MacFormat 1995 March/macformat-022.iso/Shareware City/Utilities/Virtual Desktop 1.8/Virtual Desktop Help/Virtual Desktop Help.rsrc/STR#_1030.txt

Text File | 1994-10-18 | 9.5 KB | 778 lines















åMenus





This section describes each of Virtual Desktop’s menus.










xThe Apple Menu



•  About Virtual Desktop…



This command opens Virtual Desktop’s About dialog, which invites you to

try Balloon Help or Help on Wheels to learn more about Virtual Desktop.










xThe File Menu


















•  Close (Command-W)



This command is only a place-holder, and is never available, because

Virtual Desktop does not keep documents open.  The only documents

Virtual Desktop has are door files, which are only references to doors to

be opened.







•  Quit (Command-Q)



This command quits Virtual Desktop.  This will return the desktop view to

the home location, and if any applications have their windows anchored to

a door, those windows will fall back into the desktop view.  Any other

windows and desktop icons which were outside the home location will

remain off-screen.










xThe Edit Menu



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•  Undo (Command-Z)



This command is not used by Virtual Desktop.  It is present only for desk

accessories.







•  Cut (Command-X)



This command cuts selected text to the clipboard.  It is used only with

desk accessories and dialogs containing text fields.







•  Copy (Command-C)



This command copies selected text to the clipboard.  It is used only with

desk accessories and dialogs containing text fields.







•  Paste (Command-V)



This command inserts the contents of the clipboard at the current cursor

location or replaces the currently selected text by the contents of the

clipboard.  It is used only with desk accessories and dialogs containing

text fields.







•  Clear



This command clears the selected text in a desk accessory or dialogs

containing text fields.










xThe Actions Menu



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•  Full View (Command-F)



This command toggles between Full View mode and the usual see-through

mode.  The check mark indicates the current mode.







•  Refresh (Command-R)



This command re-examines the complete set of windows and icons now on

the virtual desktop, recomputes scroll bar positions and the extent of the

virtual desktop, and redraws all windows accordingly.







•  Grow Desktop (Command-Plus)



This command adds half a screenful to the padding at all four sides of the

virtual desktop, giving you more room to reposition your windows and

icons.  The maximum width or height of the virtual desktop, including

padding, is 32,767 pixels.  Therefore, the padding cannot exceed 32,767

pixels in either direction.  If the padding is already at its maximum, this

command is disabled.







•  Shrink Desktop (Command-Minus)



This command subtracts half a screenful from the padding at all four sides

of the virtual desktop.  In Full View mode, if images seem to be too small,

you should try shrinking the desktop.  If the padding is already at its

minimum, this command is disabled.







•  New Door… (Command-N)



This command prompts you for the name of a new door, which must not

match any existing door name.  The door is created with preference

options set so as to jump to the current virtual desktop location when

opened.  If the preferences file is unwritable, this command is disabled.





The default is create a single door, but by using the pop-up menu, you can

create 3, 5, or 9 doors at once.  The door at the center of these

multiple-door arrangements will lead to the current virtual desktop

location, and the others will lead to nearby locations as indicated by the

pattern.



If the default door preference options allow door windows to show,

Virtual Desktop will prompt you to place the door window with a special

door-shaped cursor.  In a multiple-door arrangement, the other door icon

windows are placed automatically according to the pattern.





•  Rename Door…



This command prompts you to give the currently open door a new name,

which must not match any other existing door name.  If no door is open, or

the preferences file is unwritable, this command is disabled.





NOTE:  When you rename a door, you should update the application

preferences of any application whose items are anchored to that door.

You should also change the name of any door files you had created.





•  Trash Door… (Command-T) or Trash Door (Command-Option-T)



This command trashes the currently open door.  An alert box appears to

ask for confirmation.  If no door is open, or the preferences file is

unwritable, this command is disabled.





With the Option key pressed, before you click in the menu bar, the

confirmation alert is suppressed.





•  Home (Command-H)



This command returns the desktop view to the home location, where it

was when Virtual Desktop started up.







•  Door “Name” (various)



There is one command in this menu for each defined door.  If the door has

a Command-digit binding, it appears in the menu.  Function-key bindings do

not appear in the menu.





Selecting a door command causes Virtual Desktop to open the door, just as

if the user had clicked on the door window.  Press the Option key while

selecting a door command to keep Virtual Desktop active, ignoring the

door preference options to activate a certain application or change the

color depth.








xThe Preferences Menu



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•  Layout… (Command-L)



This command opens the Layout Preferences dialog.

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

information.







•  Usage… (Command-U)



This command opens the Usage Preferences dialog.

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

information.







•  Application… (Command-A)



This command opens the Application Preferences dialog.  It is available

only in Full View mode, and applies to the current application, as shown by

the radio buttons.

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

information.







•  Item… (Command-I)



This command is not implemented in this version of Virtual Desktop.







•  Door… (Command-D)



This command opens the Door Preferences dialog.  It is available only if a

door is currently open.

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

information.










xThe Special Menu



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•  Restart



This command is exactly equivalent to Finder’s Restart command, but

gives Virtual Desktop the chance to take action on the Anchor

Application’s Items to Door option by quitting before any other application

can quit.







•  Shut Down



This command is exactly equivalent to Finder’s Shut Down command, but

gives Virtual Desktop the chance to take action on the Anchor

Application’s Items to Door option by quitting before any other application

can quit.










xThe Help Menu



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•  About Balloon Help…



This command, supplied by System software, tells you how to use Balloon

Help.  Virtual Desktop supports Balloon Help.







•  Show/Hide Balloons



This command, supplied by System software, lets you turn Balloon Help

on and off.  Virtual Desktop supports Balloon Help.







•  Virtual Desktop Help



This command asks Help on Wheels to display Virtual Desktop’s help file.

This will start the help server if it was not already running.  If the help

server cannot be found on any mounted volume, Virtual Desktop will offer

to save a readable copy of the help file as a TeachText file, then ask

Finder to open the file.  If the help file is missing or invalid, this command

is disabled.





Pressing the Help or Command-? key at any time does the same thing.

When there is a dialog box on your screen, such as the options dialog, the

menu command is disabled, and the keyboard is the only way to display

help.








xThe Door Menu



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This menu appears alongside the Help, Keyboard, and Application menus at

the right side of the menu bar, whatever application is active.  It appears

only if the Door Menu option was selected in the Usage Preferences dialog

at the time the machine was started up.







•  Home



This command lets you return to the home location while using any

application, without making Virtual Desktop active.  If the Virtual Desktop

application is not running, this will start it up.







•  Name (various)



There is one command in this menu for each defined door.  Selecting a door

command causes Virtual Desktop to open the door.  If the Virtual Desktop

application is not running, this will start it up.





The Option key does not work with these commands, as it does with the

door commands in Virtual Desktop’s Actions menu.