TIPS & TRICKS

In addition to the volumes written on OS/2 (see the "Publications" section of OS/2 CONNECT, as well as the documentation accompanying the product), there is a lot of reference information available to you on-line:

1. First, learn to make active use of the F1 Help key. You can use this at any time. Essentially, there are two uses for it: to invoke Help for the active application, and; Help for a specific field entry. In both instances, a dialog box appears to assist the user.

2. Thanks to common design standards, all OS/2 applications have a standard Help action-bar-choice on the main action-bar (located to the right side of the bar) with the following pull-down-choices:

   HELP INDEX - providing a list of subjects to chose from.
   GENERAL HELP - explaining the purpose and function of the application. 
   USING HELP - help for help. 
   KEYS HELP - explains how the various keys are used. 
   ABOUT - optional.  Normally used to display the author or vendor of the program. 
   Other optional Help pull-down-choices may also be displayed. 
   

3. The "Information" folder (normally located inside the "OS/2 System" folder) includes such things as a "Glossary of Terms" and the OS/2 "Tutorial." Note: This assumes that all of the OS/2 documentation was loaded at time of installation. If it hasn't, you can load the documentation by using the "Selective Install" program in the "System Setup" folder (normally located in the "OS/2 System" folder).

4. A "Master Help Index" is included containing a wide variety of OS/2 subjects in alphabetical order. Again, this depends on whether the OS/2 documentation was loaded as part of the installation process.

5. Help is also available at the command line. In an OS/2 Window or Full Screen, simply type: HELP (subject), and the computer will display pertinent instructions. Again, assuming documentation was loaded during installation.

If you have a color monitor, add the following statement to your CONFIG.SYS file:

 
SET PROMPT=$e[31;40m$e[1m[$p]$e[0m 

For a green prompt, try:

 
SET PROMPT=$e[32;40m$e[1m[$P]$e[0m 

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file so that:

 
SET DIRCMD=/O:GN 

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file so that:

SET SCUSEPRETTYCLOCK=ON

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file so that:

SET KILLFEATUREENABLED=ON

Tired of re-arranging the icons in your folder? SImply open the "Properties/Settings" for the folder (right mouse button); Go to the "Sort" tab; and select/click on the option "Always maintain sort order." You can also assign the "Default sort attribute" (Name, Type, Size, etc.).

Can't figure out how to minimize your window to the desktop as opposed to the viewer? Go to the "System Setup" folder (normally located in the "OS/2 System" folder), and launch the "System" program. This will display a notebook with various settings. Go to the tab marked "Window." On that page there will be three radio buttons used to define "Minimize window behavior." You can elect to "Hide window," "Minimize window to viewer" (default setting), or "Minimize window to desktop" (click on this).

The "System" notebook also contains a variety of other settings that should be of interest to you.

For the Enhanced Editor (EPM.EXE), it is possible to record a stream of characters and then play it back later. This is a sort of cut and paste feature of the Enhanced Editor.

Steps:

   1. Press Cntl + R 
   2. Begin typing your text (as much as you want) 
           when completed... 
   3. Press Cntl + R (your text is now saved) 
   4. Position the cursor anywhere you wish to insert the text and press 
      Cntl + T. 

The LaunchPad is great for a one-click launching of programs. But were you aware that you can modify the desktop's "settings" (as invoked by the right mouse button on a desktop focus) to include frequently used programs? To do so, select the desktop's "Properties/Settings" which will invoke a notebook of "Desktop - Properties/Settings." Go to the "Menu" tab on the notebook. Press the "Create another" pushbutton, and a pop-up "Menu Item Settings" dialog will appear. In the field marked "Menu item name," enter the name of the application, and; in the field marked "Program/Name," enter the name of the program. For example:

      Menu item name:  Enhanced Editor 
      Program/Name:    EPM.EXE

After closing the notebook, click on the right mouse button again and you will see your program added to the list. You can add to the list as much as you like. Using the same approach, you can also modify existing program settings or delete them from the list as desired. Can't remember the exact drive/directory location of the program? Use the "Find program" pushbutton on the "Menu Item Settings" dialog to locate it.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Saving a few basic OS/2 files can save you considerable trouble later on in the event of computer failure. As a preventative measure, backup the following files to either a diskette or another drive (preferably on another machine, such as a file server):

WIN.INI (also for Windows programs)

To assure the backup is performed routinely, put COPY commands in your STARTUP.CMD file. Each time you boot-up the computer (each day for example), your files will be automatically copied to another drive.

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SIZING OS/2 WINDOWS

Have you ever wanted an OS/2 window to be sized to a certain dimension (height and width) upon launch (start)? Or have you ever wanted to have the window maximized or positioned to a certain area on the screen at time of launch? The secret to this is the SHIFT key.

To size an OS/2 window, launch the window then hold the shift key down; use the mouse sizing frame to size the window, then release the sift key. The next time you launch an OS/2 window it will be sized accordingly.

To maximize the window, perform the same type of operation: launch the OS/2 window, hold the shift key down, maximize the window, and release the shift key. To position the maximized window: hold the shift key down, click on the title-bar and drag the window to where you want it positioned, then release the shift key.

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CONCATENATING FILES

To concatenate a set of files (add one file to another and another, etc.), go to the OS/2 command line (full screen or window) and use the COPY command along with the plus (+) and equal (=) operators to string files together. For example:

COPY FILE_1.TXT + FILE_2.TXT + FILE_3.TXT = FILE_4.TXT

In the example above, the first three files will remain unchanged. The last file (FILE_4.TXT) can either be a new file (created by the command) or an existing file that is appended.

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