Copy the Subdirectory mess-apple to the C-drive (or a USB drive) if you have this as a CD-ROM. You can copy using either Windows or an MS-DOS command.
Open an MS-DOS prompt
use the cd command to change to the root mess-apple directory.
There is a batch file called bex. Use it with a parameter:
| Command Line | Result |
|---|---|
| bex boot<Enter> | Boots BEX from scratch |
| bex starting<Enter> | BEX at the Starting Menu |
| bex main<Enter> | BEX at the Main Menu |
| bex math<Enter> | BEX at the Math Menu (MathematiX) |
If you do not know how to use MS-DOS, the CD command at the MS-DOS prompt, or use a simple batch file, then please get help from someone else.
The emulation is a bit slow. Be patient.
You need to have access to a full keyboard. A $15 USB keyboard works fine on a laptop. Press Scroll Lock to toggle into "Partial Keyboard Mode" in the emulation. Once in "Partial Keyboard Mode", you can use other keys as commands. Press Escape to quit the program. Press Shift-F7 to save the state of the program (I have already used states 1-4, please avoid these). When you save the state of the program, the identifying character is also passed into the Apple 2 program. This is annoying, but we can still make this work.
To exit the emulation without a full keyboard, press control-escape. Left click on an unoccupied portion of the task bar to get rid of the menu. I find I need to repeat this twice. It changes the focus to normal Windows handling of the keyboard. Now right click on the task bar icon for the Mess application. Visually, this is a large, orange M. Choose Close window. While this is a bit tricky, it is easier than always rebooting your laptop.
These examples use Caryn Navy's Phd Thesis as sample files.