WorkBench 3.0 tips   by Mike McCallum   ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿?  INTRODUCTION I've recently invested in a new Amiga 1200. All I can say is "WOW!". Other than a few problems with the first couple of batches of machines, the A1200 is a GREAT machine. I can say this after leaping forward from 1.3 to 3.0, and considering that my previous machine was an A1000, I've skipped a whole generation of the system software, and two entire generations of the hardware! There really is no comparison. I even found that all the programs that I wrote under 1.3 work flawlessly under 3.0. Of course, I did follow Commodore's guidelines pretty closely, so that helps of course. There's even one program that wouldn't always work under 1.3 that worked fine under 3.0! Turned out to be a bug in 1.3... Although the A1200 is a fine machine, it lacks the AmigaDOS and ARexx manuals needed to take full advantage of the machine. So here I present some tips that I picked up while using Workbench 3.0. The ASL requester has been improved dramatically since 2.0, so I have included some tips for using the ASL requester also. To anyone who wants the AmigaDOS or ARexx manuals: Commodore have informed me that they are now available, and can be obtained or ordered from your local Commodore dealer. Here's the pertinent information: AmigaDOS 3.0 manual $31.13 RRP (part# 368763-01) ARexx manual $ 5.44 RRP (part# 368759-01)  THE TIPS  Workbench: + If you open a drawer then change your mind before Workbench finishes scanning it (can take a long time with a large directory), you can close it before Workbench has finished scanning it. (This only applies to the drawer being opened.) + To create an icon for a file that doesn't have one, use Iconpos, which can be found in the C drawer of the Install disk. For example, to create a project icon for a file called MyProj, just type: iconpos MyProj TYPE PROJECT CREATE For more information about Iconpos, type: iconpos ? Warning: be careful when attaching tool icons to programs that normally run from the CLI as not all programs can be run from Workbench. If a program can not be run from Workbench, running the program from Workbench will cause a software error, number 87000004. If a program fails this way, it is safe to "Suspend" the program. Don't forget to remove the icon from the program afterwards. * Rather than copying an entire program to your WBStartup drawer: - If the program is in your path, just copy the icon. Workbench will find the program itself. - If the program is not in your path, copy the icon, but make a link to the program. Like this: makelink sys:wbstartup/mytool sys:utilities/misc/mytool This way, you can keep your files where you want them, and still place them in your WBStartup. Note that the second method, although more difficult, will result in a faster startup, as Workbench will not have to go looking for the program. You will need to use the CLI to set this one up.  ASL Requesters: + Learn the shortcut keys. This can save a lot of time when using requesters. To see what they are, press and hold the right mouse button and look at the menu. + Use the up and down arrows to select different entries. Holding shift and up or down will move a display-full at a time. + Press the right Amiga key twice and your currently selected item (or the closest matching one if you have typed a partial file name) will become visible in the file list. You can then use the up and down arrows to select the desired entry. + In some cases, you can select more than one file. Select the first one by clicking normally, and select the others while holding down the shift key while clicking. When you have selected the last entry, either click on the "OK" gadget, type Right-Amiga-"O", or double click the last one selected. + To change into a drawer without using the mouse, use the up and down arrows to select the drawer and then press return. The selected drawer will be entered. If you know the name of the drawer, just type the name and add a "/" to the end, then press return. Typing just a "/" on its own and pressing return is the equivalent of selecting the "Parent" gadget. * If the requester is on the Workbench screen: - Drop a Workbench drawer or disk icon on the requester, the requester will look there for the files! - Drop a Workbench file icon on the requester, the requester will look in that icon's directory for files and automatically select that file! Experiment with Workbench 3.0. You'll be surprised at what you can learn by yourself. There are many big improvements over previous versions of Workbench, so it's probably well worth spending a few hours just "mucking around" with it. Also, try dropping icons onto any and every window you see on the Workbench screen. You may be surprised at how much software responds to it.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿?