DATE: April 12, 1994 PRODUCT: ScreenExtender for WordPerfect 5.1+ for DOS SUBJECT: ScreenExtender For WP 5.1+ Questions And Answers Question: Where can I find more information about ScreenExtender that ships with 5.1+? Answer: Every person that installs ScreenExtender for 5.1+ has access to a 70+ page technical manual. The manual if found in the C:\SX directory and the filename is SXMANUAL. The manual goes into great detail about the program, commands, memory optimization, troubleshooting, and startup options. Question: When I installed ScreenExtender, I did not tell the program that I was using FaceLift fonts. I've since installed FaceLift. What procedure must I go through to get ScreenExtender to identify FaceLift? Answer: Run ScreenExtender's installation again and answer Yes to the question "Are You Using Any Font Packages?" or edit the appropriate batch file and add the font startup (i.e., FLWP to the second line). Question: Can I install ScreenExtender on a network? What networks does it support? How is it installed? Answer: As long as workstations have graphics cards, they can run ScreenExtender by accessing the appropriate batch files for the type of graphics card they are using. The network administrator will need to install ScreenExtender for each type of display used at the various workstations so the appropriate batch files will be available. Question: Must I have a graphics card to use ScreenExtender? What graphics cards does it support? Answer: Yes. It supports Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, SVGA (800x600), Gas Plasma, and AT&T (640x400). ScreenExtender does not support SVGA (1024x768) display because of memory and size. Question: Will I be able to see network messages in graphics mode? Answer: No, just like View Document in WP 5.1, you will not see any network messages until you switch to text mode. You can swap to text mode by pressing Alt+S or Alt+M and selecting Standard 80x25 when you get the network alarm to see the message. Question: What are the different ways of switching to text mode? Answer: You can press Alt+S or press Alt+M and select the Standard 80x25 or exit WordPerfect and come back in without the batch file. Question: What happens to ScreenExtender when I shell out to DOS? Answer: Technically, nothing should happen. You should return to WordPerfect and ScreenExtender without a change. On some older COMPAQ machines, there was a problem with ScreenExtender being disabled when going into View Document or shelling out to DOS. To correct this problem, edit the appropriate batch file and add a /CPQ startup option to the end of the first line. Question: What are the functions of the hotkeys of ScreenExtender? Will they replace existing macros Alt+X, Alt+S, and Alt+M? Answer: Alt+X is an extra key that will toggle between two different display modes. Alt+S is a toggle that sets the screen back to text/graphics mode. Alt+M activates the main menu for ScreenExtender. These hotkeys are reserved by ScreenExtender before entering WordPerfect and will disable any macros using these same keys. ScreenExtender does not, however, disable keyboard macros in SETUP. You can select different hotkeys for ScreenExtender by pressing Alt+M and selecting Keys. You can assign Alt keys A-Z or Ctrl keys A-G or M-V. Question: Why can't we use Ctrl H-L or X-Z for hotkeys? Answer: WordPerfect has definitions for these keys built into the program so ScreenExtender won't use them. This will also cut down on technical support calls. For example, if we could set Ctrl+X as a ScreenExtender hotkey, whenever the user would hit the right arrow key, it would also activate the hotkey. Question: How much memory will ScreenExtender take? Can any of it be loaded high? Answer: 50K of conventional memory, 20K of that will automatically load high if you are using a memory manager. You can load all of ScreenExtender high by using a load high command. See Appendix A in the SXMANUAL for more information. Question: Will ScreenExtender work on an 8088 machine? 286 machine? Answer: Yes, if you have enough conventional memory. You may need to use a /FBUFFER = SWITCH. See Appendix A in the SXMANUAL for more information. Question: What should I have selected as the text driver within WordPerfect? Answer: Any text driver will work, but if you have an extended text driver selected in WP before entering ScreenExtender, the text mode may be reset back to 80x25 when exiting ScreenExtender. It is best to have the text driver Auto-Selected. Question: Will ScreenExtender work with WordPerfect language modules? Answer: ScreenExtender will work with language modules that read character set 1 or 4. Question: Will ScreenExtender work while running Windows? Are there any changes that need to be made to the .PIF file? Answer: You will need to change the default .PIF file that ships with WP 5.1+ and change the required memory from 384K to at least 450K. Question: What files are used and what files are affected during the installation when selecting different types of graphic cards? Answer: Different batch files are created in the WP51+ program directory (i.e., VWP5.BAT for VGA display, SWP5.BAT for Super VGA display, PWP5.BAT for Gas Plasma, CWP5.BAT for CGA, EWP5.BAT for EGA, and HWP5.BAT for Hercules). Question: Will WordPerfect menus also read the column and row settings that are set in ScreenExtender? Answer: Yes. Both text and menus will read ScreenExtender settings. Question: Is it faster to work in text mode rather than the graphics mode of ScreenExtender? Answer: Both modes run very fast. The speed is affected by the amount of memory that is available. Question: I have a ten-page document on the screen and the cursor is on page one. I then go to View Document and page down to page five. When I return to the document screen, my cursor is still on page one. Why? Answer: The program is working as designed. Question: Will ScreenExtender display any graphics on the screen? Answer: No, it will display the graphic just as it would in text mode. Question: Since my screen is in a graphics mode with ScreenExtender activated can I use the GRAB feature on the normal document screen? Answer: Yes. Make sure GRAB is loaded before coming into WordPerfect with the appropriate ScreenExtender batch file. Question: Can the ScreenExtender SE that ships with WP 5.1+ be used with other applications? Answer: No. The ScreenExtender that ships is specifically designed to work with WP 5.1+ only. ScreenExtender is planning an April 94 release of ScreenExtender 3.0 that will work with WordPerfect 5.0/5.1/5.1+/6.0. That way, if a user is using WP 5.1+ and WP 6.0, the user would need to load ScreenExtender only once. The user should contact Stairway to place an order. Look in the WP 5.1+ Upgrade Guide for information. Question: Do the font packages need to be loaded before ScreenExtender is installed? Answer: In the installation of ScreenExtender, it asks you if you are using other font packages that use a batch file to start WordPerfect. All the installation is doing is modifying the batch file that ScreenExtender will use to start WordPerfect. If you immediately install the font packages after installing ScreenExtender, then there should be no problem. If you decide not to load the font package you can either modify the ScreenExtender batch file or go through the installation of ScreenExtender again to reset it. Question: When you change colors in ScreenExtender, does it change it for text mode too? Answer: No. When you change to text mode, WordPerfect looks at your settings in SETUP. However, when you try to access Colors from Setup when ScreenExtender is loaded, it will tell you to make the color selection changes in ScreenExtender. Another option is to exit out of ScreenExtender and enter WordPerfect without the batch file, change the colors, exit out of WordPerfect, and start ScreenExtender with the batch file. Question: Why can't we change colors for the text mode with ScreenExtender running? Answer: Any text type of operations while ScreenExtender is running can cause display problems. ScreenExtender takes control of the colors once it is loaded. Question: How do I change the colors for graphics mode in ScreenExtender? Answer: Access the main menu by pressing Alt+M. Select the option for Colors. The default set of colors is called System. ScreenExtender provides you with 16 different predefined color sets. They are named as follows: System, Blue Sea, Civil War, 16 Grays, PaperWht, Stairway, Winter, and ColSet 8-16. You can also create your own color sets to use by renaming one of the predefined sets and altering the colors. ScreenExtender also provides you with a palette to select different color values of red, green and blue. Question: Where are customized color sets stored? In which file are other settings stored? Answer: They are stored in the ?SXWP.CFG file in the C:\SX directory. This is similar to the WP .SET file. Question: Can the cursor be changed with ScreenExtender? What happens with CURSOR.COM settings? Answer: You can change the cursor in the main menu (Alt+M) by selecting CURSOR. The style of cursor can be set to line or block. The blinking speed can be set from 1-Slow up to 9-Fast. When you load the batch file, the CURSOR.COM settings will be ignored. Question: I've changed all the settings in ScreenExtender and would like to set them back to the default. Is there a way to do this? Answer: In most of the ScreenExtender menus, there is an option called LOAD. This will set all menu screens back to ScreenExtender's default settings. Question: What different display fonts are available in ScreenExtender, and how can I access them? Answer: Press Alt+M and select Fonts. ScreenExtender will automatically bring you to the screen setting that is currently selected. By pressing the +/- keys you can access either Gothic 1/2, Roman 1/2 or SanS 1/2. If you want to see how these fonts will display, select Preview and then use the +/- keys to select the fonts. Remember that these are display fonts only and will not print. Question: What is the difference between Exit, Save, and Escape? Answer: Exit - If nothing has been changed in the menus, then pressing Exit will immediately take you to the document screen. If something was changed in any of the submenus, it will prompt you to save the changes and then exit back to the document screen. If you change the screen size and then choose Exit, it will not prompt you to save the screen settings but it will change the screen for this session of WordPerfect only. Save - By selecting Save, it will always prompt you to save the settings from all menus and the cursor will remain within the menu without exiting back to the document screen. By saving, you are changing the defaults for when you access ScreenExtender the next time. Escape - Esc will allow you to leave the current screen. It does not cancel any of the changes you have made. The changes you make will stay active for this session of WordPerfect by selecting escape to exit the menus. Question: What is the difference between Cancel and Load? Answer: Cancel - Cancels all changes made to any menus since the last save. Load - Sets all settings back to the system defaults except the column and row settings. Question: Is there a way to cancel the settings or load the default settings for one menu rather than all menus? Answer: No. Question: What are some reasons for getting a "File Not Found -- ALT+M.WPM" error? Answer: Possible reasons include the following: 1. Using an older version of WP 5.1 instead of using WP 5.1+. ScreenExtender that ships with WP 5.1+ can only be used with those release dates. 2. Having a different keyboard selected. Temporarily deselect the keyboard by pressing Ctrl+6 or select the original keyboard. If you need to have a keyboard selected, change the hotkeys for ScreenExtender from the main menu (Alt+M). 3. Coming into WordPerfect 5.1+ without the ScreenExtender batch file. Without the batch file, the hotkeys are not accessible. 4. If user is coming into WordPerfect through a menu or shell program, make sure the command line to start WordPerfect includes the appropriate ScreenExtender batch file. Question: What does the batch file actually load? Answer: It loads ScreenExtender for WP 5.1+, next if any font packages were designated, it loads them and then loads WP 5.1+. Question: Is there a way for my desired screen size to automatically be brought up with the batch file? Answer: Yes. Access the main menu (Alt+M) and select Startup. You can use the +/- keys to select which screen size to be active when coming into WordPerfect. Question: What does the Standard 80x25 in the main menu do for me? Answer: It is a way of setting the screen back to WordPerfect's 80x25 text mode. Question: What does select screen size for extra key in the Keys submenu mean? Answer: Alt+X allows you to switch between two different screen displays. For example, if you normally want to see 80x25 on the screen but occasionally want to see more text, you can set the extra key to 128x60 and hotkey between the two displays. Question: Can you use startup options (e.g., VWP5/NC/NK) with the batch files? Answer: Yes, you can use startup options with the batch files. You can also edit the batch file and place the option in the appropriate place (i.e., C:\WP51\WP /NC/NK %1, %2, %3...). Question: What are the keystroke equivalents for the submenus of ScreenExtender? Answer: Exit - E or F7 Load - L or F9 Save - S or F10 Cancel - N Startup - T Cursor - R Keys - K Font - F Color - C for color monitors Color - H for monochrome monitors Question: When I enter into WordPerfect using the ScreenExtender batch file, it creates a file called WP{WP}BK.SX$. Why? Answer: The .SX$ file allows ScreenExtender to automatically restore the .SET file if the power goes out while you are using an extended screen size. If someone has deactivated this option by using a /N$ option, and power goes out while using ScreenExtender, the .SET file can become corrupted causing strange colors to appear on the screen. It is recommended that we allow ScreenExtender to create a backup of the .SET file.