Differences between PC-4 and QL bundle/Thor Xchange
The documentation for PC-4 appears to have been cut down from a later version of the QL equivalent. They`re shorter but contain some extra information, e.g. about the effect of GRID on Abacus row and column references. TSL (for one program only) and various control codes are also documented, as on the Thor but not the QL version.
Multi-tasking is not allowed on the PC version.
File names allow PC paths, e.g:
D:MYFILE.EXP
B:\PC4\QUILL\SILLY.DOC
If you miss off the prefix the current directory is used.
Wild cards are allowed in directory displays, e.g. *.D??
Underscores are prohibited - DOS uses dots "." instead.
Disk full menu appears if space is too tight - this lets you list directories, erase files and retry or abort.
You can supply a file name to be loaded as part of the PC command line, e.g. QUILL PCVSQL, and an optional TSL command file as well.
QUILL 1.1
Italic highlights are now allowed, but use a different
colour
rather than an altered font.
and
script use that colour again and no custom font.
uses green rather than white. The colours are fixed to the alternate QL set and cannot be changed in DESIGN.
Display format is fixed - no 40/60/80 column options.
PRINT supports a new COPIES option - default 1.
Hard pages breaks are shown explicitly `Hard Break`.
Glossaries are supported just as on Thor Xchange.
EXTRACT transfers text to BUFFER.DOC, as on Thor Xchange. EXPORT writes raw ASCII rather than a .DOC, also as on Thor.
ABACUS 1.1
Grid size is increased from the QL limit of 255 rows and 64 columns (or 128 columns on Thor Xchange) to a maximum of 999 rows and 255 columms on the PC.
String slicing is documented for text formulae - it is documented for Thor Xchange, but not in the original 12/84 QL Psion manuals.
The display format is fixed - no 40/60/80 column options.
No support for single-sheet printers.
FILES menu offers RENAME on PC, in place of FORMAT on QL.
Thor Xchange has RENAME and TRANSFER (Xchange special).
GRID allows new GoalSeek, External, Repeat, Security and Protect options - like Thor Xchange.
TITLES is a new menu, as Thor Xchange but not the QL version.
Functions are documented the same for all versions.
ARCHIVE 1.1
Main differences in the PC version are proper indices, removing the main size limitations of the QL/Thor version. You can swap between indices; e.g. SELECT uses index 5.
Key limit is 32 (rather than 8) characters. Maximum ORDERs is four, as before.
Two parameter MODE is not supported as screen width is fixed at 80 columns on PC. The screen control codes are documented. Eight INK/PAPER colours are supported versus four on QL.
BACKUP (QL/Thor) is renamed COPY on PC.
PC extras:
RENAME - as on Thor Xchange (but not the QL bundle).
DELETE INDEX - file reverts to historical order.
FILES - shows logical file names open in list on screen.
INDEX - shows existing index file numbers in list on screen.
USE INDEX - selects indices by number.
Thor/ArchDev extensions:
LOAD USR loads MCODE file, USR function calls it.
Functions on PC but not in QL docs:
ATN, COS, DEC (decimal format), DEG, GEN (like PRINT USING), LN, NUM, PI, RAD, RND, SIN, TAN, TASK (s/w version number), VALUE (parameter string is variable name).
Command missing on PC:
FORMAT (QL/Thor medium format command)
Functions missing on PC/Thor:
MEMORY, RECNUM
EASEL 1.1
Display formats supported are 8 (?) colour 40 column lores CGA, or monochrome in higher resolution graphics mode (640x200 ?), with some nice stipples. No 64 column (TV) mode. Colours are configurable on some displays (but not PC Task`s `VGA` emulation).
Amn alternative version for GEM is provided - this needs more memory and uses the Digital Research GEM display and printer output routines, so it runs in a fixed screen mode - the one you were in when you invoked GEMEASEL.
The PC-4 Easel documentation is much more condensed than the QL or Thor versions, and more so than other PC-4 documents.
The 3D graph format is supported, rather as on the Thor.
In the FILES menu, RENAME (Thor/PC) replaces FORMAT on QL.
Functions added on PC/Thor: DEG, RAD, CELL and CELLMAX.
(.txt)