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Questions & Answers


You supply the questions our team of experts sets about solving them!

Mac to ST
[Q]

At school I use an Apple Mac Performa 460 with the following software At Ease;Finder, Photoshop Brush Strokes and PC Exchange I created a lot of good art work on the computer for my exam and now I want to know how I can view these pictures on my own STe computer My STe has 25Mb of RAM One method I used was to use Fastcopy III and format a disk to 10 sectors and 81 tracks Then on the Mac from Brush Strokes saved the pictures as a TIFF compressed picture Then using Photoshop I loaded the pictures in and saved them out as TIFF files with LZW compression in a PC byte order But when I tried to load the pictures up on my STe the programs wouldn’t load not even Imagecopy 3
What can I do?
M Redina
[A]

Tiff graphic files are very popular cross platforms format which can support many different types of graphic from monochrome to true colour images Tiff images can be compressed in several formats The two most popular are RLE and LZW and the latter is the most commonly used Some programs give you the option of saving Tiff files in either Intel format or Motorola format If you are saving a Tiff file for viewing on an ST you should select Motorola format if you are given the choice You will also be able to view these files on Macs Amigas and NeXT computers If you want to view the Tiff on a PC select Intel format

Imagecopy 3 handles most types of Tiff file in both Mac and Intel formats but some programs don t always follow the rules when saving Tiff files For maximum compatibility with your Atari save the file uncompressed in Motorola format If you find that the files are now too large to fit onto floppy use the IZW compression option Hopefully you will now be able to view your artwork on your STe using Imagecopy 3

One thing that does occur to us is that a disk formatted to 10 sectors and 81 tracks wont be read by a Mac but as you seem to have get the TIT+ files across were a little puzzled by that one Also be careful with Photoshop generated Tiffs as they sometimes contain a preview image for the Macs operating system Turn this option off and you might have better luck Alternatively you could look for a different format Gif for 256 colour images JPEG to reduce the size or even Windows BMP

Outside In
[Q]

Please could you help me with some advice on two queries I have the first concerns getting Outside v3 memory manager to work with Papyrus Gold . My system Is a Falcon 0304Mb with an external SCSI drive I have set up a 40Mb virtual memory partition and set outside FLAG PRG to force Papyrus to use fast load and alternative memory but when I load a document into Papyrus it locks up and crashes with memory problems And secondly how can I tell It my DSP chip is working properly because when I use Brainstorms IPFG decoder with Imagecopy the decoder loads correctly but when it comes to viewing a picture all I get Is the busy bee icon and that’s it Plus when using Falcon CPX DSP functions DSP stop and wait a DSP error occurs My computer originally had TOS 402 in it but I upgraded to TOS 404 from Compo and profile shows DSP not in use

T Yusuf London

[A]

Outside and Papyrus don’t get along I’m afraid
We've tried on several occasions to persuade the two to work together If there are any readers out there who know different please let us know . You may have trouble having 40Mb as virtual memory we’ve found that keeping to the 14Mb maximum memory limit of the Falcon makes Outside far more reliable. It certainly sounds as if your DSP chip is faulty. We would test the chip using Audio Fun Machine. The DSP sound manager that came with your Falcon. If you still have trouble contact your local Atari repair shop . Someone like System Solutions on 0181 693 3355 should be able to help.

Medium Res muddle
[Q]

I remember reading somewhere how to edit the DESKTOPINF file so TOS I 6 will boot into medium res. The info stated that by carrying out the editing the computer tries to load in High and because no High resolution monitor is available medium resolution is used Instead. Can you throw any light on this?

R S Clewer, Peacehaven

[A]
You don’t have to get your hands dirty and edit the DESKTOPINF file. There's a program called STF~FIX. PRG you can copy it to the Auto folder of your boot disk Once your STe has started change to medium resolution and save the desktop. This will write your current desktop configuration into the DFSKTOPINF file correctly It should now hoot up into medium res. If you really want to edit the DESKTOPINF file manually here's how to do it, Load the file it's found on the root directory of your boot disk into a text editor such as Everest etc. If you haven't got a text editor a normal word processor will do providing it can save ASCII files. in the file menu of your word processor it will say either save as ASCII save as text or export. Don 't save the file from your word processor normally as it will add control codes to the file and the DESKTOPINF will not work. Once you've loaded the file look for a line starting with #F. At the very end of that line there will be a 1 or a 3. The whole line looks something like this: #F 18 II, as you can see here we have a l at the end. Simply change this 1 to a 2, meaning medium res. The line should now look like this: #F 18 12. Save the DESKTOP.INF file as ASCII and reboot your computer. Remember if you don't use STE_FIX. PRG when you next save the desktop this line will be changed by the infamous TOS Bug and you’ll have to start back at square one.

DTP
[Q]

Having tried many desktop publishing programs, I always come back to WordFlair which I find does everything I want with ease. I have an STe with 2Mb of memory and a Star LC2~1 00 printer. Using SpeedoGDOS on one disk, with a file containing about six fonts and the printer driver, this file loads Into a RAM disk (automatically set up In the Auto folder) of about 600k. Then on a separate disk, I load the Word Flair program with the ASSIGN files etc edited to show where the fonts and drivers are (RAM disk). I then have a very good quality word processor/DTP which works fine. Problem! When I'm printing, the output is painfully slow. Question -would it be significantly faster using NVDI?

PS Not all Atari people are youngsters, I am enjoying my retirement!

P M Lavin, Newport
[A]

It would be faster but not significantly so. The minimum system requirements for NVDI 3 are 1Mb of memory and a hard drive, if you want to use vector fonts. For NVDI 4 the recommended memory increases to 2Mb with a hard drive. Both versions of NVDI can work in 512k of memory if vector fonts are not used. For your current system we would advise you to stick with your working SpeedoGDOS setup - it might be slow but at least the quality Is good.

The great thing about the Atari computer is that it appeals to all age groups. May you go on enjoying your retirement and your Atari for many years to come.

Shared misery


[Q]

I have the misfortune of having to share my STe (2Mb) with two teenage games fanatics.There was no real problem, thanks to parental over-ride, until I bought a mono monitor (5M124) and a hard drive (Mini-S with Translator). We now find that we have to unplug the monitor and the drive, otherwise the games will not run. We use a colour TV for the games. What causes this and is there any way round avoiding the inevitable wear and tear on the terminals? I also use Pro 24 and Masterscore, which both use dongles. Is there a way of connecting both of them to the cartridge port?

I Clabburn, Daventry
[A]
There Is a partial solution to your first problem. You can use a device known as a monitor switch box. This will allow you to switch between your colour TV and SM124 monitor without unplugging the leads. To do this though, your TV must be equipped with a SCART socket so that it can use the ST's monitor port. The leads from your TV's SCART socket and monitor plug into the switch box and this plugs Into your Atari's monitor port. You can then switch between the two before switching on your computer. A few Atari uses may have had some success using a switch box with the TV plugged into the RF port. As a rule though this tends to cause Interference and is not recommended. In our experience most games work with the hard drive connected but switched off Try each of the games In turn to see which ones take a dislike to your hard drive. This should reduce the number of times you need to disconnect it. System Solutions sells a device called a Cart Master. it plugs into your ST's port and provides a further four cartridge plug in points. It is provided with a small piece of software so that you can switch between cartridges easily As you only need space for two extra cartridges its baby brother, Cart Master Lite, may be more use. Cart Master costs oe1 19.96 and the Lite versions costs oe59.95. Both prices Include software. System Solutions can be contacted on 0181 6933355 and will also he able to help you with the monitor switch.

Game over?
[Q]

I'm concerned the supply of games for my Atari 52OSTFM is drying up. I would very much appreciate it if you could give me information about obtaining budget games such as North and South, Double Dragon and any other new and old games for the ST. I would be very grateful if you could help me out with info on obtaining this software.

D Owen, Anglesey
[A]
Getting hold of games for the Atari can be a problem especially if you rely on the main high street suppliers. Walking Into a high street computer shop these days is only likely to cause a great deal of merriment to the smuglooking PC owners who hang around them. Car boot sales are a good source for old Atari classics but don't despair. We've spoken to a few suppliers and most have many old classics in stock complimenting their newer inventory. 16/32 Systems (01634 710788) can supply Cool Croc Twins, Bonanza Brothers, Die Spy and Exile to name but a few in the classic range. Cannon Fodder, Premier Manager and the Ishar series are among the more up to date games available but they require 1Mb of memory. We also suggest you try Goodmans (01782335650) which has released Ego. The company also has a few copies of Lemmings left, among others. Merlin (01452 770133) has Badlands, Strider, Shuffle Puck Cafe and Z Out in the old classic stable. Its newer games are again 1Mb. These include League Manager, Alien Thing and The Power and Glory, You are slightly restricted in the games you can play by your available memory, To play the most recent releases you really need an upgrade to 1Mb or beyond. You don't mention whether your floppy drive is double-sided or not. All new games and many old classics require a double-sided drive. All these suppliers have many other games available, too many to list here, so it's worth ringing the suppliers I've mentioned to see what else you can find.

Falcon memory
[Q]

I have a 4Mb FalconO3O but I've no Idea what memory board in installed because I've never opened the machine. I'm considering upgrade the memory and wonder if I can use the same memory board, taking out the 4xlMb chips and replace them with 4x4Mb chips? If I can't do this and need a replacement memory board what am I likely to need and how much Is It going to cost me and where can I get one from? I'm also confused by all the different descriptions of memory (30 pin, 72 pin, 3 chip, 9 chip, 60, 70, 8Ons, parity and non-parity etc) and would appreciate any explanation...

Dale Wright, dale1@cix.co.uk The memory board is likely to be the original Atari 4Mb board or, if you 're lucky, either the 'Falcon Wing', or 'Actionsoft' boards. I' you have an Atari 4Mb board the memory chips soldered on board and your best option is to sell this and buy either of the alternative memory boards.The Falcon Wing has four 30 pin (Single Inline Memory Module) SIMM sockets which can optionally be filled with four 1Mb 30 pin SIMMs or four 4Mb 30 pin SIMMs, in which case you can easily upgrade either by trading in or selling on your 4xlMb SIMMs and replacing them with ~4Mb SIMMs. The Actionsoft board has a single 72 pin SIMM socket which can take either a 4Mb 72 pin SIMM or a 16Mb 72 pin SIMM. Due to the Falcon hardware design both boards 'waste' 2Mb when filled with 16Mb, taking your Falcon to 14Mb. The speed of the memory, measured in nanoseconds (ns) isn't important on standard pre Falcon Atari machines but on the Falcon use SIMMs rated at Sons or faster otherwise you may experience Intermittent crashes. System Solutions supply both the Falcon Wing and Actionsoft boards at £49.95 each.Another alternative, is to keep your existing board, and add an Fx030 card, this allows you to add fastRAM. You can have combinations of 1Mb or 4Mb 30 pin SIMMs on the FX card. For example you could install 2 x 4Mb plus 2 x 1Mb SIMMs on the Fx card giving a total of 10Mb fastRAM in addition to the 4Mb standard RAM already on your memory card. Although this is a more expensive approach it offers various acceleration and resolution options.

Rescue
[Q]

First I would like to produce artwork for small colour posters and flyers. Is there any software suitable for this purpose? Second, if I obtain a font cartridge for a Star will I he able to get extra fonts? If so what software will I require? Any other advice regarding software DTP, WP, etc.) will be grovellingly accepted. Next I am thinking of upgrading to 2Mb - is this over the top? Finally I am not a complete duffer but I am a beginner and do not understand all the terminology yet Please can we have explanations especially for some of the abbreviations. I'm sure you do not want to lose prospective Atarians due to our lack of knowledge.

T Berry, Merseyside
[A]
The ST is quite capable of running in 16 colours without any further hardware addons. With a colour TV, you can change between low and medium resolutions. ST low resolution has 16 colours at 320 by 200 pixels, while medium resolution has only 4 colours but runs at 640 by 200 pixels. A monitor will give you a fresher,sharper picture but no more colours. There's oodles of software you can use to create documents in colour and we advise you to get hold of Imagecopy This marvellous utility will drive your printer to the limits and produce spectacular output from almost any colour graphics file. fitting a font cartridge to your Star printer will allow you to access extra fonts but not easily on your Atari -it's not a cost-effective way of adding font capability. Timeworks 2 is a good introduction to DTP and it will run nicely on your present system, and you could also look at Papyrus which can do coloured text. For both of these packages, and for DTP in general, at least 2MB of memory is recommended.You can incorporate colour graphics in your work using Imagecopy 4 (from Fast Club on 01159455250) which fully supports your colour printer and can be set to print pictures anywhere on the page. In conjunction with your DTP package you can design a poster or flier leaving gaps for your colour work. You can then use imagecopy's page layout function to add the colour pictures. Textstyle is supplied with Imagecopy 4. This program uses Calamus fonts to create fancy headlines which can be printed using Imagecopy Calamus fonts are of the vector variety and this means they can be resized with no loss of definition. Calamus fonts are available from all good PD/shareware libraries. You could even colour the headlines using a simple art package such as Degas or HyperPaint. It will run in lower resolutions but some dialog boxes may not appear on screen correctly.Finally we don't want to put beginners off but we'd annoy other readers intensely if every time we used the acronym "RAM" we put "Random Access Memory" in brackets afterwards. We have to assume a certain level of knowledge but it is a problem to know where to draw the line.

Brian Robson, brobson@CIX ,Barry Wilson, wiIsonjb@CIX

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