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1998-12-21
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|> !Help for !AltTab 0.20
|> All files in !AltTab are Copyright © 1994-1998 Christopher Martin
What's It For?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AltTab is a module that uses RiscOS 3's filters to provide a facility similar to
that in Windows 3 and up, where using the key combination <Alt> and <Tab> allows
the user to easily switch programs. When I have a lot of windows obscuring each
other, I just hold <Alt> and press <Tab> to quickly flip through them all to
find the one I want.
Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AltTab needs RISC OS version 3 or later. Just double-click the !AltTab
application to load the AltTab module. Double-click !AltTab a second time to
unload the module. The !AltTab.!Run file has been written in this way so you can
easily turn the facility on and off.
If you have a typical RiscPC and you want AltTab to be turned on when your
machine starts up, put the !AltTab application in the folder <Boot$ToBeTasks>
(which is probably !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks). If you have an older !Boot
structure, you can simply add a line to Run !AltTab in your Desktop boot file.
*** Make sure you don't have a second copy of !AltTab in another folder that
will also be run when your machine starts. Otherwise, the second copy will
turn the facility off again... and you'll wonder why AltTab doesn't work.
8-)
Tidying Up
~~~~~~~~~~
If you aren't interested in changing AltTab to suit yourself, then all you need
are these two files:
!AltTab.!Run
!AltTab.AltTab
Everything else can be deleted with impunity. (However, you might consider
keeping the !Help and !History files.)
But please note: If you do move or delete any files inside !AltTab, I'd rather
you didn't then pass the application on to someone else. Tell them where you got
it from so they can fetch the entire distribution.
Conditions of Use
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!AltTab, including all files within, is Freeware. It is _not_ Public Domain. I
make no guarantees about its fitness for any purpose; nor will I be held
responsible for anything it does or doesn't do. (Urgh... that sounds terrible.
Really, I do hope that you find this little utility useful. If you're having
hassles with AltTab, let me know.)
I want to ensure that this software remains freely available to all. You may
distribute copies of !AltTab which contain all the original files, unmodified,
and no additional files. You are not allowed to charge anything for this
software, nor include it in whole or in part in any product without my express
permission. (You may, however, charge a fee to cover distribution costs.)
Please, do not pass around any modified versions; I'd rather you contact me
about changes which might be widely useful. The source files are included so
that you can use it as an example of programming --- good, I hope --- and modify
it for your private, personal use.
The files inside !AltTab are:
!Help WR/WR Text 21-Dec-1998 5 Kbytes
!History WR/WR Text 02:05:45 24-Nov-1998 2851 bytes
!Run WR/ Obey 02:00:26 24-Nov-1998 225 bytes
AltTab WR/ Module 02:00:37 24-Nov-1998 960 bytes
makefile WR/ &FE1 22:34:19 16-May-1998 178 bytes
mk WR/ TaskObey 00:56:43 29-Aug-1998 46 bytes
o.AltTab WR/WR Data 02:00:36 24-Nov-1998 1204 bytes
s.AltTab WR/ Text 01:40:52 24-Nov-1998 6 Kbytes
What of the Future?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I expect this will be the last version, unless I find any bugs, as AltTab
(finally) does everything I want. If I was to follow tradition, I'd release it
as version 1.00. But I won't do this, because people will think it's the very
first version and no-one will want it because thanks to a dominant software
company who shall remain nameless, "First releases are always buggy."
That said, if anyone _does_ find a bug (Heaven forbid!), I will endeavour to fix
it and release an update.
Otherwise... this is The End of the AltTab saga.
How it works (for the hacker and the curious)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By pressing <Alt> and <Tab> together, a message is sent to the hindmost open
window that is at least partially on-screen and obscured, asking it to open
itself in front. Unlike MS Windows, AltTab will not give the caret to the window
that's moving to the front. It will also ignore system windows, such as the
iconbar, and windows that are iconised or hidden off-screen.
A window may refuse AltTab's request and remain at the back of the stack, in
which case pressing <Alt>-<Tab> again will send the open-in-front request to the
same window.
New in this release: AltTab now has a go at recognising menus and bringing them
to the front. The method is horribly kludgy, but it seems
to work without problems in all cases I know of. See the
!History file for more details.
All trademarks acknowledged
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's it. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regards, Christopher Martin.
Email: cpm@hermes.net.au (Until at least July 1999)
Phone: +61 2 4758 9263 (as email)
Post: 17 Blue Hills Road, Hazelbrook, NSW, Australia. 2779. (as email)