SLUMP v1.4


This utility runs on a PC and transfers Text Notes between Newton and PC.
The Newton needs to be running Sloup.

SLUMP will also run on a Linux PC if a DOS emulator is installed e.g. dosbox.


GETTING NOTES FROM THE NEWTON

On the Newton: 
1. File the Notes into a folder called TRANSFER
2. Install and start-up Sloup. Use the default speed of 9600.

On the PC:
1. Run SLUMP
2. Tap the SPACE-BAR several times  -  and the Notes are transferred.
   The ENTER key may be used instead of SPACE. 

SLUMP allows a number of options:

1. Default serial port is COM1. For COM2, use the TAB key when indicated.
   
2. Default folder to get Notes from is called TRANSFER. 
   To get Notes from any other folder, use TAB when indicated and enter the folder name.
   
3. Notes will be saved as separate files on the PC by default. 
   To combine the Notes into one long file, use TAB when indicated. 
   This option should be useful where there are many small Notes on the Newton and 
   having one larger combined Note on the PC makes file-management easier.
   NB If 'All Notes' or 'Unfiled Notes' are requested then SLUMP will only make one combined Note.

On the PC, Notes are saved into the folder that contains SLUMP.exe.
A single long Note will be saved as 'transfer.txt'.
Separate Notes will be saved as 'trans1.txt', 'trans2.txt', 'trans3.txt' etc.

Single long Notes saved by SLUMP as 'transfer.txt' will have 5 dashes inserted by Sloup automatically 
at the Note boundaries. These 5 dashes (-----) are followed by a Newton folder name.


SENDING TEXT TO THE NEWTON

4. Default is to GET Notes from the Newton. To SEND a text file to the Newton, use TAB when indicated.  
   The file on the PC must have a .txt extension and be less than 3900 bytes in size.
   e.g.      Select file to SEND:  transfer.txt 
   The text file will be sent to Unfiled Notes on the Newton, using Espy Font 9, Bold.

If the file is larger than 3900 bytes it will need to be split into several smaller files before transfer.

To take advantage of a feature of Sloup, one way to split a large note is to add 5 dashes (-----) at the 
   *start* of a line in several places within the large file. 
   The amount of text between the ----- should be less than ~ 3000 bytes. 

5. To SEND a file which contains ----- Note markers, and to make them appear as separate Notes on the Newton, 
   just add 5 dashes after the file-name. 
   e.g.     Select file to SEND: transfer.txt -----
   
   With this option, the limit of 3900 bytes is ignored, and a text file (of any size) will be split into 
   smaller Notes on the Newton, depending on the number of lines starting with ----- in the source file.
 
Be aware that a large source file may overflow memory on the Newton if it contains insufficient -----.

6. A large file-transfer from PC to Newton can be cancelled by tapping [*] when indicated.
  

NB
Sloup.pkg on the Newton recognises certain keywords to automatically erase or replace text on the Newton. 
SLUMP has filtered these keywords i.e. erase! and replace! and they will be changed to 
**erase! and **replace!, to prevent accidental erasure or replacement.


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SLUMP aims to be a quick-and-easy way to transfer text from the Newton to a PC or Linux box. 
It is not intended as a complete backup utility.  

The name SLUMP is derived from Sloup and the keyword DUMP which initiates the data transfer.

Sloup is freeware available from http://www.kagi.com/weyer and runs on all Newton models.

SLUMP is written in QBasic and compiled into an exe-file using PowerBasic. 

SLUMP has been tested with Win95, Win98, Win2000, XP, and with an Asus EeePC+(Xandros/dosbox-0.72).

SLUMP will also run on XP within dosbox-0.72 for Windows (likewise Vista, but not fully tested).
Dosbox is recommended for XP and Vista as it allows Alt-Enter to work which allows screen-capture
or print-screen to work. 

If a PC only has USB ports, and COM1 or COM2 are absent, consider installing dosbox-0.72 for Windows 
and edit the dosbox.conf file. Change the line:
serial1=dummy to serial1=directserial realport:COMx
where x is the COM number shown against the active USB port in the Device Manager. 

On an Asus EeePC with a USB/serial converter, check whether ttyUSB0 or ttyUSB1 is active with the 
%dmesg command in a terminal window. Then edit the dosbox.conf file to:
serial1=directserial realport:ttyUSB0 (or ttyUSB1). 
This applies only to dosbox-0.72, as dosbox-0.65 seems to not recognise USB/serial converters.(?)

Snags:
If a Note on the Newton contains certain unicode characters (e.g. maths symbols) they might reappear 
as completely different Extended-ASCII characters on the PC. 
Newton OS2.x Notes may have Titles. These are not preserved in the text transfer. 

Date: 7 December 2008