*** New Information Appended ***
February, 1989            HandyIcons           Shareware $10

     HandyIcons is an extension to the Workbench menu strip
which permits the user to run user-selectable Tools/Projects
by menu selection. The number of selectable icons is limited
to type size and the vertical resolution of your Workbench
screen.

                     Tool/Project Selection
     Icons can be selected by the user in two ways:

               * Workbench Extended Selection
               * Workbench Tool Types

     Extended Selection is the more flexible method of
selection. The Icons selected in this way will be displayed
before those selected by Tool Types. To use this technique:

     * Open disks, drawers, ect. to display the Icons of
       interest

     * Press the mouse select button over a blank part of
       the screen or window to insure deselection of all
       other icons

     * Select the HandyIcons icon first

     * Select your menu Icons While pressing a Shift key

     * Release the Shift key, go to the Workbench menu, and
       choose Open ( Shortcut: On the last Icon double-click)

     Tool Types is the way to select Icons without going
through the effort of Extended Selection every time. It's
possible to use Extended Selection and Tool Types simul-
taneously, but if you select more Icons than displayable
those at the bottom of this list won't be rendered.
To use this technique:

     * Select the HandyIcons icon

     * Choose Info from the Workbench menu

     * Select the Add gadget & Type Pathname(s)
       to your Icon(s)

     * Select the Save gadget when finished

     The next time you run the program these Icons will
automatically be included in your menu.
Some examples and suggestions:

 Clock          ________________ /These Icons would be in the
 Preferences                     \same drawer as this Program
 Utilities/Notepad   ------------<Just one directory deep
 Extras:AmigaBASIC               /It's wise to use
 Extras:Tools/MicroEmacs -------< Volume names (Extras:)
 Extras:Tools/Fed                \whenever possible
 Extras:BasicDemos/Demo  --------<Project

       Note: Even though it's permissible to use relative
pathnames, your safest bet is using full volume & pathnames.
This insures HandyIcons will find the Tool/Project no matter
what directory HandyIcons resides.


                          HandyWB

     HandyWB is the way to start HandyIcons from a CLI.
The main purpose for HandyWB is to spawn HandyIcons as a
separate process so the initial CLI exits. Only the Tool
Types method of selection applies, but by placing it in
your startup-sequence it's possible to have menu access
to your favorite programs immediately.

     Using HandyWB without any arguments defaults to looking
for the HandyIcons program in Sys:System drawer (Sys:System/
HandyIcons). If for some reason you don't want HandyIcons
there, simply add the true pathname as the first argument.

     ex. HandyWB Extras:Tools/HandyIcons

     If you're going to start HandyIcons using HandyWB then
you must keep the first ten characters "HandyIcons" but you
may add extensions to signify different tool type arrays.
To take advantage of this:

     * Copy HandyWB to your C: directory

     * Place HandyIcons in Sys:System drawer (or elsewhere)

     * Edit your startup-sequence and place HandyWB
       AFTER LoadWB

     * IMPORTANT: The old HandyWB WILL NOT START the
                     new HandyIcons!!!

************************************************************
*   MODIFICATIONS MADE TO HandyIcons SINCE LAST JULY '88   *
************************************************************


     * HandyIcons will now run when it finds
         Workbench Version 33 or 34

     * Project Support
         CLI programs with a program like IconX or Xicon

     * Menu Swapping

     * Immediate Exit
         The job of cleaning up after a program
         has be given to Workbench

     * Screen Flash on errors

     * Rewritten in Assembly Language

   If you have extra vertical space, HandyIcons now places
a little room between menu items. This is especially nice
for those of you who run an interlace Workbench; only you
can't fit as many Tool/Proj in, so if it's going to cost you
an entry the program applies the big squeeze and jams in as
many Tool/Proj as possible. (Just like before)

                     Menu Swapping

   One of the more serious limitations imposed by Handy-
Icons is the number of Tool/Proj available at any given
time. This new feature is implemented to help ease that
situation.
   As you know, it's possible to have multiple copies of
HandyIcons on your disk--each with its own list of Tools/
Projects. Place these copies in your HandyIcons menu and
selection will cause the program to reset its menu to
the newly selected icon's ToolTypes array.

   Two conditions must be met:
      1) The first 9 characters must be "HandyIcon" in
         order for the program to recognize a menu swap.
      2) Arguments must be present in the icon's
         ToolTypes.

For Example:
   I use the default Workbench screen (640x200) using
topaz 8 (80 column). In this configuration I can set 17
items in the menu (22 using the big squeeze). Personally
I prefer a little space between menu items, so I'm not
going to place any more than 17 selections in each array.
Assuming I have 64 Tool/Projects, one possible implemen-
tation could be as follows:
Remember, only one menu is displayed at any time.

HandyIcons     HandyIcons1    HandyIcons2    HandyIcons3
-------------|--------------|--------------|-------------
Tool/Proj#1  | Tool/Proj#17 | Tool/Proj#33 | Tool/Proj#49
   thru      |    thru      |    thru      |    thru
Tool/Proj#16 | Tool/Proj#32 | Tool/Proj#48 | Tool/Proj#64
HandyIcons1  | HandyIcons2  | HandyIcons3  | HandyIcons
Exit         | Exit         | Exit         | Exit

   The above demonstrates a single-linked list: sixteen
slots for Tool/Proj and one slot dedicated to menu swap-
ping with the last menu pointing back to the first. Se-
lecting the last item in each will bring up the new menu.

   Why not double-linked lists with two slots dedicated?
     (one forward & one backward)

   Why not three slots dedicated?
     (in the above example, you could get TO any menu
      FROM any menu)

   Need more slots? Add another program.
   The decisions are yours!

                        One Caveat

   After a new preferences HandyIcons and Workbench each
begin the process of rebuilding their respective menus.
Depending on how many windows Workbench is dealing with,
the syncronization gets touchy and the possibility exists
that if you try a menu operation during this period you may
lose the extra menu.

                    A Simple Solution

   So, what do you do to avoid this nasty little predicament?
After preferences, just hold off that menu finger for a sec,
perhaps two, and everything will be just (dare I say) handy
dandy. When you can't see any more screen activity then that
is a good indication it's safe.
   And if you find that it is, in fact, missing? Selecting an
icon or pressing the select button on any blank portion of
any one of Workbench's windows will bring 'er back.
(Which is what will eventually happen anyway)


                   1.4 Compatability?

   HandyIcons is a "rebel" program. There are no system calls
for adding a menu to Workbench. To accomplish its task it ac-
cesses the "private" data fields and message ports of Work-
bench. "Private" means CBM does not guarantee their positions
from release to release. Therefore, this program aborts if it
doesn't find version 33 or 34. If the program were allowed to
run with position changes (and 1.4 sounds like a major re-
write) HandyIcons would crash with unpredictable results!
  Unfortunately, in the February 1989 issue of AMIGA
TRANSACTOR, Mr. Khalid Aldoseri "comes to the rescue." The
article actually lists step by step instructions on how to
bypass the version checking mechanism! No! No! No! NO! NO!

PROGRAMMERS! DO NOT UNDERMINE MY DEFENSIVE PROGRAMMING!!!
If it's there, it's there for a good reason!

   This program will run under 1.2 or 1.3 and is intended as
a complete replacement, so get rid of that old program.

   Suggestions?    Comments?   Contributory Inclinations?

   Alan Rubright                  TUSK  BBS
   1016 N. Duke Street        or  (717) 560-1750
   Lancaster, PA  17602-1908      2400:8N1  24 Hrs

DISTRIBUTION/DISCLAIMER:   (C)  1989  Alan Rubright
This program may be distributed for non-commercial use by
any means as long as:
   1) the program and this document file are distributed
      together
   2) the program, this file, or any part thereof, is not
      modified or removed
These rights may not be abridged except by written permis-
sion from the author. The author makes no warranties, ex-
pressed or implied. This program is provided "as is" and the
entire risk as to its quality and performance is with the
user.