Action!     ›              and›        BBS Express! PRO›            Tutorial››              by›        Thomas M. Johnson  ›››          Available from  ››     Villa Video's Bargain Cellar  ›          (414) 265-5149  ›        ExpressNet Node X11  ››Action! is copyright of ACS, OSS, ICD.›BBS Express! PRO is copyright Orion›Micro Systems.›    ›This tutorial is copyright Thomas M.›Johnson.››This tutorial can be distributed under›the following conditions:›         1) It is free.›         2) All of the above›            information is intact.››--------------------------------------››As promised, now we are going to talk›about advanced editor and monitor›commands.  Knowing these will make›your writing, editing and debugging›of Action! programs many times faster›and easier.››In this file, when I use something›like this: <C><S>M      ›That means to press the Control, the›Shift and the M keys at the same›time.  And we all know that doing›that will take us into the monitor.››There are more commands to help›you than I can possibly list.  If I›did it would take me over 100K.  I am›just going to cover the ones I use›most.  I use almost all the commands›at sometime or another.  Please look›at your Action! manual and carefully›read over the sections on these›commands.  They are very important.››I guess we should dive right in with›some editor commands.  You already›know <C><S>R and <C><S>W for reading›and writing to and from the editor.››Pressing <C><S>- and <C><S>= (these›are the arrow keys) will jump you›around the editor 1 screen at a time.›You can really get around the editor›fast using these.  ››If you are looking for a certain›word or words in you Action! program,›the editor has the <C><S>F command.›Action! will ask you for the string›to search for.  And zip you are there›or a not found message appear.  This›only searches from the point you›are in, downward.  So if you are at›the end of your file, no matter›what you search for you won't find it›because there is nothing below it.››<C><S>S will also find a string of›characters but it will also replace›it with another string.  This will›come in very handy when we start›programming for BBS Express! PRO.››A word of caution, when you›substitute, use a word that does not›have the old string contained in it.››Let's say you want to change all the›occurences of the word 'score' in ›your program into 'u_score'.  Changing›the first occurence is great.  The›cursor will be on the 'u' in 'u_score'.››The next occurence it will find is the›'score' in 'u_score' so you will get ›'u_u_score'.››If you change a existing line but have›not yet pressed the RETURN key,›<C><S>U will restore it back as good›as new.››To delete a line just press       ›<SHIFT><DELETE>.  To delete a bunch of›line just hold this key down.  Oh no!›You just deleted the wrong line, well›<C><S>P will put the entire block of›deleted lines back.››This is also how you move and copy›blocks of text.  Just delete them,›and go to where you want to appear.›Press <C><S>P and it is moved.››If you just want a copy somewhere›else, make sure you <C><S>P it in›the same spot where you deleted›it, the move and <C><S>P again.››To erase you file, <Shift><Clear>›does the trick.››Remember, look in the Action! manual›and read over the commands I did not›cover.  They are very useful!››Now the monitor.  You already know›the C command compiles a Action!›program and R runs it.››B reboots the Action! system without›having to turn your computer off and›on.  This erases anything you have›in the editor and starts you from›scratch.››O takes you to the options menu.  In›here you can change some features›of the Action! system and also turn›on some debugging flags.››The first option is the Display›option.  When you turn this on,›it speeds up reading and writing›to the disk and printer.  It also›speeds up compiling your program.  It›does this by turning the screen off›while doing these operations.  The›first thing I always do then I load›my Action! cartridge it turn this›on.››If that stupid bell is driving you›nuts every time you go to the monitor›or come across an error while    ›compiling, the Bell flag can turn›this off.››The Case Insensitive flag can turn›on the.... well I better show you.››In Action!, the variables:›            score›            Score›            SCORE›            sCoRe››are all the same.  Turning this on›will make them all different›varialbles.  It will also make you›spell the Action! routines correctly›too.  PrintE is spelled with a›cap P and a cap E.  If this is off,›the default, you can spell it anyway.››The Trace flag prints the PROC›or FUNC you are currently entering›when you run your program.  We haven't›covered PROCs and FUNCs yet but I›will say this is VERY, VERY useful›when debugging.››Most of the time when Action! finds›an error while it is compiling, it›will take you right to the spot in the›editor where the error occured.›Sometimes Action! doesn't know where›the error is and setting List to y ›will print each line to the screen›while that line if being compiled.›This in only useful when the›Display flag is on.  Compile ›a sample program with this on to›see what it does.››Window size, Line size and Left margin›we won't go into.››EOF character will change the last›character of each line from a blank›space to something you can see.›The Action! manual say it will "aid›visualization of the program."››That's it for the Options menu.  Back›to the monitor commands.  D will›take you to DOS.  If you are›using DOS 2.0 or 2.5 the editor›will be erased so be sure to save›it before you use this.  If you have›DOS XL or SpartaDOS, the editor›remains.  To get back to Action! from›DOS use the B (to cartridge) command›in DOS 2.0-2.5 and CAR in DOS XL and›SpartaDOS.››You can compile a Action! source›program without having to load›it into the editor.  Just put a ›filename after the C for compile.›Make sure you use the whole filename›and device and make sure there are›"quotes" on both ends of the filename.››C "D:APROG.402"››will compile APROG.402 off disk drive›#1.  This is useful when your program›won't compile because it is out of›memory.››W "D:MYPROG.CMD" will write the›compiled code to disk.  That way›you don't have to recompile it each›time.  Using R "D:MYPROG.CMD" will›load and run your Action! program if›it was saved using W.››If you have the Action! runtime›package, this is how you write       ›programs that don't need the cart.›to run.››This is also how you save BBS Express!›PRO command modules.››Well that's about it for now.  I have›barely scratched the surface with the›number of commands you have available›to you.  But, These bare minimums will›help you get around easier.››