mirror of
https://github.com/TomHarte/CLK.git
synced 2024-07-11 04:28:58 +00:00
296 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
296 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
A brief user's guide to the newer features of EmuDesk, the EmuTOS desktop
|
|
=========================================================================
|
|
|
|
The current version of EmuDesk is based on the TOS 1 desktop, but with
|
|
many improvements inspired by the TOS 2/3/4 desktop, including:
|
|
|
|
1) new menu items
|
|
. set file mask
|
|
. install icon
|
|
. install application
|
|
. install devices
|
|
. remove desktop icon
|
|
. desktop configuration
|
|
. blitter
|
|
Due to space limitations, the implementation of the above is somewhat
|
|
restricted in the 192K ROMs (see the detailed descriptions below). If
|
|
you make any changes to the desktop using the above features, you must
|
|
save the desktop to preserve the changes.
|
|
|
|
2) other new features
|
|
. user-assignable icons
|
|
. user-assignable mouse cursors
|
|
. open disk window via keyboard shortcut
|
|
. desktop shortcuts
|
|
Due to space limitations, desktop shortcuts are not available in the
|
|
192K ROMs. Desktop shortcuts are preserved when you save the desktop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set file mask
|
|
=============
|
|
192K ROMs:
|
|
This is not available.
|
|
|
|
Other ROMs:
|
|
This is used to change the file mask of the currently-topped window, to
|
|
control which files are displayed within the window. Note that folders
|
|
are always displayed; the mask affects the display of files only. The
|
|
default file mask when a window is opened is "*.*"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Install icon
|
|
============
|
|
192K ROMs:
|
|
This may be used to associate a specific icon with a desktop item (disk
|
|
or trash). You may select an existing desktop item and click on "Install
|
|
icon...", or you may click on "Install icon..." with no item selected.
|
|
If you click on a window icon (file or folder), it will be ignored.
|
|
|
|
Other ROMs:
|
|
This may be used to associate a specific icon with a desktop item (disk
|
|
or trash), or a window item (file or folder). You may select an existing
|
|
icon and click on "Install icon...", or you may click on "Install icon..."
|
|
with no item selected. In the latter case, you'll get a dialog requesting
|
|
you to select the type of icon (desktop or window).
|
|
|
|
. Installing a desktop icon
|
|
You may select the type (drive or trash), the label (displayed beneath
|
|
it on the desktop), and the icon shape (use the up & down arrows to
|
|
scroll through the available shapes). In addition, for drives you can
|
|
select the drive letter.
|
|
|
|
. Installing a window icon
|
|
If you pre-selected an icon, you may only change the shape of the icon
|
|
for that specific file or folder. If you did not pre-select an item,
|
|
you can select the files that the icon will apply to (standard TOS
|
|
wildcards may be used), the type of item (file or folder), and the icon
|
|
shape. In either case, to change the icon shape, use the up & down
|
|
arrows to scroll through the available shapes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Install application
|
|
===================
|
|
The basic purpose of "Install application..." is to link an application
|
|
to data files with a specified extension. After you have done this, when
|
|
you use the desktop to open a file with the specified extension, the
|
|
corresponding application is launched. For example, you could associate
|
|
all .TXT files with a text editor; then, double-clicking on a .TXT file
|
|
would automatically launch the editor.
|
|
|
|
In addition, you can assign a function key to an application; pressing
|
|
the function key at the desktop will then launch the application.
|
|
|
|
Finally, you can set "autoboot" for one application (only): this will
|
|
launch that application during system initialisation, immediately before
|
|
the desktop itself runs.
|
|
|
|
To use "Install application...", highlight one or more applications and
|
|
click on "Install application...". In the dialog box, the application
|
|
name of the first application selected will be prefilled. The following
|
|
fields and buttons specify in detail how the application is run:
|
|
|
|
. Arguments
|
|
If you need to pass information (in addition to the name of the data
|
|
file) to the application when it starts, you may specify it here. This
|
|
is typically only relevant to utility programs, and the information
|
|
needed will be in the application documentation. In most cases, you
|
|
should leave this blank.
|
|
|
|
. Document type
|
|
This specifies the extension to associate with this application, for
|
|
example TXT or RSC, and is required. Wildcards are allowed.
|
|
|
|
. Install as F__
|
|
This specifies the function key that will launch the application;
|
|
values from 1 to 20 are allowed (11-20 are shift-F1 through shift-F10).
|
|
Leaving this blank is valid, and means that no function key will launch
|
|
the application.
|
|
|
|
. Boot status
|
|
Select "Auto" to autoboot this application (see above). Since only one
|
|
autoboot application is allowed, if you set "Auto" for an application,
|
|
EmuTOS will automatically disable "Auto" for any existing autoboot
|
|
application.
|
|
|
|
. Application type
|
|
Selecting TOS or TTP will launch the program in character mode; GEM or
|
|
GTP will launch the application in graphics mode. The appropriate
|
|
value will be prefilled according to the type of application selected,
|
|
and should not normally be changed.
|
|
|
|
. Default dir
|
|
This specifies the default directory when the application is launched:
|
|
either the directory of the application itself, or the top window (i.e.
|
|
the directory of the data file). The one to choose depends on the
|
|
specific application. If the application has supporting files (such as
|
|
resource or help files), it typically will look for them in the default
|
|
directory. For such an application, you will need to specify a default
|
|
directory of "Application". Otherwise, specify "Window".
|
|
|
|
. Parameter
|
|
When a program is launched due to it being an installed application,
|
|
the desktop provides the application with the name of the data file
|
|
that caused the launch: this is known as a parameter. In most cases,
|
|
the application expects that the full path of the data file will be
|
|
provided. Some (usually older) programs may expect the filename only.
|
|
Unless the application's documentation indicates otherwise, you should
|
|
normally try "Full path" first; if that does not work, you can try
|
|
"File name", although that may require you to modify the "Default dir"
|
|
specified above.
|
|
|
|
At the bottom of the dialog box are the following exit buttons:
|
|
|
|
. Install
|
|
Installs the application. You must save the desktop afterwards if you
|
|
want the change to be saved across boots.
|
|
|
|
. Remove
|
|
Removes an existing installed application. You must save the desktop
|
|
afterwards if you want the change to be saved across boots.
|
|
|
|
. Skip
|
|
Skips installing/removing the current application, and moves on to the
|
|
next one you specified. If you only specified one application, this
|
|
is the same as Cancel.
|
|
|
|
. Cancel
|
|
Skip installing/removing all remaining applications.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Install devices
|
|
===============
|
|
This automatically installs icons for all devices that are currently
|
|
known to GEMDOS (have an entry in _drvbits) and that do not currently
|
|
have an icon. If the device is A: or B:, a floppy icon is installed;
|
|
otherwise a hard disk icon is installed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remove desktop icon
|
|
===================
|
|
This is used to remove a disk or trash icon. Highlight the icon you
|
|
wish to remove, and click on "Remove desktop icon".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Desktop configuration
|
|
=====================
|
|
192K ROMs:
|
|
This is not available.
|
|
|
|
Other ROMs:
|
|
This is a simplified version of the corresponding Atari TOS menu item.
|
|
It allows you to specify the default directory and input parameter for
|
|
all applications that are not installed applications. See "Install
|
|
application" above, under 'Default dir' and 'Parameter', for further
|
|
information about these options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blitter
|
|
=======
|
|
This item allows you to enable or disable the use of the blitter by the
|
|
desktop. The item is greyed-out if the system does not have a blitter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
User-assignable icons
|
|
=====================
|
|
When EmuDesk starts, it looks for a file called EMUICON.RSC in the root
|
|
of the boot drive. This file should be a standard Atari resource file,
|
|
with at least eight icons. All icons in the file must be 32x32-pixel
|
|
monochrome icons. If the file is found, these icons are used for the
|
|
desktop and window displays; if not found, a standard set of eight
|
|
builtin icons is used instead. The builtin icons (or the first eight
|
|
of the loaded icons, if EMUICON.RSC is in use) have the following usage:
|
|
0 hard drive
|
|
1 floppy drive
|
|
2 folder
|
|
3 trash
|
|
4 printer
|
|
5 removable disk
|
|
6 generic application icon
|
|
7 generic document icon
|
|
Icons 8 and above can be used as you wish.
|
|
|
|
Note that, for historical reasons, these assignments are different from
|
|
those used by Atari TOS, so if you have an equivalent RSC file that works
|
|
with Atari TOS, you will need to move the icons around to get the same
|
|
desktop display.
|
|
|
|
A default EMUICON.RSC file (currently containing 41 icons) is shipped
|
|
with the release; the first 8 icons are the same as the builtin ones.
|
|
Also shipped is the corresponding EMUICON.DEF file for use by a resource
|
|
editor. You should be aware that each icon consumes about 300 bytes of
|
|
RAM, so if you are short of memory, avoid putting too many icons in
|
|
EMUICON.RSC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
User-assignable mouse cursors
|
|
=============================
|
|
When the AES starts, it looks for a file called EMUCURS.RSC in the root
|
|
of the boot drive. This file should be a standard Atari resource file,
|
|
containing 8 ICONBLKs; each ICONBLK is a container for a mouse cursor.
|
|
If the file is found, these cursors are used instead of the builtin
|
|
cursors. The usage is as described for the AES graf_mouse() call:
|
|
0 arrow
|
|
1 text cursor / i-beam
|
|
2 busy bee / hourglass
|
|
3 pointing hand
|
|
4 flat hand
|
|
5 thin cross
|
|
6 thick cross
|
|
7 outline cross
|
|
|
|
A default EMUCURS.RSC file is shipped with the release; the mouse cursors
|
|
in it are the same as the builtin ones. Also shipped is the corresponding
|
|
EMUCURS.DEF file for use by a resource editor.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: Because the mouse cursors are not really ICONBLKs (though they are
|
|
stored as such within the resource), editing them with a standard resource
|
|
editor is difficult. Thorsten Otto's ORCS resource editor has special
|
|
support for mouse cursors and is the recommended tool for modifying them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Open disk window via keyboard shortcut
|
|
======================================
|
|
You may now use a keyboard shortcut to display the root directory of a
|
|
drive in a new window. To display drive X, hold the Alt key down and
|
|
type X, e.g. Alt-C displays drive C, Alt-D displays drive D, and so on.
|
|
As in TOS2/3/4, these shortcuts are permanently assigned and cannot be
|
|
changed by the user.
|
|
|
|
NOTE: unlike TOS2/3/4, shortcuts with the Ctrl modifier do NOT update
|
|
the drive assigned to the currently topped window; instead, they are
|
|
assigned to menu item shortcuts. At the moment, these assignments are
|
|
also permanent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Desktop shortcuts
|
|
=================
|
|
You may now drag a file or folder to the desktop to create a desktop icon
|
|
that is a shortcut to the original file/folder: manipulating the icon
|
|
will have the same effect as manipulating the original file or folder.
|
|
For example, it may be opened, copied, or moved or deleted; it may have
|
|
an "Info/rename" performed on it. Currently, by design, the shortcut is
|
|
NOT updated automatically if the original file or folder is moved or
|
|
deleted.
|
|
|
|
The name and shape of the shortcut icon itself may be modified by the
|
|
"Install icon" menu item; this does not change the name of the file or
|
|
folder that the icon points to. The shortcut icon may be deleted by the
|
|
"Remove icon" menu item. To preserve shortcut information across boots,
|
|
you must save the desktop.
|
|
|
|
You may drag a file or folder to a desktop shortcut, with the following
|
|
results:
|
|
. dragging documents to a desktop shortcut for a folder will copy (or
|
|
move, if the control key is held down) them to the folder
|
|
. dragging documents to a desktop shortcut for a program will launch the
|
|
program, passing the full pathname of the first document
|
|
. dragging documents to a desktop shortcut for a non-executable file will
|
|
do nothing
|
|
|
|
If you open a desktop shortcut that points to a file or folder that no
|
|
longer exists, an alert will be issued, giving you the choice of removing
|
|
the shortcut, locating the desired file or folder, or cancelling the
|
|
action. If you choose locate, a file selector will be displayed to
|
|
allow you to choose the desired file or folder, and the shortcut will be
|
|
updated with the new information.
|