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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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utilities
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004
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_pc_utils
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!PC_Utils
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!Help
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1994-08-28
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> PC Utils
> ⌐ James Aylett (for Xi Software) 1992,1993
> V1.03 (06-08-93)
Written by James Aylett at Xi Software.
Copyright agreement:
This program is PUBLIC DOMAIN, and may be freely distributed, providing no
charge is made (in the case of PD libraries, a small charge may be made to
cover costs), and providing all files in this directory are distributed
along with the main code. Please make any alterations you wish, appending
comments to this file.
Use:
PC Utils loads onto the right of the icon bar. MENU on its icon opens the
normal menu of Info and Quit. PC Utils supports Acorn's !Help fully (up to
Risc-OS 3, ie covering menus). During loading, PC Utils also loads new
sprites for the !System, !Fonts and !Scrap apps, and also for directories.
These are more boringly monochrome (ie more like Windows3, if anyone
actually likes that). If you don't like this, then remove the line in the
!Run file in this directory which runs:
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.Resources.Sprites
Once PC Utils is loaded, a range of additional features are added to the
normal Desktop ones; most of these are derived from the PC Windows3
environment. These features are:
(1) If you click MENU on a window's title bar, a small menu opens containing
the options Close, Iconize, Front, Back, Up stack, Down stack, Maximum and
Minimum. These are self-explanatory (Iconize is only available on Risc-OS 3
machines, so don't worry if it is greyed out) except for the last two, which
toggle the window to maximum size and to minimum size. This was derived from
the Windows3 method of having, rather than several control icons along the
title bar, just one control icon at the left-hand side. Clicking on this
brings up a menu with several options, and I have implemented what I think
are the most useful. This does not actually seem that useful, but if you are
in the situation I am often in, with about twenty windows cluttering up the
desktop, you can often only see a bit of the title bar. When this is the
case, and you have worked out a stack order for the windows, you don't want
to bring the window to the front, re-size it (or whatever) and then put it
back in the stack.
NOTE: there is an intermittant problem with this, which is that sometimes
clicking on a menu option clears the menu without performing the option's
function; the titlebar menu will not re-open until you open the PC_Utils
iconbar menu. No, I don't understand this!
(2) If you drag a file to the PC_Utils icon then it with be loaded (as
opposed to being run, which is what usually happens). For instance, if you
drag a BASIC program to the PC_Utils icon, it will be loaded into BASIC
ready for you to edit.
(3) If you click MENU on any empty part of the icon bar, or if you click
SELECT or ADJUST on the PC_Utils icon, then a small menu will appear,
containing the options Shutdown, Save, and RiscOS. Shutdown does
just that, and is equivalent to many similar programs in the PD world (the
window is modelled on the RiscOS 3.00 Shutdown window). If you have RiscOS
3.10 or later it actually uses the RiscOS shutdown procedure. Save leads to
a save box with three extra icons. The one immediately below the filename is
the filetype to be used; if left blank then it will be left un-filetyped.
The two below that are the start and end addresses in memory to save. All
three are in hexadecimal. PC_Utils will perform a *Save using the filename
and addresses given, and then filetype the file if necessary. The bottom
option on the menu, RiscOS, enters RiscOS in the same way that Exit on the
Task Manager menu does.
History:
Um. After I'd had a little look at Windows3, I forgot completely about it.
Then, with relation to another topic, I was looking into how you could trap
mouse clicks on windows which you didn't own. From there I wanted to see if
I could open a menu in response to these clicks ... and it sort of developed
from there. Er.
Contact:
If you want to comment about this program (or any others of mine in the
public domain), make suggestions, show your appreciation, etc then you
should write to the first address (a disc of goodies ensures a quick
reply!).
If you want to contact me, then write to:
James Aylett,
1 Avon Drive,
Alderbury,
Salisbury,
SP5 3TA