Introduction

The Acorn User 1988 comilation disc contains 12 of the best programs that appeared in Acorn User during 1988. The 3.5" disc also contains 11 of the most popular Archimedes programs. Within this collection, you will find games, serious applications and a number of useful utilities.

Getting Started 5.25" Disc

The disc is 80 track, double sided so if you have 40/80 switchable drives, please ensure that they are set to 80 tracks. To boot the disc, insert it label side up into drive 0 and press ShiftBreak in the usual manner. The disc will whirr and after a few moments the menu page will be displayed

Getting Started 3.5" Disc

The disc is a 640K (i.e. 'Large') ADFS disc and will work either with a Master Compact or an Archimedes. To boot the disc, insert it label side up into the drive and press Shift-Break in the usual manner. The disc will whirr and after a few moments the appropriate (Compact or Archimedes) menu page will be displayed.

BBC/Master/Compact Menu

The ten main programs are displayed next to the two columns of boxes running down the centre of the screen. Those boxes are initially empty, but after a few moments will contain small icons representing the programs.

Use the cursor keys to select a program, your current selection is indicated graphically in the two boxes next to the title bar at the top of the screen. When you have selected the program you wish to run, press Return to load it. The screen will clear to an enlarged version of the icon and you will be informed that the program is loading. Some of the icons, e.g. Jottings, actually represent a group of programs. In this case selecting the icon will present you with a further menu of the actual programs.

Archimedes Menu

The eleven programs ae displayed in a box in the centre of the scren. To run a program, simply move the mouse to highlight its name and press the left hand mouse button. A brief summary of the program can be displayed by pressing the middle button. The right hand button is used to return to the main menu from a sub menu. If you wish to load a different program, press Ctrl-Break to reset your machine and Shift-Break to re-boot the disc.

The following summary gives a brief description of each program and the issue of Acorn User it appeared in. Please refer to those issues for more detailed instructions.

BBC Program Summary

Joe's Jottings

Crossword generator November 1988
Helps you compile crosswords. Type in a list or words and it will fit them into a grid. Facilities are also provided for clue entry and dumping to the final results to a printer.

Spreadsheet July 1988
An introduction to the wonderful world of spreadsheets. This simple program lets you try out what can and cannot be done with spreadsheets.

Graph Plotter August 1988
This is an addition to Joe's spreadsheet and can produce various graphs and charts from data within a sheet.

Idea Processor October 1988
'Brainstorming' on your micro. Type in ideas or plans as and when you think of them, this program will help you keep then in a manageable state!

AutoRom March 1988
Store your commonly used utilities in ROM within this sideways RAM image. No knowledge of ROM headers or technical details is required. All the convenience of the ROM filing system, but much faster.

Plotter Dump December 1988
Produces high resolution dumps on an ordinary printer. Needs screens saved as a series of MOVE, DRAW and PLOT commands rather than a screen image.

MicroSherlock May 1988
Simple introductions to artificial intelligence. It can deduce answers to questions from a list of facts and statements.

Imagen October 1988
Generate your own adventure games. Does not involve complicated commands, you merely change the 'rooms' as you need them. A sample adventure is provided-type 'start' at the first prompt to load it.

Bezier Curves September 1988 Illustrates the properties of Bezier curves and surfaces. Allows you to join the two points with a smooth curve.

Polyominoes October 1988
Mathematical block game - can you fit all 12 pentominoes into the three cubes provided? Hours of endless fun!

24pin dumps April 1988
Screen dumps for Epson LQ800 compatible printers for Modes 0, 1 and 4.

View Drivers September 1988
Two printer drivers for View. Alows proportional and microspaced output to be produced.

Wizalon January 1988
Amusing arcade-style game. Keep the wizards bouncing on the seesaw and attempt to burst all the balloons.

Archimedes Program Summary

Note that all the above programs (with the exception of AutoRom, Imagen, Wizalon and the 24 Pin dumps) will also function correctly on the Archimedes.

RS232 Transfer February 1988
Provides a quick and easy method for transferring programs between two machines via the RS232 port.

WIMP Demonstration March and September 1988
Three short demonstrations and a full blown application that uses the wimp system provided by Arthur.

Mandelbrots March 1988
Produces the, now infamous, graphics first discovered by Dr. Mandelbrot. Also allows you to zoom in and out.

Life May 1988
Super fast ARM code version of Conway's Game of life. Set up a pattern of cells and see if they survive or die. Inbetweening June 1988 Graphics demonstration. Draw two objects and the Archimedes will then animate between them.

Print Key Dump June 1988
Sets up the 'print' key so it performs a "*HardCopy' command. This allows the screen to be dumped at any point.

Screen compacter August 1988
A Module that provides commands for saving and loading screens into a special compact form so they take up less disc space.

Pointer Editor September 1988
Allows you to redesigh the standard arrow pointer into anything you want. Produces a file that can simply *Run to set this new shape.

File Locator October 1988
ARM code utility to help you locate lost files. Simply type **FIND ' and it will list all files that match the filename given.

PC and ST disc reader November 1988
Allows MS-DOS format discs to be catalogued and read. This is much faster than using PUTFILE and GETFILE under the PC emulator.