Re: Color Choices Menu

[cld@xxxxxxxx (Carl Distefano)]

Reply to note from Patricia M Godfrey  Fri, 31
Dec 2004 18:09:11 -0500

> I never mess with colors much

Neither do I, Patricia -- at least not in XyWrite. I manipulate
screen colors with a®MDNM¯ 1988 DOS freeware utility called VGA Palette
Tool, or VPT. You can download it, with documentation, here:

http://users.datarealm.com/~ammaze/xfer/vgatool.zip

VPT color schemes, or palettes, are saved to tiny, 49-byte files
having the .VPT extension. I locate VPT.EXE and all .VPT palette
files in the directory that has EDITOR.EXE. That makes it easy to
load a default palette in the BATch file that launches Xy, thus:

vpt.exe /Lblue
editor.exe/e4000

Once XyWrite is running, you can switch color schemes on the fly
with this U2 frame:

XPLeNCODE v2.0
b-gin [UNTITLED]
{{;5vpt}} Load VPT palette file [CLD][cr|lf]{002};*;   Loca
te VPT.EXE and any .VPT pallete files in the directory[cr|lf]
;*;   that has EDITOR.EXE[cr|lf];*;   Usage:[cr|lf];*;{032}
   VPT [palette_name][cr|lf];*;   VPT{032}
shells to VPT.EXE[cr|lf]{<}SX01,{<}VA@50{>}{>}{<}SX50,{<}VA$E
D{>}{>}[JM_]2.GetPath[Q2_];*;[cr|lf]{<}IF{<}VA|01{>}>0{>}{<}I
F"."{238}{<}IS01{>}<0{>}{<}SX01,{<}IS01{>}+".VPT"{>}{<}EI{>}[
BX_]exist {<}PV50{>}\{<}PV01{>}[Q2_]{<}IF{<}ER{>}{>}{<}SX01,{
<}IS50{>}+"\"+@upr({<}IS01{>})+" does not exist"{>}{<}PR@01{>
}{<}EX{>}{<}EI{>}{<}EI{>};*;[cr|lf][BX_]do/nv/x/z {<}PV50{>}\
VPT.EXE{<}IF{<}VA|01{>}>0{>} /L{<}PV01{>}{<}EI{>}[Q2_][DO_][F
F_]{002}[cr|lf][cr|lf]
-nd
XPLeNCODE

I've experimented with lots of color schemes over the years, but the
three I keep coming back to are cream-colored text on a midnight
blue background (very soothing, my default), dark blue or black on
paper white (good when ambient light is very bright or very dim),
and the classic IBM green on black (when nostalgia strikes). The
precise range of colors available with VPT depends on the MoDe
settings in the relevant XyWrite PRinter file (usually
SETTINGS.DFL); in other words, the two groups of settings interact.
All told, the number of possible combinations is mind-boggling; you
can burn up a lot of time getting them just right. The three
palettes I use are all based on a single set of MoDe settings. I'll
share the MoDe values and VPT files with anyone interested. (The
VPT settings are monitor-specific and will require tweaking.)

All this applies exclusively to DOS and XyWrite running in text
mode, i.e., in a FULL SCREEN. VPT has no effect on screen colors in
a Desktop window -- though the VPT color scheme is restored when you
Alt-Enter back to full screen.

P.S. I don't get flashing text in Win XP either.

--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxx