Install notes for the MAE assembler. MAE.COM as supplied in the archive will run as-is on a 128K+ machine, in standard 40 column mode. Instructions for creating a version for 64K machines and/or 64/80 column versions follow. Please backup the original MAE.COM file or keep the archive itself before making any customized versions. Some of these installations require changing the buffer addresses for MAE's source text and symbol table. For these cases you should run the config utility CONFIG.COM. It will try to open the file D:MAE.COM, and will save any configuration changes back to the MAE executable. Thus, you should make sure MAE.COM is on the current working drive, (or on drive 1, depending upon the DOS you are using), before running CONFIG.COM. An error message will be displayed if it fails to load MAE.COM. - CONFIG.COM OPERATION - Once the loading is successful, CONFIG will display a screen full of editable parameters. You may use up and down arrows to move the cursor to different fields, and then type in your new values. Return will advance to the next field. Backspace and left/right arrows are supported within the field. Press 'Esc' when you are finished with your changes. If no errors are found in the data, CONFIG will prompt if you wish to save the changes back to the MAE.COM file. Press 'Y' to save them, 'Esc' to keep editing, or any other key to exit the program without saving. If an error is detected, press 'Esc' to revert to the previous value at the start of the session, or any other key to keep editing. The cursor will be placed on the field that had the error. Please refer to MAE.DOC for details on the parameters themselves, in the section titled "MEMORY USAGE AND CONFIGURATION". - 64K VERSION - The bulk of the MAE executable resides in the $4000-$7FFF address range, designed to be in bank select memory. If you do not have banked memory, you must reconfigure MAE's buffer addresses to not overwrite the program. Free memory will be in two segments, from LOMEM-$3FFF, and from $8000-$B6FF. You should probably set the source buffer to the latter, since it is the larger segment. Use CONFIG.COM to set the first four addresses to $8000, $B6FF, $0000 (MAE will use the current LOMEM), and $3FFF. You should also change the three bank select bytes to $FF, and then save your changes. - 64 & 80 COLUMN DRIVERS - 64 and 80 column modes are not available on 64K machines. HAND64.OBJ and HAND80.OBJ are drivers for 64 and 80 column screens. They take advantage of ANTIC memory banking so that their use does not reduce the available memory for source and symbol table. They reside in the base memory range of $5600-$7FFF. If you have a memory upgrade that is not ANTIC-bit compatible, then you must use HAND64X.OBJ and HAND80X.OBJ. These versions will have to place the screen and dislay list from $9500-$B6FF. Code and data will be $6FF0-$79FF. To run the X versions of the handlers, you will need to reconfigure MAE's text buffer to end at $94FF instead of $B6FF using CONFIG.COM. Copy either HAND64.OBJ or HAND64X.OBJ to a new file named COL64.OBJ, and copy HAND80.OBJ OR HAND80X.OBJ to COL80.OBJ. You now need to add character sets to these files. There are two character set choices for both the 64 and 80 column handlers. A character set must be appended to the end of the handler's .OBJ file before the handler can be used. These files are COL64A.FNT, COL64B.FNT, COL80A.FNT, AND COL80B.FNT. These files should be viewable and editable in standard font editing packages. Choose a font file for each handler, and copy-with-append the fonts to the COL64.OBJ and COL80.OBJ files that you created above. The handlers are now ready for use. The 64 and 80 column screen handlers can be used in two different ways. The files can be loaded from the debugger, and then when you reenter the assembler the new handler will be active. To do this, press 'B' from MAE's main menu and then use a debugger command like "L COL64.OBJ". Then enter 'A' to enter the assembler again and you should see a 64 column screen. The file "COL40.OBJ" can be loaded to return to 40 column mode. Another option, especially if you find that you want to use an extended column mode most of the time, is simply to append one of the COL64.OBJ or COL80.OBJ files to the end of the MAE.COM executable. In this way, MAE will always start up in the mode you choose, and you are still free to load different modes using the debugger. Personally, I think the 64 column mode works very well for Assembly source, while maintaining much better readability than the 80 column mode. Note that the debugger will always run on the 40 column screen regardless of which handler is loaded for the assembler/editor.