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1995-03-23
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Configure+ version 1.02
© Sam Kington 23rd March 1995
This program is freeware, *not* public domain – i.e., I retain copyright on
Configure+ and all the related files (see “Boring legal message”). !Configure
and the patched Configure files remain © Acorn Computers Ltd. and must not be
distributed – run the file “Distribute” inside !ConfPatch before giving this
to anyone else.
If you’re not going to read all of this file, at least read section “How to
get this to work” – otherwise it won’t work (obvious really...).
Existing users, please see the “Changes” section on the changes since version
1.00 and 1.01, and any persistant bugs.
What this program does
**********************
This program is an extension to !Configure: it allows you to set various
configure options that !Configure omitted, while apparently still using
!Configure. It adds four icons to Configure’s main window, “Drives”, “Filer”,
“Misc” and “Third party”; clicking on any of these brings up a window,
exactly like clicking on any of the other icons. The first three new windows
behave exactly like the others do, apart from the fact that they are in fact
“owned” by Configure+ rather than Configure, and that the “Misc” window has a
scroll bar because there’s so much in it. The “Third party” window is
slightly different, as it contains all the *Configure options the program
didn’t know about, and is thus slightly less nice (see below for more
details).
As this is an extension to Configure, operation should be self-explanatory:
if you know how to use Configure, you should know how to use Configure+. If you
want to know what all these new configuration options are, use interactive
help and everything will become clear (hopefully).
Why do I need this?
*******************
Because, when Acorn wrote Configure, they left a few things out. The
Configure options in the extra window range from quite useful (ARM3 Cache) to
frankly esoteric (Scroll or More dither patterns), and some can be set elsewhere
(filer and netfiler options, Boot in the Desktop Save box from the Task Manager
iconbar menu) – you won’t want to use them all the time, and indeed you
probably won’t want to use them as much as you will the other options. But
it’s a more friendly way of setting them, it avoids shelling out to the CLI
(F12 or Ctrl-F12), especially as some cannot be set from the command line.
Many of the options in the Misc window are either undocumented or tricky
to set (i.e. there isn’t a *Configure option for them). This is the case of
full hardware tests, solid drags, screen update stops blanker, 3D desktop and
especially prompt for floppy on reset. This last one is in fact totally
undocumented, and I am grateful to Christopher Swaley (BAU July 1993) for
pointing this one out to me. (I had actually found it myself by accident, but
I didn’t know where in CMOS RAM it was). (Conversely, some documented
options don’t actually work, even though they’re in the PRMs...). Again, none
of this is earth-shattering stuff, except solid drags, although if you have
Desktop+ (and you should have) solid drags will be turned on automatically.
Another reason for using Configure+ is that while Configure will save the
entire contents of the CMOS RAM to a Configure file, it will only load back
into CMOS RAM (from a Configure file), the options it knows about. This means
it doesn’t load ADFSBuffers, Cache, third party configuration options, etc.
etc. Configure+ will notice when you load a new Configure file, and load all the
options properly. This does mean, of course, that it will take quite a long
time (1 or 2 seconds – accessing CMOS RAM is quite slow), but then you
shouldn’t have to do this sort of thing too often.
RISC OS 3.5 !Configure no longer loads Configure files - instead you have to
use SaveCMOS. I couldn’t be bothered to change it, and anyway I think you
*should* be able to load Configure files by dragging them to Configure, so for
RISC PC users Configure+ adds even more functionality ;).
A final reason is that Configure+ knows about third-party modules’
configuration options, or, to be more accurate, only pretends it does but does
it quite convincingly. The “Third party” window contains a list of all the
configuration options provided by non-Acorn modules, either in expansion cards
or in RAM, that you can set by filling in the appropriate results. There are
no fancy arrows or menu boxes or anything because Configure+ doesn’t know
about the new options, but you do get the *Help text and syntax messages if
you use interactive help on the windows (*Help message for the name of the
option, at the left of the window, syntax message for the value of the
option, at the right of the window).
NB: Configure+ only scans the list of modules for *configure options when it
is first started up, so if you load a module that has *configure options, you
will have to quit Configure+ and re-run it to see them in the list.
Conversely, if you quit a module that has *configure options and then try to
set the option with Configure+, obviously Configure+ will complain.
How to get this to work
***********************
Configure+ adds new features to !Configure by adding four icons to
Configure’s main window, which means it has to modify Configure’s Sprites,
Templates and Messages files. However, Configure is © Acorn Computers Ltd., and
the appropriate files, especially when modified, cannot be distributed like
freeware. As every Acorn user has a copy of Configure, this isn’t too much of
a problem: all you have to do is run a small “patch” utility.
You should have a program called “ConfPatch” supplied with Config+ (if not,
complain loudly to the person who supplied you with Config+). Running this,
having “seen” Config+, will create the appropriate files, after asking you a
few questions (see ConfPatch’s documentation for this).
Before distributing Configure+, run the Obey file “Distribute” in the
!ConfPatch directory (shift-double-click on the !ConfPatch icon to open it).
This will delete the modified files.
More about some new Configure options
************************************
Using interactive help should be enough to work out what the new Configure
options are, but in some cases there is slightly more to say than will fit in
a help message.
• More dithering in greyscale modes:
In a two or four-colour mode, the WIMP will use dithering to make up for
the lack of colours; however, by default it will only do this for colours 0
to 7, i.e. the grey scales. If you select this, it will use dithering for all
the colours – but this will not happen everywhere. In practice, sprites in
Filer windows, on the Pinboard, the icon bar or application windows will not
be dithered, except for Sprite editors and the like, for which this option
has no effect as they dither anyway. Draw files, Artworks files and similar
objects will also be dithered whatever the state of the option.
Essentially, dialogue boxes and similar windows will be dithered
differently, as will menus. MemoryPie is a good example of the difference
setting this option makes.
The current dither state will actually change on a mode change.
• Smarter scrolling
This is a standard option, it even has its own *Configure option, and there
*is* a difference, but it’s not at all noticeable.
Replacing Configure
******************
To make the extension/replacement of Configure complete, there are two files
in the !Config+.Configure directory, SetConfig and SetConfig+. Running SetConfig+
will change Configure’s icon to the Config+ icon (i.e. add a small red “+” sign
to it), and change the !Boot, !Run and !Help files in !Configure in the Apps
directory to point to the files in !Config+, the upshot being that Configure is
replaced by Config+. Run SetConfig to reverse these changes.
As the RISC OS 3.50 version of !Configure lives on the hard disc inside
!Boot, and not in the Apps directory at all, SetConfig+ won’t work all that
correctly - I assume it will put the appropriate icon in the Apps directory,
but if you double-click on !Boot (the recommended way to run Configure,
apparently) the old one will load.
By default the !Config+.!Boot file runs SetConfig+; remove or comment out
(prefix with a “|”) the offending line if you don’t want Config+ to replace
Configure, or if you have a RISC PC. If you do want to make Config+ the default
version of Configure, you might want to add a Filer_Boot
Utilities:Extensions.!Config+ (replace by the real path) to your Boot file.
The Conf+Resources module, the module that changes the files in
the Apps directory, was created by Joseph Walker’s ResourceFS modifier,
ResMod (with a Help string tweaked to make it look prettier in the *Help
Modules list).
How it works
************
This is mainly for the techies out there, but non-initiates may find it
interesting.
When you run Config+, or run Configure having run SetConfig+ previously, it
does the following things:
• Loads the module if it isn’t already loaded
• Runs Configure+ (which just sits in the background and waits for mouse
clicks)
• Runs Configure
Note that Configure+ and Configure have to be started up by separate files,
as you can’t run two programs from the same Obey file, and Desktop files don’t
set the WimpSlot properly.
The module sets up a first filter on all tasks, intercepting all messages.
When it gets a Message_TaskInitialise from either Configure or Configure+, it
remembers their task handles; when it has a sensible value for both, it knows
that both tasks have started up, so it sets up another filter on Configure,
intercepting all mouse clicks, as well as open and close window events –
partly to know where the main window is, to align windows with the top, and
also because the window handle of the main window changes every time it’s
closed and re-opened. These are then passed along to Configure+. When either
of the tasks quits, a Message_TaskCloseDown is received by the first filter, so
the module stops the filter on Configure. Configure+ is also checking for
Message_TaskCloseDown, so if Configure is quit Configure+ will quit as well.
In addition, the first filter will also pass along DataLoad and DataOpen
messages to Configure+, so that when you double-click on a Configure file or
drag it to the Configure icon, Configure+ loads all of it into CMOS rather than
just the options Configure knows about (which is what it usually does). This
means all the configuration options are loaded, including things like
ADFSBuffers and any third-party options. So you don’t have to use FlDesk
anymore ;).
Note that when Configure+ gets a mouse click on one of Configure’s windows,
it has to know whether the window is the main window (in which case it should
check if one of its icons has been clicked on), or another window (in which
case it should ignore the mouse click). It can’t check the window title, as
the title is stored in Configure’s memory and therefore inaccessible, so it
checks the number of icons in the window – which should be 16 in the Main
window. So whatever you do, don’t change the number of icons in the Main
window!
Oh, a cautionary tale: I spent what must be several hours (it certainly
felt like it) trying to get the filter to pass along DataLoad events to
Configure+. Sometimes it worked if I passed it along twice (but it only got
there once); once, when it was being sent along three times, it arrived five
times (according to Vigil, which I suspect was responsible for some of the
crashes). The times I had to reboot the machine because the Filter Manager
got confused... (shudder)
The problem was that I was intercepting messages in the Configure filter
(the second one), which seems like a logical thing to do, except that the
first one was already intercepting messages for all tasks, including Configure,
and obviously the Filter Manager gets a bit confused when two filters with the
same name intercept the same events ;). So if you have more than one filter
intercepting events from potentially the same tasks, make sure they’re not
intercepting the same ones...
That being said, I’ve only seen the Filter Manager crash on this
particular occasion, and considering that I’ve got 12 filters running on this
machine at the moment that’s a compliment of the highest order :-).
Miscellanea
***********
If you have loads of extra, non-Acorn, Configure options, the Third Party
window will cunningly sprout a scroll-bar.
I have been told of a problem with the Ether3 module (obscure stuff, eh?),
which apparently uses the same command to set all of its oodles of
configuration options, which means you get a very long string in the Misc
window that you can’t read. If it’s longer than 40 characters, it might crash
the program. But then, it shouldn’t do this, it’s contrary to Acorn
guidelines (and no other modules behave like this).
Changes
*******
Version 1.02 has the following changes:
• Adjust-clicking now works: if you Adjust-click on the main window, it
will vanish; if you close a window with Adjust, it will re-open the main
window if necessary.
• The promised radical changes – the new RiscPC configuration options –
have not arrived because, er, there aren’t any new RiscPC configuration
options – at least, none that aren’t already catered for.
Version 1.01 has the following changes:
• Countries and Territories now work correctly. Thanks to whoever wrote
the Norwegian territory module, and thanks to the people at
flipper.pvv.unit.no who put it on their archive server so I could
download it and test Configure+ with two territories loaded :-).
• Interactive help is more robust - i.e., CDFS won’t cause nasty
address exceptions and the like when you try to get help on its
configure options. The downside to this is that the LineEditor help
is rather messier - c’est la vie.
• The patch routine doesn’t centre the windows on the screen anymore. This
was only to prettify the patching process, and Risc PC users probably
want their Configure window to stay on top of the icon bar, thank you
very much.
• You can’t run two copies of Configure+ any more. Version 1.00 allowed you
to do this, and as a result could crash spectacularly...
• The “Third party” window doesn’t do anything if you don’t actually have
any third party configure options. This is a vast improvement over it
crashing obscurely (but not fatally) in version 1.00 :-).
It still has the following things wrong with it:
• It doesn’t work with the non-3D RISC OS 3.1 templates - the icons are
misaligned. An interim solution is to load the files into a Template
editor (TemplEd is the best, in my opinion) and move the icons
around. I probably won’t fix this as there can’t be many people
without NewLook nowadays, and I doubt that those people want to run
Configure+. If you feel badly about this, tell me and I’ll fix it. But
don’t hold your breath.
Boring legal message
********************
This application is freeware, that is, it can be distributed freely as
long as only reasonable charges are made for media and distribution. I
retain copyright on all program code and documentation.
There is one exception to this, which is the modified Configure files in the
!Config+.Configure directory – namely, Templates, Messages, Sprites, and, if
present, Sprites22 and Sprites23. If you have just got the program, and
haven’t run !ConfPatch, you shouldn’t have these files – if you do, someone
has been breaking the law. These files remain © Acorn Computers Ltd., and so
cannot be distributed along with the rest of the program – you must run
!ConfPatch to create them from the original files. Before distributing Config+,
run the file “Distribute” in the !ConfPatch directory to delete the modified
files. See also the section “How to get this to work” for more details.
This software is supplied “as is”: I make no warranty, expressed or
implied, of the merchantability of this software or its fitness for any
particular purpose. In no circumstances shall I be liable for any damage,
loss of profits, or any indirect or consequential loss arising out of the use
of this software or inability to use this software, even if I have been
advised of the possibility of such loss.
In other words, if your computer crashes, blows up, you lose all your work
etc. all because of Configure+ (unlikely I know), don’t blame me.
About all these strange foreign characters in this file
*******************************************************
OK, so if you’re reading this on a PC or a Mac or another strange machine
like that, you may be wondering what all these strange ae things are. Well,
they’re quotes (sorry, there was another one), dashes, ligatures, etc.
Honest. But not on all machines...
Basically, character sets are only standard up to character 127, which is
basically alphanumerics and a few standard punctuation marks. Foreign
characters, typographical oddities like quotes and ligatures, and other more
obscure symbols are “non-standard”, and each computer often has its own idea
of where they should go in the character set. So don’t worry: even if it’s
hard to read on your current machine, it won’t be on an Acorn machine. It may
look slightly strange if you’re using the System font, however.
But why am I using these strange characters in the first place? Well,
they’re in the character set and they look nice in an outine font, and I’ve
written a program called Smart Quotes (sorry for the plug) that substitutes
these sort of characters automatically, and I’ve got it turned on at the
moment...
Thanks
******
Thanks are due to the following people (not in any particular order):
Dick Alstein for TemplEd (couldn’t live without it)
Cy Booker for his wonderful BASIC cruncher (registration’s in the post)
Simon Middleton at Uniqueway for help and feedback
Rheingold for Vigil (I actually bought it)
David Rushall for FlDesk (I don’t actually use it normally, but the
compare CMOS option was useful)
Kemal Sangrar for his invaluable TaskGuard utility – press Alt-Break
and the current task is aborted. Makes you wonder what all this
fuss over the RISC PC is all about ;).
Dominic Symes for Zap (couldn’t live without it)
Christopher Swaley for the floppy disc configure option
Dave Walker at Acorn Customer Support for all the help
Joseph Walker for ResMod
Acorn get a firm and hearty thumbs up for the machine, RISC OS, the Filter
Manager in particular and the quality of the PRMs (and at £100 I should think
so ;) ), and a loud raspberry for not documenting all the CMOS options –
bytes 215 to 223 aren’t even mentioned, let alone described as “reserved for
Acorn use” when they actually do something quite sensible, like other bytes
I could think of. In the RISC OS 2 PRMs they already got the CMOS slightly
wrong, so Acorn, if you know what’s good for you – sack the guy who does the
CMOS ;).
Another thumbs up goes to Dave Walker at Customer Support for all the
help, and another raspberry for those people who designed RISC OS 3.50
Configure, for not deleting the unused icons in the Templates file (look at the
original Templates and count the number of icons shifted to one side...).
How to contact me
*****************
All bug-reports, suggestions, comments or indeed any feedback at all will be
welcomed. Here’s how to get to me:
E-mail : 9262861k@arts.gla.ac.uk, 926286ki@udcf.gla.ac.uk during term-time
These should be OK until June 1996
At Christmas, Easter and during the summer, you can get me at
wombat@altern.com, wombat@email.teaser.com or sam@altern.com, in order
of preference (that is, if mail bounces off one of these or I don’t
answer within a week send to the next one).
Snail-mail : My term-time address, at least until June 1995, is:
Sam Kington
Flat 2/1
44 Hotspur Street
Glasgow G20 8NL
SCOTLAND
Again, a backup is the home address – anything that goes here will get
to me eventually.
Sam Kington
Merlhiot
24420 Savignac les Eglises
FRANCE
Term-time is October to June, with bits off at Christmas (3 weeks) and
Easter (4 weeks).