Newton Press FAQ 
General Questions
Newton Press for Macintosh
Troubleshooting on the Macintosh
Troubleshooting on the Newton
Technical Questions
General Questions
What is a book?
Newton Books are packages which are displayed by the built-in Book Reader. Books can contain formatted text, graphics, a table of contents, and links to other pages. They can be searched quickly. Books created with Newton Book Maker can contain NewtonScript programs.
All books are read-only, but you can annotate them (tap the "scribble" button to show or hide annotations).
Newton Press vs Newton Book Maker
Newton Press provides simple drag-and-drop book making, but doesn't give access to all the features of Newton Books. Newton Book Maker gives you control over additional formatting options, and lets you embed NewtonScript views in a book. The cost is that you need to use a simple markup language, and use the Newton Toolkit to generate the book package.
Newton Press also has the ability to install book packages, without requiring an additional connectivity program.
Newton Press vs Paperback
Newton Press creates books, while Paperback creates applications which display unformatted text.
What is the latest version of Newton Press?
The Mac OS version is 1.0. The Windows version is also at 1.0. Check Apple Computer's Newton Press Page for information on the latest versions.
Why can't I use the handwriting font?
Since not all Newton devices have the "Casual" font, Newton Press 1.0 doesn't allow it. Presumably when the percentage of Newton 2.0 machines is higher, Press will support it. However, you would then be able to make books that wouldn't display properly on all Newton PDAs.
How do books handle different size screens?
Newton Press creates books optimized for the MessagePad 120 screen (in portrait orientation). The book format is designed to handle any size page, so it's possible that a future version of Newton Press could make larger or smaller books.
Can I put text next to graphics?
You'll need to use Newton Book Maker (and create a layout with a sidebar column).
Can I print a book?
Book Reader will print or fax, printing four book pages on one printed page. Graphics larger than a book page are clipped.
Newton Press for Macintosh
How do I get uncurved quotes?
Newton Press features "smart quotes," the process which curves quotes as you type. The Preferences dialog controls whether this feature is on or off. If you normally want curved typographic quotes, but need to type an inch mark or foot mark, hold down the command key while typing " or '.
Newton Press ships with a variety of XTND translators. If you need to import word processor or graphic documents which are in a format for which there's no translator, you may be able to obtain a translator file, and install it in the Claris Translators folder.
Why can't I select the entire book and Copy or Delete?
Newton Press is not a word processor.
What if I paste or import a graphic larger than a page?
When the book is displayed on a Newton PDA, a scroller lets the reader scroll through the entire graphic.
Newton Press only reads word processor and graphic formats. Your best bet is probably to save the spreadsheet as tab-delimited text.
How do I control Newton Press with AppleScript?
tell application "NP"
build (alias "tache:NP:demo mac:demo1") package (file "ram:test1.pkg")
end tell
Troubleshooting on the Macintosh
Press won't start
You may be missing part of Macintosh Drag & Drop (which is included with System 7.5.). Use the Installer and choose Custom Install to install it.
My document wasn't imported the way I wanted
Newton Press uses Claris XTND to read word processor or graphic documents. Many translators don't support all features of the word processor they import.
In addition, the Newton doesn't support many text options, such as hanging indents, center- or right-aligned tabs, strikeout text, etc. Newton Press (or the XTND translator) will ignore some of the more advanced formatting.
Contact Claris or your word processor's publisher for information on more recent XTND translators.
Dataviz's MacLink Pro also offers an XTND-compatible translation solution.
My text document wasn't imported the way I wanted
There are two different translators which handle plain text files (as well as an RTF translator). Newton Press ships with one called "Plain Text." The one called "Text" doesn't seem to work with Newton Press, and you should remove it from the "Claris Translators" folder (in the "Claris" folder in the System Folder).
Be sure the "Apple Modem Tool" (with that exact name) is in your Extensions folder. Use the Newton Press installer if you can't find it.
Why does "Text" appear more than once in the Add dialog popup?
You probably have more than one XTND translator which imports plain text (ASCII) files. The one called "Text" doesn't seem to work with Newton Press, and you should remove it from the "Claris Translators" folder (in the "Claris" folder in the System Folder).
Troubleshooting on the Newton
My book icon or title doesn't change
The Newton's built-in Book Reader caches certain information. If you change fields in the Title dialog and reinstall the book, the icon in the Extras drawer might not be updated. You could install the book package on a different Newton PDA, or change the book's ISBN (open the Title dialog and click More Choices). Or try resetting the Newton PDA.
There's a bug in Book Reader in Newton 2.0, where when you open a book, the page number is displayed incorrectly (often as page 0) at the bottom of the screen. Turning to a different page should fix this. There's nothing wrong with the book package.
My annotations were lost
Versions of Book Reader prior to 2.0 didn't save ink annotations when you reset the MessagePad.
Technical Questions
How do I open a book from NewtonScript?
GetRoot().Copperfield:OpenBook(isbn);
Last updated 12 May 97 drd
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