Port Sample

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio
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The Atari Portfolio

What it is...
The Portfolio is a hand-held PC compatible computer system with the same capabilities as
a conventional desk-top system.
Compare the features...
Conventional PC
Full QWERTY Keyboard
Numeric Keypad
MSDOS Operating System
Monitor (80 Columns)
Floppy/Hard Drives
Parallel Printer output
Serial link- Printers/modems
Takes a minimum 40% desk space
Portfolio
Full QWERTY Keyboard
Numeric Keypad
MSDOS Operating System
LCD (40 Columns)
Solid State Memory cards
Parallel IF Separate
Serial IF Separate
Fits Pocket or Handbag
Let's take a look at the features where the main differences occur...
LCD 40 Columns
The ordinary desk-top PC must have a monitor to function. The size of the text area
display is usually 80 characters across and 24 lines down. Atari have provided a
compromise between small compact output display and recognisable character size. It
out-performs the LCD system on the Amstrad PPC640 for example in terms of screen
update (the Amstrad takes quite a time to display results) and in terms of readability
(Amstrad owners have long been subject to a screen which works only with a good light
behind the user).
The size of 40 characters by 8 lines means that a character size can be used which is
easily visible; it is not backlit but can be adjusted with contrast control keys on the
keyboard.
This in no way limits the width of any document you might produce in the EDITOR or
spreadsheet in the Lotus-like program. Indeed the principle used to operate Lotus on a
desk-top system is used to very good effect in that the screen acts as a window on your
work and scrolls in the direction your work follows. So your work is always in view, and
previous work can be examined at any time by simply moving (using the direction arrow
keys) in the direction you wish to.
The editor can produce documents which you might decide to write using the 40 column
screen of the Portfolio. You can then decide to output to a printer using conventional
margins such as the 65 columns often used by word processors. You can decide to set the
document in the Portfolio to the margins you will use for output to get an idea of what the
text will look like.
The missing feature of right margin justification is easily overcome by using the parallel
interface to transfer your text, at a convenient time, to a desk-top for output via the desktop's word processor. The text produced by the Portfolio is straight ASCII and can
therefore be loaded by all word processors.
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SOLID STATE Memory Cards

These are used in the Portfolio as disk substitutes.
The cards act precisely as a disk drive would and can be written to, formatted, and files
can be deleted, all just as you would with a disk drive. In addition to this of course, the
Portfolio incorporates it's own RAM drive, a disk drive which is really a part of the memory
and comes with every Portfolio.
The memory cards have tiny batteries in them, similar to those in a digital watch, which
keep your data intact on the tiny cards. You are warned when a card battery is about to
give out allowing you to move the data off it before changing the battery. You are
encouraged to record the date of battery fitting (on the Diary program in the Portfolio
perhaps) in order to keep track of this.
Remember, the battery on the memory card is active always, like your digital watch,
holding your data intact. And just like your digital watch battery, it requires changing
occasionally.
Parallel Interface and Serial Interface
Where a conventional desk-top computer incorporates a parallel interface, and sometimes
a serial is included, the Portfolio does not. Because of it's compact size the parallel
interface is provided as a separate item which can be fitted as and when you need it. The
Portfolio has a simple connector to which all main processor lines are led and which is
hidden underneath a small door to the right of the keyboard. Here you may connect the
Parallel interface box or the Serial interface box, as you require them.
The parallel interface is not only used for connection to a printer, it is also useful for
transferring data to and from your desk top PC using the built in software on the Portfolio.
The Serial link is useful for connection to a serial printer, or more commonly nowadays, for
connection to a modem.
There is software on board the Portfolio for dealing with serial links too. A description of
the SET-UP Procedure for setting up the Portfolio system follows later BUT you should
assess YOUR needs prior to setting up your system. In order to do so it is helpful to know
certain things about the system first.
{ALL PORTFOLIO UNITS SUPPLIED BY JOHN.L.MASTERMAN COMPUTER
CONSULTANTS ARE INITIALISED BEFORE DELIVERY ENABLING THEM TO BE USED
IMMEDIATELY WITH THIS COURSE}
The Portfolio design follows a PC compatible very closely. A conventional PC or XT
system like the Amstrad PC1512 system uses an Intel processor and has a limit to the
memory size it will use normally. The standard Amstrad PC1512 is sold with 512k of RAM
memory, while it's later version (the 1640) comes with 640k. The 512k system is
upgradeable to 640k... and this is the normal limit for a PC or XT system. The Portfolio
follows the same design and also has the same effective memory limit.
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A desk top system incorporates a BOOT rom which makes the system wait until DOS is
loaded from Disk....either floppy or Hard drive, and that is all in the way of ROM that is
supplied. The amount of memory from the 640 & 512k demanded by this is negligible.
There is no on-board software, everything must be loaded from disk.
The Portfolio system incorporates a considerable amount of on-board software, 256k is
occupied by the built-in software, leaving 384k to the limit. The Portfolio unit is supplied
with 128k Ram memory giving 384k and leaving 256k to the limit. Memory expansion to
this limit can be bought as a separate unit.
Now you have 128k memory. The Portfolio will claim one quarter of this memory for it's
RAM disk UNLESS YOU SPECIFY OTHERWISE. Applications such as the Editor and the
Lotus spreadsheet keep your work saved in files. You can save your work from other
applications in files also.
Although it is planned that application programs will be made available on ROM card, (at
least two packages are available from distributors now) a ROM type of the small Memory
Cards, you will probably find the applications software already stored in the main system
ROM to be very adequate for most cases.
Your Portfolio has been configured to use 32k (one quarter of available memory) as drive
C, the system drive. This is the normal way the Portfolio would be set up and is quite
acceptable for this course although you are advised to consider the alternatives carefully.
DOS loaded into a desk-top PC provides a dozen or so RESIDENT commands.
RESIDENTS are commands available as part of the DOS after it has loaded and DO NOT
require to be loaded from DISK. TRANSIENTS, the effective opposite of RESIDENTS,
are only available on a conventional PC only IF THE DISK CONTAINING the appropriate
command files is in the currently logged drive. For example, the DOS command VER is a
RESIDENT and does not load from a disk but is available from the DOS. All of the
Portfolio DOS commands are available as RESIDENTS. Just as, in the special case of the
Portfolio, the Editor & Worksheet programs are RESIDENT in the system.
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TRAINING
Open the Portfolio and press the key in the top left of the keyboard marked ESC . You will
see a flashing cursor block appear next to a prompt like this...
C>
Test the keyboard of your machine. The keys AUTO-REPEAT and you need to become
familiar with this. Hold down the A key for example. It will repeat across the screen. When
you have finished testing EITHER
Hit the <ENTER> KEY (The large key on the right of the keyboard)
OR
Hold down the (left arrow) key at the top right of the keyboard which will delete each
character for you.
Now locate the ATARI
key in the bottom left of the keyboard. The ATARI sign
on the key is coloured PINK and is needed throughout this course.
Hold down the ATARI key and while doing so tap the S key.
Notice that the S key has the words Set up underneath it in pink.
Release the ATARI key.
You will now see a WINDOW has appeared on your screen, the flashing cursor block is
now on the D of DISPLAY in the window.
Setup xxxx
Display...
Sounds...
Applications...
Printer...
RS-232 port...
File Transfer...
Now locate the direction arrow keys in the bottom right of the keyboard. Move your cursor
by pressing the key marked
Pg Dn
Move to the Sounds option on the menu.
Now press the large <ENTER> key on the right hand side of the keyboard to select this
option.
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The menu displayed above will be covered by another one like this...
Sounds
Key Click
Alarms
Buzzer
Mute Toggle
ON
ON
ON
If the entries next to the Key Click, Alarms, and Buzzer are not set to ON, then move to
each with the arrow key and hit the ENTER key to change them from OFF to ON. From
this point on every time you press a key a click will sound, and later in the course, the
alarms we set will sound; the buzzer is set to ON to alert you that an error has occurred.
PRESS the ESC key now TWICE...
The SET-UP procedure for the new Portfolio needs to be followed only once...
1. When you first use it.
2. If you unsuccessfully change batteries.
3. If the batteries are completely flat.
During the SET-UP procedure (for example when the machine is new) the date and time
are entered by you at the prompting of the machine. The Portfolio holds these within it
and they automatically operate provided no power loss occurs. So once you have done
this you will find that the Portfolio knows the date and time from that time on and will no
longer ask you for it. When you access the Diary software program you can therefore
expect to find the Portfolio has taken you to the appropriate day.
*NOTE* DOS has both a TIME and DATE command which operate within the Portfolio allowing you to
set either by simply typing the command.
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Press the ATARI key
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and hold it down whilst you tap the D key.
The Diary starts and you can see a calendar appear along with your cursor flashing on
today's date. You should also see that your screen has a border around it. The border tells
you what file you are currently using (if you are not using an existing file it will be named
UNNAMED), how many entries you have... in the top right hand corner of the screen, and
displays the date/time in the bottom. The bottom right of your screen shows the mode if it
is INSERT... as opposed to overtype.
ALL of the application programs in your PORTFOLIO use the same border... the
WORKSHEET, EDITOR, ADDRESS BOOK, DIARY, and Calculator. You can choose to
have a larger screen at any time by simply dispensing with the border.
Hold down the Fn key (located next to the ATARI key)
and tap the 5 key in the top row... which is marked above by F5 in blue.
The border is gone. The choice is yours. This selection will remain set to your preference
until you press Fn with 5 again. You can turn off the border in any of the Applications and it
will stay turned off. Remember the Fn and 5 combination as we progress through the
applications and turn off the border as it suits you.
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Let's set our diary engagement for lunch today. Lunchbreak will be from 12:30 till 1:30.
Your cursor should be flashing on today's date.
Press the <ENTER> key.
Now type the time 12:30 and include the colon in the middle by holding down SHIFT
(there are two shift keys on your keyboard, both marked with upward pointing
arrows. One is below the key marked Lock, and the other is beneath the large
<ENTER> key on the right hand side of your keyboard)
and tapping the key to the right of L.
Press the large space bar at the bottom of the keyboard.
Now type Lunch Break
The entry appears in the lower screen.
We'll alarm this appointment as it is quite important.
Press the ATARI key
bottom left of the keyboard).
(the pink coloured key shaped like a volcano in the
This calls the menu of commands. All of the applications operate menu's like this. There
are subtle differences in the options according to the program. This one shows 'Alarm' as
the 5th option down.
You can either use the PgDn key to move the cursor down to 'Alarm' or press the letter
A. Since Alarm is an either/or option this is sufficient. The diary screen reappears showing
the alarm enabled by a musical note icon next to the entry.
There is a repeat facility for regular appointments in the menu.
Press the ATARI
key
again for the menu and...
Press the R key for 'REPEAT'.

Look at the new menu on the screen. The options set as they declare.....daily,weekly etc.
The Clear simply clears any repeat you may have set.
Press the D to set a daily repeat alarm.
If you set a repeat then the menu will clear and you will see a letter appear next to the
alarm entry appropriate for your selection.
*NOTE* You can back out of any of the menu's and also the programs themselves by using the ESC
key in the top left of your keyboard.
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Now following the procedure once again we'll set an alarm for the end of the session.
Type
16:30 End of Session
Press
<ENTER>
Note how the entry sorts itself into order on times. If you still have the outer screen border
set, note also that the two ~ (tilde) characters are in the top right of the screen indicating
that a change has occurred.
Now press the ATARI key,
followed by A to set the alarm.
Press the Esc key once to go back to the calendar.
Press the Esc once more and you will be asked
Save?
Yes
No
Press the Y key.
You may see "Warning ALARMS SET IN THE PAST WILL NOT GO OFF"
Press the Esc to continue if you do.
You will find that your settings are saved automatically to DIARY.DRY in the system
subdirectory. This file must be used if you are going to set alarms.
The machine is initially set up to drive C: but a subdirectory is automatically created called
SYSTEM when you first configure the machine and install the batteries.
The C drive is a ram disk, not a disk really but a part of memory. DOS thinks of it as a real
drive and the Portfolio keeps vital data for the system operation in the subdirectory called
SYSTEM. Normal data files are kept in the ROOT directory.
{SEE ACCOMPANYING DISK FOR TUTORIAL ON SUBDIRECTORIES}
The Portfolio maintains PERMDATA.DAT and UNDELETE.DAT
The file PERMDATA.DAT keeps settings for the programs, for example the editor files last
used margin setting. UNDELETE.DAT permits us to recover deleted data from
application's (the worksheet, the editor etc.) steps which we later found to be incorrect. If
you delete a line from a file in the Editor, then decide you want it back, just use the Fn
key and the 4 key to get it back.
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The Portfolio directory system on the internal C drive is like any other in that it has a
ROOT directory, and permits (via the DOS language) you to create other sub-directories
and also to create PATH's to them
Root
System
Later in the course we will make a subdirectory for Editor files and for Spreadsheets.
One last entry for a future engagement.
Hold down the ATARI key and press D
The Calendar program loads and the cursor flashes upon today's date. By using the PgDn
key you can move to a future week, then <- and -> keys to move through days, and set an
appointment.
Alternatively you can type the date you wish to move to. The Portfolio date system is set
presently in American format of MM/DD/YY.
Let's say we want to make a note of Christmas Day and set an alarm for 10:00 am.
Type 12/25
As soon as you typed the first figure the Portfolio flipped into DIARY mode. Complete the
entry by typing
10:00 Christmas Day
followed by pressing the <ENTER> key.
This entry appears below the others in your screen.
Press ESC once to leave DIARY mode, and then once again.
You will see the message window asking you if this must be saved.
Press Y
The entry will be saved and you will return to the DOS prompt.
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Earlier I mentioned SUBDIRECTORIES. It is useful to know where you are with them. Are
you looking at the ROOT subdirectory? The SYSTEM? DOS can be made to tell you from
the prompt. At present it simply tells us which drive we are talking to.
Type
PROMPT $P$D$G followed by <ENTER>
The C: changes to C: \Day M-DD-YYYY>

where Day is today followed by the Date in American format.
This is a little inconvenient for the small screen.
Hold down Fn and press 3 (in the top row)
You will find your last DOS command recalled against the new prompt.
Use the key in the top right of the keyboard to remove the $D$G.
Now type $G followed by the <ENTER> key.
This leaves a prompt which shows which subdirectory we are using only.
To illustrate type DIR then press the <ENTER> key.
Note the list of files saved in root directory.
Now type CD SYSTEM followed by <ENTER>
The prompt becomes C:\SYSTEM>
Now type DIR and press the <Enter> key.
You can now see the contents of the System subdirectory.
It is rather like drawers in a filing cabinet. You can only access files in a filing cabinet
drawer if the drawer is open and you must close that drawer before you can open another.
Back to the ROOT directory by typing CD\
The system knows ROOT as the \ character.
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Setting an English Date

To set an ENGLISH date form of dayday/monthmonth/yearyear you need to create a small
file called CONFIG.SYS
We will need to use the Editor to do so.
On desk-top systems CONFIG.SYS is used to customise DOS to preferences decided
upon by the user, and the PORTFOLIO (being a DOS based machine) is precisely the
same. In the case of the DATE, we only need to create a one-line CONFIG.SYS file.
Hold down the ATARI key and press the E
Don't forget to remove the border if you want to.
In the EDITOR I find the border removed is preferable as it gives more screen area.
{To remove the border hold down Fn and press 5}
Type COUNTRY=044 followed by <ENTER>
Now press the ATARI key to call the menu
This menu is similar to DIARY's menu but has options which are especially for the
EDITOR... margins etc.
Press F for the FILES option.
Press S for the SAVE AS... option.
Type CONFIG.SYS and press the <ENTER> key.
Press ESC back to the C:\ prompt.
We need to WARM BOOT the machine to activate the CONFIG.SYS file and the date
setting we just made now.
Hold down the key marked CTRL located next to the Fn key.
Now while holding down CTRL, locate the ALT key next to it and hold that down too.
(this is best done with the left hand).
Locate the Ins/Del key, it is next to the right hand side shift key, below and to the left of
the large <ENTER> key.
Press the Ins/Del key while keeping the other two keys down.
Now let go all keys.
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The machine will re-set and start by asking you for the Date, but now the request is for the
date in dayday/monthmonth/yearyear form. If today were the 23rd March 1990, you would
type 23/03/90 in response to this prompt.
The PORTFOLIO asks for the time next.
The format it asks for is in hours:minutes:seconds.tenths of seconds.
If the time now were 10:30 am you would type 10:30
If the time were 10:30 pm you would type 22:30
*NOTE* Don't forget to use the / to separate day/month/year, and the : to separate the time.
If you get it wrong first time round then type the commands:
DATE and set the date, then TIME and set the time.
Notice our prompt has gone back to the C> once more.
Type PROMPT $P$G followed by <ENTER> to set it back to the previous prompt.
If you have cause to re-set the system again it will again forget this useful prompt.
Return to the EDITOR by pressing the ATARI key down and tapping the E key.
You will find that you are back in the CONFIG.SYS file. This is one of the very useful
features of the PORTFOLIO system... if you need to leave an application program (like the
EDITOR) or switch off, or after two minutes PORTFOLIO switches off itself, your work is
NOT lost.
Press the ATARI key to call the EDITOR menu.
Press F to select the FILES option.
Press N to select NEW FILE, and clear the EDITOR.
THE CONFIG.SYS FILE IS NOT LOST, IT IS SAVED ON THE DISK REMEMBER.
Type PROMPT $P$G and press <ENTER> key.
Press the ATARI key to call the EDITOR menu.
Press F to select the FILES option.
Press S to select SAVE AS...
Now type this name... AUTOEXEC.BAT
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Now try the warm boot sequence again.

Recall that last time we did this we lost the settings we had put in.
This time they are held in files, the date setting in CONFIG.SYS, and the prompt in
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Hold down the CTRL and the ALT and tap the INS/DEL key to re-set.
If you use the keys outside of this sequence then the warm boot will not occur.
Start with CTRL, then hold down ALT, then tap the INS/DEL.
This time the warm boot does not ask for the date, nor the time, nor does the prompt go to
C>. Why is that?
The file we made called AUTOEXEC.BAT is a kind of automatic program which loads and
runs when DOS loads. As the DOS loads into the machine it looks for a file called
AUTOEXEC.BAT before it asks for the date and time. If it finds such a file then it runs it...
like a program, instead of asking for the date and time. The PORTFOLIO holds the
date/time in memory during a warm boot sequence so that it is not necessary for you to
re-enter them.
The screen is still a little messy after the warm boot.
You can see the PROMPT $P$G.
We can tidy this up by adding to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
I'll use this opportunity to show you how to MERGE two separate files together instead of
simply adding lines to AUTOEXEC.
Hold down the ATARI key and tap the E key to call the editor.
Press the ATARI key to call the menu.
Press the F key to select FILES.
Press the N key to clear the EDITOR.
If you are asked "Save Current" you press N
Type
echo off followed by <ENTER>
Type
cls
followed by <ENTER>
Press the ATARI key to call the menu.

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Press the S key and give the file name AUTO2.BAT

Press the <ENTER> key to save the file.
Now press ATARI key to call the menu.
Press the L key to LOAD a file.
Give the file name AUTOEXEC.BAT and press <ENTER>
The AUTOEXEC file loads into the EDITOR.
Now press ATARI key to call the menu.
Press the M key to MERGE a file.
Give the file name AUTO2.BAT and press <ENTER>
The file we saved last, AUTO2.BAT, loads in to the editor before our original
AUTOEXEC.BAT file text.
We have MERGED two files into one.
Let's recap. We created AUTOEXEC.BAT and saved it. Next we cleared the editor and
created AUTO2.BAT and saved that too. We re-loaded AUTOEXEC.BAT and it's single
line (prompt $p$g) and then MERGED the file AUTO2.BAT in to AUTOEXEC.BAT.
The text of AUTO2.BAT went in to the file BEFORE the original text because of the cursor
position. If our cursor had been at the end of the text, then the additional MERGED text
would have been placed at the end of the file. But the cursor was at the start of the original
text, so the MERGED text went to the beginning of the file.
We started with AUTOEXEC.BAT which held
which held
echo off and cls
PROMPT $P$G We created AUTO2.BAT
By merging we ended up with a file containing...

echo off
cls
prompt $p$g
Press ESC and answer Y to save the file.
Now try the CTRL ALT INS/DEL warm boot sequence once again to find a cleaner start,
straight to the C:\> prompt.
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Now let's tidy up the disk.

Type DIR This is the DOS command to list the directory of files.
By NOT following the command with a drive letter we IMPLY that it is the directory of the
currently LOGGED drive we want. If you type DIR on it's own and the prompt is C:\> then
you are asking for a list of files in drive C, ROOT directory.
If you have a memory card in the A drive on your PORTFOLIO you could type DIR A: to
get a list of files on drive A.
The prompt tells you which drive the DOS is looking at. Unless you specify a drive in a
command, the DOS will assume you mean the drive it is currently looking at. To make the
DOS look at drive A you would type A: {There is no point in doing this if you have not got
a memory card in drive A, it will result in an error message. If you have actually tried to
access A without a card in the drive then EITHER... type the letter I for ignore in response
to the error message and respond to the ENTER NEW DRIVE with C followed by a
colon... OR... press the CTRL ALT INS/DEL sequence to warm boot as shown earlier.}
The directory list will show you we have a superfluous file, the AUTO2.BAT.
We merged this file with AUTOEXEC.BAT, therefore this is of no use to us now. It is taking
up valuable disk space so we can get rid of it.
Type DEL AUTO2.BAT followed by <ENTER>
This erases the file AUTO2.BAT
Check the directory listing again by issuing the DIR command followed by <ENTER>
and you will see that AUTO2.BAT has been erased.
There are two more small MSDOS programs which I have found useful and which may be
created with the EDITOR with the minimum of effort and which occupy very little disk area.
I evolved these programs through use of the PORTFOLIO over a period of time and I
include them to illustrate the use of MSDOS as a primitive programming language, and
also the use of the EDITOR for creating small DOS programs as utilities.
Later on we shall use the EDITOR for the production of documents and, as we shall see, it
has it's limitations in this area.
The normal use of the PORTFOLIO with it's built-in applications produces a file which is
used by the machine when you 'UNDELETE' keypresses. If you need to, you can recover
material previously deleted from the EDITOR by using the Fn key and 4 (F4).
I will demonstrate this now...
Return to the EDITOR by holding the ATARI key down and tapping the E key.
Clear the Editor by pressing the Atari key followed by the
key.
Type WISDOM
F key, followed by the N
and press the <ENTER> key twice
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Now type The noble Art of losing face,
and press the <ENTER> key
Now type May one day save the human race,
Type and turn into eternal merit,
Type what weaker minds would call disgrace.
and press the <ENTER> key.
Now locate the PgUp key in the bottom right of the keyboard, this key like most of them,
has a double use.
When used in conjunction with the Fn key it jumps 8 lines of text upward, when used on
it's own it moves one line upward.
Press the PgUp key (on it's own) three times to move the cursor up to 'May one day
save the human race'...
Hold down the CTRL key and tap the L key.
This deletes the line completely.
Now using the PgDn key move down to the end of the text.
If you did not press <ENTER> at the end of the last line of text in the verse you will find
the cursor has ended up flashing immediately after the word 'disgrace' in the last line. In
that event Press the <ENTER> key now.
Type your name on a fresh line at the bottom of the text and press the <ENTER> key.
Now let's get that missing line back.
Use the PgUp key to move to the line beginning ' and turn into...'
Hold down the Fn key and press the 4 key in the top line. {If you made ANY deletions
AFTER deleting the line above you will see them come back now.}
Keep pressing these keys until you see the deleted line of poetry return.
The UNDELETE function operates on a last-deleted, first-out principal. If you made no
deletions after removing the line of poetry then the line will reappear straight away. If like
me, you are not such a good typist, any deletions you made after deleting the line of
poetry come back first.
You can get rid of surplus items by using the four ARROW keys in the bottom right of the
keyboard (also marked HOME, PgUp, PgDn, and End) to move around in the text.
To get rid of a surplus letter, position the cursor immediately after the letter you want rid of
and press the <-- key located above the large <ENTER> key to delete it.
Press the ESC key.
Press the Y key to save the text under the filename 'UNNAMED.TXT'.
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Now we are going to take a look into the SYSTEM SUBDIRECTORY.

Type CD SYSTEM and press the <ENTER> key.
Look at your prompt... it now says
C:\system>
We have opened a subdirectory called SYSTEM.
Type DIR to get a list of the files
Now the list will only contain 3 files.
permdata.dat
undelete.dat
diary.dry
The text file you just created and AUTOEXEC.BAT, and CONFIG.SYS, are still in the
PORTFOLIO. But they are located in the ROOT directory and we are currently looking at
the SYSTEM.
PERMDATA is the file used by the PORTFOLIO to hold settings, it changes little and gets
no bigger than it's 730 bytes.
This is NOT the case with UNDELETE however.
The more work you do, the more deletions you make, the bigger it gets.
At the end of a session it is a good practice to delete this file.
This deletion of the UNDELETE file AND also the deletion of another file made by the
CLIPBOARD is the subject of our two final programs.
The use of CLIPBOARD is covered later. Basically the clipboard function allows the
transfer of data between the different program's files in PORTFOLIO. For example, a
balance sheet made in the SPREADSHEET could be copied into a document being
created with the EDITOR using the clipboard function. The function produces a file which
is of no further use at the end of a session and simply absorbs disk space.
Return to the ROOT directory by typing...
CD\ and press the <ENTER> key. The \ key is located next to the 'Z' key in the bottom
left of the keyboard.
The prompt changes to
C:\>
Type DIR followed by <ENTER>

The files we made earlier are still there as you can now see.
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Press the ATARI key to call the main menu.
Press the F
key to select FILES.
Press the N
key to clear the editor.
If Portfolio responds "Save Current", you type N

Type DIR c:\system followed by <ENTER>
Press the F
Press the S
key to SAVE AS...
Type the filename dirs.bat followed by <ENTER>

Press the ESC key to go back to the DOS (C:\>) prompt.
Now type DIRS and press the <ENTER> key.
Instead of the ROOT directory listing out on the screen you can now look at the contents
of the SYSTEM subdirectory anytime by simply typing DIRS at the prompt and you will
see if the system has created a CLIPBORD file, or if the UNDELETE file is getting too
large.
Now one last program to delete both these files automatically at the end of a session...
Press the F
Press the N
key to clear the editor.
Type CD\system
followed by <ENTER>
Type DEL UNDELETE..DAT followed by <ENTER>

Type DEL CLIPBORD.DAT followed by <ENTER>
{Make sure you type CLIPBORD and NOT CLIPBOARD}
Type CD\
followed by <ENTER>
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Press the F
Press the S
key to SAVE AS...
Type the filename dels.bat followed by <ENTER>

Press ESC to leave the EDITOR and return to the DOS prompt.
Now run the DIRS program to remind yourself of the contents of the SYSTEM
subdirectory by typing DIRS followed by <ENTER>.
Next, run the DELS program by typing DELS followed by <ENTER>
Look at the messages displayed. DOS found a file called UNDELETE.DAT and got rid of
it. It didn't find a CLIPBORD.DAT (because we have not used the CLIPBORD yet) and
reported the fact to you.
Page 20

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A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Atari was a Trademark of the Atari Corporation

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

The Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

SOLID STATE Memory Cards

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

and hold it down whilst you tap the D key.

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

(the pink coloured key shaped like a volcano in the

again for the menu and...

Press the R key for 'REPEAT'.

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

16:30 End of Session

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

PROMPT $P$D$G followed by <ENTER>

The C: changes to C: \Day M-DD-YYYY>

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Setting an English Date

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Now try the warm boot sequence again.

echo off followed by <ENTER>

Press the ATARI key to call the menu.

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Press the S key and give the file name AUTO2.BAT

PROMPT $P$G We created AUTO2.BAT

By merging we ended up with a file containing...

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Now let's tidy up the disk.

F key, followed by the N

and press the <ENTER> key twice

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Now type The noble Art of losing face,

and press the <ENTER> key

Now type May one day save the human race,

and press the <ENTER> key

Type and turn into eternal merit,

and press the <ENTER> key

Type what weaker minds would call disgrace.

and press the <ENTER> key.

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

A Beginners Guide to the Atari Portfolio

Now we are going to take a look into the SYSTEM SUBDIRECTORY.