Epson PX-8 User Manual page 29

d) MENU module
When switching on the PX-8 it is sometimes difficult to find a particular pro-
gram among a number of others on a disk device. Many of them may not be
be relevant. In many cases the same program is used over and over again, and
like using the PF keys it is easier to press one key to load the program. The
MENU module simplifies the selection of a program by allowing the types of
file names which are displayed to be limited, and allows programs from a mix-
ture of drives to be displayed together.
It
also allows the programs to be select-
ed by movement around the displayed files using the cursor keys, and then
running the program simply by pressing the
I
RETURN
I
key.
The MENU is controlled by option 4 of the System Display. Press the
I
CTRL
I
and
I
HELP
I
key to turn on the System Display. Now press the
~
key and lines
6 and
7
change to:
***
SYSTEM DISPLAY
***
<RAM DISK> 009 kb
<USER BIOS> 000 256 b
<MENU DRIVE> CBA
03/01/84
(THU) 12:01:34
<AUTO START)
<MCT MODE> stop, nonverify <COUNT> 65535
<MENU FILE> 1 .COM 2. 3 • 4 •
- Select number or ESC to return.
<MENU> l=off 2=on 3=drive 4=extl 5=ext2 6=ext3 7=ext4
Fig. 2.23
Press the
~
key and note how the label "< MENU>" comes up on the
top right of the screen on the first line.
It
can be switched off using option 1
at this level. Before actually displaying the MENU, it is necessary to select which
drives the files are to be chosen from and also which types of files are to be
chosen from those drives. Chapter 3 explains the types of files. As a first illus-
tration of the use of the MENU, choose option 3 and type "BC" and press
the
I
RETURN
I
key. Note that these letters appear after the label" <MENU
DRIVE> " on the left of the fifth line and mean that files will be chosen from
the B: and C: drives, i.e. the ROM drives. In order to select a type of file, take
option 4 and type "COM" and press the
I
RETURN
I
key. Note how the fifth line
has changed so that the first file name extension (next to the label "< MENU
FILE>") has changed to "COM".
Now press the
I
ESC
I
key and the System Display returns to the first state. The
MENU mode is set and the MENU screen will be displayed when the power
switch is next turned on, or a warm start is made.
2-36
Turn off the power switch and then turn it on again. The speaker beeps and
the following screen is displayed:
***
MENU screen
*** 03/01/84
(THU) 12:00:52 54.5k CPIM
C:PIP
C:PIP COM C:STAT COM C:SUBMIT COM
C:FILINK COM C:TERM COM C:CONFIG COM
Fig. 2.24
ver 2.2 PAGE
1/1
C: XSUB COM
B:BASIC COM
The MENU screen is divided into three sections as shown below.
1 line Header
~--------------------------------------------~
1 line Command line
~--------------------------------------------~
6 lines
File name area
Fig. 2.25
Header section
The header section consists of the title
"* * *
MENU screen
* * * ",
date,
day of the week, time, CP 1M comment, current menu page and number of menu
pages.
If
the number of files' excedds 120, "*" will be displayed at the end
of header section.
Command line
The command line section displays the currently selected file name, adding any
COM file name if the file selected requires a COM file for execution. The Sys-
tem Display is used to decide exactly what is printed on this line for each file,
and the method of setting it is explained in the next few pages.
File name area
The lower part of the screen shows all the file names set up on the System Dis-
play, chosen from the selected drives and the selected file extensions.
i)
Using the MENU
The command line duplicates the name of the file in the top left of the file area
and, to highlight the selected file, the name in the file area flashes.
It
is possible
to change the selected file by using the cursor keys. Pressing the right arrow
key moves to the right along a row, and then from left to right on the next
2-37