Readers Feedback
The Editors and Readers of COMPUTE!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions you would like to see addressed in this column, write to "Readers' Feedback," COMPUTE!, P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403. Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot provide personal answers to technical questions.
Customizing SpeedScript 3.0
The "SpeedScript Customizer" program that appeared in the September 1984 issue of COMPUTE!'s GAZETTE allows you to change the default settings and formatting commands in SpeedScript 1.0 to fit your own preferences. But that program doesn't work with SpeedScript 3.0 or 3.2. Do you have an update of the program or the necessary POKEs to allow the same customization for the most recent versions of SpeedScript?
Bruce FattenIt just so happens that another reader wrote in with the very information you're seeking:
"SpeedScript Customizer" doesn't work with SpeedScript 3.0 or 3.2. But I have discovered the POKEs for customizing all of the same parameters for the newest versions of SpeedScript. Here are the default (normal) values and the locations that control them:
| Default Location | Value | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| 5722 | 5 | Left margin |
| 5723 | 75 | Right margin |
| 5724 | 66 | Page length |
| 5725 | 5 | Top margin |
| 5726 | 58 | Bottom margin |
| 5727 | 1 | Spacing |
| 5728 | 1 | Wait (1=go ahead) |
| 5729 | 1 | @ start numbering pages at (LSB) |
| 5730 | 0 | (MSB) |
| 5731 | 1 | ? start printing at page (LSB) |
| 5732 | 0 | (MSB) |
| 5733 | 80 | x columns across |
| 5734 | 27 | 1 printkey 1 |
| 5735 | 14 | 2 printkey 2 |
| 5736 | 15 | 3 printkey 3 |
| 5737 | 18 | 4 printkey 4 |
To customize your program, load SpeedScript 3.0 or 3.2 into memory, then POKE the desired values into the appropriate memory locations. For example, POKE 5722,3 makes the left margin setting default to 3 instead of 5. Then save the program using a different name. For instance, I have a frequent need to print postcards, so I set the left margin at 3, right margin at 35, columns at 40, top margin at 3, bottom margin at 18, and page length at 2. If you want to start numbering pages or start printing pages at a page lower than 256, POKE the desired value in the first of the two locations indicated. For instance, to start numbering pages at page 3, you would POKE 5729,3. To start at a page higher than 255, you must POKE two values in low byte/high byte format. The low byte of the value goes into the lower location.
Allen PerkinsThank you for the information. As mentioned in the original SpeedScript article, most of these settings have to do with formatting hardcopy printouts.