Documentation for THINK.IT3 --------------------------- Phil Wheeler -- 71266,125 7 September 1986 This is a modified version of the popular M100SIG version of the program THINK.IT by Larry Groebe. This version replaces THINK.IT2 and all of my earlier patch files. Changes are summarized below. Note that the DL0 file THINK.DOC should be referenced for general program use. 1. Extra Line Space Patch An "extra space" patch has been incorporated. It provides extra linefeeds only as specified, rather than adding them at the end of all sets of multiple sub-headings (as is done in THINK.IT). 2. Fix in Line 82 Line 82 of the original has the code 'IFW=00THENW0=999'. The 'W=00' is now 'W0=0'. The width (W0) = 0 option is recommmended for printing to a RAM file. 3. Provision for a Title Line My main frustration with the original program was the lack of a title line. Moreover, if you delete the lead line ("Outline" in the original), the program will abort. If you use the top line as an item in your outline, you cannot insert items above it, which goes against the concept of an outlining program. And if you print with numbers, the top line is numbered, not too good for a title line. When starting a new outline, THINK.IT3 comes up with a message at the top: <> Go into the character edit mode (SPACE bar; see THINK.DOC) and hit ESC key to delete the above text; then type in your title (less than the line length to be printed), perhaps in CAP's for emphasis. DO NOT put any indented subheadings under this top heading, but start your outline with a new major heading -- your true first major heading. When you print, with numbering selected, the top heading (the title) will not be numbered. Numbering will start with the second major heading, with which you started your outline. 4. Left Margin Specification In the original THINK.IT the print left margin is zero, unless you use a printer utility to set it to some other value. In THINK.IT3, a print-time option is provided, with a default value of 8. 5. New File Feature Often I am working on one outline and would like to save it and work with another one. In THINK.IT this requires going to the Model 100 main menu and restarting the program. In THINK.IT3 function key 7 gives a "New" option, which saves the file you are working on and returns you to the THINK.IT opening menu for specification of a new file. This feature can also be used for periodic storing of a working file -- That is, select "New" and then select the same file as your new working file. It is a good idea to do this occasionally because the working file is NOT a menu file as in TEXT; it is saved to the menu only when you select "New" or "Menu". If you let a working file, particularly a new one, get so large that there is not enough available memory to save it, you are likely to lose your work! Periodic saving, particularly if your available memory is small or your outline is large, will minimize such losses. It should remarked that the commercial versions of THINK.IT (see Line 0 in the program) do take steps to guard against such data losses, by setting the maximum number of outline entries according to the amount of free memory at program start. -------------------- One patch I have considered, but not included, is use of the "Wordstar Diamond" for cursor movement. Unlike TEXT, THINK.IT/IT3 does NOT support these alternate cursor functions. If you do hit a ^S, you will pause the program (restart with another ^S). If you use a ^D, it will be embedded in the outline (look at it in TEXT to find and remove such anomalies). Such embedded characters can cause the cursor to "get lost"; for example, you do a SHIFT-DEL and the wrong character disappears. So use only the cursor keys (see THINK.DOC) for cursor movement. This is the only version of THINK.IT I will support. Earlier attempts to provide updates to the commercial version proved ill-advised, because I do not have the latest commercial version and have (so far) been unable to contact the author. All comments, positive and negative, will be appreciated. If I accumulate enough new suggestions or patches, there may be yet another version. Phil