[continued from previous message]   
      
       :-) Probably the most common ASCII art picture is the smiley (-:   
       =)  but it can get a lot more sophisticated than that.        (=   
                  ____   
               .-" +' "-.      Here's a small ASCII picture of   
              /.'.'A_'*`.\     a snow-scene paperweight,   
             |:.*'/\-\. ':|    drawn by Joan Stark:   
             |:.'.||"|.'*:|   
              \:~^~^~^~^:/     If this picture looks very strange and   
               /`-....-'\      you can't really tell what it is,   
          jgs /          \     don't panic -- see Question 5.   
              `-.,____,.-'   
      
       People use ASCII art for a number of reasons. Here are some of them.   
       *   It is the most universal computer art form in the world --   
           every computer system capable of displaying multi-line text can   
           display ASCII art, without needing to have a graphics mode or   
           support a particular graphics file format.   
       *   An ASCII picture is hundreds of times smaller in file size   
           than its GIF or BMP equivalent, while still giving a good idea   
           of what something looks like.   
       *   It's easy to copy from one file to another (just cut and paste).   
       *   It's fun!   
      
   ========================================================================   
   [3]  What does ASCII mean?   
   ========================================================================   
       ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)   
         7-bit as defined in ISO-646 is a basic set of 128 numbered symbols   
         which almost all kinds of computer can display. Here are the ones   
         that are used for ASCII art:   
      
       032 [space] 048 0   064 @   080 P   096 `   112 p   
       033 !       049 1   065 A   081 Q   097 a   113 q   
       034 "       050 2   066 B   082 R   098 b   114 r   
       035 #       051 3   067 C   083 S   099 c   115 s   
       036 $       052 4   068 D   084 T   100 d   116 t   
       037 %       053 5   069 E   085 U   101 e   117 u   
       038 &       054 6   070 F   086 V   102 f   118 v   
       039 '       055 7   071 G   087 W   103 g   119 w   
       040 (       056 8   072 H   088 X   104 h   120 x   
       041 )       057 9   073 I   089 Y   105 i   121 y   
       042 *       058 :   074 J   090 Z   106 j   122 z   
       043 +       059 ;   075 K   091 [   107 k   123 {   
       044 ,       060 <   076 L   092 \   108 l   124 |   
       045 -       061 =   077 M   093 ]   109 m   125 }   
       046 .       062 >   078 N   094 ^   110 n   126 ~   
       047 /       063 ?   079 O   095 _   111 o   
      
       There are other characters in the set (with the numbers 0 - 31 and   
       127), but they can do bad stuff to Usenet readers, so PLEASE DON'T   
       USE THEM in your pictures (except characters 10 and or 13 which   
       are used to insert a new-line by a variety of Operating Systems).   
      
   ========================================================================   
   [4]  Why do the pictures look strange?   
   ========================================================================   
       If one particular picture posted to this group looks faulty, but the   
       rest of them look fine, then its most likely a problem with that   
       particular picture, or with the poster's Usenet program. But if   
       *all* the pictures look bad, then your Usenet reader may be set to   
       display messages in a proportional font (see Question 5).   
      
       *   If there are a lot of almost-blank lines in the picture, then   
           the message is probably suffering from `wrapping'. This   
           wrapping may be being done by your newsreader; see if it has an   
           option called `wrap long lines' or similar, and make sure it is   
           turned off. If this doesn't work, then the wrapping was probably   
           done by the news program of the person who sent the picture, in   
           which case there's not much you can do -- everybody else will be   
           seeing the same thing.   
      
       *   If there are a lot of < and > symbols in the  picture, with   
           words like HTML, FONT COLOR, B, I, and so on inside them, then   
           the picture has been sent in HTML format and your newsreader   
           does not understand HTML (most newsreaders don't).   
      
   ========================================================================   
   [5]  What font do you use for ASCII art?   
   ========================================================================   
       ASCII art is created using a fixed-width font (like on a traditional   
       typewriter), because this is the only way to make it portable.   
       However, several Usenet readers now display messages in a   
       proportional font (where different characters are different widths).   
      
       The following two lines tell you which kind of font you're using.   
       The arrow ends up in a different place for different font types and   
       is right most of the time:   
      
       You are using a [Proportional] [Monospaced] font   
       ................................. --^--   
      
       Also, to see what your program is doing, look at these two lines:   
       iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|   
       WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW|   
       If they look the same length, you're using a fixed-width font and   
       all should be ok. If the second line is longer than the first, you   
       need to change your settings to use a fixed-width font.   
      
           In Netscape Messenger, this option is set in   
              Edit > Preferences > Mail & Newsgroups.   
           In Outlook Express, the option is set in   
              View > Options > Fonts  (see Question 20)   
           In Forte Agent, the option is set in   
              Options > Display Preferences > Fonts   
           and Free Agent, the option is set in   
              Options > General Preferences > Fonts   
      
       Using Google-Groups from a web-browser, use the browser's Options   
       menu or tab to select fixed-font,   
       e.g. Firefox > Tools > Options > Content > Advanced > and then   
       set all possible types of font to Lucida Console and UNCHECK the   
       box allowing pages to choose their own fonts, click OK ..   
      
       Detailed information on how to configure other Usenet readers is   
       available at the:   
         ASCII-Art Documentation Archive (see the beginning of this FAQ).   
       If all else fails, copy the text of the picture from   
       your program and paste it into a text editor (such as Notepad).   
       It's a hassle, but at least you'll get to see the pictures.   
      
   ========================================================================   
   [6]  What program do you use for ASCII art?   
   ========================================================================   
       You can create ASCII art in any text editor,     [jorn barger]   
       such as: Notepad in Windows,   
       SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS,   
       nedit, vi, vim, or pico in Unix,                   _+m"m+_   
       BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS,                Jp     qh   
       or any of the various Emacs editors.              O       O   
                                                         Yb     dY   
       A  'quick-start'  program  for learning            "Y5m2Y"   
       is JavE, a free Java program, that can be   
       obtained from:-          http://www.jave.de   
      
       Some editors have features which make them more   
       suitable for  ASCII art  than others, but that is   
       largely a matter of personal opinion. Features which   
       are both useful for  ASCII art  and  available in many   
       text editors, include the following:-   
      
       *   Overtype, also known as overstrike: removes the need for   
           you to constantly realign characters using the  Backspace,   
           Space, and Delete keys. Try the  Insert key if there is one   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)