@database Icons_menu.guide @remark ENGLISH VERSION @author Steve Bye @(c) "Copyright © 1995 S.Bye." @$VER: Preferences.guide(10/02/95) @wordwrap @font topaz.font 8 @node main "ABGTWB3 VOL 1" CLICK ON THE HELP BUTTON ABOVE OR PRESS THE HELP KEY ON YOUR KEYBOARD IF YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE. WORKBENCH MENU WINDOWS MENU ICONS MENU TOOLS MENU @{" Backdrop " link bdrop} @{" New Drawer " link newdrawer} @{" Open " link Open} @{" Reset WB " link resetwb} @{" Execute Command... " link xcom} @{" Open Parent " link oparent} @{" Copy " link Copy} @{" Redraw All " link rdall} @{" Close " link close} @{" Rename... " link Rename} @{" Update All " link udall} @{" Update " link update} @{" Information... " link Information} @{" Last Message " link lmess} @{" Select Contents " link sconts} @{" Snapshot " link Snapshot} @{" About " link about} @{" Clean Up " link cleanup} @{" Unsnapshot " link unsnapshot} @{" Quit... " link quit} @{" Snapshot " link sshot} @{" Leave Out " link Leave_out} @{" Show " link show} @{" Put Away " link Put_Away} @{" View By " link vby} @{" Delete... " link Delete} @{" Format Disk... " link Format} @{" Empty Trash " link Empty_Trash} @{" Related topics " link topics} @endnode @node vby VIEW BY ------- View By, lets you control the appearance of files in your @{" windows " link window} in four different ways: Icons, This is the default setting where only files with an associated @{" icon " link icon} are displayed, all other files are hidden from view. Click on this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/vby_icon.iff"} of View By/Icon. By Name, Displays ALL files from the current directory in alphabetical order in text form, no icons are displayed at all. Click on this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/vby_name.iff"} of View By/Name. By Date, Displays ALL files in chronological order, files have date stamps in them, only any use if you have a built in clock really. Displayed in text form. Click on this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/vby_date.iff"} of View By/date. By Size, Displays ALL files, sorts the file list by size starting with the smallest file listed first,of limited use. Displayed in text form. Click on this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/vby_size.iff"} of View By/Size. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure an open @{" window " link window} is @{" selected " link mouse}. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} VIEW BY. * Choose between the four options in the sub-menu, and then release right mouse button. @endnode @node show SHOW ---- In normal, everyday use, using the default @{" Workbench " link workbench} setting of showing @{ " icons " link icon} only is fine, it saves a lot of useless files being displayed and cluttering up the screen. Any file that does not have an .info file associated with it will not be displayed in this mode. As an example I have copied three files to the @{" Ram Disk " link ram_disk}, they are: Clock Clock.info invaders When I @{" Double click " link mouse} on the Ram Disk icon the Clock will be displayed on the screen because it has an icon associated with it, (the .info file) Where as Invaders will not be visible as it has no .info file (icon). So, what happens if you wanted to run the Invaders program? (Assuming you already knew it was there of course) There are a few courses of action you could take. You could start the Invaders program from the @{" Shell " link shell}. You could start it using the @{" Execute Command " link xcom} option from the Workbench menu. Or, probably the easiest, you could select SHOW and in the @{" sub-menu " link menu} select ALL FILES, this will display ALL the FILES in the current directory wether they have icons or not, you can then double click on ANY file and try to run it. Look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/show_all.iff"} of Show/All Files and this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/show_icons.iff"} of Show/Icons Only. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure an open @{" window " link window} is @{" selected " link mouse}. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} SHOW * Choose between ONLY ICONS or ALL FILES, and release right mouse button. @endnode @node sshot SNAPSHOT -------- After using @{" Clean Up " link cleanup} you may want to make the new positions of the @{" icons" link icon}, and may be even the @{" window " link window}, permanent, if so, then selecting SNAPSHOT will do the trick. Take a look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/sshot.iff"} and you will understand. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} SNAPSHOT * Choose between snapshotting just the window position or ALL, the windows position and the icons positions, and then release the right mouse button. * The new positions will be saved to disk. @endnode @node cleanup CLEAN UP -------- This is an extremely handy option, use it regularly. Personally I would of called it TIDY UP, but there you go! What it does is rearrange the @{" icons " link icon} of the currently selected @{" window " link window}, simple as that, but effective. Take a look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/clean_up.iff"} and you will understand. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Double click " link mouse} on a disk icon to @{" open " link open} it. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} CLEAN UP and then release the right mouse button. * Any icons in the window will now be tidied up. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- If you want the icons to stay in the new tidied position see @{" snapshot " link sshot}. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press . @endnode @node sconts SELECT CONTENTS --------------- To select or @{" highlight " link mouse} an @{" icon " link icon} you need to @{" click " link mouse} on it once with the left mouse button. But say you wanted to select a lot of icons all at once for an operation? For example, let's say you had sixty files on a floppy disk and that you wanted to @{" delete " link delete} fifty of them. You could approach this in one of four ways: 1) You could @{" format " link format} the entire disk, no good because you would lose the ten files you wanted to keep. 2) You could select each icon one at a time then select delete from the icons menu, very time consuming indeed. 3) You could hold shift down and click on all fifty icons making them all selected and then select delete, still a big job. 4) Or you do the right thing and use SELECT CONTENTS, this would select all sixty icons, you could then de-select the ten files you wanted to keep by clicking on them once with the left mouse button and then do a delete from the icons menu to get rid of the fifty that would remain selected. As you may have gathered, SELECT CONTENTS highlights the whole contents of the currently selected @{" window " link window}. @{"Click here to see diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/scontents.iff"} for diagram. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- If you want to @{" drag " link mouse} all of the selected files somewhere you will need to hold the shift key down first. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press A @endnode @node update UPDATE ------ This is the baby brother of @{" Update All "link udall} found in the Workbench menu. Where UPDATE differs from Update All is that it only updates the selected @{" Window " link window} and so is faster. If you make changes to the contents of a window through the @{" Shell " link shell} or the @{" Execute Command " link xcom} menu item, you may not be able to see any changes you have made unless you close and re-open that window. Selecting UPDATE will UPDATE the contents of the Window without you having to close & re-open it. It's a matter of personal preference, personally I find it faster to open and close the window myself. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Double click " link mouse} on a disk @{" icon " link icon} to @{" open " link open} it. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} UPDATE and then release the right mouse button. * The window will now be updated and any changes made to it will appear. @{" View diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/update.iff"} for diagram. @endnode @node Close CLOSE ----- Virtually the same as @{" Open Parent " link oparent} except this closes the currently selected @{" window " link window}. It's a lot easier and quicker to just use each window's CLOSE gadget, located at the top left of any window, click on it once with the left mouse button. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Double click " link mouse} on a disk @{" icon " link icon} to @{" open " link open} it. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} CLOSE and then release the right mouse button. * The window will now close. @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/close.iff"} for diagram. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press K @endnode @node oparent OPEN PARENT ----------- OPEN PARENT isn't an option you should worry about too much. Basically it allows you to step back through nested directories and @{" drawers " link drawers} if you get in a tangle. For example, you may have opened a drawer and inside that there is another drawer and inside that another drawer and inside that...etc. Using OPEN PARENT you can step back a directory at a time. Realistically it's a lot easier and quicker to just use each @{" windows " link window} @{" close " link close} gadget, located at the top left of any window. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Presuming you have at least one drawer @{" open " link open}: * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Window @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link mouse} OPEN PARENT and then release the right mouse button. * The drawer window should @{" close " link close}. @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/oparent.iff"} for diagram. @endnode @node newdrawer NEW DRAWER ---------- This is a very useful option, it allows you to easily create a new @{" drawer " link drawers} on any disk, complete with an @{" icon " link icon} and your choice of name. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Double click " link mouse} on the disk icon of the disk you wish to create the new drawer on. * If necessary, double click inside a previously made drawer, if you want to create a sub drawer. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the @{" Window " link window} menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} NEW DRAWER and then release the right mouse button. * In the requester that will now appear, type in a new name or leave the default name in, which is called Unnamed1. * Click on Ok or press return. * The new drawer is now created, complete with icon. @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/newdrawer.iff"} for diagram. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You can create as many drawers as you want, space permitting. You can create drawers inside drawers, nested as much as you want. You can use @{" Rename " link rename} to rename any drawer. If you @{" delete " link delete} a drawer you will automatically delete all of it's contents, including sub-drawers and their contents. If you @{" drag " link mouse} a drawer to another part of the disk, or even to another disk completely, all the drawers contents, including sub-drawers and their contents will also be copied. If you create more than one new drawer on a disk and are using the default name of Unnamed1 then the Amiga automatically makes the next drawer name Unnamed2, Unnamed3 etc. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press N @endnode @node quit QUIT ---- Will exit @{" Workbench " link workbench} and leave you stranded. You will not be able to QUIT from Workbench while any Workbench programs are running. A very forgettable option and virtually useless to beginner and expert alike. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} Quit and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/quit.iff"} for diagram. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press Q @endnode @node about ABOUT ----- Selecting About displays a requester showing you the version number of @{" Workbench " link workbench} and @{" Kickstart " link memory} installed in/on your system. This does the same as typing VERSION into the @{" shell " link shell}. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} ABOUT and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/about.iff"} for diagram. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press ? @endnode @node lmess LAST MESSAGE ------------ This one literally re-displays the last message that was printed in the @{" menu bar " link menu} at the top of your screen. If you select it, it will become apparent. This is another virtually useless menu option, so don't go worrying about this one Ok. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} LAST MESSAGE and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/lmess.iff"} for diagram. @endnode @node rdall REDRAW ALL ---------- Not much to explain here except that REDRAW ALL updates all open @{" windows " link window} on the Workbench display and redraws them, useful if some program upsets the display, otherwise another @{" menu " link menu} item not worth worrying about. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} REDRAW ALL and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/redraw.iff"} for a diagram. @endnode @node udall UPDATE ALL ---------- UPDATE ALL is similar to @{" Update " link update}. UPDATE ALL re-opens ALL currently opened @{" windows " link window} on the Workbench screen, updating their appearance. So, if for example, you had been using a program such as the @{" Shell " link shell}, that changed the contents of a window Update All would reflect the new contents as @{" Workbench " link workbench} only updates the window display when needed and quite often will not reflect the true contents of some windows. Admittadly this is not an often used function as the same can be achieved by closing and re-opening a window by hand by @{" clicking " link mouse} on the top left gadget of any window. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} UPDATE ALL and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/update_all.iff"} for a diagram. @endnode @node Open OPEN ---- Using OPEN from the Icons @{" menu " link menu} is exactly the same as @{" double clicking " link mouse} on an @{" icon " link icon} with your mouse, nobody uses this menu item as it's just so much easier to double click instead. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Highlight " link highlight} an icon by @{" clicking " link mouse} on it once. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS menu at the top of the screen. * Highlight "Open" and then release the right mouse button. * @{"Click on me to see picture " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/open.iff"} Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press O @endnode @node Empty_Trash EMPTY TRASH ----------- The Trashcan is just another way of @{" Deleting " link delete} files. The bonus of using the @{" Trashcan " link using_the_trashcan} is that files are not deleted immediately, they are stored ready for deletion by you later. If you "Empty Trash" then any files you have previously @{" dragged " link mouse} to the Trash Can for deletion will now be deleted proper, you will NOT be able to retrieve any files after this operation. Please view this @{" Diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/trash.iff"} QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure the disk in use is not @{" write protected "link write}. * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} EMPTY TRASH and then release the right mouse button. * All files in the Trashcan will now be deleted. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You can make a Trashcan on your disk by choosing the "Trashcan" option when you @{ " Format " link Format} a disk. @{" Icons " link icon} can only be moved to a Trashcan of the same volume. You cannot delete whole disks from the Trashcan The Trashcan itself cannot be moved into a drawer. The Trashcan itself cannot be deleted. @endnode @node Delete DELETE ------ Delete performs the exact operation you would expect, it deletes files. All you need to do is @{" highlight " link highlight} an @{" icon " link icon} and then select "Delete" from the Icons @{" menu " link menu}. Take a look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/delete.iff"} *WARNING* Once you have deleted a file you will not be able to retrieve it without the help of a @{" Public Domain " link pd} program, I recommend Arestaure as the easiest and best to use. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure the disk in use is not @{" write protected " link write}. * Locate the desired icon to be deleted. * @{" Click "link mouse} once on the icon with the left mouse button. * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS menu at the top of the screen. * Highlight DELETE and then release the right mouse button. * Click on Ok to the requester to continue the deletion * Or click on cancel to abort the operation. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You cannot DELETE a disk icon as such, use @{" Format " link Format} @endnode @node Put_Away Put Away -------- This put's away a previous @{" icon " link icon} left out on the @{" Workbench " link workbench} by using the @{" Leave Out " link Leave_Out} item. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Locate the desired icon to be Put Away. * @{" Click "link mouse} once on the icon with the left mouse button. * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} PUT AWAY and then release the right mouse button. Obviously there has to exist an icon that you have already used Leave Out on to make any use of this function. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press P @endnode @node Leave_Out Leave Out --------- This is a handy little option that allows you to leave an @{" icon " link icon} out on the @{" Workbench " link workbench} screen. This is useful if you have a program that you use a lot, it saves you from having to search out the icon as it's already there sitting on the Workbench screen just waiting to be @{" double clicked " link mouse} on. Example: Let's presume you use the @{" shell " link shell} a lot. Locate the shell icon and @{" drag " link mouse} it out of it's drawer and onto the Workbench screen. Now select "Leave Out". Reboot your machine and load Workbench and you will find the shell icon sitting there amongst the disk icons ready for use. @{" VIEW DIAGRAM 1 " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/leaveout1.iff"} @{" VIEW DIAGRAM 2 " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/leaveout2.iff"} QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Locate the desired icon to be left out. * Click once on the icon with the left mouse button. * Holding down the left mouse button,drag the icon to the Workbench screen. * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} LEAVE OUT and then release the right mouse button. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- The actual file is left in it's original location, only the icon file is actually moved. Leave Out Cannot be used with floppy disks or the Trashcan. You can actually use Leave Out on a floppy disk if the floppy boots up a Workbench of course. Admittadly this is of more use to hard drive users than floppy users. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press L @Endnode @node Unsnapshot UNSNAPSHOT ---------- This undoes a previously Snapped @{" icon " link icon}. See @{" Snapshot " link Snapshot} for more info. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Icons menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} UNSNAPSHOT and then release the right mouse button. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press U @endnode @node Snapshot SNAPSHOT -------- SNAPSHOT allows you to save the position of the selected @{" icon(s) " link icon}. once snapped they will always reappear in exactly the same position. Why? So you can customize your disks and @{" Workbench " link workbench} and make it look tidy. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure the disk in use is not @{" write protected " link write}. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} the icon by @{" clicking "link mouse} on it once with the left mouse button. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * Highlight SNAPSHOT and then release the right mouse button. * @{" View Snapshot diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/snapshot.iff"} FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You can select more than one icon at a time for snapping by clicking a icon and then subsequently holding down the shift key while clicking on any further icons. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press S @endnode @node Information INFORMATION ----------- @{" Highlighting " link highlight} any @{" icon " link icon} and selecting "Information" from the Icons @{" menu " link menu} will display status information relevant to the disk or file in question. @{" View diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/information.iff"} Some of the data can be changed and then saved within the icon. @{" View File Information diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/file_info.iff"} @{" View Disk Information diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/Disk_info.iff"} What data is present in each icon is usually specific but the following are the most common ones present in most icons: Name: :The icons name, Type :Wether it is a Volume, Drawer, Tool, Project or Trashcan. Image :A picture of the icon. Size :The actual size in blocks and bytes of the file or volume represented by the icon. doesn't apply to @{" drawers " link drawers}. Stack :Amount of @{" memory " link memory} set aside for a specific tool. Doesn't apply to drawers or disk icons. Last changed date:When a file or icon is created or modified the Amiga stamps it with the time and date. If your Amiga is fitted with a clock this will be accurate, if not it's usually stamped 26th Feb 1992 as default. Script :If the program is executed from the @{" shell " link shell} it runs a script file. Archived :A flag Used by back up programs, ignore. Readable :The file is readable, i.e. useable. Writable :Changes can be made and saved to the file. Executable :Runs automatically when opened @{" (Double clicked) " link mouse} Deletable :Can be @{" deleted. " link delete} By de-selecting this you can protect valuable files from being deleted by accident. Save :Allows you to save the icon information, useful if you have made any alterations. Cancel :@{" Click " link mouse} on it when you've had enough. If there is a "Comments" box you can add a note of any relevance, few people bother to do this though. Default tool: This is mainly of use for project icons such as text files. You can set the default tool for a text file to be your favourite text viewer for example and when you double click on the icon it will load your text viewer and then load the text file in automatically, clever stuff what! To make it a bit clearer here is an example: letter.doc < This is a text file More < An executable program that displays text files kept in the C drawer. DEFAULT TOOL:c/More If you double clicked on Letter.doc More would run and display letter.doc. If you ever come across the @{" Unable to open your tool " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/dterror.iff"} error message it is because the @{" path " link path} or tool is missing or wrong. Select the icon and then "Information" in the Icons menu and change the default tool to one you have on your system disk. Problem solved. Tool Types: ----------- Allows you define different start up options for certain programs or files. consult the documentation for any particular program to find out what, if any tool types are available. If you do make any modifications to the tool types don't forget to use the "save" option to make the changes permanent. I will be covering Tool types in depth in a later volume. @endnode @node Copy COPY ---- The Workbench COPY is pretty bad really and most people who get to know @{" Workbench " link workbench} use a nice friendly @{" P.D " link pd} copier, I recommend Super-Duper copier available from ANY P.D library in the universe for a few quid. But, we are here to learn how to use the COPY function. Making a copy of a disk ----------------------- To make a copy (or backup if you like) of a disk, here is what you do: If you only have one disk drive ------------------------------- First of all make sure the disk you want to make a copy of is @{" write protected " link write}, just in case things go wrong or you accidentally get your source and destination disks mixed up. Insert the disk that you want to make a copy of into your internal drive. The internal drive is called DF0: the disk you want a copy of is called the source disk. @{" Click " link mouse} on the source disks @{" icon " link icon} once to @{" highlight " link highlight} it. Select COPY from the Icons @{" menu " link menu}. @{"View diagram" system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/copy_dia.iff"} You will now get a message telling you the operation will take five disk swaps, this is because you only have one drive, ALL Amiga owners most definitely need a second drive, so go get one now! It's like having a washing machine, you can manage without one but once you have it you can't believe how you survived without it. Click on Continue, you will now get another message prompting you to insert the source disk, @{" View diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/copy1.iff"} you have already done that so click on continue. The copying will now start and will be represented by a graphical percentage bar meter. After a short time You will be prompted to insert the destination disk. The destination disk is the disk you want to copy onto, this should be a blank or an unwanted disk as EVERYTHING on it will be overwritten. Make sure your destination disk is NOT write protected, take out the source disk and insert the destination disk and click on continue. Repeat this procedure until the operation is complete. You will now have a perfect copy of your source disk. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- Copying a disk on a single drive * Insert the source disk, write protected. * Click once on it's icon to highlight it. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS menu at the top of the screen. * Highlight "Copy" and then release the right mouse button. * Click on continue. * Click on continue at the next requester as well * When prompted remove the source disk and insert the destination disk, which should NOT be write protected. * Click on continue. If you have a second drive -------------------------- Things are a lot easier for owners of a second floppy drive, known as DF1: First of all make sure the disk you want to make a copy of is write protected, just in case things go wrong. Insert the disk that you want to make a copy of into your internal drive. The internal drive is called DF0: the disk you want a copy of is called the source disk. The destination disk is the disk you want to copy onto, this should be a blank or an unwanted disk as EVERYTHING on it will be overwritten. Put this disk into your external drive, DF1: Now, click on the source disks icon once and keeping the left mouse pressed down @{" drag " link mouse} it on to the destination disks icon. A requester will now appear asking you to insert your source and destination disks, which you have already done, so click on continue. @{" View Diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/copy2.iff"} The copying process will now start and no disk swapping is required, in fact because of the Amiga's great @{" multitasking " link multitasking} ability you can go off and do something else like typing a letter into your word processor while your disk is being copied. When the copying has finished you will notice that the destination disk has been automatically renamed to "Copy_of_" . If this is not desirable then use the @{" Rename " link Rename} option to rename the disk to that of your choice. CAUTION: Remove the source disk first as the Amiga does not like holding two disks with exactly the same name, it gets all confused you know! QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- Copying a disk using two drives * Insert the source disk, write protected, into DF0: * Insert the destination disk into DF1: * Click once on the source disk icon and drag it over to the destination disks icon and release the mouse button (Drag and drop) * Click on continue. Copying files to and from disks ------------------------------- The @{" Drag and Drop " link mouse} method described above can be employed to move single files from disk to disk or even to different parts of the same disk. As an example let us say we have a disk with a drawer called pics which is currently empty and a picture file called picture.Iff. To copy Picture.Iff into the drawer "pics" all we need to do is drag picture.Iff and drop it onto the "pics" drawer icon. The result will be that Picture.Iff has been copied into the "Pics" drawer and the original Picture.Iff will be deleted. @endnode @node Format FORMATTING A DISK ----------------- To be able to copy your files such as text, programs and pictures to a disk it first needs to be formatted. When you buy a new disk it is unformatted so before it can be used on the Amiga you need to format it. This section will tell you everything you need to know about formatting floppy disks. First of all how do you know if a disk has already been formatted or not? Insert the disk and if the disk @{" icon " link icon} comes up as DF0:???? then you need to format the disk. If the Icon came up as anything other than DF0:???? then there could be data already on the disk. Remember once you have formatted a disk all the contents of that disk are erased forever, although there are "Salvaging" programs available. Please take a look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/format.iff"} QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * @{" Write enable " link write} the disk to be formatted (close the tab) * Insert a disk to be formatted. * @{" Click " link mouse} once on the icon of the disk you wish to format. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} "Format Disk" and then release the right mouse button. * Click on FORMAT * A confirmation requester will then appear, click on "Format" again. * You will now see a count down bar while your disk is being formatted. * When the format has finished the disk will be initialized, this makes the disk bootable. You now know all that is needed to format a disk, read on if you want to learn more. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- If the disk you are about to format has been formatted before, you can choose "Quick Format" from the "Format Disk" requester, this formats your disk in a couple of seconds. There is a slight drawback with quick format, it does not check your disk for errors so stick to the normal format if you want to play safe. You cannot use "Quick Format" on a new unformatted disk though. You can change the name of the disk by clicking the mouse pointer inside the @{" window " link window} named "New Volume Name:" Use the backspace key (located to the left of the DEL key and has a left pointing arrow on it) to erase the text and type in a new name. You can call a disk virtually anything you want. Hint: You can use the cursor keys (located below DEL and HELP keys) to scroll along the text and change parts of it. You can choose not to have a @{" Trashcan " link using_the_trashcan} icon put on your disk by clicking the check box and making the tick disappear. A Traschcan allows you to @{" drag " link mouse} files to it for deleting. Other options available are: "Fast File System", Using this will speed up disk access but the disk will only work on Amiga's with Workbench 3 or more. So if you plan to distribute your disk bare that in mind. "International Mode" Corrects a few case-sensitivity problems, but means your disk will only work on Amiga's with Workbench 2 or above. "Directory caching" Is another option to enhance the speed of disk access, namely making directories open faster. Again your disk will require Workbench 3 or above. As a general rule, format your disk with the following options, especially if you want to distribute your disk: PUT TRASHCAN NO/YES (Doesn't matter either way, your choice) FAST FILE SYSTEM NO INTERNATIONAL MODE NO DIRECTORY CACHING NO If you cancel a format during operation the disk will be unusable until you fully re-format it. There is in-fact another way to format a disk. If you open the SYS drawer on your @{" Workbench " link workbench} disk you should see an icon called "Format" this does exactly the same job using the same software as described above, the only difference being that you do not need to select a disk icon you select the disk to be formatted from a displayed list. One final note, don't worry too much about naming your disk you can do that at any time by using the @{" Rename " link rename} option, which can also be found in the Icons menu. @endnode @node Rename RENAMING AN ICON ---------------- To RENAME an @{" icon " link icon}, first @{" click " link mouse} on the icon to be changed to @{" highlight " link highlight} it. Selecting RENAME from the ICONS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the Workbench screen allows you to change the name of ANY visible icon on the workbench screen. You can change the name of @{" drawers " link drawers}, files or a disk. This is especially useful if you have copied a disk using @{" Copy " link copy}, as you can delete the words COPY_OF_ . See @{" Copy " link copy} When choosing a name to use it is advisable not use spaces before, after or in the new name as this can lead to confusion. You change the name of the icon by using the backspace key to erase the text. Type in your new name and then click on O.k. Click on CANCEL if you change your mind at any time and the icon will remain unaltered. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Make sure the disk is not @{" write protected " link write}. * Highlight the icon by clicking on it once with the left mouse button. * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the ICONS menu at the top of the screen. * Highlight "Rename" and then release the right mouse button. * Use backspace to delete the old name. * Type in your new name. * Click on OK. Take a look at this @{" DIAGRAM " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/rename.iff"} and then this @{" DIAGRAM " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/rename2.iff"} You now know all that is needed to use RENAME, read on if you want to learn more. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You can select multiple icons to rename by first selecting an icon and then holding down the shift key, keeping the shift key pressed down you can click away on many icons, they will now be all selected. Select rename from the menu and each time you finish renaming an icon the next in line will appear for you. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut}is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press R Instead of deleting the old name with backspace a short-cut to do this is the key combination of Amiga+x that is, hold down the right hand Amiga key and then press X. Instead of clicking on Ok you can press return if so desired, this is true of most parts of the @{" Workbench " link workbench} environment. @endnode @node resetwb RESETWB ------- This option is for simply resetting your @{" Workbench " link workbench} to it's default settings, in other words, the same as if you had just booted up your Workbench. This @{" menu " link menu} item is rarely used. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the TOOLS @{" menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link highlight} RESETWB and then release the right mouse button. @{" View diagram" system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/RESETWB.iff"} The tools menu isn't a complete waste of time though, there are programs such as the brilliant @{" P.D " link pd} utility, Tools Deamon, that uses the Tools menu to add your own custom menu. This is especially useful to hard drive owners, who can set up a menu to have all their most often used/favourite programs in a fast and easy to use way. This saves you searching through stacks of @{" drawers " link drawers} and files trying to find that elusive program. There are plenty of other programs that use the Tools menu trick . Contact your P.D supplier. @endnode @node bdrop BACKDROP -------- Selecting Backdrop from the Workbench @{" menu " link menu} basically means wether or not you will have a @{" window " link window} around your @{" Workbench " link workbench} screen. Click on this @{" Button " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/bdropoff.iff"} to see a pictorial diagram, then click the right mouse button to return back here. Backdrop Off gives you the window. The only importance this window can have is that not having it @{" (Backdrop On) " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/bdropon.iff"} means you have a bit more room for @{" icons " link icon} etc. Totally useless really and probably there just to fill the menus up a bit. Don't worry about this one. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link mouse} BACKDROP and then release the right mouse button. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- If you want to set the backdrop to your choosing, permanently, then set up the backdrop and use @{" Snapshot " link sshot} from the Window menu. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press B @endnode @node xcom EXECUTE COMMAND --------------- How do you run a program that does not have an @{" icon? " link icon} The general answer to this question is to use the @{" Shell " link shell}, however there is another way, using the EXECUTE COMMAND... item from the Workbench menu. Simply select Execute Command, type in the @{" path " link path} and the programs name and @{" click " link mouse} on Ok. If all is well the program will run. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- * Hold down the right mouse button, * Move the mouse pointer to the Workbench menu at the top of the screen. * @{" Highlight " link mouse} "Execute Command..." and then release the right mouse button. * In the requester that will then appear, type in the path and name of the program you wish to run. * Click on Ok. Or for a more graphical explanation click @{" here " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/execute1.iff"} and then @{" here " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/execute2.iff"}. OK. So the Calculator program does have an icon, it is just an example and also goes to show you can run almost any program from this option. Keyboard @{" short-cut " link shortcut} is: Hold down the right Amiga key and press E @endnode @node path WHAT IS A PATH? ------------- A path, as far as the Amiga and most other computers are concerned is a route leading to the location of a desired file. Straight to some examples: Let's say you have a blank disk and you have @{" named " link rename} the blank disk MY_DISK. Then you @{" copy " link copy} a file called FRED.TXT onto it. The path for FRED.TXT would be: MY_DISK: FRED.TXT It doesn't matter what disk drive MY_DISK is in as you have called the disk by name. You could also of called the path: DF0: FRED.TXT In this case you are telling the Amiga that the file FRED.TXT is on the disk in the internal drive. If you wanted to use the external drive (DF1:) you could use: DF1: FRED.TXT It's probably best to use the actual name of the disk if you can though. Remember that after the disks name you MUST put a colon (:) this tells the Amiga that you mean a device, which means a peripheral like a drive or printer etc. Now supposing FRED.TXT was inside a drawer called LETTER on MY_DISK? MY_DISK: LETTERS/FRED.TXT would work perfectly. The / tells the Amiga to look in a drawer. What about sub-directories then? MY_DISK: TEXT_FILES/LETTERS/FRED.TXT and so on. Most decent programs on the Amiga let you select a programs path by giving you a file requester, where all you have to do is locate the file and @{" click " link mouse} on it. Alternatively, running most programs will simply mean double clicking on the programs @{" icon " link icon}, so don't worry too much about this sort of thing if you are still learning. @endnode @node shell WHAT IS THE SHELL? ------------------ I would have to write a whole book to cover this subject properly and indeed there are books out there that cover the shell. For this tutorial though I will just give you a fleeting glimpse of how to use the shell. As this guide is primarily meant for absolute beginners I wouldn't want to go too far anyway, it would probably confuse rather than help most beginners. So in a nut shell (pun, fully intended) the SHELL program can be found in the System drawer of your @{" Workbench " link workbench} disk. @{" Double click " link mouse} on the SHELL @{" icon " link icon} and a @{" window " link window} will open and a cursor will await your command. Here is a more graphical @{" explanation " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/shell.iff"} of the shell. When you have finished with the shell you can get rid of it by clicking the top left hand gadget of the shell window or by typing in EndCli followed by return. The point of the shell is very similar to that of the @{" Execute Command " link xcom} option from the Workbench menu, simply type the @{" path " link path} and name of the program you wish to run. The SHELL comes in useful if you want some info on your machine/disks or files, for example, type in DIR and a listing of the current disks directory should be shown. Now try AVAIL to find out how much @{" memory " link memory} you have available, and it goes on. The commands we used above are actually tiny programs supplied on your Workbench disk in the C drawer. We will be discussing these in detail in a future volume. Well, there is a lot more to the shell than that, you can for instance run programs with "arguments" which means telling the program to run in certain ways, but that is another story I may also tell at a later date. @endnode @node highlight HIGHLIGHTING AN ICON OR MENU ITEM --------------------------------- To highlight an @{" icon " link icon} is simplicity itself, just @{" click " link mouse} on the desired icon once with the left mouse button. If you look at the icon it will now be inversed. I have also used the term highlight when talking about selecting a @{" menu item " link menu}, when the menu item has inversed (turned black) this means it is highlighted. Please take a look at this @{" Diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/highlight.iff"} and all should be clear. @endnode @node shortcut KEYBOARD SHORT-CUTS ------------------- To the right of some items in @{" menus " link menu} are key short-cuts. Most of these short-cuts usually start with the A Amiga key symbol, this key is located on the direct right hand side of the space bar on your keyboard. To use the short-cut you must press and hold down the Amiga key and then press the corresponding key next to it, for example the short-cut to use the Open item in the Icons menu is Amiga O, so you press and hold the Amiga key and then press O. @{" Please click here for a diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/menus.iff"} @endnode @node Window ALL ABOUT WINDOWS ----------------- Windows are areas that you can open/close/move and size. A window usually holds @{" icons " link icon}. Take a look at this @{" picture " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/windows.iff"} now to get a better idea of what I am talking about. When you @{" Open " link open} a disk @{" icon " link icon} or a drawer icon a window will open. The window will then display any icons that are visible in the current mode. A freshly opened window will always appear in front of any other previously opened windows and be automatically selected. Lots of windows can be open at the same time, although only one window can be operated on at a time. You can arrange windows using the gadgets in the windows border, take a look at this @{" picture " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/windows2.iff"}. I will now explain the markings on the window diagram you should have just looked at. Close gadget: @{" Click " link mouse} here to completely close the window. Zoom gadget : Click on this to toggle the size of the window to small or large. Experiment. Depth gadget: Changes the position of the window, if it is behind other windows it will be brought to the front and will become the currently selected window. To send a window to the rear hold the Shift key down whilst clicking on the depth gadget. Scroll bar : Click and hold the mouse pointer over this bar and @{" drag " link mouse} it to see parts of the window not currently in view. Scroll arrows: Have the same purpose as the scroll bar except you just click on them periodically. Sizing gadget: This allows you to adjust the size of a window. To use, click on the sizing gadget and hold down the left mouse button. Now move the mouse to a new position. Release the mouse button when the window is at the desired size. @endnode @node write ABOUT WRITE PROTECTING A FLOPPY DISK ------------------------------------ A floppy disk can be in two states, write protected and write enabled. If the disk is write protected it cannot be formatted, files cannot be deleted from it or saved to it and best of all @{" viri " link viri} cannot infect it! If the disk is write enabled it can be formatted and written to. When you purchase a new disk it is usually write enabled, to write protect it locate the @{" write protect " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/disk.iff"} tab and close it using your finger nail or a pointed implement such as a pen or small screwdriver. @endnode @node viri SOME FACTS ABOUT VIRI ------------------ A virus is just a small program, written by a bored/nasty programmer and meant to cause us users a lot of hassle and sometimes money. There are hundreds of different "strains" of viri on the Amiga. Basically there are only two types of virus prevalent on the Amiga, Link and Boot. I will cover Link viri next volume, but here I will tell you about Boot viri as they are the most common of the two. Some viri can format your disk, some wipe the odd file, some just flash up an insulting message, one even reverses your mouse controls! So, how does a virus get into your system and onto your disks? A little story: Fred Bloggs gets a new Amiga and asks his friend Joe Brown if he has any @{" P.D " link pd} disks he can make a copy of, unknowingly Joe gives Fred an infected disk he had previously got off another friend. Anyway, Fred runs the disk and the virus loads in from the infected disk and copies itself into Freds Amigas @{" memory " link memory}. The virus copies itself into a special part of memory that only gets cleared when the Amiga is turn off by the power pack and not turned back on for at least 20 seconds. So a copy of the virus is sitting in memory, and the original virus is still on the disk. Fred finishes playing the game and decides to load another disk, he flicks off the power supply for a second or two inserts the new (clean) disk and turns the power back on. The virus has survived as the Amiga operating system didn't have long enough to clear all of it's memory properly. Fred's game is loading, the virus is monitoring freds Amiga for any disk activity, the virus checks to see if the disk is @{" write protected " link write} or not, it isn't, Great! says the virus and copies itself onto the new disk. After copying itself onto 20 different disks the virus activates itself proper and lets fred know of it's presence, the virus prints a nasty message on the screen and wiped the disk in freds drive, the disk just happened to be an expensive application fred bought last week. This will happen when each copy of the virus has copied itself another 20 times. Can you see how within a few days all of Freds disks were infected? If Fred had taken a few simple precautions none of this would of happened. * Always keep your floppy disks write protected at all times, only write enable them when absolutely necessary. * Use an up to date virus checker on any new disk you get before running the disk proper. Look at this @{" picture " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/virus.iff"}. WARNING: If you virus check a commercial game be careful as most commercial games (and some P.D games and demos) use a custom loader on the bootblock which most virus checkers will detect as Non-standard, unless the virus checker says the disk has a virus and gives you the name of the virus don't try and kill it. As a general rule, if a virus checker says the disk has a non standard boot block then 99.9% of the time it will be harmless or will be a programmers boot loader, if it is a boot loader and you kill it the disk will be rendered useless. This only applies if you use an up to date virus checker. * When resetting the Amiga to use another program make sure you turn off from the power pack and wait at least 20-30 seconds. The down side of this is the Amiga's circuitry is at it's most vunerable to electrical surges when switch on from the mains. Beginners should NOT use the Amiga/Amiga/ctrl keys to do a warm reset. UNLESS you WRITE PROTECT all of your disks. If you think you have a virus on a disk and are not sure what to do, send me the disk with a cover note and a SAE and I will check it out for you. No SAE no reply. ************************************************************************* Once again I cannot stress how important it is to keep your disks write protected, if you do a virus will NEVER spread into your collection it will stay on it's original disk and sit in memory. W A I T I N G........ ************************************************************************** @endnode @node mouse ALL ABOUT YOUR MOUSE -------------------- The mouse is a great tool used by you to communicate with your Amiga. The operation of a mouse is simplicity itself, though first time users of a mouse tend to find the concept hard to get used to. After a few hours of use though even a child can handle a mouse with ease. For best results the mouse requires a flat surface to operate on. If you don't own a mouse mat then buy one for around £2 upwards. The standard Amiga mouse has two buttons the right hand button, commonly referred to as the menu button and the left hand button known as the selection button. Throughout this tutorial I will refer to these buttons as left mouse button and right mouse button to save any confusion. Things you can do with your mouse: ---------------------------------- Pointing: move the mouse and watch the mouse pointer on the screen. Clicking: Press and release the left mouse button once. Double-Clicking: Two quick clicks on the left mouse button. Holding Down: Holding down a mouse button. Dragging: Hold down the left mouse button and drag an icon/window or screen to a new position. Also known as drag and drop. The mouse will give you many years good service if you clean it once in a while. If your mouse seems to be dragging turn it upside down and unscrew the holder. Inside is a ball, clean this with warm soapy water and dry it thoroughly. Inside the mouse casing you will see some rollers that by now have probably picked up a lot of dust and dirt. Get a small brush, like the ones you sometimes get with electric shavers and clean the rollers. Your mouse will be as good as new. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- Just as a matter of interest or indeed if your mouse is broken, did you know that you can actually control the mouse pointer with the keyboard? Hold down the left Amiga key and move the pointer with the cursor keys. Hold down shift as well to move the pointer in bigger steps. The left and right alt keys act as the mouse buttons. Also the left mouse button can be emulated with the firebutton on a joystick in port one. @endnode @node Icon What is an Icon? ---------------- An Icon represents a file on your Workbench screen. It is, in effect, a small picture. An Icon is a separate file in itself, but can be manipulated using the @{" Information " link information} option from the Icons @{" menu " link menu}. If you @{ "Delete " link delete} an Icon, @{" Workbench " link workbench} will automatically delete the file or program it represents. If you @{" Open " link open} an Icon it will attempt to execute the file it represents. You can manipulate the position of an Icon by @{" dragging " link mouse} it to a desired position, and then using @{" Snapshot " link snapshot} to save it's position. Different types of Icons ------------------------ A disk icon represents a Disk (otherwise known as a Volume) and only appears on the actual Workbench @{" window " link window}. @{" Click here to see a disk icon " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/disk_icon.iff"} A drawer icon represents a directory, which can hold programs/files or even more @{" drawers " link drawers}, known a sub-drawers or sub-directories. @{" Click here to see a drawer icon " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/drawer_icon.iff"} A tool icon represents an executable program, like the clock utility program. A tool can be run by @{" double clicking " link mouse} on it. @{" Click here to see a tool icon " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/tool_icon.iff"} A project icon represents a file created by a tool, such as a text file or a picture file. @{" Click here to see a project icon " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/project_icon.iff"} The Trashcan icon simply represents the @{" Trashscan " link using_the_trashcan}. There are also a set of built in icons called pseudo icons that the Amiga uses to represent files that do not already have an icon associated with them. To see these pseudo icons you need to use the Show/All files from the Windows menu. @{" Click here to see Pseudo icons " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/psudeo_icons.iff"}. @endnode @node Menu ALL ABOUT MENUS --------------- Menus can usually be found a the top of the screen like on your @{" Workbench " link workbench}. To access the items in a menu hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse over the title bar. A list of headings will appear move the mouse pointer down a list of items, notice how each item is @{" highlighted " link highlight} as your pointer moves over it. When you have highlighted your desired item release the mouse button. If an item in the menu is ghosted then this means that particular item is not usable at the current time, for example, the Format item in the @{" Icons "link icon} menu is ghosted until you have @{" clicked " link mouse} on a disk icon to be formatted. To the right of some items are key @{" short-cuts " link shortcut}. Most of these short-cuts usually start with the A (Amiga key symbol, this key is located on the direct right hand side of the space bar on your keyboard. To use the short-cut you must press and hold down the Amiga key and then press the corresponding key next to it, for example the short-cut to use the Open item in the Icons menu is Amiga O, so you press and hold the Amiga key and then press O. If a name of an item is followed by three dots (...) this means a requester of some sort will follow if you select that item, For example, try the Information item in the Icons menu. If you see a >> symbol this means that item has sub-items attached to it. Select the Snapshot item in the @{" Windows " link window} menu for an example. A tick or checkmark if you like, indicates that particular option is in use. See Backdrop in the Workbench menu. Don't forget a programs window must be selected before you can access the menu bar. If the window isn't active just click anywhere inside it. @{" Please click here to see a diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/menus.iff"} @endnode @node Using_the_Trashcan USING THE TRASHCAN ------------------ You can use the Trashcan as a temporary store for files you want to delete. Once stored in the Trashcan files are quite safe until you either turn off your Amiga (or reset it) or if you use @{" Empty Trash " link empty_trash} EMPTY TRASH then @{" deletes " link delete} the contents of the TRASHCAN forever. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- To store a file ready for deletion into the Trashcan. * @{" Click " link mouse} on the desired @{" icon " link icon} with the left mouse button. * Keeping the mouse button pressed * @{" Drag " link mouse} the icon over to the Trashcan and then release the mouse button. Where using the Trashcan comes in useful is if you decide not to delete one or more of the files already in the can. QUICK GUIDE IN PLAIN ENGLISH ---------------------------- To retrieve a file from the Trashcan. * @{" Double click " link mouse} on the Trashcan icon. * Click on the desired icon with the left mouse button. * Keeping the mouse button pressed * Drag the icon over to your desired location and then release the mouse button. The file is now safe. Please look at this @{" diagram " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/trash2.iff"} FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- You can select mutilple files by first selecting a file and then holding down the SHIFT key and then selecting more files. Now drag them out. @endnode @node drawers ALL ABOUT DRAWERS ----------------- Imagine a floppy disk with 100 pictures on it. Imagine that the pictures covered ten different subjects. Wouldn't It would be nice to be able to group the pictures into ten different categories and lump them all in one place for quicker reference? It certainly would! This is where drawers come in real handy. You can create as many drawers as you want on a disk and call them what you want. Going back to our disk of pictures, we could create ten drawers and name each drawer to reflect it's contents , for example CAR_PICS, TRAIN_PICS, BOAT_PICS, PLANE_PICS, etc.. We could then @{" drag " link mouse} the ten pictures for a certain category into their corresponding drawer. You could, in theory, use the Amiga without ever HAVING to create a drawer, but drawers are there for our convenience and they are VERY useful. Virtually every disk you will ever come across will have drawers on it so you may as well get used to the idea and benefit from their use. To open a drawer just @{" double click " link mouse} on it. @endnode @node help HOW TO OPERATE THIS PROGRAM --------------------------- This tutorial uses Commodore's AMIGAGUIDE document displayer. The reason for using this software is that it allows interaction of words and pictures, amongst other things. *! USE THE UP & DOWN ARROW KEYS TO SCROLL UP AND DOWN THIS TEXT SCREEN !* Along the top of the screen you will see a line of buttons as follows: CONTENTS INDEX HELP RETRACE BROWSE < BROWSE > If you click on the CONTENTS button with the left mouse button you will be returned to the main menu screen, the place where this program started. CONTENTS will be ghosted if you are already in the CONTENTS screen. The INDEX button is not used in this tutorial. HELP, well, you are reading this so you know what that does! Clicking on RETRACE will literally RETRACE your steps through this guide. For example, let's say you @{" clicked " link mouse} on the COPY button, read that then clicked on the FORMAT button, retrace would take you back to COPY and RETRACE again would take you back to the CONTENTS screen. RETRACE is very useful because in most texts I have used buttons on key words that you can click on to get a full explanation of that term. When you have finished reading the definition of that term just use RETRACE to go back to the exact place in the previous text that you came from. Incidentally there is no RETRACE in this particular file as it's a separate database file from the main menu, that's why it has opened a new @{" window " link window}. You can in fact click on the top left hand gadget of this window (The one next to the word help) to exit back to the main menu. DO NOT @{" click " link mouse} on the gadget in the top left hand corner of the screen (The one next to ABGTWB3 VOL 1) as you will exit this program, if you do then you will have to turn your Amiga off and re-load. BROWSE < ,Clicking on this will let you BROWSE through the pages of text in this whole document one by one. BROWSE < takes you backward. If you want to PRINT out any part of this tutorial you can select PRINT from the pull down @{" Menu " link menu} at the top of the screen. To do this first make sure your printer is on line and ready. Hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the top left hand of the screen. Move the mouse pointer to the word PRINT and then release the mouse button. This disk is set up for a standard epson printer, so should work on most machines. Don't forget that most texts are longer than the visible screen, keep an eye on the blue meter bar on the right hand side of the screen, click on the up and down arrows to scroll through the text. Alternatively you can @{" drag " link mouse} the bar up and down with your mouse or even easier use the arrow keys, it's up to you. If you click on a button that displays a picture, just click the right mouse button to exit the picture and return back to the text. Now click on the CONTENTS button at the top of the screen for the main menu. Good luck.. @endnode @node tips HINTS AND TIPS -------------- Follow these few simple tips and you won't go far wrong * ALWAYS keep your floppy disks @{" write protected " link write} this very simple precaution can save you many hours/days/weeks of misery with @{" viri " link viri} and corrupted disks. * NEVER eject a disk from the drive until ALL disk activity has completley stopped, not just the drive light, listen to the whirring as well. * Never plug/unplug peripherals such as drives/printers/modems/cdroms while your Amiga is switched on, the manual even tells you not to unplug your mouse while the machine is on, that's a bit over the top I think but they must know! After all they created the machine!! * ALWAYS check any new disks with a good recent Virus Checking program before running the disks. * If you have a hard drive have a virus checker running in background so it constantly checks @{" memory " link memory} for viri and checks any disk inserted. * Give your @{" mouse " link mouse} a clean as soon as it starts to drag a bit, this will stop frustration for you and prolong the life of your squeaky friend. * Until you know exactly what you are doing you should NOT use the Amiga/Amiga/ctrl keys to do a warm reset. The main reason for this is that if your machine has a virus in memory a warm reset will NOT clear it out. Turn off your machine by the power pack and wait at least 20 seconds. * A second disk drive is ESSENTIAL unless you want to go insane. You can pick up a second hand for about £35-£40, but they are rare as once you have one you will not want to part with it. * A hard drive is desirable, especially if you are a power user, or want to program or use other creativity tools or if you use @{" Workbench " link workbench} a lot. If you do buy a hard drive get the biggest capacity you can afford, and I bet that won't be big enough. * A printer would be highly beneficial to most people for obvious reasons. For a beginner a cheap old 9 pin dot matrix will suffice. From about £50 second hand or about £100 new. Well worth it. @endnode @node multitasking WHAT IS MULTITASKING? -------------------- I am only going to skip over this subject lightly here as it will be fully covered in a future volume. Basically, multitasking is the ability of a computer to run more than one program simultaneously. A very good example can be seen by @{" double clicking " link mouse} on the utilities drawer on your @{" workbench " link workbench} disk. Inside the drawer are two programs, Multiview and Clock. double click on the clock, and when that is running double click on the same clock @{" icon " link icon} again, you now have two clocks running, though to see them you will need to @{" drag " link mouse} the top-most clock to one side to see the one beneath. You are now multitasking. You could keep on loading clocks, until you run out of @{" memory " link memory}. A drawback of multitasking is that each program takes it's slice of processor time because in reality a computer can only perform one operation at a time, the Amiga is simply switching from one clock to the next but it is doing it so fast it all appears to be happening all at once. So what use is multitasking? You may ask, well, what about copying a disk whilst typing and then printing a letter with a bit of Amiga music playing in the background? 99% of PC users are stunned when they see the power of the Amiga multitasking, most PC's shudder to a halt when multitasking. Multitasking isn't something many Amiga beginners can appreciate but as you slowly discover the many and great benefits it holds you will soon warm to it. @endnode @node memory ABOUT MEMORY ------------ Memory is a term used to describe storage space inside a computer. There are many different types of memory, but at this stage of the tutorial I will just mention the two most important, RAM and ROM. ROM stands for Read Only Memory, and this is fixed inside your computer. It can't be written to, it can only be read, as the name would suggest. This part of your Amiga is only of direct interest to programmers and a beginner needs to know nothing about ROM at this stage, suffice to say that a part of the Amiga's operating system resides there called Kickstart. RAM stand for Random Access Memory, this is memory that we load programs into. A standard Amiga A1200 has two megabytes of Chip Ram. Chip Ram is memory accessible by the Amigas custom chips and the processor. It is also used to store graphics and sounds. It can be used by programs too but is slow. You can increase the amount of memory in your Amiga by fitting a RAM upgrade, this will be Fast RAM. Fast Ram is memory that is only accessible by the main processor. This is where most programs are stored and tend to run a lot quicker than from Chip Ram, hence the name. For the absolute beginner this is all academic, you do not need to understand anything about memory at this stage. @endnode @node ram_disk WHAT'S THE RAM DISK ABOUT? -------------------------- The Ram disk is always available if you have loaded @{" Workbench " link workbench}. You can To see the Ram Disk icon @{" Click here " system " df0:c/showpic Illustrations:Illustrations/ram_disk.iff"}. Using the Ram Disk is like having an extra disk drive, except it's super fast. The Ram disk, as it's name would suggest uses your Amiga's @{" memory " link memory} as if it was a disk, and it's size is only limited by the amount of free memory you have available. It's main use is as a temporary storage place for files. If you look carefully you will find Workbench itself uses the Ram Disk to store odds and ends for it's own purposes. FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- When you turn off your computer the contents of the Ram Disk are lost FOREVER, so be careful. The Ram Disk is always 100% full because it expands and contracts it size as required, so because it says 100% full, don't think you can't @{" copy " link copy} anything into it. You cannot copy a whole disk to the Ram Disk by @{" dragging " link mouse} a disks icon over the Ram Disks icon, @{" open " link open} up the Ram disk icon first and then drag the disk you want to copy into the Ram Disks @{" window " link window}. A @{" drawer " link drawers} will be created automatically with the disks name and it's contents will be neatly inside the new drawer. There are many uses for the Ram Disk which I plan to cover at a later date. @endnode @node PD What is Public Domain? --------------------- Public Domain (P.D from now on) is an incredible concept, a programmer spends weeks, months or even years writing a program and then GIVES it away to all you fellow users! Sounds unbelievable I know, but it's true. As you know Volume 1 of this tutorial is in fact P.D, I released this into P.D as a form of free advertising and to gauge by feedback if it is worth my while to continue with this series. Now you may be thinking there must be a catch, well, you don't actually get it for nothing if you go to a PD library, you have to pay a small handling charge, normally between £1-£2 per disk, although there are libraries who charge anything up to £4 a disk. If you have paid more than £2.50 for a PD disk then look elsewhere. I recommend 17 Bit Software as the best all round library in the UK, they are not the cheapest at £1.50 a disk but the service is exceptional and you get your order fast, with a friendly service, end of plug. Getting back to the subject at hand. When a program is released as PD it means you can basically do what you want with it, give it away, copy it, sell it even! Though the unwritten PD rule is that you should not make a profit from PD, only cover your costs. You would be forgiven in thinking that PD programs must be crap! Well a lot of it is but then again some of the best ever pieces of Amiga software are PD, check out some magazine cover disks for some good PD, you will be surprised at the quality of some it, there are some real gems out there. Here is a list of some of my favourite PD programs that you could do worse than have in your collection: Tools Daemon: (A @{" workbench " link workbench} menu system, best for hard drive users) Filemaster : (A brilliant directory utilitie, copy,delete,format etc.) Edword : (Best text editor, this tutorial was written with it!) Super Duper : (Fastest/best disk copier, great) Arestaure : (Recovers deleted files, has saved my life loads of times.) Guiarc : Excellent de-archiver, easy to use. Dos Trace : Tracks what your Amiga is doing internally, indispensable. Disk Masher : A great and easy to use disk archiver. Secenery Gen: Unbelievable, scenery generator, like the £60 Vista program but FREE, and better!!! There are tons more, but you get the general idea! Admittedly most of the above programs will be of little use to a complete beginner so don't worry about what they are for now as I will be covering PD utilities in depth in a future volume, by then you will understand why you will need them. There are other forms of P.D such as: Shareware --------- this means if you find the program useful you should send the author a set fee. This usually means you will receive a newer version of the program or an uncrippled version. Licenceware ----------- Licenceware is NOT P.D, in fact it is commercial software, fully copyrighted. The only difference to the normal £30 programs you see in Smith's is the packaging and the price. Most Licenceware sells from £3.99 upwards. It is illegal to sell/copy or give it away. The Amiga magazines have not helped people to understand this by calling Licenceware, P.D. @endnode @node Workbench WORKBENCH ----------- Workbench is not your enemy, though at first it may seem to be, it's there to help rather than hinder. Just try using Windows on a PC computer to see what life without a DECENT Graphical User Interface (G.U.I) is like. Workbench is basically a set of programs, some stored in @{" Rom, " link memory} and most stored on disks (floppy or hard). The great part of this set up is that to upgrade the system just mean getting a new floppy rather than a new chip. This also leads to a very flexible system that can be customized to the users preference. Totally new programs can also be bolted on at will. Workbench allows you to communicate with the inner workings of you Amiga via mouse and keyboard, without Workbench, or a similar program, you would need to be a programmer or use lots of separate programs to do simple things like copy files and format disks. Personally I use a mixture of good @{" P.D " link pd} utilities and the Workbench together. Depending on your needs, you too will gradually find your own suite of programs on and off the Workbench that suite you best. The whole point of these tutorials is to explain the workings of the Workbench, so it seems pointless to go rambling on here. Just take my word for it, Workbench is probably the friendliest and most efficient G.U.I ever designed for a computer. @endnode @node topics Topics relating to subjects discussed in this tutorial @{" About Workbench " link workbench} @{" All about windows " link window} @{" All about your mouse " link mouse} @{" What is an icon? " link icon} @{" All about menus " link menu} @{" All about drawers " link drawers} @{" Highlighting an icon or menu " link highlight} @{" What is a path? " link path} @{" What is the shell? " link shell} @{" Using the Trashcan " link using_the_trashcan} @{" What's the Ram Disk about? " link ram_disk} @{" Keyboard short-cuts " link shortcut} @{" About memory " link memory} @{" What is multitasking? " link multitasking} @{" Write protecting disks " link write} @{" Some facts about viri " link viri} @{" What is P.D? " link pd} @{" Hints and tips " link tips} @endnode