ADVENTURE WRITER
Reference Manual Table Of Contents


I. Introduction
- Product Overview 1
- Hardware Requirements 1


II. Getting Started
- Package Contents 3
- Installation Instructions 3
- Startup Instructions 4


III. Map Designer
- Information Bar 5
- Hex Cursor 5


IV. Menu System
- Main Menu 6
- Print Options Menu 8
- Graphic Map Preview 10
- Draw Commands 11
- Clipboard 12
- Die Roller 14
- OS Shell 15
- 43/50 Line Mode 15
- Map Levels 15


V. Text Editor
- Editor Overview 16
- Find Commands 17
- Block Commands 18
- Potpourii 20
- Resize Window 20











i
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter I: Introduction

Adventure Writer (AW) was designed to make a Gamemasters life easier
while creating adventures & campaigns. Much of the time involved in
creating an adventure is used in mapping and keying the map so you
know where everything is. The main focus of AW is on creating maps
and their keys. Below are some of the highlights of the Adventure Writer
Package.

- Multiple Hex Sizes and the ability to use any piece of the map as a
brush / cursor.

- Printing of Small/Large Blank Hexsheets.

- Graphic Map Preview for viewing the map from 8 different scales.

- Each 40x50 Hex Map is 4 Levels deep. Allowing stairways and pits to
match up from level to level.

- A Built in text editor for use in writing your adventures.

- Full Cut/Paste/Copy functions in both the text editor and the map
designer.

- Built in font editor allowing you to setup your own terrain.

- 3 Fonts add terrain for Indoor (Underground) and Outdoor mapping.
(ie: Mountains, Hills, Trees, Dungeon Archways, Etc.)

- Text Map Printing Supported by virtually all printers.

- Graphic Map Printing supported on Epson & HP Laserjet compatibles.
(Color Printing supported for Star NX-1000 Rainbow and compatibles)



MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: IBM/PC & 100% Compatibles with 1 floppy disk
drive or hard drive and 640K RAM.

NOTE: CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules Graphics Adapter & Epson, or HP Laserjet
Compatible printer is required for graphic Map printing & Terrain.







- 1 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter I: Introduction

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright (C) 1990, 91 Dan Ridenhour All Rights Reserved.

This manual and the software it describes may not be reproduced in whole
or in part without the express written permission of Dan Ridenhour, except
for making a backup copy for archive purposes.


TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
HP & Laserjet are registered tradmarks of Hewlett-Packard Co.
































- 2 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter II: Getting Started

PACKAGE CONTENTS
Your Adventure Writer package should contain the following components.

- Adventure Writer Program Diskette Containing:
AW.EXE Adventure Writer Program
CHARSET.AW Font File Containing Default, Indoor, & Outdoor fonts.
READ.ME Last Minute Addition/Change Information File.
SAMPLE.MAP Sample Map.
*.BGI Graphic Drivers. (CGA, EGA, VGA, & Hercules)
*.CHR Display Font Drivers.
INSTALL.BAT Hard / Fixed Disk Installation Program.

Note: The shareware version of Adventure Writer is fully functional
except for the ability to save maps.

INSTALLING ADVENTURE WRITER

Back Up your Adventure Writer Disk before continuing, Place the Original
in a safe place and use your Backup Disk as a Working Copy.
(Consult Your DOS Manual For DISKCOPY Instructions)

FLOPPY DISK
The AW diskette is shipped ready for use on a floppy system,
so no further installation is required.

HARD/FIXED DISK
1. Startup your computer system and get to the A> prompt.
2. Place your Adventure Writer Program Diskette into Drive A.
3. Type INSTALL and press [ENTER].

NOTE: The INSTALL procedure will create a directory on your hard/fixed disk
called AW, then Adventure Writer will be installed in that directory.
A batch file will also be created so that you may startup AW by
typing AW and pressing [ENTER] at the C> Prompt.

IMPORTANT
After you have installed your AW Diskette, put it in a safe place.
It will act as a backup in case your working copy is damaged or erased.








- 3 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter II: Getting Started

STARTING ADVENTURE WRITER

1. HARD/FIXED Disk System - Use the following steps to start your AW
Program if you are on a HARD/FIXED Disk System.

- Startup your computer and get to the C> prompt.

- Type AW and press [ENTER].


2. FLOPPY Disk System - Use the following steps to start your AW
Program if you are on a Floppy Disk System.

- Startup your computer and get to the A> prompt.

- Insert your AW Working Copy into Drive A.
(See Installation for Details on Creating a Working Copy)

- Type AW and press [ENTER].



























- 4 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter III: Map Designer

When The AW Program is started, first the title screen is displayed
then you are placed in the Map Designer. This is where maps are designed
from and where most of the work in AW is done. It consists of 3 major
parts which are explained below.

1. Information Bar - The top line of the screen is an information bar which
tells you important information about your current map. This bar acts
as a status bar like in many word processors. The Information displayed
is detailed below.

- FILE: The current Map File being edited.

- CLIP: The current Clipboard file. This defaults to if the
clipboard is empty.

- MODE: Draw / Erase Mode Indicator.

- X: Displays the number of characters between the cursors current
location and the left edge of the map.

- Y: Displays the number of characters between the cursors current
location and the top edge of the map.

NOTE: In some Draw / Clipboard options this information bar may display
other information to aid in the use of these special features.

2. Map Window - Most of the screen is used as your Map Window. This is
where you draw / edit your maps.

3. AW Cursor - This is the pointer / cursor that you use while designing a
map. The versatility of this cursor allows you to map an area and place
comments on the map without changing modes.

There are 2 parts to the AW Cursor. The first is the hexagon which is
where a Hex will be drawn if you press the [INSERT] key. The Second is
the text cursor which is located at the upper left of the hexagon. This
is where text will be placed if you type from the keyboard.









- 5 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

GENERAL INFORMATION
All AW Options are available from the Adventure Writer Menu System.
This menu will be displayed by pressing the [F1] key from the Map
Designer. This chapter will discuss all of the features available
and their uses.


SELECTING A TOPIC
There are a number of ways to select options from Adventure Writer menus.
This has been included for ease of use, below are explanations of how to
select options from the menus.

- Use your [UP]/[DOWN] cursor keys to move the highlight bar to the
desired option then press [ENTER] to select the highlighted option.

- Each menu topic has a highlighted letter (Example: L for load file).
Pressing this letter will select the desired menu topic.

- Some menu topics have a [ALT-?] key displayed to the right of the menu
topic (Example [ALT]-S for save file). Pressing this key combiniation
will select the desired menu topic.

- Pressing the [ESC] key from a menu will exit the menu without selecting
any options.






















- 6 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

MAIN MENU
This section will explain how the AW Menu System Works and all of the
features which it provides. You enter the AW menu system by pressing
the [F1] key from within the map designer. when the [F1] key is pressed
the following menu will be displayed.


LOAD MAP will allow you to load a previously saved map from disk into
the map designer.

SAVE MAP will allow you to save a map created with the Map Designer to
a disk file.

CLEAR MAP will clear the current map from memory. When this option is
selected you will receive a prompt asking if you are sure that you wish
to clear the current map. Use the Cursor keys to move the highlight bar
to the desired option (ie: YES or NO) then press the [ENTER] key. If you
selected YES the current map in memory will be cleared.




























- 7 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

PRINT OPTIONS MENU
You may enter the Print Options Menu by pressing [ALT]-P from within the
map designer or by selecting Print... from the AW Main Menu. When this
option is selected the following menu will be displayed.


PRINT MAP Allows you to print all levels of the current map to your
printer. When this option is selected the current map will be printed.
This option uses the selections made in printer Type, Borders, Title,
& Set Font. (NOTE: Only levels which contain a map will be printed)

PRINT CURRENT LEVEL prints the currently displayed map level to your
printer, using options selected in printer Type, Borders, Title, & Set Font.

PRINT CLIPBOARD prints the current contents of the clipboard to the
printer. (NOTE: See CLIPBOARD Menu for details about the clipboard)

PRINT BLANK HEXSHEET prints blank hexsheets of various sizes to the
currently selected printer. You will first be prompted for the size
of hexes you wish then the hexsheet will be printed.

PRINTER TYPE allows you to tell AW what type of printer you are using.
AW Currently supports Text Only Printers, Epson Compatible, HP Laserjet
Compatible, & Star Rainbow (Color) printers.






















- 8 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

BORDERS Allows you to toggle the printing of map/blank hexsheet borders
ON & OFF. When this option is ON a border will be printed around the map
using the Line/Box Mode selected in the Draw Menu.

TITLE Allows you to toggle the printing of a Map Title Line ON & OFF.
When this option is on a Title Line will be printed containing the Map
Name and level.

SET FONT Allows you to select the active print font. There are 3 fonts
available in AW Default, Indoor, & Outdoor. The Current font will be
used by the PRINT MAP, LEVEL, CLIPBOARD, & HEXSHEET when printing to
a graphic printer (EPSON, HP Laserjet, & Star Rainbow) allowing terrain
(Forests, Mountains, Hills, etc) to be printed.

EDIT CURRENT FONT Allows you to edit the current font as selected in
SET FONT Above. From within this option the cursor keys are used to
move the cursor around in the character. Page UP/DOWN are used to select
the next/previous character, and the [SPACE] bar is used to toggle the
current character block ON/OFF. Pressing [CTRL]-C will change the
character color which is used on map previews and printing to color
printers.


NOTE: EDIT CURRENT FONT is only available on systems which have a
CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules Graphics Adapter.





















- 9 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

GRAPHIC MAP PREVIEW
You may enter this option be pressing [ALT]-G from within the map
designer or by selecting Graphic Map Preview from the AW Main Menu.
When this option is selected the following menu will appear.


MAP PREVIEW displays a graphic picture of your current map at the scale
selected by Map Scale. If you are using a custom font (e.g.; Indoor,
Outdoor) the map will be displayed using that font.

MAP SCALE allows you to select a scale for map display from 1-8. Use
small scales to display the entire map, and large scales for closeup views.

NOTE: Graphics Updating may be slow on some older computers.
A 8Mhz 286 Machine are better is recommended for this option.































- 10 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

DRAW COMMANDS
You may enter the Draw Commands Menu by pressing [ALT]-D from within
the map designer or by selecting Draw... from the AW Main Menu. When
selected the following menu will appear.

TOGGLE HEX SIZE toggles the map designer cursor between small and large
hexes. Small Hexes are more suitable for mapping large areas, where as
large hexes are better for drawing combat maps for figures.

TOGGLE DRAW MODE toggles Erase/Draw mode for the cursor. When in draw
mode pressing [INSERT] or the Left mouse button will draw a hex at the
current cursor location otherwise it will clear all text under the cursor.

TOGGLE LINE/BOX MODE toggles among the various box styles used when
drawing lines or boxes. If you are using a printer capable of printing
graphics or IBM Character Graphics then all Line styles will be available
otherwise select the standard line style.

DRAW BOX allows you to draw a box with its upper left corner at the current
cursor location. When this option is selected it will display an elastic
box on the screen, use the cursor keys to resize the box until it is the
desired size. Press [ENTER] to draw the box or [ESC] to exit box drawing
mode.

DRAW HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL LINE allows you to draw a line with its left/top
end at the current cursor location. When this option is selected it will
display an elastic line on the screen, use the cursor keys to resize the
line until it is the desired length. Press [ENTER] to draw the line
or [ESC] to exit line drawing mode.

















- 11 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

CLIPBOARD
You may enter the Clipboard Menu by pressing [ALT]-B from within the
map designer or by selecting Clipboard... from the AW Main Menu. When
this option is selected the following menu will appear.

CUT BLOCK TO CLIPBOARD allows you to cut a portion of the current map
out and place it in the clipboard.

COPY BLOCK TO CLIPBOARD allows you to copy a portion of the current map
and place it in the clipboard.

PASTE BLOCK FROM THE CLIPBOARD allows you to Use the current contents of
the clipboard as a cursor. Most features of draw mode are also available
in PASTE mode. Pressing [ESC] will exit paste mode.

ERASE SCREEN BLOCK displays an elastic box for you to select a portion
of the map to clear. Press [ENTER] to erase, or [ESC] to exit.

LOAD .CLP TO CLIPBOARD displays a directory of all available clipboard
files on the disk, which you may select and load into the clipboard.

SAVE Clipboard to .CLP Allows you to save the current contents of the
clipboard to a disk file. You will be prompted for a filename.

CLEAR CLIPBOARD Will clear the current contents of the Clipboard.

PASTE MODE Toggles between Opaque and Transparent mode for use while you
are in paste mode. In Opaque mode the underlying map area will not show
through the cursor while it will in Transparent mode.

















- 12 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

TEXT EDITOR
You may enter the Text Editor by pressing [ALT]-T from within the map
designer or by selecting Text Editor... from the AW Main Menu. See
Chapter V: Text Editor for details on using the full featured
Wordstar(tm) compatible text editor.









































- 13 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

DIE ROLLER
You may enter the Die Roller Menu by pressing [ALT]-R from within the
map designer or by selecting Die Roller... from the AW Main Menu. When
this option is selected the following menu will appear.

ROLL DICE when selected automatically rolls the selected number of dice
and displays the result.

NUMBER OF DICE TO ROLL allows you to select the number of dice to roll
when Roll Dice is selected. Any number of dice may be selected from 1 to 50.

NUMBER OF SIDES PER DIE allows you to select how may sides each die will
have when dice are rolled using Roll Dice. Four, Six, Eight, Ten, Twelve,
Twenty, Thirty, and Percentile (100) dice are supported.
































- 14 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter IV: Menu System

OS SHELL
You may enter this option by selecting Os Shell... From The AW Main Menu.
When this option is selected you will be placed in a DOS Shell. You may
do anything you wish while in DOS including running other applications.
You may re-enter AW by typing EXIT from the DOS prompt and pressing [ENTER].

NOTE: Do not execute TSR programs such as Sidekick while in the DOS Shell,
this may cause your computers memory to become corupted.


43/50 LINE MODE
Selecting this option will toggle the screen mode between the normal
25 lines and the enhanced 43/50 line modes available on EGA, and VGA
graphics cards. When in 43/50 line mode hexes may seem out of proportion
but more information may be displayed on the screen for better viewing.

NOTE: This option is only available on systems with an EGA/VGA Graphics
Adapter


MAP LEVEL
Selecting this option changes the currently displayed map level (1-4).
Map Levels may also be changed by pressing [ALT]-Minus to go up a level
or [ALT]-Plus to go down a level.






















- 15 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter V: Text Editor

TEXT EDITOR
This section will explain how the AW Text Editor Works and all of its
features. You enter the Text Editor by pressing [ALT]-T from within
the map designer or by selecting Text Editor... from the AW Main Menu.
When this option is selected a text editing window will appear. This
is a self contained Text Editor which uses a subset of the Wordstar(tm)
command set. While in this option only its menus will function until
you select EXIT TO ADVENTURE WRITER which will return you to the map
designer. By pressing [F1] from the Text Editor Window the following
menu will appear.

LOAD
This option allows you to load any ASCII text file into memory to be
edited. A File Directory will be displayed to select a file from.
If you wish to create a new file, just start typing its name and
a edit box will appear to accept you new filename.

SAVE
Save File allows you to save your current Text Document to an ASCII

text file.

DIRECTORY
This option displays a directory of all files on your diskette.

PRINT BLOCK
This option will print the current text that your are editing.
If you have a currently marked block (See Block Commands) only
that block of text will be printed.


















- 16 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter V: Text Editor

FIND
You may enter the FIND Menu by pressing [ALT]-F from within the Text
Editor or by selecting Find... from the Text Editor Menu. When this
option is selected the following menu will appear.

FIND SELECTED TEXT allows you to search through the text for a word
or phrase. You will be asked for the text to find and the options you
wish to use in your search. These options are as follows: B - Search
Backwards from cursor position, G - Globally search the entire text,
L - Locally search only in the currently marked block,
U - Ignore Upper/Lower Case.

SEARCH & REPLACE allows you to search through the text for a word or
phrase then replace it with another word or phrase. It works exactly
like Find Selected Text with the addition of asking for the replacement
word or phrase.

REPEAT LAST allow you to repeat the last search or search & replace
operation without having to reenter the options you desired.



























- 17 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter V: Text Editor

BLOCK
You may enter the BLOCK menu by pressing [ALT]-B from within the Text
Editor or by selecting Block... from the Text Editor Menu. When this
option is selected the following menu will appear.

MARK BLOCK BEGIN marks the beginning of a block. The marker itself is
not visible, and the block only becomes visible when the block-end marker
is set. Marked text (a block) is displayed in a different color.

MARK BLOCK END marks the end of a block. The marker itself is invisible,
and the block becomes visible only when the block-begin marker is set.


COPY BLOCK copies a previously marked block to the current cursor position.
The original block is unchanged, and the markers are placed around the new
copy of the block. If no block is marked or the cursor is within the
marked block, nothing happens.

MOVE BLOCK moves a previously marked block from its original position to
the cursor position. The block disappears from its original position,
and the markers remain around the block at its new position. If no block
is marked nothing happens.

DELETE BLOCK deletes a previously marked block. There is no provision
to restore a deleted block, so be careful with this command.






















- 18 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter V: Text Editor

READ BLOCK FROM DISK reads a previously saved disk file into the editor
at the current cursor position. The text read is then marked as the
current block.

When you issue this command, the editor prompts you for the name of
the file to read. The file specified can be any legal filename.


WRITE BLOCK TO DISK writes a previously marked block to a file.
The block itself is left unchanged in the editor, and the markers
remain in place. If no block is marked, nothing happens.

When you issue this command, the editor prompts you for the name of
the file to write to. If the file already exists the editor issues a
warning and prompts for verification before overwriting the existing
file. You can give the file any legal filename.






























- 19 -
ADVENTURE WRITER
Chapter V: Text Editor

POTPOURII
potpourii displays a scrolling menu with all misc. editor commands.
To use these commands you may use this menu by selecting Potpourii...
from the Text Editor Menu or by pressing [ALT]-P from within the text
editor.

RESIZE WINDOW
This option allows you to move or resize the editor window. To use
this option follow the instruction on the top line of the Editor Border.

EXIT TO ADVENTURE WRITER
Exits the Text Editor and returns you to the Map Designer.

NOTE: Switching back and forth between the Map Designer and the Text
Editor will not effect either document.































- 20 -