WordStar for DOS 7.0 archive updated
by Rob - August 12th, 2024.Filed under: Uncategorized. Tagged as: WordStar.
I’ve updated my WordStar for DOS 7.0 archive, based on feedback from the thousands of people who downloaded the initial public release (which was version 1.4, dated July 30, 2024).This new version is 1.5, dated August 12, 2024.
The new version has the file size of the PDF manuals reduced (which cuts the archive size from 680MB to 460MB), adds disk images of the original 5.25-inch WordStar 7.0 Rev. D diskettes, and provides additional instructions and clarifications in the various -README files.You can get the new version here:
https://sfwriter.com/ws7.htm
(And many thanks to Hunter Goatley, who is now hosting the actual archive file on his server.)
August 14th, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Hi,
Thanks for great WS7 archive. I’ve installed DOSBox-X for my Debian and give WordStar a try. But I have problem which currently I don’t know how to resolve. The problem is with Code Page 852 for Polish letters. On screen (in text mode) everything is ok, but when I print or preview document to Postscript, letters are wrong. I’ve found WS/PRINTERS/PS/WSPROL.PS with “IBMenc reencoding vector”, but still have problem with some letters (“ź”, which somehow is printed as 2 and 1 at the same place, and with letter “Ó” which in WordStar I cannot even press – in DOS it is ok). Is there a better way to use CP852 code page in WordStar?
Regards,
Marcin
August 14th, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Hi, Marcin.
Have you tried using WordStar’s LASERJET printer to produce PCL files and then using PrintFilePrinter, which is included in the WordStar archive and documented in C:\WS\-README and C:\WS\PrintFilePrinter\README.TXT?
If text is showing correctly onscreen in WordStar, I believe that method will give you an accurate Adobe Acrobat PDF file that you can print on any printer.
If you still want to try to use PostScript instead, the character translation table used by WordStar’s PS.PDF printer definition file (or any PDF for that matter) can be edited with the PDFEDIT.EXE program in C:\WS.
Type this at the command prompt:
PDFEDIT PS
Then choose menus in this order:
Typestyle/font information
(Choose a font, such as Times …)
Edit font size tables
(Choose a font, such as Times …)
From the list of “Normal font,” choose one, such as “Regular: Times …”
Then look at the three “Substitution tables.” The one labeled “Composed character table” is probably what’s causing the 2 and 1 overprint for the accented z.
PDFEDIT has a rudimentary keystroke-recording capability, to make it easier to repeat the same modification for other fonts, but it has been decades since I’ve used it; you’ll have to consult the manuals and on-screen help for information about that.
Finally, you might read in PATCHT.TXT about the label “lngcod,” although I don’t think that’s likely the answer.
Oh, and if you’ve just downloaded DOSBox-X for Linux, you probably have the latest version, 2024.07.01, which has a bug related to WordStar’s Advanced Page Preview. It’s been fixed, and will be incorporated in the next DOSBox-X release:
https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/issues/5120
All best wishes!
Rob (in Toronto)