Atari 400 User manual

BY

THE

EDITORS

OF

CONSUMER

GUIDE

®

THE

USER'S

GUIDE

TO

400

·

800

·

1200XL

COMPUTERS,

SOFTWARE,

& PERIPHERALS

BEEKMAN

HOUSE

New

York

by

Publications International, Ltd.

All

rights reserved.

This

book may

not

be reproduced

or

quoted

in

whole

or

in

part

by

mimeograph

or

any

other

printed means

or

for

presentation

on

radio, television,

videotape,

or

film

without

written

permission from:

Louis Weber. President

Publications International, Ltd.

3841 West

Oakton

Street

Skokie, Illinois

60076

Permission

is

never granted for commercial purposes.

Manufactured in the United States

of

America

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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I

Library

of

Congress Catalog Card

Number

:83-62113

ISBN:

0-517-41448-1

This edition published by:

Beekman House

Distributed

by

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Publisher

s,

Inc.

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Park

Avenue

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York,

New

York

I

00

16

Writer:Arlan

R.

Levitan

Educational Consultant: Fred D'ignazio

Design:

Jeff

Hapner

Photography:Donna

Preis

and George

Siede

The prices listed

in

this

book

were accurate at the time

of

printing; prices are subject

to

change.

I

CONTENTS \

CHAPTER

1

WELCOME

TO

HOME

COMPUTING

By

using this book

to

learn about

your

system, you

will

be well on the

way

to

many happy

hours

of

home computing.

CHAPTER

2

GETTING STARTED

You'll learn about

what

you

need

to

assemble

your

basic computer system.Then you'll

go

step-by-step through the details

of

setting

it

up.

CHAPTER

3

MEET

THE

KEYS

Each

and every key on

your

keyboard

is

presented here, complete

with

exercises

to

teach

you

how

the keys

work

. Detailed photographs

show

you

how

your

screen

will

look

as

you

work

through the

exercises.

CHAPTER

4

PERIPHERALS-

EXPANDING

YOUR

SYSTEM

So

you

want

your

new

system

to

do

even more for

you?

Here's the background informa-

tion you need

to

decide

what

additional equipment

you

might

want

to

buy

CHAPTERS

SOFTWARE

Software programs also expand

your

system's capabilities. Here are some software pack-

ages

you

might

use

forvarious kinds

of

purposes.

CHAPTER

6

YOUR

COMPUTER'S

NETWORK

Many resources are available

to

help

you

get the most from

your

computer system.

You

can

share

all

sorts

of

information

with

other computer users and

with

national information

banks

as

well.

4

6

14

58

65

76

CHAPTER 1

WELCOME

TO

HOME

COMPUTING

Now

that

you

are the proud

owner

of

an Atari

home computer, congratulate yourself!A home

computer can eliminate a

lot

of

the drudgery

associated w

ith

manytypes

of

paperwork, such

as

writing

reports and keeping finances in order.

In addition,

your

Atari home computer can pro-

vide

your

entire family

with

stimulating enter-

tainment. In

fact

since the computer can per-

form all sorts

of

different functions, it's very likely

that

every member

of

your

family

will

be

drawn

to

some aspect

of

computing.

You

will

find

that

it

is

easy

to

use

your

Atari

home computer. A home computer

is

designed

so

that

long, difficult instructions and various

secret passwords are completely unnecessary

When you

want

to

use

your

computer for a spe-

cific purpose, such

as

typing a letter, balancing

your

checkbook, orsimply playing a game, all

you

have

to

do

is

buy

the appropriate program

(a

set

of

instructions already created foryou)

that

will

set

up

your

computer for the purpose

you

need. Onceyou are more familiar

with

your

computer,

you

may

want

to

create

your

own

simple programs. For example, you may

want

to

create a program

that

will

draw

pictures, or

graphics, on the screen.

This

is

easy

to

do once

you

know

the simple instructions, or commands,

to

use.

For the most

part

however,

it

isn't necessary

to

learn

how

to

program or

to

know

any electron-

ics

theories in order

to

use

and enjoy

your

Atari.

As

you

use

the

Atari from

day

to

day,

you

will

feel more and more comfortable

working

with

computers, and

you

will

learn aboutthe many

ways

that

your

computer can simplify

your

work

.

This User's Guidew i

ll

help

you

get

started using

your

Atari home computer.

You

will

learn

about

the basic components

of

your

computer,

how

to

hook

it

up, and

how

to

use

the keyboard

to

communicate

with

it. In addition,

you'll

learn

about

otherpieces

of

equipment

that

can en-

hance

your

computer and

about

the software

programs

that

allow

you

to

use

the computer in

different ways.

Soon

you

will

feel

like a

real

com-

puter expert!

Before

we

begin, take a

few

minutes

to

learn

about

several

of

Atari home

computers-one

of

which

you

now

own.

4

MEET

THE

ATARI

LINE

OF

HOME

COMPUTERS

All ofthe Atari home computers have a

few

things in common. When

you

use

an Atari com-

puter,

you

type

messages

to

the computer on

the keyboard.

These

messages-yours

to

the

computer and the computer's back

to

you-

appear right on the TV screen or monitor that

is

hooked

up

to

it.

One

of

the main differences in the types

of

com-

puters

is

how

much each

can

do. A computer

contains a certain number

of

memory

chips,

which

allow

it

to

store information. For com-

puters, memory

is

measured in units called bytes.

Each

byte holds one character (letter, number, or

symbol) ofinformation. One kilobyte, or Kas it

is

commonly called,

is

equal

to

approximately

1,000

bytes

of

memory. For example, if

your

com-

putercomes

with

16K

of

memory, this means

that

it

can

store approximately 16,000 characters

of

information

at

one time.

Different types

of

Atari computers come

with

different amounts

of

memory.The larger the

amount

of

memory, the more the computercan

do. In

fact

some

of

the more complex programs

you can buy for

your

computer require a certain

amount

of

memory in order

to

work

properly.

You

can buy additional units ofmemory for

your

computer ifyou need more, which

you

will learn

about later in this guide. Let's take a look at the

Atari models 400, 800, and 1200XL.

Atari

400

The

Atari 400 was introduced in late

1979.

The

first units made contained

8K

or

16K

of

memory,

while the latest models made contain

16K.

The

400 features a

flat

touch-sensitive membrane

keyboard, rather than one more like an electric

typewriter. (A membrane keyboard

is

one

that

has

a flat surface instead

of

raised keys.) While

the 400's membrane keyboard

is

not

great for

touch-typing or entering long program listings,

it

does have some advantages: since the key-

board

is

asealed flat surface,

it

is

fairly imper-

vious

to

the attacks

of

small children and

is

very

easy

to

clean.

Electrically speaking, the 400

is

almost identical

to

the more expensive Atari

800

.Even if

you

have

no

plans

to

get

into a more complicated

system

with

more accessories, the Atari 400

makes a terrific game cartridge system.

Atari

800

The

Atari 800, introduced at the

same

time

as

the 400, offers greater

ease

of

expandability

(adding equipment

to

the computer) and

use

. Its

full-stroke keyboard makes typing a pleasure.

Although the first models were offered

with

8K

or

16K

of

memory, Atari eventually made 48K

of

memory standard

with

the

800

computer.This

larger memory allows

you

to

run longer and

more complex programs.

The

800

is

the onlyAtari computer

with

two

cartridge slots.Atari'soriginal plans were for

some programs

to

use

both

slots,

but

a

way

to

get bigger programs

into

one cartridge was dis-

covered and

no

two-cartridgeAtari programs

were ever released.

The

800

has

some nice features.

The

system ex-

pansion slots,

which

make

it

possible

to

use

some specialized devices

with

the computer, can

be

easily reached

by

removing the

top

cover.

It

is

also

possible

to

hook

up the

800

computer

to

yourstereo (which makes for

truly

powerful

sound!), and the

800

will

hook

directly

into

a

color video

monitor

(which can give

you

a

bit

sharper picture than most regular televisions).

Atari

1200XL

The

Atari 1200XL was the first

of

the Atari XL

line.The 1200XL has nice styling and a very

good keyboard.

It

comes

with

64K

of

memory-

asuitable amount for many purp

oses

.

SOFTWARE

PROGRAMS

YOU

CAN

BUY

As mentioned earlier, aprogram

is

aset of in-

structions

that

tells the computer

to

do

some-

thing.

You

can either create a program yourself

by

using a computer language (such

as

BASIC),

oryou can

buy

a program

that

someone

else

has

already created. For the more complicated tasks

that a computer can perform, most people find

it

easier

to

buy

already-made programs.

Once someone has made a program, the pro-

gram

is

stored on a computer software medium,

such

as

a cartridge, a cassette tape, or a diskette

(which

you

will

learn

about

later in this guide).

The

program can then be used again and again

byanyone

who

has

a copy

of

this software.

This

is

what

you

buy

when

you

purchase a program

that someone

else

has

created.

There

is

a

wide

variety

of

programs available for

Atari home computers.

You

can

buy

a software

program

that

enables

you

to

use

your

computer

as

an

advanced electronic

typewriter

. In fact. this

type

of

program, called a

word

processing pro-

gram, lets

you

do

much more than

you

could

with

a regular

typewriter

. For example,

word

processing software lets

you

create a document

-let

'ssay a

letter-then

move

part

of

the letter

to

a different location.

You

might

want

to

move

the third paragraph

to

where

the eighth para-

graph

is

located.

Or

,

you

may

want

to

delete a

few

lines

of

tex

t.

On

your

Atari computer,

you

do

all this before

you

ever

print

the letter on a

sheet

of

paper!

Other

software programs let

you

use

the com-

puter

as

a huge, electronic spreadsheet.

You

can

set

up

your

finances on one

of

these spread-

sheets-then

let the computer perform the cal-

culations for

you!

And,

of

course, let's

not

forget the numerous

game software

you

can

buy.

You

will

spend

hours

at

a time

with

your

computer

when

you

can use

it

as

an entertainment and relaxation

too/.

You

will

learn more about game software

and

other

software programs in Chapter

5,

"Software."

COMPUTER

LANGUAGES

A computerlanguage

is

a group

of

words

(called

commands)

which

you

can

use

to

instruct the

computer

to

perform a task. While there are

many computer languages, one

of

the most

common and easiest languages

to

use

is

called

BASIC.

You

can

buy

a software cartridge

that

contains

the

BASIC

language

for

your

Atari 400,

800,

or

1200XL.

You

can insert the

BASIC

cart-

ridge directly

into

your

computer

when

you

want

to

do

some programming

of

your

own

.

Once

you

are much more familiar

with

pro-

gramming,

you

may

want

to purchase a differ-

ent

language

(a

differentset

of

commands) for

your

computer. There are other languages avail-

able, some

of

which

are more useful in different

applications. But

at

this point.

you

do

not

need

to

concern yourself

too

much

with

languages

and

programming-especially

since there are

so

many already-created programs

that

you

can

buy

and

use.

COMPUTER

LITERACY

One

of

the most important benefits

of

personal

computing

is

achieving computer literacy. Com-

puter

literacysimply means being familiar

with

computers and

knowing

how

to

use

computers

as

tools

to

perform tasks foryou.

What

we

should be concerned

about

is

how

people use computers.

You

can

use

a hammer

as

a tool

to

build

or

tear

down

things. Understand-

ing

that

computers are simply more sophisti-

cated tools used

by

people-including yourself

-will

help

you

to

feel comfortable using com-

puters

as

constructive tools

that

can help sim-

plify

many

of

your

everyday tasks.

Are

you

ready

to

learn

how

to

set

up

and

use

your

computer? Then, let's beginI

5

CHAPTER 2

GETTING

STARTED

All you need

to

start computing

is

an Atari com-

puter, a TV set

or

monitor (preferably color), and

software.

You

may also have purchased some

sort

of

device

to

load programs into the com-

puter

(such

as

a cassette recorder or a disk drive)

or

some controllers for playing games (such

as

joysticks

or

paddles).

If

you

are interested in

learning more

about

various types

of

equipment

(called peripherals)

that

you

can

use

with

your

computer,

see

Chapter 4, "Peripherals."

YOU

NEED

A

TV

OR

MONITOR

It's likely

that

you

already

own

a TV set

that

you

can

use

with

your

Atari computer. In most

cases,

any color

or

black-and-white set

will

work

fine

as

a video display for

your

games

or

other

pro-

grams.

The

only

problem

you

may run

into

is

called excessive overscan. If

it

becomes evident

that

you

aren't

seeing a

lot

of

the edges

of

the

video image

your

computer

is

generating and

the TV

is

hooked up properly,

you

have an over-

scan problem.This sometimes occurs in older TV

sets, and there's

not

much

you

can

do

about

it

otherthan buying a

new

TV All

TVs

have some

overscan; however;

if

the overscan starts

to

interfere

with

playing games

or

using other

types

of

programs,

you

may

want

to

consider

replacing

your

TV

Whether

you

use a color

or

a black-and-white

TV

or

monitor

should depend on

your

needs.

While color TVs

or

monitors make the best use

of

Atari'scolor capabilities,

you

may find a black-

and-white

screen easier on the

eyes

for reading

a lot

of

text (such

as

in

word

processing

or

for

many business

uses).

In addition,

when

using a

one-colorscreen,

you

have the option

to

display

more characters across the screen.

To

learn

more

about

these features,

see

Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

6

YOU

NEED

SOFTWARE

If

you

use

your

Atari computer

by

itself,

you

are

using the computer's

hardware

.When

you

use

a

program

that

is

not

in the computer itself,

you

are using asoftware program. In addition,

when

you

want

to

save a program

or

other

type

of

document

that

you

have created,

you

store

it

on as

oftware

medium.

Softwa

re

comes stored in three formats: car-

tridge, cassette,and diskette.

The

software for-

mat

you

use

will depend

upon

your

needs and

the availability

of

the programs

you

wish

to

pur-

chase

in a particular format.

The

types

of

soft-

ware programs available are discussed in detail

in Chapter

5,

"Software." Right

now

,

we'll

dis-

cus

sthe three available formats

of

software and

any equipment necessary in order

to

use a par-

ticular format.

Cartridges

A cartridge contains electronic chips in which a

program

is

stored.

To

use

a cartridge-based pro-

gram,

no

special equipment

is

generally re-

quired; the cartridge plugs

right

into

your

Atari

computer.A cartridge program usuallycannot

be altered,

is

completely self-contained, and

is

automatically loaded

into

your

computer's mem-

ory

when

you

turn on

your

computer.

Cartridge programs are very reliable and rarely

ever

go

bad. Their principal drawbacks are

that

they are limited in the size

of

the programs they

can hold and are usually a

bit

more expensive

than cassette-

or

diskette-based software.

You

can't store

your

own

programs

or

other

files

that

you

create on a cartridge, either.

To

store

your

own

work,

you

will

need

to

use

a blank

cassette

or

diskette.

Cassettes

There are manysoftware programs available in

the cassette format.

You

can also

buy

blank

cas-

settes on which

to

store

your

own

work.

While a cartridge-based program

is

loaded

directly into the computer,

you

will

need a

cas-

sette recorder

to

load a cassette-based program

from the cassette

into

the computer's memory. In

comparison

to

the peripheral needed

to

load a

diskette-based program

(a

disk drive), a cassette

recorder

is

the least expensive type

of

data stor-

age and retrieval device available

for

Atari home

computers.However,

while

they

are

low

in cost

(about

S100

or

less)

, cassette recorders are very

slow

compared

to

disk drives and usually are

not

as

reliable. They also tend

to

be more prone

to

errors in loading programs.

You

must

use

an

Atari program recorder

if

you

want

to

use

cas-

sette s

oftware

. Atari recorders are discussed

in more detail in Chapter 4, "Peripherals."

Diskettes

A diskette, also

known

as

a disk, or

floppy

disk,

is

a round, thin sheet ofplastic, coated

with

magnetic oxide similar

to

the coating on a

cas-

sette tape.

This

sheet

is

sealed in a

jacket

to

protect

it

from dust and dirt. When

you

buy a

diskette-based program, the program

is

stored

on the magnetic material inside the

non-

removablejacket.

While diskette-based programs are usually more

expensive than cassette-based programs, disk-

ettes have certain advantages

over

cassettes.

Loading a program from a disk drive

is

much

faster-and

far more

accurate-than

loading a

program from a cassette recorder. In addition,

there are many more programs available on disk-

ette than cassette.Also,

when

you

store

your

own

work,

you

can store many programs (de-

pending on theirsize) on a diskette,

as

opposed

to

the recommended one program on each side

ofacassette. If

you

will

be creating

your

own

programs,

or

if

you

will

be saving files such

as

letters and reports,

you

will

find diskettes

cheaper and more manageable than cassettes.

To

use

a diskette-based program,

you

need a

disk drive.

At

present, disk drives are relatively

expensive (over $300);

however

, the speed and

versatility

of

a disk drive

unit

makes using

your

computer a

lot

easier and more enjoyable. The

ability

to

quickly

access

information makes a disk

drive a must

if

you

intend

to

use

your

computer

for medium

to

large data base applications,

extensive

word

processing programs, or other

business applications.Disk drives are discussed

in more detail in Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

WHERE TO SET

UP

Before

you

unpack

your

equipment, think

about

where

you

'

ll

want

to

work

with

your

computer

system. If

you

are using a large TV set

('7

inches

or

more diagonally),

you

'

ll

want

to

place the

computer console (the

part

containing the key-

board) a reasonable distance from the TV screen.

Don't

put

it

in aspot

where

you'll

have

to

move

everything

when

you

want

to

watch

a regular

television program. For convenience,

you

may

even need

to

consider purchasing a small color

set

to

use

only

with

your

computer.

Reasonably priced and attractive furniture

is

now

widely

available

for

housing home com-

putersystems. While a regular desk may

do

just

fine, furniture designed especially for computer

systems

will

usually have holes for routing

cables and special shelves for specific pieces

of

computer gear.

At

the

very

least, be sure

to

have

your

computerconsole resting

on

a firm, flat

surface.

ELECTRICAL CONSIDERATIONS

If

you

have a number

of

things

that

need

to

be

plugged

into

electrical outlets, count them.

To

make

your

setup

as

safe

as

possible,

don't

string

electrical extension cords

everywhere;

instead,

purchase a UL-approved multiple AC outlet

strip.

This

will

minimize the number

of

wall out-

lets

you

use for

your

computer and generally

keep things neat.

WHAT

COMES WITH YOUR COMPUTER?

In the box

you

should find the

following

items:

• Your Atari computer console (the

part

with

the

keyboard)

•

An

AC adapter for the computer console (the

heavy little box

with

two

cords sticking

out

of

it)

• A TV switch box (the smaller

lightweight

box

with

one flat cable sticking

out

of

it)

•

An

Owner's

Guide (and possiblysome other

books

or

papers)

The next

few

pages

will

show

you

how

to

set

up

your

computer.

7

STEP 5 1300

ohm)

10

HOOKING THE

TV

SET

10

THE

COMPUTER CONSOLE

STEP 1

Unplug

your

N

set.

STEP 2

Locate the connector (or connectors) on the

back

of

the set labeled

VHF.

Remove the cable

connected there (you may need ascrewdriver

for this).

STEP 3

Attach the cable labeled N on the switch box

to

the screws labeled VHF on

your

N

set.

STEP 4

Check

whether

the cable

you

have

just

dis-

connected

is

thick and round (75 ohm)

or

flat

(300 ohm).

STEPS

Attach the cable

to

the N switch

bo

x

at

the

points labeled 75 ohm or

300

ohm (depending

on

which

type

of

cable

you

have).

STEP 6

Ifthe cable

you

disconnected in Step 2 was a 75

ohm (thick and round) cable,

you

must set

your

N

to

accept a 300 ohm signal.

See

your

N

Owner's

Manual for instructions on

how

to

set

your

television for a 300 ohm antenna.

STEP

7

Set

the switch on the switch box

to

TV

to

watch

regular television.

To

use

your

computer, set the

switch

to

COMPUTER.

Slide

the switch

to

COM-

PUTER

now.

STEPS

Set

your

computer console

where

you

plan to be

using it. Locate the switch on the computer

labeled CHANNEL and set

it

at

2

or

3.

Set

it

for

whichever channel

is

not

used

by

a TV station in

your

area

;if

both

are used, set

it

for the

weaker

of

the

two

stations.

STEP

9

Turn

the channel selector on

your

TV set

to

the

same

channel

(2

or

3).

STEP

10

Connect the signal cable from the back

of

your

computer

to

the TV switch box plug labeled

COMPUTER.

STEP"

The

TV

switch box

is

intended

to

be per-

manently positioned on the back

of

your

TV

set.

It

has a piece

of

sticky-backed tape

to

hold it in

place.

Peel

the backing

off

the tape and place

the box firmly on

your

TV

set.

STEP

12

Plug

your

TV set in. Make sure the

switch

bo

x

is

set

to

COMPUTER and the TV

is

turned

to

chan-

nel2

or 3.

STEP 7

11

12

CONNECTING

THE

COMPUTER

CONSOLE

TO

ELECTRICITY

STEP 1

Make sure the

power

switches on all

of

your

equipment are set

to

OFF.

STEP 2

Plug the AC

power

adapter for the system con-

sole into a

wall

plug or

outlet

strip.

STEP 3

Plug the small plug on the end

of

its other cord

i

nto

the hole marked POWER

IN

on the

right

side

of

the computer console. (

On

the Atari 400

the connector goes

to

aslot marked JACK.)

Now

you

'

re

ready

to

turn the system on and

get

to

work

(or play). In Chapter 3,

we

'

ll

give

you

some exercises

to

help

you

learn the keyboard.

If

you

have anyproblems,

your

Atari manual

contains a troubleshooting guide,

but

the most

common problems are loose connectors.

HOOKING

THE

ATARI

810

OR

ATARI1050

DISK

DRIVE

10

THE

COMPUTER

CONSOLE

STEP 1

Place

the disk drive next

to

your

computer con-

sole. Make sure

that

the chart on the back

of

the

disk drive

says

DRIVE CODE

NO

. J (assuming

that

this

is

your

first disk drive).

STEP 2

Locate the wedge-shaped connectors on each

end

of

the black three-foot long I/O (Inpu

t!

Output)

cord

that

came in the box

with

your

disk drive.

STEP 3

Insert one

of

the wedge-shaped connectors

into

one

of

the wedge-shaped holes labeled

I/O

CONNECTORS in the back

of

your

disk drive.

Either hole

wi"

do.

STEP 4

Insert the otherwedge-shaped connector into

the wedge-shaped hole labeled

PERIPHERAL

on

your

computer console.

This

hole

is

on the right

side

of

the 400 and

800

models and on the back

of

the J200XL

HOOKING

THE

ATARI

410

OR

ATARI1010

CASSETTE

PROGRAM

RECORDER

10

THE

COMPUTER

CONSOLE

STEP 1

Insert the wedge-shaped

I/O

(Input/Output)

plug on the end

of

the cord coming

out

of

your

computer

into

the hole labeled

PERIPHERAL

on

your

computer console.

This

hole

is

on the right

side of the 400 and

800

models and on the back

of

the J200XL model. (If

you

are also using a disk

drive, plug the wedge-shaped connector on the

cas

sette program recorder

into

the second I/O

hole on the back

of

your

disk drive.)

STEP 2

If

you

have an Atari

JOJO

cassette program re-

corder, plug the second wedge-shaped con-

nector into

tile

back

of

the recorder.

I

~

~"

''''llfrrrrr((((fII@

~

STEP 3

STEP 4

13

LET'S

GET

ST

ARTED

The

keyboard

is

an essential

part

of

all com-

puters, including

your

Atari.

The

computer com-

municates

with

you

by

creating sound and

graphics on

your

TV

set.

You

communicate

with

the computer

by

typing on the computer con-

sole's keyboard. Using the computer keyboard

is

aseasy

as

typing

a letter to a friend on a type-

writer, and

the

effect

is

the same-an exchange

of information takes place. Once

you

learn a

few

simple tricks

about

using the keyboard, using

your

computer

will

be easier than

you

may

think.

Take

a look at the keyboard on

your

Atari.

It

looks very much like a normal

typewriter

key-

board.

The

letter keys are arranged in the stan-

dard layout called OWERTY

This

name

is

derived from the letters on the leftside

of

the

upper

row

of

letter keys

(0,

W,

E,

R,

T,

and

Y).

In

addition

to

the letter keys, the keyboard

has

a

row

of

number keys

at

the top, a

SPACEBAR

at

the

bottom

,

two

SHIFT

keys (one on each side

of

the

SPACEBAR),

various punctuation symbols (to

the right

of

the alphabet keys), and a

RETURN

key.

There are some other keys

not

found on a type-

writer

:the editing keys

(CLEAR,

INSERT,

BACK

SPACE

/

DELETE),

the

BREAK

key.

the

CONTROL

key,

and some unusual keys labeled

ESC

and

TAB

.

ON

THE

400

AND

800, there

is

a

set

of

four keys on the right side.

ON

THE

1200XL, a

group

of

keys runs across the

top

of

the keyboard.All these keys

do

special things

that

you

will

learn

about

in this chapter.

18

USING

THE

KEYBOARD

IF

YOU HAVE

AN

ATARI400

OR

800

,

you

can

type

on

the keyboard

(without

using asoftware

program)

by

using the

Memo

Pad

Mode. (Mode

simply means a particular method

of

operation.)

On

the 400 and

800

,

you

get

the

Memo

Pad

Mode

by

turning

off

all peripherals (if

you

have

any) and removing any cartridges; then

when

you

turn

the computer on, the computer

is

auto-

matically in

Memo

Pad

Mode

.

Another

way

to

use the keyboard

ON

AN

ATARI

400

OR

800

is

to

insert theAtari

BASIC

language cartridge.

The

BASIC

cartridge lets

you

use

BASIC

commands and modifies some

of

the

functions

of

the keyboard.

IF

YOU HAVE A 1200XL,

you

cannot type on the

keyboard unless

you

have inserted either asoft-

ware program or the

BASIC

language cartridge.

The

1200XL does

not

automatically have a

Memo

Pad

Mode

when

you

turn

on

the com-

puter. If

you

want

to

type on the keyboard

with-

out

using a software program,

you

must insert

the

BASIC

language cartridge.

Atari 400 User manual

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