Technical Support - Ability Plus 1.0

Overview

Version 1.0 of Ability Plus was released in 1987.

Anything not covered in the Frequently Asked Questions section should be addressed directly to support@ability.com.

FAQ

  1. Cannot get the £ sign on screen
  2. Cannot get the £ sign on printer
  3. Can't get page length right
  4. Cannot see graphs on screen
  5. How do I copy a file to a floppy disk?
  6. My files to big to fit on a floppy - how do I back it up?
  7. Year 2000 - any problems [Answer :- No!]
  8. Cannot open a database file
  9. How to Import/Export files
  10. Ability won't run with Novell network drivers loaded
  11. Can't see the dot-dot directory <..> on Novel Netware drives
  1. Cannot get the £ sign on printer

    Either: Incorrect printer driver selection from the Devices screen - double check that you have the right make model selected using F2-Ability-Devices.

    Or: Your dot matrix printer is in the wrong mode. Many dot matrix printer work in either an IBM mode or an Epson mode, selectable via a dipswitch on the printer. Ability will work with either providing the corresponding driver is selected in the Devices screen.

    Or: The printer driver file is out of date. You can download the latest drivers file here.
  2. Can't get the page length right

    Reason: Version 1.0 of Ability does not use "form feeds" (a printer command for new page) and relies instead on simply sending line feeds. This is OK for dot matrix printers but can cause difficulty with any page based printer, e.g. laser and inkjet printers.

    Solution: Upgrade to version 3.0 - problem will go away!

    Alternative solution: Bear in mind that the printer has a non-printable zone, roughly 0.5 inches at the top and bottom of the page. Ability won't understand this and you'll need to set the paper size to take this into account. For example, set page length to 10.66 inches if using A4 and 10 inches if using Letter.

    You may need to do some trial and error as each printer is a little different. Follow these steps:

    a) Set the page depth as described above in Devices screen first (F2/Ability/Devices)

    b) Create a new Write document and put "Page 1" on line 1 of page 1 and "Page 2" on line 1 of page 2. Print.

    c) Hold the two pages to the light and see if "Page 1" appears at the same place as "Page 2" - if not, measure the gap and adjust Devices screen accordingly (i.e. if the "Page 2" is 2 lines further down page, reduce Page depth by 0.33 inches)

    d) Repeat steps b) and c) until you've got it right.

    e) Change the page length for existing Write documents using F2/Write/Page-length to match Devices - remember this is in lines not inches so multiple Devices value by 6 to get the correct number of lines.