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“TRANSLATE” UTILITY PROGRAM DOCUMENTATIoN PAGE 1
LIVING VIDEOTEXT, INC. 1000 Elwell Court, Suit. 232, Palo Alto, CA 94303
“TRANSLATE” provides compatibility between ThinkTank outlines and Apple
DOS 3.3 text files by converting files from one format to the other.
The program was added to all Apple II versions of ThinkTank (II/II+,
“Videx,” and IIe) when they were upgraded from 1.000 to 1.001, beginning
with serial * 830004281.
Using ThinkTank together with DOS 3.3—based Apple II programs
You need TRANSLATE if you want to use ThinkTank together with any Apple
II program that uses DOS 3.3 text files to store information on disks.
(DOS text files are identified with the letter I when you use the DOS
“CATALOG” command.) Such programs include word processors like Apple
Writer II, Screen Writer XI, and Bank Street Writer, and application
programs as diverse as VisiCalc and Apple Logo. To use ThinkTank in
conjunction with any of these programs, you must use text files as an
in—between step.
For example, to edit a ThinkTank outline with one of these word
processors, you must first “PORT” (send) the outline to a (Pascal) text
file, then use TRANSLATE to convert the file from Pascal format to DOS
3.3 format, and finally load the (DOS) text file into the word
processor. The present description of the TRANSLATE utility program
deals only with the in—between step. For a more complete picture of the
whole process, consult the ThinkTank User’s Manual and ThinkTank
Technical Note 4*2 (“Using ThinkTank with a Word Processor”).
Before you start to use TRANSLATE
To TRANSLATE from Pascal to DOS 3.3, you will need a DOS—formatted disk.
(To TRANSLATE in the opposite direction, your DOS—formatted disk must
already contain the text file to be converted and its name must appear
in the CATALOG directory.) The DISK—MANAGER provided with all Apple Il
versions of ThinkTank can format, copy, or list a floppy disk for use
with any Pascal—based program——and it can copy a DOS disk——but you will
need your DOS 3.3 System Master (or a substitute) to format or list your
DOS disk.
Since you can only TRANSLATE from within ThinkTank, you should format
(and list, if necessary) your DOS disk BEFORE booting ThinkTank.
How to use TRANSLATE, step—by—step
TRANSLATE is the fourth option in the “disk manager” command menu.
Refer to pages 99—103 of the ThinkTank Manual for more information about
the DISK-MANAGER.
When you select TRANSLATE from the “disk manager” menu, ThinkTank will
prompt you (if necessary) to “insert thinktank data disk in drive2” and
“then press (spacebar).” Next the “dos conversion” command menu will
appear. Select “pascal > dos” to translate from Pascal format to DOS,
or "dos > pascal' to translate from dos format to pascal.
Translate will prompt you to "insert pascal disk in drive1" and to