Re: running xy 3+ under windows xp - aarrgghhh!

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "Adel Darwish"  on Sun,
22 Jun 2003 13:00:12 +0100

Adel:

> My programme is III plus version 3.56
> For the cursor size, I discovered ( by pure chance) much simpler command.
> In the startup initiate file enter a command line : BC cur=118.
> This makes the cursor quite big. the size of a full letter or character.

Well, I just fired up v3.56, and when I issue "cur=118", XyWrite responds
"ILLEGAL COMMAND". So you must have a special version from your newspaper.
But in any case, what you're doing is the equivalent of the first method I
described yesterday: you're changing the first value of the CR default from 0
to 118. And yes, resulting cursor is big. But it's important (to me, if not
to you) to be able to discern, from the shape of the cursor, whether I'm in
overstrike or insert mode; it's bad enough to have to look occasionally at the
letters to see whether the CapsLock is on or off -- I want to keep my eyes on
the insertion point in the text and not be distracted. The second method I
described meets that need: that's precisely the _purpose_ of IT, to shape the
cursor and maintain that differentiation. As for "much simpler", I have more
trouble putting on my shoes. You set IT once, and you forget about it.

> This wouldn't help me as I did NOT install XyWrite from a
> disc through windows XP

In other words, you're concluding that because there is no visible icon or
"shortcut" and you launch from the DOS command line, there are no Properties?
That's not true. Open "My Computer" on the Desktop. Navigate to the location
of EDITOR.EXE, i.e. expand (click on) the "+" symbol on the drive and then
directory where EDITOR.EXE is located, then RightMouseButton [RMB] click on its
icon, and select Properties.

Wouldn't it be handy to have an icon or shortcut for Xy3+ on the Desktop? Just
hold down RMB and "drag" the EDITOR.EXE icon in My Computer [actually a program
called Explorer] to an empty spot on the Desktop, and "Copy" it there. Or:
RMB on an empty area of the Desktop, select New ==> Shortcut, and fill in the
two blanks: a fully-qualified filespec for EDITOR.EXE (you can just "Browse"
or navigate to it if you want), and then the shortcut name you want displayed
beneath the icon. Then you readily have available to you the controls you're
so desperately seeking, over window length etc.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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