Sinclair QL Beginner's Manual page 3

CHAPTER 1 - STARTING COMPUTING
THE SCREEN
Your QL should be connected to a monitor screen or TV set and switched on. Press a few keys, say
abc, and the screen should appear as shown below. The small flashing light is called the cursor.
If your screen does not look like this read the section entitled Introduction. This should enable you to
solve any difficulties.
THE KEYBOARD
The QL is a versatile and powerful computer so there are features of the keyboard which you do not
need yet. For the present we will explain just those items which you need for this and the next six
chapters.
BREAK
This enables you to 'break' out of situations you do not like. For example:
a line which you have decided to abandon
something wrong which you do not understand
a running program which has ceased to be of interest
any other problem
Because BREAK is so powerful it has been made difficult to type accidentally.
If nothing was added or removed from a program while it was halted with BREAK then it can be
restarted by typing:
CONTINUE
RESET
This is not a key but a small push button on the right hand side of the QL. It is placed here
deliberately, out of the way, because its effects are more dramatic than the break keys. If you cannot
achieve what you need with the break keys then press the RESET Button. This is almost the same as
switching the computer off and on again. You get a clean re-start.
SHIFT
Hold down CTRL and then press SPACE