EZQ, The customizable print (or whatever) queue of your dreams!

	© 1991 Arnie Cachelin, HyperActive InterMedia

EZQ creates a Workbench icon which will process any files dropped on 
it.  For example, you could drop a text file icon (or several) onto 
the EZQ icon and have it come out on the printer.  The actual process 
can be any CLI command or script, just enter it into the program 
icon's ToolTypes array.  EZQ works only under Workbench 2.x.

Setting The Commands

To set the program icon's tooltypes, click on the icon, then 
select 'Information' in the Workbench/Icons menu.  When the info 
window comes up, click on the tooltype entry in the list to edit that 
entry, or select 'New' to add an entry.  When the entry is complete, 
hit return to place it in the list, and click the save button to exit.  
Now double-click on the EZQ icon, and you will see the EZQ 'AppIcon' 
appear on your Workbench screen.  Whenever you drop a file onto the 
appicon, it will be processed based on the ToolTypes you have entered.  
If you are satisfied with the performance, you should duplicate EZQ, 
and rename it in a way which makes its function apparent.  This new 
program name will appear under the appicon.

Entries should be valid commands, and appear as they would be 
typed in a CLI window, with the full path of the command specified.  
The path and the name of whatever icon was dropped onto the appicon 
will be substituted into successive occurances of "%s" in the command 
entry.  (i.e. if the file MyDisk:CoolPic is processed with the command 
entry 'C:Show "%s%s"', the first %s will be replaced with 'MyDisk:' 
and the second, by 'CoolPic'.)  Quotes (") around the file/path 
symbols are not required by EZQ, but will allow file names which 
contain spaces to be processed in most cases. 

EZQ makes no provision for a command's output; if you wish to see 
the program output you must explicitly provide an output path.  This 
may be done by redirecting the output of the command to a con: window 
(e.g. 'C:Type >con:10\10\500\200\Title "%s%s" '.)  This window snaps 
shut immediately after the command finishes.

EZQ in action

Once EZQ's appicon has come up on screen, it will process any 
file(s) you drop it.  Multiple icons can be selected and dragged onto 
the appicon by placing the mouse pointer over the appicon.  Multiple 
files may also be dropped on one at a time.  If the process takes a 
long time or waits for input before returning, then the files will 
line up and wait to be processed.  To remove EZQ, simply double-click 
on the appicon.

C Programmers

Source code for EZQ is included.  It is a quite simple program 
which uses the system's message list to queue a series of files, then 
loop through commands in the program icon's tooltypes array, executing 
them with the file names inserted.  The actual appicon image is in the 
file EZQIcon.h created with the HyperActve InterMedia Icon utility 
(available separately).  Other images could be substituted.  Other 
options for changing the appicon image are: 1) Use the program icon 
though it may get confusing which is which. 2)add a tooltype for an 
icon file or accept an icon as an argument.  I should also try to use 
AmigaDOS 2.0 Makelink command rather than duplicating the file for 
different icons.

I really like this little program, and am glad WB 2.0 makes it so 
EZ to do.  I also feel kinda object-oriented when I can encapsulate 
all the program's configuration data in its icon.  I hope you find 
this useful and interesting.

EZQ is freely distributable shareware, please send whatever 
contribution you consider appropriate.  Feel free to use the source 
code in your own creations, but please give credit where it is due.

Please send suggestions, bug reports, revisions, jobs, candygrams, 
etc. to:



Arnie Cachelin

HyperActive InterMedia

1743 Hayes St.

San Francisco, CA 94117