The Spring 2017 issue of Drag'n'Drop magazine was released at the South-West Show and is now available from their website (where you can also see some sample pages from the actual edition). It is the 30th issue, and the team really have pulled out all the stops to make it that little bit extra special.
 
If you are new to the magazine, it reminds me of the best of the Acorn press - enthusiastic style, news, variety, type-ins, reviews, programming,something for everyone. The 42 pages are packed with really good contents. The magazine is a PDF file so that you can print it out or read it on any machine. So let's dive in see some of the things on offer...
 
The editorial by Chris Dewhurst gives us the scoop on some new producsts by Drag'n'Drop - I saw their font collection at the South-West Show so I am really looking forward to seeing what else they have in the pipeline.
 
There is a always a "How do I..?" page with useful snippets, especially for new users. F12 is not intuitive as the way to get a BASIC prompt if you are new to the scene.
 
The News section is right upto date and features clickable links to take you to the sites mentioned.
 
There is a meaty article on the RISC OS sound system complete with a 3000 line BASIC program. This gives you the background on how it works and a clear starting point on getting to use it.
 
There is another article on ConvText, a set of simple utilities to perform tasks such as clearing-up text from other platforms and removing ctrl characters, etc. Again there is a well-documented BBC Basic listing with notes. So it also doubles as a programming tutorial.
 
Another article offers a !Auto32 application to help with making old 26 bit modules into 32 bit modules by updating know code patterns.
 
There is also a series on ARM code for people familiar with 6502, showing how you might rewrite your old code and explaining how you might use the ARM architecture.
 
Finally for coders there is a little Module Saver utility to add this missing feature.
 
Games fans will find both a detailed review of the new Mop Tops game and a type-in 'Repton-style' maze game called Sid Slug.
 
For anyone looking to tweak their RISC OS screen display, an article (and listing) shows how to change the mouse pointer to one of your own design.
 
There is also an article on Tracing Outlines which includes links to several free tools and tips on how to get the best from the process.
 
Python Primary School is the next instalment of a substantial project for learning Python and has reached accessing the WIMP via Python. You can get all the articles if you buy the USB release which contains every past edition of the magazine.
 
I really enjoyed this month's edition and already waiting impatiently for the summer release...
 
You can buy a copy of the latest edition (or a USB with all the editions) from their website and see a free preview of some sample pages.