Mac Mania 2/MacMania 2.toast/Demo's/Tools&Utilities/Virtual Desktop 1.8/Virtual Desktop Help/Virtual Desktop Help.rsrc/STR#_1027.txt

Text File | 1994-10-18 | 8.6 KB | 371 lines






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åHow Does Virtual Desktop Work?










xVirtual Desktop Extension



Virtual Desktop requires a system extension to persuade Finder that the

desktop is larger than your monitors, and to ensure that off-screen icon

positions are recorded correctly.





When you open the Virtual Desktop application, it will check to see if the

Virtual Desktop Extension system extension was loaded at startup.  If not,

it will ask for permission to install it in your Extensions folder, if it isn’t

already there.  If you agree, the application will suggest a restart, then

quit, because the extension must be loaded at startup in order for the

application to operate.



If the extension was loaded, but is not the same version as the

application, you will be prompted to replace it.  You must then restart

your Macintosh in order to use the application.



If you remove the extension, or disable it by pressing the Shift key at

startup, Finder will bring any desktop icons positioned off-screen back

into view.  (If you do not reposition them, they will return to their

off-screen positions after the next restart.)  This shows how Virtual

Desktop manages the virtual desktop.  It works not by enlarging the

“real” desktop area using extra memory, but by actually moving

windows and icons around on the desktop.  Part of that trick is to

persuade Finder not to round up the “lost sheep.”








xHow to Start Up Virtual Desktop



The first time you start up the Virtual Desktop application, you will be

working with a very small virtual desktop, and nothing off the monitors.

If you move some icons off the desktop view using Full View mode, scroll

with the scroll bars, then quit, you will notice that Virtual Desktop has

returned you to the “home” location, and that the items you moved off

the desktop remain out of view.  You must reopen Virtual Desktop to

access them.  Because the extension implements the illusion of a virtual

desktop, the application need only be open when you want to do some

scrolling.





Once you are comfortable with Virtual Desktop, you may want to start it

up by putting it (or an alias to it) in your Startup Items folder.  Another

way is to use door files, Virtual Desktop documents that open the

application and scroll the virtual desktop to a preset location when opened.

You may want to replace some of your current startup items with door

files, having set the preferences for each door so that Finder will open

each item in its own place on the virtual desktop.

See the section entitled “The Door Preferences Dialog” for more

information about door files.



Another way to start up Virtual Desktop is to select a door from the Door

menu or the Control Strip.








xRoutine Maintenance



Virtual Desktop works by moving windows and icons, not by enlarging the

actual desktop.  Therefore, applications are never aware of where you

are on the virtual desktop.  In a way, this is good, because they will

normally put their windows where you can see them.





You will probably want to dedicate an area of the virtual desktop to some

commonly used application.  However, the application doesn’t know what

that location is, so you have to help it somehow.  One way would be to

move to the location by clicking on a door icon window, then to open the

application using the Apple menu or some desktop icon which you have

placed there for the purpose.  (If you have set the application preferences

for Finder so that Finder’s windows are exempt from scrolling, you can

always find the icon you want through those windows.)



There are several ways to automate the opening of applications and

documents in “preferred” virtual desktop locations.  One way is to set

the door preferences so that Virtual Desktop asks Finder to open the item

just after scrolling to the door location.  (The only problem with this

approach, depending on the application in question, is that later attempts

to open the door, leading to more requests to open the item, may cause

unwanted effects.)  Another way is to use an alias file converted by

Maybe, another AWOL Utilities program, which automatically tells Virtual

Desktop to scroll to this location just before opening the target item.  Yet

another way is to open the items in question, then start up Virtual

Desktop, which (with the application preferences appropriately set) can

shuttle the windows out to their various door locations.

See the section entitled “Suggestions for Use” for more information on

Maybe.








xSensitive Applications



The great majority of applications tolerate Virtual Desktop’s scrolling

behavior with no problems.  There are others, though, and you should be

aware of the symptoms of trouble.





First, some applications may not work right if their windows are

off-screen.  This is especially true of well-programmed applications

which use a “device loop” to compute the right drawing effects for each

monitor their windows intersect, because they typically need to know

which monitor has the greatest color depth, and may get confused if there

isn’t such a monitor.



Second, some applications don’t use the Macintosh’s QuickDraw graphics

model to draw on your monitors.  An example would be any

frame-grabbing video expansion card which addresses screen memory

directly.  Their windows will come apart when Virtual Desktop scrolls the

frames without the contents.  Even HyperCard has a little trouble

sometimes.  QuickTime movie players seem to get along fine with Virtual

Desktop, however.



Third, some applications don’t listen to the operating system when it tells

them to redraw parts of their windows which have been exposed by

scrolling, because they think they know which parts are exposed.  These

applications seem to respond better to door jumps than to manual

scrolling.  Applications built with Apple’s MacApp® framework seem

especially prone to this problem.



Despite these glitches, though, life with Virtual Desktop is arguably better

than life without.








xHow to Shut Down Using Virtual Desktop



Virtual Desktop has a Special menu which contains Restart and Shut Down

commands, like those in Finder.  If you use Virtual Desktop regularly, it’s

good practice to use this Special menu rather than Finder’s, because it

makes sure that Virtual Desktop gets a chance to clean up and quit before

any other application.





This version of Virtual Desktop is distributed with a miniature application

called “Quit Virtual Desktop.”  If you have “Finder Scripting Extension”

installed, you may place this application in your Shutdown Items folder.

This will force Virtual Desktop to quit first when you select Restart or

Shut Down from Finder’s Special menu.  (Note that items in the Shutdown

Items folder are not opened if you restart or shut down using any indirect

method, such as an installer application, or the System 7.5 “• Shut

Down” desk accessory.)



If you shut down in another way, some applications may record their

window positions as off-screen, so the next time they start up, they may

choose a default on-screen position.  This is quite understandable

behavior, actually helpful, except when you are using Virtual Desktop to

manage your desktop.  Virtual Desktop provides an application preference

option to handle this sort by bringing their windows back into view before

they quit.  By practice, you will come to know which applications need

such special treatment.








xUsing the Control Strip



If you have Apple’s Control Strip control panel for your PowerBook, or

one of the “aftermarket” shareware programs that let you use Control

Strip modules on any Macintosh, you should consider using the “Virtual

Desktop Doors” Control Strip module instead of the Door menu.  It gives

the same capability, without taking up space in the menu bar.





To control Virtual Desktop using the Control Strip, place the “Virtual

Desktop Doors” file in your Control Strip Modules folder, then restart.

The menu that pops up from the Control Strip has the same commands as

the Door menu.

See the section entitled “The Door Menu” for more information.



You may find that the Control Strip obscures Virtual Desktop’s horizontal

scroll bar window.  If you do not intend to use the scroll bars, you can set

a usage option to suppress them.  If you do intend to use them, you can

Option-drag the tab at the end of the Control Strip to move it up from its

usual position at the bottom of the screen.