Previous Next Chapter

Workbench Programs

The Workbench disk window contains a number of drawers that contain system and utility files.

These drawers are:

System Drawer

The System drawer contains programs that control system functions. Some offer access to Amiga accessory programs, such as AmigaDOS or ARexx.

FixFonts

FixFonts should be used after fonts are added to or deleted from your Fonts drawer.

For more information on fonts and FixFonts, see Chapter 8.

Format

Format a disk by opening the Format icon. Double-clicking on the Format icon opens a requester asking you to select a device to format. Click on the device you wish to format. Click on the Continue button to display the Format window. The rest of the procedure follows the same steps as used with t he Icon menu's Format Disk item, described on page 4-17.

Intellifont

Intellifont manages the installation of Intellifont® outline fonts onto your Amiga. Intellifont and fonts are described in Chapter 8.

NoFastMem

Some very old programs may not run properly when memory other than graphics (chip) memory is present in the Amiga system. In this case, double-clicking on the NoFastMem icon forces the Amiga to use only the available graphics memory. The other mem display in the Workbench title bar drops to 0 (zero). The icon works like a toggle switch. To restore expansion (Fast) memory to the system, double-click on the NoFastMem icon again. NoFastMem does not open a window.

RexxMast

RexxMast is the interpreter for the optional ARexx programming language. If the RexxMast icon is not present, you do not have ARexx on your system. To use RexxMast, double-click on its icon. To run RexxMast each time you boot, drag the icon into WBStartup.

Shell

Shell opens an Amiga Shell window, which gives you complete access to the AmigaDOS command line environment.

Utilities Drawer

The Utilities drawer contains programs that are helpful, but not necessary for working with your Amiga.

Clock

Clock displays the time and date on your Workbench screen. It can also be used as an alarm clock to signal you at a specified time.

When you open the Clock icon, a window with a round (analog) clock face appears. If the time Shown is incorrect, use the Time editor in the Prefs drawer, described in Chapter 5, to set the correct time.

Clock has two menus for changing the display and settings: Project and Settings.

The Project menu contains the following items:

Analog

Displays the round Clock face. Analog is the default; its window size can be changed.

Digital

Displays a digital (numeric) clock the height of the title bar using your screen font.

Quit

Closes the Clock.

The Settings menu contains the following items:

Date

Displays the date beneath the analog clock. The date and time are alternately displayed on the digital clock. Date off is the default.

Seconds

Displays the time with a sweep second hand on the analog clock. The default setting shows no seconds. The Display Seconds item is overridden by the Digital Format setting when using the digital clock.

Digital Format

Displays the time in a 12 or 24 hour format, with or without seconds, for the digital clock only.

Alarm

Allows you to turn the alarm on or off. A checkmark indicates that the alarm is on.

Set Alarm

Allows you to set the time for the alarm to signal you. Because the signal is a short audible tone, you must have audio output on your Amiga to use this feature.

Save Settings

Saves your Clock settings. Each time you run the Clock program it opens with these settings until you change them.

To set the alarm:

  1. Choose the Set Alarm menu item.
  2. Change the time setting by dragging the hour and minute sliders to the right to increase the value or the left to decrease the value until the correct time is displayed.
  3. When the requester displays the desired alarm time, select the Use gadget. This automatically turns the alarm on, as indicated by the checkmark next to the Alarm menu item. Select the Cancel gadget to restore the previous alarm setting and exit.

The alarm remains on and beeps at the same time each day until you deselect Alarm or close the Clock. The Clock must be running for the alarm to work. The next time you open the Clock, the alarm must be reset.

Tool Types

Tool Types in the Clock icon's Information window allow you to save the menu, size, and position settings on the Clock. The Clock's Tool Types are the same as its keywords in AmigaDOS.

More

More displays ASCII text filers on the Workbench screen. More does not have an icon, although it resides in the Utilities drawer. More has been superseded by the MultiView program (described on page 4-23), but is retained for compatibility with files that use More as their Default Tool.

The following key sequences can be used to move through the More display and to get help for using More:

Space bar or down arrow

Displays the next page.

Backspace or up arrow

Displays the previous page.

H

Help (displays a list similar to this one).

When the last page of the display is reached, an End of File message is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Press the space bar at this point or click the close gadget at any time to exit More.

Top Previous Next Chapter