08/08/95 Questions and Answers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. How do I change into a "RISC OS 3.1-style" screen mode on my Risc PC? A. Click Menu over the monitor icon on your icon bar, and choose the "Mode" option. If you delete the contents of the writable icon in this dialogue box with a Ctrl-U, you can then type in the RISC OS 3.1-style mode number. Most, but not all, of the RISC OS 3.1 modes can be accessed in this way. Q. How do I print in different fonts from !Edit? A. !Edit will only produce hardcopy in the System font; if you wish to print text in a different font, you can save the text into !Draw, change the font via the "Style" submenu and print it from there. Serial Ports, Printers and Modems: Part 1 ----------------------------------------- There are two main classifications of serial RS232 cable; straight-through and crossover. Generally, if the cable is linking the computer to a communications device such as a modem, then a straight-through cable is used - in other words, one where the transmit line is connected to the same-signal pins at either end of the cable, as is the receive line, etc. A modem is a piece of Data Communication Equipment (DCE); hence the straight-through cable is sometimes referred to as "DTE to DCE." If the cable is connecting the computer to a peripheral such as a printer, then the transmit line from the computer needs to be connected to the peripheral's receive line and vice versa; the two lines have to be crossed over. A printer is a piece of Data Terminal Equipment (the terminology goes back to the concept of a computer which had a number of user-interface terminals connected to it by serial lines), and so the cross-over cable is sometimes referred to as "DTE to DTE" or "null modem" cable. In the case of the RISC PC, you should be able to use a standard serial lead with a modem and suitable communications packages; for earlier machines, the package vendor should be able to supply a lead or information on where to obtain one. !Printers is capable of sending data to a suitable printer via a serial link; the printer usually has to be specially configured to receive serial data. Your printer manual should show you how the printer's DIP switches must be set and which formats of serial word it will accept. The figure shows a suitable cable to connect an Acorn serial port to an Apple LaserWriter; more serial communications info next month. Palette Information on the Risc PC ---------------------------------- Some applications, particularly those written for earlier versions of RISC OS, can be set to change the video palette information; this may cause unusual colour effects on the Risc PC Desktop. As an alternative to resetting the machine, it is possible to restore the colours by finding a sprite which already has the default palette set; the palette information can then be extracted using !Paint, and loaded. Rather than look for a sprite with the palette set, we suggest that you do the following before the need to reset the palette arises: Load !Paint Click on the !Paint icon Create a new sprite with a 16 colour palette set Open the menu over the "newsprite" window, and move to the "Save" submenu followed by the "Palette" submenu Drag the Palette file to a suitable directory. If you find that an application corrupts your current palette, double-clicking on this saved palette file should at least make the Desktop colours usable until you can save your work and reset. Whoops... --------- Ive been informed that a couple of errors slipped into the table in September's column. The Risc PC / AKF85 combination can actually support 1280x1024 in 4 colours with no VRAM, in 16 colours with 1Mb VRAM, and in 256 colours with 2Mb VRAM. Upgrades ~~~~~~~~ In order to use the A-Link on the Risc PC, you must be running a copy of PocketFS Release 2. Upgrades from Release 1 may be obtained from: Vector Services 13 Denington Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 2RL by returning your original PocketFS disc, and a cheque for £9.95 inc VAT and P&P. Cheques should be made payable to "Acorn Direct."