Atari Portfolio User manual

IIt ATARI'
/l\coueurrn
Portfolio
THE SUPER ORGANIZER
Owner's Manual

LA. .ny ol6ctrrcal appllanc6. lhe Alari Portlolio compuler uses and floduces
rrdlo.lroquoncy Energy. ll not 'nstalled and used according to the lnsrucrons,n
lhl! manual, lhe oquipmenl may cause interlerence wlth your hdio and/or
llyou belleve lhal lhis oquipmenl l. causing interlerence, try swltching it on and
oll. ll rhs inlglle,6nco problem srops wh€n lho 6qurpmenr is swilched ott, lhen h€
€qulpmenl is probably causlng lhe problem. With tho equlpm€nl ssitched on you
may bo able lo corecl lhe problemby tryinO on€ or more ot lhe toltowano
. Adjusl the posilion ol lhe radio or relevision antenna.
. Feposilion lhs equipmeni ln relafon ro the radio or rel€vlsron set.
. Plu0 the equipmenr inro a dillerent walloutlet so that lhe oqutpmenl and ihe
radio or lelevision sst ars connecled to dille.ent ranch clrcults.
llnocossary. consull you Atari compuler rolader or an expen€nced radlo
lelevision lechnici€n lor addillonal sussestions
A helplul resource is a booklet prepared by the Federal Communacallons Con-
mlssion (Fcc)t /nte//ere!1ce Han&ook rh,s booklet is avairabre trom the U.S.
Govornmenl Prinrlng Ollice, Washinslon, Dc 20t02, Slock No. 004-000-00450-7.
WABNING: This oquipmonl h.s bo€n ce.rilied ro comply xlth th€ llmlts
ol a Class B cohpuring deyice, pursuant to Subpart J ol Part t5 ol the
Fcc rules. Thsso rulos aro do8igned to provld€ reasonable protection
a0ainsl such lnterlerence rhen rhe equipment is usod in a resldentlal
serling. Horever, lhere is no guarants. lhal lnt€rlorenc€ f,ill nor occur
in a pa.licular home or .osldence, Only ihe compurinC devices that
have been certllled lo complt, rirh rhe class B limitE mey be attachod
to rhis equipmenl. Operalion ol noncorlalied dcyices ullh thls
equlpmenl ls llkoly ro rosull ln lnGrlerence ylrh radio and teleyision
reception- shielded cables musl be used on all llo connocloB;
olherwaso. radlo emisslon may erceed Class B limils. chenges or
modilicalions nol expressl! approved by Atari Corporation could void
lhe user's aulhorily to operale lhe equipmenl.
Every ellorl has been made lo ensure lhe ac.uracy ol lhe producl documenlalion
in lhis manual. However, because Alari coporalion is conslanlly improving and
updaling lts computq hardware and sollware, it is unable lo quara.lee lhe
ac.ura.y ol prinled malerial alld lhe date ol publication and disclaims liabilily lo.
changes, erors. or omissjons.
Reproduction ol all or any porlions ollhis manualas nol allowed without lhe
specllic wrirlen consenr ol atad coQorarlon.
Alari, lho Alari looo, and Po lolio ar€ lrademarks or regislsred lradema,ks ol Atan
Corporallon. IBM ls a lrademark ol lnlerhatlonal Buslness Machines Corp. Lolus
l-2.3 is a lrademark ol Lolus Developmenl Corporalion MS_DoS is a regislered
lradomark ol Microsoll Co.po.alion.
Jll.ATARI'
Copynghl O 1991, AlarlCoporalion
Sonnyv!16, CA 91089.1302 Allrishls reserved.

IIt ATARI'
/l\coruflnER
Portfolio
THE SUPER ORcnrurzeR
Owner's Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCING THE POBTFOLIO ,,
Using th;s lVanual
(eyboard lnlormalron...
Special Notatons. .... ..
Selllng Up Your Syslem
lnsralllng rhe Barlefles.
Switch'ng Your Portlolio On and OIL........... ...
Swilching On .... ..........
Swilching Oll .. ..
CHAPTEB TWO:
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
How Your Porilolio Works
Memory
Operaling Syslem
and Buili-jn Applications
Memory Cards
CHAPTER THREE:
HOW TO GET AROUND
7
11
11
11
12
12
15
Basic Skills Tutorial .... ........... 15
Special KeysandModes........ ................................. 17
lAta,ilKey .................... ................................... 17
[FnIKey................................................................. 18
llockl Key... ..................... 18
Shilt 1ock.......................................................... 18
NumLock..........................-.........-.................... 1s
ScrollLock..........-.............................................. 1g
lnserl Mode ................ ...................................... 19
Keyslroke Combinations...............-....-..................... 19
The Numeric Keypad...........................................-... 20

CHAPTER FOUR:
FILE MANAGER, BASIC FUNCTIONS
File Manager Screen....... .. . ...
Files and Filenames... .... .... . .
Wildcard Characlers
Direclories.....
ldenlrlyrnqDirectories......... ... ..
Paihnames.
Displaying a Directo.y.. ..
Open,nq FiLes
Openrnq a B,rilt-in Applicanon cr,e
Ope.rng a Program F le ...
Openrng an App,rcalron Dala trile ..
N4anipulating Files ...
Selecting. .......... .. ...
Selectlng a Srngle Frle
Seleclrng AllFJes ln a Direclory
Selecling a GIoLp ol Files
Tagging.........
Untaqqinq.
Tagging and Uniagging Usino Wilcards ......
Frles Menu...........
copy...........
Enlenng a Targel Localion . ...
Using Palhnames in the Ta[gel Prompl .......
copyrng a Si,lgle ltem.
Copyrng a Tagged Gro.rp ...... .
Rename
Show lType).. .. ...........
21
21
22
23
24
25
25
26
26
26
27
27
28
28
29
29
29
30
31
32
32
33
34
35
36
37
3S

CHAPTEH FIVE:
FILE MANAGER, OTHEH FUNCTIONS
New Dflve
Make D'recrory
Creating a Subdireclory on lhe Currenlly
Selecred Dnve and Drreclory .. .. ...
Creating a Subdirectory on a Direclory
Olher lhan the Cufienlly Selected Direciory . ......
Check Dish..
Formal A: .
Label ..... ..
Trme/Dale
CHAPTER SIX:
BUILT-IN APPLICATIONS,
COMMON FUNCTIONS ,,, ,,,, ,,, ,,
Frle Handling
F les Menu
New .. .....
Load .. ....
Save As .... .. .... . ..
N,4erge....
Write Selected
41
41
42
43
43
44
44
45
46
47
47
48
49
49
50
52
53
54
The Clipboard

CHAPTEFI SEVEN:
BUILT-IN APPLICATIONS,
TNTRODUCTTON ..................... 55
Address Book ................ ... 55
Creating an Address Book Fi|e....... .................... 56
Lrne Mode/Page Mode
Aod.nq ano Deretrng Cards .. ...
D aling ..
58
58
59
60
Diary
Creatng a Diary File 61
Selling the Alarm .. . ... .. ... . .. 63
Ediior 64
Crealrnq a Text File
Settrng tne Brghr Margin .... ...
Changrng Modes {l,1serl/Overtype)
Setup .. .....
CalcuLalor .. ... .. ..
Workrheer
Sellrng Column Widlh .. ....
Nam ng Colu.nn Headels
Enleflng Dala .. .. ..... ..
Enlering FormLLas
CHAPTER EIGHT:
PERIPHERALS
AC Adaplo{ .. .... ..
65
65
66
6?
6S
7A
71
72
74
77
77
67
67
67
Smart Parallel lnterlace
Serial lnterlace
PC Card Dnve
CHAPTER NINE:
oUESTIONS and ANSWERS
CUSTOMER SUPPORT 85

CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCING THE PORTFOLIO
Welcome to lhe convenience and powe, ol the Alari Porifolio.
lnslead ot ca(ying a calculalor, dalebook, and address book,
you have it all in your Portlolio. And in the same package, you
have a powerlul MS-DOS command compalible personal
compLiler wilh buill-in spreadsheel and word processing
applications-all in a palmtop porlable no bigger than a VHS
video cassetle lape.
Porliolio computers come siandard wilh the lollowing:
. An 80C88 4.92 MHz processor.
. An 8line, 4o-column LCD screen display.
. 128K of RAM.
. 256K ol ROM (used lor the operating syslem and buall-in
appljcations).
. Six burlt-ln apphcations (Worksheet. Edrtor Drary Address
Book. Calculator, and Setup)
. A buill-in memory card drive (lor RAlvl and ROM cards).
. Porl lor connecling a smart parallel interlace, a serial
interlace. or other peripherals.
. Three 1.5 AA batteries.
. The Porllolio File t\4anager and Tulorial sollwale, conlaihed
on a single BOIV card.
USING THIS MANUAL
This manual explains in clear, nonlechnical language lhe
basic inlormalion you need lo gel starled usinq your Portlolio.
Alter you become lamiliar with the computer. use lhis manual
as a telerence guide io individual procedures and specilic
inlormation.
This manual is a guide to basic operation oi your Porliolio
and buill-in applicaiions using lhe File lvanager shell program.

The manual's design, conienl, and layout were chosen to
help you easily (amilianze yoursell wrlh lhe super organ,zer
leaiures of your Porllolio. Bul because lhe Porllolio is also
a lrue compuler, olher manuals are available from Alari
Compuler Corporaljon lo help you masler lhe complex and
powerul DOS commands, and lhe advanced iunctions ol lhe
built-in applications.
A summaty ol each manual seclion lollows
Chapter One: Introducing lhe Portfolio lamiliarizes you
wiih the Portlolio's hardware This chapter explains how io sei
up the compuler, installballeries, and swilch on your system,
and also explotes lhe Porllolio s major Iealures and avarlable
opiions.
Chapler Two: syslem and Sotlware overvtew jniro-
duces basic compuler concepls, teaches you how to use
ROM and RAM cards. and qives a briel descriplion ol lhe
syslem soflware, including the builtin applications.
Chapter Three: How lo Get Around erplarns how lo Llse
lhe heyboard lo rssue commands to youl Portlol,o, and
eyplarns now lo run lhe TLIonal plogram ll also explains
dialog boxes and olher elements of the Portioljo screen.
Chapter Four: File Manaqer, Basic Functions teaches
you all about liles.lilenames, and direcloly siruclures. and
how 10 use lhe File Manager 1o issue basic commands lo your
Po iolio.
Chapter Five: File Managet, olher Functions desclibes
how 10 use the runolions of the File Managefs Other menu.
Chapler Six: Buill-ln Applications-Common Functions
explains Ile handling and lhe c|pboard. lJnctions common io
most ol lhe builtin applicalions.
ChaDter Seven: Built-ln Apolications-lnhoduclion
expl;lns in hands-on luloflal style the bastc lealules ol each
application.

Cuslomer Supporl lells where lo lind more intormation
aboui the Alari Portlolio compuler as well as olher Atari
computer producls.
Keyboard lnlormation
Characters enclosed by square brackels (t l) represent keys
on lhe compuler keyboard. Somelimes a procedure requjres
you to use lwo or more keys al the same time. For example,
A l^rsral IEI means to hold down the l^bril key while you
press ihe IEI key.
The keyboard layout ol your Portiolio is similar lo thal ol a
iypewriler or siandard PC compuler. However, lhe Atari key
[At.ril and the Function key [Fnl are only lound on lhe
Portlolio's keyboard. For ir.r her inlormalion on ihese special
keys, reler lo Chapter Three: How to Get Around.
Special Notations
Paragraphs marked Note or Warning appear ihroughout lhe
manual
o
@
SETTING UP YOUR SYSTEM
The box containing your Alari Poflfolio computer should also
conlain the iollowing:
. A memory card conlaining lwo soltware programs. This
memory card is ah€ady inserted into lhe card drive ol your
compuler. one ol lhe lwo proorams on lhe card is the File
Manager. You will be using lhe File Manager to run your
Note: Notes contain uselul hints and other
inlormalion relevaht lo lhe topic being discussed
Waming: Warnings alerl you to potenlial
problems and suggest ways lo avoid lhose
problems.

Portlolio. Don'l remove the memory card at this time. The
other program on lhe card rs a lulorial program thal can
help you learn about your Poriiolio.
. A license agreement sialing the condiiions undel which the
Portlolio is sold.
. Warranly card lo be lilled oui and returned to Atari
(importanll).
. A copy oI lhe Porllolio O*nelb Manua/-
. The Po iolio quick relerence guide.
. Three AA alkaline balieries. Always use alkaline balleries-
lhe use ol any olher lype voids lhe warraniy.
ll you're missinO any ol lhe items on the list conlacl lhe
dealer lrom whom you purchased your system.
lnstalling the Batteries
Before you inslall the balleries lhere are several things you
should hnow about yo.rr Porllo[o You aheady know thai
lhe Portlolro contarns several buill-,n applications (pIogIams)
These programs are on a computer chip inside lhe Porllolio.
Even il lhe Portiolio is disconnected lrom all power (baiieries
removed, no AC adaptor being used) these programs willnol
be atlecled, and lhe next lime you swiich on your compLller.
the programs will be ready ior you to use.
However, there rs also a nemory slorage a'ea in youl
Portlolio, and any inlormalion siored ihere has to have a
conlinualpowel supply. For example,lel's say you creaie a
lile (such as a documenl conlaining ierl, a set of addlesses
lor the Address Book, etc.) and save lhe rile in lhe storage
area in your Portlolio. As long as you have qood battelies in
your Porliolio your liles are sale Bul ii batrery power ever
iuns otit all rh; files you have slored in yoJr Porllollo {and
have nol backed up onlo a memory card or oiher ouiside
memory location) are gone and they cannol be ,ecovered.
Sometimes the Porllolio will display a message on lhe scleen
when ballery power lalls below 1.1 volts, and lhen lhe
compuler swilches itseli oli lo conserve enerqy.

Wa.ning: Due to lhe highly variable rate al which
balleries lose power, lhis message may not be
displayed.
lf you switch lhe Poruolio back on at this point, lhe message
may display briefly. When you need to change batleries, larst
swiich the Porttolio orl. (Never chango batteries when lhe
Po.tfolio is switched on.)
Warning: Though the Porllolio may allow you lo
conlinue working alter displaying lhe low ballery
message, don't. Change the batleries jmmediately. or
use an AC adaptor to power the Po lolio unlilyou gel
an opporlunily lo change balteries. Conlinuing to power
lhe Podolio lrom weak balleries could and probably
will result in loss ol data.
The Portlolio has a small internal power supply thal will keep
your iiles maintained lor lhe amounl ol time you need lo
change batteries. Don'l dawdle, however. You have approxi_
mately 1 minule. which should be plenly ol iime lo change lhe
batleries. Be sure lo inserl lhe batleraes correclly. ll you install
lhem backwards, loss ol dala may and probably will occur.
Nole: lt would be a sound inveslment io obiain an AC
adaptor lor your Portlolio. and a good idea to keep the
compuler pluoged in whenever possible- You will not
only conserve ballery power, bul you wi also reduce
lhe risk ol losing data lhrough battery lailure. The
balteries will still discharge slowly even with lhe AC
adaplor connecled, so you will still need to periodically
chanqe lhe balleries.
Follow these inslruciions to inslall batleries in your Po(folio:
l- Open the batiery receptacle door by pushing down gently
on lhe noskid strip and pushino in ihe dirociion ol the
arrow. The door slides oll.

2. lnsert lhe batleries. lollowing lhe diagram in lhe boltom oi
the ballery receplacle Make sule the clolh lab is under lhe
balleries. This makes it much easier lo pullihe balteries
oul when you next need 10 replace them.
3. Slide lhe ballery receplacle door back inlo place.
That's all ihere is to it You are now ready lo swtlch on your
Porilolio and iake a look al lhe File ManaqeI
Switching Your Portfolio
On and Off
Firsl open ihe Portlolio by sliding the seculily calch on lhe
Iront oi ihe machine io the righi. The screen seclion swings
back on the hinges, and ihe keyboard is [evealed
Nole: Whenever your Porllolio is connecled lo a power
source {baliefles are inslalled or AC adaplor connecled and
plugged in), ihe compuier is On. We use ihe lerm On n lhis
manual io denoie an acive screen display, and lhe lerm Of1
lo denole a dark screen.
SWITCHING ON
Switching on is laniastically easy: simply press any key
Whalever sffeen thal was displayed when yoLl switched the
Portlolio oll will again display.

Now, go ahead! Press any key. The copyright inlormalion
screen displays.
copyright (c) 1989 DIP
Distributed Infonnation processing I,td
Surrey Research Park. cuildford, Edg]and
Al1 rights reserved
Tous droits r6serves
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
BIos: 1.072 operatinq systen: 1-072
Note: lJ you are swilching your Portlolio on lor the first
time or alier cold booting lhe machine make su,e lhe
File Manager card ls inserled in the d.ive or lhis screen
wiil nol display.
Press any key. and a diiferenl screen displays:
WELCOIi{E TO THE ATARI PORTFOI-IO
INTRODUCTION PROGFAM
This lncludes a conplete Tutorial
plus the rlle Manager application
(c) copyright DIP Ltd, 19se
(eyboard - Clavier - Tastatur
Type '!8" for English (QI,IXRTY)
laper Ftr pour Frangais (AZERTY)
Driicken trDn fiir Deutsch (QwERTz)
Your Porllolio is so smart it can communicate with you in
English, French, or German. lt's asking you which language,
and which counky's keyboard layoul slyle you wish lo use. All
you need lo do is press lhe single key lhal cotresponds lo ihe
desired language and keyboard setup (E lor English, F lor
French. G lor German). The nexl screen displays:
7
Strike a key lrhen

Note: You can always relurn to ihis screen (if ihe Frle
Manager program card is in the card dnve) by press,rg
tcrrr! I^rtl tDerl.
Press any key. Now you have another decision lo make!
lncluded on lhe program card in your Porliolio is a lulorial
program. which you can run righl now to help you learn more
aboul your compuler. ll you wanl lo run the lulorial, press IYI
lor yes. Any lime the Porilolio asks you a queslion, simply
press the key on the keyboard lhal corresponds to the desired
answer, or press IYI ior yes or lN] lor no.
When you selecl lolujt 1o exit the Tutorial, the File Manager
inlroductory screen displays. Read lhe screen and lhen press
any key to run lhe Fjle t\4anager.
SWITCHING OFF
Your Porllolio is a very smarl machine, and it willwalch oul
,o, you in several ways. One ol the mosl convenient things ihe
Portfolio does lor you is swilching itsell oll aller several
minules ol non-use. (You can also swilch oll by holding down
lFnl and pressing tol.)
You may somelimes need lo break our ol a plogram or pro-
cedure 'l here are lhree ways lo accomphsh lhis. You can peI-
Iolm a sollware warmsiatl, a hardware warmslarl, ol (as a
last reso ) a complele coldstari.
Warmstarls relurn you lo lhe lnkoduclron Plogram scleen
(ii ihe Frle l,4anaqer card rs in lhe dnve). Try a solllvaIe
warmsiart lirsi by pressing tcrrll t^nl lDell. ll this does nol
sullice, resei thd Portlolio (hardware warmstarl) by closing the
compuier, lurning rl upqrde down, and rnsetling a poinled
obieat inlo lhe recess labelled Beset. {Try an unculled paper
ciip-somelimes a ballpornl pen tp isn lsmallenough. and
bananas are loo messy.)

ll warmstart procedures are nol suilicienl. you may need lo
perlorm a complele syslem coldslarl This procedure should
only be used as a lasl resorl, because a successlul coldstarl
deleles any inlormalion you have placed in lhe Po(lolio's
rnlernal storage area. Bemember, the operatinO syslem and
buill-in applicalions are not aflected; just the liles you have
created and slored in your Poriiolio.
To perlolm a complete coldslarr. c,ose lhe compuler, rurn il
upsrde down, and'emove rhe barrelles (ll you have ar AC
adaplor connecied, disconnect it lrom lhe Portlolio.) The
coldstart switch is aclually a small meial lab located within a
small reclangular hole in lhe batlery recess. To coldstad the
Portiolio you musl inserl lhe tip ol a small poinled objecl into
lhe coldslari sulch recess. Genlly press lorward on lhe metal
lab untilrl meets resrstance.

CHAPTER TWO:
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
This chapler brjelly explains how your Pod{olio works and
uses memory slorage space, and how 1o use memoty cards.
HOW YOUR PORTFOLIO WORKS
A compuler processes tnslruclions to perlorm a task These
rnslructons are called programs. Two examples ol programs
are lhe operating syslem inside your compuier, and a dro-
gram on a program card. Your compuler feceives lhese
programs as eleclronic slonals lo be processed anct/or slored.
The processing and sloring ol data raets ol eiectronjc signals
grouped togelhe, is handled by a system ol electronic ciompo-
nents and integraled circuits.
Your Po.liolio computer uses lhe same fundamenlal language
all olher compulers use and rhal is st.nple brnary arrthmetic
Bul. lhanklully. lhe Portlolio doesn'r spdah to you rn btnary
code ll underslands spectal commands called DOS com-
mands thal enable you to communicaie with ihe compuler.
But you don't have to learn DOS 10 communicale with your
Portfolio. The File Manager program acts as your pers6nal
inlerpreler, lranslaling DOS commands inlo lamiliar words
and phrases and presenling information in the iorm of simple
windows and menus. Using the File Manager makes il
possible lor you lo begin using your Porllolio right away.
inslead ol having lo lirsl learn a new and uniamjliar lariguage.
MEMOFIY
You compuler uses lwo lypes of memory: inlernal memory,
and exlernal memory. lniernal memory is tnlormalion slorage
Iocalions on microchrps rnsrde your compuler. Exlernal mem-
ory is informalion slotage localions on memory cards.

Operating System and
Built-ln Applications
The Portlolio does noi need a sladup card conlaining syslem
inlormalion. Portlolio syslem inlo.manon rs slored.nglde ihe
compuier. along wiln lhe live bu{lrrn appllcations
The Porllolro comDuler also has lhe unlque ablhly lo store
rnlormalion rnsrde lhe compurer itsell A specialmemoly
storaoe area rs sel asrde ldr data you creale and w'sh io save
Thrs;r6a is rele,red to as drive C, even lhough ll is not a
drive at all. (The reason it is called that is because on most
F'Cs. Jiive c wouta fe the lksl section ol lhe hald disk dtive.)
ll vour batlefles run down oI rlvou need Io pe{orm a
ao'mDlele svstem coldstarl lor ,ny reason all lhe data liles on
aiiv€i c arilost lorever Alrravs bacl tp vou rmpollanl liles
onlo FIAM memory cards or other external slorage medium
(See Copying in Chapter Five.)
Memory Cards
Your Porliolio can lead inlolmalion sloled on memoly cards'
in. r,ti vanaoer ana Tulorial plograms are conlained on lhe
memorv card l6al came lnserled lnlo your Porllo,io s card
drive. ihe card dnve is telelled lo as dnve A
Follow these insttuctions to insert a memory card inlo
Porliotio s drive A:
1. Swrlch oll your Portloho Always complete thls slep belore
rnserling or Iemoving a cald
2. Posilion lhe card so the edge containing the melal eonlacts
- isigainst lhe drive A card alot wiih the contacls,acino up'
12

3. GenlJy inserl the card inlo the card slot. When the card is
nearly inserled it will meel with some resistance. Continue
lo rnseri lhe card unltl the edge ol lhe card ts llush with the
prolruding section ol lhe card slot.
Some memory cards conlain a commercially prepared pro-
gram. These cards are called ROM (Read Only Memory)
calds because the Porllolto cannot write inlormalion to ihe
card, but only read the informalion from lhe card. (Your File
Manger card is a ROM card.) You can purchase olher
memoiy cards called RAM (Bandom Access Memory) cards.
You can use RAM cards lo slole iiles you creale.
Belore you can slore liles on a FIAM card you musl ltrsl
prepare lhe card to rece.ve inlormatron. Preparing a BAM
card is called lormaiting. Chapler Five: File Manager,
Other Functions conlains detailed inlormalion on Iormatlino
a RAM card, and saving and sloring liles.
@ Warning: The ballery tnstde a memory caro can be retied
upon lo preserve lhe conlents of the card for six monlhs You
should change the batterjes aller six monlhs ol use in a
memoty card.
13