            FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT IDEALIST
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Q: My  printer doesn't respond at all to IdeaList,  though I  can 
print quite normally with other programs.  Doesn't IdeaList  like 
all printers?

A: Yes,  it  does.  IdeaList  can  even  address  various  ports. 
Normally  it is the parallel (Centronics) port.  If you  find  in 
your printer adaptation file the line 'PortMode 1', IdeaList will 
output to the serial interface (with the Mega STE,  TT and Falcon 
the one selected by the control field).  The Atari laser  printer 
can be addressed either via the Diablo or Laserbrain emulation or 
via GDOS. Suitable drivers are included with IdeaList.

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Q: Why  does  IdeaList  ask after each page for  the  next  sheet 
although my printer has automatic paper feed?

A: Simply insert the line 'FeedMode 1' (without the quote marks!) 
in  the printer adaptation and IdeaList will no longer issue  the 
request in future. And the other way round, by deleting this line 
you can force a request after each page is printed.

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Q: Why can't I select all the slots?

A: You are using a GDOS printer adaptation that defines fonts  or 
font  sizes  that  are not installed on  your  system.  Check  in 
ASSIGN.SYS  first whether the font names are listed for the  GDOS 
device  driver that you want to use  with  IdeaList.  Furthermore 
these  files  must also actually be present in  the  GDOS  folder 
(usually  C:\GEMSYS when using a hard drive).  After  making  any 
change in ASSSIGN.SYS you have to re-boot the computer.  In  rare 
cases (with many large fonts) the buffer for the pixel fonts  may 
be too small.  You can enlarge this with DRIVERS.ACC.  For vector 
fonts  under SpeedoGDOS the same applies to the EXTEND.SYS  file. 
In  case  of doubt create a list of all fonts  installed  in  the 
system with GD_CHECK.PRG, which is included on the disk.

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Q: With GDOS output the last lines of each page are printed on  a 
separate sheet. Why?

A: A larger page size is defined in your GDOS device driver  than 
your  printer can print.  With device drivers for SpeedoGDOS  you 
can modify the page size with DRIVERS.APP. Or you can correct the 
bottom  margin  in  the  printer  adaptation  with  the   keyword 
'GdosMargin_B'.  The  line 'GdosMargin_B 0.5' (without the  quote 
marks) enlarges the bottom margin by 0.5 inches.

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Q: But I am not using any kind of GDOS and IdeaList  nevertheless 
prints the last lines of a page on a new sheet. A bug?

A: No.  But IdeaList has no idea how many lines your printer  can 
actually accommodate on a sheet.  That is why the adaptation file 
normally  has a line with the keyword 'Lines/Page' which  defines 
this value.  Unfortunately the appropriate figure is not given in 
most printer handbooks, but you can easily determine it yourself. 
One  way is to print out the file TEST_LPP.TXT directly from  the 
desktop  (for  this  the printer should be set  to  the  standard 
values  of 6 lines per inch,  which is normally the case after  a 
printer reset or after the printer is switched on). The number of 
the  last  line on the first page printed is the  desired  value, 
which   you  should  insert  in  your  printer   adaptation   for 
'Lines/Page'. Voila!

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Q: In  tables,  the entries are sometimes not lined  up  properly 
below each other. Why?

A: Either the tab value has not been set correctly (just keep  on 
trying  different values until everything lines up),  or you  are 
working in 'Body copy' mode.  In that, multiple spaces are shrunk 
to a single space.  So for texts containing tables always  switch 
off the 'Body copy' entry in 'Output options'.

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Q: Why doesn't IdeaList interpret a text as body copy although  I 
have selected the corresponding option?

A: Not every text is suitable for this.  For recognition the last 
character  of  each  line  has to be  a  space,  tab  or  hyphen. 
Otherwise IdeaList interprets every line as a separate  paragraph 
and will not reformat the text as body copy.  Many finished texts 
lack  these  spaces,  so  that body  copy  reformatting  is  only 
possible after modification in a text editor.

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Q: I  would  like to print out a 1st Word Plus document  but  for 
some  strange reason the text attributes are  being  disregarded. 
Can they be switched on somewhere?

A: You  have selected 'Convert Email text attributes' in  'System 
options'.  In  that  case all text attributes  defined  by  <Esc> 
control codes are ignored.

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Q: Some  strange characters appear at the start of every  printed 
text. Am I using the wrong printer adaptation?

A: Yes.  The  adaptation contains a printer sequence  which  your 
printer can't understand or do anything with.

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Q: A large part of the printed text is in italics. Why?

A: A  control code for 'Italic off' is missing in your  text.  Or 
the code for 'pItalic_Off' is incorrectly defined in your printer 
adaptation.

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Q: Whenever I have gone to the trouble of setting up the  margins 
and load a new text, the margins get altered. On purpose?

A: You have selected 'Optimise margins automatically' in  'System 
options'.  Just  switch  this  off and IdeaList  will  leave  the 
margins alone.

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Q: I like to print with proportional fonts. But this does not use 
up the maximum line length. Can't one improve on this?

A: Internally  IdeaList  works  with the  same  width  for  every 
character,  be  it an I or a W.  But you can alter the number  of 
characters  per  line  by  slightly  increasing  the  value   for 
'Chars/InchX'  (for slot X) in the printer driver.  Or  for  GDOS 
fonts  increase the 'GdosPropFact' slightly.  Both are  empirical 
values  that should be chosen after  careful  consideration,  and 
perhaps some experiment.

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Q: I  have set the left margin greater than zero,  but  for  even 
pages it has been reset to zero. Why?

A: With 'Both sides' selected in 'Output options' the back  pages 
(even page numbers) have the left and right margins swapped over. 
Presumably  you  have the right margin set to  zero,  which  only 
shows up on the front pages in the headers and footers as they go 
all the way to the right hand side.  The simplest solution is  to 
call  the  'Optimise  margins' dialog and  select  either  'Right 
optimum' or 'Left X.X" staple margin'. With this the right margin 
will  be  set so that the longest line in the text  is  just  not 
divided. And front pages will then be printed to line up with the 
rear  ones  (assuming that your printer leaves the  same  minimum 
margins unprinted at left and right).

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