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CoPilot 1.01
--------------
by
Jack Radigan
Copyright (C) 1988, all rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER
------------
No warranties are expressed or implied as to the fitness
or mechantability of this program for any particular
purpose. The user assumes all risks and the responsibility
of any damages arising from the use or misuse of this
program. Outright bugs or problems inherent to CoPilot will
not be ignored and will be corrected when necessary, and if
possible, in a timely manner.
USE RESTRICTIONS
------------------
As a registered user you may use this program on any
Amiga computer you personally own AND use. Yes, this
includes having more than one machine running at the same
time as long as YOU are the only person operating each
machine. You are also entitled to as many backup copies as
you see fit.
This right is not applicable to corporate entities or
commercial establishments. A site license must be obtained
for the use of multiple copies of CoPilot under these
circumstances. Please write for further information
concerning site licenses.
Distribution or transmittal of this program and or it's
documentation by any means to any person or electronic
device other than your own is strictly prohibited.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
-----------------
CoPilot was developed with:
Aztec C68k 3.40a (C) 1987 Manx Software.
Lint 2.00j (C) 1987 Gimpel Software.
MicroEMACS 3.9a (C) 1987 Dan Lawerence.
Amiga, AmigaDOS, Kickstart, Workbench and Intuition are
trademarks of Commodore-Amiga Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. - Hardware Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. - Starting CoPilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1. - From the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.2. - From Workbench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.3. - From the Startup-Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.4. - The Default Macro Definition File. . . . . . . . 1
3. - Time-of-day display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4. - Keyboard Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5. - Gadget Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
6. - Hotkeys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.1. - CoPilot Hotkeys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.1.1. - <L-ALT><R-ALT> open-menu . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.1.2. - <L-AMIGA><R-AMIGA> display-to-front. . . . . 3
6.2. - Display Management Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6.2.1. - <L-ALT><L-AMIGA> screen-to-back. . . . . . . 4
6.2.2. - <R-ALT><R-AMIGA> window-to-back. . . . . . . 4
6.2.3. - <R-ALT><R-SHIFT> activate-next-window. . . . 4
6.2.4. - <R-AMIGA><R-SHIFT> window-to-front . . . . . 4
6.2.5. - <CTRL><ESC> close-window . . . . . . . . . . 4
6.2.6. - <L-ALT><ENTER> move-mouse. . . . . . . . . . 4
6.3. - Hotkey notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7. - Main Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.1. - Auto Pilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.2. - Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.3. - New CLI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.4. - Quick Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.4.1. - Elapsed Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.4.2. - Alarm Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.5. - Keyboard Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7.5.1. - Defining New Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7.5.2. - Adding Lines To String Macros. . . . . . . . 7
7.5.4. - Entering Control Characters. . . . . . . . . 8
7.5.5. - Editing String Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7.5.6. - Macro Quick-Find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7.5.7. - Using a Screen Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7.5.8. - Recording Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7.5.9. - Deleting Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
7.5.10. - Loading and Saving Macro Definitions. . . . 11
7.5.11. - The LoadMacros Program. . . . . . . . . . . 11
7.6. - Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.1. - ASCII Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.2. - Free Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.3. - Time Mode 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.4. - Screen Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.5. - Gadget Offset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.6.6. - Enable Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.6.7. - Hotkey Enable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.6.8. - Display Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.6.9. - Editor Pathname String Gadget. . . . . . . . 13
8. - Window Posistion Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
9. - Error Handling and Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
10. - Compatibility Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . 14
11. - Features not yet included . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
1. - Hardware Requirements
CoPilot may be used on the Amiga 500, 1000 or 2000 series
of computers. Kickstart 1.2 or greater, with a minimum of
256k of memory is also required. CoPilot occupies
approximatly 80k of memory when loaded. This does not
include any memory for user defined macros.
2. - Starting CoPilot
CoPilot may be started from the CLI or from Workbench, or
it can be started from the Startup-Sequence file that is
executed when the Amiga is booted.
2.1. - From the CLI
Use the AmigaDOS "Run" command to start CoPilot from the
CLI.
2.2. - From Workbench
Double-clicking the CoPilot icon will start CoPilot from
Workbench.
2.3. - From the Startup-Sequence
The method of starting CoPilot from the Startup-Sequence
file depends on if you are using Workbench too. For CLI
users it is sufficient to "Run CoPilot", but Workbench users
who wish to start CoPilot from the Startup-Sequence must use
the program "RunBack" in order to allow the initial CLI to
terminate. The program and documentation have been included
with CoPilot for your convenience.
2.4. - The Default Macro Definition File
When CoPilot is first started it attempts to load a
default macro file named "CoPilot.macros". There are two
places it will look for this file. The first is a logical
directory named "COPILOT:" which you assign with the
AmigaDOS Assign command. If the logical directory does not
exist the current directory will be searched.
Otherwise, a requester will be displayed to inform you
that it had not found the file.
- 1 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
3. - Time-of-day display
CoPilot provides a time-of-day display which resides in
the upper right corner of the Amiga's screen. The default
time format is 12 hour with an am/pm indicator and flashing
colon.
CoPilot uses the display to indicate when certain modes
are active while using CoPilot. There are also other display
options available to you for displaying 24 hour time format
and for displaying the amount of free chip and fast memory
left in the system.
4. - Keyboard Conventions
All references to keys are made with the usage
"<KEYNAME>". The term "hotkey" refers to a CoPilot function
that is permanently bound to a specific key combination. A
"keyboard macro" or "macro key" refers to a key combination
that is defined by you. These macros can either record all
mouse and keyboard activity or can contain text strings
only.
CoPilot has several hotkeys which control itself and the
Amiga display. All hotkeys are presented in the format
"<KEY1><KEY2>", both keys must be pressed simultaneously in
order to activate the hotkey's function. The designations
"L-" and "R-" refer to the left and right version of the
specified key.
The term "AMIGA" refers to the two keys located
immediately to the left and right of the space bar. The
majority of Amiga keyboards have a letter 'A' as the logo
denoting an "AMIGA" key, while some of the keyboards on the
500 and 2000 machines use different logos.
5. - Gadget Conventions
All of the gadgets in CoPilot windows may be selected by
either using the mouse or pressing the key of the first
letter for the desired gadget. CoPilot gadgets also
subscribe to a set of conventions that are detailed as
follows.
Selection gadgets are rectangular with rounded corners,
there are two types, represented by the colors white and
Workbench red. The white gadgets either select a function or
change windows within CoPilot.
The red ones represent caution since their function will
produce permanent results that cannot be recovered from. For
example, the "Load" and "Save" gadgets in the Macro Editor
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CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
will change your macro definitions PERMANENTLY.
The next class of gadget is a circle that may or may not
have a dot inside. These are toggle buttons that indicate
the state of the feature the gadget represents. The dot,
when present, means that the feature is currently active.
Another indicating gadget is a rectangle with square
corners. They have a red border and red text on a black
background. These gadgets show what the current mode is,
selecting it will change modes.
The last special gadget is the cursor gadget, it is bound
to the cursor key it represents. Currently, these gadgets
are used in the Macro Editor to navigate through each macro
definition.
You can also activate any of CoPilot's string gadgets by
pressing <RETURN> instead of clicking the gadget with the
mouse.
6. - Hotkeys
There are several functions that are assigned to certain
key combinations. Some of these "hotkeys" will affect the
Amiga's window and screen display and others control CoPilot
itself.
6.1. - CoPilot Hotkeys
There are two hotkeys that directly control CoPilot that
are described below. One other hotkey is used by CoPilot to
stop recording a macro or to stop playback of a macro. That
hotkey is discussed in the Macros section.
6.1.1. - <L-ALT><R-ALT> open-menu
When CoPilot is idle, this hotkey will open the main
menu. If one of CoPilot's windows is already open, this
hotkey will re-activate it. If the window is partially or
completely covered it will be moved to the front. If the
screen that the window was originally opened on is now
covered by another screen the window will be closed and
re-opened on the front screen.
6.1.2. - <L-AMIGA><R-AMIGA> display-to-front
This hotkey will bring the time-of-day display to the
front screen. I had wanted to make the pop-up feature
described in section 7.6.8 below do this automatically. But
- 3 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
attempts at making the pop-up work across screens would
occasionally cause the Amiga to guru. So, I have included
this hotkey instead. But, this hotkey gives you the added
responsibility of moving CoPilot to another screen BEFORE
closing the current screen. Otherwise you may get a visit
from the guru!
6.2. - Display Management Hotkeys
CoPilot also provides you with a set of hotkeys that
control the Amiga's display in a very flexible manner.
6.2.1. - <L-ALT><L-AMIGA> screen-to-back
Moves the front screen to the back of all screens.
6.2.2. - <R-ALT><R-AMIGA> window-to-back
Moves the active window to the back and then activates
the next window in the window list. If the window is
partially or completely covered by another window it will be
moved to the front of the screen. This hotkey will not work
if the active window has a string gadget active.
6.2.3. - <R-ALT><R-SHIFT> activate-next-window
Activate the next window in the window list. This hotkey
will not work if the active window has a string gadget
active.
6.2.4. - <R-AMIGA><R-SHIFT> window-to-front
Bring the active window to the front of the screen.
Again, this hotkey will not work if the window has an active
string gadget.
6.2.5. - <CTRL><ESC> close-window
Close current window if it has a close gadget. This
feature is implemented by moving the mouse pointer over the
close gadget and simulating a press of the left mouse
button.
6.2.6. - <L-ALT><ENTER> move-mouse
Moves mouse pointer to the lower right corner of screen.
This is not the <RETURN>, it's the <ENTER> key on the
- 4 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
keypad. This function is performed once when CoPilot is
first started up.
6.3. - Hotkey notes
Several windows may seem to pop up and back when you use
the window-to-back hotkey after a new window(s) has been
opened. This is because windows, unlike screens, are not
maintained in a true front to back order. After using this
macro a few times CoPilot will have re-arranged the windows
so that this will not happen again until more windows are
opened.
You may also occasionally notice that all of the windows
seem to be inactive after using the window-to-back and
activate-next-window hotkeys. What actually happened is a
"backdrop" window is now activated.
Backdrop windows always stay behind all the other
windows, so it will never pop to the front. Most backdrop
windows also lack a title so you can't tell that is active.
Two good examples of backdrop windows are the Workbench
screen and the MicroEmacs editor on the Extras disk.
7. - Main Menu
The main menu of CoPilot currently has six selection
gadgets, one string gadget and the red "Exit" gadget.
7.1. - Auto Pilot
This function will be implemented in a future release of
CoPilot.
7.2. - Date
The "Date" gadget will display the day and date for four
seconds whenever it is selected.
7.3. - New CLI
The "New CLI" gadget will start another CLI for you. If
you are using CoPilot from Workbench, the current directory
it will have will be the directory that was current when
CoPilot was first started.
If you're using CoPilot from the CLI, the current
directory will be the current directory of the AmigaDOS CLI.
- 5 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
7.4. - Quick Timer
The Quick Timer has two modes of operation, one is an
elapsed timer and the other is an alarm timer.
The time-of-day display is used to indicate the state
that the Quick Timer is in. When counting, either up or
down, an asterisk '*' will be placed on either side of the
time display. If the timer is stopped, but has not been
reset, a dash '-' will be displayed.
The "Timer Display" gadget is turned on when the Quick
Timer window is first opened. If you activate the timer and
do not turn off this gadget, the timer will continue to be
displayed after you close the Quick Timer window.
The "Reset Timer" gadget will reset the Quick Timer to
zero and can be selected at any time.
7.4.1. - Elapsed Timer
The elapsed-time mode can be started only while the timer
is reset. Selecting the "Start/Stop" gadget toggles the
elapsed timer the same as a stop watch.
7.4.2. - Alarm Timer
There are two methods of setting the alarm timer. The
first is by using the gadget labeled "Add 15 min.". This
lets you set the alarm timer in increments of 15 minutes.
The string gadget labeled "Set:" enables you to enter any
time value you want. To activate the gadget, simply press
<RETURN> then enter the time in the following format:
HH:MM:SS
CoPilot requires you to enter the colons so that it can
distinguish between hours, minutes and seconds, leading
zeros are not necessary. The minutes and seconds entries can
not exceed 59. The hours entry has an upper limit of 99
hours. The following are all valid entries as far as CoPilot
is concerned.
39:37:20 - 39 hours, 37 minutes, 20 seconds.
:10: - 0 "" 10 "" 0 ""
::20 - 0 "" 0 "" 20 ""
If the time entered is an illegal format or the time
requested is outside the range of 99:59:59, you will be
informed by CoPilot with a message requester.
- 6 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
After the desired time is set, select the "Start/Stop"
gadget to start the alarm counting down. When the alarm
times out, CoPilot will open Quick Timer and three beeps
will sound every second until you select the "Reset Timer"
gadget.
7.5. - Keyboard Macros
Each of the 46 alpha-numeric keys located in the main
portion of the keyboard can have up to 6 macros defined.
This is accomplished by using "qualifiers" which are two key
combinations of the <CTRL>, <ALT> and <AMIGA> keys.
The three qualifiers are:
<CTRL><ALT> or <CTRL><AMIGA> or <ALT><AMIGA>
So, each key can have 3 macros defined for the un-shifted
key and 3 more for the shifted version. This gives you a
total of 276 keyboard macros. You may find it convienent to
use your left hand to control the qualifier and shift keys
while using your right hand to press the desired macro key.
7.5.1. - Defining New Macros
To define a new macro, you first set the "Qualifier"
gadget to the combination that you will use for the macro.
Then select the toggle gadget labeled "New". Remember, you
can select a gadget by pressing the key of the first letter
of the gadget you want.
After you actvate the new-macro mode the string gadget
labeled "Key" will activate, the character you enter here
determines which keyboard macro you are going to define.
After entering the desired macro key, the gadget labeled
"Type:" will change color indicating that you are to select
the macro type. By pressing <RETURN> you tell CoPilot that
you want a string macro. If you select the "Type" gadget, by
mouse or by pressing <T>, you will instruct CoPilot to
record this macro.
If you press <RETURN> before entering a character in the
key string gadget, you will activate the screen-editor mode
which allows you to create a string macro using a screen
editor.
You can exit the new-macro mode by turning off the "New"
gadget or by pressing <RETURN> until both "New" and "Edit"
are off.
- 7 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
7.5.2. - Adding Lines To String Macros
After pressing <RETURN> in response to the "Type:"
gadget, the gadget labeled "Add line" will turn on and the
edit string gadget will activate. This indicates that you
are in the add-line mode. This mode is used for both making
new macros and for adding lines to an existing macro.
The edit string can have a maximum of 132 characters, but
can display only 35 of them at any one time. In case you
want to abort any changes you've made while editing, use the
<R-AMIGA>-Q sequence. If you want to clear the string
gadget, use the <R-AMIGA>-X sequence. Both of these are
standard Intuition features for string gadgets that have
"undo" buffers attached to them.
When you are finished with the line of text, press
<RETURN>. This adds the line of text to the macro you're
working on. The gadget will clear and reactivate again so
that you can add another line of text.
When you've finished entering the text you want, press
<RETURN> while the string gadget is empty. This will turn
off the add-line mode and, if you are in new-macro mode,
re-activate the key string gadget so that you can create
another macro.
7.5.4. - Entering Control Characters
Since Intuition string gadgets do not allow you to enter
control characters, a method of entering them has been
provided for you. By preceeding a character with a '^'
character, CoPilot will interpet it as a control character.
For example, the sequence "^m" will be interpeted as a
<RETURN>. The sequence "^[" will be interpeted as an <ESC>
key. To include the '^' character itself, use the sequence
"^^".
Be aware that pressing <RETURN> only enters that string
into the macro definition. It will not become part of the
macro, if you need a <RETURN>, you must include the "^m"
sequence as described above.
7.5.5. - Editing String Macros
Several options are available to you for editing a string
macro that is already defined. First, set the "Qualifier"
gadget to the correct combination for the macro you wish to
edit. Then, use the left or right cursor keys to scroll
through the macros until the macro key you want to edit is
visible.
- 8 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
If the line you wish to change is already visible in the
edit string, all you have to do is press <RETURN> to
activate the string gadget. Edit the string and press
<RETURN> when finished.
If the macro contains more than one line and the string
you want to edit is not currently displayed, use the up and
down cursors to find the string you want to change. Press
<RETURN> to activate and edit as above.
If you want to add a one or more lines of text to the
macro, turn the "Add line" gadget button on. Pressing
<RETURN> in an empty line will turn off the add-line mode.
If you need to insert a line of text somewhere in the
middle of the macro definition or wish to add lines at the
beginning of the macro, activate the "Insert line" gadget.
Like the add-line mode, pressing return on an empty string
will turn off the insert-line mode. The inserted line(s)
will be placed ahead of the line that was displayed when you
activated the insert line mode.
7.5.6. - Macro Quick-Find
The edit string always activates after pressing <RETURN>,
but by pressing <RETURN> twice in a row you will activate
the key string gadget. You are now in quick-find mode which,
by entering a key, will search the macro definitions and
display it if found. A message requester will inform you if
it is not defined yet.
7.5.7. - Using a Screen Editor
The button gadget labeled "Edit" allows you to use a
screen editor for creating and changing string macros. The
screen editor used is the AmigaDOS Ed by default, you can
request CoPilot to use a different editor by changing the
default pathname in the Settings window discussed below.
Instead of the "Type:" gadget lighting up, you will be
placed in the default editor for the Amiga which is "Ed".
You must follow the same conventions for entering control
characters as described above.
You can also use the screen editor to modify a string
macro by selecting the "Edit" gadget when the macro you wish
to edit is visible.
When you leave the screen editor, the entries you made
will be translated by CoPilot and attached to the macro key.
If you decide to exit the editor with the abort command, the
macro will be unchanged. If it was a new macro, CoPilot will
- 9 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
remove it from the macro list.
All null lines will be deleted when the edited file is
converted to a macro. Include a space if you want the line
to remain.
7.5.8. - Recording Macros
Selecting the "Type:" gadget while in the new-macro mode
will open up a requester in front of the Macro Editor. This
requester lets you enter an optional description of what
you're about to record and toggle the mouse-movement-record
mode.
The button gadget "Record mouse movement" enables you to
record actual mouse movement while either mouse button is
pressed. Be careful though, this feature can generate an
awful lot of data very quickly! It was included for
completeness of the record function, but will probably be
rarely used.
If you select the "OK" gadget or press <RETURN> after
entering the description string, both the requester and the
Macro Editor will close. You will now be in record mode,
which is signified by the two question marks that appear in
the time-of-day display.
From this point on, all key and mouse button presses will
be recorded by CoPilot. It also records the time that has
elapsed between each event so that it can play back the
macro accurately.
When you are finished recording, you notify CoPilot by
pressing both <SHIFT> keys simultaneously. The question
marks will disappear and the Macro Editor will re-open with
the key string gadget active so that you can add your next
macro. Also, if you open the Macro Editor window while
recording CoPilot will stop the recording as if you had
pressed both <SHIFT> keys yourself.
The double shift key sequence can also be used to cancel
the playback of a recorded macro at anytime. Two exclamation
points will appear in the time-of-day display while a
recorded macro is being played back.
At the present time, there is no method of editing or
appending the recorded data in a macro. You must remove the
macro from the list and then re-record it if you want it
changed.
One last word on recorded macros before moving on. If the
operation that you're recording causes a disk access, say,
loading one of the libraries from the system disk, make sure
- 10 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
you record the macro prior to having the library loaded.
Otherwise, the correct time delays will not be recorded.
This will cause the macro to get out of synch if the library
has to be loaded during playback.
7.5.9. - Deleting Macros
The gadget labeled "Remove" will delete the macro that is
currently displayed in the key string. The gadget labeled
"Delete" will delete line that is visible in the edit
string. If you delete the last line of a string macro, the
whole macro will be removed too.
The labels "Remove" and "Delete" were used so that full
keyboard usage could be achieved, hope it doesn't throw you
off too much at first!
7.5.10. - Loading and Saving Macro Definitions
By default, the macro definitions will be loaded or saved
to the "CoPilot.macros" definition file. If you have
assigned "COPILOT:" to a directory then the full pathname
would be "COPILOT:CoPilot.macros". Otherwise, the file will
be saved to the current directory that CoPilot was started
from.
When either gadget is selected, a requester will open
with a string gadget activated. The pathname will be in the
string gadget, by pressing <RETURN> you will confirm that
you wish to load or save the definitions using this
pathname. Edit the pathname if you wish the macro
definitions to be loaded or saved to or from a different
macro file.
When saving macro definitions there must be at least one
macro defined. Otherwise, a macro defintion file will not be
created.
You may cancel a load or save operation by selecting the
"CANCEL" gadget.
7.5.11. - The LoadMacros Program
This program gives you the ability to tell CoPilot to
load a macro definition file with a CLI command. The best
use you will find for this program is to include it in a
batch file for loading a macro file that has definitions
that are specific to an application.
LoadMacros has exactly one parameter, the complete
pathname of a macro definition file you wish CoPilot to load
- 11 -
CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
for you. For example, typing the the command
LoadMacros Comm:macros
will load the macro defintion file named "macros" from
the volume labled "Comm".
If CoPilot is not running LoadMacros will not continue.
It also checks that exactly one pathname was entered on the
command line.
7.6. - Settings
The Settings window provides eight toggle buttons that
control certain features within CoPilot. There is also a
string gadget for changing the default screen editor used by
the Macro Editor.
7.6.1. - ASCII Bell
Normally, the Amiga rapidly flashes the display for a
brief instant when either an error occurs or when a <CTRL>-G
character is sensed. With CoPilot, you now have the option
of sounding a bell instead. This feature is controlled with
the "ASCII bell" gadget.
7.6.2. - Free Memory
The "Free memory" gadget will display chip and fast ram
that is currently available. The display will remain on
until this gadget is turned off again.
7.6.3. - Time Mode 24
The gadget "Time mode 24" will display the time-of-day in
24 hour format. This format displays hours, minutes and
seconds.
7.6.4. - Screen Saver
The "Screen saver", when active, will turn off the
Amiga's display after five minutes without keyboard or mouse
button activity. This feature prevents the phosphor in your
monitor from being burned out. To turn the display back on
press any key or mouse button. This event will be trapped so
that the active window does not receive it.
7.6.5. - Gadget Offset
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The "Gadget offset" deals with the clock display. When
active, the display is posistioned to the immediate left of
the depth gadgets. When off, the display will be placed to
the extreme right of the title.
7.6.6. - Enable Macros
"Enable macros", when active, allows CoPilot to send
keyboard macros. This was added in case the macros intefere
with another application that you're running.
7.6.7. - Hotkey Enable
Like the "Enable macros" gadget above, the "Hotkey
enable" gadget will activate the hotkeys used by CoPilot.
7.6.8. - Display Pop-Up
When the "Display pop-up" gadget is active, the clock
display will pop to the front of the current screen it is
attached to whenever it is covered by another window. As
described in section 6.1 above, this feature will not move
the clock to another screen when the screens are changed
because of the possibility of a guru occuring.
7.6.9. - Editor Pathname String Gadget
The string gadget labeled "Editor" is where you place the
full path name of the text editor you wish to use for the
macro editor. This pathname will be saved in the macro
defintion file for future use. The default editor pathname
is "C:Ed".
8. - Window Posistion Memory
When any CoPilot window is opened, it will be centered on
the front screen. If you drag the window to a different
location, CoPilot will retain this posistion so that the
window will re-open at the same place again.
If you change to a screen that has a different horizontal
or vertical resolution, the window posistion will be reset
to the center when you open the window again.
9. - Error Handling and Messages
All soft errors are reported by a requester with an "OK"
gadget and an optional "CANCEL" gadget. When just the "OK"
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CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
is present it is an informational error that has no impact
on CoPilot or the Amiga. When the "CANCEL" gadget is
present, you are given a choice to go ahead with the
function you selected, or you may cancel that function
without any further incident.
Dead-end errors that prevent CoPilot from continuing are
handled via recoverable alerts.
You can test this by trying to run CoPilot again with
another CoPilot already running.
10. - Compatibility Considerations
CoPilot maintains full compatibility with the Amiga 500,
1000 and 2000 computers by examining the active keymap when
it first starts up. This is necessary because there are a
few minor differences between the keymaps of the three
machines. For this reason, you cannot change keymaps once
CoPilot has loaded.
CoPilot is fully compatible with all the keymaps on the
Workbench 1.2 disk and dead-keys are fully supported too.
Be aware that using macros recorded on one style of
machine might not work as expected on another machine.
String macros will not be affected, only recorded ones.
11. - Features not yet included
The following features described below are currently
under development. Some may not be included in the version
you receive after registering. You will be notified when
future versions including these features will be released.
Macros do not yet have the capability of calling or
"nesting" other macros. If you trigger a macro while
recording another macro, all output from the macro will be
recorded too, instead of just the macro key sequence itself.
Provisions for instant screen blanking will be provided
as well as varing the time before blanking occurs.
Keyboard lock-out with password protection, it will have
the ability to engage automatically if the screen blanks, or
can be activated immediately.
An Auto Pilot facility is currently being designed. It
will enable you to trigger macros or execute AmigaDOS
commands and/or batch files at programmed time intervals.
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CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
Due to the recent outbreak of virus-like programs that
"infect" disks, a provision for running a program everytime
a disk is inserted is under consideration.
Other possibilities currently under evaluation are not
discussed here because it's uncertain if they will be
included in a future version of CoPilot.
Feel free to submit any suggestions you may have to
enhance CoPilot. Try to stay away from features that would
be best served as seperate tasks. One that comes to mind,
and has been played to death, is the ever popular directory
utility.
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CoPilot 1.01 Users Manual
I can be reached through the following services.
BIX - jradigan
GEnie - JRADIGAN
CompuServe - 76545,201
People Link - JRADIGAN
The W.E.L.L. - jrad
Please leave me e-mail if you have any problems or have
found any bugs. I ususally call each system once a week to
check for e-mail. If you see a message from me on a BBS then
you can try to reach me there too.
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