

                 H.A.Z.E.L.:  Soaring with Eagles

       (Who Hazel is, what she does, and how to employ her)

                       by Henry K van Eyken


The August 1994 issue of PC World gives a preview of Microsoft's
Windows 4.0 ("Chicago").  "Revolution on the Desktop?" the
magazine's cover asks.  "A chance to soar with the eagles," the
article extolls.  Well, going by that article, what may be a
revolution for Windows users is not necessarily a revolution for
Atarians.  We have been soaring for years with a variety of
eagles besides Atari's in-ROM versions.  Teradesk, Gemini, and
Neodesk are but the most prominent among our birds.  And through
Spectre so is the Mac's desktop.(1)


Who Hazel Is and What She Does

The accompanying adaptation of a golden oldie named H.A.Z.E.L. by
the original author, Mr. Greg Knauss, facilitates trying out or
experimenting with a variety of desktops.  It is a boot-up, TSR
program that takes first spot in the AUTO folder.(2) If one
presses the left shift key during booting up (after the harddisk
sign-up messages have gone by), Hazel stops to offer a choice of
desktops for which appropriately named desktop .INF files have
been prepared.  If the key is not pressed, the arrangment used at
the previous session comes up.

Corresponding to each desktop one may make selections for:

     a.  just what programs in the AUTO folder to run,
     b.  what capacity to allocate for the RAM disk, if one is
         used,
     c.  what special fonts to have available (via a choice of
         ASSIGN.SYS files),
     d.  what accessories to run immediately,(3)
     e.  what configuration file to run with Geneva's
         multitasking program, if it is run.

My Hazel is written in GFA BASIC's version 3.5 for use on my STE.
I keep a .LST version on hand to permit alterations that suit my
personal desires.  Such, indeed, was the intention of Mr. Knauss
when he put the program in the public domain way back when.  But
the program as modified here may suit any number of Atarians.  
More details about it are found in my article "Editing the
Jellyfish Script" in the August/September issue of Current Notes.
The disk that accompanies the magazine contains also the
original Hazel by Mr. Knauss along with his documentation.(4) 

The present version, besides including some minor improvement,
augments the program with the Current Notes article by permitting
one to set RAM disk capacity from the desktop.  The drive letter
is fixed here as "M," but that can be easily changed.  For this
purpose the Jellyfish file produced and used by the program
includes the capacity of the RAM disk.  If no Jellyfish file (a
.RSC file) has yet been created, the initial size is read off the
root directory's RAMDISK.INF file that goes with the AUTO folder
program FASTRAMD by Charles Smetton.(5)  This part of the listing
shows what has been done here:

251        '                                                                
252        ' Set and record the capacity of the RAM disk. 
                                           Minimum set at 50 K.
253        '                                                                
254        IF ram$=""                                                       
255          OPEN "I",#1,"\RAMDISK.INF"                                     
256          INPUT #1,ram$                                                  
257          CLOSE #1                                                       
258        ENDIF                                                            
259        drive$=LEFT$(ram$)                                               
260        ramsize$=MID$(ram$,2)                          
261        PRINT AT(7,21);"RAM disk: ";drive$;            
262        FORM INPUT 40 AS ramsize$                      
263        IF VAL(ramsize$)<50                            
264          ramsize$="50"                                
265        ENDIF                                          
266        ram$=drive$+ramsize$                           
267        OPEN "O",#1,"\RAMDISK.INF"                     
268        PRINT #1,ram$                                  
269        CLOSE #1        
270        CLS             
271        '               

Line 254 states that if there is no Jellyfish file from a
previous session available, the Hazel will look up the current
value herself.


How Hazel Does It

By way of manual I'll try to make things easy by listing here the
contents of my own AUTO folder in the order items have been
placed there:

     HAZEL    (a folder)
     HAZEL    PRG
     POOLFX92 PRG
     STE_FIX  PR
     VDIBFIX  PR
     JAR10    PR
     NEOLOAD  PR
     GEMRAM   PRG
     NVDI     PRG
     PINHED16 PR
     WINX     PRG
     FOLDR100 PR
     G+PLUS   PR
     SPDGDOS5 PR
     SYNC     PRG
     SILKMOUS PR
     SNAPIT   PRG
     STSELECT PRG
     UIS_III  PR
     ANTIBOMB PRG
     AUTOFMC  PRG
     FASTRAMD PRG
     MULTIGEM PR
     GEMRAM   ENV
     WINX     INF
     MULTIGEM OVL     

The HAZEL folder contains:

     DESKTOP  INF     
     TERADESK INF
     GEMINI   INF
     NEODESK  INF
     GENEVA   INF
     MULT_GEM INF
     SPECTRE  INF
     STANDARD SYS
     NVDI     SYS
     NVDI_STD SYS
     SPDGDOS  SYS
     GEMINI   SYS
     TERADESK RSC
     (and other desktop resource files as created automatically
     by Hazel.)

Please, realize that this choice and arrangement is to a large
extent personal, to suit my own taste and idiosyncracies.  

When Hazel is run (by pressing left-shift) it presents a sequence
of panels.  The first offers a choice of desktops by reading what
.INF files are available from the AUTO/HAZEL folder.  The list
actually begins with "Root Dir," which is the DESKTOP.INF
currently found in the root directory. The selected .INF file is
made to replace the one in the root directory and in the process
renamed DESKTOP.INF.  Thus the contents of DESKTOP.INF in the
HAZEL folder and in the root directory are not necessarily the
same.

As an example here is my TERADESK.INF listing:

     #a000000
     #b000000
     #c7770007000600070055200505552220770557075055507703111103
     #d                                             
     #Z 01 C:\TERADESK\DESKTOP.PRG@ 
     #E F9 E3 
     #W 00 00 10 04 1E 13 0E C:\*.*@
     #W 00 00 30 04 1E 13 10 M:\*.*@
     #W 00 00 0E 09 2A 0B 00 @
     #W 00 00 0F 0A 2A 0B 00 @
     #M 00 02 00 FF A Entry Drive@ @ 
     #M 00 03 00 FF B In/Out Files@ @ 
     #M 00 04 00 FF L Floptical@ @ 
     #M 00 05 00 FF M RAM Disk@ @ 
     #M 00 06 00 FF N STf & Packet@ @ 
     #M 00 00 00 FF C Systemics@ @ 
     #M 01 00 00 FF D Applications@ @ 
     #M 02 00 00 FF E HypoCard@ @ 
     #M 03 00 00 FF F Curr. Notes@ @ 
     #M 04 00 00 FF G Programming@ @ 
     #M 05 00 00 FF H Fleabyte@ @ 
     #M 06 00 00 FF I Parking@ @ 
     #M 07 00 00 FF J TeX / UNIX@ @ 
     #T 00 07 02 FF   To Naught@ @ 
     #F FF 04   @ *.*@ 
     #D FF 01   @ *.*@ 
     #G 03 FF   *.APP@ @ 
     #G 03 FF   *.PRG@ @ 
     #G 03 FF   *.PGM@ @ 
     #P 03 FF   *.TTP@ @ 
     #F 03 04   *.TOS@ @ 
     #P 03 03   C:\LAUNCH.TTP@ *.EXE@ 
     #P 03 03   C:\LAUNCH.TTP@ *.COM@ 
     #P 03 03   C:\LAUNCH.TTP@ *.BAT@ 
     

It differs from my DESKTOP.INF file by the inclusion of the line
beginning with #Z.  (The lines beginning with #P are strictly
incidental here; they bear on my use of SuperCharger for PC
emulation).

After a desktop has been selected (by using the arrow keys on the
keyboard and pressing RETURN) the next panel lists the programs
in the AUTO folder.  The ones that are currently set to run by
ending in .PRG (or .TOS or .TTP) are shown highlighted.  AUTO
programs may be toggled on or off by using arrow keys and space
bar.  Pressing RETURN lets the current RAM disk capacity pop up. 
The value may be edited.  The letter "M" is fixed for my own use,
but this may be changed in the BASIC listing.

Pressing RETURN then offers a choice of ASSIGN.SYS files.  The
choice is made with the arrow keys and fixed by pressing
RETURN.(6)  This leads to a choice of active accessories
(highlighted).  If GENEVA is run the program will also offer a
choice of .CNF files in the GENEVA folder.  Else it is bypassed.

Just before Hazel retires she makes a resource file for the
particlular desktop, e.g. NEODESK.RSC.  The next time Neodesk is
chosen the file is read and one does not need to rethink one's
choices.  (However, when the Root Dir had been picked for
desktop, any changes made in the AUTO folder line up, etc. are
NOT saved.  This allows one to conveniently make a one-time
alteration.)

Of course, one must watch out for contradictions and, especially,
conflicts.  Maybe there is a fellow hobbyist out there who likes
to further amend the program to automatically take care of these
matters.  MultiGEM should not run together with a RAM disk.  WINX
is useless under Neodesk, as is NEOLOAD with Teradesk.  NEOLOAD
is essential for Neodesk.  The use of PINHEAD requires careful 
preparation.  SYNC is really only for use with color.  (My
set-up was written for use with monochrome, but is OK for medium
resolution as well.)    


Hazel: Personal Servant and Secretary

The work discussed here is done in line with a philosophy of
truly personal computing as expressed in my "Atari in the STicks"
column in Current Notes.(7)  I cannot at this time judge what
desktop "is best" (if there is a best) but Hazel may be helpful
in arriving at some sort of an answer.  For comments,
suggestions, or the expression of personal preferences, contact
me either by writing (11 Falcon, Lakefield, Que., Canada.  J0V
1K0) or on GEnie (H.VANEYKEN).



REFRENCES and NOTES:

1.  Some alternative desktops in the public domain are:
    Stefan Eissing and Gereon Steffens, Gemini.  GEnie ST
    Lib. 32601:GMNI_ENG.ZIP.  (This is an English version.)
    Wout Klaren, Teradesk.  GEnie ST Lib. 33120:TERA_139.LZH.
    Jonathan Carroll, Make-a-Date.  GEnie ST Lib. 20009:
    MDATE.LZH.
2.  Previously I had such fix-it programs as POOLFX92, STE_FIX,
    and VDIBFIX running before Hazel, but it seems to me that
    when Hazel is done it terminates anyway.  May be I am wrong
    in thinking this way, but perhaps I'll learn about such
    matters one day!
3.  Others may be added later by means of such accessory as
    Chameleon, Multidesk, or Geneva's own Task Manager.
4.  A copy may also be found on STart's disk of the month for
    April/May 1991.
5.  Charles Smetton, FastRAM.  ST Format disk, No. 29, Dec.
    1991.  Also GEnie ST Lib.  612:FASTRM11.TTP.
6.  An article aboout the use of GDOS and its successors is
    uploaded along with the present item as *****.
7.  v.E., "The Personal in Personal Computing," Current Notes, 
    May 1993, p.50.
    v.E., "Teradesk at Tuxedo Junction," Current Notes, Nov. 
    1993, p.20.
