Technical Support - Ability Plus 3.0

Overview

Version 3.0 of Ability Plus was released in August 1995.

The latest update was produced June 1997.

This version of Ability is fully file compatible with all previous versions of Ability and Ability Plus. For a comprehensive list of features, see the product guide.

You can go straight to the Download Page if you just want the latest version of this program or the latest version of the printer drivers file.

If you cannot find an answer to your problem in the Frequently Asked Questions section below, it will probably be worth trying the latest version of the program (go to the Download Page). Otherwise, outstanding queries should be addressed directly to support@ability.com.

FAQ

  1. Cannot get the £ sign on screen
  2. Cannot get the £ sign on printer
  3. Cannot see graphs on screen
  4. How do I copy a file to a floppy disk?
  5. My file's to big to fit on a floppy - how do I back it up?
  6. Year 2000 - any problems [Answer :- No!]
  7. Cannot open a database file
  8. How to Import/Export files
  9. Can't see the dot-dot directory <..> on Novel Netware drives
  10. How to set up a PIF for efficient use of memory under Windows 95....XP

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Or: The printer driver file is out of date.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 a driver update from this web page. See Downloads.

2. Cannot see graphs on screen

Ability runs in two screen modes, Text and Graphics. To see graphs and text attributes (bold, italic and underline) you must run Ability in Graphics mode. Select F2-Ability-Devices and pick a graphic mode at the Screen Mode field. Once selected, you can leave Ability permanantly in Graphics Mode.

Note: You can toggle between Text and Graphics mode by pressing Ctrl-F1 and Ctrl-F2.

10. How to set up a PIF for efficient use of memory under Windows 95....XP

Ability Plus 3.0 can use up to a maximum of 16MB (in practice, there are other limitations which means that you cannot for example create a spreadsheet of 16MB). To correctly report and use memory under Windows 95 or later, you need to set up a PIF. Start Windows as normal (do not use the severely crippled "MS-DOS" boot option). Follow these steps:

Right-click over the desktop and select New/Shortcut. Enter "c:\ab3\ab30.exe" as the Command Line (or use the browse button if you're not sure where the EXE is.)

Enter a name for the shortcut (e.g. AB3)

Choose an Icon (you can browse to the c:\ab3 to find an Ability 3 icon - but this step is not important)

Select Finish

Right-click over the new shortcut and select Properties/Memory. Change the settings to match the following:

Now you can run Ability Plus 3.0 by double-clicking a desktop shortcut. You should see approximately 14000 or 15000 on the status line. This is the number of K free (i.e. approx 14MB.