Sunday 19 February 2012

QL World Programs - File Finder


There are many programming gems from the QL World magazine that deserve to be dusted down and brought up to date. Browsing through some old floppy disks to look for a C program to try in the GST C compiler, this was released as a public domain program over 2 years ago, QL Heaven came across this excellent small program from the autumn of 1989. Typed in by hand and used when the QL had only floppy disks and microdrives as devices.  This is Finder_bas and uses pattern matching to find files from amongst the morass of accumulated files on disks and QXL.win files. The picture shows it finding the files with the thg tag on flp1_. A trivial example but on a QXL.win file with megabytes of data a useful tool.

This along with 3D Noughts and crosses deserves to be updated for modern systems. QL Heaven has another gem that will be featured here at some point. This is AI Draughts program, written entirely in SuperBasic and plays a mean game of draughts even though the users interface is dire. That's for another day.

In the QL user list there was an announcement of prototype of an ethernet board for the black box QL - from the picture is appears to use the QL expansion slot, so if it comes to production it might just use the Qplane or backplane. The pictures are here on flickr here



Below is the file finder listing



1000 DEFine FuNction Match (Pattern$,Str$)
1010 LOCal Chr,Text,Wcard,Mask$,loop,Result
1020 LOCal Charpos(10),EndChar(10),First(10)
1030 LOCal MinPos(10),MaxPos(10),x,Y
1040 Mask$=Pattern$:Chr=1 : Text=0
1050 FOR x=1 TO 10
1060  REPeat loop
1070    Wcard=Mask$(Chr) INSTR "\?*"
1080    IF Wcard >1 AND Text : Text=0 : EXIT loop
1090    IF ((Wcard>1)+Text)=0
1100      Text=1 : Charpos(x)=Chr
1110    END IF
1120    SELect ON Wcard
1130     =1 : IF Chr=LEN(Mask$):STOP
1140          IF Chr=1
1150             Mask$=Mask$(2 TO )
1160          ELSE
1170             Mask$=Mask$(1 TO Chr-1)&Mask$(Chr+1 TO)
1180          END IF
1190    =2 : MinPos(x)=MinPos(x)+1
1200    =3 :MaxPos(x)=1
1210    END SELect
1220    Chr=Chr+1
1230    IF Chr>LEN(Mask$):EXIT loop
1240  END REPeat loop
1250  EndChar(x)=Chr-1
1260  IF Chr > LEN(Mask$):EXIT x
1270 END FOR x
1280 :
1290 Y=1 : First(Y)=1 +MinPos(1)
1300 REPeat loop
1310    IF Charpos(Y)=0
1320      IF MaxPos(Y)
1330        Result=LEN(Str$) >=First(Y)-1
1340      ELSE
1350       Result=LEN(Str$)=First(Y)-1
1360      END IF
1370   ELSE
1380    IF First(Y) > LEN(Str$) : RETurn 0
1390    IF MaxPos(Y)
1400      last=LEN(Str$)
1410    ELSE
1420      last=First(Y)+EndChar(Y)-Charpos(Y)
1430    END IF
1440    Result=Mask$(Charpos(Y) TO EndChar(Y)) INSTR Str$(First(Y) TO last)
1450    END IF
1460 :
1470  IF Result=0
1480    REPeat BackTrack
1490       Y=Y-1 : IF Y=0 : RETurn 0
1500       IF MaxPos(Y):EXIT BackTrack
1510    END REPeat BackTrack
1520  ELSE
1530    IF Charpos(Y)=0 : RETurn 1
1540    First(Y)=First(Y)+Result
1550    First(Y+1)=First(Y)+EndChar(Y)-Charpos(Y)+MinPos(Y+1)
1560    Y=Y+1
1570  END IF
1580 END REPeat loop
1590 END DEFine    Match
1600 :
1610 MODE 4 : WINDOW 512,256,0,0
1620 PAPER 2,4 : CLS
1630     S=3 : OPEN#S,con_
1640     m=4 : OPEN#m,con_
1650     P=5 : OPEN#P,ser1
1660     F=6
1670     T=7
1680 Pattern$='*'
1690 Dev$='flp1_'
1700 TempFile$="ram1_TempFile"
1710 Medium$='< None >'
1720 Free =0 : Used=0
1730 Pattern : Device : Medium
1740 Display : Space  : Menu 1
1750  REPeat loop
1760   key=Bar_Menu(max)
1770     SELect ON key
1780      =1 : New_Pattern
1790      =2 : New_Device
1800      =3,4
1810           Examine=key-3
1820           Search_Mode
1830      =5,0 : EXIT loop
1840     END SELect
1850  END REPeat loop
1855 CLOSE
1860 :
1870 DEFine PROCedure Draw_Wndo (ch,ac,dn,Xpos,Ypos,Col,Title$)

1880 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+20,dn*10+24,Xpos,Ypos
1890 PAPER#ch,2,0 : INK#ch,7 :CLS#ch
1900 BORDER#ch,1,0:BORDER#ch,4
1910 CSIZE#ch,2,0 :PRINT#ch,Title$
1920 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+8,dn*10+4,Xpos+6,Ypos+16
1930 PAPER#ch,Col: CLS#ch : BORDER#ch,2
1940 CSIZE#ch,1,0:INK#ch,7*(Col<4)
1950 END DEFine draw_window
1960 :
1970 DEFine PROCedure Display
1980 Draw_Wndo 1,40,17,140,56,0,"MEDIUM    FILE"
1990 DIM media$(56,10),File$(56,48)
2000 END DEFine Display
2010 :
2020 DEFine PROCedure Pattern
2030 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,4,"PATTERN"
2040 PRINT#S,Pattern$
2050 END DEFine Pattern
2060 :
2070 DEFine PROCedure Device
2080  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,30,16,4,"DEVICE"
2090 PRINT #S,Dev$
2100 END DEFine Device
2110 :
2120 DEFine PROCedure Medium
2130  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,140,16,4,"MEDIUM"
2140   PRINT#S,Medium$
2150 END DEFine Medium
2160 :
2170 DEFine PROCedure Space
2180 Draw_Wndo S,10,2,30,56,4,"STATUS"
2190 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Free);Free;"K Free"
2200 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Used);Used;"K Used"
2210 END DEFine Space
2220 :
2230 DEFine PROCedure Menu(Type)
2240 LOCal n,Title$,Col
2250   WINDOW#m,120,146,20,108
2260   PAPER#m,2,4,0 : CLS#m
2270   IF Type=0 :RETurn
2280   IF Type>4  THEN
2285     Draw_Wndo S,10,3,30,108,7,"MESSAGE"
2290      Z=INT((Type*10)-40)
2310      IF Z =1 : PRINT#S,"Is ";Dev$;\"ready for"\"searching?"
2313      IF Z =2 : PRINT#S,"Print the"\"list?"
2314      IF Z =3 : PRINT#S,"Delete"    \File$(x);"?"
2316      IF Z =4 : PRINT#S,"Print"     \File$(x)
2318      IF Z =5 : PRINT#S,"Continue" \ "listing?"
2325    END IF
2328   Selection=INT(Type)
2330    SELect ON Selection
2340       =1 : RESTORE 2420
2350       =2 : RESTORE 2430
2360       =3 : RESTORE 2440
2370       =4 : RESTORE 2450
2380    END SELect
2390   READ max,Col,Title$
2400   Draw_Wndo m,10,max,30,176,Col,Title$
2410 FOR n=1 TO max : READ a$ : PRINT#m,a$
2420 DATA 5,4,"MAIN","Pattern","Device","List Only","Examine","Quit"
2430 DATA 4,4,"DEVICES","flp1_","flp2_","mdv1_","mdv2_"
2440 DATA 5,4,"FILE","Continue","View","Delete","Print","Quit"
2450 DATA 2,7,"Confirm","No","Yes"
2460 END DEFine Menu
2470 :
2480 DEFine FuNction Bar_Menu(max)
2490 LOCal n,key,loop
2500 n=0
2510 REPeat loop
2520   OVER#m,-1: BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7
2530 key=KEYROW(1) : key=CODE(INKEY$(-1))
2540 BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7 : OVER#m,0
2550  SELect ON key
2560   = 208 :n=(n-1) MOD max
2570   = 216 :n=(n-1) MOD max
2580   =10,32: RETurn n+1
2590   =27   : RETurn 0
2600  END SELect
2610 END REPeat loop
2620 END DEFine Bar_Menu
2630 :
2770 DEFine PROCedure New_Pattern
2780 LOCal loop,max,Temp$
2790 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,0,"NEW PATTERN"
2800 Menu 0 :INPUT#S,Temp$: Menu 4
2810 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2 : Pattern$=Temp$
2820 Pattern : PRINT#S; Pattern$: Menu 1
2830 END DEFine New_Pattern
2840 :
2850 DEFine PROCedure  New_Device
2860 LOCal key,a$
2870  Menu 2
2880 key= Bar_Menu(max)
2890  SELect ON key
2900   =1: Dev$="flp1_"
2910   =2: Dev$="flp2_"
2920   =3: Dev$="mdv1_"
2930   =4: Dev$="mdv2_"
2940  END SELect
2950 Device : Menu 1
2960 END DEFine New_Device
2970 :
2980 DEFine PROCedure Search_Mode
2990 LOCal Loop1,Loop2,Loop3,x,Y
3000 Y=1
3010  REPeat Loop1
3020   IF Fetch_Dir = 0 : EXIT Loop1
3030    REPeat Loop2
3040      Menu 0
3050      FOR x=Y TO DIMN(File$)
3060       REPeat Loop3
3070        IF EOF(#T) : EXIT x
3080         INPUT#T,a$ : BEEP 200,100
3090          IF Match(Pattern$,a$):EXIT Loop3
3100         END REPeat Loop3
3110         File$(x)=a$ : media$(x)=Medium$
3120         PRINT Medium$; TO 12;a$
3130         IF Examine
3140           IF File_Check:CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop1
3150         END IF
3160       NEXT x
3170         PRINT\"End of Page"\
3180       END FOR x
3190       IF Print_page OR x=DIMN(File$)
3200         Y=1 : Display
3210       ELSE
3220         Y=x
3230       END IF
3240       IF EOF(#T) : CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop2
3250    END REPeat Loop2
3260  END REPeat Loop1
3270 Display : Menu 1
3280 END DEFine Search_Mode
3290 :
3300 DEFine FuNction Fetch_Dir
3310 LOCal loop,a$
3320 Menu 4.1 : IF Bar_Menu (2) <2 : RETurn 0
3330 DELETE TempFile$
3340 OPEN_NEW#T,TempFile$
3350 DIR#T,Dev$
3360 CLOSE#T : OPEN_IN#T,TempFile$
3370 INPUT#T,Medium$,a$
3380 Free=INT(a$/2)
3390 Used=a$("/" INSTR a$+1 TO " " INSTR a$ -1)
3400 Used=INT(Used/2)-Free
3410 Medium : Space : RETurn 1
3420 END DEFine Fetch_Dir
3430 :
3440 DEFine FuNction Print_page
3450 Menu 4.2
3460 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2
3470   PRINT#P;\\DATE$
3480   PRINT#P; \"Files Matching ";
3490   PRINT#P;  Pattern$ \\
3500   FOR x=1 TO DIMN(File$)
3510     IF File$(x) ="":EXIT x
3520     PRINT#P, TO 8;media$(x);
3530     PRINT#P, TO 24;File$(x)
3540   END FOR x
3550   PRINT#P,CHR$(12)
3560   RETurn 1
3570 END IF
3580 RETurn 0
3590 END DEFine Print_page
3600 :
3610 DEFine FuNction File_Check
3620 LOCal loop,key
3630 Menu 3
3640   REPeat loop
3650    key=Bar_Menu(max)
3660    SELect ON key
3670     =1 : RETurn 0
3680     =2 : Show_File
3690     =3 : IF Delete_File : RETurn 0
3700     =4 : print_file
3710     =5,0 : RETurn 1
3720    END SELect
3730  Menu 3
3740 END REPeat loop
3750 END DEFine File_Check
3760 :
3770 DEFine PROCedure print_file
3780  LOCal Per_Page,Per_Input,Per_Line
3790  LOCal PageNum,R$,Lyne
3800 PageNum=1 : OPEN#F,Dev$&File$(x)
3810  REPeat Per_Page
3820     IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page
3830     REPeat Per_Input
3840      IF EOF(#F):EXIT Per_Input
3850       INPUT#F,R$
3860        REPeat Per_Line
3870         IF Lyne >50
3880          PRINT#P,CHR$(12)
3890          IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page
3900         END IF
3910         PRINT#P;"     ";R$(1 TO 70)
3920         Lyne=Lyne+1
3930         IF LEN(R$)>70
3940          R$=R$(71 TO)
3950           ELSE
3960          EXIT Per_Line
3970         END IF
3980       END REPeat Per_Line
3990    END REPeat Per_Input
4000  END REPeat Per_Page
4010 CLOSE#F
4020 END DEFine print_file
4030 :
4040 DEFine FuNction New_Page
4050 Menu 4.4
4060 IF Bar_Menu(2) = 2
4070    PRINT#P,File$(x)!!!"Page ";PageNum\\\
4080    Lyne=1 : PageNum=PageNum+1
4090    RETurn 1
4100 END IF
4110 RETurn 0
4120 END DEFine New_Page
4130 :
4140 DEFine PROCedure Show_File
4160 CLS : VIEW Dev$&File$(x)
4180   IF INKEY$ = CHR$(27)
4190    Menu 4.5 : IF Bar_Menu(2)=1 : RETurn
4200   END IF
4240 PRINT FILL$("^",40)
4250 END DEFine Show_File
4260 :
4270 DEFine FuNction Delete_File
4280 Menu 4.3
4290 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2
4300   DELETE Dev$&File$(x)
4310   PRINT "File Deleted":RETurn 1
4320 END IF
4330 RETurn 0
4340 END DEFine Delete_File
4350 :
1880 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+20,dn*10+24,Xpos,Ypos
1890 PAPER#ch,2,0 : INK#ch,7 :CLS#ch
1900 BORDER#ch,1,0:BORDER#ch,4
1910 CSIZE#ch,2,0 :PRINT#ch,Title$
1920 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+8,dn*10+4,Xpos+6,Ypos+16
1930 PAPER#ch,Col: CLS#ch : BORDER#ch,2
1940 CSIZE#ch,1,0:INK#ch,7*(Col<4)
1950 END DEFine draw_window
1960 :
1970 DEFine PROCedure Display
1980 Draw_Wndo 1,40,17,140,56,0,"MEDIUM    FILE"
1990 DIM media$(56,10),File$(56,48)
2000 END DEFine Display
2010 :
2020 DEFine PROCedure Pattern
2030 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,4,"PATTERN"
2040 PRINT#S,Pattern$
2050 END DEFine Pattern
2060 :
2070 DEFine PROCedure Device
2080  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,30,16,4,"DEVICE"
2090 PRINT #S,Dev$
2100 END DEFine Device
2110 :
2120 DEFine PROCedure Medium
2130  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,140,16,4,"MEDIUM"
2140   PRINT#S,Medium$
2150 END DEFine Medium
2160 :
2170 DEFine PROCedure Space
2180 Draw_Wndo S,10,2,30,56,4,"STATUS"
2190 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Free);Free;"K Free"
2200 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Used);Used;"K Used"
2210 END DEFine Space
2220 :
2230 DEFine PROCedure Menu(Type)
2240 LOCal n,Title$,Col
2250   WINDOW#m,120,146,20,108
2260   PAPER#m,2,4,0 : CLS#m
2270   IF Type=0 :RETurn
2280   IF Type>4  THEN
2285     Draw_Wndo S,10,3,30,108,7,"MESSAGE"
2290      Z=INT((Type*10)-40)
2310      IF Z =1 : PRINT#S,"Is ";Dev$;\"ready for"\"searching?"
2313      IF Z =2 : PRINT#S,"Print the"\"list?"
2314      IF Z =3 : PRINT#S,"Delete"    \File$(x);"?"
2316      IF Z =4 : PRINT#S,"Print"     \File$(x)
2318      IF Z =5 : PRINT#S,"Continue" \ "listing?"
2325    END IF
2328   Selection=INT(Type)
2330    SELect ON Selection
2340       =1 : RESTORE 2420
2350       =2 : RESTORE 2430
2360       =3 : RESTORE 2440
2370       =4 : RESTORE 2450
2380    END SELect
2390   READ max,Col,Title$
2400   Draw_Wndo m,10,max,30,176,Col,Title$
2410 FOR n=1 TO max : READ a$ : PRINT#m,a$
2420 DATA 5,4,"MAIN","Pattern","Device","List Only","Examine","Quit"
2430 DATA 4,4,"DEVICES","flp1_","flp2_","mdv1_","mdv2_"
2440 DATA 5,4,"FILE","Continue","View","Delete","Print","Quit"
2450 DATA 2,7,"Confirm","No","Yes"
2460 END DEFine Menu
2470 :
2480 DEFine FuNction Bar_Menu(max)
2490 LOCal n,key,loop
2500 n=0
2510 REPeat loop
2520   OVER#m,-1: BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7
2530 key=KEYROW(1) : key=CODE(INKEY$(-1))
2540 BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7 : OVER#m,0
2550  SELect ON key
2560   = 208 :n=(n-1) MOD max
2570   = 216 :n=(n-1) MOD max
2580   =10,32: RETurn n+1
2590   =27   : RETurn 0
2600  END SELect
2610 END REPeat loop
2620 END DEFine Bar_Menu
2630 :
2770 DEFine PROCedure New_Pattern
2780 LOCal loop,max,Temp$
2790 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,0,"NEW PATTERN"
2800 Menu 0 :INPUT#S,Temp$: Menu 4
2810 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2 : Pattern$=Temp$
2820 Pattern : PRINT#S; Pattern$: Menu 1
2830 END DEFine New_Pattern
2840 :
2850 DEFine PROCedure  New_Device
2860 LOCal key,a$
2870  Menu 2
2880 key= Bar_Menu(max)
2890  SELect ON key
2900   =1: Dev$="flp1_"
2910   =2: Dev$="flp2_"
2920   =3: Dev$="mdv1_"
2930   =4: Dev$="mdv2_"
2940  END SELect
2950 Device : Menu 1
2960 END DEFine New_Device
2970 :
2980 DEFine PROCedure Search_Mode
2990 LOCal Loop1,Loop2,Loop3,x,Y
3000 Y=1
3010  REPeat Loop1
3020   IF Fetch_Dir = 0 : EXIT Loop1
3030    REPeat Loop2
3040      Menu 0
3050      FOR x=Y TO DIMN(File$)
3060       REPeat Loop3
3070        IF EOF(#T) : EXIT x
3080         INPUT#T,a$ : BEEP 200,100
3090          IF Match(Pattern$,a$):EXIT Loop3
3100         END REPeat Loop3
3110         File$(x)=a$ : media$(x)=Medium$
3120         PRINT Medium$; TO 12;a$
3130         IF Examine
3140           IF File_Check:CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop1
3150         END IF
3160       NEXT x
3170         PRINT\"End of Page"\
3180       END FOR x
3190       IF Print_page OR x=DIMN(File$)
3200         Y=1 : Display
3210       ELSE
3220         Y=x
3230       END IF
3240       IF EOF(#T) : CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop2
3250    END REPeat Loop2
3260  END REPeat Loop1
3270 Display : Menu 1
3280 END DEFine Search_Mode
3290 :
3300 DEFine FuNction Fetch_Dir
3310 LOCal loop,a$
3320 Menu 4.1 : IF Bar_Menu (2) <2 : RETurn 0
3330 DELETE TempFile$
3340 OPEN_NEW#T,TempFile$
3350 DIR#T,Dev$
3360 CLOSE#T : OPEN_IN#T,TempFile$
3370 INPUT#T,Medium$,a$
3380 Free=INT(a$/2)
3390 Used=a$("/" INSTR a$+1 TO " " INSTR a$ -1)
3400 Used=INT(Used/2)-Free
3410 Medium : Space : RETurn 1
3420 END DEFine Fetch_Dir
3430 :
3440 DEFine FuNction Print_page
3450 Menu 4.2
3460 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2
3470   PRINT#P;\\DATE$
3480   PRINT#P; \"Files Matching ";
3490   PRINT#P;  Pattern$ \\
3500   FOR x=1 TO DIMN(File$)
3510     IF File$(x) ="":EXIT x
3520     PRINT#P, TO 8;media$(x);
3530     PRINT#P, TO 24;File$(x)
3540   END FOR x
3550   PRINT#P,CHR$(12)
3560   RETurn 1
3570 END IF
3580 RETurn 0
3590 END DEFine Print_page
3600 :
3610 DEFine FuNction File_Check
3620 LOCal loop,key
3630 Menu 3
3640   REPeat loop
3650    key=Bar_Menu(max)
3660    SELect ON key
3670     =1 : RETurn 0
3680     =2 : Show_File
3690     =3 : IF Delete_File : RETurn 0
3700     =4 : print_file
3710     =5,0 : RETurn 1
3720    END SELect
3730  Menu 3
3740 END REPeat loop
3750 END DEFine File_Check
3760 :
3770 DEFine PROCedure print_file
3780  LOCal Per_Page,Per_Input,Per_Line
3790  LOCal PageNum,R$,Lyne
3800 PageNum=1 : OPEN#F,Dev$&File$(x)
3810  REPeat Per_Page
3820     IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page
3830     REPeat Per_Input
3840      IF EOF(#F):EXIT Per_Input
3850       INPUT#F,R$
3860        REPeat Per_Line
3870         IF Lyne >50
3880          PRINT#P,CHR$(12)
3890          IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page
3900         END IF
3910         PRINT#P;"     ";R$(1 TO 70)
3920         Lyne=Lyne+1
3930         IF LEN(R$)>70
3940          R$=R$(71 TO)
3950           ELSE
3960          EXIT Per_Line
3970         END IF
3980       END REPeat Per_Line
3990    END REPeat Per_Input
4000  END REPeat Per_Page
4010 CLOSE#F
4020 END DEFine print_file
4030 :
4040 DEFine FuNction New_Page
4050 Menu 4.4
4060 IF Bar_Menu(2) = 2
4070    PRINT#P,File$(x)!!!"Page ";PageNum\\\
4080    Lyne=1 : PageNum=PageNum+1
4090    RETurn 1
4100 END IF
4110 RETurn 0
4120 END DEFine New_Page
4130 :
4140 DEFine PROCedure Show_File
4160 CLS : VIEW Dev$&File$(x)
4180   IF INKEY$ = CHR$(27)
4190    Menu 4.5 : IF Bar_Menu(2)=1 : RETurn
4200   END IF
4240 PRINT FILL$("^",40)
4250 END DEFine Show_File
4260 :
4270 DEFine FuNction Delete_File
4280 Menu 4.3
4290 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2
4300   DELETE Dev$&File$(x)
4310   PRINT "File Deleted":RETurn 1
4320 END IF
4330 RETurn 0
4340 END DEFine Delete_File
4350 :

Sunday 5 February 2012

Portable QL Manuals and Documents

Due to the 3D noughts and crosses (3DOXO) project QL Heaven has to brush up on Turbo and TPR. The 3DOXO basic listing compiles fine with Turbo. The turbo directives are added to the code, all that remains to do, is the cosmetic work on the program, such as a PE window, and the addition of a few icons and other visual enhancements. This is where TPR comes in. This is George Gwilts's extension for Turbo. To my surprise the system is over 10 years old. The last manual QL Heaven had printed out dated to 2002. TPR is a powerful and complex system so the manuals need to be updated and reread. How to make them as portable as possible considering these are large documents. The answer was to convert them to .pdf files and load them on to QL Heavens ipod touch.

Conversion of text files to .pdf was easily achieved using the freeware primoPDF printer driver. This driver allows Word to print out .pdf files. To get them on to the itouch also proved easy once a free app pdf reader app was down loaded an installed from the itunes store. This app allows pdfs to be copied on to the itouch during sync. Also when the itouch is connected to the Internet it can download pdf files attached to emails. Now for the hard work - learning TPR again.