About the Csa2 Apple II FAQs
 

This is the Csa2 (comp.sys.apple2) Apple II FAQs as recognized by USENET's
news.answers. FAQs content comes, chiefly, from postings to Apple II newsgroups
in the Csa2 family. All contributions are credited.
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     The Csa2 FAQs consists of Questions and Answers grouped by topic area and
Resource files which help to answer some questions. All of the the Questions are listed
in the Main Hall-2 area by topic. Clicking on a topic name takes you to that area.

     Each topic, such as Accelerators, has its own area with all of its Questions listed.
Clicking on a Question here will take you to a place which presents the Question and the
Answer. Clicking on the underline beneath an item takes you back to the Questions list.

     At present, the FAQs Q&A contents are available in both Text and HTML form:

Text- Sites may offer the Q&A files in pure text and/or line-length formatted form.
Pure text files do not contain line-enders for the purpose of setting some maximum line
length. This makes them ideal for bringing into any word processor where the user
can set features such as Font, etc. and obtain a good looking printout-- i.e. one
which fits the page properly.

A problem with not embedding line-length formatting is that the files are difficult to view
on-line using popular browsers such as Netscape and Explorer. The text of a paragraph
runs off the screen and the user must do horizontal scrolling to read it. (This is not a problem
for those using an ftp program to access a site. When they "view" the file on-line, it is
brought into WordPad, etc. which will wrap long lines.)

To make the files easier to view by those surfing the net, a line-length formatted version is
available. Length is set to less than 80 to make the files easy to peruse on most browsers
as well as the standard Apple II 80-col screen.

Since the files are in PC text format, Apple users who download the files may discover
unwanted control characters. These are automatically removed by Appleworks-- i.e. you
may not even know they were present. IIgs text viewers such as Shadowrite and CoolWriter
include Modify Text 'Strip Control Characters'options which quickly and easily clean out
the PC stuff.

Not every user viewing the FAQs on an Apple II will have Appleworks installed;
so, the main FAQs files are available in Apple II Text format in a ShrinkIt file on Ground.
This version  is also handy for Apple II BBS site managers who wish to offer the FAQs for
on-line viewing or downloading. However, the ShrinkIt file is not updated very often.

Another consideration when viewing or printing out text files is font spacing.
To properly display charts and diagrams, the user should select a 'fixed spacing' (mono-
spaced, etc.) font. One such IIgs font is CoPilot. The standard Apple II 'Text mode' display
uses fixed spacing characters; so, the correct spacing is always maintained when viewing
under Appleworks or some other Text mode display program.

HTML- Ron Clark was the first to offer an HTML version of the Apple II "FAQs on
Ground" and start the ball rolling. Dr. Tom was next with an HTML-ized FAQs.
Today, it is common for distributions of the Text version to be HTML-ized on
various FAQs archives.

The version maintained here, on II Computing, is named "USENET Apple II FAQs".
(The "name" of a FAQs comes from the name of its starting HTML document.)
It is a for-HTML version (not HTML-zed Text) with all of the FAQs content
but arranged to take advantage of HTML format.

     FAQs Resource files- These are pics, diagrams, mini-manuals, programs, etc. which
are referenced in one or more FAQs answers. Resource files have names like
R004STEREO.GIF and R007BATRAMM.SHK. They are listed and
briefly described with links in the Main Hall-2 "Contents" area.
Except for a few mirrors, FAQs distributions do not
include the Resource files.

 Updates- The HTML version maintained on II Computing is continually updated
and will always be the most current of all Apple II FAQs versions. An
"update" means a change. It does not necessarily mean that all links on the
page have been checked. That kind of update happens every few months.
Some pages-- e.g. Major Sites and Game Sites-- are date/time stamped:
"2006 html rev095.0203.2214" means the page was last changed
on February 3, 2006  at 2214 (10:14 PM) Central Time.

 For both the HTML version and Text versions, the "rev" (revision) number
increments at the start of each month. The month/year stamping for FAQs Q&A
pages is updated, too; and, a brief summary of recent changes is included.

Text versions are updated each month prior to auto-posting on news.answers
and Csa2 newsgroups and direct uploading to a few mirrors such as the
one on GS WorldView. Nearly always, the version on GSWV will be
updated within the first week of a month. The news.answers update
timing is usually left to an automated server.
 

FAQs  February 2011 Update (Revision 155)

 There have been a few revisions since the December 1, 2010 release. These
include the usual updates to assorted FAQs pages.

February-March has been the traditional time for updates to the listings
of developers and their products (maintained on GS WorldView).
Please email information for inclusion in the listing to me
at the address shown below.

     Thanks to those who have suggested modifications and posted answers or
sent contributions which have been incorporated.

As always, feel free to send information pieces, diagrams, etc. for both established
and new FAQs Q&A or resources. Ideas, suggestions, and FAQs content
contributions can be emailed as Text or attached as .zip files.

Best wishes to all Apple II users!

Jeff Hurlburt, FAQs maintainer, 1 February 2011
rubywand@swbell.net -note: include "apple" in message title
 

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