Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/extras/boot_up/neo_002/update.txt

Text File | 1995-04-27 | 22KB | 523 lines

                  NeoDesk╛ 4 release 002 Patch Program

          This program will upgrade NeoDesk 4 release 001 to
          release 002.  It will ONLY upgrade release 001.

  This program is copyright ╜ 1994 by Gribnif Software.  All rights are
  reserved.  It may be distributed free of charge, provided this and all
  other files are included and are not modified.

  Any questions or comments, please contact us at:

      Gribnif Software, P.O. Box 779, Northampton, MA 01061, USA

      Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]

      GEnie:    GRIBNIF
      Internet: [e-mail]


What is needed to upgrade
=========================

  1.  An unmodified, registered, NeoDesk 4 Master Disk, release 001.  This
      version of the patch program works only with English language
      versions of NeoDesk 4.  Owners of other versions should contact their
      respective distributor.

  2.  A hard disk or a blank, double-sided, formatted floppy disk (to
      place the NEO_002.PRG and the NEO_002.DAT files on).


How to upgrade your NeoDesk 4 release 001 to release 002
========================================================

  1.  Make sure you have made a backup copy of the NeoDesk 4 disk.

  2.  Place the NEO_002.PRG on your hard disk or on the blank floppy disk
      (it may need the extra disk space to write some temporary files).
      Also, copy the NEO_002.DAT file to the same directory. If you
      obtained a patch disk from us with only these files on it, you can
      use the patch disk directly, though if you have a hard drive, copying
      the files there will be quicker in the long run.

  3.  The patch program will run more quickly and with the fewest disk
      swaps if you give it as much free memory as possible. If you have
      less than 500K of free memory, you can disable AUTO folder programs
      and desk accessories to obtain more free memory.

  4.  Once you have finished upgrading your master disk to release 002,
      make a backup copy of this newer version.

  ** VERY IMPORTANT STEP, READ CAREFULLY **

  5.  To install the newer version on your system, you MUST replace ALL the
      release 001 files in your system with the 002 files. To do this you
      can either:

      o Run the INSTALL.PRG on the newly updated disk. In several places,
        you may get messages saying that a file already exists. You should
        tell it to go ahead and overwrite the old file, in every case
-->>    EXCEPT FOR THE FILE NEODESK.NIC. If you tell it to overwrite the
        NEODESK.NIC file, this will permanently delete any custom icons
        you have added to NeoDesk!

      o To install the new version manually, you should replace any
        occurences of these files on your working disk:

          ACC\NEOCNTRL.ACC
              NEOQUEUE.ACC
          INF_LOAD\INF_LOAD.ACC
          NEODESK\ICONEDIT.RSC
                  NEODESK.EXE
                  NEODESK.HLP
                  NEODESK.RSC
                  NEOLOAD.PRG
                  SETTINGS.RSC  (New for release 002)
          TRASHCAN\TRASHCAN.ACC
                   TRASHCAN.RSC
          INSTALL.SCR

        Mixing 001 versions of NeoDesk files with 004 versions is VERY
        likely to lead to problems.

 *** ULTRA IMPORTANT **
 *
 *      If you install NeoDesk 4 002 manually, don't forget to replace all
 *      the copies of NEOLOAD.PRG, including the one in the AUTO folder of
 *      your boot disk.
 *
 **********************

  6.  You can now run NeoDesk 4, 002. You will have to reboot in order to
      do this.

  Please note that the resource files for NEOQUEUE, NEOCNTRL, and INF_CONV
  have not changed. This means that if you look at the copyright
  information dialogs for any of these programs, they will still mention
  NeoDesk 4.00, even though the programs themselves have changed. The best
  way to tell what version of one of these programs is, is by looking at
  the file date: the release 002 files will always have the date that you
  performed the patch.


If you get an error message
===========================

  If your NeoDesk 4 disk has been modified in any way, the patch program
  may not be able to perform the upgrade.  You will get an error message
  indicating that this has happened.  In this case, you should mail us the
  disk so that we can upgrade it.

  To have your disk upgraded by us, you need to:

  1.  Send your original, registered, NeoDesk 4 disk.
  2.  Please enclose a U.S. check for $5 + $2 shipping & handling ($7
      total). If this patch program was already purchased directly from
      Gribnif Software for $5, then you do not need to send any payment,
      just the NeoDesk disk.
  3.  Enclose a note with your name, address, and daytime phone number.

  In return you will receive an upgraded 002 disk.


Changes in NeoDesk 002
----------------------

  New in NeoDesk:
    Two new dialogs have been added. These dialogs are only available when
    Geneva is not present. See the "Addenda & Errata" section of this file
    for more info:
    o The "Windows" dialog has a new button named "Gadgets" which allows
      you to access a sub-dialog to change the colors and keyboard
      equivalents of the gadgets.
    o The "Dialogs" dialog has a sub-dialog which allows you to change the
      colors, fill patterns, and other attributes of dialog buttons.

  New in the icon editor:
    o There are now "cycle" buttons next to the View and Draw popups.
    o The "Clear" option under the "Mask" menu has been removed. Instead,
      there are now separate options to "Clear Data", "Clear Mask", and
      "Clear Both".
    o There are options in the "Image" menu to do horizontal and vertical
      flips.
    o You can now replace all occurrences of one color with another. Start
      by selecting the new color in the grid to the right, then click and
      drag this color to the color you want to replace.

Problems Fixed
--------------

In NeoDesk:

  If Geneva is not present:
    o The cycle windows gadget works.
    o NeoDesk can now be used as a desk accessory.
    o Dragging desktop icons will not sometimes lose the drag box.

  If neither Geneva nor MultiTOS is present, and you have a computer
    other than a Falcon, then changing resolution by using the Video Mode
    dialog works properly.

  If Geneva is present, you can now run a program in single-tasking mode
    with the "Unload for execute" option turned on.

  Copying a disk drive to the clipboard starts the operation right away.

  Searching the contents of a group is now correctly flagged as an invalid
    operation.

  Editing the environmental variables in 40-column resolutions now works
    right. The dialog also undraws properly when closed.

  Using non-Bitstream fonts in NeoDesk 4 when Speedo GDOS 5 is active works
    much better now, however early versions of Speedo 5 produce dots across
    the screen occasionally.

  The Sort order gets saved in INF files.

  Saving an INF file with a group open works properly when the INF file is
    later loaded.

  When an INF file for a resolution which permits windows which are larger
    than the current resolution is loaded, the windows are limited to the
    current maximum size.

  Pressing Undo in the Macros dialog will no longer select the "Remove"
    button.

  The program loads more quickly when run from a floppy disk.

  Showing an ST High resolution picture on a normal ST with a color monitor
    now works.

  The NPI dialog has been expanded vertically so that the Parameters
    section will look right in ST Medium/Low resolution.

  Dialogs with wrap-around editable fields now always draw the cursor
    correctly.

  It is now possible to choose from all of the GDOS fonts you have loaded,
    not just the first 16 (memory permitting.) Also, the full 32 characters
    of the font names are visable.

  Macros to run programs and to close all windows work now, without
    producing an alert afterward.

  Editing the 20-character name of an item in a group no longer interferes
    with the icon it has in the window. Also, NPI files in a group always
    get the right icon now.

  Using Show Information on an open folder will no longer crash if you
    select the "Ok!" button.

  Reading disk directories has been sped up slightly.

  When a file name conflict occurs during a copy/move, the items' dates and
    sizes are now visible when using ST Medium/Low resolution.

  The width of the custom window gadgets for x2, Select All, etc. will
    always be wide enough for the icons inside the gadgets, even if the
    rest of the window gadgets are not.

  Avoided a bug in the TOS 4.04 Blitmode() call which would cause the
    system color palette to get reset to its defaults whenever an INF file
    was loaded.

  Fixed NeoDesk so that deletions using the recoverable trashcan will
    update NeoDesk's windows properly when done and not sometimes crash
    instead.

  Made a change in memory allocation that should lead to less
    fragmentation.

  If NEODESK.EXE is not present when any module is trying to load, you will
    get an error message. Previously, this would only happen when NeoDesk
    first ran.


In the NeoDesk Icon Editor:

  Copying a 2-color icon image to 4- or 16-colors in the icon editor by
    using the clipboard works properly. Similarly, creating a 4- or
    16-color icon from a 2-color one (when there had previously not been
    one) works.

  Using Show Information on an icon in the icon editor is now correctly
    flagged as an invalid operation.

  Quitting the icon editor will no longer cause icons on the desktop to
    disappear.

  Deleting all or some of the NeoDesk Icons will no longer potentially
    cause a crash when you open a new window.

  The editor window will be the correct size when used in TT Low or Falcon
    40-column true color modes.


In INF_LOAD:

  The INF Loader now converts icons from NeoDesk 3 INF files properly.


In the Recoverable Trashcan:

  The TRASHCAN no longer gives an "Illegal AES function" alert when used on a
    Falcon.


In NEOCNTRL:

  NEOCNTRL and NEOQUEUE will no longer give an "Illegal AES Function" alert
    when run on a Falcon with TOS <= 4.04.
  The corner clock now works in true color modes on the Falcon.
  The control panel no longer thinks the Falcon has a Blitter chip. Chalk
    up another bug in TOS 4.04.
  NEOCNTRL will now let you change the state of the Blitter and T25 if
    you have this exact combination of enhancements available.
  Changing the date when in yy/mm/dd format works.


Addenda & Errata to the Manual
------------------------------

  o Page 5 of the manual incorrectly refers to REGISTER.PRG. You simply
    need to run INSTALL.PRG and it will ask for registration information.

  o Page 7, Section 2.5.2., the first example should read:

    setenv PATH=C:\NEODESK4

    This can be combined with other paths that may already be in the line,
    such as:

    setenv PATH=.,C:\UTILS,C:\NEODESK4

  o Page 9, Section 2.8, the example is incorrect. It should read:

    setenv NEOPATH=<path where NEODESK.EXE is stored>
                                       ^^^
    Also, it should be added that if you are going to use NeoDesk 4 as a
    desk accessory, you must also run NEOLOAD.PRG in the AUTO folder of
    your boot disk. If you have TOS 1.4 or newer, then you must also turn
    the "Fastload" attribute of NEODESK.ACC off. This can be done by using
    NeoDesk's "Show Information" dialog.

  o Page 79, Section 4.1.3.3, second paragraph, change to:

    Clicking on the font button will display the names of the available
    fonts...

    (NeoDesk 002 will read as many fonts as you have configured to load,
    memory permitting)

  o Page 81, Section 4.1.3.4, second paragraph, change to:

    from a pop-up list of the available system, GDOS, or Speedo GDOS
    fonts.

    Add to end of section:

    If you are not using Geneva, then the "Gadgets" button will allow you
    to modify the colors and keyboard equivalents for window gadgets.

  o Page 81, Add Section 4.1.3.4.1:

    Window colors and keyboard equivs.
    ----------------------------------

    This dialog gives you control over the colors and fill patterns of the
    gadgets in NeoDesk's windows. It also allows you to change the keyboard
    keys that can be used to achieve common window operations.

    If you use Atari's XCONTROL panel and have a CPX module to set the
    window colors, then NeoDesk can read these settings. Choose the "Use
    system window colors" button if you would prefer to control the colors
    of NeoDesk's windows with the CPX. In this mode, only the 3D attribute
    of the gadgets can be changed.

    By clicking on the "Topped" button, you can toggle the display between
    editing the attributes of topped windows and non-topped windows.

    In order to be compatible with the method used by Atari to control
    window colors, some of the window gadgets NeoDesk uses inherit the same
    colors as other gadgets. For instance, if you change the color of the
    Full box, the color of the Cycle gadget will also change.

    To copy the attributes of one gadget to another, click and hold the
    left mouse button on the currently selected gadget. An outline box will
    appear, which can be dragged to the destination gadget.

    The keyboard equivalent for the currently selected window gadget can
    also be changed. If one is available, you will see the current setting
    in the bottom of this dialog. Note that selecting the area above the
    vertical scroll drag box ("page up") allows you to change a different
    keyboard equivalent than selecting the area below that gadget ("page
    down").

    The "Read" button will allow you to press the keyboard key to assign
    to the currently selected window function. The "Clear" button will
    erase the current key. The dialog will show the string "???" to
    indicate that the key is undefined.

    You should remember to Save Configuration after making changes to this
    dialog so that your changes become permanent.

  o Page 82, Section 4.1.3.5, add:

    If you are not using Geneva, then the "Button Colors" button will allow
    you to modify the colors of the buttons used in NeoDesk's dialogs.  If
    you have Geneva, then you can use the Task Manager's "Dialogs" option
    to change these settings.

  o Page 83, Add Section 4.1.3.5.1:

    Dialog Colors
    -------------

    This dialog allows you to set the way in which various components of
    other dialogs are displayed.

    NeoDesk allows you to have separate appearances for several types of
    objects contained within dialogs. The "Type" box contains a list of
    the four different types of objects that can be assigned these special
    attributes. The "Sample" shows you one object of each of these types,
    so that you can gauge how they will look in actual dialogs.

    The "Attributes" section is where you can specify how the currently
    selected object should look:

    o Outline: produces a line around the outside of the object.
    o Shadow:  a shadow on the lower-right edge of the object.
    o 3D: a three-dimensional effect. The text of the object will "move"
      when it is selected.
    o Round: the corners of the outer edge are rounded, instead of square.
      Note that if Outline is also used, the thick part of the object's
      border is moved to the outside.
    o Opaque: affects how text is drawn. When this flag is set, the area
      around the actual dots that make up a character of text are left
      white. Otherwise, the fill pattern of the object will show through.
    o Pattern: this is a pop-up menu which lets you choose from any of
      the eight pre-defined fill patterns. You can also move from one to
      the next by clicking on the left or right arrow buttons.
    o Fill:  this is a pop-up menu with all of the colors available in the
      resolution you are currently using. (Some colors will be black if the
      current screen resolution does not support at least 16 colors at
      once.) You can use this option to define what color is used when
      drawing the fill pattern of the currently selected object.
    o Text: the color of any text appearing in the object.
    o Border: the color of any border surrounding the object.

    Note that some attributes of some types of objects are overridden by
    NeoDesk itself, and therefore changing them will have no effect.

    You should remember to Save Configuration after making changes to this
    dialog so that your changes become permanent.

  o Page 95, Section 4.1.4.3, add:

    The popup menu in the NPI dialog moves you between several groups of
    settings which will affect how the program gets run. All of these
    settings will override the way in which NeoDesk would otherwise run the
    program:

    o The Main section controls how the program is executed, in a manner
      similar to Install Application.
    o The Parameters section can be used to alter the way file names get
      passed to the program. Any text entered here is always sent, as-is. You
      can also use a $ followed by a number to indicate a particular passed
      filename, or $$ to indicate all passed file names. For instance, you
      could use the string "copy $1 $2" to indicate to a CLI that the first
      file should be copied to the second one. The "Extended argument
      passing" option allows more parameters to be passed than the standard
      limit of 126 characters. A program must specifically support this
      method.
    o The Miscellaneous section gives you control over the hardware options
      that are enabled when the program gets run. Some programs do not work
      correctly when the CPU is at a certain rate or when the NeoDesk Control
      Panel's corner clock is on, so this allows these things to be changed.
      Not all of these options have an effect on all computers.
    o The Environment section allows you to specify a group of up to ten
      environmental variables specifically for this instance of the
      program.

    Note that if you use NeoDesk 4 with a multitasking environment, like
    Geneva, then the Miscellaneous settings will not seem to work correctly.
    This is because the settings are changed back to their normal state as
    soon as NeoDesk regains control which, in a multitasking system, is
    immediate. With Geneva, you can solve this by setting the program itself
    to be single-tasking with Geneva's Task Manager.

  o Page 121, Section 5.4.3, add:

    The button to the right of the View button will cycle between the
    available choices.

  o Page 123, Section 5.4.3.1, add:

    The button to the right of the Draw button will cycle between the
    available choices.

  o Page 124, Add Section 5.4.3.3. Recoloring an image

    Sometimes, it is necessary to change all occurrences of one color in
    an icon to another color alltogether. To aid in this, the icon editor
    has a special copying feature.

    Start by choosing the new color from the color palette. Now, click
    and hold the left mouse button. Drag the resulting outline to the
    color palette entry you want to replace with this new color. If you
    let go of the left mouse button while the mouse pointer is outside of
    the color palette box, no change will occur.

  o Page 124, Section 5.4.4.1, replace the "Clear" item with:

    Clear Data - Clear just the data portion of the icon
    Clear Mask - Clear just the mask portion
    Clear Both - Clear both the data and the mask

    Under Rotate, add:

    H-Flip - Flip the image horizontally. In "View" modes other than "Both",
      only the current portion of the image is affected.
    V-Flip - Flip the image vertically

  o Page 125, Section 5.4.4.2, remove the "Clear" item.

  o Page 150, Section 7.1, add:

    [CONTROL][ALTERNATE][DELETE]    Perform a warm restart of the computer
    [CONTROL][ALTERNATE][UNDO]      Perform a cold restart of the computer

  o If you are going to use Speedo GDOS, you need to have version 4.11 or
    newer in order to use the scalable fonts allowed in the Windows and
    Desktop Notes dialogs. Version 4.1 will not work properly.

  o If you own Geneva, you must update to release 003. If you still have an
    older version, you can update using a patch program which is available
    on GEnie, Compuserve, and other BBS'es. You can also get the patch
    program from us for a minimal charge.

  o If you use Warp 9 3.81 or older and Geneva together, you should turn
    on Warp 9's "Zoom boxes" option. Otherwise, dialogs in NeoDesk will not
    undraw correctly. The same effect can safely be achieved by turning the
    "Grow/shrink boxes" option off in the Task Manager's "Miscellaneous"
    dialog.

  o In order to change the colors of NeoDesk's window gadgets, you should
    use WCOLORS.CPX or an equivalent replacement. There are two important
    things to note, however:

    1. If you are not using MultiTOS or Geneva, then you must have a copy
       of NEOLOAD.PRG in your AUTO folder in order for the colors to be
       read properly. This is because of a deficiency in TOS versions prior
       to 4.0.
    2. If you are not using Geneva, and you do not want to use WCOLORS.CPX,
       then you should use the "Window colors" dialog. This can be accessed
       by choosing the "Gadgets" button in the "Window preferences" dialog.
       The "Use system window colors" button controls whether or not the
       settings from WCOLORS.CPX are read by NeoDesk. If this button is
       selected, then changing the settings of the window colors in
       WCOLORS.CPX will only take effect when NeoDesk loads an INF file.