#whap! and message editor
13 messages in this thread
Hi,
I wanted to upload a copy of whap!, of which I was informed about by one of
your forum's messages. Apparently I do not have access to LIB16 (is it for
Beta test or developers only?) but would like to have access.
If I cannot have access to this library why inform me of the existence of
Whap! or LIB16 in the first place.
Also, I would like instructions for the use of the text editor for this
forum. It does not appear to operate like the editor found with EasyPlex, and
does not appear to provide any online instructions. Please do not require to
download any files for the instructions, since it does not seem appropriate for
me to cover the expense for incongruities within the Compuserve system.
Thanks in advance
Steven Maslyk
70137,2130
Whap! can be found in the AmigaTech library 16.
Steve
Steven,
The message editor is the same in all forums on CIS. May I suggest that you use
the Practice Forum (Go PRACTICE) to learn? There are no connect time charges
while you are in the Practice Forum.
As for Lib16, it is available to everyone. Were you trying Lib16 in AmigaTech
or AMigaArts? Whap! is in Lib16 of AmigaTech. It is a great program.
Betty
Betty,
Thanks. You're right, I was in Amigaarts. I'll try to pay attention to
"where I'm at" in the future.
However, I'm sorry to insist, that the editor in message base does not
work similar to Easyplex, since I have just returned from Easplex.
When I instruct the base to enter the editor, it acts if I intend to
insert a line(s) immediately preceeding my text. Easyplex, however gives you a
menu to choice which of certain options to perform, such a printing current
text, inserting lines, deleting lines, etc. It's almost as if your wandering
in the dark on the base editor. Am I missing something or is there an expert
toggle I might have switched?
Steven
Hi again, Steven.
Here you're seeing the differences in the "products" I mentioned before. In
EasyPlex there is a menu wrapped around the editor that does a bit of setup for
you; here, when you ask to edit a file again, it just restarts the editor.
Just like editing an existing file on your Amiga puts you at the top of the
file, asking to edit a message again puts you at the top of the message.
If you pop out of the editor in a forum, then decide that you want to add
something else and re-enter, you can do one of several things. You can type B
for Bottom, which will take you to the end of the file and type the last line
on your screen. Or, you can type /P99, which would print out up to 99 lines
(I.E., your entire message) and leave you at the bottom.
BTW, you might be interested to know that you apparently have the expert mode
turned OFF in EasyPlex. When it is turned on, once you /EXIT, that's it…
it's not straightforward to get back into the editor (at least not as far as
I'm aware). I imagine you get menus throughout the EasyPlex system? If so,
you're in "hand-holding" mode. You might want to consider turning this off if
you're an old hand, since it can be a time and money waster for you. EasyPlex
works about the same way as the forums: to send mail you COMpose a message, you
/EXIT the editor, and it asks you who to send it to.
Actually, if you're going to be getting Whap! and using that, you can
<continued>
<continuation>
forget all of this mess, since Whap! takes care of all the niggly details for
you AND saves you money to boot. (One warning, though: Whap! resets your CIS
defaults for maximum speed and efficiency. If, after using Whap!, you ever
need to log on without it, you'll find yourself in expert mode throughout the
system, using the line oriented editor, and so on. Nasty surprise if you don't
expect it.)
Rick
Steven,
I'm sorry, but I don't have a help file for the editor used in the forums. If
you have the CompuServe Users' Guide, you will find instructions in Chapter 16,
page 227. If you go to the Forum OPTIONS, you are offered a choice between
EDIT and LINEEDIT for your editor. I suspect you are getting EDIT and that you
might prefer LINEEDIT, but this is just a guess.
And you are right – the editors are not the same. The suggestion has been made
to the powers that be that we have one editor throughout the system, but that
has not yet happened. Might leave that suggestion with FEEDBACK if you want to
take action.
Betty
The operative word seems to be upload, I think what you mean is Download, if
you are trying to upload, it wont work, but you should be able to download the
file. If you have trouble let us know.
Greg Givler
Commodore Online Support
Whap! is in AmigaTECH Library 16, which is stated in the forum announcement.
There are two editors available for use in the forums: a very simple
line-oriented editor which places numbers on each line during editing, and a
FILGE derivative which is very similar to that used in EasyPlex (in fact,
excepting the more arcane commands it is nearly identical). If you have your
user options set to use the line editor, I can understand why it doesn't
"operate like the editor found with EasyPlex". I would suggest you select
OPTions and check which editor you are currently using. You may also wish to
set your global parameters for the editor of your choice CIS-wide.
Online help is available for the FILGE derivative by typing /HELP within the
editor. No help is available for LINE EDIT, as the only thing one can do is
type in sequential lines of text; once you /EXIT the file, all further editing
is done via menus which self-prompt.
Although it may not "seem appropriate for [you] to cover the expense for
incongruities", and although the various forums and sysops are more than
willing to help you in any way possible, you should keep in mind that it IS
your responsibility to learn the basic functioning of the system. This
includes reading online help and documentation files. Not knowing that there
are two different editors available to the user, if that is in fact the case,
is not an example of "incongruities within the… system."
<continued>
<continuation>
Also, please keep in mind that CIS is a collection of "products", many of which
are from different sources and which perform different functions. The command
structure, by nature, is different between the forums and EasyPlex, although
the flavor remains the same. However, if you venture somewhere like PCMagnet
or OAG, you will find a radically different environment.
By the way, a clarification in terminology which will save you and us future
confusion: you do NOT want "to upload a copy of whap!". A copy of Whap! has
already been uploaded. You want to DOWNload a copy of Whap!. Uploading is the
process of transferring a file to a host system or storage area. Downloading
is the process of moving a file from a host to an end user system.
Please don't hesitate to ask if you have futher questions.
Rick
Thank you, Rick. I apologize for any situations arising from my confusion. I
have been a user of Compuserve for a number of years, and don't recall ever
seeing this second editor on Compuserve. Having read the original manual
provided with my Vidtex software (originally from the C-64), I specifically
recall my manual mentioning only one of the editors. Was this an addition
since the last system upgrade (when the Practice Mode was introduced)?
No problem, Steven.
I don't know when either of the two editors came along, but I've been here for
quite a number of years (long enough to still say PPN instead of UID), and
we've had both editors for as long as I can remember. It used to be that the
default SIG (there I go again, I mean "FORUM") editor was the line-oriented
one, always. I remember having to painfully go through every forum and reset
it to FILGE on every new account I started (I used to do lots of demos, and
therefore started many new accounts).
Recently, CIS has given us a global editor option in our profiles, and each
forum can be set for either LINEEDIT, EDIT, or PROFILE; makes it much nicer.
If you saw some comment about Whap! in a forum message, I wouldn't be surprised
if someone just casually said "library 16". I didn't doubt your word when you
said that initially, but when I read your new message saying you'd seen it
again, I thought I'd better check. It turns out there are difficulties on both
sides of the counter.
What you're referring to as a message is in fact an announcement (called a
"bulletin" until the last major CIS software update; why do they keep renaming
everything?). We normally reserve "message" to mean messages posted in the
message base (I.E., this is a message). This causes NO problems whatsoever, so
don't worry about it… but it's the reason I didn't check into this yesterday:
I thought you saw someone say Whap! was in
<continued>
<continuation>
"library 16" in a MESSAGE, which was entirely possible during an extended
conversation ("It's in Tech somewhere, right?" "Yes, Whap! is in lib 16".).
Anyway, after reading your message today I checked the announcements and you're
right: it DOES just say LIBRARY 16, here in the Arts bulletin. This is
identical to the announcement posted in Tech; apparently whoever added that
bulletin put a copy here without realizing that the wording had to be changed.
I have done so to avoid future confusion.
So, it turns out that you DID have a valid gripe, and I apologize for any
confusion WE may have caused YOU! See? It all works out in the end… as long
as EVERYBODY keeps making mistakes, we'll all get along. If you meet anyone in
here who's perfect, shoot 'em. <Grin>
Thanks for bringing this to my/our attention. As I said before, if you have
any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. And good luck with Whap!;
once you get it installed, I think you'll find it well worth the effort.
Rick