CreateAlias V1.0 documentation

Introduction

CreateAlias makes links, but isn't another Makelink. It actually even
doesn't do a thing invoked on a shell (there is a load of other utilities
to do this much better than I could ever imagine ;). CreateLink is a
Workbench tool that allows you to create links and associated .info files
using a mouse. Installed under the Tools-menu, it might give the Amiga a
bit of the simpleness that makes System 7 fun to use (and easy to
understand for beginners).


Installation

Is plain simple. Drag where you like ;) Consider though that pre-2.x
Kickstarts are not supported.


Usage

Click CreateAlias, shift-click the drawers or files you want to create
links for, shift-double-click the last icon to launch (as you might have
guessed).

If the FIRST shift-clicked icon is a drawer AND there is more arguments,
the links will automatically be made in that drawer. This technique allows
you to create cross-volume links (take this into account when creating
links to more than one drawer).

If for some reason a link cannot be made, you will be notified by
DisplayBeep ;)

The operation of aliases is absolutely tranparent, the only difference is
that you have an own set of ToolTypes (actually an own .info file) for each
alias. This allows you to have e.g. several configurations available even
leaving the default configuration untouched, but also note that changes in
the original's ToolTypes are not considered by the aliases AFTER their
creation.

A good example for links/aliases created by CreateAlias is the WBStartup
drawer. You could leave all your program packages installed and kept in one
place, making links into WBStartup ONCE. On update of the package (assuming
filenames stay the same) also WBStartup gets updated. On removal of the
package only the alias would stay (which would painfully remind you on the
next boot to remove it).

Use CreateAlias with some sort of Tools-menu launcher (e.g. ToolManager)
for more consistent operation.


Limitations

Links aren't properly supported by Workbench (if one wants to put it so ;).
As you can only copy but move from one volume to another, copied links
become copies of the original instances.

Only softlinks can be used across volumes/filesystems, and for this reason
they are the only type supported by CreateAlias. As a MAJOR DISADVANTAGE,
Workbench doesn't update softlinks when the objects they point to are being
moved. You have to reinstall those links manually.


Credits

This program is just a few (but hopefully well written) lines of C. I hope
I am not wrong, but as of my knowledge, it is the only one just along these
lines. I got the idea for it looking at Andrew Elia's AutoAppMenu package,
which basically is a tool that monitors a drawer and installs all the
programs it finds in the Tools menu, very much like the Apple-menu is
constructed under System 7. I thought, wow, it's simple to use, but, it
misses another well supported idea: Aliases. I remembered how fussy it
would be for a newbie to create some sort of this thing on a shell.
CreateAlias was born, and in turn, would be an ideal app for AutoAppMenu ;)

This program is copyrighted by Axel Behr, but you are free to copy and use
it at no charge.

Send flames, comments, bug-reports to
	abehr@pool.informatik.rwth-aachen.de

Thanks for your attention. I am about to end.