https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/inverseatascii-s1eb2-kansasfest_2015.mp3

This episode is a reflection on KansasFest 2015 from an Atari guy.

Podcast: Download

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/kfest-2015-schedule.pdf

Link to my public Flickr album with a few of my photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskdQ18n9

Check out Jason Scott’s Flickr album for the best coverage: https://flic.kr/s/aHskggumuM

Podcast: Download

This episode features the Atari Portfolio, originally released in June of 1989.  It was developed by DIP Research.

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/inverseatascii-s1eb1-atari_portfolio.mp3

This episode features the Atari Portfolio, originally released in June of 1989.  It was developed by DIP Research.

Podcast: Download

Atari Portfolio artwork:

Two page ad from May 1990 of Compute!

Two page ad from August 1990 Compute!:

Booting.  It hits the prompts instantly, only slowed down by you:

Applications menu:

Address Book

Empty address book:

Address book with entries:

Address book menu:

Address book Cards sub menu:

View cards in PAGE mode:

Calculator

Using the calculator:

Diary (Calendar)

New empty diary, default view is calendar (month):

Diary day view with a couple of entries:

Diary menu:

Moving a diary entry, new time, then new date:

Updated entries showing new time stamps:

Calendar (month) view.  Note * denoting days with events:

Day view with window frame turned off (a little extra screen real estate)::

When exiting, if you haven’t saved, your asked to.  This is the same for the other applications as well.  This also shows the calendar (month) view with the window frame turned off:

The Alarm going off:

Editor

Empty document:

The editor with some text I had loaded for VCFSE 3:

Same document but with the window frame turned off (trade off of screen real estate for editing attributes):

Spreadsheet

Empty spreadsheet:

Same empty spreadsheet with window frame turned off.  Again more screen real estate:

Spreadsheet menu.  Note the menu calls the application GRID:

Spreadsheet Files menu, this is basically the same in the other applications as well:

Loading a file.  Enter the name, or use wildcards, or use just the drive letter and it will expand to wildcards:

With wildcards, you can browse matches before selecting.  You can navigate directories as well:

Final selection:

Loading a worksheet from the VisiCalc tutorial I covered in season 1 episode 8 (VisiCorp VisiCalc) here: https://inverseatascii.info/2015/01/13/s1e8-visicalc/.  Note the recalculation at load:

Spreadsheet loaded (with VisiCalc example):

Setup

Setup main menu:

Setup DISPLAY menu:

Setup SOUNDS menu:

Setup APPLICATIONS menu:

Setup PRINTER menu:

Setup RS-232 PORT menu:

Setup FILE TRANSFER menu:

File Transfer communication error (no peripheral attached):

The Portfolio uses DIP DOS 2.11 which is compatible with MS-DOS 2.11.  It does include a few MS-DOS 3 enhancements as well.

Checking the filesystem of the C drive (with default partitioning).  Note 79K free system memory.

Checking the filesystem of the A drive (with a 64K card inserted):

Contents of the “empty” C drive.  Note 29K free:

Contents of the SYSTEM directory.  This shows 2 of the 3 system generated files and the diary (calendar) file.  PERMDATA.DAT is the system configuration data, UNDELETE.DAT is the undelete data, and DIARY.DRY is the diary file:

Graphics

And it can display graphics.  Here showing a PGC file of the Fuji symbol and Atari logo:

Applications (& Games)

Running the PIN program from Terminator II:

Custom Applications

Here are the results of following the manual coding instructions found on the RS Key Programmable Calculator Portfolio page:

The keyboard has 63 keys including 2 special hot keys and 4 arrow keys.  The hot keys are the Atari key and Fn key in the lower left.  The Atari key is used to access the applications main menu and shortcut for launching each application.  The Fn key is used to access the PC keyboard equivalents of F1 through F10.  These mini chicklet keys have a slight notch out of the top left corner:

Layout:

The Portfolio has an unresolved bug which can cause data loss.  To prevent it, you simply need to define the following in your CONFIG.SYS file on the C drive:

If you want to see the directory path as part of the command prompt, include this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

Technical Reference Manual: download

1989 Manual download

1989 Manual (cover image only):

1991 Manual download

1991 Manual (cover image only).  I could not find a digital copy, maybe I will scan one of mine: (I sacrificed one of my manuals to scan it.  The pages that are not straight, are printed that way.  This is an obvious low budget version of the manual.)

DB25 Parallel Communication Cable pinout:

Product Info: download

Peripheral Info: download

Images of my Atari Portfolio.  Feel free to use these images providing you credit me.

Podcast: Download

This episode features Spell Wizard, originally released in 1982 by DataSoft.  It was developed by Special Software Systems.  It was programmed by Phillip Dennis and David Selenkow.

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/inverseatascii-s1e20-datasoft_spellwizard.mp3

This episode features Spell Wizard, originally released in 1982 by DataSoft.  It was developed by Special Software Systems.  It was programmed by Phillip Dennis and David Selenkow.

Podcast: Download

This is the only image I could find.  It is unknown if it is the box front or the manual cover:

When booting it will detect if there are multiple drives. If there are, you instructed to put the dictionary disk in drive 1 and your data disk in drive 2:

Main Menu:

Function 1 – Proof A Document

1. Select the file to proof from the data disk.  Enter the name:

2. The document is read and analyzed.  A summary is given and you are prompted to check user dictionaries.  Answering Y will allow you to specify one or more user dictionaries:

2A. Searching with a user defined dictionary.  This can be repeated for as many dictionaries as you like.  First insert the user dictionary disk (standard DOS 2 format):

2B. Searching with a user defined dictionary.  Next enter the name of the dictionary to search:

3.  Now you are asked if you want to correct words.  Selecting N will return to the main menu:

4. Document proofing begins. Mis-spelled words are highlighted with surrounding text shown for context.  You are given the option to continue the scan (effectively ignoring the spelling), correcting the spelling, or searching the dictionary (useful if you don’t know how to spell the word):

4A. Choosing to correct a word you enter the new spelling, then approve the correction:

5. When proofing is complete you have the option to have it write the changes to disk, thus committing the corrected document:

6. Any words that were skipped can now be added to a user dictionary if you want:

6A.  When adding words to a user dictionary you have to option to verify which words are actually added on per word basis.  Choosing N adds them all:

6B. When adding words to a user dictionary with verification each word to be added will be confirmed by you.  Enter Y to add it:

6C. When adding words to a user dictionary you need to insert the disk with the user dictionary on it (or a blank one):

6D. When adding words to a user dictionary it will show the files on the dictionary disk.  Enter the name of an existing user dictionary file, or a new name:

7. If there were no errors during proofing, it will tell you.  Press RETURN to return to the main menu:

Function 2 – Print Dictionary

This works basically like search, with the exception that the results are dumped to the printer as well.  First enter your search term:

Next the match or matches are displayed, as well as the dump to the printer:

Function 3 – Search Dictionary

Entering a search term:

If the term is not found, it will tell you that:

If the term is found, it will show the word, and the count of matched words (not really useful for single matches):

If the term is found and there are multiple matches, the count of matched words is shown as well as each possible match.  If there are more than 5 results they are scrolled through the small result section.  The scrolling can be paused:

Function 4 – Exit Spell Wizard

When choosing exit, you are prompted to insert the “Word Processor” disk and press RETURN.  This boots the disk in the drive.  Feel free to use the word processor of your choice.  You are not limited to Letter Wizard or Text Wizard:

Spell Wizard uses Atari DOS 2.0.  The contents of the boot disk cannot be seen.  The contents of your data disk and dictionary disk can.  Note the user dictionary “USERWADE” being dumped.  Dictionaries will be alphabetized:

Print dictionary output (multiple matches):

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/s1e20-prt-print02mult.pdf

Scanned Manual: None found!  If you have the stand alone manual, not the section included with Letter Wizard, please consider scanning it.  Or contact me via email and we can arrange to have it scanned for preservation.

Podcast: Download

This episode features Letter Wizard, originally released in 1984 by DataSoft.  It was developed by Special Software Systems.  This title is an updated replacement for the 1982 product called Text Wizard.

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/inverseatascii-s1e19-datasoft_letterwizard.mp3

This episode features Letter Wizard, originally released in 1984 by DataSoft.  It was developed by Special Software Systems.  This title is an updated replacement for the 1982 product called Text Wizard.

Podcast: Download

The DataSoft logo:

Scan of the front of the box.  This was taken from an auction where a photo was taken at an angle on a table.  I heavily modified it in Lightroom to bring it back to square and facing straight up.  I could find no other box shots or scans (note the Apple II in the photo):

Scan of the Text Wizard box from 1981, the pre-cursor to Letter Wizard (not an actual Atari in the artwork):

A Text Wizard advertisement from the July 1981 issue of Compute! magazine:

A Text Wizard advertisement from the September 1983 issue of ANALOG magazine:

Manual cover (sepia toned and simplified version of the box):

Here is a DataSoft catalog: download

Trying to boot with BASIC.  To get to the BASIC program on the master disk, boot a DOS II disk first with BASIC inserted/on.

Boot splash:

Main menu:

Edit

The editor at the start of a new document:

Editor in typeover mode (note the gray overscan area):

Editor in insert mode (note the blue overscan area).  Sadly the insert/typeover mode is not remembered after going to the menu:

Inverse mode ON, not the change in the tab line:

Invoking a function that takes a second or more to complete yields the BUSY indicator in the state area.  These were mostly very brief and not really noticeable.

Editor allows you get a catalog of the disk without returning to the main menu / disk management menu.  This can save you a few seconds of time:

Loading a document:

Saving a document.  There is no over-write warning so be carefull:

Status update showing filename, memory free, size in (single density) sectors, and number of words:

Marking a block of text.  Note the inverse daimond at the start.  This disappears once the end is marked:

Disk Management

The Disk Management menu:

Using the Format function:

Using the Catalog function:

Using the Rename function:

Using the Lock function:

Using the Unlock function:

Using the Delete function (enter name of file, then confirm):

Print

Confirming the connected printer choice:

Setting the various print options:

Printing:

DataSoft Letter Wizard uses Atari DOS 2.0.  The contents of the disk can be seen in this screenshot.  Note only the BASIC program can be seen.

Data files on a data disk:

Dump of a Letter Wizard document.  Largely in plain text (as typed):

Sample output demonstrating various text stylings.  Note the emulated Epson FX-80 didn’t support the Epson MX-80 proportional command:

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/s1e19-print-epson.pdf

Reference card download

Podcast: Download

This episode features Diskette Librarian, originally released in 1981 by APX.  It was developed by Ronald & Lynn Marcuse.

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/inverseatascii-s1e18-apx_diskettelibrarian.mp3

This episode features Diskette Librarian, originally released in 1981 by APX.  It was developed by Ronald & Lynn Marcuse.

Podcast: Download

As appeared in Fall 1982 APX Catalog:

At boot, from the BASIC READY prompt, you need to run it!  Though it has an AUTORUN.SYS file, that simply loads the bubble sort routine into memory.

Main Menu:

Module 1 – Auto Catalog

First, insert the disk to be cataloged in Drive 1:

Next enter a volume number.  Yep, use a sticky note to keep track of the highest number used, it won’t do it for you.  Also, even though this function is exclusively for disks, you must still tell it D.  Summary of files found and free space, then swap the program disk back in:

For each file on the disk you need to fill out this information.  You can leave it blank if you wish but that will limit your search options later:

Confirm the information is correct before it is added to the catalog (for each file):

Module 2 – List Directory

The same thing you can do from DOS.  Here for convenience…

Module 3 – Add Disk (Non DOS)

Enter all seven fields.  None are sanitized, but volume needs to be in volume format:

Confirm the new entry is correct:

Module 4 – Inquiry / List

The Inquiry / List menu.  Each option represents a field to search on.  Only one may be selected:

After searching on TYPE (sub option 4), and entering GAME as the criteria, there are 3 output options:

Choosing sub option 1 (INQUIRY), each whole record is displayed in succession:

Choosing sub option 2 (BROWSE), a summary of the records are displayed one screen at a time:

Choosing sub option 3 (LISTING), dumps out to the printer (80 columns required):

https://inverseatascii.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/s1e18-prt-4inq2-3.pdf

Module 5 – Update Record

Updating records begins with a search similar to the Inquiry function:

Matches are displayed in succession, edit a single field, or delete the entire record:

Module 6 – Sort Library

Sort asks which field you want to sort on, then for a confirmation.  This also reclaims space from deleted records:

Module 7 – Run Program

Only useful for BASIC programs, this allows you to run a BASIC program, provided you know the name of it.  It will find the disk number if it has been cataloged, then tell you to insert that particular disk.  Press Y to confirm and run:

The program STARLANE.BAS running after being executed from Diskette Librarian:

Diskette Librarian uses Atari DOS 2.0.  The contents of the disk can be seen in this screenshot:

The files on the program disk are:

For cataloged disks, the file DISK.CAT is added which has the volume label in it.

The catalog consists of records 62 bytes in length.  Byte 62 is a delimiter (or delete flag).

Storage is approximately 1100 records with both DOS and DUP on the diskette.  Removing DUP will increase capacity to approximately 1200 records.

OCR’d Manual (with format corrections, original page content and numbers intact) download

Podcast: Download

This episode features Typo Attack, originally released in 1982 by APX.  It was programmed by David Buehler, a seventeen year old high school junior.  It was the winner of the APX Star Award earning David $25,000.