To do fancy word processing and desktop publishing easily, get Ami Pro. It's a word processor that includes lots of tools for desktop publishing. It's easy, powerful, and pretty.
The original version was called just Ami (which is the French word for ``friend''). Then came an improved version, called Ami Professional (or Ami Pro).
Ami and Ami Pro were published by Samna. In 1991, Lotus bought Samna, so Samna's become a division of Lotus. In 1995, IBM bought Lotus.
The newest version of Ami Pro, called Word Pro, sells for about $80. But here's a better deal: get the previous version, called Ami Pro 3.1, for just $29.99 from a liquidator called Surplus Software (489 North 8th St., Hood River, OR 97031, 800-753-7877 or 503-386-1375). Hurry, while supplies last! Ami Pro 3.1 works well even if you have just 4M of RAM and just Windows 3.1.
This chapter explains how to use Ami Pro version 3.1. Before reading this chapter, learn how to use Windows by reading the Windows chapter. That chapter also explains how to use Windows Write, which is the word processor that comes free with Windows 3.1 (and 3.11). If you have one of those versions of Windows, practice using Windows Write before using Ami Pro.
Copy Ami Pro to the hard disk
Ami Pro comes on floppy disks. To use Ami Pro, you must copy it from those floppy disks to your hard disk. Here's how.
Turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A. Start Windows (by typing ``win'' after the C prompt). You'll see the Program Manager Window.
Choose Run from the File menu. The computer will say ``Command Line''.
When you buy Ami Pro version 3.1, you get a big box that contains the main manual, several booklets, and eight 1.44M floppies. (If your computer requires 720K or 5¬-inch floppies instead, get them by phoning Lotus at 800-343-5414. Canadians call 800-Go-Lotus instead.)
Put Disk 1 in drive A. Type ``a:install'' (and press ENTER).
Type your name, press the TAB key, type the name of your company, and press the ENTER key. (If you don't have a company, type ``Ami Pro Lovers Association''.)
Press ENTER five more times. The computer says, ``Insert Disk 2''. Put Disk 2 in drive A and press ENTER. When the computer tells you, do the same for Disks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
If the computer asks ``Modify AUTOEXEC.BAT?'', click the ``No'' button (by using the mouse).
The computer will say, ``Install complete''. Press ENTER.
Exit from Windows (by choosing ``Exit Windows'' from the File menu, then clicking ``OK''). Turn off the computer, so you can start fresh. Launch Ami Pro
Here's how to start using Ami Pro version 3.1.
Turn on the computer without any floppy in drive A. Start Windows (by typing ``win'' after the C prompt). The computer will say ``Program Manager''.
Double-click the Lotus Applications icon. Double-click the Ami Pro 3.1 icon.
Ami Pro can act in different ways, to meet the needs of different people. When you use Ami Pro, it begins by acting however the previous user told it to. If the previous user was a jerk, Ami Pro will act jerky.
The following procedure makes Ami Pro act as a professional desktop publisher. The first time you use Ami Pro, do this procedure. The next time you use Ami Pro, you can skip the procedure ___ unless a colleague has used your copy of Ami Pro and given different commands instead.
Here's the procedure. . . .
Ruler Click ``View''. You'll see the View menu. If one of the View menu's choices is Show Ruler, choose it. That makes the computer put a ruler across the top of the screen. The ruler is numbered in inches: 1", 2", 3", etc.
Preferences From the View menu, choose View Preferences. Make sure the boxes next to ``Vertical ruler'' and ``Display as printed'' each contain an X. (To put an X in a box, click the box.)
Make sure box next to ``Custom view'' contains 91. If it contains a different number, raise or lower that number (by clicking the nearby arrows) until that number becomes 91.
The other boxes don't matter.
When you've finished, click ``OK''.
Type your document
Start typing your document.
Ami Pro uses the mouse and fundamental keys the same way as Windows Write. For details, read these sections on pages 151-152:
``Use the keyboard''
``Scroll through documents''
``Insert characters''
``Split a paragraph''
``Combine paragraphs''
Movement keys
To move to different parts of your document, you can use your mouse. To move faster, press these movement keys instead:
Keys you press Where the pointer will move
right-arrow right to the next character
left-arrow left to the previous character
down-arrow down to the line below
up-arrow up to the line above
END right to the end of the line
HOME left to the beginning of the line
PAGE DOWN down to the next screenful
PAGE UP up to the previous screenful
Ctrl with right-arrow right (to next word or punctuation symbol)
Ctrl with left-arrow left (to beginning of a word or punctuation)
Ctrl with a period right to the next sentence
Ctrl with a comma left to the beginning of a sentence
Ctrl with down-arrow down to the end of a paragraph
Ctrl with up-arrow up to the beginning of a paragraph
Ctrl with PAGE DOWN down to the next page
Ctrl with PAGE UP up to the previous page
Ctrl with END down to the end of the document
Ctrl with HOME up to the beginning of the document
CONTROL key
To manipulate your document quickly, use the CONTROL key (which says Ctrl on it).
Underline Here's how to underline a phrase (like this). Press Ctrl with U, then type the phrase, then press Ctrl with U again.
Word underline Here's how to underline all of a phrase's words individually (like this), without underlining the spaces between them. Press Ctrl with W, then type the phrase, then press Ctrl with W again.
Bold Here's how to make a phrase be bold (like this). Press Ctrl with B, then type the phrase, then press Ctrl with B again.
Italics Here's how to italicize a phrase (like this). Press Ctrl with I, then type the phrase, then press Ctrl with I again.
Normal You can combine techniques. For example, here's how to make a phrase be underlined and bold (like this). Press Ctrl with U (to underline), then press Ctrl with B (to make bold), then type the phrase, then press Ctrl with N (to make the computer revert to ``normal'' printing).
Equidistant Here's how to make a title be exactly centered (``equidistant''). Press Ctrl with E, then type the title (and press ENTER), then press Ctrl with E again.
Justify Here's how to justify several paragraphs, so their right margins are perfectly straight. Press Ctrl with J, then type the paragraphs (pressing ENTER after each paragraph), then press Ctrl with J again.
Right Here's how to make a short line of text be flush right, so the text is next to the right margin. Press Ctrl with R, then type the short line of text (and press ENTER), then press Ctrl with R again.
Display To see a display of the entire page, press Ctrl with D. The screen will display a mock-up of how the entire page will look: you'll see the entire page, shrunk to fit on the screen. When you finish admiring that display, press Ctrl with D again. Go You can go to page 3 quickly by using this trick: press Ctrl with G, then type the number 3 and press ENTER. (That technique works just if your document contains at least 3 pages.)
Find If your document contains the word ``love'', here's how to make the computer fin
