack, * Display a marker on the screen when disk activity occurs, * Turn off the screen when your computer is left idle. A separate program, SWITCH.COM, has been furnished to aid in switching to Back & Forth or to another task from the command line. The hot keys assigned to the Cut/Grab command, the Paste command, the Cut & Paste menu, the clock toggle, and the Record key macros option are set within the Setup menu Hotkey option. The ID characters used by SWITCH.COM to switch directly to a program are defined within the Program menu Program setup. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 75 ______________________________________________________________________________ Screen Blank The screen blank feature changes the screen display after a specified number of minutes of inactivity. You can select either to blank the screen completely or to display a preselected graphics image until any key is pressed. The time interval, display mode, and graphics image to be used is set within the Screen blank Setup menu. You can also directly activate the screen blank feature immediately by pressing the [5] key located on your numeric keypad while the [Num Lock] key is off. This feature can be deactivated for a specific task by changing the extended program definitions for that task. Clock Toggle A digital clock is, by default, shown on the screen when the program is in text mode. This clock can be repositioned on the screen or even permanently deactivated by changing the Extended program definition for the task. You may sometimes wish to temporarily remove the clock from the screen, especially if it covers some important information. If it is inconveniently placed for your program, you should change its placement on the screen by using the [F7] Setup menu Program setup to reset the clock display field. But if it only interferes with a particular screen, you can simply turn it off within that task by pressing the clock toggle key. The default clock toggle hot key is set to [Alt][Left Shift][\]. To reset the clock toggle key to another hot key, use the Setup menu Hot key option. The Switch The Switch program has been furnished to aid in switching to Command Back & Forth or to other programs within B&F from the command line. This is useful when running certain applications which cannot be swapped out of memory directly by Back & Forth due to their own inherent limitations. It is also useful for those of you who wish to build batch files that will automatically switch to another program within Back & Forth. Before using for the first time, copy the SWITCH.COM file to a location along your DOS path. This allows you to use it from any directory location on your system without having to change directories back to the Back & Forth directory. To view a list of all identification codes assigned within Back & Forth, type the following at the DOS prompt: SWITCH LIST To switch to a specific program defined within the Back & Forth Program list, type SWITCH followed by the two letter identification code assigned to the program. For example, to switch to Menu Commando (ID set to MC), type the following at the DOS prompt: SWITCH MC To switch directly back to Back & Forth, type: SWITCH MENU Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 76 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Command Stack The Command stack is available when a DOS partition is opened. It is used to store and recall commands issued at the DOS prompt. This is like using the [F3] key at the DOS prompt, except the [F3] key only remembers the last command typed. Command stacks are useful when performing repetitive tasks or correcting improperly typed commands. The command stack stores the last 512 bytes of commands issued at the DOS prompt (about 30-40 commands) in a circular buffer for re-use. If a command is entered more than once, it is only stored once. If 4DOS, PCED, CED, DOSKEY, or ANARKEY is detected, the B&F command stack is disabled, which lets you use their command stacks. [F3] or [Up] Displays the previous command in the stack. [Down] Displays the next command in the stack. [Ctrl][F] Searches the stack for a previously issued command. This is described on the next page. [Left] Moves the cursor one character to the left. [Right] Moves the cursor one character to the right. [Ctrl][Left] Moves the cursor to the previous word. [Ctrl][Right] Moves the cursor to the next word on the line. [Home] Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. [End] Moves the cursor to the end of the line. [Ins] Sets text entry mode to Insert or Overwrite. [Del] Deletes the character at the cursor. [Ctrl][] Deletes all characters from the cursor to the first space encountered to its left. [Ctrl][T] Deletes all characters from the cursor to the next space encountered. [Ctrl][End] Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line [Esc] Deletes the contents of the entire line. [Ctrl][Enter] Runs the command without putting it in the stack. [Ctrl][R] Clears the stack of all previous entries. [Ctrl][F] Find The [Ctrl][F] Find command searches the command stack for a Command previously issued command. To use this command, enter the first letters of the desired command line and press [Ctrl][F]. The command stack is then searched for the last occurrence of a matching command line entry. If one is found, it is then displayed at the DOS prompt. For example, if the command stack contains the following entries, typing 'ch' and pressing [Ctrl][F] replaces the 'ch' with 'chkdsk a:'. Keep pressing [Ctrl][F] to display each command entry in the stack beginning with the specified characters. chkdsk b: format a: chkdsk a: copy d:*.* a: Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 77 ______________________________________________________________________________ KeyBack! Keyboard Macros KeyBack! is Back & Forth's implementation of keyboard macros for use with tasks run from Back & Forth. Keyboard macros are defined sequences of keys that are assigned to a single key and are replayed each time that key is pressed. Macros let you automate sequences of commands or often-typed phrases within a task. The macros provided within Back & Forth are local, which means they are specific to the task in which they are located. Macros cannot be used to switch between tasks, select Back & Forth commands, or call other macros. Local macros reduce memory and disk storage space by only allocating space for tasks where macros are actually defined. They also let you re-use the same macro keys with different tasks, since different programs use different keys to perform the same commands (like loading a file or exiting the program). Two different types of macros can be created and used within Back & Forth. Conventional key macros differ from Shorthand text macros in that they are assigned to hot keys and are activated only when that hot key combination is pressed. Shorthand text macros are assigned to short abbreviations that are automatically replaced while typing within your program. For example, if you define a Shorthand macro to replace "asap" with "as soon as possible", when "asap" is typed within your program, that abbreviation is automatically replaced with "as soon as possible". One note, Shorthand and KeyBack! only function in text mode. Macros can be used to give your widely different programs a consistent command interface. Macros can also be used to "lock out" the use of a command or key. For example, you may wish to redefine the [Shift][PrtSc] key to do nothing rather than dump the screen contents to the printer. The number of macros and the macro buffer size is configurable within the Program setup. At the present time, up to 255 keystroke macros may be defined per task, occupying a buffer of up to 16k. Both of these fields must be set to a value greater than 0 before macros are allowed within that task. A Special For those of you who have EMS memory available, a special Environment environment variable has been created for use by KeyBack!. This Variable is BNF_MACRO_BUFFER and is used to store the contents of the macro buffer into EMS memory. When this environment variable is set, the macro buffer size is automatically set to 16k for every task where macro support is enabled. Macro support is enabled when both the "Maximum number of macros" and "Macro buffer size" are set to values greater than 0. To use the environment variable, add the following line to the executable batch file B&FHIPRO.BAT or B&FPRO.BAT. SET BNF_MACRO_BUFFER=EMS Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 78 ______________________________________________________________________________ Recording a KeyBack! is a powerful typing aide that can be utilized to Macro store and retrieve often-used phrases and lengthy series of program instructions. To define a key macro, follow these steps: * Use the Program Setup to make certain that all tasks that allow the use of keyboard and Shorthand macros have macro space allocated within them. Check the [F8] Extended task definition window for the following settings: Auto Shorthand should be set On to automatically replace Shorthand abbreviations; Shorthand delete sequence should be set to an acceptable backspace character; Maximum number of macros set to at least 10; Macro buffer size set to at least 4k; Macro file name set to a default macro storage file that is to be automatically loaded when the task is run. * Once the program configuration has been checked, save the settings and run the program. * Now you are ready to define a key macro. Press [Alt][=] Begin/End macro key. * Press the key combination to be used as the activation key for the macro. If this macro is to be a Shorthand text macro, press [Enter] then type in the abbreviation to be used. * Control is then returned to the program. Press the keys and type in the text to be assigned to the macro. The program is "active", which means that the program responds as if KeyBack! is not there. * If you press a key by mistake while recording a macro, you can either wait and use the Edit command available within the Macro menu or you can press the KeyBack! backspace command (default is set to [Ctrl][H]). * Once you have completed recording the macro, press [Alt][=]. The following options are shown: Abandon, Cut, Paste, Resume, and Save. Press [S] to save the newly-recorded macro. * Finally, once you have recorded several macros, use the [Alt][\] Macro menu and select the File option to save the macros to a file. Example Below is a step-by-step example of defining a macro for use within a DOS partition. * Run a task defined as a DOS partition. * Press [Alt][=] to begin defining a macro. * A window is then shown asking you for the hot key to be used to activate this macro. Press [Ctrl][Tab]. * When control is returned to the DOS prompt after defining the hot key, anything you type will be remembered. For this example, we'll define the ubiquitous DIR command. Type at the DOS prompt: DIR[Enter] * Now press [Alt][=] followed by [S] to save the macro. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 79 ______________________________________________________________________________ Another Here is another step-by-step example, this time defining a Example Shorthand macro for use within a text editor. * Run a text editor. * Press [Alt][=] to begin defining a macro. * A window is then shown asking for a hot key and description. Press [Enter]. You are then prompted for an eight character abbreviation used to represent the text macro. Type "bf". * When control is returned to the editor, anything you type will be remembered. For this example, type the words "Back & Forth Professional". * Now press [Alt][=] followed by [S] to save the macro. Other Ways to Keyboard macros can be defined in other ways. The [Alt][\] Record a Macro Macro menu Edit command not only is used to modify existing macros to make corrections or additions, but it can also be used to create a new macro. This is described under Edit macro. Selecting the Record macros option from the Macro menu emulates the use of the [Alt][=]. When pressed, control is returned to the program in macro record mode. Until [Alt][=] is pressed again, every keystroke pressed is recorded into the macro. Playing Back a Once a macro is recorded, you probably would like play back Macro that macro to verify. To do so, press its hot keys. For example if you had defined the DIR macro shown above, press [Ctrl][Tab] within the task. This types DIR[Enter] at the DOS prompt just as if you had typed it in directly. The computer then lists the directory for the current drive. To observe how Shorthand text replacement works, first make certain that Automatic Shorthand replacement is turned On for the task. This is located within the Program Setup. Then type the Shorthand abbreviation and press a separator key. Separators include: [Enter] [Space] , . / \ ; : ? ! " ' + - = * < > [ ] { } _ | Using the example defined above, type the following within the text editor: bf! The abbreviation "bf" is deleted and the following is typed in its place: Back & Forth Professional! If Automatic Shorthand replacement is turned off within this task, Shorthand may still be used to replace defined abbreviations. Press the Shorthand hot key, default is [Alt][Space] to replace any Shorthand abbreviation found to the left of the cursor with its replacement text. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 80 ______________________________________________________________________________ Macro Menu The Macro menu holds the record and playback macro commands along with all relevant settings used to control the use of KeyBack!. To display the Macro menu, press its hot key (default is [Alt][\]). In the top half of the screen, information about the macro environment is listed. This identifies the number of macros allocated within the task, the number of macros already defined, the maximum size of the file measured in keystrokes, the amount of space still free, the Shorthand mode, the deletion command defined for the task, and the delay rate used to replay the macro. Below the macro information block, the macro menu options are shown. When a macro file contains no macro entries, the Clear and Playback options are deactivated. As soon as at least one macro or Shorthand abbreviation is defined, they are reactivated. Clear Deletes all macros within the current file and resets the buffer. This lets you start anew. Edit Lists all defined macros by their macro key and allows you to create new macros or macro menus, edit existing macros, and delete obsolete macros. File Lets you load or save a macro file to disk. Whenever macros have been created or modified, they must be saved to their macro file. Options Sets such options as the Shorthand deletion character, the replay delay factor that slows down key replay rate for those tasks that cannot accept keys as fast as B&F can feed them, the Shorthand automatic search and replace mode, and the hot keys assigned to the Macro menu, the Begin and End macro definition commands, and various macro commands that can be inserted into a macro being defined. Playback Replays the keystroke contents of a selected macro within the current task. Record Returns to the open task and allows you to record a macro. Macros may also be recorded using either the Edit macro command or the [Alt][=] Begin/End macro definition key within the active task. Quit Exits the Macro menu and returns to the task. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [Esc] or [Q] to exit the Macro menu and return to the running task. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 81 ______________________________________________________________________________ Edit Macros The Edit Macros option allows you to modify existing macros to update or correct them. It also lets you delete obsolete macros and create new macros. When selected, all existing macros are listed with the following function key commands shown at the bottom: [F2] Add Lets you add a new macro or macro menu to the list of existing macros. Creating a macro here is significantly different from creating a macro using either the Record macro command or the [Alt][=] Begin/End macro definition key. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted macro from the file. [F7] Edit Displays the contents of the highlighted macro and allows you to modify its contents along with the macro description and the hot key/Shorthand abbreviation used to invoke it. Each key defined within the macro is shown. To begin editing the macro keystroke field, move the selection bar to the window and press [Ctrl][Enter]. [F10] Quit Returns to the Macro menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 82 ______________________________________________________________________________ Adding a Macro Once [F2] Add is selected from the Edit macros window, you are prompted for the macro type to be created. The two types are: 1) Hot key/Shorthand macro and 2) Menu of macros. Select "1" to create a Hot key/Shorthand macro, which are standard keyboard commands assigned to either a hot key or a keyword. Select "2" to create a menu of macros, which is a menu listing up to 26 pre-defined macros. A macro menu is useful in identifying available macro commands for easy access and selection while within a task. Editing a Key Once a Key/Shorthand macro is selected for creating or editing, Macro Entry a macro definition screen is shown. This lists the macro description, its hot key or Shorthand abbreviation, and the contents of the macro. Each key defined within this macro is shown. To begin editing the macro keystroke field, move the selection bar to the window and press [Ctrl][Enter]. This shows several function key commands at the bottom of the screen. These are: [F5] Command Identifies the commands that can be embedded list into the macro. These are: delay, display file, fixed field, select filename, select path, sound, and variable field. A complete description of each follows. [F6] Key list Lists all keyboard keys that can be defined for use in the macro. A key may be selected from this list by using the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to highlight the desired key and press [Enter]. These keys may also be typed in as they appear here or simulated using the [F8] key. [F8] Return Inserts a selected keyboard command into the key to macro macro. Using this key, any legal key combination can be included in the macro. For example, to add the [Ctrl][F1] key, press [F8] then press the [Ctrl] key and the [F1] key simultaneously. It then is inserted into the macro as <CtrlF1>. [F10] Quit Returns to the Macro menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 83 ______________________________________________________________________________ Macro Command The [F5] Command list identifies the commands that can be List embedded into a macro. Most of the following have at least one user-specified option, shown in italics. When selected from this list, you are prompted for this option. These commands may also be directly typed into the macro. To do this, after typing the colon ":", enter the appropriate value. Other macro commands listed below show On|Off following the colon. This requires that you set the macro command either On or Off. <ASCII Table> Shows an ASCII table that allows characters to be returned to the open task. <CapsLock:On|Off> Turns on / off the [Caps Lock] key. <Cls> Blanks the screen. Once the screen has been cleared, pressing any key restores it. <Cut> Activates the Cut command. When replayed, the system is placed into cut mode, where the [+] key is used to mark the beginning of the block of text to be cut, and [Enter] marks the end of the block. You are then asked to select the destination for the cut text. More on the Cut command can be found within the Cut & Paste section of the manual. <Delay:duration> Sets a timed delay to occur within the macro when played back. When chosen, enter the number of timer ticks (18 per second) that you wish to pause when this command is encountered in the macro. To set a 3 second pause, type <Delay:54>. <Display file:filename> Lists the contents of a predetermined file within a simple file viewer. When selected, you are asked for the file name. Highlight the file to be listed and press [Enter]. When this macro is replayed, the file is listed with three search commands shown. These are: [F5] Find next, [F6] Find previous, and [F7] Continue last find. Use the cursor keys to scroll the file; when finished, press [F10]. <Editor:filename> Opens the editor with the text of the selected file. To use a picklist to select a file, type Select file for the file name in the macro. <Fixed field:length> Allows you to type in text at this point in the macro. When selected, you are asked for the number of keystrokes that are to be accepted. This is useful when the entry requires consistent input; for instance, when entering a disk drive, zip code, or phone number. To define a fixed field for phone number entry, type <Fixed field:10>. Once the set number of keys are typed (in this case, 10), the macro continues with its next command. <NumLock:On|Off> Turns on / off the [Num Lock] key. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 84 ______________________________________________________________________________ <Paste> Pastes the contents of the active Cut folder. More on the Paste command can be found within the Cut & Paste section of the manual. <Return current path> Returns the current directory path. <Return date:pattern> Returns the date in the format specified. Any characters specified in the template not listed below are passed through unchanged to the resulting date. The format is determined by the following patterns: dd = day value (1 to 31) mm = month value (1 to 12) yy = last two digits of the year, i.e. 91 yyyy = entire year value ddd = day abbreviation (Sun,Mon,..,Sat) mmm = month abbreviation (Jan,Feb,..,Dec) dddd = day (Sunday,..,Saturday) mmmm = month (January,..,December) <Return time:pattern> Returns the time in the format specified. hh = hours, based on a 12 hour format mm = minutes ss = seconds tt = hours, based on a 24 hour format xx = am/pm label display XX = AM/PM label display <ScrollLock:On|Off> Turns on / off the [Scroll Lock] key. <Select directory> Returns a directory path selected from a displayed directory tree. <Select filename> Returns a file name chosen from a picklist. This is useful when defining a macro to load/save a file. This command does not return the path. When this macro is replayed, a picklist is shown listing the files and directories in the current path. Use the [Tab] key to move the highlighted bar between the various parts of the window. To change the drive, highlight the path entry at the top of the window and type in the drive. To change directories, move the selection bar into the directory list, use the cursor keys to highlight a directory,and press [Enter]. To select a file, highlight the desired file and press [Enter] again. Once a file is chosen, that file name is returned to the macro for use. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 85 ______________________________________________________________________________ <Select pathname> Lets you select a file and path name from a picklist. This command has no options. When this command is replayed, a picklist is shown listing the file and directory contents of the current path. Use the [Tab] key to move the highlighted selection between the various parts of the file list. To change the drive, highlight the path entry and type in the drive letter. To change directories, move the selection bar into the directory list, use the cursor keys to highlight a directory, and press [Enter]. To select a file, use the cursor keys to highlight the desired file in the list and press [Enter]. Once a file is selected, that file name along with its full path is returned to the macro for use. <Sound:freq:duration> Sounds a tone when encountered. This has two user-defined options, frequency and duration. Frequency can have a value between 20 and 32000 Hz. Duration is measured in timer ticks, which occur 18 times a second. To set a 2400 Hz tone to sound for one second, type <Sound:2400:18>. <Variable field> Allows text entry by the user at this point in the macro. A variable field may be any length and is ended by an [Enter]. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight the desired macro command and press [Enter]. Press [Esc] to exit the Command list. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 86 ______________________________________________________________________________ Editing a Menu If you select to create or edit a Macro menu entry, a macro Macro Entry menu editor is shown on the screen with the following entries: Description Labels the macro menu entry with a 20 character description used to identify it in the macro list. Hotkey Assigns a hot key to the macro used to activate the macro menu from the open task. Press [F7] to enter the hot key selection window. Title Defines the title shown at the top of the macro menu when displayed. Top row Sets the topmost row of the macro menu. To center the macro menu on the screen, set this to "-1". If you set this to a value greater than the number of possible screen rows, the macro menu will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Left column Sets the leftmost column of the macro menu. To center the macro menu on the screen, set this to "-1". If this is set to a value greater than the number of screen columns, the macro menu will be displayed in the center of the screen. Border style Sets the type of border used to outline the macro menu on the screen. The four choices are: Single line, Double line, Single/Double line (a single line used for the top and bottom, a doubled line used for the left and right aspect of the macro menu), and Double/Single line (a doubled line used for the top and bottom, a single line used for the left and right aspect of the macro menu). Press the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to set. Shadow window Sets whether a shadow should be shown outside the macro menu. This can be set either ON or OFF. Press the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to change. Macros on menu Lets you select up to 26 defined macros for display within the macro menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 87 ______________________________________________________________________________ File Menu The Macro menu File option lets you load and save macro files for use with the current task. Remember, after defining macros by either using the [Alt][=] Begin/End macro command or using the Macro menu Edit or Record commands, these macros must be saved to permanently add them to the macro file. When selected, a sub-menu is shown identifying the two file options. These are: Load Loads a new macro file into memory. Save Saves the changes made to the selected file. When selected, a file selection window is shown on the screen. This window is comprised of five parts. The top line identifies the drive and directory whose contents is displayed. Two large boxes in the center of the window list the directories and *.MAC files. On the right side are two mouse buttons, the [A] Accept and [C] Cancel commands. At the bottom, the size, creation date and time of the highlighted file is shown. To select a different drive, use the [Tab] key to move the selection bar to highlight the path and enter the desired drive. To select a different directory within that drive, use the [Tab] key to move the selection bar into the directory window and use the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys to highlight it. To select an existing file from the list, again use the [Tab] key to move the bar into the file list and highlight the desired file name. To open a new file, highlight the [New file] entry within the file list and enter a new file name when prompted. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 88 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options Menu The Macro Options menu contains various settings that control the way macros operate. The entries include: Backspace Defines the key command used to backspace over the Shorthand abbreviation. Some programs like older versions of WordStar do not support the use of the [BkSp] key for deleting the character preceding the cursor. For programs like this, set this to one of the other two key commands provided that will work within the task. These are: [Ctrl][BkSp] and [Left][Del]. Delay Sets the rate at which text is pasted into the task from the Macro Playback command. Some programs cannot accept keys as fast as Back & Forth can feed them, for these programs increment the delay to compensate. Hotkey Lists all hot keys used within KeyBack!. These keys display the Macro menu, start and end macro definition, Shorthand translation key, and other macro commands. Shorthand Activates/Deactivates automatic replacement of Shorthand abbreviations with their corresponding text. When set Off, Shorthand abbreviations are not replaced until the Shorthand translation key is pressed (default is [Alt][Space]). Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [Esc] or [Q] to exit the Macro menu and return to the running task. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 89 ______________________________________________________________________________ Hot Key Setup The Hotkey setup option lists all hot keys assigned to various KeyBack! macro functions within Back & Forth. Macro menu Displays the KeyBack Macro menu, which contains the macro settings for the open task. Default is set to [Alt][\]. Begin/end macro When pressed within a task, begins the definition of a key macro. You are then prompted for either the hot key to be assigned to the macro or the abbreviation to be assigned to the Shorthand replacement phrase. When pressed a second time, ends that macro. Default is set to [Alt][=]. Backspace while Removes the last key assigned to a key macro defining during macro definition. The default hot key is set to [Ctrl][H]. Fixed length Defines a fixed length fill-in-the-blanks field field for input during macro playback. This allows you to define commands that require a user response having a specific length. For instance, to allow the selection of a drive during the playback of a macro, when defining that macro, press the Fixed length field hot key, type in an example of the expected response, and press the fixed hot key again. In this case, press "c". A more extensive explanation of fixed and variable fields appears on the next page. The default hot key is set to [Ctrl][[]. Variable field Defines a variable length field for user input. This lets you enter text into the macro each time it is replayed. For example, to define a variable length field used to accept a file name for use by the macro, press the Variable field key at the position in the macro where the file name is to be entered. Now the macro will accept the entrance of any sequence of keys. Press the variable field key to end the field. A more extensive explanation of fixed and variable fields appears on the next page. The default hot key is set to [Ctrl][]]. Skip Deactivates the macro assigned to the next key translation of pressed. This is necessary when a key is next key defined as a macro hot key and is also used within the program as a command. For example, you may wish to assign as a macro key a seldom-used program command key, like [F5]. When you actually need to select the command assigned to that hot key within the program, press this key ([Ctrl][2]) first, followed by [F5]. The default hot key is set to [Ctrl][2]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 90 ______________________________________________________________________________ Shorthand Replaces a Shorthand abbreviation found to the translation left of the cursor with its defined text. This hot key is used to activate Shorthand translation when the Auto Shorthand is turned Off.The default hot key is set to [Alt][Space] Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [Esc] or [Q] to exit the Macro menu and return to the running task. Text Entry Macros wouldn't be very powerful or flexible if they could only Fields play back what had been predefined. Many commands require some user-specified text entry, like the name of a file or path. Two different macro commands, fixed and variable fields, have been provided to facilitate field definition. These commands suspend macro playback and allow the user to enter the requested information. Fixed Length Fixed field definition allows the user to enter a specified Fields number of characters. For instance, to define [Ctrl][Tab] to be used to list a directory of a chosen disk within a DOS partition, press the following keys: [Alt][=][Ctrl][Tab]DIR[Space][Ctrl][[]C[Ctrl][[]:[Enter][Alt][=] [S] When this macro is played back, it types "DIR" and then waits for you to type a drive character. Once the drive has been selected, the macro continues its playback by adding the drive colon and pressing [Enter]. Variable Variable field definition is a more flexible option for use. Length Fields This command lets you enter variable length text into the macro each time it is replayed. For example, to define [Alt][Tab] to copy a user-specified file, press the following keys: [Alt][=][Alt][Tab]COPY[Space][Ctrl][]]filename[Ctrl][]][Space]A: [Enter][Alt][=][S] In the above example, the [Space] key represents a space in the macro. When this macro is played back, it types "COPY" and then waits for you to type the file name. Press [Enter] to end the variable length field. This [Enter] command is not passed on through the macro. The macro then continues its playback by typing a space, typing the drive where the user-selected files are to be copied (A:), and pressing [Enter]. This results in the selected file being copied to drive A:. Playback Plays back the selected macro within the open task. This option Macros lets you select the desired macro from the list of defined macros. Record Macros Emulates the [Alt][=] Begin macro command key. When selected, control is returned to the open task where you are prompted for the macro hot key or abbreviation and the contents of the macro. When finished, press [Alt][=] to end recording and [S] to save the newly recorded macro. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 91 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Cut & Paste Command The Cut & Paste command lets you pick up information shown on the screen of one program and copy it into another program. For example, when using a word processor to type a letter, you may wish to enter the database to retrieve an address. With the Cut & Paste command, you can simply mark the beginning and end of the desired address, switch to the word processor, and press a key to insert it into the letter. The Cut option also allows you to dial a number from the screen. This is done using the Cut option to highlight the phone number to be dialed then selecting the Cut Dialer command. Although the Cut & Paste command cannot cut & paste the contents of graphics screens, the Cut key can be used to capture the contents of the entire screen and save it. This is a function of Back & Grab, the graphics screen grabber provided with Back & Forth. The image captured by Back & Grab cannot be pasted. This is described in more detail within Part II: The Back & Forth BackPacks. Three main components make up the Back & Forth Cut & Paste command. These are the Cut & Paste menu, where both its options may be set and commands may be chosen; the Cut command, selectable by pressing the Cut hot key or by using the Cut & Paste menu; and the Paste command, selectable by pressing the Paste hot key or by using the Cut & Paste menu. Cut & Paste The hot keys used by the Cut & Paste commands are set within Hot Keys the Setup Hot key menu. This is described within Section 5 of the manual. The default hot keys assigned to Back & Forth for use with the Cut & Paste option are as follows: Cut & Paste menu [Alt][Left Shift][C] Cut command [Alt][Ctrl][C] Paste command [Alt][Ctrl][P] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 92 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cut & Paste To display the Cut & Paste command menu, press its hot key. The Menu default key sequence is [Alt][Left Shift][C]. This menu contains the Cut & Paste commands along with the settings used to control each command. Cut Exits this menu and displays the program screen for cutting. Move the cursor and press [+] to mark the first character. Now highlight the last character to be marked and press [Enter] or [F9]. Cut may also be used to pick out and dial a number from the screen. Dialer Configures the dialer settings, including the baud rate, dial mode, communications port, and the 3 phone codes. Edit Displays and allows you to edit the contents of the default folder (selected within the Folder option). This editor is described in more detail within the BackPack Accessories manual. Folder Lists all available keystroke folders. Keystroke folders are used by the Cut & Paste commands for storage and retrieval of text. CLIPBORD.### is used by default. Manual Dials a number entered at the prompt. Options Defines the settings used to control the cut process. These include rectangular or text cut modes, end of line treatment, numbers-only cutting, and the display of the cut help window. Paste Exits this menu and moves the contents of the selected folder (default is CLIPBORD.###) into the running program at the cursor. Quit Saves the settings, exits the cut menu, and returns to the running program. Use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [Esc] or [Q] to exit the Cut & Paste menu and return to the running program without cutting or pasting. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 93 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cut Command With the Back & Forth Cut command, it is easy to select text displayed on one screen and move it into another program. Cutting text is a multi-step process. These steps are: * Use your program to show the text to be cut on the screen. * If the cut mode, key folder, or other Cut & Paste option needs to be changed, press the Cut & Paste menu hot key (default is [Alt][Left Shift][C]) and press [O] to set the cut mode. The cut mode may be set to either Rectangle or Text. This is described under Options menu. * Select the Cut command. If within the Cut & Paste menu, press [C], else if within the program, press the Cut hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][C]). * View the cut help window (if On) and press [Enter] to remove it from the screen. This is shown only if toggled On within the Cut & Paste Options menu and is described on the next page. * Move the cursor to the first text position to be marked and press [+]. * Move the cursor to highlight the end of the text block to be cut and press [F9] or [Enter] to mark. As the cursor is moved, the text between the marked position and the cursor is highlighted with a contrasting background color. * A menu is then shown listing the possible cut destinations. These include appending or overwriting the contents of the selected folder, creating a new file to store it, or printing it. The folder is stored for later editing and/or pasting. This menu is described in more detail following the Cut Help window. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 94 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cut Cursor Key Once the Cut command is selected, if the Cut help option has Help been toggled On within the Options menu, a window lists the cursor keys and how they can be used within the Cut command. The Cut command is selected either from the Cut & Paste menu or via the Cut hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][C]). [+] Marks the beginning of the cut block. [F9],[Enter] Marks the end of the block to be cut and shows the Clipboard status menu. [F10],[Esc] Aborts the cut operation and returns to the Cut & Paste menu. [Left][Right] Moves the cursor left or right one column. [Ctrl][Left] Moves the cursor to the left or right one [Ctrl][Right] word. A word is a series of characters terminated by a space or punctuation. [Home][End] Moves the cut cursor to the first or last column on the current row. [Up][Down] Moves the cut cursor up or down one row. [PgUp][PgDn] Moves the cursor to the first or last row on the screen, leaving the cursor in the same column. [Ctrl][Home][Ctrl] Moves the cursor to the first row and column [End] or the last row and column on the screen. [#] Searches for the first string of three or more digits for use in dialing. Once the desired number is highlighted, press [D] to dial. [D] Dials the number within the highlighted block of text using the modem settings chosen within the Cut & Paste menu. Press [Enter] to clear this window and display the program screen. The cut cursor is then placed at the top corner. Use the keys described above to move the cursor to the first character to be marked and press [+]. Now move the cursor to the last character to be cut. As the cursor is moved, the text between the first character marked and the cursor is highlighted. Once the desired text block is highlighted, press either [Enter] or [F9] to cut. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 95 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cut Once [Enter] or [F9] is pressed, completing the marking of the Destination text, a menu is displayed listing the possible destinations for Menu use in holding the cut text. Append Places the cut text at the end of the CLIPBORD.### file without deleting its previous contents. This is used when cutting several blocks of related text from different screens for pasting within another task. Dial Dials the number highlighted within the cut buffer. This is the equivalent to the Cut Dial command. File Creates a new data file or overwrites the contents of an existing file for use in storing the cut block of text. This is useful when you need to store the cut block separately from other data. This file cannot be pasted directly using Back & Forth, but you probably can read its contents into a program by accessing the file by name. Overwrite Clears the contents of the CLIPBORD.### file and moves the cut block of text into it. This should be the option most often used when cutting text. Print Sends the contents of the block of cut text to the printer for printing. Quit Exits the cut command and returns to the running program or Cut & Paste menu without saving the cut block of text. Use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired item and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [F10] or [Q] to exit and return to the running program without saving the cut text. Press [O] to clear the cut storage file and save the cut text for future pasting. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 96 ______________________________________________________________________________ Dialer Menu The Dialer menu establishes the baud rate, communications port, dial mode, and phone codes used when a number is selected for dialing from the screen. The following settings must be set before using the Dial option for the first time. Comm port Sets the serial port to be used. Baud rate Chooses the baud rate of your modem. Choose between 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600. Dial mode Selects the dial method, either Tone or Pulse. Dial codes Defines the description and contents of each of 1-3 the three dialing codes. The dialing codes are useful in prefacing a phone number with the proper dialing sequence for calling the number. For instance, long distance numbers must be prefaced by a "1". Use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired item to be changed. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor keys to scroll the available options. Press [F9] to save the settings and return to the Cut & Paste menu, press [F10] to exit without retaining the settings. These settings are saved within the BPVARS file. Edit Folder The Edit option allows you to modify the contents of the selected keystroke folder selected within the Folder List option. This lets you "clean up" cut text before it is pasted and it lets you embed commands for execution of selected functions when the folder is pasted. Features of the Back & Forth editor include: an ASCII table, list of command keys, text movement commands (Block), displayed column ruler, text wrap, folder & file functions, delete options, and search and replace commands. An external editor can be defined for use within Back & Forth by using the External editor setup located within the Setup menu. This editor must be capable of executing in 256k and must be able to specify a file name on the command line for editing. The operation of this Editor is documented within Part II: The Back & Forth BackPacks. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 97 ______________________________________________________________________________ Folder List The Folder option lists all folders that have been created within the Back & Forth Cut & Paste command. A folder is a storage area for cut text and embedded keyboard commands. Separate folders may be created and kept to store often used blocks of text (like addresses) or strings of keyboard commands used in a program to perform specific tasks. The default folder used by Back & Forth to store cut & paste text is CLIPBORD.###. When selected, a description of the available folders and their creation dates are shown with the following function key commands. [F1] Help Displays help for the Folder option. [F2] Add Adds a new, empty folder entry. [F3] Copy Copies the contents of the highlighted folder to another folder with the same name. After this is copied, use the [F6] Edit Description command to change the name of the newly created folder. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted folder and its contents from the list. [F5] Move Moves the highlighted folder to another position in the folder list. [F6] EdDes Allows you to edit the folder description. [F7] Edit Lets you edit the contents of the highlighted folder. [F8] Sort Sorts the list of folders by its description or date. [F9] Select Selects a default folder for use with the Edit, Cut, and Paste commands. [F10] Exit Exits this list and returns to the Cut & Paste menu. Manual Dial A phone number may be dialed using Back & Forth in one of two ways: either manually or by cutting the number from the screen and selecting Dial. Dialing using the Cut command is described in the Cut Command section. The manual dial option allows you to type in a telephone number at a menu prompt and select a phone code for dialing. When this option is selected, you are prompted for the telephone number to be dialed. This number may be up to 30 digits in length. Once the number has been entered, press [F9] or [Enter] to accept, press [F10] or [Esc] to exit. A menu is then shown listing the typed phone number and the possible dial codes. Either select to dial the number as it appears, or choose one of the defined phone codes. These dial codes are defined within the Cut & Paste Dialer menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 98 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options Menu The Options menu defines the settings used to control the cut and paste commands. These include rectangular or text cut modes, end of line treatment during pasting, numbers-only pasting, and the display of the cut help window. Rectangle Selects the Rectangle cut mode. The Rectangle mode marks the upper left and lower right corners of the text, cutting the highlighted text. Text Selects the Text cut mode. The Text mode marks the first and last character of the text. Normal EOL Ends each cut line of text using a carriage return([Enter]). This is the character used by most programs to end each line. Spreadsheet Ends each cut line of text with a carriage return and down arrow ([Enter][Down]). This is usually used to enter data into a spreadsheet cell. Word Selects to remove the end of line character and processor excess spaces from the cut text. This is used when pasting text into an editor, word processor, or text formatter having word wrap capability. Digits only Sets whether to strip characters from the cut text except digits 0-9 and periods. This removes text, $$$, and commas from data for planting within spreadsheets and other number-based programs. Cut help Toggles the cut help window, which lists the cut cursor commands. This window is shown when the Cut command is chosen using either the Cut & Paste menu or the Cut hot key. Once you have become accustomed to using the Cut command, set this Off. Paste delay Sets the rate in which characters are pasted to the program. If random characters are dropped while pasting text, increase the paste speed. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight the menu option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. This places a checkmark to the left of that option. Only one option within each delimited section may be set. Press [F10] to exit and return to the Cut & Paste menu. These settings are saved within the BPVARS file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 99 ______________________________________________________________________________ Paste Command Once the cut text has been placed within the CLIPBORD.### storage file, you can begin the paste process. The Paste command simply feeds the contents of the CLIPBORD.### storage file through the keyboard to the running program. This simulates the process of typing in the text directly from the keyboard. Once the Paste command has been selected, you can stop pasting into your program by pressing [Esc]. The contents of the clipboard may be pasted as many times as you wish as long as the clipboard file is not deleted from the disk. To paste the contents of the clipboard file, observe the following steps. These are: * Open the program that is to accept the pasted text and move the cursor to the position within the program where the cut text is to be written to. * Press the Cut & Paste menu hot key (default is [Alt][Left Shift][C]) and press [O] Options menu key to set the end of line treatment and number mode. The end of line treatments includes Normal EOL, Spreadsheet, and Word processor. This is described within the Options menu. The Digits-only option should be selected if the data is to be entered into a spreadsheet. This step is only necessary when one of these entries must be changed. * Select the Paste command. If still within the Cut & Paste menu, press [P], else if within the program to be pasted to, press the Paste hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][P]). * Now the contents of the CLIPBORD.### file is pasted into the running program. When the text is pasted, it is entered through the keyboard, just as though you were typing it into the program. To abort the Paste process, press [Esc]. You may paste the contents of the clipboard as many times as you wish. Note: Graphics screens cut using the Cut / Grab key cannot be pasted. They can be imported into a program if that program has the ability to access and display graphics files. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 100 ______________________________________________________________________________ Dialing a The Back & Forth Cut command allows you to dial a phone number Phone Number selected from the text screen of a program. The steps to do this are similar to those of cutting text. They are: * Display the text containing the phone number on the screen with your program. * If the modem settings or dialing codes need to be changed, press the Cut & Paste menu hot key (default is [Alt][Left Shift][C]) and press [D] to open the Dialer menu. Now select the correct communications port, baud rate, dial mode, and dial codes to be used. * Select the Cut command. If within the Cut & Paste menu, press [C], else if within the program, press the Cut hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][C]). * View the cut help window (if On) and press [Enter] to remove it from the screen. This is shown only if toggled On within the Cut & Paste Options menu. * Move the cursor to the first digit of the phone number and press [+]. To search automatically for the first numeric sequence, press [#]. * Move the cursor to highlight the end of the phone number to be dialed and press [D]. * A menu is then shown listing the highlighted phone number and the possible dial codes. Either select to dial the number as it appears, or choose one of the defined phone codes. These dial codes are defined within the Cut & Paste Dialer menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 101 ______________________________________________________________________________ Part II: The Back & Forth BackPacks Back & Forth provides desktop accessory functions for use within Back & Forth. These include a calculator, text editor, graphics screen grabber, RoloBack address book, and Overtime! appointment scheduler and automated program execution option. To select one of these BackPacks from the BackPack menu, press the [F2] Menu key. When activated, this menu should be highlighted and opened at the top of the screen. Use the [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired BackPack and press [Enter] or press the first letter to select. Calculator Provides a simple tape calculator and a sophisticated RPN calculator with financial, statistical, scientific, and computer number functions. Editor Opens a simple-to-use ASCII text editor that can be used to edit selected files. Grabber Grabs a graphics image from the screen and saves to a PCX file. Overtime! Sets up and displays the time management program created for use within Back & Forth. It acts as an appointment book with a calendar, daily memo, and to-do list. When an appointment time arrives, it can be set to sound an alarm, pop a message onto the screen, run a defined task within a new partition or do nothing. RoloBack Displays an address book/phone listing which can be used to store names and personal information for viewing, searching, printing, and dialing. To set up the operational aspects of these BackPacks, use the BackPack setup option, located within the Setup menu. This allows you to specify a hot key, keyboard macro file, starting macro, and other settings. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 102 ______________________________________________________________________________ The MathBack! Calculators Overview Two different types of calculators are available for use within Back & Forth. The RPN Calculator is a sophisticated calculator with financial, programmer, statistical, and scientific functions. The Tape Calculator is a simpler calculator with a scrolling tape that can be saved for later use. Pull-Down Menu At the top of the Calculator screen, several pull-down menu Options options are shown. These are: Calculator Lists the four different calculator types that can be chosen for use. These are Financial, Programmer, Scientific/Statistical, and Tape. When selected, the appropriate function key commands are changed to reflect the available commands. The commands available within the Function menu are also changed to reflect the command set selected. The Tape calculator is described in Section 2. Function Outlines the groups of functions available within the activated calculator. These correspond to the function keys shown. Options Displays the Calculator options available. At this time, only the number format is settable from this menu. The Print and Save tape to disk options are accessible only from the Tape Calculator. Return Returns the value shown in the calculator window value (the x-value) to the active task. Quit Exits the Calculator BackPack. To select one of these menu options, press the [Alt] key and the first letter of the menu label simultaneously. This highlights the selected menu option and displays the contents of its menu. The entries found within these menus are described in the following pages, under their assigned function keys. Calculator When [Alt][C] is pressed, the following options are shown: Option Financial Selects the Financial calculator function set. This disables the statistical, programmer, and tape functions. Programmer Selects the Financial calculator function set. This disables the statistical, scientific, financial, and tape functions. Scientific Selects the Financial calculator function /Statistical set. This disables the financial, tape, and programmer functions. Tape Selects the Financial calculator function set. This disables the RPN calculator functions, which includes the financial, statistical, scientific, and programmer functions. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 103 ______________________________________________________________________________ Function When [Alt][F] is pressed, the groups of functions available Option within the activated calculator are listed within a secondary pull-down menu. These commands may also be selected by pressing their assigned function key. These functions are not available within the Tape calculator. Exponential Contains the square root, square, reciprocal, functions power, logarithm, antilogarithm, natural log, natural antilog. Financial Contains the business operations such as functions calculation of depreciation, internal rate of return, net present value, percentage, % difference, number of days between 2 dates, amortization, future value, interest rate, number of payments, present value, payment amounts, financial number entry modes, etc. Logical Contains the number base functions such as functions decimal/ octal/ hexadecimal conversion, AND, OR, NOT, XOR, etc. Statistical Contains summation, calculation of mean, functions standard deviation, weighted mean, linear regression, combinations, permutations, and estimation of x or y given y or x. Trigonometric Contains sine, cosine, tangent and their functions inverse and hyperbolic values, conversion of degrees to radians, conversion of radians to degrees, and the value of pi. Memory/register Contains the register and stack functions of functions the calculator. These include commands that: store, clear, recall, and display selected registers; roll stack up or down, interchange the last x and x values, interchange the x and y values, and clear the x value. Other Contains the alphabetic functions shown at functions the bottom of the calculator screen. These include: add, subtract, multiply, divide, absolute value, change sign, integer, compute a factorial, & entering an exponential value. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 104 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options When [Alt][O] is pressed, the contents of the options menu is shown. In both the RPN and Tape calculators, the number format is settable. Within the Tape calculator, two other options are available. These let you View or Print the tape. Number Format Selects the mode used to format the number and the number of digits that follow the decimal point. The display format can be set to either [F] Fixed to display the number without exponents or [S] Scientific to display the number in scientific notation. More information on the number format option can be found under the [Shift][F7] Display number command. View Tape Scrolls the entire tape using the cursor keys within the Tape Calculator. This can also be selected by pressing [Alt][F8]. Print Tape Prints the contents of the tape within the Tape Calculator. Return Value When [Alt][R] is pressed, the value shown within the calculator window (the x-value) is returned to the active task. The active task is the last task used before the calculator was entered. Pressing [F9] also returns to the active task. Quit When [Alt][Q] is pressed, the calculator status, register values, and stack are saved to the continuous memory storage file (CALC.###) and the calculator is exited. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 105 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 1: The RPN Calculator Overview The RPN Calculator is a Reverse Polish Notation calculator with continuous memory and the most commonly found mathematical functions of hand-held calculators. These functions encompass the Scientific, Statistical, Programmer and Financial functions. If you are not familiar with the use of RPN notation, many examples are given throughout this section to guide you in its use. Calculator When the RPN Calculator is invoked, a calculator is drawn in Display the center of the screen. The left side of the screen displays the calculator commands; the right side displays the stack and the contents of the first ten registers used by the current set of calculator functions. Register The Register display is located in the lower right corner of Display the screen. Ten user registers are available for use along with five financial and six statistical registers. The register set displayed on the screen is based on the calculator mode in use. Stack Display Between the register and the calculator displays appears the Stack Display. The five entry stack places are shown in a logical bottom-to-top display showing the last-x, x, y, z, and t entries. For those of you not familiar with stack use and operation, a description of stack usage appears near the end of Section 1. Calculator The calculator number window appears above the number keys. The Number Window value that appears here is normally the same as the value found in the x position of the stack. The calculator is initially set to display four digits after the decimal point. Error Messages Error messages are displayed below the calculator number window, when necessary. A list of these error messages and their probable causes follow at the end of Part II. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 106 ______________________________________________________________________________ Current Mode Above the calculator number window, the current mode settings Settings for the calculator are shown. Possible mode settings that may appear here are as follows: DEG Identifies the trigonometric entry mode used, either RAD Degrees or Radians. To set the mode to Degrees, press [Ctrl][F9] while in the Scientific calculator, to set the mode to Radians, press [Ctrl][F10]. BEGIN Marks when payments are expected, either at the END beginning or end of the payment period. To toggle this mode, press [Ctrl][F1] while in the Financial calculator. MDY Specifies the format used by date entry: either DMY month- day-year or day-month-year. To toggle this mode, press [Ctrl][F2] while in the Financial calculator. C Sets the method used to calculate interest: either S simple or compound. To toggle this mode, press [Ctrl][F3] while in the Financial calculator. DEC Names the programmer's calculator number entry mode, HEX either decimal (base 10), set by pressing [Alt][F1]; OCT hexadecimal (base 12), set by pressing [Alt][F2]; or octal (base 8), set by pressing [Alt][F3]. Continuous The RPN Calculator has a continuous memory feature that saves Memory all stack values, registers, and mode settings to a file (CALC.###) for future use. The next time this calculator is entered, these values reappear on the screen, just as though you had never left. Pull-Down Menu At the top of the screen are shown several pull-down menu Options options. These are: Calculator, Function, Options, Return value, and Quit. To select one of these options, press the [Alt] key and the first letter of the menu label simultaneously. This highlights the selected menu option and displays the contents of its menu. Menu entries shown in bold type are available for selection. Exiting the To exit the Calculator and return to the Back & Forth Main Calculator Menu, press either [F10] or [Alt][Q]. Calculator Numbers may be entered into the calculator window simply by Command Keys pressing the associated key on the keyboard. To use the keypad found on most keyboards, the [Num Lock] key must be activated. [Enter] The [Enter] command enters the displayed value (the x-value) Command into the y position of the stack. Once another number is entered, the window clears and shows the new number. [BkSp] Key The [BkSp] key lets you backspace through the currently displayed value (the x-value) to any point in the number. This allows you to modify an incorrectly entered value without having to start all over again. Once any key other than a number or decimal point is pressed, pressing this key clears the window and displays the new value of zero. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 107 ______________________________________________________________________________ Function Key The calculator uses the function keys to represent the various Commands commands. Those shown under the Function heading are invoked by pressing the function key. The commands shown under the Shift, Control, and Alternate headings are invoked by pressing the [Shift], [Ctrl], or [Alt] keys, respectively, simultaneously with the identified function key. By changing the Calculator type, the Financial, Statistical, and Programmer commands assigned to the function keys are identified. Below the calculator diagram, Alphabetic key commands are shown. These are invoked by pressing the indicated letter. The Basic These four commands, the [+ - * /] keys, are located on the Functions calculator keypad, with their activation keys corresponding to [+ - * /] the [+], [-], [*], and [/] keys on the keyboard. Any key that returns one of these characters can be used to simulate the operation. For example, the [PrtSc] key can be pressed to perform a multiplication operation. In RPN notation, a calculation is done by typing the first number, pressing [Enter], typing the second number, then pressing the desired operation [+-*/]. Example 1 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display 14.5 + 10.25 - 2 14.5 14.5 [Enter] 14.5000 10.25 10.25 [+] 24.7500 2 2.0000 [-] 22.7500 5 * 9 5 5 [Enter] 5.0000 9 9 [*] 45.0000 24 / (4 + 2) 24 24 [Enter] 24.0000 4 4 [Enter] 4.0000 2 2 [+] 6.0000 [/] 4.0000 Remember that division by zero is frowned upon; if you accidently instruct the calculator to do so, it returns with the message, Attempt to divide by zero Pressing any key clears this message from the screen, and allows you to continue working. If you had been in the midst of a calculation when this occurred, use the [Shift][F3] key to roll down the stack one position and continue as before. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 108 ______________________________________________________________________________ Alphabetic Keys - Number Alteration Functions [A] Absolute Pressing [A] yields the absolute value of the x-value. The absolute value of a number is the positive value of the number. [C] Change Pressing [C] changes the sign of the x-value from positive to Sign negative and back. To enter a negative value into the x-position in the stack, key in the number and press [C]. [E] Exponent Pressing [E] allows you to key in exponential values. First, enter the value of the mantissa, then press E and enter the value of the exponent. If a negative mantissa is required, press [C] before pressing [E]. If a negative exponent is required, press [C] after keying in the value of the exponent. The maximum and minimum values of the exponent that can be entered into the calculator are 99 and -99, respectively. [I] Integer Pressing [I] replaces the x-value with the integer portion of the x-value. [R] Reciprocal Pressing [R] calculates the reciprocal (1/x) of the x-value. This is obtained by dividing the current number into 1.00. [!] Factorial Pressing [!] computes the factorial of the x-value. The x-value must not have a fractional value. *Example 2 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display -9.452 9.452 9.452 [C] -9.4520 9.452 [A] 9.4520 -3 E-08 3 3 [C] -3.0000 [E] -3.0000 E 00 8 -3.0000 E 08 [C] -3.0000 E-08 1 E 10 0 0 [E] 1.0000 E 00 10 1.0000 E 10 [Enter] 1.0000 E 10 5! 5 5 (5*4*3*2*1) [!] 120.0000 Integer (5/3) 5 5 [Enter] 5.0000 3 3 [/] 1.6667 [I] 1.0000 1.75 - Integer(1.75) 1.75 1.75 [Enter] 1.7500 1.75 1.75 [I] 1.0000 [-] .7500 1/25 25 25 [R] 0.0400 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 109 ______________________________________________________________________________ Exponential Math Functions [F1] HELP Pressing [F1] displays information about the displayed calculator and its functions. [F2] SQ ROOT Pressing [F2] computes the square root of the x-value. The x-value must be positive. [F3] X^2 Pressing [F3] calculates the square of the x-value. [F4] Y^X Pressing [F4] raises the y-value to the power of the x-value. First enter the base number (y), press [Enter], enter the exponent value (x), and press [F4] to calculate the result. *Example 3 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Root 25 25 25 [F2] 5.0000 5^2 5 5 [F3] 25.0000 8^1/3 8 8 (cube root of 8) [Enter] 8.0000 3 3 [R] 0.3333 [F5] 2.0000 [F5] LOG x Pressing [F5] calculates the logarithm (base 10) of the x-value. Log cannot be computed for a number equal to or less than zero. [F6] 10^x Pressing [F6] calculates the antilogarithm of the x-value. This is the result of raising 10 to the power of the x-value. For example, if you take the LOG of 2.00, the result is 0.3010. The antilog of this value, computed when [F6] is pressed, is again 2.00. [F7] LN x Pressing [F7] calculates the natural log (base e) of the x-value. [F8] e^x Pressing [F8] calculates the natural antilogarithm of the x-value, that is, the result of raising e to the power of the x-value. *Example 4 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display log 14 14 14 [F5] 1.1461 10^1.1461 [F6] 14.0000 LN 14 [F7] 2.6391 e^2.6391 [F8] 14.0000 [F9] RETPGM Pressing [F9] swaps the calculator from memory and returns to the last active task. [F10] EXIT Pressing [F10] exits the RPN Calculator and returns to Back & Forth. [Alt][Q] also exits the calculator. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 110 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Register & Stack Functions Selecting a To select any of the following ten register and stack Command functions, press the [Shift] key and the desired function key simultaneously. Register The [Shift][F1] and [Shift][F2] commands are used to store and Commands recall a value to or from a register. At the present time, 10 user registers are available, with the first five shown on the screen. There are also 10 statistical and 10 financial registers available for use. The statistical registers correspond to the six accumulation values used in statistical computation, with N as register 0, Sum x as 1, Sum x^2 as 2, Sum y as 3, Sum y^2 as 4, and Sum x*y as 5. The financial registers correspond to the five basic financial values, with number of periods as register 0, interest rate as 1, present value as 2, future value as 3, and payment as 4. More about registers follows at the end of the RPN Calculator section. [Shift][F1] The [Shift][F1] function stores the x-value into a specified STO x register. To store the current x-value into a selected register, press [Shift][F1] followed by the set of registers that you wish to use ([F] Financial, [S] Stat, or [U] User), followed by the register number. This function can also add, subtract, multiply, or divide the x-value into the register value. To perform an arithmetic operation upon the register, before entering the register number, press the operation [+-*/] that you wish to perform upon the register. The result of the operation does not change the x-value, only the register value. [Shift][F2] The [Shift][F2] function removes the value from the designated RCL x register and places it into the x-position of the stack. To recall a register value to the window, press [Shift][F2] followed by the set of registers that you wish to access ([F] Financial, [S] Statistical, or [U] User), and the register number. This function can also add, subtract, multiply, or divide the x-value by the register value. To perform an arithmetic operation using the register as data, before entering the register number, press the operation [+-*/] that you wish to perform upon the x-value. The result of the operation does not change the register value, only the x-value. [Shift][F3] Pressing [Shift][F3] rotates the values located on the stack R Down down one position. The x-value is moved into the t position, y is moved into x, z is moved into y, and t is moved up into z. * Before Function Press [Shift][F3] to Roll Down ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ T: ║ x ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ Z: ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ Y: ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ x ║ X: ║ y ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 111 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Shift][F4] Pressing [Shift][F4] rotates the values located in the stack up R Up one position. The x-value is moved into the y position, y is moved into z, z is moved into t, and t is moved down into x. * Before Function Press [Shift][F4] to Roll Up ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ T: ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ Z: ║ y ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ Y: ║ x ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ x ║ X: ║ t ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ [Shift][F5] Pressing [Shift][F5] allows you to exchange the x-value and the x <-> y y-value in the stack. * Before Function Press [Shift][F5] to Swap x <-> y ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ T: ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ Z: ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ Y: ║ x ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ x ║ X: ║ y ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ [Shift][F6] Pressing [Shift][F6] retrieves the last x-value and places it LASTx into the x position of the stack. This value is the last number entered into the calculator before an operation is performed. The following operations save the x-value to the last x stack position. * + Root SIN Sum + DEC - x^2 COS Sum - HEX * y^x TAN EST y OCT / LOG x ARC C y,x AND ! 10^x HYP P y,x OR ABS LN x D -> R XOR INT e^x R -> D NOT 1/x 2CMP SH L SH R Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 112 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Shift][F7] Pressing [Shift][F7] lets you select the number entry and DISP display mode. When pressed, a menu is displayed with two entries: Display format Sets the number format mode, either Fixed or Scientific mode. The Fixed notation mode sets the calculator to display a fixed number of digits following the decimal point. An exponent is only shown if the number is too large or too small for the window. The Scientific notation mode uses the exponent to signify the number of decimal places. For example, the number 1.0000 E 6 represents 1,000,000; 1.0000 E-6 represents 0.000001. The maximum and minimum exponential values displayed are 308 and -308, respectively, but only exponents ranging between 99 and -99 may be entered as data. # of digits Sets the number of digits shown following the decimal point. The window can show up to 12 digits or a maximum of 9 digits following the decimal point. Scientific notation shows all numbers with one digit preceding the decimal point, a predefined number of digits following the decimal point, and the exponential value. The calculator is initialized to FIX 4 mode, with 4 decimal places shown after the decimal point. These entries allow you to select the mode used to format the number in the display and the number of digits to follow the decimal point. Selecting [F] displays the number without exponents, selecting [S] displays the number in scientific notation. [Shift][F8] Pressing [Shift][F8] lets you select the register set to be REGS displayed on the screen. Selecting [U] shows the 10 user registers (R0-R9), [F] shows the 5 financial registers (n, i, PV, FV, PMT), and [S] shows the 6 statistical registers (N, Sum x, Sum x^2, Sum y y, Sum y^2, Sum x*y). These next two functions clear various portions of the calculator and its numeric display and reset them to zero. [Shift][F9] Pressing [Shift][F9] clears the calculator window and the x CL x position. [Shift][F10] Pressing [Shift][F10] resets the selected registers to zero. CLREG When selected, a menu is displayed identifying the four register sets available for clearing. These are: All, Financial, Statistical, and User registers. To clear all registers, stack, and current window value, press [A]. To clear the Financial, the Statistical, or the User registers, press [F], [S], or [U], respectively. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 113 ______________________________________________________________________________ Selecting the Calculator Type The commands assigned to the [Alt] and [Ctrl] function keys are dependant upon the type of calculator selected for use. These calculators are listed for selection under the [Alt][C] Calculator pull-down menu. To select a new calculator type, press [Alt][C] to display the contents of the Calculator menu. When chosen, the following four types of calculator available for selection are shown: Financial, Programmer, Scientific/Statistical, and Tape. The Tape calculator is described in Section 2. If the Scientific/Statistical calculator is selected, the trigonometric functions are assigned to the [Ctrl] function keys, the available statistical commands are assigned to the [Alt] function keys, and the six dedicated statistical registers are shown. To display the general user registers, use the [Shift][F8] REGS command and select [U]. If the Programmer's calculator is selected, the computer science number commands are assigned to the [Alt] function keys, the [Ctrl] function keys are deactivated, and the register display is cleared. If the Financial calculator is selected, the business commands available are assigned to the [Ctrl] and [Alt] function keys and the register display shows the five dedicated business registers (number of payments, interest rate, present value, future value, and payment amount). Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 114 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Scientific/Statistical Calculator When the Scientific/Statistical Calculator is selected from the Calculator menu, the following trigonometric and statistical commands are assigned to the [Ctrl] and [Alt] function keys. Trigonometric Functions Be sure the calculator is set to the desired trigonometric mode (DEG/RAD). These functions are activated by pressing the [Ctrl] key and the either [F9] or [F10] simultaneously. [Ctrl][F1] Pressing [Ctrl][F1] selects the arc (or inverse) toggle. This ARC is the first keystroke of two, the next being one of trigonometric functions, either sine, cosine, tangent, or the hyperbolic toggle. [Ctrl][F2] Pressing [Ctrl][F2] selects the hyperbolic toggle. After HYP selecting [Ctrl][F2], you must follow with the selection of one of four trigonometric functions. These options include the sine, cosine, and tangent function and the arc (or inverse) toggle. [Ctrl][F3] Pressing [Ctrl][F3] computes the sine of the x-value. Cosecant SIN can be evaluated by computing the sine value and taking the reciprocal of the result. [Ctrl][F4] Pressing [Ctrl][F4] computes the cosine of the x-value. Secant COS can be evaluated by computing the cosine of the value and taking the reciprocal of the result. [Ctrl][F5] Pressing [Ctrl][F5] computes the tangent of the x-value. TAN Cotangent can be evaluated by computing the tangent of the value and taking the reciprocal result. [Ctrl][F6] Pressing [Ctrl][F6] returns the numeric representation of pi. Pi When selected, it places the value 3.1416 into the x-value. [Ctrl][F7] Pressing [Ctrl][F7] converts the x-value from degrees to D->R radians. [Ctrl][F8] Pressing [Ctrl][F8] converts the x-value from radians to R->D degrees. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 115 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Example 5 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display (DEG Mode) sine 45 deg 45 45 [Ctrl][F3] 0.7071 arc cosine 0.7071 [Ctrl][F1] 0.7071 [Ctrl][F4] 45.0000 hyperbolic cos 1.25 1.25 1.25 [Ctrl][F2] 1.2500 [Ctrl][F4] 1.8884 arc hyp cos 1.8884 [Ctrl][F1] 1.8884 [Ctrl][F2] 1.8884 [Ctrl][F4] 1.2500 cotangent 30 deg 30 30 [Ctrl][F5] 0.5774 [R] 1.7321 Pi [Ctrl][F6] 3.1416 convert 360 deg to rads 360 360 [Ctrl][F7] 6.2832 convert to degs [Ctrl][F8] 360.0000 These next two functions change the number entry mode and do not change the x-value. Instead, they affect all subsequent trigonometric calculations. [Ctrl][F9] Pressing [Ctrl][F9] changes the current trigonometric mode to DEG degrees. An indicator appears in the top right-hand corner of the calculator indicating DEG. The calculator is initialized in the DEG mode. [Ctrl][F10] Pressing [Ctrl][F10] changes the current trigonometric mode to RAD radians. An indicator appears in the top right-hand corner of the calculator indicating RAD. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 116 ______________________________________________________________________________ Statistical Functions When the Statistical mode is selected, the registers are automatically set to display the statistical registers. If these registers are not shown on the screen, press [Shift][F8] and select [S] for the Statistical register display. Statistical Registers ╔════════════════════════════╗ ║ N 0 ║ ║ Sum x 1 ║ ║ Sum x^2 2 ║ ║ Sum y 3 ║ ║ Sum y^2 4 ║ ║ Sum x*y 5 ║ ╚════════════════════════════╝ To use any of these register values, use the [Shift][F1] STO or [Shift][F2] RCL function, select [S], then enter the number of the register to be accessed. The numbers assigned to each appear above. Before beginning a new summation using [Alt][F1], make certain that the statistical registers are cleared by pressing [Shift][F10], followed by [S]. [Alt][F1] Pressing the [Alt][F1] key adds the x and y values to the Sum + accumulator registers. Before starting a new summation,remember to press [Shift][F10] and select [S] to clear the Statistical registers. Otherwise, your calculations will be incorrect. [Alt][F2] Pressing the [Alt][F2] key subtracts the x and y values from Sum - the accumulator registers. If you find that you have entered data incorrectly, you must re-enter both the x and y values as they were entered and press [Alt][F2]. Now enter the correct x & y values and add these values back using [Alt][F1]. *Example 6 Sum (4,7) (2.95,9) Keystrokes Display (5,4.95) Show Stat Regs [Shift][F8] SHO REGS: F S U [S] 0.0000 Clear Stat Regs [Shift][F10] CLEAR: A F S U [S] 0.0000 Enter Data Points 4 4 [Enter] 4.0000 7 7 [Alt][F1] 1.0000 2.95 2.95 [Enter] 2.9500 9 9 [Alt][F1] 2.0000 5 5 [Enter] 5.0000 4.95 4.95 [Alt][F1] 3.0000 Recall Sum x [Shift][F2] RCL F S U [S] RCL __ 1 20.9500 Recall Sum y [Shift][F2] RCL F S U [S] RCL __ 3 11.9500 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 117 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Alt][F3] Pressing the [Alt][F3] key computes the average of the MEAN accumulated x and y values. [Alt][F4] Pressing the [Alt][F4] key computes the weighted average of the WTMN y value based on the x-value's weight. First, type in the value of the item, press [Enter], enter the item's weight, then press [Shift][F1] to store x and y into the accumulator. After all values are entered, press [Alt][F4] to compute the weighted mean. [Alt][F5] Pressing the [Alt][F5] key computes the sample standard SDEV deviation of the accumulated data. The sample standard deviation is the estimate of the population deviation from a sample of data. If the total population is known and used, the true deviation can be computed by adding the x and y mean values to the accumulated values, then computing [Alt][F5]. [Alt][F6] Pressing the [Alt][F6] determines the line that best fits the LREG given x, y values. This function returns the slope of the line to the y position of the stack, and returns the y-intercept to the x position. [Alt][F7] Pressing the [Alt][F7] key interpolates the x-value given the EST x y-value. To calculate, first enter the population into the accumulator, enter the matching y-value, then press [Alt][F7]. The correlation coefficient is stored in the y position of the stack. This value measures the reliability of the estimation, with values nearing 1 and -1 indicating reliable data forming a more straight line. [Alt][F8] Pressing the [Alt][F8] key interpolates the y value given the EST y x-value. To calculate, first enter the population into the accumulator, enter the matching x-value, then press [Alt][F8]. The correlation coefficient is stored in the y position of the stack. This value measures the reliability of the estimation, with values nearing 1 and -1 indicating reliable data forming a more straight line. *Example 7 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display (from above) 11.9500 Mean of x and y [Alt][F3] 6.9833 [Shift] 3.9833 [F5] Standard deviation of x [Alt][F5] 2.0251 [Shift][F5] 1.0251 and y Y Intercept of Line [Alt][F6] 7.5176 Slope [Shift][F5] -0.5061 Given 11, Estimate Y 11 11 [Alt][F8] 1.9505 Correlation Coefficient [Shift][F5] -0.9998 Given 2, Estimate X 2 2 [Alt][F7] 10.9022 Correlation Coefficient [Shift][F5] -0.9998 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 118 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Alt][F9] Pressing the [Alt][F9] computes the number of arrangements of y C y,x items in groups of x. No items are repeated and different orders of the same items are not counted separately. [Alt][F10] Pressing the [Alt][F10] computes the number of arrangements of P y,x y items in groups of x. No items are repeated and different orders of the same items are counted separately. *Example 8 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Combinations 52 of 5 52 52 [Enter] 52.0000 5 5 [Alt][F9] 2598960.0000 Permutations 6 of 4 6 6 [Enter] 6.0000 4 4 [Alt][F10] 360.0000 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 119 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Programmer's Calculator Programmer To access the programmer's calculator functions, press [Alt][C] Functions to open the Calculator type menu and select [P]. The commands assigned to the [Ctrl] function keys are blanked and the programmer's commands are assigned to the [Alt] function keys. All computer base functions work on a 32 bit integer operand. The numerical limits on values are different for each base. Trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions are not operable under this calculator. [Alt][F1] Pressing [Alt][F1] converts all displayed numbers to base 10. DEC The range of decimal values is -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647. [Alt][F2] Pressing [Alt][F2] converts all displayed numbers to base 16. HEX Any number entered into the calculator while this toggle is on is assumed to be a hexadecimal value. The range of hex values is (negative) 7FFF FFFF and 8000 0000. The numbers 0-9 are accepted, along with A, B, C, D, E, F keys. [Alt][F3] Pressing [Alt][F3] converts all displayed numbers to base 8. OCT Any number entered into the calculator while this toggle is on is assumed to be an octal value. The range of octal values is (negative) 20 000 000 000 and 17 777 777 777. Only the numbers 0 and 7 can be entered. *Example 9 To Convert: Keystrokes Display 10 (DEC) in HEX [Alt][F1] 0 10 10 [Alt][F2] A 10 (DEC) in OCT [Alt][F3] 12 Binary ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ Operations ║ Operand #1 Operand #2 AND OR XOR ║ ║ 0 0 0 0 0 ║ ║ 0 1 0 1 1 ║ ║ 1 0 0 1 1 ║ ║ 1 1 1 1 0 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ [Alt][F4] Pressing [Alt][F4] ANDs the y value to the x-value. And is used AND to mask, filter, or strip certain bits. And operates based on the binary representation of the number. It sets the bit to '0' if either the x or y bit values contain a '0', and sets the bit to '1' if both x and y share a '1'. [Alt][F5] Pressing [Alt][F5] ORs the y value with the x-value. It sets OR the bit to '1' if either the x or y bit values contain a '1', and it sets the bit to '0' if x and y share a '0'. [Alt][F6] Pressing [Alt][F6] XORs the y value with the x-value. XOR is XOR used to mask, filter, or strip certain bits. It sets the bit to '1' if the x and y bit values differ, and it sets the bit to '0' if x and y bit values are the same. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 120 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Example 10 To Compute: Keystrokes Display Change to DEC [Alt][F1] 0 8 AND 15 8 8 [Enter] 8 15 15 [Alt][F4] 8 8 OR 15 8 8 [Enter] 8 15 15 [Alt][F5] 15 2 XOR 4 2 2 [Enter] 2 4 4 [Alt][F6] 6 [Alt][F7] Pressing [Alt][F7] NOTs the x-value. This simply reverses the NOT bit representation of the number. Every '1' bit is changed to a '0' bit and vice versa. [Alt][F8] Pressing [Alt][F8] returns the two's complement of the x-value. 2 CMP This, in effect, negates the x-value, like the change sign key does in normal calculator operations. [Alt][F9] Pressing [Alt][F9] shifts left the y value based on the number SH L of bits set by the x-value. For example: Given a y value of 32 DEC and an x mask value of 3, the result would be 256. [Alt][F10] Pressing [Alt][F10] shifts right the y value based on the SH R number of bits set by the x-value. For example: Given a y value of 256 DEC and an x mask value of 4, the result would be 16. *Example 11 To Compute: Keystrokes Display NOT 8 8 8 [Alt][F7] -9 2CMP -9 [Alt][F8] 9 Shift 9 Left 2 2 2 [Alt][F9] 36 Shift 36 Right 3 3 3 [Alt][F10] 4 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 121 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Financial Calculator To access the financial functions, press [Alt][C] to open the Calculator type menu and select [F]. The commands found under the Control and Alternate headings are then changed to show the Financial commands and the financial registers are shown. Selecting a To select a command from under either the Control or Alternate Command command headings, press the [Ctrl] or [Alt] key simultaneously with the function key desired. The number of digits is automatically set to six digits following the decimal point. This is to handle any date values to be entered. Remember the financial sign convention, money paid out is denoted by a negative sign, money received is denoted by a positive sign. Control The following functions keys contain data entry toggles, Financial percentage calculations functions,and cash flow entry commands. Functions The 3 data toggles are used by various financial calculations listed under the Alternate function key list. They should be pressed before entering the data that they are to affect. [Ctrl][F1] Pressing [Ctrl][F1] toggles the payment/annuity mode between B / E END to BEGIN. This represents when the payments are made during the month and is necessary for the five basic financial functions under [Alt][F3] CALC. [Ctrl][F2] Pressing [Ctrl][F2] toggles the date entry mode. The default MD/DM date entry mode is M.DY. If the mode is M.DY, enter the month value, enter a decimal point, enter the two digit day value, then enter the four digit year value. Two digits must be entered for the day. For example, to represent the date December 11, 1986, enter 12.111986. If the date mode is D.MY, enter the values in the same manner, just reversing the month and day. Under D.MY mode the above value would look like 11.121986. [Ctrl][F3] Pressing [Ctrl][F3] toggles the interest mode. The [C] C / S represents Compound, [S] represents Simple. This is used mainly in the computation of the [Alt][F3] CALC when the number of payments is not a whole number. This occurs when interest begins to accrue before the first payment is due. [Ctrl][F4] Pressing [Ctrl][F4] rounds the currently displayed value to two ROUND decimal places. If the fractional portion is less than 0.005, the value is incremented by 0.01, else it is disregarded. [Ctrl][F5] Pressing [Ctrl][F5] computes the percentage of the y-value to % the x-value. % = (Base(y) * Rate(x)) / 100 [Ctrl][F6] Pressing [Ctrl][F6] computes the change between the y-value and % CHG the new x-value. %CHG = 100 * (New Amt(x) - Base(y)) / Base(y) [Ctrl][F7] Pressing [Ctrl][F7] compares the new x-value to that of the y % TTL base value and computes the resulting percentage. % TTL = 100 * (New Amt (x) / Base (y)) Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 122 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Example 12 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display 30% of 365.25 365.25 365.25 [Enter] 365.250000 30 30 [Ctrl][F5] 109.575000 % difference between 525 525 $525.00 and $500.00 [Enter] 525.000000 500 500 [Ctrl][F6] -4.761905 what % of $110.95 110.95 110.95 is $35.75 [Enter] 110.950000 35.75 35.75 [Ctrl][F7] 32.221721 [Ctrl][F8] Pressing [Ctrl][F8] stores the initial cash flow found in the x CF 0 position into the cash flow register and clears the remaining cash flow registers. The cash flow values are used by the net present value and the internal rate of return functions. [Ctrl][F9] Pressing [Ctrl][F9] stores the next cash flow into the cash CF N flow registers and increments the number of total cash flows by one. When entering grouped cash flows, the number of cash flows must be entered after the cash flow value is entered, otherwise, the number associated with this cash flow is assumed to be one. Up to twenty discreet cash flows can be entered. [Ctrl][F10] Pressing [Ctrl][F10] stores the number associated with the # CF grouped cash flows. This value must be entered immediately after the affected cash flow, since the internal counter is incremented after each cash flow. If no cash flow number value is entered, it is assumed to be 1. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 123 ______________________________________________________________________________ Alternate In the following ten functions, the financial registers are Financial used extensively. Throughout the rest of this section, these Functions registers are referred to as FR# with the number sign signifying the register number. These registers can be filled by entering the number into the calculator window and by pressing either the [Shift][F1] key, followed by [F] and the number of the register that you wish to fill or the [Ctrl] key coupled with the alphabetic label assigned to it. These registers are displayed below, with their label on the left, their selection key in the middle, and their corresponding register number on the right. Financial Registers ╔════════════════════════════╗ ║ N [Ctrl][N] reg 0 ║ ║ I [Ctrl][I] reg 1 ║ ║ PV [Ctrl][P] reg 2 ║ ║ FV [Ctrl][F] reg 3 ║ ║ PMT [Ctrl][T] reg 4 ║ ╚════════════════════════════╝ When entering values for interest, remember to enter it based on the units used. For example, if interest is paid monthly, divide the annual rate by 12; if it is quarterly, divide by 4. When entering the number of periods, enter this also based on the units used. When entering present value, future value, and payments, remember the sign convention. Money paid out is denoted by a negative value, money received is denoted by a positive value. Before beginning a new calculation, clear the contents of the financial registers by pressing [Shift][F10], followed by [F]. [Alt][F1] Pressing [Alt][F1] uses the stored cash flow values and NPV interest rate to calculate the net present value. To calculate NPV, use [Ctrl][F8] to store the initial cash flow, [Ctrl][F9] to store the remaining cash flows, and [Ctrl][I] to store the interest rate for the period. When calculated, the value appears both in the display and the present value reg (FR2). [Alt][F2] Pressing [Alt][F2] uses the stored cash flows to compute the IRR internal rate of return. The accuracy of the estimated rate is checked by computing its net present value. This calculation can take several minutes, especially if the resulting rate is large. During this time, the message "Calculating IRR" is shown. Upon finding an answer, it is shown in the window and in the interest register (FR1). IRR can theoretically have a single answer, multiple answers, or no answer at all. This function is only equipped to determine the first answer it discovers. Pressing [Esc] aborts the calculation and returns the last tested interest rate. If the net present value computed using this rate results in an answer approaching 0, it is a good approximation. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 124 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Example 13 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Clear Financial Registers [Shift][F10] Clear: A F S U [F] 0.000000 Enter Cash Flows 100000 100000 -100000 [C] -100000.000000 [Ctrl][F8] -100000.000000 -3000 3000 3000 [C] -3000.000000 [Ctrl][F9] 1.000000 7250 7250 7250 [Ctrl][F9] 2.000000 8500 8500 8500 [Ctrl][F9] 3.000000 8500 2 2 [Ctrl][F10] 2.000000 135000 135000 135000 [Ctrl][F9] 4.000000 Enter Interest Rate 9.5 9.5 [Ctrl][I] 9.500000 Compute NPV [Alt][F1] 1449.027529 Compute IRR [Alt][F2] 9.840000 [Alt][F3] Pressing [Alt][F3] calculates one of the five basic financial CALC calculations, given at least three of the five register values. When [Alt][F3] is pressed, the following menu is displayed: A. Compute number of payments (N) B. Compute interest (I) C. Compute present value (PV) D. Compute future value (FV) E. Compute payment (PMT) Calculate To calculate the number of payments, first enter the interest Number of rate into register FR1, and two of the three remaining values: Payments present value (FR3), future value (FR4), or payment (FR5). If payment is entered, check the payment mode, and set its value to either Begin or End. The number of payments computed is a whole number. Then press [Alt][F3] and select [A]. Calculate To calculate the interest rate, first enter the number of Interest Rate payments into FR0 and two of the remaining three values, as outlined above. If a non-integer number of payments is entered, the Interest Mode must be set to the correct value, either Compound or Simple. Then press [Alt][F3] and select [B]. Calculate To compute the present value, the future value, or the payment PV, FV, or amount requires the entrance of the number of payments involved Payment (FR0), the periodic interest rate (FR1), and one of the remaining two variables. Then press [Alt][F3] and select either [C] to compute the present value, [D] to compute the future value, or [E] to compute the amount of each payment. Check the financial registers and make certain that all unnecessary values are set equal to zero. When [Alt][F3] is pressed, the resulting answer is displayed in both the calculator window and in the register position corresponding to the answer. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 125 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Example 14 Calc Number of Payments Keystrokes Display Clear Financial Registers [Shift][F10] Clear: A F S U [F] 0.000000 Enter Payment Amount 132.5 132.5 [C] -132.500000 [Ctrl][T] -132.500000 Enter Present Value 10000 10000 [Ctrl][P] 10000.000000 Enter Interest 10 10 [Enter] 10.000000 12 12 [/] 0.833333 [Ctrl][I] 0.833333 No. of Payments [Alt][F3] Calc: N I F P M [N] 120.000000 No. of Years 12 12 [/] 10.000000 Last Partial Payment [Alt][F3] Calc: N I F P M [F] 71.544796 [Shift][F2] RCL: F S U [F] RCL __ 4 -132.500000 [+] -60.955204 [Alt][F4] Pressing [Alt][F4] calculates the amount of the payment applied AMORT to the interest and principle. To compute this schedule, the periodic interest rate (FR1), the present value (FR2), and the payment amount (FR4) must be entered into the financial registers. The payment amount must be negative and the payment mode set to either Begin or End. Enter the number of payments to be amortized into the x position of the stack, then press [Alt][F4]. The calculation returns the portion of the payment applied to the principle to the x position of the stack, and the remainder applied to the interest to the y position. The payment period just amortized is stored in the last-x position, while the total number of payments amortized is incremented by that amount and stored into the number of payments (FR0) register. The new present value is stored in the present value (FR2) register. *Example 15 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Clear Financial Registers [Shift][F10] Clear: A F S U [F] 0.000000 Enter Interest 10.5 10.5 [Enter] 10.500000 12 12 [/] 0.875000 [Ctrl][I] 0.875000 Enter Present Value 60000 60000 [Ctrl][P] 60000.000000 Enter Payment 566.51 566.51 [C] -566.510000 [Ctrl][T] -566.510000 Amortization for 12 12 first 12 months [Alt][F4] -6275.315412 Amt toward principle [Shift][F5] -522.792865 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 126 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Alt][F5] Pressing [Alt][F5] computes simple interest based on both a 360 S INT and 365 day year. Store the number of days before maturity into register FR0, store the amount of the principle into the present value register (FR2), and store the interest rate into FR1. Now press [Alt][F5] to calculate the simple interest accrued. The value displayed in the x position of the stack is the interest accrued based on a 365 day year, the value placed into the z position is calculated based on a 360 day year. *Example 16 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Clear Financial Registers [Shift][F10] Clear: A F S U [F] 0.000000 Enter Present Value 1000 1000 [C] -1000.000000 [Ctrl][P] -1000.000000 Enter Interest 10 10 [Ctrl][I] 10.000000 Enter No. of Days 90 90 [Ctrl][N] 90.000000 Simple Interest 365 [Alt][F5] -25.000000 [Shift][F4] -1000.000000 Simple Interest 360 [Shift][F4] -24.657534 [Shift][F4] -1000.000000 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 127 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Alt][F6] Pressing [Alt][F6] computes the straight line depreciation SLDEP value given the asset's original cost, stored in the present value register (FR2); salvage value, stored in the future value register (FR3); and useful life expectancy in terms of years, stored in the number of payments register (FR0). Once these values are entered, enter the year for which depreciation is to be calculated into the x position and press the [Alt][F6] key. The amount of the depreciation is then shown in the x position of the stack, with the remaining book value in the y position. [Alt][F7] Pressing [Alt][F7] computes the sum of years depreciation given SOYD the original cost of the asset, stored in the present value register (FR2); its salvage value, stored in the future value register (FR3); & its useful life expectancy in terms of years, stored in the number of periods register(FR0).Once these values are entered, enter the year for which depreciation is to be calculated into the x position and press the [Alt][F7] key. The amount of the depreciation is then shown in the x position, with the remaining book value placed in the y position. [Alt][F8] Pressing [Alt][F8] computes the depreciation using the DDB declining balance method given the original cost of the asset, stored in the present value register (FR2); its salvage value, stored in the future value register (FR3); the useful its life expectancy in terms of years, stored in the number of periods register (FR0); and the declining balance factor to be used, stored as a percentage into the interest register (FR1). For example, if the declining balance rate was equal to 200%, enter 200 into the interest register FR1. Once these values are entered, enter the year for which depreciation is to be calculated into the x position and press the [Alt][F8] key. The depreciation amount is then shown in the x position of the stack,with the remaining book value placed in the y position. *Example 17 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display Clear Financial Registers [Shift][F10] Clear: A F S U [F] 0.000000 Enter Book Value 25000 25000 [Ctrl][P] 25000.000000 Enter Salvage 5000 5000 [Ctrl][F] 5000.000000 Enter No. of Years 5 5 [Ctrl][N] 5.000000 Year to Depreciate 2 2 [Enter] 2.000000 6 6 Straight Line Dep [Alt][F6] 4000.000000 Amount Left [Shift][F5] 19000.000000 2 2 [Enter] 2.000000 6 6 Sum of Years Dep [Alt][F7] 6000.000000 Amount Left [Shift][F5] 10666.666667 DDB Rate 150 150 [Alt][I] 150.000000 2 2 [Enter] 2.000000 6 6 Declining Balance Dep [Alt][F8] 6375.000000 Amount Left [Shift][F5] 9875.000000 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 128 ______________________________________________________________________________ [Alt][F9] Pressing [Alt][F9] computes the new date given one date and a DATE number of days. Before executing this function, be sure to set the date format mode to either M.DY or D.MY. Then enter the date to base the calculation on, with 6 digits following the decimal point. Next, enter the number of days difference between the entered date and the desired day. Now press [Alt][F9] to calculate the actual date. The number that appears in the x position of the stack is the date based on an actual 365 day year, the number shown in the y position is the date based on a 30 day month, 360 day year. [Alt][F10] Pressing [Alt][F10] computes the number of days between two #DAYS dates. Before executing this function, the date format mode must be set by toggling the [Ctrl][F2] MD/DM key. Then two dates must be entered conforming to the mode selected with exactly 6 digits following the decimal place. Now press [Alt][F10] to calculate the number of days. The actual number of days (including leap years) is shown in the x position of the stack, while the number of days based on a 360 day year is shown in the y position. *Example 18 To Calculate: Keystrokes Display 6mos after 4/24/87 4.241987 4.241987 [Enter] 4.241987 180 180 based on actual year [Alt][F9] 10.211987 based on 360 day year [Shift][F5] 10.241987 number of days between 11.051991 11.051991 11/5/91 & 12/11/92 [Enter] 11.051991 12.111992 12.111992 based on actual year [Alt][F10] 402.000000 based on 360 day year [Shift][F5] 396.000000 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 129 ______________________________________________________________________________ About the Stack The operation of this set of calculators is based on a mathematical logic known as Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). The calculator uses RPN to solve complicated calculations in a simple, straightforward manner without the use of clumsy and confusing parentheses. This is achieved by automatically retaining and returning intermediate calculated results to a memory stack. The stack is set up as follows: ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ x ║ Working Register ╚═════════════╝ Any number that is keyed in or results from the execution of a numeric function is placed into the x position of the stack at the time it is displayed in the calculator number window. This action causes the stack to be either "pushed", "popped", or only the x-register to be changed. The three stacks drawn below illustrate the three types of stack movement. Assume x, y, z, and t represent any numbers which may be on the stack. *Stack Push ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ ║ t ║ ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ ║ z ║ ║ y ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ ║ y ║ ║ 12.0000 ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ x ║ ║ 12.0000 ║ ║ 12.0000 ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ Keys: original stack 12 [Enter] In the case above, the diagram of the original stack shows it before any key is pressed. Once you begin entry of a number, in this case 12, the number in the x position is changed along with the value entered into the calculator window. When you press [Enter], the value currently in the x position, in this case the 12, is pushed into the y position. The value in the y position is likewise pushed up into the z position, with the z value pushed up into the t position. The old t value is pushed off the top of the stack and is no longer accessible. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 130 ______________________________________________________________________________ *Stack Pop ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ ║ t ║ ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ ║ z ║ ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ 12.0000 ║ ║ 12.0000 ║ ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ 12.0000 ║ ║ 24.0000 ║ ║ 36.0000 ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ Keys: (from above) 24 [+] In this case, the first diagram of the stack shows it as it was after 12 is pushed onto it. When a new number is entered, in this case 24, the number in the x position is changed to reflect the new number entered. Now when the [+] is pressed, the number in the y position is taken off the stack and added to the number in the x position. This results in the value in the t position being dropped down to the z position, and the value in the z position dropped into the y position. The number in the x position reflects the result of the operation, in this case: 12 + 24 = 36 *X Operation ╔═════════════╗ ╔═════════════╗ T: ║ t ║ ║ t ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Z: ║ z ║ ║ z ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ Y: ║ y ║ ║ y ║ ╟─────────────╢ ╟─────────────╢ X: ║ 36.0000 ║ ║ 6.0000 ║ ╚═════════════╝ ╚═════════════╝ Keys: (from above) [F1] In this case, the first diagram of the stack shows it as it was after adding 12 + 24. The stack at this point displays the value 36.0000. If you enter one of the defined mathematical functions located below the register and stack display, in this case [F2] Root, the value located in the x position is the only value in the stack altered. The result of the square root of 36 appears in the x position and in the calculator window. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 131 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Use Of Memory Registers The RPN Calculator provides you with 10 memory cells called registers. Registers are used to store immediate results for later use. When numbers are stored, they are copied from the x position of the stack to the storage registers. When numbers are recalled from a register, the value is copied from the designated register to the x position of the stack. In both cases, the source is not changed. Ten Statistical registers and ten Financial registers are also available. Storing and Recalling Numbers The next two commands are used to store and recall values to and from the data registers. [Shift][F1] The Store register function places the value found in the STO x calculator window into the selected register. When selected, a menu is displayed prompting you for the register set to be used. Press either [F] for Financial, [S] for Statistical or [U] for User. You are then asked to select the number of the data register (between 0 and 9, inclusively) to be filled. After a register number is supplied, this function copies the value from the calculator window into that data register. [Shift][F2] The Recall register function gets the value from the selected RCL x register and places it into the calculator window and the x position of the stack. When selected, a menu is displayed prompting you for the register set to be accessed. Press either [F] for Financial, [S] for Statistical or [U] for User. You are then asked to select the number of the data register (between 0 and 9, inclusively) to be recalled. After a register number is supplied, this function copies the value from the specified data register into the x position of the stack. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 132 ______________________________________________________________________________ Arithmetic Operations On Data Registers The four mathematical operators [+-*/] may be used to directly operate on a specified data register. [Shift][F1] This can be used to perform an arithmetic operation on a data STO x register and store the result in the same register without changing the x-value. This is accomplished by performing the requested operation on the specified data register using the value located in the x position of the stack. When asked for the register number, simply enter the arithmetic operation to be performed, followed by the register number that the calculation is to be performed upon. The following example multiplies data register 04 containing the number 100 by the number 12 [R4 * 12]. *Example 19 Keys Pressed Display X-Value User REG 04 (initial) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 100 100 100 0.0000 [Shift][F1] STO REGS: 100.0000 0.0000 [U] STO __ 100.0000 0.0000 4 STO 04 100.0000 100.0000 12 12 12 100.0000 [Shift][F1] STO REGS: 12.0000 100.0000 [U] STO __ 12.0000 100.0000 [*] STO * __ 12.0000 100.0000 4 STO * 04 12.0000 1200.0000 [Shift][F2] This is used to perform an arithmetic operation on the value RCL x located in the x position on the stack without "pushing" the stack. Pushing the stack is the process of moving the values of the stack up one position (x -> y, y -> z, z -> t, t -> off stack). The value located in the register is not changed. The operation is done on the number located in the x-position of the stack. When asked for the register number, simply enter the arithmetic operation to be performed, followed by the register number that is to supply the value to be used. The following example extracts the value located in register 0 and divides it by 2 [R0 / 2]. *Example 20 Keys Pressed Display X-Value User REG 00 (initial) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 100 100 100 0.0000 [Shift][F1] STO REGS: 100.0000 0.0000 [U] STO __ 100.0000 0.0000 0 STO 00 100.0000 100.0000 2 2 2 100.0000 [Shift][F2] RCL REGS: 2.0000 100.0000 [U] RCL __ 2.0000 100.0000 [/] RCL / __ 2.0000 100.0000 0 RCL / 00 50.0000 100.0000 Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 133 ______________________________________________________________________________ Error Messages These are the possible error messages that can be displayed under the RPN Calculator. When one is encountered, press any key to resume calculations. Attempt Negative Factorial This error can appear when executing the [!] factorial, the [Alt][F9] Cy,x combination or the [Alt][F10] Py,x permutation function. It results from the attempt to use a negative x or y value. Attempt Non-Integer Factorial This error can appear when executing the [!] factorial, the [Alt][F9] Cy,x combination or the [Alt][F10] Py,x permutation function. It results from the attempt to use an x or y value with a fractional part, for example 1.5000. Attempt To Divide By Zero This error results when an attempt to divide by zero is recognized. Not Enough Data Points This error can appear when executing a statistical calculation such as mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, linear regression, correlation, or linear estimation of x or y. Each of these calculations require at least 2 data points except for mean, which requires at least one data point. Overflow This error can occur when a calculation returns a number larger than the calculator can handle. Under / Overflow This error can occur when a calculation returns either a number too large or too small for the calculator to handle. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 134 ______________________________________________________________________________ Section 2: The Tape Calculator Overview The Adding Machine is a different type of calculator than the RPN Calculator. It is simplified with only the basic four mathematical functions, square root, square, percentage, and sign changes. Ten memories (registers) are available for use, and the four basic functions can be performed using their contents. You can also save the contents of the displayed tape to a disk file, where it can later be printed or used as data. When the Calculator BackPack is first entered and when the [Alt][C] key is pressed, the calculator types menu is shown on the screen enumerating the four calculator types to choose from. To select the Tape calculator, either use the [{Down}] cursor key to move the selection bar to the last entry in the menu or press [T]. Calculator A calculator is drawn in the center of the screen. The left Display side of the screen displays the calculator commands and the 10 registers; the right side displays the tape. Exiting the To exit the Adding Calculator and return to Back & Forth Calculator Professional, press [F10] QUIT. [BkSp] Key The [BkSp] key lets you backspace through the currently displayed value to any point in the number. This allows you to modify an incorrectly entered value without having to begin again. Once any key other than a number or decimal point is pressed, pressing this key clears the window and resets the value to zero. Register Registers are places where values can be stored for later use Functions in a calculation. Both the store and recall functions, [F5] and [F6], can also perform arithmetic computations with the value when the arithmetic operator is entered before the register number. These four mathematical operators [+-*/] may be used to directly operate on a specified register. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 135 ______________________________________________________________________________ Pull-Down Menu At the top of the screen are shown five pull-down menu options. Options These are: Calculator Lists the four different calculator types that can be chosen for use. These are Financial, Programmer, Scientific/Statistical, and Tape. When selected, the appropriate function key commands are changed to reflect the available commands. The Financial, Programmer, and Scientific/Statistical calculators are all described within Section 1. Function Outlines the groups of functions available within the activated calculator. These correspond to the function keys shown. Options Displays the Calculator options available. This includes the number format and save tape to disk options. The number format sets the number of digits displayed after the decimal point. Help Opens a help window with information about the use of the activated calculator. Return Returns the value shown in the calculator window value (the x-value) to the active task. Quit Exits the Calculator BackPack. To select one of these pull-down menu options, press the [Alt] key and the first letter of the menu label simultaneously. This highlights the selected menu option and displays the contents of its menu. The entries found within these menus are described in the following pages, under their assigned function keys. The [+-*/] These four commands, the [+-*/] keys, are located on the Operators calculator keypad, with their activation keys corresponding to the [+], [-], [*], and [/] keys on the keyboard. Any key that returns one of these characters can be used to simulate the operation. For example, the Print Screen key can be pressed to return an '*' to perform a multiplication operation. To execute any of these four functions, enter the first number, then press the function [+-*/] that is to act upon it. Now enter the second number. If a string of additions or other functions are to be done, simply press the desired function after every number but the last. A running total is kept in the calculator window, but is not displayed on the tape until [=] or [Enter] is pressed. [Enter] and When a string of numbers and operations are entered, a running [=] Keys total is kept. To end a calculation and perform a final total, press either the [=] or the [Enter] key. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 136 ______________________________________________________________________________ Alphabetic The following commands are shown below the calculator diagram Commands and are selected by pressing the indicated alphabetic letter. [!] Factorial Pressing [!] computes the factorial of the current value. This cannot compute the factorial of a number with a fractional value. [%] Percent Pressing the [%] key returns the percentage value of the current number in the calculator window. [A] Absolute Pressing [A] yields the absolute value of the current value. The absolute value of a number is the positive value of that number. [C] Change Pressing the [F3] key negates the current value in the Sign calculator window. If the value is positive, pressing [F3] renders it negative. [F] Fraction Pressing [F] removes the integer portion of the current value. For example: the fractional portion of 1.75 is .75. [I] Integer Pressing [I] removes the fractional portion of the current value. Tape Commands Three commands are available for manipulation of the tape produced by this calculator. These commands let you view, print, or save the tape to disk. Save Tape to Saves contents of tape to a disk file. If a previously created Disk file is specified, you can choose to either overwrite the file or append the tape to the end of the file. To select, press [F8]. View Tape Scrolls the entire tape using the cursor keys. To select, press [Alt][F8]. Print Tape Prints the contents of the tape. To select, press [Alt][O] to open the Options menu and select [P]. Showing the When an operator is entered, the tape displays the last number Total entered, followed by the operator. When [=] is entered to total the numbers, the last entered value is placed on the tape, a line is drawn below the list of numbers, and the total is displayed below it with the label 'T' after it. Type in 69.95 and press [+] 69.95 + Type in 49.95 and press [+] 49.95 + Type in 49.95 49.95 Press [Enter] or [=] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ 169.85 T The above tape displays the calculation that adds 69.95 + 49.95 + 49.95 to give the result 169.85. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 136 ______________________________________________________________________________ Function Key Ten function keys contain various commands that operate on the Operations current value. These are shown on the left side of the screen. [F1] HELP Displays Help information about the tape calculator. [F2] ROOT x Returns the square root of the current number. [F3] x^2 Returns the squared value of the current number (x * x). [F4] RESET Clears the calculator value and resets the tape. [F5] STO Pressing [F5] stores the current value into a register (0-9). It can also perform an arithmetic operation on a register and store the result back into the same register. This is done by pressing [F5] STO, followed by the operation [+-*/] and the register number. It then takes the displayed number and the register value and does the specified operation. The result is then restored to the register. [F6] RCL Pressing [F6] recalls the value from the specified register and places it into the display. This can also perform an arithmetic operation on the value located in the window using the register value. This is accomplished by pressing [F6] RCL, followed by the operation [+-*/] and the register number. It then takes the displayed number and the register value and does the specified operation. The register is not changed by this operation. [F7] CLREG Resets the contents of each register to zero(0). [F8] SAVE Saves contents of tape to disk file. [F9] RETPGM Swaps out of the calculator and returns to the last active task. [F10] EXIT Exits the Tape Calculator and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 137 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Editor Editor Command The editor included with Back & Forth is a simple-to-use text and keystroke editor. It is useful in creating and editing simple ASCII text files. This editor is also used as the Cut & Paste keystroke editor, when selected from the Cut & Paste menu. It is useful in creating and editing keystroke files containing keyboard commands along with Cut & Paste text. The modified keystroke file may then be replayed by selecting the Paste command. This editor includes such features as: an ASCII table, list of command keys, text movement commands (Block), displayed column ruler, text wrap, folder & file functions, delete options, and search and replace commands. Limitations The maximum file size allowed within this editor is 300-400k. When used as a Cut & Paste clipboard, the maximum size is 80-100k (depending on the amount of free memory available). Another limitation is the line length. The maximum line length accepted and displayed is 512 columns. Any line whose length is greater than this will be continued on the next line. Please note, the file is saved in this form. Editor Screen When the Editor is selected, the first page of text is shown in the center of the screen. At the top of the screen appears the menu options, available when the [F2] Menu command is selected. Below this appears an editor information box containing the row and column cursor position, the editor settings (set under the Options menu), the amount of memory left, and the file name. An asterisk appears to the left of the file name once its contents have been modified. A representation of the screen appears below. Block Delete File Jump Line Miscellaneous Options Print Search ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Line: 1 Col: 0 Ins Ind Wrap Mem: 140k *Path\Filename │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 1Help 2Menu 3Savfil 4NewFil 5Addlne 6Dellne 7Find 8Replac 9RetPgm 0Exit Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 138 ______________________________________________________________________________ Entering Text The main reason for an editor's existence is the entrance and modification of text. This is easy to do. Text is entered into the file by positioning the cursor and typing the desired characters. To end a line and begin a new one, press [Enter]. The cursor keys can also be used to move the cursor to another location. To enter a special ASCII character at the cursor, either use the ASCII table or press the [Alt] key down while typing in its decimal value. For example, to enter "¢", press [Alt] while entering the number 155 from the keypad. Text Entry When text is entered into the file, the editor uses the format Modes settings defined within the Options menu to control text entry. These settings include the wrap mode, indent mode, and tab treatment within the editor. Inserting / Text is entered into the file according to the selected edit Overwriting mode, either Insert or Overwrite. When in Insert mode, typing a Text character inserts it before the character shown at the cursor. When in Overwrite mode, typing a character overwrites the character at the cursor. To change the edit mode, press the [Ins] key until either "Ins" or "Ovr" is shown at the top of the screen. Indenting Text The Indent mode determines where the cursor is placed after the end of line is reached. When "Ind" is shown, upon reaching the end of a line, the cursor is positioned directly below the first non-blank character of the line above; otherwise, when "Ind" is off, the cursor is moved to column one of the next line when the end of line is reached. This is toggled when [Shift][F10] is pressed. Wrapping Text The text wrap mode determines the way text is treated when the right margin is exceeded. When a character has been typed past the right margin, the last word entered is moved to a new line along with the cursor. When off, the line of text is ended only when the [Enter] key is pressed, a cursor key is pressed, or the line length reaches 512 characters. The wrap feature does not wrap text that has been changed by inserting or deleting text at any point in a line other than at the right margin. To reformat an altered paragraph, use the [Ctrl][F7] Format command. Treatment of The [Tab] key lets you enter a set number of spaces at the Tabs cursor. Tabs are commonly used to indent the first lines of paragraphs or separate columns of information. The tab size may be set under the Options menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 139 ______________________________________________________________________________ Cursor The cursor keys are used to move the highlighted cursor around Movement the file and within the menus. When the editor is in text mode, the following keys moves the text cursor in the indicated direction. [Up] or [Down] Moves the cursor to the character directly above or below its current position. [Left] or [Right] Moves left or right one character. If the cursor is at the beginning of a line, pressing [Left] moves to the end of the above line. If the cursor is at the end of a line, pressing [Right] moves to the beginning of the line below. [PgUp] or [PgDn] Shows the next or previous text page in the file. A page is the amount of text (20 lines) that can be shown on the screen at one time. [Ctrl][PgUp] or Moves the cursor to the first or last [Ctrl][PgDn] character on the displayed page of text. [Home] or [End] Moves the cursor to highlight the first or last character on the current line of text. [Ctrl][Home] or Moves the cursor to the first or last [Ctrl][End] character of the file. Wordstar This editor supports most of the basic commands of the Wordstar Cursor Keys editor. The Wordstar cursor movement keys are shown below matched with their cursor key equivalent (as defined above). [Up] [Ctrl][E] [Down] [Ctrl][X] [Left] [Ctrl][S] [Right] [Ctrl][D] [PgUp] [Ctrl][R] [PgDn] [Ctrl][C] [Ctrl][PgUp] [Ctrl][Q][E] [Ctrl][PgDn] [Ctrl][Q][X] [Home] [Ctrl][Q][S] [End] [Ctrl][Q][D] [Ctrl][Home] [Ctrl][Q][R] [Ctrl][End] [Ctrl][Q][C] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 140 ______________________________________________________________________________ Invoking the The editor enters command mode when the [F2] menu is invoked or Editor when a quick key is pressed. When in command mode, the Commands highlighted selection bar is shown within the active menu. Commands may be invoked in one of three ways, by either selecting from the [F2] Menu, typing the Wordstar emulation quick keys, or pressing the function key quick keys. Invoking a The command mode ordinarily used is the menu mode. This mode Command via lets you select a command by sequentially stepping through the [F2] Menu menus and choosing the desired options. To invoke a command using the menu mode, press the [F2] Menu key and, using the [Left] or [Right] cursor key, move the selection bar across the menu line to highlight the desired option. Press [Enter] or the [Down] cursor key to display the contents of the menu. Now use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to the desired command in the pull-down menu and press [Enter] to select. Invoking a The other two command selection modes use quick keys to invoke Command via the desired commands. One set uses the [Ctrl] key coupled with Quick Keys the designated alphabetic keys to invoke commands similar to the quick keys used by the Wordstar editor. To invoke a command using this set of quick keys, press the [Ctrl] key down while pressing the alphanumeric character(s) assigned to the command. These are listed within the command menus. The other set of quick keys uses the [Shift], [Ctrl], and [Alt] keys coupled with the ten (10) function keys to invoke commands. These keys are shown at the bottom of the editor screen. To see the commands assigned to each set of function keys, hold down either the [Shift], [Ctrl], or [Alt] key for a moment. After a brief delay, the function keys shown at the bottom of the screen are changed to display those corresponding to the key being pressed. To invoke a command using these quick keys, press the function key with either [Shift], [Ctrl], or [Alt] key. All quick keys may only be issued while the editor is in text mode. The editor is in text mode when a cursor key or character entered from the keyboard is shown in the text of the file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 141 ______________________________________________________________________________ Function Key Most of the function keys shown at the bottom of the screen Commands correspond to options found under [F2] Menu. [F1] Help Displays Help about the editor. [F2] Menu Invokes the menu at the top of the screen. [F3] SavFil Found under File menu: Save file [F4] NewFil Found under File menu: Load a new file. [F5] AddLne Found under Line menu: Add a line [F6] DelLne Found under Delete menu: Line [F7] Find Found under Search menu: Find [F8] Replac Found under Search menu: Replace [F9] RetPgm Returns to the last active program. [F10] Exit Exits the editor. [Alt][F1] AscTbl Found under Options menu: ASCII table [Alt][F2] GoLine Found under Jump menu: Line number [Alt][F3] InsFil Found under File menu: Read in file [Alt][F4] WrtFil Found under File menu: Write to file [Alt][F5] DupLne Found under Line menu: Duplicate line [Alt][F6] DelBol Found under Delete menu: Front of line [Alt][F7] JoinLn Found under Line menu: Join line [Alt][F8] SplitL Found under Line menu: Split line [Alt][F9] LineShl Found under Line menu: Left Shift [Alt][F10] LineShr Found under Line menu: Right Shift [Ctrl][F1] BlkBeg Found under Block menu: Begin block [Ctrl][F2] BlkEnd Found under Block menu: End block [Ctrl][F3] BlkHid Found under Block menu: Unmark block [Ctrl][F4] BlkCpy Found under Block menu: Copy block [Ctrl][F5] BlkMov Found under Block menu: Move block [Ctrl][F6] BlkDel Found under Block menu: Delete block [Ctrl][F7] BlkPrt Found under Block menu: Print block [Ctrl][F8] BlkWrt Found under Block menu: Write block [Ctrl][F9] BlkShl Found under Block menu: Shift left [Ctrl][F10] BlkShr Found under Block menu: Shift right [Shift][F1] Ruler Found under Options menu: Ruler [Shift][F2] CenLin Found under Line menu: Center line [Shift][F3] SetMrk Found under Jump menu: Set marker [Shift][F4] GoMrk Found under Jump menu: Goto marker [Shift][F5] InsLne Found under Line menu: Insert line [Shift][F6] DelEol Found under Delete menu: End of line [Shift][F7] TopScn Found under Jump menu: Top of screen [Shift][F8] CenScn Found under Jump menu: Center of screen [Shift][F9] BotScn Found under Jump menu: Bottom of screen [Shift][F10] SetInd Found under Options menu: Indent mode Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 142 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F1] Help The [F1] Help key displays information describing the Editor and its commands. The help text is a compilation of the contents of this manual. To change the help index, press the [F5] Index key. A menu lists all defined help topics. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired index. Press [Enter] to view the help information for the highlighted index. To scroll the help text one line at a time, use the [Up] or [Down] keys. Use [PgDn] or [PgUp] to show the next or previous pages of text. When you have finished reading the help information provided, press [Esc] to exit Help. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 143 ______________________________________________________________________________ [F2] Menu The [F2] Menu contains the command menus for the editor. When selected, the editor is placed in command mode and the selection bar appears at the top of the screen. The options are as follows: Block Contains the block commands which let you define, copy, delete, move, unmark, write, & shift one column to the left or right the block of text. Delete Contains the delete commands that allow you to delete characters, words, parts of words, lines, parts of lines, and blocks. File Contains the commands that let you read, write, or view a list of files. Jump Contains the commands that let you mark a spot in the text, and move to a marked location, line number, or the top or bottom of the file. Line Contains the commands that allow you to add, center, duplicate, insert, join, shift left or right, and split the line at the cursor. Miscellaneous Contains the Reformat paragraph command. Options Contains the ASCII table and editor settings such as: left/right margins, tab ruler, indent, insert, and wrap modes. Print Contains the print options for the editor. Search Contains the find, replace, continue commands. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the selection bar across the menu line to highlight the desired option. Press [Enter] or the [Down] cursor key to display the contents of the highlighted menu. Menu Quick The following list shows the quick keys that have been assigned Keys to the command menu options. These quick keys may be used only while in text entry mode. Block [Alt][B] Miscellaneous [Alt][M] Delete [Alt][D] Options [Alt][O] File [Alt][F] Print [Alt][P] Jump [Alt][J] Search [Alt][S] Line [Alt][L] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 144 ______________________________________________________________________________ Block Menu The Block menu contains the text manipulation commands of the editor. They are used to copy, move, delete, shift, and write to disk a selected group of lines of text. The word "block" refers to the rectangular appearance of the highlighted text, selected by defining the top and bottom lines of contiguous lines of text. The minimum size of a block is one complete line of text; the maximum size of a block is based on the amount of memory available. Begin block Defines the top line of a block of text. End block Defines the bottom line of a block of text. Copy Copies the highlighted block of text to the line where the cursor is located. Delete Deletes the highlighted block of text. Move Moves the block to the line where the cursor is at, deletes the block from its former location. Print Prints the block of text. Unmark Unmarks the highlighted block of text. Write Writes the highlighted block of text to a file. Left Shift Moves the highlighted block to the left 1 column. Right Shift Moves the block of text to the right 1 column. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. Block Quick The following lists the quick keys that have been assigned to Keys the Block menu. These keys can only be used while in text mode. Block menu [Alt][B] [F2][B] Begin Block [Ctrl][K][B] [Ctrl][F1] End Block [Ctrl][K][K] [Ctrl][F2] Copy Block [Ctrl][K][C] [Ctrl][F4] Delete Block [Ctrl][K][Y] [Ctrl][F6] Move Block [Ctrl][K][V] [Ctrl][F5] Print block [Ctrl][K][P] Unmark Block [Ctrl][K][H] [Ctrl][F3] Write Block [Ctrl][K][W] [Ctrl][F8] Shift Block Left [Ctrl][F9] Shift Block Right [Ctrl][F10] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 145 ______________________________________________________________________________ Begin block Selecting Begin Block defines the top line of a block of text, based on the cursor location. If a previously defined block exists and is located below the cursor (even if it is not shown on the screen), this option redefines the top line of that block. If a block exists but is located above the cursor, selecting this option unmarks the previously defined block and defines the top line of the new block. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character in this paragraph, selecting Begin block defines the first line of this paragraph as the top line of a new block. End block Selecting the End Block option defines the bottom line of a block of text, based on the cursor location. Once the top and bottom lines of the block have been set, the block of text is highlighted. Continuing the above example, if the cursor is then moved to the underlined character found in this paragraph, selecting End block defines the last line of this paragraph as the last line of the block and highlights the text in these three paragraphs. Copy When Copy is selected, the highlighted text is copied to the line where the cursor is located without deleting it from its original place in the file. If this command is issued using the block defined above and the cursor is moved to appear at the underlined character at the beginning of this paragraph, the contents of the three paragraphs would be copied to appear between the above paragraph and this one, leaving the first copy of the block in place but unmarked. Delete When Delete is selected, you are first asked to verify the block delete request. Answer [Y] to delete the defined block. Be careful when deleting text since no Undo command is provided. Continuing the example shown under the Copy command, selecting Delete deletes the three highlighted paragraphs that were copied between the two Copy block paragraphs. Move When Move is selected, the highlighted block is moved to the line where the cursor is located, deleting the text from its former spot. If this command is issued using the block selected under the Begin and End block examples and the cursor is moved to appear at the underlined character, the three marked paragraphs would be deleted from their original position and moved between this paragraph and the one above. Print When Print is selected,the highlighted block is printed using the format specified in the displayed form. This form is documented within the Print menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 146 ______________________________________________________________________________ Unmark When Unmark is chosen, the block is unmarked and shown in the normal text color. This text is no longer grouped together as a block and any block commands issued no longer affects this text. Write When Write is selected, a picklist shows all non-executable files found in the current directory. To create a new file, highlight [New file], press [Enter], and type in a new file name. To open another directory, press [Tab] to move the selection bar into the directory window, highlight the desired path, and press [Enter]. Left Shift When the Left Shift option is selected, the highlighted block of text is moved one column to the left. Be careful when using this command; any text appearing in column one will be replaced by the contents of column two. This command may be used to reposition a block of text on the screen. Right Shift When the Right Shift option is selected, the highlighted block of text is moved one column to the right and a space is placed in column one. This may be used to indent the block of text. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 147 ______________________________________________________________________________ Delete Menu The Delete menu contains the text deletion commands available under the editor. These commands, with the exception of the Block command, operate on the specified text located at the cursor. Therefore, before selecting any of these commands, first move the cursor to the desired location. In the case of the Delete Block command, a block of text must first be defined by using the Begin and End Block commands. You should use caution when selecting any of the text deletion commands, since no Undo command is available to restore accidental deletions. When selected, the following options are shown: Character Deletes the character at the cursor. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character in this sentence, the letter "u" would be deleted. Previous Deletes the character to the left of the Character cursor. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character, the letter "n" would be deleted. Word left Deletes all characters in the word up to the cursor. For example, if the cursor is at the underlined character, the letters "under" would be deleted. word righT Deletes the rest of the word from the cursor. A word is delimited by a space. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character, the word "underlined " would be deleted. End of Line Deletes the text from the cursor to the end of the line. For example, if the cursor is at the underlined character, the words "at the" would be deleted. Front of Line Deletes the text from the beginning of the line to the cursor. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character, the words "at the under" would be deleted. Line Deletes the entire line of text where the cursor is located. For example, if the cursor is located at the underlined character, the entire line from the word "the" to the word "the" is deleted. Block Deletes the highlighted block of text. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 148 ______________________________________________________________________________ Delete Quick The following lists the quick keys that have been assigned to Keys the Delete menu. These keys can only be used while in text mode. Delete menu [Alt][D] [F2][D] Character [Ctrl][G] [Del] Previous character [BkSp] word righT [Ctrl][T] Word left [Ctrl][BkSp] End of Line [Ctrl][Q][Y] [Shift][F6] Front of Line [Alt][F6] Line [Ctrl][Y] [F6] Block [Ctrl][K][Y] [Ctrl][F6] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 149 ______________________________________________________________________________ File Menu The File menu contains the commands used to identify, read in, and save text files and keystroke folders. When selected, the following options are shown: Load a new file Reads the selected text file into the editor. Insert file Reads the selected file and inserts its contents into the editor at the cursor. Save the file Saves the file to disk. Write to a file Saves the contents of the editor to a file selected from the file list. Directory Displays all files found in the current directory matching a user-specified wildcard. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. File Quick The following list shows the quick keys that have been assigned Keys to the File menu. These quick keys can only be used while in text mode. File menu [Alt][F] [F2][F] Load a new text file [Ctrl][K][R] [F4] Insert file [Alt][F3] Write text file [Alt][F4] Save file [Ctrl][K][S] Directory [Ctrl][K][F] Load a New The Load a new text file command reads a text file into the File editor. When selected, a file picklist is shown naming all non-executable files found in the current directory. To use the picklist, use the cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired file name and press [Enter]. To create a new file, select the [New file] option and enter a file name. Insert File The Insert file option reads a selected text file into the editor and places the text into the open file at the cursor. Before selecting this command, move the cursor to the position in the open file where you wish the contents of the selected file to be inserted. When selected, a file picklist is shown naming all non-executable files found in the current directory. To use the picklist, use the cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired file name and press [Enter]. To create a new file, select the [New file] option and enter a file name. Save File The Save file option saves the contents of the open file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 150 ______________________________________________________________________________ Write File The Write file option allows you write the contents of the open file to an ASCII file. When selected, a picklist is shown naming all non-executable files found within the current directory. The use of this picklist is detailed on the following page. Highlight the desired file name within the picklist and press [Enter] to select. To create a new file, highlight the [New file] entry, press [Enter], and type in the name of the new file. Directory The Directory option displays all files found in the current directory. This lets you view a list of existing files without having to invoke one of the above commands. To use the picklist, use the cursor keys to move the selection bar and press [Enter] to select. Press the [Tab] key to move the selection bar from one windows to another. To set a new search pattern, press [Alt][S], press [End] to move the cursor to the end of the pattern, and edit the displayed pattern. This search pattern narrows down the files listed within the Files window to only those matching the wildcard pattern. Press [Alt][D] to move the selection bar into the directory window. This window shows all subdirectories and recognized drives found within the current path. Now highlight the drive where the desired directory is located and press [Enter]. All directories found within the root directory of that drive are then shown. If the desired directory is a subdirectory, continue highlighting and selecting its parent directories until the desired directory can be chosen. Pressing [Alt][F] moves the selection bar back into the file window. The highlighted file name within this window is listed at the bottom of the screen along with its creation date and size. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Search pattern: │ │ C:\B&F\*.TXT │ │ │ │ ┌──Files─────────┐ ┌──Directories───┐ ┌────────────╖ │ │ │ [New file] │ │ .. │ │ Ok ║ │ │ │ │ │ [A:DRIVE] │ ╘════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ [B:DRIVE] │ │ │ │ │ │ [C:DRIVE] │ ┌────────────╖ │ │ │ │ │ [D:DRIVE] │ │ Cancel ║ │ │ │ │ │ [E:DRIVE] │ ╘════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └────────────────┘ └────────────────┘ │ │ [New file] 00/00/80 12:00a 0 │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 151 ______________________________________________________________________________ Jump Menu The Jump menu contains the commands used to move the cursor other than the cursor keys themselves. These commands let you move the cursor to various locations within the file. When selected, the following options are shown: Top of file Displays the first page of the file. Bottom of file Displays the last page of text in the file. Jump to line Moves the cursor to the specified line number. Set marker Links one of the 9 available markers to the cursor position in the file. This is used in conjunction with Goto marker. Goto marker Moves the cursor to the selected marked position in the file. First line on Moves the line containing the cursor to the screen top of the editor screen. Center of Moves the line containing the cursor to the screen center of the screen. Last line on Moves the line with the cursor to the bottom screen line of the screen. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter] to select. Jump Quick Below is a list of the quick keys assigned to the Jump menu and Keys its entries. Jump menu [Alt][J] [F2][J] Top of file [Ctrl][Q][R] [Ctrl][Home] Bottom of file [Ctrl][Q][C] [Ctrl][End] Jump to line [Ctrl][Q][L] [Alt][F2] Goto marker [Ctrl][Q][1..9] [Shift][F4] Set marker [Ctrl][K][1..9] [Shift][F3] First line on screen [Shift][F7] Center of screen [Shift][F8] Last line on screen [Shift][F9] The [1..9] key shown above represents a numeric key between 1 and 9. The first digit entered is accepted. Jump to Line The Jump to line number option lets you move the cursor to a specified line number in the file. When selected, you are prompted to enter the line number where the cursor is to be moved. This appears as follows: Which line (0..xxx)? 0 The numbers appearing in the parentheses constitute the range of line numbers contained in the file. Enter the desired line number and press [Enter]. Press [Esc] to exit this prompt and return to the Jump menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 152 ______________________________________________________________________________ Set Marker The Set marker option allows you to set an place marker at the cursor position to mark the beginning of an important section of text. This may be likened to a bookmark used in a book to mark the point where you stopped reading. Markers are used to quickly locate marked sections of text for easy movement. Up to nine markers may be set, each at any location in the file. These markers are used in conjunction with the Goto marker command, described below. Before selecting this command, the cursor must be moved to the location in the file that you wish marked for future reference. When Set marker is selected, a menu displays the settings of all edit markers. If no marker has previously been set, the marker values default to the last line of the file. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the marker to be redefined and press [Enter] or enter the marker number. Press [Esc] to exit this prompt and return to the editor window. Goto Marker The Goto marker option moves the cursor to one of 9 preset markers in the file. These markers are defined using the Set marker command. When Goto marker is selected, the marker menu lists the 9 markers and their defined line positions in the file. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired marker and press [Enter] or enter the marker number. Press [Esc] to exit this prompt and return to the editor window. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 153 ______________________________________________________________________________ Line Menu The Line menu contains the line manipulation commands. These commands let you add, center, copy, split, shift and join lines of text at the cursor. When selected, the following options are shown: Add a line Adds a blank line to the file at the cursor and moves the current line beneath it. Center line Centers the line of text using the length of the text and the left and right margins as a guide. Duplicate line Duplicates the current line. Insert a line Adds a line after the current line. Join line Joins the current and next lines together. Left shift Shifts the contents of the current line one column to the left. This may be used to emphasize a line in the text, distinguishing it from the remaining indented text. The character appearing in column one is deleted when this command is issued. Right shift Shifts the contents of the current line to the right one column. This command is used to indent lines of text from those shown above and below it. Split line Splits the contents of the current line between two lines at the cursor position. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. Line Quick Below is a list of the quick keys assigned to the Line menu and Keys its entries. Line menu [Alt][L] [F2][L] Add a line [F5] Center line [Ctrl][O][C] [Shift][F2] Duplicate line [Alt][F5] Insert a line [Shift][F5] Join line [Alt][F7] Left shift [Alt][F9] Right shift [Alt][F10] Split line [Enter] [Alt][F8] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 154 ______________________________________________________________________________ Miscellaneous The Miscellaneous menu contains the command that lets you Menu reformat the paragraph using the defined editor settings. Miscellaneous Below is a list of the quick keys assigned to the Miscellaneous Quick Keys menu and its entries. Miscellaneous menu [Alt][M] [F2][M] Reformat paragraph [Ctrl][B] Reformat Selecting the Reformat paragraph command formats the current Paragraph paragraph of text from the cursor onward. Formatting text is the process of redefining the end of each line of text to fit between the left and right margins. This is necessary when text has been inserted or deleted from the middle of a line of text or when the left or right margins have been changed. For example, if the right margin has been set to 60 and you wish to reformat a paragraph, move the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph in question and press [Ctrl][B]. This wraps all text at column 60 up to the first empty line (a line consisting only of spaces or a carriage return). When the text is wrapped, a ragged right edge results. This editor does not support right justified text. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 155 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options Menu The Options menu contains the following options: ASCII Table Lists the 256 ASCII characters. Each character is shown with its decimal, octal, hexadecimal, and binary values. Multiple characters may be entered into the text using the buffer shown at the bottom of the window. Ruler When On, displays a ruler marking the columns and tab stop positions on the screen. This is helpful when positioning text on the screen. Tab setup Displays a tab ruler with the defined tab stops. To define irregular tab stop intervals, position the cursor and press the [Tab] key. Editor setup Displays a menu listing editor settings such as the edit mode, indent mode, wrap status, left and right margins, and tab width. Save settings Saves the editor settings to EDITOR.CFG. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu and return to the edit screen, press [Esc]. Options Quick Below is a list of the various quick keys assigned to the Keys Options menu and its entries. Options menu [Alt][O] [F2][O] ASCII Table [Shift][F1] Ruler [Ctrl][O][R] [Alt][F1] Tab Ruler [Ctrl][O][T] Indent mode [Ctrl][O][I] [Shift][F10] Insert/Overwrite mode [Ins] Wrap mode [Ctrl][O][W] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 156 ______________________________________________________________________________ ASCII Table The ASCII Table displays the IBM ASCII character set. This table may be used to enter selected characters into the body of the text. When selected, the first 15 characters are listed. Each character is shown with its decimal (base 10), octal (base 8), hexadecimal (base 16), and binary (base 2) values. Use the cursor keys to scroll the selection bar. Press [Esc] to exit the table. Entering To select a character from the ASCII table for addition to the Characters file, highlight the character and press [Ins]. This places the into the Text character into the text buffer shown at the bottom of the window. Pressing [F9] inserts these characters into the file at the cursor. To exit without inserting the selected characters, press [F10]. Tab Setup The Tab ruler lets you customize the tab spacing. Up to 16 tabs may be set. When chosen, a ruler is shown with numbered columns, the 16 tab positions, and the available commands. Use the [Left] or [Right] key to move the cursor and press [Tab] to set a tab stop. Pressing [Ins] inserts a space at the cursor in the ruler; pressing [Del] deletes a space. These two commands affect the spacing of all tab stops to the right of the cursor. To remove a tab stop, move the cursor to highlight the tab and press [Tab]. Several function key commands are also available. Use [F3] to reset the tabs to their original settings. Use [F7] to clear all settings. Press [F9] to store the tab stops and return to the editor screen. To save these tab stops to the editor configuration file, use the Options menu Save command. Press [F10] to exit the Tab ruler without storing the tab settings. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 157 ______________________________________________________________________________ Editor Setup The Editor setup contains the settings responsible for controlling various aspects of text entry and formatting within the editor. When selected, the following options are shown: Backup mode Sets the procedure used to save the edited file. The options are: None, which saves the file normally; '.BAK' copy, which renames the original copy of the file with the '.BAK' extension then saves the edited file; and Incremental, which renames the original file to a file with a numbered extension then saves the edited file. The first time a file is saved in Incremental form, it is renamed with the '.BAK' extension; each subsequent time it is saved, the file is given a numeric extension. For example, if Backup mode is set to Incremental and the file called LETTER.TXT has been saved 2 times, then three copies of the file will be found, LETTER.TXT, LETTER.001, LETTER.BAK. Edit mode Determines the way in which text entry affects surrounding text. When set to Insert mode, typed text is inserted in front of the text at the cursor. When set to Overwrite, typed text writes over the text at the cursor. Indent mode Determines the placement of the cursor when text is wrapped or when [Enter] is pressed. When On, the cursor is moved under the first column of text in the line above; when Off, the cursor is moved to column one. Wrap mode Determines the action taken when the right margin is exceeded. If Wrap mode is set On, typing a character past the right margin moves the last word entered to the next line. When set Off, the right margin setting is ignored. To wrap a contiguous block of text, move the cursor to the top line of the block and press [Ctrl][B] Format. Left margin Specifies the leftmost column of the file. Only blanks are shown to the left of this position. This value must be less than the right margin value. Right margin Specifies the rightmost column of the file. This is used by word wrap and the [Ctrl][B] Format command to determine the column where text wrap takes place. When text is typed past this column, the last word typed is moved to the next line. If Wrap mode is turned Off, this value is ignored. The maximum number of columns is 512. Tab width Specifies the number of spaces used to expand tabs. Press the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight an option and use the [Left] or [Right] key to change its setting. Once all options have been set,press [F9] to set these options and return to the edit screen or press [F10] to abandon them.To save the settings to the configuration file, use the Options menu Save command. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 158 ______________________________________________________________________________ Print Menu The Print menu contains the commands used to print the contents of a file or block of text using the customized format. When selected, the following options are shown: Block Prints the highlighted block of text. File Prints the open file in the editor. To exit this menu, press [Esc]. Once one of the above options is selected, a print format screen is displayed. The entries within this form control the appearance of the printed text. Note Before printing, check the printer to make certain that it is properly connected to your computer, that it is turned on, and that plenty of paper is available. Print Quick Below is a list of the various quick keys assigned to the Print Keys menu and its entries. Print menu [Alt][P] [F2][P] Print block of text [Ctrl][K][P] [Ctrl][F7] Print Format The Print Formatter window outlines the various print options Window that can be set which are used to format the text when printed. Name of file Identifies the file being edited. This field cannot be changed from this window. Number of copies Sets the number of copies to be printed. Pause between If On, you are prompted before each page is pages printed. This is used when you must hand-feed each page to the printer. Add line numbers Prints a line number on each line of text. Strip high bit Strips the high bit from the printed output. Truncate long If On, the contents of the line extending lines past the right margin is not printed. If Off, the remaining text is put to the next line. Starting page Sets the value of the first page number number printed (the page number must be specified in either the header, subheader, or footer). Page length Sets the number of lines that can be printed onto one page. This is used to align the next page after a page is printed. With the printer set to print 6 lines per inch, 8½ x 11 paper contains 66 lines per page. Line spacing Sets the number of lines shown between each printed line. If set to one, no blank lines appear between text lines. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 159 ______________________________________________________________________________ Tab expand size Sets the number of spaces a tab character is replaced by. Top margin Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the first line of text is printed. Left margin Sets the number of columns from the left side of the page to be skipped before the first character of each line is printed. Right margin Sets the number of columns from the right side of the page where printing is stopped. Bottom margin Sets the number of lines from the bottom of the page where printing stops. Header Defines a line of text to be printed at the top of a page. Header offset Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the header is to be printed. This must be less than the top margin value. Subheader Defines a second line of text to be printed below the header. Subheader offset Sets the number of lines from the top of the page where the subheader is to print. This also must be less than the top margin. Footer Defines a line of text to be printed at the bottom of the page, below the last line of text. Footer offset Sets the number of lines from the top line of the bottom margin. This cannot be greater than the bottom margin value. Move the selection bar by pressing the [Up] or [Down] cursor key. Press [F10] to exit the print formatter, press [F9] to begin printing. Headers, The information printed within the header, subheader, and Subheaders, footer may be divided into three groups. These groups are left and Footers justified text, centered text, and right justified text. To separate the contents of these groups, use the "|" character. Do not place any spaces in the text other than where you want spaces to appear. For example, the following line creates a header with your name, your company's name, and your phone number. Header: Your Name | Your Company's Name | (xxx) xxx-xxxx To center a title at the top of each page, enter the following: Header: |Title Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 160 ______________________________________________________________________________ Print Macros Several macros have been provided to allow you to insert file and system specific information. To select any of these options, enter the macro onto the line as text. Each two character macro is preceded by a caret, "^". The following macros are available: ^CD Displays the current system date. ^CT Displays the current system time. ^FD Displays the file date. ^FT Displays the file time. ^FN Displays the name of the file. ^FP Displays the entire path of the file. ^PN Displays a sequential page number, starting with the value defined under Start page number. For example, to print a footer with the file name and date on the left and the page number on the right, enter the following: Footer: ^FN ^FD | | ^PN Printing Files Once [F9] is pressed, a message box is displayed naming the file being printed. Once the usage log has started to print, you can exit by pressing [Esc]. No other command may be issued until the usage log is finished printing. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 161 ______________________________________________________________________________ Search Menu The Search menu contains the text search commands of the editor. You can select to either search for a match to an entered string, replace text matching a specified string, or continue a previously defined search or replace command from the cursor position. When selected, the following commands are shown: Find Searches for a match to the specified search text. Replace Searches for a match to the search text and replaces it with the specified replacement text. Next match Continues the last issued Search or Replace command from the current cursor position in the file. This uses the information set when the Search or Replace command was initiated. To make a selection, either use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. To exit this menu and return to the edit screen, press [Esc]. Search Quick Below is a list of the quick keys assigned to the Search menu Keys and its commands. These keys may only be used while within text entry mode. Search menu [Alt][S] [F2][S] Find [Ctrl][Q][F] [F7] Replace [Ctrl][Q][A] [F8] Next match [Ctrl][L] Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 162 ______________________________________________________________________________ Find and When either the Find or the Replace command is selected from Replace the above Search menu, a menu identifies the applicable search Prompts parameters. The only difference between the two menus is the Replace text string entry within the Replace command menu. The Find and Replace parameters are as follows: Search string Identifies the text string that is used to search the file. This may be up to 50 characters in length and may contain any typeable character. Replace string Defines the text used to replace the located search string. This may be up to 50 characters in length and may contain any typeable character. This entry is only shown within the Replace menu. Direction Sets the direction in the file to be searched. The search may begin from the cursor and move forward to the end of the file, it may begin at the cursor and move back to the beginning of the file, or it may begin at the beginning of the file. Case Sensitive Determines the treatment of case differences in the text. If set to Yes, the file is searched for any text matching the search string, regardless of case. If set to No, the file is searched for an exact match to the search string, including its use of capitalization. For example, if looking for the word "Cats", searching with case sensitivity set to No ignores occurrences of "CATS" and "cats". Whole words Restricts matching text to only whole words separated by spaces or punctuation. If set to Yes, only whole words are matched. If set to No (default), any matching text is located. For example, if this is set to Yes and the search string is set to "the", only the word "the" is located in the file, not text such as "their" or "other". To make a selection, use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to highlight the desired entry and press [Enter] or [Space]. To begin searching the file using these settings, press [F9]. To exit this menu without searching the file, press [F10]. [F9] Return to The [F9] Return to Program command returns to the last task Program executed within Back & Forth. [F10] Exit Pressing [F10] exits the editor. If the file has any unsaved modifications, you are prompted whether you wish to save the changes made before exiting. Answer [Y] to save the changes made to the file, [N] to ignore the changes made and exit anyway, or [Esc] to abort the exit procedure and return to the editor. Once [F10] has been pressed, control is returned to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 163 ______________________________________________________________________________ Back & Grab - The Graphics Screen Grabber Capturing a With the Back & Grab command, it is easy to capture a graphics Graphics Image image from the screen and save it to a Grab folder. This image can then be reviewed and exported to a .PCX data file for use with paint programs, or other programs supporting the use of graphics images. This image can also be shown on the screen when the system is not in use, via the screen blanker graphics display option. To grab an image from the screen, follow these steps: * Use your program to show the graphics image to be cut. * Press the Cut / Grab hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][C]). * If the screen is successfully captured and saved, a short series of tones will sound. If the capture is not successful, a long low beep will sound. Back & Grab may fail to capture a screen when insufficient space is available to store the screen image within the Back & Forth program directory, when attempting to cut Hercules or monochrome screens, or when the displayed graphics mode is unsupported. * To examine a captured graphics image, return to Back & Forth, open the BackPacks menu, select Grabber, and then select Folder. A list of saved screen images is then shown, identified by an editable description, the application where they were captured, and the date and time of capture. Move the selection bar to the desired image and press [F2] or [Enter]. This shows the captured image exactly as it looked when it was grabbed. Press any key to return to the folder list. * To export a selected image to a .PCX file, press [F3]. You are then shown a picklist file window. Press [Tab] to move the highlighted bar between the search path, file list, and directory list. The first file name entry in the list is [New file] which is used to create a new file in the directory to hold the exported file. To select an existing file to hold the graphics image, highlight the desired file and press [Enter] or [O]. If [New file] is selected, you are then prompted for an 8 character file name. After entering a name, press [Enter] to export the file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 164 ______________________________________________________________________________ Back & Grab To display the Back & Grab settings menu, enter the BackPacks Menu menu and select Grabber. When chosen, two options are shown. These are: Folder Lists all captured Back & Grab graphics screen images. These images are created by pressing the Cut hot key when the screen is in graphics mode. This saves an exact image of the screen to a storage folder for later export to .PCX files. Quit Saves the settings and returns to the running program. Use the [Up] or [Down] keys to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter. Press [Esc] or [Q] to exit the Back & Grab menu and return to the running program. Folder List The Folder option lists all Back & Grab graphics images that have been captured. These images are created when the Cut/Grab hot key is pressed while the screen is in graphics mode. These images can be exported to a .PCX file, which lets you import the image into paint programs and/or desktop publishing applications. When selected, a list of images along with a description of the tasks where they had been captured and their creation dates and times are shown along with the following function keys. [F1] Help Displays help for the Folder option. [F2] View Displays the highlighted image to the screen. Press any key to return to the Folder list. [F3] Export Saves the highlighted image to a named .PCX file. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted image from the list. [F5] Move Moves the image to another position in the list. [F6] EdDes Allows you to edit the description of the image. [F8] Sort Sorts the list of images by its description, the description of the originating task, or date. [F10] Exit Exits this list and returns to the Back & Grab menu. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 165 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Overtime! Event Scheduler Overtime! Overtime! is a time management utility provided for use within Setup Back & Forth. With Overtime!, you can outline the day's activities using the appointment book, remind yourself of important events using the memo pad, keep track of things that you need to do using the To-Do list, set alarms to warn you of scheduled events and activities, and execute tasks at specified times. Note: Overtime! alarms are only active while Overtime! is loaded in memory within Back & Forth. The best way to make certain that it is loaded is to specify Overtime! for automatic execution within B&F's Autoload setup. When the Lite version of Back & Forth is run, Overtime! alarms are not available for use. Overtime! When Overtime! is selected from the BackPacks menu, a calendar Screen is shown on the left side of the screen with the memo pad underneath. The schedule of the day's events and the To-Do list are shown on the right. File Appointment Calendar To-Do list Options Window Quit! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒╔══════════ Calendar ═══════════╗▒┌────────────── Appointments ──────────────┐▒ ▒║ █▀▀█ █▀▀█ ▀▀▀█ █ AM ║▒│ Saturday, 1 of February 1992 │▒ ▒║ █ █ █▀▀█ ▀▀▀█ █ ║▒├───┬──────┬───────────────────────────────┤▒ ▒║ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀ 45 ║▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒╟─┬───────────────────────────┬─╢▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒║ │ February 1992 │ ║▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒║ ╞═══╤═══╤═══╤═══╤═══╤═══╤═══╡ ║▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒║ │Sun│Mon│Tue│Wed│Thu│Fri│Sat│ ║▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒║ ╞═══╧═══╧═══╧═══╧═══╧═══╧═══╡ ║▒│ │ │ │▒ ▒║ │ 1│ ║▒└───┴──────┴───────────────────────────────┘▒ ▒║ │ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8│ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒║ │ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15│ ║▒┌───┬─────────── To-Do List ───────────────┐▒ ▒║ │ 16 17 18 19 20 21 22│ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ │ 23 24 25 26 27 28 29│ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ │ │ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ ╞══════════ Memo ═══════════╡ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ │ │ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ │ End of Data │ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒║ │ │ ║▒│ │ │▒ ▒╚═╧═══════════════════════════╧═╝▒└───┴──────────────────────────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 1Help 2Menu 3Calen 4Appts 5Memo 6To-Do 7Weekly 8Month 9RetPgm 10Exit Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 166 ______________________________________________________________________________ The Calendar The Calendar, shown in the upper left side of the screen, displays the current system time, the date, and days of the month. Pressing the following cursor keys moves the cursor from day to day. As each new day is highlighted, the information shown within the appointment book, memo pad, and to-do list changes to reflect the schedule for that particular day. [Left],[Right] Moves from day to day. [Up],[Down] Moves from week to week. [Home] Moves to the first day of the month. [End] Moves to the last day of the month. [PgUp],[PgDn] Moves from month to month. [Ctrl][PgUp],[Ctrl][PgDn] Moves from year to year. [Ctrl][Home] Moves back to today's date. [Tab] Moves cursor from the calendar into the appointment book. If pressed again, the cursor is then moved into the memo-pad; if again, then into the to-do list. [Enter] Moves into the Appointment book. Under the time, four triangle keys are also shown. Clicking the mouse on one of these triangle keys shows the last or next month or the last or next year. The Memo Pad The Memo pad is displayed directly below the calendar. This can be used to display information that is not time-specific, like birthdays, holidays, vacation days, and other special events. To edit the memo field, press the [F5] key and type in the memo. The On the right side of the screen, appointments for the day are Appointment shown. Each entry contains the description of the appointment, Book its start time, and the status symbol. A musical symbol (a pair of sixteenth notes) marks those appointments set to either sound an alarm, pop-up a message, or run a program. If a note has been attached to an appointment entry, a == symbol is shown in the left column. If Overtime! mode is set to Off within the open task and the appointment is set to either sound an alarm, display a message, or run a program, a series of tones will sound at the specified time at 15 second intervals without otherwise interrupting the task in use. An alarm symbol is also shown to the right of the screen clock. This alarm continues to sound until you either press [Esc] or until you swap back to the Back & Forth or Overtime!. Once there, alarm appointments simply shut off while message alarms show the appointment description, and program execution appointments load and run the designated task. If Overtime! mode has been set to On within the active task, the alarm sounds after the appointment time is reached. If the appointment's alarm type is set to Message or Program, control is then automatically returned to Overtime! where either the message is displayed or the task is run. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 167 ______________________________________________________________________________ To add or edit an appointment entry, press either [Tab] or [F4] and move the highlighted bar to the time slot to be filled and press [Enter]. The Appointment entry field definition window is described in the following pages. The time interval, starting, and end time can be set within the Options menu Appointment settings. The To-Do List The To-Do list is shown below the Appointment book. This is a convenient way of listing and keeping track of important tasks that need to be accomplished. These may or may not be date-sensitive rather than time-sensitive, as are the Appointment book entries. Events are shown within this list as their warn-by dates are reached. This is a self-maintaining list, with each day's unfinished entries added to the next day's to-do list. The status of each to-do list item is shown in the left column. An "!" identifies an item that has not been finished by its due date, "!!" marks an item that has not been accomplished even after its due date. The "==" symbol marks those items with notes attached. Items that have been done are marked by a check. To reset the status of an item, press [+] to mark the item as done, press [-] to reset the item to pending. To open the To-Do list, press either the [F6] key or the [Tab] key until the cursor is placed in the To-Do list window. Each line of the to-do list shows a description of each item and its status. To edit an item in the To-Do list, move the highlighted bar to the desired entry and press [Enter]. To add a new to-do list item, press [Alt][T] and select [N]. Function Key The function keys shown at the bottom of the screen identify Commands the various windows that can be entered while using Overtime!. [F1] Help Presents help describing Overtime! [F2] Menu Activates the pull-down menus shown at the top of the screen. [F3] Calend Moves the cursor into the Calendar window. [F4] Appts Moves the highlighted bar into the Appointment book window. [F5] Memo Moves the cursor into the Memo pad. [F6] To-Do Moves the highlighted bar into the To-Do list. [F7] Weekly Displays a condensed appointment report for the current week. [F8] Monthly Displays six month calendars. [F9] Return Swaps Overtime! from memory and returns to the last program executed. [F10] Quit Exits and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 168 ______________________________________________________________________________ Pull-Down Menu At the top of the screen, seven pull-down menu options are Options shown. These options may be selected either by pressing the [F2] Menu function key and using the [Right] or [Left] cursor keys to open the menu, or by pressing the [Alt] key combined with the first letter of the menu name. For example, to select the Appointment menu option, you may either press the [F2] key and press the [Right] key once, or you can press [Alt][A]. File Lists the File options. These let you create, load, delete, print, or save an appointment file. Appointment Lists the Appointment options. These let you add, edit, or delete an appointment. Calendar Lists the Calendar options. These let you jump to a specified day or month. To-Do list Lists the To-Do list options. These let you add, edit, or delete a To-Do list entry. Options Lists the available options. These control the Appointment settings, 43/50 line display mode, printer setup options, and delete outdated entries. Window Jumps into either the Calendar, Appointment book, memo pad, to-do list, week-at-a-glance, month-at-a-glance, and usage graph. Quit! Exits the Appointment book and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 169 ______________________________________________________________________________ File Menu The File menu contains the file manipulation options of Overtime!. These include: Load/new Loads a file and/or creates a new file for use within Overtime!. When selected, a file menu is opened on the screen showing all appointment files found in the current directory and the new file entry. The names of the appointment files have the file extension of 'A##' with the '##' representing the user number. To create a new Overtime! file, select the [New file] entry and press [Enter]. You are then prompted for the file name of the new Overtime! data file. Delete Deletes the information contained within the selected file. When selected, a file list is shown containing all Overtime! data files found in the current directory. You cannot delete the open Overtime! data file. Print Prints the appointments and to-do list for the selected range of days. This uses the printer information selected within the Options menu, Printer setup option. Save Saves the information stored within the memo pad, Appointment book, and to-do list to disk. Print The Print option prints the appointments and to-do list for the Appointments selected range of days. This uses the printer information selected within the Options menu, Printer setup option. When selected, you are prompted for the following information: Start date Chooses the first day of information to be printed. Stop date Sets the last day to be printed. Print Sets the print mode to either Letter quality, quality which is the most legible, or Draft, which is the fastest. When the above entries are filled, printing of the selected days begins. To abort printing, press [Ctrl][Break]. Each day's information is printed in the following format: January 1, 1992 Wednesday January 1, 1992 ┌───────────────────────────────┐┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ││ Appointments │ │ 1 2 3 4 ││ │ │ 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ││ │ │ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 ││ │ │ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ││ │ │ 26 27 28 29 30 31 ││ │ └───────────────────────────────┘│ │ ┌───────────────────────────────┐│ │ │ To-Do ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ └───────────────────────────────┘└────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 170 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appointment The Appointment menu contains commands that enable you to add, Menu edit, or delete an appointment. New Adds a new appointment to the list. Edit Edits the highlighted appointment entry. The highlighted appointment may also be modified by pressing [Enter]. Delete Deletes the highlighted appointment entry. When selected, you are asked to verify the delete request. The highlighted appointment may also be deleted by pressing [Del]. List all Lists all appointments defined within the Appointment book, regardless of defined date. Adding an When either Add or Edit is selected, the appointment book entry Appointment definition window is shown. Description Defines a 30 character description used to identify the appointment within the appointment book. Alarm type Sets the alarm type to: Off, Program, Sound only, or Message. The alarm type identifies the action taken when the appointment time is reached. When set to 'Off', nothing happens. When set to 'Program', a task is executed when the time occurs and control is returned either to Back & Forth or Overtime!. When set to 'Sound only', a musical tone is sounded and a musical notation is shown next to the screen clock to notify you that the alarm has been reached. When set to 'Message', the alarm sounds as described above until control is returned to Back & Forth or the Overtime! module. Once there, the appointment description is shown on the screen in a window. Date Sets the first date in which the appointment is to be listed. The date format used is MM/DD/YYYY, with the first two digits representing the month, the second two digits representing the day, and the last four digits representing the year. To move an appointment from the current day's schedule to that of another day, change this date. Start time Sets the beginning of the appointment. The format is HH:MM, with the first 2 digits denoting the hour, the last 2 digits denoting the minutes. Stop time Sets the scheduled end of the appointment. This is useful in planning your day's schedule by letting you avoid overlapping appointments. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 171 ______________________________________________________________________________ Frequency Sets the number of times this event is to occur. The options are: Once, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly. Use the [Right] or [Left] cursor key or press the [F7] List key to select. Following the frequency aspect is a breakdown of weekdays when the event can occur. Each weekday can be toggled to Yes or No. If frequency is set to Once and that day is set Off, the alarm will not go off. Furthermore, you can set events to occur several times a week by setting the frequency to Daily and setting to Yes the week days that the alarm should go off. Repeat until Sets the final date in which the appointment is to be repeated. Program to run Names the task to be run. This does not need to be filled unless the Alarm type is set to 'Program'. To select from a list of all tasks defined within Back & Forth, press the [F7] List key. Ask before When set to Yes, prompts before running the launching program. This stops execution of the task if it task? is not necessary or ill-timed. Notes When [Ctrl][Enter] is pressed, enters a memo editor which lets you type a reminder that is attached to the appointment. Press [Esc] to end the memo, press [Alt][H] to display a short list of editor cursor commands. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 172 ______________________________________________________________________________ Sample Below are some sample appointment definitions. To begin Appointments defining a new appointment entry, highlight the day of the appointment and press [F4] to move the selection bar into the appointment book display. Now press [Alt][A] to activate the Appointment menu and press [N] to select to define a new entry. Once you have defined an appointment entry, press [F9] to save. Note: It is not necessary to open the Appointment book to the day in which you would like to create a new Appointment entry. Instead, select to create a new Appointment and enter the date in which the appointment is to occur. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Message: Lunch date with Cassandra Alarm type: Off │ │ │ │ Date: 01/01/1992 Start time: 11:30a Stop time: 12:00p │ │ │ │ Frequency: Daily Sun:Y Mon:Y Tue:Y Wed:Y Thu:Y Fri:Y Sat:Y │ │ │ │ Repeat until: 12/31/1992 │ │ │ │ Task to run: Ask before task is launched: No │ │ │ │ Notes: │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The above appointment simply creates a note which appears within the appointment book. It places a notice of this appointment each Monday at 9:30 am. Below is another appointment which sounds an alarm when the time occurs. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Message: Morning meeting at 10:00am Alarm type: Sound only │ │ │ │ Date: 01/01/1992 Start time: 09:50a Stop time: 10:30a │ │ │ │ Frequency: Weekly Sun:N Mon:Y Tue:N Wed:N Thu:N Fri:N Sat:N │ │ │ │ Repeat until: 12/31/1992 │ │ │ │ Task to run: Ask before task is launched: No │ │ │ │ Notes: │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 173 ______________________________________________________________________________ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Message: Doctor appointment at 2:30pm Alarm type: Message │ │ │ │ Date: 01/08/1992 Start time: 02:00p Stop time: 4:00p │ │ │ │ Frequency: Once Sun:N Mon:N Tue:N Wed:Y Thu:N Fri:N Sat:N │ │ │ │ Repeat until: 01/08/1992 │ │ │ │ Task to run: Ask before task is launched: No │ │ │ │ Notes: │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The above appointment sounds an alarm when the appointment time occurs. It then displays the defined message. Below is appointment which runs a copy of Word Perfect and opens a phone book log where you can type in notes about your telephone conversation while you place a call. If the current program has Overtime! support turned Off, only the alarm goes off until you switch back to Back & Forth or one of its BackPacks (including Overtime!). Once within B&F, the message is displayed or the program is executed. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Message: Call client Alarm type: Program │ │ │ │ Date: 01/06/1992 Start time: 01:00p Stop time: 1:15p │ │ │ │ Frequency: Monthly Sun:N Mon:Y Tue:N Wed:N Thu:N Fri:N Sat:N │ │ │ │ Repeat until: 12/31/1992 │ │ │ │ Task to run: Word Perfect Phone Notes Ask before task is launched: Yes │ │ │ │ Notes: Make notes on conversation within the PHONBOOK file │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 174 ______________________________________________________________________________ List All Appts The List All Appointments option available for selection from the Appointments menu lets you list every appointment defined within the Overtime! event scheduler. This shows a condensed report with relevant appointment information. At the bottom of the screen, several function keys are shown identifying the commands available. The function of editing and adding appointments is documented in the preceding pages. [F1] Help Displays help information about this screen. [F3] Add Adds a new appointment entry. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted appointment entry. [F7] Edit Edits the highlighted appointment entry. [F10] Exit Exits the Appointment list window. ┌──────────────────────────── Appointment List ─────────────────────────────┐ │ Date Start Stop Description Alarm Type Notes │ │ 01/01/92 11:30a 12:00p Lunch date with Cassandra Off No ░ │ 01/01/92 9:50a 10:30a Morning meeting at 10:00 Sound No ░ │ 01/06/92 1:00p 1:15p Word Perfect Phone Notes Program Yes ░ │ 01/08/92 2:00p 4:00p Doctor appointment at 2:30 Message No ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 1 Help 3 Add 4 Delete 7 Edit 10 Exit Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 175 ______________________________________________________________________________ Calendar Menu The Calendar menu contains commands that let you move to specific dates within Overtime!. These are: goto Day Jumps to a specified day. When selected, you are prompted for the day, month, and year where you wish to jump to. goto Month Jumps to a selected month. When chosen, you are asked for the month and year where you wish to jump. goto Current date Jumps to today's date. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 176 ______________________________________________________________________________ To-Do List The To-Do list menu contains commands that enable you to add, Menu edit, or delete to-do list items. New Adds a new To-Do list item to the list. Edit Edits the highlighted to-do list item. The highlighted item to be modified may also be selected by pressing [Enter]. Delete Deletes the highlighted to-do list item. This item may also be removed by pressing [Del]. Set item to dOne Resets the status of the highlighted item to Done. Set item to Pending Resets the status of the highlighted item to Pending. List all Lists all to-do list items defined, regardless of status or warning date. Adding a To-Do When either the New or Edit command is selected from this menu, List Item the To-Do list item definition window is shown. This contains the following entries. Description Defines a 30 character description used to identify the item within the to-do list. Status Marks the status of the To-Do list item, with Pending used to denote items that have not been accomplished and Done! removing those items from the list that have been. Priority Designates the relative importance of this item. This is used when sorting the To-Do list with the High priority items appearing at the top of the list, followed by Medium, then Low priority items. Due Date Sets the date in which this item should have already been accomplished. The date format used is MM/DD/YYYY, with the first 2 digits representing the month, the next 2 digits representing the day, and the last 4 digits representing the year. If an item is still listed as pending after its due date, an exclamation mark is shown to its left in the list. Warn by date Sets the first date in which this item is enumerated in the To-Do list. This item is not shown until this date is reached. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 177 ______________________________________________________________________________ Notes When [Ctrl][Enter] is pressed, enters a memo editor which lets you type a reminder that is attached to the to-do list item. Press [Esc] to end the memo, press [Alt][H] to display a short list of editor cursor commands. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field or to scroll the available options. Press [F7] to list the available options in a small window. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving. Sample To-Do Below is a sample to-do list item definition. To define a to-do List Entry list item, press [F5] to move the selection bar into the to-do list. Now press [Alt][T] to activate the To-Do list menu and press [N] to select to define a new item. Once you have defined a to-do list item, press [F9] to save. ┌──────────────────────────────── New Item! ────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Description: Finish manual and send to printer █ │ ░ │ Status: Pending Priority: High ░ │ ░ │ Due Date: 01/20/1992 Warn by date: 01/17/1992 ░ │ ░ │ Notes: ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░ │ │ Complete manual and have proofread. Check indexes, table │ ░ │ │ of contents, and pagination. │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ │ │ ░ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░ │ Enter text │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 178 ______________________________________________________________________________ List All To-Do The List All To-Do list items option available for selection List Items from the To-Do list menu lets you list every to-do list item defined within the Overtime! event scheduler. This shows a condensed report with relevant to-do list item information. At the bottom of the screen, several function keys are shown identifying the commands available. The function of editing and adding appointments is documented in the preceding pages. [F1] Help Displays help information about this screen. [F3] Add Adds a new to-do list item entry. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted to-do list item. [F7] Edit Edits the highlighted to-do list item. [F10] Exit Exits the to-do list window. ┌────────────────────── To-Do Item List ───────────────────────┐ │ Due Date Description Status Notes │ │ 01/20/1992 Finish manual and send to printer Pending █ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ ░ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 1 Help 3 Add 4 Delete 7 Edit 10 Exit Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 179 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options Menu The Options menu lets you set the following options. Appointment Sets the time range and format shown by default settings in the Appointment book. This menu contains three options: Display range, which sets the range of times shown; Resolution, which sets the number of minutes between each appointment; and Format, which sets the mode to either Standard 12 hour or Military 24 hour entry mode 43/50 line If selected, displays the Overtime! screen in mode 43/50 line mode (depending on the type of monitor and video card being used). This moves the To-Do list under the Calendar and allows the Appointment book to use the entire right side of the screen to display the schedule. Printer setup Configures the printer for use in printing the Overtime! information. This holds the following entries: Printer type, device port, baud rate, number of data bits,number of stop bits,parity, and number of minutes before aborting print. Delete old Removes all appointments and To-Do list items entries that have been marked Done! from the file occurring on or before the date specified. When selected, you are prompted for the date to be used. Once entered, you are then asked to verify the deletion request. Use the [Up] or [Right] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field or to scroll the available options. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving. Appointment The Appointment settings menu lets you set the range and format Settings of appointment times shown by default in the Appointment book. Display Delimits the range of appointment times normally range shown. This is only a guideline; when defining an appointment, you can set the time to any time that is appropriate and the screen will show it. Resolution Sets the number of minutes between each appointment. The options are Appointments only, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60 minutes. Again, this is only used as a guideline; when defining an appointment, you can set the time to anytime you wish. For instance, even though the resolution is set to 15 minutes, you can still define an appointment to appear at 8:02. Entry format Selects between Standard and Military time formats. Standard shows the time based on a 12 hour clock, whereas Military shows the time based on a 24 hour clock. For instance, 3:00pm (standard) is the same as 15:00 (military). Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 180 ______________________________________________________________________________ Printer Setup The Printer setup menu lets you configure your printer for use in printing the Overtime! information. Printer Selects the make and model of printer being used. If your printer is not listed here, then set the printer type to either Generic for dot matrix printers or LaserJet for laser printers. Press [F7] and use the [Down] and [Up] keys to scroll the list. Device Selects the port where the printer is connected, either: LPT1(default), LPT2, LPT3, COM1, or COM2. Baud rate Sets the maximum baud rate accepted by the printer, either: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600. Data bits Sets the number of data bits used by the printer to either 7 or 8 (default). Stop bits Sets the number of stop bits to 1 (default) or 0. Parity Sets the parity to None (default), Even, or Odd. Time out Sets the length of time that Overtime! will wait for the printer to respond before aborting print. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 181 ______________________________________________________________________________ Window Menu The Window menu contains the various display options available within Overtime!. Calendar Moves the day cursor into the month calendar. Appointments Moves the highlighted bar into the appointment book. From here, appointments may be added, alarms may be set, and programs can be configured to execute at specified times. Memo pad Moves the cursor into the Memo pad field, located below the Calendar. This field is useful for noting important information about that day, like birthdays, holidays, vacations, etc. To-Do list Moves the highlighted bar into the To-Do list. This is a useful device for listing things that must be done but that are not bound by a schedule. Weekly Displays the appointments scheduled for the selected week. Use the [Right] or [Left] cursor keys to change days, use the [Down] or [Up] cursor keys to scroll the appointments for that day. Monthly Displays the six month calendar. Usage graph Graphs the appointment schedule for the week beginning with the current day. The graph is broken down into 30 minute intervals with the duration of an appointment marked by a happy face character. Overlapping appointments are marked with exclamation marks. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 182 ______________________________________________________________________________ Week At A The Weekly Appointment report condenses the appointment entries Glance to appear on one screen for easier viewing of weekly events. Press the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the selection bar from day to day. Use the [Up] or [Down] cursor key to move the selection bar sequentially through the day's appointments. To edit the highlighted appointment entry, press [Enter]; to add a new appointment to that day, press [Ins]. The [Del] key is used to delete the highlighted appointment entry. ┌─────────────────────────────── Weekly View ───────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ▄ ▄ 27 January 1992 to 2 February 1992 ▄ ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ ▌ Mon Jan 27,1992 │ Tue Jan 28,1992 │ Wed Jan 29,1992 ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┼───────────────────────▐ │ │ ▌ Thu Jan 30,1992 │ Fri Jan 31,1992 │ Sat Feb 1,1992 ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ █▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ ├───────────────────────▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ Sun Feb 2,1992 ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Month At A The Month option displays the six monthly calendars, beginning Glance with the current month. Press the [PgUp] or [PgDn] cursor key to move from month to month. ┌────────────────────────────── Monthly View ───────────────────────────────┐ │ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ January 1992 - June 1992 ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ ▌ January 1992 │ February 1992 │ March 1992 ▐ │ │ ▌ 1 2 3 4 │ 1 │ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ▐ │ │ ▌ 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 │ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 │ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ▐ │ │ ▌ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 │ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 │ 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ▐ │ │ ▌ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 │ 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 │ 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ▐ │ │ ▌ 26 27 28 29 30 31 │ 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 │ 29 30 31 ▐ │ │ ▌ │ │ ▐ │ │ ▌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┼───────────────────────▐ │ │ ▌ April 1992 │ May 1992 │ June 1992 ▐ │ │ ▌ 1 2 3 4 │ 1 2 │ 1 2 3 4 5 6 ▐ │ │ ▌ 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 │ 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 │ 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ▐ │ │ ▌ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 │ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 │ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ▐ │ │ ▌ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 │ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 │ 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ▐ │ │ ▌ 26 27 28 29 30 │ 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 │ 28 29 30 ▐ │ │ ▌ │ 31 │ ▐ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 183 ______________________________________________________________________________ Usage Graph The Usage graph provides an alternate way of looking at the Display daily schedule. It maps the appointments allotted for the day, with each appointment marked with a happy-face character, overlapping appointments are marked by a '#' character. ┌───────────────────────── Time Usage Graph ─────────────────────────┐ │ ▄ ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀ 1 February 1992 to 7 February 1992 ▀▀▀▀ │ │ 1 1 1 1 1 1 │ │ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 │ │ Sat Feb 1 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Sun Feb 2 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Mon Feb 3 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Tue Feb 4 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Wed Feb 5 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Thu Feb 6 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ ........................ │ │ Fri Feb 7 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │ │ │ Appointment ! Conflicting appointments ▒ Free │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Quit! Saves the appointment entries, exits Overtime!, and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 184 ______________________________________________________________________________ Overtime! Error Messages A program must be specified for PROGRAM alarm type! This error occurs when [F9] is pressed before a program is defined within an program alarm entry. Appointment date is AFTER repeat until date! This occurs when one of the two dates within the edit appointment entry is incorrect. Back & Forth Professional kernel only supports 50 active alarms! This error occurs when you attempt to define more than 50 alarms. Due date is BEFORE warning date! This error occurs within the edit To-do list entry window when one of the two dates is entered incorrectly. Invalid date! This error occurs when the date entered is incorrect. The month makes up the first two digits (1-12), the day is the second two digits (1-31), and the year is the last four digits. No appointments in current scheduler file to delete! This error occurs when the Delete Appointment command is selected within an empty appointment book. No scheduler files for user x to delete!! This error occurs when the Delete Appointment command is selected within an empty Overtime! scheduler file. Overtime! only supports 250 appointments per scheduler file! This error occurs when you try to create more that 250 appointment entries. Use the Options menu Delete old entries command to clean up the file. Overtime! only supports 80 items per To-Do list! This error occurs when you try to create more that 80 to-do list items. Examine the list and mark those items that have been finished as done by pressing [+]. Overtime! only supports 100 memos per scheduler file! This error occurs when you attempt to create more that 100 memo entries. Use the Options menu Delete old entries command to clean up the file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 185 ______________________________________________________________________________ Printer database not found! This error is shown when attempting to print. Check to make certain that the printer database file, PRINTERS.DB, is located within the Back & Forth directory. If this file cannot be found, exit Back & Forth and use your master Back & Forth diskettes to re-install Back & Forth. Program scheduled to run at xx:xx is no longer defined! This error occurs when a program alarm entry has been deleted from the appointment book before it goes off. Scheduler configuration file corrupted! Default values will be used. This error appears when something happens to corrupt the Overtime!data file. You will have to reset configuration options. Start time is AFTER stop time! This occurs when either the start or stop time is entered incorrectly while defining an appointment entry. Stop date cannot be BEFORE the start date! This occurs when either the start or stop time is entered incorrectly while defining an appointment entry. Unable to find printer database! This error is shown when attempting to print. Check to make certain that the printer database file, PRINTERS.DB, is located within the Back & Forth directory and that it has not been overwritten by some other file. If this error occurs, exit Back & Forth and use your master Back & Forth diskettes to re-install Back & Forth and the printer database file. Unable to save appointments (disk full??)! This error occurs when [F9] is used to save the last entered appointment entry. Check if enough space is free on the disk. This may occur when this disk is also used for swap space within B&F. In this case, swap Overtime! from memory and free up some more disk space. Only the last record entered will be lost. To ensure that this does not happen again, either reduce the amount of swap space allocated on that disk or use a different disk for swap space. Unable to save scheduler configuration (disk full??)! See above. You cannot delete the active scheduler file! This error occurs within the File menu Delete command when the current scheduler file is selected for deletion. If you truly wish to delete the current file, use the Load/new file command to open a new or different file then use the Delete command to delete. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 186 ______________________________________________________________________________ The RoloBack Address Minder RoloBack RoloBack is a address and telephone database provided for use Address System within Back & Forth. With RoloBack, you can organize and save the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal information of important individuals. A telephone number can also be dialed directly from the highlighted person's record. Screen When RoloBack is selected from the BackPacks menu, the Description telephone list display is shown by default with its index keys placed above it. The information contained within the telephone list is based upon the index used to sort the address book. You can also select to display the contents of the address book one record at a time. The default index used to sort and display the address book is based on each person's name. File Dial Index Options Print Records Search Tag Window Quit! A ▄ B ▄ C ▄ D ▄ E ▄ F ▄ G ▄ H ▄ I ▄ J ▄ K ▄ L ▄ M ▄ ▄ Name ▄ City ▄ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ N ▄ O ▄ P ▄ Q ▄ R ▄ S ▄ T ▄ U ▄ V ▄ W ▄ X ▄ Y ▄ Z ▄ ▄ State ▄ Zip ▄ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ ┌─┤File: X├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Index: Name ├─┐ │ Name Home Phone Business Phone │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ ............................... ................... ................... │ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar + to tag - to untag │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Cards: 13├─┘ 1Help 2Menu 3Add 4DelMnu 5Search 6Window 7Edit 8Dial 9RetPgm 10Exit Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 187 ______________________________________________________________________________ Movement The following commands are used to move the selection bar Commands within the list, change the index, tag or untag a record, and edit the highlighted record. [Up],[Down] Moves from week to week. [Home],[End] Moves to the first or last record in the database. [PgUp],[PgDn] Moves up or down 13 records. [A],[B],...,[Z] Moves to the first record in the list whose index begins with the pressed alphanumeric character. [+],[-] Tags or untags the highlighted entry. [Ctrl][N] Sorts the address book by name. [Ctrl][C] Sorts the address book first by city, then by name. [Ctrl][S] Sorts the address book by state and name. [Ctrl][Z] Sorts the address book by zip code and name. [Enter] Edits the highlighted address record. Mouse Use The mouse can also be used to select any of the commands shown on the screen, including the alphabetic movement keys, the index selection keys, the pull-down menus, and the function keys. To select a command shown on the screen, position the mouse cursor within the desired item's label and press the [Left] mouse button. To exit a menu, press the [Right] mouse button. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 188 ______________________________________________________________________________ Function Key The following function keys control various aspects of the Commands operation of RoloBack. [F1] Help Presents help describing the RoloBack address book. [F2] Menu Activates the pull-down menus shown at the top of the screen. [F3] Add Opens the record definition window, where the individual's name, address, telephone number, and personal notes can be entered. [F4] Delete Deletes the highlighted record entry from the list. [F5] Search Searches the database for the first occurrence of the specified text. The search can be restricted to only the displayed index or it can encompass all fields within the database. [Shift][F5] Continues the search from the current position Next in the list using the information defined within the [F5] Search menu. [F6] Window Changes between the telephone list and the single card display. [F7] Edit Opens the highlighted record for editing. [F8] Dial Dials the selected number from the highlighted record. [F9] RetPgm Swaps RoloBack from memory and returns to the last program executed. [F10] Exit Exits and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 189 ______________________________________________________________________________ Pull-Down Menu At the top of the screen, ten pull-down menu options are shown. Options These options may be selected either by pressing the [F2] Menu function key and using the [Right] or [Left] cursor keys to open the menu, or by pressing the [Alt] key combined with the first letter of the menu name. For example, to select the Index menu option, you may either press the [F2] key and press the [Right] key twice, or you can press [Alt][I]. File Lists the File options. These let you create, load, or delete a selected address book database. Dial Dials a selected telephone or fax number from the highlighted record. When a number is dialed using RoloBack, the "Last called field within the record is updated with the current system date. Index Sorts the RoloBack address database. When selected, four indices are identified: name, city/state/name, state/name, and zip code/name. Options Lists the available options. These control the 43/50 line display mode, dialer settings, and printer setup options. Print Prints the information in the database in either an address book or telephone list format. Records Lets you add, edit, or delete an address book record entry. Search Lets you search through the database for a match to the specified search text. Tag Provides options to group selected records together. Window Sets the display mode used by RoloBack, either the condensed telephone list or one record at a time. Quit! Exits RoloBack and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 190 ______________________________________________________________________________ File Menu The File menu contains the file manipulation options of the RoloBack address book. These include: Load/new Loads a file and/or creates a new address book file for use within RoloBack. When selected, a file menu is opened on the screen showing all database files found in the current directory and the new file entry. Each database is comprised of three files with the extensions "*.NX", "*.ST", and "*.MP". To create a new RoloBack file, select the [New file] entry and press [Enter]. You are then prompted for the file name. Delete Deletes the selected set of database files. When selected, a file list is shown containing all RoloBack data files found in the current directory. You cannot delete the open RoloBack data file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 191 ______________________________________________________________________________ Dial Menu The Dial menu contains the telephone dialing options provided within Back & Forth. When a number is dialed from an address record, its "Last call" entry is updated with the current system date. The dial options include: Current record Dials a selected phone number from the highlighted address book entry. If the highlighted record has more than one defined telephone number, you are prompted to select the number to be dialed. Manual dial Lets you type in a phone number to be dialed. Once the phone number has been selected, a dialing method menu is shown. This menu identifies the phone number that is to be dialed and shows the dialing codes defined for use. The options available for selection are: Dial number as is Dials the number as it appears. 1-3 Dial codes Appends the defined dial code to the phone number and dials the number. These dial codes are shown only when defined within the Options menu Dialer setup. Cancel Cancels the Dial command request. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 192 ______________________________________________________________________________ Index Menu The Index menu contains the four index options available for use in sorting the RoloBack address book. These are: Name Sorts the address book by name. City/state/name Sorts the address book by city, followed by state and name. State/name Sorts the address book by state and by name. Zip code/name Sorts the address book by zip code and by name. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the index to be selected. Press [F9] to select, press [F10] to exit without re-sorting the address book. You can also re-sort the address book directly, without having to enter this menu by press the [Ctrl] key coupled with the first letter of the index to be used. For instance, to sort the database by zip code, press [Ctrl][Z]. The name field is used to resolve conflicting address records. When the records are sorted by name, they are ordered by the last name followed by the first and middle name. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 193 ______________________________________________________________________________ Sample Screens Changing the index also changes the information shown on the screen within the Telephone listing window. Below is a representation of the differences between each when displayed. The name index display is shown at the beginning of this section. ┌─┤File: ROLOBACK├──────────────────────────────────────────┤Index: City ├─┐ │ │ │ City Name Home phone Business phone │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ │ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar + to tag - to untag │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Cards: 13├─┘ ┌─┤File: ROLOBACK├──────────────────────────────────────────┤Index: State├─┐ │ │ │ State Name Home Phone Business Phone │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ ................... .................... ............... .............. │ │ │ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar + to tag - to untag │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Cards: 13├─┘ ┌─┤File: ROLOBACK├──────────────────────────────────────────┤Index: Zip ├─┐ │ │ │ Zip Code Name Home Phone Business Phone │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ ........... ....................... ................ .............. │ │ │ │ Use cursor keys to move selection bar + to tag - to untag │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Cards: 13├─┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 194 ______________________________________________________________________________ Options Menu The Options menu lets you set the following options. 43/50 line mode If selected, displays the RoloBack telephone list screen in 43/50 line mode (depending on the type of monitor and video card being used). Dialer setup Configures the dialer settings, including the baud rate, dial mode, communications port, and the 3 phone codes. Printer setup Configures the printer for use in printing RoloBack information. This holds the following entries: Printer type, device port, baud rate, number of data bits, number of stop bits, parity, and number of minutes before aborting print. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to highlight the field to be selected. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving. Dialer Setup The Dialer setup menu establishes the communications port, baud rate, dial mode, and phone codes used when a number is dialed. These must be set before using the Dial option for the first time. Comm port Sets the serial port to be used: either 1, 2, 3, or 4. Baud rate Chooses the baud rate of your modem. Choose between 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600. Dial mode Selects the dial method, either Tone or Pulse. Dial codes Defines the description and contents of each of 1-3 the three dialing codes. The dialing codes are useful in prefacing a phone number with the proper dialing sequence for calling the number. For instance, long distance numbers must be prefaced by a "1". Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 195 ______________________________________________________________________________ Printer Setup The Printer setup menu lets you configure your printer for use in printing RoloBack information. Press [F9] when you are finished to reset the printer setup, press [F10] to exit without saving. Printer Selects the make and model of printer being used. If your printer is not listed here, then set the printer type to either Generic for dot matrix printers or LaserJet for laser printers. Press [F7] and use the [Down] and [Up] keys to scroll the list. Device Selects the port where the printer is connected, either: LPT1(default), LPT2, LPT3, COM1, or COM2. Baud rate Sets the maximum baud rate accepted by the printer, either: 300,600,1200,2400,4800, or 9600. Data bits Sets the number of data bits used by the printer to either 7 or 8 (default). Stop bits Sets the number of stop bits to 1 (default) or 0. Parity Sets the parity to None (default), Even, or Odd. Time out Sets the length of time that RoloBack will wait for the printer to respond before aborting print. Print Menu The Print menu contains the print options available within RoloBack. Before printing for the first time, make certain to check the printer setup options, found within the Options menu. Address list Prints the name (last name first), company information, address, and phone numbers of the selected RoloBack records. Telephone list Prints the name (last name first) and telephone numbers of the selected RoloBack records. When either of the above options are selected, a menu is shown asking you to choose the records to be printed & the print mode Records to Chooses what set of records to be printed. The print three options are Every, Tagged, and Untagged. The Every option prints all address book records found in the database, Tagged prints only those records that have been tagged (entries with an * to the left of the name in the telephone list), and Untagged prints all untagged records. Print quality Sets the print mode to either Letter quality, which is the most legible, or Draft, which is the fastest. When the above entries are filled, press [F9], Press [F10] to exit the print menu without printing. To abort printing, press [Ctrl][Break]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 196 ______________________________________________________________________________ Printing the The format of the address book list output is as follows. The Address Book name is printed with the last name first, followed by the first List and middle names sorted by the active index. This list only prints those fields with information actually entered. For example, if no company name or title has been entered, they are skipped in the printout. Each individual's address record is separated by a line in the printout. To abort printing, press [Ctrl][Break]. Address List ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Last name, First name Middle name │ │ Title │ │ Company name │ │ Address line 1 │ │ Address line 2 │ │ Address line 3 │ │ City, State, Zip code │ │ Home: telephone number │ │ Business: phone number │ │ Fax: phone number │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Next person, First Middle │ │ Company name │ │ Address line 1 │ │ City, State, Zip code │ │ Home: telephone number │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Printing the The format of the telephone list output is as follows. The name Telephone List is printed on the left side of the list with the last name first, followed by the first and middle names sorted by the active index. The phone numbers are printed on the right side. To abort printing, press [Ctrl][Break]. Telephone List ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Last name, First name, M Home telephone number (H) │ │ Business phone number (B) │ │ Fax phone number (F) │ │ Next person Next person's number (B) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 197 ______________________________________________________________________________ Record Menu The Record menu contains the commands used to add, edit, or delete an address record from the address database. Add Adds a new address book entry to the list. This may also be selected by pressing [F3]. Edit Edits the highlighted appointment entry. This command may also be selected by pressing [F7] or [Enter]. Delete Deletes the highlighted appointment entry. When selected, you are asked to verify the delete request. The highlighted appointment may also be deleted by pressing [F5] or [Del]. Adding an When either Add or Edit is selected from the Record menu, the Address Record RoloBack address record definition window is shown. When Add is selected, the entries shown are blank; when Edit is selected, the information contained within the highlighted address record. ┌─┤File: X├───────────────── Adding New Record ─────────────┤Index: Name ├─┐ │ First name: Middle: Last: │ █ │ Company: Title: ░ │ ░ │ Address 1: ░ │ Address 2: ░ │ Address 3: ░ │ City: State: Zip: ░ │ ░ │ Home phone: Business phone: ░ │ Last call: 00/00/0000 Fax phone: ░ │ ░ │ Notes: ░ │ ░ │ Enter text └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤Cards: 13├─┘ UD Move between fields LR Move within field F1-Help F9-Accept F10-Cancel Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 198 ______________________________________________________________________________ Address Record The address book record definition window is composed of the Definition following fields. Of the fields shown, only the name field must be filled. Name Provides three entries for entrance of a person's name. The database entries are sorted by last name followed by the first name. Company name Defines the 30 character name of the company where this individual is employed. Title Defines the title of the individual within the company. Address 1-3 Provides 3 lines for use in entering the street address information. City Identifies the 20 character city name where this address is located. State Identifies the 15 character state name where this address is located. Zip code Identifies the 10 character zip code for this address. Phone numbers Provides 3 telephone number entries, home, business, and fax. These numbers may be selected for dialing using the dial command and a modem. Last call Sets the last date that a phone number was called using the Dial option within RoloBack. This entry cannot be changed using the Add or Edit command. Notes When [Ctrl][Enter] is pressed, enters a memo editor which lets you type notes that you wish to attach to this address book record. Press [Esc] to end the memo, press [Alt][H] to display a short list of note editor cursor commands. Use the [Up] or [Down] key to move to the field to be edited. Use the [Left] or [Right] cursor key to move the cursor within the field. Press [F9] to save the changes and exit, press [F10] to exit without saving. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 199 ______________________________________________________________________________ Search Menu The Search menu contains the text search commands of RoloBack. You can select to either search for a match to an entered string or continue a previously defined search from the cursor position. When selected, the following commands are shown: Find Searches for a match to the specified search text. Next match Continues the last issued Search command from the current cursor position in the database. This uses the information set when the Search command was initiated. To make a selection, either use the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys to move the selection bar to highlight the desired option and press [Enter], or press the first letter of the menu option. Find Fields When Find is selected from the above Search menu, you are prompted for the text to be searched for and the search parameters. Search text Identifies the text string that is used to search the file. This may be up to 50 characters in length and may contain any typeable character. Case Sensitive Determines the treatment of case differences in the text. If set to Yes, the file is searched for any text matching the search string, regardless of case. If set to No, the file is searched for an exact match to the search string, including its use of capitalization. For example, if looking for the word "Cats", searching with case sensitivity set to No ignores occurrences of "CATS" and "cats". Fields to Searches All fields of the database or only the search Name fields for a match. To begin searching the address book using these settings, press [F9]. To exit without searching the database, press [F10]. To invoke the Find command directly from the address book without having to use the pull-down menus, press [F5]. To continue the last issued Find command, press [Shift][F5]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 200 ______________________________________________________________________________ Tag Menu The Tag menu contains the record grouping commands of RoloBack. Tagging lets you group together multiple address records for printing. Tagged cards are marked by an asterisk, '*', appearing to the left of its entry in the telephone list. When selected, the following commands are shown: Current card Tags the highlighted record. This record can also be tagged by pressing the [+] key. Every card Tags all cards in the address book. cLear all tags Untags all tagged records. Matching Tags all address cards matching a typed text string. This uses the current index to determine the field that this entry is to be compared to. Untag current Untags the highlighted record. A tagged record card can also be untagged by pressing the [-] key. Window Menu The Window menu entry lets you select the display format used, either the telephone listing or the address record display. One card at a Sets the display mode to show the current time address record in its entirety on the screen. This looks like the Record definition window described under the Record menu. Pressing the [Up] or [Down] cursor keys change address cards. Telephone list Sets the display mode to show the condensed telephone list, with each address record represented by one line of information on the screen. This is the default display mode. To switch between the two modes, press the [F6] key. With both window modes, the [Up] and [Down] cursor keys moves sequentially through the address book, with the order based on the index currently in use. The [Home] key displays the first address record in the database, whereas the [End] key displays the last. Quit! Saves the appointment entries, exits Overtime!, and returns to Back & Forth. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 201 ______________________________________________________________________________ RoloBack Error Messages A LAST name must be specified! This is shown when [F9] is pressed within the RoloBack Add/Edit record definition window before a last name has been entered. Each address record must have a last name defined, since the last name is used to resolve matching indexes when address records are sorted. Current record has NO phone numbers! This error is shown when an address record with no telephone numbers is selected for dialing. No matching records to print! This is shown when either Tagged or Untagged is selected from the Print menu and no records have been tagged/untagged. No ROLOBACK files to delete! This is shown when the File menu Delete file command is used on a directory containing no RoloBack files. Printer database not found! This error is shown when attempting to print. Check to make certain that the printer database file, PRINTERS.DB, is located within the Back & Forth directory. If this file cannot be found, exit Back & Forth and use your master Back & Forth diskettes to re-install Back & Forth. RoloBack configuration file corrupted! Default values will be used. This error appears when something happens to corrupt the RoloBack data file. You will have to reset configuration options. Unable to add card to RoloBack (disk may be full). This error occurs when [F9] is used to add a record to the database. Check if enough space is free on the disk. This may occur when this disk is also used for swap space within Back & Forth. In this case, swap RoloBack from memory and free up some more disk space. Only the last record entered will be lost. To ensure that this does not happen again, either reduce the amount of swap space allocated on that disk or use a different disk for swap space. Unable to add tag mark to record in database (disk may be full)! This error occurs when attempting to tag a file. See the explanation above. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 202 ______________________________________________________________________________ Unable to create rolodex file = <filename> This error may occur under several conditions: if a root directory is used and 255 files already exist in that directory; if you do not write privileges in that directory; or if not enough space exists on that drive. Unable to find printer database! This error is shown when attempting to print. Check to make certain that the printer database file, PRINTERS.DB, is located within the Back & Forth directory and that it has not been overwritten by some other file. If this error occurs, exit Back & Forth and use your master Back & Forth diskettes to re-install Back & Forth and the printer database file. Unable to open rolodex file! This error occurs when attempting to run RoloBack. It means that your system has run out of file handles. To correct this problem, exit all open tasks, exit B&F, increment the FILES statement in your CONFIG.SYS by 10, then re-run B&F. Unable to save ROLOBACK configuration (disk full??)! If this occurs, check to see if enough space is free on the disk. This may occur when the disk is also used for B&F swap space, especially if graphics programs are used and swapped from memory. In this case, swap RoloBack from memory and exit one of the programs in memory. You may later wish to reduce the amount of swap space allocated on the disk. Unable to update record to RoloBack (is disk full??). Check if the current disk is full. If it is, you must return to Back & Forth and clear some disk space for the data file. Once you have successfully saved the database, return to B&F, remove all programs from memory, exit B&F, and re-run B&F to change the swap space allocation. Either select a different drive for swap space use or reduce the amount of space allocated on the drive. You cannot delete the active RoloBack file! This error occurs within the File menu Delete command when the current database file is selected for deletion. If you truly wish to delete the current database file, use the Load/new file command to open a new or different database file then use the Delete command to delete the database file. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 203 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appendix A: Program Credits Back & Forth was created by Sandi & Shane Stump for Progressive Solutions, Copyright (C) 1990,1991,1992. A special note must be made about the impact one person has made on the creation of the latest version of Back & Forth. Cassandra Mia Stump has done something no one and no thing has been able to do -- distract and divert Shane's attention away from the computer. This is not necessarily bad, when he actually gets to work, he works even harder. This program and manual could not have been written without the significant help of our cats, past and present: Wickett, Princess, Mr. Moby, Allegro, Merlin, Tabitha, Buster and Genghis, Bagheera Jr., Panda Bear, Rocky-Squirrel, Fela and Toby. A few people also helped along the way. We would like to thank the following individuals for their invaluable aid in testing, suggesting, and supporting Back & Forth. They are (alphabetically) Michael Ash, Rick Berenstein, David Brinner, Mike Callahan, Andrew Chalk, Ted DeCastro, Jack De Sola, Joel Dreyfuss, Dave Fredericks, Larry Hayden, John Jurewicz, Charles Kleis, Pete Lang, Paul Licht, Jonathan Matzkin, Edward Mendelson, Stephen Paulker, Jerry Powell, Michel Slivitzky, Ted Thompson, Randy Wallin, Bob Willoughby, Ed Zotti and many, many more. This program was written using Borland's Turbo-C, TASM, and Debugger, and vLIB by Pathfinder Associates on a Digitron 80486, Toshiba T5200/100, ALR 80386, and the Compaq Portable 80386. This manual was written using Lotus Manuscript on a Digitron 80486 with a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 204 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appendix B: Back & Forth Error Messages A hot key must be selected! This error occurs within the Hot key setup when you attempt to exit without selecting a hot key for Back & Forth. A program description must be entered. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when [F9] is pressed before a task description is entered. Either press [F10] to exit without defining the task entry or enter a task description before pressing [F9]. A program name must be entered. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when [F9] is pressed before a program name is entered. Either press [F10] to exit without defining a task entry or enter the program name before pressing [F9]. A program path must be entered. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when [F9] is pressed before a program directory is entered. Either press [F10] to exit without defining the program entry or define the program directory. A 2 letter/digit program ID must be specified. This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when the [F9] is pressed before a program id is entered. Either press [F10] to exit without defining the program entry or enter a 2 character id before pressing [F9]. AUTOLOAD exceeds total swap space! Swap space needs to be at least xxxk! This error occurs when not enough swap space has been allocated to load the tasks selected within the Autoload setup. Control is then returned to the Swap drive setup window, where more swap space should be allocated. B&F definition file has been corrupted! This occurs when the BPVARS file has been corrupted or deleted. Do not delete any files created by Back & Forth while it is running. If this error occurs, B&F closes all tasks and returns to DOS. To correct the problem, copy BPVARS from your most recent backup or re-install Back & Forth. B&F only supports PCED version 2.0 or higher. Back & Forth cannot swap earlier versions of PCED from memory. We recommend that you update your copy of PCED. Back & Forth currently only supports 20 open tasks! This error is shown when you attempt to run more than 20 tasks within Back & Forth. You must close one of the 20 open tasks before running a new one. Contact Progressive Solutions to get an expanded version, if needed. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 205 ______________________________________________________________________________ Back & Forth only allows 50 programs to be defined! This error occurs when adding program entries within the Program Setup. At this time, only 50 program entries may be defined. Define only those programs used regularly. Please contact us if more are needed. BFPHIGH must be loaded HIGH! This error occurs when BFPHIGH is run without the necessary high memory loader.Instructions on loading Back & Forth high are outlined in Section 3 Cannot find COMSPEC environment variable. This error is shown when Back & Forth cannot locate COMMAND.COM or 4DOS.COM. Back & Forth uses the COMSPEC (DOS command processor) to run programs or to load a secondary copy of DOS. If this error message is shown, you must exit Back & Forth and use the SET command to specify where COMMAND.COM or 4DOS.COM can be found. COMSPEC file does not exist! This error message is shown when the file specified in the COMSPEC environment variable does not exist. This could happen if you used a floppy disk to boot up your machine. In this case, you must copy the COMMAND.COM or 4DOS.COM file to the hard disk, RAM disk, or installed floppy disk and reset the COMSPEC command to that location. DOS/Video swap drive must be specified! This error is shown within the Swap drive setup when [F9] is pressed before a DOS/Video swap path has been set. The DOS/Video swap path is used to store system and screen information for each open task. The path selected should have between 144k-2304k unused disk space available, depending on the programs loaded globally and each program's screen mode and complexity. More information is provided within Section 4. 'File' cannot be found in the program directory. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when typing in the executable program name. This may be due to two different problems; either the file name was misspelled when being typed in, or the program path specified is incorrect. To check the contents of the program directory, press [F7] to display the file list. If the desired program name is not shown within this list, then change the program path and try again. Internal task handle table is full. Please contact PSI for help! This error should never occur. If it does, contact us. Invalid path has been specified! This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when typing in a program or work path. Most likely a typographical error crept into the path name specified. Use the [F7] Directory tree to select the desired path. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 206 ______________________________________________________________________________ Memory allocation error -> label. If this error occurs, Back & Forth will close all tasks and exit to DOS. Contact us and tell us how it happened, what was loaded, and the label shown so that we can correct the problem. No executable file exists for the specified program name. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when the program name cannot be found within the defined program path. Either press [F7] to pick the file from the file list or select a different program path. No matching files found in 'path name'. This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when typing in the executable program name. This probably occurs when the wrong program directory is specified. You must change the program directory path to one containing executable files and try again. No programs defined for use within B&F. Use Program Setup. This error occurs when you attempt to use the Autoload setup without defining any program entries. To solve this problem, use the Program setup to define the programs that you wish to run within Back & Forth. No swap drives have been specified! This is shown within the Swap drive setup program when [F9] is pressed before any swap space has been allocated. Program swap paths are used to store program information when switching between tasks. The selected swap paths should have enough unused disk space to hold the prospective number of running tasks using the maximum amount of memory. Not enough disk space on drive 'x' for Program Swap Drive # This error occurs when Back & Forth attempts to create the program swap files. If not enough space is available within any of the selected paths, you are returned to the Swap drive setup to correct its value. Not enough memory to run Back & Forth! Back & Forth needs at least 192k of free memory to run. If this error occurs, check the AUTOEXEC.BAT for unnecessary TSR programs. Not enough swap memory available to run 'program name'! This error occurs when you attempt to run a program from the Program List which needs more swap memory than is available. To run this program, you must close enough active partitions to accumulate enough swap memory for the program. If this happens on a regular basis, you should use the Swap drive setup to allocate more program swap space. Only 20 programs can be AUTOLOADed! This error is shown when more than 20 tasks are selected for within the Autoload setup. No more than 20 tasks can be loaded at one time. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 207 ______________________________________________________________________________ Program does not exist in specified path! This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when typing in the program name. This may be due to two different problems; either the file name was misspelled when it was typed in or the program path specified is incorrect. To list the executable files within the program directory, press [F7]. If the desired program is not shown, check the program directory. Specified ID is not unique! This error occurs within the Program Setup when you press [F9] to save the program definition with the two character ID set to one that has previously been used. Change the ID to another two character code. Swap file on drive 'x' does not exist! This error message is shown when one of the swap files has been deleted from the disk or corrupted. Do not delete any files created by Back & Forth while the program is running. If this error occurs, Back & Forth closes all tasks and exits to DOS. Once Back & Forth has been exited, you may re-enter Back & Forth and begin using the program again. The program name must end with COM, EXE, or BAT. Press Esc This error occurs within the Program Setup Add/Edit command when the program name is given a file extension other than EXE, COM, or BAT. Press [F7] to select the file from the file list. If the desired program name is not shown, change the program directory to a new path and try again. Unable to create AUTOTYPE file. This is shown when a program is selected for execution and not enough disk space is available within the Back & Forth directory for use in storing the AUTOTYPE.### file. The AUTOTYPE.### file is used to feed keystrokes between Back & Forth and the DOS prompt. Check the amount of disk space available within the Back & Forth directory. Unable to create clipboard file! This error occurs when you run out of disk space while using the Cut & Paste command to store cut information. Check the amount of disk space within the Back & Forth directory. Unable to create swap file on drive 'x'! This error message is shown when there is not enough space on a disk to create the swap file. If this error occurs, you can delete unnecessary files on the swap disk in question, change the amount of swap space allocated within the Swap drive setup, or use another swap path. Unable to create task environment file! This occurs when no space is left in the DOS/Video swap path for use by B&F in creating a system swap file. Exit Back & Forth and either remove some of the files on the drive used by the DOS/Video swap path or use the Swap drive setup to select another swap path. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 208 ______________________________________________________________________________ Unable to find Back & Forth overlay --> BFP00#.OVL When Back & Forth is first invoked, it searches the B&F directory for all of its overlay files. If one is not found, Back & Forth is exited and this message is shown. Check the B&F directory for all program files, if any are missing, re-install Back & Forth onto your system. Unable to load BFP00#.OVL! Unable to load Back & Forth module! This error message is shown when one of the Back & Forth overlay files or the program itself has been deleted from the disk or corrupted. Do not delete the BFP.EXE file or any of the four BFP00#.OVL files while the program is running. If this occurs, Back & Forth closes all tasks and exits to DOS. Without these files, Back & Forth cannot run. To fix this problem, use your backup copy of Back & Forth to reload the lost or damaged files. Unable to save the B&F definition file (disk may be full). This error appears when the BPVARS file cannot be created, opened, or saved either when [F9] is pressed within the Swap drive setup or changes have been made to the pull-down menu entries within Back & Forth. To fix this problem, exit Back & Forth and check the amount of disk space left within the Back & Forth directory and the status of the BPVARS file. Unrecognized A20 hardware. This error is produced when the HIMEM.SYS device driver does not recognize the A20 hardware of your system. The A20 line is the 21st address line of the 80x86 CPU. If this error occurs, it is probably because the system is not one supported by this release of Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS. Unsupported hot key combination. Try again This error occurs within the Hot key setup when an disallowed hot key combination is selected. The hot key must consist of at least two keys, one alphanumeric or function key and one or more of the following keys: [Alt], [Ctrl], [Left Shift], [Right Shift]. User ## is already in use. This error occurs when the network version of Back & Forth discovers already created and in use for the user number in question. See the Back & Forth Network manual for more details. You cannot AUTOLOAD a program that requires prompting! Programs requiring user input, i.e. those whose program definitions have the "Ask for options" field set to Yes, cannot be loaded automatically using the Autoload option. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 209 ______________________________________________________________________________ You cannot edit an active program entry! This error occurs when you select the [F7] Edit program entry command within the Program Setup. Back & Forth does not allow the modification of a program entry while that program is open within the Program List. You must close the program entry before you can edit its information. You cannot delete an active program! This error occurs when you select the [F4] Delete program entry command within the Program Setup. Back & Forth does not allow the deletion or modification of a program entry while that program is open within the Program List. You must close the program before you can delete it. You must run BFPHIGH first! This error occurs when you try to execute BFPLOW before BFPHIGH. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 210 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appendix C: Troubleshooting Can't Run Here are some suggestions to help if you can't get Back & Forth B&FPRO to run. * Type B&FPRO at the DOS prompt. This is one of two batch files created during installation. If it cannot be found, then the batch files have either been deleted, never been copied to a directory along the path, or never been created. To create the batch files, go to the B&F directory and run BFPSETUP. * If B&FPRO.BAT and B&FHIPRO.BAT do exist and are located along the path, check their contents. These batch files are described within Section 3. * Some keyboard enhancement programs do not approve of the use of the "&" character in file names. In this case, rename the batch files to BFPRO.BAT and BFHIPRO.BAT. * Check your CONFIG.SYS and make sure that the FILES statement is greater than 80. Can't Load B&F If you experience problems loading Back & Forth into high into High memory, check the following: Memory * Make sure the EMS manager has been properly loaded. Consult the EMS software manual for more information. * Now check that enough contiguous high memory is available. Back & Forth requires 35k of contiguous high memory, the "NoPrint" version uses 32k, the "Lite" version uses 24k. * Some high memory managers, like DR DOS EMM386.SYS, cannot be used with BFPLOAD. In this case, you must use the loader provided by your EMS management software to load B&F into high memory (with DR DOS, use HILOAD). Using a loader other than BFPLOAD disables Back & Forth's ability to remove itself and other programs from EMS after exiting. * BFPLOW must be run immediately after BFPHIGH is loaded. Can't Swap to If extended (XMS) memory is available on your system but B&F XMS cannot detect it, this probably means either HIMEM.SYS was not used to initialize the memory or it has all been earmarked for use by some other program. Check your CONFIG.SYS for the statement DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS. DOS 4.0 Usage Back & Forth runs with DOS 4.0 with two restrictions. DOS 4.0 includes an EMS memory manager that is not fully compatible with standard EMS usage. For this reason, do not use their EMS manager or load any of the DOS commands into EMS memory using the /X option. Instead, purchase an EMS manager like 386-to-the-Max, QEMM, Netroom, EMM386, Move'em, or QRAM. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 211 ______________________________________________________________________________ Exception 13 This error may occur when using QEMM to load Back & Forth or Error is another program into high memory. An Exception 13 error occurs Reported when memory has been incorrectly referenced by a program. If this occurs, check the following: * Check the number of programs being loaded into high memory, the amount of space they occupy, and their position in extended memory. Try running Back & Forth using the LOADLOW command line option. * If you have Stacks=0,0 in your CONFIG.SYS, remove it, reboot, and retry Back & Forth and your other programs. Some programs need the DOS stack area. * If it still doesn't work, deactivate all device drivers from your CONFIG.SYS except the FILES, BUFFERS, and hard disk drivers. Also deactivate all entries within your AUTOEXEC.BAT except the PATH, SET, and PROMPT statements. To deactivate a line within these files, type REM at the beginning of the line. DOS will then bypass this statement. * Now reboot your system. Add each device driver and program, one at a time, re-running Back & Forth after each addition. When the error returns, remove the last program added and add the rest of your programs. Check the manual for the program in question. If this offers no help, try reloading the programs and drivers in differing orders. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 212 ______________________________________________________________________________ Can't Run A When defining a program entry within the Program setup, you are Program asked to enter a lot of information about that program, some of which may not be obvious to you. If the program does not run properly when picked from the Program list, check the following: * Press [F2] to activate the pull-down menus, press [P] twice to enter the Program setup menu, move the cursor to the program giving you trouble, and press [F7]. Examine the program information. Check that enough memory has been allocated to the program to run properly. If you do not know how much is needed, set this value to 0. This provides all available memory to the program. * Set the partition type to "Program". Some TSRs require a program to be run after it is loaded before they function properly. In this case, set the partition type to "TSR". * Check the program name, path, work path, fixed and user-specified options. Some programs, like WordStar, cannot be run outside their program directory. For these programs, leave the work path blank. * Some programs may need an indeterminate amount of disk or EMS space to store their own temporary files. Make sure that enough disk space is left over for the program after the amount used by Back & Forth is allocated for its swap area. * If the program will not run as a defined task within Program setup, select a DOS partition from the Program List and try running the program from the DOS prompt. * If the program still won't run, or will run only if another program is removed from memory, you may be running out of DOS file handles. Check your CONFIG.SYS and set the FILES variable to a minimum value of 80. Increment this value by 20 and try running B&F and your programs again. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 213 ______________________________________________________________________________ Programs to be Below is a list of programs that either should not be run from Careful Of within Back & Forth or require special treatment. * Disk caches, network drivers, and video enhancement programs like UltraVision should be run before Back & Forth if they are to be used by all of your programs. * Print spoolers, background communications, electronic mail programs, or other programs run in the background must be run before Back & Forth is loaded. * The mouse driver should be loaded before Back & Forth if it is to be used with B&F. If it is used only with a few of your programs, load it within a program partition using a batch file. In this case, the mouse cannot be used with Back & Forth. * Disk altering programs like CHKDSK /F, disk optimizers, disk editors, etc, should not be run within Back & Forth. * Other TSR programs, menu programs, utilities such as PC-Tools or shells such as DOS 4.0 DOSSHELL should be set up as a program entry and run from within Back & Forth. Lost or Many programs open temporary files to store intermediate Corrupted information like unsaved changes to files, data scrolled off Files the screen, memory information, and program settings. Use of disk altering programs such as CHKDSK /F, disk optimizers, disk editors, etc, may adversely affect these files. These temporary files are usually reported by CHKDSK as lost clusters. Try closing and exiting all open programs before using such programs. Diskette If a program is using a diskette, close that program or file Swapping before removing that diskette or swapping the program from memory. Back & Forth does not keep track of the identity or status of removable disk media on your system. Changing diskettes without warning can cause the contents of that disk to be overwritten or corrupted. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 214 ______________________________________________________________________________ Hot Key Back & Forth uses "hot keys" to jump between the programs and Doesn't Work B&F. The default B&F hot key is set to [Alt][Ctrl][Space]. If you cannot pop back to Back & Forth, try doing the following: * Press the selected hot key simultaneously. For instance, if the hot key is set to [Alt][Ctrl][Space], hold down the [Alt] key and the [Ctrl] key while pressing the [Space] bar. * Some programs intercept all keyboard activity and do not pass these keys along to the other programs in memory (namely B&F). In this case, use the B&F Super key, whose default setting is [Alt][Ctrl][Left Shift]. * Some programs like Windows require a special program to be run before it to monitor keyboard activity. Set up a batch file to execute KBSTEAL before running the program. * If you hear a high-pitched beep, the video swap disk is full. This symptom is described under "Can't Swap Program". * If pressing the hot key does not return you to Back & Forth, exit the program naturally. This should automatically return you to the Back & Forth main screen. * Now press [F2] to activate the pull-down menus, press [S] to enter the Setup menu and select [H] to open the Hot key menu. The B&F hot key is shown at the top of this screen. If [Shift] is used, the exact one must be pressed. Hot keys may also be assigned to other programs run from the Program List. If the hot key assigned to an open program does not seem to work, check the following: * Pop back to B&F either by using the B&F hot key or by exiting the program. Examine the hot key shown for the program in the list to make sure that you tried the correct combination. * To define a hot key for the program, exit that program naturally. Once you have returned to B&F, press [F2] to activate the pull-down menus, press [P] to select the Program menu, press [P] again to select Program setup, highlight the program entry in the list, and press [F7]. Move the cursor to the hot key and press [F7] to open the key selection window. Choose an appropriate hot key for use with that program and press [Ins], press [F9] twice to save the changed program entry and try again. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 215 ______________________________________________________________________________ Can't Swap Back & Forth makes a single, high pitch beep when an error Program occurs during swapping. If you hear two beeps, this indicates that a problem has been encountered in swapping the video settings. Either the drive set aside for your video swap files is full, or you are using an unsupported video display mode. Try the following: * First, exit the program naturally. This obviates the need to store a video image of the task. * Once you have returned to the B&F Program List, exit and close all open tasks. Then exit Back & Forth. * Now run B&F again without the "GO" option to enter the Swap drive setup menu. Check the drive used to store the video files. A table is included within Section 4 which quantifies the range of file sizes created by each video mode when saved. The higher the video resolution, the more space needed to store the resulting image file. If not enough space is free on that disk, either remove unnecessary files from the disk or select a different disk with more space free. * If plenty of space is available on the drive, use a disk diagnostics program to check for disk read/write problems. * If the problem is due to an unsupported video mode, contact us with the pertinent video information and we will try to help you. In the meantime, use a different display mode. EGA Graphics Back & Forth restores graphic screens generated by well-behaved Aren't programs on CGA, VGA, and most EGA systems. Unfortunately, some Restored programs designed for use on EGA systems write directly to the video system, bypassing DOS and the ROM BIOS. The video settings cannot be read by B&F, therefore it cannot be stored. When one of these programs is swapped, the screen may not be restored properly. We suggest you take the following actions: * If the program has a redraw command, use it to refresh the screen when you return to it. * Force the program into text mode before swapping. * Run the program or the monitor in black & white mode. Lose Keys If keys are lost during macro playback within a program, press During Macro [Alt][\] to display the Macro menu, press [O] to select the Use Options menu, and increment the Delay option. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 216 ______________________________________________________________________________ Lose Text When When pasting text, Back & Forth feeds the keystrokes through Pasting the keyboard to the program receiving the text. Sometimes, if the text is being fed too quickly, random characters can be lost. To slow down the paste speed, press the Cut & Paste menu key (default is [Ctrl][Left Shift][C]), select the Options menu, select the Paste delay entry, then increment the value shown. Text may also be lost when third-party keyboard buffers are loaded before B&F. In this case, exit all loaded tasks, exit B&F, remove the key buffer program (comment it from the AUTOEXEC.BAT if necessary), reboot the machine, and try Back & Forth again. Lose Text Some programs fetch keystrokes directly from the keyboard While Typing buffer, bypassing the BIOS. An example of this is early versions of BASIC. These programs may not be compatible with the extended keyboard buffer function provided with Back & Forth. The solution to this problem is turn the keyboard buffer option Off. To do this, return to Back & Forth, press [F2] to activate the pull-down menus, press [S] to open the Setup menu, press [K] to select Keyboard setup, and toggle the keyboard buffer Off by pressing [B]. Lost Mouse Back & Forth uses a textured background character to display Cursor the screen. Sometimes this makes it difficult to see the block mouse cursor. In any case, check the following: * Make sure mouse support has been toggled On within the Miscellaneous Setup menu. It is on when checkmark appears to the left of the Mouse menu entry and when a scroll bar is shown on the screen. To toggle mouse support On, move the selection bar to highlight "Mouse support" in the menu and press [Enter]. * Determine if the mouse cursor is blending into the background of the screen. If this is the case, try setting the background fill character to a space or other innocuous character. * Exit Back & Forth and make sure that the mouse driver is correctly installed and that the mouse works. First try running another program that uses the mouse. If the mouse still does not work, reboot the system and install it again. Consult your mouse manual for more information. * Make sure that your mouse is Microsoft-compatible and that it is in Microsoft mode. Mouse Use in When Back & Forth is used to execute a program that goes into Graphics extended graphics mode, it is necessary for you to position the Programs mouse cursor at the top left-hand corner of the screen before swapping back to Back & Forth. If this is not done, upon returning to the program, moving the mouse may result in "mouse droppings" trailing the mouse as it is moved across the screen. This occurs because the mouse driver used by your mouse does not properly save the mouse settings for extended graphics modes. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 217 ______________________________________________________________________________ Overtime! If you have defined one or more alarms within the Overtime! Alarms Aren't event scheduler but they did not go off when they were supposed Working to, check the following: * Make certain that Overtime! is loaded in memory. To check this, swap back to the Back & Forth main program screen by pressing the B&F hot key (default is [Alt][Ctrl][Space]). If Overtime! is not shown in the Active Program list (the program list in the top half of the screen), then you must run Overtime!. * Enter the program definition window for each of the tasks that you are using and make sure that Overtime! support is set On. If Overtime support is set to No, Overtime! will not interrupt that program. After resetting Overtime! support mode to Yes, you must exit each affected task and reload it so that it is loaded with the updated program information. * Return to Overtime! and check the alarm time and mode has been set properly. First check that the alarm mode is set to either Sound, Message, or Program (depending on its intended action). If it is set Off, it will only provide a message within the Appointment book and will not notify you when the time occurs. Also check the date and time to make certain that it is correct. Remember, 12:00am is midnight whereas 12:00pm is noon. * Make sure that the system time and date is correct. Clock is Many games, especially those by Sierra, speed up the system Running Too clock to fool the program into running faster. When you swap Fast out of one of these programs, the clock will run faster. The only solution is not to swap such a program out without exiting it or live with the faster clock. This is not a Back & Forth problem and, at this time, we do not have a more elegant way to compensate for the other program's shortcomings. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 218 ______________________________________________________________________________ B&F 'Locks Up' Back & Forth has been extensively tested and should provide no trouble to you if it has been properly configured. If you do experience a problem running Back & Forth, check the following: * If using a VGA card, try running Back & Forth using the command line option VIDEO:VGA. This forces Back & Forth into standard VGA mode. * Remove all memory-resident tasks from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Close all open programs, exit Back & Forth, and reboot the system by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Del]. Now run B&F again. If the problem goes away, try replacing the TSRs one by one, until you determine the culprit. Most memory resident programs should be run within B&F. This lets Back & Forth swap the TSR from memory which increases the memory available to all of your programs. This also diminishes the chance of conflicts occurring when running those programs. * If you use BUFFERS /X within CONFIG.SYS, remove the /X. * Increment by 20 the number of files allocated within your CONFIG.SYS. * If the problem still occurs, make a copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS so that you can refer to them later when you are ready to rebuild them. Edit and remove all non-essential statements from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT by typing the word "REM" at the beginning of each line. Any ASCII text editor may be used to change these files, if you do not have one, you can use your word processor if it lets you save files in ASCII format (either in non-document mode or by exporting it in ASCII format). Leave statements that are required by your system, like FILES, BUFFERS, and hard disk drivers. Within the AUTOEXEC.BAT,remove everything except PATH,SET,& PROMPT Reboot your system with the modified CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Del]. Try running Back & Forth within this "clean" environment. You may have to change the Swap drive setup options. If Back & Forth now runs without a hitch, try reinstating the statements, one-by-one to the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Be patient and systematic. Once you find out which program, command, or device driver is causing the problem, first check its manual. It may mention command line switches that may be used to reconfigure it. Try changing the order of the device drivers within the CONFIG.SYS. Strangely enough, this can affect how the drivers interact together and with B&F. Try contacting the developer of the software in question. They may know what your problem is. If all else fails, contact us. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 219 ______________________________________________________________________________ Technical If none of the above suggestions help you solve your problem, Support then contact us by mail, fax, BBS, Compuserve, or phone at the Checklist address listed at the beginning of the manual. When you contact us, please have the following information ready and available. Remember, the longer we stay on the phone with you, the less time we have to write and release new features and products. - The make and model of your computer. - The type and size of all storage devices available, including lower memory, EMS memory, XMS memory, RAM disks, and hard disks. - The video board in use. - The version of DOS that you are using (if you do not know, type VER at the DOS prompt). - The contents of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. - The sequence of events leading up to the problem and the programs in memory at the time the problem occurs. Please include all TSRs, device drivers, disk cache, and EMS management software run before Back & Forth is loaded. - The version of Back & Forth and its serial number. - And the error message (if one is produced) exactly as shown Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 220 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appendix D: Memory Resident Programs Memory resident programs are small applications that remain in memory, ready to be invoked and used at a moment's notice. They encompass such tasks as file maintenance utilities, appointment calendars, calculators, address books, keyboard macro programs, et cetera. Also known as TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs, these utilities are very convenient but may also be equally troublesome, especially if you use more than one. A prime source of irritation often lies in the amount of memory each one occupies. Memory is a precious commodity on personal computers, very few (dare I say none) of us have enough of it to do all that we may wish to. Many programs gladly gobble up all memory available on the system and are still hungry for more. Types of TSRs Memory resident programs may be divided into several different classes: file and system drivers, keyboard enhancers, and accessories. File and systems drivers are usually found within the CONFIG.SYS file and include commands used to set the mode or path and device drivers used to set up and maintain expanded memory, RAM disks, disk caches, mice, print spoolers, etc. These should be loaded before Back & Forth. Keyboard enhancers, like SuperKey and ProKey, are programs that learn and repeat keystroke sequences when activated. These programs may be loaded before or after Back & Forth. Accessories have been created to do almost anything imaginable and include such tasks as DOS command stacks, file maintenance utilities, desktop utilities, calculators, notepads, telephone dialers, etc. These programs should be loaded within a partition. Running a TSR Running memory resident programs within a program partition provides the following benefits: * Frees the maximum amount of memory for the programs that really need it like word processors, desktop publishing packages, databases, spreadsheets, etc. * Reduces the conflicts that occur between TSRs, other programs, and Back & Forth. A common problem is hotkey conflicts, where more than one program uses the same key combination to perform a command. * Minimizes screen conflicts. Many TSR programs do not store and redraw graphics screens correctly. These TSRs either will not pop-back when a graphics screen is shown or will not restore the screen properly. * Removes the programs when desired. Some TSRs do not provide an easy way to remove itself from memory once you no longer need it. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 221 ______________________________________________________________________________ Loading a TSR You can run memory resident programs in several ways. To load a TSR into a partition then go to a DOS prompt (the way a TSR is normally loaded), define a program entry within the Program Setup naming the TSR as the program to be run and setting the "Action when done" to Stay at DOS. To load one or more TSR programs before an application, create a batch file naming the TSR programs and the application program. Use this batch file as the executable program name when defining the program entry within the Program Setup. Finally, you can run any program (including a TSR) from the command line within a DOS partition. Removing a TSR To remove a TSR from memory, exit all programs run after that TSR in that partition, return to Back & Forth, move the selection bar to highlight the task entry containing that TSR, and press [Del]. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 222 ______________________________________________________________________________ Appendix E: Network Installation and Use Network Use Back & Forth has been designed to function on Novell-compatible networks as well as single-user systems. To use Back & Forth on a network, a unique B&F data file must be configured for each user. This file stores the swap area information, the program list, personal color and customization options, etc. Assign each user a unique number. For instance, to run Back & Forth using the fifth user's data file: B&FPRO USER:5 To make Back & Forth easier for the network users to use, we recommend that the network supervisor set up a batch file containing a series of batch statements matching the name of the user with his or her user number. This batch file can then execute Back & Forth and pass it the correct user number. Note Back & Forth supports up to 256 users per file server on networks that use the NETBIOS. When Back & Forth Net is registered, you will receive a security number file that allows multiple users per file server. The executable files and swap areas can be placed in common areas. If multiple users will be using Back & Forth on a network, a special network version must be purchased for each file server. Ordering information can be found within the ORDER.NET file. Setting Up the The Back & Forth configuration file can be created either by Network each individual using Back & Forth or by the network Version supervisor. Once the file is created, each user can customize the settings at any time. Each data file contains the program list, color settings, autoload setup, swap settings, and other program settings. To set up the network version of Back & Forth, follow these steps. Logging On First, log onto the network before running Back & Forth. This provides Back & Forth access to the network. Installing Install the Back & Forth files by following the instructions Back & Forth found in Section 3. Creating the Now run Back & Forth without specifying a user number. This BPVARS Data creates the default BPVARS file, which can later be used to File initialize all other user data files. To run Back & Forth using the default BPVARS file, enter one of the following. The B&FPRO.BAT file sets up, changes directories, and runs Back & Forth using conventional memory. The B&FHIPRO.BAT file runs Back & Forth using high memory, if available. B&FPRO (or) B&FHIPRO When run, the Swap drive setup screen is shown. This is described at the beginning of this section. Back & Forth Professional version 2.0 page 223 ______________________________________________________________________________ Once [F9] is pressed, control is passed to the main Back & Forth screen. You are now ready to set up the general data file used to initialize each new user file. Press [F2] [P] [P] to open the Program setup menu, where tasks should be defined for use. This should include the programs that most (or all) users regularly execute. After this information has been set, exit Back & Forth. Creating the Now re-run Back & Forth using the first user number to be User Data defined. To do this, type one of the following: Files B&FPRO USER:1 (or) B&FHIPRO USER:1 If that user data file has not yet been created, you will be prompted that the file does not exist. The two choices are: "Default values" and "User 0 values". To use the default BPVARS file to initialize its contents, select "User 0 values". Control is then passed to the Swap drive setup, as before. Check the settings shown and change them, if necessary. Each user must have "create file" privilege for each of the swap paths specified. Press [F9] to save these settings to the first user's BPVARS file. Now set up the programs to be made available to the first user, press [F2] and press [P] twice to activate the Program setup option. Other program settings may also be customized within the Setup menu. After you finish setting up the first user's data file, re-run Back & Forth using the next user number to be defined. Continue this process until all user data files have been created. Running Back & Once the data files have been created for each user, you are Forth ready to begin using Back & Forth. To bypass the opening Swap drive setup screen, add the "GO" command line option when running Back & Forth. To do so, type: B&FPRO USER:### GO (or) B&FHIPRO USER:### GO USER=### designates a number between 0 and the number of registered users. If the number is already in use on the network, B&F terminates and shows an appropriate error message. Back & Forth uses the network user number to create a unique swap file for each user. These files are not randomly generated, however. If Back & Forth is abnormally terminated, B&F automatically overwrites the swap files in the next session.