Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    For Icons, you can copy the .info file for a similar type of item
    (tool, project, drawer, etc.) to the new itemname.info and then click
    the new icon and pull down INFO and modify any necessary information.
    
    IConmaster and similar tools will help edit the pictures.  Another PD
    tool that's useful specifically for directories (drawers) is MKDIR,
    which will create the drawer and icon at the same time.  It can even be
    invoked from SID.
    

    BTW, DON'T DUP the whole item when copying the Icon (.info) file and
    change its name and change its name to the target application name (I
    don't think AmigaDos will readily let you do it anyway)!  You'll
    clobber the target application.
    

    If the file yu are giving an icon is an executable program be aware
    that all executables are not able to run from the Workbench icon
    interface - They must be coded to work properly. 
    
    There are ways to get around this look for IconX or XIcon (shareware)
    information. IconX is part of V1.3 Enhancer Software from Commodore.
    
    John

    re .0 
    Could you expand on "the same system".
    	ie. Which disk controller card , software, etc  ?

    I got the system from Omnitek.  Its a A2000 , with a 2091 /50 meg HD.
    Got the 2meg of extra ram on the HD board, 1084S monitor,extra internal
    floppie drive (3.5"), 1.3.?? AmigaDos .  I got all this for $1947.00
    It was the best deal I could find.


    Now More questions,  Why is the 1084S amiga screen so hard to read when
    Im in notes, or any terminal emulator (handshake vt200). I have been
    using a Rainbow since 1984 and never had such a hard time reading text
    as I do now, even when I was in Rainbow regis.
      What can I do to help this problem?

    Thanks  Bob

    I never had any problem with the 1084. are you in interlaced mode?
    If so configure the vt100 program to come up in nob interlace mode.
    								bill

    Re .5:
    
>   Now More questions,  Why is the 1084S amiga screen so hard to read when
>   Im in notes, or any terminal emulator (handshake vt200). I have been
>   using a Rainbow since 1984 and never had such a hard time reading text
>   as I do now, even when I was in Rainbow regis.
>     What can I do to help this problem?
    
    If you're using Handshake in 132 column mode, you're running into the
    reality that 132 characters x 8 pixels/character = 1056 pixels.  That's
    far beyond maximum overscan on the standard display modes, so Handshake
    does the next best thing by defining a 5-pixel wide character set and
    displaying 132 of THEM across the line (= 660 pixels).
    
    You might also be trying to compare a moderately-priced color monitor
    with a monochrome monitor.  For crispness, even a cheap monochrome
    monitor can usually outperform all but the most expensive color
    monitors (the ones with the unbelievably small dot pitches and all the
    magic electronics to keep everything in perfect convergence 8^).

     I am using the 1084s in non-interlase and at 80 wide.
    I use a DEC mono Rainbow at work and a DEC 241 color / Rainbow at 
    home. Are there better monitors for the A2000 and what are there
    cost.  Could it be the 1084s is just a cheep monitor?

    Thanks  Bob

    P.S.  I have had this A2000 system just one week now and already
    I need to take it back for repairs. The internal clock is not 
    working. I can set the clock, but when I go to save the time/date
    I get a error message. "Battery backup clock not found"   I hope
    this will be the only problem I get with the system.

    Check note 2346 and replies for an answer to the infamous "Battery
    backed up clock not found" error.

    -Dom

    re:.8
    
    There was one version of the 1084s monitor that was noted for having
    a high dot pitch (.40), like you said, a cheap monitor.  I think it got 
    better when they came out with the 1084SD which looked a lot like the 
    original 1080 monitor (possibly CBM got enough complaints about being 
    "too cheap" on the monitor).
    
    Dave

    re:.8
    
>>    There was one version of the 1084s monitor that was noted for having
>>  a high dot pitch (.40), like you said, a cheap monitor.  I think it got 
>>  better when they came out with the 1084SD which looked a lot like the 
>>  original 1080 monitor (possibly CBM got enough complaints about being 
>>  "too cheap" on the monitor).
    
  I saw the latest style 1084s(d?) down at System Eyse . It not only had
a great looking screen display,but the external look was really nice. I
liked the switch that allows you to switch to a green screen. While I
would not use it often it make a nice screen for PPage. It also has a very
sleek look about it. I plan on selling off my 1084 and put it toward one
of these new 1084s's. The cost has not changed, so I guess CBM shopped around
for a new vender. I like to try and cycle my stuff once in awhile anyway.
I recently traded in my 2058(pop4meg)card,and an older GVP with Fasstrom
update for a new series II card pop 4meg. This got me a new card,warrenty,
and I regained a slot. Slots never bothered me in the past but with the
pro sound boards,and internal TBS's coming out I think twice about expansion
slots now. 
							bill 

    The original 1084S and the 1084SD don't have the green screen button, so
    it sure looks like they found some new vendor.  Nice that they went
    for a "better" monitor instead of "cheaper" again.
    
    Dave
    

    Well I found the some different terminal programs makes the screen
    easier to read, also the switch for GREEN only will help sometimes.
    
    I do have more questions,  What programs do I need, to see/use
    the .IFF, .SIX, .POST files on tape [pictures & Graphics] ?
    I have DeluxePaint III and ProWrite III.
    
    I also need a little help from someone in this file.  I have
    a small picture on a business card and brochure I would like to
    use in my ProWrite documents.  Can someone help me with this?
    
    A question about inside the 2000.  
    Slots
    1  2  3  4  5  6  7     8
    |  |  |  |
          |  |
          |  |  |  |  |     |
    
    Slots 1-7 are for the pc-xt & amiga.  What is slot #8 for?  If you
    don't plan to use any PC boards , What is slots 1&2 good for?
    
    Thanks  Bob
     

    slot#8 is the video slot, it provides direct access to the video
    signals - it's used by the flickerfixing boards and the video toaster.
    
    If you don't plan to use a bridgeboard, those pc slots can be used by
    some amiga add-ons.  The slot is used as a place to internally mount
    the hardware and get power & ground.
    
    Dave 

	Dave,

	I'm sorry to correct you, but slot #8 is the processor slot,
	where all processor signals are available. It's an 86 pin slot in
	contrast to the 100-pin Zorro II slots.
	In this slot are accelerator boards (e.g. the Commodore A2620 or
	the GVP 3001) put into.
	In the old A2000A the slot is occupied by a 1MB memory expansionboard.

	The Video Slot you mentioned is at the rear right of the cabinet.
	It actually consists of two slots in a row just like a 16bit slot
	in an AT-compatible thing.
	But it has the functionality you described.

	Cheers Helmut

    
     MORE QUESTIONS ->   How do I get the 2000 to print the screen , if 
    there are no print windows.  ie.  in terminal mode.
    
    Thanks  bob
    

    
    Hot keys ...
    
    There are several PD and commercial packages out there. My favorite is
    GraBBit. It has been a trustworthy program since the first release of
    the Amiga. It has never needed a rewrite to support all versions of
    AmigaDOS.
    

    Paul,
    	You forgot to mention that Grabbit is no longer sold. I think
    Discovery bit the dust. I know that my dealer has a copy on the shelf.
    I joke about it all the time as the last known copy around. 
    							bill

A couple more drops into the bucket:

I have Superbase Personal, and I think it's more than sufficient for all but the
most intense/professional use (e.g. the home finance application mentioned).
I fall into the trap of wanting the "best" as often as the next Amigan, but I
really couldn't justify the cost for the "Pro" version, even though I have
until recently used Superbase to track my business accounts. Comparing Superbase
Pro to AppleWorks is a scream, IMHO- my take on this is that almost *anything*
on the Amiga is going to be far more powerful than the equivalent Apple IIe app.

As regards hotkey utilities, that's a good point; so is a reference to
high-quality PD/shareware stuff in general. I highly recommend MachIII, which is
a PD/shareware program which offers mouse acceleration, a highly versatile
menubar clock (it can even track running phone time costs!), hotkeys, and a
powerful macro language.

I have Scribble for a word processor, but if I were starting out now I'd get
something more like a document processor- the difference being more control over
format and the ability to incorporate graphics. I recall a recent discussion
which made me think ProWrite would be a good choice in this area.

The spreadsheet I use is SuperPlan. Apart from the fact that it has some unusual
abilities in the area of project management, it obviously coordinates well with
Superbase, coming from the same developer.

About the best way I know to create a *big* topic is to ask for opinions...glad
to do my part!

Cheers,
	Bob

>The spreadsheet I use is SuperPlan. Apart from the fact that it has some unusual
>abilities in the area of project management, 

Can you elaborate on this.

Chris

Re .20:

Sure, at least a bit.

SuperPlan supports some special commands which are time-related; they allow
you to define a starting task, prerequisite tasks, and so forth, with the
resulting spreadsheet containing all information needed to create a Pert Chart
for the project. (Displaying or printing the chart is a separate step- a
spreadsheet containing this information still just looks like a "normal"
spreadsheet.) The docs refer to the part with the time info as a "database."

I must say that I haven't used this feature as of yet, although it played a part
in my decision to get SuperPlan- I just haven't been in a project management
position since then!

If you'd like more detailed information, I'd be glad to bring in the manual and
expound a bit more (via E-mail if you'd rather), or answer any specific
questions you have.

Cheers,
	Bob

If you're looking for a powerful text editor, CygnusEd Professional from ASDG
is the best I've found.  Totally programmable keys, AREXX, extremely fast,
and much much more.

-steve

    Re <several>:         
    
    I use ProWrite (which I recommend highly) and SuperPlan (which I also
    recommend).  I've debated about database products -- I had very good
    luck with the C=128 version of SuperBase and would have bought its
    Amiga sibling if the price was more reasonable.
    
    In the WYSIWYG word processing arena, ProWrite is rapidly becoming a
    defacto standard.  There is now a simplified (no graphics support)
    version called QuickWrite, which at least one magazine article has
    pointed to as the ideal word processor for people who need to produce
    input to serious desktop publishing programs (most of which can import
    ProWrite/QuickWrite documents directly).
    
    For serious spreadsheet users (I count myself as such), SuperPlan is
    probably still the strongest contender despite a few shortcomings.  It
    claims 1-2-3 compatibility, though I haven't tried that out.  It has
    very strong graphics capabilities and its planning mode can be useful
    for small projects.  SuperPlan's user interface is closer to that of
    MultiPlan than it is to other Amiga applications.  The mouse can be
    used to place the cursor, select requestors, and to scroll around the
    spreadsheet, but it can't highlight ranges, for instance.
    
    One thing I miss from MultiPlan is the ability to identify a cell as
    the intersection between two vectors.  When I used to do my family's
    taxes in C=128 MultiPlan, I'd name each row with the tax form line
    number.  The five columns (mine, hers, ours, and two sons') then each
    compute a tax form.  MultiPlan would assume the current column/row when
    a name was used that referred to an intersecting row/column, so I'd
    have formulas like (Line2-Line3) that would replicate nicely across 
    the spreadsheet.  In SuperPlan, I had to go back to the "old way" and
    call out individual cells in my formulas.
    
    I've looked at just about all the other Amiga spreadsheets as they have
    come available.  None of them impresses me as better than SuperPlan for
    my needs.  For less-demanding users, Gold Disk's "Advantage" might be
    sufficient.  (It also comes as part of the Gold Disk "Office" combination
    product that may well be the closest equivalent to Apple Works on the
    Amiga platform.)

	I also use Superplan and like it a lot.  As Bill said, I find it
	the most powerful spreadsheet around. It reminds me of DECalc,
	if you're familiar with it.  What I like is that you can use 
	complicated formulas and table lookups. A friend and myself have
	a complicated spreadsheet (really a prototype for a program) in
	DECalc, which I transfered down to Superplan. While the transfer
	was not effortless or direct (I converted to LOTUS format on the
	VAX, downloaded, imported LOTUS format into Superplan, and then
	had to fixup the short-commings of LOTUS, no table lookups, etc.),
	when I had finished, it worked fine. Anything that isn't a "valid"
	formula is placed in the appropriate cell as text. Which brings up
	another feature I like, macros. I then wrote a macro, in Superplan,
	to convert the "text" back into a formula.  This was only necessary
	for those functions that LOTUS didn't have.

	I also liked the planning feature, although I have not used it yet.

	Gail

    I am surprised by the number of people that are supporting Superplan. 
    I have it and, while it seems to be better than VIP, it has a few
    shortcomings in some of its pull-down menus that seem to cause erratic
    behavior.  I'd like to see a decent (feature-by-feature) comparison
    with Maxiplan.  Doesn't anyone use Maxiplan or is it just that no one
    likes it?
    
    Tony

    
    Re .-1
    
    > Doesn't anyone use  Maxiplan or is it just that no one likes it?
    
    I hadn't planned on getting into this discussion as opinions on
    favorites are often a rathole but since someone asked:
    
    John Sauter commented in a previous note that he uses PlanIT.  Well,
    that IS Maxiplan with a name change when B.E.S.T. took it over from
    OXXI.  I Also own PlanIT.
    
    SET VERBOSE ON
    
    Maxiplan is written by Intuitive Technologies and was distributed by OXXI
    up to v2.9 until Intuitive decided to switch distributors to B.E.S.T. who 
    made some functional additions and called it PlanIT.  Intuitive took it
    back about 9 months later and called it Maxiplan III, and promised us
    that a Intuitive was going to fix and contuinue to enhance the product.
    Well I can tell you that was bulls**t.  As it stands now, I'm not sure
    Intuitive is still in business and that's certianly reason enough to
    not jump in here and recommend buying Maxiplan.  I've been trying to 
    contact them for months now and every so often you can get an answering
    machine but they dont' respond.  In fact I recently (3-4 weeks ago)
    wrote them a letter to document bugs, and ask for a response from their
    technical support folks.  I even told them if they didn't respond to my
    letter, I would assume they no longer care about the product and would
    feel no guilt in passing it on to other Amiga owners.  I thought that 
    would either get me response from the tech support folks or a Lawyer.
    So far I've heard nothing!
      
    SET VERBOSE OFF
    
    Now for MY opinions (please, no flames, I'm not trying to put down
    anyones favorite spreadsheet product):
    
    1. I love Maxiplan III.  It has some shortcomings (don't they all!) but
       in my opinion it's overall far superior to any spreadsheet product
       I've seen for the Amiga and I've tried Advantage, Superplan, and all
       the PD junk that's out there.
    
    2. Over the years, Maxiplan has been a rather buggy piece of software.
       Depending on which version you run, you may or may not like it.  
       Version 3.6 which I run is very solid.  It has a few known bugs and
       incomplete functions but it runs quite predictably and doesn't crash.
       I'm totally frustrated over the fact the Intuitive won't go the extra
       step and fix it up.  But the current version is generally quite good. 
    
       If you buy Maxiplan, I recommend you make sure it's Maxiplan III. 
       There seems to be a backlog of old versions the mail order places
       are trying to dump (Maxiplan, Maxiplan Plus).
    
    3. After hearing all the positive things said about Superplan I thought
       it may be time to convert so I called Precision and got a product
       description (not much info there). I then went to the memory
       location to give Superplan a test drive.  I have to say I was REALLY
       disappointed.  
    
       - dongle protection ! .... this is 1991.  It's a stupid dongle
         also.  Doesn't protect anything, just a pain.  (a DB9 with the
         UP/DOWN pins grounded)
       - It guru'd 3 times on me within a 10-15 min span for no apparent
         reason.  Precision was raving about how stable this product is.
         They told me there are no plans for enhancements. So WYSIWYG!
       - I absolutely hated the user interface.  That alone would have
         prevented me from buying it.  There was NO mouse control
         and I felt like I was running on a PC (arrow keys), not an Amiga.
         This is totally unacceptable to me.  Superplan may be a fine
         spreadsheet but why hasn't it been Amigatized?
       - I was very impressed with the manual.  I liked the way it was
         organized.  Things were easy to find and described to my
         satisfaction.
       - I thought Superplan was rich with features.  I think it compares
         fairly closely with Maxiplan III in the functionaliy department.
         Both seem to sport a few features that the other is lacking.  
       - Obviously I think the Maxiplan interface is far superior.  It's
         Amigatized and intuitive if you've got any spreadsheet experience at
         all. Both Maxiplan and Superplan have built in help.  I think 
         Superplan has more in the way of built in help but I also think
         it's necessary because of it's interface.  Maxiplan has a help file 
         for each menu, and it's user editable so you can customize it.
         On-line help used to be keyed to chapter and page in the manual but
         they've done away with that.
    
    3. In a recent reply, someone mentioned that Superplan has an interface 
       much like DecCalc.  I agree, and for me that's a big fat negative.
       Maybe someday DecCalc will become user friendly.
    
    4. The Advantage from gold disk is a more basic spreadsheet package
       than either Maxiplan III or Superplan.  It has no built in macro
       capability (I mean spreadsheet macros). It does have the ability 
       to record and playback keystroke sequences as macros.  I't has
       a user interface that is virtually identical to Maxiplan.  It's
       fully Amigatized (mouse and menu conrol).  It lacks a many of
       the advanced features found in Superplan and Maxiplan but it also
       sports a few not found elsewhere.  I think it's a fine choice 
       if your looking for a nice, easy to use, home spreadsheet.  The
       version I played with had some real stupid bugs but It was the 
       initial offering and I understand it's been cleaned up.
    
    5. I think that Maxiplan III and Superplan are comperable in the
       functionality department and far superior to anything else. 
       While I'm a Maxiplan fan, It doesn't seem fairt to recommend it
       given the current state of Intuitive.
    
    6. I strongly recommend you try any of these products before you
       lay out the bucks.  One mans treasure is another mans junk.
    
    Happy hunting
    
    Frank
    

Re .26:

Gee, I don't know if I have the same program! My SuperPlan (about a year old)
has never gurued on me, on either a 1Meg 1000 or my 3Meg 2000HD. It also does
have mouse support, although menu commands are echoed as keystroke commands in
the typical command area at the screen's bottom. Seems like a good tutorial
preparation for those I*M programs, in case one ever needs to use one...

I've got to say, I haven't much experience with other programs, but I've been
pleased with SuperPlan. You can get a non-dongle version, BTW, for $10 from the
distributor. (I haven't bothered yet, the dongle just stays in port 2.)

I guess the point about trying it out if you can is a good one, given the
different views of the same software.

Cheers,
	Bob

    
    Re .-1
    
    I think try before you buy is a key message.  Other folks
    recommendations are good but the real question comes down to wether or
    not their needs are the same as yours.
    
    As a word processor, excellence! gets my vote.  I've used ProWrite and
    liked it also.  There are a lot of similarities and differences in
    these 2 products.  They are both good, but different.  ProWrite is far
    superior in dealing with graphics and supports ARexx.  excellence! is
    stronger in the area of gramatical support features, footnotes, TOC, INDEX.
    excellence! used to be very slow compared to ProWrite but current versions
    are neck & neck.  If there's and edge in speed ProWrite probably has it. 
    For me, the deciding factor was the integrated postscript support in
    excellence!.  I use it for work and want to know the Postscript page
    layout without having to upload it and print it.   WYSIWYG postscript
    is supurb in excellence! wether using the excellence provided fonts
    or the Adobe fonts on the C= extras disk.
    
    Frank
    
    
    Frank

	I read recently that MaxiPlan now has a new distributor. If I recall
	correctly its The Disk Company and is selling under the name MaxiPlan
	Plus V2.0.

	As for preferences, MaxiPlan gets my vote, it handles my simple needs
	without any problems, but if you can, tey before you buy.

	Chris.

    Still more questions.

       OK, I found that I could use Deluxe Paint III to see and use the 
    .IFF files found on system TAPE.  So how do I see the .SIX , .POST
    pictures?  Will Deluxe paint work with them also?  

      
      How did this note subject get from a few NEW USER QUESTIONS to
    a debate on spread sheets?  


    Thanks Bob
        

Gee, Bob, the relative percentage of digression from the original topic has been
sort of small, by normal noting standards! At least you got a good earful/eyeful
on spreadsheet choices.

The .SIX files are sixel format, a DEC-proprietary raster (i.e., "dot-oriented")
format. (Used by VT24x, VT3xx, LN03...) The .PS files are PostScript format.
Neither work with any Amiga paint programs without conversion.

There may be some tools around to do said conversions- I know I've seen some PD
PostScript interpreters, but I don't know how well they work. If a sixel-to-IFF
utility exists, someone here will know about it, fer sure! Maybe from DECUS?

Cheers,
	Bob

    To view the .SIX files on a VT340, just use the TYPE command. Quite
    nice!

    Can you import a mixed numeric and alpha-numeric tabular text file in 
    Superplan?
    
    ... Rich