Apple // Tips 'N Bits
By Grant Kwai
Copyright (c) 1991 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
* To avoid wasting disk space under DOS 3.3, if you are saving a smaller file on top of an existing, larger file (i.e. of the same filename), then DOS does not free up the extra sectors. To fix this up, delete the old file first. ProDOS is more professional and fixes this problem up itself.
* Instead of typing something like VTAB 20: HTAB 1, use VTAB 18:PRINT:PRINT. It will save you one byte.
* You can not delete a ProDOS subdirectory without first deleting all the files held within it.
* Keep your disks away from magnetic interference as this can erase your data on your disk.
* Try and keep a few spare formatted DOS 3.3 and ProDOS disks handy. One day you might need it in a program to save your data but the program has no option to format a disk.
* Cover your computer to keep dust out of it. Dust is a major cause of computer failure. You can buy special dust covers for your Apple and printer. (I have both)
* Look after your Apple // and clean it every month or so with special cleaning sprays. Good computer supply shops should sell such a product. You will be surprised how new your computer looks minus all the dirt and grime.
* If you have many cards inside your Apple, do your computer a favour and buy it a cooling fan. Large ram cards and hard drives produce quite a bit of heat.
* If you are removing cards from inside your computer, or inserting one in, ALWAYS make sure the computer and monitor are turned off first, then ground yourself by touching the computer's power supply with your fingers. Pulling plugs, inserting/removing cards is the easiest way of forking out money to pay for the repair bills.
* If you haven't run any programs since quiting the Dos 3.3 FID program, you can re-enter it without loading the program again from disk by either entering the monitor (CALL -151) then typing 803G. Alternatively, type CALL 2051.
* Under ProDOS, you can see where a file starts in memory and the file length in bytes from the 80 column CATALOG command. This is handy for BSAVEing a particular file.
* You can start any executable program under PRODOS by using the "-filename" command. i.e. type a hyphen then the filename. This works for basic, binary, text, system files etc.
* In Appleworks, if you want to incorporate an Appleworks menu screen on a printed article, insert a page pause in the word processor article. Print out the document then when the pause command is reached by the printer, hit ESCape, get to the menu required then press Open-Apple-H(ardcopy). Then resume the printout start at page number (#) command. Alternatively, buy a program like macrotools (from Beagle Bros) which can do screen shots.
* To implement mousetext characters, make sure the 80 column firmware is active (the cursor is an inverse block), and type 'PRINT CHR$(15);CHR$(27) to turn them on, and 'PRINT CHR$(14);CHR$(27) to turn it back off. [Note: you need to have an enhanced //e, //c or a IIgs to display mousetext characters.]
* If your mouse still doesn't function as it used to after doing the normal cleaning routines, take the mouseball out, and with your fingernails, remove any grime from the three mouse cavities. Put the mouseball back in and see if things have improved.
* On a IIgs, you can change the cursor type by typing at the DOS prompt "<Ctrl>-^" The next key that you press will be the new cursor.
* Under ProDOS, typing BSAVE filename, will save the filename under the same address and length as the original file.
* On a //c, toggle the button with a pen on the top of the machine to switch the keyboard from the QWERTY style to DVORAK. On a IIgs, use the Control Panel ("Options" on ROM-01, "Keyboard" on ROM-03) to select the DVORAK keyboard.
* You can make your computer pause by using, FOR X =1 TO 1000:NEXT X This will make your computer count to 1000, approximately 1 second. This is good if you want to freeze the screen for a while.
* SAVE your files with progressive filenames. e.g. GAME1,GAME2 etc. That way, if you make a fatal mistake in your latest rewrite, you can always go back to a previous version.
* Did you know that Integer Basic is slightly faster than Applesoft? Why not test it out for yourself by making your apple count to some reasonably high number (e.g. 30000) and time it with a stop watch.
* If you are using a specific, hard to remember number (e.g. -16363) in a program frequently, set a variable to that number, say X. That way, you will only have to type PEEK X, POKE X+1 etc.
* You can double the storage space on your 5.25" disks by buying a disk doubler and notching the other side of your disk. If you are really desperate, you could possibly use a hole punch, but I don't recommend this. By doubling the disk, you know can use both sides of the disk.
* Did you know that ProDOS never uses a two block file? It either uses 1 block or 3 blocks or greater. The only exception is directories.
* The smallest DOS 3.3 file is 2 sectors long. As always, there is an exception. An empty text file can be 1 sector long.
* If you type PR#1 with no printer attached (or it is not on), your Apple II, II+ or //e will hang (i.e. freeze). You will need to press <Ctrl>-<reset> to get back into DOS. This doesn't happen on a //c (at least when there is no printer attached anyway), as the built in firmware default with accept anything that gets sent to it.
* For some GS super hi-res desktop application programs you can access the first item of the first pull-down menu (upper-left) without using the mouse simply by pressing <Open Apple> + <Ctrl>-2.
* When one of those new super-hi-res-graphics programs for the GS crashes, type <Ctrl>-T and press Return. Doing so usually causes the text screen to be displayed. You will see the address of the crash, the last instruction executed, and the contents of all the 65816 microprocessor's registers.
* You can access any slot in your computer by typing PR#n, where 'n' is the slot number required.
* If your IIgs screen is all squashed up on the top, try this: Use <Option>-<Ctrl>-<reset>. When you get into the machine reset menu, select '2' for a 60 hertz screen (Australian standard). Option '3' sets the system to 50 hertz which most likely caused the problem.
* Use <Ctrl>-<Open Apple>-<reset> if you want to reboot your Apple //. Switching the power supply on and off extensively can wear out the switch.
* If you do turn your machine off at the switch and end up wanting to use the machine again, wait several seconds first before turning the machine back on. This makes sure than any fragments of current heading out of your computer are not suddenly bombarded with current going in, causing a head-on collision which can cause damage.
* You can use the GOSUB command as a direct keyboard command. This is an easy way to try out your subroutines.
* Never write on a disk label with a pencil or ball point pen. This can damage the disk. Use a soft felt tip pen.
Stay tuned for even more tips next month........

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