After you enter new data or modify existing data with the Edit function, you will want to save the data on a diskette for use at a later time. The SAVE function provides the means of doing this.
Move the cursor to SAVE and press RETURN.
A different menu appears in the status area. The options are NORMAL and DIF. This menu lets you choose the format in which the data will be saved. If the data is to be used only with the VisiPlot program, you will want to save it in the NORMAL format.
The DIF (for Data Interchange Format) option stores data in a format that can be used by other Personal Software programs, such as VisiCalc.
With the cursor on NORMAL, press RETURN again.
The menu area contains the directions
< -, - >,
SPACE BAR, OR RETURN. Below the status area the program displays a list of the series currently in memory. At the bottom of the list are the items (NONE) and (CALL). The series listed should be FLOPPY SALES and FLOPPY DENSITY, the ones you loaded from the SAMPLE 1 file.You can cancel the SAVE operation by moving the cursor to (NONE) and pressing RETURN.
To SAVE data, you have a few choices. You can move the cursor to (ALL) and press RETURN, which writes all the series currently in mem-ory out to the data diskette. But if you only want to save a single series, you can move the cursor to the series name and press RETURN. Finally, you can save some of the series in memory by moving the cursor to the name of the first series to be saved and pressing the space bar. When you press the space bar, an asterisk (.) appears next to the series name. The asterisk means the series is selected to be saved when RETURN is pressed but it is not yet saved.
You can change your mind up to the time you press RETURN. If you don't want to save that series after all, press the space bar again. The asterisk disappears. The series is no longer selected for saving. Pressing the space bar again selects the series again. You can select as many or as few series as you want in this manner.
When you select series in this manner, they are all saved to the data diskette when you press RETURN, including the series to which the cursor is pointing whether or not it has an asterisk next to it. If the cursor is on (ALL) or (NONE), they have precedence regardless of the number of asterisks in the list.
For the purpose of this lesson, move the cursor to (ALL) and press RETURN. The disk drive makes a whirling sound and the status area says READING DIRECTORY.. The directory of the files currently on the disk-ette is listed under the status area. It is the same list you saw when you
LOADed SAMPLE 1. But there is a slight difference. In the LOAD list the last item was (NONE) and in this list it is (NEW FILE).
You now have a choice and a responsibility. You must select the file to which the selected series are to be written. It is a responsibility because, if you select an existing file, the data in it is destroyed and the selected series are stored in it. You must be careful not to erase any data you want to keep.
Usually, after you have created a new data series with the Edit function, you will want to put it in a new file. If you have updated information in an existing file, you will probably want to replace the old data with the new.
Remember, the selected series replace all the data series in the file, not just those of the same name. For example, if you load a file that contains series A, B, and C, modify series B, and then save series B to the same file, the file will contain only series B because you did not save series A and C.
Also remember that all selected series are saved in the same file regard-less of which file they Were loaded from.
It is good practice to save all data in new files. If after a period of time you find you don't need the old data, you can erase the old file with the DELETE function which is described later in this lesson.
For now, select (NEW FILE) and press RETURN.
When you choose to create a new file, the program prompts for a file name. Enter a name that is different from all other names on the diskette and press RETURN. You will get an error message if a file by that name already exists on the data diskette.
If you have followed the directions, you just tried to write to the program diskette in drive 1 of the boot slot. And you got the error message, CAN'T!
ERROR: WRITE PROTECTED. Your diskette is write protected: you cannot write on it. This protects the program diskette from being accidentally destroyed. Press any key except RESET to redisplay the menu.
There was no need to save the series you selected because there is a;lready a copy of them in the file named SAMPLE 1. You didn't make any changes to them because you have not yet used the Edit function.
Remember to check the data diskette drive assignment before starting a SAVE. The data diskette drive number cannot be changed after you start the SAVE. If you forget to change the drive number, cancel the SAVE.
You can cancel a SAVE function by selecting (NONE) when the list of series is displayed. If you go beyond that point before deciding to cancel, you can select (NEW FILE] from the list of files and enter a RETURN without a name when prompted for a file name. The lone RETURN is an invalid response that cancels the function.