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SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:01 pm
by afx
Hi all.

I have my QL "black box" with a SuperGoldCard and SMSQ/E, orignally with ROM MGE and Spanish keyboard layout.

I have been trying to configure SMSQ/E for Spanish keyboard for some time but I have not been successful.

I have an SMSQE driver for Spanish PC keyboard and it works fine on my Q68, but I do not know how to build the keyboard table for a BBQL.

Any ideas? Where can I find information?

Has anyone built keyboard tables for other keyboards than those integrated in SMSQ/E (French, English, German)?

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:25 pm
by dilwyn
There is a pair of articles on my website about adding SMSQ/E modules and language modules to the operating system:

http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/smsqegd2/smsqmodu.zip

Also worth looking at Wolfgang Lenerz's Clavier program http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/misc/clavier.zip which can help with building SMSQ/E keyboard tables.

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:26 pm
by pjw
There are some documents by Tony Tebby on the subject. Complete with example programs to build a keyboard module and append the module to SMSQ/E. They may be on Dilwyn's site, called something like smsqmodu_zip, containing the documents langmod_doc and smsqmod_doc. I believe these are scans of articles that appeared in QL Today or QUANTA. The program listings need some fixing up to compute.
If you cant find them, PM me for a copy.

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:20 pm
by afx
Hi dilwyn, pjw, ... thank you very much for the information!

I have read that documentation and the SMSQE manual. I have made some progress, for example, I can change SMSQ/E messages to several languages (German, French, Spanish, ...) with the LANG_USE command and everything works fine. I have loaded the Spanish message table with LRESPR "messages_QL_esES_rext" command and LANG_USE 34 activates Spanish messages correctly. (I have a SuperBASIC util program that generates "messages_QL_esES_rext", "keyboard_QL_esES_rext" and "preferences_QL_esES_rext" files).

However, I can not activate the keyboard in a language other than English. For example, these commands do not seem to have effect:
KBD_TABLE 33
KBD_TABLE 49
KBD_TABLE 34
....

About the keyboard table in Spanish, I tried to load the keyboard table in several ways, for example:
a) LRESPR "keyboard_QL_esES_rext"
b) With SMSQE modules
c) i = RESPR (644): LBYTES "keyboard_QL_esES_rext", i: KBD_TABLE i

But none of them works. (After loading the module I type the command KBD_TABLE 34)

What I can be doing wrong?

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 11:58 pm
by pjw
I just tested KBD_TABLE in SMSQ/E 3.33 under QPC2, with 33, 49 and 44. No problem. I ran TT's program Lang_bas and LRESPRed the result. I then typed KBD_TABLE 440. It was wierd, but certainly something had changed. With a bit of fiddling I managed to revert to KBD_TABLE 44 and all was well again. I cant really test whether the lang_rext file is a valid, error free language module.

I did a basic check with KBD_TABLE in SMSQ/E 3.28. No obvious problem. So I dont know why you dont get a reaction in an UNMODIFIED(?) SMSQ/E.

However, as I mentioned, and you may have noticed, the Lang_bas program presented in langmod_doc was scanned and therefore full of errors, so unless some kindly soul has fixed this since I got my version, it will not run as it stands. I spent some time tidying the code so it at least didnt throw any hissy fits, but there could still be subtle errors. Perhaps your problem lies there?

Although I found a copy of the original langmod.doc (M$ Word) unfortunately the S*BASIC program listing was nowhere to be found.

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:10 pm
by dilwyn
The article itself was published in IQLR volume 5 issue 1 (May/June 1995) but unfortunately they forgot to include the LANG_bas program at the end of the article. A little bit of searching for a correction eventually found it in the January/February 1996 issue, which I've scanned and attached. I haven't got time at the moment to go through it to correct the errors in the scanned artice, but at least original non-OCRed PDF scans attached in case anyone else is able to. (The Word file is 12MB in size, so can't attach that).
LANG_BAS.zip

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:31 pm
by pjw
This is my fixed up version. It runs, it compiles,.. but whether it is error free I cant guarantee. If anyones interested, they could do worse than compare it with Dilwyn's scan, and test it, to see it an error free version can be produced. And then feed it back to the "QL community"..
Langbas.zip
(3.66 KiB) Downloaded 148 times

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:22 pm
by afx
That lang.bas seems to define the keyboard table for a PC-type keyboard.

I have used the language configuration with the basic program attached (spanish.bas). This utility generates the prefences, the messages and QL / PC keyboard tables.

I have been successful with messages and preferences, but with the QL keyboard I have not made any progress. :-(
LangSpanishUtils.zip
Lang Spanish utils
(5.34 KiB) Downloaded 137 times

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 10:24 pm
by Mad Fritz
I know, this thread ist almost dead but I've encountered a similar problem (too much time in the home office):
My BBQL with German keyboard, Tetroids SGC-clone and QL-SD upgraded to V2 works like charm, apart from the fact that I am unable to activate the German keybord layout running SMSQ/E for the GoldCard.
KBD_TABLE D just has zero effect on the machine :cry:

Any hints ?

BR & Stay safe

Andy from Switzerland

EDIT: tofro pointed me in the right direction: use menuconfig ;) Works perfect...

Re: SMSQ/E keyboard tables for BBQL

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:23 am
by Derek_Stewart
Hi,

The defaults can be overridden by entering the KBD_TABLE and LAN_USE command in the boot file:

10 LANG_USE "D"
20 KBD_TABLE "D"

In the Q68, I have the theses commands in the first lines of lines of the boot file, as 'GB', as I can only speak English...

If QPC2 is being used, the keyboard type has to chnaged to SMSQE rather than Windows ( also works in Wine )