🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <612@hubcap.UUCP> philip@hubcap.UUCP (Philip L Harshman) writes:
>I, like most registered Red Ryder users have a subscription to GEnie.
> However, the only use I make of the service is to check the Freesoft
>roundtable for any new or interesting information.  For this reason,
>I log onto GEnie maybe once a month.
>
>I would appreciate it (and I'm sure others would, too) if some of you
>out there in netland who log onto GEnie frequently would inform those
>of us who don't about any new or significant developments on the
>Freesoft roundtable.  The recent posting about the availability of RR
>10.2 was a real help.  I'm not sure how long it would have been
>before I would have discovered it on my own.
>
>Until next time, thanks in advance!


This is the note that goes with 10.3 (for registered owners of 10.0)

Undocumented Commands And New Features
--------------------------------------

1) The buffered keyboard was designed to hold 32,000 characters, but for
	some bizarre reason, I imposed an arbitrary limit of 255 characters.
	This has been fixed and the keyboard buffer can now accept up to
	32,000 characters (should you be so inclined).  Because of this change,
	the following changes should be made to the chapter "The GETPARAM And
	PUTPARAM Procedure Commands".

	Page 141 - Parameter #87 is now unused.
	Parameter #497 holds the high byte of the buffered keyboard right
	margin, and Parameter #498 holds the low byte.

	With such applications as packet radio in mind, it seemed a shame not
	to allow some way to have more than one long line of text in the
	keyboard buffer.  I approached this problem in the following manner.
	As usual, pressing the Return key will send the contents of the
	keyboard buffer.  However, typing Shift-Return will instead put a
	special "carriage return" character in the keyboard buffer, allowing
	you to type multiple lines of text.  The "carriage return" character
	is translated to a true carriage return when the Return key (unshifted)
	is later pressed and the buffer is sent.  At the last minute, I also
	decided that it could be useful to offer a delay between each line
	sent, since some hosts (notably CompuServe), may "squelch" you if it
	detects you sending multiple lines of text shotgun style.  By using
	the Procedure command:
	PUTPARAM 500,1
	a one second delay (you can change this to any number of seconds delay
	you like by changing the "1" in the above example, or to 0 to disable
	this feature) will be enforced after every special "carriage return"
	character is sent.

2) Did some work on the DIAL/REDIAL routines to insure that they would
   work with some modemn previously discluded (notably, Avatex modems). A
   delay can be introduced between each character of the dialing string
   typed through the Procedure command:
   PUTPARAM 590,x
   where 'x' is a number between 0 (meaning no delay) and 255, which is
   the number of 60'ths of a second to delay between each character typed
   to the modem in dialing command.

3) There was a big call to give the option of having the Buffered Keyboard
   back at the bottom of the screen (as in previous versions) rather than
   in the Status Bar area.  To accomplish this, the Procedure Command:
   PUTPARAM 12,1
   should be compiled and executed.  After executing this Procedure, you
   should immediately exit Red Ryder and then re-enter.  To cancel this
   feature, the Procedure Command:
   PUTPARAM 12,0
   should be compiled and executed and things will go back to normal.
   Note that when this feature is implemented, it is at the expense of
   one or more lines of text (depending on the font size in use), and
   that there is no way to turn off the Buffered Keyboard from within
   a Procedure.  Also, the "Write A Procedure For Me" routine will
   no longer supply a "BBAR" command if the Buffered Keyboard is active
   as it shouldn't make assumptions about what environment it will be
   executed in at a later date.

4) New Procedure command added:
   MAKEFILE FILETYPE_EXP,STR_EXP
   Description: This command is used to change the existing file named
   in STR_EXP (it will not create a file and will set the Error Flag
   to "ERROR" if the named file does not exist) to the filetype contained
   in FILETYPE_EXP.  This is useful for giving data files you create their
   own filetype, which can be specified later via a GETSELECT command.
   The USEROPENO and USEROPENA commands use the default filetype "TEXT"
   when creating a new file.  WARNING: Never use the MAKEFILE command
   with an open file - always do a USERCLOSE first!
   
   Example:
   (Create a file called "Foobar")
   USEROPENO 1,Foobar
   (We could write out any data we want in it now, but for now,)
   (we'll just close it.)
   USERCLOSE 1
   (Now change its filetype to "JUNK")
   MAKEFILE JUNK,Foobar

5) New Procedure command added:
   GETVOL STR_VAR
   Description: This command prompts the user to select a volume/path
   via the standard dialog box used with such commands as the "Set
   Auto-Receive Volume" command under the File menu.  The Yes/No flag
   is set to "YES" if the user selects a volume, or "NO" if the user
   instead clicks on the "Cancel" button.  The volume name is returned
   in STR_VAR.  WARNING: The volume name returned does _not_ have a
   trailing colon (if you need it to, simply use a CONCAT command to
   put one there).
   
   Example:
   (Let the user choose where to put the file I'm about to create, which)
   (I'll call "Foobar")
   GETVOL A$
   (Don't do anything if the Cancel button was clicked)
   IF NO END
   (Add the filename to the end of the volume name in A$)
   (Notice the leading colon before the filename)
   CONCAT A$,:Foobar
   (I could now create the file contained in A$)

6) If the Shift key is held down while choosing the Edit menu after
   selecting text, the Copy menu choice becomes "Copy, Then Paste".  This
   means that first the selected text will be copied to the Clipboard,
   and then it will be immediately pasted to the modem.
	
7) Macro key strings have been extended from 40 characters to 240
   characters each.  This, of course, changed the format of both the
   Macro Key and Settings files.  However, Red Ryder 10.3 will read
   both old and new styles, but will write only the new style files.
   What this boils down to is that the Settings files created by 10.0,
   and the Macros Keys files created by 10.0 or 9.4 will not automatically
   start up 10.3 if you double-click on their icons in the Finder.  What
   you need to do is use the "Load Settings Files From Disk" and "Save
   Settings Files To Disk" commands to read in an old style settings
   file and write it back to the disk in the new style format, and the
   equivalent load and save commands for any old style Macro Key Files.	

8) The Auto-receive and Archive paths are now kept in settings files
   so as to remain constant between sessions.  Whenever a settings file
   is loaded (during start ]p or when you use the LOADSET command,
   for instance), these two paths are checked to exist.  If the paths are
   not available, the path is reset to the same volume and folder that
   Red Ryder resides in.

9) New Procedure command added:
   QUERY0 STR_VAR
   Description: QUERY0 (that's a zero on the end) works exactly like the
   QUERY1 command, except that what the user types is echoed back to him
   as asterisks, giving a "secure input mode" for such things as passwords.
   The maximum number of characters that can be typed is 20.
   Example:
   COPYINTO X$,Please type in your password now.
   COPYINTO Y$,Each characters will be shown as an asterisk character
   COPYINTO Z$,for your protection.
   QUERY0 A$
   (A$ now contains his password)

10) After selecting text with the mouse, two additional capabilities have
   been built into the Append To Archive File menu choice.  If the Shift
   key is held down while selecting Append To Archive File, a standard file
   selection dialog box is brought up so that you can choose _any_ existing
   text file to append the selected text to.  If the Option key is held down
   while selecting Append To Archive File, a standard file definition dialog
   box is brought up so that you can create a new text file that the selected
   text will be saved in.

11) The Procedure command GETGLOBAL A%,12 would return in A% the total
   number of seconds represented in the elapsed time clock in the General
   and Macros Status Bars.  If the clock reads 01:20:15, the above example
   would return 4815 seconds.  The GETGLOBAL command is documented, but
   global variable number 12 is not.

12) If the Option key is held down while quitting Red Ryder, a special
   file called *Saved Buffer* is created in the same folder (and disk) as
   Red Ryder.  Red Ryder checks for the existence of this file at startup,
   and if it exists, Red Ryder reinstates the contents of the buffer to its
   exact condition before the last exit.  I found this useful for testing
   purposes (them text selec:ion routines are a _bear_), but it also occurs
   to me that it might be useful for when you need to step out of Red Ryder
   for a moment, but don't want to lose the Saved Screens Buffer.  This only
   works if the current emulation is TTY.
   By using the following Procedure command:

   PUTPARAM 53,1

   the Saved Screens buffer will be automatically saved (and restored the
   next time Red Ryder is executed) without you needing to hold down the
   Option key (and whenever TTY emulation is being used).
 
   The Procedure command:

   PUTPARAM 53,0

   (which is the default) will un-install this buffer saving feature.



13) Support for all control characters with ASCII codes from 0 to 31 is
   now supported when you use the Option key to send control characters (this
   is the default, but can be changed through the dialog box brought up by
   the Keyboard Mapping Preferences choice under the Customize menu).
   To send a CTRL-@ (ASCII code 0), you type Option-Spacebar.
   CTRL-A through CTRL-Z (ASCII codes 1 to 26) you type Option-A through
   Option-Z.  The last 5 codes (27 through 31) are a bit weird.

   CTRL-[ (ASCII code 27 and often mapped as the ESCAPE key) is sent by
   typing Option-[
   CTRL-\ (ASCII code 28) is sent by typing Option-\
   CTRL-] (ASCII code 29) is sent by typing Option-]
   CTRL-^ (ASCII code 30) isugly because the ^ on a Macintosh is actually
   a shifted 6.  Therefore, to keep your fingers from grotesque contortion,
   we'll make it simple.  Just type Option-6.
   CTRL-_ (ASCII code 31) is also ugly because it's a shifted hyphen (-).
   Again, we simplify it.  Just type Option-hyphen.

14) There was something elegant about the way we changed serial port
   settings in previous versions just by clicking on them in the General
   Status Bar.  Elegant to some, ugly and non-intuitive to others.  The
   dialog box that comes up now is gargantuan, and the few seconds it
   takes to appear seems like a lot of overkill just to change the damn
   parity from Full to Half.  I found myself longing for something fast
   and easy, and came up with a way to make keyboard equivalents for the
   serial port settings that get changed the most.  This involves using
   Shift-Option along with a key, so this meant that there would be a tradeoff
   of being able to send some international characters (actually, there are
   only a couple that conflict with my equivalents, but if I didn't make
   this selectable, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone would just
   _have_ to be able to send the conflicting characters).

   To enable these equivalents, you need to put the following Procedure
   command into a text file, and then compile and run it.

   PUTPARAM 51,1

   To disable the equivalents so that the conflicting international
   characters can be sent, the Procedure command:

   PUTPARAM 51,0

   lobotomizes the equivalents so that the original international characters
   are sent.

   The equivalents are:

      KeyPress:              Does:
   --------------     -------------------
   Shift-Option-1     Change to 1200 baud
   Shift-Option-3     Change to 300 baud
   Shift-Option-2     Change to 2400 baud
   Shift-Option-9     Change to 9600 baud
   Shift-Option-7     Change to 7 Databits
   Shift-Option-8     Change to 8 Databits
   Shift-Option-N     Change to No Parity
   Shift-Option-O     Change to Odd Parity
   Shift-Option-E     Change to Even Parity
   Shift-Option-M     Change to Mark Parity
   Shift-Option-S     Change to Space Parity
   Shift-Option-F     Change to Full Duplex
   Shift-Option-H     Change to Half Duplex
   Shift-Option-X     Change to Null Duplex
   Shift-Option-D     Drops the DTR modem line for one second
   Shift-Option-R     Sends a DEL (aka "RUBOUT") character (ASCII code 127)

15) In considering the above, I realized that by using Option-1, Option-2
   and Option-3 to change the active Macro Key set, I was locking out the
   ability to send the international characters A, *, and #.  Therefore,
   the Procedure command:

   PUTPARAM 52,1

   will make Option-1, Option-2, Option-3 send the appropriate international
   characters rather than changing the active Macro Keys set.  The command:

   PUTPARAM 52,0

   will bring back in the Macro Keys changing function.  Since this is the
   default setting when the "Red's 10.3 Stuff" file is created, you won't
   have to do the PUTPARAM 52,0 unless you've explicitly done a PUTPARAM 52,1
   command in the past.

16) To cancel during printing after choosing "Print TEXT File" or "Print
   Selected Text", type a COMMAND-.  (cloverleaf key and period).

17) The MacBinary II standard is now supported in all non-TEXT file
   transfers.  MacBinary II (which can still be understood by programs that
   aren't smart enough to recognize MacBinary II) is used for all non-TEXT
   file sends.  Non-TEXT file receives will determine which version of
   MacBinary the file is using, and report (BINARY) for MacBinary I or
   (BINARY2) for MacBinary II in the first line of text in the file
   transfer window.

18) To make the Enter key on the original Macintosh keyboard (no built-in
   numeric keypad) act as an ESCAPE key, the Procedure command:
   
   PUTPARAM 17,1

   should be used.  To make it act as a LINEFEED key, the Procedure command:

   PUTPARAM 98,1

   should be used.  PUTPARAM 98,1 will override PUTPARAM 17,1 by the way.
   After executing one of these commands, you should immediately exit Red
   Ryder and then start it up again for these to be functional.

19) A "Paste To Modem" command done with 100 characters or less of text
   in the Clipboard will cause those characters to be sent directly through
   the Serial Port.  More than 100 characters will be first saved to a file,
   and then the file will be automatically sent (using the "Send TEXT File"
   command under the File menu) and finally afterwards, the temporary file
   will be deleted.  This means that all 101+ character Pastes will be
   subject to all appropriate settings in the "Text File Transfer Preferences"
   dialog box, as well as whether or not to send linefeed characters after
   carriage returns (as defined in the "Keyboard Preferences" dialog box).

20) 18 and 24 point sizes of the TTY-VT52-VT100 font have been added.

{cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!warp!rock  Bill Petro