Pastel Minitel by JAGOT et LEON

[ComSoft6128]

French commercial program released in 1987 to enable the CPC to use the Minitel videotex service.
Now as Minitel ceased operation in 2012 this short video is a "Look and feel" exercise - most of the operations no longer work (No Minitel + there are none of the necessary peripherals connected to this CPC),  so unfortunately I'm limited to a few simple menu options.
However, the links below should help fill in some of the blanks!
From what I can see this program is as good as the UK equivalent, the 'Cage Rom' and in some areas is ahead of that excellent ROM program.

Review in 'CPC Magazine' (from CPCRulez):
"Have you created a server and would you like a Videotex page editor? Don't cry anymore, PASTEL is made for you! Having tested several products of this kind, we believe we can say that it is certainly the best ...
PASTEL is software allowing you to create Videotex pages which can then be used by your server software. But PASTEL is also capable of recovering digitized images (or screen pages) to transform them into images compatible with the Videotex standard, and this is where its big advantage lies. Imagine a digital view of your good old town ... Nothing better to attract visitors to the tourist office!
PASTEL connects the AMSTRAD to the Minitel by means of a cord which connects to the printer output. There is a version capable of exploiting the possibilities of the RS232and another using the CPC cassette socket. All available commands appear on the computer screen. At the beginning, we are a little lost in front of their number but, after a few minutes of use, we quickly discover all the simplicity of PASTEL. The instructions (which would have benefited from being more detailed) will quickly become useless. The AMSTRAD keyboard is divided into 4 parts: the alphabetic keys (used to enter text), the numeric keys which, used with CTRL, provide access to the choice of background colors and characters; the keys of the numeric keypad with multiple functions and those for moving the cursor.
Writing in blinking double height is as easy to do as in normal size. PASTEL allows working "full screen" or on a window. It is thus possible to overlay a text on an existing image. The minitel cursor is automatically managed by the software. If you wish to position it manually, PASTEL will check that the chosen location is compatible with the presence of Videotex attributes. To facilitate the work. PASTEL provides you with 2 pages. The one that is in reserve can be recalled at any time: it can be used as a backup for work carried out previously. The files accepted by PASTEL are of 3 types: digitized screens (4 colors mode 1, 16 or 17 KB of volume), images produced by the software itself (3 KB maximum) and minitel images written by PASTEL and usable by your server. Note that PASTEL allows you to load a window anywhere on the Minitel screen, as long as the space available allows it. Finally, PASTEL is also capable of producing small animations ...

Besides the fact that it is the only one in its category to offer the transformation of digitized images into Videotex images, PASTEL will seduce the user with its ease of use. Must have if you have telematics activities!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drytl1OkV2s

Links:

https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=12360
https://cpcrulez.fr/info-jagot-leon.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24439744
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102747098
https://cpcrulez.fr/applications_util_comm-cage_comms_rom__aa.htm?t=Ug==

Not emulated - original hardware and software.
Please note that  the aspect ratio for this YouTube video is 16:9 but the CPC monitor
has an aspect ratio of 4:3 so you may wish to adjust your viewing device accordingly.