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This section provides information on the XOSL Preference dialog, which is opened by clicking on the Preference button.
Because most display controllers are configured differently, XOSL uses the VESA VBE 1.2 16-bit standard, extended with a few VBE 2.0 features (for instance: (limited) frame buffer support). The graphics driver created for XOSL should operate fine with all VESA VBE 1.2 compliant display controller.
Some later version of XOSL will feature a driver that will be fully compliant with version VBE 1.2, VBE 2.0 (including full linear frame buffer support) and VBE 3.0 (including refresh rate options).
XOSL supports five different graphics modes: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. This last mode is not a video mode defined by the VESA standard. Because of this, XOSL will determine the metrics of every VESA graphics mode it found. Note also that even if your display controller does provide support for 1600x1200, it might not be implemented for the VESA standard, which means XOSL cannot use it.
Before switching to a different video mode, it is recommended to first test whether or not the video mode is supported by the monitor. If the monitor does not support the mode, the graphics will not be displayed correctly, and it may even damage the monitor. All modes displayed by XOSL are supported by the display controller.
Show window contents while dragging
When enabled, the content of a window is visible while dragging it over the screen. When disabled, only a frame will be visible. This option should only be used with fast machines on which the linear frame buffer option is supported. It may not work on slower machines, due to the fact that interrupts are not handled while in protected mode. This means that at the time the graphics are drawn the mouse is ignored. This will be solved in later releases.
Use 9-point font
XOSL provides two different font sizes. The default font size is 10 points. On systems running in lower video modes (800x600) or larger monitors (17"+), 9 points font may result in better graphics.
Invert mouse cursor color
XOSL provides two different mouse cursor colors. Default is a white cursor with a black border. Inverted is a black cursor with a white border.
Use wallpaper
XOSL currently provides one wallpaper. When enabled the wallpaper is drawn, when disabled the background color is drawn. Whether you should use the wallpaper or not entirely depends on what you like. Using a wallpaper will not slow down the system in anyway, except that initialization will take longer (probably not noticeable).
Display boot item index
When enabled, the index (1, 2, ...) of each boot item will be displayed in front of the boot item name on the main window.
Use linear frame buffer
When the linear frame buffer option is used, performance is increased. This is only available on video adapters with VBE version 2.0 or higher. It is also necessary that the video adapter supports linear frame buffer in any graphics mode and not only in specific linear frame buffer modes. Therefore this option will not work on all VBE2.0+ systems (e.g. Tseng Labs ET6000). This will be solved in later releases. When the linear framer is not supported, this option is disabled.
Disable fade-in
When enabled, the fade-transition from the splash screen to the boot manager screen will be skipped.
Disable fade-out
On default XOSL will do a fast fade-out (screen fades to black) when the boot button is clicked. Because it takes a noticeable amount of time, it is possible to disable fade-out.
Clear screen (before booting)
Normally, when XOSL boots, it will restore the text screen as it was before XOSL was started. When this option is enabled, XOSL will clear the screen instead.
XOSL provides a set of color schemes. These are closely related to the color schemes found in Microsoft Windows 9x/NT 4.0. The color of individual sections of windows can't yet be changed.
In addition to the color schemes, XOSL provides some additional color changing features. The Hue, Saturation and Luminance of the entire screen can be changed.
This option will change the intensity of the fade-in color. 0% will make it black, 100% will make it white.
XOSL currently supports two mouse types:
It is also possible to disable the mouse (select None) and operate XOSL with keyboard only. Mouse usage is highly recommended.
For both serial and PS/2 mice, the mouse speed can be changed. Ten different speed settings are available, although just five of them or used for PS/2 (1st, 3rd, à). When set to the highest speed it is possible that moving of windows (namely when the window contents is shown while dragging) is performed incorrect. This means that the system is not fast enough. The speed should be set to a lower value. This will be solved in later version.
With PS/2 mice, it is possible to set the sampling rate. The sampling rate ranges from 10 to 200 samples per second. By default it is set to 100 samples per second. Sampling rate does not affect the speed of the mouse cursor, it has only affect on the smoothness of moving the cursor.
Seven different sampling rates are available:
10 20 40 60 80 100 200
XOSL provides password protection for opening the XOSL Boot item configuration and XOSL Preference windows. This way it is only possible for the 'administrator' to change settings. When the password is set, XOSL will ask for it when either clicking the Setup or the Preference button. An opened window is not protected.
To assign a hotkey, select the specific edit box and hit the key or key-combination you want to assign. If nothing happens, the hotkey is not supported (for instance æF12').
Cycle windows
This hotkey is used to cycle through the open windows. Thus pressing this key (combination) will activate the next open windows. The default hotkey is Alt-W.
Restart XOSL
By pressing this hotkey, XOSL will restart. Why you want to restart may have different reasons, for instance: you have selected an video mode not supported by your monitor. The default hotkey is F10.
Cold reboot
Your system will perform a cold reboot when this key is pressed. The default hotkey is Alt-F10.
Shutdown
When this hotkey is pressed, XOSL will be terminated and when selected, power-off your system.
Soft power off
This feature is still experimental and is therefore disabled on default. When enabled, XOSL will try to power-off your system when the shutdown hotkey is pressed. Note that even if your system has full support for soft power-off, XOSL might not support it.
Boot on keypress
When enabled, a boot item is instantly booted when its æindex hotkey' is pressed. When disabled, the boot item is only selected. Then you have to press enter to boot it.
Allow active partition per HD
When enabled (default), XOSL will allow one active partition per fixed disk. When disabled, XOSL will allow only one activate partition in your entire system.
Auto boot last boot item
When enabled, XOSL will automatically boot (with time-out) the boot item that was last booted. It is set as default boot item.
Auto save
When enabled (default), All changes made at Preference and Setup are automatically saved when either the dialog is closed, or when the boot button is pressed.
MBR virus protection
When enabled, on start-up XOSL will compare the master boot record against the master boot record installed by XOSL (found in CURR_MBR.XCF). If they are not equal, XOSL will issue a warning and provide the ability to restore the (XOSL) master boot record again.
XOSL now comes with Ranish Partition Manager 2.38 beta 1.9. From the install utility it can be chosen whether or not to install it together with XOSL. To start Ranish Partition Manager a hotkey can be specified, which defaults to Ctrl-P. For security Ranish Partition Manager is protected by the password specified at Preference/Password.