You don't need 16 bits for word processing. Rob Anthony
explains how you can get all you need from an Atari 8 bit system.
better than the Amstrad?
Few people, it seems, realise quite how powerful Atari 8 bit
computers are when it comes to word processing. They are,
potentially, even better than the Amstrad word processor, as that
machine can only handle one printer. The Atari system has the
ability to address documents to any of 8 printers, which can all be
turned on and waiting. I have 3 on-line at any one time, they are
the 1027, the 1029 and the XMM801. When using Basic or SpeedScript
(from Compute!) I can address my documents or listings simply by
using either "P5:" for the 1027, "P6:" for the 1029 or "P7:" for the
XMM801 (incidentally, this trick doesn't work with the older 400/800
models, but the 850 interface does support the facility, showing
Atari's forethought). The 850 interface responds to "P1:", so it can
be used for a third party printer using the serial or centronics
ports.
This versatility could be very useful but,
unfortunately, very few word processing programs recognise the
facility. This is possibly due to the fact that the 400/800 models
were restricted, although it could be due to the fact that few third
party printers use the same control codes for their various
functions. All the Atari printers however either use or ignore the
same codes, so I can see no reason why future programs should not be
designed to include the feature.
Another feature lacking on most word processors is
the International Character Set (ICS). I do not understand why it is
not included as standard on all word processing programs. In fact I
know of only one, SuperScript, which does support the ICS although
SpeedScript can be modified (my version has been changed to not only
do this, but also to use the 130XE Ramdisk, enabling me to hold
several document files in memory at once). Anyway, let's start at
the beginning.
WHAT IS A WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM?
Quite simply it is a program which will allow you
to use a computer to create, edit and print text in a more flexible
fashion then a normal typewriter. It enables you to create a
document which can be changed as often as you like. It will also
allow you to store that document on some form of recording media so
that you can recall the document at a later date and edit it still
further.
A good word processing program will allow you to
chain document files together, allowing you to write the 'Great
British Novel' and print it all out in one go. This is achieved in
one of two ways. AtariWriter, for example, prints the first file
very quickly, but then loads from any chained files one buffer full
at a time, keeping the disk drive active. Others print the first
file, then erase it and load the next file in total. This second
method is much better as it allows you to spread your document over
several disks, but you do have to be vigilant otherwise the program
will stop printing with an error if it can't find the next file in
the chain!
Most programs will automatically number the pages
for you, at your request, and will also allow you to put headers or
footers (which can include the automatic page number facility) on
each page, containing any text you might want repeated there. You
can also ask them to start the page numbering from anywhere, or even
ask them to start with any number you choose.
Another facility which is pretty vital is the
ability to give you a preview of the printed document on the screen.
This is a very definite requirement in my case, I simply do not have
the time to wait for a printer to finish printing a page and I
usually have to tidy up the output so that I don't end up with
headings on one page and relevant paragraphs on another. Another
reason for this facility is that most programs insert a character in
the text (several in some cases) to represent such facilities as
underlining and bold print etc. If you are trying to tabulate your
text under column headings then you will have to make allowances for
these characters, which are not printed on paper. The only way to do
this without a preview would be to count the number of extra
characters on the screen and subtract that number of extra
characters from the position of the columns. The best way to check
you have done it correctly is to immediately preview the page you
are working on.
If your program can't centre text automatically,
then you will have to do some mathematics to work out how many
spaces you need before the text you want centering, so if the
program can do this for you, it can save you quite a bit of time.
Almost every word processing program can
right-justify your text, so that the left and right margins are
equal. This involves putting extra spaces between some of the words
to space them out a little better. To do this yourself would be very
tedious, and most people wouldn't bother.
All word processing programs come with some sort
of manual. Some of these are better than others, but they usually
explain what the program can do, and how to do it, with a reasonable
degree of clarity. Some of these manuals are paperback, small and
difficult to hold open when you are trying to type a document,
others are spiral bound, which is much better. The AtariWriter
manual is stored on the flip side of the diskette, which is one idea
that could save manufacturers a fortune in printing. It also allows
you to print the manual in any way you prefer. You could even edit
it to clarify some of the more obscure points.
Word processing programs are, necessarily, very
sophisticated and because of this there are good and bad programs,
but they are all useful, even if all you want to do is write to
friends and relatives.
Some word processing programs will also allow you
to change the type of printer you want your document to be printed
on, allowing for a greater variation in print styles. I find this
facility most important as I run a word processing service, using
the Atari system exclusively, and the ability to change printers
means I can offer my customers a draft quality printout, which they
can then change if they wish and return to me for editing and
printing in final, letter quality, form later.
WHAT IS A PRINTER DRIVER?
This is a part of the word processing program,
usually stored and loaded separately. The program uses this as a
sort of template to enable it to use a printer of your choice. Some
are more superior than others in this respect, as a number of the
less powerful programs store a selection of printer configurations
within the main body of the program, which limits the scope of the
program and also takes up room in the computers memory, reducing the
amount of text you can edit in any one document.
Some programs come with a method of creating your
own printer driver, which allows you to add more printers to its
repertoire. If you want to create your own driver then you will have
to have the printers manual close to hand. The PaperClip printer
drivers are very sophisticated, allowing you include such fanciful
things as microspacing. It does this so you can include pictures and
other goodies in your documents. This does mean you will have to
read and understand your printers manual quite well, but if you
belong to an Atari user group you will usually find someone who
knows all about printers and they will be able to help you. If you
use the same word processing program they may even be able to supply
you with a custom made driver.
THE PROGRAMS
There are, or have been, numerous word processing
programs on the market and therefore I can only mention a few of my
particular favourites.
SpeedScript first appeared in Compute!
magazine a couple of years ago, but its success prompted them to
release it in book form (a disk is available direct from Compute!)
which requires you to type it out, using their successful MLX
program, which is also printed in the book. The book also contains
the source code, which will be of interest to machine language
programmers. Since publishing the book, Compute! have continued to
support the program with the publication of a character set editor
and support program, which allows you to design your own character
set. I have changed mine to include
the ICS and other characters which are available on Atari printers,
including the arrow keys. This program is extremely flexible, it
allows you to print to any device, including the screen, editor,
disk and cassette recorder. Its files are DOS 2/'2.5 compatible so
most other programs can load them. Its downfall is that it can't
right-justify text, which is quite a serious omission. Also it can't
scroll the text, so checking where to put new page markers can be a
little tedious.
AtariWriter has a few problems, the
program (at least the early versions) doesn't support the ICS, but
there are various tricks, which involve embedding control characters
in the text, that will at least allow you to print the characters.
You can't have more than one printer on line at any one time but,
with AtariWriter Plus, you have a good range of printers to select
from. Commercially produced drivers are available, which help
increase the scope of the program. AtariWriter has a host of
features built in, but nothing you shouldn't expect from a good word
processor.
HomeWord is another word processing
program which cannot readily access the ICS, although you can insert
ASCII characters anywhere in the text. An unusual program this as it
uses icons on the bottom half of the screen to access the various
functions. When entering text a graphic description of the page you
are on is illustrated in the bottom right hand corner. This is very
helpful, but even more helpful is the preview facility. It is the
only program I have come across which allows you to preview a
document in 80 columns, all on screen at once. To achieve this it
uses a tiny, half size, character set, which is quite readable even
on a colour T.V., a major plus point this. Unfortunately it does not
appear to have a very good selection of printer drivers although
this, again, may be due to the fact that I have an early version. I
like this program, even though the files are not standard DOS. I
strongly recommend 2 or more drives (maybe newer versions will allow
use of the Ramdisk) as all the major functions are stored on the
HomeWord master disk. This too I approve of as it allows the
programmer to pack sophistication into a relatively small amount of
memory, although it does mean extra wear and tear on the disk, which
is copy protected. It may surprise you to learn that most commercial
programs in the business world are made up of separately loadable
subroutines, even though it can slow down the operation of a
particular application. Perhaps the programmers of Home Word would
like to take up my earlier suggestions as this program has great
potential.
Two
of the best programs
PaperClip is probably the most
sophisticated word processor you will find, and if you don't intend
to prepare any foreign letters, or write about money then I can tell
you this is the program for you. The files are standard DOS
compatible. They have managed to achieve this by insisting you plug
in a 'dongle', which sits in a joystick port. This also gives you
the advantage of being able to back-up the entire master disk, store
it away in a safe place and work from the back-up - very
commendable. One particular feature which stands out, is that it has
the facility to take a file from disk and print this absolutely as
is, including all, if any, control characters. When that has
finished it will continue to print the current document. This is
terrific if you have a spread sheet file you want to include, or
even a koala graphics picture. Included on the disk are 25 different
printer drivers, and there are also lots of other little goodies,
like a separate, stand alone, screen dump program, which takes
advantage of the sophisticated printer drivers. There's also an
AtariWriter to PaperClip conversion program and a program which will
help you create a printer driver to suit your own printer in the
unlikely event that one isn't there already. Probably the best
program on the market at the moment, but it's a shame about the
missing ICS. Newer versions also support the extra memory of the
130XE.
SuperScript is my current favourite. It
handles the ICS as though it were second nature, the characters are
included in its own character set, so when you want a '£' sign you
get it on the screen. It comes with a spelling checker, a must in my
business, and, like PaperClip, it can do simple math for you. My
version has 11 printer drivers. To help you create new ones you can
load one as a text file and edit it with the word processing program
itself. When editing text the program uses menus at the top of the
screen to help you insert printer commands, such as underlining, and
access the various functions of the program itself, like search and
replace. You can by-pass the menu by using the first letter of each
command, or by assigning keys to do a selection of previously
defined keystrokes. The program will automatically load the printer
driver of your choice if this is named 'DEFAULTS' on a new disk. The
files are fully DOS 2/2.5 compatible, so you should have no problem
if you want to use its files on other DOS compatible programs. I
personally find this program to be the best for my purposes, and
this article was written using it.
THE ATARI PRINTERS
As I mentioned earlier the Atari XL/XE range of
home computers are the only ones which can support a battery of
printers. Although they can't output to them all at the same time,
you can address your document or listing to any one of your choice.
Again, there are limitations. You can't change the address of a
printer as you can with a disk drive, by moving a switch on the rear
of the device, but you can connect, say, 3 different Atari models
and, by using the 850 interface, 1 third party model of your choice.
I think here would be a good place to discuss some tips which will
help you get the best from your Atari printers.
The Atari 1027 is the current Atari letter quality
printer, although SuperScript has a printer driver for an XDM121,
which I presume Atari will release in the future, probably when the
current stocks of 1027 are depleted. Remember the XMM801 suddenly
appeared on the market without any advanced warning or advertising
whatsoever (and then suddenly disappeared! Ed.).
To get the best from my 1027 I use a left margin
of 7 and a right margin of 67. This allows me to insert A4 paper
flush with the left edge of the paper guide. If you don't do this
the paper will swivel, making the print slant down the page, giving
a greater gap at the bottom right of the page, than at the bottom
left! The 1027 does not support bold, enlarged, condensed or sub and
superscripted characters, nor will it double strike. It does support
the ICS, but does not have an alternative font, although I can see
no reason why a replacement font could not be manufactured as the
print head roller is held on by 2 tiny Philips screws. I suspect,
however, that potential sales of such a replacement would be to
small to warrant manufacture. Although the 1027 doesn't support
these extra facilities, it will ignore any commands it receives from
the computer requesting these facilities, so it is possible to use
the XMM801 or 1029 printer drivers without fear of the machine going
into spasms. It is not possible to load more than 1 sheet of paper
at a time into the 1027 as it strikes the paper from behind, forcing
it against the relevant character on the roller. To enable it to run
a little faster it will print bi-directionally, but it isn't logic
seeking. A line of text is exactly half a centimetre deep, so it's
possible to measure any gaps in your text to enable you to insert
charts or photographs, simply by counting the number of RETURN's you
need to type. I also recommend a few bottles of Rexel ENM ink, which
you can use to replenish the roller.
The Atari 1029 printer is very definitely a dot
matrix, low quality, printer. I use it only for screen dumps and
free draft quality printouts. My customers complain that it is
difficult to make out certain characters sometimes, and it does
require it's own printer driver. It supports elongated text and the
ICS. In its favour it is quite fast and because it has a tractor
paper drive it can be left alone to print a document without
intervention. I can't give you much in the way of tips, except that
you can get ribbons quite cheaply from Boots, although I think there
is less ribbon inside them then the standard ones. The ribbons don't
last very long, so it is a good idea to get them re-inked, and there
are one or two services advertising this at a third of the cost of a
new ribbon.
The XMM801 is, without doubt, the best all round
performer in the Atari range. Based on the Epson range of printers,
it supports all the normal facilities. It can print in expanded and
condensed styles, and can even combine the two to give a slightly
larger than normal font. It supports microspacing and proportionally
sized characters and has two independent fonts - Pica & Elite. It
has an alarm buzzer, which can be sounded by sending the proper
character. It is potentially better at doing screen dumps then the
1029, but I haven't been able to work this out yet. If you buy the
ST version of this printer, you could connect it via an interface
and have access to italics and a few other little bits and pieces.
If you want a good all-rounder then this is the printer to get, but
if you want to do serious word processing I would suggest you get a
decent letter quality job as well. Don't use a fabric or nylon
ribbon replacement, the first time I tried it, at the request of my
dealers as they had no carbon ribbons in stock, it jammed the print
head. The printer was immediately replaced.
A third party printer might be better?
CONCLUSIONS
I have not found a better home computer for word
processing than the Atari XL/XE range. The unique
input output structure of the operating system makes them enormously
flexible. That same input/output architecture ensures that you have
tremendous graphics facilities as well.
If you already own an Atari computer, but are
thinking about buying a separate machine, then don't. By careful
selection of printers and programs you can do word processing,
commercially, at home or in the office more than satisfactorily. As
most programs allow you to include files from other applications you
have great flexibility. Remember that your Atari computer has
literally thousands of programs available, and a lot of these are
fully professional business programs. Select a good retailer and you
will have no problems for many years to come.
Atari computers do not become redundant. Atari has
a policy of upward compatibility in its 8 bit range, so a computer
bought today will still run, with only 1 or 2 exceptions, all the
software written for the original 400/800 machines. No other
manufacturer can make this claim, although a few are now beginning
to catch on.
In America hard disk drives are now available, and
I can see at least one or two crossing the great divide. Certainly,
if they are cheap enough, I will buy one.
Another thing to bear in mind is cost. At the time
of writing, the 130XE costs just £130, the disk drive another £130.
The Atari 1027 will also cost you £130, but Silica Shop will sell
you a package for £349. Add, say, the XMM801 at £175 and you could
have a two printer set up for less than £525. The 800XL computer
disk package is still available from a few Currys/Dixons shops for
under £120, so you see you could get a working system much more
cheaply. A very good value third party printer to look for is the
Quendata DWP 1120 (available from Twillstar), which has a standard
centronics port and optional tractor; single sheet feeder for only
£169, add an interface and your finished print quality will be
outstanding.
If you want to get into the business of word
processing then remember that the finished print quality decides how
well you do, presentation is the all important factor. Most
customers couldn't care less what you do it on, but do care what
their document looks like.
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