Documentation for DVORAK.SYS by James Yi (c) 1989, edited by Robert Benson DVORAK.100 and DVORAK.200 are keyboard enhancement programs for the M100 and T200, it can do the following: 1) Let you type in either Dvorak or normal fashion. The keyboard can be switched between the two modes at any time by pressing SHIFT+CTRL+BREAK. 2) Enable SHIFT, CTRL, GRPH and CODE keys to lock if one of them is pressed, and unlock after pressing it again or pressing another key that generates a character. You can generate control and graphic characters by sequentially pressing key combinations which is helpful if you don't have the full use of both hands and fingers, and find it normally difficult to type some key combinations. Although I can use all ten fingers I sometimes find this feature convenient. 3) Vary auto repeat delay, and speed. Delay is the wait between the keypress and the begin of repetition. Speed is the rate at which the key repeats. Make it repeat faster if you find the normal keyboard a bit too slow, or delay longer if some kind of handicap makes it difficult for you to release the keys quickly enough. 4) Make the keys "click" when you press them. You can turn this feature on and off at any time by pressing CODE+SHIFT+CTRL+BREAK. DESCRIPTION The loader that creates DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO also asks for a "End address" for DVKINS.CO, the "End address" is the location where last byte will be when it's loaded into memory. If you have a disk operating system or something else above HIMEM just press ENTER to load DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO right below it. DVKINS.CO is the installer that lets you setup options and does the necessary chores to make DVORAK.CO memory resident. DVORAK.CO is the main program. The loader does not ask for its address since DVKINS.CO will move it to a Basic file named "DVORAK..." which is invisible on the menu because its extension is ".." and cannot be accidentally deleted with the KILL command. INSTALLATION 1) Download DVORAK.100 or DVORAK.200 and convert it to a Basic program. 2) Run it and after you give it relocating information it will create DVORAK.CO and DVKINS.CO. 3) Delete all Basic files from the Menu that you might delete or edit after installing DVORAK, they can be loaded back after installation. This is to insure that "DVORAK..." will have a fixed location by being installed at the lowest possible address in memory without any Basic files below it that might be deleted causing the code to change location by moving down and resulting in a crash (back to Jan 1, 1900 Sun 00:00:01 and counting). 4) After loading DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO reset HIMEM for DVKINS.CO by executing a CLEAR statement in BASIC (CLEAR50,Top address). To find the Top address for DVKINS.CO type LOADM "DVKINS" in BASIC. 5) Run DVKINS.CO, it will install the Dvorak system and remove DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO automatically. When installed it takes up less than 500 bytes. OPTIONS When you run DVKINS.CO it shows you what options you will be installing. You can change these options by moving the cursor around and pressing space bar on the option that you want or don't want. Press ENTER when ready or press ESC to abort the process, hold down SHIFT while pressing ENTER if you don't want DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO to be removed from the menu. After the initial setup the keyboard mode (Dvorak or Sholes) and clicking sound can be turned on and off during use by pressing SHIFT+CTRL+BREAK for keyboard mode and CODE+SHIFT+CTRL+BREAK for sound. REMOVAL Other features cannot be changed once installed unless "DVORAK..." is removed and reinstalled again. To remove the whole thing just run DVKINS.CO again, hold down SHIFT if you want to reinstall "DVORAK..." and don't want DVKINS.CO and DVORAK.CO to be removed. COMMENTS It is believed that one can learn to type much faster on Dvorak than on Sholes system (QWERTY arrangement). I personally prefer typing on Dvorak. I had learned the old system well so starting over on a Dvorak was very slow and frustrating. It took several months before I could begin to type comfortably. If you are just learning to type I would think Dvorak would be a better choice, but if you are already deeply entrenched in the standard system it is my opinion that it's better sticking with it. The main reason I had switched is that the QWERTY felt a bit awkward sometimes. For example; reaching for some keys like B and T annoyed me since they were used quite often and farthest away. This maybe no accident, I heard somewhere that old machines had problem with the keys locking up when the typist went too fast so they rearranged the keys in the QWERTY fashion in order to deliberately slow him down. I can still type the old way without problems if I had to, but it's somewhat slower now due to the confusion I make between the two. Below is the Sholes and Dvorak arrangement for the 100 and 200 keyboard. You can use a paper clip to gently pull the key caps off and rearrange them, be careful since they are breakable. Bend the paper clip in a U shape and form tiny hooks at each end using a long nose plier. Hook opposite corners of the key cap and pull steadily. Make sure there is even pulling force at each corner so that the key cap will come off in a upright position, bending to one side will cause the stem to break. They don't come off too easily so use a sufficient amount of force. You can keep a finger on the cap to keep it from flying out when it pops off. /---------------\ \_ \ | Suggested tool: | Paper clip /- / bent in U shape \_______________/ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = Q W E R T Y U I O P [ A S D F G H J K L ; ' Z X C V B N M , . / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 [ = ' , . P Y F G C R L / A O E U I D H T N S - ; Q J K X B M W V Z