Power Typing

If you are a good typist, and if you have a large amount of text to enter, power typing is for you! Power typing is another kind of input mode. The advantage of using power typing is that you can type continuously, as if the screen were one long line. You do not have to be concerned with line length or word length. You can start typing a word on one line of the screen and finish it on the next. In fact, if you are a skilled typist, you do not even have to look at the screen. When you reach the end of a line, the cursor automatically moves to the beginning of the next line. It is like having an automatic carriage return on a typewriter.

To enter power typing mode, enter the POWERINP command. Its format is:

POWerinp

Let us create a file to practice power typing. Follow the logon procedure if you are not already logged on.

Then enter:

x marigold story

We want the data to be entered in the file in both capital and lowercase letters, so enter:

====> set case m

Now enter:

====> pow

Notice that the entire screen is available for typing. The cursor is positioned at the top of the screen. That is where you should start typing the following data. If you come to the end of a line and you are in the middle of a word, just keep on typing. The cursor will move to the beginning of the next line. Later, you will see that the editor adjusts the text so that only full words are on each line.

If you want a sentence to begin on a new line, you must precede it with a pound/number sign (#). It will not appear in your file. It simply tells the editor to start that text on a new line. Now type the following information.

Marigolds are annual plants.  They are fast growing and quick to produce plentif
ul flowers.  They do not survive over the winter season in most climates.  Each
year new plants must be started from seeds.#Marigolds produce a profusion of blo
oms in color ranging from light yellow to deep rust.  Some marigold varieties ha
ve flowers with two or more colors within the bloom.#Many gardeners use marigold
s as border or bedding plants for continuous summer color.  Marigolds also make
excellent cut flowers.

You could fill the entire screen if you wanted to. When you run out of space on the screen, simply press Enter, and more typing room will be provided for you. When you want to stop power typing, press Enter twice. Do that now.

Then enter:

====> top

Your screen looks like this:

 MARIGOLD STORY    A1  F 80  Trunc=80 Size=8 Line=0 Col=1 Alt=8










===== * * * Top of File * * *
      |...+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+....7...
===== Marigolds are annual plants.  They are fast growing and quick to produce
===== plentiful flowers.  They do not survive over the winter season in most
===== climates.  Each year new plants must be started from seeds.
===== Marigolds produce a profusion of blooms in color ranging from light
===== yellow to deep rust.  Some marigold varieties have flowers with two or
===== more colors within the bloom.
===== Many gardeners use marigolds as border or bedding plants for continuous
===== summer color.  Marigolds also make excellent cut flowers.
===== * * * End of File * * *
====> _
                                                            X E D I T  1 File

As you can see, the editor has adjusted the text so that only full words are on each line. And the sentences you preceded with a pound sign each begin on a new line.

You can use power typing mode at any time during an editing session by entering the POWERINP command. The data entered using power typing is inserted after the current line, as it is when you use the INPUT command. When you enter POWERINP, the current line of your file is displayed as the top line on the power typing screen, but you cannot type over it.

If you want to insert characters or spaces in a line while you are using power typing, just press the insert mode key. You do not have to press the PA2 key, as you did when in regular input mode or edit mode. Remember to press RESET when you are finished using insert mode.