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The Datafile PD-CD 1 Issue 2
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PDCD-1 - Issue 02.iso
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utilities
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001
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_backgrdii
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!BackGrdII
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============================================================================
╗╗╗╗ Documentation for !BackGrd release II version 2.20
============================================================================
IMPORTANT NOTE: COPYRIGHT
Version 2.20 of !BackGrd is distributed as SHAREWARE. This means that:
- This software may be copied and distributed freely, provided that no
profit is made from doing so. Passing copies between friends is OK, and so
is uploading it to a bulletin board as long as it can be downloaded free
(except for the 'phone charges for the call). It may also be supplied on
disc by PD libraries, as long as the only charge is for media and P&P.
This software must always be supplied complete and unaltered. Copyright
remains with the author at all times.
- After you receive a copy, you may use it for a TWO WEEK TRIAL PERIOD.
After this period, if you want to continue using this software, YOU MUST
REGISTER YOUR COPY with the author, and pay a small registration fee of
ú5 which ensures you of full support. To register your copy, send the
registration fee to the address given at the end of this file. Cheques
& POs should be made payable to 'Andrew Cawte'.
- If you decide after the trial period that you do not wish to register your
copy, YOU MUST DESTROY IT IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO DESTROY YOUR COPY AFTER
THE TWO-WEEK TRIAL PERIOD IS A BREACH OF COPYRIGHT.
- I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any loss or damage caused by the
use or misuse of this program. Support for this program includes the
!BackGrdII application and 'Convert' and 'Reset' utilities only. That
means that if, for example, saving a state file destroys your hard disc,
it's your problem and not mine.
============================================================================
What is !BackGrd?
-----------------
!BackGrd allows you to drag files out of Filer windows and 'stick' them to
the backdrop. When a file (or directory or application) has been stuck to
the backdrop, you can:
1) Run it by double-clicking in the usual way;
2) Drag it aroung the backdrop;
3) Assign it a keyboard short-cut, which will run it as if it had been
double-clicked.
In addition, you can replace the dull grey desktop background with any
suitable sprite. In modes with 96 or more text columns and 16 or more
colours, !BackGrd can display various useful pieces of information about
the system in a status bar, which rests above the icon bar.
You can also create your own icons on the backdrop which will execute any
OS '*' command when double-clicked. These can be dragged around and assigned
keyboard short-cuts just like files and applications.
Having placed a number of files, and possibly a picture, on the backdrop,
you can then save the positions of all the icons to disc, so that you don't
have to reconfigure !BackGrd every time you load it. Different state files
may be kept for different purposes, and any one of these may be made the
default - this one is loaded automatically whenever !BackGrd is run.
Getting started
===============
Load !BackGrd by double-clicking on its icon in a Filer window, in the same
way as any other application. When loaded, it will place an icon on the icon
bar.
Initially, you will want to place some files on the backdrop. To do this,
drag a file out of a directory viewer onto the grey desktop background.
After a short pause, the file will appear on the backdrop - you can drag up
to 40 different files to the backdrop in this way. These may be dragged
around the backdrop using the <SELECT> mouse button, and run by
double-clicking. If you hold down <CTRL> while dragging icons around the
backdrop, they will 'snap' to an invisible grid, thus ensuring that they all
line up nicely.
If you want to drag a number of icons together, you may select them each
individually using <ADJUST>, or you may drag a box round them with <SELECT>,
in a similar way to selecting objects in !Draw.
Whilst a file is being loaded by !BackGrd, the icon on the icon bar will
change from an Archimedes 'A' to an hourglass, to indicate that the
double-click or hot-key was indeed recognised. This is particularly handy
if you have a defective rodent with dodgy buttons.
To replace the desktop grey with a sprite, drag the sprite file to the
!BackGrd icon on the icon bar. The file will be loaded, and will appear on
the background. If the sprite looks strange, you're probably trying to
display a 256 colour sprite in a 16 colour screen mode - try changing into
mode 15. If the file contains more than one sprite, only the first one will
be displayed (although the others will use up memory).
The !BackGrd menus
==================
Clicking Menu over the backdrop brings up !BackGrd's main menu. This
allows you control over the icons on the backdrop, to set up keyboard short
cuts, to save the status of the backdrop to a file, and to quit the
application.
The options in detail
---------------------
1) Info
Moving the pointer to the right over this option brings up a window
containing information about the current version of the program.
2) Options
If no icons are selected, this option will be greyed out, otherwise the word
'options' will be replaced by the name of the selected icon, or 'Selection'
if more than one icon is selected (similar to the Filer's menu - if you
click <MENU> when no icons are selected, the icon you clicked over will be
selected). This option leads to a submenu with several further options,
which allow you a good degree of control over the selected icon(s)
Moving right over 'define hotkey' leads to a dialogue box containing the
program name, a small writable icon, and an OK icon. To set up a keyboard
short cut for a program, type a letter A-Z and click on OK or press
<RETURN>. From now on, pressing <CTRL> together with that letter will run
that program. To change the short-cut to a program, bring up the dialogue
box again, replace the letter offered with the new one, and click OK. To
remove the short-cut from a program, bring up the dialogue box, delete the
letter and click OK.
The option 'Remove' removes the selected icons icon from the backdrop, and
removes any hot keys associated with those icons.
'Run boot', available only for applications, allows you to specify that the
!Boot file inside the application directory should be run before the
application itself is run. Normally, the !Boot file is run whenever the
application is 'seen' by the Filer for the first time. This !Boot file
usually loads in some sprites, tells RISC OS to load that application
whenever one of its files is double-clicked and so on. Typical
symptoms of a program needing its !Boot file executed are installing an
invisible icon on the icon bar, not recognising files that it should load,
having the wrong file icons and so on. To solve this problem, turn 'Run
boot' on (a tick appears next to the option). This will cause the !Boot file
to be executed as well whenever the application is run from !BackGrd
(whether by double-clicking or a keyboard short-cut).
Note that most applications are well behaved and do not require their !Boot
files - hence this option is normally off. If an application misbehaves when
run from !BackGrd, turn this option on and the problem should go away.
(Note that under Release I of !BackGrd, programs which were stuck to the
backdrop occasionally wouldn't run from anything but the backdrop. This
should no longer happen).
Some applications do not have !Boot files at all, but still require to have
their sprite files loaded - !MultiFS (as supplied with the new PC Emulator)
is such an application. If you have such a 'problem' application, turn on
'Load sprites' for that application. Applications which do have !Boot files
should not require 'Load sprites' as well, but it does no harm to try.
(Note that under Release I of !BackGrd, the main application sprite for
every application on the backdrop was copied into the Wimp sprite area when
the backdrop was loaded. To save memory, Release II no longer does this.
However, this does mean that some applications may need 'Load Sprites' on
under Release II that didn't under Release I. This is only really noticeable
if you are using a state file converted from Release I - if an application
starts giving trouble then turn on 'Run boot' or 'Load sprites' and it
should be OK).
'Open parent dir' opens the directory viewer for the program. This is
useful if, for example, you wanted to copy a program that was stuck to the
backdrop, or wanted to find out exactly where in your hard disc's directory
structure it resided. It is also useful if you want to find out what disc
something is on, or what is on the same disc.
'Edit', available only for '*' command icons (and not files or applications)
enables you to change the text which appears below the icon, and the command
which the icon executes when double-clicked. See the description of command
icons below.
3) Select all
This selects all the icons on the backdrop, so that subsequent operations
such as dragging or removing them will affect them all. It is equivalent to
dragging a selection box round all the icons on the screen.
4) Clear selection
This deselects all the icons on the backdrop.
5) Display
This leads to a submenu which offers a degree of control over how the icons
on the backdrop appear.
The first two, 'Text colour' and 'Background colour' both lead to colour
menus, allowing you to choose the foreground and background colours for the
text (filenames) on the backdrop. The default values of white on grey look
good on the standard backdrop, but you may want to change them if you are
using a sprite as a background instead.
'Application names' allows you to choose whether applications appear as
their icon plus their filename (as in Filer windows) or just as the icon.
This is entirely a matter of personal preference and does not affect how
they work at all. I personally prefer just the icon, because they take up
less room on the screen and I can see more of the sprite background - hence
this option is off by default.
'Icon on icon bar' lets you choose whether or not to have the !BackGrd icon
stationed on the icon bar. Removing the icon means that you won't be able to
see the hourglass indicator, and prevents you from loading in new sprites to
display in the background, so if you want to load a new one you have to
switch the icon on, drag the sprite file to it, then switch it off again.
However, this doesn't apply to state files, which can also be loaded by
double-clicking.
'Change to sprite mode' allows you to choose whether or not to have the
Desktop screen mode automatically change to the correct one whenever a
sprite is loaded for use as a backdrop. For example, you may keep your
machine configured 'WimpMode 12', so the Desktop comes on in Mode 12 by
default. If you then load a Mode 15 sprite with this option off, you
will see garbage on the screen until you change to a 256 colour mode
manually. With this option on, however, Mode 15 will be selected for you
automatically when you load the sprite.
'Status Bar' turns on a bar which sits just above the icon bar, and shows
several useful pieces of information about the system, namely:
Amount of free RAM
Size of font cache, and amount actually used
Free space in the RMA
Screen mode
The current time
The status bar is only available in modes with 96 or more characters per
line and 16 or more colours. Users with 'standard' (type 0) monitors might
consider using an overscan mode, which is included in RISC OS 3 as standard
(modes 35 and 36), or can be created using any one of a number of PD
utilities available. I use a mode which is 96 columns by 35 rows; mode 35
(which is one 96x36) loses a couple of pixels from the top row on my monitor.
The extra work area is surprisingly useful.
6) Short cuts
This leads to a table showing all the possible keyboard short-cuts (A-Z) and
the programs they are currently assigned to. An icon at the bottom of this
window allows you to select whether hot keys are recognised or not. You
might want to disable them temporarily if you are using the keyboard a lot
(eg. word processing), just in case you accidentally start loading
applications!
7) Kill picture
Selecting this option removes the background picture and frees the memory
which was used by it. This option is greyed out if no sprite is loaded.
8) New command
This option leads to a dialogue box which allows you to create an icon on
the backdrop, which will execute a '*' command when double-clicked. The
box contains two writable icons and an 'OK' box.
The top (smaller) icon allows you to type in what you want to appear below
the '*' command sprite. This is so that if you have several commands on
the backdrop, you can easily tell them apart. As with filenames, you may
have up to ten characters for this identifier.
The bottom (larger) icon is where you type the command itself. Press
<RETURN> or click on OK when you've finished.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget that when the command is executed, !BackGrd is
still active, so don't use any command that could cause it to crash. For
example, don't *LOAD a file into application space or try to enter BASIC.
If you want the icon to run a program, drag that program to the backdrop
and don't use a command icon at all.
9) State
This leads to a submenu allowing you to save the state of the backdrop, or
make the current state the default one.
The first option on this menu, 'Save', leads to a standard save dialogue
box. To save the file, drag it to a Filer window or type in a filename and
click OK. All the settings in !BackGrd will be saved, including the
positions of all the icons, colours, flags etc.
Note that the sprite being used as a background is NOT saved (only its
pathname), in order to conserve disc space. This means that when the state
is re-loaded, !BackGrd will attempt to load the sprite back in from wherever
it was initially loaded from. You may therefore be prompted to insert a
disc containing the sprite if it was originally loaded from a different disc
to the one containing the state file. This obviously doesn't apply to hard
discs, where the sprite and state file will almost invariably be loaded from
the same disc.
Under RISC OS 3, it is possible to configure the machine so that rather than
dragging an outline to save a file, a solid icon is dragged. To configure
solid icons, press F12 and type *FX162 28 3. To configure outlines again,
type *FX162 28 1. (Not all applications support dragging solid icons - all
the applications supplied with RISC OS 3.10 do, as do many of those supplied
with RISC OS 3.00. !BackGrdII is one of a very few third party applications
to support this feature).
The second option on the menu, 'Make default', makes the current state file
(ie. the last one which was loaded or saved) the default one, which is
loaded whenever !BackGrd is loaded. If the backdrop has been altered since
it was last saved, you will need to save it to a file first.
10) Quit
This removes the !BackGrd application from memory.
Clicking Menu over the icon bar icon brings up a menu containing a subset of
these options - Info, State and Quit.
Since version 2.10, it is impossible to have more than one copy of
!BackGrdII resident in the machine at once. This is to save memory (in case
an attempt is made to accidentally install a second copy) and to avoid
conflict between several different copies of the program all resident at
once. The rules governing how copies are installed are as follows:
- The first copy will install as usual.
- If an attempt is made to install a second copy, the first copy will load
the second copy's default state file.
- If a copy of !BackGrdII itself is dragged to the !BackGrdII icon on the
icon bar, then that copy's default state file will be loaded.
Upgrading from versions prior to 2.00
=====================================
Release II uses a different format for its state-save files from earlier
versions. This is to save disc space (the new format is more compact), and
to allow more options to be stored in the file (to allow for more future
expansion).
A utility is provided to convert files saved by Release I to files
compatible with Release II. It is called 'Convert' and may be found inside
the !BackGrdII application directory. Run it by double-clicking, or from the
command line.
You will be asked for a source filename and an output filename. Type the
full pathnames of the original (Release I, type &455) state-save file and
the new (Release II, type &44F) file to create. These two MUST be different
- otherwise you'll just corrupt the file you're trying to convert.
Once both pathnames have been entered, the new file will be created. Once
you have tested the new state file and ensured that it performs correctly
(there may be very minor differences between the new state under Release II
and the old state in Release I), you can delete the old file.
Bugs?!
======
It is an unfortunate fact of life that just about every computer program has
bugs in it. I don't know of any bugs in this version of !BackGrd, but that's
not to say that they can't exist, and I would greatly appreciate reports of
suspected bugs in this program (not that I can guarantee that I'll be able
to fix them all!)
If you have a bug to report, then please write or 'phone with as much
information as you have about it. For example:
All about the state file you're using (flags, how many icons, what backdrop
sprite and so on). If you have a particular state file that causes trouble,
it would help a lot if you enclose a disc with a copy of it on.
The exact specification of your machine. This program is intended primarily
for use with RISC OS 2; Arthur simply can't cope (and if your machine STILL
uses it then you'll get no sympathy from me!). It is, however, compatible
with RISC OS 3, and you may well wish to use it in preference to Pinboard
because of its extra features. I may in the future release a program to
upgrade Pinboard to the full specification of !BackGrdII.
Where your copy of !BackGrdII came from. This may sound irrelevant, but it's
a fact that software which has been exposed to many users (eg. has been
installed on a network) tends to get mucked about. The only copies which I
can guarantee work correctly are ones which I send out, but copies
distributed by reputable PD libraries should also be OK. If you find a
glaringly obvious bug which I couldn't possible have missed (like crashing
with 'Address Exception' whenever you try to load the program), you probably
have a corrupted copy. Try resetting it as described below.
Resetting !BackGrd
==================
If your copy of !BackGrdII is already configured for a system other than
your own, you may want to reset it to its default configuration (no icons,
no backdrop sprite and sensible defaults for the flags). A program has been
provided to do just that - it's called 'Reset', and can be found inside the
!BackGrdII application directory.
When run (by double-clicking or from the command line), it will prompt for
confirmation - press Y or click the left mouse button to continue.
!BackGrdII will then be reset to its default configuration, from which it
should load with no trouble.
Contacting the author
=====================
If you want to get in touch with the author (to register your copy, for
example), then write to the following address:
Andrew Cawte
64 Blenheim Gardens
Denvilles
Havant
Hants.
PO9 2PW
or 'phone on (0705) 451886 after 6pm.
If you have trouble with your copy of !BackGrdII, then please try to obtain
a fresh copy from a PD library before contacting me. I write software, not
distribute it. Full support, however, is provided to registered users.
Full information about licensing and registration is provided at the
beginning of this text file.