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→Companion
| requirements = console, monitor or television, disk drive and controller card , 32K memory expansion , Extended BASIC cartridge, printer and printer interface.
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Companion is a well designed and executed word processing program for the TI home computer. In many cases it is faster and easier to use than TI-Writer. It offers most of the features found in TI-Writer and is far superior in the way it can incorporate graphics into text. Although it seems to be written with the Epson MX80 dot matrix printer in mind, I had no trouble operating it out of a C. Itoh Prowriter.
The author of Companion, Dr. Allan Swett, believes his program is superior to TI-Writer, Texas Instruments' cartridge-based word-processing program. He suggested that I use TIWriter as the basis for reviewing Companion, a suggestion that I initially greeted with skepticism. I am familiar with numerous wordprocessing programs priced from $40 to $600. I include here Word Star, Word Pro and Superscript II, among others. Also, I am familiar with full-scale typesetting and pagination systems priced in the $25,000 range that provide the user with more formatting capability than he will probably ever learn to use. l am saying this because I regard TI-Writer to be a very fine word-processing program in the under $100 range. In fact, it offers the user features that programs written for other computers don't offer at twice the price.
There are, however, several things I
don't like about TI-Writer, including
the absence of a "look-ahead" buffer,
the fact that it is organized so that the
user cannot test printing formats
without leaving the editing mode and
the sometimes complex manner in
which formatting commands are
employed, particularly the Transliteration
command, which is used to
create software commands for execution
by the printer. While this is a powerful
tool, it is sometimes so confusing
to implement that you don't bother to
use it.
Companion is superior to TI-Writer
in all three of these areas. For one
thing, it operates out of a single program
that is loaded only once into
memory. From here the user can
write, edit and print directly out of the
main menu. This is desirable because
the user can edit his copy and then
print it out and make chcinges or form
a t a dju s t m e n t s i m m e d i at e l y.
(Neither program has a screen formatting
function that previews what
the document will look like before
sending it to the printer. However, in
defense of both programs, this feature
is generally found only in much higher
priced software.) This is not possible
with TI-Writer since the formatting
commands cannot be read in the editing
mode. Tl-Writer is also infamous
for dropping letters at the beginning of
each line in the editing mode. This is
because the program does not store
characters that are typed at the end of
a screen line as it wraps around to the
beginning of the next line. You may
examine the sample copy created by
Companion elsewhere on this page to
see how graphics can be incorporated
into text. A simple one key command
followed by the ASCII code of the graphics
symbol is all that it takes.
One feature offered by Ti-Writer not
provided by Companion is the ability
to incorporate name and address files
and other custom data to be inserted in
form letters. It is more flexible in how
it formats the copy on the screen as the
user types it. Using a windowing technique,
it's possible to type 80 characters
on a single line, though users are
more likely to set the screen parameters
to display a 40-character line.
Companion shows a 40-character line
with no option to change it. Tl-Writer
also prints user-created headers and
footers. Comp"mion will print page
numbers centered at the top of the
μage only. TI-Writer also allows the
user to right-justify text, which Companion
does not. TI-Writer also has <-1
line delete function which Companion
does not. However, Companion has a
very fast block delete, move and insert
command. How much faster is it than
the TI-Writer insert and delete commands?
Well, such commands are
executed virtually instantaneously in
Companion and can take 30 seconds or
more for lengthier blocks of text ·n
TI-Writer.
Although both programs off er software
control of such printer functions
as boldfacing and underlining. Companion
is easier to use in this regard.
TI-Writer does not offer true underlining,
which Companion does via simple
ASCII code commands.
But the difference between the two
programs is more fundamental than a
feature-by-feature comparison might
suggest. Essentially, Companion
operates like a computerized typewriter
while TI-Writer operates with a
greater emphasis on formatting of finished
text. In my view, TI-Writer is
most useful for form letters, while
Companion is designed for writing per
se. It is this difference that makes
Companion unique and it is on this
basis that we shall proceed with the
review.
Performance: Companion is written
in assembly language, which is why it
operates so quickly. The execution of
all commands is virtually immediate.
Just like a typewriter, when you press
a key something happens.
The main menu consists of seven
options:
Load
Edit
Save
Print
Purge
Directory
Other.
All text is created in the edit mode.
This mode offers the standard editing
functions, including insert, delete and
search and replace. The user may also
move and copy text. A feature not
found on TI-Writer is the count function,
which will report the number of
times a word or phrase is used in the
text. Editing commands are displayed
in two rows at the top of the screen by
pressing the Function BACK key. Also
displayed at this time is the number of
characters in the text. The text buffer
can accomodate 18,000 characters,
compared to about 23,000 characters
for TI-Writer.
Such formatting commands as
paragraphing, line spacing, horizontal
tabs, underlining and graphics are
executed vi<;1 the use of Control keys.
Control G followed by the ASCII
number, for example, is used to print a
graphics character. Control H will tab
the text to a tab location that you set in
the tab setup mode. Virtually' all such
commands are easy to use since they
are based on the first letter of the function
they represent. I found no problem
in using the Control key to_ initiate
these functions.
The purge command deletes the text
that is in memory. The directory
command will list ony those files
created by Companion.
There is a secondary menu in this
program that appears by selecting
"Other" on the main menu. This menu
includes:
Save before cursor
Save from cursor
Purge before cursor
Purge from cursor
Set tabs
Print disk file
Batch processing
Other.
The first four selections allow the
user to save or purge data based on the
location of the cursor. The print file
command loads a file out of disk and
immediately begins printing it. Batch
processing is a feature not available
on TI-Writer that emphasizes the
essential difference between the two
programs. Batch processing allows
the user to enter the file names of
numerous diskette files so that they
will be printed out in sequence. As the
Companion manual notes, this allows
those involved in writing lengthy documents
or books to print out chapter
after chapter. The emphasis in TIWriter
is on the repetitious printing of
form letters in which the names,
addresses and other items are
changed via mail-merge files.
The cursor plays an important role
in any text processing program. The
Companion cursor appears in several
forms, depending on the function it is
being used for. It appears as a simple
underline when writing. Moving it
back over a word or character transforms
it into a solid white block. Entering
the insert mode transforms it into a
hollow block. The cursor can be moved
to the beginning of the text by pressing
the Function BEG IN key and to the
end of the text by pressing the Function
REDO key. The cursor will also
move up and down 12 lines at a time by
pressing the Function PROC'D or
CLEAR keys. The cursor may also be
moved by pressing the space bar. The
longer you hold the space bar down,
the faster the cursor moves.
Inserting printer commands is easy
with Companion. Simply press Control
A (for ASCII) and then enter the
number or numbers corresponding to
the task you want performed. Control
A27 Control A80, for example, puts the
printer into the proportional mode.
Unlike TI-Writer, which will not print
boldface using the proportional character
set, Companion will.
Unlike TI-Writer, Companion operates
fully in a wrap-around mode during
the editing process. TI-Writer does
not truncate words at the point at
which one line ends and another begins.
This is more a matter of taste than
anything else. Although neither program
offers the user the option of seeing
what the document will look like on
the screen, this option would be useless
anyway since the screen width is
limited to 40 characters in both
programs.
Companion also allows the user the
option to customize the default values,
such as the printer description, tabs,
printout parameters (there are 11 of
them) and such system defaults as
which disk drive to write files to (it is
set up to use one drive) as well as the
ASCII default (which can be of benefit
to someone who uses a lot of underling
and boldfacing and other special
functions.)
Ease of Use: Considering its flexibility
and power, Companion is relatively
simple to use. Someone with only a
passing interest in programming but
an abiding interest in writing should
be able to put this program to good use
with a minimum of wasted effort.
Those with an interest in both will
appreciate the ease with which formatting
can be done and the naturalness
with which writing takes place.
The first-time user can start writing
with it from the start, even without
reading the manual. Learning to use
all of its capabilities will take considerably
longer, but that's to be
expected with any word processing
software.
Documentation: Companion comes
with an excellent 142-page manual. It
includes a very good table of contents.
The manual seems to be somewhat
wordy, considering how simple the
program it describes is to understand.
I think it addresses virtually any question
the user may have regarding the
program.
Value: When I started to examine
Companion I did not think it would be a
serious contender against TI-Writer.
The more I used it, however, the more
it became apparent that I was mistaken.
As a writer who also understands
BASIC, I am more comfortable
using this program and its ASCII
commands than using TI-Writer and
trying to "transliterate" the ASCII
characters codes to suit my purpose.
(Transliterate is Tl's term to describe
the function of redefining characters
so that they will represent something
else, such as ASCII code.)
If my intention in buying a word processing
program is to handle form letters,
I would choose TI-Writer. If I
want to use it to write, whether term
papers, short stories, books or correspondence,
I'd choose Companion. I am
impressed.
'''— JK'''
