UR2TIP.001 by Phil Wheeler [71266,125] This is the first tip file for Ultimate ROM II. No promise of more to come, but you never know. Topics are miscellaneous. My experience is with the Model 100 version; I assume it can be extrapolated to the others, but you never know until it's been tried. This is not a review; if it was I would have much good to say about T-WORD, some good to say about IDEA!, and nothing to say about T-BASE (haven't used it). Because technical issues and hints are the scope of this file, it may seem negative. For all of that, I prefer Ultimate ROM II to Super ROM for my current needs -- primarily due to the power of T-WORD (I write a lot!) and the TS-DOS key in its main menu (see below). 1. Function Key Reset Problem Parts of UR-2 zap your function keys while running (reasonable) and do not restore them upon exit (deplorable). So if you have your function keys set up the way you want in Basic, they will be back to the cold-start settings when you leave UR2. Example: the Key 8 definition in LFUTL.PW1 (and FIXLF.HF1) gets zapped, leaving you with no linefeed when you exit. So you really need to use another linefeed utility if you have UR2 installed. Jim Irwin has created such a patch for the M100. I have integrated the M100 version into an integrated multi-function utility (see UT-LF2.100 in DL4). This utility does cost you a menu slot (usually OK); and for that reason FILEN.100 needs a patch (incorporated into UT-LF2.100). I deal with the F-key reset issue by incorporating my standard F-key set-up routines into my standard on-board utility. I always run it upon exiting UR2. So, if you use IDEA! and T-BASE (T-WORD seems to respect the keys), do not use LFUTL.PW1 and its cousins. A cold start can result! 2. Using IDEA! Compared to Thought in Super ROM, IDEA! is slow . But it will get the job done, and is pretty easy to use once you get used to it. IDEA! does have some advantages. It allows embedding of "Notes" (Text) under headings as part of the file; Thought appears to require a menu slot for each such note, since they are separate DO files. I'm finding this to be a useful feature. And IDEA! (it is said) will exchange files with Think Tank. And, of course, you can deal with the files because they are ASCII ; well, almost -- each one ends with a "checker board" (255 decimal). The main clue to using IDEA! is to use the function keys as little as possible. The UR2 version has "quick" keys; for example, SPACE does preview, / does a quick select, > does move and ? does copy. Much faster once you get use to it. 3. The TS-DOS Function If you have UR-2 but have not bought TS-DOS, you probably find that menu function pretty useless. You shouldn't! It turns out that hitting that key will boot ANY file named DOS100.CO on the disk you have in the TDD. For example, you can download DSKMGR from DL5, rename it as DOS100.CO on all disks, and then auto-run it from UR2 by hitting the TS-DOS key. And, yes, it does work with FLOPPY.CO renamed as DOS100.CO! Note that if you want the OS to remain on the menu, use it to load itself once you have booted up. This is the easiest way to boot the TDD for a wiped M100 -- no "DIP Switch Maneuver" required! Of course, if you have TS-DOS you already know this (probably). 4. T-WORD Generally the T-WORD manual is excellent. I have found a couple of problems. There is a slight bit of confusion in the superscript and subscript functions as defined. On page 4-30/31, ^S is a superscript and ^T a subscript in the headings. But the text at the bottom of the pages seems to have been transposed between the two pages. No big deal, this! Oh, yes -- the summary in the "Installation Guide and Quick Reference" has the same transposition. One thing not stated in the manual (at least I have not found it) is that the printer configuration file codes in CONFIG.DO must always begin with ^B0 and end with ^Y0, even if you do not define code sequences for these print commands. I discovered (unintentionally!) that omitting these will lead to disaster (e.g., corrupted files or cold start). 5. Compatibility Ultimate ROM II, like many of our add-ons does have a few compatibility problems. I suspect that some are related to lack of consideration of this factor during design (like the F-key issue noted above) and others are unavoidable. One example: With Disk Power 100 loaded , I tried to save a DO file via 'Save to:0:FILE.DO' from within T-WORD. The file got safely to the disk, but disappeared on my menu -- and another 500 byte file grew to 17000 bytes (all garbage). I seem to remember having a similar problem with POWR-DISK. The message is: Use add-on DOS-type functions from within UR2 at your peril. In the same vein, I recall having some difficulties when running SXM.100 from within UR-2. Generally, running programs of any kind from within UR-2 is not recommended -- and really unecessary!