ZX*TERM*80

ZX-TERM*80 V2.5 ADDENDA



May, 1988



By F. Nachbaur



I have made some "final" changes to ZX-TERM*80, resulting

in version 2.5. This version sports a number of additional

refinements, making it even more flexible and useful than

before. The changes are summarized in this .DOC file. Feel

free to circulate this, the program, and the associated Hot

Z "NAMES" file to other legitimate users.



The program is still only 4K long. Virtually every nook and

cranny has been filled, and it is most unlikely that

further changes will be necessary or desirable.



1: WRX16-V2 CORE - ZXT80 V2.5 uses the new V2 of Wilf

Rigter's WRX16 high-res core. This eliminates the need for

a copy of the dummy display file in high memory, thereby

removing some of the headaches that this causes.



V2.5 should work fine with Memotech 32K RAM packs (without

additional 16K pack). It also works with a completely stock

TS1500. (In both cases, of course, the all-important 8K

static RAM is assumed.)



Finally, there is no need for any data swapping, etc. to

make the program work with 64K packs. This frees up a

little space for some of the added features. Note also that

there is no need to select "memory type" in the BASIC

configuration portion of the program.



2: NEW ENTRY POINT - The entry point for V2.5 is ten higher

than previous versions. E.g., at the default location,

enter V2.5 with RAND USR 32280 instead of 32270 as in

previous versions. If you relocate it as high as possible

(45056), the entry point is 48664 instead of 48654.

Internally, some of the routines have been moved about.

This may require changes in auxiliary "patch" programs such

as BIGRLE and Gary Robinson's PATCH (dual data buffer).



3: BYTE-BACK MD-2 MODEM: Previous versions required that

you use SHIFT 6 (modem control) carefully. They only

checked if you were pressing the "A" key (to go to "Answer"

mode). Any other key was taken to mean "Originate." This

meant that you had to press Shift 6 very quickly to avoid a

false reading.



This has been corrected in V2.5. Also note that, unlike

before, you MUST hit shift 6 and select either A or O

before getting online; the SIO chip is no longer

automatically initialized on entry. (See below.)



3: WESTRIDGE MODEM: The program no longer automatically

initializes the modem on entry, and does not shut it off

when quitting to BASIC. This allows more flexibility in the













--2--





use of the program.



For instance, you might have a tape fast-save routine in an

alternate bank in 8-16K, or you might have a disk

controller mapped in this region. You can thus download a

file, quit to BASIC to save it, and re-enter ZX-TERM*80 to

continue modemming, download another file, etc. The

connection will not be broken by quitting to BASIC or re-

entering. (So don't forget to hangup after logging off.)

Similarly, you could download a program, test run it to see

if it's something you want to keep, and jump back in to

download something else if you so decide, else log off.



4: INPUT BUFFER QUEUE EXPANDED: The input buffer has been

permanently expanded to 256 bytes, much as if you had

employed "useful POKE #13." The buffer address (high byte)

is stored in the second byte in the program (generally,

this will be the first address beyond RAMTOP). Since most

users seem to have 64K, the default is at 65024 (254=FEh *

256). This can be changed by modifying location 16529 as

desired.



If you are using 16K, a little finagling will be necessary.

The first time through, answer "Y" to "INSTALL USER

OPTIONS?" and POKE 16529,111. Enter GOTO 500, answer

relocate No, and save the modified program to tape. After

saving (or subsequent reload), enter ZX-TERM*80 as usual

but DO NOT do any modemming yet. Quit to BASIC using ESC,

then POKE 16389,111 and NEW. This will lower RAMTOP by 256

bytes, reserving space for the input buffer. Re-enter ZX-

TERM*80 and modem to your heart's (and budget's) content.



5: TEXTWRITER MODE: If your save toggle is on, your typed

input will be stored in your capture buffer ("Save"

buffer). This is as if you had installed "useful POKE #4).

The reason this was done is to give you the option of fast

message uploading using the ASCII TRANSFER feature,

discussed next.



6: ASCII UPLOADING: Some boards don't support XMODEM, but

allow uploads/downloads using the "ASCII protocol." This

really isn't a protocol at all, since it does no error

checking; it simply sends the data, assuming that the other

terminal is there catching it all.



ASCII downloads can be done with all versions of ZX-

TERM*80. Simply open your capture buffer, and press a key

(usually SPACE). Uploading, however, was not directly

supported until V2.5.



Since the main menu keys were all used up, this and the

other new features were placed in the FUNCTION mode. When

you press FUNCTION (shift enter), you will now get a

FUNCTION sub-menu. The symbol keys are used as before for

symbols, but you now also have (D)ump, (H)ardcopy and

(T)ransmit options. The first two are covered in the next

section. The (T)ransmit option proceeds sending the













--3--





contents of your capture buffer (or whatever else is in the

program area) to the other terminal in a continuous stream.

The output is shown in window 2 as it is sent. Pressing

SPACE or ESC will prematurely terminate the output stream.



Bit 7 is NOT masked, so this is actually a little more than

just an "ASCII" uploader. In theory, at least, you could

therefore use it for 8-bit data, even Sinclair programs.

However, since there is no error-checking, use Xmodem

whenever possible for such uploads.



With many boards, you can use this to prepare a long

message, then ship it to the board in one go (saving time

and money). I noticed, though, that on the NNN, the board

doesn't have enough time to process each line as it is

received. As a result, messages longer than 4 or 5 lines

get garbled. In such cases, you might consider uploading

your long message to the files area, and leave a short note

to the sysop to ask him to transfer it to the message area.





7: BIG PRINTER OPTIONS: The program's handling of big-

printer operation has been considerably refined.

Previously, there was not much processing of the line-feed

(LF) and carriage-return (CR) codes. This caused headaches

with some printers, causing to print double-spaced lines in

some circumstances, while refusing to line-feed at all in

others. V2.5 now does the following. When printing, it

completely ignores any LF codes that may be received. The

CR code alone is used to signal a newline. When a CR is

sent, an LF is automatically sent right afterwards. So set

up your printer for the "LF + CR" mode, your printed output

will always be spaced correctly.



You can now turn the printer on or off using FUNCTION H

(Hardcopy toggle). Window 2 will show the present printer

ON or OFF status. This was added because some printers

continue to accept data into their buffer, even if taken

offline. Having software control eliminates the need to

take the printer offline, or shut it off completely to

clear its buffer.



Finally, the (D)ump option can be used to dump the entire

contents of the capture buffer to the big printer. This

obsoletes the DUMP DATA BUFFER TO PRINTER option in

Appendix V of the manual. As with the (T) option, pressing

SPACE or ESC terminates the dump. Also as with the (T)

option, window 2 will display the data as it is sent. This

option can be used either while online, or after logging

off.



8: COSMETIC TOUCHES: Finally, some cosmetic changes were

made that you may or may not notice. For instance, the main

menu now includes options SHIFT 9 (MEMory report) and SHIFT

0 (DELete). Delete, incidentally, sends a BS (ASCII 08)

instead of DEL (7Fh), since some boards don't like the DEL

code (including the NNN) whereas virtually all will respond













--4--





to BS. (That is NOT a value judgement!)



Incidentally, you can send a % symbol with "FUNCTION ." and

an apostrophe with "FUNCTION SHIFT ." - these were present

in previous versions, but were omitted from the table on

page 6.



USEFUL POKES MODS: Since some routines were moved, some of

the useful POKEs have to be changed. Others are now

obsolete.



#1: POKE 30705 (18561), 0 (196)

30706 (18562), 0 (210)

30707 (18563), 0 (117)



#2, #3: OK as published.



#4: Implemented. OK to reverse.



#5: Obsolete



#6: POKE 30109 (17965), 240 (226)*

30110 (17996), 116 (125)*



#7, #8, #9, #10: Obsolete



#11: Not recommended. Ignore.



#12: Not possible. RAND USR (address) to return.



#13: Obsolete



#14: POKE 32267 (20120), 0 (10)



#15: OK as published.



#16: Obsolete



#17: OK as published.