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Text File | 1993-06-26 | 16.8 KB | 385 lines

Distribution Briefly, LazyBench is a copyrighted product and all the rights are reserved to Werther 'Mircko' Pirani (referred to as "the Author"). Nonetheless, LazyBench may be freely distributed as long as the following restrictions are met: - The distributor may only charge a fee up to the cost of obtaining a public domain disk from a PD Library. - The distributor agrees to cease distributing the program and any data involved if requested to do so by the Author. - The distributor may only distribute an unmodified copy of the original program, with all supplied documentation and copyright notices intact. Read the file "License.doc" for more details. The original distribution includes: LazyBench1.3.doc 9279 bytes (the document for OS 1.3) LazyBench1.3.doc.info 745 bytes (its icon) LazyBench1.3 14172 bytes (LazyBench for OS 1.3) LazyBench1.3.info 454 bytes (its icon) LazyBench2.0.doc 17181 bytes (this document) Lazybench2.0.doc.info 745 bytes (its icon) LazyBench2.0 16692 bytes (LazyBench for OS 2.xx) LazyBench2.0.info 500 bytes (its icon) License.doc 7897 bytes (legal stuff) License.doc.info 745 bytes (its icon) If one or more of the above is missing, then your distribution is incomplete: please, dump it immediately and check it out with your favourite BBS or PD Library. If all else fails, you can try to get in touch with me for a complete distribution. Read the chapter "Feedback" for more details. LazyBench and Kickstart 2.xx This is the documentation about LazyBench for the Amiga OS 2.xx and above. Read the file "LazyBench1.3.doc" and be sure to install LazyBench1.3 if you are running OS 1.3. Introduction LazyBench is a little utility for lazy people with a hard disk crammed full of goodies, which are too difficult to reach because they are buried away in drawers inside drawers inside drawers inside drawers ... I could go on and on but ... I'm too lazy! Laziness aside, LazyBench adds an item under the Workbench "Tools" menu, installs itself as a commodity and quietly waits in the background. From now on, you can use its hot key combination (or select the item 'LazyBench' from the "Tools" menu) to open a window and pick up an application from an *unlimited* list of your favourite applications (tools or projects) without having to reorganize the Workbench! Such utilities are usually called "hard disk menus" and while LazyBench is neither the only one, nor the best available, it's tiny enough (just 15824 bytes) to fit even in the most crowded of the hard disks. Furthermore, it's easy to configure even for the laziest person in the world! Installing LazyBench 1) Drag the LazyBench icon in the WBStartup drawer. 2) Click once on the LazyBench icon and select the item 'Information...' from the Workbench "Icons" menu (or use the Right Amiga - I keyboard equivalent) to edit the Tool Types according to your personal needs and tastes. Like any other commodity, LazyBench deals with these standard Tool Types: CX_POPUP (internal default: CX_POPUP=NO) Use CX_POPUP=YES if you want LazyBench to open its window as soon as it's launched. CX_POPKEY (internal default: CX_POPKEY=ralt help) This is the hot key to make the LazyBench window appear. By default the combination is Right Alt - Help. Choose this one carefully to avoid any conflict with other commodities and applications (remember that this hot key is *always* active, no matter which screen is in the foreground). Please, refer to your "Using The System Software" manual and read the chapter about commodities for more details. CX_PRI (internal default: CX_PRI=0) You can set the LazyBench priority by entering a number in the range from -128 to 127 but you'd better stick with a value of 0. Furthermore, you may want to use these extra Tool Types: REMEMBER (internal default: NOREMEMBER) By default LazyBench opens its window in the upper left corner of the Workbench screen, but you can use the Tool Type REMEMBER to make LazyBench "remember" its last position. That is, you can pop up its window, drag it where you want and close it: from the next time the LazyBench window will pop up there. AUTOHIDE (internal default: NOAUTOHIDE) By default when you launch an application the LazyBench window stays open and it's up to you close it when you're done. On the other hand, you can use the Tool Type AUTOHIDE to make LazyBench automatically close its window as soon as it launches an application. EDITOR (internal default: EDITOR=C:Ed) LazyBench can invoke the editor of your choice, so you can add or remove items from the "LazyMenu" file with no efforts at all. Use a string like: EDITOR=SYS:Tools/Memacs to choose the editor you feel more comfortable with and let LazyBench do all the rest. DONOTWAIT (system default: WAIT) If you start LazyBench at boot time and you neglect to insert this Tool Type, the Workbench won't be able to close the original shell and will ask you if you want to wait some more: just a minor annoyance... Configuring LazyBench Create a file called "LazyMenu" in the S: directory. This is a plain text file, so you can use the editor you feel more comfortable with, from the humble Ed to a word processor with all the bells and whistles. LazyBench reads this file to know about the applications (tools or projects) you would like to have handy without messing the Workbench screen with many open drawers and windows. Actually, you can use LazyBench itself to edit this file. If you start LazyBench with no "LazyMenu" file in the S: directory, it asks you if you want to create one. Clicking on the 'Yes' gadget will start the editor. Read the discussion about the EDITOR Tool Type in the chapter "Installing LazyBench" for more details. Each line in this text file is the full pathname for the application you want LazyBench to launch and each line can be up to 256 characters in length: SYS:Utilities/Clock SYS:Tools/Calculator SYS:Work/FinalCopy_II/FinalCopy_II SYS:Work/NComm/NCommSYS:Work/Games/Amoeba Invaders Please note the space within the last line: when a directory or an application name contains spaces you *don't* have to use double quotes, just type the full pathname as above. Of course in the LazyBench ListView you'll see just the applications name, not the full pathnames, so in this case you'll see items named "Clock", "Calculator", "FinalCopy_II", "NComm" and "Amoeba Invaders". Please note that the only limit is the memory available in your system, so you can have an unlimited number of applications listed in the "LazyMenu" file. Please also note that you can also use a line of the type: SYS:Work/WriteStuff/Documents/Letter where "Letter" it's not an application (a tool) but a document (a project) and choosing the item named "Letter" from the LazyBench ListView would start the word processor used to write such a document and load the file named "Letter". Since most word processors, desktop publishers and paint programs save their settings along with the document, you can start an application and load its preferences just by picking an item from the LazyBench ListView. Neat, isn't it? Activating LazyBench LazyBench sits in the background and waits to be activated by: 1) Its hot key combination. No matter which screen is in the foreground, the hot key combination causes the Workbench screen to come to the foreground and the LazyBench window to open. The default is the combination "Right Alt - Help" (press the Right Alt key, hold it down and press the Help key) but you are free to pick up the one you prefer. Read the discussion about the CX_POPKEY Tool Type in the chapter "Installing LazyBench" for more details. 2) Selecting the item 'LazyBench' from the Workbench "Tools" menu. This is handy if the Workbench screen is already in the foreground. 3) Launching the Exchange commodity, selecting the item named 'LazyBench' and clicking on the gadget labelled 'Show'. This one is pretty awkward, I know, but it's just to let you know! Using LazyBench When you start LazyBench you are presented with a window, a ListView and a group of gadgets labelled 'About...', 'Start', 'Reload List', 'Hide' and 'Quit'. All these gadgets can also be selected from the "LazyBench" menu, so the Right Amiga - key equivalent is given in the discussion below. The ListView The ListView is much like a regular file requester but this time the items displayed are the applications (tools or projects) you can launch from LazyBench and not files within a directory. As any other regular file requester you can click on the arrows and drag or click the slider to scroll the items. The current selection and the number of applications launched so far by LazyBench are displayed just underneath the ListView. The simplest and quickest way to launch an application is to double- click on a ListView item. 'About...' (Right Amiga - A) Okay, I'm a bit egocentric! :) 'Start' (Right Amiga - S) Another way to launch an application. Click once on the ListView to select an item and then click on the 'Start' gadget. Please note that both the 'Start' gadget and the 'Start' item from the "LazyBench" menu are ghosted (you can't select them) until you click at least once on a ListView item. 'Edit List' (Right Amiga - E) When you need to add or remove applications to or from the "LazyMenu" file in the S: directory, you don't have to quit LazyBench to update the ListView. Just click on this gadget to invoke your editor, then edit the file and let LazyBench close the window, reload the file and reopen the window, thus updating the ListView. Pheew!!! 'Hide' (Right Amiga - H) Click on this gadget to close the window (same as clicking on the close gadget in the upper left corner) and to let LazyBench running in the background. Use its hot key combination or select 'LazyBench' from the Workbench "Tools" menu to make the window pop up again. 'Quit' (Right Amiga - Q) The only way to quit LazyBench. Please note that both the 'Quit' gadget and the 'Quit' item from the "LazyBench" menu are ghosted (you can't click on them) until there are applications launched by LazyBench. Quick Troubleshooting Guide Due to its simplicity, LazyBench doesn't really need a troubleshooting guide. Anyway, if one or more items are present in the "LazyMenu" file but are missing from the LazyBench ListView, you may want to look for one of the following: 1) Either you've made a typo or you have gotten the pathname for one or more of the applications wrong; 2) The pathname is correct but the application it's neither a tool, nor a project. A directory perhaps?!? 3) The pathname is right and the application is really a tool or a project but has no icon. Since LazyBench purpose is to launch an application without having to double-click on its icon, you're definitely out of luck. How can you double-click on something with no icon at all?!? Furthermore, if LazyBench quits with the message "Cannot install LazyBench as a commodity" either you've entered a hot key used by another commodity or you've entered an illegal hot key. Please check the CX_POPKEY Tool Type and refer to your "Using The System Software" manual. LazyBench History V1.00: February 28, 1993 - First ever public release. V1.01: March 7, 1993 - Memory is now dynamically allocated and the benefits are twofold: 1) LazyBench uses just the memory it needs, depending on how many items a user wants to display in the LazyBench ListView and not assuming there are 100 of them. 2) The limit of up to 100 applications in the ListView is gone and the only limit is the memory available! V1.02: March 11, 1993 - The 'Start' gadget is ghosted until there is a current selection and becomes ghosted again as soon as the application is launched. That is, to use the 'Start' gadget first you have to select an item from the ListView. - The 'Quit' gadget and the 'Quit' item in the "LazyBench" menu become both ghosted as soon as there is at least a LazyBench launched application: that is, you cannot quit while applications started by LazyBench are still running. - Added support for the "version" string: the user can tell which revision he owns without starting LazyBench, but just by typing in the Shell window: version SYS:WBStartup/LazyBench FULL - Now LazyBench asks for version 36 (the one in the Amiga 3000) of the libraries needed, so Amiga 3000 owners should experience no problem at all. Sorry: I forgot you! V1.03: March 14, 1993 - Rearranged the items in the "LazyBench" menu. - Workbench virtual screens (screens bigger than the physical screen) now are properly supported and the LazyBench window always pops up in the upper left corner of the (visible part of) the Workbench screen. - Added the keyword REMEMBER to the Tool Types: now LazyBench can remember where it was placed last time you closed its window. If REMEMBER is not set, LazyBench always pops up its window in the upper left corner of the (visible part of the) Workbench screen. V1.04: Apr 8, 1993 - Added the keyword AUTOHIDE to the Tool Types: now LazyBench can automatically close its window after launching an application. If AUTOHIDE is not set, the LazyBench window stays open. Thanks to Bernie Cosell for this suggestion! - Rearranged one more time the items in the "LazyBench" menu: now all the LazyBench gadgets (including 'Start') are available as menu items under the "LazyBench" menu and have keyboard shortcut equivalents. V1.05 - V1.09: Apr, May and June 1993 - Just minor "internal" revisions not worth a standalone distribution. V1.10: June 25, 1993 - Added the keyword EDITOR to the Tool Types: now LazyBench can invoke the editor of your choice to edit the "LazyMenu" file in the S: directory with no efforts at all. Thanks to Daniel Migueres for this suggestion! - Added a couple of requesters that pop up before any "critical" operation. Feedback LazyBench is freely distributable and so I'm not asking for money. Anyway, if you are using LazyBench I'd like very much to hear it from you. Suggestions, bug reports, positive criticism and contributions are welcomed at the following addresses: internet: werther@karunko.nervous.com fidonet: 2:335/602.12 (Mirko Pirani) amiganet: 39:102/1.12 (Mirko Pirani) If all else fails you can always reach me by snail mail (even a simple postcard will do): Werther 'Mircko' Pirani Via Mario Torresi, 74 60128 Ancona ITALY Dedicated to Mila, Yaya, Tina, and Biba: Wish you were here. Betty: You really make my day! Steve B. from Bernardones. Look out for their "19 BON BUSTE" demotape: punk'n'roll at its best!!! Anyone who has taken the time to get in touch with me. Thanks! June 26, 1993 Werther 'Mircko' Pirani