TIBBITRON PRODUCTIONS _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ B o o S T (TM) Version 0.9 (Beta) GEM Desktop Startup Control Software For The ATARI ST U S E R M A N U A L (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions A Tibbitron Productions Release Tibbitron Procuctions P.O. Box 2081 Redmond, Washington. 98073-2081. (206)-867-9003. Copyright 1989 Tibbitron Productions. All Rights Reserved. ATARI, ST, and TOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. GEM, and GEMDOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digital Research Inc. IMPORTANT NOTICE BooST is a powerful organizational tool, especially when used on hard disk systems. And its potential for misuse and error is greater in the hands of a novice. The software program offers the user commands which if not used properly could result in unexpected behavior. Some commands delete files, so care should be taken. Please make sure you know how to use this software product properly, before attempting to do important work with it. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, no responsibility is assumed for errors or omissions. Tibbitron Productions and the author disclaim responsibility for any damages resulting from the use or misuse of this software product, and disclaim liability for losses of any kind or nature, financial or otherwise, incurred or alleged to have been incurred as a result of the use of this product. TABLE OF CONTENTS I GETTING STARTED................................................6 1 INTRODUCTION..............................................6 How Does BooST Work?...................................7 Capabilities...........................................7 Benefits...............................................7 System Requirements....................................7 2 PRELIMINARIES.............................................8 Using the Mouse........................................8 The GEM Icons..........................................8 Back Up Your Program Disk!.............................8 Installing BooST.......................................8 3 SOFTWARE OVERVIEW........................................10 Icons And Terms.......................................10 The Desktop......................................10 The Menu Bar.....................................10 The Color Icon...................................10 The Resolution Icon..............................10 The Flush Icon...................................11 Configuration Icons..............................11 Batch File Icons.................................11 The Editor Window................................11 Configuration Modification Form..................11 How To Get Help.......................................12 4 TUTORIAL.................................................13 Starting BooST........................................13 Selecting Icons.......................................13 Creating Configurations...............................13 Creating Batch Files..................................14 Modifying Configurations..............................15 Modifying Batch Files.................................15 Deleting Configurations And Batch Files...............15 Setting Default Boot Menu Colors......................15 Setting Default Screen Resolution.....................16 Quitting..............................................16 Using The Boot Menu...................................17 Disabling BooST.......................................18 II PROGRAM REFERENCE GUIDE......................................19 1 BooST DESKTOP MENU COMMANDS..............................19 2 CLImate COMMANDS.........................................19 CLS...................................................20 COPY..................................................20 CREATE................................................20 CTEXT.................................................21 DELETE................................................21 DRIVE.................................................21 ECHO..................................................22 EXEC..................................................22 KILL..................................................23 ON....................................................24 PATH..................................................24 PROTECT...............................................25 PTEXT.................................................25 RENAME................................................26 REZ...................................................26 TEXT..................................................27 TYPE..................................................27 WAIT..................................................27 ' ....................................................27 3 CLImate BATCH FILE QUICK-EDITOR..........................28 Move Editing Cursor...................................28 Delete Character......................................28 Delete Line...........................................28 Delete All Lines......................................28 Add Line..............................................28 Return To Home Position...............................28 Return To Beginning Of Line...........................28 Display Help..........................................28 Saving Changes........................................29 Quitting Without Saving Changes.......................29 BooST User Manual 6 I GETTING STARTED 1 INTRODUCTION Welcome to BooST, Tibbitron Productions GEM Desktop powerup control software for the ATARI ST line of personal computers! Tibbitron Productions BooST gives you the power to control and efficiently manage your GEM Desktop environment for your hard disk and floppy-based systems. With BooST you do not have to waste time and effort manually moving and renaming files and accessories every time you want to change the surroundings. Do you want a seperate environment for software development, maybe with a ramdisk resident when you start with all your tools loaded? Do you need a seperate environment from which you will run desktop publishing software that needs as much memory available as possible, and GDOS loaded? Maybe you need a personal environment, too. One where you can stuff all sorts of handy accessories in like a calendar, calculator, and address book programs and where you have no real need for computing power hogs like GDOS. In addition to a special Desktop configuration data file, you are also provided with a command line interface (CLImate) from which you can access GEM disk operating system routines on the fly. CLImate offers you a robust selection of commands. From a single option in a menu that appears when the computer is first turned on or reset, you will be able to manage and execute various pieces of your Desktop environment: - DESKTOP.INF Files - GEM Desktop Accessory Programs - CLImate Batch Files Among the features that make Tibbitron Productions BooST truly special are: - A GEM User Interface with drop-down menus, icons, dialog boxes and windows to help you learn quickly and easily. - Up to ten different GEM Desktop startup configurations can be controlled. - A basic ASCII file editor is provided for you to conveniently create and update your CLImate batch files. - The BooST program runs at both startup time and after the GEM AES and VDI operating environments are installed. - At startup time a Boot Menu is displayed from which the user can easily and quickly select the configuration that should be installed. - At startup time on a color monitor system, BooST uses medium resolution to take advantage of cleaner text providing a more professional appearance for your system. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 7 With all this control at your fingertips, less time will be spent in changing the desktop environment (setting up desktops, determining the accessories you will want, and frustration), and more time will be spent in doing what you wanted to do when you turned on the computer. How Does BooST Work? BooST works by allowing you to create definitions for a specific GEM desktop environment you wish installed at startup time. A definition can consist of the GEM Desktop description file (DESKTOP.INF), the CLImate batch file (BOOST.BAT), and desk accessory programs (.ACC files) you want used. To set up the environment you wish, BooST renames files between the names that GEM expects to find and the ones you wish to archive them as. If you have a floppy-based system, the BooST program resides in your AUTO folder of your System Disk. If you have a hard disk system, the BooST program will reside in the AUTO folder of your boot drive. When the system is powered on or reset, TOS will execute programs in the AUTO folder before setting up the GEM Desktop. When the BooST program is run, a menu of your Desktop configurations is presented, and you are prompted to select one. If you chose a different configuration other than the current one highlighted in the BooST Boot Menu, BooST will archive the current configuration pieces and install the new ones. The process of archiving and installing pieces is matter of renaming files to and from the names you specified them to be archived as. If a CLImate batch file is specified, BooST will execute that next. The BooST program then ends, and TOS continues to execute any more programs in the AUTO folder. Next, TOS installs the GEM environment. GEM procedes to search the top directory of your System Disk or boot drive for accessory programs and installs them. GEM then reads the Desktop description file and sets the Desktop up accordingly. Control is then transferred to the user. Your system is now ready for use. The GEM Desktop description file is created by you when you select the Save Desktop option in the Options menu of the standard GEM Desktop. This description file defines the color pallete, icon types and positions, opened windows and positions, icon names, screen resolution, and valid program file extensions. When creating configurations you will usually first want to make several of these (one for each configuration), and then rename them for use with BooST. System Requirements In order to use BooST, you will need: - Any ATARI ST computer with a color or monochrome monitor running TOS. - At least one single-sided or double sided disk drive, or one disk drive and a hard drive. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 8 2 PRELIMINARIES Before using BooST, you will need to install the program. The first step is to backup the program disk. Before that, however, let's review mouse procedures. Using The Mouse Some terms in this manual tell you to do something with the mouse: click = Press and release the left mouse button once. double-click = Click the left mouse button twice quickly. If the icon that you double-clicked on reverses color and nothing seems to be happening on the screen or to the disk drives, you will need to double-click more quickly. Try double-clicking again. You can set the speed of how fast you need to press the mouse button for a double click by using the Control Panel accessory provided for when you purchased your computer. drag - Press and hold down the left mouse button while you move the mouse pointer. You can use this feature to delete a configuration or batch file by dragging the appropriate icon into the flush icon. select - Position the mouse pointer over the icon you want and click. The icon's color should reverse. deselect - Position the mouse pointer over an open spot on the Desktop and click. Any icon with its color reversed should return to normal. The GEM Desktop Icons Before using BooST, you should become familiar with the ATARI ST computer manual, which you received with your computer. That manual will tell you all about TOS and the GEM Desktop, and how to connect and use the mouse on your system. The GEM Desktop consists of the graphic images, icons, that you see on the screen when your computer is powered up. Some of these icons represent your system's hardware, while others represent files or programs. Backup Your Program Disk! Before you do anything else with BooST, Tibbitron strongly recommends that you make spare copies of your BooST program disk. This will make sure that you will always have a usable version of the software if you lose the BooST program or a disk with the BooST program on it becomes irreparably damaged. Instructions for copying disk can be found in your ATARI ST manual. Installing BooST Create AUTO Folder - If you do not already have one on your System Disk or boot drive, you will need to make one. Instructions for creating folders can be found in your ATARI ST manual. The name for the folder should be AUTO. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 9 Copy BooST Software To AUTO Folder - Insert the BooST Program Disk into a disk drive, and double-click on the disk drive icon to open a window showing the files on the disk. Both the BooST program, BOOST.PRG, and the BooST GEM Resource File, BOOST.RSC, must be copied into the AUTO folder. Instructions for copying files can be found in your ATARI ST manual. Archive All Your Desktop Accessories - Copy all of your Desktop accessories to the top directory of your System Disk or boot drive. Next, using the Show Info option, in the View menu of the GEM Desktop, change all the file extensions of the accessories from ACC to ACX, except for the Control Panel accessory (CONTROL.ACC). The Control Panel provides the necessary functions used in the process of creating or updating a GEM Desktop description file. A file extension is the group of characters to the right of the period in a filename. Archive Your GEM Desktop Description File - Rename your current DESKTOP.INF file to DEFAULT.INF for later use by BooST. When you later start creating configurations, each will be initially given a copy of DEFAULT.INF as their own GEM Desktop description file. After you've created all your configurations, you will want to boot up each one, and change the open windows, icon positions, desktop colors, and etcetera. You can then use the Save Desktop option in the standard GEM Desktop Menu Bar to save the new description. GEM will create a new DESKTOP.INF for you. And when you change configurations at boot time again, BooST will rename it with the archive name you've specified for that configurations GEM Desktop description file. You are now ready to start creating startup configurations with BooST. If you wish, you may want to procede directly to the Tutorial, Chapter 4, of this manual. And read the Software Overview, Chapter 3, later. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 10 3 SOFTWARE OVERVIEW Icons And Terms The BooST Desktop The BooST Desktop is an extension to the GEM Desktop and provides the tools you will be using to control and manage startup configurations and to move around the program. It will appear automatically right after the program title dialog is displayed on the screen. The BooST Menu Bar At the top of the screen you will find the Menu Bar, which contains the names of the drop-down menus in BooST. The options within a menu are displayed by moving the mouse pointer on to the menu name. The menu options will the "drop down" in to view. To select a menu option, move the mouse pointer on to the appropriate option (it will automatically be highlighted) and click. To remove the menu options from the screen, move the mouse pointer to any open spot on the Desktop and click. Menu options and uses are described in detail in section 4. The Color Icon In the upper right-hand corner of the Desktop you will find the Color Icon. This icon cannot be selected. Double click on the color icon to display or change the BooST Boot Menu colors. The BooST BooT Menu appears only during system startup, after it has been installed in the AUTO folder of your System Disk or boot drive. A dialog box will be displayed allowing you to examine or modify the background and foreground colors. The Resolution Icon On a color monitor system in the lower left-hand corner of the Desktop you will find the Resolution Icon. It looks like a large power switch with either MEDIUM or LOW lit. This icon cannot be selected. Double click on the resolution icon to switch the default startup resolution back and forth between low and medium resolution. The default startup resolution is used when no configuration is selected in the BooST Boot Menu. Normally on a color system, the ATARI ST will default to low resolution if a GEM Desktop description file does not exists. This can be changed with this icon. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 11 The Flush Icon This icon cannot be selected or the contents displayed. It looks like a toilet on the bottom of the Desktop. Configuration icons or batch file icons can be dragged to this icon to be deleted. Configuration Icons These icons are positioned in the upper left-hand area of the Desktop. Each one represents a different startup configuration that you have created. A configuration icon looks like a slim briefcase on its side. These icons can be selected, opened for display, and dragged to the Flush Icon for deletion. To open one, either select it and use the Modify option in the Options menu on the Menu Bar, or just double-click on it. A configuration modification dialog box will be displayed. Batch File Icons These icons are positioned in the lower right-hand region of the Desktop. Each one represents a different CLImate batch file you have created that's currently residing in the top directory of your System Disk or boot drive. A batch icon looks like a piece of paper with lines of text on it. These icons can be used in the same manner as described for the configuration icons. When opened, the CLImate Basic Editor window is displayed with the contents of the file. The Editor Window This window contains the contents of the batch file selected, and from which changes can be made. The window also displays the name of the batch file currently being edited and the number of text lines it contains. Features of the editor are described later in sections 4 and 5. Editor help is available through the Help key on the keyboard. Using the window closer (the small graphic square in the upper left corner of the window) will cause the editor to exit and save any changes made. Also, the editor can be exited and any changes abandoned by pressing the Undo key on the keyboard. Configuration Modification Form This dialog box is displayed when either a configuration icon is selected and opened or when a new configuration is being added. The dialog box prompts you for the name of the configuration to appear in the Boot Menu, the name you wish to call the archived versions of the GEM Description File and CLImate batch file, and the names of the Desktop accessory programs you wish to use with the configuration. This dialog can be exited by either selecting the OK button icon, which saves configuration information you've changed, or the CANCEL button icon, which will not modify configuration information at all. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 12 How To Get Help Help is available either through the Help menu on the Menu Bar or by pressing the Help key on the keyboard when using the CLImate Basic Batch File Editor. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 13 4 TUTORIAL Starting BooST If you haven't installed BooST yet, do so now! You will find instructions on installing the program in Preliminaries, Chapter 2 of this section. Once BooST is installed, double-click on the AUTO folder of your System Disk or boot drive to open it. You should will then see the BOOST.PRG program file, double-click on it and the program will start running. Since this is the first time BooST has run on your system, a dialog box will appear notifying you that it cannot locate the BooST Configuration datafile, BOOST.CFG. It will prompt you on whether you wish to create a new one or not. You will press the YES button icon, otherwise the program will exit. Creating Configurations The premise upon which creating configurations is based is that you have already determined the various configurations you want or need. If at this point you don't know, we suggest that you stop and determine what your needs are and will be. Please refer back to the introduction if you are not sure what we mean by your needs and wants (need ramdisk installed? need GDOS for a particular use? need various accessories for different applications? etcetera). This tutorial will procede using ficticious configurations based on imaginary needs. You can follow along if you wish, and then later delete the configurations set up in this tutorial to install your own. To add a configuration you must first select the Add Configuration option in the Options menu of the Menu Bar. The Configuration Modification Form will then appear. A text cursor will be displayed in the form from which you can enter text and move about the form. The text cursor appears on the first line, Configuration Name. Type "Desktop Publishing". The text cursor will advance as you type and what you type will appear on the form. Press the down arrow key to move to the next line, GEM Desktop File. Type "PUBLISH". When this configuration is selected, this file will become the GEM Desktop description file, DESKTOP.INF. Press the down arrow key again. It will now be positioned on the next line, CLImate File. Type "PUBLISH" again. Note that on the previous line it implies that the file extension is .INF, and on this line it assumes that the file extension is .BAT. When this configuration is selected, this file will become the CLImate Batch File, BOOST.BAT, that BooST will execute before it exits. Press the down arrow key again. The text cursor is now positioned on the first of the desk accessory lines. Don't type in anything, since the desktop publishing environment will need as much available memory as possible. Since the Control Panel accessory is not going to referenced in configuration definitions (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 14 it will essentially be invisible to BooST, and the program will ignore its existance. It will always be available for you in the GEM Desktop in all configurations you set up. Select the OK button icon with the mouse pointer to exit and save this new configuration. BooST will make a copy of the DEFAULT.INF file you made during installation with the new name you specified, PUBLISH.INF, if it does not already exist. After the dialog box disappears, a configuration icon will appear on the screen with the name underneath. You can now access the Desktop Publishing configuration definition through that icon. Now, using the same steps we just described add another configuration called Personals, where the GEM Desktop File is PERSONAL.INF, the CLImate File is PERSONAL.BAT, and the GEM Desk Accessories are CALENDAR.ACC, RASCALC.ACC, and MEMOPAD.ACC. Creating Batch Files To create a CLImate Batch File you must first select the Add Batch File option in the Options menu in the Menu Bar. A dialog box will appear prompting you for the name of the batch file. Type "PUBLISH", and select the OK button icon. The dialog box will disappear and The CLImate Basic Batch File Editor window will appear in its place. Details on editor instructions appears later in Chapter 3 of section II of this manual. Details on CLImate commands can be found in Chapter 2 of section II of this manual. Now that you are in the editor, you will now type in the following lines pressing the Return or Enter key after each line. on c:\auto\gdos.prg ' do nothing... else copy c:\systools\gdos.prg c:\auto\*.* end The commands you've typed in will instruct BooST at startup to check for the existance of the GDOS program. If it does exist, BooST no action is taken. If it does not exist, BooST is instructed to copy it into the AUTO folder, so the TOS will execute that program after BooST is finished. This batch file basically installs GDOS the first time you select the Desktop Publishing configuration at startup. On any later power up or system reset, BooST will not create a copy since it already exists (given you haven't changed to a different configuration yet). Select the closer in the upper left-hand corner of the window to close the exit the editor and save the new batch file. Now, create another batch file as described previously. This new batch file will be called PERSONAL.BAT. Its contents shall be as follows: on c:\auto\gdos.prg delete c:\auto\gdos.prg end (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 15 This new batch file does the opposite of the previous one. If it detects that the GDOS program exists when the Personal configuration is selected, it will delete the program so it does not execute. This saves memory and speed for the Personal configuration. Modifying Configurations By selecting a particular configuration's icon and using the Modify option in the Options menu of the Menu Bar, you can modify its contents. This can also be accomplished by double-clicking the icon. A Configuration Modification Form should appear. Using the arrow keys as previously done when you added the configuration, you can move about the form and change the contents. Selecting the OK button icon with the mouse pointer will cause any changes you've made to be saved. Select the CANCEL button icon if you don't wish to save any changes; in this manner you can examine the contents of a configuration definition without disturbing it. Modifying Batch Files In the same manner as described previously for modifying configurations, CLImate batch files can be modified. Instead of a dialog box, the CLImate Batch File Quick-Editor window will appear with the contents of the selected batch file. Please refer to Chapter 3 of section II of this manual for editor instructions. As explained previously, pressing the Undo key on the keyboard will cause the editor to exit without saving any changes. Deleting Configurations And Batch Files Configurations and CLImate batch files can be deleted in two ways. One way is to select the icon of the configuration or batch file you wish to delete, and select the Delete option in the Options menu of the Menu Bar. The second way, is to drag the icon to the flush icon. Let's try it. Move the mouse pointer to the Personal configuration's icon, and drag the icon to the Flush. A dialog box should appear, asking you if you really wish to delete this configuration. Select the YES button icon. The dialog will disappear, and the System Disk or boot drive will be activated for a brief period as the configuration data file is updated. The Personal configuration icon will disappear. Poof...the configuration has now been deleted. Gone forever. Now, using the same procedure delete the PERSONAL.BAT batch file. Note, the "current" configuration cannot be deleted. The current configuration is the one that is highlighted in the BooST Boot Menu when you powered up or reset your system - the configuration you are currently running under. Setting Default Boot Menu Colors Only on a system with a color monitor can you choose different (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 16 Boot Menu colors. By double-clicking on the Color Icon, a dialog box will be displayed prompting you for the foreground and background RGB color values. All text is written in the foreground color and displayed on the background color. RGB is an acronym for the three primary video colors, red, green, and blue. Each digit of the color value represents each of the primary video colors respectively. Each primary color value has an integer range from 0 to 7, and with three primary colors this gives you 512 possible color combinations! The value of the primary color represents its intensity. The color black would translate as 000, and white would translate as 777. Bright blue would be 007, where bright yellow is 770. By using the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard, you can move back and forth between the foreground and background color selection lines. Use the Escape key to erase the contents of a color selection line, so you can type in a new value. If you are not familiar with these procedures regarding GEM dialog boxes, please refer to your ATARI ST manual for further details. Now since you are still in the BooST Desktop, double-click on the Color Icon. The dialog box should appear, with the text cursor on the background color line. Press the Escape key. The contents of that line should be erased and replaced with three underline characters, representing an empty line. Type in the color value 303, a nice purple. Now press the right arrow key to move to the foreground color line. Let's have text written in bright pink, so type in the color value 705. Wonderful. Select the OK button icon and new the default color values will be saved. Setting Default Screen Resolution As described earlier in this manual, normally on a color system the ATARI ST will default to low resolution if a GEM Desktop description file, DESKTOP.INF, does not exist. Using BooST this can be changed. When you start up your system and the BooST Boot Menu appears, in addition to the configurations you have created it offers you an option to boot without any special configuration installed. This special configuration option essentially does not have a DESKTOP.INF defined. Hence, GEM will normally boot up in low resolution. By double-clicking on the Resolution Icon, this can be changed. Double-click on the Resolution Icon. It should switch from one of the two resolution selections (LOW and MEDIUM) to the other. Double-click on it again. It should go back. Quitting To quit the BooST program, simply select the Quit option in the Options menu of the Menu Bar. Select the Quit option. The program should exit back to the standard GEM Desktop. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 17 Using The Boot Menu At this time reset your system. In a few moments, the BooST Boot Menu should appear on your screen written in a brilliant pink and displayed on a cool purple background. In the middle of the screen you will find the configuration you've created ("Desktop Publishing"), including one known as "None". The "None" configuration is highlighted. It is the current configuration. If you procede and press the Enter or Return key, the system will start without a GEM Desktop description. Basically, without anything special installed, called, or running (except for the Control Panel, of course). You can use the up and down arrow keys to select between various configurations. When the one you want becomes highlighted, press either the Enter or Return key. BooST will then procede to "boot" the system with whatever you've defined the configuration to contain. Any selected CLImate batch file will also be run. Press the up arrow to select the "Desktop Publishing" configuration, and press Return. The screen will clear and BooST will start installing the new configuration. You can observe this as BooST will announce to you the GEM Desktop description, CLImate batch, and accessory files it is renaming. If no error occurs it will procede. The screen will clear again. BooST will now execute the CLImate batch file. As each command is executed it will be displayed on the screen, since batch file screen echoing has not been disabled (cf. Chapter 2 of section II). If you by chance do not have the GDOS program residing in your AUTO folder, BooST will try and copy one from the C: drive in the SYSTOOLS folder. If you by chance don't have a drive C: or SYSTOOLS folder (which you probably don't), BooST will inform you of this problem. It will announce the error, that errors have occured, and prompt you on whether you wish to continue executing the batch file or not. Press the letter N key, for no, and BooST will announce that it is aborting further execution of the CLImate batch file. The BooST program will then exit, and TOS will continue with the boot process. In a few moments, the system will be up and running with the standard GEM Desktop and with the "Desktop Publishing" environment installed. Note: While you are booted up under a particular configuration you can open, shape, and position windows and icons on the GEM Desktop, change colors using the Control Panel accessory, and then save this desktop description using the Save Desktop option in the Options menu of the standard GEM Desktop Menu Bar. This option will create a new DESKTOP.INF file on your System Disk's or boot drive's top directory. And when you later change to a different configuration, this new DESKTOP.INF file will be saved, since BooST will simply rename it to the archive name you've already specified. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 18 Disabling BooST If you ever need to disable the BooST program from running you have a few options: If you are already in the standard GEM Desktop (and the system has not crashed or anything), open either the drive icon containing your System Disk or representing your boot drive and then open the AUTO folder. Find and select the file BOOST.PRG. Using the Show Info option in the View menu of the standard GEM Desktop Menu Bar, change the file's extension from PRG to SAV. Now, GEM will not interpret it as a program file, and it will not run at boot time. If you can't get to the standard GEM Desktop and you believe that BooST may be the culprit (nooo!) and you are running on a floppy- based system, we suggest that you put any formatted floppy other than your System Disk in the drive and reboot your system. After it has powered up and you are in the standard GEM Desktop, load the demon System Disk into the drive and follow the steps previously described for disabling the program. If on the other hand you have a hard disk system, we highly suggest you read your hard disk software manual on the procedures for booting without your boot drive. Usually, wise manufacturers of hard disk kits and systems will provide you with the means to get out of a mess like this. Once you've discovered the means to boot up your hard disk system without using the boot drive, follow the previous steps described first for disabling the program. If when you boot your system you are fortunate enough to at least get to the BooST Boot Menu, try pressing both the Control and letter C keys together. This ancient and sacred combination of keypresses is known as Control-C. This should at least abort BooST. But if the problem does not reside with BooST, other funky things (like GEM, desk accessories, and custom accessories) are being installed and the problem may not go away. Pick up a Phillips-head screwdriver and wave it menacingly in the computer's general direction. If BooST is paying any attention to you at all, this might work. If not, you could try the age old computer engineer's tried-and-true cement floor six-foot computer drop. This will disable it...and your computer forever. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 19 II PROGRAM REFERENCE GUIDE 1 BooST Desktop Menu Commands Following is a brief summary of the BooST Desktop Menu commands available: About BooST... presents a dialog box with program title, copyright notice, and authorage. Add Batch File... prompts you for a filename, and starts the CLImate Batch File Quick-Editor. Add Configuration... presents the Configuration Modification Form to add a new configuration with. Delete... prompts you whether you really wish to delete the selected configuration or batch file. Modify... presents either the Configuration Modification Form or starts the CLImate Batch File Quick-Editor depending on whether you've selected a configuration or a batch file to modify. Quit exits the BooST program, and returns the user to the standard GEM Desktop. Introduction... presents an informative dialog box introducing the user to many of the useful features of BooST. Examples... presents the user with a dialog box describing a few examples of how BooST can be used. Configurations... presents the user with a dialog box that briefly describes the concept of what configurations are. CLImate... displays a dialog box with a brief list of the availabe CLImate commands that can be used in a batch file with BooST. 2 CLImate COMMANDS The following section contains descriptions of all the CLImate commands, including syntax, operands, and examples. The commands begin on the next page. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 20 CLS Operation: Clears screen Syntax: cls Operands: [none] This command clears the screen of all text, and positions the invisible text cursor in the upper-lefthand corner of the display. COPY Operation: Copies file(s) Syntax: copy [from] [to] Operands: [from] = {drive}{path}{file(s)} [to] = {drive}{path}{file(s)} Valid File Specifications: *.* fil.* *.fil fil.fil Example: copy d:\test\path\demo.* a:\*.* This command will copy one or more files. Both operands [from] and [to] must be specified. Operands without file specifications are not allowed. Directory structure copying is currently not available. A valid device specification consists of the drive letter (A-Z) ending with a colon (:). A valid path specification can either be a single forward slash {\} for the top directory, or several path names contained within and partitioned by forward slashes (i.e.: \foobar\junk\dat\ ). CREATE Operation: Creates a subdirectory within the current directory Syntax: create [pathname] Operands: [pathname] = {ASCII character string} Example: create foobar This command will create a subdirectory in the current directory.The new pathname may consist of up to eight characters and a three character extension seperated by a period {.}, if the user so desires. The same limitations apply to pathnames as do to filenames. Multiple subdirectory creation from a single command line is currently unavailable. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 21 CTEXT Operation: Displays centered text on the screen Syntax: ctext [text] Operands: [text] = "{ASCII character string}" Example: ctext "Hello world, ugh!" This command outputs centered text to the screen, and advances the invisible text cursor to the next line. A null string ("") is also accepted, resulting in a blank line - no operand could be sent, too. DELETE Operation: Deletes file(s) Syntax: delete [file] Operands: [file] = {device:}{\path}{filename}{.extension} Valid File Specifications: *.* fil.* *.fil fil.fil f*.* foo???.* *f*.* *.*f* *.??f Examples: delete foobar.* delete a:\somewhere\*.dat This command deletes one or more files. A file specification must be supplied - device and path specifications are optional. DRIVE Operation: Selects different default drive Syntax: drive [drive] Operands: [drive] = {driveletter:} Example: drive e: This command changes the current default drive to another. Valid drive letters are from A to Z. A colon (:) must follow the drive letter. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 22 ECHO Operation: Enables or disables echoing of commands to the screen Syntax: echo [mode] Operands: [mode] = on {or} off This command toggles whether or not following CLImate commands will be echoed to the screen. The echo [mode] must be supplied when using this command. EXEC Operation: Executes a program Syntax: exec [program] [command] [environment] Operands: [program] = {drive}{path}{filename} [comand] = "{ASCII character string}" [environment] = "{ASCII character string}" Example: exec e:\dev\testing\demo.prg "beta.dat" This command will execute the specified program. An optional command line can also be sent, if the program accepts one. If the program will require an environment command line, one can be supplied. If the program will need only the environment line, send a null string ("") in place of the command line. Please note that during boot on an ST running TOS operating system 1.3 or less, only non-AES and non-graphic applications can be run. Drive and path specification follows the same rules that apply to the copy command. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 23 KILL Operation: Deletes a subdirectory Syntax: kill [path name] [ignore] Operands: [path name] = {ASCII character string} [ignore] = * Example: kill demodir * This command deletes the specified subdirectory from the current directory. Multiple directories specified in a single command line are not allowed. The path name specification follows the same rules as those for the create command. Only empty subdirectories can be removed, unless the [ignore] operand is specified as shown in the example above. When the [ignore] operand is used, CLImate will first delete all files within the subdirectory before removing the subdirectory. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 24 ON Operation: Conditionally executes batch file commands Syntax: on [file] . .command block . {else} . .command block . end Operands: [file] = {drive}{path}{file} Example: on c:\auto\gdos.prg ' do nothing else copy c:\systools\gdos.prg c:\auto\*.* end This file will conditionally execute sections of a CLImate batch file based on the existance of a file. Valid drive, path, and filename for the [file] operand are the same as those for the copy command. If the specified file exists, the CLImate commands immediately following the on statement will be executed until the else or end statement is reached. The else statement and command block is optional. If the specified file does not exist, the CLImate commands of the else block, if any, will be executed until the end statement is reached. Nested on statements are not allowed. All other CLImate commands can be used within the command blocks. PATH Operation: Sets the current default directory Syntax: path [path] Operands: [path] = {directory path} Example: path \mystuff\graphics\data\ This command sets the current directory that following file access will default to. Once the new path is selected, all of the files in the selected subdirectory can be accessed just by the filenames. A path specification must be supplied. A valid directory path specification can either be a single forward slash (\) for the top directory, or several path names contained within and partitioned by forward slashes (i.e.: \dev\basic\games\ ). (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 25 PROTECT Operation: Changes file(s) protection scheme Syntax: protect [file] [scheme] Operands: [file] = {drive}{path}{file(s)} [scheme] = n {or} r {or} h Example: protect c:\user\secret.fil h This command changes the protection (file attribute) scheme of one or more files. The available attributes are as follows: n : Normal read/write access r : Read only access h : Hidden (will not appear in a GEMDOS file search) Valid drive, path, and file specifications are the sames as those for the copy command. PTEXT Operation: Displays text on the screen at specified row and column Syntax: ptext [row] [column] [text] Operands: [row] = {positive INTEGER value} [column] = {positive INTEGER value} [text] = {ASCII character string} Example: ptext 10 15 "...and so it goes" This command outputs positioned text to the screen, based on a particular row and column whose valid ranges depend on the pixel width and height of the display device. Positive integer values for both row and column must be specified. A null string ("") can be used (who knows for what reason) to generate a blank line. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 26 RENAME Operation: Renames a file Syntax: rename [old] [new] Operands: [old] = {drive}{path}{file} [new] = {file} Example: rename d:\work\dp\current.wrk current.sav With this command a file can be given a new name. Both the old filename and the new must be specified. The file to be renamed does not have to be in the current directory or even on the current drive. Valid drive and path specifications are the same as those for the copy command. The [new] operand consists only of the file's new name; a new drive and path specification is not allowed. Having a new drive and/or path would imply the need to transfer the file somewhere else, and another command exists for that purpose. REZ Operation: Changes screen resolution Syntax: rez [resolution] Operands: [resolution] = low {or} medium Example: rez low This command is available only on a color system. The screen is first cleared, and then the resolution is changed to either low or medium as specified. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 27 TEXT Operation: Displays left-justified text on the screen Syntax: text [text] Operands: [text] = "{ASCII character string}" Example: text "hey, it works!!" This command outputs left-justified text to the screen, and advances the invisible text cursor to the next line. As with the ctext and ptext commands, a null string ("") is also acceptable, resulting in a blank line. The text to be displayed must be within two quotation marks. WAIT Operation: Waits for the first sign of keyboard input then continues Syntax: wait Operands: [none] This command can be used to pause batch file processing. The user can then read what is currently on the display or perform some other non-processing related task. As soon as any key (other than Control, Shift, Alternate, or CapsLock) is pressed, batch file command processing will continue. ' Operation: Batch file comment Syntax: ' [comments] Operands: [comments] = {ASCII character string} Example: 'just some sample comments to bore you with... Any CLImate batch file command line starting with an apostrophe is interpreted as a comment line and ignored by the command line processor. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 28 3 CLImate BATCH FILE QUICK-EDITOR Described herein are the various CLImate Batch File Quick-Editor features. In addition to the CLImate batch files, the editor can read in any other standard ASCII text file. Move Editing Cursor By pressing the up, down, left, and right arrows you can move the text cursor about the editing windows a line or a character at a time, respectively. Delete Character Pressing the Delete key will erase the character to the right of the text cursor. If the cursor is positioned at the end of the line, this will merge the current line with the one below it. Pressing the Backspace key will erase the character to the left of the text cursor. If the cursor is positioned at the beginning of the line, this will merge the current line up with the one above it. Delete Line Pressing both the Shift and Delete keys together will delete the current line the text cursor is on. It does not matter at what position the text cursor is on the line to delete it. Delete All Lines The entire contents of the file in the editor can be deleted by pressing both the Shift and ClrHome keys. Add Line Whether you are entering text or not, a new line is created whenever the Return or Enter key is pressed. A carriage return and line feed is performed in the editor. Return To Home Position By pressing the ClrHome key, the text cursor will immediately be moved to the upper left-hand corner of the window. This could be the top of the file, but it doesn't have to be. Return To Beginning Of Line Pressing the Escape key will reposition the text cursor at the first character of the current line. Display Help A helpful dialog box, presenting brief information regarding all the editor commands, can be displayed by simply pressing the Help key. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions BooST User Manual 29 Saving Changes To exit the editor and save changes made, select the closer (the graphic box in the upper left-hand corner of the editor window. Quitting Without Saving Changes To exit without saving any changes, press the Undo key. (C) 1989 Tibbitron Productions