By Joseph J. Shaughnessy — originally published in COMPUTE!’s Gazette Issue 2, August 1983
With few simple changes you can make your self, this program will work on either the VIC-20 or Commodore 64, with either disk or tape. Expansion memory is not required on the VIC, but will greatly increase the capacity of the mailing list.
The following program is modified and expanded version of utility program from the Toronto PET Users Group, called “Addresses” and originally written in Dutch by Andy Finkel. The program has been translated into English and printer option added. Using Commodore printer, it can print the entire list or individual mailing labels.
The accompanying program listing is for the VIC-20 and 1540/1541 disk drive, but it can easilybe modified to operate with the cassette recorderby changing the SAVE statement in line 55 to read SAVERS. This program also works on the Commodore 64 by inserting extra spaces in the PRINT statements in lines 19 and 60 (to center the title display), changing the DATA statement in line 16 to “64 Mailing List”, and by either deleting the POKE statement in line 16 or replacing it with the appropriate POKE statements to set the 64’s screen color. (Screen color is green with black letters, but this is your choice.)
Each address field is set up to receive eight items of information, as shown in lines 17 and 18. These items can be changed to anything you want (for instance, to set up filing system instead of mailing list), but you are limited to eight items because of the size of the keyboard buffer (line 28). Also, since the DATA statements are printed on the screen as part of the procedure for adding them to the program, you must be careful not to make your items of information so wordy that printing eight DATA statements would cause the 64’s first few lines to scroll off the screen and thereby be lost.
At one point, Had version of this program that used upper and lowercase letters, but found this too inconvenient when lining the “search” function. often forgot to use appropriate capital letters either when entering the original information or when inputting the search value. To aid in searching, names are entered and stored last name first, but they are sent to the printer first name first. Do not use commas when entering your mail list items.
This program will fit into any memory size VIC-20, hut memory expansion is necessary to store very many addresses. (For instance, have 65 names stored, and it takes about 12K of memory.) If you need space for more names (and have the memory) just add more “dummy” DATA statements to the end of the program.
The program prints mailing labels in single column. Further work could be done to print the labels two or three across the width of the paper, and the formatting could be changed to match the layout of adhesive labels.
I addressed my Christmas cards with this program (tape version) and found it big time saver, even though had to use scissors and tape to put the labels on the envelopes.
A disk drive or printer will certainly enhance the program’s usefulness, but they are not essential. The program can probably be modified to run on of her computers, depending on the size of the keyboard buffer.
If you don’t want to type this program, please send blank cassette or disk and $3 with stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
Joe Shaughnessy
4703 Country Club Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 75236
See program listing on page 111.