Bob Fischer was a middle and high school band director. He used his Timex/Sinclair computers to develop a gradebook program, which he used in the classroom.
He also used Tom Wood’s Pro/File 2068 database extensively, developing new routines and refining the code. He published Extensions, a newsletter about his updates to Pro/File 2068.
| Title | Author(s) | Publication | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2068 Variable Save Trick After a lot of experimenting, I may have a solution. The “may have” is because the process alters the system... | Robert Fischer | SyncWare News | Nov-Dec 1986 |
| Add Space Between Files When Printing ALL When you set up the print format, you can just enter ALL to print out the whole file. Unfortunately, no... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Adding a Switchable Beep This Key click can be turned on or off by entering “T” as a search command from the main menu... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Avoid Printing “Search Is Complete” Or Directory Files On Auto Searches Being a band director, I often made printouts of my students by instrument. First I would print all the flute... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Bugs, News, and Miscellanea Pro/File 2068 owners take note! A few frustrated folks who added the new Machine Code Sort capability from the BREAKTHROUGH... | Thomas B. Woods | Computer Updates | Winter 1986 |
| Cancel Name Reverse Routine The name reverse routine can be cancelled out while operating with the following changes. Remember that any time you press... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Change the way data is saved I kind of hate to say this, but I’m going to change the way we save data only. There are... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Combining Files Combining files is another of those routines which can change the way you approach PRO/FILE. In my case, I have... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Compact Menus And More Savings The display menu and edit menu each consist of several sections. | prefer to see as many options at one... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Cursor wrap when editing files The cursor always appears in the top left hand corner when editing so if to want to edit data in... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Dealing with a bug in the sort routing First lets deal with a bug I found in the machine code sort routine. There is one situation when this... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Edit To Add or Add To Add When adding or editing a file you can close it using the token ” TO ” and you will go... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Edit To Next Improvement The original version of this routine does not really go to the next matching file although in most cases it... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| ERROR REPORT Two lines need fixing in this issue of Extensions #3. If you use the new data save in this issue,... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Finally!!! Now you can transfer any of those data tapes in as previously described. Just follow these instructions: You should already... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Fix For Tally Routine The following is only for those who have added the TALLY routine from the manual AND the MACHINE CODE SORT... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| How To Transfer Data To New Versions If you have more than one tape of PRO/FILE, you are aware of the problem of making improvements since they... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| In the Mailbag Reader letters cover a range of topics including diagnostic software ideas, Spectrum utility program listings, a QL bar code reader... | John Shepard Randall Larson Joe Jenkins Robert Fischer Eric Kongs Chapman Burk | Time Designs Magazine | November/December 1987 |
| Instant Sorting Explanation of Shell-Faulk sorting algorithm and implementation in BASIC and machine language. | SyncWare News | May/June 1988 | |
| Letters Editor-curated letters section covering several reader questions: John Shepard on mixing Shugart-compatible disk drives; Robert Fischer asking about Extensions for... | John Shepard Larry Anderson Robert Fischer | SMUG Bytes | December 1987 |
| Make duplicate files Here’s a hint to save time when editing many files at about the same screen location. In line 5002 the... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Making Backups Before we get too involved with making changes let’s provide a simple way to make backups of your master program... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Middle Search This is not a very good name, but what it does is allow you to do a search and then... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| MISC At the end of line 5040 there is a delay loop in some versions which I have found to be... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Name Reverse Routine Update You may also prefer to have the name reverse routine operate on a line different from line 1. Any change... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Paste AT In our never-ending efforts to improve and simplify the creation and editing of files, we have added UPDATE, DUPLICATE, and... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Pro/File Cartridge Probably the most useful type of computer program is the data base since almost anyone can find a need for... | Robert Fischer | Time Designs Magazine | January/February 1987 |
| PRO/FILE in Spectrum mode If you purchased a Spectrum emulator like myself you may prefer to use PRO/FILE in Spectrum mode. I use the... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Reverse sort order for normal printing There are many situations where you want the last name listed first for alphabetizing purposes, but would prefer any printout... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Save more memory by using more variables We will use H = 2, K = 10, Q = 32, and R = 256. All these are added... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Saving Memory The use of variables, the VAL function, and the CODE function will allow you to save almost 2000 bytes as... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| SET DATE Here’s a little item which doesn’t seem very useful at first, but 1 refer to it all the time now.... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Setting Caps Lock Automatically It is not a big deal, but I don’t like having to set caps each time I load the program... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Shuffle | Robert Fischer | SUM | March 1986 |
| Sorting Through The TS2068 Sorts This article compares the sorting speed of three routines on randomized, inverted and ordered data. | SyncWare News | May-June 1986 | |
| SUM routine I needed a different type of routine for number crunching instead of the TALLY routine. Basically, I needed an entire... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| TALLY or a SUM search on any line you select One of the changes in this issue permits you to do a TALLY or a SUM search on any line... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Thank you for your support I want to thank everyone for your support. Many very complimentary letters have been received and repeat orders would certainly... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| The Fame & The Glory And now, here are a few more words about the last contest. First, we would like to thank all of... | SyncWare News | Mar-Apr 1986 | |
| Three Way Save With Verify On the original PRO/FILE you could only save the data with the basic part of the program. It required you... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| UPDATE Routine When at the main menu, enter a search command that ends with the reverse slash and the letter “U”. The... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Welcome to issue number two of PRO/FILE EXTENSIONS I think you will really enjoy the additional capabilities available by adding the following routines. As things are added to... | Robert Fischer | Extensions | |
| Welcome to the first issue of Extensions Welcome to the first issue of EXTENSIONS, an unofficial and irregularly printed newsletter for PRO/FILE 2068 owners. As of now... | Robert Fischer | Extensions |
| Title | Company |
|---|---|
| ProFile +3 Additions to Pro/File 2068, including all the improvements from the manual except where they are no longer appropriate (the machine... | Thomas B. Woods |
| ProFile +5 Additions to Pro/File 2068, including updates of Pro/File +3. This version allows file merge and dating files. Compiled by Robert... | Thomas B. Woods |
| Title | Type | Company | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Code Shell-Faulk Sort | Program | Download |
| Title | Date | Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Timex Sinclair Online User Group Meeting April 3, 2023 Bob Fischer, a former middle and high school band instructor, joined us to talk about a grade book program for... | April 3, 2023 | Watch ↗ |
| Timex Sinclair Online User Group Meeting December 1, 2025 In this meeting, we reviewed the history of the Timex Computer Corporation and development of the Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 1500... | December 1, 2025 | |
| Timex Sinclair Online User Group Meeting November 3, 2025 We showed off a seasonally appropriate turkey program and shared updates on projects. | November 3, 2025 | |
| Timex Sinclair Online User Group Meeting November 4, 2024 Hugo Pinto shared his experience with the Load ZX Spectrum Museum's recent recovery of the Tenet educational network system. | November 4, 2024 | |
| Timex/Sinclair Online User Group Meeting January 5, 2026 We discussed VCF event planning, ham radio technology, Spectrum Next FPGA replicas, Jupiter Ace computers, retro computing alternatives, and Eastern... | January 5, 2026 |
