Loadstar 23/023.d81/t.ed in chief bo

Text File | 1986-01-01 | 7.2 KB | 489 lines

          EDITOR IN CHIEF
                by
            Ron Coffen


  Every product of your imagination

and labor deserves a personal touch--

even your computer programs.  EDITOR

IN CHIEF makes getting that special

touch easy by allowing you to design

your own character sets or use one of

seven fonts already provided.


A SPECIAL FONT PRIMER...

  A font is the set of characters

used to form the words and symbols

that your programs print out across

the screen while your program is

running.  For example, these words

themselves are formed from characters

with a particular font design.


  Why would you want to change fonts?

Well, one of the biggest reasons is

that changing fonts from the standard

Commodore font can give your program

the variety and polish it would

otherwise lack.


  Another reason you would want to

change fonts is that some fonts can

add a whole new atmosphere and

cultural flavor to your programs.


  For example, if you were writing an

adventure game set in King Arthur's

time, a Celtic design for your

letters would be a nice touch for

your program.  An adventure set in

the future would benefit from a

high-tech, futuristic font.


  Another benefit of being able to

design your own characters is that

you can take a character, alter it,

and then let it stand as a symbol for

an artifact or character in an

adventure game such as a treasure

or a monster.  Also, a character

editor like EDITOR IN CHIEF is

essential if you need to create

special symbols like musical notes.


  As you can see, EDITOR IN CHIEF can

add a whole new dimension to your

programs.


  To make use of EDITOR IN CHIEF in

your programs, you must first store

the file containing the font you will

be using.  Then adding the code--

listed at the bottom of these

instuctions-- to the beginning of

your program will let you access that

font.  After this, any text printed

to the screen will appear in the new

font.


USING EDITOR IN CHIEF

  When running this program, you will

first be asked if you wish to clear

the character set currently in

memory.  If you are using the program

for the first time or after having

turned the power off, you need to

answer (Y)es.  But if you are

returning to your work when the

computer has not been turned off,

pressing (N)o will reveal the

character set you were working on.


  After you have responded to this

question, the computer then sets up

the main program.  At the bottom

right of the screen, you will see the

character set you are editing.  In

the upper right of the screen are

sixteen representations of the

character you are editing at that

moment.  (The program starts with

"A").


  In the top left corner is the

editing grid where you make changes

to each character.  Again, you will

see that a large "A" is the starting

point.


  Below the editing grid is a list of

your seven options:

1. Edit Character

2. Get Normal Font

3. Move Characters

4. Load Font

5. Save Font

6. Print Values

7. Hard Copy of Values

8. Return to Loadstar

Pressing the corresponding number

chooses the option.


  Note that pressing F1 or F7 will

change the screen color.  And the

"REPEAT ON/OFF" sign found in the

middle of the screen lets you perform

an editing function such as rotation

repeatedly merely by pressing the

correct key repeatedly if this option

is activated.  If the "ON" sign is in

a lighter color than the rest of the

screen, the function is activated.

To turn this option on and off,

merely press "R".


EDIT CHARACTER

  After you select this option, you

are prompted to enter either the

ASCII value for the character you want

or the character itself.  For

example, entering either a "1" or an

"A" will let you edit the first

letter of the alphabet.


  The character you select is

displayed in an enlarged form over

the editing grid.  At the upper left

corner of the grid is a flashing

cursor that is moved with the cursor

keys.


  Pressing "=" sets the pixel under

the cursor; pressing the SPACE BAR

will clear the pixel under the

cursor.  By filling in or clearing

the blocks of the grid, you can alter

the character almost any way you like.

Once you have the character like you

want it, pressing RETURN will make

that change in the character set.


  Commands used to manipulate the

editing grid are listed below the

grid and largely self-explanatory:

1. Cursor keys move cursor

2. F1/F7 raises/lowers screen color

3. "=" sets pixel under cursor

4. SPACE BAR clears pixel under
   cursor

5. "@" rotates grid clockwise

6. SHIFT + "@" rotates grid
   counter-clockwise

7. "M" mirrors grid

8. "I" inverses grid

9. U/N moves the grid up/down

10. RETURN makes changes

11. "C" cancels changes

12. CLR clears grid


GET NORMAL FONT

  The second option lets you replace

part of your character set with a

normal font.  Entering the ASCII

values of the beginning and ending

characters of the string will replace

it with a block of characters in

normal font.


MOVE CHARACTERS

  This option moves strings of

characters to other positions within

the character set.  Again you must

specify the ASCII values of the

beginning and ending characters of

the string as well as the the value

of where you want to place the

string.


  This option is primarily a copy

option that lets you save a number of

symbols close together in the

character set.  This option is

especially valuable when you are

dealing with symbols like musical

notes that are very much, but not

quite alike.  Sometimes a

side-by-side comparison is necessary

to discern the difference between

symbols under these circumstances.


LOAD FONT

  This option will load your own

fonts or one of seven fonts already

provided.  The seven fonts are stored

as FONT0, FONT1, FONT2, etc.  Type in

the filename and press RETURN to load

the desired file.


SAVE FONT

  This option saves the font you

presently have in memory so that you

can modify it later or use it in your

own programs.  If you save it under

a filename that is already on the

disk, the old file will be removed

and replaced with the new font.


PRINT VALUES

  This option displays the grid

pattern and the decimal values of a

series of characters.  When you

select this option, you are prompted

for the ASCII values of the beginning

and ending characters of the string

you wish to view.


  The grid pattern along with the

decimal values of each letter is

displayed.  Pressing RETURN sends you

to the next letter.


HARDCOPY OF VALUES

  The last option will dump the

decimal values of the selected

characters to your printer with a

device number of 4 and a secondary

address of 4.


TO USE FONTS IN YOUR OWN PROGRAMS...

  To use the fonts created with

EDITOR IN CHIEF in your own programs,

use the following lines at the

beginning of your program:

5 IF ML=1 THEN ML=0:GOTO 15

10 POKE56334,PEEK(56334)OR1:

   POKE53272,(PEEK(53272)AND240)+12

12 ML=1:LOAD"font name",8,1

15 rest of program here

After this code is added to your

program and after you have saved the

file containing the font you wish to

use on your disk, any text printed to

the screen will appear in your new

font.

FILES REQUIRED:

ED IN CHIEF BOOT

EDITOR IN CHIEF

FONT0 ... FONT6

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