Text Editor is attractively
packaged in a videocassette style
plastic case, but unfortunately
the software inside - from G.
Soft - is not up to the same
standard.
Once the program has loaded,
the user is asked to set the page
width. If no number is entered
this defaults to 80 columns.
Setting page width to 60
columns results in the right-hand
20 columns being shaded.
This is merely a visual
indication of the length of the
line. Any text entered beyond the
end of the line will appear on the
line below on the screen, but will
appear in its true length when
sent to a printer.
It is therefore essential to
press Return at the end of each
line so that each is assigned a
new line number and the printed
text has the same format as that
displayed.
The line length setting causes
havoc with another of the
editor's facilities. By pressing f4
at the start of a new page the
user's address will be printed at
the top of the page.
When using any page width
setting other than 80 columns,
the address will appear disjointed
on the screen and will always
be sent to the printer in 80
column format despite the width
setting of the bulk of the text.
I experienced some difficulty
when attempting to save a page
of text to tape merely through a
lack of user friendliness. When
asked whether I wanted to load
data I could get no response
from the program whenpressing
either Y or N.
I had resorted to listing the
program before realising that the
program was only checking for
an upper case reply. This
problem occurred throughout
the program.
Text can be formatted using
the Centre command, which
moves any text to the centre of
the line, such as for headings,
and the Indent command which
can be used to indent text at the
beginning of a new paragraph.
Indent should not be confused
with TAB - which is not
implemented - as pressing
indent in mid-line will erase the
text at the beginning of the line.
Printer control codes can be
embedded into the text by
enclosing them between square
brackets.
If one disregards the ambiguous
information referring to the
insertion of the user's address,
then the accompanying booklet
is quite good.
There is also no need to make
a note of the function key tasks
as these are displayed in the top
few lines of the screen.
Overall the package - which
costs £9.95 - is a little rough
around the edges. If it was
re-written to implement optional
double spaced printing, a TAB
key, and even a simple search
and replace routine, then it
would be worth consideration as
a text editor for the user who
merely wants to send the
occasional letter and keep a
copy on tape for reference.
1st October 1984
