tackles two limitations of the DeskTop, GEOS's file handler: its slowness (because of its 30kB size) and its ability to show you only eight files at a time.
@Qwik Top
's small size (less than 3kB) lets it load and run in a fraction of the time it takes the Desk Top to get up and running.
@Qwik Top
lets you see up to 64 files by showing you eight DeskTop pages at a time on one
@Qwik Top
screen. From the
@Qwik Top
screen you can load and run any GEOS application (GeoWrite, GeoPaint, etc.) and any desk accessory (alarm clock, calculator, etc.) You can also click on an application data file, such as a geoWrite document, and
@Qwik Top
automatically loads and runs the application just as in the DeskTop.
To replace the DeskTop with
@Qwik Top
double click on the
@Qwik Top
file icon just as you would any other GEOS application. You'll see the familiar command menu bar in the upper left hand corner of the screen and the disk name and number of kilobytes free in the upper right. You'll also see the first eight DeskTop pages worth of file names on the
@Qwik Top
screen.
The command menu has four sub-menus: "file", "disk", "drive" and "screen". There are two items under the "file" sub-menu. Click on the "info" menu to see some information about the
@Qwik Top
program. Click on the "quit" menu to exit
@Qwik Top
and return to the DeskTop.
The "disk" and "drive" menu items allow you to swap disks in the currently open drive (unless it is a RAM drive) or to switch between two drives if you are running a two or more drive system.
The "screen" menu lets you see the next or previous eight DeskTop pages on the
@Qwik Top
screen. Since GEOS limits us to 144 files on a disk (even on the 800kB 3 1/2" disks) there are a maximum of 18 DeskTop pages or three
@Qwik Top
screens.
To open a file from the
@Qwik Top
screen just click on its name. If it is an application, desk accessory, or application data file it will be loaded and run. If the file is not one of these types you will see a dialog box telling you that it can't be loaded from
@Qwik Top
Once you've entered an application from
@Qwik Top
you will be returned to
@Qwik Top
- not to the DeskTop - when you quit that application. To get back to the DeskTop just click on the "quit" menu item which is under "file" in
@Qwik Top
's command menu.
@Qwik Top
is a file handling application that takes the place of GEOS's file handler, the DeskTop. Remember, neither the DeskTop nor
@Qwik Top
are part of the operating system. They are applications just like geoWrite or geoPaint.
@Qwik Top
first changes that portion of the operating system (the kernal) that calls up the DeskTop when you quit/exit an application. Instead of calling the DeskTop the system will now call for
@Qwik Top
@Qwik Top
then reads the directory of the disk in the active drive and stores the file names and types in a buffer. It then displays that buffer, up to 64 files at a time, on the screen.
When you click on the name of a runnable file
@Qwik Top
loads and runs that file using the same operating system routines as the DeskTop.
Quitting
@Qwik Top
restores the operating system to its original state and returns you to the DeskTop.
If you find
@Qwik Top
useful and you use it often then please send a couple of bucks to:
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