* WHAT IS WORKBENCH? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Workbench is the environment you work in to copy files, load programs and do virtually everything else. Workbench is the Amiga's OS (Operating system) like the PC's is "Windows". In the past ten years computers have been programmed differently in order to make them more friendly and more efficient. Before Operating systems, computers ONLY used DOS (Disk Operating System) screens which made using them both a pain and dull. For instance you had to enter long pathnames, confusing commands and then there was a chance that the file or program failed to load. Fortunately the Amiga never only used DOS screens because Workbench 1.2 was invented with the first Amiga! This paved the way for other operating systems. The latest versions are greatly enhanced. * HOW DOES WORKBENCH CREATE A USER FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT? * * * * * * * Well, a WIMP system is used, which is short for Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers. They have been listed below along with descriptions of what they mean. Icons - Represent information by using pictures. Icon files contain information about the placement of the file, what category the file goes into ie, drawer (directory), tool, project etc. NOTE: Icons have the ".info" extension on their filenames, this does not appear when the icon is on screen. Icons can be created with IconEdit, supplied with Workbench. (See Icons document) Workbench Windows - Contain icons and all the hidden system files (without icons). Windows are used to display data this data can be re-arranged. Program Windows - Contain information and is the area the user works in to enter data. Menus - Contain information about the program. They are used for speed as the menus can quickly be accessed by the user. Pointers - Represent the mouse movement and movement of the cursor by using a solid block or arrow. * WORKING WITH THE MOUSE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The mouse can be used to scroll an arrow (or pointer) around the screen. The mouse represents the user's movements. This is one way of controlling the computer; the other is via the keyboard. There are two buttons on the standard Amiga mouse here is what they do: Right - Will display the menu, usually at the top of the screen. Left - This is the selection button which will select objects such as windows, icons, buttons, etc. Double clicking (in fast succession) on an icon will attempt to load that file. Functions of Left Mouse Button: Press - Press and hold the button down. Click - Press and release the button. Double Click - Press the button quickly twice. Drag - Press and move the mouse. Always use your mouse on a clean mouse mat as the slightest particles will clog up the wheels which help to move the mouse ball. * WHAT ARE REQUESTERS? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Requesters are boxes of objects ie, text which asks the user for a response. There are a few different requesters - action, text and file requesters. All requesters are self-explanatory as they display the appropriate information. Action Requester - Asks the user for a decision, for example the format option on the Workbench menu will ask you if you sure you want to format the disk; it will give you the options "Cancel" and "OK". Clicking "OK" will tell the computer (yes) format the disk and clicking "Cancel" will tell the computer not to go ahead with formatting. Text Requester - Asks the user to enter text into a box which will be displayed inside the requester. An example of this, is the "Execute Command..." on the Workbench menu. Text relating to commands are typed in here. File Requester - Asks the user to select a file from any disk. A list of drives, directories and filenames are displayed inside the requester. To select a filename you must click on the filename and to use this filename double click on it. This will automatically close the requester which will then try to load the filename. This type of requester is very common and is used when you select a picture, text, music samples using your favourite software. * KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Instead of always having to use menus and moving the mouse to click buttons, to move windows and icons; there are Keyboard shortcuts. As the title suggests the shortcut can be achieved through the keyboard. Often menu buttons display an "A" in a filled box along with an normal letter. The "A" in the box refers to the right Amiga button and a normal letter or number on the keyboard. Pressing these two buttons will use the option. Pressing the following whilst using programs: Right Amiga + "L" - Brings up the Load requester. Right Amiga + "S" - Brings up the Save requester or automatically writes over the previous data. Right Amiga + "Q" - Quits the current program. Look through the menu options of your software to see if there are any shortcuts keys you can use, it will save you time and while fairly daunting at the beginning you will soon get the hang of it. * WHAT ARE PREFERENCES? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On Workbench there is a drawer titled "Prefs or Preferences" this drawer contains all the preference editors for Workbench. Each of these editors can be used to modify how Workbench behaves and feels. Here is the list: Name of Editor What it does... Time - Lets you set the date and time. Pointer - Lets you alter the appearance of the pointer. Font - Lets you select the fonts that Workbench and other programs use on their displays. Palette - Lets you change the colours of the Workbench screen. Screenmode - Lets you change the size and the palette of the screen. WBPattern - Lets you create a background for windows and the Workbench screen, using the current palette. Printer - Lets you select a print driver which is most suitable for your printer (see Printers doc) and also lets you change options such as margins and paper size. PrinterGFX - Lets you set up your printer so that it can print graphics (pictures). Serial - Lets you change the options for using the serial port. This port can be used with modems and networking systems. Overscan - This is used to adjust the size of the display area for text and graphics. Icontrol - Lets you select the shortcut keys for specific Workbench actions, such as cancelling and continuing requester actions. To make your new preferences permanent click the "Save" button at the bottom of each editor. To only use them for the time being without making them occur again in the future click the "Use" button. Lastly to stop the preferences being used click the "Cancel" button. * WHAT'S ON THE WORKBENCH MENU? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Workbench menu and other program menus can be accessed by pressing the right mouse button and then clicking on an item to activate it. The menu can only be used by moving the mouse to the menu bar (the black bar at the top of the screen). The First Menu +-------------------+ | Workbench | «--- Name of Menu ++------------------++ | Backdrop | | Execute command...| | Redraw All | «--- Menu Items | Update All | | Last message | | About... | | Quit... | +-------------------+ Backdrop - Ticking this will create a window for the Workbench screen. This can be useful as you can display more icon files as the screen uses a buffer bar to store the position of the icons. Execute Command... - The same as the CLI (Command Line Interface), this is where you use commands to copy files, load programs etc. However this is limited as only one command can be used at one time because it only gives you one line to type. Redraw All - This draws (refreshes) the icons and and the screen. Update All - If you have changed the positioning of icons and windows since you have "snapshot" them (see below) then this will update the screen. Last Message - This prints the last command or response the computer gave on the menu bar ie, "Loading IconEdit". About... - This gives information about Workbench; the Workbench and version numbers and the company name and copyright details. This menu item is also used by many programs to give information, usually in more detail ie, memory configurations. Quit... - This will exit Workbench, stopping the user from using the computer effectively. However if you have loaded a non-Workbench program (one that opens on it's own screen, also known as it's public screen) then the program will still function and the drives can still be accessed like normal. The Second Menu +-----------------+ | Window | «--- Name of Menu ++----------------++ | New Drawer | | Open Parent | | Close | «--- Menu Items | Update | | Select Contents | | Snapshot - +------+ | |Window| «--- Sub-Menus | |All | | +------+ | Show - +----------+ | |Only Icons| | |All Files | | +----------+ | View by - +----+ +-------------|Icon| |Name| |Date| |Size| +----+ These menu items can only be used if you open a window either empty or containing icons. New Drawer - This creates a new directory. A requester will pop up and ask you for a name. Open Parent - If you have opened a window before opening a new window and then closed the old window. The window can be brought back by clicking on this item. The parent is the directory before. (Just like a son has a father as a parent) Close - This will close the window. You can regain the use of the window by double-clicking on the icon. Update - This updates the contents of the window to what it was saved. This can only be used if you have repositioned the icons by mistake. Select Contents - This will select all the icons in the resident window. Snapshot - You can record the position of the window by clicking on Snapshot Window, this saves the setting to disk. You can save the position of all windows and icons by clicking on Snapshot All. Show - This will display all the icons and all hidden files (files without icons). View by - The contents of a window can be displayed as icons along with the date it what created, the size and of course the name. The Third Menu +-------------------+ | Icons | «--- Name of Menu ++------------------++ | Open | | Copy | | Rename | | Information... | | Snapshot | «--- Menu Items | Unsnapshot | | Leave Out | | Put Away | +-------------------+ | Delete | | Format Disk | | Empty Trash | +-------------------+ These menu items can only be used if you select an icon or icons. You can select more than one icon by keeping the Shift key down (either key with the outlined arrow). Open - This will open the the contents of the icon - directory, program, file etc. Copy - This will copy the file and name it "copy_of_xxx." This file can then moved another window and if necessary renamed. Rename - This will let you change the name of the file to another name. A requester will pop up asking you for a replacement name. Information... - This will give you a window of information about the icon and the file it represents. Snapshot - This records the positioning of icons and saves the information for future use. Unsnapshot - This will delete the last position settings for the icons and the icons will be positioned to how they were. Leave Out - This will move the icons from the window to outside into the Workbench window. The icons are still physically contained in that window although they cannot be seen there. This is very handy as you will not need to search through "endless" directories to reach your favourite programs; as the programs can be used from the Workbench window. Put Away - This will move the Left out icons back into there windows. Delete - This removes the icon from the disk permanently. Use this item carefully. Format Disk - In order for the computer to be able to read disks, they need to be made readable. This can be achieved by formatting the disk to Amiga. This can only be used when select disk icons. A requester will pop up asking you if you want to format the disk, if you don't press cancel if you do then either press OK or OK-Quick. The difference is OK will format the disk and verify (double check the disk) which will take over 60 seconds, this gives a very reliable disk copy. The OK-Quick can only be used if you have previously formatted the disk to Amiga, this simply blanks the disk. Personally I always use the OK (longer format) as this will remove any damaged data which may make the disk useless later on. Empty Trash - This will only work if you have a Trashcan in your window. Files can be stored here for deletion at a later date. The files can still be used as the Trashcan is just another directory. When you decide to delete the data simply choose this icon. The Forth Menu +-------------------+ | Tools | «--- Name of Menu ++------------------++ | ResetWB | «--- Menu Item +-------------------+ ResetWB - This will update the whole of Workbench (WB). NOTE: Workbench utilities sometimes add there own item to this list. * WHAT IS A RESIDENT WINDOW AND HOW DO I MAKE ONE? * * * * * * * * * * A resident window is a window which has been selected by clicking the right mouse button inside or on the border of the window. The window will then become highlighted. Only resident windows can be used. All windows which are not resident will not be highlighted and therefore they cannot be used until they are highlighted. Only one Workbench window can be used at one single time; although it is impossible for the user to use more than one window at a time. * WHAT IS THE USE OF THE RAM DISK? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ram is actually a memory resident disk which can be used like any other disks to store files. Using Ram has many advantages for example it is extremely fast. As the computer already contains the program in memory it does not need to read it from a slow... disk. You can experiment by using Ram to store unnecessary files or the most commonly used. Ram is also very handy if you only have one drive, for instance if you want to copy a file from one disk to another you could copy the file to Ram and then to the other disk. This will save constant disk swaps and will therefore save valuable time. If you are low on memory you can delete the file in Ram. However this has it's disadvantages; it will obviously eat up memory as you are containing programs in memory and once you turn your Amiga off the memory will wipe the Ram disk and the contents will disappear. * I WANT TO STORE FILES IN MEMORY AND USE THEM AGAIN ONCE THE COMPUTER HAS BEEN RESET? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * You wouldn't use Ram for this task you would use another memory drive Rad which is a recoverable drive. To mount (setup) this drive you will have to boot from the Workbench disk. Open a CLI or use the "Execute Command..." on the Workbench menu and type: Mount Rad: A few moments later a drive icon will appear titled "Ram_0". You can copy files to this drive and when you reset the computer, it will boot from this drive. The loading will be fast... However this uses 880K of memory although you may never use this amount. The Rad drive will only stay until you reset your machine and leave it off for over twenty seconds. The computer will then act as normal.