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Amiga Computing 67
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ShortCut.doc
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ShortCut.doc
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ShortCut.doc version 1.2 Michael Bradley 25/9/91
ShortCut Operating Instructions
One thing that always annoys me is having to step through hundreds
of directories just to get to the program that I want, especially when
it's a program that I use a lot.
This program, especially useful for hard drive owners, was written
to ease such problems by giving the user up to four menus of frequently
used programs to select from; selecting a menu item invokes a command
sequence which has been described by the user. Each menu item also
includes a Right-Amiga key short-cut and up to 26 choices can be
included.
It operates by reading a text file called ShortCut.setup which
contains the information required to display the names on the menu as
well as the commands needed to run them. The program searches for this
file first in the current directory and then in the s: directory of the
boot disk.
ShortCut.setup may be edited using any text editor, such as Ed, but
must be in plain ASCII format. First, the title of the first menu is
specified, followed by a # symbol, followed by the entries linked with
that menu. Each entry in this list consists of:
1] the name to be shown on the menu
2] by the command line(s) to be executed
The # symbol must be put after each name and again at the end of the
sequence of command lines e.g.
Menu 1#
PopDir#
run >nil: <nil: SYS:Utilities/DOS/PopDir#
AmigaShell#
run >nil: <nil: AShell WINDOW "NEWCON:0/180/400/76/ARP AmigaShell"#
This will give you two menu items: PopDir and AmigaShell
The single menu that comes up is called Menu 1
(Don't leave any blank lines in the text.)
Always put RUN at the beginning of any command that isn't completed
instantly, so that ShortCut is able to multitask properly. Unfortunately
the CBM run command appears to cause a software failure when an error
occurs, such as when a file can't be found (programmers see note below),
so to avoid this, always put >nil: <nil: after RUN. Alternatively use
RUNBACK etc. or the ARP run command, where the problem doesn't arise.
The purpose of the # sign is to allow for multi-line command
sequences as in the following:
ZeroVirus#
cd SYS:Utilities/ZeroVirus
run >nil: <nil: ZeroVirus#
Changing the directory is sometimes necessary for programs which
have to read setup files which are in the same directory as the program
itself. It is also useful for placing the program being run into a
particular directory:
DPaint#
cd dh1:Pictures
run DPaint:DPaint#
Here, DPaint will always bring you directly to the Pictures
directory on dh1: when you first try to load a screen.
To instruct ShortCut to take a new menu, the $ symbol must be
inserted at the end of the last command of the previous menu, in place
of the # symbol that would normally be stated:
Menu 1#
PopDir#
run >nil: <nil: SYS:Utilities/DOS/PopDir$
Menu 2#
AmigaShell#
run >nil: <nil: AShell WINDOW "NEWCON:0/180/400/76/ARP AmigaShell"#
This will give two menus; Menu 1 and Menu 2, the first containing
PopDir and the second containing AmigaShell.
To run ShortCut from cli, type
run >nil: <nil: ShortCut
From Workbench, simply double-click on the icon.
There is another file, ShortCut.Extra, which allows up to 100 menu
items, but has no keyboard short cuts. This was specially written for
Dave Hartje, I hope he likes it!
ShortCut is a public domain program and may be distributed freely
by anyone, or for a minimal charge only, by any Public Domain library.
It must be distributed along with this .doc file and remains the
copyright of the author.
The author is in no way responsible for any damage that may be
incurred on the user's system or data, directly or indirectly and offers
no guarantees or sympathy. In other words, use at your own risk (be
comforted in the fact that I have used ShortCut for several months now
without any mishaps!)
Every effort has been made to keep ShortCut bug-free, and to the best
of my knowledge, works on any Amiga, but if any problems should arise,
please contact me at the address below, giving full details of the
problem and your particular system setup. Any requests or ideas are
welcome (as is any extra cash you have lying around), in fact this
version was written only because of the response I got for the first
one!
Current Bugs:
Crashes when IO streams are not redirected to NIL: in the setup
file using the standard run command. I tried setting the processes
standard IO (pr_COS and pr_CIS) to NIL:, but during development it was
found that the problem didn't arise when they were set to CON:, for
example. Now, I've thought long and hard about this, and can't figure
out why run would work with a console, but not with NIL:. Any ideas?
If it worries you too much, get ARP.
ShortCut was assembled using HiSoft's Devpac V2 (and very nice it is,
too). Buy Amiga Computing - it is now the best Amiga Mag in town!
For bug reports, donations or ideas, contact:
Michael Bradley
303 Belmont Road
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT4 2NE