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The Tera Desktop
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 About Tera Desktop
1.2 The Author
1.3 Hardware and operating system requirements
1.4 Disclaimer
1.5 Support
2 Installation
3 Conventions and background information
3.1 Conventions
3.2 Type of program
3.3 Running a program
4 Menus
4.1 Teradesk
4.2 File
4.2.1 Open
4.2.2 Show Information
4.2.3 New Folder
4.2.4 Close
4.2.5 Close Window
4.2.6 Select all
4.2.7 Cycle Window
4.3 View
4.3.1 Show as
4.3.2 Sort
4.3.3 Hidden & System files
4.3.4 Set file mask
4.4 Options
4.4.1 Install Applications
4.4.1.1 Function keys
4.4.1.2 Document Types
4.4.1.3 Command Line
4.4.1.3 ARGV protocol
4.4.2 Install Desk Icon
4.4.3 Install window Icon
4.4.4 Change Icons
4.4.5 Remove Icons
4.4.6 Set preferences
4.4.7 Editor
4.4.8 Program Options
4.4.9 Window Options
4.4.10 Save settings
4.4.11 Load settings
4.4.12 Save settings as
5 Icons and Objects
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The ICON.RSC file
5.3 Opening icons and objects
5.4 Dragging Objects
6 The ARGV protocol
7 Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
1.1 About the Tera Desktop
The Tera Desktop is a replacement for the ST, STE or TT
desktop. It provides many more facilities than the
standard desktop and windows are drawn and scrolled much
faster in it; It allows icons for files and programs and
provides the ability to view files in windows.
The program may be copied and distributed freely
provided:
1. All the files listed below are copied and
distributed at the same time and none are changed in
any way.
2. The program is not sold without the written
permission of the author. If the program is
distributed by a PD library, only the costs of the
disk and distribution may be recovered.
The Tera Desktop files are:
DESKTOP.PRG The Tera Desktop program
DESKTOP.RSC English resource file
DESK_FRA.RSC French resource file
ICONS.RSC Icons resource file
README.NED Instructions in Dutch
README.ENG Instructions in English
README.FRA Instructions in French
CHANGES.NED Version changes in Dutch
CHANGES.ENG Version changes in English
CHANGES.FRA Version changes in French
MANUAL.NED Manual in Dutch
MANUAL.ENG Manual in English
MANUAL.FRA Manual in French
CONVERT.PRG Program to convert settings
VIEWER.PRG Program for viewing .IMG and Degas files
VIEWER.RSC Resource file for viewer
1.2 The Author
The author and copyright owner of the Tera Desktop is:
Wout Klaren
Zwolsekanaal 18
7681 ED Vroomshoop
The Netherlands
1.3 Hardware and Operating system requirements
Hardware
The Tera Desktop can be used on any Atari ST, STE or TT
computer. It uses about 140 Kb of memory.
Although the Tera Desktop can be used without the aid of
a hard disk, the use of one is strongly recommended. This
is because the program must be available on disk at all
times when it is running. This requirement can be
facilitated, if you have sufficient memory, by placing it
in a RAM disk.
TOS version
Tera Desktop will work with all current versions of TOS
but is very much more useful with versions 1.4 and above.
There are several reasons for this, for in version 1.4
and above:
1. Folders can be renamed.
2. The file processing routines are very much better
and enables more facilities to be used.
3. GEM programs can be started automatically after
booting.
4. There are significant bugs in version 1.0
5. Tera Desktop does not work in low resolution with
version 1.0 because of limitations on the size of
menus.
Resolution
It is recommended that you use Tera Desktop in high or
medium resolution. The program works in low resolution
but with certain limitations:
1. With the ST or TT:
a. The dialog box for the input of command lines
to TTP programs are smaller.
b. The dialog boxes of 'Install Application' and
'Set Preferences' will not work properly
because they are too big.
2. Tera Desktop does not work in low resolution with
version 1.0 because of limitations on the size of
menus.
1.4 Disclaimer
Tera Desktop has been tested with TOS 1.0, 1.2, 1.4,
1.42, 1.6, 3.05 and KAOS TOS, but it is possible that it
will fail to work properly on other versions or
with configurations different from those on which it was
tested. It is also possible that there are still bugs in
the program which will show up even when using the
systems on which it has been tested.
The author disclaims all responsibility for any loss or
damage resulting from the use of Tera Desktop no matter
how it is caused.
1.5 Support
In the United Kingdom, new versions can be downloaded
from:
System ST
tel: 0533 413443
Fidonet 2:255/320
NeST 90:102/131
The compressed file containing the system is called
TERADESK.LZH.
This BBS also provides support for the Tera Desktop. If
you have any suggestions for improvements or bugs to
report, you can leave a note of them there.
In the Netherlands, new versions can be downloaded from:
Moir Brandts Honk BBS
tel: 070-3461215
If you discover a bug, the author would be very grateful
if you would report to him (either in writing or on the
BBS) the nature of the bug and provide a description of
your computer configuration [TOS version, Auto boot
program used (if any), computer type, accessories
installed etc.].
2 Installation
The Tera Desktop should be installed as follows:
1. Create a folder called DESKTOP anywhere on your hard disk
(or in a RAM disk if you have no hard disk).
2. Copy into this folder the files:
DESKTOP.PRG
DESKTOP.RSC
ICONS.RSC
The Tera Desktop can now be started in the usual way by double
clicking on DESKTOP.PRG.
If you have TOS version 1.4 or greater, you can set it up so
that Tera Desktop is started automatically when you boot. To
do this:
3. Select the file DESKTOP.PRG by single clicking on it.
4. Select 'Install Application' from the Options menu.
5. Change to boot status from 'Normal' to 'Auto'
6. Click on 'Install'
7. Save the desktop configuration
If you have TOS version 1.0 or 1.2 you must use a program such
as STARTGEM to run DESKTOP from an AUTO folder.
3 Conventions and background information
3.1 Conventions
1. It is assumed that the reader knows how to use the
standard Atari desktop as described in the user manual.
2. We shall often mention the procedure of 'Selecting' an
object. By this we mean the act of placing the mouse on
the object and clicking the left button once. The
display of the Object should change to reverse video.
Many icons and some objects in dialog boxes can also be
selected by pressing certain keys.
If you select a second object while the first is still
selected, the first is deselected - UNLESS you held down
[Shift] while selecting them; in that way you can select
several objects.
Another way of selecting several objects at once is to
place the mouse arrow to the left of one of them and then
hold down the left mouse button. Then, if you move the
mouse, a box will form in which you can enclose other
objects. When you release the mouse button, all the
enclosed objects are selected. Note that all the objects
in the box are selected, even though not all are visible.
This is relevant if you scroll the contents of a window
at the same time .
3. We shall also refer to 'Opening' a file. This generally
means that you place the mouse cursor on the file (in a
directory) and double click with the left mouse button.
Files can also be opened by first selecting them, and
then selecting 'Open' from the 'File' menu.
4. We shall refer to keys with square brackets enclosing the
symbol written on the key itself. e.g. [Return], [Q]
etc.
5. Sometimes we mention 'masks'. A mask is a sequence of
symbols which may or may not match a file name. Masks
contain the symbols '*' and '?' as well as the standard
symbols which may appear in a file name.
* Stands for any character or run of zero or more
characters so that:
A*B matches AB, AAB, ACB, AAAB, ACCB, ABCB etc.
A* matches A, AB,AAA,ABC,ABCD etc.
? Stands for any single character
A?B matches AAB, ACB, A B etc.
6. Most menu items can be selected with a key as well as
with the mouse.
To select a menu item with a key, press and hold down
[Control] and then press the key indicated. The symbol
'^' is there to remind you to use the control key.
7. Likewise, most buttons in dialogue boxes can also be
selected by a key.
Press and hold down [Alternate] and then press the key of
the character in the button that is underlined.
Boxes with arrows can be selected by holding down
[Control] and pressing the corresponding cursor (arrow)
key on the keyboard.
8. When a key is a 'letter' key. use the capital (Shifted)
version.
3.2 Types of program
In this section we review the various types of program or
application that you may encounter.
The type of a given program depends on how it is written
and is beyond your control; usually the type of a program
is indicated by its extension, but be warned, this is not
always so.
The types are:
Type Usual Description
extension
1. GEM PRG Program uses GEM and does not require
APP parameters.
2. GTP GTP Program uses GEM and requires
parameters; the GTP extension is not
recognised in standard desktop.
3. TOS TOS Program does not use GEM and does not
require parameters.
4. TTP TTP Program does not use GEM but requires
parameters.
5. ACC ACC Accessory program
Parameters are items of data, often a file name, which
are sent to the program as you invoke it.
The standard desktop recognizes the last three programs
from their extension and reacts appropriately when you
open them. With TTP programs it displays a dialog box in
which you can enter parameters. Tera Desktop in addition
recognises the GTP extension and displays a dialog box
for such programs.
While it is possible to rename program files giving them
an extension which does not properly reflect their type,
this is inadvisable. Nevertheless Tera Desktop will
allow you to define the type of a program in the 'Install
application' dialog box
Thus, If a GEM or TOS type program file is given the .GTP
or .TTP extension, anything you enter in the parameter
dialog box is ignored. Conversely a GTP or TTP type
program which has not been provided with the parameters
it expects, may not work properly.
3.3 Running a program
In this section we describe the various ways in which you
can invoke (run) a program both from the standard desktop
and from Tera Desktop.
1. Perhaps the most common method of starting a program
is to open it by double clicking on its name or icon
in a directory window. A parameter dialog box is
displayed for GTP and TTP files.
2. A method available only with Tera Desktop is to set
up a function key so that the program is started
when the key is pressed.
3. Another method, again not available in the standard
desktop, is to set up an icon for the program on the
desktop so that it is started when you double click
on it.
4. Yet another method, also available in the standard
desktop, is to double click on an associated
'Application Document' file. The program is started
and the name of the application document is passed
as a parameter.
5. Finally you can drag an application document (see
above) to a program icon. As long as the application
document file name matches one of the program's
application masks, it will be as if you had double
clicked on the file as in method 4.
Note that Accessory programs cannot be started from the
desktop in any of these ways; they can only be started by
selecting their appropriate menu item.
4 Menus
We now describe the various menu titles and the items you can
select from them:
4.1 Menu Title: Teradesk
4.1.1 Info
When you select this item, a dialogue box with the
copyright notice will appear. It also shows the TOS
version number and the amount of free memory.
4.2 Menu Title: File
4.2.1 Open [^Q]
With this item, a selected object can be opened. See
section 3 for further information.
4.2.2 Show Information... [^S]
When this item is selected, the Tera Desktop displays
information about an object you have previously selected:
1. If the selected object is a file, its name, the time
and date it was last used and the number of bytes in
it will be displayed. The name of the file can be
changed. You can also set/unset the Write Protect,
Hidden and System attributes of the file.
2. If the selected object is a folder, its name, the
time and date of it creation, the number of files
and folders in it and the number of bytes used will
be displayed. With TOS version 1.4 and above, the
folder name can be changed.
3. If the selected object is a drive, the drive letter,
the disk label, the number of files and folders on
it, the number of used and available bytes and the
total free space on it will be displayed.
If the disk is empty, it is possible that the total space
and the free space will be different; this is due to a
bug in TOS.
It is possible to select more than one object before
invoking this menu item; the information boxes for the
various objects will be shown in turn. If you exit with
Abort, you exit to the Tera Desktop.
4.2.3 New Folder... [^F]
By selecting this item you can name and create a new
folder (directory) in the current (top) directory.
4.2.4 Close [^V]
If you select this item, the current (top) window is
closed. If the window is that of a folder, it is replaced
by the window of the directory which is one level higher.
4.2.5 Close window [^C]
The effect of selecting this item is similar to that of
'Close'; the difference is that the window of a folder is
NOT replaced by another.
4.2.6 Select all [^A]
By selecting this window you can select all the files and
folders in the top desktop window in one fell swoop.
4.2.7 Cycle windows [^W]
When this item is selected, the bottom window is moved to
the top. This is particularly useful when one window is
covered completely by others for you can view this hidden
window without having to move or delete the windows which
cover it.
4.2.8 Quit [^Q]
Select this item to quit Tera Desktop and return to the
standard desktop.
4.3 Menu title: View
The items under this title enable you to control the way in
which the folders and files in a directory are displayed in a
window.
4.3.1 Show as
One or other of 'Show as icons' or 'Show as text' may be
selected; the selected option is ticked. Files and
folders are shown correspondingly as icons or as text.
In text mode, the length in bytes, the creation date and
time and the file attributes are shown as well as the
file name.
The attributes which are set are denoted as follows:
d - directory
s - system file
h - hidden file
w - file is NOT write protected
a - archive bit
4.3.2 Sort
With these items you can select the order in which the
files displayed in a window are sorted. The
possibilities are:
1. Sort by name [^G]
2. Sort by extension [^H]
3. Sort by creation date [^J]
4. Sort by size [^N]
5. Unsorted [^V]
If you select 'Unsorted', they are displayed in the order
in which they are stored on the disk; this corresponds to
the order in which they were placed on the disk; note
that this is not necessarily the same as the order of
their creation dates.
The mode selected applies to all open windows.
4.3.3 Hidden files [^X]; System files [^Y]
By selecting these menu items you can toggle between
modes in which files, whose system or hidden attributes
are set (see section 4.3.1) are either visible or
invisible. When the menu item is checked, such files are
visible.
The mode selected applies to all open windows.
4.3.4 Set file mask... [^T]
With this item, you can select which files are shown in
the current (top) directory window. A dialog box is
displayed into which you can either type a file mask or
select a mask from a predefined list. Double clicking on
a mask in the list has the double effect of selecting the
mask and exiting the box as if you selected 'OK'.
It is also possible to delete the mask which is selected
or add a new one to the bottom of the list.
The mask only applies to the window that was current
(Top) when this item was selected.
4.4 Menu title: Options
4.4.1 Install Application... [^L]
You can only select this menu option if you have first
selected a program file. With it you can install an
application and define the ways in which the program can
be started.
The 'Install Application' menu displays a dialog box in
which you can set up these methods for invoking a
program.
At the top of the box you will see the name of the
program you selected. Note that your settings only take
effect if you exit with 'Install'. If you exit with
'Remove', any settings you have made are cancelled.
The methods available are:
4.4.1.1 Function Key
You can associate a function key with the program
whose effect is described in section 3.3 Enter a
number in the range 1 to 20 in the 'Function key'
field.
Numbers 1 to 10 correspond the the [F1] to [F10]
keys and 11 to 20 to the same keys with [Shift] held
down.
4.4.1.2 Document types
Here you can install files as application documents
of the program.
The standard desktop only allows you to specify one
extension which is presumed to be common to all the
application documents. Tera Desktop is much more
flexible and allows you to specify several complete
file names or masks in which you can include wild
cards if you wish.
You can set up a list of several masks for the
selected program:
1. You can add a mask to this list of documents by
selecting 'Add' in the dialog box and then
entering the mask.
2. You can delete a mask by clicking on the arrows
till the name you wish to delete appears, and
then clicking on 'Delete'.
When the list is complete to your satisfaction,
click on the install button.
When you have done this, you can run the program and
at the same time pass the name of the application
document to the program as a parameter, all in one
fell swoop. You do this by double clicking on an
application document whose file name matches the
mask.
This can be very useful and save much time if, for
instance, the program is an editor. Just opening a
document file will enable you to edit the document
without the necessity of having to double click on
the program and then enter the document file name by
hand or from the file selector.
It is important to note that a file matching a the
mask on the list of any of the programs cannot be
printed or displayed on the screen by opening it in
the normal way. This merely invokes the program to
which you have associated it. However this problem
may be overcome by holding down [Alternate] as you
select it (see section 5.3).
You should also beware of associating the same
application document with more than one program. If
you do this by design or in error, the program to
which you have assigned the file most recently takes
precedence.
4.4.1.3 Command line
You may wish to send other parameters besides a file
name to a program. If these are likely to vary from
one call of the program to another, your best plan
is to invoke the program by opening it. However if
the other parameters are constant, you can set them
up in the 'Command line' field.
Whatever you write in the Command line will be sent
to your GTP or TTP program when you invoke it by
double clicking on it or by dragging an application
document.
The symbols %f and %n have a special meaning when
entered in the command line:
%f This is replaced by the application document
file name.
%F as %f, however file names are converted to
lower case.
%n This is replaced by the path (including drive,
directory and name) of the application file.
%N as %n, however file names are converted to
lower case.
4.4.1.4 ARGV protocol
The number of characters which specify the
parameters is limited to 125 in the standard desktop
but Tera Desktop allows you up to employ more. It
does this by using the so called ARGV protocol (see
section 7). You should note that some GTP or TTP
programs do not support the ARGV protocol; you can
toggle its use on and off by clicking on the box.
4.4.2 Install desk icon... [^I]
You can use this menu option to install an icon on the
desktop. When you first select it, a mini-icon appears on
the desktop; you can move this about the screen with your
mouse till you release the left mouse button; by then you
will have placed it at the position you wish the new icon
to be displayed.
When you release the mouse button, a dialog box appears.
You can define the type of icon and its actual design in
this. There are three types of Icon each of which has a
special use:
1. Disk Files dragged to this will be copied to
the disk.
2. Printer Files dragged to this will be printed.
3. Trashcan Files dragged to this will be deleted.
In addition there are 35 different designs of icon
available
You can scroll through these 35 different designs to
select the one you prefer. You can also enter an
identifying letter (for drive icons) and a title for the
icon. Do not forget to exit with the 'OK' button (or
Cancel if that is what you prefer).
Note that icons representing programs and other types of
file can be placed on the desktop simply by dragging them
from their directory onto the desktop. In these cases
the form of the icon is decided by Tera Desktop which
determines it according to it nature.
4.4.3 Install window icon...
With this menu item you can determine the way files and
folders are displayed when they are displayed by icons
(see 4.4.1) in directory windows.
When you select it, a dialog box is displayed. The first
thing you must do is to select either files or folders.
The dialog box contains a window showing a list of file
or folder name masks. You can scroll through these by
clicking on the arrows. Each mask on the list is
associated with an icon and any file or folder whose name
matches the mask is depicted by the associated icon.
You can add new masks and icons to the list by selecting
'Add' when a new dialog box is displayed. You can enter a
mask and select an icon. You can also delete an entry
from the list by selecting 'Delete' or edit it with
'Change'.
4.4.4 Change icons... [^D]
If you first select an icon on the desktop, you can
change its title and form by selecting this menu item. If
appropriate you can also change the nature of the object
it represents (Drive, printer or trashcan but not a
program or other file).
4.4.5 Remove icons... [^R]
If you first select an icon on the desktop, you can
remove it by selecting this menu item.
4.4.6 Set preferences... [^P]
By selecting this menu item, you can set your preferences
just as you can in the standard desktop. When you select
the menu item, a dialog box is displayed. In this you
can:
1. Toggle confirmation of copies.
2. Toggle confirmation of deletes.
3. Toggle confirmation of overwrites
The dialog boxes displayed when a confirmation is
necessary are similar to those in the standard desktop.
4. Set the size of the copy buffer. This is an area of
RAM which is used to store the contents of files
being copied. In general, the larger you set it the
faster copying will be performed.
5. Set the default tabsize: the number of blank column
produced in a text window when a 'Tab' is
encountered.
6. Toggle a switch to save the palette. If this
facility is switched on, the palette is saved when a
program is run and restored when it finishes. This
is useful if the program changes the palette without
restoring it itself.
7. Set the dialog box display mode. Dialog boxes can
be drawn in one of three modes. Each mode has its
advantages:
Buffered mode. In this mode, the screen under a
dialogue box is saved in a buffer. It can thus
be restored rapidly if the box is moved or
resized. In this mode it is possible to move a
dialog box about the screen by clicking on a
special button in its top right corner.
Window mode. In this mode, dialog boxes appear in
windows. This has the advantage that you can
use accessories while the box is displayed and
can move the dialog box about the screen.
Note that dialog boxes displayed by other
programs are not effected.
Normal mode. None of the special features
associated with the other modes are available.
8. Determine the position of the dialog box. There are
two possibilities:
1. Place the box at a point determined by the
position of the mouse. This option is of most
use when the display of the box is initiated by
a key press.
It is thus possible to prevent it covering
other objects.
2. Centre the box on the screen in the standard
way.
4.4.7 Editor...
As explained in section 5.3, when you open a file which
is not a program, you can, among other things, edit the
file. Tera Desktop does not provide its own editor; that
is up to you. When you select this menu option, the file
selector is shown. You can select a suitable editor with
it (assuming you have one). This should be of type TTP or
GTP. When you opt to edit a file in this way, the name
of the file is passed to the selected editor as a
parameter.
4.4.8 Program options... [^M]
With this menu option you can determine which files Tera
Desktop recognises as containing a program and set
various other features. A dialog box is displayed in
which you can:
1. Toggle a flag which indicates whether Tera Desktop
will wait for a keypress after a TOS or TTP program
has finished. This is useful when such programs
write something on the screen and you want to read
it at leisure.
2. Toggle a flag which indicates whether Tera Desktop
will redirect output to GEMDOS standard handle 2 to
the screen. This is usefull when you are using
programs compiled with GNU C.
3. Set which files contain programs. A small window
contains a list of file name masks; you can scroll
the list or select an entry. Any file which matches
one of the masks is recognised by Tera Desktop to be
a program. You can add a new mask, edit one already
there which you have selected or delete the one
selected by clicking on the appropriate button: Add,
Change, Delete.
If you add or edit a mask, another dialog box will
be shown in which you must define the file type and
the current drive and set the ARGV flag for the
program.
4.4.9 Window options...
If you select this menu option, you can determine the
appearances of the desktop and of directory and view
windows (see below). A dialog box is displayed in which
you can:
1. Select a fill pattern for the desktop background
2. Select a colour for the desktop background (black
only on monochrome monitors)
3. Select a font and a font size for text appearing in
directory or view windows. You must first select
'Directory font' or 'View font'. You can then
scroll a set of font sizes. The word 'Text' is shown
at the selected size in a small window.
4.4.10 Save settings [^K]
If you select this menu item, you can save all the
current settings to a file call DESKTOP.CFG. This is
similar to the 'save desktop' function in the standard
desktop.
4.4.11 Load settings...
If you select this menu item, you can load settings that
you have previously saved in a file. The file selector
is displayed; enter the name of the file containing the
settings required.
4.4.12 Save settings as...
If you select this menu option you can save the current
settings in a file whose name you can choose. In this way
you can have several files with different settings,
perhaps to suit different resolutions.
The file selector is displayed for you to enter the file
name.
5 Icons and Objects
5.1 Introduction
In this chapter we discuss the use of icons and the
objects they represent.
5.2 The ICON.RSC file
This file contains the bit-maps of the icons which you
can select in the 'Add icon' and 'Change icon' options in
the 'Install Desk Icon' and 'Install Window Icon' menu
item dialog boxes.
If you have a resource editor, you can add your own icons
to the file or replace those already there by your own.
The maximum size of an icon is 64 pixels wide by 32
pixels high and the maximum size of the file is 64 Kb.
Do not add other sorts of object to this resource file;
if you do, it will not load. Owners of a Mega STE or a
TT can also use the resource file which comes with these
computers in place of ICON.RSC as long as they copy it to
the DESKTOP folder and rename it as ICONS.RSC.
Note that the first 7 icons in the file are used to
represent:
1. Floppy disk drives
2. Hard disk partitions
3. Files
4. Programs
5. Folders
6. Trash cans
7. Printers
You can replace the default icons in the file by others
of your choice.
5.3 Opening objects and icons
An object in a directory window or on the desktop can be
opened by double clicking on it or by first selecting it
and using the 'Open' item in the 'File' menu.
What happens when you open an object depends what sort of
object it is; the results may be modified in several
cases by pressing the [Alternate] key as you open the
object. Other objects can be opened in other ways. The
results for the different objects are:
1. Disk drive.
A new window which contains the objects in its root
directory is opened.
Disk drives may also be opened by holding down
[Alternate] and pressing the key corresponding to
the letter of the drive.
If both the [Shift] and [Alternate] keys are held
down, a new window will not be opened, but the
directory will be displayed in the topmost window on
the desktop.
2. Folder
If the folder is represented by an icon on the
desktop, a new window containing its directory will
be opened.
If the folder is in a directory window, the contents
of that window will be replaced by the directory of
the folder, as with the standard desktop. If
[Alternate] is held down as the folder is opened, a
new window containing its directory will be opened.
Note that a folder name '..' behaves differently; it
stands for a folder one level higher. If you open
such a folder, the effect is to replace the contents
of the window by this higher level directory. If you
do this holding down [Alternate] a new window is
created containing this higher level directory.
3. File.
A. If the file is recognised as a program the
program will be invoked. If the program is of
GTP or TTP type, a dialog box will be displayed
first. You should enter the parameters required
in it.
B. If the file is not a program but matches one of
the masks set up in the 'Install application'
menu item, the associated program will be
started and the name of the file passed as a
parameter as described in section 3.3.
If you hold down [Alternate] as you open the
file, the associated program is not started and
it is not recognised as an application file.
C. With all other files, a dialog box is displayed
and you can opt to Show, Edit, Print or Cancel.
a. If you opt to view the file, a window is
opened and the contents of the file are
displayed in it. If the first 256 bytes
contain at least 90% ASCII character, the
file is displayed in ASCII mode, otherwise
it is displayed in HEX mode. See
section 6.2 for further details.
b. If you opt to edit the file, the editor
program defined in the 'Editor' menu
option (see paragraph 4.4.7) is run and
the name of the file is passed to it as a
parameter.
c. If you opt to print the file, its contents
are sent to your printer to be printed.
d. If you opt to cancel, you return to the
Tera Desktop.
5.5 Dragging Objects
Icons or objects (the Source object) can be dragged to
other icons or objects (The Destination object) by
holding down the left mouse button and moving to a new
position on the desktop. When the mouse button is finally
released, the result depends on both the source and
destination object.
The results for the various destination objects are
listed below. The first 4 destination require the source
to be a file or folder.
1. File, Folder --> Disk drive
Source files and folders (with their contents) are
copied into the drive.
If you want to perform a disk copy, use some program
such as FCOPY.
2. File, Folder --> Folder
Source files or folders will be copied into the
folder.
3. File, Folder --> Directory window
Source files or folders are copied into the
directory.
4. File, Folder --> Trashcan
The file or the folder together with its contents
are deleted.
For the next 2 destinations, the source can only be a
file:
5. File --> Program
The program is started and the name of the file
passed to it as a parameter (which it may ignore if
it is not of GTP or TTP type).
6. File --> Printer
The contents of the file are sent to the printer.
For the next destination, the source can be a file,
folder or drive.
7. File, Folder Drive --> Desktop
If the source object was already on the desktop, it
will be moved to a new position defined by the mouse
position when the button was released
If the source object was in a directory window, the
object will be installed on the desktop as an icon.
Once so installed it can be used as if it were in a
window.
Note that all copy operations mentioned above can be
modified by pressing [Control] as the mouse button is
released. When this is done, the file or folder is moved
rather than copied; this means that the source is deleted
after it is copied to the destination.
If, instead, [Alternate] is pressed as the button is
released, a dialog box is displayed. With the aid of this
you can rename the new version of the source which is
placed in the destination.
Note also that if a file or folder, which is installed in
the Tera Desktop as an icon, is deleted, the icon is
removed as well.
If during a copy operation, a file or folder with the
same name as the source is found in the destination, a
dialog box will appear. This gives you the opportunity to
rename both the source and destination object, to
overwrite the destination or to abort the operation or to
continue. This dialog box will be appear in all such
instances of a name conflict and cannot be switched off.
Finally note that a copy, delete or print operation can
be aborted by pressing [Esc]
6 Windows
Two kinds of window may be displayed on the desktop:
1. Directory windows
2. Text (or View) windows.
Several features of these have been discussed above. Here we
describe how to manipulate them.
You can control windows in the standard manner using the
various boxes and sliders. In Tera Desktop you can also
control them by pressing various keys; these produce specific
effects:
[Clr Home] Jump to top of window
[Shift] [Clr Home] Jump to bottom of window
[C] Close the window
Cursor (arrow) These keys scroll the window in the
direction of the arrow. If the Shift
key is pressed at the same time as
the arrow key, the window scroll over
a whole page, otherwise by a single
line or column.
6.1 Directory windows
The contents (folders and files) of a directory are shown
as in the standard desktop.
Certain additional keys have special effects:
[Esc] Read the directory again
^[C] Close the window
6.2 Text windows
The contents of a file are displayed. They may be
displayed either in ASCII mode or in Hex mode.
ASCII mode is suitable for readable text files while Hex
mode is more suitable for binary files.
Every text window has its own menu bar with one title,
'Viewer'. You must click on this to see the two items it
contains. i.e. it is a click down rather than a drop down
menu.
The first item, 'Tabsize' , shows a dialog box when
selected. In this you can set the tab size; the number of
columns skipped when a Tab symbol is encountered in the
text.
The second 'Hexmode', enables you to toggle between ASCII
mode and Hex mode. When 'Hexmode' is ticked, the file is
shown in hex mode.
Certain additional keys have special effects:
[Esc],[Q] Close the window
[Space bar] Scroll to next page
[Return] Scroll to next line
7 The ARGV protocol
In GEMDOS the length of a command line is limited to 125
characters. The ARGV protocol makes much longer command
lines possible.
A disadvantage of the protocol is that many programs do not
support such long command lines and may even crash. For this
reason Tera Desktop enables you to switch the protocol on and
off in 'Install application' and 'Program options'.
There are two ways you can avoid this difficulty with the ARGV
protocol:
1. Install programs which do not support the ARGV separately
using the 'Program options' menu item (see paragraph
4.4.8). Enter their full names in the list of program
mask but switch off the ARGV protocol for them. Make
sure you enter their names before any masks which they
might match.
2. Do the reverse of 1. Switch off the ARGV protocol for all
programs but enter the names of those that do separately.
Another possibility is to install them as applications with
the ARGV protocol switched off .
8 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for their
contribution to the Tera Desktop:
Ric Klaren,
Ger Hobbelt and
Hans Wessels for testing the Tera Desktop, designing
some icons and making some improvements
to the program code.
Keith Frisby and
Mark Matts for distributing and supporting the Tera
Desktop in the United Kingdom.
Ted Richards for rewritting the English manual.
Jean Jacques Cortes for translating the resource file in
French.
Wout Klaren
October 1993
