| MouseText used in text? [message #341484] |
Mon, 10 April 2017 20:58  |
|
|
Originally posted by: Rebecca Bettencourt
Hello csa2,
Please excuse the odd and perhaps confusing question.
Were there or are there any instances of MouseText characters used in actual text as opposed to strictly to build a UI? In other words, are there any documents, articles, or manuals out there that contain MouseText characters in their textual content? Is there any kind of need out there to be able to, say, copy and paste MouseText or send it over email on a modern platform?
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #341489 is a reply to message #341484] |
Mon, 10 April 2017 23:00  |
gids.rs
Messages: 1395
Registered: October 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 6:58:16 PM UTC-6, Rebecca Bettencourt wrote:
> Hello csa2,
>
> Please excuse the odd and perhaps confusing question.
>
> Were there or are there any instances of MouseText characters used in actual text as opposed to strictly to build a UI? In other words, are there any documents, articles, or manuals out there that contain MouseText characters in their textual content? Is there any kind of need out there to be able to, say, copy and paste MouseText or send it over email on a modern platform?
I don't think displaying mousetext as part of text really caught on as most programs, games and utilities tried to be backwards compatible with the II+ and IIe without mousetext. Of all the programs I have played with, I have only seen a couple that use mousetext to highlight the title screen or bullets used in lists.
But there are quite a few programs that use mousetext as part of a GUI or in this case a MUI (Mousetext User Interface).
On Modern Platforms one could copy/paste symbols and characters from their respective character viewers and match them up with mousetext characters of the Apple II.
Also keep in mind that there is a mousetext based font that can be displayed on the Apple graphics screen, and therefore pretty much any emoticon, symbol, or pictograph from a modern platform can be created and used as a font on the Apple II.
But for the reverse to be true, "need" seems like a strong word.
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #341526 is a reply to message #341484] |
Tue, 11 April 2017 15:50 |
Michael AppleWin Debu
Messages: 1262
Registered: March 2013
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 5:58:16 PM UTC-7, Rebecca Bettencourt wrote:
> Hello csa2,
>
> Please excuse the odd and perhaps confusing question.
>
> Were there or are there any instances of MouseText characters used in actual text as opposed to strictly to build a UI? In other words, are there any documents, articles, or manuals out there that contain MouseText characters in their textual content?
Interesting question!
If you are talking about software -- the most famous one is Appleworks, and the odd program here and there. I don't if the AppleWorks manual has them or not.
If you are talking about print -- very rarely were they used due to
a) the expense in typesetting, and
b) them being non-standard.
* You CAN find some used in Apple IIgs Memory Expansion Card Owner's Guide
* page ii - closed apple
* page 4 - screenshot
* page 8 - open apple
* The Laser 128/128EX User's Guide also has the mouse text listed in Appendix F, Page A-24 -- obviously the closed Apple and open Apple have been replaced with triangles.
* I don't have my //e and //c manuals hand but I believe seeing them there as well.
* Understanding the Apple //e Page 8-25, Figure 8.8 has them lsited
Aside from being listed in a table / Appendix (Understanding the //e) I'm not sure of any others.
You'll probably also want to look at the Marlett font and how it was used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlett
> Is there any kind of need out there to be able to, say, copy and paste MouseText or send it over email on a modern platform?
When I need them I just refer to my png :-)
https://github.com/Michaelangel007/apple2_hgr_font_tutorial/ blob/master/pics/apple2e_font.png
Most people don't need them --as Wing Dings and Web Dings are poor replacements.
The problem is there is no _standard_ unicode font that has them. Kind of pointless to use them when 99.999% of users won't even know what they are, or how to install them. :-/
OT but there was (is?) a proposal to add some of the Apple Symbols to Unicode:
ftp://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/sc2/WG2/docs/n4127.pdf
Speaking of symbols and Unicode --standardizing UI glyphs is still a clusterfuck. Even in 2017 Unicode still sucks -- it lacks a basic 4 arrow direction to show the user they can move the window around.
Thankfully FontAwesome takes care of the Unicode consortium's myopic to aversion to add _useful_ symbols:
http://fontawesome.io/icons/
i.e.
http://fontawesome.io/icon/arrows/
Aside from "one-offs" and historical context I don't see the "need" for most of the other MouseText glyphs. The common keys for Enter, Backspace, and Arrows can be found in Unicode. The other glyphs "special case" that really doesn't make much sense aside from screenshots.
Please keep us updated as you come across their uses!
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #341614 is a reply to message #341484] |
Thu, 13 April 2017 20:26 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Tom Porter
I did some research into making mousetext usable in applesoft.... so here's an example code.... change out the A$="" for the required character!
1004 A$ = "A": INVERSE : PRINT CHR$ (27);: PRINT A$;: PRINT CHR$ (24): NORMAL
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #341615 is a reply to message #341484] |
Thu, 13 April 2017 20:29 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Tom Porter
A practical application of the above...
0 X = 7:Y = 20
1 PRINT CHR$ (4);"PR#3": TEXT : HOME
2 NORMAL : RESTORE : POKE 109, PEEK (107): POKE 110, PEEK (108):GU = FRE (0)
3 REM 'BOX SAMMY'S SPEACH VERSION 1.00
5 GOSUB 1000: STOP
1000 PRINT : VTAB X: HTAB Y: PRINT " ______________________________ "
1001 FOR A = 1 TO 7
1002 HTAB Y: PRINT "| |": NEXT
1003 HTAB Y: PRINT "|______________________________|"
1004 A$ = "A": VTAB X + 1: HTAB Y + 1: INVERSE : PRINT CHR$ (27);: PRINT A$;: PRINT CHR$ (24): NORMAL : RETURN
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #341616 is a reply to message #341614] |
Thu, 13 April 2017 21:06 |
Steve Nickolas
Messages: 2036
Registered: October 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Thu, 13 Apr 2017, Tom Porter wrote:
> I did some research into making mousetext usable in applesoft.... so here's an example code.... change out the A$="" for the required character!
>
>
> 1004 A$ = "A": INVERSE : PRINT CHR$ (27);: PRINT A$;: PRINT CHR$ (24): NORMAL
>
Shorter:
1004 A$="A": PRINT CHR$(15) CHR$(27) A$ CHR$(24) CHR$(14);
-uso.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #342124 is a reply to message #341627] |
Fri, 21 April 2017 14:52 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Rebecca Bettencourt
On Friday, April 14, 2017 at 4:05:18 AM UTC-7, Chris Zuhars wrote:
> Rebecca,
> Piqued my interest... do you have a specific use example? Or just asking in general?
Just asking in general. What I'm trying to do is get a feel for whether it would be feasible or even desirable to propose adding MouseText characters to Unicode (anyone can write up a proposal, after all). I get the feeling though that the MouseText characters aren't really used that much by the Apple II community the way, say, PETSCII characters are used by the C64 community.
|
|
|
|
| Re: MouseText used in text? [message #342125 is a reply to message #342124] |
Fri, 21 April 2017 15:01 |
Michael AppleWin Debu
Messages: 1262
Registered: March 2013
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
> I'm trying to do is get a feel for whether it would be feasible or even desirable to propose adding MouseText characters to Unicode (anyone can write up a proposal, after all).
I still think that is worthwhile to pursue -- even if it doesn't get a lot of traction.
All the 8-bit computer character sets should be standardized as an important part of history.
|
|
|
|
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
