Using BeagleWrite (8 bit) on an Apple IIgs equipped with the AppleSqueezer

I've always enjoyed BeagleWrite on my IIe. But when switching to my Squeezer-equipped IIgs recently, I found I had trouble getting the 8-bit software running, This was solved by using the Squeezer control panel to use only the onboard (Squeezer) RAM and ignoring the motherboard RAM. Acceleration is fine.

The IIgs doesn't display 8-bit BeagleWrite very well without adjustment. It launches in color with all the color fringing you would expect from a IIe unless switching the IIe monitor to monochrome. To my surprise, using the OA-CTRL-ESC menu to change the IIgs monitor to monochrome worked great! Perhaps the rest of the community already knows this, but it was a fun discovery for me!

Saving in 8-bit BeagleWrite files is a bit of a challenge when using a hard drive solution (in my case a CFFA3000) because the software makes you type in a PATH name. But without getting too crazy, I found that using the file->open command allowed me to see the syntax needed. In my case I saw that I needed to type "/programs" for that image (as I had named it on the IIgs). I saved it as an ASCII file for ease of reading once I switched back to 16-bit mode. The entire point being that I wanted to write a Usenet post in 8-bit BeagleWrite and then upload it to comp.sys.apple2 with SNAP.

Once I was satisfied with this writing in BeagleWrite (saved as an ASCII file), I loaded up SNAP. I found that I could not paste the text into SNAP, but I could insert a text file quite easily with File->Insert Text File.

I'm just submitting this for fun from my IIgs, and maybe if anyone wants to switch between 8-bit and 16-bit softwares with an AppleSqueezer IIgs this could be useful. Or not, Ha!

This rig is a ROM1 IIgs with a Squeezer, an Unthernet II, and connected to Usenet with the free eternal-september Usenet server. BeagleWrite is very cool!

Peace