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FILTERS.SPK
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!Filters
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1996-07-23
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TaskFilters
by Andrew Kemp
© KCE Software, 1996
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose
-------
TaskFilters provides a number of 'patches' to the Desktop:
1. SetCSD
2. Confirm
3. IconSprite
4. FilerPin
5. DontClaim
6. PinFilter
7. Basket
8. Iconise
The effects of these are as follows:
1. SetCSD
---------
SetCSD provides an easy way of setting the currently selected directory
(CSD) from the desktop. To do this, just drag the switcher icon (the
Acorn on the right hand side of the iconbar) using ADJUST, and drop it
into the relevant directory display.
SetCSD is on by default (see 'Configuration').
2. Confirm
----------
Confirm is very simple in use. Its sole function is to force the filer
to ask confirmation of delete operations, but only those. So if you
turn off 'Confirm' in the Filer options menu, you no longer need be
bothered by giving confirmation for things like copy operations - only
when deleting files.
N.B. Confirm _only_ acts on operations performed under the filer
action window, not on single tasking file processes. Use
!Configure to turn on interactive file copying, and make sure
you have enough memory for the filer action window to start
up...
Confirm is on by default (see 'Configuration').
3. IconSprite
-------------
IconSprite's main function is merging sprite files with the wimp sprite
pool. Simply drag the file to the Palette Utility icon on the iconbar.
It has the advantage over the *command '*IconSprites' that it does not
attempt to add a mode suffix in high-res modes. This means that you can
load an application's mode 12 sprites no matter what mode you are in.
If the Shift key is held down as a sprite file is dragged to the
Palette Utility icon, the command '*ToolSprites' is performed on it
instead. This allows you to try out different window border files
easily.
In both the above cases, a 'clean' redraw of the desktop is performed
after the sprite file has been loaded. You can perform such a redraw at
any time by simply clicking ADJUST on the Palette Utility icon.
If you have a Risc PC, all the above should now work using the Display
Manager icon instead of the Palette Utility. If you are using Andrew
Sellors's Outline Wimp desktop enhancement package on RISC OS 3.1x
(which is highly recommended!) then it will work with Desktop Control.
This does mean that you can't get at Desktop Control's adjust-click
dialogue, but since all the dialogues are available from the menu
anyway this shouldn't be too much of a problem. You can always turn
IconSprite off if you don't like it.
IconSprite is on by default (see 'Configuration').
4. FilerPin
-----------
FilerPin simply intercepts attempts to iconise directory displays, and
pins the relevant directories to the pinboard instead.
Note that this filter does not become active until the Filer has
received at least one UserMessage or UserMessage_Recorded. This means
that it is possible that your first attempt will actually iconise the
window as normal. Subsequent attempts should work fine. Simply opening
a directory from an iconbar drive icon is enough to create such an
event, however, so this is pretty unlikely.
FilerPin will work with any backdrop utility that supports Pinboard's
'*Pin' command. I don't know if anything other than Pinboard has this
though.
FilerPin is on by default (see 'Configuration').
5. DontClaim
------------
Only likely to be of interest to programmers, this option when selected
prevents Pinboard from acknowledging Message_WindowClosed. This means
that the message is then able to be received by other tasks. (What it
actually does is to allow the message to be stopped, and then
re-broadcasts it).
Note that this option also uses the filter called 'PinFilter' - so
'PinFilter' can still appear in the *Filters list even when the
PinFilter option is not set.
DontClaim is on by default (see 'Configuration').
6. PinFilter
------------
PinFilter allows files to be dragged from the save dialogues of
applications to the pinboard. They are then saved into the directory
'PinFilter:Temp' which is located by default inside the !Filters
application directory. The file icon is pinned to the pinboard for easy
retrieval.
Should you wish to save the temporary files elsewhere, simply comment
out the line that sets PinFilter$Path in the file !Filters.!Boot, and
set up PinFilter$Path to point where you want it. Note that the
directory is still required to be called 'Temp'.
To clear out the temporary directory (since the pinboard provides no
facility for deleting files) just click on the item 'Info' in the
Pinboard menu. This will open a directory display of the temporary
directory.
In addition, PinFilter has a 'delete-after' option (see 'Configuring
TaskFilters'). When selected, files are deleted from the temporary
directory after a configurable number of days. Note that expiry of
files is only checked when TaskFilters starts up.
If you are using the SetCSD option in TaskFilters (!Filters), dragging
the switcher icon to the backdrop will set the currently selected
directory to PinFilter's temporary directory.
PinFilter will only work with Pinboard, and not with any other backdrop
applications. This should not be a problem since any backdrop
application worth using will already provide this feature.
PinFilter is on by default (see 'Configuration').
7. Basket
---------
After a brief disappearance (version 0.38) Basket is now back.
Basket is a _very_ basic waste-basket type program. With this filter
installed you get a waste paper basket icon on the left hand side of
the iconbar. Dragging files to this icon will put them into a bin
directory (inside the !Filters directory - but you can change its
position from the Boot file) and delete them from their original
location. If you decide you have deleted the wrong file, just click on
the basket and you can get it back!
Basket also uses a post-filter to intercept ordinary 'Delete'
operations from the Filer menu, and moves those files into the basket
as well.
A small problem - how do you actually get rid of stuff from the basket,
now that the action of 'Delete' has changed? Simple - click on 'Empty'
in Basket's iconbar menu to clear out the directory.
In addition, Basket also has a 'delete-after' option similar to
PinFilter's. Normally the files are only checked when TaskFilters
starts up, but you can force Basket to check expiry at any time by
clicking on 'Expire' in Basket's iconbar menu. (This is greyed out if
'delete-after' is not configured for Basket).
N.B. Like Confirm, Basket only works if you have filer action
windows running - so be careful when you're running out of
memory!
Basket is *off* by default (see 'Configuration').
Note that users of Alexander Thoukydides's "Sensible Time" module,
Sensible, should not let it substitute the date format %yr%mn%dy,
because this screws up Basket totally. Alternatively, they could just
turn off Basket. The default configuration of Sensible leaves this
format alone, so you are probably okay.
8. Iconise
----------
Iconise allows you to iconise windows without using the keyboard. To
select your preferred option see 'Configuration'.
The first option is a MS Windows style 'Iconise Gadget' - an extra tool
next to the close icon on the window border. Simply clicking on this
gadget will iconise the window. Note that by default this option will
load the sprite file 'Filters.Tools' as window borders. You can edit
this file, and the patch will still work provided:
(i) the various 'cicon' sprites within the file all consist
of close and iconise gadgets of equal width, with a
single column of pixels between them (see the default
file for examples),
cicon, cicon22, cicon 23:
equal widths
|
----------
| |
|--------| |--------|
--------- ---------
| close | iconise |
| icon | icon |
| | |
--------- ---------
|
single column
(ii) that you resave your options file (see 'Configuring
TaskFilters') after having saved the modified version
of '!Filters.Tools' - this is necessary since
TaskFilters needs to record the widths of the relevant
window gadgets.
If you wish to keep your window borders in a different place, change
the setting of the system variable Filters$Tools in the file
!Filters.!Boot.
If you wish to perform the *ToolSprites command on the file yourself,
rather than having Iconise do it for you, simply deselect the option
'Module loads tools' (see 'Configuration').
The second option iconises a window when you click and hold down 'menu'
over the window's close icon, then click select before releasing the
menu button - the action of 'menu' simply duplicates that of the shift
key for iconising.
The third option iconises a window when you click 'adjust' on the
window's back icon. Note that you _can't_ use this to iconise windows
that don't have close icons - this is deliberate. Some tasks (for
example, Miles Sabin's wonderful Bubble Help) don't like having these
windows iconised.
The final option iconises a window when you click 'select' over the
window's close icon, and hold down the button for a configurable length
of time, DoubleTake style. The time may be between 10 and 255
centiseconds - I recommend a value of about 25 cs.
In all four cases, it is still possible to iconise the window in the
usual way ('shift-select' on the close icon).
Iconise should work with any iconised window manager or backdrop
application that supports the iconise protocol (!Larger, !Iconiser
etc).
Iconise is on by default, with the iconise gadget as the selected
method of iconising, and widths set up for the supplied tool file. (see
'Configuration').
Installation
------------
To install the patches, simply double click on the !Filters icon in the
directory display. Alternatively run the application from some sort of
desktop boot sequence - on a Risc PC, for example, you would copy it
into !Boot's 'Tasks' directory.
Aaagh! Get rid of it!
----------------------
To remove TaskFilters temporarily, you can quit the module task from
the Task display menu. The filters will then reinitialise the next time
the desktop restarts. To remove TaskFilters more permanently, use the
*command '*RMKill TaskFilters'.
Configuration
-------------
To configure TaskFilters, click with SELECT while holding down either
Alt key on the switcher icon. This will open a configuration window
that allows you to change the patches installed, and set options for
some of them. Clicking on 'Save' writes your choices to the file
<Filters$Options>.
If this file does not exist, sensible default options are assumed, and
the file is created the first time you choose options that differ from
these.
Licence
-------
TaskFilters is freeware. By this I mean that it may be freely
distributed as long as the application is complete (including this help
file) and nothing is modified. It would be a good idea to delete your
'Options' file and to check that the Basket and PinFilter temporary
directories are empty before distribution.
TaskFilters is supplied "as is", and without guarantee. Please note
that the author accepts no responsibility for anything nasty that
happens as a result of the existence of TaskFilters or its associated
files - you use them entirely at your own risk.
Anyone wanting to distribute TaskFilters on a large scale (CD ROMs,
cover discs etc.) should contact me first, to make sure they have the
latest version.
Bugs
----
Should you find any, it would be helpful if you could let me know what
they are. Unfortunately I am currently without an e-mail address, but
my postal address is:
23 Conifer Close
Church Crookham
Fleet
Hants
GU13 0LR
tel. (01252) 617646
Comments and suggestions are also welcome.
Credits
-------
Various parts of TaskFilters are based on ideas from:
Keith Broadley, Keven Cook, Aidan Corey, Adam Hamilton, Grant
Ingram, S.J. McDonald, Jonathan Mist, Robin Moffat and Gunnar
Zötl.
In particular Keven Cook (the other half of KCE Software) worked out
how to implement the iconise gadget, and co-wrote the code for it. The
tool sprites provided are based on Acorn's NewLook set.
The utility 'PinDir' (in a directory accompanying this application)
is written by Gert-Jan de Vos - see PinDir's own !Help file for
more information.
The configuration task is written using DeskLib version 2.16. All other
code is my own.
Thanks for bug reports go to:
Thomas Boroske, Keven Cook, Aidan Corey, Tim Gladding,
Ian Roberts, Reuben Thomas, and Tromp Willemse. Probably some
others too - sorry if I have left you out!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's over... GO AWAY!" -- Slappy Squirrel