Welcome to the Amish System Utilities for Windows -------------------------------------------------------------- This README.TXT file contains the full documentation for the Amish System Utilities. Please read this file in its entirety. If you have futher questions, please don't hesitate to call the numbers listed below for free technical support. Amish Software 1325 Mills St. # 1B Menlo Park, Calif. 94025 USA Voice: 415-323-4627 Fax: 415-323-0138 Orders: 800-26-AMISH EMAIL: CompuServe: 72711,2507 Amish System Utilities Registration Form To register your software, please fill out this form and mail to the address below. We will keep you informed of future products and upgrades. Name and Title: ____________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________ City, State, ZIP: __________________________________________________ Country: ___________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________ Fax: ___________________________ Please mail or fax the above form, along with any comments to the address above. AMISH SYSTEM UTILITIES for WINDOWS Amish Bundling version Thank you for purchasing a quality Borland product. Included with your package is a free copy of the Amish System Utilities for Windows, whose retail value is $69.95. This package includes two useful utilities that will make using Microsoft Windows faster and easier--Amish Launch and Amish Desk. USING AMISH SYSTEM UTILITIES Table of Contents 1. Installation 2. Amish Launch 3. Amish Desk ----------------- 1. INSTALLATION ----------------- To install Amish System Utilities on your hard disk, 1. Start Windows. 2. Insert the Amish System Utilities disk in your floppy drive. 3. From the Program Manager, choose File Run. 4. Type A:INSTALL (or B:INSTALL if you're using drive B) and press Enter. 5. Follow the prompts to complete installation. ---------------- 2. AMISH LAUNCH ---------------- Amish Launch will change the way you work with Windows. Amish Launch is a shell for Windows that lets you quickly switch between programs and run programs without using the Program Manager. You can define "hotkeys" that let you quickly run programs from the keyboard. Access the Amish Launch menu any time by pressing Ctrl Alt L, or by clicking anywhere on the desktop. You can customize the menu, which supports five levels of cascading submenus. Use the Configure Amish Launch menu command to customize the menu to your liking. 2.a. Configuring Amish Launch ============================== Amish Launch creates a default configuration the first time you use it. The configuration file is called LAUNCH.INI. The Configure Amish Launch command on the Amish Launch menu displays the Launch Setup dialog box, in which you can: - Change the mouse button or hotkey that displays the Amish Launch menu - Select whether the Amish Launch icon appears - Specify whether Amish Launch is loaded manually, automatically, or acts as a Windows shell - Customize the Amish Launch menu - Create a Startup list of programs to run whenever you load Windows After making changes to the Launch Setup dialog box, choose Exit to put away the box, or Reload Launch to reload Amish Launch with the new settings in effect. Changing the Mouse Button or Hotkey ------------------------------------ To change the default mouse button, just click the choice you want under Mouse. To change the hotkey that displays the Amish Launch menu, type it in the Hotkey box. Amish Launch supports Ctrl, Alt, and Shift, as well as all the function keys (F1 through F12). It's a good idea to avoid specifying a hotkey another program already uses. Hiding or Displaying the Icon ------------------------------ To specify whether the Amish Launch icon appears or is hidden, choose the appropriate option under Icon. Amish Launch Load Options -------------------------- There are three load options available in the Installation section: Not Installed, Load with Windows, and Windows Shell. - The default is Not Installed. Amish Launch will not load itself with Windows. You must start Amish Launch from the Program Manager or File Manager. - If you want Amish Launch to load automatically when you start Windows, choose Load with Windows. This installs Amish Launch in WIN.INI's LOAD= or RUN= line. - Choose Windows Shell to replace the Program Manager with Amish Launch as the Windows shell. We feel that this is the most efficient way to run Windows. If you wish to continue using Program Manager, you can add it to Amish Launch's "Startup" list (covered below) or add it to the Amish Launch menu. (The file name for Program Manager is PROGMAN.EXE.) Note that Amish Launch must be the Windows shell before it can load the programs listed in the Startup list. Customizing the Amish Launch Menu ---------------------------------- When you choose Menu from the Configure Amish Launch dialog box, you get the Menu dialog box, which contains nine buttons: - New Item displays a dialog box where you supply specifications for a new menu item. - New Submenu adds an item that leads to another menu. - New Separator draws a line above the highlighted menu item. Lines usually separate groups of related commands. - Cut removes the highlighted item and stores it in a paste buffer. - Paste inserts the contents of the paste buffer above the highlighted menu item. - Parent and Submenu are available only when applicable to the highlighted menu item. Use these buttons to move between menu levels. - OK commits the changes you made in the menu dialog box and closes it. Creating and Editing Menu Items Editing a menu item is simple. You need to enter only two items: the text that appears on the menu and a command to execute when the item is chosen. To edit or create a menu item, choose the Edit or New Item button in the Menu dialog box, then supply the specifications. The following sections explain each part of the dialog box. The Menu Text The menu text is the text that appears on the menu. Just type the text you want. To make a character "hot" (so that pressing that character chooses the command--an alternative to using the arrow keys), precede the character with an ampersand (&). The hot character appears underlined in the menu. For example, if you enter "Exit &Windows", the W will be underlined, and pressing W with the menu displayed chooses the command. The Command The Command section includes the name of the program that performs the operation (including the path, if the program lies in a directory other than the default working directory). Commands can include arguments to programs; for example, D:\TOOLS\ZIP -p -r *.*. Type the command just as you would on the DOS command line. Amish Launch understands the WIN.INI extensions, so you can launch data files from the menu, too. For example, you could put WIN.INI in the Command section. This applies uniformly to the Command sections of the Menu, Startup, and Run dialog boxes. Amish Launch supports eight special built-in commands for the Command section. If you've used earlier versions of Amish Launch, you may remember putting these commands in the Menu Text section. They have been moved to the Command section so you can customize the menu text. NOTE: Don't forget to enclose the commands in parentheses. -------------------------------------------------------- Command Action -------------------------------------------------------- (About) Displays the About box, which contains free memory and system resource statistics. (Run) Displays the Run box (see section 2.b). (Arrange) Arranges the icons on your desktop. (Cascade) Cascades the windows on your desktop. (Tile) Tiles the windows on your desktop. (Close) Exits Amish Launch. (ExitWin) Displays an Exit Windows box. (ExitWin2) Exits Windows (without confirmation). -------------------------------------------------------- The Working Directory This setting is optional. Amish Launch changes to this directory before executing the command. Some programs (fortunately not many) expect to be executed from their own directory--they won't find their configuration or data files if they are run from another directory. Toolbook is an example of such a program. If you get this message when you try to Launch a program... "Cannot find XXXXXX.DLL, insert in drive A" ...you need to specify the working directory (the directory that contains the program you wish to execute). The Working Directory option can also be handy if you keep your data files in one directory and the program in another. For example, you could specify C:\WORD\WINWORD.EXE as the command and D:\REPORTS as the working directory. Hotkeys The Hotkey box lets you assign hotkeys to menu items. To specify a hotkey, just type it in the box, with a space between each key; for example, Shift Alt H. Amish Launch supports Ctrl, Alt, and Shift, as well as all the function keys (F1 through F12). Again, it's a good idea to avoid specifying a hotkey another program already uses. Here are the default hotkeys in Amish Launch: ------------------------------------------- Key Action ------------------------------------------- Ctrl Alt L Displays the Amish Launch menu Ctrl Alt R Displays the Run box Ctrl Alt C Invokes Calculator Ctrl Alt N Invokes Notepad Ctrl Alt T Invokes Terminal Ctrl Alt W Invokes Write Ctrl Alt P Invokes Paint Ctrl Alt X Exits Windows ------------------------------------------- Once you're familiar with the hotkeys, you may find that you rarely even see the Amish Launch menu. Starting programs under Windows couldn't be faster! Display Options The Display Options section of the Menu dialog box lets you specify how the program appears. You can specify location and size, and have the program display minimized, maximized, normal, or even hidden. (Be careful when selecting hidden, as you won't be able to see your window! This option is useful for small programs that require no input and exit quickly.) NOTE: To select a specific size and location, we recommend using the Easy Sizing button rather than entering the screen coordinates by hand. Creating a Startup List ------------------------ Programs listed in the Amish Launch Startup list run automatically when you load Windows--if the Installation option in the Launch Setup dialog box is set to Windows Shell. To create a Startup List, 1. Choose Startup from the Launch Setup menu bar. 2. In the Command box, enter the command that runs the program you want to add to the list. Follow the guidelines given in the previous section, "Customizing the Amish Launch Menu." 3. If necessary, specify the directory containing the program. Again, follow the guidelines in the previous section. 4. Specify any display options--see the previous section. 5. Choose OK. 2.b. The Run Box ================= The Amish Launch Run box can launch both programs and data files. Amish Launch will even search your PATH (and the Windows directories) for the program or data file--you don't need to specify the location. Amish Launch supports the Extensions section of WIN.INI. If you enter README.TXT in the Run box, Amish Launch will start Notepad and open the file README.TXT. You enter commands in the Run box just as you would enter them on the DOS command line. The Run box keeps track of the most recent commands, up to 25. Use the arrow keys to scroll through past commands or click the down-arrow button to display a list. The Run box supports multiple wildcards. For example, you can enter *.TXT *.DOC. 2.c. Configuration Tips for Advanced and Network Users ======================================================= Setting the MenuShowDelay and MenuHideDelay settings to 0 (zero) gives submenus a more responsive feel. These are Windows settings, not Amish Launch settings, and go in the WIN.INI Windows section. Experiment with these settings to find what's most comfortable for you. You can put the configuration file (LAUNCH.INI) in the Windows directory rather than the Amish Launch directory if you prefer. This way, you can put Amish Launch in a network subdirectory that everyone shares. Each user's configuration file and Run history can be stored in his or her own Windows directory. The Run history is automatically saved in the same directory as LAUNCH.INI. 2.d. More Information ====================== Amish Launch requires only 11-18K of RAM while running, whereas the Program Manager can take up as much as 80K of RAM. In addition, Amish Launch uses less of your precious system resources than the Program Manager; and regardless of how much memory you have, system resources will often be depleted before memory. The exact amounts of memory and system resources Amish Launch uses depends on the size of the menu, storage for the Run history, and the options selected. Amish Launch is written in a combination of 286 assembler and C. The majority of Amish Launch is assembler, to keep the program size and run-time memory requirements to a minimum. The majority of Configure Launch is C. Borland's language tools were used to create Amish Launch. ----------------------------------------- 3. Amish Desk Virtual Desktop for Microsoft Windows ----------------------------------------- One of the best things about using Windows is that you can run several programs at once. Unfortunately, to fit more than one of your favorite applications onscreen, you must either keep one application large and minimize the others or you must keep each application's window small (and often less functional). To effectively use Windows' multi-tasking ability, you must be satisfied to work on your application inside a small window or you must learn to juggle icons. Until now. Amish Desk is the solution to this problem, and we think you're going to like the freedom it provides. Imagine that your monitor is much bigger--three times wider and three times taller! While it would give you the extra space you need to properly organize your applications (up to NINE full-size applications!), it would be a bit overwhelming. Now imagine that the front of that monitor is covered with a large piece of cardboard. The cardboard covers the entire screen (and most of that overwhelming data!), except there's one hole in the cardboard the size of a normal monitor. That hole lets you view one (normal-sized) monitor's worth of data. You can easily move the hole to let you see any of the other eight screens. You have the best of both worlds: a large workspace on which to organize your applications, and a way to separate what you want to look at from the other applications onscreen. Amish Desk gives you this ability. 3.a. Running Amish Desk ======================== You can set up your "virtual" desktop to be up to eight screens wide and eight screens tall. We'll call each of these screens a "virtual screen." For example, a virtual desktop configured to three screens wide and three screens tall gives us nine virtual screens. Each virtual screen represents a different monitor-sized view of the virtual desktop. The "window boxes" are the rectangles on Amish Desk outlined in a solid line. The window boxes represent open windows in the corresponding area of the desktop. NOTE: The best way to understand how Amish Desk works is to experiment with it. Once Amish Desk is running, you can use the right mouse button to select which virtual screen to look at. Amish Desk appears either as an icon or as a normal-size application (called map mode); you can select virtual screens in either mode. A snap-to grid can be turned on and off. Depending on whether the grid is on or off, Amish Desk looks and works two different ways. If the grid is on, there is a limited number of virtual screens you can look at. Think of having nine monitors in a square arrangement, but only being able to turn on one at a time. The grid appears as dashed lines (both in map mode and icon mode). If the grid is off, there is one window box on the Amish Desk and no dashed lines visible. The window box can be moved much like the cardboard in the preceding analogy--you can place the window box (the "hole" in the cardboard) anywhere on the virtual desktop. Move the window box by clicking the right mouse button and dragging or by simply clicking where the center of the monitor-sized view of the desktop is to be. NOTE: If the snap-to grid is on, you can override it by holding the Shift key down as you click the right mouse button and drag to a new spot. You can navigate around Amish Desk using the cursor keys, including Home, End, PageUp, and PageDown for diagonal movement. Map Mode vs. Icon Mode ----------------------- Amish Desk indicates the content and layout of your virtual desktop in both map mode and icon mode. Map mode has additional features not accessible in icon mode. For instance, you can make an application active by double-clicking the window box that represents the application. You can restore an icon by double-clicking a box that represents an icon in Amish Desk. Moving a box in Amish Desk moves the corresponding application on the virtual desktop. 3.b. Menu Operations and Options ================================= The menu operations can be found on the System menu. To access the System menu, click once on the icon or, in map mode, either click the bar in the top left corner or press Alt Spacebar. The last three menu choices of the System menu are Amish Desk options; the first seven are available in most Windows applications. Amish Desk Options ------------------- Choosing Set Options from the System menu displays a dialog box with the following options: - Keep Window at Front tells Amish Desk to keep its icon or map display on top of any window you open. This is useful if you are switching between virtual screens often. - Snap Desktop to Grid divides the virtual desktop into normal-monitor- sized cells for viewing. For example, if your virtual desktop is three screens wide and three screens high, you can choose to view an area represented by any of those nine virtual screens. Clicking the right mouse button in a cell on the map or icon displays the part of the desktop represented by one of those nine screens. By turning this option off, you can look at any monitor-sized section of your desktop. NOTE: If this option is on, you can override the grid by pressing the Shift key down as you click the right mouse button and drag to a new spot. - Track Active Window, when on, moves your position on the virtual desktop (the screen you see) to give the best view of the newly selected window when you change the active window with Alt Esc or Alt Tab. - Update Desktop Map updates the Amish Desk map of the desktop every second. Normally this is fine, as you can see windows appearing as they are created. On some slower systems this may cause delays or slow response, so you can turn this feature off. If you do, the map display updates only when you click on Amish Desk. - Snap Application Window to Grid If determines how close a window box must be to the grid so that it's pulled to the grid. When moving application windows around on the Amish Desk map, you may want them to be aligned on the grid (if the grid is enabled). The value here defines how close (in pixels on the map display) the top left corner of the application window has to be to a grid point (the corner of a virtual screen) for the window to be snapped to that grid point. This option works only if you have Snap Desktop to Grid enabled. To turn off this feature, give a distance value of 0 pixels. - Virtual Desktop Size determines how big Amish Desk makes your array of available virtual screens. Remember, they all have to show on the icon. - Display Application Windows Using determines how Amish Desk displays windows on its map. There are three choices: - Just the Title Bar displays the text from each window's title along the top of the window box. - The Application's Icon displays the application's icon in the center of the window box. - Both the Title Bar and the Icon displays combination of both of the above options. - On Closing Amish Desk determines what Amish Desk does with all the windows on the virtual desktop when you close it. Remember that Windows can't deal with such a large desktop, so Amish Desk must return things to a format that Windows can handle. There are four options: - Scale Desktop to Screen moves all windows onto the screen, giving them a position that roughly denotes where each one's upper left corner was on the virtual desktop. - Cascade All Windows moves all windows onto the screen, offsetting each one a little to the right and down from the previous window. - Tile All Windows moves all windows onto the screen and arranges them so that they're roughly equal in size and cover the entire screen. - Do Nothing leaves all windows in their current positions. The windows won't be lost, but you'll need to use Windows' Task Manager (press Alt Esc) to access them. All option settings are saved in a file called AMDESK.INI in the Windows directory. Also saved are the window position and whether Amish Desk was minimized. The items are saved every time you click OK. You can add Amish Desk to the Amish Launch menu. If you do this when Amish Desk is already running, attempting to re-run it just activates the existing Amish Desk display. (c) 1991 Amish Software The photograph used in the Amish Desk About box is by Bill Coleman who has been photographing the Amish for 15 years. He can be reached at 301 South Garner Ave., State College, PA 16801, (814) 238-8495. -------------------END OF README.TXT-----------------