************************************** * * * Hot Switch Program * * by John Eidsvoog * * Copyright 1990 CodeHead Software * * * ************************************** Release date: Friday, March 2, 1990 What it is ---------- Hot Switch Program allows you to reboot with a different DESKTOP.INF file and a different HOTWIRE0.HOT file simply by pressing a key. This is perfect for those times when you (or your kids) want to change to low resolution and come up with your low res HotWire menu or vice versa. Of course, there are also many other uses for Hot Switch Program. Using Hot Switch will also alleviate the problems with accessories which intercept vectors. Many of these accessories (such as CapsLock, Font Tricks, etc.), will crash when using the desktop to change resolutions. This is caused because the system will yank accessories out of memory without notifying them to let them replace their vectors. Although changing resolutions with Hot Switch will take a few seconds longer, it is much more stable and since it only requires a single mouse click or keypress (from HotWire), it is much easier. How to set it up ---------------- Install Hot Switch in a blank line on one of your HotWire menus like any other program. When the Options Box appears, click on "Command Line". This will tell the command line box to appear when you later run it. Next, type in a title that is descriptive of the operation you are setting up. If you want to switch to low-res and load a low-res games menu, you might enter "Low-Res Games". Remember that you can have more than one menu entry which calls HOTSWICH.PRG and each one can have a different title and use different INF and HOT files. Once you've entered a title you can define a hot key if you like. When you're done, click on OK to exit the Options Box. Now click on your new menu entry and the command line entry box will appear. Click on "File Selector" and choose the DESKTOP.INF file you wish to use. If you are using Desk Manager, you may already have a folder in your AUTO folder called DESKMGR with some INF files in it, e.g. LOWDESK.INF. After you've chosen an INF file, click on "File Selector" again and choose the HOT file you wish to use. If you've been making good use of HotWire's features, you'll already have a "HOTSTUFF" folder with the desired HOT file in it, e.g. LOWGAMES.HOT. After choosing a HOT file, DON'T HIT RETURN YET. First, type in a tilda character (~ - next to the Backspace key) at the end of the command line. This will tell HotWire not to bring up the command line entry box on subsequent runs of Hot Switch. If you need to edit the command line later, you can bring up the entry box by holding Control when clicking on your HOTSWICH entry. Next click on "Cancel" because you'll want to save your altered HOT file before proceeding or these changes will be lost when HOTSWICH does its reset. Click on the "Save" icon (or hit F2) and save your edited HOT file. This will also save the command line that you've just constructed. Now you're ready to try it out. Click on your new entry (or hit its hot key) and you should see messages on the screen as HOTSWICH does its thing. When it's done you'll see a three-second countdown before a warm boot occurs. This gives you a chance to abort the reset, by pressing any key, in case there's something you forgot to save. How it works ------------ Hot Switch Program must be used with a command line to tell it which files you want it to use. If you run it without providing a command line, it will display a screen showing brief instructions on its use. Hot Switch expects two full path/filenames on the command line. The first one is your DESKTOP.INF file. Hot Switch will copy this file to the root directory of your boot drive, naming it DESKTOP.INF. Any existing DESKTOP.INF file will be overwritten so make sure that you have a backup of your current DESKTOP.INF file. After the first filename there must be a single space separating it from the second filename. The second filename is the HOT file you wish to use. This file will be copied, in the same directory, to the filename HOTWIRE0.HOT. HOTWIRE0.HOT is the first HOT file that HotWire looks for when it boots up. If there is already a file named HOTWIRE0.HOT, it will be renamed to HOTWIRE0.BAK in case you haven't backed it up. If there was already a HOTWIRE0.BAK file, it will be deleted. POINTS TO NOTE: --------------- 1. Hot Switch causes a reset. Remember that you will be losing any unsaved work such as an edited HOT file, or data files in ACCs. This is why there is a 3-second countdown so that you can press any key to stop the reset. 2. If you've been using HOTWIRE.HOT (without the "0") as your default HOT file, you'll need to change it to HOTWIRE0.HOT or HotWire will never find it because HotWire looks first for HOTWIRE0.HOT. HOTWIRE0.HOT can be reloaded into HotWire at any time by pressing Shift-Numeric Keypad 0. 3. You can have a program installed in your HOT file as "AUTO-RUN" so that it will be automatically executed after the reboot. 4. If you use Desk Manager, you should configure it so that it doesn't automatically copy its own DESKTOP.INF file, cancelling your intentions. 5. If you wish to change only your HOT file, you can enter "INF" (or any non-existent filename ending in "INF") as the first filename, followed by the HOT file you wish to use. 6. If you wish to change only the DESKTOP.INF file, you can omit the second file name (or use the name HOTWIRE0.HOT). Perhaps you want to use the same HOT file for low-res. In this case, no HOT file will be copied. 7. If Hot Switch cannot find either filename, it will display an alert box informing you so, and abort its operation. Copyright stuff --------------- HOTSWICH.PRG, and this document are Copyright 1990 CodeHead Software. However, they may be freely distributed as long as this text file and the Hot Switch program file are both included. Neither this document file (HOTSWICH.TXT) or the program file (HOTSWICH.PRG) may be altered in any way. Copies of these files may not be sold, and this document may not be reprinted, without the express written permission of CodeHead Software. We've tried to make Hot Switch as bug-free as possible. Nevertheless, CodeHead Software cannot be responsible for any damages that may occur as a result of the use (or misuse) of Hot Switch. _____________________________________________________________ | | | If you don't own HotWire, you're doing things the hard way! | | | -------------------------------------------------------------