Refer to the Font Size and Typestyle Menu entries for details.
Clipboard
Keystrokes Alt-E (or F10, Edit), Undelete (returns the contents of the Clipboard to where it was cut from)
Alt-E (or F10, Edit), Copy (copies the selected text to the Clipboard)
Alt-E (or F10, Edit), Move-Cut (removes the selected text and places it in the Clipboard)
Alt-E (or F10, Edit), Insert-Paste (inserts the contents of the Clipboard at the current cursor position)
F4 (same as Copy)
F5 or Del (same as Move-Cut) F6 (same as Insert-Paste)
Ctrl-U (when no menu is displayed, same as Insert-Paste) Ctrl-T (removes the word to the right of the cursor and places it in the Clipboard)
Ctrl- Y (removes the current line and places it in the Clipboard)
Function
See Also
Close (File)
Keystrokes
Function
Clipboard etr/-OY (removes the current line starting from cursor position and places it in the Clipboard)
The Clipboard is a Sprint "holding tank" for text that you want to move or copy elsewhere (even to other Sprint files). The Clipboard is actually a memory buffer that Sprint uses to keep selected text until you need it.
Ordinarily, the Clipboard holds only one selection at a time. If you cut a paragraph, move the cursor, and then cut another paragraph, only the second paragraph will be in the Clipboard ready for pasting. If, however, you don't move the cursor between successive cuts (using, for example, Ctr/-Y to delete a bunch of lines one after another), Sprint assembles all your cuts into the Clipboard, appending each successive cut after the last one.
Note that the Erase command on the Edit menu also deletes selected text but does not put that text into the Clipboard. Use Erase, therefore, when you want to quickly cut a block without altering the contents of the Clipboard.
Copy, Deleting, Edit Menu, Undelete
A/t-F (or F10, File), Close etr/-F4
Ctr/-KO (closes a file) Closes the current file.
This command closes the current file and removes it from the swap file (SP.SWP, the backup file created each time you start Sprint); it does not, however, save the file to disk. Once you are done working on a file, you shoulJ save it to disk and then close it.
A file remains open and available for editing until you close the file. Even if you open other files, Sprint keeps all files open (up to 24 of them) and available (even if there is a system crash) until explicity closed. Because
Close (File)
How To
Tips
See Also
each open file requires space in the swap file, it's a good idea to close files as you finish working on them.
When you choose the Close command, Sprint checks to see if the file has been modified since it was last saved. If it has been modified, Sprint asks you if you want to save the file before closing it. You then have the option to save the file before Sprint closes it. If it has not been modified since the last save, Sprint closes the file and removes its contents from the swap file.
If the Preserve Editing Session (in the Customize/
Options menu) is set to No, Sprint closes all documents in the swap file when you exit the program. If the com-mand is set to Yes, Sprint keeps a backup file so that the files will be open the next time you use Sprint.
If an open file has been modified since the last save, Sprint will, before exiting, display the unsaved file and ask if you want to exit without saving. You then have the option to save the file before Sprint closes it.
To close a file, choose Close from the File menu. If you've modified the file since the last time you printed or saved it to disk, Sprint displays the prompt:
The file C:\DlRECTORY\FILENAME.EXT has not been saved;
save it (Y,N,ESC)?
If you do not want to save the changes you've made, type N. If you want to save the changes, type Y. If the file you closed isn't the only open file, Sprint switches to the previous open file.
Once you close the last open file in the swap file, Sprint displays a ruler line at the top of the screen, and the status line shows the file name "Unnamed." You can continue creating new files with Sprint, or you can exit to DOS.
You do not need to close a file before quitting Sprint when the Preserve Editing Session is set to Yes, but to avoid having different versions of the same file, be sure to save it to disk.
Background Save Period, File Menu, Sa:ve
Close (Window)
Close (Window)
Refer to the Window entry for details.
Codes
Keystrokes
Function
How To
Alt-C (or F10, Customize), Screen, Codes Alt-Z (toggles control codes)
Shows or hides the control codes that make up Sprint commands.
This command is a toggle that instructs the editor to either display or hide the control codes used to make up Sprint commands. Some commands consist solely of control characters; for example, Tab is really a Ctrl-I character (displayed as /\I), and a ruler line is really a set of control codes that define the left and right indents, tab settings, and so on (for example, /\KR 65, T 5). Other commands contain command text and control codes; for example, the Begin Description command that is used throughout this chapter looks like this when Codes is set to On:
AOBEGIN DESCRIPTIONAN
In this example, the /\0 instructs the formatter to begin the command, and the /\ N ends the command line.
When you set the Codes command to show (On), the editor won't wrap your paragraphs within the margins on the ruler line, nor will it reformat them. Once you set Codes to Off again, the editor automatically resumes its wrapping and reformatting functions.
For a list of Sprint control codes, see Table 1.1 on page 46.
To display the control codes in Sprint commands, choose Customize/Screen. Sprint displays the current setting of the command. Off means you don't want Sprint to display control codes; On means you want to see the control codes. All of the commands on the Screen menu are toggles.
Codes
Tips
See Also
Colors
Keystrokes Function
How To
Tips
Note to two-floppy system users: Sprint may have to prompt you to insert the correct Program Disk into Drive A in order to use this command.
Set the Codes command to On when you want to delete a control code. That way, you can see the code you want to delete. When Codes is set to Off, the editor automatically moves the cursor beyond the control codes in text, so you don't accidentally delete them.
Control Characters, Insert Menu
AIt-C (or F10, Customize), Colors Displays the Color Set menu.
This command displays the Color Set menu, which lets you change how Sprint displays on your screen. You can select from two color sets or a monochrome set. You can also customize your own color set or undo any changes you have made.
To change any of the color settings, choose Custom,ze, Colors. Move the cursor to the desired color set or com-mand and press Enter.
You can also choose Modify from the Color Set menu.
When you do, you'll see a choice of Typestyle, Formatting, and System. Choosing one of these gives you a new menu of screen elements in that category.
Choosing the screen element, in turn, displays a full palette of colors and attributes to choose from. Use your arrow keys and PgUp and PgDn keys to select a color, then press Enter. Pressing Esc goes back to the previous menu to let you change the color of another screen element.
Note to two-floppy system users: Sprint may have to prompt you to insert the correct Program Disk into Drive A in order to use the Customize/Colors com-mand.
If all your changes end up looking like a garish crazy quilt, you can choose Undo and return to the colors you started with.
Colors If your computer uses the Hercules InColor card or the Hercules Graphics Card Plus, the colors palette will display many different fonts to choose from in addition to colors and attributes.
Note: Some memory-resident programs might cause certain custom colors to blink. If this happens, res elect the blinking item in the Colors menu and set it to a color from the first set of colors. (If you're using SideKick Plus, choose Services/Setup/Exit Conditions, and set Allow Blink Attribute to Yes.)
Column Break
Refer to the Columns entry for details.
Column Mode
Refer to the Block Select Menu entry for details.
Columns
Keystrokes
Function
Alt-L (or F10, Layout), Multiple Columns
Alt-S (or F10, Style), Other Format, and type ForrnatNarne
Columns
=
IInllFormats the text in n columns (a maximum of 6).
The Columns menu lists three commands for creating columns in your text: Snaking Columns, Column Break, and Gutter Between. These columns are called
"snaking" columns because the text in one automatically flows into the next one as needed (flowing from bottom to top to bottom like a snake's winding motion). Snaking columns are the type you're used to seeing in news-letters and newspapers.
When you choose the Snaking Columns command from the Layout/ Columns menu, Sprint automatically inserts an onscreen command, matching the numbers of
Columns
Tips
columns you want. For example, if you choose three columns, Sprint inserts the command COLUMNS3.
Here's how it might look onscreen:
Words that rhyme with sponge, almost:
BEGIN COLUMNS3 expunge lunge grunge flange splotch scrunch munch bunch lunch END COLUMNS3
You can also create snaking columns by modifying formats with the special parameter called Columns. You can do this by choosing Style/Modify and then entering the parameter.
For example, within a Bullets format, choose Style/
Modify and type col umns=2. Press Enter, and your modification appears onscreen. For example,
BEGIN BULLETS, COLUMNS=2 one
two three four five six
END BULLETS prints like this:
• one
• two
• three
• four
• five
• six
Columns
If you want multiple columns, but don't plan on using a lot of special features (like dashes or numbers before paragraphs), use the Text command and modify it to include the Columns parameter. For example,
BEGIN TEXT, COLUMNS
=
2Sprint is quite good at creating columns. It has the ability to combine two-column output on the same page as one-column output. Footnotes also appear at the bottom of the current column.BEGIN FNOTE This is an example of a footnote.END FNOTE Sprint can also do three, four, five, and even six columns.
END TEXT results in:
Sprint is quite good at creating columns. It has the ability to combine two-column output on the same page as one-column output.
Footnotes also appear at the bottom
of the current column.1 Sprint can also do three, four, five, and even six columns.
1. This is an example of a footnote.
How To
Tips
Select the text you want to format into columns. Choose Layout/Columns/Snaking Columns. You see a prompt reading
Number of columns: 1
Type in a number from 1 to 6 and press Enter. Sprint then prompts:
Space between columns (ENTER for .5 in):
Enter a dimension or just press Enter. If you had already selected the text, Sprint inserts an onscreen command like COLUMNS2.
If you want to change the gutter dimension, choose Columns/ Gutter Between. Sprint prompts you for the Columns commands you want to modify. After choosing, you can enter a new figure for the gutter.
You can force the start of a new column by using the Columns/Column Break command.
If you want to create a format to make parallel (not snaking) columns, you have to use the command called
Columns
See Also
Comments
Keystrokes
Function
How To
Column (note there's no s). See the Column entry in Chapter 2.
Modifying Formats, and Chapter 2 (Column; Text)
Alt-T(or F10, Typestyle), Hidden
; single line of hidden text
Specifies text that appears onscreen but does not print.
These commands let you insert text in your file that you don't want to print. For example, you might want to temporarily omit sections of your document or insert some instructions in a file that someone else is going to edit for you.
One-Line Comments
Type a semicolon (;) at the left margin and then type the text of your comment. When you print your file, Sprint will skip all individual lines that begin with a semicolon.
To insert a comment at the end of a line, press Tab, type a semicolon, and then type the text of your comment.
This technique of embedding commands works only if you have set the Commands parameter to Yes at the top of your file or at the end of the .FMT file you're using. To do this, you would choose Style/Other Format at the top of your document and enter Style Comments Yes. At the end of your .FMT file, you would enter
@Style[Comments Yes]
Multi-Line Comments
Mark the text as a block, then choose Typestyle/Hidden.
Sprint inserts a Begin and End Comment command onscreen. For example,
Tips
See Also
Comments BEGIN COMMENT
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The following paragraph reflects version A. When we go to version B, this paragraph should be deleted.
See John for update schedules and planned enhancements.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
** * *
* * ** *
END COMMENT
The asterisks aren't required, but draw attention to the commented text.
By default, the first line of the STANDARD.FMT file specifies @Style(comments yes), and the last line says
@Style(comments no), which means that comments are observed in that file, but not subsequently. This means that if your file contains single-line comments (those that begin with a semicolon), the formatter will print these lines. If you want to suppress printing single-line comments, delete the @Style command at the end of the STANDARD.FMT file or add a Style command at the top of your document.
If you place hidden text on a separate line (not within a line of printing text), Sprint removes the extra line during printing.
Note: You cannot nest Comment commands with other Comment commands.
Modifying Formats, Typestyle Menu, and Chapter 2 (Style)