CD Ware Multimedia 1994 November

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Text File | 1994-06-01 | 17.5 KB | 298 lines

****************************************************************************** Announcing PC/2 - Programm Commander/2 Version 1.70 for IBM OS/2 2.x Presentation Manager Copyright (C) by Stangl Roman 06, 1994 Version 1.70 Draft ****************************************************************************** Dear Users! PC/2 is an addon or replacement (!) for the WPS (Work Place Shell) that adds a feature, that OS/2 definitely is missing! After PC/2 is loaded you may click mouse button 1 anywhere on the Desktop to display a user-configurable Popup-Menu, where you can select an application to start. You may alternatively define a Hotkey for an application. Once the Hotkey is pressed PC/2 switches to the application, the Hotkey is defined for, or even launches the application if it isn't running already. This greatly simplifies starting any application very much - you don't have to click on folders/icons anymore to launch it - no more messed up Desktop full of folders/icons. You even don't need to install the memory consuming WPS (which saves at least 1 Meg)! Even more, PC/2 allows you to expand your Desktop 9-fold. Just move the mouse pointer over the surrounding rows and/or columns of your screen, and you will be able to scroll your Desktop up to 1 screen-width and 1 screen-height in all directions. Just imagine the virtual Desktop as a further screen available left, left and below, below,... to your physical display. Of course the Hotkey feature switches to the virtual Desktop the application is running the Hotkey is defined for. You may also switch to any Desktop by doubleclicking with mouse button 1 on the overview window of PC/2. PC/2 also allows you to switch into a sliding focus mode, similar to X-Windows. PC/2 has also limited seamless WIN-OS2 support, even without the WPS running. For every application you start, a configuration file contains: *) Program Data: Title, Path and Filename, working directory and parameters. For DOS programs you can enter the required DOS Settings in an entryfield. You may also configure PC/2 to request commandline parameters before an application is started. You can also add WPS Objects to be started. *) Program Style: Default, Maximized, Minimized, Invisible, no autoclose background execution *) Program Size & Position: User selectable size and position. You may even start an application on an virtual Desktop, if the application doesn't overwrite your choices. The position is always adjusted by PC/2. *) Program Type: WPS default, OS/2 and DOS Window or FullScreen, Presentation Manager, WPS Object and seamless WIN-OS2. Seamless WIN-OS2 without a WPS Object that corresponds to this seamless WIN-OS2 session is fully supported. Seamless WIN-OS2 without a corresponding WPS Object is limited to separate sessions. If you know how to start all possible seamless WIN-OS2 sessions with an OS/2 API directly, p l e a s e let me know. *) Hotkey: You may define an hotkey to quickly switch to a certain session. *) Program Priority: You may adjust the priority of programs. Warning changing the default priority may induce serious performance problems, because you easily can give a program nothing to the complete CPU time. Full help is implemented, so I would suggest to read the help panels to get a impression on how you can customize PC/2 to your needs. Installation: *) First unpack the archive with UNZIP. *) If you upgrade from a previous version of PC/2, save your Popup-Menu configuration files (usually PC2.CFG), and stop PC/2 from running in order to allow the files to be updated. Warning! PC/2 Version 1.70 PC2HOKK.DLL is n o t compatible with any previous version. When using an existing configuration file the first time you click for the Popup-Menu, the Configuration dialog is displayed, because you have to add the Control Menuitem "Configure Popup-Menu Settings" first. *) Then use the REXX installation script to install PC/2: Syntax: INSTALL <Destination> PC/2's files will be copied into the drive, path and filename pointed to with <Destination>. An object is then created on the Desktop and PC/2 is then started displaying the help panels. *) PC/2 should be started upon bootup. You can either click on the PC/2 icon and OS/2 will start PC/2 for you the next time you boot. This holds not true if you have used the statement SET RESTARTOBJECTS= STARTUPFOLDERSONLY in your CONFIG.SYS, then you must create an PC/2 object/shadow in the startup folder. *) PC/2 may be used instead of the WPS. In this case you need either to copy PC2HOOK.DLL into a path pointed by LIBPATH environment variable in CONFIG.SYS or to point the LIBPATH to the directory you installed and run PC/2 from. PC2.HLP may either be in a path pointed to by HELP or in the directory PC/2 is installed and running from. Then edit your CONFIG.SYS to SET RUNWORKPLACE=[path]PC2.EXE. The next time you boot, PC/2 has replaced your WPS. (Of course you can then start the WPS from a OS/2 command prompt by typing START PMSHELL or creating an entry in PC/2's Popup-Menu.. *) The syntax of PC/2 is: PC2 [-Profile Filename.ext] [-[Double|Single]Click] or PC2 [/Profile Filename.ext] [/[Double|Single]Click] where Filename.ext may be any filename for FAT or HPFS filname convention. If you omit the optional profile name, the default profile PC2.CFG is selected. Specifying the option DoubleClick selects that the Popup-Menu appears after a double-click on the Desktop instead of a single click. If you don't specify any click option the option from the PC/2 configuration file is taken. Version 1.xx Hints: *) PC/2 is currently under test, so there will be some misspells/ inconsistencies/bugs. PC/2 will NOT destroy any data under no circumstances! *) PC/2 only supports all seamless WIN-OS2 type sessions, if WPS Objects that correspond the this sessions are created with MAKEOBJ.CMD, a small REXX-utility supplied with PC/2. Without a corresponding WPS Object defined, seamless WIN-OS2 support is limited to separate sessions. *) PC/2 was developed and tested on two different PS/2s under OS/2 2.1 GA (internal release 6.514) and OS/2 2.0 GA (internal release 6.307). PC/2 was also tested to work with OS/2 2.11 (Service Pack for OS/2 2.1 GA). You may contact me via (E-)Mail, if you have problems/suggestions/questions at: *) Internet: RSTANGL@VNET.IBM.COM *) FidoNet: Roman Stangl @ LA BAMBA BBS 2:310/14@fidonet.org Tel.: (Int. Code +43 +1 +6898971) *) FidoNet: Roman Stangl @ IBM Austria National Support BBS Tel.: (Int. Code +43 +1 +21145-6600) *) IBM VNET: 61821799 at VIEVMA *) Roman Stangl Strebersdorferstr. 46 A-2103 Langenzersdorf, Austria If you find this utility useful and want to honor ten weeks of work, you are welcome to send me 50 to 150 Austrian Schilling (about 5 to 15 US Dollar) to my home address. Please send any donations in CASH, because its much easier for me to exchange foreign currency, than money orders, checks,... Of course, you don't need to pay again, if a new release comes out. Because of the Freeware status of PC/2 I am n o t going to send new versions of PC/2 or anything else by mail (which is likely to become a never ending story), however I try my best to do support via E-Mail! History: Version 1.00ß: *) First public release Version 1.10: *) Installation improved *) IDLE_SECONDS=10 and IDLE_SENSITIVITY=100 added for DOS sessions *) Source code now included Version 1.20: *) All DOS Settings now configurable *) Standard file dialog can be used to find the application you want to install to PC/2 *) PC/2 may now be used with or without the WPS - it may even replace the WPS. *) I know the bug occurring occasionally when deleting entries is not removed, but other things have a higher priority. Version 1.30: *) CR, LF added to DOS Settings, if missing. *) DoubleClick command line option added, installation prompts the user, if he wants to install this option into the PC/2 object. PC/2 now pops up after a double-click, if no click option or the option [-|/]DoubleClick is specified. *) ShutDown OS/2 entry and dialog box added. *) PC2.HLP may also be in the directory of PC/2 instead in a directory pointed by the HELP environment variable. The same applies for PC2HOOK.HLP and the LIBPATH environment variable. PC/2 first attempts to find these files, where it is started from, then in the paths included in the environment variables. *) Popup-Menu now don't select an entry, if button 1 is clicked at the bottom of the screen. *) PC2.c V1.20: 257, 564: File close of unopened files removed. Utility.c V1.20: 399, 457: Free of unallocated memory removed. *) DOS and OS/2 batch files automatically added as parameters to their command processors (HPFS names with spaces under two double-quotes). *) FAQ list added. *) Entry-removing bug solved. *) Directory changed to root if only drive is entered as the working directory. *) User enterable commandline-parameter at run-time added. Now you may enter commandline-parameters immediately before an application is launched. Version 1.40: *) WPS Objects may now be started too by PC/2, even if they are seamless WIN-OS2 session. *) PC/2 changes to the root of each non-removable media attached to your system, except for the defined working directory. *) Drag & Drop is not supported. *) PC/2 checks every 2.5 if the Desktop window handle changes, so if you run PC/2 as a WPS replacement you can start PMSHELL without needing to close PC/2 once after PMSHELL is ready. *) You can now resort (Sub)menus manually. Version 1.50: *) PC/2 configuration file completely rewritten. Should avoid redundant storage and increase fault tolerance. Downwards compatible, so old files can be read, but will be written in the improved format. Some more useful demos, that you may incorporate in your configuration by using an editor, added. *) Optional sliding focus a-la X-Windows added (thanks to Markus Hof and Roman Fischer for providing their source code of XFEEL as a valuable basis). *) Optional virtual Desktop added, that expands your physical Desktop to a 9-fold virtual Desktop (thanks to Carrick von Schoultz for giving me the tip to use the flag SWP_NOADJUST). *) Code that handled priority settings completely removed, because applications can't be started as parent process/ child process which would be required to change the priority of processes. *) PC/2 now traces clicks both on the WPS and/or PM, so you can move the WPS into the virtual Desktop and click on the PM. *) PC/2 now maps the coordinates on the window, where you clicked, to the coordinates of the display. This should avoid bad positioning of the Popup-Menu (PC/2 now works together with 9LIVES). *) Code that changed to the root directories now should also work, if a removable media is inserted, but not a valid file system (f.e. a CD-ROM with a music-CD inserted) (thanks to Mario Semo for his assistance with DosDevIOCtl). Version 1.60: *) Seamless WIN-OS2 support added, only separate sessions and under 2.0 GA with WPS installed though. Thanks to Alex Stewart for pointing me out how to do this. *) Fixed not moving minimized windows (icons) when Desktop is moved. *) For sliding Focus added a flag to preserve Z-order of the windows. *) ShutDown message now changes if ShutDown completed. *) Enhanced MakeObj utility, thanks to Ingo Pflanz for his work on this. *) Now PC/2 should also work with networked drives, at least it works with NFS-mounted drived with IBM's TCPIP 1.2.1. Version 1.70: *) First release of a "IBM internal use only" version on OS2TOOLS. *) PC/2s popup menu now completely configurable, even PC/2s Setup, Config, About, Help, Exit and ShutDown options. *) The Program Installation dialog is now a notebook. *) Separators and Break separators are now supported to improve the clarity of the Popup-Menu. *) Exit PC/2 and ShutDown OS/2 message boxes now default to OK, to just press Enter to perform action. *) PC/2 now supports user defined Hotkeys to be used to switch to sessions, even on another virtual Desktop, directly. 72 different keys are available. If the application, the Hotkey is defined for, is not running PC/2 launches it. *) PC/2 supports to specify the priority of a program to launch. *) Window List support on PM background. This is useful if you are not running OS/2 with the WPS (which saves up to 4 MB memory). *) PC/2 now saves it's size & position along with the default click flag. *) Overview window improved, you may directly switch to any virtual Desktop just by doubleclicking with mouse button 1 on the overview window. *) Bug fixed, that dismissed the ShutDown dialog by pressing the ESC-Key. *) SMALLFNT.CMD supplied that replaces the standard system font (10pt. proportional Systemfont) by a smaller 8pt. Helv font. Applying this batch file and rebooting reduces the size of most dialogs to about 2/3 of the previous size, giving you more "workspace" on your Desktop. *) Smarticons added to improve control of windows on PC/2's overview window. Thanks to Michael Wakunda for helping me designing the icons. *) Support for EMX C/C++ added upon a suggestion from Rolf Knebel. *) The user defined position now works, even if the application decides to use its own position. *) PC2HOOK.DLL is now statically linked, and PC/2 is now a multithreaded application. *) The overview window now displays a scaled image of the Virtual Desktop. The windows are named and can be manipulated by applying the currently active smarticon with mouse button 2. *) PC/2's configuration file was enhanced to support the new features. You may use the configuration file from a previous version of PC/2, it will be upgraded the first time you make modifications (and you need to add the Configure Popup-Menu Setting when upgrading). *) You may enable mouse button 2 clicks on a window's title- bar to set this window to the bottom (lowering its Z-Order). Thanks to Rolf Knebel for sending me this suggestion coded into PC/2, although I changed it little bit. Planned enhancements: *) Complete seamless WIN-OS2 support. Please email me, if you know how to implement this (no separate sessions, working w/ or w/o WPS under all OS/2 2.x versions)! - Thanks! Please read the help panels and enjoy! Roman Stangl