CREATING MULTIPLE COLUMN DOCUMENTS WITH POCKET WRITER 2
                         (C-128 VERSION ONLY)

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Okay, now that the legal department has had its fun...

Question:  from Mark Johnston of Madison WI:  Issuet#12 of Twin Cities 
128  featured  a  review  of  Pocket  Writer 2 from Digital Solutions.  
Based  on  that review, I recently purchased Pocket Writer 2, and I am 
happy  to  report  that like you, I am thrilled with it.  However I do 
have  a  question.   In  the  review you mentioned that you use Pocket 
Writer  2's  new  block range facility to create double column outputs 
(specifically the ones used to create the layout for Twin Cities 128).  
Would  you  please elaborate on this subject in a future issue of Twin 
Cities 128, as the manual is somewhat vague on this procedure.

The  Answer  Man speaks: The ability to create double column output is 
indeed   one   (of  many)  excellent  features  of  Pocket  Writer  2.  
Unfortunately,   Mark   is   not   alone  in  experiencing  difficulty 
comprehending  how  to  make  use  of  block  range function to create 
multiple  column output.  Many of our readers on GEnie have also asked 
me to outline this procedure in depth, so here goes:

To  begin,  although  it  is possible to create multiple column output 
without  utilizing  Pocket  Writer  2's  powerful "alternate document" 
facility, I do because it makes the entire process much easier.

Step  1:  Use  the  shift  ALT key sequence to setup the 32K alternate 
        document  area.  By using the alternate document area you will 
        be  able  to easily set up your multiple column output without 
        altering  the  orginal unformatted text.  This is desirable in 
        case  you make a mistake or decide to re-work your layout at a 
        later date.

Step 2: Type or load the entire document into one of the text areas.

Step 3: Format  the  entire  document as if it were one long column, 
        using the appropriate margins, justification, page length etc.  
        Example:   A typical page of TwintCitiest128 is made up of two 
        50  character,  70 line columns of fully justified text.  So I 
        set up the first text area with the following format settings:

        Left Margin      1
        Right Margin    50
        Justify         ON
        Page Length     88
        Printed Lines   70

Step 4: Using  the  ALT  key move to the other text area and set the 
        appropriate format settings for your multiple column page (not 
        the  individual  columns).   Again,  using  a  typical page of 
        TwintCitiest128  as  an  example, I use the following settings 
        for the actual layout in the second alternate text area:

        Left Margin     1
        Right Margin  110
        Justify        ON
        Page Length    88
        Printed Lines  70
        Pitch          15

        Note:  Be  sure  to  set the pitch size to the proper value or 
               your printed output will be a mess!

Step 5: Return to the alternate text area using the ALT key and begin 
        selecting  the  first  column  (the leftmost one in your final 
        output) by placing your cursor on the upper left corner of the 
        text  you  wish to select and using the CTRL R sequence.  Then 
        use  the  cursor keys to highlight the column of text you wish 
        to  select.   Once  you  have highlighted all of the text that 
        will comprise the column, make sure your cursor is on the last 
        column  of  the last line of the column you wish to select and 
        press  the  CTRL  B  sequence to select a block range of text.  
        Note:  You  must  use  your  cursor  keys and not a mouse or a 
        joystick  to  selet  the  block  range because the only normal 
        ranges,   not   block  ranges  can  be  selected  using  those 
        peripheral devices.


Step 6: Now move back to the other alternate text area (the one which 
        will  contain  your  multi-column  output) by pressing the ALT 
        key.   Place  your  cursor at the line and column at which you 
        want  the  column  to begin and use the CTRL C (copy range) or 
        CTRL  M  (move  range)  sequence  to electronically paste your 
        column  into place.  Note: Using the either the CTRL C or CTRL 
        M will commands not disturb the block range in the you defined 
        in the other (source) text area.  

Step 7: Repeat steps 5 & 6 for as many columns as you wish to layout 
        on  as  many  pages you wish to create, electronically pasting 
        the  column at the exact position you desire.  (At Twin Cities 
        128  we  position  our  columns  seven  characters  apart.)  I 
        suggest  you  periodically save your multiple column layout to 
        disk  or  RAMdisk just in case you make a mistake. In this way 
        you  can  easily  recover  by  re-loading  your previous work.  
        Personally  I  do one page at a time and save them as separate 
        files,  but  there  is no reason why you can not put more than 
        one multiple column page per file.  Keep in mind however, that 
        when using alternate files with Pocket Writer 2, your 64k text 
        area  is effectively haved into two 32k areas.  Be careful not 
        to  run out of text memory in either area when doing any range 
        operation  because this will cause the program to "go away and 
        sulk"  and  force you to re-boot the entire system. (Thank God 
        for  RAM-disks  that  retain  their  data  even when the reset 
        button is pushed!)

I hope this has been helpful.

SPARROW.J  GEnie Commodore Flagship SYSOP
a.k.a Loren J. Lovhaug
      Managing Editor of Twin Cities 128
      North America's only C-128 specific magazine

Twin Cities 128
P.O. Box 4625
Saint Paul MN 55104

$25.00 per year/$2.50 per issue