Section 1: Welcome to the User Level!

The User Level documentation assumes you have read, understood, and practiced the material in the Learner Level. Along the way, you've gained enough experience in communicating with the Apple that some things have become a habit. Therefore, in the User Level, we won't tell you when to press <CR> in the menu dialogue. We won't say things like "Enter the number for the drive where the data disk is located, then press <CR>; BEX presents a numbered list of chapters, and prompts you to choose from the list by entering numbers." Instead, we say: "Scan a drive for chapters."

Part 1: More Options and Shorter Prompts

BEX's prompts also get more concise at the User Level. Instead of prompting
Main Menu
Enter Option:
BEX prompts Main Menu: Press <CR> at this point, and you see that there are 16 options available, seven more than at the Learner Level. You can now quit at any menu, and there are four more options on the Second Menu and one more on the Page Menu. Another distinctive change from the Learner Level is how BEX prompts for chapters. Instead of Drive number or chapter name: BEX prompts Drive or chapter: When you type the name of one chapter, BEX reprompts Drive or chapter: This means you can individually type the names of several chapters, rather than choosing from a numbered list. There are a number of other shortcuts for chapter selection: details appear in Section 4.

Information Exchange

Three of the Main Menu's new options help you quickly exchange information between the Apple and the tape-based VersaBraille. Options A - Autoprint from VersaBraille, F - From VersaBraille, and T - To VersaBraille are discussed in Section 11. The BEX Interface Guide contains step by step explanations for connecting your VersaBraille to the Apple.

On the Second Menu, option I - Input through slot allows downloading data from other computers, including the disk-based VersaBraille, Kurzweil Reading Machine, and many others--details in Section 12. Also new to the Second Menu is option W - Write textfile, which converts BEX chapters into sequential textfiles for use by other Apple programs.

New Editor Features

In Section 5 you'll learn all about the clipboard a fun feature that makes manipulating text very easy. Also discussed is braille keyboard, which lets you use six keys and the spacebar on the Apple's keyboard to enter braille text.

Back Translator From Grade 2 Braille into Print

Since you can import braille information from other computers and enter braille information in the Editor, you may find use for option B - Back translate from grade 2 on the Main Menu. Back translate allows you to prepare text in a braille environment (including entering format commands) and then process it through BEX for print output.

Greatly Expanded Printing Capability

Option M - Multi-function print on the Main Menu adds three features to option P - Print, which are explained in Section 6. Section 7 deals with the great variety of format commands that allow you to place information exactly where you want it.

Replace Characters

Option R - Replace characters was discussed briefly at the Learner Level. In Section 8 we go into the guts of this very powerful feature, which lets you automate many, many reformatting tasks, and develop your own keyboard shortcuts.

Part 2: Expanding the Environment

Most computer software outputs the "user dialogue" information only to the computer screen. BEX has four channels for this dialogue. At the Learner Level, we only used two channels: the screen channel and the voice channel. The screen channel mode was limited to what you described in your configuration. The voice channel output was restricted to the SlotBuster and the Echo family of synthesizers.

At the User Level, the voice channel can be connected to either an Echo, SlotBuster or a serial voice device. You can choose from ten different types of screen display in the Editor and when printing to the screen. The User Level also opens the third, braille channel for the information going to the computer screen.

Section 2 provides background information on the choices available in this expanded user environment.

Part 3: How to Advance to the User Level

You tell BEX to unlock all these new features by creating a User Level configuration. Section 3 steps you through the process of defining a User Level configuration, and provides guidelines for answering the many new configuration questions. Nitty-gritty technical details, as always, are available in the BEX Interface Guide.

Section 2: Controlling the User Environment

We use the term user dialogue to describe the communication between you and your Apple. Most sighted computer users read the user dialogue on the screen and instruct the Apple through the regular keyboard. When a sighted user wants to examine a particular part of the user dialogue in detail, they may make a hard copy printout for further study.

There are a number of ways to make what appears on the screen accessible to blind and partially sighted people: BEX tries to support as many as possible. This means that you've got a lot of choices, and that, as a blind or partially sighted computer user, you need to learn a little bit about input and output. The information in this Section provides you with the background you need to answer some User Level configuration questions.

Part 1: BEX's Two Roles

At the Learner Level, we focussed on BEX as word processor. At the User Level, we explain more of BEX's word processing features. In addition, we begin to explore BEX's other role: BEX as I/O system.

What's I/O, and why should I care about it? I/O is the abbreviation for input/output, and is an important piece of computerese to understand. Most sighted computer users never think about I/O: they simply use the regular keyboard for input (getting information into the computer), and the screen and printer for output (getting information out of the computer). In fact, most software for the Apple only uses the Apple's built-in I/O features. But when you use BEX, BEX takes control of all I/O, creating a unique user environment. BEX certainly lets you use the regular keyboard and screen, but also lets you use alternative I/O channels.

Four output channels

BEX has four output channels: screen, voice, braille, and print. The first two channels are the most efficient way to present the user dialogue, because they are fast and transitory. With BEX, you can set the screen channel for five different sizes (from 80-column to 5-column) and for two modes (print letters or braille dots.)

BEX lets you combine voice output with large letters on the screen. Most of the time, using these two channels suffices.

The braille and print channels are useful when you want a permanent record of your dialogue with the computer. They are much less efficient for general communication with the Apple, because of the time required for a print or braille device to make hard copy records. The braille channel sends all the information on the screen to a braille device--you can use a braille embosser or a paperless braille display. The print channel sends all the information on the screen to an inkprint printer. At the User Level, you can configure BEX so that all the user dialogue appears on the braille channel. Output of the user dialogue to the print channel is only available at the Master Level.

Don't confuse the braille and print channels with printing to a brailler or printer. The braille and print channels let you record the user dialogue: menu prompts and your responses. When you send formatted text to a printer or brailler, then you're printing to that device.

To summarize, BEX controls all I/O for the Apple. You tell BEX what I/O you want and BEX makes it happen. At the Learner Level, you defined your I/O preferences in your configuration. At the User Level, you can change some of BEX's I/O as you use the program, without having to reconfigure. At the Master Level, you are able to independently control all four channels at any time.

Part 2: What's the Best Access Strategy?

When you can see the 80-column or 40-column screen, you have access to a lot of information at once. You can review several lines of the user dialogue, and you can fit the whole list of menu choices on one screen. When you instruct BEX to make 20, 10, or 5-column display, less information fits on one screen. When you listen to the dialogue through a voice device, you only hear one word at a time. Therefore, BEX has to make accommodations for your need to get the whole picture of the user dialogue.

When you use BEX on the Apple, all input and output go through BEX. This means that the speed of the dialogue is controlled by the speed of the slowest I/O channel that's currently in use. For example, suppose you want to hear the list of options at the Main Menu. You told BEX to send output to the Wide (80-column) screen and the Echo. At the Main Menu prompt, you enter <CR> to get the list of options. BEX sends the information in the list to two channels: the 80-column character generator on your 80-column card, and the TEXTALKER software that controls the Echo circuit card. Speaking the list of options takes longer than displaying them on the screen, so the words show up on the screen at the same time they are spoken by the Echo.

Sometimes you won't want to listen to the whole list. The TEXTALKER software has two ways to let you shut up the Echo. As the Echo is speaking, you can enter control-X; this disconnects the TEXTALKER software, and the Echo shuts up. TEXTALKER is automatically reconnected when the Apple needs more input. (Control-X performs the same function with the SlotBuster.) Control-X doesn't affect BEX's screen channel, so the list is quickly displayed on the screen. When BEX prompts for more input with the Main menu, then the Echo can start speaking. Since the characters are on the screen, you can use screen review at this point to review the information. (More information on Echo screen review appears in Learner Section 10. For details on SlotBuster screen review, see the SlotBuster manual.)

The other way to shut up the Echo is by pressing a valid command. Suppose you want to know which key to press to choose the Grade 2 translator. Press <CR> at the Main Menu and you hear the list of options. As soon as you hear G - Grade 2 translator you can press G. The Echo stops talking, and passes the G to BEX, which loads the Grade 2 translator. The next thing you hear is Grade 2 translator

When you instruct BEX to use one of the large print screen displays (20, 10 or 5 column) you find yourself in a similar situation. All of the menu options can't fit in one screen, so it takes a while for the list of menu options to scroll by. If you don't care to wait for the entire list, you can enter control-Z to temporarily disconnect the screen channel. Just like control-X, control-Z automatically reconnects the screen channel when the Apple wants more input.

Part 3: The Screen Channel

BEX allows you to choose between five sizes of print on the screen, from tiny to enormous, and also allows you to choose two styles of display: regular letters or braille dots. As we've mentioned, the sizes are defined in columns (how many characters fit on one line on the screen). The actual size of the letters depends on the size of your monitor. Most screen options draw letters on the screen--they're called HI-RES because they use the Apple's high resolution drawing routines. With any HI-RES screen option, you can control the rate of scrolling with the open-Apple (or command) key and solid-Apple (or option) key.

Two screen options use the Apple's built-in character generator. You can only use screen review software (like TEXTALKER or SCAT) with the 80-column Wide and 40-column Non-HI-RES screen displays, so size is relevant even if you depend only on the voice channel for output of the user dialogue. The Echo still speaks the menus even when you choose a HI-RES screen display. Each size and style is specified with one letter; the complete list of ten letters appears in Section 5, Part 7; Section 6, Part 1, and on the Thick Reference Card.

When you configure with 80- or 40-column screen without voice output, BEX switches to HI-RES screen for two options. This switch allows sighted users to see control characters, using the same shapes as in the Editor. This switch to HI-RES happens with option P - Printer control code display at the Starting Menu, and when you type changes directly with Replace characters.

Controlling Screen Channel

There are four ways to control screen display in BEX; the one you use depends on your level and your whim. For all levels, you specify what size screen display you want in your configuration. (The default values are N for menus and H for the Editor.) At the Learner Level, this is the only method of controlling the screen channel that we document.

At the User Level, you can change screen display in the Editor by entering control-S S followed by one of the ten screen-size letters. For example, you configure with 20-column screen, and then wish to use 40-column braille dots in the Editor, you enter control-S S B. (Details in Section 5.)

At the User Level, you can also specify varying screen sizes when you print to the screen. When BEX prompts Which printer: you enter S <CR> to print to the screen in the size you defined in your configuration. When you follow the S with one of the ten screen-size letters, BEX prints to that size screen. For example, you have configured with 40-column screen. You want to print text to the 20-column screen. Enter SL <CR> at the Which printer: prompt. (Details in Section 6.) At the Master Level, you learn how to change the screen display at the menus, too.

Deciding Which Screen to Use

Each screen mode has its plusses and minuses. In the Editor, W and N mode show all control characters as a checkerboard pattern. For the fully sighted user, you'll get more information from a HI-RES mode, because BEX draws a unique pattern for each control character. (A <CR>, for example, shows as the letters C and R jammed together; a control-T shows as an underlined T.) When you use 20-column or larger screen and you are a speedy typist, most of the text and commands you type are stored temporarily in BEX's keyboard buffer. This can be a drag if you inadvertently hold down an arrow key for five seconds!

When you can't see the screen at all, W and N modes combined with the Echo or other output device give just as much information as a HI-RES mode, and are also a very short amount speedier. The HI-RES screen modes require a longer time to display because BEX has to instruct the Apple what every character looks like. W or N modes are also good for Echo users, because you can use Echo screen review. Of course, for the partially-sighted user, 20-column or larger display at the menus is helpful.

Advancing to the Next Screen of Data

There are three different contexts for BEX screen display: at menus, in the Editor, and when printing to the screen. During screen display at menus, you have scrolling: When there's more information than can appear on one screen, every line on the screen moves up one. The top line disappears, and the new text shows up on the bottom line.

In the Editor, the screen display changes to match your cursor movement. When you advance your cursor two paragraphs, the screen display jumps so that your cursor appears in the center lines of the screen.

Printing to the screen is like printing to a printer that has pause on form feed. Each screen's worth of data is one output page. When the screen is full, BEX makes a low boop and pauses. Press <space> for the next page.

Printing to a braille previewer or Review class printer is a special case, discussed in Learner Level Section 5 and again in User Level Section 6, Part 3 and Section 7, Part 9.

Controlling Large Print Screen Display

For 80 and 40-column screen, BEX uses the Apple's built-in scrolling abilities. As a new line of text appears, every line on the screen moves up one, and the top line scrolls off the top into oblivion. For all other screen sizes, BEX provides a different scrolling system, which is available at all menus. You can control the speed of scrolling; you can momentarily freeze the screen display, and you can slow the screen display down to a crawl. Here's how:

Temporarily suspend large print output

When you want to temporarily suspend output to the large print screen, enter control-Z. Control-Z parallels the function of control-X for the Echo and SlotBuster. Control-Z stops output to the screen until the next time the Apple is waiting for input.

Here's when control-Z could be handy. You want to see all the files on a disk, so you press D for a Disk catalog at a BEX menu, then press <space> after the list of chapters. The file you're interested in shows up in the first ten files of the DOS catalog. You don't need to see the rest of the catalog. Press control-Z and BEX suppresses large print display for the rest of the catalog.

You may run into a problem here, however. DOS 3.3 has a built-in function that pauses the catalog display every 24 lines. When your disk has more than 24 files, you must press any key to see the rest of the catalog. Suppose your disk has 50 files on it. After you see the 14th file, you don't want to look at the rest of the catalog. When you press control-Z, BEX suppresses the remaining ten files in the current catalog screen; all you see is the cursor on the bottom screen line. Until you press any key, DOS 3.3 waits.

In this situation, press control-Z twice. The first control-Z functions as the "any key" DOS needs to continue the catalog display. BEX gets the second control-Z and suppresses the catalog display for the 25th through 48th files. Finally, press control-Z twice to skip over the last two files. Because BEX is suppressing large print output, you do not see the Main Menu: prompt. However, you do hear the low boop that means BEX is waiting for a menu choice.

Part 4: Three BEX Functions that Suppress Large Print Screen

The 20, 10, and 5-column HI-RES screen displays use a part of the Apple's memory called, logically enough, the HI-RES memory. Unfortunately, a number of other parts of BEX also require accommodation in the HI-RES memory. When you have 20, 10 or 5 column screen display at menus, and you choose a menu option that uses HI-RES memory, you temporarily change from HI-RES to N screen. This doesn't mean anything is wrong with your BEX disk. It's an unavoidable result of how the Apple's memory is arranged.

The following items harmlessly conflict with HI-RES screen at the Main menu. When the option is completed, you return to the HI-RES screen.

() One Disk Drive: BEX needs to load the large print font from the program disk every time it prints. You must copy the font files to your data disk. More details in Appendix 3.

Part 5: The Voice Channel

At the Learner Level, BEX limits output on the voice channel to a member of the Echo family or the SlotBuster. These devices are integral voice devices. When you combine the circuit card with the synthesizers' TEXTALKER or SCAT software, speech is integrated into all the Apple's operations.

At the User Level, you can connect a serial voice device instead of an integral device to the voice channel. A serial voice device is like a talking printer. You send it some text, and it talks. BEX has many ways to send text to a serial voice device. When you press <CR> at any menu prompt, the list of options is sent out the voice channel. When you enter control-T in the Editor, that sentence is sent out the voice channel. When you add +V to a printer destination, the text is sent to both the printer and to the voice channel.

No serial voice device has screen review capabilities. BEX's Review class printer depends on TEXTALKER'S and SCAT'S screen review features--details in Learner Level Section 10 and Appendix 2.

Controlling the Voice Channel at Menus

BEX lets you send commands to your serial voice device in a similar manner to sending Echo or SlotBuster. At any BEX menu, control-O begins a command that's sent to the voice channel. After you enter control-O, your keystrokes are all directed to the voice channel, so you can enter any commands for your serial voice device. Finish the command with <CR>; this signals BEX that you have ended the command. For example, to set the volume on the Echo GP, enter control-O control-E 12 V <CR>.

Controlling the Voice Channel in the Editor

As with Echo and SlotBuster commands, you can send commands to the voice channel from inside the Editor, too. A plain control-O is the Output text Editor command, so you must precede it with control-S, and finish the command sequence with <CR>.

In Section 3, we explain how you configure a standard series of commands, or an automatic set-up sequence, for voice, braille, and print devices. Once you give this information to BEX, it automatically sends the sequence every time it addresses the device. When you want a voice device to use a particular set of parameters that's different from the default, you establish an automatic set-up sequence with the commands that create the mode.

Part 6: The Braille Channel

In addition to an integral or serial voice device, BEX allows you to have a braille device display all the information in the user dialogue. The braille device can be a braille computer terminal, like either VersaBraille or a Cranmer Brailler; or simply a braille printer, such as the MBOSS-1 or Thiel. The output on the braille channel is screen braille: every inkprint character is represented by one braille cell. Since there are 96 printa inkprint characters and only 64 braille cells, some braille cells do double duty, representing more than one inkprint character. Details on screen braille appear in Appendix 1.

While you can send all the user dialogue to the braille channel, it may not be the most efficient way to do word processing. When you are using a braille terminal, then you have to keep track of two cursors: the terminal's own, and the Apple's. When you are using a braille printer, then you have to wait for the braille to be embossed. In either case, voice output is faster.

The tape-based VersaBraille is a special case. Many people find the best way to exploit the power of the VersaBraille and Apple is to prepare material on the VersaBraille, and then send the data to the Apple for back-translation and printing. Similarly, print oriented material is prepared in the Apple environment, then translated and transferred to the VersaBraille for close review. Three Main Menu options enable very fast transfer of information between the Apple and the tape-based VersaBraille--details in Section 11 and the Interface Guide.

Sending Commands to the Braille Channel

The control-O commands described in Part 5 actually direct keystrokes to both the voice and braille channels. When you don't have a device on the voice channel, then the control-O commands go just to the braille channel. At BEX menus, enter control-O, the braille device commands, and finish with <CR>. In the Editor, enter control-S control-O, the braille device commands, and finish with <CR>.

As mentioned in Part 5, you can establish an automatic set-up sequence for your braille device. BEX always sends this sequence to the braille device. For example, the three characters <control-N> ; <control-O> ensures that the VersaBraille II display shows uppercase with vibrating pins. More information on this feature is provided in Section 3.

Part 7: Alternative Input Devices

There are six ways you can put text into a BEX chapter. At the Learner Level, we explored two methods. Most of the attention focussed on typing text on the Apple keyboard. Learner Level Section 12 demonstrated option R - Read textfile to chapter on the Second Menu, which lets you copy the information from a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS textfile into a BEX chapter.

At the User Level, you have access to the four other ways to get text into BEX. Section 11 explores the VersaBrailles in detail; BEX has many features designed to make it easy to input text through a VersaBraille. Section 12 discusses option I - Input through slot on the Second Menu. BEX contains a limited terminal function; you tell BEX to accept information that's being sent from another computer. That other computer could be a special-purpose device like PortaBraille, Keynote, or SmallTalk, an optical scanner like the Kurzweil Reading Machine, or another general-market computer, like the IBM-PC or Macintosh.

In Section 5, Part 7, we discuss BEX's braille keyboard mode. BEX can change how the keys on the Apple keyboard are interpreted; you can use six keys and the spacebar like a Perkins keyboard to perform braille data entry.

() Apple IIgs: Braille keyboard is not available with a true Apple IIgs keyboard. Braille keyboard is always available through the Apple IIe keyboard, even when you obtain a "performance upgrade" to change the IIe to a IIgs.

Finally, at the User Level you can tell BEX to ignore the Apple keyboard and accept input through a different device. Section 3 discusses the configuration questions relating to remote keyboards. For example, you could configure a VersaBraille's keyboard as a remote keyboard. You then enter all BEX commands on the VersaBraille's six-key keyboard instead of the Apple's.

Section 3: Configuring at the User Level

Establishing a configuration at the Learner Level involved answering three basic classes of questions: using a voice device; size for the screen display; and details about your printers. At the User Level, you are asked many more questions. You can connect braille devices to the braille channel. (See Section 2 for a discussion of BEX's four channels.) In Part 3, You learn how to define an automatic set-up sequence to send to any printer, to the voice or braille channels, to the VersaBraille, to a paperless brailler, and to a remote serial device to input text through slot, such as an optical scanner, or other serial computers. As at the Learner Level, you can press <CR> at any configuration question to get a help message.

You don't need to describe in one configuration every device you might use. When you work in both print and braille, you might want to establish two different configurations. You can make three sets of parameters for the same inkprint printer, plus a Review class printer. The other configuration can contain an inkprint printer, a brailler, and a braille previewer with voice. The only limit to the number of configurations is the space available on disk.

Part 1: Getting Access to the Configuration Dialogue

To define a User Level configuration, you enter the asterisk character at the Enter configuration: prompt. When BEX loads an existing configuration from disk, it's loading a list of your input/output preferences. When you are establishing a new configuration, BEX does not yet know about your I/O preferences. When you have an Echo or SlotBuster voice device, BEX can speak the configuration dialogue. But when you don't have an integral voice device and can't see the screen, you must use one of two "bootstrap" codes--that is, codes to get your computer and voice device going--to get output of the configuration questions in an accessible medium:

Part 2: Overview of New Questions

Do you have a remote keyboard?

When you want to use a different device for input to the Apple, you answer Y to this question. The keyboard may be a stand-alone peripheral, or it can be part of a computer terminal, like the VersaBraille or Cranmer Brailler. You may need a specific serial interface card for this option; see the Interface Guide for details. When you use a Remote keyboard, it interferes with other capabilities, such as the braille keyboard mode, so answer Y to this question only when you need it.

The voice channel

When BEX recognizes an Echo or SlotBuster in your Apple, it asks if you want Echo (or SlotBuster) speech. When you do not have an Echo or SlotBuster, or when you answer N, BEX asks if you have a voice device for all the material going to the screen. When you answer Y, then you have the opportunity to enter an automatic set-up sequence for the device (see Part 3). BEX can only output to one device on the voice channel. Therefore, you must choose between an integral and a serial voice device. You can use the Echo for voice channel and still define a serial voice device as one of your printers.

The braille channel

In addition to output on the voice channel, you can also have the same information sent to a braille device. Only answer Y when you want all the computer dialogue sent to a serial braille device. Don't answer Y when you want to emboss braille documents; configure your embosser as one of your four printers. Again, you can enter an automatic set-up sequence for the interface card or braille device.

Do you have a tape-based VersaBraille?

The answers here only affect your use of options A - Auto print from VersaBraille, T - To VersaBraille, and F - From VersaBraille on the Main Menu. These options transfer files between the VersaBraille and the Apple faster than Printing and Input through slot. (See Section 11, and Section 9 of the Interface Guide.)

Do you have a remote serial device to input text through slot?

The answers here only affect your use of option I - Input through slot on the Second Menu. You give the slot number of a device that sends serial data to BEX--see Section 12 for further details.

The screen display

You have the same options here that you did at the Learner Level. You have more ways to change screen display while you are using the program, so the answers here only supply default values. When you have a BDP or a DP-10, ask for the 40-column, non-HI-RES screen mode, or for the 80-column screen display. As we stated in Learner Level Section 3, Part 4, HI-RES screen display in the Editor is designed to make it easier for users with no vision impairment to read the screen. HI-RES screen display refreshes slightly slower, so when you are depending on voice alone, answer N to this question.

The printer section

In addition to choosing among the eight printer classes, you can specify an automatic set-up sequence for each one.

In Learner Level Section 3, Part 5 we described Generic printers, Braillers, Large print, and Review class printers. Here we describe three more classes of printers: Specific printers, Voice devices, and Paperless braillers.

BEX supports many specific inkprint printers. At the Master Level, you learn how to use specific commands for your printer, to get different types of printing fonts.

You can print to a slot-based voice device as a class V - Voice device printer; simply press V when prompted for the printer class. Class V printers are a special class of printers: because they are voice only, they need no carriage width or form length. When you configure your voice device as a class V printer, you are not asked for carriage width or form length. You may establish an automatic set-up sequence if you wish. However, BEX has a hard time coping when there's no carriage width or form length, so values are automatically provided. These values do not affect your voice device. When you press ? <CR> at the Which printer: prompt, your class V printer is listed as a printer 40 by 0. Don't configure your Echo as a class V printer: BEX won't let you. The class V printer configuration is meant for high-quality voice devices hooked up to a slot, such as a DECtalk.

You use a class P - Paperless brailler to send unformatted text to any computer device. Printing with a Paperless brailler sends exactly what's in your chapter except for several control characters, which are stripped out. These control characters are <control-T>s, <ASCII 30>s, <ASCII 31>s, and <control-S>s. What these control characters do is discussed in Master Level Section 5. Paperless braillers are discussed fully in Section 6, Part 4.

Disk drives

Just like at the Learner Level, you can only answer 1 or 2. At the Master Level, we tell you how to configure up to eight drives.

Naming your configuration

As we said in Learner Level Section 3, configuration names follow two simple rules: the first character must be a letter, and the name cannot exceed ten characters in length. Choose a name you can easily remember. When the name you choose already exists on the Boot side of BEX, then the new information overwrites the old.

After you type the name, finish with <CR>. If you want, you can establish a default configuration by entering <CR> alone as your configuration name. You then press <CR> for that configuration whenever you boot.

Whenever you forget the name of your configuration, press ? <CR> at the Enter configuration: prompt. The name of your default configuration (the one with <CR> as its name) is listed as DEFAULT in the list of configurations. Enter it as <CR>, as you specified in your configuration.

Part 3: Automatic Set-up Sequences

You can define automatic set-up sequences for voice and braille devices, any of your printer channels, for the VersaBraille, and for the interface card used for a remote serial device to input text through slot. An automatic set-up sequence is a series of characters that BEX sends out a particular slot whenever that device is addressed. This series of characters "sets up" the device according to your instructions. For example, you can use an automatic set-up sequence to set a left margin on printer, so that you don't need to enter $$ml# in every chapter you print.

Whether the commands are for the interface card or the device attached to the interface card is up to you. For the voice channel, the sequence is sent every time you switch menus, and every time you press control-Reset and type RUN at the BASIC prompt. For printers, BEX sends the sequence every time you specify the printer number at the Which printer: prompt.

How To Type Automatic Set-up Sequences

You enter an automatic set-up sequence when prompted while configuring. An automatic set-up sequence can contain any character you can type on the regular Apple keyboard. Every key you press when defining the set-up sequence is entered into the sequence: you can't use the left and right arrows to correct mistakes. You may wish to set Echo punctuation to pronounce All so you can hear the keys as you press them. Control characters do not appear on the screen. Press the delete key to signal the end of the set-up sequence.

At the beginning of configuring, you depressed your Caps Lock key. When you need to enter lowercase characters in the set-up sequence, release the Caps Lock key. Remember to depress it again after you finish the sequence.

When you are finished configuring, you can see your automatic set-up sequences with option V - View a configuration on the Starting Menu. When you use this option, BEX encloses any control character or space in angle brackets.

BEX uses an automatic set-up sequence to set up a large print printers. However, you can still establish an automatic set-up sequence when you configure a large print printer. When you use option V - View a configuration, you see the automatic set-up sequence that BEX sends as well as the one you entered.

What You Type

You decide which characters to type for your automatic set-up sequence by reading up on the manuals for the voice device, printer, or interface card you're addressing. Details on addressing the Super Serial Card and Apple IIc ports appear in the BEX Interface Guide. You cannot enter BEX format commands as part of an automatic set-up sequence. Format commands are always instructions to BEX's formatter, not directly to the device or interface card.

When To Use Automatic Set-up Sequences

You can enter some very useful information into an automatic set-up sequence. For example, with the Ohtsuki printer, you can set a specific output mode using an automatic set-up sequence. The Ohtsuki's default is to accept grade 2 text input, and output grade 2 braille and back-translated print on alternate lines. Suppose you want either braille output or print output. You then configure the Ohtsuki printer twice; once with an automatic set-up sequence of <ESC> B for braille only output, and once with an automatic set-up sequence of <ESC> P for print only output.

When your printer always needs a left margin, you can define it with an automatic set-up sequence. For help with establishing an automatic set-up sequence for your printer, see Part 4.

Another example deals with the Super Serial Card. BEX's standard parameters set the Super Serial Card at 9600 baud. Suppose you want to use one Super Serial Card to interface a VersaBraille at 9600 baud, and a Macintosh at 19,200 baud. When you configure, you include an automatic set-up sequence for both interfaces: For the Macintosh, you enter control-A then type 15 B <CR> to change the baud rate to 19,200. For the VersaBraille, you enter control-A then type R <CR> to reset the Super Serial Card to its default switch settings.

Alternatives to Automatic Set-up Sequences

Since a BEX chapter can contain any of the 128 ASCII characters, you can also write a BEX chapter with the same information as you might put in a set-up sequence. Then, to effect the instructions, you print this set-up chapter before any chapters you print to the device. The big advantage to a set-up sequence is that BEX always remembers to send it. When you are experimenting with various commands, do your trial and error research with BEX chapters. When you know what works, enter it as an automatic set-up sequence in your configuration.

Part 4: Configuring Printers

At the Learner Level, we focussed on three printer classes: G - Generic, B - Brailler, and L - Large Print. In that discussion, we covered all the basic issues in configuring a printer. In Part 2, we covered two more printer classes: V - Voice devices, and P - Paperless braillers. As always, you can press <CR> at any question to get a help message. If you're wondering what Auto linefeed or Pause on form feed means, go back to Section 3 of the Learner Level.

The BEX Interface Guide has pages and pages about printers, including the wonders of Dipner Dots and details about the LaserWriter. In the next paragraphs, we present a method to help you establish margins for your printer. See Section 7, Part 10, for examples of Review class printers.

When you configure a large print printer, BEX does some calculations for you. BEX uses a combination of point size (the size of the letters) and extra spacing to calculate carriage width; the answer for linespacing affects the calculation of form length. To get these values, press <CR> at the prompt.

The horizontal and vertical test grids

In Learner Level Section 5, Part 3, we discussed how to use the RP GRID chapter, the LP GRID chapter, the LONG GRID chapter, and the V GRID chapter on your BEXtras disk to establish margins and a carriage width for your printer. What we did not cover was how to use these chapters to determine values to use in an automatic set-up sequence for your printer. In this part we will go through the same sequence again, only with the aim of using automatic set-up sequences.

These four chapters print reference grids using BEX's horizontal and vertical numbering system. Enlisting the assistance of a sighted person, if necessary, you can ascertain the appropriate horizontal and vertical numbers you need for your printer. See Learner Level Section 5, Part 3 for instructions on how to configure your printer for testing.

Printing the Vertical Test Grids

The chapter named V GRID provides you with a guide to set form length, top-of-form, and top margins. Establish a workable landmark on your printer, as discussed in Learner Level Section 5, Part 2. Then print the V GRID chapter to this printer.

Where line 1 appears in this printout is where BEX prints the first line of every page. When your test sheet shows line 1 too high on the paper, then you have several ways to establish more aesthetically pleasing top and bottom margins.

Establishing a top margin

At the Learner Level, we describe two ways to set top margins: by using $$mt# and by pressing the line feed button.

The third way to establish a top margin is to use an automatic set-up sequence to send a top margin command to your printer. Your printer manual should have the exact sequence you need. For example, you can use the printer's internal top margin command, if it has one, for an automatic set-up sequence. The ImageWriter doesn't, but the Diablo 630 does. To set a top margin of three lines, you enter five characters:
<CR> <CR> <CR> <ESC> T
To enter this command as an automatic set-up sequence, you go through the configuration process until you come to the printer section. When you are prompted for an automatic set-up sequence, you type in three returns plus <ESC> T as your sequence:
Establish an automatic set-up sequence for PRINTER ONE? Y <CR>
Type it EXACTLY. Press Delete key to end sequence: <CR> <CR> <CR> <ESC> T <DEL>
Using these characters as an automatic set-up sequence insures that the Diablo 630 always has an aesthetic top margin.

As we've stressed, to maintain an accurate top-of-form you must never advance the paper by rolling the platen. When you are done printing a document, turn the printer off-line, and press the formfeed button. The paper advances into position for the next document you print. (The design of some printers make it difficult to tear off the sheet after just one formfeed. In that case, press the formfeed button twice, sacrificing one sheet of paper to the cause of beauty.)

Establishing form length

In addition to establishing the appropriate top margin, the V GRID chapter can provide you with the appropriate value for your form length. Once you've decided on the value for your top margin, find the set-up sequence for that command, and insert it into the V GRID chapter. Turn your printer off and then on to reset it so that the new command will work. Establish your correct top-of-form, then print the V GRID chapter again.

To analyze your form length, first fold the paper in half the long way (so that the top and bottom edges meet). Note which grid line number towards the bottom of the sheet meets line number 1. Use this number as your form length when you configure. When you specify that number as your form length, you have equal top and bottom margins.

Printing the Horizontal Test Grids

The chapters named RP GRID, LP GRID, and LONG GRID provide a ruler for you to determine left margin and carriage width for your printer. Use the grid chapter that is appropriate for you: The RP GRID chapter prints six rulers; this chapter is designed for regular print printers. The LP GRID chapter prints three rulers; it is designed for large print printers. The first ruler in these two chapters prints 39 characters, the second prints 49 characters, and so on up to 59 characters for LP GRID and 89 characters for RP GRID. The LONG GRID chapter prints one long ruler with 159 characters for printers with condensed print. Use the RP GRID, LP GRID, or LONG GRID chapters once for each different character size or pitch you plan to use.

Setting the left margin

Once you have your sample RP GRID, LP GRID or LONG GRID printouts, analyze them to determine left margin and carriage width. Learner Level Section 5, Part 3 tell what the rulers should look like and how to interpret the rulers.

The left edge of the ruler is BEX's position zero. On some printers, this position zero appears at the left edge of the paper, which means that BEX's position zero would make a very ugly printed page. When you are unhappy with the left margin on the test printout, get a real ruler. Measure a nice margin of one inch or seven-eighths of an inch and make a pencil mark at this point. Compare the pencil mark with the grid ruler.

Suppose the pencil mark occurs at position number 8; you now know that BEX's left margin of eight positions the printhead at a good place. You can use this value of 8 to set a left margin, using $$ml8 when you print. Include the $$ml8 command at the start of every chapter you print. Or you can use a setup chapter that contains escape sequences that set margins for your printer.

It's fastest to establish an automatic set-up sequence to set your left margin. Check your printer manual for the exact sequence; different printers use different strategies. Some printers let you enter a numerical value for the left margin. On the ImageWriter, for example, you set a left margin of eight by sending it five characters:
<ESC> L 008

Other printers use a command meaning "set the left margin at this point." For the Diablo 630, you set a margin of eight by sending eight spaces followed by a two character command:
<space> <space> <space> <space> <space> <space> <space> <space> <ESC> 9

Once you've discovered the appropriate printer control codes, create a BEX chapter that contains just those characters. Copy the GRID chapter you are working with to a MY GRID chapter. Insert the control codes at the start of MY GRID. Turn your printer off and on to reset it. Then print MY GRID to your printer to confirm that you're using the right number of characters for your left margin.

When you're satisfied with the left margin, you then reconfigure this printer, and answer Y to the Establish an automatic set-up sequence? question. When you have established an automatic set-up sequence for your top margin, enter both that sequence and the sequence for your left margin. Type the printer control codes exactly, and BEX automatically sets the left margin (and top margin) each time you print to this printer.

When your printer uses a command like the Diablo's, it's possible for your left margin to start creeping leftward because the effect of the set-up sequence is cumulative. To prevent this from happening, include the "master reset" or "remote reset" command at the beginning of your set-up sequence. For the Diablo, this is <ESC> <CR> but you must find the command for your printer in its manual.

Setting the carriage width

When you've set the left margin with an automatic setup sequence, you need to set a carriage width to work with that sequence. After you reconfigure, print your horizontal grid chapter again, this time with your left margin. When you've set the left margin, you need to set a carriage width to work with that left margin. Take your printed copy of RP GRID, LP GRID, or LONG GRID (or MY GRID) and find the first ruler that is too long. This is the ruler you use to measure your carriage width. Take a real ruler and measure a distance from the right edge of the paper that's equal to the left margin, and mark this position. Determine the value for your carriage width by counting over from the nearest vertical bar. This value is the number you use for your carriage width.

For example, suppose you have a left margin of one-half an inch. You measure one-half inch over from the right edge of the paper, making a mark along the first ruler that's too long. This mark falls at the third lowercase o after the vertical bar numbered 50. Counting over from that vertical bar, you determine that your carriage width is 53.

Now you reconfigure, using the values you obtained from the tests for carriage width and form length.

Part 5: Troubleshooting Configuration Problems

Inevitably, some problems may occur when you are configuring. We cover some of them here. If you are having problems saving the configuration file onto disk, see Learner Level Section 3, Part 8. When you encounter other problems, call our Technical Hotline for help.

Section 4: Working with Chapters

BEX has many methods for choosing which chapter or chapters to work with. We use the term default data drive to mean the drive whose number appears as the default when you press D at any menu. When you have a two-drive system, your default data drive is always drive 2. When you have a one-drive system, your default data drive is always drive 1. At the Master Level, you can have many more data drives, so this concept is more important there.

Part 1: The Story Thus Far

At the Learner Level, BEX prompts Drive number or chapter name: when it wants to know which chapter to work with. You either type the chapter name, or enter 1 or 2 to scan the disk in the drive. Precede a chapter name with the number of the drive you want BEX to scan, if the drive is other than the default data drive. When you tell BEX to scan a drive, BEX presents a numbered list of chapters to work with. BEX asks Use entire list? N and you enter Y <CR> to use every chapter. You can accept the N default by pressing <CR>. When you accept the N default, BEX prompts you to choose chapters by number. You enter the chapter numbers; when you are finished, you enter <CR> alone to the Chapter number: prompt. You then move to the next step in the option.

The next step after you specify a chapter or chapters, is either directing action on the source chapter list (editing, page menu options, printing, or killing) or providing BEX with a target chapter naming method to use in creating new chapters on disk. You have the responsibility of checking to make sure there's enough room on the disk for the target chapters). Press # at any menu prompt to get the number of free sectors on your data disk. A full explanation of how much space on disk a chapter uses is provided in Part 4.

Part 2: New Features at User Level

As we mentioned in Section 1, we assume you are acquainted with the Learner Level features. The User Level builds on these features, adding more flexibility in terms of specifying drives and chapters.

Reprompting for Chapters

All BEX prompts are shorter at the User Level. Instead of Drive number or chapter name: BEX prompts for Drive or chapter: Typing a chapter name individually produces different results at the User Level. After finding this chapter, BEX prompts you with Drive or chapter: again. At this point, you can type another chapter name or enter a drive number. This reprompting lets you mix and match three methods for specifying chapters: You can specify a list of chapters entirely by name, preceding chapter names with drive numbers where needed; you can combine specifying chapters by name and specifying a drive to scan; or you can just specify a drive to scan by entering the drive number.

Restrictive Scanning with the Slash

To obtain a subset of all the chapters on your default data drive, enter a slash followed by one character at the Drive or chapter: prompt. The character following the slash is the last character of the chapter names you wish to specify. BEX presents a numbered list restricted to those chapters whose last character matches the character after the slash.

When you are systematic about naming your chapters, you can use them for your subsets. For example, if you always end your grade 2 braille chapter names with the digit 2, BEX can present a list restricted to braille chapters when you specify /2 at the Drive or chapter: prompt.

You precede the slash with a number to specify drive 1. You can enter 1/X or 2/X to scan chapters ending in X on drives 1 or 2, or /X with no number to scan the default data drive. You can use the slash alone at the Drive or chapter: prompt to get a list of all the chapters on your default data drive. When you enter the slash alone, then you haven't provided BEX with the distinctive last character. Therefore typing / <CR> at any Drive or chapter: prompt builds a numbered list of all chapters on your default data drive, drive 2.

Scanning More than One Drive with the Plus Sign

You can get BEX to scan more than one drive by preceding the drive number with the plus sign. You must enter a drive number after the plus sign; a plus sign alone just returns you to the menu.

For example, you wish to choose from a numbered list of the chapters on both drives 1 and 2. Enter +1 at the first Drive or chapter: prompt. BEX presents the numbered list of chapters on drive 1 and prompts you to choose by chapter number. When you finish this list, BEX prompts Select more chapters and then asks Drive or chapter: again. At this point, you have exactly the same range of choices as you do at the first Drive or chapter: prompt.

You can repeatedly specify the same drive using different restricted scans: At the Drive or chapter prompt, enter +2/Q and get a list of all the chapters ending in Q. Make your choices, then BEX prompts: Select more chapters again. Enter +2/Z and get a list of all the chapters ending in Z. Make choices from this list, and you get still another Select more chapters prompt. Just for variety, enter +1/M and get a list of the chapters that end in M on drive 1.

When you don't want to make another chapter selection, press <CR> alone at the Drive or chapter: prompt. BEX stops asking for chapters and moves to the next step in the process.

Part 3: Target Chapter Naming Methods

With many options, BEX creates new chapters. Working with the chapter or chapters you specify, BEX changes the data in some way and writes it to disk. Whenever you are only working with one chapter, BEX prompts Target chapter name: and you type it in. You can precede a target chapter name with a drive number to tell BEX where to write the chapter. When you've specified a list of chapters, BEX prompts Target chapter naming method: When you use the name of a chapter that's already on the disk, then the text in the new target chapter overwrites the existing chapter.

Methods Available

Single letter codes tell BEX how to modify the source chapter name to create the target chapter name. Now that you know about restricted scanning with the slash, you understand why the target chapter naming methods affect the final characters of BEX chapter names. A summary of your options appears when you enter ? <CR> at the Target chapter naming method: prompt. They are:

You may precede any of these five letter codes with a digit 1 or 2 for drive 1 or 2. When you don't precede the method with a digit, the chapters are written to the default data drive.

Target Naming Methods with Another Chapter Selection

Watch out! You can get into big trouble when you combine scanning two drives with a target chapter naming method. When you precede the code letter with the drive number, then all the source chapters, no matter which drive they came from, end up on the target drive. Make sure you have room for these target chapters! At the Master Level, you can have up to eight disk drives--you'll learn about more target chapter naming methods to use.

Part 4: Managing Your Data: Notes on Disks, Chapters, and Pages

Whenever you create a new chapter, you must make sure there's room for it on the disk. A standard BEX data disk has 528 sectors available for your text. Each sector can contain 256 characters. Theoretically, then, each disk could contain 528 times 256 or 135,168 characters. However, the way BEX stores data uses approximately 15 per cent of the disk space for overhead. A BEX chapter containing 30 4096-character pages would just fill one disk, for a total of 122,880 characters per disk.

To find out the number of free sectors on your disk, press # at any menu prompt. The number of sectors free also appears on the first line of a DOS catalog.

The rule of thumb

To avoid disk-space problems, limit your pages to 3300 characters. Limit the total number of pages in all chapters on a disk to 30. Always move to a new disk when FS = 100 or less. Use option W - Whole disk catalog on the Page Menu to get the total picture about a disk. Whole disk catalog tells you how many pages are in each chapter, and the total number of characters on the disk. When the total is near 100,000, switch to a new data disk.

To get a rough estimate of how many pages you can have per sector, you have to do a little math. An average braille page has about 880 cells on it; each cell is one character. With 256 characters per sector, that yields about 3.5 sectors on disk for every braille page. An average single-spaced print page has 56 lines, with 70 characters per line. 56 times 70 is about 3920 characters per page; 3920 divided by 256 characters per sector gives a little more than 15 sectors per print page. An average double-spaced print page, 56 by 70, has about 1960 characters per page. 1960 divided by 256 characters per sector yields about eight sectors per print page.

More Nitty-Gritty Details

It's not easy to state how many characters fit on one disk. Page size, number of pages, and number of chapters all interact to determine how many sectors are used. Every directory file uses three sectors, and every page file uses two sectors, plus one sector for each 256 characters (these are the 15 per cent overhead). This means that two chapters with the same number of total characters can occupy very different amounts of disk space, depending on the number of pages in each chapter.

Two chapters compared

Chapter SKINNY contains three pages, and each page contains 3584 characters. 3584 divided by 256 characters per sector yields 14 sectors. Add two sectors overhead for each page file, to make 16 times three or 48 sectors used for page files. Add three sectors for the directory file, for a grand total of 51 sectors used to store 10,752 characters.

Chapter BLOATO also contains 10,752 characters, but it requires 63 sectors. BLOATO has nine pages: eight pages contain 1280 characters each, and one page contains just 512 characters. 1280 divided by 256 yields five sectors; add two sectors overhead for each of these page files to get seven times eight or 56 sectors. 512 divided by 256 yields two sectors, adding two sectors overhead for this little page file, a total of four sectors. Finally, three more sectors for the directory file means three plus four plus 56 for a grand total of 63 sectors.

Because each directory file requires three sectors, each chapter on the disk adds to the overhead burden. Because each page file requires two sectors, each page in a chapter adds to the overhead burden.

Page Size

While each BEX page can contain 4096 characters, you should never make a page that full. You always want to leave enough room for additions and modifications. Particularly when you back-translate a great deal, you must leave enough room for the expansion of contractions. For these reasons, limit your pages to around 3300 characters. A 3300 character page occupies approximately 15 sectors on disk. Following the rule of thumb above, limit each disk to 30 pages. 30 times 15 equals 450 sectors, leaving 78 sectors free for directory files and later fiddling with your data.

When you use options where text is brought in from other systems, such as options I - Input through Slot, R - Read textfiles to chapters and F - From VersaBraille, BEX determines the size of the pages. These sizes vary depending on the option. With Input through slot, BEX creates pages of about 3840 characters for print text, and pages of about 3072 for braille text. With Read textfiles to chapters, BEX uses the 3300 character page limit. With From VersaBraille, BEX stores a number of complete VersaBraille pages into each BEX page, so the resulting page size varies with the size of your VersaBraille pages.

Page Lettering

As you create each page in the Editor, BEX creates a page file on disk. BEX names this page file by adding a two-character extension to the chapter name: a period plus a letter of the alphabet. BEX starts out with .A then takes the next available letter of the alphabet.

When you cut pages in the Editor or manipulate pages with options on the Page Menu, the numerical order of the pages no longer matches the alphabetical order of the page files on disk.

For example, you create PAPER that contains two pages; BEX creates the PAPER.A page file for page 1 and the PAPER.B page file for page 2. You edit page 1 and enter control-C control-P. BEX uses the next available letter of the alphabet for the new page 2; its page file is named PAPER.C

Most BEX options create target page files with the same extension as the source page files. However, two BEX options create target chapters whose page files are relred so that .A is page 1, .B is page 2, and so forth. These options are options M - Merge pages, and A - Adjust page sizes on the Second Menu. Option F - Fix chapter directory on the Second Menu does the opposite: it renumbers pages according to their letter extension.

Ordering Chapters on a Disk

How DOS 3.3 manages disk files determines the order of chapters on a disk. The position of the directory files on disk determines the chapter order when BEX presents a numbered list of chapters on that disk. When you want to create a specific order of chapters on disk, use any option which creates new chapters to copy the chapters onto disk in that order.

For example, suppose you want three braille chapters in the order
CHAPTER1
CHAPTER2
CHAPTER3
However, your print chapters are in the order
CHAPTER2
CHAPTER1
CHAPTER3
When you translate with the Grade 2 translator, specify the print chapters by number, in the order CHAPTER1, CHAPTER2, CHAPTER3. BEX translates them in the specified order, and the braille chapters will be in the correct order on disk.

To maintain your chapter order, be careful which options you use on your chapters. Any option which rewrites the directory file of a chapter takes that chapter out of order, since the new directory file is created before the old file is deleted.

The Lure of the Ready Chapter

Once you get to the Master Level, you'll find that editing with the Ready chapter is slightly addictive, because it's so fast. The Ready chapter has a maximum of six pages on the Apple IIc and IIe, and a maximum of 20 pages on the Apple IIgs. You can safely use the Ready chapter to edit longer chapters but you lose some speed. This means that writing chapters of six pages or less, or 20 pages or less on the Apple IIgs, allows maximum use of the Ready features.

An ideal chapter of six 3300-character pages uses approximately 93 sectors on disk. (Around 15 sectors for each page file, and three sectors for the directory file.) This means that you can have five of these chapters on a 528-sector disk. Since you can readily chain together options like printing, translating, and replacing, and since, at the Master Level, you can have up to eight disk drives, these guidelines won't limit you too much.