SoapBox Writer

Version 1.10







Copyright 1988-1989
SoapBox Software, All Rights Reserved

System Requirements:

Computer: IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatiable with at least
one floppy drive (or hard disk drive).
Operating System: PC-DOS (MS-DOS) Version 2.0 or greater.
Memory: 128kb RAM or greater.




SoapBox Writer Page One




Welcome to SoapBox Writer!


This is a word processor written in the belief that most people
don't need a program that takes up a megabyte of disk space and comes
in an expensive, ten pound package.

Don't miss understand that statement. Products such as
WordPerfect and Microsoft Word do have their place. SoapBox Writer
is a word processing program perfect for the person who wants a simple
to use interface, a small program that will run even on a basic 256
kilobyte IBM compatible. The fact that SBW can provide either a
WordStar (tm) compatible file or a clean ASCII file that can be
imported into Aldus Pagemaker (tm) or Xerox Ventura Publisher (tm) without
a hassle is a plus for folks who use those programs.

SoapBox Writer meets those needs. Originally designed for a
friend with a one diskette drive IBM PCjr and only 256kb of RAM, the
same program is perfect for the laptop owner. One program can
perform editing duties on a batch file one minute and create a
detailed report of an important meeting the next. That means
fewer diskettes to carry and fewer commands to learn.

Speaking of commands, SoapBox Writer has multiple levels.
Use the pulldown menus for an easy to use guide to the most used
features or keep your fingers flying by using the familiar commands
made well-known by WordStar. If you wish, a combination of both works
just fine. If you are using IBM DOS 4.0 or another product that
follows that SAA guidelines, you'll like that the same F10 key
used in the DOS shell to pulldown the menu, works here. The F3
key allows you to exit the program cleanly and hitting the ESCape
key drops you back a level and F1 allows pops up help.

The folks at SoapBox Software Company hope you like our latest
shareware offering and will register your copy soon. Please feel
free to give a full unregistered copy to your friends for them to try.
This version of SBW is not a limited demonstration copy or crippled so
that you can not fully enjoy it. We hope that you will transmit
your thoughts, either electronically to us on Compuserve or at
the address listed in the manual.

Thank you for trying SoapBox Writer.

SoapBox Software
Bob Perry [72300,654]
Saul Ehrmann [71750,3604]











SoapBox Writer Page Two





INSTALLATION

SoapBox Writer (SBW) is easy to install. There are no long
programs included to create directories and load file after file
on your disk (fixed or floppy). You don't need one. There are
only a few files to copy and you can do it faster that most any
program could.

Your disk includes the following files:

SBW.COM (the main program file)
SBW.000 (the overlay file--must be in the same place as
the program file or nothing will run.)
SBWERROR.MSG (the error message file--SBW will run without
but won't give verbal reasons for any
errors, just a code.)

Those three files are all that's required for a full working
copy. Even on a 360 kilobyte floppy diskette, you have over
200kb of room!

There are four more files including on the release disk:


1989.DOC (Some legal things we want you to be aware of.)

README.1st (A small text file you can "type" or read in
SBW that contains the latest comments on
the current release or notes on things we
have found.)

MANUAL.DOC (The file you are looking at. The guide to
using SoapBox Writer.)

SBWSTRIP.COM (A quick utility to provide a clean ASCII
file by stripping out the control codes used
by SoapBox Writer. This program will also
work on WordStar files. We have tested
WordStar files from versions up to and including
their version 4.0.)

OK? Got everything? Good, let's get going!









SoapBox Writer Page Three




For floppy diskette users:

At the "A>" prompt, type in the command: COPY a:SBW*.* b: .
If you only have one floppy (a Toshiba T1000, a PCjr, or
whatever) type: COPY a:SBW*.* b: and switch diskettes
until done.

For hard disk owners:

At the "C:\>" prompt, type in the command: MD \SBW .
Then, type: CD \SBW to change directories. Now type:
COPY a:SBW*.* . This will copy the required files (and
the manual) to the directory \SBW.

(Yes, users of MS/PC-DOS version 3.2 or higher can type:
XCOPY a:SBW*.* c:\SBW, tell the program it is a directory
when prompted and copy the same files to the same directory.)
The directory need not be \SBW to run. Use your
imagination.

SoapBox Writer knows what kind of video hardware your
computer has and adjusts itself. SBW supports CGA, EGA, VGA and
monochrome graphics such as Hercules(tm) video adapters provide.
Even laptop users find SBW easy to read.



SoapBox Writer Page Four



STARTING THE PROGRAM

You can start SoapBox Writer by changing to the directory
\SBW and typing "SBW". This will bring up the start-up screen and
ask you for a filename to load. If you have a name in mind or
have already started a file, type it in using the DOS filename
structure of up to eight letters-a dot or period-and a three letter
extension. The use of the extension is completely optional as SBW
does not add any extension of it's own. The rule of thumb here
is: If it makes sense to you, it's alright.

Don't feel pressured to come up with a filename yet. By pressing
ENTER, you may start with a clean screen and an untitled file. Later,
when you go to save your work, you will have the chance to name it.

If you already know the name of the file you wish to edit
and don't need to see the start-up screen, type SBW at
the DOS prompt and SoapBox Writer will load it and be ready to go.

SoapBox Writer Page Five


USING THE PROGRAM


MENUS

Now (one way or another) you are facing your video display
and a pulldown menu. Press the F10 key and the menu is highlighted.
Press ENTER or the first letter of one of the menu selections and
the menu drops down. Use the cursor keys to move across or down
the menu(s) and use the ENTER key to select a choice or type the
capital letter shown on the menu. The commands used the most--
(Open File, Close File, Save, Quit) are all grouped under the first
menu heading "File". The other menu selections cover things like
blocking text for ease of editing, spell checking and searching
for a phrase or word in your text.

Let's look at the menu choices one at a time:

FILE

OPEN FILE
Retrieve an existing file or start a new file. At the prompt for
a filename enter the name for a file already stored or press the
ESC key to begin with a blank page and an untitled new file.
Entering a filename not found in the directory will result in
a message telling you that the file is new and asking if you wish
to continue.

CLOSE FILE
To exit a file and begin a new one. Upon choosing this item
you will be asked if you wish to save your changes. If you answer
"Y" for yes, and filename has already been chosen, SBW will write
the current file and prompt you for the next file to edit. Pressing
the ESC key will allow you to begin a new file. or enter the name of
an existing file.

SAVE
Use this selection for saving your work in progress. There
is also a QWK-key for this choice: press the F6 function
key to save your file without needing to invoke the menu.
Remember that frequent saving of a file lessens the
chance of losing work when a power loss or other calamity
happens.

SAVE AS...
If you wish to save your edit file under a different name, use
this. Great for noting different revisions.
A note for Aldus Pagemaker users: Save your document to be
placed in Pagemaker as a ".DOC" extension. Use the WordStar v. 3.3
option in "Place" to correctly filter your file from
SoapBox Writer.


DIRECTORY OF FILES
Call up a directory of files. Use the optional mask to
specify only certain files.







SoapBox Writer Page Six



WORKING DIRECTORY
Change the directory that SBW looks in for your files.

PRINT FILE
Print the current file or another file in the background
while you continue to edit normally.

COPY FILE
Save a file to another name or drive or directory. Allows
you to perform the DOS copy function without exiting SBW.

RENAME FILE
Change the filename of any file. Another DOS function.

ERASE FILE
Deletes any file. A DOS function.

QUIT SOAPBOX WRITER
Exit program after prompt to save changes to file. The
QWK-key for this function is the F3 key. If the edit file
has been changed since the last save, SBW will ask if you
want to "Save Changes?" before exiting.

BLOCK

BEGIN
Mark the beginning of the block. QWK-key is F7.

END
Mark the end of the block. QWK-key is F8. After marking
the block it is highlighted.

COPY
Allows you to repeat the marked block.

MOVE
Move the marked block to a different part of the file
closing the gap left behind.

READ
Read a marked block from another file. If there are no
blocks marked in other file, entire file is read in.
Perfect for boilerplate letters.

WRITE
Writes block to a filename.

DELETE
Erases marked block.

HIDE/SHOW
Toggles marked block invisible or visible.

SPELL CHECK
Optional. If Borland's Turbo Lightning is memory resident,
performs spell check. (See manual under Spell Check for
more information.) Error message appears if program if not
loaded.

SoapBox Writer Page Seven


ABOUT SOAPBOX WRITER
Find information on version of program, notes and
addresses to contact us.

SEARCH

FIND
Searches text of file for a word or phrase. Using the
available options makes a search easier.

Options(*):
N = finding 'N' occurrences
Useful to locate the next ten occurrences or
search the entire file without using the "next"
command.

Hint:
Use a number greater than the number of words
in your file (99999999, for instance) to
insure that FIND will find all occurrences
of your string.

B = searching Backward
Use to reverse the usual order of the
search. "Find" will start any cursor location
and proceed toward the beginning of the file.

Hint:
Searching backwards through a long file may
produce a "disk-full" error if your file is
very long. To search the entire file,
return to the top of the file first.

W = Whole words only
The option W will make FIND search for whole
words only. For example, CURRENTLY contains
the character string CURRENT and a standard
search will locate this word, unless you
specify the Whole word option.

U = Upper or lower-case
Use this option to have FIND search for the
string in lower or upper case. The default
search is case-sensitive.

(*) These options work with both FIND and
FIND/REPLACE.

FIND/REPLACE
Find a word or phrase and replace it with a different word or phrase.

Options:
N = No approval needed
Use this option to replace character string
without prompting. The default is to ask
you before replacement.





SoapBox Writer Page Eight


G = Global replacement
Use G to search your entire file, from
beginning to end. The cursor returns
automatically to the start of the file to
search. You will be prompted before each
replacement. After answering 'Y' or 'N',
the cursor moves to the next occurrence; you
needn't use the NEXT command.

There are two variations on the Global
command:
1. When you choose the global option (G) along
with the backwards option (B), SoapBox
Writer sends the cursor to the end of
the file and begins the search from
there to the beginning.

2. If you use the global option (G) in
conjunction with the no-approval option
(N), SBW will go to the first character
in your file and change each occurrence
of the string, moving on to the next
without asking your approval.


NEXT
Look for the next occurrence of selected word or phrase in file.


GO TO

TOP OF FILE
Allows quick movement to top of selected file.

End of file Cursor goes to the bottom of
selected file.

Begin block Cursor goes to beginning of
marked block.

end blocK Cursor goes to the end of the
marked block.

Line Send cursor to selected line
number in file.

Column Send cursor to selected
column.

Go marker Cursor goes to selected
marked.

Set marker Set marker in file. Up to
nine markers may be set.





SoapBox Writer Page Nine


DEFAULTS
These settings allow you to customize your workspace to the
way you like a word processor to act. Changes can be made
for the editing session only or made permanent by saving the
settings. (You can change them "permanently" again later,
don't worry.)

Insert ON allows you to insert characters in a line.
Toggling the INS key changes this feature
temporarily.

Word wrap ON wraps your words at the right margin when on.

Auto indent OFF allows you to indent at the beginning of a
paragraph.

Left margin: 1 set to where the line should start.

Right margin: 65 set to where the line should end.

Tab size: 5 how far indents and tabs go in spaces.

Undo limit: 20 the ESC key recalls deleted text. Adjust
how many characters you can recall here.

Save settings Save your settings directly to the program.

WINDOW

Select If you have more than one window open, you
can toggle between them from the menu. The
"QWK-key" is F9.

Open Open an editing window up to 16 columns.

Close Close unwanted editing window.



SoapBox Writer Page Ten



Having looked at the menu choices, let's examine the commands
that wait for you on the keyboard. As we have done through out
the manual, the " ^ " or carat stands for the CTRL key on the
keyboard.


__________________________________________________________________

SOAPBOX WRITER "QWK"-KEY COMMAND CHART
__________________________________________________________________

COMMAND DESCRIPTION
__________________________________________________________________

^A LEFT WORD Moves cursor to the left one word.
^S LEFT CHARACTER Moves cursor one character to left.
^D RIGHT CHARACTER Moves cursor one character to right.
^F RIGHT WORD Moves cursor to the right one word.
^E UP LINE Moves cursor up one line.
^X DOWN LINE Moves cursor down one line.
^R UP PAGE Moves cursor up one complete page.
^C DOWN PAGE Moves cursor down one complete page.
^W SCROLL UP Scrolls cursor up screen.
^N INSERT LINE Adds new line at cursor.
^G / DEL DELETE CHARACTER Removes character from screen.
BKSP BACKSPACE Moves cursor back over existing line.
TAB TAB Moves cursor number of spaces set
in "DEFAULTS" menu under tab size.
^T DELETE WORD Deletes word at cursor.
^Y DELETE LINE Deletes entire line at cursor.
^B REFORMAT PARAGRAPH Rejustifies current paragraph.
^V / INS TOGGLE INSERT MODE Switch between insert & overwrite.
^L FIND NEXT When searching for text, looks for
next occurrence.
^J BEGINNING
/END OF LINE Moves cursor to one end of current
line or the other, depending on
position of cursor.
HOME BEGINNING OF LINE Moves cursor to beginning of
current line.
END END OF LINE Moves cursor to end of current line.
^P INSERT CHARACTER
BY ASCII Add ASCII code after command to
insert character in document.

^OO OPEN NEW WINDOW Opens new editing window.
^OL SET LEFT MARGIN Brings up menu to set left margin.
^OR SET RIGHT MARGIN Brings up menu to set right margin.
^OC CENTER LINE Centers current line of text on page.
^OK CHANGE CASE Changes case of letter at cursor.
^OS SET UNDO LIMIT Change number of characters that
can be undone by hitting ESC key.
^OW TOGGLE WORDWRAP Changes mode of wordwrap on or off.
^OG / F9 GOTO OTHER WINDOW Works when second editing window is
active to toggle between windows.
^OI GOTO COLUMN Brings up menu to move cursor to

column number on screen.



SoapBox Writer Page Eleven

SOAPBOX QWK-KEY COMMANDS (continued)

^ON GOTO LINE Brings up menu to move cursor to
line nmuber on screen.
^OY CLOSE WINDOW Closes editing window.
ESC UNDO LAST CHANGE Brings back characters deleted from
screen.
F1 HELP Brings up on-line help screen.
F2 SPELL CHECK If Turbo Lightning is present,
begins spell check (Optional).
F3 EXIT PROGRAM Exits SoapBox Writer after
inquiring on saving work.
F6 SAVE FILE Performs write to disk of current file.
F7 START BLOCK Marks the beginning of a block of text.
F8 END BLOCK Marks end of block.
F9 GOTO OTHER WINDOW Works when second editing window is
active to toggle between windows.
F10 ACTIVATE MENUS Allows access to pulldown menus.

^QS TO LEFT OF LINE Go to left of current line.
^QD TO RIGHT OF LINE Go to right of current line.
^QJ JUMP TO MARKER Go to marker in text.
^QI TOGGLE AUTOINDENT Allows for automatic indenting of
paragraphs during editing.
^QR TO TOP OF FILE Go to top line of current file.
^QC TO END OF FILE Go to bottom line of current file.
^QB TO BEGIN OF BLOCK Go to start of marked block of text.
^QK TO END OF BLOCK Go to end of marked block of text.
^Q1 JUMP TO MARKER 1 Go to marker #1.
^Q2 JUMP TO MARKER 2 Go to marker #2.
... ... ...
^Q9 JUMP TO MARKER 9 Go to marker #9.
^QY DELETE LINE RIGHT Delete text to the right of cursor.
^QF FIND PATTERN Search text for word or phrase.
^QA FIND & REPLACE Search text for word or phrase and
replace with other word or phrase.

^KS SAVE FILE & RESUME Saves current file without exiting.
^KD SAVE & OPEN FILE Saves current file & opens new file.
^KX EXIT TO DOS Exits SoapBox Writer after
inquiring about saving current file.
^KQ ABANDON & OPEN FILE Closes file without saving and
opens new file.
^K1 SET MARKER 1 Sets marker 1 in text.
^K2 SET MARKER 2 Sets marker 2 in text.
... ... ...
^K9 SET MARKER 9 Sets marker 9 in text.
^KB BEGIN BLOCK Marks beginning of block of text.
^KK END BLOCK Marks end of block of text.
^KH HIDE BLOCK Hides marked block of text from view.
^KC COPY BLOCK Copies marked block of text.
^KV MOVE BLOCK Moves marked block of text to new
location in file.

^KY DELETE BLOCK Erases marked block of text from file.
^KW WRITE BLOCK Writes marked block of text.
^KR READ BLOCK Read marked block of text from file.
^KM SET MARKER Sets marker in text. (Like ^K1..^K9
but asks for number.
^KT DEFINE TAB WIDTH Sets size of tab.
^KL SPELL CHECK (Optional) If Turbo Lightning is
present, begins check of spelling.
ALT-F6 THESAURUS (Optional) If Turbo Lightning is
present, checks word at cursor.


SoapBox Writer Page Twelve

SOAPBOX WRITER QWK-KEY COMMANDS (continued)

[Print Commands]

^PS UNDERLINE Underlines all characters bracketed
by this command.
^PD DOUBLE STRIKE Double strikes all characters bracketed
by this command, producing a light boldface.
^PB BOLDFACE Boldfaces all characters bracketed by
this command.
^PX STRIKEOUT Prints hyphens (----) over all charcters
(not spaces) bracketed by this command.
^PH OVERSTRIKE Causes next character to print over
character in same column.
^P (CR) OVERSTRIKE LINE Causes next line to print over current
line. (CR) means carriage return.
^PY COLOR CHANGE If printer is equipped for color, prints
characters bracketed by command in
alternate ribbon color.
^PV SUBSCRIPT If printer allows, prints characters bracketed
by command a fractional line below other
text, producing subscript.
^PT SUPERSCRIPT If printer allows, prints characters bracketed
by command a fractional line above other
text, producing superscript.
^PF PHANTOM CHARACTER For some letter quality printers, prints a
character not seen on keyboard.
^PG PHANTOM RUBOUT For some letter quality printers, prints a
character not seen on keyboard.

[Page Layout]

^PA SET PITCH (ELITE) For letter quality printers, sets pitch
at 12 characters per inch (elite).
^PN SET PITCH (PICA) For letter quality printers, sets pitch
at 10 characters per inch (pica).
^PO DO NOT SEPARATE Inserts a non-break space between two
characters, preventing word wrap or
paragraph reformatting from separating
two words.
^PI INSERT TAB Inserts a fixed-tab space, eight
characters wide.
^PJ INSERT LINE FEED Inserts a line feed while printing
present line.
^PL INSERT PAGE BREAK Inserts a page break while printing
present line.


SoapBox Writer does not support WordStar(tm) DOT (.) printer commands.










SoapBox Writer Page Thirteen


SoapBox Writer is a copyrighted, commerical software package,
protected by United States law and international treaty
provisions. It is neither free nor in the public domain.

Shareware copies of SoapBox Writer downloaded from a bulletin
board system or on-line service may be "packaged" differently
from diskette versions purchased directly from SoapBox Software.
However, the files listed below must be included, unaltered, in any
compressed archival file:

README.1ST Last minute changes or other comments on this
release.
MANUAL.DOC The manual for SoapBox Writer.
SBW.COM The program file
SBW.000 The overlay file
SBWERROR.MSG The error message file
SBWSTRIP.COM A SoapBox Software Utility for converting SBW
format files to ASCII.


You are granted a thirty-one day evaluation period to try SoapBox
Writer. If you wish to continue to use the program after that
time, we request that the fee of $29.95 U.S. be sent via check or
money order to our mailing address:

Product Registration
SoapBox Software
Box 17998
Boulder, CO 80308


This is how "Shareware" works as a marketing concept. Try before
you buy. Registration provides you with a registered version of
the program, two free upgrades and notice of future upgrades;
gives you access to technical support; and supports the shareware
concept.

We hope that you will make copies of the unregistered version of
SoapBox Writer and its files to pass along to friends or bulletin
board systems (BBS).

WordStar, Turbo Lighting, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and other
trademarks used in our manual and/or notes are the registered
trademarks of their respective companies.



IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any use of this software for any
period of time for any purpose whatsoever constitutes
your unqualified acceptance of this LICENSE and
subjects you to all of the terms and conditions set
forth below:

Soapbox Software ("SOAPBOX") warrants to any Licensee
that acquires the program from SOAPBOX or from
an authorized SOAPBOX representative ONLY that:


SoapBox Writer Page Fourteen


1) All diskettes SOAPBOX provides constitute an accurate
duplication of the software and SOAPBOX will replace
any diskette it provided that is found to be defective
within 30 days from date provided. SOAPBOX will not honor this
warranty if (in SOAPBOX's sole judgment) the diskette
has been subjected to physical abuse, or used in defective
or non-compatible equipment.

2) SOAPBOX's software will perform substantially as
described in the documentation SOAPBOX regularly
supplies with that software, if operated as
prescribed in such documentation including the
hardware and software environment specified.

3) If a significant defect in any program is found,
Licensee's only remedy shall be to receive refund
of the actual fee Licensee paid for such defective
program. In no event will such a refund exceed
the fee SOAPBOX charges for such program.

4) SOAPBOX makes no warranty or representation that the
software will be error free nor that its use by
Licensee will be uninterrupted.

Except as provided above, SOAPBOX disclaims all other
warranties, either express or implied, including but
not limited to any implied warranty of merchantability
or fitness for any particular purpose.

Licensee agrees to take full responsibility for the
selection of and any use whatsoever made of the
software.

IN NO EVENT WILL SOAPBOX SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR
LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS
OF BUSINESS INFORMATION OR THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF
THE USE OF, INTERRUPTION IN THE USE OF, OR INABILITY
TO USE THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SOAPBOX HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
ANY POSSIBILITY OR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH DAMAGES.

SoapBox Writer

Version 1.10







Copyright 1988-1989
SoapBox Software, All Rights Reserved

System Requirements:

Computer: IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatiable with at least
one floppy drive (or hard disk drive).
Operating System: PC-DOS (MS-DOS) Version 2.0 or greater.
Memory: 128kb RAM or greater.




SoapBox Writer Page One




Welcome to SoapBox Writer!


This is a word processor written in the belief that most people
don't need a program that takes up a megabyte of disk space and comes
in an expensive, ten pound package.

Don't miss understand that statement. Products such as
WordPerfect and Microsoft Word do have their place. SoapBox Writer
is a word processing program perfect for the person who wants a simple
to use interface, a small program that will run even on a basic 256
kilobyte IBM compatible. The fact that SBW can provide either a
WordStar (tm) compatible file or a clean ASCII file that can be
imported into Aldus Pagemaker (tm) or Xerox Ventura Publisher (tm) without
a hassle is a plus for folks who use those programs.

SoapBox Writer meets those needs. Originally designed for a
friend with a one diskette drive IBM PCjr and only 256kb of RAM, the
same program is perfect for the laptop owner. One program can
perform editing duties on a batch file one minute and create a
detailed report of an important meeting the next. That means
fewer diskettes to carry and fewer commands to learn.

Speaking of commands, SoapBox Writer has multiple levels.
Use the pulldown menus for an easy to use guide to the most used
features or keep your fingers flying by using the familiar commands
made well-known by WordStar. If you wish, a combination of both works
just fine. If you are using IBM DOS 4.0 or another product that
follows that SAA guidelines, you'll like that the same F10 key
used in the DOS shell to pulldown the menu, works here. The F3
key allows you to exit the program cleanly and hitting the ESCape
key drops you back a level and F1 allows pops up help.

The folks at SoapBox Software Company hope you like our latest
shareware offering and will register your copy soon. Please feel
free to give a full unregistered copy to your friends for them to try.
This version of SBW is not a limited demonstration copy or crippled so
that you can not fully enjoy it. We hope that you will transmit
your thoughts, either electronically to us on Compuserve or at
the address listed in the manual.

Thank you for trying SoapBox Writer.

SoapBox Software
Bob Perry [72300,654]
Saul Ehrmann [71750,3604]











SoapBox Writer Page Two





INSTALLATION

SoapBox Writer (SBW) is easy to install. There are no long
programs included to create directories and load file after file
on your disk (fixed or floppy). You don't need one. There are
only a few files to copy and you can do it faster that most any
program could.

Your disk includes the following files:

SBW.COM (the main program file)
SBW.000 (the overlay file--must be in the same place as
the program file or nothing will run.)
SBWERROR.MSG (the error message file--SBW will run without
but won't give verbal reasons for any
errors, just a code.)

Those three files are all that's required for a full working
copy. Even on a 360 kilobyte floppy diskette, you have over
200kb of room!

There are four more files including on the release disk:


1989.DOC (Some legal things we want you to be aware of.)

README.1st (A small text file you can "type" or read in
SBW that contains the latest comments on
the current release or notes on things we
have found.)

MANUAL.DOC (The file you are looking at. The guide to
using SoapBox Writer.)

SBWSTRIP.COM (A quick utility to provide a clean ASCII
file by stripping out the control codes used
by SoapBox Writer. This program will also
work on WordStar files. We have tested
WordStar files from versions up to and including
their version 4.0.)

OK? Got everything? Good, let's get going!









SoapBox Writer Page Three




For floppy diskette users:

At the "A>" prompt, type in the command: COPY a:SBW*.* b: .
If you only have one floppy (a Toshiba T1000, a PCjr, or
whatever) type: COPY a:SBW*.* b: and switch diskettes
until done.

For hard disk owners:

At the "C:\>" prompt, type in the command: MD \SBW .
Then, type: CD \SBW to change directories. Now type:
COPY a:SBW*.* . This will copy the required files (and
the manual) to the directory \SBW.

(Yes, users of MS/PC-DOS version 3.2 or higher can type:
XCOPY a:SBW*.* c:\SBW, tell the program it is a directory
when prompted and copy the same files to the same directory.)
The directory need not be \SBW to run. Use your
imagination.

SoapBox Writer knows what kind of video hardware your
computer has and adjusts itself. SBW supports CGA, EGA, VGA and
monochrome graphics such as Hercules(tm) video adapters provide.
Even laptop users find SBW easy to read.



SoapBox Writer Page Four



STARTING THE PROGRAM

You can start SoapBox Writer by changing to the directory
\SBW and typing "SBW". This will bring up the start-up screen and
ask you for a filename to load. If you have a name in mind or
have already started a file, type it in using the DOS filename
structure of up to eight letters-a dot or period-and a three letter
extension. The use of the extension is completely optional as SBW
does not add any extension of it's own. The rule of thumb here
is: If it makes sense to you, it's alright.

Don't feel pressured to come up with a filename yet. By pressing
ENTER, you may start with a clean screen and an untitled file. Later,
when you go to save your work, you will have the chance to name it.

If you already know the name of the file you wish to edit
and don't need to see the start-up screen, type SBW at
the DOS prompt and SoapBox Writer will load it and be ready to go.

SoapBox Writer Page Five


USING THE PROGRAM


MENUS

Now (one way or another) you are facing your video display
and a pulldown menu. Press the F10 key and the menu is highlighted.
Press ENTER or the first letter of one of the menu selections and
the menu drops down. Use the cursor keys to move across or down
the menu(s) and use the ENTER key to select a choice or type the
capital letter shown on the menu. The commands used the most--
(Open File, Close File, Save, Quit) are all grouped under the first
menu heading "File". The other menu selections cover things like
blocking text for ease of editing, spell checking and searching
for a phrase or word in your text.

Let's look at the menu choices one at a time:

FILE

OPEN FILE
Retrieve an existing file or start a new file. At the prompt for
a filename enter the name for a file already stored or press the
ESC key to begin with a blank page and an untitled new file.
Entering a filename not found in the directory will result in
a message telling you that the file is new and asking if you wish
to continue.

CLOSE FILE
To exit a file and begin a new one. Upon choosing this item
you will be asked if you wish to save your changes. If you answer
"Y" for yes, and filename has already been chosen, SBW will write
the current file and prompt you for the next file to edit. Pressing
the ESC key will allow you to begin a new file. or enter the name of
an existing file.

SAVE
Use this selection for saving your work in progress. There
is also a QWK-key for this choice: press the F6 function
key to save your file without needing to invoke the menu.
Remember that frequent saving of a file lessens the
chance of losing work when a power loss or other calamity
happens.

SAVE AS...
If you wish to save your edit file under a different name, use
this. Great for noting different revisions.
A note for Aldus Pagemaker users: Save your document to be
placed in Pagemaker as a ".DOC" extension. Use the WordStar v. 3.3
option in "Place" to correctly filter your file from
SoapBox Writer.


DIRECTORY OF FILES
Call up a directory of files. Use the optional mask to
specify only certain files.







SoapBox Writer Page Six



WORKING DIRECTORY
Change the directory that SBW looks in for your files.

PRINT FILE
Print the current file or another file in the background
while you continue to edit normally.

COPY FILE
Save a file to another name or drive or directory. Allows
you to perform the DOS copy function without exiting SBW.

RENAME FILE
Change the filename of any file. Another DOS function.

ERASE FILE
Deletes any file. A DOS function.

QUIT SOAPBOX WRITER
Exit program after prompt to save changes to file. The
QWK-key for this function is the F3 key. If the edit file
has been changed since the last save, SBW will ask if you
want to "Save Changes?" before exiting.

BLOCK

BEGIN
Mark the beginning of the block. QWK-key is F7.

END
Mark the end of the block. QWK-key is F8. After marking
the block it is highlighted.

COPY
Allows you to repeat the marked block.

MOVE
Move the marked block to a different part of the file
closing the gap left behind.

READ
Read a marked block from another file. If there are no
blocks marked in other file, entire file is read in.
Perfect for boilerplate letters.

WRITE
Writes block to a filename.

DELETE
Erases marked block.

HIDE/SHOW
Toggles marked block invisible or visible.

SPELL CHECK
Optional. If Borland's Turbo Lightning is memory resident,
performs spell check. (See manual under Spell Check for
more information.) Error message appears if program if not
loaded.

SoapBox Writer Page Seven


ABOUT SOAPBOX WRITER
Find information on version of program, notes and
addresses to contact us.

SEARCH

FIND
Searches text of file for a word or phrase. Using the
available options makes a search easier.

Options(*):
N = finding 'N' occurrences
Useful to locate the next ten occurrences or
search the entire file without using the "next"
command.

Hint:
Use a number greater than the number of words
in your file (99999999, for instance) to
insure that FIND will find all occurrences
of your string.

B = searching Backward
Use to reverse the usual order of the
search. "Find" will start any cursor location
and proceed toward the beginning of the file.

Hint:
Searching backwards through a long file may
produce a "disk-full" error if your file is
very long. To search the entire file,
return to the top of the file first.

W = Whole words only
The option W will make FIND search for whole
words only. For example, CURRENTLY contains
the character string CURRENT and a standard
search will locate this word, unless you
specify the Whole word option.

U = Upper or lower-case
Use this option to have FIND search for the
string in lower or upper case. The default
search is case-sensitive.

(*) These options work with both FIND and
FIND/REPLACE.

FIND/REPLACE
Find a word or phrase and replace it with a different word or phrase.

Options:
N = No approval needed
Use this option to replace character string
without prompting. The default is to ask
you before replacement.





SoapBox Writer Page Eight


G = Global replacement
Use G to search your entire file, from
beginning to end. The cursor returns
automatically to the start of the file to
search. You will be prompted before each
replacement. After answering 'Y' or 'N',
the cursor moves to the next occurrence; you
needn't use the NEXT command.

There are two variations on the Global
command:
1. When you choose the global option (G) along
with the backwards option (B), SoapBox
Writer sends the cursor to the end of
the file and begins the search from
there to the beginning.

2. If you use the global option (G) in
conjunction with the no-approval option
(N), SBW will go to the first character
in your file and change each occurrence
of the string, moving on to the next
without asking your approval.


NEXT
Look for the next occurrence of selected word or phrase in file.


GO TO

TOP OF FILE
Allows quick movement to top of selected file.

End of file Cursor goes to the bottom of
selected file.

Begin block Cursor goes to beginning of
marked block.

end blocK Cursor goes to the end of the
marked block.

Line Send cursor to selected line
number in file.

Column Send cursor to selected
column.

Go marker Cursor goes to selected
marked.

Set marker Set marker in file. Up to
nine markers may be set.





SoapBox Writer Page Nine


DEFAULTS
These settings allow you to customize your workspace to the
way you like a word processor to act. Changes can be made
for the editing session only or made permanent by saving the
settings. (You can change them "permanently" again later,
don't worry.)

Insert ON allows you to insert characters in a line.
Toggling the INS key changes this feature
temporarily.

Word wrap ON wraps your words at the right margin when on.

Auto indent OFF allows you to indent at the beginning of a
paragraph.

Left margin: 1 set to where the line should start.

Right margin: 65 set to where the line should end.

Tab size: 5 how far indents and tabs go in spaces.

Undo limit: 20 the ESC key recalls deleted text. Adjust
how many characters you can recall here.

Save settings Save your settings directly to the program.

WINDOW

Select If you have more than one window open, you
can toggle between them from the menu. The
"QWK-key" is F9.

Open Open an editing window up to 16 columns.

Close Close unwanted editing window.



SoapBox Writer Page Ten



Having looked at the menu choices, let's examine the commands
that wait for you on the keyboard. As we have done through out
the manual, the " ^ " or carat stands for the CTRL key on the
keyboard.


__________________________________________________________________

SOAPBOX WRITER "QWK"-KEY COMMAND CHART
__________________________________________________________________

COMMAND DESCRIPTION
__________________________________________________________________

^A LEFT WORD Moves cursor to the left one word.
^S LEFT CHARACTER Moves cursor one character to left.
^D RIGHT CHARACTER Moves cursor one character to right.
^F RIGHT WORD Moves cursor to the right one word.
^E UP LINE Moves cursor up one line.
^X DOWN LINE Moves cursor down one line.
^R UP PAGE Moves cursor up one complete page.
^C DOWN PAGE Moves cursor down one complete page.
^W SCROLL UP Scrolls cursor up screen.
^N INSERT LINE Adds new line at cursor.
^G / DEL DELETE CHARACTER Removes character from screen.
BKSP BACKSPACE Moves cursor back over existing line.
TAB TAB Moves cursor number of spaces set
in "DEFAULTS" menu under tab size.
^T DELETE WORD Deletes word at cursor.
^Y DELETE LINE Deletes entire line at cursor.
^B REFORMAT PARAGRAPH Rejustifies current paragraph.
^V / INS TOGGLE INSERT MODE Switch between insert & overwrite.
^L FIND NEXT When searching for text, looks for
next occurrence.
^J BEGINNING
/END OF LINE Moves cursor to one end of current
line or the other, depending on
position of cursor.
HOME BEGINNING OF LINE Moves cursor to beginning of
current line.
END END OF LINE Moves cursor to end of current line.
^P INSERT CHARACTER
BY ASCII Add ASCII code after command to
insert character in document.

^OO OPEN NEW WINDOW Opens new editing window.
^OL SET LEFT MARGIN Brings up menu to set left margin.
^OR SET RIGHT MARGIN Brings up menu to set right margin.
^OC CENTER LINE Centers current line of text on page.
^OK CHANGE CASE Changes case of letter at cursor.
^OS SET UNDO LIMIT Change number of characters that
can be undone by hitting ESC key.
^OW TOGGLE WORDWRAP Changes mode of wordwrap on or off.
^OG / F9 GOTO OTHER WINDOW Works when second editing window is
active to toggle between windows.
^OI GOTO COLUMN Brings up menu to move cursor to

column number on screen.



SoapBox Writer Page Eleven

SOAPBOX QWK-KEY COMMANDS (continued)

^ON GOTO LINE Brings up menu to move cursor to
line nmuber on screen.
^OY CLOSE WINDOW Closes editing window.
ESC UNDO LAST CHANGE Brings back characters deleted from
screen.
F1 HELP Brings up on-line help screen.
F2 SPELL CHECK If Turbo Lightning is present,
begins spell check (Optional).
F3 EXIT PROGRAM Exits SoapBox Writer after
inquiring on saving work.
F6 SAVE FILE Performs write to disk of current file.
F7 START BLOCK Marks the beginning of a block of text.
F8 END BLOCK Marks end of block.
F9 GOTO OTHER WINDOW Works when second editing window is
active to toggle between windows.
F10 ACTIVATE MENUS Allows access to pulldown menus.

^QS TO LEFT OF LINE Go to left of current line.
^QD TO RIGHT OF LINE Go to right of current line.
^QJ JUMP TO MARKER Go to marker in text.
^QI TOGGLE AUTOINDENT Allows for automatic indenting of
paragraphs during editing.
^QR TO TOP OF FILE Go to top line of current file.
^QC TO END OF FILE Go to bottom line of current file.
^QB TO BEGIN OF BLOCK Go to start of marked block of text.
^QK TO END OF BLOCK Go to end of marked block of text.
^Q1 JUMP TO MARKER 1 Go to marker #1.
^Q2 JUMP TO MARKER 2 Go to marker #2.
... ... ...
^Q9 JUMP TO MARKER 9 Go to marker #9.
^QY DELETE LINE RIGHT Delete text to the right of cursor.
^QF FIND PATTERN Search text for word or phrase.
^QA FIND & REPLACE Search text for word or phrase and
replace with other word or phrase.

^KS SAVE FILE & RESUME Saves current file without exiting.
^KD SAVE & OPEN FILE Saves current file & opens new file.
^KX EXIT TO DOS Exits SoapBox Writer after
inquiring about saving current file.
^KQ ABANDON & OPEN FILE Closes file without saving and
opens new file.
^K1 SET MARKER 1 Sets marker 1 in text.
^K2 SET MARKER 2 Sets marker 2 in text.
... ... ...
^K9 SET MARKER 9 Sets marker 9 in text.
^KB BEGIN BLOCK Marks beginning of block of text.
^KK END BLOCK Marks end of block of text.
^KH HIDE BLOCK Hides marked block of text from view.
^KC COPY BLOCK Copies marked block of text.
^KV MOVE BLOCK Moves marked block of text to new
location in file.

^KY DELETE BLOCK Erases marked block of text from file.
^KW WRITE BLOCK Writes marked block of text.
^KR READ BLOCK Read marked block of text from file.
^KM SET MARKER Sets marker in text. (Like ^K1..^K9
but asks for number.
^KT DEFINE TAB WIDTH Sets size of tab.
^KL SPELL CHECK (Optional) If Turbo Lightning is
present, begins check of spelling.
ALT-F6 THESAURUS (Optional) If Turbo Lightning is
present, checks word at cursor.


SoapBox Writer Page Twelve

SOAPBOX WRITER QWK-KEY COMMANDS (continued)

[Print Commands]

^PS UNDERLINE Underlines all characters bracketed
by this command.
^PD DOUBLE STRIKE Double strikes all characters bracketed
by this command, producing a light boldface.
^PB BOLDFACE Boldfaces all characters bracketed by
this command.
^PX STRIKEOUT Prints hyphens (----) over all charcters
(not spaces) bracketed by this command.
^PH OVERSTRIKE Causes next character to print over
character in same column.
^P (CR) OVERSTRIKE LINE Causes next line to print over current
line. (CR) means carriage return.
^PY COLOR CHANGE If printer is equipped for color, prints
characters bracketed by command in
alternate ribbon color.
^PV SUBSCRIPT If printer allows, prints characters bracketed
by command a fractional line below other
text, producing subscript.
^PT SUPERSCRIPT If printer allows, prints characters bracketed
by command a fractional line above other
text, producing superscript.
^PF PHANTOM CHARACTER For some letter quality printers, prints a
character not seen on keyboard.
^PG PHANTOM RUBOUT For some letter quality printers, prints a
character not seen on keyboard.

[Page Layout]

^PA SET PITCH (ELITE) For letter quality printers, sets pitch
at 12 characters per inch (elite).
^PN SET PITCH (PICA) For letter quality printers, sets pitch
at 10 characters per inch (pica).
^PO DO NOT SEPARATE Inserts a non-break space between two
characters, preventing word wrap or
paragraph reformatting from separating
two words.
^PI INSERT TAB Inserts a fixed-tab space, eight
characters wide.
^PJ INSERT LINE FEED Inserts a line feed while printing
present line.
^PL INSERT PAGE BREAK Inserts a page break while printing
present line.


SoapBox Writer does not support WordStar(tm) DOT (.) printer commands.










SoapBox Writer Page Thirteen


SoapBox Writer is a copyrighted, commerical software package,
protected by United States law and international treaty
provisions. It is neither free nor in the public domain.

Shareware copies of SoapBox Writer downloaded from a bulletin
board system or on-line service may be "packaged" differently
from diskette versions purchased directly from SoapBox Software.
However, the files listed below must be included, unaltered, in any
compressed archival file:

README.1ST Last minute changes or other comments on this
release.
MANUAL.DOC The manual for SoapBox Writer.
SBW.COM The program file
SBW.000 The overlay file
SBWERROR.MSG The error message file
SBWSTRIP.COM A SoapBox Software Utility for converting SBW
format files to ASCII.


You are granted a thirty-one day evaluation period to try SoapBox
Writer. If you wish to continue to use the program after that
time, we request that the fee of $29.95 U.S. be sent via check or
money order to our mailing address:

Product Registration
SoapBox Software
Box 17998
Boulder, CO 80308


This is how "Shareware" works as a marketing concept. Try before
you buy. Registration provides you with a registered version of
the program, two free upgrades and notice of future upgrades;
gives you access to technical support; and supports the shareware
concept.

We hope that you will make copies of the unregistered version of
SoapBox Writer and its files to pass along to friends or bulletin
board systems (BBS).

WordStar, Turbo Lighting, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and other
trademarks used in our manual and/or notes are the registered
trademarks of their respective companies.



IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any use of this software for any
period of time for any purpose whatsoever constitutes
your unqualified acceptance of this LICENSE and
subjects you to all of the terms and conditions set
forth below:

Soapbox Software ("SOAPBOX") warrants to any Licensee
that acquires the program from SOAPBOX or from
an authorized SOAPBOX representative ONLY that:


SoapBox Writer Page Fourteen


1) All diskettes SOAPBOX provides constitute an accurate
duplication of the software and SOAPBOX will replace
any diskette it provided that is found to be defective
within 30 days from date provided. SOAPBOX will not honor this
warranty if (in SOAPBOX's sole judgment) the diskette
has been subjected to physical abuse, or used in defective
or non-compatible equipment.

2) SOAPBOX's software will perform substantially as
described in the documentation SOAPBOX regularly
supplies with that software, if operated as
prescribed in such documentation including the
hardware and software environment specified.

3) If a significant defect in any program is found,
Licensee's only remedy shall be to receive refund
of the actual fee Licensee paid for such defective
program. In no event will such a refund exceed
the fee SOAPBOX charges for such program.

4) SOAPBOX makes no warranty or representation that the
software will be error free nor that its use by
Licensee will be uninterrupted.

Except as provided above, SOAPBOX disclaims all other
warranties, either express or implied, including but
not limited to any implied warranty of merchantability
or fitness for any particular purpose.

Licensee agrees to take full responsibility for the
selection of and any use whatsoever made of the
software.

IN NO EVENT WILL SOAPBOX SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR
LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS
OF BUSINESS INFORMATION OR THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF
THE USE OF, INTERRUPTION IN THE USE OF, OR INABILITY
TO USE THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SOAPBOX HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
ANY POSSIBILITY OR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH DAMAGES.


README.1ST file for SoapBox Writer Release Version 1.10

9/4/89

The vacation in the Southwest did me good. The help function is
now included and several screens have been enlarged to add more
information as to choices (the Search...find for instance). F1
naturally brings up Help.


8/8/89 Release Version 1.01


Well, a couple of days at least. Quick fix to fix incorrect
prompt on "Find" menu (^K shown for "Next Occurrence" instead of
^L). Oops.

Known bugs found! Kudos to Kurt Gebauer for the following:

The print function doesn't like to print the last line of a page
on some printers. The word-around for now is to add a page break
(^PL) as your last line.

Setting the "Defaults" to INSERT off with WORDWRAP on works fine
until you exit SBW and restart...then both INSERT and WORDWRAP are
off. We are thinking about this one!

Upon exiting SBW, the screen characters are yellow and a CLS must
be issued to bring it back to black and white. I know what it is
and will fix it. Note: The REGISTERED version doesn't have this
problem...hint, hint.


7/29/89 Release Version 1.00

Finally. Everything is done. We have promised ourselves a short
vacation from hacking away at this code. (Maybe a couple of
days...)

On the wish list for upcoming releases:

* Help screen(s) available on F1 key.
* A setup utility for changing printers, colors, beeps, etc.
* Making the ASCII stripout an internal function.
* Rewriting the documentation (again.)

Enough. If you have any suggestions or (gasp) criticism of SoapBox
Writer, please drop us a line at:

SoapBox Software, Box 17998, Boulder, CO 80308

or electronically on CompuServe. (See the "About..." screen in
SBW for the ID numbers.)

Thanks,

Bob Perry
SoapBox Software