OTRONA ATTACHE Series User manual

OTRONA
ATTA<lIE
Portable Coaputer
VALET Guide
Version 1.0 published by Otrona Corporation, November 1982
written by Mike Hutmacher

CQpvright
Copyright (c) 1982 by Otrona Corporation. All rights reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored
in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer
language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic,
optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of Otrona Corporation, 4755 Walnut St., Boulder, Colorado,
80301.
Disclaimer
Otrona Corporation makes no representations or warranties with respect to
the contents hereof and especially disclaims any implied warranties of
merchantabilities or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Otrona
Corporation reserves the right to revise this publication and to make
changes f rom time to time in the content wi thout obliga tion of otrona
Corporation to notify any person of such revisions or changes.
Trademarks
Valet, Charton and Attache are trademarks of Otrona Corporation, BoulderR
Colorado, 80301. References are made in this document to the WordStar
word
processing system, a registered trademark of MicroPro International
Corporation, San Rafael, California, to the Control Program for
Microprocessors (commonly known as CP/M), a trademark of Digital Research
Inc., Pacific Grove, California, to Softcom, a trademark of The Software
Store, Marquette, Michigan, and to BASIC-80, a trademark of Microsoft
Corporation, Bellevue, Washington.

Contents
I. Introduction
Introduction and Functional Overview ••••••••••••• 1-1
Valet Functions List ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1-2
Valet Files •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1-2
II. Set-Up Mode
Set-Up Mode
2-1
Time and Date Display •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-2
Setting the Clock •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-2
Screen Brightness Control •••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-3
Keyboard Volume Control •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-3
Keyboard Click Sound Control ••••••••••••••••••••• 2-3
Communications Port Baud Rate Selection •••••••••• 2-3
Printer Port Baud Rate Selection ••••••••••••••••• 2-3
Bell Sound Control ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-3
Valet's Main Menu •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-4
Bypassing the Main Menu •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2-4
III. Alarms
Valet's Alarm Function ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-1
Alarm Types •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-1
The Alarm Menu ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-2
Bypassing the Alarm Menu ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-2
Setting Alarms ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-3
Scheduling Messages •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-5
Scheduling Command Lines ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-5
-1-

Contents
Alanns (continued)
Scheduling Immediate Command Lines ••••••••••••••• 3-6
Answering Alarms ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-6
Rescheduling and Revising Alarms ••••••••••••••••• 3-7
Rescheduling Alarms in Advance ••••••••••••••••••• 3-8
Rescheduling When the Alarm Sounds ••••••••••••••• 3-9
Cancelling Alarms •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3-10
Using SUBMIT to Chain Commands for Alarms •••••••• 3-11
Using SUBMIT and XSUB to Chain Commands •••••••••• 3-12
IV. Screen Dump
Screen Dump - Printing Display Screen Contents ••• 4-1
Bypassing the Print Menu ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 4-2
V. Printer Installation
Printer Installation for Screen Dump ••••••••••••• 5-1
Printer Settings ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5-1
Using the Install Program •••••••••••••••••••••••• 5-2
Bypassing the Main Menu •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5-2
VI. Calculator
Valet's Calculator Function •••••••••••••••••••••• 6-1
Activating the Calculator •••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-1
Bypassing the Main Menu •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-1
Exiting Fram the Calculator •••••••••••••••••••••• 6-1
Number Keys •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-2
-2-

Contents
calculator (continued)
Function Keys •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-2
Additional Calculator Keys ••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-3
The RPN Logic System ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-4
The Calculator Display ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-4
The X and Y Registers •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-5
The Z, P, Q, R, S, and T Registers ••••••••••••••• 6-7
The Memory Registers ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-10
Storing Numbers in the Memory Registers •••••••••• 6-11
Recalling Numbers From the Memory Registers •••••• 6-11
Order of Entry ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-11
Negative Numbers ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-11
Clearing the Current Entry ••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-12
Overflow and Underflow ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-12
Rolling the Stack Up or Down ••••••••••••••••••••• 6-12
Recalling the X Register ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-12
Exchanging the X and Y Registers ••••••••••••••••• 6-13
Scientific Notation •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-13
Sample Problems •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6-13
VII. Glossary ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 7-1
VIII. Index •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8-1
-3-

CONTENTS
Introduction ....... . ..... 1
Valet
Functions. .. . . . . . . . . . 2
Valet Files
IntrodllL tiOl1
Set-Up Mode
Alarms
Screen Dump
Printer Install
Calculator
Glossary

Introduction
Introduction ADd Functional Oyerview
Valet is a software package that allows you to temporarily interrupt a
program to perform other functions and then return directly to the
program that was interrupted.
Valet functions range from simply displaying the date and time of day to
performing complex mathematical calculations. When the Valet function is
complete, a single keystroke returns you to the interrupted program •
immediately.
How might you use this? Say you're working on a report using WordStar-
Plus and need to figure some 'percentages for inclusion in the report.
You can quickly switch to Valet's calculator, make the required
calculations, and just as quickly return to your report.
Continuing with this example, after you make the calculations and return
to WordStar-Plus, you could type in a table based on your calculations
and then use Valet's screen dump to print what is displayed on the
screen.
When the printout is complete, you can instantly return to WordStar-Plus
with the cursor at the point of interruption in your report, just as
though you had never left the program.
If you are writing your report and also trying to maintain your schedule,
you can use Valet's alarm function to schedule alarms that will sound at
specif ied times with messages to remind you of meetings or other
obligations.
Valet·s ·Set-Up Mode· functions are described on the top row of the
keyboard template and displayed on the screen when you press CTRL and ESC
simultaneously.
You may then press the appropriate number key for your desired function
or press ESC again to return to what you were doing before activating
Set-Up Mode.
Valet·s ·Main Menu· functions are accessed while in Set-Up Mode by
pressing the TAB key. The Main Menu displays options for using the
calculator, alarms, printer installation, and screen dump functions. You
can also bypass this menu and go directly from Set-up Mode to the desired
Valet functIon.
The interrupted program remains on the screen when Valet is being used.
When you are finished with the Valet function, Attache returns directly
to the interrupted program.
1-1

Introduction
The complete list of Valet functions is as follows:
Set-up Mode
Date and Time Display
Communications Port Baud Rate Selection
Screen Brightness Control
Printer Port Baud Rate Selection
Keyboard Volume Control
Bell Sound Control
Keyboard Click Sound Control Access to Valet Main Menu
Main Menu
Alarm and Message Scheduling
Screen Dump to Print Screen Contents
Four-Function RPN Calculator
Printer Installation for Screen Dump
Two Valet files are included on the Attache Software diskette. These
files are named VALET.VLI and PRINTER.VLl on the disk. Some Valet
functions require that these files are on the diskette inserted in Drive
A a t all times, while other Valet functions w ill work properly even if
the files are not on the system diskette.
The VALET.VLI file contains programs for alarms, screen dump, printer
install, and calculator. These programs will only work if the VALET.VLI
file is on the diskette inserted in Drive A.
If an alarm is scheduled and the Valet.VLI file is not in Drive A when
the alarm is set to sound, the alarm will be ignored. However, if the
alarm is set to sound when Attache is turned off, the alarm will sound
when the unit is powered up and booted with the VALET.VLI file on the
diskette in Drive &
The PRINTER.VLI file provides printer settings for the install function.
The calculator, alarm, and screen dump programs will function properly
even if PRINTER.VI,1 is not included on the diskette in Drive A.
Once a printer has been selected, the selection is inserted in the screen
dump progJ:"ams in the VALET.VLI file. PRINTER.VLl is not required again
unless you want to change printer selection for the screen dump.
Set-up Mode will function properly even if VALET.VLI and PRINTER.VLI are
not on the diskette in Drive A when the function is activated.
1-2

CONTENTS
Set-up Mode ....... . .. .. .
Time and Date Display. . . .. 2
Setting the Clock
Screen Brightness. . . . . . . .. 3
Keyboard
Volume
Keyboard Click
Comm. Baud Rate
Printer Baud Rate
Bell
Sound
Valet's Main Menu .. . .... . 4
Bypassing
the Menu
Set -Lip \lo<ie
A larm s
Screen Dump
Printer Install
Calculator
Glossary

Set-Up Mode
Set-up Mode controls functions on the top row of the keyboard template,
displays the date and time, and provides access to the valet Menu.
set-up Mode may be activated at any time when the unit is powered up and
CP/M has been booted, even while other programs are being used. The
program that is interrupted remains on the screen while Set-up Mode is
activated. The screen returns to its previous function when you exit from
Set-up Mode.
Values that you set in Set-up Mode remain constant until you change them,
even if the unit is powered down for long periods of time.
To use Set-up Mode:
1. Press C'.rRL and ESC at the same time. The Set-Up Mode display will
appear on the bottom two rows of the screen.
TIME
13: 52: 26
DATE BRIGHTNESS VOLUME KEY COMMUNICATIONS PRINTER BELL
10/14 27 8 BEEPl 2400 1200 ON
2a. Press the number key that corresponds to the specific operation you
want to perform, as described on the top row of the keyboard
template and displayed at the bottom of the Set-Up Mode screen,
or • ••
2b. Press TAB if you want to display the Valet Menu.
3. Press ESC again to exit Set-Up Mode and return the screen to its
previous function.
2-1
I

set-Up Mode
.'ljme .and J&te Displav
The time and date are displayed when Set-Up Mode is activated. Both are
displayed on the lower left corner of the Set-Up l10de screen. Time is
shown on a 24-hour clock (in military hours:minutes:seconds) where
00:00:00 == midnight, 12:00:00 = noon, 18:00:00 = 6 p.m., etc.) The date
is in month:date format.
Press ESC to exit from Set-Up Mode and return the screen to its previous
function.
Setting ~ ~
A number of Valet functions access the real-time clock, which is battery
powered and operates even when Attache is turned off. The clock must be
set for Valet functions to work correctly. If the clock is not set, the
message CLOCK NOT SET will appear where the time and date would normally
appear when you activate Set-Up Mode.
Set or reset the clock when necessary by executing the following:
1. with the Attache Software diskette inserted in Drive A and the cursor
at A>, type TIME and press RETURN. The Time Utility display will
then appear on the screen.
Options:
Set Time
Set Date
Exit Opt
or Prog.
Option:
A t t a c h e tm Date and Time Utility
Copyright 1982 Otrona Corp., Boulder CO
T
D
Current status
Hrs. Mins. Yrs Mos Days Day of Week
2. Type T and enter the time (in military hours/minutes) where
00:00:00 = midnight, 12:00:00 == noon, 18:00:00 = 6 p.m., etc. Your
entry will be displayed for verification. Press RETURN if it is
correct, or press ESC if it is not.
3. Type D and enter the date and day of the week (1 = Sunday, etc.) as
prompted. Your entry will be displayed for verification; press RETURN
if it is cor rect, or press ESC if it is not.
4. Press ESC when time and date have been properly set. Then activate
Set-Up Mode to view the time and date display.
2-2

Set-Up Mode
~ Brightness Control
To increase the screen brightness, activate Set-Up Mode and press 1. To
reduce the screen brightness, press 2. Keep pressing for more or less
brightness. Press ESC to return to the previous function.
Kevboard~ Control
To increase the keyboard click volume, activate Set-up Mode and press 3.,
To reduce the keyboard volume, press 4. Keep pressing for more or less
volUme. Press ESC to return to the previous function.
Kevboard ~ ~ Control
To change the keyboard click sound, activate Set-up Mode and press 5. A
different click w ill be heard each time the key is pressed. Four
different clicks are available, or you may turn the click sound off
altogether. Press ESC to return to the previous function.
Communications ~ ~ ~ Selection
To change the baud rate for the communications port, activate Set-up
Mode and press 6 to increase the baud rate or 7 to decrease the baud
rate. The setting will be increased or decreased by one increment each
time the key is pressed. Press ESC to return to the previous function.
Baud Rate Selections for Attache Serial Ports
19200
9600 4800 2400 1200
600
300
150 134.5 110 7 5
Printer ~ ~ ~ Selection
To change the baud rate for the printer port, activate Set-up Mode and
press 8 to increase the baud rate or 9 to decrease the baud rate. The
setting will be increased or decreased by one increment each time the key
is pressed. Press ESC to return to the previous function •
.B.ell ~ Control
To turn the keyboard bell on or off, activate set-up Mode and press O.
If the bell is set to off it w ill change to on and vice ver sa. Press ESC
to return to the previous function.
2-3
•

Set-Up Mode
Valet's .Main .M.eIW
Valet's f.iain Menu is di splayed by acti vati ng set-up Mode and then
pressing the TAB key. The Main Menu appears on the bottom two lines of
the display and provides access to the alarms, calculator, screen dump,
and
printer installation programs.
As with Set-Up Mode, the program that was interrupted remains on the
screen while Valet's Main Menu and the related Valet functions are
activated.
M A I N II
MEN u II
(A)LARMS (C)ALCULATOR {S)CREEN DUMP {I)NSTALL
PRESS ESC TO EXIT
Select programs from the Main Menu by pressing the key that is shown on
the menu in parenthesis for the function you wish to use. For example,
press C to activate the calculator fUnction or A to activate the alarms
function.
Exit from this menu and return the screen to its previous function by
pressing the ESC key.
Bypassing ..the 1W.n .Henu
When you are familiar with the options provided by the Main Menu, you can
bypass this menu and go directly from Set-Up Mode to the desired function
by typing the letter that would select your option, such as C for
calculator or A for alarms.
For example:
CR'l'L ESC and TAB and C
CTRL ESC and C
2-4
di splay s the Set-Up Mode screen, then the
Main Menu screen, and then activates the
calculator program.
displays the Set-Up Mode screen and then
activates the calculator program without
displaying the Main Menu screen.

CONTENTS
The Alarm Function . ... . . .
Alarm Types
The Alarm Menu. . . . . . . . .. 2
Bypassing Alarm Menu
Setting
Alarms. . . . . . . . . . .. 3
Scheduling Messages
...... S
Command Lines
Immediate Commands
Answering Alarms. . . . . . . .. 6
Rescheduling Alarms
... . .. 7
Cancelling Alarms. . . . . .
.. 10
Chaining Commands ..... 11
Set-Up Mode
: \larms
Screen Dump
Printer Install
Calculator
Glossary

Alarms
Valet's ~ Function
The alarms feature lets you schedule alarms that will display messages or
initiate program commands. It's as simple as an alarm clock, only more
capable.
Each scheduled alarm contains a message or command and a date and time
for retrieval. When the scheduled time arrives, a low beeping tone is
issued three times by the computer. You answer the alarm by activating
Set-up Mode, and the message or command is displayed on the screen.
If you do not answer the alarm, it will be repeated every four minutes
until you respond. If the machine happens to be turned off when the
scheduled time arrives, the alarm will be sounded the next time the
machine is powered up and CP/M is booted.
As many as six different alarms may be set at anyone time, and each •
message or command can be up to 58 characters long. When an alarm
sounds, you are given the option of changing the message or rescheduling
the alarm for another time.
The alarms featUre also lets you schedule programs for execution at a
later time. Commands may be chained together using the SUBMIT facility of
CP/M, so the computer can be inst~ucted to begin working even while you
are occupied elsewhere. This is handy for scheduling data transmissions
for "off hours" when line rates are lowest, for compiling programs, etc.
There are three different alarm types available -Message, Command, and
Immediate Command. The function for each type is as follows:
Message
C<Enand Line
Immediate Command
Line
allows you to type a message that will be displayed
when the alarm is answered.
allows you to type a command for execution of a
program or programs at a later time, effectively
"time bombing" program initiation. This alarm
requires operator response before the command is
actually executed, and also provides an option for
rescheduling if it is not convenient to initiate the
command as scheduled. Note: i·f the command is
allowed to execute while another program is being
used, the work in progress is lost.
is the same as Command except that the command is
executed immediately at the scheduled time without
requiring operator response and regardless of the
status of other programs. If you are using another
program when this alarm sounds, the scheduled
command will be executed and you will lose your work
in progress. Use this option carefully to avoid
losing important data.
3-1

Alarms
Alarm functions are accessed from Valet's Main Menu or by pressing A when
Set-up Mode is activated. When the alarms feature has been selected, the
Alarm Menu appears on the bottom two lines of the screen.
As with all Valet functions, the program that was interrupted remains on
the screen while the Alarm Menu is displayed.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
A L ARM II (S) ET (R) EVIEW (C) ANCEL I I ALARMS IN USE I
I
MEN U II PRESS ESC TO EXIT I I I
I I
1------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alarm Menu allows you to set alarms, review and/or reschedule alarms
that have already been scheduled, or cancel alarms that are scheduled.
The menu also identifies any of the six alarms that are already activated
(Alarms in Use). As with all Valet functions, press ESC if you want to
return to the previous menu rather than proceed.
Bypassing .the AlJuJII JIeml
When you are familiar with the options provided by the Alarm Menu, you
can bypass this menu and go directly from Set-up Mode to the desired
function by typing the letters that would activate the Alarm Menu (A) and
your option, such as S for Set or or R for Review.
For
example:
CRTL ESC
displays the Set-Up Mode screen.
TAB
displays the Main Menu.
A displays
the Alarm Menu.
S activates the
"Set" option
for alarms.
Rather than display each menu, you can activate the "Set" option for
alarms by pressing CTRL and ESC simultaneously and then A and S in
sequence without waiting for the menus to be displayed.
3-2

Alams
Setting .AI.acDa
To set an alarm, press S when the Alarm Menu is on the screen. If you
decide not to schedule any alarms, press ESC to return to the Main Menu.
A L ARM I I (S) ET (R) EVIEW (C) ANCEL
MEN U I I PRESS ESC TO EXIT
II
II
ALARMS IN USE
When the S option is selected, the current time, date, and available
alarms will be displayed with a series of prompts about the alarm you are
scheduling.
ENTER ALARM NUMBER:
11:07:20 10/15
ALARMS AVAILABLE: 1 2 3 4 5 6
PRESS ESC TO EXIT
N>S (0-12): MY (0-31):
BRS (00-23):
MIN (00-59):
Answer these prompts as instructed on the next page. If you make a
mistake while typing, press the left arrow key or the BACK SPACE key to
erase the previous entry and then type the cor rect data.
3-3
_I

Alarms
EJfTER ALARII NUMBER: TVpe a number from 1 to 6 from the list of available
alarms.
MOS: (01-12): TVpe the month (1-12) to schedule the alarm for.
DAY: (01-31): Tvpe the day of the month (1 to 31) to schedule the
alarm for.
HRS: (00-23): TVpe the hour to schedule the alarm for (in military
time where 00 = midnight, 12 = noon, 18 = 6pm, etc.)
MIN: (00-59): TVpe the minute (0 to 59) to schedule the alarm for.
Note that leading zeros are not required, and the cursor moves
automatically to the next field when an entry is made. In cases where
the number is also the first digit for another entry (such as 1 =
Januarv, 11 = November), ei ther use the leading zero or use the RETURN
key to move the cursor to the next field.
When the time and date for scheduling the alarm have been correctly
input, your entry is displayed along with the current time and date. In
addition, you are prompted to set the alarm or exit to the Alarm Menu.
ENTER ALARM MOS (01-12): DAY (01-31): HRS (00-23): MIN(00-59) :
11:08:19 10/15 (S)ET OR PRESS ESC TO EXIT
Press ESC if you want to cancel what you've done so far and return to the
Alarm Menu, or press S to set the alarm and proceed to the next menu
(where you will identify the alarm type). After you set the alarm, the
screen prompts:
ENTER ALARM TYPE: (M)ESSAGE (C)OMMAND LINE (IMM)EDIATE COMMAND LINE
From this menu, you define the type of alarm to schedule. Instructions
for setting and using alarm types are on the next page.
3-4

Alarms
Scheduling Messages
At
the prompt to ENTER ALARII TYPE, type M to enter a message. The cursor
appears at the first line of the message entry screen. TVpe the message,
using both lines if necessary.
mTER MESSAGE: II
11:10:00 10/15 II
Press ESC when you are finished and the display returns to the Alarm
Menu. Then press ESC to return to the Main Menu, and ESC again to return
to the program that was interrupted bV Valet processing.
The message that was typed here will appear at the bottom of the display
screen at the scheduled time when you respond to the alarm.
Scheduling cmma
nd
~
At the prompt to ENTER ALARM TYPE, type C to enter a command line. The
cursor appears at the first line of the message entry screen. Tvpe the
command. Use SUBMIT to chain more than one command if desirable.
ENTER COMMAND: I I
11:10:00 10/15 II
Press ESC when you are finished and the display returns to the Alarm
Menu. Then press ESC to return to the Main Menu, and ESC again to return
to the program that was interrupted for Valet processing.
The command that was typed here will appear at the bottom of the display
screen at the scheduled time when you respond to the alarm. You may then
reschedule the command line for a later time or allow it to execute as
originally scheduled.
3-5
•