Do not delete the following under any circumstances:
- Any directory normally found on the Workbench disk; delete only the files within directories
Do not delete any file whose purpose you do not know. Do not delete more files than necessary to fit the new material you intend to add to the disk.
The AmigaDOS ASSIGN command is an important tool for the floppy-only user. It allows you to control where the Amiga looks for the commands and programs it needs. AmigaDOS uses certain standard assigned names to access the directories that contain specific types of files, such as fonts and language files. The assignments you are most likely to change are LOCALE:, FONTS:, LIBS:, and C:.
In some circumstances, such as when you want to prevent the Amiga from requesting another floppy disk, ASSIGN lets you direct AmigaDOS to somewhere other than the default location. For example, you can create a directory called Fonts on your Workbench disk, and copy your preferred fonts to it. When the name FONTS: is assigned to this directory, the Amiga looks there for its fonts, rather than requesting the Fonts disk or the system disk containing the Fonts drawer.
If you select anything other than the default Topaz 8 or 9 font in the Font Preferences editor, you are asked to insert the Fonts disk or system software disk containing the Fonts drawer when booting so the Amiga can load the custom font. If there is enough room on your Workbench disk, you can copy the needed fonts to it, eliminating the need to insert the Fonts disk or drawer every time you boot.
Follow this procedure to copy a bitmap font such as Diamond or Helvetica to your Workbench disk:
On bootup, the system checks for a directory on the boot disk called Fonts and automatically assigns FONTS: there if it is found. The next time you boot, the Amiga looks there for the fonts you selected and does not request the Fonts disk or system software disk containing the Fonts drawer.
For access to more fonts than can fit on your Workbench disk, use an ASSIGN statement to add another disk or directory to the FONTS: assignment. To add a disk called FontDisk to the FONTS: assignment, enter the command ASSIGN FONTS: FontDisk: ADD at a Shell or Execute Command prompt or place it in your S:User-startup.
On a floppy-only system, using the Ram Disk (RAM:) reduces the amount of disk swapping required for floppy-to-floppy transfers.
For example, the most efficient way to copy information from one disk to another on a single-floppy system is to copy the information from the source floppy to the Ram Disk, then remove the source floppy, insert the destination disk, and copy the information to it from the Ram Disk. This is illustrated in the Copying Information From Your Disks procedures on page B-4.
Using the Ram Disk can also speed work with groups of related files. You can load files into RAM: as a group, work with them individually while they are in RAM:, and then copy them back to the floppy disk as a group when the operation is finished.
AmigaDOS provides a recoverable Ram Disk, which has the device name RAD:. The contents of RAD: survive reboots and most software failures, making it a safer place for work files. (Data in RAD: is still lost if the Amiga is turned off.)
RAD: is not automatically created. To activate a recoverable Ram Disk, double-click on the RAD icon in the Storage/DOSDrivers drawer of the Storage disk or system software disk containing the Storage drawer. To start RAD: whenever you boot, copy the RAD icon to the Devs/DOSDrivers drawer on the Workbench disk. When RAD: has been activated, a disk icon labeled RAM_0 appears on the Workbench screen.
Unlike RAM:, the size of RAD: is fixed. The size is set in the RAD: mount file's HighCyl parameter. A HighCyl entry of 79 results in a RAD: with the same capacity as a normal 880 KB floppy disk.
