Instruction manual

INDEX
AutoStar #497 HANDBOX
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Description String: Description of an object. Must be
surrounded by quotation marks. If the description is
longer than one line, each line must end with a quotation
mark and a hard return. Begin the next description line
with a quotation mark.
If quotation marks are to be displayed in the on-screen
description, use two quote marks at the beginning
and end of the desired phrase. For example: “The
Orion Nebula is considered “awesome” by many who
view it”.
Writing a Tour
Using the list of commands listed above, a custom
tour can be created. Placing the word AUTO SELECT
before any of the command lines activates Automatic
Mode and, when selected, AutoStar automatically
searches and fi nds the designated object.
The following is a list of command lines, complete with
keywords and necessary strings:
TITLE
Title must be the fi rst keyword in your tour after any
comment lines and must be 15 characters or less.
AutoStar displays this title when “Guided Tour” is
selected from the menus.
For example: TITLE “A Star’s Life”
TEXT “title string” “description string”
This command allows you to display a text title and
description.
USER ra dec “title string” “description string”
This command line allows you to access a specifi c
object with your own description. Enter USER, then
the R.A. and DEC. of a desired object, and its title and
description. Use the format described in the Command
Line section.
The following commands specify objects that are
already in the AutoStar database. If these commands
follow the command AUTO SELECT, the object’s title
displays on line 1 and its description scrolls across
line 2.
Do not add a description string after the following
command lines; these commands access objects with
existing description in the AutoStar database.
Comment Line
Information in the Tour program that is not displayed,
such as authorship, revision history,
copyrights, etc. All comments begin with a “/” character
in column 1 of the line. For example:
/ Extreme Object
/ (c) 2009 Meade Instruments Corporation
Command Line
This line contains programming commands, including:
R.A. and DEC. coordinates, a title string, a description
string, and a keyword.
R.A.: Enter the Right Ascension of an object in the
following format: HH:MM:SS.
Eg., 18:51:05
Dec.: Enter the Declination of an object in the following
format: DDdMMmSSs. Eg., – 06d16m00s
Title String: Text within a title string is displayed as
the title of the object. A title string can contain up to
16 characters and must be surrounded by quotation
marks. For example. “M64” or “My Favorite Star”.
In Interactive Mode, the title string appears on line 2
until it is selected with the ENTER key.
In Automatic Mode, or after Interactive Mode selection,
the title string appears on line 1 while the description
scrolls across line 2.
Keywords: Action to be performed during a tour.
AutoStar recognizes the following keywords:
TITLE TEXT
USER NGC
IC SAO
MESSIER CALDWELL
PLANET MOON
SATELLITE ASTEROID
COMET LUNAR ECLIPSE
METEOR SHOWER DEEP SKY
CONSTELLATION STAR
LANDMARK DEFINE
PICK ONE/PICK END AUTO SLEW ON/OFF
#END
ADVANCED FEATURES
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