SKYWRITER Version 1.O COPYRIGHT 1991 James J. Keene, Ph.D.

 >>>> SKYWRITER USER'S GUIDE

 ---- CREATE SkyWriter Document

   To run a SKYWRITER program (a program written in the SKYWRITER language),
start with the SOS (SkyWriter Office System) Main Menu which should appear
when you start your computer, and type "C", which is the Create SkyWriter
Document option.

   NOTE: Herein, commands that you type will be put in quotes, for example,
"C".  For single keystroke commands and some others, the computer will
respond immediately without need to press the "Enter" key.
   If "Enter" is required, the instructions on the screen will say that, and
you can correct any typing errors before pressing "Enter".
   Often, if a command is incorrect the prompt will return to repeat it.
Another general rule is that pressing "Enter" without typing a file name or
extension will cause the system to return to the Main Menu.
   In DOS, you may be accustomed to enter file name and extension separated
by a "."; but in the SOS programs you are asked for various reasons of
convenience to enter file names and extensions separately.

      OPERATING THE SKYWRITER
      (Create Skywriter Document)

1. English or Spanish prompt:  type "E" or "e" or "S" or "s", then "Enter".

2. DATABASE Device & Path prompt: type in DOS format, then "Enter".
   Examples are "A:", "c:" or "C:\data"
   If you type nothing & press "Enter", the active DOS path is used.
   Note that "A:" or "A" works.  "B:\text" or "B:\text\" works.

3. TOPIC prompt: this is the SkyWriter document you wish to write.  The
TOPIC is literally the name part of the SkyWriter PROGRAM (e.g., QUOTE.SKY)
which is a file (or should be) located with the DATABASE pathname in step 2
above.  Since the extension is always .SKY, you only type the name (e.g.,
"LETTER") & "Enter".

   NOTE: Once the TOPIC-PROGRAM is defined, "Enter" alone is the same as
retyping the TOPIC-PROGRAM again.  To change TOPIC, type another name &
"Enter".

   NOTE: 4 to 6 below define the SKYWRITER text document path and filename.

4. TEXT Device & Path prompt: type in DOS format, then "Enter".
   If you type nothing & press "Enter", the active DOS path is used.
   NOTE: At the end of this program run, you return to 3 above, but this
Prompt will not repeat since the same TEXT Device & Path will be used on all
documents written in the session.  To change this, restart.

5. TEXT File NAME prompt: type NAME part of File specification & "Enter".

6. TEXT File EXTENSION prompt: type EXTension of File & "Enter".
   NOTE: For 4 & 5, pressing "Enter" only returns you to the SOS Main Menu.

7. Now the working SkyWriter screen appears:
   Lines 1 to 4 are the document you are writing with SkyWriter.  The
numbers show the current document length (number of lines).  The rest is the
Text that will scroll up as you write and be stored in the file you
specified in steps 4 to 6 above.
   Lines 5 to 2O display the last text menu, if any, called by the program
or user (see below).  To the right is information on the menu and on strings,
if any, assigned to Function Keys 1 to 1O.
   Line  21 displays real-time writing commands explained below.
   Lines 22 to 24 is a writing work area and show comments in the program.
   Line  25 shows the program line and Command field and messages.

8. Line 21 is a menu of single-keystroke, real-time writing commands.
When the cursor is located below this line, the only valid writing
commands are these.  They are easy to use:

...B to P  Select menu alternatives.

   If you choose a menu line that is blank, it is assumed that you wish to
write something not in the menu with two results: first, the text you type
will go into the current document and second, it will remain in the menu for
future use.  You simply type the text you want (usually preceded by a space
so that it will properly append to preceding text) & "Enter".  If you choose
a blank menu item accidentally, press "Enter" to return the cursor from the
menu to Line 21.

   NOTE: Menu line A is special.  Its text, if any, is inserted before the
first choice from Items B to O.  Usually line A is the first part of a
sentence (e.g., "In response, I will"),
   But it is inserted only if the "H" command is in effect.  Otherwise, menu
line A may be blank or contain a useful comment to the user.

   NOTE: Menu line P is also special.  When you choose "P", menu line A text
is NOT inserted into the document before the text, if any, in line P.
   Example:
   Line A "  The actions we will take are"
   Lines B to O list text fragments describing actions.
   Line P "  We shall take no further action"
   Also, when "P" is pressed, the .SKY program automatically advances to its
next step, e.g., the next text menu.

...Tab  If a text menu display has more than one column of text choices, use
the "Tab" key to select a column, before choosing text B to O.
   NOTE: Menu lines A & P are always one column.

...1 to 9  Selects menu page display.

...()*+.-,  Are characters inserted into the document.

...SPACE bar  Tells the .SKY program to continue.

...<-  Pressing the "<-" cursor direction key causes the .SKY program to
display the menu prior to the current menu displayed, if the prior menu is
not in a different directory or different program segment (such as a main
program or a subroutine).

...Delete  Deletes one character from document text in Lines 1 to 4.

...R  (replace) Prompts the user to select a menu item for editing.  It may
be replaced with other text or spaces (to delete an item).

...S  Prompts the user to make any SkyWriter command (see Programmer's
Guide) in the format: Text Field\\Command Field, or only Command Field (if
there is no Text Field).  Examples:
   "SEC1.SKY\\C" & "Enter" CALLS the subroutine SEC1.SKY.
   "I8" & "Enter"          INDENT subsequent text 8 spaces.
   "a2" & "Enter"          ASSIGN string for F2 or U2.

...V  Causes further text to be added to the next document line, instead of
appending it to the current line.
   "V" acts like the carriage-return bar on a typewriter.

...X  Means "write anything."  Pressing "X" allows you to type any text line
in the work area to append to your document or to issue the commands in
section 9 below.

...Y or A  Adds the word "and" if you chose English in step 1 above, before
your next text menu choice.

...Z  Deletes text in display Lines 1 to 4 up to the previous "."

...CtrlE  Ends your document and writes it on disk.  The .SKY program
normally has an end which also causes this action.  However, if you wish to
save what you have before finishing the .SKY program, press "E" while the
"Ctrl" key is depressed.

9. Commands Within Menus:  Up to now, we have assumed that entries in
displayed menus were text alternatives to be appended to the document being
written.  However, special commands can appear on menu lines (and columns)
instead of such text alternatives:

...XXX  Means "fill in the blank."  Similar to the "X" command, whenever XXX
occurs alone or within a chosen menu alternative or elsewhere in a .SKY
program, the user is prompted to fill in the blank in the work area.
   NOTE: A single line of text can have one or more XXX's.

...GO TO  Causes the .SKY program to branch under user control.
   Example:  GO TO The Next Section.  The program looks for the text "The
Next Section." within itself and if it finds it, branches program execution
to that program line.  This allows the user to choose the order, sections,
content, etc, of the document in real-time writing.

...PRINT file  Looks for the file in the DATABASE Device & Path and appends
the text in this file to the document utilizing the right margin in effect
in that document.
   NOTE: Menus with many PRINT alternatives allow the user to string files
together with other SkyWriter functions with single keystrokes.
   If the line length (or right margin) in the file is different from that
specified in the .SKY program, the file text is reformated to the program's
right margin.

...LIST file  Same as PRINT except the file is appended to the document
without alteration of its line format.  Useful if the material is columnar,
e.g., columns of words or numbers, where you do not want to disturb the
format of the material.

   The "file" in the PRINT or LIST command may include a pathname to access
any file on any disk and/or in any directory.
   Also, PRINT file and/or LIST file in menu alternatives allow you to
specify in real-time any sequence of files to append to your document.

   NOTES: These commands are in all capital letters.
   "GO TO", "PRINT" and "LIST" commands can be invoked at any time with "X".

...F1 to F1O  Function Keys 1 to 1O invoke the first ten Assigned text
strings (see the ASSIGN command).
   The full length of an Assigned string is used, but only the first 14
characters are displayed in the Function Key table on the screen.

 >>>> SKYWRITER UTILITY PROGRAMS

 ---- Device DIRECTORY

Called by "D" from the SOS Main Menu, Directory lists directories or
subdirectories (see prompts 2 and 4 above).

 ---- PRINT SkyWriter Document

To print on the screen and your system line printer any text file, including
those written by SkyWriter (.SKY) programs (Create SKYWRITER Document),
type "P" in response to the SOS Main Menu prompt.

You define the text file and its language as you have done previously (see
Create SkyWriter Document, steps 1,4,5,6).  Then,

1O. Default print parameters (Y,N) prompt:
    Type "Y" & "Enter" if you want:
    (1) to start on page 1.
    (2) to have 54 lines of text per page.
    (3) the default header on pages 2 and above.
    (4) XXX prompts.
    (5) underlining (not suppressed).

    If "N", then specify printing options and position paper in printer.
    NOTE: If the printer of OFF, the text is displayed on the screen.

11.  XXX prompt:  If the characters XXX appear anywhere in the text file
being printed, the printing will stop so that you may fill in the blank
(similar to XXX in section 9 above).

12. The | character, in a text file, causes underlining of subsequent text
until the next "|" character.  Thus, the "|" characters usually occur in
pairs: the first means start underlining and the second means stop
underlining.
    Example: "|Date|" causes Date to be underlined.

 ---- OUTPUT Programs & Menus

Selected by the "O" key from the SOS Main Menu, Output uses familiar prompts
and provides a printout of a SkyWriter Program and all of the menus it uses,
as well as the option to copy a program and its menus "in order" to a
different disk or subdirectory.

 For technical assistance, please call (6O9) 953-72O5 or write to:
 Computer Intelligence Assets
 13O Hiawatha Trail
 Medford Lakes, NJ O8O55 USA

Copyright 1991 James J. Keene, Ph.D.
