EBM S/800 - USER MANUAL

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VIDEO SETTINGS

Note that the EBM S/800's HELP feature does not detail video settings. This is because these settings exist outside of the EBM S/800. You would not expect a modern computer to tell you how to adjust your flatscreen monitor! All of the EBM S/800's video settings are detailed on this page.

ALT+ENTER - Toggle Windowed Mode and Full Screen Mode.

CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+PGUP/PGDN - Enter Half Screen Width Mode, and dock to the left or right for a low-distraction working environment.

CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT - Increase/decrease pixel width/height.

CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+0 - This is the zero key on the main part of your computer keyboard. Cycle through 3 Monochrome Colour Modes - white, amber and green on black. The Executive Edition also cycles through 3 Inverse Colour Modes, e.g. black on amber, each with the option of a black border.

CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+COMMA/PERIOD - These are the comma and period keys, which also have < and > above them on most keyboards. Decrease or increase the intensity of the Visible Scanline Mode. The scanline value ranges from 0 (off) to 10 - disable the effect by turning down to the lowest setting. Executive Edition goes up to 11.

Special Video Settings

Some video options can be controlled only by editing the S800.ini file. Type EDIT INI in Terminal Mode and edit the file in Editor Mode. If the required line is not present, add it under the [VIDEO] header. Reboot the S/800.

To force the S/800 to open in a particular window mode, enter e.g. WINDOW=RIGHT. Values are FULL for full screen, LEFT/RIGHT (half-screen docked), or WINDOW.

To display a border around the screen even in windowed mode, enter e.g. BORDER=4 with a value from 0 to 7. The value defines the border width in characters.

TERMINAL MODE

ESC+BACKSPACE/DELETE - Restore.

UP ARROW - Repeat command.

CTRL+C - Copy current line to clipboard.

CTRL+SHIFT+C - Copy entire screen to clipboard.

CTRL+V - Paste clipboard to command line.

AUTOSAVE - Set or disable autosave, can state seconds.

MODULE - List installed Modules.

CLEAR - Clear Terminal screen.

RESET - Reset S/800.

EXIT - Exit the S/800.

TERMINAL MODE: FILE MANAGEMENT

Let's assume you have several source code files or text files in folder C:\project\game\maze

Type F1 to ensure you are in Terminal Mode.

Type FOLDER to view the current working directory, or DIR to view the current folder's files and folders. Folders are in [square brackets]. CTRL slows the directory listing, ESC halts the listing.

If you are in C:\project, type IN "game" to move to C:\project\game. You can enter multiple folders, e.g. IN "game\maze".

To jump to any folder from anywhere, type the full path, e.g. IN "C:\project\game\maze"

To exit a folder, type OUT. You can also type BACK to return to the previous folder.

You can load files individually by entering the folder and typing LOAD "myFile". Type LOAD ALL to load all files in the current folder, or navigate to the folder containing the folder and type LOAD "myFolder"

Files with the .8ws extension are automatically loaded into Worksheet Mode. To force a .8ws file to load as text in Editor Mode, type LOAD EDITOR "myFile.8ws"

Type LOAD INI to load the EBM S/800's settings file from any folder.

STATUS BAR

The Status Bar at the foot of your Editor Mode and Worksheet Mode screens provides information such as data and filenames to the left, and coordinates and keyboard lock states to the right.

Keyboard Lock State Indicators

INS/OVR - Insert/Overtype Mode. Toggled with the INSERT key.
NUM - Number Lock Mode. Toggled with the NUM LOCK key. Highlights when set.
CAP - Capital Letter Lock Mode. Toggled with the CAPS LOCK key. Highlights when set.
SCR - Scroll Lock Mode. Toggled with the SCROLL LOCK key. Highlights when set.

Status Bar Display Modes

In Editor Mode, type CTRL+F2 to cycle through the four Status Bar display modes: full view with three-character Keyboard Lock State Indicators; full view with compact Keyboard Lock State Indicators; filename view; and a second filename view with language shown to the right.

In Worksheet Mode, type F3 to briefly display the current worksheet filename, and type CTRL+F3 to toggle the two Status Bar display modes: cell view with three-character Keyboard Lock State Indicators, and cell view with compact Keyboard Lock State Indicators.

Hide and Show Keyboard Lock State Indicators

Each of the four indicators can be hidden or shown independently, separately for Editor Mode and Worksheet Mode. Perhaps you routinely toggle Number Lock Mode in Worksheet Mode and not in Editor Mode?

In Terminal Mode, type:

STATUSBAR EDITOR/WS INS/NUM/CAP/SCR SHOW/HIDE

For example:

STATUSBAR WS SCR HIDE - hide the SCR indicator in Worksheet Mode
STATUSBAR EDITOR CAP SHOW - show the CAP indicator in Editor Mode
STATUSBAR WS INS HIDE - hide the INS/OVR indicator in Worksheet Mode

All indicators are shown by default. Hide settings are saved to the S800.ini file under the [SYSTEM] header, for example STATUSBAR-WS-SCR=HIDE.

SCREENSAVER

The Screensaver Module is installed by default. It activates after N minutes of computer keyboard inactivity. Type any key to resume.

ALT+SPACE - Activate the screensaver immediately. Works in any mode.

Type F1 to enter Terminal Mode to control the screensaver using Terminal Commands.

INSTALL SCREENSAVER / UNINSTALL SCREENSAVER - Install/uninstall the module.

SCREENSAVER - Show current style and time in minutes.

SCREENSAVER A-Q - Set style. Some styles are super-minimal to minimise CRT and OLED burn-in. Selecting a style previews the style.

SCREENSAVER 1-60 - Set timeout in minutes.

Message Text

Styles A and B display a message inside a boxed frame. The default message is EBM SYSTEM/800.

SCREENSAVER "MESSAGE" - Set the message text. 40 character limit. Lower case letters will display in upper case.

SCREENSAVER "" - Clear back to the default message text.

The message text can also be set by editing the S800.ini file. Type EDIT INI in Terminal Mode and edit the file in Editor Mode. Under the [SYSTEM] header, add or edit e.g. SCREENSAVER-TEXT=<AIDEN SMITH IS SKILL>. Reboot the S/800.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A project is a list of document and worksheet filenames in a text file with extension .8pr

Type F1 to ensure you are in Terminal Mode.

PROJECT "ProjectName.8pr" - Load all documents and worksheets in a previously saved project. You may have to navigate to the folder containing the .8pr file.

PROJECT SAVE "ProjectName.8pr" - Save all open documents and worksheets as a project.

You can also save the project in Editor Mode.

CTRL+K - Save project. At least one document must be open. You may be prompted to enter a name for the .8pr file.

CTRL+SHIFT+K - Save project with new name.

Saving the project does not save the actual document or worksheet files. To close a project, just close all open files.

LAUNCH

Assemble, compile or launch your coding project at the press of a key. This feature is available all modes.

Define your launch command in the .ini file under the header [LAUNCH], for example:

9=<"C:\Program Files (x86)\PICO-8\pico8.exe" -run %FILE%>

In this example, type F9 and the currently active document will launch in Pico-8. Note that %FILE% is optional, and will be replaced by the path to the currently active document file.

Optionally, for any digit you can include an additional line that instructs the S800 to save the currently active document or all unsaved documents before executing the command, for example:

9-AUTOSAVE=ALL

This line can be included anywhere under the [LAUNCH] header. Options are ONE, ALL, or OFF to execute without saving.

For multi-line commands, define your text in a Windows .bat batch file and call the batch file in your .ini file Launch text.

In the Executive Edition, you can assign all ten digit keys. Launch key F9 will still launch the command defined for digit 9, but you can also type ALT with the digit key to launch any of up to ten defined commands.

S/800 AS DEFAULT TEXT EDITOR

You can use the EBM S/800 as a Notepad replacement by configuring Windows to open text files directly in the S/800. Double-clicking a text file will open it in Editor Mode. You can even open several files at once.

The process is extremely straightforward, and will work with any kind of text file, e.g. .txt and .cpp files. Note that at present .8ws spreadsheet files will open as text documents.

Making File Extensions Visible

EBM recommend that you force Windows to show file extension. In Windows 10, open any folder, select View, then check File name extensions. In Windows 11, open any folder, select View, then Show, then check File name extensions.

Setting the S/800 as the Default Application

Right-click any file with the relevant extension, for example any .txt file. Select Open with.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT choose the S/800 here.

Select Choose another app. If you do not see this option, select Show more options.

IMPORTANT: In the dialog box, check Always use this app before you select the S/800.

If you do not see the S/800, select More apps or Look for another app. Find the s800.exe file and select it.

If you installed the S/800 using the default settings, you will find s800.exe at C:\Program Files (x86)\S800.

Repeat this process for all relevant file extensions.

Opening Text Files in the S/800

Double-click on a file to open. The S/800 will launch, and will open the file in Editor Mode. If the S/800 is already running, the S/800 will switch to the file in Editor Mode.

To open multiple files, select the files, then right-click on the files and choose Open.

PICO-8

Both editions of the EBM S/800 include a Module for working with Pico-8 projects. To load the Pico-8 Module, type F1 to ensure you are in Terminal Mode, then type INSTALL PICO8

A Pico-8 project involves at least two files. A .p8 file is loaded into the Pico-8, and this file calls one or more .lua files, which you edit in the S/800.

ANY SIMPLER METHOD WILL LEAD TO LOSS OF DATA whether you use the S/800 or any other text editor.

In Pico-8, type #INCLUDE MAZE2.LUA in a new file, save as maze.p8 To find the folder, in the Pico-8's terminal type FOLDER and copy the path to the clipboard or note it on a napkin.

In the EBM S/800's Terminal Mode (F1), navigate to your Pico-8 project folder, e.g. FOLDER "C:\Pico8"

In the EBM S/800's Editor Mode (F2), in a new file (CTRL+N), type CTRL+SHIFT+S to save, replacing the suggested name with maze2.lua in lowercase.

Type print "s800" - if you installed Pico-8, the text will be shown in uppercase. Type CTRL+S to save the file.

In Pico-8, type RUN in the terminal. You do not need to reload maze.p8.

Your .p8 file can #INCLUDE several files, all of which can be edited in the EBM S/800. Note that the Pico-8 does not allow nested includes, therefore your .lua files cannot contain #INCLUDE statements.



Liberal use of GOTO is encouraged.