----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DeskMaster DEMO Documentation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Installing DeskMaster 2. Configuring DeskMaster 3. Mouse and Keyboard Control 4. Using Preset Files 5. File Name Searching ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION Drag the program file DESKMSTR.PRG into the AUTO Folder. Remember, AUTO Programs execute in the order they are copied into the AUTO Folder. Since this is the DEMO Version you may only run DeskMaster from Drive A. DeskMaster must be one of the first programs to execute in order to take full advantage of its capabilities. There are two ways to rearrange the AUTO Folder: 1) Copy ALL of the AUTO Programs into another directory, then copy them back into the AUTO Folder in the order you would like them to execute. 2) Use an AUTO Folder sorting program to sort your AUTO programs. CONFIGURATION Once you have DeskMaster in the AUTO Folder restart your machine and wait for DeskMaster to come up. If you are running DeskMaster for the first time and there is no DESKMSTR.CFG in the root directory of the boot drive DeskMaster will default to the Configuration screen. If you have been using DeskMaster and wish to reconfigure it you can press F10 while at the main screen at any time. DeskMaster Configuration Menu 1. Search for Files on Drive: Selecting "1" from the menu will prompt you for a drive letter. The drive you specify here is the drive DeskMaster will look at for DA's, the AUTO Folder, the DESKMSTR.CFG file, ASSIGN.SYS files, DESKTOP.INF files, and all other items in the AUTO Folder including the AUTO Pro- grams and the folder containing Preset files, ASSIGN.SYS files and DESKTOP.INF files. Unfortunately TOS limits you to drive "A" or "C" for most of the files mentioned above. When you change the drive letter DeskMaster will automatically search for configuration file on that drive. If one exists DeskMaster will revert to those settings. If not, the current settings will remain. 2. Search for Presets in C:\AUTO\xxxx\ This menu item allows you to direct DeskMaster to look for Presets in any folder within the AUTO Folder on your boot drive. In this folder you MUST place (NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT) your different DESKTOP.INF and ASSIGN.SYS files that you have previously set up. When placing these files in the folder (eg- C:\AUTO\DESKMSTR\) you must rename them. For DESKTOP.INF files you can give them any 8 character filename as long as you give them the extension "INX". If you don't DeskMaster will not recognize them. For ASSIGN.SYS files do the same except use the extension "SYX". Remember you must use these extensions. DeskMaster defaults to the path "C:\AUTO\DESKMSTR\". To make it easier you may want to give the files descriptive names. 3. Force Time/Date Set on Startup (ON/OFF) THIS FEATURE IS DISABLED IN THIS DEMO VERSION Selecting "3" will toggle this feature ON and OFF. When Force Time/ Date is ON DeskMaster will prompt you to enter the Time and Date on bootup after the Startup Screen appears. If it is OFF you may still set the Time and Date from the main screen. This feature exists for the sole reason that we sometimes forget. Oh no...I forgot what I was talking about! 4. Floppy Write Verify (ON/OFF) THIS FEATURE IS DISABLED IN THIS DEMO VERSION Floppy Write Verify is used when you are writing files and when they are done copying it verifies the copies. TOS's default is ON. Desk Master's default is OFF. When FWV is OFF copies seem to go faster. 5. [Do Not] Display Startup Screen This will Toggle the display of a Startup Screen on bootup. 6. Display Startup Screen for xxx Seconds If you are displaying a Startup Screen the value (xxx) determines how long DeskMaster waits before it continues to the main screen. However, you may continue to the main screen from the Startup Screen at any time by pressing any key. 7. Path for Startup Screens: You may enter a complete path containing the location of any DEGAS UNcompressed,(PI2 or PI3) medium or high resoultion screens. Desk Master will only display this file type. (An example path would be: E:\PICTURES\*.PI#) Hey! What's that "#" thing? Well, that "#" thing tells DeskMaster to find either medium or high rez pictures depending on the current resolution. IMPORTANT! You Must Use ".PI#" at the end of your path name. DeskMaster will find the first picture in the path if there is one unless you specify a name. 8. Auto Quit in xxx seconds THIS FEATURE IS DISABLED IN THIS DEMO VERSION DeskMaster, as you may already know, has an Auto Quit timer. The Auto Quit timer waits a specified period of time (1-255) seconds then quits DeskMaster with the current selections. The Auto Quit timer is only active at the main screen and when there is no keyboard or mouse activity. Any such activity resets the timer. Don't worry, it won't just QUIT on you, there is a bell and count down 5 seconds before it quits. And if you don't want the timer on, for example you are making Presets, you can temporarily disable the timer with the F9 key. This toggles the timer ON or OFF. The "*" in the upper right corner indicates the timer's condition. 9. Save Configuration If you need docs on this don't use DeskMaster. 0. Revert to Last Saved Oh darn! You've been playing with that configuration again and you can't remember what the previous settings were. Never fear! Revert to Last Saved is here! This feature reverts the settings to the last saved configuration. Once you've completed and saved your setup you may exit the configuration screen by pressing the SPACE BAR. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE CONTROL This is a complete list of ALL keyboard and mouse control commands available from the main screen. FUNCTION KEYS F1 Set System Time F2 Set System Date F3 AUTO Folder Sort (BY NAME/BOOT ORDER) This function resorts the AUTO program list by name or by boot order. As far as I know TOS 2.06 and greater are the only TOS versions that allow the viewing of files in the order they were copied to the directory. Now you can in DeskMaster...in any TOS! F4 Search Boundaries (LOCAL/GLOBAL) F4 sets the limits of a TypeSelect search. LOCAL limits the search to the column the cursor is located. GLOBAL searches all columns for the filename. F5 File/Column Info (SEL/FILES or FILE SIZE) Toggling F5 switches between two displays. 1) Sel/Files: This shows the number of files selected in the column the cursor is in and the number of files in that column. 2) File Size: This shows the size of the file the cursor is on. However, this feature slows cursor movement drastically. It is recommended that you switch back to the "Sel/Files" display immediately after checking the file's size. F9 Toggle Auto Quit Timer (ON/OFF) This feature temporarily disables the Auto Quit timer. An "*" the upper right corner of the screen indicates the timer's condition. You may reenable the timer by pressing F9 again. F10 Configuration Screen This key takes you to the configuration screen. See CONFIGURATION for more information. The SPACE BAR returns. MOUSE CONTROL AND OTHER KEY COMMANDS Tab = Update Hilighted Preset File Help = HELP Screen with all Key Commands Listed Clear = Deselect All Files in the Column Insert = Create New Presets File Delete = Delete Hilighted File Alt + R = Reboot w/prompt Alt + EXIT = Skips Write of DESKTOP.INF & ASSIGN.SYS on Exit Arrows, Mouse = Control Cursor Movement Return, Lt. Btn. = Select/Deselect File Shft + Up/Dn Arrow = Moves Cursor to Prev/Next Selected File Ctrl + Up/Dn Arrow = Moves Cursor to Top/Bottom of List Shft+SELECT PRESET = Keep Existing Presets Selected ESC, Rt. Btn, UNDO = Exits DeskMaster/Continue Boot STARTUP BYPASS COMMANDS Control = Bypass DeskMaster/Keep Current SetUp Right + Left Shift = Clear ALL Selections/Bypass DeskMaster PRESET FILES What are Preset files anyway? Well, Preset files are predefined combinations of selected AUTO Programs, Desk Accessories, a DESKTOP.INF file and an ASSIGN.SYS file. These selected files are usually related in some way. For example, a Preset file dedicated entirely for a RAM Disk could have a DESKTOP.INF file setup with an extra drive on it, a Desk Accessory of the RAM Disk and maybe an AUTO Program related to the RAM Disk. Remember, all the Preset file contains is the file's NAME. When you select this file in DeskMaster it reads the file and selects all of the files listed in it. With Preset files you could have a setup for a RAM Disk, a setup for DEGAS with Accessories for DEGAS selected in it. You could also have Presets for different resolutions. SHIFT-SELECTING PRESETS The possibilities of Presets are endless. Another distinct feature of DeskMaster that other Desktop Organizers are lacking is shift-clicking Preset files. Normally when you select a Preset file all current selections are cleared and the new ones are selected. With shift-clicking you can have more than one set of Presets active at one time. For example, you could set up a DEGAS Preset and a STANDARD Preset file, the STANDARD file would contain a DESKTOP.INF and maybe an AUTO Program screen saver. The DEGAS Preset would contain DA's related only to DEGAS. You could have STANDARD selected all the time and when you want to use DEGAS you could shift-click the Preset, that would make the DEGAS Accessories active, it would save a lot of time going through lists of Desk Accessories. That is just one example of the shift-click feature. Shift-clicking also works for deselecting. When you don't want the DEGAS Accessories selected anymore you could deselect them and keep the STANDARD Presets selected. Just hold the SHIFT key! CREATING and UPDATING PRESET FILES To create a Preset file you must first deselect any files that are already selected. Do this by placing the cursor in the PRESETS column and pressing "Clr". Next, select any AUTO Programs, Desk Accessories, a DESKTOP.INF file and an ASSIGN.SYS file. NONE are required to complete a Preset file. For example, you don't have to have a DESKTOP .INF file in a Preset. Nothing is required. Once you have all of the files selected you must save them to a "Preset" file. Do this by pressing the "Insert" key. At the bottom of the screen you will be prompted to enter an 8 character file name.(SUGGESTION: When you are naming Preset files you may want to make them descriptive as to what is in them) Press RETURN when done entering the file name. Your current selections will then be saved. Repeat these steps to create other Preset files. Times certainly change and so do the number of Desk Accessories and AUTO Programs out there. That is why you may want to update one of your Preset files every now and then. Add a Desk Accessory here and there. Well DeskMaster makes this exceptionally easy with the Tab key. When you are updating a Preset file be sure that ONLY the Preset file to be updated is selected or again you will get extra filenames in your Preset. From there you will add the new files to the existing select- ions. When you have completed this task place the cursor on the Preset file name you are updating. Press the "Tab" key. You will then be asked "Are you sure you want to update the Preset?" Select "OK" or "Cancel" with the arrow keys or mouse and the button to select. Your selection will be hilited by turning UPPERCASE. BOOM. You just fried your hard drive, just kidding. You just updated the Preset file. If, for some rampant reason, you may want to delete a Preset file, or any file for that matter, simply place the cursor on that file and hit the "Delete" key. You will be prompted with the usual "Are you sure". Select "OK" and deleting will commense. FILE NAME SEARCHING TYPESELECT This, without a doubt is my favorite feature (and most used). TypeSelect is a very quick and easy method of searching through lists. In this case, lists of file names. To use TypeSelect you simply begin typing the first few characters of a file name you are searching for, DeskMaster will then place the cursor on the closest match. Now, TypeSelect has to modes to it: LOCAL and GLOBAL. LOCAL mode will limit the file search to the column of files the cursor is currently located. GLOBAL mode, on the other hand, gives an unlimited file name search through all of the file columns. This feature of DeskMaster makes the process of searching for a file name quite instantaneous. If it's there you'll find it with TypeSelect. SHIFT-ARROW KEYS/MOUSE OK, you're looking at your Desk Accessories to see what's selected when all of a sudden you can't. The Sel/Files indicator says there are 4 DAs selected. But you can't see them. Never fear SHIFT-ARROWS are here. Holding the SHIFT key and pressing the Up or Down Arrow keys scrolls through the column stopping at every selected file. Instantly revealing what files you have selected. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DeskMaster from Digital Media Programming and Manual by Eric Goodman DEMO VERSION DeskMaster Copyright 1992 Digital Media