
        
                        Runner -- A Desktop Alternative
        

                            ADD / CHANGE DIALOG BOX
                    Parameters / Installed Apps / QuickKeys


                       Copyright (C) 1993 by Dave Thorson
                       Version 1.61     November 18, 1993



        Runner uses a single dialog box to obtain much of the 
        information it needs to run your programs and manage your menus.  
        This "Add/Change Dialog Box" (ACDB) appears whenever you add a 
        program or menu.  The same ACDB appears if you choose to change 
        a program's information, a menu name, or Runner's title line.  
        The ACDB looks at least a little like this for one program:
        
        ---------------------------------------------------------------
          Desk     File     Menus     Colors
        ---------------------------------------------------------------

                             Mr. Dave's Runner
        
                          -----------------------
                         |   CYBRMATE.PRG        |      t m p
                         |                       |
                         |   Description:        |
                         |>> Cybermate^_________ |        m p
                         |                       |
                         | x Low    Hold Screen  |        m p
                         | x Med    Use Mini-Run |        m p
                         | x High x Low or Med   |        m p
                         |   QuickKey:  (none)   |        m p
                         |   Colors:    current  |          p
                         |   Install:   (none)   |          p
                         |                       |
                         |   Comment (wait):     |          p
                         |   ^__________________ |          p
                          -----------------------
        
        The components of this box vary for menus, programs, and title 
        line changes, but each works about the same whenever it appears.  
        The t, m and p shown to the right of the box indicate when that 
        part of the box is available (title, menu, or program/data/ 
        document file).  "x" represents a checkmark.  The ">>" symbol 
        indicates which of the two text lines is active for changes.

        To exit the ACDB and return to Runner's menu list, press Return 
        or click the right mouse button.  There is no Cancel function, 
        but then there's not much to go wrong!

        In the example, the top line gives the actual filename of the 
        program.  For menus, this line will say "Menu".  For title 
        changes, this line says "Title".  For program and data/document 
        files, the path to the file is displayed in the GEM menu bar 
        area.
        
$$      (Program Name) -- cannot be changed for "Menu" or "Title"
        
        By clicking on the actual name of a program or data/document 
        file (not the Description line), you can change which program is 
        assigned to the menu item you are editing.  This is very handy 
        if you get a new version of a program and want to keep the new 
        version number in the filename on the disk, or if you move a 
        program or data file from one folder or disk to another.
        A file selector appears to allow you to select a new program or 
        data file from the disk.  Nothing else in the Add/Change Dialog 
        Box is changed, so your description and QuickKey assignements 
        and other settings remain the same.  Much easier than dropping 
        and re-adding a program!
        
        
$$      ADCB: Description
        
        This is the text that will appear in Runner's menu lists.  Put 
        in whatever you like.  When adding programs, Runner attempts to 
        "beautify" the program name by dropping the extension, 
        converting to lower case, and inserting spaces where it thinks 
        it makes sense.  Runner is not always right, but you can change 
        the description as much as you want.  Click on this line to edit 
        it if the ">>" arrow is not already pointing at it.  Backspace 
        moves the cursor (a triangle in the program) one space left, 
        erasing the last character in the line.  The Esc key clears the 
        line altogether, unless it's on a blank line; then Esc will 
        recall the line that you saw when the ACDB first appeared.

                
        The following functions are only available in menu and program 
        changes or adds:

                
$$      ADCB: Low / Med / High

        These are screen resolution indicators.  They control whether a 
        program or menu name will be visible in a menu list for each 
        resolution (apologies to TT and Falcon users; if someone would only send me 
        one of these machines for testing I might be able to add the 
        other three resolutions ;-).
        
        So, for a program like Word Writer that doesn't work in low res, 
        click on Low to turn off the checkmark in front of it.  When you 
        use Runner in low res, Word Writer will not appear in a menu.  
        Click on Low, Med or High to turn the checkmarks on and off 
        ("on" means the item will appear in that resolution).  Default 
        values are all on.
        
        Note: if you hide a program from the resolution you're currently 
        using, it will NOT appear on the menu when you exit the 
        Add/Change Dialog Box.  Press the Tab key to show items hidden 
        from the current screen resolution; press Tab again to hide 
        them.  You can create a "hidden" menu for things like installed 
        applications or Strip Poker by clearing the checkmark from all 
        three resolutions.  Due to a programming constraint, if an item 
        is hidden in all resolutions and doesn't use Mini-Run (see 
        below), then Hold Screen is forced to be on.  Don't worry about 
        it!
        
        By hiding programs or menus, it's possible to get over 15 in the 
        same list.  Pressing TAB will show only the first 15.

        
$$      ADCB: Hold Screen (ignored for menus)
        
        This is the default for .TTP programs.  If a check mark appears 
        here, Runner will prompt for a key press or mouse button click 
        before clearing the screen and returning to Runner's screen when 
        a program exits.


$$      ADCB: Use Mini-Run (ignored for menus)
        
        Click here to force the program to be run via Mini-Run instead 
        of directly from Runner.  If a checkmark appears in this line, 
        Mini-Run will be used regardless of the Mini-Run flag on 
        Runner's menu list screen.  See OTHERS.HLP for more info on 
        Mini-Run.

                
$$      ADCB: Low or Med (ignored for menus)
        
        The check mark always appears here because one of these options 
        is always selected.  Clicking here cycles through the three 
        options:
        
        Low or Med: program will run in either low or medium res, 
                    whatever mode the computer is in
        
        Low => Med: forces computer in low resolution to run the program 
                    in a medium res screen

        Med => Low: forces computer in medium res to run the program in 
                    a low res screen
        
        This is simply a way to fool GEM into displaying the desired 
        resolution, but the mouse control or other things may not be 
        what you expect.  These options can be useful, but try them to 
        be sure they work for a given program.  You might find several 
        programs that are at least usable in the wrong resolution.

                
$$      ADCB: QuickKey

        You can assign up to twenty QuickKeys for menu items you use 
        frequently.  When you press a QuickKey, it acts exactly as if 
        you had selected its associated menu item from the menu (you can 
        even force Mini-Run to be used for programs by holding Control 
        as you press the QuickKey, or press Esc before pressing the 
        QuickKey).  QuickKeys can be used no matter which menu is 
        currently displayed.

        To assign a QuickKey to the menu item you are adding or 
        changing, click on the "QuickKey" line in the ACDB.  A brief 
        menu appears in the menu bar area at the top of the screen:
        
           Avail: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 10 (Esc=Clear)
        
        In low res, you may only see the first few choices.  From this 
        menu, press one of the function keys listed ("10" is used for 
        "F10") to assign that key as a QuickKey.  If you have assigned 
        all the QuickKeys already, the message "(none)" appears instead 
        of any function key numbers.  If you press Esc or click the 
        Right mouse button, then no QuickKey assignment is made.

        If you select the QuickKey option for a menu item that already 
        has a QuickKey assigned, the QuickKey option lets you clear the 
        assignment.  If, for example, QuickKey F6 had been assigned to 
        CYBRMATE.PRG, and keys F4 and F7 were also available, the 
        QuickKey menu would be:
        
           Avail: F4 F6 F7 (Esc=Clear)
        
        Notice that F6 has ALREADY been cleared from CYBRMATE.PRG, and 
        you must press F6 to reassign this QuickKey if you want to keep 
        using it for this program.  "F6" still appears in the ACDB below 
        as a reminder, in case you forget which key was assigned.


$$      Ten More Quickeys!
                
        An alternate set of QuickKeys is available for a total of twenty 
        QuickKeys.  Press Shift when selecting the QuickKey line in the 
        ACDB to assign or clear from the alternate set.  The menu then 
        appears as:
        
           Shift: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 10 (Esc=Clear)
        
        Press Shift when pressing the desired function key.  To use this 
        QuickKey after leaving the ACDB, press Shift and the function 
        key.  Shifted and regular QuickKeys are really two separate 
        lists but both work the same way.

        QuickKey assignments can be viewed in place of the normal Runner 
        menus by selecting "QuickKeys show" from the "Menus" menu in the 
        Gem menu bar, or by pressing BOTH mouse buttons.  Use either of 
        these actions return to the normal Runner menu lists.  To view 
        the alternate set, hold down Shift when requesting the QuickKeys 
        list.  You can also press the right mouse button when looking at 
        a QuickKeys list to see the other list, or click on the line at 
        the top of the QuickKeys list that says "Show other QuickKeys" 
        or something close to that....

        When the QuickKeys list is displayed, you can run any of the 
        programs on it, or go to any menu listed on it, as if you were 
        in Runner's usual menus, by using mouse or arrow keys and Return 
        as usual.  Use the TAB key to see QuickKeys assigned to programs 
        hidden from the current resolution, just as in menu lists.

$$      Changing QuickKeys
                        
        You can use the Change command to modify any program attributes.  
        Drop works differently: here it only clears a QuickKey 
        assignment (the program disappears from the QuickKeys list, but 
        is not dropped from Runner's normal menus).  Restore is 
        disabled, and you cannot add programs or menus or assign 
        QuickKeys here (how would you pick a program to assign?).

        
$$      ADCB: Colors
        
        The ACDB lets you select which color palette to use when running 
        a program.  The default is "Current", meaning that the Current 
        Palette will be used.  Clicking on the Colors line switches to 
        "desKtop", "iNitial", "backGround", "Text" and back to 
        "Current".  Any selection but "Current" will override the 
        Current Palette while running the program.
        
        
$$      ADCB: Install
        
        Here is where you can install an application in Runner.  This is 
        similar to Install Applications in the Desktop, under the Set 
        Preferences menu, but Runner doesn't know what's installed in 
        the Desktop any more than the Desktop know's what Runner has.  
        Any program can be installed in Runner: you tell Runner what 
        file extensions (such as .PI1 or .DOC) should trigger the 
        program to run, then when you select a file whose name ends with 
        that extension, Runner loads the program.  The selected filename 
        is also passed to the program so it can load the file for you.  
        Not all programs will do this, but some (like Word Writer) 
        handle it nicely.
        
        As an example, say you installed Word Writer (WWRITER.PRG) to be 
        triggered by the extension ".DOC".  When you select a file like 
        "DEAR_SIR.DOC", Word Writer will run and load DEAR_SIR.DOC for 
        you, all with a single mouse click!

        When you select the Install line in the ACDB, this menu appears:
        
                       Add/Change/Drop/Next/Quit   [none]

        Press A to add a new file extension.  You'll get this prompt:
        
                       Add/Change/Drop/Next/Quit   >.

        which is asking you to type in a one to three letter file 
        extension.  You can use the wildcard characters ? and * if 
        needed (? matches any single character and * matches anything 
        from that character position to the end of the extension).  So, 
        if you enter ".P?1", then selecting files ending in .PI1 or .PC1 
        will trigger the application.  Be careful though, if you enter 
        ".P*" or ".P??" with the intent of catching .PI1, .PC2, and so 
        on, you will also trigger your application with any .PRG files!  
        You can use Backspace to erase characters; press Return when 
        done.  Now the extension appears in the menu line like this:

                       Add/Change/Drop/Next/Quit   [.P?1]

        To change this extension, press C.  To drop it, press D.  Runner 
        lets you install multiple extensions per program if needed; 
        press A to add another one.  Pressing N displays each one in the 
        list for that program, circling back to the start from the end 
        of the list.  C and D only work on the extension displayed.  
        When you have the extensions set the way you want, press Q or 
        the Right mouse button.
        
        A total of 63 applications can be installed.  You can assign 63 
        to a single program or one to each of 63 programs or any 
        combination in between.  Overhead in memory is small; 2 bytes 
        for each program with at least one installed application and 7 
        bytes for each extension used.  If an installed application is 
        dropped (using "Drop" in the Menus menu) then the extensions it 
        used are fair game for installing elsewhere.  If you do not 
        reassign them before restoring the program ("Restore" in the 
        Menus menu) then they will still be intact.  Runner doesn't 
        prevent you from assigning the same extension to more than one 
        program but you will get a warning message telling you to clear 
        the extension from one of the programs.  If you use the same 
        extension twice then the first program found installed for that 
        extension will be run.  Since it's harder to describe how Runner 
        finds programs than to tell you not to do this, Don't Do This!

        Within Runner's menu list screen you can view a list of all 
        installed applications by selecting "Installed apps" from the 
        File menu, or by pressing the "I" key.

        
$$      ADCB: Comment / Parameter
        
        Clicking on this line cycles through four possibilities:
        
        -  Comment (wait)
        -  Comment (auto)
        -  Parameter (wait)
        -  Parameter (auto)
        
        These will be described below; they all work with the text field 
        directly underneath this line.  To get to the text field, click 
        on it with the left mouse button or press the Tab key to move 
        between Comment/Parameter text and the Description text field at 
        the top of the ACDB.  A ">>" symbol indicates which of the text 
        fields is active.  The Comment/Parameter text field can be 
        edited just like the Description text field (described near the 
        start of this file).

        The Comment/Parameter function is probably the most confusing 
        thing in Runner so don't worry if you don't use it.  The idea 
        here is that many programs, in particular those with a ".TTP" 
        (TOS - Takes Parameters) file extension, will accept a list of 
        parameters (also called arguments or even a command line).  The 
        ARC program is a classic example.  It's filename is ARC.TTP; it 
        expects parameters.  If you double click on ARC.TTP from the 
        desktop, a dialog box opens to ask you for the parameters.  You 
        might enter a string such as "L E:\CBURST.ARC *.DOC" to list the 
        names of all the files ending with ".DOC" within the archive 
        file CBURST.ARC in the root directory of drive E:.  Compilers 
        and assemblers and directory listing programs frequently expect 
        or accept parameters.
        
        For .TTP programs and installed applications, Runner normally 
        asks you for a command line.  If the program was triggered as an 
        installed application, then the name of the file is 
        automatically placed in the command line for the program.  
        Selecting either of the Parameter options here will override the 
        normal process and will let you pass parameters to other 
        programs as well.  Simply type in the command line parameters 
        you want in the text field.  If you leave the field blank but 
        select one of the Parameter options (either wait or auto) then 
        no parameters are passed as a default.
        
        If you are setting up parameters for an installed application, 
        then use a tilde "~" to mark where the name of the file that 
        triggers the application should go.  Using the previous example 
        for Arc, you might set up a parameter field like this:

                                    L ~ *.*

        Now, if you install Arc to be triggered by files with an 
        extension of .ARC, and then select CBURST.ARC from drive A, the 
        command line passed to Arc becomes:
        
                              L A:\CBURST.ARC *.*

        If, for some obscure reason, you actually need to pass a "~" 
        character to a program from the parameter line, use "~~".  
        Runner replaces every single "~" with a filename, and every pair 
        of "~" with a single "~".
        
        If a "~" is followed by a period, then Runner assumes you want 
        to force a different file extension onto the selected filename 
        and it removes the original extension.  For example, you might 
        Install your compiler to be triggered by files with a ".C" 
        extension, and set up this parameter line:
        
                               ~ -o ~.O -l ~.LST
        
        If you select "C:\XYZZY.C", this line would be translated to:
        
                     C:\XYZZY.C -o C\:XYZZY.O -l C:\ZYXXY.LST
        
        Complex stuff, but if you're using a compiler then this should 
        make sense to you.  Otherwise file it away into the part of your 
        memory labeled: "Things that could possibly become useful to me 
        under unlikely circumstances".
        

        The (auto) and (wait) options are simple:  "Parameters (auto)" 
        means that the command line Runner builds will be passed to the 
        application or program automatically, without stopping to ask 
        you anything.  "Parameters (wait)" means Runner will display the 
        command line and let you edit it before running the program.
        
        For the Arc example, you would probably choose (wait) because 
        you can then edit the first character to be E for extract, V for 
        verbose list, A for add, etc. (these are all ARC functions and 
        have nothing to do with Runner).  For others, such as Word 
        Writer, which accepts only the name of a file to open, you 
        should use (auto) with a default parameter list of "~".
        
        
$$      Program Comments
        
        If you don't use parameters for a program, you can use this line 
        as a comment to yourself.  Selecting "Comment (auto)" means the 
        comment will only appear in the ACDB.  Possibly useful for 
        recording the version number of the program, or maybe you could 
        use "Docs on disk 57".
        
        If you select "Comment (wait)" then before the program runs a 
        dialog box will display the comment text and give you the choice 
        of running the program or canceling the request.  A blank 
        comment line, even if "Comment (wait)" is selected, is ignored 
        by Runner.  (wait) comments can be used for messages like "Key 
        disk in A:" or other reminders.

        
$$      Priority for Parameters and other Settings
        
        Since there could be some confusion if you set up options for 
        an installed application, and then set different options for 
        a document/data file that triggers it, the following rules 
        tell who wins:

        *  Options set for a triggering file override options for an 
           installed application.

        *  Exception 1: use of a parameter option always overrides use of 
           a comment option.

        *  Exception 2: Hold Screen and Mini-Run will be activated if 
           either a triggering file or a program request them.

        
        [end of DIALOG.HLP]
        
