MacWorld: Complete Mac Interactive/Macworld Complete Mac Interactive CD)(1994).iso/The Best of BMUG/Utilities/System 7/Virtual Desktop 1.7/Virtual Desktop Help/Virtual Desktop Help.rsrc/STR#_1026.txt

Text File | 1994-04-01 | 6KB | 273 lines

application as soon as it has scrolled the desktop.

while using another application, Virtual Desktop will return you to that

that the scroll bars appear all the time, and if you operate a scroll bar

Third, you can tell it to make the scroll bars “persistent.”  This means



you release the key.

is pressed, the virtual desktop will “shift” along with the pointer when

pointer.  If this option is on, and you move the mouse while the Shift key

Second, you can tell Virtual Desktop to watch the Shift key and the mouse



Option, and Control keys, plus any four keys for the four directions.

by half a screenful.  You choose any combination of the Command, Shift,

First, you can choose a key combination which scrolls the virtual desktop





scrolling without leaving the active application.

This version of Virtual Desktop offers three ways to do virtual desktop




xUsage Options







that application active as you jump to where its windows are.

associates an application with the door, so that Virtual Desktop will make

useful preference options you can apply to each door, including one which

That describes the simplest use of doors.  Beyond that, there are some



your job.

have a trash can alias in the lower right corner, of course, but that’s

door.  The door icon “opens,” and you’re there.  Every “room” should

grid).  To move from one preset location to another, you just click on a

one of the predefined multiple-door arrangements (row, column, cross, or

on it.  You could build a whole corridor of doors to different places, or use

on the desktop where it can drop the little door icon window with the name

Virtual Desktop to create a new door.  It asks you for a name, and a place

To make a door, you scroll to the location you want to work in, and tell





doors.

Full View mode, so Virtual Desktop gives you a better tool for the job:

from location to location using scroll bars, and not very efficient using

corner, in case you forget what they look like.  It would be hard to move

processor there, and a picture of your spouse and children in the top

desktop layout for your applications — mail windows here, word

At some point, you will begin to imagine a virtually boundless virtual




xDoors







what group it belongs to.

Conversely, you can click on an item in the picture to see its name and

the list, you can see where that item is on the virtual desktop.

names of all the items belonging to that group.  By selecting an item from

When you click on a radio button, Virtual Desktop fills the list box with the

window open, plus one at the bottom of the heap for all desktop icons.

and a list box.  There is one radio button for every application which has a

On one side of the picture, Virtual Desktop shows a set of radio buttons



desktop view relative to all windows and icons.

that you can see them.  You can also drag the white area to move the

rearrange them, and double-click to scroll and bring them to the front so

balloons to tell you what the windows and icons are, click and drag to

currently visible through a monitor.  In this picture, you can get help

A white area in the background shows what part of the virtual desktop is

outline of every application’s windows, including the ones that are hidden.

desktop, scaled down to fit, with color-keyed rectangles showing the

menu bar and the scroll bars.  It shows a picture of the whole virtual

Full View mode takes over the main monitor, covering everything but the





command, by keystroke, and by double-clicking on the anchor window.

go into Full View mode.  There are three ways to do it — by menu

one time, to get the big picture of all items on the virtual desktop, you can

If you need to see beyond what your monitor or monitors can display at




xFull View Mode







virtual desktop grows automatically.

screenful.  As you move items further outward into the pad area, the

desktop, you can increase that pad factor in increments of half a

screenful beyond the most extreme item in each direction.  To grow the

The extent of the virtual desktop is always padded by at least half a

desktop in relation to all the other items (windows and desktop icons).

Reading the scroll bars’ “sliders” tells you where you are on the virtual



See the section entitled “Usage Options” below.

exchange for easier scrolling.

but you can have them up all the time, losing a bit of the screen area in

By default, the scroll bars only appear while Virtual Desktop is active,



you were when you last pressed Home.

to the “home” or startup position.  Press the End key to go back to where

horizontally, with the Option key pressed).  Press the Home key to return

keyboard.  Press the Page Up or Page Down keys to scroll vertically (or

While Virtual Desktop is active, you can scroll using either scroll bars or





Virtual Desktop active.

window with the Virtual Desktop icon on it, where you can click to make

choice).  In the corner between the scroll bars is a little square anchor

main monitor, and a vertical scroll bar along the right or left edge (your

Virtual Desktop puts a horizontal scroll bar along the bottom edge of your




xScroll Bars







you’re using.

enabled, let you do quick scrolling actions without leaving the application

Virtual Desktop also has a number of “usage options” which, when



more ergonomic.

location when clicked, in the manner of an old push-button car radio, but

them build “doors,” which make the virtual desktop scroll to a preset

For people who use the same applications every day, Virtual Desktop lets



windows and icons on the entire virtual desktop.

It also has a mode where the user can inspect and rearrange the layout of





wants it to be, with no additional expense of memory.

than their screen.  This “virtual desktop” can be as large as the user

most intuitive way for most people to operate a desktop which is larger

Virtual Desktop, simply put, puts scroll bars on your screen.  This is the








åWhat Does Virtual Desktop Do?


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