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The Gorin Desktop
Version 2.1x
Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Neil Gorin
An NGS Production
A Printed Manual is supplied on registration
The Shareware Concept
Shareware is THE best way to try new software, but only if you're honest
and register if you like the results.
Think of it like this: If you buy a commercial package, you have
relatively little idea of how the software will perform, until you get it
home to your PC. If you then decide you don't like the software or that it
doesn't do what you want, tough - there's nothing you can do. With
Shareware distribution, you get to try a complete, fully working, version
of the program for a couple of weeks. If you then find the program to be
of no use to you, simply scrub the disk and forget about it - you've only
lost the cost of the disk - in most cases about £3.
If, however, you find that you like the software and that it works for
you, you should register. Registration provides you with a diskette
containing the latest version of the software, and often some other perks.
If you don't register your Shareware, it's not only equivalent to using a
pirated copy of a commercial application but may discourage the author
from developing the software further.
Association of Shareware Professionals
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle
works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem
with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to
help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.
Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI USA
49442-9427, Fax 616-788-2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe
Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
Registration Information
For your registration fee of £24.95 sterling, you will receive the
following:
1: The right to legally use The Gorin Desktop and it's accessories on one
machine at any one time. You may make multiple installations provided only
one copy is in use at a time, to enable you to use the desktop on your
laptop. If you foresee the use of this software on more than one PC
concurrently, you must buy additional copies - telephone for discounts.
2: A receipt showing that you have paid and registered. Useful for proving
that the software is legal.
3: One or more disks with the latest version of the desktop plus some
extra files. All disks will be labelled "REGISTERED VERSION". Please
remember to state your disk size.
4: An A4 manual produced using a leading DTP package and bound with a
plastic grip. The manual contains the text herein combined with some other
useful information and screen shots to illustrate points in the text.
5: Notice of major updates. You may upgrade your copy at any time by
returning your original disks with the upgrade notice. A nominal
processing fee is charged for each upgrade, unless it fixes a bug that is
detrimental to your use of the software.
6: Technical Support. Unlimited postal, telephone or BBS support.
Telephone support is at your expense.
7: A copy of the NGS Newsletter.
You have a 14 day period to evaluate The Gorin Desktop, to see if it suits
your needs. If it does, you MUST register.
Compare your use of this Shareware version with a Test Drive in a new car.
If you decided that you liked the car, you would have to pay the price on
the windscreen, for which you would get your very own with the latest
specification and a few extras, such as servicing and anti rust thrown in.
Shareware is the same, you test drive the software, then if you like it
you MUST pay, for which you receive the items detailed above. You would
never dream of keeping a car that you hadn't paid for, would you?
DISCOUNT: You may deduct the cover price of any single PC magazine
containing a full review of this software, provided you enclose the
relevant page - not a photocopy - and the part of the cover containing the
price, up to a maximum of £3.50 Sterling. This does not include
publications or catalogues from Shareware Libraries.
NON UK ORDERS: If you live outside the UK, an additional postage charge
will be necessary. Please see DISCOUNT.DOC.
A registration form for NGS products can be found in the file
REGISTER.DOC. If you are unable to print a copy of this form, please
telephone for a copy.
Introduction
Building on the successful formula of graphical user interfaces, The Gorin
Desktop provides the latest, easiest and fastest graphical environment for
all classes of PC.
The desktop includes many features designed to make your time using the PC
fun, productive and less time consuming. For this reason, the desktop uses
a Graphical User Interface, with Windows, Icons, Mice and Push Buttons,
more reminiscent of the Unix GUI' s than Microsoft Windows. However,
unlike many GUI's you still use your existing applications, without the
need to re-learn (or buy) any additional software - the whole idea behind
The Gorin Desktop is that anything you use now can be run from the
desktop, virtually without exceptions!
System Requirements
The Gorin Desktop requires a fairly low powered machine in these days of
multi-megabyte software. As long as you've got a hard disk, and at least a
fast 8086 (286 recommended) you should not have any problems. A mouse is a
useful addition, and your display must be VGA or better. Whether you've
got a monochrome or colour monitor is irrelevant - the Desktop looks good
on both! If you are using a slow 286 or 8086 XT machine please read the
section entitled "Running The Gorin Desktop 2.1 on an XT".
The Desktop GUI
The GUI (Graphical User Interface) operates in a very similar manner to
other GUI's such as Windows and OS/2. A number of simple components make
up the GUI, each of which will be mentioned frequently and are as follows:
MOUSE POINTER: The mouse pointer is essential to operating the GUI, and is
used to select Words, Buttons and Icons on the screen - you should select
these using the left mouse button. If you do not have a mouse, you can
still use the software by moving th e pointer using the cursor keys and
using the space bar to select items. If you are using the cursor keys, you
can adjust the distance that the pointer moves by using the Plus and Minus
keys on your keyboard. Unless stated otherwise, all references to the
mouse apply equally to those users using the keyboard.
PUSH BUTTONS: These are on-screen buttons which appear to pop out of the
screen, then push back in when you place the pointer over them and click.
They are commonly used to select options from the screen, and may be
quickly selected by pressing the first letter which appears on the button,
for example if you are offered a choice of a "Yes" or "No" button, you
could select "Yes" simply by pressing "Y".
CHECK BOX: A small box which contains an "X" symbol if the option it
relates to is selected, and is blank if not. You can change the setting of
a Check Box by clicking on the box with the pointer.
SCROLL BAR: A scroll bar provides two arrows and a solid bar between them.
Using the scroll bar, you can simply scroll the region inside the window
to see more information.
ICONS: These are small pictures on push buttons, and are selected in the
same way. Icons are used within The Gorin Desktop to represent programs,
and are also seen on the button bar. An icon editor is provided to allow
you to make you own designs, and the desktop can automatically import
icons designed for the Microsoft Windows system.
WINDOWS: A window is an area on-screen, which has a title, and sometimes a
Close Box. The time and date is always displayed on the title bar of the
main window.
CLOSE BOX: These are found to the far right of most windows, and are
simply small push buttons with the word CLOSE printed on them. By
selecting the Close box, the window will be removed from the screen.
Pressing ESCAPE is equivalent to selecting any close box, with the
exception of the main one in the top right hand corner of the display. To
quickly exit The Gorin Desktop and return to the DOS prompt, press CTRL &
F10.
DIALOGUE BOX: A small window which appears on screen, allows you to make a
selection, and then disappears. You should select the appropriate response
to the question asked, by pressing the appropriate button.
ON-LINE HELP: When using the Desktop, you can press F1 (or select the help
icon) at any time to view a help screen.
Installation
The Gorin Desktop comes on one or more floppy diskettes, and all you have
to do is insert the first one into the drive and type GO. First an
information file will be displayed - when you have read this, press ESCAPE
to start the installation program, Setup.
Setup provides you with a set of self-explanatory icons which you can
select to view a run down of system information, get information about the
program, or adjust the system clock. To start the installation process,
press the button with the caption "Install".
A large dialogue box will appear, which will ask a selection of questions
in turn to find out where you want The Gorin Desktop installed. Firstly,
you will be asked to select the drive from those provided, and you will
then be shown the default directory. If the directory is unsuitable, press
"Edit" and type a different directory name. Press "Ok" when you are happy
with your choice.
A second dialogue box will be shown, this time giving you a choice of
installing only specific parts of the Desktop. If you have sufficient
room, you might as well install the complete set of programs, but if you
want to select the particular modules you really need, they are as
follows:
Install Main Program: The main program files must be installed for the
Desktop to work.
Install Wallpaper: A number of colourful wallpaper files are supplied with
The Gorin Desktop, but as each takes up a considerable amount of space,
they are a luxury if your disk space is limited.
Install Icon Converter: The icon converter provides the ability to convert
icons from the Desktop format into a format recognized by Microsoft
Windows. If you do not have Windows, there is little point in installing
this option. Note that the Desktop can still import Windows icons without
this feature.
Install GMOD Music System: Gmod allows you to play the popular Commodore
Amiga MOD music files on a PC. It really needs a SoundBlaster or
compatible card to do the tunes justice, but can also produce varied
results (depending on your processor speed and speaker quality) using the
internal PC speaker, provided you have a 286 or better machine. A couple
of music files are supplied for you to listen to.
Install Screen Savers: Unless you have very little disk space, it is
recommended that you install the screen savers supplied with the Desktop.
The screen savers take effect when your PC is left running the Desktop,
and display various patterns or moving messages on screen to prevent
damage to your monitor. See the Screen Savers section, further into this
document.
Press the "Go!" button to install the software. You will be told of each
component as it is installed.
Now the magic begins... after a short pause, the screen will clear, and
the second part of the Setup program will be run. Every drive and
directory on your PC (excluding floppy drives, but including CD ROM and
removable hard disks) will be searched for an extensive list of programs,
which will automatically be added to your desktop.
At last, with the system fully installed, you will be returned to the DOS
prompt.
Introducing the Desktop
To start the Desktop, type \DESKTOP and press enter. The first time you
run the Desktop, there will be a little extra whirring of the disk, as the
Desktop has to get some information about your PC, but soon the screen
will clear and the Desktop appear.
The Gorin Desktop divides the screen into three basic areas of activity.
At the top of the screen is the title bar, this tells you that you are
running "The Gorin Desktop" and also gives you the current date and time.
A button to the far right allows you to Close the Desktop and return to
DOS.
Below this is the main window. In here the Desktop displays, upon a sheet
of wallpaper, the icons for your programs, and also any other parts of the
program such as the icon editor and file viewer.
At the bottom of the screen is a bar chart showing the percentage of free
space on the current disk drive, and the button bar, from which the
Desktop is controlled. The button bar is split into four distinct regions,
the first five icons are for access to other parts of the program, the
next four are for positioning and editing program entries, then come the
two configuration icons and finally the help icon - to the far right.
Running a program from the Desktop
When you start the Desktop, a selection of program groups are displayed.
To run a program, you simply click on the icon for the appropriate group,
then click on the icon for the program - try this now...
Click on the Applications Packages icon, you should see some of the
programs which Setup found for you earlier on. (If you don't see any and
are presented with an instruction box - press "Ok", then press ESCAPE, or
select the CLOSE box, and select a different group). Select one of your
programs, click on the icon, and within seconds you will be running the
program in question - no messy DOS commands or awkward keystrokes - simply
point and click! Quit from your program, and the Desktop will reappear
ready to take your next command.
All programs can be run in this way from the Desktop, and you can set
options to allow the Desktop to ask for floppy disks, or to prevent the
Desktop restarting after a program has run. Most importantly, provided you
are using DOS 3.3 or later, the Desktop does not take a single byte of
memory away from your programs. You can also run programs using the Filer,
described elsewhere in this document.
Adding a program to the Desktop
No matter how many programs Setup found on your hard disk, there are
almost certainly other ones which have not been found. Luckily adding
programs to The Gorin Desktop is simplicity itself, as we are about to
find out.
First of all, select the program group where you want the program to be
found. If a box appears telling you that the group is empty, simply press
"Ok". Now select the "Add" icon from the icon bar.
The main window will change to allow you to enter information about the
program. You'll even find detailed instructions if you don't have this
manual handy next time you need to add a program!
Press the "Select Icon" button. A large dialogue box will appear, filled
with icons - press the "More..." button until you see an icon you like,
and click on it.
Press the "Enter Legend" button, and type the name of the program. Two
lines are provided for this.
Now press the "Commands..." button. A file selection dialogue box will
appear, from where you can easily select the program in question, simply
follow these four instructions:
1: Select the drive. If you cannot see the drive upon which the program
can be found, use the scroll bar to slide the drives up or down. Click on
the drive to select it.
2: Select the directory by clicking on the various directories shown until
you are in the correct directory. Use the ".." symbol to move up one level
in the directory, and the "\" symbol to return to the root directory.
3: Scroll the file list until you can see the program and select it.
4: Press the "Ok" button, and the Desktop will store your selection.
If you select a Windows program using this method, the Desktop will ask
you if you want Windows to be run automatically whenever the program is
selected, it is normally sensible to select "Yes". Note that it is
possible to manually enter up to to four lines of DOS commands rather than
selecting a file using the dialogue box - simply press the "Manual" button
at the bottom of the file selection box.
If your program needs a floppy disk, or CD ROM, click on the "Request
Disk" checkbox and type the name of the disk required. Similarly, if you
don't want the Desktop to restart after your program has been run, ensure
that you de-select the "Return to Desktop" check box.
Now simply press "Ok - Add this entry", and you will find a shiny new icon
ready for you to run! It really is that simple!
Editing a program entry
If you move the program from one directory to another, get bored with the
icon, or for some other reason want to change some part of the entry,
simply select the "Edit" icon from the icon bar, and click on the program
in question. A similar screen to the "add" screen will be displayed, from
where you can change any aspect of the program entry. Make your changes,
and press "Ok - Keep Changes" to update the Desktop.
Deleting a program entry
When you no longer need a program entry on the Desktop, it makes sense to
remove it. Luckily, the Desktop allows you to do this with ease.
Click on the "Remove" icon from the icon bar, and then click on the
program you want to delete. You will be asked if you want to delete the
icon, and then again to confirm this. If you reply "Yes" to both
questions, the program entry will be removed from the Desktop.
NOTE: Only the program entry is removed, the icon is still left in the
Desktop directory so that you can use it with another program, and your
program files are not deleted.
Adding/Editing a program group
You may feel that you need more than the standard six program groups, so
you'll be pleased to know that you can easily add up to 18 extra groups
quickly and easily. You can only add groups to the front "Select program
group" window, so make sure that it is on screen before you try to add...
Press the "Add" icon on the icon bar. A small dialogue box will appear
asking you to confirm that you want to add a new program group.
If you answer "Yes", you will be asked to type the name of the new group,
and then be asked to select an icon. You new group will then be added to
the Desktop, and can be used just like any of the standard program groups.
To edit a program group, select the "Edit" icon and click on the group in
question. You will be shown a dialogue box from where you can change the
icon and group legend, and finally press "Ok" to confirm the changes.
Deleting a program group
You may not need all the program groups, for instance if you do not have a
Modem there is little point in keeping the Remote Operations group.
Deleting a program group is identical to deleting a program entry, but you
must first delete all the program entries within the group as, for safety,
only empty groups can be deleted.
Moving an icon or program group
Sometimes the order in which the icons are displayed is less than ideal.
If this happens, you can rearrange individual icons using the "Move" icon
on the icon bar. Click on the "Move" icon, then select the icon you want
to move. Now select the icon which is in the position you want the
selected icon to move into. The icons will reshuffle, and the screen will
be re drawn.
The Options Panel
The Gorin Desktop stores all it's configuration information in a file
called GUI.INI. Although you can modify this file using a text editor,
most options are available from the Options Panel, easily selected from
the "Options" icon on the icon bar.
Each option is required for a specific part of the Desktop, and with
little effort you can easily customise the Desktop to suit your working
environment and PC. You can even adjust the background colour to match
your walls!
Use "Cache Fill": If you have a disk cache, a slow hard disk and find that
the icons appear jerkily on screen, enabling this option will make Desktop
take longer to load, but will enable the icons to appear smoothly - as
they are already in the disk cache.
Modem Installed: Check this box if you have an auto dial Modem, and want
the Desktop Dialler to dial through it. Suitable modems must support a
300BPS transfer mode (which most do). If you check this box, ensure that
you select either Port 1 or Port 2 to indicate which COM port the modem is
plugged into.
Dial: This string is sent to the modem to make it dial a number. Most
modems accept ATDT to tone dial or ATDP to pulse dial.
Carousel: The time shown (in seconds) is the minimum length of time of
inactivity after which the screen saver will be run. If you don't ever
want to run the screen saver, uncheck the Enabled box.
Change Paper: This button allows you to cycle through the wallpaper files
installed on your hard disk. You can also set this to "Random Selection"
where a different paper is shown each time, or "None" in which case no
paper is shown (this is best on XT machines for speed).
Background: Adjust the background colour by mixing the Red, Green and Blue
paints. There are a total of over 250,000 possible combinations - so you
should be able to find one to suit you! If you cannot find anything
suitable, press Reset to Default to restore the standard background. Press
"Ok" when you're happy.
Labels: The labels dialogue provides two buttons from which you can choose
a suitable foreground and background colour for the labels displayed
underneath icons on the Desktop. Press "Ok" when you've selected a
suitable combination.
More: Pressing this button leads you to a further option dialogue from
where you can adjust the speed of scroll boxes, and also select two more
unusual options:
Icons push into screen: If you prefer the icons to be static, uncheck this
option.
Check files on startup: With this option disabled, the Desktop may load
faster on XT machines, although the system can be less stable if a file is
deleted. If Check files on startup is disabled, the disk space bar is not
displayed.
Scroll Delay: With a 386 or better machine, you may find that the file and
directory lists in the Filer (and similar dialogues) scroll too fast. If
they do, adjust the delay until a comfortable scroll speed is found.
286 Users: Most 286 machines perform best with a ZERO scroll delay.
XT Users: Although on some XT machines the ZERO scroll speed will be
acceptable, on most systems, reduce the value past zero to get to the XT
setting, which uses a cruder scroll system - which flickers more, but
scrolls quicker.
Press "Ok" to close the Options panel and save changes to the GUI.INI
file. All changes will take place immediately, except Use "Cache Fill" and
Check files on startup, which will take effect when the Desktop is
restarted.
Adjusting the system clock
It is often necessary, particularly with older generations of PC systems,
to regularly reset the system date and time. Although DOS provides the
simple DATE and TIME commands, they are not very user friendly. You can
now simply use the "Clock" icon from the icon bar. To adjust the system
settings, use the selector buttons above and below the date and time.
Simply press "Ok" when you are finished.
The Address Book (Incorporating Telephone Dialler)
The address book is based on the traditional card index and provides
fields to record Name, Address, Telephone and Fax numbers and Notes. You
may also search your Address Book for quick access to records, or jump to
a particular section by using the letter buttons - in a similar way to
using the tabs on a card index. The ability to print individual addresses
is also provided, and you can automatically dial telephone numbers if you
have a suitable Modem installed in your PC.
How to...
Add a record: Press the + button and enter the text of the new record into
the fields provided. The record will be saved automatically.
Edit a record: Ensure that the record is on screen, and either press Edit
(to edit all the fields in turn) or click on a particular piece of text.
Delete a record: Display the record and press '-'.
View the next or previous record: Use the '<' or '>' keys. Alternatively,
use the character buttons (A..Z) to quickly jump to the first record where
the surname begins with the selected letter. If a button is disabled, no
records exist with appropriate surnames.
Search for a record: Press Search and type a search key.
Search again with the same key: Simply press Search followed by Enter.
Print a record: Display the record and press Print.
Dial a number: Display the relevant record and press Dial. You must have
previously let the Desktop know you have a modem installed (via the
Options dialogue) to enable dialling.
The Address Book can store 500 entries, and will automatically upgrade any
Dialler (the miniature address book supplied with earlier versions) files.
If you also have Gorin's Organiser on your PC, the two programs can share
one database. Simply place the following command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file:
SET GORINDESKTOP=C:\ORGANISE\
Replacing C:\ORGANISE with the directory where your Organiser's "DATA"
files are stored. This command MUST end with a backslash character, as
shown above. For example, to share the same database between the Desktop
and Organiser for Windows's primary user, use C:\ORGWIN\USER1\
Calculator
The calculator provides the four basic functions, Add, Subtract, Multiply
and Divide, and uses the standard mathematical symbols, rather than their
computer equivalents, to represent the functions.
A total of 11 digits may be displayed, with accuracy calculated to 12
decimal places. The calculator takes instructions in sequence for
simplicity and ease of use.
A backspace "<" key is provided to correct any mistakes you make. To reset
the calculator to zero, press either the "C" button or the calculator's
display.
Filer
The filer provides the ability to select, run, rename, copy, move, delete
and view files without having to issue DOS commands. The dialogue box is
similar to the one displayed when adding a program to a group, and may be
navigated in the same way. Assuming you have selected a file, you can:
Run it... If the file is an EXE, COM or BAT file, you can easily run it by
clicking on the RUN! button. If the program requires Microsoft Windows,
you are given the option of running starting Windows with the program
running - meaning that you should be able to run virtually any type of
program from the filer. If the program doesn't require windows, you may
add any command line options as appropriate.
Rename it... You will be asked for the new name for the file.
Copy it... All you have to type is the path into which you want to copy
the file.
Move it... Just like copying a file, but the original will be deleted.
Delete it... Asks you to confirm that you really want to remove the file,
then erases it from your hard disk.
View it... The File Viewer will be started with your selected file. The
buttons are grayed out when a file is not selected, or if an inappropriate
file is selected - for example if you select a TXT file, the "Run!" button
will be unavailable, as you cannot run a text file.
If you are not running a program, you can close the Filer by selecting
either the "Cancel" button or pressing the close box.
File Viewer
Using the file viewer, you can quickly and easily view most plain text
files - such as README files supplied with software, or documentation for
other products. Select the file viewer by choosing a file from the Filer,
and pressing "View".
The file viewer will now appear with the file displayed. You may scroll
forwards and backwards through the file by using the scroll bar to the
right of the window, or jump directly to the top or bottom of the text
simply by pressing either "Top" or "End". You can page through the text
using the "Up" and "Down" page control buttons.
WARNING: Some VGA adaptors not 100% compatible with IBM VGA cause screen
corruption when you attempt to scroll the file viewer's window. If this
happens to you, please ensure that you do not have any "Video BIOS
Shadowing" programs installed. If the problem persists, you should avoid
using the scroll bar and stick to the Up, Down, Top & End buttons instead.
If you need a paper copy of the file, simply press the print button and
answer "Yes" when asked if you are sure that you want to print the file.
To return to the Desktop, close the window using the close box (or press
Escape).
Icon Editor
If you are not a good artist, you need never use the icon editor. Many
icons are supplied with The Gorin Desktop, and as the Desktop can
automatically convert Microsoft Windows icons, you may find every one you
need. However, if you have an unusual program, or simply want to make the
Desktop feel more personalised, creating your own icons is the ideal way!
To select the icon editor, click on the "Icons" Icon from the icon bar. A
grid will appear, with a palette of colours below it, a large block of
colour to the right which shows your current colour, and an icon on the
top right displays the icon as it would be seen on your Desktop.
Three buttons allow you to "Save" and "Load" icons, and also to clear the
screen to start a fresh icon. The editor responds in a similar way to many
graphics packages, in that you click on the colour in the palette, then
drag the mouse with the left button held down to draw, or the right mouse
button as a rubber. If you don't have a mouse, simply use the cursor keys
and space bar as you would with other Desktop actions.
A further three push buttons to the left of the drawing grid determine the
brush size, the current value of which is displayed under the box
depicting the current colour.
Once you have created your icon, select "Save", and type a name (Text
only, up to 8 characters) appropriate to that icon, and press return. If a
dialogue informs you that the file already exists, select "Cancel" and
type a different name. The file will be saved, and the file name placed
beneath the small icon on the right of the screen.
To load an icon, select "Load" and select an icon from the resulting
dialogue, or click on CLOSE to abort the load. Note that the icons
supplied with The Gorin Desktop are sorted into alphabetical order, but
that your new icons will be saved after these ( i.e. after Z). This is due
to the way DOS arranges its filing system, and not a bug within the
Desktop. To return to the Desktop click on the CLOSE box.
Importing Windows Icons
If you have any icons designed for Microsoft Windows that you would like
to use with The Gorin Desktop, simply copy them into the Desktop
directory. The next time you run the Desktop, you will be asked if you
wish to convert the Windows icons and if you select "OK", the icons will
be converted to the Desktop format, and the Windows versions deleted. A
large amount of Windows icons are available in the Public Domain. Many of
the icons supplied with the Desktop were originally PD Windows icons.
Please note that the colour palette used within The Gorin Desktop differs
very slightly to that used under Windows, specifically that the light-grey
colour is remapped as the background within NGS products. You may,
therefore, find that some converted icon s require slight retouching,
using the Icon Editor.
A supplementary utility DESK2WIN allows conversion in the opposite
direction, from The Gorin Desktop to Windows. To use DESK2WIN, at the DOS
prompt type DESK2WIN and follow the instructions provided.
Paint
The Paint module, selected from the "Paint" icon on the icon bar, is a
simple bitmap drawing package exclusively for editing and creating .GGF
(Gorin's Graphic Format) wallpaper files. Although you can use the
keyboard, a mouse is required if you are to draw anything but straight
lines!
As with the icon editor, you select your paint colour from the palette,
after which it is displayed in the enlarged area to the right. The brush
may be any size from a single pixel (size zero) for tiny modifications, up
to a large block brush, size nine. Select the appropriate size (0-9) using
the selectors near the "Load/Save" buttons.
To paint, simply drag the cursor across the drawing area while holding
down the left button (or tapping the space bar).
To save your creation, press "Save Image". If you are editing an image
which you have previously loaded from disk, you will be asked to confirm
that you wish to save it under the same name. If your picture is new, or
you selected "No" in the previous situation, you will be asked to enter a
file name. This may be up to eight characters, Paint will automatically
add the .GGF extension when you press Enter.
To load an existing image, press "Load Image" and select the file you
require and press "Ok".
At any time, you can blank the picture by pressing "New Image", or may
close Paint with the CLOSE box.
Screen Saver Carousel
The screen saver system under The Gorin Desktop allows for an unlimited
number of different screen saver programs to be used. Programs which are
suitable as screen savers generally have the following characteristics:
1: They have a moving image on screen.
2: They run without user intervention.
3: They are easily stopped by pressing a key
(or possibly the mouse button)
The carousel system can use any program (EXE or COM file) or run a batch
file, ideally to start an animation of some form. To add a program to the
carousel, simply copy the program file and any support files (such as
overlays or screen drivers) into the SAVERS directory within the main
Desktop directory.
Screen Savers
Two screen savers are provided as standard with Desktop 2.1, and if you
have selected to install them during the setup process, will already be
found in the SAVERS directory. The first of these, CLOCK.EXE, provides an
on screen clock which moves slowly about the screen. The other saver,
SCROLL.EXE, shows a message slowly drifting across the screen with
pulsating colours. You can put your own message here, if you wish, by
creating a file called SCROLL.INI in the SAVERS directory - the file
should contain your message on the first line only. Scroll will shorten
the message if it is too long.
Floppy Formatter
Formatting Floppy Disks can be a complex and time consuming business.
There are so many different formatting options in recent DOS versions, and
often the commands are complex or not at all clear. By using the Floppy
Formatter, you can simply select the required format and options by
selecting check boxes with the mouse.
Firstly, select which drive (A: or B:) you wish to format. Now select the
format required, different disks require formatting to differing
capacities, according to the chart below:
Disk Size Markings Format to Notes
5.25" None or LD 360k Any DOS version
5.25" HD, 1200 1.2Mb Needs DOS 3.0 or later
3.5" None or 1MB 720k Requires DOS 3.3 or later
3.5" HD, 2nd hole 1.44Mb Requires DOS 3.3 or later
3.5" QD, 4MB 2.88Mb Requires DOS 5.0 or later
Select any options as follows:
Option Notes
Safe For reformatting old disks. Needs DOS 5.0 or later
Quick For reformatting old disks quickly. Needs DOS 5.0 or later
System Use to make a disk bootable
Label Place a disk label on the disk
If you require an unconditional format (for new disks) make sure that both
the Safe and Quick options are unchecked. Press Start Format to begin
formatting. The options you selected will be remembered between sessions
should you need to format the same type of disk again.
Desktop Terminal
With Desktop Terminal and a Modem, you can connect your computer to the
outside world, ready to receive information and advice from hundreds of
on-line services nationwide.
It is assumed that you have already installed your modem and connected it
as described in the product's manual.
Start Desktop Terminal by selecting it's icon from within the Desktop. The
screen will clear showing a title bar, a few control buttons and a large
black window in the centre of the screen.
To save your money on phone bills, all data received from the modem is
saved on disk into the file "TERMINAL.TXT" - you can then view this to
reread information using the File Viewer within the Desktop. Unless this
is the first time you have used the terminal, you will be asked if you
want to overwrite the file. If you reply "No", all new data will be saved
at the end of the Terminal file, although be warned - it is quite easy to
generate 50k or more of data each time you use the modem!
First of all, you must select the Modem Settings button. A dialogue box
will be displayed from which you can configure Desktop Terminal to suit
your Modem. The settings are as follows:
End Session on "NO CARRIER": Many Modems produce the message NO CARRIER
when you drop the telephone line. By selecting this option, Desktop
Terminal is often able to sense that you are no longer using the modem,
and return the mouse pointer onto your screen. If you find that Terminal
disconnects you before you intended, disable this option. Note that with
this option disabled, you must press the END key on your keyboard to drop
the line and return the mouse pointer.
Port 1/Port 2: Your Modem will be connected to a serial port on your
computer. Check to see which number is printed above the port into which
the lead plugs - if your modem is internal (i.e. it plugs into the
expansion slots INSIDE your PC) you will have to refer to the guide which
came with the Modem.
Dial: Unless the manual supplied with your modem recommends otherwise, you
should enter ATDT to tone dial or ATDP to pulse dial.
Speed: If you do not know which speed your Modem runs at, a symbol
beginning V may be shown on the manual or within the documentation
supplied with the modem. The following table indicates the recommended
speed setting under Desktop Terminal for using with appropriate V speeds:
V21 300BPS
V22 1200BPS
V22bis 2400BPS
V32 9600BPS
V32Bis 9600BPS
Parity and Data Type: These must be set according to the service you are
connecting to. Most services indicate which settings they require in the
form 8N1 or 7E1, the first number relating to the data type, and the
central letter being the parity (N=None, E=Even, O=Odd). The final number
refers to the number of stop bits, which for most services will be fine at
the default 1. If, however, you find a service which requires a differing
number of stop bits, you must manually change the setting in the
DESKTERM.INI file using a text editor.
When you have adjusted all the necessary options, select "Ok".
To make a call, you must select the Dialling Directory. The Dialling
Directory is identical in operation to the Dialler facility provided
within earlier releases of the Desktop. You may either type a telephone
number in directly and press Go, or "Select" one from those already
installed. To add or delete a number, use the "Add" and "Delete" buttons.
When you select "GO!" the modem will dial the number and attempt to
connect you to the on-line service. Once you are connected follow the
on-screen prompts given out by the service. To hang up the phone, press
the END key on your keyboard.
Bulletin Board Systems
A Bulletin Board, or BBS, is at it's simplest a computer and modem
connected to a phone line and set to receive incoming calls. Once
connected to a typical BBS you are invited to enter your name, and then a
password. The first time you connect to a BBS, you are often asked other
information (such as your home address and telephone number) in case any
queries arise.
BBS's are typically operated by software companies or computer enthusiasts
in their spare time. The operator of a BBS is normally called the Systems
Operator, or SYSOP for short.
Many BBS systems have areas from where you can send and receive electronic
mail to other users of the system, or even throughout many systems
covering Europe and the US! The type of people who use BBS's are usually
quite knowledgeable about computer's and most are friendly and willing to
answer any questions you have. Most BBS's allow you to send messages to
ALL, for a general announcement or a query, and it is often a good idea to
send complimentary messages to the SYSOP from time to time - indeed many
Sysops welcome comments on the systems and often have a special message
area for that purpose.
The other popular function of BBS systems are extensive file areas, from
where you can upload and download files of any type. Many BBS's have CD
ROM players enabling the sysop to offer hundreds of megabytes of Shareware
and PD software for download. Unfortunately the Desktop Terminal does not
allow downloading of files, being designed mainly for messaging use.
BBS Systems for you to try
The Shareware Support BBS (on 0442 891109 or 891209) is the support board
for Nildram Software products, and also carries the latest versions of
many Shareware products, including the NGS range, available for free
download to anyone who dials in. The BBS is connected with a large number
of other BBS systems, allowing you to send messages to people up and down
the country, and therefore has a huge message section covering about 200
categories - with hundreds of new messages daily. An extensive file area
wi th almost every type of file imaginable is available on-line, a small
yearly fee must be paid before you can access any areas except the support
areas, though. Your sysop is Adrian Mardlin, author of the Flexibak Plus
backup program and proprietor of Nildram Software.
The Software Source (and Computer Shopper) BBS (on 0892 661149 or 667090
or 667091) is run by The Public Domain and Shareware Library, one of the
oldest and best shareware libraries in the UK. 0892 is the dialling code
for Tunbridge Wells, and is charged at normal call rates. The BBS carries
a large selection of files available for free download, and has a lively
message section - mainly regarding the Shareware services provided by
PDSL. A special file area is available where users may freely download
versions of Alchemy Mindworks, Moraffware and other American authors which
PDSL manages in the UK. Also available is an extensive file area
containing every disk in the PDSL library (in compressed form) - an annual
charge is required for use of this area though. Your sysop is Neil Blaber.
The UK edition of Computer Shopper includes a long list of adverts for BBS
systems in it's small advertisements section.
Modem Glossary
BBS: Bulletin Board System - the service which you can connect your PC to
via a telephone line.
SYSOP: SYStem OPerator - the person who looks after the BBS.
UPLOAD: Transmitting a file from your computer to a BBS.
DOWNLOAD: Receiving a file from a BBS.
CD ROM: Identical in appearance to a music CD, a CD ROM contains on
average about 600Mb of programs, and are often used on BBS's to provide a
large number of files to download.
PD: Public Domain Software - a form of software which is completely free
to use.
SHAREWARE: Software which you may try free of charge, but must pay for if
you continue to use it - like the Desktop!
ON-LINE: Your PC is on line when you are connected to a remote computer or
BBS.
PCX Converter
The Gorin Desktop comes with a special utility, PCX Converter installed as
an icon in your Utilities group, which can be used to convert pictures in
the popular PCX format for use as Wallpaper and Icon files.
You should select the type of conversion you require, after which you will
be asked to choose the PCX file to manipulate from a dialogue box.
The picture will load and display (note that images larger than 64k take
considerably longer to display).
You will then be asked if you wish to convert colours. If the picture was
originally a Windows Bitmap file, or was created using a Windows paint
package such as Paintbrush, and the colours look incorrect, select "Yes".
Otherwise select "No".
Grabbing a PCX file as wallpaper: If you have selected this option, you
should move the outline on screen using the mouse (or cursor keys) until
the image you wish to use is contained in the outline, then press the left
button (or space bar) to save the image. Press the right mouse button (or
Q) to abort.
Grabbing an icon: Select an area using the same method as above, then
enter a suitable file name for the icon (without extension). Press the
right mouse button (or Q) when you are finished.
Shrinking a PCX file to Wallpaper size: The image will automatically
resize and save. If you attempt to shrink a file which is already smaller
than the Wallpaper size (471x276) bizarre results may occur.
To return to the Desktop, select "Return to Desktop" or the CLOSE box.
NOTES: The routines used to import PCX files pose a few restrictions.
Images must have no more than 16 colours and version 3.0 or later PCX
format must be used. The screen resolution also limits the size of an
image - unfortunately images larger than 640x480 cannot be displayed in
their entirety.
Large amounts of PCX files are available as either PD or Shareware, and
other formats such as BMP and GIF may be converted to PCX using conversion
programs, a number of which are available in the Shareware marketplace.
Please respect the copyright restrict ions placed on some graphics files,
and register any software you use.
GMOD Amiga MOD player
GMOD is a music player for people with a sound blaster compatible card,
although the music may be played through the PC speaker, but the quality
is not as good. It plays files called modules which consist of 31 sampled
instruments and a four channel music track. Each module contains patterns
of 64 notes in size. There can be many patterns that create an overall
module. Each sample's frequency may be changed to give it a different
sound or pitch on 3 different scales. These instruments may have been
lengthened or shortened before being placed in to the module to give
another varying effect, so if you are using the Instrument Keyboard Player
(see later) you may hear some strange side effects.
This type of music originated on the Commodore AMIGA computer as Sound
Tracker modules but quite recently moved over to the IBM PC and
compatibles because, although they did not have dedicated music chips,
they had the processing power to manipulate this music through the PC
speaker and eventually the SoundBlaster and compatibles. Nowadays, they
are used regularly on the PC, especially in demos.
As an example of this type of music, a few special MOD files are installed
with The Gorin Desktop, written by a talented computer musician, Paul
Hardwick.
Quick Start Guide:
o Execute the program GMOD.EXE (via Desktop or the DOS prompt).
o Choose your output device (SB or SP).
o Select the "Rate" of play (defaults to Medium).
o Choose the directory and module you wish to play via
the File selector.
o Click "Play" or "IKP".
o Quit from the filer display only by either clicking on the
"Quit" button or closing the filer
Note: The program MUST be run from the DESKTOP directory.
Features:
Before playing you are presented with a choice of output device and also
the rate at which the module is played through that device. The higher the
rate, the better quality the playback.
These may be selected from the file selector window.
o "SB" or "SP" chooses the output device, Soundblaster or Speaker.
o "Rate" chooses the Rate setting menu - select a suitable
setting for your PC.
When playing a module, the screen is split in to several definite areas.
The very top part of the screen tells you which module is playing and its
actual name.
Below this, contains the main display of the 4 channels. Each bar shows
which channel is playing. Each can be turned on and off or the loudness
changed.
To the left of this is the menu box, and below the percentage bar showing
how much of the module has been played. Finally, below this, we see the
instruments that are in the module. Not all of these instruments will have
names, and not all the names have instruments! I.e. some of the bars
contain an instrument and some do not. It is trial and error to discover
which contain instruments, as some module authors include messages in
these areas, see the accompanying modules for an example of what I mean.
Playing Modules:
Whilst playing a module, the following options are available:
o Increase/Decrease the volume of each channel by clicking
the "<" and ">" to the right of that particular channel.
o Individual channels can also be turned on and off via the "On" &
"Off" buttons to the left of the "<" and ">" mentioned above.
o Move quickly forward and backwards through the module by clicking
the ">>" and "<<" below the STOP button to the left of the channels
display.
o Help, by clicking the "Help" button to the left of the main channel
display.
o Stop the module any time by clicking "Stop".
o Select the in-built Instrument Keyboard Player (IKP) by clicking
the "IKP" button.
The Instrument Keyboard Player:
This is a very basic sample player that allows you to play the instruments
in the module via the keyboard. It was not designed to produce pure music
notes, indeed, you may notice with some instruments, it will sound
slightly "odd".
On entering the player, the module will stop playing. You will now be able
to select any of the instruments by clicking on the push buttons at the
bottom of the display. When you have found one, click OK and start using
the keyboard as a piano keyboard. When you have had enough, press escape
and choose another instrument, or click Xit to quit and return to the
module exactly where you left off.
NOTE: If you enter the IKP directly, you will hear the start of the module
playing. If the music carries on someway in to the Instrument Player, then
simply enter the IKP when the module is playing.
Keyboard Layout for the Instrument Keyboard Player:
Upper Keyboard
2 3 5 6 7 9 0 = DEL
[C#2] [D#2] [F#2] [G#2] [A#3] [C#3] [D#3] [F#3] [G#3]
Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ]
[C-2] [D-2] [E-2] [F-2] [G-2] [A-3] [B-3] [C-3] [D-3] [E-3] [F-3] [G-3]
Lower Keyboard
S D G H J L ;
[C#1] [D#1] [F#1] [G#1] [A#2] [C#2] [D#2]
Z X C V B N M , . /
[C-1] [D-1] [E-1] [F-1] [G-1] [A-2] [B-2] [C-2] [D-2] [E-2]
Where C-2 can be split:
C - note value
2 - Scale [ 1 - Lower 2 - Middle 3 - Upper ]
Quitting the program:
You must quit from the file selection dialogue, you cannot quit while a
module is playing. You must first "Stop" the module playing (quit the
sequencer if you are in that) before you quit.
Limitations:
These are in built limitations:
o This program can only handle modules with 31 instruments, generally most
recent modules are created in this format, rather than the older format of
15 instruments.
o Because of 640k memory restrictions, and memory usage of this program
modules larger than 390k will not work. The program has been tested with a
396k module and worked with no errors.
See the trouble shooting section regarding problems with GMOD.
Technical Matters
The Gorin Desktop relies on three batch files to manage the system, one
RUNGUI.BAT is used to run the Desktop. Another, DESKTOP.BAT, will be found
in the root directory of your hard disk, and should be either left there
or copied into another directory within your path. A third file,
EXITGUI.BAT, is called when you exit the Desktop and return to DOS. As a
default, this file clears the screen and runs a program supplied with the
Desktop, called DISKSTAT, which reports on the size of your hard disk,
memory free, DOS version and processor. You may modify EXITGUI.BAT, if you
wish.
If you asked the SETUP program to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in order
that the Desktop starts automatically, you will find the last three lines
of your AUTOEXEC file are identical to those in the DESKTOP.BAT file. You
should still keep the DESKTOP.BAT file, however, as it is necessary to
restart the Desktop after you have returned to the DOS prompt.
Under DOS 3.3 and later, the Desktop does not take any memory away from
your programs (i.e. they have as much memory as if you were running them
from the DOS prompt). However, due to the lack of a CALL command in DOS
3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 (and also versions of DR DOS prior to v5.0), programs run
from the Desktop will have between 2k and 6k less memory available to them
than the same program would have run from the DOS prompt. Maybe you should
now upgrade your DOS version!
Two environment variables are recognised by The Gorin Desktop, MULTIGROUPS
- which if you have the statement SET MULTIGROUPS=FALSE in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, will disable multiple program groups, and only show
icons in the Applications group. The other environment variable,
GORINDESKTOP, allows users of Gorin's Organiser to share telephone dialler
lists between the two programs, which results in the DIAL.INI file in the
Organiser's directory being ignored, and the desktop's one used instead,
or vice-versa. The format of this command is SET GORINDESKTOP=C:\DESKTOP\
(trailing backslash is necessary). The path indicates where the Address
Book file is to be stored. Note that if you wish to share the Address Book
between Desktop and the Windows version of Organiser, it is necessary to
point the parameter at the windows file, for example SET
GORINDESKTOP=C:\ORGWIN\USER1\ in most cases.
Running The Gorin Desktop on an XT
Inevitably, as with any graphics based program, The Gorin Desktop is
slowed when running on an XT machine (that is any machine with an 8088,
8086 or V20/V30 processor). There are, however, a few special tricks
available to make sure that Desktop suffers minimal slow down when running
on such a machine.
Firstly, although very pleasant to view, Wallpaper takes a long time to
display on many XT-class systems - often resulting in a long pause when
you select a program group, or drastically increased loading time. With XT
class machines, it is recommended that Wallpaper is not used.
Often, it is possible to speed up the loading of The Gorin Desktop, simply
by unchecking the "Check files exist on startup" option in the "Other..."
section of the Options Panel. The downside of this, though, is that if a
file essential to the Desktop is accidentally deleted the Desktop may then
become unstable.
Some systems with particularly slow graphics adapters may work better with
the "Icons push into screen" setting disabled, although this is often a
matter of personal taste.
You may find that the Filer (and similar dialogue boxes) scroll too
slowly. If this happens, set the Scroll Delay in the "Other..." section of
the Options Panel to the special XT setting by reducing the value below
zero. Outside the Desktop, there are a few additional checks you can make
to ensure that maximum performance is gained. Firstly, you should make
sure that all the Desktop files are stored on disk in the one place, as
sometimes DOS decides to split files up over many different parts of the
disk - this causes a significant slowdown in the loading of the Desktop,
but can easily be checked:
Change to the Desktop directory and type CHKDSK *.*
This command (supplied with all versions of DOS) will display some
information about your disk, and then tell you which files are fragmented,
or split up over different parts of the disk. Unless the message "All
specified file(s) are contiguous" is seen, you should really run a disk
defragmentation program over your hard disk. The loading of the Desktop
will be slowed considerably if the file GUI.EXE has more than 1
non-contiguous blocks.
If you have additional memory, known as EXPANDED (or EMS) memory, you may
be able to install a disk cache (such as Smart Drive - again supplied with
recent versions of MS DOS). A disk cache works by buffering the data
between the hard disk and computer's memory, and although is unlikely to
improve the loading speed of the Desktop, will improve the performance of
other features such as the file viewer and if you use a wallpaper
backdrop.
Compatibility
The Gorin Desktop has been successfully run, by either myself or by
existing registered users, on equipment using the following software or
hardware:
Operating Systems: MS/IBM DOS versions 3.30 to 6.30. Digital Research DOS
v5.0 and v6.0. Novell DOS 7. Although untested, the program should work
with DOS 3.0 or later.
Caches: Microsoft Smartdrive versions 3.x and later. Hyperdisk. PC Kwik.
Fast.
Processors: All Intel 80x86 and compatibles (including AMD devices). I
have also heard from users running Desktop/Organiser on PC emulators
connected to Acorn and Atari systems.
System Utilities: Quarterdeck QEMM386, Superstor, Stacker, Doublespace,
DriveSpace. Note: It is not recommended that you use Doublespace as it is
buggy - Microsoft charges £10 to upgrade from DOS 6.0 or 6.2 to v6.22
which includes the more stable DriveSpace software.
Incompatibilities known at time of release: Early versions of
GMOUSE.SYS/COM (Genius Mouse Driver). Microsoft Mouse Driver previous to
v6.26. In both these cases, simply using a recent version if the Microsoft
Mouse Driver fixes the problem.
Amstrad 2000 systems can't display a cursor on the desktop. Please edit
the GUI.INI file and change the Mouse Cursor setting from DRIVER to
SOFTWARE on these machines.
Printers connected to ports other than LPT1 can only print if redirection
of PRN to set using the MODE command (described in your DOS Manual).
Please report any incompatibilities and bugs using the Bug Report Form
contained in the file BUG.DOC.
Trouble shooting
When using the file viewer, the screen corrupts when I select the scroll
bar. Why?
Some VGA cards which are not 100% compatible with the IBM VGA standard
cause this problem. Avoid using the scroll bar, and use the Up and Down
buttons instead.
I have two floppy drives, A: and B:, but the file selectors only allow me
to access drive A:. What can I do?
At the DOS prompt, change to your DESKTOP directory and delete the file
DRIVES.INI. You will then be able to access drive B:.
Why doesn't the file selector display drive A (or B) in the drives list,
even though I have edited the DRIVES.INI file?
You must insert the floppy disk into drive A (or B) before you select the
Filer or try to add or edit a program entry. You should then see the disk
and it's size displayed clearly in the list.
When using a file selector, I get the message "Insert diskette for drive
X:" appearing on screen, but I haven't got that drive, what should I do?
At the DOS prompt, change to your DESKTOP directory, and edit the file
DRIVES.INI using an editor. This file should contain a string of letters
corresponding to all the "real" drives on your PC. For example if you have
drives A:, C:, D: and network drives L: & M: this file should read ACDLM
only.
After using a file selector, I get a message telling me that the Desktop
cannot reopen a virtual memory file, and asking me if I want to quit to
DOS. If I don't quit to DOS, will the Desktop still work?
Yes - but the screen area which was behind the file selector will not be
re drawn until you change windows. Otherwise, you shouldn't have any
problems. This message is generated if you accidentally delete a
particular temporary file, and is most likely to occur on Multi-tasking or
Multi-user systems.
My mouse pointer doesn't appear on the Desktop, although it works OK in
the Setup, Disk Formatter and other programs.
Your mouse driver is not completely compatible with VGA modes. If you edit
the file GUI.INI, found in your DESKTOP directory, and change the line
MOUSE CURSOR: DRIVER to MOUSE CURSOR: SOFTWARE the cursor used in the
other programs will work, although it ma y perform jerkily under the
Filer. This problem is common on earlier Amstrad 2000 machines.
The Desktop takes a long time to load on my XT, and selecting a program
group causes a long pause. Any way to speed things up?
Go to the Options panel and set Wallpaper to NONE. If you still find the
software slow, select the "Other..." section of the Options panel, and
uncheck the box marked "Check files on startup", this will enable the
Desktop to load quicker, but as the Desktop does not check all the files
required exist, errors are more likely to occur. If you have expanded
memory, you could try installing a disk cache (Contact your local computer
store). Alternatively, if you have a fast hard disk, and a copy of the
program UNLZEXE, you could use this on the GUI.EXE file, thus removing the
decompression time.
When I select PRINT from the File Viewer, I don't get anything printed on
my printer, or I get rubbish, why is this?
There could be a number of reasons. Firstly the printer must be connected
to the DOS port PRN, often marked LPT1: on the back of the PC. If it is
not, you must redirect the printer to the PRN port using the MODE command
(See your DOS manual). If your print er is a Postscript printer, you must
use a interpreter to convert text into postscript codes - ask your dealer,
or contact your favourite PD library.
How can I make a Windows program run directly from the Desktop? I just get
the message "This program requires Microsoft Windows", although I have
Windows installed on my PC.
You simply have to make sure that you answer YES when asked if you want to
load Windows for the program. You will be asked this when you first select
the file when adding the program.
I am entering commands to run a program using the Manual option. However,
I cannot fit the entire command onto one line, what should I do?
Type as much of the command on one line as you can, then press ENTER to
start the next. Before you type any more, enter the plus character "+".
Now continue as if you were still on the previous line. Desktop will
automatically remove the "+" and join the lines together at run time.
I am trying to select a file through the file selector, but keep getting
the dialogue box saying "Reinsert disk into drive". I am looking at my
hard disk.
You appear to have a hard disk fault. Try using the DOS CHKDSK /F command.
If this doesn't fix it, consult a knowledgeable friend or your local
computer store.
Sometimes one of the icons for a program disappears temporarily, and a
question mark appears. Later when I look again, the icon has returned.
What's going on?
If the Desktop gets a read error whilst trying to load an icon, it
substitutes the question mark icon instead. It is possible that you have a
slight fault on the exact piece of disk where that icon is stored.
Alternatively, if you are running on a network, the network may be busy.
If you are using disk compression software, try running the Check and
Repair (or similar) utility which was supplied with it. If this happens a
lot on various icons, your hard disk could be about to fail - make sure
you take a backup!
Why does the system status only say I have less than 640k of memory
available? I've got over 1Mb on my machine.
The system status only reports the amount of free DOS memory, that it the
figure seen at the bottom of the CHKDSK display. Your additional memory is
configured as Extended or Expanded, and is not available to standard DOS
programs.
Why does the system status and file selectors say I have got a C: drive
and a G: (or H:) drive but nothing in-between?
You are probably running MS DOS 6 or another disk compression program.
Drive G: is the real drive which contains the huge compressed drive C:.
Ignore the reading for drive G:.
Some of my programs do not look the same when run from or after I have
used the Desktop. Why is this? I am using a Mono-VGA monitor.
This is because Desktop switches your monitor to give shades of grey
rather than black and white. To make your programs look as they did
before, enter the commands for each program manually, and make the first
command MODE MONO - this will switch your display back to black and white.
The windows in the file selectors scroll too fast on my 386 or 486
machine.
Select the Options panel and the section "Other...". Increase the value
under SCROLL DELAY (MS) until a suitable scrolling speed is seen. For
users of 286 machines, this value should be zero.
The windows in the file selectors scroll too slow on my XT machine.
Select the Options panel and the section "Other...". Make sure that the
Scroll Delay is set to zero. If the windows still scroll too slowly, set
the scroll delay to "XT" by trying to reduce the delay past zero - the
file selectors may then flicker slightly more than before, but should
scroll faster. Note: You cannot run GMOD if you have the delay set to XT.
The icons flicker when I press them.
Select the Options panel and the section "Other...". Now check the box
"Icons don't depress", this will prevent the icons from pressing into the
screen.
What do I need to back up?
If you do not want to back up the whole of your Desktop installation, you
only need back up files with the extension .INI - If you need to restore
the backup, simply reinstall the Desktop, and copy these files back to
restore your configuration.
Why do some of my converted Windows icons look wrong?
The icons have probably been grabbed or saved in a 256 or high colour
mode. Try saving them in a 16 colour mode (using the standard VGA driver
supplied with Windows).
I had to make some space on my Hard Disk to install The Gorin Desktop, but
now I find that it won't run. Why is this?
The Desktop must have a minimum of 200k free space available before it
will start. Make sure that you have enough space, and that any
write-protect software is disabled before starting the Desktop.
I have got a mouse installed, but the Desktop displays the keyboard logo,
and wont let me use the mouse. Why?
Make sure that you have installed a mouse driver for your mouse, usually
called MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS. If it is a three-button switchable mouse,
ensure that it is switched to Microsoft or two button mode. If you are
using a Microsoft Mouse Driver, you must use version 6.22 or later.
I've moved my copy of Desktop from one drive onto a different one. Now
Desktop won't restart after I run my programs. What can I do?
From the Desktop, select the Options panel then press OK. This will
reinitialize the Desktop.
Why can't I use all the Format options in the Formatter?
Some options require special disk drives to operate. Also, options such as
Safe and Quick format are only available under DOS 5.0 and above.
GMOD Problems
Why wont the GMOD MOD Player work through my Adlib or compatible sound
card?
The Adlib card does not contain a sampled sound channel, being intended
purely for synthesized music generation. You must have a Soundblaster or
compatible card to hear the MOD player, otherwise use your internal PC
speaker.
When I use GMOD, I just hear a lot of crackling. How can I fix this?
The PC Speaker will always crackle when playing GMOD files - it's not
sophisticated enough to properly play the music. However, you can improve
things by selecting the highest play rate from the file selector,
otherwise you'll need to buy a SoundBlaster card - these cost around £25 -
£30 second hand at the time of writing (Jan 95).
The music only played through one speaker on my Sound Blaster Pro.
Have you used software that utilizes the SB Pros stereo effect prior to
using this program? If you have, then you will have to COLD BOOT your
computer before the sound is produced through both speakers.
I was greeted with the message: "Out of Memory"
The module was too big for the program to cope with, you may try and free
up more memory by deleting some TSRs, but if this still does not work,
then you may not use the module again. Generally you will find that a
module of 390k is the largest acceptable by the program.
The program seems to be really slow - even on my 486-66dx2! Some versions
of some 386 expanded memory managers (such as certain versions of QEMM)
slow down GMOD. For full speed, try disabling these managers.
Alternatively select the Medium or Low sampling rate.
Where can I get more of these modules?
Modules are available from a number of sources, e.g.
o Shareware/PD libraries.
o Bulletin Board Systems.
o CD-Rom Disks.
o Friends Amiga Computers.
And the registered version of Desktop comes with a few more for you to
play!
Problems known at time of release
When this version of The Gorin Desktop was released, all known bugs had
been removed. However, it is inevitable that in such a large program (the
main Desktop alone consists of over 300k of source code) some bugs will
ultimately surface. If you experience a bug, please write giving as much
detail as possible about when, where and how the problem occurred - this
may well help remove the bug from the program. However, there are a few
known problems, which although they may seem like bugs are actually
unavoidable:
In the file viewer, occasionally when you scroll through a file the top
line displayed on screen will have a few dots running along the top of it
- in fact the very bottom of a few descenders on the previous (now
scrolled off the screen) line. Also, some VGA cards are incompatible with
the hardware scrolling method used resulting in screen corruption. In this
case, avoid using the scroll bar and use the Up/Down buttons instead. No
other parts of the desktop are affected.
If you do not have a drive A:, or don't have a drive B: and have either
deleted the DRIVES.INI file or edited it to show that you do have an
offending drive, you may get a message requesting that you insert a disk -
which will corrupt the display whenever the Filer or a similar file
selector is used. The simple way around this is to ensure that the
DRIVES.INI file contains only the drives you actually have fitted to your
system, for example if you only have a hard disk, drive C:, and a network
drive, for example J:, your DRIVES.INI file should simply read CJ, the C
being the very first character in the file.
Copyright Information
The Gorin Desktop is Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Neil Gorin.
PCX Converter, Floppy Formatter, System Status, Desktop Terminal and all
other utilities supplied with all versions 1.x and 2.x of The Gorin
Desktop are Copyright 1992-1995 Neil Gorin.
Gorin's Organiser (All versions) is Copyright 1992-1995 Neil Gorin.
Gorin's Organiser for Windows is Copyright 1994-1995 Neil Gorin.
GMOD is Copyright 1993 Paul Askew and Copyright 1994 Neil Gorin.
The Gorin Desktop - End of documentation