Date : Mon, 18 Apr 1983 22:53:00 EST
From : Frank J. Wancho <FJW@mit-mc.arpa>
Subject: Perfect Writer bugs==> Plu*Perfect Writer enhancements
This is for those of you using Perfect Writer on KayPro-IIs (and other
machines, I suspect), from a message I recently received:
We set out to swat one bug, found a whole nest, and decided that
the useful thing to do was upgrade the Perfect Writer editor itself for
the KayProII. The patches are intricate and incorporate a host of new
features. Here's a summary:
Bugs corrected in KayPro-II version 1.03 Perfect Writer:
- delete sentence (Escape K) [fatal if last sentence not terminated
by end-of-sentence token].
- help (Escape ?) with missing help file [fatal].
- report status (Control-X =) [line number incorrect].
- reverse incremental search (Control-R) [failed for single
character searches].
- up-arrow, down-arrow [failed in view mode]
- delete line forward (Control-C) [modified document in view mode]
Plu*Perfect Writer enhancements:
- Automatic motor shutoff after reading/writing/swapping.
- Automatic disk reset.
- Variable swap file size.
- User-definable keypad/arrow keys send ANY Perfect Writer commands.
- Single-keystroke toggle of insert/overtype mode.
- List directory and free space.
- Reset disks.
- Toggle between numeric keypad and enhanced command keypad mode.
- Settable default margins, tab spacing, and mode.
- Split line and indent.
- Reverse Line Scroll.
A disk for the KayPro-II with these enhancements and all bug corrections
is available, complete with extensive documentation, from
PluPerfect Systems
Box 1494
Idyllwild CA 92349
Included are automatic patches for Perfect Writer, the swap file, and
the BDOS, and a utility to configure the swap file. Also, the CCP is
replaced with a ZCPR-like command processor that features an enhanced TYPE
command with forward and reverse page and line modes.
The price is $25 (plus sales tax for California residents).
-----**********-----
Users who want to install a minimal protective patch can avoid the two fatal
bugs by putting a RETurn instruction at the addresses of the Delete-Sentence
and Help commands. The following addresses are from PW.SYM for the
KayProII PW version 1.03:
MHELP 4597 hex
MDELSENT 50B5 hex
- USE DDT to read in PW.COM
- assemble a RET at the two addresses
- exit DDT and SAVE 136 PW.COM
This is, of course, just a patch around the problem, not a solution, but
it does prevent losing text. The PluPerfect Systems disk corrects the bugs
so that the commands do function correctly.