Microdeal
Colour or Mono.
£29.95
The Alternative is loaded as an Accessory file on
the GEM desktop and can be called via the drop down menu. It is a
system that will allow you to store often used phrases and
statements and instantly recall them by using one of the designated
ALTERNATIVE keys.
So what does that mean? Well, suppose you use
BASIC or in fact any GEM based program (LOGO, 1st Word, GST 'C' or
whatever) you will probably use certain phrases and statements quite
often. In a program why bother to type, for example FOR PAUSE =1 TO
100:NEXT PAUSE if you can just press ALTERNATE-P? If you have defined
this key, the Alternative will print the statement on the screen
immediately.
The Accessory will let you set up a file of key
definitions using its own editor, for which you must have an 80
column display, and then save the file under your own name but with
the extender ALT. You may have a different file for each of your
programs. The file will store 36 alternate key combinations but you
may concatenate using the caret which means that a key can combine
the statements of other keys. Be careful not to get into an endless
loop using this though! The keys used by the Alternative are the
characters A-z and 0 to 9 and each will store a string of up to 60
characters. If you wish, the Alternative can be bypassed by pressing
ALTERNATE and -.
My copy of the program worked well. I spend a lot
of time using a word processor but as I use very few standard
statements with a word processor I did not find a lot of use for it
in this context. It comes into its own, however, when used with a
language (like BASIC?) or with the text editors found with Modula 2
or 'C'. The only problem was remembering what each key was for. The
ability to print a quick reference would be very handy.
The Alternative is easy to use, resides as an
accessory so is always there and has separate data files. If you
take the trouble to set it up and use it fully then it is a good
buy. There is a similar program about to be released which may give
it some competition but it is a good program and I would recommend
it.
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