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1993-05-11
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+======================================+
| PERSONAL OBSERVING LOG Version 2.01 |
+======================================+
+--------------------------------+
| |
| +-----------------------+ |
| | Ohio Star Software | |
| +=======================+ |
| | 8919 Deep Forest Ln. | |
| | Centerville, OH 45458 | |
| | (513)434-2810 | |
| +-----------------------+ |
| |
+--------------------------------+
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Copyright (c) Ohio Star Software, 1993. All Rights Reserved. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
The Personal Observing Log is now being marketed as a ShareWare product. I have
done this because I want to get the product into as many people's hands as
possible, and still be able to invest in future versions. The registration fee
for POL is $20.00. It was sold as a commercial package for over one year at a
price of $79.95. Not many were sold at this price, and it received limited
attention. My hope is that by lowering the price to 20 bucks and marketing it
as a ShareWare product, it will experience a much greater presence in the market
place. If you decide to use the POL as one of your applications, you should
register it.
Individual licenses for the Personal Observing Log package cost $20.00. A "club
license" for the Personal Observing Log package can be purchased by astronomy
organizations for $50.00. This will allow all members of the organization to
make legal copies of the software and documentation.
To register this version of the Personal Observing Log package, send a check or
money order along with a completed order form to Ohio Star Software, 8919 Deep
Forest Ln., Ct., Centerville, OH 45458. You can print the order form with the
DOS command:
copy ORDER.FRM prn
To start up the Personal Observing Log, issue the command "POL" from the DOS
prompt. The program is easy enough to use that you shouldn't need to print the
documentation!
The documentation for the Personal Observing Log is in the file POL.TXT. You
can print this text file by copying it to the printer with the following
command:
copy POL.TXT prn
***************************** NOTICE ****************************
* This program, and all supporting programs and documentation are *
* provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed *
* or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties *
* of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no *
* event will Ohio Star Software be liable to you for any damages *
* arising out of the use or inability to use this program and/or *
* all supporting programs and documentation. *
*******************************************************************
DISTRIBUTION
------------
You may make copies of the program files for Personal Observing Log and the
documentation POL.TXT together and distribute them to others, upload to bulletin
boards etc. for non-commercial purposes. The program files should not be
distributed without the documentation file POL.TXT. None of the files should be
modified in any way.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Why Have a Computerized Observation Log?
System Requirements
Installation
Start Up
File Maintenance
Reports
Miscellaneous Functions
System Configuration
Edit Personal Notes
Temporary Shell to DOS
File Layouts
Appendix A - Printer Control Files
Appendix B - Editor
Report Types
Introduction
Welcome to the Personal Observing Log! This application has been written to
provide a tool for recording your astronomical observations and for producing
various reports of astronomical objects. The reports are a valuable tool in
planning an observing session and for use while observing. This system
developed as a result of my own needs to record what I had seen, where, and
when.
System Features
o 1160 "seeable" astronomical objects - All 109 Messier objects, 238 Open
Clusters, 76 Globular Clusters, 67 Planetary Nebulas, 109 Dark Nebulas, 596
Galaxies, and 70 Double Stars
o Full NGC Catalog (7840 objects) available for reporting and inclusion into
primary database
o Up to 32000 characters (16 pages) of text can be recorded for each object
o 31 customizable reports for planning and observing aids
o Allows you to add any objects of your own
o Allows you to restrict (by any field) what objects are shown on-line and in
reports
o Allows you to use any file listing utility to view output
o All reports can be viewed on screen, printed, or copied to a text file
o Records which instrument (if any) was used to see an object
o Reports allow you to place your on constraints on what objects are to be
included
o Supports IBM, Epson, Star, Panasonic, and HP LaserJet printers
o Support monochrome and color monitors
o Runs on IBM and compatible PCs
Why Have a Computerized Observation Log?
Keeping a log of your astronomical observations provides you with many benefits.
If you do not currently keep a log of your observations then you should start.
If you do keep a log then Great!!!, but does your log help you plan your next
session or allow easy access to notes on any viewed object? If not then you
need the Personal Observing Log system.
Some of the benefits of having an computerized log of your observations include:
- You can easily determine which objects you have or have not seen. For
example, it would show you which Messier objects you still needed to see in
order to join the "Messier Club".
- The log creates a measure of your equipment and observing skills. Comparing
old notes to current observations will show how the equipment that you are using
now compares to the equipment that you used for the earlier observations. If
your equipment has not changed, then you might see that your observing skills
have changed (for the better hopefully!).
- The log will allow you to keep track of objects that you tried to see but
were unsuccessful on. On nights of exceptional seeing or a trip to a better
than normal site, you can try to knock off some of the objects that you have
failed on previously.
- The log will allow you to see how your observing skills compare to others.
Comparing what you see to Burnham's or Webb's documentation is sometimes very
surprising. Sometimes you are seeing exactly what they say they saw, and
sometime its completely different. If your notes don't match what someone
else's say, then maybe you were looking at the wrong object - it does happen...
- Recording your observations in detail forces you to observe in enough detail
to make a log entry. This will force you to look harder and longer and
therefore see more. Keeping a log will make you a better observer.
- If you don't record your observations into a computerized log, then you
probably can't do a good job in planning out what objects to review, what object
to try for the first time, and what objects to try for that you had failed on
before. Having a log and a good planning tool will keep you from only seeing
the same old objects each time you go out.
- A computerized log like the Personal Observing Log will be a tremendous aid
in planning your observing sessions. You can go out with a report that shows by
constellation (or Sky Atlas 2000 chart number), scores of objects, and
highlights which objects you should try for. This list of objects will tell you
the R.A. and Declination of the object, its type, size and magnitude, and any
general comments about it.
- A computerized log eliminates all the messy, sloppy pieces of paper that are
the hallmark of a manual system of note keeping. A computerized system puts all
of your information into one place and allows you the security of having backup
copies of the information.
System Requirements
This system will run on any IBM compatible machine with 512K of memory (640K is
better) and a hard drive. The application requires approximately 800K of disk
storage, and will incrementally use more disk space as you enter your viewing
observations. The system works with color and monochrome monitors. The system
work with Epson, IBM, HP, Star, and Panasonic printers.
Installation
Installation of this system is done by executing the distribution file in the
directory where you want to have the POL system reside. Since you are reading
this, you have already figured out how to install the package.
The system comes with a number of printer control files -- they have an
extension of "PRN". The first letter of the printer control file's name
indicates whether the file is for compressed, elite, or pica (C, E, or P). The
remaining characters of its name identify the type of printer its used for. For
example, CEPSON.PRN is a file with control codes to make an Epson print in
compressed mode. To save disk space, you can erase any of these files that you
are not going to use. Appendix A contains an explanation of each printer file.
In order for the POL system to run, the operating system (DOS) needs to have 2
special lines in the Config.sys file in order for the system to have multiple
files open at the same time. The Config.sys file contains instruction for DOS
for such things as using a mouse, communications equipment, etc...
You can tell if you have a Config.sys file by entering the following command
from the C> prompt:
"DIR \CONFIG.SYS".
If the file does not exist (you get a message saying "File not found"), you can
create a Config.sys file by copying the on provided on disk #1 by entering the
command from the C> prompt:
"COPY A:CONFIG.SYS C:\".
If the file exists, use the DOS EDLIN program or your word processing program to
add the following lines to it or edit them if they are already there:
FILES=20
BUFFERS=20
If you use EDLIN to edit the file and need more information, consult your DOS
manual.
If you do not have a word processor capable of reading and writing DOS text
files and you don't want to use EDLIN (who does?) then you can (re)create the
Config.sys file right from the DOS prompt. To do this, type the following lines
from the DOS C> prompt:
CD \
TYPE CONFIG.SYS
COPY CON: CONFIG.SYS
FILES=20
BUFFERS=20
any other config.sys lines from your old one...
^Z
In the commands above, the ^Z is actually a Ctrl-Z. The "type config.sys" line
is there to show you what is already in the config.sys file that you may need to
re-enter.
Start Up
To start up the Personal Observing Log application, change to the directory that
contains the POL system and then enter the command "POL".
For Example:
C>CD \POL
C>POL
If this is the first time that you are running the POL system, there will be
three messages saying that some index files are being created, and you will be
asked to press a key to continue. The index files are only created the first
time you run the package. All other times the system will go straight to the
introductory screen. After starting the system, the introductory screen comes
up. Press any key to go on from this screen. The next screen to come up is the
POL Main Menu screen. An image of this screen is shown below. If this is your
first time to run the software, you should select item 4 from the menu - "System
Configurator Menu", and then perform all of its menu options. The configuration
menu is described on page 19 of this manual. Note that before you can print
reports you will need to use the System Configurator to specify a printer to be
used.
Main Menu Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 10/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 22:58 |
+==============================================================================+
+---------- Main Menu ---------+
| 1 File Maintenance |
| 2 Reports Menu |
| 3 Miscellaneous Menu |
| 4 System Configurator Menu |
| 5 Edit Personal Notes |
| 6 Temporary Shell to DOS |
| 7 Registration Information |
| 8 Exit POL System |
+------------------------------+
Each item in this menu is discussed in the sections below. The first two
options in the menu are the most often used - File Maintenance and Reports Menu.
The other items in the menu are normally used on a less frequent basis. To
select an item from this menu or any of the other menus in the POL system,
simply press the number (or letter) of the desired action, or use the arrow keys
to move the highlighted bar to the desired item and press enter.
File Maintenance
The screens on the following pages are a sample of what you will see in the File
Maintenance section of the system. The most important field on the screen is
the one called "NGC". Since most objects in the database have a NGC number, the
6 character identifier is called NGC. Most objects in the database are NGC
objects, but there are quite a few other types of objects. For the sake of
simplicity, the system calls everything an NGC object. The true NGC objects are
shown as a simple right-adjusted number. If there are any letters in the object
name then it is not a true NGC object. You can have other items in the database
besides NGC objects. The system comes with a number of double stars (the letter
A followed by up to 5 digits) from the Aitken Double Star Catalog, and you can
enter your own objects to record information about (comets, planets, aurora,
moon,...). A description of all of the fields shown on the file maintenance
screen is shown below:
NGC Database object number or name
Messier Messier object number (there are 109 of these)
Con Abbreviation of the constellation name that contains this object
R.A. Object's Right Ascension
DEC Object's Declination
MAG #1 Magnitude of the object or primary in a double star
MAG #2 Magnitude of secondary star in a double star
Type Type of object (corresponds the Object Type Codes at the bottom of
the screen)
Size Size of object measured in arc minutes unless the arc seconds symbol
is used (arc seconds are shown with a quote mark like 23")
PA Position angle for double stars
Name Name or brief (25 character) descriptive note
Sky Atlas Wil Tirion's Sky Atlas 2000 chart number
Uranometria Object's page number in Wil Tirion`s Uranometria
Date Seen Indicates the date of the first time you saw this object
Date Failed Date that you tried but failed to see this object
Peterson Peterson Field Guide chart number
Norton Norton Atlas chart number
Location Location where object was first seen.
The box in the lower half of the screen contains "yes" or "no" answers to 12
observation questions. The last 8 items identify what kind of instrument the
object was seen with. The first 4 of the 12 items are described below:
Easy The object should be easy to see in a small telescope.
Try Again Try viewing this object again under better conditions.
Special You can mark any objects as special and restrict reports to
containing only "special" objects.
Failed Tried to view this object but failed.
The 8 fields for specifying what instrument was used are controlled by you
through the System Configuration Menu. See the "System Configuration Menu"
section in the manual for an explanation of how to set up your equipment. What
you enter in the System Configuration Menu will determine what these 8 fields
are called in the file maintenance program.
There are five fields on the screen that are controlled by the POL system.
These five fields are described below:
Record x of x Indicates your logical position in the file.
Limiting Mag Show the limiting magnitude that is in effect. You can specify a
limiting magnitude through the configuration menu.
Rise The local time of when the object will rise.
Transit The local time of when the object will be due south.
Set The local time of when the object will set.
If the rise, transit, and set times show as "-----", that means that the object
never rises at that latitude. If the rise time is the same as the set time,
that means that the object never sets. In order for the rise, transit, and set
times to be accurate, you need to define your viewing location to the system in
the configuration menu.
The command lines at the bottom of the screen has all of the valid commands.
All commands are done with a single keystroke. Simply press the first letter of
the command that you want to execute or use the arrow keys to highlight the
command and press enter. The commands are described below:
Add Add a new object to the database. You are allowed to enter all
fields.
Change Change the contents of all fields (except NGC #) of the currently
shown object.
Delete Delete the current object.
Update Change the contents of all fields from "Date Seen" down.
Text Enter new text or edit existing text for the current object. The
editor used to maintain your text is a simple word processor. The
editor's capabilities are documented at the bottom of the screen when
using it and are further discussed in Appendix B.
Show Display the text from the current object. The second screen on the
following page shows an example of this command's effect. This
command is a subset of the text editor. The instructions at the
bottom of the screen define its use.
Next Move forward in the file to the next NGC number (sorted
alphabetically by NGC).
Previous Move backward to the previous NGC number.
First Move to the first object in the file.
Last Move to the last object in the file.
1-Goto-Mess Prompts you for a Messier number to position on.
2-Next-Mess Positions you on the next Messier object. For example if you are
positioned on M33 and you select this command, you will be taken to
M34. If the current object does not have a Messier number, then
this command will take you to M1.
3-Prev-Mess Positions you on the previous Messier object.
4-Next-Viewed Positions you on the next object (according to NGC number) that
has a valid date first seen in it.
5-Prev-Viewed Positions you on the previous object (according to NGC number)
that has a valid date first seen in it.
Goto The system will ask you for an NGC number to jump to. If the
number is found, you will be positioned on that object.
Messier Prompts you for a Messier number to position on.
Zip-To-Text Prompts you for a phrase and positions you on the next record
that has that text in the name field or the text lines.
Import Bring in a new object from the 7785 objects in the POL-ALL file.
This will supply only the NGC, R.A., Dec., Mag, and Type.
# Prompts you for a specific record number to jump to.
RA Prompts you for the Right Ascension of an object to go to.
+ Prompts you for how many object to skip over in a forward
direction.
- Prompts you for how many object to skip over in a backward
direction.
View Allows you to enter a constraint that limits your view of the
database to certain records. See the sample screen in this
section of the manual.
Help Bring up on-line help.
Quit Leave this screen and go back to the main menu.
File Maintenance Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 12/26/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Generic (No Codes) 19:47 |
+==============================================================================+
+============================== File Maintenance ============================+
| NGC: 205 Messier: 110 Record 19 of 1161 |
| Con: And R.A.: 0:40.3 Dec: 41:41 Limiting Magnitude: 99 |
| Mag #1: 9.4 #2: 0.0 Type: EG Size: 8.0x3.0 PA: 0 TEXT |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name: E6 - companion of M31 Sky Atlas 2000: 4 Uranometria: 60 |
| Date Seen: 09/30/88 Failed: / / Peterson Guide: 9 Norton: 3 |
| Location: Andover, KS Rise: 09:44 Transit: 18:56 Set: 04:08 |
| +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Easy: Y Try Again: N Special: N Failed: N | |
| | Naked Eye: N Binocular: N Refractor 1: N Refractor 2: N | |
| | Reflector 1: Y Reflector 2: Y Schmidt-Cass 1: N Schmidt-Cass 2: N | |
| +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| Object Type Codes: GC - Globular Cluster OC - Open Cluster |
| DN - Diffuse Nebula PN - Planetary Nebula DS - Double Star |
| IG - Irregular Galaxy EG - Elliptical Galaxy SG - Spiral Galaxy |
+============================================================================+
Next Previous Add Change Delete Update Text Show First Last
1-Goto-Mess-# 2-Next-Mess 3-Prev-Mess 4-Next-Viewed 5-Prev-Viewed
Goto Messier Zip-To-Text Import # RA + - View Help Quit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Move to the next object that has a date seen
File Maintenance Show Command Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:04 |
+==============================================================================+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is the best galaxy around. It is the only galaxy (not counting |
| the Magellanic clouds) that is visible to the naked eye. It is |
| part of our "local group" some 2.2 million light years away. M31, |
| M32, and M110 all fit in the same low power field of view (43x). |
| I saw this from Borger, TX with a 2.5" reflector. This is a naked |
| eye object under good skys. With the 8" dobsonian, the core is very |
| bright and the arms cover more than 1 degree. I have not been able |
| to see the dust lane that is in all of the pictures. This is a very |
| good object when using binoculars or a RFT. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Up/Down Arrow - Move 1 Line Ctrl PgUp - Start of Text
PgUp/PgDn - Move 1 Window Ctrl PgDn - End of Text
Esc - Exit Function
File Maintenance Text Command
Personal Observing Log: Editor
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is the best galaxy around. It is the only galaxy (not counting |
| the Magellanic clouds) that is visible to the naked eye. It is |
| part of our "local group" some 2.2 million light years away. M31, |
| M32, and M110 all fit in the same low power field of view (43x). |
| I saw this from Borger, TX with a 2.5" reflector. This is a naked |
| eye object under good skys. With the 8" dobsonian, the core is very |
| bright and the arms cover more than 1 degree. I have not been able |
| to see the dust lane that is in all of the pictures. This is a very |
| good object when using binoculars or a RFT. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ctrl Arrow - 1 Word Home - Start of Line PgUp - Up 1 Window
Ctrl Home - Top Window End - End of Line PgDn - Down 1 Window
Ctrl End - Bottom Window Ctrl PgUp - Start Text Ctrl T - Delete Word
Ctrl Y - Delete Line Ctrl PgDn - End Text Ctrl B - Reformat Text
Ctrl N - Open Line Above Ctrl W - SAVE and EXIT Esc - ABORT Editing
The simple editor that POL utilizes has many command that are similar to
WordStar. The best way to learn this editor is to experiment with it. Try all
of the commands listed at the bottom of the editor's screen. A keystroke that
is not documented on the screen is the use of the Insert key. When Insert is
pressed, the top line of the screen shows "<insert>". Pressing the enter key
while insert is turned on will break the current line at the cursor.
File Maintenance View Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 12/07/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 00:00 |
+==============================================================================+
This command allows you to place a constraint on the records presented
in this maintenance function. Please refer to the User's manual for
help in using the command. This command works in conjunction with any
limiting magnitude you have set. Using a constraint that eliminates a
large number of records will make the program act sluggish. Note that
if you enter an invalid constraint the program will stop. Examples of
valid constraints are:
type <> "DS"
sky_atlas = 22
decd > -10 .and. type = "OC"
dtoc(dateseen) <> " / / " .and. mag < 10
(easy = "Y" .and. dtoc(dateseen) = " / / ") .or. tauds = "Y"
location = "Centerville, OH"
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Enter a constraint or leave blank to not restrict view. |
| Enter HELP for a list of field names. Press Esc to abort. |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
File Maintenance View Help Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 12/07/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 12:28 |
+==============================================================================+
+===========================================================================+
| NGC (C) CON (C) TYPE (C) MESSIER (N) RAH (N) |
| RAM (N) DECD (N) DECM (N) MAG (N) SKY_ATLAS (N) |
| DATESEEN (D) SIZE (C) NAME (C) LOCATION (C) INST_A (C) |
| INST_B (C) INST_C (C) INST_D (C) INST_E (C) INST_F (C) |
| INST_G (C) INST_H (C) EASY (C) TAUDS (C) SPECIAL (C) |
| FAILED (C) DATE_FAILED (D) URAN (N) MAG2 (N) PA (N) |
+--------------------------------------+ |
| C - Character N - Numeric D - Date | |
+======================================+====================================+
Character litterals need to be enclosed with quotes: ex TYPE = "GC"
Equipment Assignments
INST_A is Naked Eye INST_E is Reflector 1
INST_B is Binocular INST_F is Reflector 2
INST_C is Refractor 1 INST_G is Schmidt-Cass 1
INST_D is Refractor 2 INST_H is Schmidt-Cass 2
Press any key...
The two screens on the previous page show the results of selecting the View
command and then asking for help with the constraint entry. The view command is
very powerful. With it you can logically restrict your view of the data base to
only objects that meet some condition that you define.
The general format for a constraint will be
fieldname operator expression
Fieldname is the name of a database field. You can get a listing of all of the
data base fields by entering "help" as your constraint. Field names are not
case sensitive but they must be spelled correctly.
Operator is a comparison operator from the list below:
= equals
<> not equal
< less than
> greater than
<= less than or equal to
>= greater than or equal to
Expression will normally be either some characters enclosed in quotes (like
"GC"), a number (like 15), or a date function (like ctod("11/11/90")). The
expression portion of the constraint is case sensitive.
Multiple "fieldname operator expression" constraints can be joined together with
".and." or ".or.". A couple of these are shown in the examples below. Useful
functions that might be of use include substr() (sub-string) and ctod()
(character to date). Any valid dBASE will work as a function. It takes a bit
of a programmer's mentality to be completely comfortable with specifying
constraints. The examples below together with the ones shown in the help screen
should be able to be adjusted to fit just about any constraint you want to make.
dec > -10
inst_b = "Y"
failed = "Y"
type = "GC" .or. type = "OC"
sky_atlas = 22 .and. type <> "DS"
dateseen > ctod("4/30/89") .and. dateseen <= ctod("12/31/89")
substr(type,2,1) = "G"
messier > 0
rah >=7 .and. rah <=12
Reports
The Reports Menu offers a large variety of reports. In the menu shown below, 3
trailing dots (...) at the end of the item description indicates that there are
3 possible report widths (80, 96, and 132). 2 trailing dots (..) indicate that
there are 2 possible report widths (80 and 96). The items that have an (80) at
the end of the line are only available in an 80 column format. For example the
"By NGC #" reports are available as 80, 96, and 132 column reports. Of course
the wider the report, the more columns of information can fit in it. The 80
character reports are intended for viewing on the screen. The 96 column reports
are intended to be printed and used as reference at your desk or in the field.
The 132 column reports are there to show the maximum amount of information about
each object.
Reports Menu Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:04 |
+==============================================================================+
+--------- Reports Menu ----------+
| A By Messier... |
| B By NGC #... |
| C By R.A... |
| D By Sky Atlas 2000 Chart #... |
| E Objects to Try by Chart.. |
| F By Date Seen.. |
| G By Object Type.. |
| H By Constellation.. |
| I Rise, Transit, Set Times.. |
| J Objects to Try Again (80) |
| K Easy Objects to See (80) |
| L Failed Objects (80) |
| M Full NGC Catalog Report (80) |
| N Search Text For Phrase (80) |
| O Full Text Report By NGC (80) |
| P Object Desc. By Messier (80) |
| Q Double Stars by R.A.. |
| R Return to Main Menu |
+---------------------------------+
Different type of reports will have slightly different columns of information.
The table below show what reports have what fields. Note that the Constellation
Reports (item H) has breaks by Constellation. In the chart below, the different
reports are listed at the top of the chart and the possible fields are listed in
the left column. For some reports there are multiple widths - A1, A2, and A3
have widths of 80, 96, and 132 columns.
Reports/Fields Matrix
A A A B B B C C C D D D E E F F G G H H I I J K L M N O P Q Q
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
NGC Number X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Messier X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Right Ascension X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Declination X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Constellation X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Type of Object X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Magnitude X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Size X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Sky_Atlas X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Date First Seen X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Location X X X X X X
Name (short) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Name (long) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Inst_A X X X X
Inst_B X X X X
Inst_C X X X X
Inst_D X X X X
Inst_E X X X X
Inst_F X X X X
Inst_G X X X X
Inst_H X X X X
Easy X X X X X X X
Try Again X X X X X X X
Special X X X X
Failed X X X X
Try Marker X X X X
Description X X
Position Angle X X
Mag #2 X X
Rise X X
Transit X X
Set X X
Rise Azimuth X X
Set Azimuth X X
For reports that have more than 1 possible width, the screen shown below is used
to allow you to indicate the number of columns to be used in the report.
Report Width Selection Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:04 |
+==============================================================================+
This report can be generated in
3 different widths. Select the
width to be used or press the
Esc key to return to the menu.
+-------+
| 80 |
| 96 |
| 132 |
+-------+
The reports for Rise, Transit, and Set times take about 4 times as long to run
as the other system reports. For these 2 reports, entering a constraint that
eliminates lots of records will make the report run faster.
For most of the reports, you are allowed to put your own constraint on what
records are selected. The screen on the next page is used to allow you to place
your own constraints on what objects get included in the report. This screen is
always optional - you can always simply press the enter key and get all the
records that are appropriate for the report. There will be time however that
you want to exclude or include certain records. That's what this screen will
allow you to do. Four examples of valid conditional statements are shown on the
screen. Spelling counts here! If you enter a condition that the system will
not be able to understand, then it will display a message like "Proc XXXXXX
line XXX, undefined identifier (in macro) XXX", and then drop you out to the DOS
prompt. You can restart the system by typing POL at the DOS prompt. Remember
that the data is case sensitive - "type <> 'DS'" is right and "type <> 'ds'" is
wrong.
Report Constraint Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:06 |
+==============================================================================+
You may enter a condition to limit what records are included in the report.
Examples of valid conditions are:
sky_atlas=22
decd > -10 .and. type <> "DS"
dtoc(dateseen) <> " / / "
(easy = "Y" .and. dtoc(dateseen) = " / / ") .or. tauds = "Y"
If you leave this field blank, then you will not be imposing an extra
conditions on the report, and you will also not risk having a system error
as a result of specifying a constraint the system does not understand. If
you do manage to get an error like 'unidentified identifier (in macro)'
restart the program from DOS with 'POL'. Remember that the data is case
sensitive. Refer to the manual for a complete listing of database fields
and their types.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Enter a condition or leave blank for all records. |
| Enter HELP for a list of valid field names. Press Esc to Abort. |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When the report is being generated you will see the screen shown below. All
reports in the system are generated to a disk file. From the disk file, the
report can be viewed on-line (the configuration menu will allow you to tell the
system what viewer to use), copied to the printer (along with the printer codes
needed for 80, 96, or 132 column printing), or copied to another disk file.
This interface for all system reports is shown below also.
Report In Process Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:07 |
+==============================================================================+
Generating report to disk...
Press Escape to stop processing.
W O R K I N G
Output Menu Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:07 |
+==============================================================================+
+------ Output Menu -------+
| 1 View Report On-line |
| 2 Print the Report |
| 3 Copy File To New Name |
| 4 Return to Prev. Menu |
+--------------------------+
The POL system comes with a small utility program called "LOOK" that is used
when you select the first item in the Output Menu. LOOK is very simple. If you
have access to a better file listing program like LIST, then use it. The valid
keystrokes and their descriptions are shown below:
Up/Down Arrow Move display up/down 1 line
Right Arrow Move display 16 columns to the right
Left Arrow Move display back to beginning in column 1
PgUp/PgDn Move display up/down 1 full screen
End Move display to the end of the file
Home Move display to the start of the file
Esc Leave LOOK and return to the POL system
If you select the menu item to copy the file to the printer, then the following
screen will come up. You need to tell the system whether to use pica, elite, or
condensed print. After you specify the size of print, the system will send the
report to the printer.
Printer Menu Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:08 |
+==============================================================================+
+----------- Printer Menu ----------+
| 1 Pica (10/in or 80 wide) |
| 2 Elite (12/in or 96 wide) |
| 3 Compressed (16/in or 128 wide) |
| 4 Return without printing |
+-----------------------------------+
If you select the menu entry to copy the file to a new name, the screen shown
below will come up. You are given a large space in which to type a valid DOS
file name. The large space is there so that you can specify a drive and path.
Copy File To New Name Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:50 |
+==============================================================================+
+------ Output Menu -------+
| 1 List File |
| 2 Print the Report |
| 3 Copy File To New Name |
| 4 Return to Prev. Menu |
+--------------------------+
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Enter a valid DOS filename to have the report file copied to. |
| Drive and path specifications are OK. Press Esc to Abort. |
| New File Name |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Miscellaneous Functions
From the main menu, selecting #3, Miscellaneous Menu will bring up the following
screen. The descriptions of the activities in this menu are described below.
Miscellaneous Menu Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:11 |
+==============================================================================+
+------- Miscellaneous Menu -------+
| 1 Fix Wrong or Blank Chart Nbrs |
| 2 Backup Data Files |
| 3 Re-Size Files (periodically) |
| 4 Return to Main Menu |
+----------------------------------+
Selecting item #1 will assign or fix the chart numbers. The chart numbers in
this system are based on the Sky Atlas 2000 and Uranometria by Wil Tirion, the
Peterson Field Guide, and the Norton Atlas. You would typically use this
function after you had added new records to the list of 1160 that come with the
system, and you did not enter (or are not sure about) the chart numbers. A
sample of this screen is shown below.
Fix Wrong of Blank Chart Numbers Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 10/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:06 |
+==============================================================================+
This function will take a few minutes.
During execution, the Esc key will stop it.
Do you still want to do it? [Y/N]: y
Fixing chart #s...
136 was changed to 1
221 was changed to 4
Update of wrong chart numbers complete!
Press any key to continue...
Selecting item #2, Backup Data Files, will allow the system to copy the
following groups of files to a diskette:
Pol.dbf 1135 objects and their observational fields
Pol-text.dbf your textual data about the objects
Config.mem configuration settings (printer, color, ...)
*.txt all files with an extension of "txt"
It is very important that you keep a good backup of all your system data. The
most important files shown above. You should always have a good backup copy of
these files. Ideally, you should have a good backup of the entire system. This
function provides an easy way to copy your data files (but not program files) to
a diskette. If you don't make regular backups of the entire system, then this
function should be used regularly.
The Pol.dbf file is related to the Pol-text.dbf file so that if you restore one,
you should restore the other. To restore one of the "dbf" files, simply use the
DOS copy command to copy it back from the diskette, and delete the indexes
associated with the file. The Pol.dbf file used indexes pol.ndx and pol-mess.
The Pol-Text file uses the index file pol-text.ndx. If you are restoring the
Config.mem file or any of the "txt" files, you can simple copy them back from
the diskettes.
A sample of this function's screen is shown on the next page.
Backup Data Files Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:12 |
+==============================================================================+
Database files will be copied to Drive A:
Is this what you want? [Y/N]: y
C:\POL>echo off
The backup utility will copy your data files to a diskette
in drive A. Insert a formatted diskette in drive A and
press any key to start the backup. If you want to abort
the backup then press Ctrl-C now...
Strike a key when ready . . .
Copying Files to Drive A:
Copying POL.DBF
Copying POL-TEXT.DBF
Copying CONFIG.MEM
Copying all txt files
Backup of data is complete!
Strike a key when ready . . .
Selecting item #3, Re-Size Files (periodically), will physically remove all of
the records marked as deleted in your viewing notes file (pol-text.dbf) and
object file (pol.dbf). Each time you edit existing notes, the old notes are
marked as deleted. To save time, the system does not actually remove the
deleted records until this function is run. The file pol-text.dbf holds all of
your observational text that you enter in the file maintenance section. This
file will grow larger as you add or change text. A sample of this screen is
shown below.
Re-Size Files Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:18 |
+==============================================================================+
Counting deleted records in POL-TEXT...
There are 18 POL-TEXT records marked as deleted.
Packing and re-building POL-TEXT indexes...
All deleted POL-TEXT records have been successfully removed.
Counting deleted POL records...
There are 1 POL records marked as deleted.
Packing and re-building POL indexes...
All deleted POL records have been successfully removed.
System Configuration
From the Main Menu, selecting item #4, System Configurator Menu, will allow you
to customize some aspects of the POL package. A sample of the menu is shown
below. The menu allows you to specify a type of printer, the printer port, a
report viewer, the use or non-use of color, a drive to use for backups, specify
the observational equipment that you have, define the latitude and longitude of
your viewing location, and make changes to various miscellaneous settings. The
settings that you specify here are saved and used in the current and future
sessions.
The specification of a printer (item #1) is needed so that the system can send
the correct escape characters to your printer to get it to print in pica
(10/in), elite (12/in), or compressed (16/in). If your printer is not one of
the ones that the system knows about, you can tell the POL system that you have
a generic printer. If the system is told that it is a generic printer, it will
not send any printer control codes to your printer. You will be responsible for
getting your printer into the correct mode. A lot of printers now can be
configured from buttons on the front of the printer.
Item #2 in the menu (printer port) allows you to specify which printer port is
to be used for printing reports. The choices are limited to LPT1, LPT2, COM1,
and COM2.
The specification of an on-line report viewer (item #3) is needed so that you
can see and make use of your reports without printing them. Many times you want
to know something from one of the reports, but you don't want to go through the
hassle, time, and expense of getting the report printed on your local printer.
This feature allows you to use a file listing utility program to view the
contents of the report. The utility program supplied with the POL system is
called "look.com". "Look" is a simple file listing utility program. To specify
the report viewer, all you need to do is enter the utility programs name without
its extension (look, list, browse, ...).
The #4 item in the menu (color status) allows you to turn the systems use of
color on or off. If you are using a monochrome system then you will not want
the system to try to use color. If you simply don't like my choices of colors
then you don't have to live with them - black and white are the default.
Item #5 in the menu (drive for backups) allows you to select between having
backups done to drive A or drive B. This does NOT perform the backups. Backups
are done from the Miscellaneous Menu.
Item #6 in the menu (define equipment) allows you to specify up to eight pieces
observational equipment that you use or have used. By default, the eight
instruments are initialized to being:
Report
Screen Label Label
-------------------------
Naked Eye EYE
Binoculars BIN
Refractor 1 RFR1
Refractor 2 RFR2
Reflector 1 RFL1
Reflector 2 RFL2
Schmidt-Cass 1 S-C1
Schmidt-Cass 2 S-C2
The screen label that you specify in this function is what shows up on the file
maintenance screen. The report label that you specify is what is use as a
column heading in all 132 column reports. Both types of fields are
automatically right adjusted after you complete the update screen. What you
enter in all of these label fields has no impact on the data in the POL system -
you are simply specifying labels to be used on the screen and in the 132 column
reports.
The decisions that you make about how to use these fields is important! You
should decide up front what equipment you want to have listed. It is
recommended that you put N/A into all unused fields. This will allow you room
to add in additional equipment later on and not impact the information that you
already have entered. What you want to avoid is changing the meaning of a field
(changing equipment definitions) after you have observations that equipment.
For example, if you have a field called "60mm Refractor" and have a few
observations where you answered "Y" for the "60mm Refractor" field, then you
will have a problem if you want to change the field to being "20x80 Binoc". If
you change the field to "20x80 Binoc" then your data will indicate that all of
the object that you actually saw with the 60mm refractor were seen with the
20x80 binoculars. It would have been better to put the "20x80 Binoc" field in
the system in place of a "N/A" field. That way you would keep the old
information about what objects were seen with the 60mm refractor and you would
be able to enter new information about objects seen with the 20x80 binoculars.
If in the example above you were to change "60mm Refractor" to "20x80 Binoc",
then you would need to manually go through and change all of the records that
have a "Y" in the old "60mm Refractor" field to "N". If you had seen very many
objects with the 60mm refractor, this will be a tedious job. The View command
in the file maintenance function would help a great deal here.
Item #7 in the menu (define location) is needed so that the system can
accurately calculate the rise, transit, and set times for all objects. The
initial settings (39.79 N, 83.86 W) are for an observing site in eastern Ohio.
Item #8 in the menu (miscellaneous settings) is a catch-all. This option allows
to set or change a global magnitude limit, configure the editor, turn the sound
on or off, and enable or disable the calculation of rise, transit, and set
times. The file maintenance function will perform the "Next" and "Previous"
commands almost twice as fast if the calculations are turned off.
The Global Magnitude Limit allows you to impose a limit on the magnitude of
objects seen in the file maintenance program and all reports. If you have a
60mm refractor and live in the city, you might want to set the limiting
magnitude to 10 - you won't be able to see objects fainter than this. Setting a
limiting magnitude does not get rid of any records in the database - it just
filters them out so that you don't see them. If you later set the limiting
magnitude to something higher, all the faint objects that you were excluding
will now be seen.
The editor width and margin for printing notes applies only to the personal
notes editor.
Samples of all the functions in the configurator Menu are shown on the following
pages.
System Configuration Menu
+==============================================================================+
| 12/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: HP LaserJet II 13:00 |
+==============================================================================+
+------------ System Configurator Menu -----------+
| 1 Printer HP LaserJet II |
| 2 Printer Port Name LPT1 |
| 3 On-line Report Viewer lists |
| 4 Color Status T |
| 5 Drive For Backups A |
| 6 Define Equipment |
| 7 Define Location |
| 8 Miscellaneous Settings |
| 9 Return to Main Menu |
+-------------------------------------------------+
Printer Selection Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:20 |
+==============================================================================+
Your current printer is: Epson
Printer Selection Menu
----------------------
1 Epson
2 Generic (No Codes)
3 HP LaserJet II
4 IBM
5 Panasonic KX-P Series
6 Star NX Series
Select a printer from the list above
by pressing the number of the printer
you have connected to the system. You
can abort without changes by pressing
the Esc key.
Please select a printer number:
Printer Port Name Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:20 |
+==============================================================================+
Your current printer port is set to: LPT1
You can have your printed reports go to 1 of 4 ports on you computer.
The default port is LPT1. Use the arrow keys to position the reverse
video bar below to the appropriate port for printed output.
LPT1 LPT2 COM1 COM2
On-line Report Viewer Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:21 |
+==============================================================================+
Your current on-line report viewer command is: LOOK
The on-line report viewer that you use must be able to display simple
ascii files to the screen. The program supplied with the POL system is
called 'LOOK'. It is a simple file listing utility that allows you to
page up and down through a file, and to move left and right for reports
that are wider than the 80 column screen. If you have a better file
listing program than LOOK, then enter its name here. Press Esc to leave
without changes.
Enter the new command to invoke the on-line report viewer.
Command:
Color Status Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/20/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:21 |
+==============================================================================+
Color is currently disabled.
Use the arrow keys to high light the correct answer
then press the enter key.
Use COLOR Do not use color
Drive For Backups Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/21/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:33 |
+==============================================================================+
Use the arrow keys to high light the correct answer
then press the enter key.
Backups to Drive A Backups to Drive B
Define Equipment Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/21/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 23:33 |
+==============================================================================+
The box shown below allows you to customize the file maintenance screen and 132
column report to reflect the equipment that you use to observe with. The first
column of entries (titled 'Screen Label') is used to determine what text is put
beside the Y/N answer in the file maintenance program. You can enter up to 14
characters. The text will be right adjusted for you after you complete the
screen. The second column is used to determine what column label will be used
for the Y/N fields in the 132 column report. If you already have data entered
you should review the Configuration section of the manual before making changes.
+--------------------------------------+
| Report |
| Screen Label Label |
| Instrument A Naked Eye EYE |
| Instrument B Binocular BIN |
| Instrument C Refractor 1 RFR1 |
| Instrument D Refractor 2 RFR2 |
| Instrument E Reflector 1 RFL1 |
| Instrument F Reflector 2 RFL2 |
| Instrument G Schmidt-Cass 1 S-C1 |
| Instrument H Schmidt-Cass 2 S-C2 |
+--------------------------------------+
Define Location Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 12/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: HP LaserJet II 13:00 |
+==============================================================================+
In order for the POL system to be able to calculate rise, transit and
set times for objects, it is necessary to have your latitude, longitude,
hours from Universal Time (UT), and viewing date. The latitude and
longitude are decimal degrees. Hours from UT is how many hours behind
or ahead of Universal Time you are. For example, New York is -4 hours
during Daylight Savings and -5 hours without Daylight Savings. Likewise,
Denver is -6 hours during Daylight Savings and -7 hours without Daylight
Savings. The reference date is the date that the calculations will be
done for. Latitude must be between 0 and 90. Longitude must be between
0 and 180. Hours from UT must be between -12 and 12. Press Esc to exit
without changes.
+----------------------------------------+
| Latitude 39.79 North or South N |
| Longitude 83.86 East or West W |
| Hours from UT -5 |
| Reference Date 12/24/90 |
+----------------------------------------+
Miscellaneous Settings Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 12/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: HP LaserJet II 13:00 |
+==============================================================================+
+------------------------------------------------+
| Enter a limiting magnitude (99 shows all): 99 |
| |
| Enter the editor width (20 - 80): 70 |
| Enter the margin for printing notes: 5 |
| |
| Sound (Y/N): N |
| |
| Calculate Rise and Set times (Y/N): Y |
| |
| Select a chart to be used in reports (1-4): 1 |
| 1 Sky Atlas 2000 - Tirion |
| 2 Stars and Planets - Peterson |
| 3 Uranometria - Tirion |
| 4 Norton's Star Atlas |
+------------------------------------------------+
Edit Personal Notes
Item number 5 from the main menu, Edit Personal Notes, will invoke the built in
word processor and allow you to edit any DOS file with a "TXT" extension. If no
files with a "TXT" extension exist, the editor will prompt you for a file name
to create. If there are files with a "TXT" extension then you are asked to
choose the file to edit. At this point, if you press the Esc key, you will be
allowed to create a new file. This function is for you to record any general
information that you want. Sample screens from the editor are shown below:
Edit Personal Notes File Selection Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 11/25/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: Epson 00:13 |
+==============================================================================+
+------------------------------+ +--------------+
| Select a file to edit, or | | COMETS.TXT |
| press Esc to specify a new | | MOON.TXT |
| file to be created. | | POL-NOTE.TXT |
| | +--------------+
| Up/Down Arrow - Move 1 row |
| Home/End - Top/Bottom List |
| PgUp/PgDn - Move 1 Window |
| Character - First File |
| Beginning with Character |
| Enter - Select Item |
| Esc - Create a New File |
+------------------------------+
Edit Personal Notes Editor Screen
PERSONAL OBSERVING LOG EDITOR File: POL-NOTE.TXT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telescope Descriptions
8 inch F6 Dobsonian
This is a reflector telescope that I made in November, 1988. It uses a 8"
primary from Parks, a 1.83 secondary, and 4' of cardboard Sonotube. The mount
is made of 3/4" plywood and a kitchen sink cut-out. The telescope without
eyepieces or a finder scope cost about $300. I have the following Edmund RKE
eyepieces: 28, 21, 12 and 8mm. I have a 6mm Orthoscopic eyepiece from Bach &
Lomb. I have a 25mm Meade Orthoscopic that I traded a 28mm RKE to Mike
Abercrombie for. I have a 17mm Sirius Plossel. I purchased a used 50mm finder
scope in March, 1989 from Jose Olivares. In May, 1990, I moved the finder scope
to the front of the tube (makes it much easier to use) and painted all of the
wood bright red. Laura and I painted the tube white when it was first
constructed. On June 10th, 1990, I attended the Apollo Rendezvous sponsored by
the Miami Valley Astronomical Society. At the flea-market there I bought a used
21mm Edmund RKE eyepiece.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ctrl Arrow - 1 Word Home - Start of Line PgUp - Up 1 Window
Ctrl Home - Top Window End - End of Line PgDn - Down 1 Window
Ctrl End - Bottom Window Ctrl PgUp - Start Text Ctrl T - Delete Word
Ctrl Y - Delete Line Ctrl PgDn - End Text Ctrl B - Reformat Text
Ctrl N - Open Line Above Ctrl W - SAVE and EXIT Esc - ABORT Editing
Edit Personal Notes Screen
PERSONAL OBSERVING LOG EDITOR File: POL-NOTE.TXT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+----------------------------------------+
| Do you want to print the file? [Y/N] N |
+----------------------------------------+
+----------------------------+
| Edit another file? [Y/N] Y |
+----------------------------+
Personal Notes Editor Screen
PERSONAL OBSERVING LOG EDITOR File: POL-NOTE.TXT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+----------------------------------------------+
| File to create (blank to exit): .TXT |
+----------------------------------------------+
This editor works in the same way as the editor in the File Maintenance program.
See the "File Maintenance Text Command" on page 9 for a description of the
editor.
Temporary Shell to DOS
Item number 6 from the main menu, Temporary Shell to DOS, will allow you to step
out of the system to the DOS command line, do whatever DOS commands you need to
do, and then come back into the system. As the screen below shows, you need to
enter the DOS command "EXIT" to return to the POL system. This function will
invoke whatever is pointed to be the environment variable "COMSPEC". Unless you
are running a replacement shell, COMSPEC will point to the normal DOS shell -
C:\COMMAND.COM.
Temporary Shell to DOS Screen
+==============================================================================+
| 10/24/90 Personal Observing Log Printer: HP LaserJet II 23:31 |
+==============================================================================+
Invoking C:\COMMAND.COM as a DOS Shell.
Enter EXIT from the DOS prompt to return to the POL system
Microsoft(R) MS-DOS(R) Version 3.30
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1987
C:\POL>
File Layouts
Database: POL Database: POL-ALL
Field Name Type Field Name Type
---------- --------- ---------- ---------
NGC Character NGC Character
MESSIER Numeric TYPE Character
CON Character RAH Numeric
RAH Numeric RAM Numeric
RAM Numeric DECD Numeric
DECD Numeric DECM Numeric
DECM Numeric MAG Numeric
TYPE Character
MAG Numeric Database: POL-TEXT
SIZE Character Field Name Type
SKY_ATLAS Numeric ---------- ---------
NAME Character NGC Character
DATESEEN Date SEQ Numeric
LOCATION Character TEXT Character
INST_A Character
INST_B Character
INST_C Character
INST_D Character
INST_E Character
INST_F Character
INST_G Character
INST_H Character
EASY Character
TAUDS Character
SPECIAL Character
FAILED Character
DATE_FAILED Date
MAG2 Numeric
PA Numeric
URAN Numeric
DUMMY Character
NORTON Numeric
PETER Numeric
Appendix A - Printer Control Files
Epson and compatible printers
CEPSON.PRN - Compressed control codes
EEPSON.PRN - Elite control codes
PEPSON.PRN - Pica control codes
REPSON.PRN - Printer reset control codes
HP LaserJet and compatible printers
CHPII.PRN - Compressed control codes
EHPII.PRN - Elite control codes
PHPII.PRN - Pica control codes
RHPII.PRN - Printer reset control codes
IBM and compatible printers
CIBM.PRN - Compressed control codes
EIBM.PRN - Elite control codes
PIBM.PRN - Pica control codes
RIBM.PRN - Printer reset control codes
Panasocic KX and compatible printers
CPANKX-P.PRN - Compressed control codes
EPANKX-P.PRN - Elite control codes
PPANKX-P.PRN - Pica control codes
RPANKX-P.PRN - Printer reset control codes
Star NX and compatible printers
CSTAR-NX.PRN - Compressed control codes
ESTAR-NX.PRN - Elite control codes
PSTAR-NX.PRN - Pica control codes
RSTAR-NX.PRN - Printer reset control codes
Appendix B - Editor
The editor for the POL system is a simple, easy to use editor for creating and
manipulating text files. When invoked from the main menu (Edit Personal Notes)
the editor will bring up a list of all the .txt files that it sees in the
current directory (that are less than 64000 characters long). From this list
you choose which file you want to edit. The instructions for what keys do what
is shown on this screen also. Basically, you just arrow down to the name of the
file you want to edit and then press the Enter or Return key.
The editor is also use from within the File Maintenance function. This usage
does not require you to pick a file name. The editor screen in the File
Maintenance function looks a little different from the one in the main menu
(Edit Personal Notes) but all of the editing keystrokes are the same.
Edit a New File (Edit Personal Notes only)
To indicate that you want to edit a brand new file in the Edit Personal Notes
function, press the Escape key instead of arrowing to a name and pressing enter.
Pressing Escape from the file selection screen will cause the editor to prompt
you for the name of a file to edit. You may enter any valid DOS file name, and
when you exit from the editor the file will have been created with your
information in it.
Editing Text
The editing screen for the Edit Personal Notes function has the name of the file
on the first line, 2 solid lines across the screen with 17 lines for text in
between them, and 5 lines of keystroke help at the bottom screen. The editing
screen for the Text command in the File Maintenance function has the editing
area in a box wide enough for 68 characters.
The editor works the way you would expect it to. The best way to learn how to
use it is to just work with it for a few minutes. Type in a few lines of text
hitting the enter key at the end of each line. Try some of the keystrokes
listed at the bottom of the screen.
The Ctrl B - Reformat Text will not do anything unless you have been typing past
the end of the line and allowing the word-wrap feature to work. When you type
past the end of the line, the editor inserts an invisible character (a soft
return) at the end of the line. When you hit the Enter key, the editor puts a
different invisible character (a hard return) at the end of the line. Lines
that end with a soft return can be reformatted with the Ctrl B keystroke. Type
in a short paragraph (a few lines) and do not press the enter key at the end of
the lines - just let word wrap do its thing. Now go back up and turn the insert
mode on by pressing the Insert key. Type a few new words in the middle of your
paragraph. See how the text gets pushed from line to line? Now on the first
line of the paragraph delete a few words. When you delete words or letters, the
paragraph does not automatically reformat itself like it does when you are
inserting new text. To make the paragraph flow correctly, do a Ctrl B.
Experiment with this to get the feel of it.
If you make use of the word wrap feature by not pressing enter at the end of
each line, then the file that you produce will not really be a simple ASCII
file. Each line will have a soft return instead of the normal hard return. If
the editor within the POL system is the only editor that will use to edit your
personal notes then there is no problem. If however you plan to use the file
with some other application then the soft returns could be a problem. This is
an easy problem to fix though. Simply press the end key to go to the end of
each line and then press the Enter key to put in a hard return.
Report Types
Listed below are examples of the 8 types of reports that the POL is capable of
producing.
Report Type Example Report
------------------------------------------------------
Standard 80 Column Messier Report by Messier #
Standard 96 Column Report by NGC #
Standard 132 Column Report by R.A.
Objects to Try Objects to Try by Chart
Date Seen Report by Date Seen
Constellation Objects to Try by Constellation
Rise and Set Rise, Transit, and Set by R.A.
Full NGC Full NGC Catalog Report
Object Descriptions NGC Object Descriptions
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