Re: NB: What I've learned so far

[Dorothy Day day@xxxxxxxx]

On Mon, 6 Dec 1999, Leslie Bialler wrote:

> Boyz and Grrrls, Several people have e-mailed me privately with
> questions about NB Win. Here is what I have learned so far. This is my
> "transition" from XyWrite 4.0 for DOS to NB Win.
>
> Your macros should work, whether you have them "hardwired" to a key in
> your KBD file or whether you store them as save gets. The trick is
> this: They put in a _blank_ startup file called NBSTART.INT. What I
> did was to copy _my_ startup.int file, _my_ kbd file, and my
> altkeys.sav file over to NB to see what would happen. (I also copied
> over my settings.dfl file, but that was less of a success. I decided
> it was better to compare the default settings line for line and see
> what NB would accept.)
>
> For this purpose I set my preferences so that the error messages
> appeared in a dialogue box (you have the choice, as in XyWin of having
> them appear there or on the prompt line). At each beep (and there were
> remarkably few) I removed the offender or changed the parameters.
>
> Next I tested the save/gets. Unlike with XyWin, what is on _your_
> altkeys.sav file _does_ override Windows conventions, with two
> exceptions: alt-f and alt-w. However the macros finally do execute
> once you blow away a dropdown menu that insists on appearing.
>
> Next I tested the macros. For this purpose, I reset the preferences so
> that the error messages appear on the prompt line, since many of my
> routines, of course, have < found no difficulties in executing them, provided that you start
> either in draft mode or expanded mode. I'm not sure they will work in
> graphics mode, nor do I have any interest in determining this! [The
> reason why: again, many of my macros depend on toggling back and forth
> between expanded and normal (draft)--so if it ain't broke . . . ?]
> It may well be down the road that some of the ones I seldom use may
> encounter difficulties but I have yet to find one.
>
> As for speed issues: I did a long search and replace on a test file
> and it executed as fast as it does in XyDos, and far faster than in
> XyWin. In addition, it makes no difference if you're in expanded,
> normal, or graphic mode--the speed is identical.
>
> The fonts are more readable in NB than in XyWin. There is still the
> issue of color coding--you can't color code in redlining.
>
> ----
>
> One more thing about the query in re strip.prn. There is an old
> command in 3+ that I assume would work in newer versions called
> RE. (For review?) I think it worked this way: with your file open,
> type REVIEW on the command line and see what happens. It may well be
> that this will suit the purposes of the person who first queried the
> list about this issue. Then again, perhaps not.
>

In older NB, RV is used for Review (print/type to screen). I tried RV in
NBWin on a long, moderately complex outline (6 levels deep of automatic
numbering). It displayed the results in Draft mode, and:

1) "hardened" all the numbering correctly
2) inserted carriage returns at the ends of lines for the text-width I
  had in the document
3) inserted page breaks for the current page length
4) retained the print-mode coding (viewable in Expanded mode)

For what it's worth.

	Dorothy


*****
Dorothy Day			School of Library & Information Science
day@xxxxxxxx					   Indiana University
*****
	"He also surfs who only sits and waits."

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