JDA@NIHCU.BITNET (Doug Ashbrook) (07/10/89)
The following is a review of SuperPatch 5.0 that I downloaded from the
Washington Apple Pi TCS (i.e., BBS). The review was written by Garth Shultz.
I am currently using SuperPatch 3.1 and think that it one of the best
bargains around. The review says that John Link is working on SuperPatch 6.0
which will patch AppleWorks 3.0 as well as 2.0 and 2.1. If anyone hears when
SuperPatch 6.0 is available, I would appreciate hearing about it. If it is
on par with the previous versions, I know that I will want to buy it.
====================================================================
J. Douglas Ashbrook (301) 496-5181
BITNET: JDA@NIHCU <-- preferred address
INTERNET: JDA@CU.NIH.GOV or jda%nihcu.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu
National Institutes of Health, Computer Center, Bethesda, MD 20892
Review follows:
====================================================================
SuperPatch 5.0
--------------
I received my distribution copy of SuperPatch 5.0 today. Most
AppleWorkers are familiar with SuperPatch as version 3.1, which installed 30
patches on AppleWorks 2.0 and 2.1. Version 5.0 of SuperPatch installs 187
patches!!! (A detailed summary of each patch can be found at the end of this
review.) What a smorgasbord of patches to select from...more than anyone
would probably ever want to install. Yet, in his documentation, Link offers
special acknowledgement to anyone who believes 187 patches is not enough
because, says he, that is his feeling too. (He must be some kind of nut.)
The splash screen from SuperPatch 5.0 contains a notice that it is NOT
to be uploaded to any information service, so there is no reason to wait for
it to appear here, or on your local BBS. If you want it, it is available
from:
John Link
3382 Sandra Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49004
The price is $20.00, unless you contributed to the "BeggarWare" feature
of 3.1, in which case, the price is $10.00.
Version 5.0 operates via the familiar toggles to install or de-install
specific patches, which are invoked as letter commands from the various
menus. SuperPatch patches only areas it "understands," checking from one to
six bytes before it decides whether it knows what it is doing. This is
useful since many of us forget exactly which patches are installed, and it
serves to ensure that patches will not be installed in the wrong location. I
know of no other patch utility which provides this safeguard. Because of the
greatly increased number of patches, SuperPatch 5.0 no longer loads into
memory as a single program. Instead, each segment is called by the main menu
as the user selects which area of AppleWorks he/she wishes to patch. The
program and documentation are so extensive, in fact, that they occupy both
sides of the 5.25 inch distribution disk.
When you first boot the SuperPatch disk, it warns you to make a backup
copy, tells you the location of the files which will print 43 pages of
documentation, and even directs you to page 4, where you will find "Quick
Start" instructions. It asks that you type "this is a copy" at the prompt,
before it will make some changes to itself which install the "real" startup
program as STARTUP. Any other input aborts the temporary startup program,
with a message to make a backup. A very nice touch, since the new version of
SuperPatch makes changes to its disk on a routine basis. Where the old
versions asked a number of questions each time you ran SuperPatch, version
5.0 (which asks even more questions than before) saves all your responses to
disk, and with each subsequent launch, retrieves and presents them for your
review. If they remain the ones you wish to use, pressing any key except "N"
will launch the main menu. If you do press "N," the questions will be
presented again, and your new responses saved to disk. I especially like the
feature of saving responses, because my working copy of AppleWorks has become
quite stable, and I am relieved to bypass answering all the questions each
time I wish to install or de-install a patch. And, with the introduction of
the SuperPatch custom printer drivers, there are many occasions for making
changes on my working copy of AW, as my hard copy needs change.
Without a doubt, some of the most remarkable improvements in SuperPatch
are in the area of SEG.PR. Previously, Link supported only the installation
of 1/2 high sub and superscripts on the ImageWriter II. Now he has over one
hundred different patches for SEG.PR, supporting the ImageWriter, Epson FX,
and Star Gemini printers. SuperPatch will install a special driver for each
of these printers into the proper location of SEG.PR. After installation, SP
will change the help menus in AW, as well as the Printer Option menu and
screen prompts, to correspond to whichever patches you elect to substitute
for the boldface, underline, subscript, and superscript options, which become
italics, 1/2 high text, 1/2 high sub/superscripts, downloaded font, foreign
language, color, emphasized, or double boldface, depending on the particular
printer you are using. Each of Link's printer drivers is compatible with the
other two, so if you wish, you can install all three. If you install more
than one, SuperPatch asks which one you want to select as dominant, that is,
which one's features will be reflected in the changes SuperPatch will make to
the screen prompts.
His printer drivers install other features too, such as slashed zeros,
uni-directional printing, additional character per inch settings (with his
driver, AppleWorks can now use the 13 cpi capability of the ImageWriter), and
normalized software resets, so that the printer behaves according to its
dipswitch settings after AppleWorks is through using it (no longer will those
who set their IW to print at 12 cpi wonder why it always prints at 10 cpi
after they use it with AppleWorks). Except for the expanded cpi settings,
these additional features are "patchable," that is, can be installed or
de-installed at the wish of the user.
The ImageWriter and Epson FX (or their compatibles) probably include the
majority of printers now used with AppleWorks. Some surveys suggest that
fully half of the Apple //s in service use an ImageWriter, and printer codes
for the Epson FX are emulated by most of the third party dot-matrix printers
now on the market. I own an ImageWriter II, NX-10 (Epson FX compatible), and
Star Gemini 10x. All of Link's patches for these printers appear to work
well. While AW 3.0 promises some significant improvements in setting up
printers, it is hard to imagine it being any more convenient than the
convenience offered by SuperPatch 5.0, and SuperPatch is available now.
A short description of some of the other new patches includes:
Customize insert cursor to become any mousetext character.
Customize overstrike cursor to become any mousetext character.
Disable all error tones.
Leave slot 3 devices connected and recognized.
Replace error tone with //gs SysBeep (gs only).
Print current time in upper right corner (gs only).
Customize "Add files" menu.
Customize "You made changes" menu.
Insert current date in DB reports automatically.
Insert current date in SS reports automatically.
Eliminate query when adding new records to DB.
Reverse all No/yes queries to Yes/no.
Customizing the insert and overstrike cursors is accomplished by a new
section entitled "CursorWorks," which is very easy to understand and use. It
displays all the possible mousetext choices, and informs the user of his or
her current cursor character, the "normal" cursor, and displays the currently
"proposed" new cursor, updating the display each time the user tries a
different cursor. This makes it easy to evaluate the relationship between
the two cursors, as you decide which ones to use. You can, of course, leave
CursorWorks without changing anything, if you decide you like your previous
cursors better, or you can have SuperPatch install your new selections.
I personally especially like the patch to reverse all No/yes queries to
Yes/no. In my opinion, this is how AppleWorks should have been set up in the
first place. While I appreciate the chance to revoke many operations before
they are executed, most of the time, I _do_ know what I am doing, and don't
like finding the arrow or "Y" keys as a requirement for doing them. Link's
patch lets me press the return key instead, which is very familiar and easy
to find.
Those who use the database and spreadsheet will appreciate the patches
to insert the date automatically. AppleWorks "almost" does this now. That
is, once you type in the date, it will thereafter present it as the default.
But the first time, you must do it "by hand." Link's patch ensures that you
will be presented with the date, from the beginning. It uses the same format
as the date on AW startup screen, and appears, in fact, to be exactly the
same. The patch does not interfere with the normal functioning of the prompt
to type in the date, so that whatever you type will override the default, if
you wish.
Customizing the "Add files" menu will be convenient to those who do not
normally load their first file from disk, as this patch changes the default
selection to make a new file from scratch for either the WP, DB, or SS. The
patch to change the "You made changes" menu is similar, and useful to those
who normally "Throw out" their changed files. This latter patch, in
combination with the reversing of "No/yes" to "Yes/no" greatly speeds up
exiting from AppleWorks.
For owners of the IIGS, the patch to display the time will be
interesting. Because it uses the current display format selected in the
Control Panel, you can have the time on your AppleWorks screen displayed in
any of five different formats, including military or twelve hour time. Too
bad the patch does not work on non-IIGS computers, but maybe he will add that
in future versions of SuperPatch.
Link offers support to those who have problems (personally, I did not
have any, but then, I am an experienced SuperPatcher) via regular mail,
CompuServe, GEnie, AppleLink, and his own information service, pro-xy.
Pro-xy can be reached at:
616-381-1726
300/1200/2400 baud, 8N1
24 hours per day
Pro-xy is a ProLine based board, and will soon become networked with the
other ProLine boards, so that you will be able to get in touch with Link via
your local ProLine board, if there is one in your area. Contact him at
pro-xy as "jlink." Pro-xy supports technical discussions of SuperPatch,
AppleWorks, BASIC, assembly language, and PostScript, as well as furnishes
support for those with questions about using SuperPatch. It even includes a
non-technical conference on art and culture, for those interested in such
things.
He says that he is at work on SuperPatch 6.0, which will patch
AppleWorks 3.0 as well as 2.0 and 2.1. The price for 6.0 will be $30.00 as a
first time purchase, or $10.00 as an upgrade for those who purchase 5.0. So
there is neither a penalty nor advantage, money-wise, in getting SuperPatch
5.0 now. But (obviously), you won't be able to use the new patches in 5.0
until you get it. I am glad to have my copy now, as I have not been able to
use all the features of my printers, and am not certain even AW 3.0 will do
everything SuperPatch does with them. And who knows when AppleWorks 3.0 and
all the associated accessories will be actually shipping? Probably not for
several months.
As Promised: Summary of All Patches in SuperPatch 5.0
________________________________________________________________________
Aplworks.System
---------------
1. No spacebar on bootup.
2. No return after date.
3. Overstrike instead of insert cursor on bootup.
4. Enter control-@ into printer codes.
5. Substitute any mousetext character for insert cursor.
6. Substitute any mousetext character for overstrike cursor.
7. Eliminate expansion card preloading.
8. Change error tone to beep.
9. Alter blink rate for insert cursor.
10. Alter blink rate for overstrike cursor.
11. Continually display desktop space.
12. Mousetext checkmarks instead of arrows for menu item selection.
13. Eliminate return after selecting menu number.
14. Limit desktop expansion into slinky type ram cards.
15. Disable all error tones.
16. Leave slot 3 devices connected and recognized.
17. Replace error tone with //gs SysBeep (gs only).
18. Print current time in upper right corner (gs only).
Seg.M1
------
19. Print up to 255 copies in WP, SS, and DB.
20. Don't disable underline at end of line.
21. Don't disable boldface at end of line.
22. Don't disable superscript at end of line.
23. Don't disable subscript at end of line.
24. Allow up to 116 files in a subdirectory.
25. Change <cr> character to bent-arrow in WP.
26. Retain previous cursor location when WP is loaded.
27. Prevent extraneous <cr> insertion when printing to a TXT file.
28. Mousetext checkmarks instead of arrows in menus.
29. Double underline column titles in DB reports.
30. Change overflow in SS from "#" to ">" or "|."
31. Blank cells instead of "NA" in SS.
32. Change "Carefully" to "Carelessly" on file save screen.
33. Don't mark as changed a file that has been merely printed.
34. Customize "Add files" menu.
35. Customize "You made changes" menu.
36. Insert current date in DB reports automatically.
37. Insert current date in SS reports automatically.
Seg.M0
------
38. Eliminate query when adding new records to DB.
Seg.00/Rm/Xm
------------
39. Reverse all No/Yes queries to Yes/No.
----------------------------------------
For SEG.PR, SuperPatch IW driver adds...
----------------------------------------
40. Improved software reset on exit (1/2)
41. 13 characters per inch (1/2)
42. Uni-directional printing (1/2).
43. Slashed zeros (1/2).
boldface patches...
-------------------
44. Replace boldface on/off with mousetext on/off (2).
45. Replace boldface on/off with downloaded font on/off (1/2).
46. Replace boldface on/off 1/2 high level text on/off (2).
47-52. Replace boldface on/off with color on/off (2)...
(yellow, red, blue, orange, green, purple)
underline patches...
--------------------
53. Replace underline on/off with mousetext on/off (2).
54. Replace underline on/off with downloaded font on/off (1/2).
55. Replace underline on/off with 1/2 height level text on/off (2).
56-61. Replace boldface on/off with color on/off (2)...
(yellow, red, blue, orange, green, purple)
subscript patches...
--------------------
62. Replace full height subscript with 1/2 high subscripts (2).
63-69. Replace subscript on/off w/foreign language on/off (1/2).
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
70. Replace subscript on/off with mousetext on/off (2).
71. Replace subscript on/off with downloaded font on/off (1/2).
72-77. Replace subscript on/off with color on/off (2).
(yellow, red, blue, orange, green, purple)
78. Replace subscript on/off with 1/2 high level text on/off (2).
superscript patches...
----------------------
79. Replace full height superscript with 1/2 high superscripts (2).
80. Replace superscript on/off with mousetext on/off (2).
81. Replace superscript on/off with downloaded font on/off (1/2).
82-87. Replace superscript on/off with color on/off (2).
(yellow, red, blue, orange, green, purple)
88-94. Replace superscript on/off w/foreign language on/off (1/2).
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
95. Replace superscript on/off with 1/2 high level text on/off (2).
----------------------------------------------
For SEG.PR, SuperPatch Epson FX driver adds...
----------------------------------------------
96. Uni-directional printing.
boldface patches...
-------------------
97. Replace boldface on/off with italics on/off.
98. Replace boldface on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
99-106. Replace boldface on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish,
Japanese)
underline patches...
--------------------
107. Replace underline on/off with italics on/off.
108. Replace underline on/off with emphasized on/off.
109. Replace underline on/off with boldface on/off.
110. Replace underline on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
111-118. Replace underline on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish,
Japanese)
superscript patches...
-----------------------
119. Replace superscript on/off with italics on/off.
120. Replace superscript on/off with emphasized on/off.
121. Replace superscript on/off with boldface on/off.
122. Replace superscript on/off w/emphasized plus boldface on/off.
123-130. Replace superscript on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish,
Japanese)
subscript patches...
--------------------
131. Replace subscript on/off with italics on/off.
132. Replace subscript on/off with emphasized on/off.
133. Replace subscript on/off with boldface on/off.
134. Replace subscript on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
135-142. Replace subscript on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish,
Japanese)
---------------------------------------------------------
For SEG.PR, SuperPatch Star Gemini 10/15x driver adds...
---------------------------------------------------------
143. Uni-directional printing.
144. 6 characters per inch.
145. 12 characters per inch.
boldface patches...
-------------------
146. Replace boldface on/off with italics on/off.
147. Replace boldface on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
148-154. Replace boldface on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
underline patches...
--------------------
155. Replace underline on/off with italics on/off.
156. Replace underline on/off with emphasized on/off.
157. Replace underline on/off with boldface on/off.
158. Replace underline on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
159-165. Replace underline on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
superscript patches...
-----------------------
166. Replace superscript on/off with italics on/off.
167. Replace superscript on/off with emphasized on/off.
168. Replace superscript on/off with boldface on/off.
169. Replace superscript on/off w/emphasized plus boldface on/off.
170-176. Replace superscript on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
subscript patches...
--------------------
177. Replace subscript on/off with italics on/off.
178. Replace subscript on/off with emphasized on/off.
179. Replace subscript on/off with boldface on/off.
180. Replace subscript on/off with emphasized plus boldface on/off.
181-187. Replace subscript on/off with foreign language...
(British, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Danish)
Reviewed by Garth Shultzmmunz@pro-sol.cts.com (Mark Munz) (07/11/89)
Network Comment: to #8724 by pnet01!crash!cunyvm.cuny.edu!JDA%NIHCU.BITNET Note that all those patches dealing with printers will not be needed for AppleWorks 3.0 which allows you to have six custom commands per printer.. and 3 custom printers.