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Text File | 1995-11-20 | 23.2 KB | 576 lines

Instructions for !DeskCtrl by Andrew Sellors ***************************************************************************** * NOTE: * * !DeskCtrl is Shareware. * * It is part of the Outline Wimp desktop enhancement package and must not * * distributed without the accompanying files. * * * * You may use this software for a trial period of 30 days. If, after this * * you decide you would like to continue using it then you are required to * * Register. See the ReadMe1st file for details of registering * * * * This version maybe freely copied and distributed, provided that it is * * complete with all original files, and that you do not sell it. * * PD libraries may charge a nominal fee for the cost of duplication, * * postage etc. * * * * In no circumstances shall the author be liable for any damage, loss of * * profits, time or data or any indirect or consequential loss rising out of * * the use of this software or inability to use this software. * ***************************************************************************** Contents: --------- Features Compatibility Operation Iconbar menu "Edit Palette" window "Mode Selector" window Hot-Keys "Desktop Font Setup" window "Texture Setup" window "Desktop Control Setup" window "CMOS RAM Setup" window Clicking on iconbar icon Auto loading of extension modes Configuring the Colour and Resolution menus Adding mode definitions Removing "Quit" from the menu Contacting the author Credits ******************************************************************************** Features -------- Replaces Palette Utility on iconbar. Provides palette chooser and facility for loading and saving palette files. Saves current mode and palette in "DeskBoot" file like the Palette Utility. Provides RiscPC style mode picker with configurable menus for different monitor types, whilst still allowing modes to be selected by number. Provides "Hot-Keys" for quick selection of modes. Provides easy selection of the configuration parameters of the outline font windowmanager. Provides easy loading of sprites for the textured window background windowmanager and display of texture allocations. (Only with registered version of outline font windowmanager, see ReadMe1st file) Loads up extension mode Relocatable Modules placed in "Mode" directory on startup. Uses 3D bit in CMOS RAM to select 2D or 3D windows _and_ iconsprites on startup. NOTE: Read about "CMOS RAM Setup" window below for how to turn on 3D windows. Provides facility to alter options in CMOS RAM that do not have *configure commands. ******************************************************************************** Compatibility: -------------- This program is for RISC OS 3.10 or later. The program will function without the outline font windowmanager loaded, just with the features of configuring the windowmanager removed. ******************************************************************************** Operation: ---------- When the !DeskCtrl icon is double-clicked, DeskCtrl installs itself on the icon bar in the place of the Palette Utility, the palette utility is still however running as it is needed to respond to the *Desktop_SetPalette command. When Quit, the Palette Utility is restarted and replaces DeskCtrl on the icon bar. ******************************************************************************** Iconbar menu ------------ +-----------+ | DeskCtrl | +-----------+ | Info ⇨ | ⇨ opens "About this program" window | Palette | Opens "Edit Palette" window | Mode ⇨ | Opens "Mode Selector" window, ⇨ submenu allows mode to be set | Font | Opens "Desktop Font Setup" window. by number | Texture | Opens "Texture Setup" window. | CMOS | Opens "CMOS RAM Setup" window. | Options | Opens "Desktop Control Setup" window. | Quit | Quits program (can be removed, see below). +-----------+ ******************************************************************************** "Edit Palette" window --------------------- This allows the 16 colour desktop palette, the mouse pointer colours and the screen border colour to be altered. "RGB" group ----------- The proportions of the red, green and blue constituents of each colour can be changed by either dragging the coloured bars or by typing the number into the writeable icon to the left of the corresponding bar and pressing RETURN. The "Round RGB Continuously" option makes the program mimic the Palette Utility by only allowing the proportions of each colour to change in multiples of 16. Clicking on the "Round RGB" button causes the values of the colour bars to be rounded to a multiple of 16. For the technically minded, the rounding process keeps the bottom 8 bits of the value set at zero. "Colours" group --------------- The array of buttons to the left of this group select the colour that the colour bars alter when they are dragged or the number typed in. The top two numbered rows correspond to the 16 wimp colours and the bottom row the border and mouse pointer colours. The current colour and its number (or name for the border and mouse colours) are shown to the right. Clicking on the "Save" icon causes a savebox to pop up which allows the current palette to be saved as a palette file. Clicking on the "Close" icon closes the window, all the changes made when it was open are kept. Clicking on the "Default" icon sets the wimp palette to its default colours. ******************************************************************************** "Mode Selector" window ---------------------- This allow the screen mode to be changed. When opened the current screen mode's details (if known) are entered into the "Colours" and "Resolution" boxes. If !DeskCtrl has not been configured to know about the current mode that is selected then an error message is displayed when this window is opened. See the section "Adding mode definitions" below for instructions on how to add new modes to !DeskCtrl Clicking on the menu icon to the right of the number of colours brings up a menu allowing a new number of colours to be selected. If a mode with the selected resolution is not defined in that number of colours then a new resolution is chosen. Clicking on the menu icon to the right of the resolution brings up a menu allowing a new resolution to be selected. If, like with the colours, the selected number of colours cannot be provided at that resolution then a new number of colours is chosen. Clicking on the "Change" icon with Select changes the screen mode to the selected one and closes the window, if the icon is clicked on with Adjust then the window is left open when the new mode is selected. Clicking on the "Cancel" icon closes the window without changing the screen mode. The resolution menu is chosen for the particular monitor configured and both menus are fully user definable, thus users with graphics enhancer cards can add more resolutions and colours to the menus, see below for details. ******************************************************************************** Hot-Keys --------- The program provides hot-keys to allow quick mode selection. These work be advancing the selection of the resolution or colour menus. <Alt>+(Cursor Up> changes the mode to the next resolution down in the menu. With the provided menus this increases the resolution. <Alt>+<Cursor Down> changes the mode to the next resolution up in the menu. With the provided menus this decreases the resolution. <Alt>+<Cursor Left> changes the mode to the next number of colours up in the menu. With the provided menus this decreases the number of colours. <Alt>+<Cursor Right> changes the mode to the next number of colours down in the menu. With the provided menus this increases the number of colours. As with the selections on the colour and resolution menus on the "Mode Selector" window, if the number of colours or resolution is undefined then new ones will be chosen. ******************************************************************************** "Desktop Font Setup" window --------------------------- This window allows the outline font windowmanager to be configured without having to use the command line. The window is only displayed if the outline font windowmanager is installed, otherwise the menu option on the main menu is greyed out. "Font" group ------------ The box at the top of the window shows the fontname of the outline font used by the windowmanager, it can be changed by clicking on the menu icon to the right which brings up the standard font menu. The menu is updated every time it is shown so that it will take account of new fonts as and when they are added to the system. The writeable icon below labelled "Size" allow the font size in points to be changed by either typing it in or using the up and down arrow icons to increment or decrement the number. The writeable icon below labelled "Aspect X:Y" allow the aspect ratio to be set in a similar way to the font size. An aspect ratio of less than 100% squashes the letter's length and greater than 100% stretches them. The aspect ratio only changes the length and not the height of the letters. "Text" group ------------ The "Justify key short-cuts" option selects whether the key short-cut text is right justified in menus. This makes them look better when a proportionally spaced font is used. The "Use font 'WimpMisc' option selects the use of the font 'WimpMisc' which contains some of the characters that normal outline fonts lack, such as the set of arrow characters. When this option is selected, "Replace up arrow with" is turned off as both cannot be turned on at the same time. The "Replace up arrow with" option selects whether the up arrow character, which is used in key short-cut descriptions in menus, is replaced by the character defined below. This is useful as most outline fonts do not contain a up arrow character and therefore, without any replacement, the key short-cuts would be very confusing. The character used can be set by either typing it's ASCII code in the writable icon and pressing RETURN or by using the up and down arrow icons to scroll through the possibilities. The character selected is shown in the box to the left of it's ASCII code. When this option is selected, "Use font 'WimpMisc' is turned off as both cannot be turned on at the same time. Clicking on "Change" with Select configures the windowmanager as selected and then closes the window, clicking with Adjust configures the windowmanager but leaves the window open. Clicking on "Cancel" closes the window without making any changes. Read the !Help file for the !WimpPatch application for more details on the outline font windowmanager. ******************************************************************************** "Texture Setup" window ---------------------- This window allows the textured window backgrounds of the registered outline font windowmanager to be configured without using the command line. If the unregistered windowmanager patch is being used or just the normal windowmanager then the menu option to open the window is greyed out. Unlike some of the other dialogue boxes in !DeskCtrl, operations with this window are performed immediately instead of only when the "OK" button is pressed. A sprite file containing texture tiles can be loaded by dragging its icon to the "Texture Setup" window. The filename of the currently loaded sprite file is shown in the "Texture File:" box. If no file is loaded then "<None>" is shown instead. The centre portion of the window shows tables of what tiles have been loaded. Up the side of the tables are the Wimp background colours and along the top are the number of bits per pixel of the modes: "1" = 1bpp = 2 colours "2" = 2bpp = 4 colours "4" = 4bpp = 16 colours "8" = 8bpp = 256 colours "D" = Default tile - the tile that is used if no specific tile is provided for the current colour depth of the screen mode. Different tiles can be defined for different window background colours. They can also be defined for specific colour depths to speed up plotting. A typical configuration would be to provide a 16 colour default tile and a specific 256 colour tile for 8bpp modes. This would mean that in 256 colour modes where the most work is done to perform the tiling, a 1:1 match between the tile and the screen is provided resulting in the optimum tiling speed with the 16 colour default tile being used for all other colour depths. See the !Help file of the registered !WimpPatch for more details. The "Use Textures" option selects whether the tiling of window backgrounds is turned on or off. This option can be on if no tiles have been loaded, the backgrounds will still be the normal colours though. Clicking on the "Kill Textures" button, turns off textured window backgrounds and removes the textures file from memory, freeing the memory used. The "Close" button closes the window, no other buttons are present at the bottom of the window as the actions are performed immediately. ******************************************************************************** "Desktop Control Setup" window ----------------------------- This window allows the configuration options that are loaded as the program starts to be changed and saved. "Icon-Bar Click Open:" group ---------------------------- This group of icons allow the selection of the window that is opened when the iconbar icon is clicked on with Select and Adjust. This allows frequently used windows like the "Mode Selector" to be opened by clicking on the iconbar icon rather then having to use the menu. Clicking on "Set" with Select applies the changes made and closes the window, clicking with Adjust applies the changes but leaves the window open. In either case the options are not saved and so will be lost when the program is quit. Clicking on "Cancel" closes the window without altering the options. Clicking on "Save" performs the same action as "Set" except that the options are saved so that they will be used the next time the program is run. Clicking on "Default" changes the options to the default setting without actually applying them. When the options are saved, the state of the "Round RGB Continuously" option in the "Edit Palette" window is saved also. ******************************************************************************** "CMOS RAM Setup" window ----------------------- This window allows you to change those options in the CMOS RAM that do not have *configure commands. "Desktop" group --------------- "Use solid-drags" selects whether solid-drags are turned on for when file icons are dragged. This will only affect solid-drag aware programs such as this one which will show the icon of the file as it is moved to it's destination rather than the normal dotted-line box. Sadly the filer is not solid-drag aware, but the excellent "FilerPatch" by Jens H. Ovesen (available in most good PD libraries) provides this and many other useful features. "Use dither more often". With this off the wimp only dithers the grey scale colours in 2 colour modes. With this on, in all modes, any wimp colour that does not match any the hardware can display will be dithered. "Use 3D look" selects whether programs should use 2D or 3D windows. This is only for programs that are aware of this, such as this program and !Printers v1.22+. "Hardware" group ---------------- "Do long power-on tests" selects whether the long or short hardware test is performed when the computer is first turned on. On ARM 2 machines this takes a while so you might want to turn it off. Clicking on "Change" with Select updates the CMOS RAM with the selections made and then closes the window, clicking with Adjust updates the CMOS RAM but leaves the window open. Clicking on "Cancel" closes the window without making any changes. ******************************************************************************** Clicking on iconbar icon ------------------------ Clicking with either Select or Adjust on the iconbar icon opens up the windows configured by the "Desktop Control Setup" window. This allows frequently used windows such as the "Mode Selector" to be brought up quickly without having to use the menu. ******************************************************************************** Auto loading of extension modes ------------------------------- Any Relocatable Modules placed in the "Mode" directory will be loaded by the program when it starts up. This is included to load modules that provide extra resolutions and or colours, of which 4 new modes are provided with this program. They are: Mode 32: 800x600 256 colours. Mode 116: 1024x348 2 colours. Mode 117: 1024x348 4 colours. Mode 118: 1024x348 16 colours. Note: All these modes are for multisync monitors only and are already included in the multisync resolution menu. IMPORTANT NOTE: Depending on what model of computer you have, your VIDC may not be able to display mode 32. Older machines with 8Mhz memory (A300, A440, A400/1, A3000) can not display this mode, even if they have a 36Mhz oscillator fitted, as there is not enough memory bandwidth. (It will work without a 36Mhz oscillator, but like the other 800x600 modes at this lower refresh rate, the flicker makes it unusable) Machines with the ARM 250 (A30x0, A4000) can display this mode as the memory and the VIDC is fast enough. The A5000 may be able to display this mode, it depends on the individual VIDC chip. Chip production is variable and as this mode is near the rated limits of the VIDC10, some chips may and some may not be able to display it. I don't know whether you will damage your VIDC if it is run out of spec., but I would advise that you don't use it if you see "snow" on the screen or the chip gets to hot. ******************************************************************************** Configuring the Colour and Resolution menus ------------------------------------------- The colour and resolution menus are defined in the "Messages" file held in the application directory. Load this file into a text editor such as "!Edit" by double clicking on the !DeskCtrl icon in the filer window with the shift key pressed to open up the contents of the application directory and then dragging the "Messages" file icon to the "!Edit" icon. The colour menu is defined by the line: menu.col:2,4,16,256 more colours can be added simply by adding the text to the end NOTE: When the number of colours is changed, the mode definitions need to be changed also, see below for details. Eg. menu.col: 2,4,16,256,32 thousand,16 million The resolution menu is defined by a line, such as: menu.res3: 320 x 256,640 x 250,640 x 256_,640 x 480 There are six resolution menus defined, the number at the end of "menu.res" indicating for which monitor type they are used. The above example is monitor type 3, VGA. Note, the menu entry "640 x 256" has an underscore "_" after the text. This causes a dotted line to be placed below this item in the menu and can be used to separate groups of mode to make the menu easier to read. Any defined resolutions can be added to the menus, the program does not check of that particular monitor type can display it, if it can't then the wimp selects a different mode that is supported. ******************************************************************************** Adding mode definitions ----------------------- The definitions of the modes that the colour and resolution menus correspond to are also present at the end of the "Messages" file. The reason that the definitions are in the file and not read from the operating system when the program is running is that it allows multiple modes to be defined with the same resolution and number of colours. For example, on my system I have my own set of 800x600 modes defined as modes 108 to 110 and use these instead of modes 29 to 31 which are provided by RISC OS, thus on my system the definition for the 800x600 resolution holds the numbers 108 to 110 rather than 29 to 31. A resolution definition comprises of a tag on the left and then a comma separated list of modes as long as the number of colours defined in the colour menu, the first number corresponding to the first number of colours entry in the colour menu and so on. If a resolution does not have a mode number for a particular number of colours then its mode number is entered as -1. Eg. m.800x600: 29, 30, 31, -1 Would describe the resolution 800x600 (note the m. before the resolution). This corresponds to a colour menu with 4 entries and this resolution is undefined in the 4th entry in the colour menu (256 colours). When adding more modes for graphics enhancers etc. , the text between the "m." and the ":" must match the text in the resolution menu but with the spaces removed. Thus an entry "m.1024x768:" would correspond to the item "1024 x 768" in the resolution menu. If the number of colour entries is changed in the colour menu then all the mode definitions have to be updated to include -1's for the resolutions that do not support the numbers of colours added. ******************************************************************************** Removing "Quit" from the menu ----------------------------- The "Quit" option at the bottom of the iconbar menu can be removed to prevent the program being accidentally quit: Load the "Messages" file in the !DeskCtrl directory into a text editor such as !Edit and look for the the line: menu.main:Info,Palette,Mode,Font,Texture,CMOS,Options,Quit and remove the "Quit" entry from the end, thus: menu.main:Info,Palette,Mode,Font,Texture,CMOS,Options and save the file. The next time !DeskCtrl is loaded, the option will be gone from the menu, but the program can still be quit using the taskmanager. ******************************************************************************** Contacting the author -------------------- I, Andrew Sellors, can be contacted either at 57 Boundaries Road Feltham Middlesex TW13 5DR England Or via Internet email at asellors@orac2.demon.co.uk Any feedback from users (bugs reports, requests for new features etc.) is gladly received. ******************************************************************************** Credits ------- Thanks must go to Paul Coucher who beta tested the previous versions and pointed out all the bugs in both this program and the outline font patch for the window manager. This program was written with the help of the basic library linker, !Blib by Ian Palmer and the folowing libraries Event - © Ian Palmer, 1st March 1993 Icon - © Ian Palmer & Tom Hughes, 1st March 1993 Memory - © Ian Palmer, 1st March 1993 Menu - © Ian Palmer, 1st March 1993 Message - © Tom Hughes 28th January 1993 OS - © Ian Palmer, 1st March 1993 Sprite - © Tom Hughes 1st March 1993 Template - © Ian Palmer & Tom Hughes, 2nd March 1993 Transfer - © Tom Hughes 26th February 1993 Window - © Ian Palmer & Tom Hughes, 1st March 1993