NetConnect

1.1 What is 'NetConnect'

Although you'll be thinking that 'NetConnect' is the compilation/CD you have just purchased, the name 'NetConnect' also applies to the supplied dock bar editor!

When you installed NetConnect you will have been asked if you wanted to install the NetConnect dock bar, set to 'yes' as default. This option will have copied a small program called 'netconnect' to your sys:wbstartup folder. The 'netconnect' program will start everytime you boot your Amiga. It will open an icon bar (or more if you have created further bars) on your screen and add a few menu options to the tools menu on workbench.

The 'netconnect' program allows to:

• Setup one or more icon bars on your Amiga. These icon bars allow you to run WB, CLI, DOS scripts and arexx scripts from any button. Configuring a new button is literally a matter of point and click!

  You can create icon bars, text only bars, bordless bars, fixed bars and different shaped bars (square, vertical etc).

• Setup tools from within your tools menu on workbench.

• Setup hotkeys (such as ALT+B) so that you can launch programs or scripts by clicking a set of keys.

1.2 The Pre-Configured Icon Bar

If you are reading this after you have installed NetConnect, you will probably have noticed that a pre-configured icon bar has appeared once you have booted your Amiga.

This icon bar is setup especially to run the various programs that ship with NetConnect v2 as well as the HTML documentation, which you are reading now:

You can single-click on the relevant buttons to load the desired program.

1.3 Configuring 'NetConnect'

Of course you are able to add your own icons to the button bar, create more bars or extra tool options within the WB tools menu.

To do this you need to load the 'NetConnectPrefs'. You can do this from the NetConnect button bar (hold down your right mouse button) or from within the NetConnect2 folder on your hard drive. Once you have done this, you should see this interface:

• New/Remove  - enables you to add or remove icon bars that you have created. Click on 'new' and another Internet Dock will appear in the list.

• Icon Bar/Button Bank  - the 'icon bar' is the current icon bar you are editing. The 'button bank' is a kind of sketch pad area when you can move buttons to and from without them appearing within your bar. When you create a new button, it will appear in the button bank.

• Edit  - edit the button information. More information can be obtained within the 'Adding Another Button' section.

• Delete  - remove one or more select buttons.

• New  - create a new button. More information can be obtained within the 'Adding Another Button' section.

• Copy  - make a copy a button.

• Name:  - create or edit the name for your bar.

• Hotkey:  - create a hotkey for your bar.

• Font:  - set the font for your icon bar. For example, if you choose to have a text only or text + icons bar, you can choose the font you want displayed on that bar.

• Rows:  - the number of rows for your icon bar. Put this up to maximum number of rows and you will have a vertical bar. Slide it down to minimum number of rows and your bar will be horizontal. Somewhere between will allow you to create a square bar.

• Activate  - activate the icon bar by holding you mouse over the interface.

• Backdrop  - puts the interface behind all other interfaces on your screen and doesn't allow it to "pop" to the front.

• Borderless  - allows you to specify no border around the icon bar. It will appear to be floating on your workbench screen.

• Popup  - pop the icon bar in front of other interfaces when started.

• Frontmost  - means that the icon bar is the frontmost interface on your wokrbench. ie. if you are running a full screen web browser, the icon bar will sit on top of this interface (in front of the web browser).

• Dragbar  - if you have a borderless bar, you might choose to keep a drag bar on the top of your icon bar. This allows you to move the bar around workbench when the icon bar is highlighted, but remains "hidden" when the icon bar is not highlighted (ie. the drag bar is not seen.

1.31 Adding a New Button

Adding additional buttons is as simple as clicking "New" on the NetConnectPrefs interface shown above. This window will then appear:

Main Settings

Main settings allows you to configure the type of program/script you want to run from your new button.

• Name:  - this is the name you give to your new button that appears in your bar. If you have a text only bar or text+icons, the name will appear under the button within the bar.

• Hotkey:  - you can choose a hotkey for your new button, Say, for example, you wanted to run Voyager from your new button; you could choose a hotekey such as "ALT+V" which can be used to start Voyager without the need to press the button!

• Type:  - you can select "Workbench", "CLI", "DOS Script" or "Arexx Script" from this cycle gadget. If you choose "Workbench", the program is loaded as if was being double-clicked on your Workbench screen. If you enter CLI, you will be executing the program as you would from a shell window. DOS/Arexx script allows you to create or load a DOS or Arexx script.

• Program:  - this is the actual program orscript file. Simple use the requestor buttont to "find" the program on your hard drive. For instance, if you wanted Voyager to run from your new button, you would goto the Voyager drawer and select the programm called "V".

  If you have created an external DOS or Arexx script, simply load into the window by finding the script that resides on your hard drive.

• Image:  - if you want an image only or image+text icon bar, you should choose the image by using this requestor. It is a good idea to make the image the same size as the others in the dock bar or your bar will look quite unprofessional!

• Sound:  - allows you to enter a sound to play when you click a button to start a program.

• Volume:  - the volume to control the above sound file.

Advanced Settings

This section allows you to create the more advanced settings for your new button.

• Stack:  - you can set the stack for the program you are executing from your button.

• Priority:  -

• Current Dir:  - sets a PROGDIR: for the program you are executing or "assigns" the PROGDIR: to another location, to find preferences etc.

• Output File:  - if your program outputs informaiton to a console window.

• Public Screen:  - enter a public screen for your icon bar or leave this blank for the bar to appear on workbench.

• use WB-Icons as arguments  - this options allows you to use your WB icon tooltypes as arguments when executing a program from your icon bar.

• pop PublicScreen to front  -

• draw an icon frame  - as it says. Draw an frame around your icon in your icon bar.

Script Editor

Allows you to create or edit a DOS or Arexx script.

1.32 Adding Tools to the Tools Menu

NetConnect allows you to add tool options to your Tools menu within Workbench. You could use the tools menu to launch vital programs such as multiview or even structure the tool entries to perform actions (such as de-archive an archive on workbench).

On the left you simply click 'new' in order to create a new menu entry. Give this a name, anything you want. You will see that NetConnect supplies some standard tool entries which you can choose to keep or delete.

On the right hand side of the window, you can see the options for the tool entries. For instance in the above image, we have setup LZX to de-archive files from workbench into ram: (ie. if you see an lzx file on your workbench, click it once, go to the menu option and this archive will be unarchived to ram:).

You can run a workbench program, program via the CLI, a DOS script or an arexx script (scripts will need to be pre-created so that they can be selected via the requestor).

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