This section covers tips and tricks which relate to the Workplace Shell.
Topics in this section:
To save the settings of your desktop without shutting down OS/2:
by Jack Tan
- Open the Settings folder for the Desktop.
- Choose the Window tab.
- Under Object Open Behavior, choose Create New Object.
- Close the Settings folder.
- Click on the arrow next to Open in the Desktop's popup menu; choose Icon
View.
- A folder of your Desktop should appear. You can arrange this folder any
way you wish.
- Close the folder of your Desktop to save its settings. The icon
positions will be saved.
- Change the Object Open Behavior to Display Existing Window.
- To activate the newly-saved Desktop, use a kill utility to kill the
second PMSHELL process. The Workplace Shell will restart with your
newly-saved icon settings.
Related subject(s)
To add an entry to the desktop's popup menu which
allows you to open a specific folder:
- Create a REXX script,
OPEN.CMD to open the folder.
- Open the Templates folder.
- Use the right mouse button to drag a copy of the Program template to
the desired final location. Its Settings notebook should open.
- Fill in the path and file name (OPEN.CMD) on the Programs page.
Complete the General page as desired.
- Close the Settings notebook.
- Open the Settings notebook for the Desktop.
- Choose the Menu tab.
- If using OS/2 v2.1, drag the icon of your newly-created OPEN.CMD
object onto the box underneath "Actions on menu: Primary pop-up menu."
If using OS/2 v2.0, click on the Create Another button and fill in the
proper information.
- The menu choice for your OPEN.CMD object should now be available on
the desktop's popup menu.
Note: If you repeat the "call SysSetObjectData" line a second time,
the folder will open in the foreground.
Related subject(s):
To change the color of the shadow icon text:
- Open the Scheme Palette.
- Choose Shadow Text.
- Choose the desired color from the color wheel.
- Close the Scheme Palette.
- Drag (or Alt-drag) the desired scheme to the desired folder with the
right mouse button.
Related subject(s):
Screenshot: Scheme Palette with Shadow Text
highlighted.
from Tim Sipples' FAQ
To move an icon a small distance, "grab" the outer edge of the icon with
the mouse and drag it to the new position.
Screenshot: Moving an icon a small distance.
The Desktop bitmaps can be changed via a REXX script,
BITMAP.CMD. Note that this
script does not support tiling of bitmaps.
Changes to bitmap.cmd (thanks to Jack Tan) added so that bitmap subdirectory
is no longer hard-coded into the script.
Other REXX scripts:
contributed by Jack Tan; original by Dann Lunsford
You can replace the various mouse pointers with your own customized
creations, and can remove the customized pointers.
- Use the Icon Editor to create a mouse pointer file with the extension
*.PTR.
- Create the REXX script, SETPTR.CMD
- Type SETPTR.CMD /? for help.
//
Caution:
Do not move the *.ptr file after assigning the mouse pointer! You will not
be able to boot your machine if the *.ptr file is missing or invalid.
//
Other REXX scripts:
To make an object prompt for a parameter when invoked
- Open the Settings notebook for the object.
- In the Parameters field of the Program page, enter a left square bracket,
a space, then a right square bracket, i.e., [ ]
- If you want text to appear along with parameter prompting, insert the
desired text between the square brackets.
Screenshot: Parameters box of Settings notebook.
The disadvantage of having many windows open on the desktop is that icons
on the desktop can often get covered. To find an icon more easily:
- Click the right mouse button on a clear space on the desktop.
- Click on the arrow next to Open on the popup menu.
- Choose Tree or Details View (Icon View can only be selected if the
Desktop's object open behavior has been set to Create New Window); this will
open up a new view of your desktop from which you can find the icon you
want.
Screenshot: Desktop's popup menu with Tree View
highlighted.
The color of the icon text on your desktop can be changed as follows:
- Open the Color Palette.
- Hold the Ctrl key.
- Use the right mouse button to drag the desired color to the desktop.
Related subject(s):
Screenshot: Color Palette with color being dragged
with mouse.
To regain your desktop's icon positions after an accidental Arrange, use a
third-party utility which can kill processes to kill the second instance
of PMSHELL. The Workplace Shell will restart with your old icon positions.
Related subject(s):
You can create something that acts a little like an "app bar":
- Create a new folder.
- Size the folder so that it has the shape and size that you like, then
position it where you like.
- Set the folder's view to either Flowed or Non-flowed.
- Drag shadows of your most-used applications to the folder.
- Drag a shadow of your "app bar" folder to your Startup folder.
- You now have a folder of your most-used apps that will open at boot. You
can further customize the "app bar" with a utility that will cause the folder
to "float" on top of other windows so that it will be more accessible.
Screenshot: Example of an App Bar.
You can create a trash can-like icon on your desktop:
- Open the Templates folder and make a copy of the Folder template.
- You should now have a template called Folder&colon.1; rename it to
Trash, or whatever you like.
- Attach you favorite trash can icon to your Trash template.
- To create a trash can, use your right mouse button to drag a Trash
folder from your Trash template onto your desktop.
- Drag objects to the Trash as you see fit.
- When you want to empty the Trash can, simply delete the folder, then
replace it with a new Trash can by pulling one off of your Trash template.
- The advantage of using the Trash can over the shredder is that you
can open your Trash can and observe the contents, and remove what you don't
want deleted.
You can select objects in folders or the Deskop without a mouse. Simply
type the first letter of the object, and the object will be highlighted.
Hit Enter to open the object. If more than one object begins with the same
letter, subsequent typing of the same letter will jump between each object
that begins with that letter.
Related subject(s):
You can hide folder icons on the desktop so that others can't see them:
- Open the Settings notebook of the folder which you wish to hide.
- Click on the File tab, then click on the right arrow in the lower right
corner to turn to the second page of the File tab.
- Place a check mark next to Hidden under the Flags section. The folder
should now be hidden.
To view the folder's icon once again:
- Open the Settings notebook for the Desktop.
- Click on the Include tab.
- Click on the right arrow in the lower right corner to turn to the second
page of the Include tab.
- Click on Change. A new dialog box will appear.
- In the dialog box, choose the following settings:
-Property to be considered = Flags
-Comparison type = Not equal
-Comparison value = H
- Click on Change.
- Close Settings notebook. The icon should now be visible.
You can create an object which, when opened, will open your system setup
files for editing, through the aid of a Work Area folder:
- Open the Settings notebook for the System Editor.
- Click on the Association tab.
- If Plain Text does not appear in the Current Types box, use the Add button
to add it from the Available Types box. Close the Settings notebook.
- Create a new folder.
- Open the Settings notebook for the new folder.
- Click on the File tab.
- Place a check in the box next to Work Area. Close the Settings
notebook.
- Open the Drives object, then open the drive(s) with the CONFIG.SYS,
WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI files.
- Open the Settings notebook for the CONFIG.SYS file.
- Click on Association.
- If Plain Text does not appear in the Current Types box, use the Add
button to add it from the Available Types box. Close the Settings notebook.
Repeat for the Settings notebook for the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files.
- Drag shadows of the CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI files into the
new folder.
- Open the new folder if not already open.
- Use the right mouse button on the CONFIG.SYS shadow object to popup the
menu. Click on the arrow next to Open, choose System Editor. Your CONFIG.SYS
should be loaded into the System Editor. Repeat for WIN.INI and
SYSTEM.INI.
- Leaving the three System Editor windows open, close the new folder.
- You should now have a folder object that will open up your system files
automatically when the folder is opened.
In OS/2 2.1, making changes to an object's settings often causes the object's
icon to revert to its default icon. To retrieve your customized icon, this
usually works:
- Open the object's Settings notebook.
- Choose the General tab.
- Click on the Undo button.
Note: this behavior is fixed in the 2.11 CSD.
Related subject(s):
Want to be able to double click on a data file object and have it open in its
appropriate application? Try setting up associations in your
applications:
- Open the Settings notebook for the application.
- Choose the Association tab.
- Under Available Types, see if you can find the file type appropriate
for your application. If so, highlight the file type, and press the Add
button to the right of the box.
- If the file type you need doesn't exist under Available Types, and the
data files you wish to have associated have a common file extension or name,
enter the common part of the filename (with appropriate wildcards) in the
New Name box. Click on the Add button to the right of the box.
- If neither of the above two situations applies, open up the Settings
notebook for each data file you wish to associate, and set up the association
there.
Note that this does not work for all programs.
Screenshot: Settings notebook displaying Describe
association.
To create a new printer object:
- Open the Templates folder.
- Drag a new printer object out from the Printer template with the right
mouse button.
- Customize the settings for your printer.
You can create your own templates for customized uses. For example, you
can create a template of a word processor file with boilerplate text for
business letters. The next time you want to write a new business letter,
just drag a copy off of your customized template, and the file, complete
with your pre-defined settings, will be ready to edit.
To create a customized template:
- Customize your data file (such as a wordprocessor file) to the way you
want it. Save the file.
- Open the Drives object and find the file you just created.
- Make a copy of the file object; you can either use Copy from the object's
pop-up menu, or hold down the Ctrl key while dragging off a copy with your
right mouse button.
- Open the Settings notebook for the copy you just made.
- Choose the General tab.
- Place a check mark next to Template. Close the notebook.
- When you want to use the new template, just use your right mouse button
and drag a copy off of the template.
Related topic(s):
Did you somehow manage to shred your Shredder? If so,
SHREDDER.CMD can replace it.
CAUTION: This REXX script does not check to see if you already have a
Shredder present, and will replace one if it exists.
Related subject(s):
If you find you have an undeletable object, this trick sometimes (but not
always) works.
- Insert a floppy disk in a floppy drive.
- Open the Drives object.
- Drag the undeletable object to the floppy drive object. Make sure that
you are moving the object (you can ensure this by holding the Shift key
while dragging).
- Format the floppy disk.
contributed by George Orvis
To manage your icons more easily:
Place your icons (*.ICO) into a
subdirectory (or several subdirectories,
if you have a large number of icons).
Create an object of that directory
Open the Drive object of the drive in which the icon subdirectory is
located.
Drag a shadow of the icon subdirectory into the desired location.
Set view of the folder to Icon View.
You now have a handy folder full of icons.
If you double click on an icon, it starts the icon editor.
To change an object's icon (OS/2 2.1):
Open the Settings notebook of the object.
Choose the General tab.
Drag an icon
out of your icon folder with the right mouse button, and drop it onto the
icon on the General page of the Settings notebook.
Related subject(s):
contributed by Lt. Rob Targosz
You can change the icon text as follows:
- Select the icon.
- Press Shift-F9 on your keyboard, or hold the Alt key and click on the
icon text with mouse button 1.
- Type in the new icon text.
- Click on the screen with your mouse away from the icon.
contributed by Jack Tan
When editing the name of an object on the desktop, use the main keyboard
"Enter" key to add a newline to the name. Use the keypad "Enter" key to
signal the end of editing.
Note: this may not be supported on all keyboards.
contributed by Nathan Hamblen
To move a template object without dragging off a copy of the template, hold
down the Shift key while dragging the template with mouse button 2.
Related topic(s):
contributed by Bill Parrill
The long name, or icon text, of a file or folder can be changed without
changing its real name with
PUTLONG.CMD, where
myfil.ext
can either be a filename or the full path to a subdirectory which represents
a folder.
Other REXX scripts:
Screenshot: Settings notebook for INF object.
INF files are those that are viewed with OS/2's VIEW.EXE. If an INF file
is added to a popup menu via the regular procedure, attempts to open the
INF file will result in a "Topic not found" error message. To add an INF
file to the desktop's popup menu:
Create a viewable INF object:
Open the Templates folder. Drag a Program template off with mouse button
2. A Settings notebook will open.
On the Program page, under Path and file name, type
<drive>:\OS2\VIEW.EXE
where <drive> is the drive on which OS/2 resides.
In the Parameters box, enter the path and name of the INF file, then
append a percent sign (%) to the end of the file name.
Close the Settings notebook for the INF object.
Add the INF file to the desktop's popup menu:
Open the Settings notebook for the desktop.
Click on the Menu tab.
With mouse button 2, drag the INF object onto the box under Actions
on Menu.
Close the Settings notebook for the desktop.
You should now have a menu choice for the INF file.
Related subject(s):
contributed by Jack Tan
//
To recreate a lost template:
- Find an object on your system which is of the same type as the one that
was lost.
- Pop up the menu of the object by clicking on the same object once with
mouse button 2.
- Select Create Another from the menu.
- Open the Settings notebook for the new object.
- Click on the General tab.
- Place a check mark next to Template.
- Close the Settings notebook for the object.
- You should now have a template object.
//
contributed by Jack Tan
//
To associate an icon with an executable:
- Copy the icon file to the same directory as the executable.
- Rename the icon file to the same base name as the executable, except
with the extension *.ICO.
//
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