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-
- M A G I C 1 2 8 VERSION 2.02
-
- by e. g. bell
-
-
- Say, didn't e. g. bell write those stories about the cockroach who
- wrote poetry by jumping on the keys? Or was that e. e. cummings? In any
- case (as long as it's lower) LOADSTAR is proud to present one of the most
- sophisticated, useful programs ever written for the C-128. MAGIC 128
- started off to be a directory editor and just sort of grew from the mind of
- ed bell. He's put a little of everything in it, and it's all good.
-
- It does so much more than edit directories, but even if that were all
- it did, it would be a great program. ed's docs, which I left alone because
- they say it all, can be printed out on 14 sheets of fan-fold paper. I
- highly recommend you do this because there are numerous features to MAGIC
- 128 and I'm only going to touch on them here.
-
- Here's how to print the docs. First, run the program either from
- LOADSTAR 128 (by pressing R from this text file) or from the direct mode by
- entering RUN"MAGIC 128 BOOT". The first thing you'll see (after our
- copyright notice) is the first of many HELP screens. To cycle through all
- eight of them just keep pressing HELP. To get to the work screen, press any
- other key besides HELP. The work screen looks sort of blank except for a
- bunch of info on the bottom two lines. The info will be explained in the
- docs. The key to press is R.
-
- R will Read the directory of the disk in the current drive and list it
- on the screen in up to four columns, as needed. Then move the cursor to
- "magic docs" and press G for Grab. This is how you select a file. Next,
- press CTRL-E for examine file. "Examine" is a powerful command that you'll
- find very handy. Then you're asked to choose S or P (for screen or printer)
- with S being the default. You may want to look at it on screen first. If
- so, press RETURN. If you want to send the docs to the printer, enter P and
- press RETURN. Next you'll be prompted for what type of file it is, BASIC,
- True ASCII, Screencode, or PetASCII, which is the default. The docs file
- (which is 161 blocks long!) is a PetASCII file so just press RETURN and
- "magic docs" will be loaded and displayed on the screen, waiting for a
- keypress after each page. Press STOP to halt the reading. If you've chosen
- P for printer, make sure your printer is on line and the print head is right
- at a perforation. The fourteen pages will be printed out, complete with
- page numbers, contents and an index.
-
- So here it is in a nutshell.
-
- RUN"MAGIC 128 BOOT"
- Press R for "Read directory".
- Move cursor to "magic docs".
- Press G for "Grab".
- Get your printer ready.
- Press RETURN on the P prompt for "printer".
- Press RETURN again on the P prompt for "Pet ASCII".
- Watch the docs being printed.
- Read the docs.
- Be thankful for master programmers like e. g. bell.
-
- The HELP screens are available to you at any time in the program by
- pressing HELP. They are best used for reminders, although they are quite
- in-depth. The printed docs explain everything in much more detail. Please
- read it all and keep it for future reference.
-
- MAGIC 128 2.02 can be used for many things but it's mainly for keeping
- your disks organized, especially if you're using a 1581 or CMD hard drive
- where there may be hundreds of files in a directory. Organizing 200+ files
- could be a nightmare without MAGIC 128. To use with RAMLink, RAMDrive or a
- CMD Hard Drive, you must be working in a 1541, 1571 or 1581 partition. If
- you are using RAMLink and a Hard Drive, you must disable the parallel
- connection by sending an @p0 command before booting MAGIC 128.
- Subdirectories are supported by MAGIC 128, but read the docs before writing
- to them.
-
- I could go on blabbing about the power of this program but everything
- is in the docs. ed recommends that you practice with it on a backed up disk
- with plenty of files. Since you have the ability to scratch, format,
- rename, write, sort, rearrange, block move and more, you can really mess up
- a disk. Don't let this scare you, though; it's a logical program and once
- you learn some of its power, you'll be using it for all of your disk
- organization.
-
- e. g. bell is a well-known 128 and 64 programmer on the boards. I'm
- looking forward to seeing more of his programs on LOADSTAR in the future.
- Try MAGIC 128 and you will, too. ed has consented to our publishing his
- address so that you can write directly to him about MAGIC 128. Please send
- a self-addressed, stamped envelope when you write him. His address:
-
- e. g. bell
- 125 Wilson Drive
- Pittsburgh PA 15235
-
- FT
-
- **** R - Run RETURN - Menu ****
-