Bruce Smith

Insider
Guide •
senes

An Introduction to Workbench.and
AmigaDOS on the Commodore Amiga A1200
 Amiga A1200
Insider Guide

An Introduction to Workbench and

AmigaDOS on the A 1200

Bruce Smith

Bruce Smith Books

 Amilia Insider Guide

© Bruce Smith 1992

ISBN: 1-873308-15-9
First Edition: January 1993
Reprinted April 1993

Editors: Mark Webb, Peter Fitzpatrick

Typesetting: Bruce Smith Books Ltd

Workbench, Amiga and AmigaDOS are trademarks of Commodore-

Amiga, Inc. UNIX is a trademark of AT&T. MS-DOS is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation. Designer Mouseware is a trademark of Mark
Smiddy. All other Trademarks and Registered Trademarks used are here-
by acknowledged.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

translated in any form, by any means, mechanical, electronic or other-
wise, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder(s).

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the informa-
tion in this publication (and any programs and software) is correct and
accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss
or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information
printed in this book.
E&OE

Bruce Smith Books is an imprint of Bruce Smith Books Limited.

Published by: Bruce Smith Books Limited. PO Box 382, St. Albans, Herts,
AL2 3JD. Telephone: (0923) 894355 - Fax: (0923) 894366.
Registered in England No. 2695164.
Registered Office: 51 Quarry Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3UA.

Printed and bound in the UK by Ashford Colour Press, Gosport.

Amiga Insider Guide

The Author
BRUCE SMITH is an award winning journalist with over 40
book titles to his credit. His style is renowned for being easy
going and highly readable and led one reviewer to write "This is
the first computer book I have read in bed for pleasure rather
than to cure insomnia!"
In addition to the computer scene, he is well known as a foot-
ball journalist and his dulcet tones can generally be heard on
BBe Radio Bedfordshire with Herts and Bucks on Saturday
afternoons.
He is the founder of Bruce Smith Books, a publishing house
dedicated to the support of the Amiga, and lives in rural
Hertfordshire. He is married with two children and his hobbies
include amateur dramatics and scuba diving.
Amiga Insider Guide
 Preface - The Hook ...................... 15
1 The Starting Post ............................. 17
Versions ........................................................................ 18
Floppy Disks ................................................................. 19
Setting Up .................................................................... 19
KeyMap Select ............................................................. 20
The Workbench ............................................................ 20
The Menus .................................................................... 21
Mouse Matters ............................................................. 22

2 Inside WIMPs ...................................... 25

Close Gadget ............................................................... .26
Title/Move Bar ............................................................. 28
Zoom Gadget. .............................................................. .28
FrontlBack. ................................................................... 28
Scroll Bars ................................................................... .30
Window Sizer ............................................................... 30
Icon Types .................................................................... 31
More on Menus ............................................................ 32
Screen Drags ................................................................ 34
Hot Keys ....................................................................... 34

3 Disks Inside and Out ..................... 37

Formatting ................................................................... 38
System Requests .......................................................... 39
Hard Disk Users .......................................................... .40
Working Disks ............................................................. .40
The Backup ................................................................. .42
Renaming Disks .......................................................... .42
Working Disk .............................................................. .44
Corrupted Disks .......................................................... .45
Disk Space ................................................................... .46
 Amilia Insider Guide

4 Files on the Move ............................. 49

The Ram Disk .............................................................. 50
Drag Copy ..................................................................... 51
Ram Delete ................................................................... 52
Multiple Copy ............................................................... 54
Trashcan ....................................................................... 56

5 Clocking On .......................................... 59
The Clock ..................................................................... 60
Alarming ....................................................................... 62
Time Setting ................................................................. 62

6 Designing Desktop .......................... 65

WBPattern .................................................................... 66
Bottom Button ............................................................. 68
The Palette ................................................................... 68
WB Colours .................................................................. 69
Sample Palette ............................................................. 70
The Pointer ................................................................... 71
Preset Assets ................................................................. 74

7 In Command ......................................... 77
Menu Execute .............................................................. 78
The Shell ...................................................................... 79
Dir List ......................................................................... 80
Extra Dirs ..................................................................... 82
Hard Disk User ............................................................ 83

8 Into the Shell .. ...................................... 85

Shell Commands .......................................................... 87
Special FX .................................................................... 88

9 Trees and Branches ....................... 91

Hierarchical ................................................................. 92
Tree Structure .............................................................. 94
Directory Path .............................................................. 94
Amiga Insider Guide

10 Copybook Form ................................ 97

Dual Drive .................................................................... 98
Copying Disks .............................................................. 99
Single Backup ..... '" .................................................... 100
Copying Files .............................................................. 101
Make Directory .......................................................... 102
Going Up Dirs ............................................................ 103
Dir Revisited .............................................................. 103

11 ED and Script Files ..................... l05

EDumacation ............................................................. 106
Simple Script ............................................................. 106
Execute It! .................................................................. 107
Editing ED Files ......................................................... 108
Echo, Echo ................................................................ 108
Cursor Control ........................................................... 11 0
Extended ED ............................................................. .112
ED Blocks ................................................................... 116
ED Menus ................................................................... 117

12 Tools and MultiView ................... 119

Calculator ................................................................... 120
KeyShow .................................................................... 120
MultiView ................................................................... 123

13 Startup Commodities ................. 127

AutoPoint .............................................. ,. '" ................ 128
ClickToFront .............................................................. 128
Blanker ....................................................................... 128
WBStartup ................................................................. 130
The Exchange ............................................................. 131
FKey Control .............................................................. 133
NoCapsLock ............................................................... 134

14 Designer Icons ................................ 137

Icon Types .... '" ........................................................... 138
Creating Icons ............................................................ 139
Icon Editing ............................................................... 140
IconEdit Menus ......................................................... 142

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 Amiga Insider Guide

Double Identity .......................................................... 144

Icon Affairs ................................................................. 144

15 Scripts and Icons .......................... 147

ICONX ........................................................................ 148
Pass Parameter .......................................................... 151
Key Dollars ................................................................. 152
Key Options ................................................................ 153
Key Variables ............................................................. 155

16 Useful AmigaDOS ......................... 157

Resident DOS ............................................................. 157
Prompt Ideas .............................................................. 159
Alias AmigaDOS ......................................................... 159
New Shells .................................................................. 161
Assigned Path ............................................................. 162

1 7 Wildcards ............................................. 163

Jokers Wild ................................................................. 164
This 'n' That ................................................................ 166
File Info ...................................................................... 168

18 Printer Installation ...................... 171

Printer Types .............................................................. 172
Printer Driver ............................................................. 173
Printer Prefs ............................................................... 175
Printer Init ................................................................. 178
Serial Change ...................................... ,...................... 179
PrintFiles .................................................................... 179

19 Printer Graphics ............................ 181

Colour Correct ........................................................... 182
Dithering .................................................................... 182
Scaling ........................................................................ 183
Limits ......................................................................... 184
Image Aspects ............................................................ 185
Shade .......................................................................... 186
Threshold ................................................................... 186
Density ........................................................................ 187

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Amiga Insider Guide

GraphicDump ............................................................ 187

20 Fonts in the Frame ...................... 189

Amiga Fonts ............................................................... 190
Font Prefs ................................................................... 192

21 Specifically Yours ......................... 195

ShowConfig ................................................................ 195
CrossDOS ................................................................... 196
Setting Maps .............................................................. 198
Sound Prefs ................................................................ 198

22 Multi-tasking Amiga .................... 201

Single Window ........................................................... 202
Process Status ............................................................ 203
Quitting Process ......................................................... 203
Points In Mind ........................................................... 205

23 Virus Danger ..................................... 207

The Strain of it.. ......................................................... 209
Symptoms .................................................................. 21 0
Prevention .................................................................. 211
Viral Death ................................................................. 212
The Killers .................................................................. 213

24 One Step Beyond .......................... 215

System Drawer ........................................................... 216
Expansion ................................................................. .216
Storage Drawer .......................................................... 217
Prefs Drawers ............................................................. 217
Locale Disk ................................................................. 218

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 Amiga Insider Guide

Appendices

A File Locator ....................................... 219

B Booting Up ......................................... 233

C Amiga Books ..................................... 235

Index ........................................................ 249

..............·111·..............
AmigQ Insider Guide

Insider Guides
#1: Disk icons give disk windows ..................................... 27
#2: The world of window gadgets .................................... 27
#3: Shrinking and enlarging windows ............................. 29
#4: Window stacking with FrontlBack.. ........................... 29
#5: Icon types - drawers and files .................................... 33
#6: Workbench menus and options ................................. 33
#7: Formatting a new disk for use .................................. .41
#8: Backing-up a disk........................................................ 43
#9: Renaming a disk .......................................................... 45
#10: The Ram Disk.............................................................. 51
#11: The Drag Copy ............................................................. 53
#12: Deleting from the Ram Disk.. .................................... .53
#13: Selecting files using a Marquee .................................. 55
#14: Deleting files using the Trashcan ............................... 57
#15: The Clock displaying its menus .................................. 61
#16: Selecting a digital Clock. ............................................ 61
#17: Setting the Clock Alarm and Date .............................. 63
#18: Setting the Clock date and time ................................. 63
#19: The WBPattem editor window ................................... 67
#20: Changing a Window pattern. ..................................... 69
#21: The Palette editor window .......................................... 71
#22: Setting colour details .................................................. 72
#23: The Pointer editor window......................................... 73
#24: Using a Save (Backdrop) window .............................. 75
#25: Using WBPattem Presets ............................................ 76
#26: Using Execute Command ........................................... 79
#27: The AmigaDOS Shell .................................................. 81
#28: Entering Commands ................................................... 81
#29: Cataloguing a Directory .............................................. 83
#30: Editing with the Shell ................................................. 87
#31: A hierarchical filing system ........................................ 93
#32: Formatting a Disk using FORMAT ............................ 99
#33: Executing a Script with ED ...................................... 109
#34: Using the Calculator................................................. 121
#35: Using KeyShow ......................................................... 122
#36: Displaying with MultiView ....................................... 125
#37: Using Blanker. ........................................................... 129
#38: Using the WBStartup drawer................................... 131
#39: Using Commodity Exchange .................................... 133
#40: Using FKey ................................................................ 135

- - -..11----
 Amiga Insider Guide

#41: Icon types and operation .......................................... 139

#42: Using IconEdit. ......................................................... 141
#43: The IconEdit Toolbox ............................................... 143
#44: Creating an Icon from scratch ................................. 145
#45: Attaching ICONX to a script. ................................... 149
#46: Using Show All Files to Copy................................... 165
#47: Printer Driver Installation ........................................ 177
#48: Printer Installation .................................................... 177
#49: PrinterGfx Preferences ............................................. 183
#50: Using GraphicDump ................................................. 188
#51: Font types and Font sizes ......................................... 191
#52: Using Font Preferences ............................................. 193
#53: Installing CrossDOS .................................................. 197
#54: Setting the Keymap .................................................. 199
#55: Using the Sound editor. ............................................ 200

..........-11--........-
 The Amiga Al200 is an amazing computer. H you
are wondering if, and indeed why, you should fork
out some more cash for a book, don't read on.

Then again if you want to get the very best from

your Auriga you had really better read on ...

ou will be reading this either in the comfort of your own

home or standing in a shop wondering if you should,
after having shelled out a few hundred quid already,
fork out some more portraits of Charles Dickens for this book.
If you are the former then you will have already decided why
you should make it your computing companion. If you are in
the latter category read on and I'll tell you why you should.
The bottom line is that this book has been written with the first
time user in mind, what's more it has been written specifically
for first time users of all versions of the Amiga A1200.
The manual supplied with the computer is a comprehensive
description of what your new computer has to offer and it con-
tains within its pages details on virtually all aspects of the
Workbench (that's the bit of the computer that you will initially
be using the most).
This book does not cover every aspect of your Amiga, it will not
make you into an instant Amiga expert - that only comes with
 Amiga Insider Guide

a lot of personal research and endeavour. However, what this book

will do is to take you step by step through all the major areas that you
must know about if you are to use you Amiga effectively and make the
very best of your investment. It will in effect be a guide to the Amiga in
the real sense of the word.
The ultimate aim of this book then is to provide you with a thorough
grounding in the main aspects of the A1200 - to get you inside it -
from which point you should then be able to master it using either
your own initiative or one of the sister publications covering all
aspects of the Amiga. This Insider Guide will provide the basis from
which you will feel comfortable to go to and use your Amiga A1200
manual to extract any extra information you need with confidence.
To make this progress I would ask of you just one thing. Start at
Chapter One and read through the book - don't jump chapters - and
do work through the tutorials provided. When you have tried out the
examples, do another of your own. Apply your new found knowledge,
make mistakes (and you will) and leamfrom them.
Okay, that's the sales pitch. If you're reading this at home - thanks and
good luck with your endeavours - don't be frightened to experiment. If
you're in the shop and still undecided - I must be losing my touch!

----I~---
 Setting the scene - This Insider Guide covers all
versions of the A1200 and describes its operation
step by step, move by move.

Sorting out your disks and getting up and

running is not that confusing - is it?

f you have read the adverts and reviews or have had some
good sales advice in the shop you will already be aware
that the Al200 comes in many different flavours - plain
vanilla (that's the Al200 itself), raspberry ripple (that's the
more expensive and slightly more tasty hard drive version) and
giant cornetto (the one with loads of memory and hard drive).
Fundamentally these versions of the Al200 are one and the
very same - they run the same software.
Although all Al200s run the same software, the inclusion of a
hard disk does drastically increase the functionality of the com-
puter because it means you have virtually instant access to all
your software. At times we may refer to the Al200HD, meaning
an Al200 fitted with an internal hard disk. All Al200s are ready
to accept a hard disk and that's why you'll find a light with the
legend H.DISK beside it above the floppy disk power light.
The alternative to a hard disk is a floppy disk which is the basic
building block of computer data storage and transfer the world
over. All Amigas are fitted with an internal 3.5" floppy disk
 Amiga Insider Guide

drive, located on the righthand edge of the machine. We11 come onto
the technicalities on what a floppy disk is capable of storing in due
course, but if we say that an A1200 20Mb hard disk can store around
twenty times as much information as a single floppy disk you should
begin to get an inkling of how useful and how time saving this might
be. In essence you won't need to swap disks at regular intervals.
But, having said that - don't start fretting if you have a floppy disk
based A1200 only - these will be the most popular of all the Al200s
sold and they are just as sophisticated as their counterparts - and you
also have the option of purchasing an add-on drive at a later date as
and when they become available from third-party suppliers. A word
for Al200 hard drive users as well- you also have a floppy disk drive
fitted into the side of your Amiga.
I've been talking about different versions of the A1200 but don't be put
off by this because it won't happen that much more. The reason for
this is that the software on all the machines is the same. They run
Workbench and AmigaDOS and for that reason the descriptions and
tutorials are pretty much identical for all! Wherever minor differences
do occur I'll be sure to point them out - but they are few and far
between and, once you have set up your system to your liking, they vir-
tually disappear.

The Al200 comes with new versions of

AmigaDOS and of Workbench, both now
numbered 3. These versions first
appeared on the Amiga 4000 but appeared surprisingly quickly after-
wards in the Al200 which means that you have a Commodore Amiga
computer which is bang up to date in terms of the software which it
runs and which runs it!
If you are using the Al200 after earlier experience of another Amiga
model then you will immediately notice some differences in the way
that the Workbench appears and in where some files are located on
the suite of disks which comes with the computer. You'll find our File
Locator appendix particularly useful as you get acclimatised in this
new rarified atmosphere.

----11-----
Amilia Insider Guide

No matter whether you have a standard

A1200 or a hard drive system, you will
find that your Amiga pack has a set of
floppy disks, the master disks. These are very important so treat them
with respect. If you don't have a hard drive then these will form the
focal point of your attention for the rest of this book. If you have a
hard disk system then you can put the floppies away somewhere safe
as the programs and information they contain is already in position on
the hard disk - but more on that later.
The disks are labelled:
Workbench
Extras
Fonts
Locale
Storage
If you have a hard drive then you may need to install software onto
your hard drive. We'll look at this in greater detail shortly, but
first.. .Setting up!

I'm not going to waste precious space

going through how to connect up your
Amiga. The reason being is that it is
done beautifully in the small booklet entitled User's Guide A1200
which is supplied in your Amiga box. The whole caboodle is remark-
ably easy to plug together and it is physically impossible to plug the
wrong plug into the wrong socket and blow the thing up, so rest
assured!
A1200 floppy system: When you tum this on your screen will show an
animated cartoon of a disk flying up and inserting itself in a disk drive.
This is the A1200's way of asking you to insert the Workbench disk
into the internal floppy disk drive. Locate the disk called Workbench
and pop it into the drive (Workbench title facing upwards and metal
slider innermost). Within a handful of seconds the Workbench screen
will appear.
A1200 hard drive system: When you switch on, the A1200 will go
through its starting up procedure the technical term for this being
booting or kickstarting (basically the terms relate to be booted into life

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 AmigQ Insider Guide

or kickstarted into action). This all takes a few seconds but within a
few moments you will be presented with the Workbench screen.
It is possible to interupt this startup, or boot, procedure if you wish to
change boot or display options. These can be important for users of
earlier Amigas who have upgraded to the A1200 and wish to run exist-
ing software. See Appendix B for further details on this.

The Amiga is an international computer.

That is great but in itself it also creates
an awful lot of problems - not least
those encountered by the language barrier. For example, although
English and German may be reasonably closely related the German
language has many characters not included in the English alphabet.
It is reasonable to expect that an English Amiga would have an
English keyboard and a German Amiga a German one. To enable this
to happen the Amiga is supplied with a map of each of the major key-
board configurations, English, German, French, Swedish and several
more. This keymap is not a map in the traditional sense but a set of
numbers that reflect the keyboard characters. You will in due course
have to set the keyboard map to the keyboard you wish to use. That
said, you can use the default keyboard mapping for the time being
which is pretty much a GB one anyway! We'll return to this subject in
due course once you have mastered how to move and copy informa-
tion from one place to another.

Once your Amiga A1200 has finished its

start-up or boot procedure you will be
presented with the Workbench. The
Workbench provides you with an environment where you can do all
your day-to-day tasks such as running games, application programs
and copying disks to name but three. The Workbench is itself a pro-
gram that runs in the Amiga with the sole aim in life of providing you
with a user-friendly (ie simple to use) interface with the A1200.
The term Workbench is a good one because that is exactly how you
should treat it - a screen version of a work area where you do all of
your computing. For this reason Workbench is sometimes referred to
as the Desktop
Amiga Insider Guide

The Workbench displays several features which characterise it, many

of these you will learn about during the course of this Insider Guide,
however the most major characteristic of the Workbench is that it is a
WIMP system. The term is WIMP is an acronym which stands for:
Windows, Icons, Pointers and Menus.
The Workbench is itself a window and it exhibits all of the qualities of
the many other windows you will be encountering in the coming chap-
ters - all of which will be fully described. A computer window works
very much like a normal house window - you look through it (or into
it) and see what it reveals on the other side. The larger the window the
more you can see, the smaller the window the less you can see. A win-
dow only allows you to see part of the world, it doesn't show you
everything (though it could if you made it big enough) as there may be
items outside the area of view covered by the window. All these facts
are true of household windows, they are also true of the Amiga
Workbench windows.

While Window puts the W into WIMP,

Menus supplies the M. All Amiga menus
are accessed via a menu bar that invari-
ably sits across the top of the screen. When you are working at the
Workbench then you will easily see the Workbench menu bar strung
across the top of the Workbench screen.
In addition to displaying the version of Workbench you are using it
also displays a number which represents the amount of memory that
is available to you and your programs. This number will vary depend-
ing on whether you have had a memory upgrade fitted to your A1200
or not.
The P in WIMP is for Pointer and the pointer is the arrow that you can
move around the Workbench by moving the mouse across the table
surface. The pointer will move in the direction your move the mouse.
If you move the Pointer so that its tip sits over the word Workbench
and then press (and keep pressing) the right mouse button the
Workbench changes and reveals some new legend - these are the
names of the Workbench menus and they are Workbench, Window,
Icons and Tools. If you move the pointer across each of these in tum
you will find that a list of menu options pops down under each one.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Note that these pop-down menus only remain visible while you keep
the mouse button depressed, when you release the button the pull-
down menu disappears until recalled in similar fashion.
Selecting a Workbench menu option is relatively straightforward and
really just requires some coordination between mouse and eye. For
instance if you move the mouse to the menu bar, press down the right
mouse button and move over the Workbench menu option you'll see
that the first option on the menu is Backdrop. Move the pointer so
that its point sits over the word Backdrop - you should notice that the
option becomes highlighted - now release the mouse button. All being
well you should have now selected the Backdrop option and the effect
of this should be to tum or convert the Workbench from a window
into a non-window environment called a Backdrop. If this hasn't hap-
pened then try the process again. You can return the Workbench to a
Window by repeating the process, ie, select Backdrop again. It's worth
practicing this a few times as menu selection is an important part of
using your Amiga.
If you hadn't already guessed from above the I in WIMP stands for
Icons. These are the small picture images that will appear on your
Workbench and in windows that you open. You will be able to see a
couple of icons on your desktop already - the Ram Disk is one and
also the Workbench disk - if you are a A1200 hard drive user the latter
will be replaced by a System and Work icon. More on icons in the next
chapter.

If you don't already own one, then you

will find a mouse mat a worthwhile
investment. Table and desk tops tend to
be slippery and offer the roller ball fitted in the base of the mouse no
real surface to grip on and roll. A mouse mat is specially designed for
use with a mouse and it also ensures that you keep a bit of the desk
free for its use. Mouse mats vary in cost and dearest isn't always best.
Always try any mouse mat out before you buy it.
Get into the habit of mouse-lift and move. You don't need an entire
desktop to move the mouse around on - a small mouse mat is ample
room. Simply push the mouse to its edge, lift and replace it on the
opposite side of the mat, before continuing movement. It soon
becomes a natural process.

----11----
Amiga Insider Guide

To use the mouse effectively place it to the right of the Amiga with its
tail (the wire) running away from you. Lay the palm of your hand over
it with your index finger on the left button and your middle finger on
the right hand button. This assumes you are right-handed like me!
Obviously if you are left handed you will need to reverse these
arrangements.
The left mouse button is the one which is used most so when you need
to use the mouse button, press the left one unless you are told other-
wise. Because the lefthand mouse button is used to select items it is
often referred to as the Select button. The righthand mouse button is
often called the Menu button as it is used to make the menus pop-
down.

----11----
Amiga Insider Guide
Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers - the Amiga
WIMP building blocks.

Having introduced each of these in the last

chapter, let's now look at the anatomy and
physiology of each.
Scalpels at the ready please!

11 windows on the Amiga exhibit similar characteristics,

a fact which makes them very easy to use because, once
you have learnt how to use one, you have also learnt
how to use every other one!
The Workbench is by default a window but does differ in one
respect from other windows in that you wouldn't really want to
close it otherwise you'll be left with nothing to work on or with!
So to that end it's best to experiment with another window and
the best one for that purpose is the Workbench disk window.
If you are using an A1200 hard drive system then for the fol-
lowing you could insert the Workbench disk itself or pretend
that the System3.0 icon on the Workbench is the disk icon in
question.
At the moment the Workbench disk is represented by a disk
icon (ie a cartoon of a disk with some legend underneath it).
You can reveal its components by moving the pointer over it
and then clicking the left mouse button twice in quick succes-
sion. This process is called double-clicking.
 Amiga Insider Guide

At this point the disk drive should spring into life and soon the Pointer
will metamorphose into a small clock indicating to you that your key-
board has gone to sleep while the disk is being read - in other words
while information or data is being located on it. If this does not hap-
pen then you have probably not double-clicked the mouse button
quickly enough, or you haven't positioned the Pointer correctly over
the disk icon. Try again. When you are successful the Workbench disk
window will appear on the screen and then various icons will be dis-
. played inside it.
Once the window has opened you will see that it becomes filled with a
number of different icons each representing the various files that are
held on the disk and which go towards the total working environment
of the Workbench.
If you study the physical structure of the window you should see that
it is composed of a number of elements, all of which are also reflected
in the Workbench window. These elements, often called gadgets in
Amiga parlance. From the top righthand comer, these are:
• Close gadget
• Title/Move Bar
• Zoom gadget
• FrontlBack gadget
• Scroll gadgets
• Sizing gadget
Each of these is described individually below.

The small square gadget with a white

dot inside it situated in the very top left-
hand comer of the window is the Close
Window gadget. As its name suggests this is used to close the current
window, effectively removing it from the Workbench screen. To use
this gadget, position the tip of the Pointer so that it lies over the white
dot and click on the mouse. The window will disappear from the
screen. You can reopen the window again at any time simply by dou-
ble-clicking again on the relevant icon. Try this a few times to get used
to the process as it is a fundamental operation in the running of your
Amiga Workbench.

--------11--------
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #1: Disk icons give disk windows.

The Workbench disk appears as a named disk

icon on the Workbench desktop. If you move
the Pointer tip so that it sits anywhere over
the disk icon and press the left mouse button
twice in rapid succession (double-clicking) the
Workbench disk window will be displayed.
Note that the disk icon remains in place.

Insider Guide #2: The world of window gadgets.

Title/Move Bar Zoom Gadget

Scroll Gadgets
Sizing
Each window is accompanied by a number of gadgets Gadget
which you can use to control what it shows.
 Amiga Insider Guide

The most readily distinguishable of the

windows features, it runs almost right
across the top of the window and is
sandwiched in between the Close gadget and the Zoom gadget. The
Title/Move bar contains details about the disk and also allows you to
move the window around the desktop.
When a window is opened it will always display its name in the
Title/Move Bar. This will generally be the same as the name assigned
to the icon you used to open the window in the first place. The win-
dow name provides a useful point of reference which becomes impor-
tant when you have several windows open on the Workbench at once.
The bar also contains information relating to the physical contents of
the disk, namely the number of files on the disk and the amount of
free space it contains. This free space size is important as it gives you
an indication as to the amount of information that can be stored on it.
You can also use the bar to move the window around the desktop.
This is done by positioning the Pointer anywhere within the bar and
depressing the left mouse button. While keeping the mouse button
depressed, when you move the mouse the window will be dragged
around the Workbench in the same direction! Releasing the mouse
button fixes the new window position until you reposition it once
again. Try this with the Workbench disk window and notice that you
are only dragging the outline of the window about, the window itself
doesn't move until you release the mouse button.

This gadget, which is immediately to the

right of the Title/Move bar allows you to
change the size of the window. The
action of the gadget is to switch between two sizes. Generally, if a win-
dow is small when you open it, clicking on the double gadget will
make it large. Clicking on the gadget again will restore the original
window size.

In the far top righthand corner of the

window is the Front/Back gadget. This
has a dual action. If you have several
windows open on screen at once then the Workbench can become a
very cluttered place. Windows will generally overlap one another, par-
tially obscuring the contents of the others around them. When you
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #3: Shrinking and enlarging windows.

Above is the Workbench disk window shown

at its normal full size. By clicking in the Zoom
gadget it can be instantly shrunk to a less
space-consuming size as shown right.
By clicking on the Zoom gadget again the
window can be zoomed back to its full glory.
This type of action is called a toggle.

Insider Guide #4: Window stacking with Front/Back.

The
Workbench
disk
Front/Back
gadget
The System
drawer
Front/Back
gadget

Top: The window called

System is stacked on
top of the Workbench
disk window. To bring
the Workbench disk
window to the front
(bottom) click on the
Front/Back gadget in
the Workbench disk
window.

-------11-------
 Amiga Insider Guide

have several windows open they are said to be stacked. The topmost
window, which is called the current window is by definition in the
foreground. All other windows are in the background. By clicking the
Pointer on the FrontlBack gadget the window is either sent to the back
or brought to the front.
If the window you click on is the current window it will go to the very
bottom of the stack of windows. Any other window which is not the
current window will be brought to the top of the stack and made the
current window. If you click on this gadget with just the Workbench
disk window displayed you will find that the window disappears! In
fact it has simply gone behind the Workbench window - to bring it
back click in the Workbench window's own Front/Back gadget!

Because it is possible to make a window

smaller, there may be occasions when it
is simply too small to show you all the
icons it contains. Equally, you may have so many icons in a window
that there isn't enough room to make the window big enough to show
all the icons! This is where the scroll bars come into play. THe scroll
bars are located across the bottom and down the righthand edge of the
window - they are therefore normally referred to as the horizontal
scroll bar and the vertical scroll bar.
The Scroll Bars are held within the Scroll Boxes. By dragging the
Scroll Bars inside their Scroll Boxes you can make other areas of the
window come into view. The best way to see this is to make the win-
dow about half its present size and then practice the technique. The
window can be made smaller using the Sizer gadget detailed next.
An alternative method is to click the Pointer over the arrow gadgets
which will force the window to scroll the icons and shift their posi-
tions in the direction indicated by the arrow head.

When you open a window it is displayed

in a predetermined size. However, you
will invariably wish to alter the size,
making it either larger of smaller. The Window Sizer gadget allows
you to do this.
You use this gadget in much the same way as you would do the Move
Window gadget. Place the Pointer over the gadget, keep the left mouse

............11·..........•
Amiga Insider Guide

button depressed and then drag the Pointer. You can perform the drag
in any direction. For example to make the window wider, drag right..
To make it narrower, drag left. Similarly, to make the window taller,
drag down and drag up to make it shorter. If you wish to make the
window taller and wider then drag diagonally down to the right.
Dragging up to the left will make the window shorter and narrower.
Note that adjusting the size of a window may well alter the state of the
scroll bars. For example, by making a window larger more icons can
fit into the field of view. If all icons can be shown the scroll bar gad-
gets become ghosted as they are not needed any more. The converse is
also true.

Icons are pictorial representations of

various aspects of your Amiga. We have
already seen one in the Workbench disk
icon. The other icon on the standard Workbench is the Ram Disk - as
you should be able to see this icon is similar to the Workbench disk
icon. It is a sort of pseudo disk that uses some of the Amiga memory
to store information - we will be looking at it in due course. If you
double-click on the Ram Disk icon you will see that it displays its own
window.
The disk icon is just one of several icon types that are used by the
Amiga. There are several other types and you can get a good idea of
what each of these types looks like by opening the Workbench disk
window.
If you do this you will see it is rather dominated by a series of icons
that look like drawers - these have names such as Utilities, System,
Monitors, Expansion and so forth. Not surprisingly these type of icons
are called drawer icons and they too can display their own windows. If
you double-click on the drawer icon (more simply drawer) called
System it will open a window displaying yet another set of icons.
The icons in the System drawer are all examples of program icons
(don't try double-clicking on any of these yet). Programs are often also
called Tools in Amiga parlance and they often have their own instinc-
tive icon. For example, a wordprocessor called Wordy might have an
icon which incorporates its name utilising a big W. The wordprocessor
files it creates (called projects) will also often use a clone of this icon
to tie it into the Wordy family. Notice this use of terminology on the
 Amiga Insider Guide

Amiga: you use Tools to create Projects or if you prefer, Projects are
created on the Amiga by using Tools.
An AmigaDOS disk can also contain a special type of icon labelled
Trashcan. This is in fact a drawer icon but a special type of drawer.
You can use this to dispose of projects and tools that you no longer
require. We'll look at this again in due course - don't try experiment-
ing now however because anything you throwaway you cannot get
back. You have been warned!
There are other icon types that you will come across during your
Amiga travels especially if you start designing your very own icons
using the IconEdit project which is covered in a later chapter. The bot-
tom line is that you needn't be phased if you encounter an icon type
that you haven't seen before.

The Workbench menus provide you with

the tools that you will need to carry out
general run of the mill operations. Now
that you hopefully have a better insight into the Amiga Workbench,
have a look at the menus again and you will see that they are arranged
quite logically. The headings are:
Workbench
Windows
Icons
Tools
The options listed in the Workbench menu are those that relate to
operations to be undertaken at a Workbench (overall) level. Those that
are grouped under the Windows heading are options that relate to and
act on the current window. Finally, those listed under the Icon head-
ing are particular to icons. The last menu is Tools and at present this
contains just one option ResetWB which effectively resets the
Workbench.
We will be looking at several of the options in these menus in greater
depth as we progress.

----11....- - -
Amilia Insider Guide

Insider Guide #5: Icon types - drawers and files.

A file icon Drawer icons

Most disk windows display several types of icons. Drawer icons when
opened display windows which often display more icons - they might
even contain more drawers. The Trashcan is a special drawer that
allows you to trash files.
When double-clicked, a file icon - such as Shell- runs a Tool which
allows you to perform a function.

Insider Guide #6: Workbench menus and options.

IWorkbench Window Icons Tools
New Drawer
Open Parent Above: By moving the Pointer to the top
of the Workbench and depressing the
Close left mouse button the four standard
Update Workbench menus can be revealed.
Select Contents ~R Left: By moving the Pointer over any of
Clean Up the four menu headings a pop-down
Snapshot }} menu of options can be displayed. The
four menus relate to the options they
Show contain. The Window menu houses
View options which, when selected, operate
on the current window.
 Amiga Insider Guide

While windows playa big role in the

organisation of your Amiga Workbench
so do screens. The best way to illustrate
what a screen is, is to show you one. Go to the Workbench menu and
select the Backdrop option. The Workbench window disappears and
the various icons it held now appear on a screen. Note that the
Workbench menus are still available to you.
As you become more familiar with Amiga software you will find that
some of it runs in windows and some of it runs on screens. Just as it is
possible to have multiple windows stacked, it is also pbS sible to have
screens stacked.
You can reveal screens by dragging the uppermost ones down. For
instance, if you have converted the Workbench window into a screen
via the Backdrop option move the Pointer to the Menu Bar, press and
keep depressed the left mouse button and then drag the Pointer down.
The Workbench screen comes down with you to reveal a blank back-
ground (if another screen was active it would be revealed at this
point). You can move a screen up and down in this way, but not side
to side.
If you now release the mouse button you will find the Workbench
remains in place and that you cannot move the mouse Pointer off the
top beyond the Menu Bar. To move the Workbench back to its normal
position, simply repeat the process. It is not generally necessary to
drag the Workbench in this way, but you will wish to drag other win-
dows in a similar fashion.

You may well have already noticed that

numerous items on the Workbench
menus - though certainly not all - have
an Amiga A symbol and letter on the extreme right of the menu. This
is known as a hot-key assignment. Basically each one allows you to get
to that particular command using a keypress combination rather than
having to go to the menu to select it, thus saving time and effort. The
down side is that you need to know what the key press is in the first
place. However, as the key used is normally the first letter of the
option you want, it isn't that difficult and once you have used hot-keys
a few times, they become automatic.
Amiga Insider Guide

Using a hot-key is easy enough. Simply hold down the Amiga key at
the bottom right of the keyboard (it's the sloping outline of a capital A)
and, holding it down, press the appropriate hot-key. For example you
can select the Backdrop option by holding down the Amiga key and
pressing the letter key B (B for Backdrop) .

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 Amiga Insider Guide

- - -..11....- - -
 Disks are as important to your A1200 as is the
screen, and without that you couldn't see what
was going on! Disks are the means by which your
Auriga communicates with the outside world.

To realise the potential of your Amiga you must

be confident about using them.

o matter what configuration Amiga you have - no mat-

whether you have a hard disk installed or not - the
floppy disk will be your most effective way of commu-
nicating with the outside world. Almost without fail any pro-
grams or games you might buy will be supplied on one or
more. Many Amiga magazines nowadays come with at least
one disk taped to the front. And as you become more confident
in your use of the vast array of features of the Amiga you will
want to save your own information for later use or to give to
someone else - be it a high score table from your favourite
ga~e or the text of a book created using one of the Amiga's text
editing programs. Put bluntly, if you want to get anywhere with
your Amiga you must be able to do the following tasks:
• handle disks without damaging them
• prepare disks ready for use
• make copies of your most important disks
 Amiga Insider Guide

Thankfully these tasks are are not difficult and, once mastered, like
learning to ride a bike, you never forget them. What is more, these
techniques are used on computers the world over so you really are
learning for the future. To work through the following examples you
will need a couple of new (blank) disks handy.

The problem with standards is that they

lead to incompatibility! Whilst most
computers in the world are standardis-
ing on 3.5" sized disks, the way they store information on them differs!
For this reason disks are normally supplied in a blank format. So
before you can use them you must perform a process called format-
ting. The formatting process lays down a sort of electronic map that
the Amiga can use to enable it to save and retrieve your information
quickly and efficiently. Because this process is so vital it is made rela-
tively easy to perform, and whenever you purchase a box of disks it is
always worth spending some time formatting them in onego. This
way you'll always be able to place your hands on a disk ready to use
whenever you need it. Because you must format a blank disk before
you can use it, new blank disks are normally called unformatted disks.
To format a new disk remove the Workbench disk from the internal
drive and insert a new blank disk. The Amiga will try to read the con-
tents of the disk - it needs to do this so it knows what icon to display
and what name to place under the disk icon. As the disk is unformat-
ted it won't be able to obtain this information, so after a few moments
it will display the disk icon on the Workbench with the name:
DFO:????

DFO: refers to the disk drive number. The Amiga calls its internal disk
drive number 0 therefore DFO is Disk Floppy drive 0 (or floppy disk
drive 0) and ???? signifies that the Amiga cannot use the disk as it is
unformatted.
Before you can format the disk you must select it. You do this by mov-
ing the Pointer over the disk icon and clicking the left mouse button
once. Because we an:,dealing with an icon the Format option is conve-
niently located in the Icon menu. Display the Icon menu and you will
see the Format Disk ... pretty well down the list. Move the Pointer
down over Format Disk ... and a black selection bar will appear over
the option. Let go of the mouse button to select it.

............11............
Amiga Insider Guide

During your hopefully long usage of the

Amiga, it will often wish to inform you of
certain matters. Things might not be turn-
ing out as it expected or it can't find something and wants your help. To
do this the Amiga uses something called a System Request box. This is
rather like a miniature window which is used to display a message and
there will normally be a couple of button gadgets for you to click on.
Typically OK if you want to proceed or Cancel if you want to stop what
it was you were going to do! Normally these messages are pretty suc-
cinct and shouldn't give you too many problems.
When you select Format Disk... a system request box will appear on the
screen requesting you to insert the Workbench disk back into the disk
drive. (If you have a hard disk fitted this actually won't happen because
the formatting program is located on the hard disk which the Amiga
has instant access to.) The Workbench needs to read the formatting
program off the Workbench disk into memory before it can proceed.
So, remove the unformatted disk and insert the Workbench disk.
A new window called Format - DFO will then appear on screen. At this
point remove the Workbench 3.0 disk and replace it with the disk tQ be
formatted. Centrally within this window is a string gadget which by
default contains the name Empty. This string gadget contains the name
which will be given to your disk when it has been formatted. Thus if
you leave things as they are the disk will be labelled Empty on comple-
tion. You can change the name to be assigned simply by pressing the
Delete key five times to erase the word Empty and then typing your
own disk name at the keyboard.
The window also contains a number of other tick box gadgets - these
are generally for more advanced users so leave them well alone for now.
To continue with the formatting process, move the Pointer over the
Format button and click the lefthand mouse button once. Of course, if
you wish to stop the process select the Cancel button.
There is a Quick Format button this allows you to reformat previously
Amiga formatted disks. This should not be used when a disk is being
formatted for the first time or if you are reformatting after a disk has
become corrupted.
If you click on the Format gadget the Amiga will display another
requester asking if it is OK to format the disk in device DFO. Click on
Format to set about formatting the disk. The disk icon title:
DFO:????
 Amiga Insider Guide

will be replaced by:

DFO:BUSY
and the requester box be replaced by new Format window which con-
sists of a sliding blue bar indicating how much of the disk has been
formatted and equally how much more there is left to do.
The System Request box or requester mentioned above is a common
occurrence on the Workbench screen, so get used to seeing it. It is
issued by the Amiga whenever it needs something from the user or
needs to inform the user that something is not quite right. The mes-
sage inside the requester details exactly what the problem is.

If you already have a hard disk then the

Workbench disk contents will have been
transferred onto your hard disk. This
means that you will not have to reference the floppy disk version of
the Workbench disk itself. To format a floppy disk on a hard disk sys-
tem you insert the new disk into the floppy disk drive, highlight the
???? disk icon and select Format Disk... from the Icons menu.

Disks are wonderful devices but they are

also fallible devices. Consider this for a
moment. What would happen if you
spilt some coffee over your Workbench disk? Well for a start your disk
would almost certainly be corrupted and totally unusable. Then, espe-
cially if you are using a floppy based A1200, you wouldn't be able to
boot your Amiga - it would be unusable until you went out and found
yourself another copy of the Workbench disk. You could source the
new Workbench disk from a friendly dealer but this takes time and
would probably cost you a few bob. Why have all that hassle when you
are quite at liberty to make a copy of the Workbench disk? You can
then use this working copy for everyday use and lock the original mas-
ter copy away - just in case.
Now, I make the point above about being at liberty to make a backup
copy. Commodore allows you to do this, but while most companies
who produce software allow you to make a working copy, it is against
the law to give people pirate copies of your software.
Making a backup copy is straightforward. You will need:

............11............
Amilia Insider Guide

Insider Guide #7: Formatting a new disk for use.

Before you can use a disk it must be formatted.
When a blank disk is placed in _ Tools
the disk drive it comes up
labelled DFO:???? Open rao
COpy rac
Once selected choose the Format RenaMe, , , ~R
Disk option from the leans menu. InforMat ion", @91
Snapshot mS
UnSnapshot rau
You may then leave Out ml
get a system Put Away
. u n. . . . 1 ' " . . . . .
~p
"'U" ...........'U

request n~l.de, "

asking you ForMat Disk",
to put your (M~tv lmh
Workbench
disk back into the floppy
disk drive.

The Format window allows you to define a name for your disk by
editing the New Volume Name string gadget to enter the name the
disk is to take. You can either specify whether you want a Trashcan
or not. Other more advanced options are also available.
If you are reformatting a previously Amiga formatted disk you can
select the Quick Format gadget to start formatting.

• The original Workbench disk

• A blank floppy disk
• A disk label
The original master Workbench is the disk from which information will
be copied and thus it is known as the source disk. The blank floppy (it
 Amiga Insider Guide

does not have to be prefonnatted as the backup process does this) is

the disk onto which files will be copied, therefore it is the destination
disk. The label can be annotated and then stuck to the destination
disk. Workbench disk - working copy is a good enough title for the
label.
Next you should write protect your master source disk. To do this tum
the disk so that the rear is facing you and with the tip of a nail or ball
point pen, slide the small plastic tag in the lefthand comer of the disk
up so that it reveals a square hole. Whatever happens now you cannot
write infonnation to this disk - ie you cannot accidentally fonnat it or
overwrite it. This is not essential for backing-up but it is a good habit
to get into as it ensures that you should not be able to backup your
blank disk onto your master disk by mistake!

Backing-up a disk is straightforward but

can be a tedious chore, especially if you
are using a single drive only. This is how
to back up your Workbench 3 disk.
First place the Workbench disk in the drive, select it by clicking on it
once and then select the Copy option from the Icons menu. This will
display a System Request box titled DiskCopy. This is the name of the
program that does the backing-up.
The requester will be asking you to insert the SOURCE (FROM) disk
into drive DFO. In fact this should already be there so click on
Continue. Infonnation will now be read from the source disk into the
Amiga's memory. When it has read as much as it can, it will ask you to
replace the source (FROM) disk - the Workbench disk - with the TO
(destination) disc. At this point insert the new disk into the disk drive
and click on Continue. The infonnation read from the FROM disk is
now written to the TO disk. The progress of the copy is displayed as a
percentage of the number of tracks or cylinders which are, technically,
being fonnatted beneath the surface of the operation. Unless you have
a lot of programs loaded then a disk copy will take just one pass.

When the DiskCopy window disappears

the backed-up disk icon will appear - the
copy has been made and is about ready
for use. Now that you have a working copy of your Workbench disk I
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #8: Backing-up a disk.

Insert the disk to be backed-up in the
disk drive. Select it by _ Tools
clicking on it once and
then choose the Copy Open EJO
option from the Icons Copy EJC
menu. RenaMe" , rm
I nforMat ion", EJl
The DiskCopy window will appear asking you Snapsho~ EJS
to insert the source disk. It will read
UnSnapshot EJU
information from this and then ask' you to
leave Out EJl
Put Away I!!9P
insert the destination disk. ""II/IMIIMJII$II"~ iii MlV'MMMI' ........ 'U

nelete",
ForMat Disk".
EMPtv '[rJsh

You will probably need to do

this disk swapping a few times
until the backup is complete.
Don't get the source and
destination disks mixed up!

A slider bar
gadget keeps
you
informed
how far
down the
copying
process you
are!

would strongly recommend that you back-up and make working copies
of the other disks that were supplied with your Amiga - the Extras disk
for example. Place the original master disks in a safe place and keep the
working copies handy for everyday use.
When the backed-up copy of the Workbench disk has been completed
the DFO:BUSY icon is replaced by a disk icon with the name copy of
xxxx where xxxx is the name of the disk copied, in this case Workbench
3. In other words it should read something along the lines of Copy of
Workbench3. O.
This is a little long winded and it is somewhat neater and more conve-
nient (as you will come to realise as you read further on) to rename this
to plain old Workbench3.0. This is easy to do .

............II~..........
 Amiga Insider Guide

To rename a disk, first highlight the disk to be renamed (ie click on it

once) and then select the Rename option from the Icons menu. A
small simple window will appear on screen with the current disk name
inside it. The small orange box is the cursor and this can be used to
edit the name. To remove Copy of just press the Del key eight times
until the cursor rests over the W of Workbench. Press the Return key
(the large cornered arrow to the right of the main keyboard) to com-
plete the renaming process.

Now that you have backed up you

Workbench disk you should start to use
the working copy (unless you are an
hard disk user, in which case you can ignore the next bit). To do this
insert the working copy into the internal disk drive and restart your
Amiga. The easiest way to do this is to press the two Amiga keys (one
either side of the keyboard) and the Ctrl (pronounced control) key
down together. This process is called a soft-boot. For the sake of sim-
plicity this type of keypress is referred to when written as Amiga-
Amiga-Ctrl.
The KeyMap selection window will appear first of all. We are well-
briefed and ready to deal with this because the theory was explained
in Chapter One. When the KeyMap selection screen is displayed press
the numeric key corresponding to the KeyMap you wish to install- for
GB users this is key number 8 followed by the Return key. For simplic-
ity in future we would write this as: '
8
<Return>
When you have made your selection, you will be asked to insert the
Extras disk into the drive (your working copy of course) and then to
re-insert the Workbench disk. The KeyMap corresponding to your
selection will then be copied across onto the Workbench disk. When
you start your Amiga from now on, you will not be prompted for a
KeyMap Selection.
Note: From this point on it will be assumed that any discussion of the
Workbench disk will mean the working copy, unless specified other-
wise .

..........·11..---------
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #9: Renaming a disk.

Select the disk you wish to rename by

clicking on it once only. Then choose the
Rename option from the Icon menu.
The disk name will appear in the Rename window. Use the Del key to
delete any characters not required before adding any new text.
When you have the desired name select the OK gadget. The new name
for the disk will appear on the Workbench.

If you keep regular backups of all your

disks then you should never be caught
out if a disk becomes corrupted and
unusable. If you back-up your important files at regular intervals then
at worst you will simply need to do a bit of catching up. Of course you
only need to back-up your projects as and when they have been extend-
ed, added to or contain some new but important information. And
quite often it is easiest to do this simply by copying the file onto a
backup disk rather than making a complete backup. Copying files is
the subject of the next chapter.
However, there are a number of general rules that if adhered to should
help prevent your disks becoming damaged or corrupted rendering
them useless:
1. Use good quality disks. The price of disks has fallen drastically
in recent years and if you shop around you can purchase them

..............·111..............·
 Amiga Insider Guide

at a very reasonable rate. However, cheapest isn't always the

best and, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. If you
have friends with computers ask them where they get their
disks and if they are happy. Once you have found a reliable
brand stick with them!
2. Always keep your disks in a disk box. If you get into the habit of
locking your disks away in a disk box made for the purpose
they are less likely to become contaminated or fall foul of cof-
fee, dirt, dust and sticky fingers.
3. Never, ever, touch the surrace of the disk. The magnetic media
where your Projects and Tools are stored is protected by a plas-
tic shell. The disk drive has access to this via a metal slider. If
you slide this back you can see the ~urface. It is via this that
disks can become corrupted. Fingers are covered in oils that
will damage the magnetic surface of the disk.
4. Smoking is bad for your health. The smoke particles blown
onto the disk surface will act as a contaminant. Give up!

You may be wondering how much infor-

mation can be stored on a single floppy
disk. Well, when a Workbench floppy
disk is newly formatted it contains 880K of space free for use. The
term k, or K, is shorthand for kilobytes and it is a measurement of
storage. One kilobyte (lk or lK) equates to 1024 bytes. A byte is a
standard computer unit, and it may be easier to think of a byte as
being equal to a single character. Thus the alphabet can be stored in
26 bytes. Therefore an 880K disk can store:
880*1024 characters = 901,120 characters
For very large storage measurements the Megabyte is used. One
Megabyte (lMb) is equal to 1,048,576 bytes or 1024K.
However, not all this space is available to you as the Amiga needs
some to store its own information in. A newly formatted Workbench
disk will generally have about 834K available for you to use.
If you try to copy some information that is too big to fit onto a disk,
either because the item is very large or because there isn't enough
room on the disk because it is full with other files, a System Request
will inform you of the fact .

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Amiga Insider Guide

Talking of copying files - let's see how that happens on the

Workbench!

............11·..........·
 Amiga Insider Guide

----1-----
 Programs and data have to be stored in an
orderly fashion on your disks. Copying, moving
and the Trashcan are the tools at your disposal.

Learn how to drag and drop and how to use the

Ram Disk to defeat the more awkward problems.

oving files (Projects and Tools) from one disk to

another is - despite what you may hear to the con-
trary - a very straightforward process. What 111 out-
line here is the process for a standard A1200 system. A1200HD
users have life a smidgen easier in that files are normally
copied to and from a hard disk which is on site permanently.
But more on that later - for all Amiga users the ability to copy
files to and from floppy disks is an important task to master.
Generally there are two types of copying you will want to do:
copying a file from one position to another on the same disk
and copying a file from one disk to another disk. The former is
better termed a moving process because you don't actually
make a copy of the file. When you transfer a file from one disk
to another you make a copy of it as the original source file
remains intact. We'll come back to this in due course.
The first thing to bear in mind is that there is only a single flop-
py drive on the standard A1200 - therefore it should be obvious
that to copy one file from a floppy disk to another will involve
 Amilia Insider Guide

some disk swapping. This can become quite tedious if you are trying
to copy a large file - perhaps a program - therefore it is best to use an
intermediate copying stage and this is where the Ram Disk comes into
play.

The Ram Disk is one of the most useful

features of the Amiga and provides an
added dimension of power for those of
you who have a single driye Amiga because it effectively gives you a
second drive, which can make the process of copying so much easier.
RAM is an acronym for Random Access Memory. This is the memory
(internal section of the computer) into which your programs and
applications are loaded from disk. By partitioning off an area of this
memory, you can use it to save and load programs and data. The parti-
tioned area is known as the Ram Disk and Workbench has immediate
access to it as signified by the display of its icon on the Desktop.
From the outset the Ram Disk is displayed as an icon on your
Workbench, and like any disk icon it can be opened by double-clicking
on it to display its disk window. If you open the Ram Disk window
you'll see that it's much like any other disk window.
You'll notice from the title bar that it signifie~ that the' Ram Disk is
100% full, with OK free and some amount of K in use. This seems
weird as there are no files present - but remember that the Ram Disk
is self adjusting and grows and shrinks to accommodate files deposit-
. ed into it. The x amount of K in use figure displayed under Workbench
is simply a working overhead.
The Ram Disk offers a number of adv~ntages over a standard floppy
disk - the biggest being speed; The Ram Disk is an electronic device
and has no moving parts. Accessing a file in it is virtually instanta-
neous. Also, in case you were wondering, you don't have to format it
like a floppy disk - it is already formatted for you.
But there is a drawback: the Ram Disk is volatile. Being a sof(ware
simulation of a hardware device it is only active while the computer is
switched on. The moment you remove the power or reboot, the con-
tents are lost forever. If you wish to preserve them you must save the
Ram Disk contents onto a floppy disk first. However tIiis is generally a
small price to pay for the benefits it has to offer.

............11............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #10: The Ram Disk.

The Ram Disk has its very own icon on the
Workbench desktop. To open the Ram Disk
double-click on the Ram Disk icon.
The Ram Disk window is like any other
Workbench window. Even though it Is 100%
full it will stretch to accommodate your files.

The process of copying a file from one

place to another is straightforward and
involves three simple steps:
1. Opening the appropriate windows to display the file you wish to
copy - the source or from file.
2. Open the appropriate windows to display the destination you
wish to copy to.
3. Drag the file from 1 to 2.
Let's copy a file from the Workbench disk into the Ram Disk. We'll
copy the Clock tool.
1 Open the Workbench disk window (if it is not already open) and
locate the Utilities drawer. Open this by double-clicking on it.
2. Open the Ram Disk window by double-clicking on it.
At this point you may wish to reposition the windows so that the
source window and destination window are juxtaposed. Note that, if
you like, you can close the Workbench disk window at this point - it
will not affect the Utilities drawer window which will remain displayed.
 Amiga Insider Guide

3. Locate the Clock tool. Move the Pointer over it and depress the
left mouse button. Keep the mouse button depressed and move
the Pointer so that it is over the Ram Disk window. Notice that
as you move the Pointer a copy of the Clock icon comes with it.
With the Pointer (and Clock icon) over the Ram Disk window,
release the mouse button.
Within a few seconds the Clock icon will show in the Ram Disk win-
dow. You have successfully copied your first file!
To copy a file from the Ram Disk to a new floppy disk you just repeat
steps one, two and three. Thus to copy the Clock to a new floppy disk
(assuming you have already formatted the new floppy disk) proceed as
follows:
1. Open the Ram Disk window (if it is not already open).
2. Open the window for the disk to which the Clock is to be
copied.
3. Locate the Clock icon. Move the Pointer over it and depres~ the
left mouse button. Keep the mouse button depressed and move
the Pointer so that it is over the window of the destination disk
and release the mouse button.
The above principle can be applied to copy any file - it is as easy as
that. It is possible to copy files without the Ram Disk, but this is best
done using some AmigaDOS commands which we1llook at later.

You may recall from an earlier chapter

that the Trashcan icon provides the
means by which you delete files (we'll
see how shortly). But the Ram Disk does not have a Trashcan, howev-
er there are two ways in which a file may be deleted from the Ram
Disk.
The first method is simply to tum your Amiga off and then restart it.
Remember that the Ram Disk is volatile and by removing the power
its contents are lost. This is not very practical though. (Note: If you
tum your Amiga off, wait a few seconds before turning it back on.)
The second method is to use the Delete option found in the Icons
menu. Select the file you wish to delete (click on it once) and then
choose the Delete option from near the bottom of the Icons menu.
This will throw up a system requester to ensure that you wish to pro-

............·11·............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #11: The Drag Copy.

To copy a file from one place to
another you must have the source
and destination windows clearly
displayed. You do not have to have
any other windows open unless
you wish to.
With both windows juxtaposed, select
the icon you wish to copy and drag it
into the destination window. To
complete the copy let go of the icon.

Insider Guide # 12: Deleting from the Ram Disk.

To delete a file
from the Ram Disk
first open the Ram
Disk window and
select the file you
wish to delete by
clicking on it once.

Open paD
When the file
COpy paC
has been RenaMe". 19R
selected open InforMation." ~I
the Icons
Snapshot I§}S
menu and UnSnapshot paU
select the Leav@ Out ~L
Delete option. Put Awav 19P
Select OK when the requester is displayed. Gelete,,,
If you do not wish to delete the file, select forMat Disk".
the Cancel gadget. (l'H~t~ 'frJ:;h
 Amiga Insider Guide

ceed, click on the OK gadget to go ahead or Cancel to abort the dele-

tion.

You can copy more than one file at a

time. In f~ct there is no real limit to the
number of files you can copy in anyone
go other than that the destination disk (the disk where the files are
being copied to) has to have enough room on it to accept the files. If it
doesn't then the copy will proceed until the destination disk is full -
any files remaining at this point will not be copied. Logical enough.
To copy two or more files you simply select them each in tum before
dragging across into the destination window. You do this by keeping
the Shift key depressed as you select each file in tum. For instance,
suppose you wished to copy the Clock and MultiView tools from the
Utilities drawer onto the Ram Disk, then you would proceed as fol-
lows, after first exposing both the relevant windows:
1. Hold down a Shift (above Alt) key, either one will do.
2. Click once on the Clock icon to select it.
3. Click once on the MultiView icon to select it.
4. Move the Pointer (and copy icons) over the Ram Disk window.
S. Release the Shift key and mouse button.
The copying process will then take place.~ Note that once you have
selected the icons you wish to copy you can release the Shift key. So in
the above numbered example, you could have let go of the Shift key at
point 4.
If you have a lot of files to copy you can select them by using a tech-
nique called marcjueeing. This involves creating a marquee box (which
is a box made of dashed lines down each edge) by dragging it out with
the Pointer around the icons you wish to select. For example to select
the Clock and MultiView icons in this way you would:
1. Position the tip of the arrow of the Pointer in the top lefthand
corner of the Utilities window, just above the Clock icon.
2. Press and keep pressed down the left mouse button.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #13: Selecting files using a Marquee.

Open the window containing
the files you wish to select.
if need be, position the files
so that they are arranged
together.
Hold down the left mouse
button and, using the tip of
the Pointer, drag out a
square to encompass all of
the icons.

As you do this a dotted

line marquee will appear.
When the mouse button
is released the files
encompassed by the
marquee will be selected.

3. Move the Pointer down and to the right across the Utilities win-
dow to a position to the lower righthand comer of the MultiView
icon. As you do this a rotating dotted line will appear - this is the
marquee.
4. Drag the marquee until it engulfs all the icons you wish to select
(Clock and MultiView in this case), at which point you can
release the left mouse button.
5. Depress the Shift key and keep it depressed.
6. Move the Pointer over one of the selected icons and press the left
mouse button and keep it depressed.
7. Release the Shift key but keep the left mouse button depressed.
8. Drag the copy icons over the destination window and release the
mouse button.
Arid that's it. It sounds complicated but it isn't - it's one of those things
that, once you have done it once or twice, becomes second nature .

..............·111..............•
 Amiga Insider Guide

Whenever you format a floppy disk from

the Workbench it automatically creates a
Trashcan on it for you. The Trashcan is
where you put Projects and Tools that you wish to delete - note that
simply putting them in the Trashcan does not delete them.
To see how this works take a formatted disk and copy some files onto it
as outlined above. Then select one or more of the files and drop them
into the Trashcan. To do this drag the file or files over the Trashcan
icon and let go. The trashed icon(s) will disappear from the main win-
dow - they are in fact now in the Trashcan!
The Trashcan itself is in reality a Workbench drawer but one that has a
special purpose. If you double-click on the Trashcan icon now its win-
dow will appear and you should be able to see the trashed icon(s)
inside. To delete the contents of the Trashcan, first ensure it is selected
and then select the Empty Trash option from the Icons menu. Note that
this deletes everything inside the Trashcan and there is no safety net, ie
no system requester will appear.
Because the Trashcan is a Workbench window you can see what files, if
any, it contains by double-clicking on the Trashcan icon. This also
means that you can recover a file from the Trashcan simply by dragging
it back into the drawer from which it came (or any drawer window for
that matter). However, once you have selected Empty Trash the file is
gone for good and will no longer be present in the Trashcan drawer.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #14: Deleting files using the Trashcan.

To delete a file from a

disk, drag copy the file
into the Trashcan.

Opl!n rno
Copy me
RenaMe. " 19 R
InforMation". 191
Snapshot mS
UnSnapshot rnu
leave Out ml
Put Away 19P
···,···,·,·,,.·'••····,···.II··.. ······IIN
nelde .. \
rorMat 0i5k" •
t.~\pty IN;;h

The file is moved into the

Trashcan. To remove the
file from the Trashcan select
the Empty Trash option from
the Icons menu.
Note that there is no safety
net - once Empty Trash has
been selected the file cannot
be recovered.

----11-----
 Amiga Insider Guide

----11-----
 Utilities exist to help you get at various features
of your Amiga A1200. So don't miss out, rmd out
how to use your utlls!

Clock is just one of these handy and fun utilities,

which is simple to use, so let's learn how.

K, by now you should have a pretty good idea how to

operate the various basic Amiga mechanisms, namely
the mouse and Pointer, windows and menus. Over the
next couple of chapters we'll have a look at some of the more
interesting and practical stuff possible with your Amiga,
including a look at how we can use the various Tools it is sup-
plied with.
Like all aspects of the Amiga, once you have mastered one you
will have gone a very long way towards mastering all the oth-
ersl The subject then of this chapter is the use of the Clock.
Essentially there are two drawers containing useful files on the
Amiga that you will use more than most. These are the Utilities
drawer and the Tools drawer. The latter is on the Extras disk,
the former on the Workbench disk and that's the one which
holds the Clock and MultiView tools.
 Amiga Insider Guide

If you open the Workbench disk window

(the System3.0 drawer on an A1200 hard
disk) and then the Utilities drawer you
will see the Clock icon staring at you. If you double-click on this icon,
within a matter of seconds, an analogue clock will appear in front of
you - and all being well it should even be telling you the right time.
Chances are it won't - so don't worry we'll see how to set the correct
time, and date for that matter, in due course.
Notice how the Clock is running in a window that features all of the
aspects of all the other windows that we have dealt with bar one. If
you can't tell, it's the scroll bars. They are not needed as there is noth-
ing to scroll onto. You can make the window bigger by using the win-
dow sizer gadget. If you do this you will see that the clock adjusts to fit
the size of the window. Neat!
Ensure the Clock window is the currently selected window (the Clock
title/move bar will be blue if it is - if you are not sure just click the
Pointer inside the Clock window at some point) and move up to the
Workbench screen title bar. If you now press the right mouse. button
you will see that the standard Workbench menu has been replaced
with a new one. There are two headings which all belong to the Clock
and what you are now looking at is the Clock menu bar.
Not all tools have their own menu bars, some do, some don't. Just bear
in mind that to get to a particular menu you must ensure that the
menu of the Tool you wish to display is in the current window.
Some of the menu items can be turned on and off, in this case the cur-
rently selected mode of operation is highlighted by a tick. To see what
I mean, go to the Clock menu and display Project.. As the Clock is cur-
rently being displayed in analogue mode this is ticked. Select the
Digital option and watch the analogue Clock disappear, to be replaced
by a digital Clock.
Notice also how the window has now changed to suit the display of
the digital Clock. I normally have the Clock running in this way and
position it so it is located on top of the Workbench menu in the
Workbench menu bar so it is easily visible at all times.
With the Clock in analogue mode you might like to experiment with
some of the other options on the menu .

............11............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #15: The Clock displaying its menus.

When you double-click on the Clock icon an
analogue Clock is displayed in its own window
which possesses all the standard window
gadgets with the exception of the scroll bars.
To display the Clock menus first select the
clock by clicking on the Clock window once.
Then move to the menu bar and depress the
right mouse button.
There are two menus - Project and Settings-
displayed in the menu bar.
Projects offers the choice of an analogue or
digital format Clock. Settings contains display
options and items concerning the Alarm

IProject _ _-------l
IIUn am 0ate
Insider Guide #16: Selecting a digital Clock.
By default the Clock will be
presented in analogue form~
Date It can also be displayed in
digital form. The mode
Seconds currently selected is indicated
Ol9lt.3l rarl'l03t by a tick next to the Project
or Type option.

Open the Clock window by double-

clicking on it - then select the Digital
option from the Project menu.
The Clock window will transform
into a digital format.
The Digital clock can be displayed in
four different formats illustrated left.
To return to the analogue Clock, select
the Analog option. The digital Clock
window does not show all the features
of a normal window - just the close
gadget and the front/back gadget.

-----11------
 Amiga Insider Guide

The Clock has an alarm built inio it.

Setting the alarm is straightforward.
First select Alarm from the- Settings
menu and a small window will appear called Set Alarm. Use the slider
bars to set the hours and minutes. Clicking once inside the empty bar
will add a minute or hour. Big changes can be made by clicking on the
solid bar and, holding the button down, dragging the bar into position.
Select Use to set the Alarm. Selecting Cancel aborts the setting. Finally
select Alarm from the Settings menu to enable the alarm. When the
appropriate time arrives the screen will flash once and a high pitched
noise will be produced by the speaker.

The Amiga A1200 can be pretty much

customised to suit your own particular
needs as we shall see in a forthcoming
chapter. These customisation choices are called Preferences and are
controlled bya series of Tools that, are located in a drawer on the
Extras disk called Prefs. Prefs is a drawer icon even though it looks
somewhat different from other drawer icons - but I warned you about
that didn't I? .
If you double-click on the Prefs icon is a window will open displaying
the various Preference icons ,-again each of these dominated by a
question mark. Each of these icons provides access to Preferences
Editors when run. These are simply windows which provide a variety
of gadgets ..which allow you to define .and change settings.
At this point we are interested in just one particular preference editor,
the one that controls the time and date setting and this is the Time
Preferences editor. When you double-click on this it opens a window.
You may be prompted for your Workbench3.0 disk so follow any on-
screen instructions. To set the current date first enter the year in the
year string gadget. Click in the gadget to display the cursor, use the
backspace key to delete what is there and enter the new date. The
month is set using a cycle gadget - keep clicking on the cycle gadget
until the correct mbnth is displayed and then click on the date in the
calendar to set the day.
The time is set using a 24-hour clock and simply by dragging the hour
and minute slider bars up and down until the correct time is displayed
at their top. When you are happy that your settings are correct click
on the Save button or on Cancel if you want to abort the process .

..............111..............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #17: Setting the Clock alarm and date.

To set the alarm, first
ensure the Clock
window is selected and
then choose the Set
Alarm option from the
Settings menu.

The two long vertical slider gadgets allow you

to set the Hours and Minutes for the alarm.
Drag these up or down until the correct
figures are shown above them. Dragging to
the right sets a PM time, dragging to the left
an AM time as displayed in the time window.
To display the date in your clock window
simply select the Date option from the Settings
menu. In analogue mode the date will be
displayed under the dial. In digital mode it
will alternate with the time.

Insider Guide #18: Setting the Clock date and time.

The date and time are controlled by the Time
Preferences editor. Open the Prefs drawer on the
Extras disk. Double-click on the Time icon to display
the Time Preferences window.
Enter the year
by clicking in
the year string
gadget and editing what is
already there.
Select the month by clicking
on the cycle gadget until the
correct month is displayed.
Finally click on the number
corresponding to the date.
Set the current time by
dragging the two slider
gadgets until the correct
time shows above them.
Select Save to preserve
the settings.

-------11-------
 AmigQ Insider Guide

............·11·............
 The Amiga allows you to set things just the way
you want them. This is how it should be - after all
you're the boss!

Here's a look at a few of the more visual methods

of personalising your Amiga.

he Preference editors were introduced albeit briefly in

the last chapter. To recap they are a series of windows
each of which relates to a particular aspect of the
Amigas operation. Each contains a number of gadgets which
allow you to change the way in which in which the particular
aspect of the Amiga operates.
The settings in the various Preference editors are defined by
Commodore and for most intents and purposes they are ideal
for most uses. However, individuality is a great thing and you
may feel you wish to either make your set up look different or
fine tune a particular operation of function to suit your own
special needs. And there's nothing wrong with that!
Once you have mastered how one or two operate you should
have no problems coping with the rest of them. In this chapter
I'm going to concentrate on the ones that are of particular use
either from a particular point of view or because they allow
you to personalise the look and feel of the desktop.
 Amiga Insider Guide

The WBPattern editor allows you to

change the background on both the
Workbench screen and all windows that
you open onto the Workbench. This change is not just limited to the
pattern displayed but also the colour used. The backdrop can be
changed independently of all windows and vice versa. It is also possi-
ble to change the background on all other screens opened. A screen
being an area in which a program runs totally independently of all
others. You can see the screen used by the Workbench by moving the
Pointer onto the Workbench menu bar, holding the left mouse button
down and dragging in a down motion.
When you double-click on the WBPattern icon the WBPattern
Preferences window is displayed. There are two cycle gadgets at the
top slightly left of centre called Placement and Type. By default
Workbench and Pattern are displayed and this indicates that any
changes you are about to make will be to the Workbench backdrop
and will done using a selected pattern. The Placement gadget can be
cycled through two other settings, namely Windows and Screen.
The Type cycle gadget allows you to chooses between Pattern and
Picture. If you choose Picture then the Select Picture ... item will
become active. Clicking on a n active Select Picture gadget brings up
a file requester for you to locate an IFF picture to act as a backdrop to
your Workbench screen. There are no IFF pictures on the distribution
disks so we'll leave this advanced stuff to our sister title Mastering
Amiga Workbench 3. The rest of the window is about editing a pattern.
The small rectangle to the bottom right of these gadgets i~ the Presets
area which shows eight predefined patterns. You can select from any
of the patterns therein simply by clicking on one of them. Try clicking
on the one in the top right containing the grey looking dots. When you
do this the pattern appears in the box above the Presets showing how
it will look on screen if used.
To the right of both of these is the magnified view box and this shows
you a magnified view of the pattern you are using. On the far right of
the window is a rectangle which holds within it the four Workbench
colours - this is the colour palette. You can select anyone of these
colours just by clicking on it.
With this selected, click on the Test button and the selected pattern
will be applied to the Workbench backdrop behind so that you can see
what it looks like. To remove this click on the Undo button and then

----1----
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #19: The WBPattern editor window.

Magnified view box

click on Test again. At this point you might like to play around with the
various other patterns to see how they look. Remember you can also
apply them to windows and screens by cycling through them.
If you get confused at any point remember that you can abort the
whole lot at anytime by selecting the Cancel button. This will close the
WBPattern Preferences window but you can then reopen it.
Workbench patterns are built up from a series of square dots - these
are the picture elements and are more commonly called pixels. The
purpose of the magnified view box is that it allows you to edit patterns
at this pixel level. You do this by positioning the Pointer tip at the
desired point and pressing the lefthand mouse button. This will set a
small block in the colour of the currently selected colour. To set a blue
block click on the blue rectangle so that blue is displayed at the top of
the colour palette and then move the Pointer accordingly. You can
apply a sweep of colour simply by holding down the lefthand mouse
button and moving the Pointer. Note that as you make the changes they
appear eri bloc in the Preset preview area. You can make up your own
colours from scratch simply by selecting a base colour - say blue - and
then selecting the Clear button. You can then draw your own design
using the magnified view area. You can set pixels in any of the four
 Amiga Insider Guide

base colours. Simply select the colour required and then use the
Pointer to set the pixel within the magnified view area.
WBPattern is good fun to play with but for practical reasons you will
probably find it easier to stick with the base colours. The more out-
landish patterns work with the standard colours. If you are going to
adjust the palette then you may also wish to reconsider your patterns!

You will probably have noticed by now

that the WBPattern Preferences editor
has three buttons strung across the base
of the window. These are titled Save, Use and Cancel and are found on
all the Preference editor windows. If, after playing around with the
WBPattern editor, you decide that you don't like your creation - click
on cancel and everything you have done will be forgotten and the win-
dow will close at which point you can start again if you so wish.
One the other hand if you like what you have done, you can select
either Save or Use. Save will record your new design on the
Workbench disk and when ever you reboot your Amiga it will be used
until you change it again using Save. If you only wish to use your new
design for a limited period select the Use button and the changes you
have implemented will be forgotten when you reboot your Amiga.

If you have experimented with the

WBPattern editor you will know that the
Workbench has four base colours. These
are Grey, Black, White and Blue. These four colours are made by com-
bining Red, Green and Blue (RGB) at various saturations.
The Palette Preferences editor allows you to change the colours of the
Workbench, either the 4 Color Settings or the Multicolor Settings
(eight colours). You can also edit colours using the Colour Wheel
which occupies a major portion of the Pattern editor display when
opened.
In addition to changing the constitution of the four base Workbench
colours you can also use the Palette Preferences to define the exact
colour of individual aspects of the Workbench display - for example
the colour of title bars or the colour of the text in the title bars.

- - -..1-.....- -
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #20: Changing a Window Pattern.

Open a window such as the Ram Disk by double clicking on the Ram
Disk icon twice. You can change to look of all windows using the
WBPattern Preferences editor. Open the editor and then click on the
Placement cycle gadget so that it flips to Windows.
Then select the pattern you wish to apply by clicking on the
appropriate one on the Presets box.

To see the effects click

on the Test button.
All open windows,
including the Ram Disk
should take on the
selected pattern within
their boundaries as part
of their individual
backdrops.

If you wish to use the design for your current purposes only select the
Use button. To keep your design for all future times select Save.
Alternatively, select Cancel to forget everything.

First of all let's look at how we can edit

the colours of the four basic Workbench
colours. To change a particular colour
first select it from one of the blocks which run across the top of the
lefthand panel - this is the colour to be edited and any changes to this
will ultimately be applied to all occurrences of this colour wherever it
is used.
For example select the Workbench grey background colour. Now drag
the RGB sliders at the bottom of the window. For example drag the
Red slider to the extreme right so that it it has a saturation figure
(that's the number to the left of the slider) of 255. Drag the Green slider
so that it has a saturation figure of 0 and the Blue slider so that it reads

----11-----
 Amiga Insider Guide

255. What you should now have is a bright purple displayed in the box
palette box which originally displayed grey.To see the effect this has
click on the Use button and shield your eyes!
To restore the original colour - open the Palette Preferences editor
again and drag the Red, Green, Blue sliders so that they all read 170
values and select Use again. Alternatively, re-boot your Amiga!
The three sliders can be dragged between values of 0 to 255, 0 being
0% of the colour and 255 being 100% of the colour. Remember that the
Amiga can display no less than 32 million colours so there is plenty of
room for experimentation!
You may have noticed that each time you dragged one of the three
colour sliders a spot in the Colour Wheel did a little dance around the
wheel. This is the colour picker and you can drag this yourself to select
colours in much the same way. As you do this the three sliders will
move in combination to show the various colour saturations you have
selected.
There is one final gadget in this lefthand side of the window and this is
the Gradient Slider gadget. This allows you to select the. brightness
component of the defined colour. Moving it up makes the colour very
bright, whilst moving it down makes it dark - black.

On the righthand side of the Palette

Preferences editor is a scrollable list of
items, the colours of which are user-
definable. For example the colour of active window title bars is nor-
mally blue - you could change this to red. To do this, first select the
item called Active Window Title bar in the scrollable list by clicking on
it once, which also selects the blue colour from the four Workbench
colours displayed under the list. Then using either the slider gadgets or
colour picker select a red colour - the blue box of the palette will
change to show the colour.
You can now see how this looks by selecting the Use button. However,
because you are likely to be wanting to make a variety of changes there
is a sample window and you can display this by clicking on the Show
Sample gadget.
This displays a window called Sample Palette, which shows every com-
ponent that you can change- from menus to slider bars and text. Any

............11............
Amilia Insider Guide

Insider Guide #21: The Palette editor window.

The colour wheel (shown Colour Settings
in monochrome here) gadgets

The Red, Green, Blue The gradient slider

(RGB) slider gadgets gadget

changes that you make in the Palette Preferences can be used and
saved. To close this window click in the close window gadget.
You can widen the basic range of colours to choose from by clicking on
the cycle gate at the top of the Palette Preferences editor window so
that 4 Color Setting toggles to Multicolour Setting. This will then
change the colour display palette at the bottom from four colour to
eight colours.

By now the Pointer will be a familiar

object to you and because of its impor-
tance some people like to give it a bit
more of a personality by changing its appearance or completely replac-
ing it. The Pointer Preferences editor allows you to do just that. When
you double click on the Pointer preferences editor it displays its own
window which houses all the gadgets you will need to customise the
thing! There are two cycle gadgets you need to know about first. The
one over the editing window choose between normal, the pointer, and
busy, the clock which comes up when the Amiga is working. The other
cycle gadget is at the top of the list of options on the righthand side. It
chooses between lo-res and hi-res pointer editing.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #22: Setting colour detail.

The colours of individual components can be changed so that you can
totally personalise your own Workbench. First select the item you wish
to change from the scrolling list

Define the new colour for the item using the Red, Green, Blue slider
gadgets of the colour picker in combination with the colour wheel. To
see how the new settings look, click on the Show Sample window to
display a full set of samples of all objects in the scrollable list in the
colours newly defined (below). When you are happy with your choices
either click on the Use button to implement them for the current
session - or click on Save to save them to disk for future sessions.

The window is divided into four distinct regions. The main area to the
left is the editing gadget and it is here where you make your additions
and deletions in a magnified view box. To the upper right of this are
four representations of the Pointer against each of the Workbench
colours so you can see how the finished article will look against any
Workbench background. To the right of this again there are the opera-
tional button gadgets and below this the colour palette and sliders.
Using the editor is very intuitive and a couple of minutes practice will
make you an expert without too much trouble! You select a colour by
clicking on one of the four in the palette so that it becomes highlighted.

----11....- - -
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #23: The Pointer editor window.

Pointer preview

Alternatively you can construct a new colour using the palette slider
bars (note that you cannot change the Workbench background colour
composition though). Then you move across into the magnified view
box and position the tip of the Pointer at the position you wish to set a
point, and then click. You build images up in this way:
1. Select colour
2. Position Pointer
3. Click
The small block you apply at the Pointer position the pixel as intro-
duced above. To erase a pixel from the Pointer design you simply set
the colour to the background colour. Position the Pointer over the pixel
to be erased and click.
The four button gadgets provide a number of useful facilities and are
detailed below:
Test Select this and the current Pointer takes on the image of
that shown in the magnified view box. This way you can see
what the Pointer looks like on screen.
Clear This erases the entire contents of the magnified view box.
Set Point The pointer has a hot-spot. This is the single pixel point on
the Pointer which is used to define what you are selecting.
 Amiga Insider Guide(

Normally the hot-spot is at the very tip of the Pointer and

is signified by a small yellow pixel with a hole in the mid-
dle. When you select Set Point the next time you click the
Pointer in the magnified view box will set the hot-spot at
that point.
Reset Colour
Restores the last set of saved colours to the palette.
Editing the Pointer can be fun but if you get yourself in a pickle
remember that you can always select the Cancel gadget to forget what
you have done prior to starting again. For now you might like trying to
add your initials for a totally personalised Amiga Pointer!

Some of the Preferences editors allow

you to save named settings which can be
recalled as you want to use them. For
instance using the WBPattern Preferences editor you could sit down
and create a whole library of Workbench and window patterns and
recall any particular one for use at whim. Equally you could create
and use a wide range of Palette Preferences to allow you to choose one
that suited your mood on a particular day.
If, with the WBPattern Preferences window open and selected, you
move to the Workbench Menu Bar you will find that it has at least
three menus which can be used in conjunction with it, they are
Project, Edit and Options. Note that some editors also add their own
additional menus.
These menus are there to make it easier for you to work with Presets
and the best way to see these in operation is to look at a practical
example using the WBPattern editor explained at the start of this
chapter. For this we'll make two Workbench patterns which we'll call
Dots and Arcs.
First open the WBPattern Editor and select the black dots backdrop
from the Presets box (the top lefthand one). Now move to the Menu
Bar and select the Save As option from the Project menu. You will be
prompted for the Workbench3.0 disk and a Save Backdrop Pattern
window will appear on the screen.
You will see from the Drawer setting in this that the default storage
for these is in the Presets drawer. By default the name for the file is set
at WBPattern.pre. The .pre signifies that the file is a preset and it's
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #24: Using a Save (Backdrop) window..

Learn to use the Save
Backdrop Pattern window.
Although the name may
change this is a standard
gadget used by the Amiga.
The top window with
scroll bars allows you to
navigate your way
through drawers and files.
The current drawer is
shown in the Drawer
string gadget. This will
automatically be set to
Presets by this window.
The name of the file to be
saved is displayed in the
File string gadget.
The example names shown above are the default ones. To change
either the destination drawer or file name click the Pointer in
the string gadget and use the Left arrow or Del key to erase the
contents before retyping.
Clicking on the Volumes button gadget will display a list of disks (ie
RAM:, DFO: etc available to you. The Parent gadget when clicked will
move you up a drawer. In this example to Sys:Prefs.

worth keeping this. You should edit the rest of the filename though to
signify what it is. The name:
WBPdots.pre
is good for that purpose. When you have done that select OK. Then exit
the WBPattem Editor. If you now open the Presets drawer you should
see the WBPdots.pre file present. The icon has already been assigned to
this because by default the Create Icons? setting in the Settings menu is
selected (signified by a tick). This option toggles on and off each time
you select it. If it is disabled then the file will be saved in the Presets
drawer but with no icon so you will not be able to see it.
Now create the second Workbench pattern in a similar way, this time
selecting the Arcs pattern from the Presets box in the WBPattem
Preferences editor - this is located on the lower line third from the left.
Save this using the Save As option, calling it:
WBParcs.pre
 Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #25: Using WBPattern Presets.

Use the WBPattern Preference editor to
create a variety of patterns for both
Workbench and windows.
You should also create a standard default
Workbench preset simply by saving the
pattern the first time you open it.
The patterns are saved in the Presets
drawer which is held inside the Prefs
drawer on the Workbench3.0 disk.

To select any pattern simply

double-click on the icon having
first opened the Presets drawer
on the Workbench3.0 disk.

You will notice that when you display the Save Backdrop Pattern win-
dow that the previously saved definition is listed in the scrolling file
window. In fact there are two listed: the plain settings file plus a .info
file which is the icon. Finally you may wish to save a copy of the stan-
dard default setting and call this:
WBPstandard.pre
At the conclusion of this you should have a Presets drawer with three
icons in it.
To set the Workbench pattern to any you have defined simply double-
click on the appropriate icon - what could be simpler! The beauty of
having a standard setting there is that you can reset the desktop back
to its original detail at any point simply by double-clicking on it. You
can save window patterns in a similar way and there is no limit to the
number you can define other than the physical limit imposed by avail-
able space on your Workbench disk.
If you want to load a previously defined definition to edit some more
then you can by using the Open option from the Project menu. This
displays the Load Backdrop Pattern window the contents of which will
be familiar to you. Simply double-click on the named definition
(ignore the ones with .info appended to them) and its details will be
loaded into the WBPattern preferences editor.

----1----
 The good news:

AmigaDOS 3.0 is a set of powerful commands at

the heart of your A1200.

More good news:

You can give it a try from the Workbench. But be

prepared to get hooked ...

his book is not only about getting inside Workbench, it

is also about getting inside AmigaDOS. So in this chap-
ter we'll take some time out for a first look at
AmigaDOS. First of all, what is AmigaDOS?
AmigaDOS stands for Amiga Device Operating System.
Theoretically, if you could break down the Amiga into little
bundles of component parts you would find yourself with bits
of hardware and software, each of which has a particular
responsibility - these are called devices. For example, the Say
tool introduced in an earlier chapter allows you to generate
speech. The part of the Amiga responsible for this is the speech
device and consists of some special microchips and some
clever software. The Amiga's device operating system allows
you to control many if not all, of these directly via a series of
commands. A command is a word typed in at the keyboard.
This is a simplistic overview but hopefully you now have the
idea of what is going on. '
 AmigQ Insider Guide

Workbench is a front-end to AmigaDOS. It provides you the user with

a friendly viz user friendly way to access the various aspects of the
Amiga. For example, when you drag a file into the Ram Disk from a
disk, you are graphically issuing an AmigaDOS command. In this case
the command would be the COpy command.
This may all sound complex, and I suppose to a large extent it is; but
let me assure you that there is a great deal of satisfaction at the end of
the road once you have mastered it. Thankfully many of the
AmigaDOS commands you will want to use are straightforward and
their title relates directly to what you want to do. For example, if I
asked you what command do you think you would use to find out
what version of software you are using, what would be your guess? To
find the version you use the command VERSION. To rename a file
you use the RENAME command, to format a disk use the FORMAT
command. Simple really.
In the above examples, I have used the command names in capital let-
ters. This is not normally necessary but it helps distinguish AmigaDOS
command names from the body text so it's a convention I'll continue
to use.

So how do you enter and execute an

AmigaDOS command? For the odd one-
off command you can use the Execute
Command option in the Workbench menu. When selected, a requester
window is displayed on the screen under the heading Execute a File.
To the right of the heading Command you will see a text gadget and
you can now use the keyboard to enter the command you wish to be
executed. If you make a mistake you can use the Del key to delete it
should you so wish.
Try this example. Select the Execute Command option and then type:
VERSION
and press the Return key or select the OK gadget. The requester will
disappear and will be replaced by a window entitled Output Window.
Inside here will be printed the current version numbers of Kickstart
and Workbench. Click on the close gadget to remove the output win-
dow. If you decide against executing the command you can abort the
whole operation by clicking on the Cancel button .

............11·..........·
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #26: Using Execute Command.

Window Icons Executing single commands from the
..! Backdrop 1mB Workbench is made easy by the inclusion
Emute (oRMand ... ImE of the Execute Command option in the
Redraw All
Update AII Workbench menu.
last Mmage
Rbout .••
Quit... mQ

Select this to display

the Execute a
File window.
Enter the command of your choice using the gadget string.

Select OK to
implement the
command. Any
resulting output is
displayed in an
Output window.

To show you how this VERSION command relates to the Workbench,

go to the Workbench menu and select the About... option. This pro-
duces a window that lists the same information, albeit in a slightly dif-
ferent format.
You can close the Output window generated by Execute Command in
the normal fashion. .

The Execute Command option is fine for

the odd command, but if you are going
to use AmigaDOS reasonably frequently
(and you will as you become more experienced) then the Shell is a
much better option. You will find the Shell icon in the System drawer
If it makes it more palatable for you then think of the Shell as being a
sort of continual Execute Command window!
Running or opening the Shell is performed in the normal fashion.
Simply double-click on the Shell icon. The Shell window appears and
displays an area into which you can type commands. On startup it dis-
plays a prompt in the form of:
Workbench3.0:>
 Amiga Insider Guide

To enter a command at the AmigaShell simply ensure that it is the

currently selected window (by clicking the Pointer in it) and type a
command at the keyboard. Try this now, type:
VERSION
and then press Return.
When we did this before, a system requester was displayed containing
the version details. Because the Shell is a direct link with AmigaDOS
any information to be displayed (or returned) by a command is dis-
played in the AmigaShell window itself.
While interesting, VERSION isn't an AmigaDOS command that you
will be using regularly. The more interesting commands to the
Workbench user are detailed in later chapters but we'll take a look at a
few now to give you a flavour.

When you open a window you see what

it contains in the form of pictures -
icons. Because the Shell, and indeed
AmigaDOS, is a text based interface you are not provided with icons of
the files available to you when you open a Shell. However you can
obtain a list of the file names by cataloguing the disk - the listing pro-
vided is called a directory of the file or directory for short. This is done
with the DIR command. Because DIR is a shortened version of
DIRectory, you are producing a directory of the files on the disk! So
with the Workbench disk in the internal disk drive type at the prompt:
DIR
remembering to press the Return key at the end. (The Return key
should be pressed at the end of each command entry to terminate it
and execute it. Take this as read from now on.) The Workbench disk
will spin into life and very shortly a list will appear on the screen.
The directory produced lists two main groups of files. Those with (dir)
after them are in fact drawers and you may recognise many of them.
Some you will not have seen before! The files without (dir) after them
are just that - files. Note how they are displayed grouped and in alpha-
betical order for you!
A point of possible confusion: the terms drawer and directory are
interchangeable - they mean the same thing. It is tradition to use
drawer when working from the Workbench and directory when work-
ing from the Shell.

----1....---
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #27: The AmigaDOS Shell.

The Shell has all the
standard Amiga
window features.
The main window
area can be thought
of as a large string
gadget into which
you can enter
AmigaDOS
commands.
The AmigaShell always has a prompt. Typically this will be:
1. Workbench3.0:>
The 1. can be thought of as the Shell number (in fact it's not but allow
me some license for now) and for the moment think of it as a way of
identifying one AmigaShell window from another.
Workbench3 is the name of the disk that is the current Volume. In
other words the name of the disk that the Amiga is currently logged
onto. Note: if you are running the Shell from a hard disk this will
probably be System3.
Finally the> is the terminating part of the prompt. Beyond this is a
small blue character box which is the cursor and the point at which
text typed at the keyboard appears on the screen.

Insider Guide #28: Entering Commands.

To enter an
AmigaDOS com-
mand you simply
type the command
on the keyboard.
First though
ensure that the
AmigaShell window
is selected by clicking the Pointer on it. Try typing VERSION and then
press the Return key. The AmigaShell is also used as an output window.

In AmigaDOS
the Shell or
AmigaShell
doubles up as both
the input (typing)
and output
(display) window.
 Amiga Insider Guide

The list produced by DIR is too long to fit within the AmigaShell win-
dow. However, remember that the AmigaShell can be treated like any
other Workbench window. You can move it and, by using the enlarge
gadget at the bottom righthand comer, enlarge it. If you enlarge it to
the full screen you will be able to see all the items listed by DIR.
If you wanted to see the files located in the Utilities drawer at the
Workbench you would open its window, ie double-click on the Utilities
drawer icon. To catalogue the contents of a particular drawer (directo-
ry) you simply specify its name after the DIR command ie:
DIR UTILITIES
Note that there is a single space between DIR and UTILITIES. Shortly
a list of files will appear on the screen and many of these relate to the
files you will have already seen as icons on the Desktop. You might
like to try cataloguing other Workbench disk directories in a similar
fashion. For instance try each of these in tum:
DIR PREFS
DIR SYSTEM
You can even catalogue the Ram Disk by using:
DIR RAM:

Let's have a go at cataloguing the files

on the Extras disk (hard disk users see
below). Remove the Workbench disk
from the internal disk drive and insert the Extras disk into it and at
the AmigaShell type:
DIR
Almost immediately you will be asked by a system requester to re-
insert the Workbench disk. Do this. What happens is that you get a
directory listing of the Workbench disk. This is clearly wrong and
often one of the most confusing aspects of AmigaDOS.
It helps to understand what is happening at this point. Many of the
AmigaDOS commands that you type at the Shell, and indeed many
called by the Workbench itself, are stored on the Workbench disk.
When AmigaDOS realises it needs them it loads them into its memory
and executes them. Once it has finished with them it discards them.
This makes them known as transient commands.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #29: Cataloguing a Directory.·

In AmigaDOS drawers are normally referred to as directories.

To display all the files in a directory the directory in question must
be catalogued. The DIR command produces a directory catalogue.
To catalogue the Workbench disk type DIR and press Return.
The names with (dirJ after them are other directories.
Some of them should be quite familiar.

So when you typed DIR AmigaDOS looked for the Workbench disk to
load in the DIR command. It knew it wasn't on the Extras disk so it
asked for the Workbench disk. You swapped them back and it loaded
in the DIR command. It then executed it b.ut did so on the Workbench
disk.
To catalogue a disk other than the Workbench disk you must specify it
by name. Therefore to catalogue the Extras disk use:
DIR Extras3.0:
Now.the DIR command will be loaded from the Workbench disk and
then a system requester will appear asking you to insert the Extras3.0
disk at which point it will be catalogued. Note the use of the colon at
the end of the disk name. This must always be included to inform
AmigaDOS you are talking about a particular disk - this is called the
volume name. If you omit it, it won't work correctly.

The problems that are outlined immedi-

ately above won't apply if you have a
hard disk fitted - this is because all the
command files will be located on the hard disk. However, you can cat-
alogue a disk in the internal floppy disk drive at any time simply by
typing:
 Amiga Insider Guide

DIR DFO:
You can of course use a volume name as outlined above if you so wish,
in which case if the disk of the name specified isn't present it will be
requested via a system requester.

----11----
The Amiga Shell provides you with the means to
communicate with your Amiga in AmigaDOS.

It's also an open door to plenty of editing tools

and the ability to use special command effects.

s you might have guessed from the previous chapter,

the Shell- or AmigaShell - will be the your main inter-
face with AmigaDOS for many purposes. You will get
the best performance out of your Amiga using a combination
of Workbench and AmigaDOS. Therefore a good working
knowledge of what the Shell has to offer is well worth having.
As a newcomer to the Shell you will make mistakes so it is
worth knowing how to use the Shell's simple but effective edit-
ing facilities. The four arrow or cursor keys which sit between
the main keyboard and keypad plus the backspace (left arrow)
and Del situated immediately beside the Help key and above
the cursor keys, are the most important of these. The latter two
allow you to delete characters to the left or immediately under
the cursor in the normal fashion.
If you have the AmigaShell open, close it and then reopen it.
Now enter the following commands one after the other:
 Amiga Insider Guide

DIR
LIST
DIR DIRS
These commands will generate some output to the screen. When the
prompt reappears, press the up arrow key. The DIR DIRS command
appears at the prompt. Press up arrow again and the LIST command
appears. Press the down arrow key and DIR DIRS appears. Press
Return and the command DIR DIRS is executed.
Each time you enter a line of text and complete by pressing the Return
key the Shell records the fact and archives the command. This in effect
gives you a complete command history and you can scroll backwards
and forwards through it as you wish using the up arrow and down
arrow keys.
Unless you are a pretty proficient typist then you will invariably make
mistakes. The Shell provides a number of key combinations to make
editing these out of your commands as simple as possible. These are
normally simple dual-key combinations which operate from the cur-
rent position of the cursor. Some examples are boxed below.

Command Action
<Del> Delete character under cursor
<Ctrl-A> Move cursor to start of line
<Ctrl-K> Delete from cursor to end of line
<Ctrl-U> Delete froin cursor to start of line
<Ctrl-X> Delete whole line
<Ctrl-Z> Move cursor to end of line

For instance, you can delete from the current cursor position to the
end of the line by pressing <Ctrl-K>. The two chevrons, <>, signify that
it is a single key press and the two keys involved are the Ctrl and K
keys. In other words press Ctrl and K together and the text to the end
of the line from the current cursor position will be deleted!
The best way to become familiar with these is simply to use them. A
few minutes using each is all it takes and from that point on you will
find a significant difference in your use of AmigaDOS. The only point
to note is that the Del key deletes the character under the cursor. The
cursor is normally placed at the end of the line, so if you wish to delete
the character to its left you must first move it there using the left-
arrow key.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #30: Editing with the Shell.

Using the Shell's
. editing features is
straightforward.
If you have entered
a command
incorrectly or some
text as illustrated
left and wish to
delete one end of the line, use the left and right arrow cursor keys to
move the cursor to
the point in the line
from which you
wish to delete and
then press <Ctrl-K>
- hold down the Ctrl
key, press the K key
and then release
both keys together.

The Shell also provides a useful search facility in that it allows you to
seek out the last occurrence of a particular command, thus avoiding
the need to scroll through a potentially long command history list. To
use this simply type the start of the command name and then press
, Ctrl-R. For example:
DIR<Ctrl-R>
will locate the last time the DIR command was used. Typing:
<Ctrl-R>
again will seek out the next previous occurrence and so on.
Note that this facility is case sensitive and so it is important that you
use the same case convention.

The Shell also has a few inbuilt com-

mands which can be quite useful. You
must bear in mind that Shell commands belong to the Shell and are
not AmigaDOS commands. They would not work therefore if you
typed them into the Execute Command window.
 Amiga Insider Guide

To use any of these commands simply type them at the Shell prompt
and press the Return key
One of the most useful Shell commands is CLEAR. Entering this will
clear all previous activity from the current Shell window leaving just
the prompt sitting at the top of the screen as though you had just
opened the Shell itself.

The Shell allows you some editing short-

cuts using special key press combina-
tions and some more interesting visual
effects on-screen using the Ctrl and ESC keys respectively. Let's take
the editing keys first which are implemented via the Ctrl key - the
most useful ones are shown below:

Key Action
<Ctrl-h> Deletes last character
<Ctrl-x> Delete current line
<ESC>C CLEAR

The best way to understand these is to play with them. <Ctrl-X> is very
useful and can save endless pressing of the Delete key to remove an
erroneous command line.
The ESC key provides for some rather more interesting effects on-
screen, such as coloured text and italicised text to name but two. To
see just how this works from the Shell press the following keys (after
making a Shell the active window):
ESC

3
m
Return
The text inside the Shell, from this point, will be displayed in italics!
Note that when you press the ESC in the Shell an inverted [ is dis-
played (inverted means displayed as a character in the background
Amiga Insider Guide

colour inside a white box). You still need to press the [ after ESC
though. You will also find that you get an Unknown command error
message on-screen. This should be ignored.
When you try entering these ESC commands from a Shell nothing is
displayed on screen after pressing ESC until you have pressed the
Return key. Have faith!
The above key combination would normally be written as:
<ESC>3[m
as it is not necessary to keep the ESC depressed while you press the
subsequent keys. To set things back to normal type:
<ESC>[Om
Some of the various ESC key commands that you can use to create a
wide range of effects are listed below:

Keys Action
<ESC>[Om Cancel all effects
<ESC>[lm Bold text enabled
<ESC>[3m Italic text enabled
<ESC>[4m Underlined text enabled
<ESC>[7m Inverted text enabled
<ESC>[30m Set text colour to grey
<ESC>[3lm Set text colour to black
<ESC>[32m Set text colour to white
<ESC>[33m Set text colour to blue
<ESC>[40m Set background colour to grey
<ESC>[4lm Set background colour to black
<ESC>[42m Set background colour to white
<ESC>[43m Set background colour to blue

As always, try experimenting with the above to see how you get on and
what weird or wonderful effects you can come up with. If you get into
problems press <ESC>c to restore the status quo!

; .
 Amiga Insider Guide

----11----
 When one of your floppy disks can hold
thousands of pieces of individual information,
how on earth are you going to know where to fmd
the important ones?

Read on and discover how the modest A1200 can

take the place of a large 'metal fIling cabinet.

his chapter is mainly a theoretical one. That said, it is a

very important one because it will help you understand
how drawers (directories) and files are handled and
used by the Amiga.
For the purposes of this chapter we intend to look into how the
concept of directories works by using the Workbench as an
example. The concepts involved are all widely applicable and
the graphical nature of the Workbench will help get them
across. As the saying goes: "Every picture ... "
With your Amiga up and running and the Workbench disk in
position double-click in the Workbench disk icon. After a few
moments, in which AmigaDOS is reading the contents of the
disk, you will be presented with a window in which some of the
contents of the disk will be displayed in the form of small pic-
tures or icons - OK, this we have encountered before.
If you look in the Workbench disk window you will notice that
several of the icons displayed are shaped like drawers. Well
 Amiga Insider Guide

that's exactly what they are, software drawers into which you can
place your files and information and indeed other drawers if you so
wish.
We have seen that drawers also have their own windows. If you dou-
ble-click the left mouse button when the Pointer is positioned over the
Utilities drawer icon, a window will open displaying the contents of
the drawer! You might like to try this now and see what the end result
is. In fact the drawer window is very much like the disk window in
that it has all the same gadgets.

Why drawers? AmigaDOS supports what

is called a hierarchical filing system
which means that it can have multiple
levels. At this point it's probably worth drawing an analogy.
Imagine your desk at home, office or school and that you have no
access to files, or drawers or cupboards. You would have to keep every
single book or sheet of paper on top of the desk. This would produce a
cluttered area which would be difficult to work in and would raise
your blood pressure when you tried to locate a particular item. In an
organised working environment you would arrange your books and
papers into folders or drawers which would themselves be held in a
desk or filing cabinet.
Workbench drawers - and therefore AmigaDOS drawers - are
designed to emulate this same process. Every AmigaDOS disk has
enough space on it to hold tens of thousands of pieces of information.
Most files don't come anywhere near this in size and so it is possible to
store many files on a disk. For instance, a disk might contain 30 files.
If these were all stored in the main disk window it would make locat-
ing a particular file troublesome and involve a fair amount of scrolling
around the window. Equally you would have to have 30 very different
names so each one was clearly distinguishable from any other.
Drawers can be used to organise your files. You can create a drawer,
give it a name and then place the relevant files inside the drawer. For
instance, you may wish to use your Amiga as a wordprocessor and as a
means to hold bank statement details. You could create two drawers
on a disk and label them Wordprocessing and Statements. You could
then save each file you created in the relevant drawer. You might call
the disk Current Work.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #31: A hierarchical filing system.

The tree-like nature of a hierarchical filing system is shown be~
Each drawer or directory is represented by a named box - the fir two
of these, Wordprocessing and Statements, are in the root directo .
Wordprocessing has two sibling drawers (sub-directories) called Home
and Club. If you are in Home you cannot go directly to Club - you must
go via Wordprocessing. Wordprocessing is the parent of Club.
Club also has siblings which are Letters and Memos. Files can have
similar names provided they are stored in different drawers.

1--- -----1
Wordprocessing Statements

I I I
Home Club

i-----J1 I
Letters Memos

But, you can also go a step further. Drawers may themselves contain
drawers. Let's take the Wordprocessing drawer a step further. You
might find that you are producing several types of documents. For
example, Home, Business and Club. You could create suitably named
drawers inside the Wordprocessing drawer and then place the relevant
files in the appropriate drawers. And we could take it a step further
again. You might create two types of wordprocessor file for your Club
- namely Letters and Memos. Once again these drawers could be cre-
ated and used in similar fashion. In fact there is no limit to the num-
ber of drawers that can be nested inside drawers, subject to there
being enough space on your disk to do so .

............·11............·
 Amiga Insider Guide

The term drawers is sometimes interchanged with the term directo-

ries, arid it is quite common to refer to directories stored inside other
directories as sub-directories. As a rule of thumb, drawers belong to
Workbench, directories to AmigaDOS. Even though they mean the
same thing, this allows you to clearly illustrate which one you are talk-
ing about.
The thing that should become immediately apparent from arranging
your files in this way is that it makes it very easy to locate files when
you next want them. If you want a Club memo file you'll know exactly
where to look!

Because of its arrangement it is some-

times called a tree or tree directory. You
can imagine the various sub-directories
being the roots of a tree, or if you turn the lot upside down, the
branches of a tree. The very top of the tree structure, ie the top direc-
tory (this is the one that is displayed when you open a disk icon) is
normally referred to as the root directory for this reason.
If you look down the root structure of the Wordprocessing directory
(see Insider Guide #31) you will notice that several directories are on
the same level but they are not connected directly. For instance, the
directories Home, Business and Club are all sub-directories of
Wordprocessing but there is no direct connection between them other
than via the Wordprocessing directory. This is a very important con-
cept and one that you should fully understand.
Imagine you are working on a file stored in the Letters directory. This
is called the current directory. To go to the Memos directory you must
first go up to Club (ie up the directory tree) and then down to Memos
(ie down the directory tree).

When you need to reference a particular

file you can do so by giving what is
called its path name. The path name
consists of the file name preceded by any directories and sub-directo-
ries which must be accessed to reach it. Each directory name is sepa-
rated by a slash character. So to write the path name of a file called
Report in the Memo directory we would use: .
Current-Work:Wordprocessing/Club/Memos/Report
Amiga Insider Guide

The last name is generally a file and not a drawer. Also it isn't always
necessary for you to give the disk (volume) name in the root if the disk
to be used is implied, in which case the path name becomes:
:Wordprocessing/Club/Memos/Report
Note the use of colon (:) which implies the root directory of the cur-
rent disk. If you have more than one disk drive attached to your Amiga
then you might wish to state the disk drive number and we shall cover
this in due course.
The directory from which all other files and directories are accessed is
often referred to as the root directory. All the directories that radiate
from it are known as branches of the root directory.
Another analogy that is often used is that of parent and sibling directo-
ries. The starting directory is called the parent directory and any direc-
tories created here are child directories (or sibling directories).
Obviously directories created in the child directory will become its
child directories whilst it becomes their parent directoryl If you are
struggling to understand this terminology then simply apply your fam-
ily tree to it. Your father is your parent and you are the child. You
father is the child of your grandfather while your father is your grand-
father's childl
 Amiga Insider Guide

----1----
 Moving ides around, individually or en masse,
will become second nature but for now you can
pick up all the tips you need from this chapter.

Learn how to initialise a disk, to copy a disk

complete and how to work with groups of ides.

n an earlier chapter we saw how to use the various

Workbench options to format a floppy disk - a very impor-
tant task. When you use the Format Disk option from the
Workbench menu it simply invokes an AmigaDOS command
called FORMAT. Let's examine how to use the FORMAT com-
mand itself directly from the Shell.
When a disk is formatted from the Workbench using the
Format option you are required to supply two items of infor-
mation, even if you don't know it. Firstly you must indicate the
disk to be formatted by selecting it and then you supply a name
for the disk. The latter is actually done for you, and a name of
Empty is assumed - you do have the option of changing this of
course.
When disks are formatted from the Shell the same two items of
information are needed. The disk is identified courtesy of the
device name of the drive it is placed into. The disk name can
then be specified. You can use Empty if you wish or alterna-
tively supply any legal disk name.
 Amiga Insider Guide

The layout of the disk formatting command is shown below. In com-

puter terms this is normally referred to as its syntax.
FORMAT DRIVE <drive name> NAME <disk name>
The commands that must be typed are shown in capital letters, the
text inside the angled brackets indicates that you must supply some
information here. In this case it is the drive name, ie the one where the
formatting is to take place, and then the disk name, ie the name to be
assigned to the disk when formatting has completed.
The rules are exactly the same for formatting from the Shell as they
are from the Workbench. Formatting destroys anything that may be
on the disk.
To format a disk in the internal drive (drive DFO:) and call it Empty
use the following command:
FORMAT DRIVE DFO: NAME "Empty"
Note that the name to be assigned to the disk must be enclosed within
double quotes. As with all AmigaDOS commands the case of the letters
for the command is irrelevant although the combination used inside
the double quotes to name the disk will be used exactly.
You will then be asked for the Workbench disk and within a few sec-
onds a message will appear inside the Shell window as follows (the
CTRL-C option is not available or mentioned in Workbench 3):
Insert disk to be formatted in device DFO
Press RETURN to begin formatting or CTRL-C to
abort:
Do this and the procedure is then much the same as described earlier.
The DFO:BUSY icon appears on the Workbench and then formatted
and verified. Unless you are working from a hard disk based system
you will almost certainly need to do a little bit of disk juggling in
response to the various messages that will be echoed into the Shell
window. On completion the formatted floppy disk will take its place
on the Workbench as an icon.

If you have access to an external floppy

disk drive then you can use this to for-
mat disks should you so wish. The syn-
tax of the command to do this is pretty much the same - in fact the
AmigQ Insider Guide

Insider Guide #32: Formatting a Disk using FORMAT.

Have the disk to
be formatted
ready along with
your Workbench
disk (single drive
users only).

Enter the FORMAT

command into the
AmigaShell window
remembering to
specify drive number
and the name you
wish to give the disk.
Press Return - you
may be requested
to insert your
Workbench disk.
When asked, insert
the disk to be
formatted into the
appropriate disk
drive and press Return. Each track of the disk will be
formatted and verified. If an error is encountered the
format will be aborted and an error message displayed ..
On completion the floppy disk icon, appropriately named
will appear on the Workbench desktop ready for use.

only item of infonnation to change is the drive details. Nonnally this

would be DFl:, therefore the command becomes:
FORMAT DRIVE DF1: NAME "Empty"
Fonnatting will then continue as for a single drive system. If you are
using a floppy disk system keep your Workbench disk in the internal
disk drive so it can automatically access the programs it needs.

AmigaDOS provides the command

DISKCOPY to totally copy the contents
of one disk to another. The net effect is
the same as that described using the Workbench. The syntax of the
command is:

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

DISKCOPY FROM <source> TO <dest> NAME <new name>

As you can see, AmigaDOS can take three different parameters and
provides you with the opportunity to rename the destination disk. This
last part of the command is optional and if you don't wish to rename
the disk then you can use a shortened version of the command as fol-
lows:
DISKCOPY FROM <source> TO <destination>
In this case the disk is given the exact name of the one it was backed
up from, ie it does not have copy of prefixed to it. In both forms the
relevant drive device names are substituted for <source> and <destina-
tion>.
The utility works by reading each of the tracks from the source disk
and writing them to the destination disk and includes the information
laid down on the source disk when it was originally formatted. This
means that when using DISKCOPY to backup a disk you don't have to
format it first, this is effectively done as the backup takes place. An
obvious time and effort saver.

You can backup a disk using a single

disk drive. To make a backup disk with a
single drive system, calling it BACKUP
use the following syntax:
DISKCOPY FROM DFO: TO DFO: NAME "BACKUP"
Note that the name appears in double quotes. You will be invited to
insert the source disk in drive DFO: and to press Return. The process
of reading information, swapping disks and writing information will
take place as with a Workbench based backup.
If you have two floppy disk drives you will find it even easier to back-
up disks. The command form is almost identical to the above process
but does not require the swapping of disks. Ideally you should place
the source disk in DFO: and the destination disk in DFl: and issue the
correct form of the command. From the example given above this
would be:
DISKCOPY FROM DFO: TO DF1: NAME "BACKUP"

----1-----
Amiga Insider Guide

DISKCOPY is all encompassing and

makes clone copies of disks. This is ideal
for that purpose but a more sedate ver-
sion of a copy command, called COPY, allows individual files and
directories to be copied. The syntax of the command is:
COpy FROM <source> TO <destination>
in which <source> can be a directory, file or the full path of a filename
to be copied. <destination> is the information as to where the file is to
be copied. Because of ambiguities arising it is very difficult to copy a
file or files from one disk to another directly, using a single disk drive.
If a single drive system is in use then files can be copied onto another
disk via the Ram Disk.
To copy the Clock from the Utilities drawer of the Workbench disk
into the Ram Disk you would use the following two command lines:
COPY FROM Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock TO RAM:
COpy FROM Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock.info TO RAM:
(If you are having trouble understanding exactly what is happening
here - it might be worth rereading the last chapter where the directory
structure of the Amiga is explained.)
Note that when you copy an icon file across, you must also copy the
.info file (pronounced dot-info) across as well. If you open the Ram
Disk window you should now see the Clock in position and ready to
use.
If you wish to copy a file between two floppy disks using only the
internal disk drive then you must include the disk name. For example
to copy the Clo<;k from the Workbench disk onto a disk called TIME
use:
COPY FROM Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock TO TIME:
COpy FROM Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock.info TO TIME:
For dual drive systems things are easier as you can simply use the disk
drive device names - DFO: as the source and DFl: as the destination.
The command to do this is:
COPY "DFO:Utilities/Clock" TO "DF1:clock"
The disk drives will come into action and the Clock file will be copied
across.

----11-----
 Amiga Insider Guide

Copy files from a hard disk to a floppy disk is just as simple, providing
you remember that the hard disk device name is DHO:. Thus to copy
the Clock from the Utilities directory of the hard disk into the Ram
Disk you would use:
COPY FROM DHO:Utilities/Clock TO RAM:
COPY FROM DHO:Utilities/Clock.info TO RAM:
Finally as you get more confident you can drop the FROM and TO out
of the command line thus:
COPY Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock RAM:
COPY Workbench3.0:Utilities/Clock.info RAM:
AmigaDOS is clever enough to know what you mean!

Under Workbench a new drawer is cre-

ated using the New Drawer option.
Under AmigaDOS a new directory is cre-
ated with the command MAKEDIR (ie MAKE DIRectory). The full
syntax of the command is:
MAKEDIR <name>
where <name> is the name you wish to call the directory including the
disk name or, on a multi-drive system, the drive name as well. In this
instance double quotes are not required. For example, to create a
directory called Wordprocessing on the Ram Disk you would use the
following command:
MAKEDIR RAM:Wordprocessing
Again you can use the MAKEDIR command to create a directory on
any disk simply by using the disk drive name or the name of the disk.
For example, to create the same directory on a disk in the internal
floppy drive you would use:
MAKEDIR DFO:Wordprocessing
Note that the MAKEDIR command always places the new directories
in the current directory. To change directory the command CD is used
(CD=Change Directory). To move into the newly created
Wordprocessing directory in the Ram Disk you would use the com-
mand:
CD RAM:Wordprocessing
Amilia Insider Guide

You will now be in the Wordprocessing directory - as should be

reflected by the prompt - and MAKEDIR commands issued now will
create further directories inside the Wordprocessing directory and
place them here.
Important: If you are working with a single disk drive Amiga always
specify the disk name at the start of any filename to ensure the task
you are performing works on the correct disk. If you do not then it is
likely that the command will be performed on the Workbench disk.

So much for moving down the directory

tree, but how do we go up it towards the
top or root directory? The CD command
is used once again but rather than specifying a name as the parameter
we use a back slash character. For example to move up out of the cur-
rent directory (assuming it isn't already the top root directory) use:
CD /
If you wish to move up two directory levels use two back slashes:
CD /I
CD can also be used to Change Disk, in other words to change from
the disk in one drive to the disk in another assuming you are using a
dual drive system. For instance if you are using DFO: and wish to use
RAM: type:
CD RAM:
Alternatively you can change the drive or directory simply by typing its
name, ie you don't have to include the CD portion. Thus to change to
the Ram Disk and then back to drive DFO: use:
RAM:
DFO:

The back slash can be tagged onto the

end of the DIR command as well, thus
allowing you to catalogue the directories
above you. For instance, if you were in the Utilities directory on the
Workbench disk and typed:
DIR /

- - -..1----
 Amiga Insider Guide

you would see a list of the files in the root directory above it.
In addition it is also possible to use full file path names in association
with the DIR command should you so wish. For instance, on a dual
drive system you may wish to catalogue the disk in drive DFl: which
can be done using:
DIR DF1:
Commands such as:
DIR Workbench3.0:Prefs/Presets
and:
DIR DFO:Utilities
are also legitimate.
You may also use DIR in a more selective manner by the use of several
options tagged onto the end of the command.
For example, suppose you only want a list of all the directories held in
a particular directory, you could use the DIRS option. For example to
catalogue the Workbench disk so that only the directories are listed
you would enter:
DIR Workbench3.0: DIRS
Likewise you can use the FILES option to list only the files in a direc-
tory:
DIR Workbench3.0: FILES

----11-------
 Personal computing should be about personal
productivity so why not automate the actions of
your A1200?

Tell AmigaDOS what to do through lists of

commands, called scripts, created in a text editor.

n the past few chapters we have been entering simple one

or two line commands. This is fine for the occasional one-
off task like formatting a disk or copying a file. However,
suppose you had a task that you wanted to carry out that
required 20 lines to be typed in. It could be done simply as we
have seen in the past chapters. However, you leave yourself
open to mistakes. If you inadvertently typed in something
wrong then you might have to start all over again. No problems
if it is in line one, but if the mistake is in line 19 ...
Equally, the lines of command that you are going to type in
might form something that you are going to use over and over
again. Typing them in every time would not only be prone to
error but also boring and wasteful of your time.
AmigaDOS provides you with a way around this, called a script
file. A script file is simply a file on disk that contains the lines
of AmigaDOS that you wish to be executed - this is the script.
To enter and save AmigaDOS scripts you need to use a sort of
wordprocessor, in fact something called a text editor. Your
 AmigQ Insider Guide

Amiga is supplied with one of these and it is called ED. In case you are
wondering, in terms of functionality there is little basic difference
between a text editor and a wordprocessor. A text editor is effectively a
very basic wordprocessor without the thrills of special effects and
other goodies such as spell checking.

Unlike many of the tools you have avail-

able to you on the Amiga, ED does not
have an icon for you to double-click on
to start it. Instead you must start it using either the Execute Command
option or the Amiga Shell. The syntax of the command is:
ED <filename>
where <filename> is the name you are giving to the project file. I
would suggest you use the AmigaSheU to run ED until you get the
hang of it. While you practice it is a good idea to save your files in the
Ram Disk so make this the current directory by typing:
CD RAM:
The prompt in the Shell should change to something like:
1.Ram Disk:>
Then enter the following from the AmigaShell:
ED TestED
ED will load and open a large window on screen. In the bottom left-
hand corner of the screen the following message will appear:
Creating new file
This will create a file called TestED on the Ram Disk.
The window for ED is much the same as those allocated to Shell win-
dows, however the Pointer is of little use for entering text but it does
allow access to the three menus used by ED, titled Project, Movement
and Edit. However, for the most part, ED is keyboard controlled and
without the frills of the WIMP.

As your first ED lesson let us enter a

simple script file. Ensure the ED win-
dow is selected and then type the follow-
ing at the keyboard:
Amiga Insider Guide

CD DFO:
DIR DIRS
ED uses Ctrl and Esc key combinations to invoke the various com-
mands at your disposal. To save this small file to the Ram Disk and
then quit ED use:
<ESC>X
Remember this means press the ESC key followed by the X key
(although they can be pressed together, the choice is yours). When you
do this the following should appear in the bottom lefthand corner:
*x
This is the command display area and *x represents <ESC>X. While
you're using ED, it's best to think of Esc as being the command key.
To execute the command you now need to press Return.
If you catalogue the Ram Disk by typing:
DIR RAM:
into the AmigaShell you will see that the file has indeed been created.

The command EXECUTE carries out the

task of executing the contents of a script
file. The format of the EXECUTE com-
mand is:
EXECUTE <filename>
Again <filename> is the name of the script file you wish to be execut-
ed. The command works very simply. It reads the first line from the
file and acts on it just as if it had been typed in at the keyboard. When
it has completed it, it goes back to the script file and reads the second
line. This continues until there are no more lines to be read and the
command then terminates.
Execute the TestED file by typing:
EXECUTE RAM:TestED
Both commands will be executed, providing you with a list of the
directories stored on the disk in drive DFO:. It will also leave you set
with DFO: as the currently selected drive!

..............111..............
 Amiga Insider Guide

AmigaDOS script files can be used to do some very clever things - in

fact much of the Amiga's start-up process is carried out by such a
script file!

We can now make a simple addition to

the TestED batch file to ensure it returns
to the Ram Disk after it has completed
executing. Make the Ram Disk the current directory and then re-enter
the command that was initially used to create the file TestED:
ED TestED
Whenever ED is asked to create a file it looks in the current directory
(or the directory specified) to see if the named file exists. If it does it
opens it and displays its contents. If no file exists it creates one and
signifies the fact by displaying the Creating new file message. The cur-
sor can be moved to the end of the file with the aid of the down-arrow
key, at which point the CD RAM: command can be added. The batch
file should now read:
CD DFO:
DIR DIRS
CD RAM:
This can be saved with cESC>X and then re-executed with:
EXECUTE TestED
When executed this will switch to DFO: and catalogue the directories
in the root directory of the disk before returning to the Ram Disk.

When a batch file is executing, it is com-

mon practice for the file to display sta-
tus messages to inform the user what is
happening. This is what happens when you boot your Amiga when it
displays various copyright and status messages as the start-up process
is carried out. These can be inserted into batch files quite simply by
using the ECHO command. The syntax of the command is:
ECHO "<text to be printed>"
Here are a couple of examples that can be inserted into the TestED file
after the first and second commands:

----11-----
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #33: Executing a Script with ED.

Open an ED window
providing a script name at
the Shell prompt:
ED SCRIPT

To execute the script use

the EXECUTE command:
EXECUTE SCRIPT
The script's output will
appear in the AmigaShell
window.

ECHO "Changed to DFO:"

ECHO "Returning to Ram Disk"
The new extended script should look like this:
CD DFO:
ECHO "Changed to DFO:"
DIR DIRS
ECHO "Returning to Ram Disk"
CD RAM:
By default the ECHO command prints a Return character after it has
echoed the message within the double quotes to the screen. There will

............11·..........·
 Amiga Insider Guide

be occasions when you don't wish this to happen. The NOLINE option
stops this Return being printed. For example, to display a message fol-
lowed by the date and time:
ECHO "Today's date and time is: " NOLINE
DATE
This could be added to the end of the TestED file to finish it off look-
ing like this:
CD DFO:
ECHO "Changed to DFO:"
DIR DIRS
ECHO "Returning to RAM Disk"
CD RAM:
ECHO "Today's date and time is: " NOLINE
DATE
Save this with <Esc>X and re-execute.
The rest of this chapter is devoted to the use of the various ED com-
mands. If you feel like skipping over this section for now, then this will
be okay as it does not contain any information that is vital to the fol-
lowing chapters. It is, of course, vital if you wish to learn how to be an
EDspert!

Like the Shell, ED provides a number of

editing facilities and these are listed with
brief descriptions in the box opposite.
Most of these command actions are fairly straightforward and easy to
understand, however a few are worth a few words of expansion and
this is given below. In all cases experiment with a simple ED file such
as TestED.
TAB ED does not contain any Tab stop positions that can be
adjusted to suit your own needs. Instead it assumes a stan-
dard Tab setting of three character spaces and each time
Tab is pressed it moves the cursor three positions to the
right. The effect is exactly the same as having pressed the
right arrow key three times in succession.
Amiga Insider Guide

Key Action
Backspace Delete character to left of cursor.
Del Delete character under cursor.
Esc Enter extended command mode.
Return Split line at cursor and create new line.
Tab Move cursor to next Tab position (three spaces).
Arrow Up Move cursor up one line.
Arrow Down Move cursor down one line.
Arrow Right Move cursor right one character.
Arrow Left Move cursor left one position .
< Ctrl-A> Insert new line.
< Ctrl-B> Delete current line.
< Ctrl-D > Scroll text down 12 lines.
<Ctrl-E> Move to top or bottom of screen.
<Ctrl-F> Invert case of character under cursor.
<Ctrl-H> Backspace and delete.
<Ctrl-I> Move cursor right to next Tab position.
< Ctrl-O > Delete current word or spaces to right of cursor.
<Ctrl-R> Move cursor to end of previous word.
<Ctrl-T> Move cursor to start of next word.
< Ctrl-U> Scroll text up 12 lines.
<Ctrl-V> Rewrite screen.
< Ctrl-Y> Delete to end of line from & including cursor position.
<Ctrl-[> Escape character (enter extended mode).
<Ctrl-]> Toggle cursor to end or start of line.

<Ctrl-F> This swaps the case of the character under the cursor and
moves it right one position. Thus if the letter under the cur-
sor is an e and <Ctrl-F> is pressed it will become an E.
<Ctrl-G> ED supports a number of extended commands accessed
with the Esc key (see below). This repeats the last extended
command.
<Ctrl-O> This command deletes the characters from and to the right
of the cursor position up until the first space character. If
the character under the cursor is a space it deletes all spaces
to the right until the first non-space character.

----11----
 Amiga Insider Guide

ED supports a wealth of extended com-

mands. These are commands which gen-
erally require more than one letter used
in combination with the Esc key, or require information to be supplied
with the command.
For example the command:
<ESC-SH>
can be used to display the file information that ED keeps on each file
it creates (this is saved with the file). The above command can be
entered as <Esc-S> and <Esc-H> or as <Esc-S><H>. As with all ED
commands, extended commands are displayed in the bottom lefthand
corner of the screen and are not executed until the Return key is
pressed. Some of the more important extended commands used by ED
are given in the box opposite.
As with the standard Ctrl commands, many of these command actions
are fairly straightforward and easy to understand, however many are
worth a few words of expansion and these are given below. In all cases
experiment with a simple ED file such as TestED.
<Esc-A>
Insert Text: This command can be used to insert text at the cur-
rent cursor position. Its effect is really just like typing directly
at the keyboard. For example:
<Esc-A>/ECHO "This is an example of ESC-A"
<ESC-BE>
Mark Block End at Cursor: Blocks of text can be marked for
various reasons. These are outlined below under the section
headed ED Blocks.
<ESC-BF>
Find String Backwards Search: Specific strings of text can be
located using ED's find facility. Searches can be carried in
either direction from the cursor position. This command
searches backwards, ie from the cursor towards the start of the
file. To search for the string Echo use:
<ESC-BF>/Echo
Note that by default the search is case dependent, ie the case of
letters must match exactly. For instance, searching for Echo

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Amiga Insider Guide

Command Action
A/textJ Insert text after current cursor position.
B Move to bottom of file.
BE Mark end of block at cursor.
BF/string/ Backwards fInd.
BS Mark block start at cursor.
D Delete current line.
DB Delete block of marked text.
DC Delete character under cursor.
E/X/y/ Exchange fIrst instance of x with y.
EQ/x/y/ Exchange fIrst instance of x with Y but query fIrst.
F/string/ Find string string.
I/text/ Insert text before current cursor position.
IB Insert copy of marked block.
IF/s/ Insert file s.
LC Make searches case dependent.
M<num> Move to line number <num>.
N Move to start of next line.
P Move to start of previous line.
Q Quit without saving text.
SA Save text to rue.
SA/filename Save text under new name.
SB Show block on screen.
T Move to top of file.
WE/fIlename Write block to rue.
X Exit, writing text to disk.

will not recognise echo or ECHO. The command locates the

very first occurrence. Repeat command with <Ctrl-G>.
<ESC-BS>
Mark Block Start at Cursor: Blocks of text can be marked for
various reasons. These are outlined below under the section
headed ED Blocks.
<ESC-DB>
Delete Block: This command deletes the marked block of text. If
nO block is marked the error message No block marked is
returned. See the section headed ED Blocks.

----1....- - -
 Amiga Insider Guide

<ESC-E>
Exchange Characters: This command finds the first occurrence
of the specified character and replaces it with the second speci-
fied character. For example, a common mistake is to use an 0
in place of a zero. This can be rectified by moving the cursor to
the top of the file and then proceeding as follows:
<ESC-E>/O/O/
<Ctrl-G>
When there are no more occurrences, or if an occurrence is not
found, the error message Search failed is displayed.
Note: All ED's extended commands use the slash (I) symbol to delimit
characters from either the command or from each other. Slash means
the same to ED as the space does to AmigaDOS so it's important you
fix the distinction in your mind.
<ESC-EO>
Exchange Characters With Ouery: The above example of using
<ESC-E> is fine but it will mean that each occurrence will be
replaced. Of course you might have Os in your text which are
vital. This command allows you to account for this. To search
for occurrences of 0 and possibly substitute them for zeros use:
<ESC-E>/O/O/
On finding the first occurrence the following message will be
displayed in the bottom lefthand corner of the ED window:
Exchange?
Pressing Y (or y) will effect the change. Pressing any other key
will abort the command without any change. Pressing N or n
will make no change but will move the cursor along one space.
<Ctrl-G> will execute the command once again.
<ESC-F>
Find Text String: This command searches forward to find the
first occurrence of the string, which may consist of a word or
phrase. For example:
<ESC-F>/Hello there mate/
By default the search is case dependent.
<ESC-I>
Insert Text Before Cursor: This command works like <ESC-A>,

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Amiga Insider Guide

however the text is placed directly before the cursor as opposed

to after it. For example:
<ESC-I>/This is before the cursor/
<ESC-IB>
Insert Copy of Marked Block: This command locates the
marked block of text and inserts a copy of it at the position of
the cursor. See the section headed ED Blocks below for a full
explanation.
<ESC-IF>
Insert Named File: This command locates the ED file named
and reads it into the body of the current text at the position of
the cursor. The file being read remains unaltered. For example
to load a file called Tester into the body of a current ED text file
you could use:
<ESC-IF>/Tester/
<ESC-LC>
Distinguish Character Case: This is the default state of ED and
is used to countermand the action of <Esc-UC>. After being
executed, searches will be carried out and will be case depen-
dent. Therefore the three words:
ECHO
echo
Echo
will be seen as three different words.
<ESC-M>
Move To Line Number: This command becomes very useful
when dealing with long ED files as it allows you to move to spe-
cific lines. For example to move the cursor to line number 10
use:
<ESC-M> 10
and press Return. The line numbering starts from the top and
the first line is always line number one.
<ESC-SA>
Save Text To File: This command saves the current file but
without quitting ED. A filename can be included to save the text
under a new filename. For example:

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 Amiga Insider Guide

<ESC-SA>/NewFile/
<ESC-SB>
Show Block On Screen: When a block has been marked, issuing
this command will move the start of the marked block to the
top of the screen. See the section headed ED Blocks immediate-
ly below.
<ESC-WB>
Write Block to File: This command writes the marked block of
text to the named file. For example:
<ESC-WB>/Marked/
The current text is unaffected as is the current ED file.

ED allows sections of text to be identi-

fied by enclosing them within bounded
areas. These areas are defined by the use
of two markers inserted into the text using the commands <Esc-BS>
and <Esc-BE>.
The text to be marked can vary from just a few characters up to a few
hundred lines. The markers are not shown on screen but you can iden-
tify the start of a marked block using <Esc-SB>. Note that markers
only remain until you start typing into ED, they are not affected by ED
commands however.
ED markers have several uses: they allow you to move a section of text
from one part of a file to another; to copy a repetitive section of text
quickly and simply; to allow you to delete a section of text; and to
allow you to save a marked section of text to a file. So get used to the
markers, they playa very big role in effective use of ED.
Inserting a marker is easy. Move the cursor to the exact position at
which you wish the marker to be placed and then press <Esc-BS>
(Block Start). The marker does not occupy any space on screen and
may, and generally will, occupy the same position as a character from
your text. The second marker is placed in the same way but, as it is
marking the Block End, use <Esc-BE>.
Blocks that are to be copied to a new position are always copied to the
current position of the cursor, so always reposition this first before
executing the <Esc-IE> command.

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Amiga Insider Guide

Note: Markers affect complete lines - you cannot mark sections of a

line in ED as you could in larger editors. However, you don't have to
move the cursor to the start of a specific line.

ED is complemented by a series of
menus. These provide instant access to a
variety of the extended commands dis-
cussed in the preceding pages. They are used in the normal fashion:
select the menu option required and its function is carried out. If the
option requires further user input then this is requested at the base of
the window just as though you had issued the command from the key-
board. The menu options and a brief description of each is given in the
box below. As always try each of these out to see how they work.

Menu Option Effect

Project Open Displays file requester to allow an
ED file to be opened.
Save Save copy of current file.
Save As Displays file requester allowing
current file to be saved under a
new name.
About Lists current ED settings.
Quit Quit ED saving if required.
Movement Top Move cursor to start of file.
Bottom Move cursor to bottom of file.
Find Find string as prompted working
from cursor position.
Find Backwards Find string working back from
cursor to start of document.
Edit Delete Line Delete line at current cursor posi-
tion - moving text below up one
line.
Query-Replace Prompted search and replace.
Redisplay Rewrite current display.

All of the menu options have direct hot-key equivalents and these are
listed on the menu. More detailed explanations of many of the above
can be found in the preceding four pages covering the extended com-
mand set.
Amiga Insider Guide
The Extras disk is the place to look for some very
useful programs. Take a look inside the Tools
drawer to confirm this for yourself.

And there's MultiView which can show you a few

things, including text and graphics.

here are a number of interesting projects to be found on

the Extras disk that we have so far avoided. They are
grouped together under the heading of Tools and can be
found in the Tools drawer. If you are using a hard disk system
then the Tools drawer can be found in the System3.0 drawer
on the desktop.
If you are using a single drive system then - to prevent disk-
swappingitis occurring - you will probably find it easier to
copy the projects you might want during the course of an
Amiga-using session onto the Ram Disk.
In addition to looking at some of the projects in the Tools
drawer (we'll look at more a bit later in the book as we reach
the appropriate points) I'll also detail the use of a neat little
utility called MultiView which can be found in the Utilities
drawer on the main Workbench disk.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Traditionally everyone thinks of a com-

puter as a great calculating device.
Although in reality that is exactly what
the Amiga is, the manner in which those numbers are calculated and
the results are displayed determine what task your Amiga carries out.
However, not to disappoint you the Tools drawer contains a Calculator
icon which when double-clicked displays a non-sizeable window and
provides some useful basic mathematical tools. It functions just like
any other desktop or pocket calculator and you can use it by clicking
on the number button gadgets with the mouse pointer.
Thus to perform 5+2= from the on-screen keypad you use the Pointer
to click on the following button gadgets on the face of the calculator:
5
+
2
=

The CE key is a Clear Entry gadget and this allows you to

delete/remove the last entry only. So, if you meant to calculate 5*6=
and actually entered 5*7 and you noticed your error at this point you
could select CE to remove the 7 and then carry on.
One key that is not on most calculators is the « and this allows indi-
vidual characters to be removed from the currently typed number.
Thus entering 1234567 and then selecting« would remove the 7 from
the number sequence. Selecting it again would remove the 6 and so
on. The +/- key toggles the sign of the number, ie changes it from a
positive to negative value and vice versa.
If you want any actions you perform on the Calculator to be listed
blackboard style in a separate window then turn on the Calculator
Tape window. With the Calculator window selected, move to the menu
bar and open the Windows menu, dropping down onto Show Tape. A
second window then opens to the side of the Calculator.

The concept of the key map was outlined

in an earlier chapter. Basically, key-
boards differ from country to country.
For instance in England we have the need for a £ character whereas in
the USA, Germany or Sweden they do not and it is likely to be substi-
tuted by a different, more appropriate, character. As part of the initial

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #34: Using the Calculator.

There are three basic window gadgets on the calculator situated on
the title bar. From left to right these are: close, zoom and back/front.

In addition to the ten base numbers

there are several extra button
gadgets.
CA clears all information from the
calculator while CE clears only the
last complete entry.
Multiplication and division are
performed using the * and /
gadgets.
The + - gadget changes the sign of
the current entry.
The <- gadget can be used to remove
the last digit of the number
currently being entered.
The zoom gadget can be used to shrink the Calculator down into a
small bar. This is useful
because it allows you to
shrink it and then place it
on the top righthand side
of the Workbench menu bar for later use. To restore it to its former
glory click on the
zoom gadget again!

Display the Calculator Tape

window via the Windows menu.
Any calculation is now
displayed in tape form. Left
shows what happens when
you enter 8*5= on the
calculator keypad.

set up of the Workbench we installed a key map for GB. When you run
the KeyShow program it displays a graphical representation of the key-
board in a window marked with the character each key will produce
when depressed .

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 Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #35: Using KeyShow.

KeyShow provides an approximate graphical representation
of your keyboard. It shows the default keys and the characters
they will produce when touched.
I I I_

The shaded keys, when depressed or clicked, show what the keyboard
will produce when these qualifier keys (or any combination of them)
are pressed in conjunction with a normal key.
In the example below both the Shift and Alt keys have been •
pressed to show what characters the keyboard can produce
when qualified in this way.

Several of the keys are shaded - these are the qualifier keys, namely
Ctrl, Shift and Alt. When you hold down one of these keys the result of
a keypress will normally differ from what would have been produced
had it not been held down. You can simulate what you will get by
clicking on one of the greyed keys. For example, click on one of the
grey Shift keys. The Shift keys become blue in colour to show they are
in effect and the keyboard characters change accordingly. Thus a
becomes A etc. To remove the Shift qualifier simply click on it again.
Press (with finger) on Alt and Ctrl to see what these do.
The KeyShow window sometimes uses a few extra characters to repre-
sent a particular action. When Ctrl is the qualifier many keyboard
alpha keys are prefixed with a caret symbol (") or a tilde (-) which
indicate control characters.

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Amiga Insider Guide

MultiView does exactly what its name sug-

gests - it is a utility that gives you the abil-
ity to view all types of Amiga files that fol-
low standard Amiga formats. There are several formats in all but the
two most obvious are text and graphics. Text files should be just that -
not wordprocessor files - and graphics files should be in the ILBM for-
mat. If this is a little bit two much jargon for you don't be put off. Look
at it this way: if someone gives you a text file or a graphics file that is
for the Amiga, MultiView should allow you to look at it and examine it!
MultiView also allows you to look at AmigaGuide documents (these are
Hypertext database files - but we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves
here) and to play sounds.
There are a number of text files on your Workbench disk which you can
display and, by using a simple AmigaDOS command, it will be possible
to create a graphics screen for you to look at using MultiView as well.
First, using either the Execute Command option or better still, by typing
directly into an AmigaShell window, make a copy of one of the Amiga's
text files by entering the following command:
COpy s:startup-sequence RAM:
This will make a copy of the file called startup-sequence and place it in
the Ram Disk.
To view this file open MultiView by double-clicking on its icon which
can be found in the Utilities drawer on the Workbench disk. This will
launch a large file requester window which should be reasonably famil-
iar to you by now. Click on the Volumes button at the bottom of the
window and when the new listing is displayed, click on Ram Disk. This
will display a list of the files and directories in the Ram Disk and the
first one of these should be startup-sequence. Click on this twice and,
within a flash or two, a large window will be opened and it will contain
some curious looking text. In fact this is not text in the strictest sense
but an AmigaDOS program! In fact it is the list of commands that your
Amiga executes every time it is switched on!
Note that this window is like any other Workbench window and you can
use the scroll bars to scroll up and down the text. You can exit from the
display by press the Q key or by clicking in the Close window gadget in
the normal fashion. If you have a large amount of text you can also
scroll through this a page at a time by pressing the spacebar.
 AmigQ Insider Guide

There are a few menus associated with this MultiView screen and the
Edit menu also allows you to Print out from it if you have a printer
attached.
The process is exactly the same for displaying any other type of file
that can be read by MultiView. Simply run MultiView and then locate
the file you want to see and MultiView will do the rest!
The Text File to View window has a couple of other gadgets associated
with it which we'll look at now.
There is another string gadget based in the file requester window and
this is called Pattern. By default this has the following text within it:
#?

This effectively means list all files and is discussed in greater detail in
a later chapter.
If the text file you wish to display has an icon associated with it you
can direct MultiView to load it directly from the Workbench. Select
MultiView, hold down and keep held down the Shift key, then double-
click on the text icon. You could try this out for yourself by opening
the Ram Disk window and then selecting the Show All Files option
from the Windows menu. Then click on the MultiView icon once,
press and keep pressed the Shift key and then double click on the
startup-sequence icon.
It is also possible to run MultiView from the AmigaShell. To do it sim-
ply type:
MultiView
at the prompt. You can load a file in much the same way, simply by
specifying its full name (and path) after the command thus:
MultiView RAM:startup-sequence
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #36: Displaying with MultiView

You use MultiView in an identical fashion no matter what you are
seeking to display. To display a file called startup-sequenCe held in
the Ram Disk first double click on the MultiView icon to display the
Select File to Open window.
Click on the Volumes gadget and
then the Ram Disk item listed in the
scrolling window.
Locate the startup-
sequence file in
the list and double-
click on this.

You can also scroll

down a long text file
by pressing the space
bar to display a new
page of text.
To quit, either click
in the close window
gadget or press the Q
key on the keyboard.
Amiga Insider Guide
You may imd some of the tools provided on your
A1200 disks are so useful that you want to run
them automatically every time you turn on.

Find out how to use them and how to make them

part of your setup from scratch.

here are a couple of very useful drawers on your

Workbench disk, one of which contains some tools
which can make your Amiga more intuitive to use and
another, which contains no files, which can do a quite wonder-
ful thing with them when it does!
The Commodities drawer is found in the Tools drawer of the
Extras disk and this contains the tools that can alter the way in
which your Amiga works. For example, if you have several win-
dows on the desktop you have to physically select the one you
wish to access by clicking in it. There is a tool in the
Commodities drawer that does this automatically for you each
time you move the Pointer over it.
The special drawer I was referring to is called WBStartup and
this is in the main Workbench disk window. If you drag files
into this it will run them quite automatically each time you
boot your Amiga up. Therefore it is a very good place to keep
your special Commodity tools - or at least the ones you like -
 Amiga Insider Guide

ready to be run at every startup. And there is nothing to stop you

putting other useful tools like the Clock there either!
Let's have a look at a few of the commodity programs first of all. To
see those on offer open the Commodities drawer.

This is one of those tools that you'll

either love or hate. Personally I love it!
Basically it selects and activates the win-
dow over which the Pointer sits. There is no need for you to have to
physically select the window by clicking the mouse select button.
To launch the tool double-click on the icon. Don't be fooled. This tool,
like a few others in the Commodity drawer, does not open a window.
It simply loads in as - in the jargon - a background task. In other
words, it beavers away in the background.
You can test to see if it is working simply by opening a few windows
and moving the Pointer over them. If you wish to stop AutoPoint you
can do so by double-clicking on the AutoPoint icon again - it works
like a switch. Alternatively you can kill the program by using the
Commodities Exchange window which I'll deal with in due course.

This tool - like AutoPoint - does not

open a window and is run simply by
double-clicking on its icon. It allows you
to bring any window to the front simply by clicking the Pointer in the
selected window whilst depressing the lefthand Alt key. This solves
what can be an annoying problem when you have several windows
open and have to sort through their depth gadgets. Used in conjunc-
tion with AutoPoint this is a very worthwhile utility.
When up and running ClickToFront can be removed by double-click-
ing on the ClickToFront icon.

This is a screen blanker which turns-off

the screen display if there has been no
keyboard and/or mouse activity in a
specified period of time.
When you double-click on the Blanker icon a small window appears
on the screen. The window displays the default blanking time which is

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #37: Using Blanker.

Save your screen by always using Blanker if you are going to be
spending some time using your Amiga.
Double-click on the Blanker icon
to display the default window.
To change the default blanking
period click in the Seconds string
gadget and delete 60 and type
the period, in seconds, you
require - 180 is a good period.

Ensure the Cycle Colors and Animation

gadgets are ticked to produce the
display shown left when the screen
blanks out.
Close the window to activate.
Press Ctrl-Alt-b to recall the Blanker
window at any time.

normally 60 seconds. So if a period of 60 seconds passes without a

keyboard and/or mouse button being pressed, Blanker will black out
the screen. You can change the blanking period simply by changing
the Seconds setting. To set a period of two minutes delete 60 and type
120. Select the Hide button to run the Commodity but remove the
window.
If both the Cycle Colors and Animation gadgets are checked then the
screen will display a animated figure which continually changes
colour when the screen is blanked out.
The original display can be restored by pressing a key on the keyboard
or the mouse. The Quit button can be used to remove the Blanker
operation.
Although at first sight Blanker may appear to have no real value, in
many respects it is an essential accessory if you leave your Amiga idle
for more than a few minutes at a time. The idea is to prevent bum-in
on the monitor. Bum-in is the etching of characters into the screen
phosphor. Although this affects mainly monochrome monitors, it can
affect colour monitors as well.
As it runs in the background without any real hindrance, it is worth
running it, though you may find it more convenient to increase the
 Amiga Insider Guide

blanking period to 180 seconds or so, by editing the 60 seconds figure

in the string gadget in the window when it is displayed.
There is a hot-key associated with Blanker, which is <Ctrl-Alt-b>. If
Blanker is running and you press the hot-key combination, its window
will be displayed, allowing you to either edit the blanking time or to
kill it off altogether. Note that double-clicking on the Blanker icon
again will not tum the accessory off but simply bring the Blanker win-
dow to the forefront again.
The above three commodities are the ones I personally find the most
useful. As such I tend to have them running all the time. So, to that
end I ensure that they are firmly in place in the WBStartup drawer on
the Workbench disk.

WBStartup stands for Workbench

Startup and any files that are stored in
here will be executed automatically
when you tum on or reboot your machine. Normally, on a standard
vanilla Workbench disk, the WBStartup folder is empty.
To use the automatic startup facility you simply drag the tool or tools
you want to run at startup into the WBStartup folder - in this case
some Commodities - as required. However the snag here is that there
will probably not be enough room on the Workbench disk to accom-
modate them all.
If you have a hard disk system then you can simply drag them into the
WBStartup folder without too many problems. On a copy of your
Workbench disk you may find that you will have to rid yourself of a
few of the tools that you are not using. Ensure you do this on the
backup, working copy, not the master copy!
If you do not wish to do this but would like to see how WBStartup
works, copy a useful tool into the drawer that is already on the
Workbench disk - Clock for instance.
To see the tool or tools auto-launch, press Amiga-Amiga-Ctrl. If you
wish to remove a file from the drawer that has originated from the
Workbench disk, do remember to do so by copying it back to its
source drawer.

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #38: Using the WBStartup drawer.

Using the WBStartup Drawer is simplicity itself.
Just drag the files you wish to run at startup into it.
To automatically startup the three Commodities AutoPoint, Blanker
and ClickToFront: First open the Commodities drawer and position
it neatly by the side of the WBStartup window.
Select the three files by
clicking on them once whilst
keeping the Shift key pressed
down. As you select the last
item drag the
, three icons into
the WBStartup
window and
release the
mouse button.
When the
transfer process
is completed,
restart your
Amiga by
pressing down
the two Amiga
keys and Ctrl
together.
Note: Depending on your setup you may not have enough space
to copy all three files onto the Workbench disk, in which case try
one at a time or delete unused files from your Workbench
working disk - not the master disk!

All Commodities can be controlled by a

tool called Exchange - using this you can
control each of the Commodities in use,
allowing you to disable, kill or launch new ones through a simple win-
dow with standard gadgets.
The Exchange program is located in the Commodities drawer. Double-
clicking on Exchange displays the Commodities Exchange window.
You can run and add any of the other Commodities programs simply by
double-clicking on the relevant icon. They will be added to the
Exchange list and, should you open the Commodities Exchange control
panel again, you will see them listed.

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 Amiga Insider Guide

We'll come back to the use of the Commodities Exchange program

when we have had a look at what the Commodities programs supplied
on the Extras disk do. These are located in the Commodities drawer
which is to be found inside the Tools drawer.
The Exchange control program window may well be self-explanatory
to you at this stage. Certainly it is no more complex than any other
Workbench orientated window we have encountered to date.
Each commodity that is running is listed in the Available Commodities
window which is positioned roughly centrally in the Exchange win-
dow itself. If none are listed then none are running.
You can select any commodity in the Available Commodities window
simply by clicking on it once. When you do this the Information panel
relating to the selected commodity will show some detail about its
function.
When a commodity is run it will be enabled and therefore be fully
functional. It can be disabled by clicking on the Active/Inactive cycle
gadget on the righthand window. This is useful when you want to stop
the functionality of the commodity but anticipate needing to use it
again shortly, in which case you can select it in the Available
Commodities window and select Active again. To kill off a commodity
totally you select the commodity in the Available Commodities win-
dow and then select the Remove gadget.
The Show Interface gadget brings the window for the selected com-
modity to the front of the screen. If the window is closed Show
Interface opens it. This gadget is only applicable therefore to the com-
modities that have windows available to them, namely Blanker, and
FKey. Once displayed the window can be hidden by selecting the Hide
Interface gadget.
In the Project menu in the menu bar you'll find Hide and Quit which
affect Exchange itself. Hide removes the Exchange window from the
screen - it can be recalled again by pressing <Ctd-Alt-Help>. Quit
removes the Exchange program from memory, however any resident
commodities already in use will still be available. The net effect of
Quit is that you cannot hot-key the Exchange window into life with
the <Ctd-Alt-Help> combination, you have to run the Exchange pro-
gram by double-clicking on its icon in the Commodities Drawer of the
Extras disk.

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #39: Using Commodity Exchange.

The Exchange window allows you control over all active commodities
whether they open a window or not. All currently loaded commodities
are listed in a scrolling window. Click on any name in the window
once to select it. Information regarding its function is displayed.
After selection a commodity can be made active or inactive
and may also be removed from memory.

Selecting Remove will remove the commodity completely.

When the Exchange window is hidden it can be redisplayed by
pressing the Ctrl, Aft and Help keys down together.

FKey allows you to assign a string of

characters to a specific function key. It is
intended to make repetitive tasks, like
entering AmigaDOS commands, easier by assigning them to function
keys - the grey numbered keys across the top of the keyboard.
When you double-click on the FKey icon its window is displayed. You
can assign strings to every function key and shifted function key (that is
the same function key pressed in combination with the Shift key), thus
providing up to 20 functions for definition.
There is a cycle gadget which allows you to select from a series of func-
tions available from the function keys, these include Run program and
Insert Text. For instance you could run your favourite program directly
simply by pressing a function key. For example, to run DPAINT or a sim-
ilar program by pressing Alt-Fl you would take the four simple steps:
• Click on New Key gadget
• Enter the following into the string gadget:
alt f1
• Select the Run Program option from the Cycle cycle gadget.
• Enter the name (including path if any) of the program into the
Command Parameters string gadget, ie:
DPAINT
 Amiga Insider Guide

This and any further definitions can be saved using the Save Define
Keys option from FKeys Project menu. When Alt-Fl is pressed the
function defined is carried out.
When you have entered your desired strings, select the Hide option
from the Project menu to remove the FKey window. To use a key to
issue an AmigaDOS command, first either select Execute Command
from the Workbench menu or open an AmigaDOS Shell. Then press
the desired function key. If the command is assigned to a shifted func-
tion key remember to hold down the Shift key as you press the
required function key.
You are not limited to using AmigaDOS commands, you can assign
any text you require to the keys. Thus, if you are using ED or similar
and have trouble spelling certain words, you could assign each to a
function key and simply select the required function key at each point.
The FKey strings that you enter into the text gadgets are not, by
default, saved. Thus when you turn off or reboot your Amiga any FKey
settings will be lost. To retain your definitions you can Save from the
Project menu.

This Commodity does not open a win-

dow. When run it effectively disables the
Caps Lock key on the keyboard. Other
keys such as the Shift key remain functional.
When pressed and turned on Caps Lock forces all keystrokes to capital
letters. Thus if an a is typed, A will be produced.
With NoCapsLock in force capital letters can still be produced, by
holding the Shift key down when pressing the appropriate letter on the
keyboard. NoCapsLock can be disabled or killed from the Exchange
window or by running it again, ie by double-clicking on its icon.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #40: Using FKey

The FKey window has a
number of simple but
effective gadgets that
allow access to a wide
range of user-definable
features at the press
of a function key.
Programs - including
AmigaDOS commands -
can be made available.
Click on New Key and
enter the text alt f1 into
the string gadget. Click
on the Command cycle
gadget until RUN Program
is displayed. Enter
STATUS in the Command
Parameters string gadget.
Text strings can be
assigned to keys in the
same way, simply cycle
through the Command
gadget until Insert
Text is displayed.
Save by closing the
window.
To use the STATUS command simply
hold down the Alt key and press
F1 before releasing both keys.
The STATUS command will be
run and its output displayed in
its own FKey window.
Amiga Insider Guide
 Icons make the Amiga both distinctive and
intuitive to use.

Learn how to edit and design your own versions

to add that personal touch, using the Amiga's
very own software to do the job!

ne of the features that makes the Amiga unique, is its

icons. They are distinctive and intuitive to use. They
have a look which tries to approximate the type of tool
or project they are associated with. There are five basic icon
types - although you may not have seen all of these to date.
You may recall from an earlier chapter that 'icons are not
stored as part of the original program or file they create. They
are stored as .info (dot-info) files. For instance the icon associ-
ated with the Shell is in fact called:
Shell. info
You can see these and other .info files simply by opening a
Shell window and typing:
DIR
to list all the files, picking out the ones with the .info postfix.
These hold the graphic information which displays the picture
on screen and also the information or pointer linking them to a
particular file.
 AmigQ Insider Guide

If you examine the listing in relation to the Workbench disk window

itself you will see that there is a .info file for each of the icons that are
displayed.

What might not be apparent at this

point is that there are several basic icon
types although the typical on-screen
appearance of the icon may change. These basic icon types are:
Disk
Drawer
Tool
Project
Trashcan
A Disk icon represents any disk that is available or accessible by the
Workbench. The Ram Disk and Workbench disk icons are the stan-
dard format though, as you may have already noticed from third-party
applications, icons can be vastly different and may even be very much
larger! When you open a disk icon, a window will always appear on
the screen displaying any icon files that are available in the disk's root
directory.
A Drawer icon represents a subdivision of the disk's storage area.
When a drawer icon is opened a window will appear displaying any
icon files that are held within the drawer's directory. The System
drawer is a typical drawer icon, however the Prefs icon is also a draw-
er icon!
A Tool icon represents a program. The appearance of these is normally
unique. When you open a tool icon you start the program it is linked
to. The Clock and Calculator icons are examples of Tool icons.
A Project icon represents a file that has been created by a tool, ie a
program. Again it may be very specific in appearance but as a general
rule it will look similar to the tool icon from which it was created.
When you open a Project icon it will normally first load the tool which
created it and then the file associated with the project.
The Trashcan icon represents an area on the disk where unwanted
items are stored until you decide to discard them by emptying the
trash!
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #41: Icon types and operation.

There are five basic icon types although
icons of the same type do not always look
the same. That said, icons of the same type
always carry out the same action when
double-clicked.
The Disk icon - as used for the Workbench disk - will display a
window showing the files and drawers it contains.

A Drawer icon normally - though not always - takes

the shape of a drawer. When it is opened it will
display a Window showing any icons it may contain.

A Tool icon can take many guises. However,

when double-clicked, it will normally run a program
- a tool - that can be used to perform a job.
The Clock and Calculator are examples of tools.

A Project icon is generated by a tool. For example, a

text file generated by a wordprocessor. The Project
icon will often look similar to the Tool icon that
created it. When the Project icon is double-clicked it
will normally load the tool that created it and load
the information in the project into the tool.

The Trashcan icon is unique - as is the Trashcan

which is itself a drawer. Like any other drawer
it may be opened to display a window.
Note that this is also called Garbage in
the [conEdit icon type menu.

Supplied on your Amiga Workbench disk

is the means to enable you to create, edit
and even personalise your own icons,
either starting from existing icons or from scratch for new projects
you are yourself creating. With just a little imagination you could
transform your Workbench to make it look like nobody else's.
The key to achieving this is IconEdit, which can be found in the Tools
directory on the Extras disk.

----11------
 Amiga Insider Guide

When you double-click on the IconEdit

icon it reveals its own window along
with a full set of menus. By default the
IconEdit window contains a magnified version of an icon, a hammer-
head, in the drawing area, a colour menu to its right and a toolbox of
drawing tools. The extreme right of the window also contains an actu-
al size image of the current icon - you may already have noticed this.
From this point you can create your own icon using the hammerhead
as a base to work from or, alternatively edit an existing icon by loading
it into lconEdit, or perhaps clear the field to start from scratch.
If you wish to create your own icon from scratch locate the Clear gad-
get at the bottom of the drawing tools and click to clear the drawing
area to a grid pattern. This is useful for guiding your drawing tools
especially since icons are usually pretty structured designs. However,
it can be turned off via the Settings menu.
Each of the grid squares represent a pixel and these can be set in any
of the four Workbench colours - the desired colour being selected
from the colour menu. You can clear the background to a particular
colour simply by selecting the colour required and then clicking on
Clear. You can then select a desired colour and click the left mouse
button within the drawing area to set points and thereby build up your
design. The point to be set should be positioned centrally within the
cross-hair cursor. To aid you further the coordinates of the cross-hair
cursor are displayed in the window title bar and run from 1,1 in the
top lefthand comer to 80,0 in the bottom right. Therefore the desired
area is 80 pixels wide and 40 deep.
One important gadget to be aware of at the off is the Undo button.
Pressing this will undo your last action - but only the last one.
The toolbox below the colour menu provides six simple but effective
drawing tools which are easily learnt by a bit of experimentation. The
tools are:
Freehand This is a sort of perpetual draw tool and while you
keep the mouse button down it will draw a continuous
line of pixels in the currently selected colour as you
move the mouse over the drawing area.
Continuous Freehand
This gadget is similar to the Freehand gadget
described above except that it will always produce a
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #42: Using IconEdit.

The Magnified View Area: Drawing The Actual Size Preview
actions are performed here by Area: Your icon design
positioning the tip of the point and is displayed actual size
clicking. The point is then set in the in this area - in this
selected colour - points can be erased way you can see how it
by using the background colour. will look on-screen.

The Colour Palette: The Toolbox: The Move Arrows: Click on

Click on any Six basic tools the arrow heads to position
colour to select it. are provided your icon design. Use with
The selected colour for your use. care - scrolling an icon or
is displayed at part of it off the magnified
the top. view area erases it.

continuous line. That said, to create the continuous line

you must move more sedately than you might for the
aforementioned Freehand gadget.
Circle This gadget allows you to draw a circle in the selected
colour. To draw a a circle click at the point in the draw-
ing area where you wish the centre of the circle to be.
Then drag the Pointer away from the point to create the
circle size you wish. You can move the Pointer to and
fro from the centre to alter the size of the circle. You can
even extend the circle off screen. Once you release the
mouse button the circle will be set. Note that the icon of
the gadget has a filled half. If you select this you will get

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

a circle that is filled in the selected colour. If you select

the unfilled segment you will get only the circle out-
line. In the case of the latter, if you draw the circle and
then press the Ctrl key before releasing the mouse but-
ton the thickness of the circle outline will be doubled!
Box The box gadget works in much the same way as Circle
to create rectangles except that the initial mouse click
sets the top left comer of the square and you then drag
down and across to the desired bottom righthand cor-
ner. In addition to doubling the line thickness as indi-
cated above you can also create a 3D box effect (simi-
lar to that shown around Workbench icons) by holding
down the Alt key before releasing the mouse button.
Line Not surprisingly this allows you to draw a line at any
angle. Simply click at the start point and drag the
Pointer to the desired end point. If you press Ctrl
before releasing the mouse button the line thickness
will be doubled.
Fill The fill gadget allows you to fill an enclosed area with
a selected colour. For example you could draw a rec-
tangle in black on a white background and then in-fill
it with blue. To do this simply select the fill colour, the
fill gadget and move the Pointer inside the enclosed
area before clicking the left mouse button.

lconEdit provides you with a total of

seven menus which provide between
them a host of useful features. The func-
tion of many of these should be reasonably clear to you as we have
encountered options with similar actions before. Some of the more
erudite functions are explained below.
The Project menu is a standard interface that allows you to open and
save icon files for editing or creation. The Save As Default option
allows you to design your own default tools and save them. For exam-
ple, the default tool icon is the hammerhead icon - you could change
this by using the Type menu to select the desired default tool and then
edit it. . For instance the default disk icon - as used by the Ram Disk
etc - has no colour. You could change the black tick into a blue one as
follows:

-------1-------
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #43: The IconEdit Toolbox.

Freehand Gadget Continuous Freehand

Gadget

Circle Gadget Box Gadget

Line Gadget Fill Gadget

1. Select Disk from the Type menu.

2. Select New from the Project menu.
3. Select the blue colour from the colour gadget.
4. Click on each black pixel comprising the tick to make it blue.
5. Select the Save As Default Icon option from the Project menu.
(The default information is saved to our Workbench disk.)
6. Insert a new disk into a disk drive.
If you have proceeded correctly the icon representing the new disk - and
all subsequent disk icons - should now have a blue tick!
The Edit Menu introduces the concept of the clipboard. In reality this is
simply an area of Amiga memory into which images can be held tem-
porarily. Like the Ram Disk it is volatile so its contents are lost when you
close lconEdit or reboot. Note also that only one image can be held in
the clipboard, so loading a second will cause the original or previous
image to be overwritten.
The Highlights menu includes the Image option that can be used to cre-
ate a second icon to be shown when the original is displayed (this is
explained shortly). It also includes two other interesting options
Complement and Backfill. If you select Complement when designing an
icon (with the Normal radio button checked) then when you select the
icon it will be highlighted, including the background of the box. You can
see the physical effect of this by clicking once on the Ram Disk icon for
instance. The Backfill option works in much the same fashion except
that the background box is not highlighted.
 Amiga Insider Guide

A word of warning. Those big black arrows in the corner of the

IconEdit window can erase your work if you are not careful. While
they are great for getting an icon in the right position on-screen, if any
part of the icon goes off-screen it will be lost. Take care in using them
and don't scroll too fast.

You may have noticed two other button

gadgets in the IconEdit window -
Normal and Selected. As a matter of
course you will normally work with the Normal button selected.
If you have used third party applications or opened an icon from a
magazine then you will have probably noticed that when you selected
the icon it changed to a new icon. In other words there was an image
for the unselected icon and a different image for the selected icon.
This is quite easy to achieve and essentially just involves you creating
a second icon image to go with the first. To do this you will first need
to create the first - normal - icon. With this loaded you will need to
select the image option from the Highlight menu (part of the IconEdit
suite of menus in the menu bar). Then you can click the Selected radio
button which will then allow you to create a new, ie second icon. Once
completed you can save this using Save from the project menu. Now
when you click on your icon design it will take on its new selected
form.

Creating simple but effective icons is

quite an art and it may take you a good
deal of practice to produce designs you
find really appealing. For the most part, if you should concentrate on
editing existing icons so that your Workbench becomes a more per-
sonal affair.
Remember though to only edit those on the working copy of your
Workbench disk.
Remember also that icons should be recognisable for what they repre-
sent and you may have noticed the real-size picture which is displayed
in the top righthand corner of the IconEdit window. Keep glancing
across at this to see if your magnified design is making visual sense at
the reduced size .

............11............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #44: Creating an Icon from scratch.

Open IconEdit, select Black as a colour (by clicking on the black box in
the colour palette) and then click on the Clear gadget to set the
drawing area to black. Then select white as the current colour.
Select the outline Box
gadget and drag out a
simple rectangle roughly
central in the screen - I
used coordinates 30,15 to
70,35. Select blue as the
current colour.
Select the Fill gadget and
move the Pointer inside the
newly drawn rectangle
before pressing the
lefthand mouse button. This will fill in the rectangle with blue.
Locate the four large arrows at the bottom righthand corner of the
window and press on the one pointing right about 6-8 times to nudge
the screen to the right. The arrows can be used to enable you to
accurately position a design, for instance in the centre of the screen or
at the top left - as you wish. However, in doing so it has created a band
of grey down the lefthand side of the icon. This can be left if you wish
or alternatively you can set it to black or another colour.
For example: Select blue as the current colour.
Select the Fill gadget and click in the uncoloured area.
The final image on screen should look something like that shown.
The next step is to name and save the icon. From the Project menu
select the Save option to display a standard Workbench file requester.
Select the Volumes gadget and then Ram Disk.
In the File gadget enter
a suitable filename, ie
Test/con.info. Select the Save
gadget. Open the Ram Disk
window to see the icon in its
full glory!
To use your new design
ensure the Workbench disk
is in the internal drive and
enter the following line of AmigaDOS, either via the Execute Command
option or in the AmigaShell:
COPY FROM DFO:Utilities/MuItiView TO RAM:Test/con
Now if you double-click on the Test/con icon you will find that
MultiView has been launched. This is because in the copying process
we renamed MultiView to Test/con. When the Test/con was double-
clicked on, it looked for a tool called Test/con, found it, and ran it!
 Amiga Insider Guide

----11-----
Put the power of your AmigaDOS scripts into the
friendly Workbench environment with IconX.

Plus some example scripts with which you can try

out your programming skills.

eing able to run a program from the Workbench

requires that it has an icon to represent it. As should be
""""'""""/'",, apparent from your understanding of the Workbench
disk there are a lot more directories and files on it than are
actually displayed in the Workbench disk window when it is
opened.
But what do you do if you want to run an AmigaDOS script
from the Workbench? You now have the basic knowledge to
create a simple AmigaDOS script using ED and you also know
how to create and edit an icon using IconEdit. The question is:
How do I tie the two together so that when I click on the icon it
will run the script? The answer might at first sight seem to be
simply ensuring that the script and the icon have a similar
name, and that the icon has the .info postfix. The correct
answer is that it isn't that simple and that to run a script from
the Workbench via an icon you must use a special AmigaDOS
tool file called ICONX.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Although it is located in the C directory

along with all the AmigaDOS com-
mands, ICONX isn't a command, it is a
tool which can be used to assist in the running and managing of files.
In this instance ICONX provides the means to allow your own script
files to be run and executed from the Workbench by clicking on the
icons that you have chosen to associate them with.
ICONX ensures that when you double-click on the icon you have cho-
sen, the script associated with it is run. To allow this to happen you
need first to choose an icon .info file that lets you define the default
tool used by the program it is to run. This information can be found in
the Info box associated with the icon. In other words select the icon
concerned and then select the Information option from the
Workbench Icon Menu. However, this process requires a much more
detailed knowledge of the workings of the Workbench than we will go
into here. The simplest method is to use the icon file associated with
the Shell.
First create a simple script file that can be used as the worked exam-
ple. As always, whenever trying out a new technique or idea, keep
everything simple to ensure that you don't make any errors. Then once
you have mastered the particular technique you can go for it!
Use ED to create the following file:
CD RAM:
ED Tester
Now enter the following three lines into the file:
ECHO "Tester - the DIY Workbench Script File"
DIR DIRS
ECHO "The End - Returning to the Workbench"
Save the file and then copy the ShelLinfo file across from the
Workbench disk to the Ram Disk and rename this Tester.info:
COpy FROM DFO:System/Shell.info TO RAM:Tester.info
If you open the Ram Disk window you will find that the standard Shell
icon is in position but is called Tester. Select this by clicking on it once
only and open the Information box available from the Workbench
Icons menu. The Default Tool will be set to:
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #45: Attaching ICONX to a script.

You can run an AmigaDOS

script using an icon by
attaching the icon assigned
to the script to ICONX. The
script becomes the project
and ICONX the tool to run it.
Copy the Shell icon file,
renaming it as the . info file
for the script.
Select the new script icon
and then choose the
Information option from the
Icons menu.

Locate the Default tool- this will have SYS:System/CLl defined as the
default tool. Click in this string gadget and delete the contents.

Enter the new default tool as:

C:ICONX
Click the Save gadget to
confirm your settings.
Double-click on the new icon
to run the script using ICONX.
Under Workbench3 a number
of Tool Types have been
defined for you. Before saving
click on the one starting
WINDOW= to bring it into the
string gadget at the bottom.

Edit the size and name accordingly, ie

WINDOW=CON: 1 00/1 00/42 S/lOO/Tester/CLOSE
Double-click on the script icon to run it.

SYS:System/CLI
Click in this box to insert the cursor, delete the line and type this:
C:ICONX
Select Save and then run the Tester script file by double-clicking on the
newly created icon. The ICONX window will be opened on screen and
the script file will be executed within it.
 Amiga Insider Guide

The script file has run its course inside a standard Shell window.
However, it is generally much neater to specify your own window as
this can then be made of the correct size to suit your requirements, be
positioned on the screen at the point you wish and have the title of
your choice. This can be done, but you will first need to call up the
Icons Info box as described above if it is not already available.
In the Tool Types window there should be a definition along the lines
of:
WINDOW=CON:O/SO//130/AmigaShell/CLOSE
If you click on this it will be displayed in the string gadget underneath.
What this command defines is the size and position of the window
that the program will produce. The information is carried in the for-
mat CON:x/y/width/height/AmigaShell/CLOSE. The first two figures
determine the coordinates of the top lefthand corner of the output
window. The next two supply the width and height. Measurements are
in pixels which you will notice aren't square! When no figures are sup-
plied a default is used. Experiment with them to see what I mean.
AmigaShell and CLOSE also pass on window information although
this needn't concern us at present.
It is important that the first word WINDOW= is entered in capital let-
ters otherwise it will not work. What you have done here is to inform
the IconX handler that you wish to use your own window details. Save
this and then double-click on the Script icon. Now IconX will run the
Script script inside the Shell just defined, roughly central on the
screen.
You can add a second TOOLTYPE command should you so wish. The
command DELAY allows you to determine how long the window stays
open on screen. For example, to set a delay of ten seconds from com-
pleting the script file to closing the window, add the following to the
TOOLTYPES:
DELAY=600
DELAY works in units of 1I60th of a second, therefore this will cause a
delay of ten seconds. If you prefer you can enter:
DELAY=O
and then the window will remain open until you click on the close
gadget.

-----11-----
Amiga Insider Guide

AmigaDOS provides you with the ability

to pass parameters to script files when
they are executed from the command line.
The parameters are included on the command line and obviously after
the command name. For example, a script file called Test might expect
two parameters to be passed to it and could therefore be executed with:
EXECUTE TEST Today Tonight
What this is saying, in effect, is run the script file TEST using the infor-
mation supplied: Today Tonight. Extending this capability to your script
files is quite straightforward and requires the inclusion of key variables
at the start of the file. Key variables take the form:
.key <varONE>, [<varTWO>,<etc>]
The start of the script file must start with a .key - this is very important
and there must be no space before it. This must then be followed with
the names of the variables you wish to hold the information that is to be
passed into it. The term variable is applied to special containers which
can be used to hold information and you can have as many of these as
you can fit on the line, each separated by a comma. The only rule to
remember here is that the variable names must be positioned either side
of the comma - there should not be any spaces, otherwise AmigaDOS
will assume that there are no more variables to come, regardless of
whether there are or not!
In the example of TEST given above, the first variable in the list (typi-
cally varONE) would be used to hold Today and the second defined vari-
able name (typically varTWO) would be used to hold Tonight. Note that
the variable names you use are arbitrary - use what you wish - and
these names do not change. What does change is the information that
can be placed into them, thus the term variables. Try this following
example:
Use ED and the Ram Disk to create a simple text file called TEST con-
taining the following four lines:
.key name1,name2
ECHO "The first name was <name1>"
ECHO "The second name was <name2>"
ECHO "Hello <name1> and <name2>!"
 Amiga Insider Guide

The variable names are inserted into the program at the desired posi-
tion and are identified as variables rather than commands or tests by
being enclosed within the chevron brackets < and >. As the example
shows, they can be used in the program more than once, in fact as
many times as needed. Run the program passing a couple of names to
it en route separating each by a single space:
EXECUTE TEST Marc Sarah
The reply will come back as follows:
The first name was Marc
The second name was Sarah
Hello Marc and Sarah!
This principle can be applied to any AmigaDOS command that
requires information to be supplied by the user. For example, you
could jazz up the COpy command by using some screen messages:
.key in,out
ECHO "COPYing from <in> to <out>. Please wait .. "
COPY FROM <in> TO <out>
ECHO "All done. Call again soon"
Assuming you call the file ECOPY (Easy COPY), you could copy the
ED file from the Workbench disk to the Ram Disk in the following
way:
EXECUTE ECOPY DFO:C/ED RAM:
There is a quick way to avoid having to type in EXECUTE every time
you want to run a script file such as TEST or ECOPY. By typing in
PROTECT TEST S ADD or PROTECT ECOPY S ADD as appropriate
the computer understands that each time it encounters TEST or
ECOPY as a command it is to execute the associated script file.
Experiment and see. Why this works is tied up in the subject of script
flags which we won't explore.
Amiga Insider Guide

The above examples are fine, but what if

you run the program without passing
any parameters? Well that will depend
on the program, but it will still run. Any information that is left out will
set the associated variables with a null string, which means just that -
nothing!
An alternative way around this is to end a predetermined default using
the $ character. For instance, in the first example given you might put
default values in the following way:
.key <name1>,<name2>
ECHO "The first name was <name1$not given>"
ECHO "The second name was <name2$not given>"
ECHO "Hello <name1$not given> and <name2$not given>!"
Now, if one or both variables are not supplied with information the text
after the $ and up until the closing angular bracket will be used instead.
The other scenario that might arise is where too many items are passed
as parameters for a command. In this case AmigaDOS will generate an
error message. For example using:
TEST Marc Sarah Tessie
would in this example return:
EXECUTE: Parameters unsuitable for key "name1,name2"

The ability to be able to take it or leave it

is useful, but it may also be a hindrance.
You may want the information and two
options are available for use within a key definition to allow you to make
a key variable optional or compulsory. The two options are:
Option Effect
a Required argument (compulsory)
k Keyword (optional)
These options can be embedded into the key definition separated from
(and after) the variable name by a slash character. For example:
.key Name1/a,Name2/k
 Amiga Insider Guide

In the above example Namel is compulsory and must be supplied, but

Name2 is optional and may be be ignored.
To see how this works start a new Ram Disk based ED file called
NAMES and enter the following few lines:
.key Name1/a,Name2/k
ECHO "Name one was <Name1>"
ECHO "Name two was <Name2>"
Run this first with:
EXECUTE NAMES Marc
the program will respond with:
Name one was Marc
Name two was
Trying:
EXECUTE NAMES
will create an error message because the compulsory parameter has
not been included. Try:
EXECUTE NAMES Marc Sarah
This will also cause an error. The reason is that to use an optional
variable you must specify the name of the variable and then follow it
by the value to be assigned to it. For example:
EXECUTE NAMES Marc Name2 Sarah
will respond correctly:
Name one was Marc
Name two was Sarah
This might appear to be daft at first sight but there is a good reason.
Consider the NAMES program which has been extended to give:
.key Name1/a,Name2/k,Name3/k
ECHO "Name one was <Name1>"
ECHO "Name two was <Name2>"
ECHO "Name three was <Name3>"
Amiga Insider Guide

In this scenario there are two optional variables, now it becomes

imperative to be able to distinguish between them, particularly as you
wish to pass information to the variable Name3 and not Name2. For
instance:
EXECUTE NAMES Marc Name3 Sarah
This will produce:
Name one was Marc
Name two was
Name three was Sarah
The reason and importance for having to be able to specify optional
variable names is clearly important. Note that the $ facility is not
available to a variable that is defined as a keyword.

We saw above that if a value is not

passed on the command line to any par-
ticular variable, then it can have a
default used with the aid of the dollar operator, $. This is fine but it
has drawbacks. If you wish to use the variable several times in the
body of a program then you must also insert the default message at
each point as appropriate - tiresome.
Also, we have not discovered any mechanism for allowing variables to
be defined within the body of the script file. The .DEF function over-
comes this. The following short script (called MESSAGE) illustrates
how it can be incorporated into the body of a program:
.KEY message
; define default message
.DEF message = "non existent!"
; now echo it to screen
ECHO "Message was <message>"
Now execute this:
EXECUTE MESSAGE
and the following will be printed on screen:
Message was non existent!

............·11............·
 Amiga Insider Guide

But if you supply a parameter on the command line as follows:

EXECUTE MESSAGE "all right!"
Then the following will be printed:
Message was all right!
The .DEF function is intelligent, it tests to see if the .KEY variable is
empty and if so assigns the new value. If the variable is not empty, ie it
had some information passed to it from the command line, it leaves it
well alone.
Variables can be defined in programs using this method, however the
variable must first be defined with .KEY whether you intend to pass it
information or not. The following program, called CONSTANT,
demonstrates how this would work:
.KEY one,two,three
; Now define constants
.DEF one="ONE (1)"
.DEF two="TWO (2)"
.DEF three="THREE (3)"
ECHO "<one>, <two>, <three>"
When executed this will produce:
ONE (1), TWO (2), THREE (3)
As easy as one, two three!
 The best possible combination is a mixture of
Workbench and AmigaDOS. In fact the use of
just a few AmigaDOS commands can make your
work load so much lighter.

Read on to fmd out which ones!

've mentioned in a few places before now that the best pos-
sible use of your Amiga is made by using a combination of
Workbench and AmigaDOS. This chapter is a look at some
of those particular AmigaDOS commands which you will find
very useful when working from the Workbench.

One particular problem that

you will always encounter,
especially when using a single
disk drive, is the need to continually have to replace the
Workbench disk whenever you wish to do something. As you
may recall, the main reason for this is that AmigaDOS com-
mands are stored as transient command files on disk. For
example, when you type DIR at the AmigaShell (or for that
matter open a disk window from the Desktop) AmigaDOS
looks in the C: assignment (usually the C directory on the
Workbench disk), finds the file called DIR and then loads this
into memory before executing it. Once the command has com-
 Amiga Insider Guide

pleted its task, AmigaDOS forgets about it. Clearly the whole process
of command execution could be speeded up if the command was
retained in memory, thereby obviating the need to load it into memory
each time it is needed. This can also be an advantage with a dual flop-
py drive system. The Shell RESIDENT command allows this and has
the following syntax:
RESIDENT <filename>
The DIR command can be made resident by issuing the following
command:
RESIDENT C:DIR
Note that RESIDENT does not know where to look for the file, so the
full file path should be given unless the file is in the current directory.
To see that DIR is now truly memory resident, catalogue the Ram Disk
with:
DIR RAM:
and notice that the Workbench disk is not accessed at all and also how
much quicker the whole process has become.
Note that not all commands can be made resident. However most of
the files in the Workbench C directory (that is the directory that con-
tains most of the AmigaDOS commands) can be used. If a program
cannot be made resident it will not be loaded and a message to that
effect will be displayed.
If you forget which files are currently resident you can obtain a list of
them simply by typing:
RESIDENT
on its own. AmigaDOS will then display a list of the commands cur-
rently installed in memory. This will also display a list of all internal
commands.
If you wish to remove a command from memory, ie make it non-resi-
dent, then use the command with the option REMOVE tagged onto
the end. For example, to remove LIST from the resident list (assuming
it has been made resident in the first place):
RESIDENT LIST REMOVE
AmigaDOS internal commands cannot be removed in this way.
However, they can be disabled by using the REMOVE option and this
is reflected in the RESIDENT list. Note that once a command has been
Amiga Insider Guide

disabled in this way it cannot be re-enabled other than by rebooting the

machine.

You can customise the AmigaShell

prompt to display information to suit
your very own needs using the PROMPT
command, which has the following syntax:
PROMPT <name>
In AmigaDOS two special pseudo-variables are defined as follows:
%n Display the eLI number.
%s Display current directory path.
The default value of PROMPT is:
PROMPT %n.%s>
If you wish to display only the current directory path and not the win-
dow number, you can issue:
PROMPT %5>
Text can also be incorporated freely as part of the prompt definition.
For example:
PROMPT "Shell %n >"
would display a prompt which looks a bit like this:
Shell 1 >

Note that if you wish to include spaces as part of the PROMPT com-
mand definition you must enclose the entire text within double quotes.

You will probably already be aware that

some AmigaDOS commands can become
quite long and involved. Even relatively
short commands can become tedious to enter and re-enter if you are
using them frequently. AmigaDOS provides a command that allows
you to rename other commands, making it possible to give even the
longest and most complex of command sequences a one letter name!
The command in question is called ALIAS and it takes the following
form:
ALIAS <new command> <existing command>

----11-----
 Amiga Insider Guide

Let's look at a few simple examples first. Changing between DFO: and
the Ram Disk involves two words apiece, namely:
CD DFO:
CD RAM:
We could make aliases for both of these. To do this, first decide on the
new command aliases you wish to apply to each one. CO and CR for
C(hange to DFO: and C(hange to) R(am Disk) might be appropriate,
therefore:
ALIAS CO CD DFO:
ALIAS CR CD RAM:
Typing CR or CO will now have the desired effect.
ALIAS DO BIR DFO:
ALIAS DR DIR RAM:
could also be used to make the cataloguing of the Ram Disk and DFO:
that bit easier.
If you find yourself continually swapping between two directories on a
disk drive, say the Utilities and the System directories, this could be
catered for as follows:
ALIAS UTLS CD DFO:Utilities
ALIAS SYST CD DFO:System
In particular, a well arranged and well structured disk hierarchy may
allow you to find files on it quickly, but at the expense of long CD
commands. The ALIAS command allows you to assign a simple name
of your choosing to the most complex of commands.
Some commands such as COpy require the inclusion of parameters
which will always change. This has been catered for by allowing the []
(square brackets) combination to inform AmigaDOS that a parameter
will be passed at this point. For example, let's create a command that
will always copy a file to the Ram Disk from the current disk drive.
The name CRAM (Copy RAM) will be used as the alias:
ALIAS CRAM COpy FROM [ ] TO RAM:
To copy the Shell file to the Ram Disk we could use:
CRAM Shell

..............111·............·
Amiga Insider Guide

To copy a file from any device, simply include the device name as per
normal:
CRAM DFO:Test
would copy a file called Test from the disk in DFO:. If you wish to see a
list of current ALIAS commands just type ALIAS by itself. When you do
this you will see a number of extra aliases. These are in fact used by
AmigaDOS itself.
One point to remember about ALIAS commands is that they are Shell
specific. An ALIAS command created in one Shell is not available for
use in any other Shell.

As you learn to customise your own work

disks (covered in Chapter 22) you will
invariably find the need to open additional
Shell windows. Without the Workbench loaded there is no access to the
Shell icon interface to do this. The NEWSHELL command is provided
for this purpose.
The syntax of the command is:
NEWSHELL CON:<x/y/width/height/name>
Try this example for yourself:
NEWSHELL CON:10/10/500/100/SecondShell/CLOSE
A second Shell window will appear covering most of the top of the
screen, leaving enough space to the right to allow the Workbench icons
to be displayed. The title SecondShell will be displayed along with
something like the following inside the Shell itself:
New Shell process 2
Workbench3:>
This Shell is now the active Shell and any typing will now appear inside
this window until another is selected. This window could be used to
allow direct access to the Ram Disk by typing:
CD RAM:
You will now effectively have a window on the Ram Disk and one on the
internal drive. Handy in itself.

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

You will probably now already have

realised the tedium that can come with
having to type and retype long directory
path roots. While the use of the Shell's editing facilities alleviate this to
some degree, long path roots can become the proverbial pain in the
perineum. The command ASSIGN can be used to simplify access to
various locations.
We used an example of the ALIAS command earlier in this book to
assign a short name to a long path name, however ALIAS forms part
of the Shell and can only be used from within it. It is no good unless
you are running the application or program from that Shell. ASSIGN
solves this problem in one fell swoop and has the added advantage in
that it may be included in your startup and script files as required. The
syntax of the command is:
ASSIGN <name> <path>
If you found yourself continually having to access two directories in
the Ram Disk which had the tedious paths:
RAM:Projects/Book/TextFiles/Edit
RAM:Projects/Book/TextFiles/UnEd
then you could simply assign a name to each of them as follows:
ASSIGN Better: RAM:Projects/Book/TextFiles/Edit
ASSIGN Original: RAM:Projects/Book/TextFiles/unEd
Then if you wanted to load a file called ChapOne from
RAM:Projects/Book/TextFiles/UnEdited you could do so simply by
using Original:ChapOne as the file name.
Finally if you wish to see what names the Workbench assigns to vari-
ous paths and devices you can do so by typing:
ASSIGN
on its own .

..............111·............·
 Card sharks will recognise the term Jokers Wild
and we can apply the same principle to me
management on the A1200.

Read on for enlightenment on the many clever

ways to copy.

f you are looking to copy a block of files then clearly using

the Workbench would look to be the simplest option. You
can group the files together, lasso them using the marquee
technique and then drag them into the destination window.
But the problem is that this will only work with files that have
icons associated with them. What do you do if you want to
copy files that do not have icons associated with them? Well
there are in fact two options. The main one is what this chapter
is primarily about and involves the use of AmigaDOS. The
other still involves the use of the Workbench!
If you reveal the Workbench menu bar and look at the Window
menu you will notice that one of the options is Show. If you
move down to this you will reveal a submenu which has two
further options. These are:
Only Icons
All Files
 Amiga Insider Guide

By default the Only Icons option is invoked - therefore you only see
files that have icons associated with them. However if you select the
Show All Files option then every single file in the drawers, whether it
has a .info file associated with it or not, will be displayed. The default
icon for the particular type of file is used.
By using this option to force all files to be displayed you can than
select and copy them in the normal Workbench fashion, before re-
selecting the Only Icons option to revert the display to a less cluttered
one.

If you have ever played any card games

you may have occasionally used the rule
where Jokers are wild. The Jokers are left
in the pack of cards and if you are dealt one it can be used to represent
any card you wish. Filename wildcards work in much the same way.
Certain characters can be used within filenames to represent any char-
acter or set of characters you may wish. The two most common com-
binations are:
? Represents any single character
#? Represents any pattern of any characters
The latter option is clearly the most powerful, particularly when you
wish to copy or delete a whole range of files.
The #? sequence can be used to copy a whole directory of files. For
instance we could move the entire contents of the Workbench Utilities
directory into the Ram Disk by using the following command:
COpy FROM SYS:Utilities/#? TO RAM:
When you type this into the Shell the copy will take place. As COpy
encounters each file in the Utilities directory it displays its name in the
Shell window and then prints copied when it has finished transferring
it.
If you wished, you could suppress this filename by using the QUIET
option. This is easy to use as you just append it to the end of the com-
mand. Thus the example given above becomes:
COPY FROM SYS:Utilities/#? TO RAM: QUIET
If you reopen the Ram Disk window you will see the utilities are in
place.
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #46: Using Show All Files to Copy.

Selecting the Show All Files option from

the Window menu will reveal all other
files and directories present.
Here, when applied to the Workbench3.0
disk, it reveals several new drawers
including C, Land Libs.

The C drawer holds the

AmigaDOS commands -
opening this will
reveal them all.
Each uses the default
hammerhead icon for
display because they
are all tools.
You can use the standard
Workbench selection
methods to copy files
that would not otherwise
be seen using this
simple but very
effective technique.
When you have finished
select Show Only Icons from the Window menu.

The same wildcard could be used to delete the files from the Ram Disk.
The syntax for this is:
DELETE RAM:#?
Try this and each file name will be displayed as it is deleted.
The original Ram Disk directories will not be deleted as they are being
used by AmigaDOS and a message to this effect is displayed. One or
two files might remain because they are protected from deletion. Don't
worry if this happens.
In this form the COpy and DELETE commands are fairly robust but it
is possible to be a bit more selective. Imagine that we wish to copy just
the Clock files across from the Utilities directory. We know that the two
files have the word Clock in common, therefore we can use the follow-
ing COPY command:
COPY FROM SYS:Utilities/Clock#? TO RAM:

..............·111·..............
 Amiga Insider Guide

The #? combination can be used at any point in the filename. For

example:
COpy FROM SYS:Utilities/#?info TO RAM:
would copy all the .info files from the Utilities directory to the Ram
Disk.
The same technique can also be used to delete files but extreme care
must be taken as you may also delete other files starting with Clock.
However there is a way around this and similar sorts of problems as
we shall see below. However, if in doubt do it manually, file by file -
better safe than sorry!
By using ? as a wildcard you can be a shade more selective. For exam-
ple you may have a disk containing some chapters of a book created in
a wordprocessor. These may be called CHAPI, CHAP2, CHAP3 etc. To
copy the lot in one go we could use the ? wildcard in the position of
the character that changes - the CHAP number, thus:
COpy FROM DFO:CHAP? TO RAM:
It is also possible to use more than one? in the command, in fact you
could use as many as you wished. The following example would copy
all files which have filenames of four characters:
COPY FROM DFO:???? TO RAM:
A practical example would be:
COPY FROM DFO:Utilities/???? TO RAM:
which would copy the MORE file into the Ram Disk as the only file
with four characters in its name.

In an earlier chapter we saw that some

files have extensions tagged onto them to
make it clear what type of file they are.
Prime examples are the .info files associated with the various icons.
Wordprocessor files might be distinguished by having .doc appended
to them and some versions of BASIC for the Amiga use the extension
.BAS. If we wished to copy all the .info and .BAS files to the Ram Disk
from a disk in drive DFO: we could use the following:
COPY FROM DFO:#?INFO TO RAM:
COPY FROM DFO:#?BAS TO RAM:

- - -..1------
Amiga Insider Guide

This can be simplified using the I option (this is called the double-bar
and appears on the \ key when using the gb keymap).
What we wish to do is to copy any files that end with .INFO or .BAS.
This would be entered as follows:
COpy FROM DFO:#?(INFOIBAS) TO RAM:
As both extensions contain a dot this can be left outside the parentheses
which are used to include the variable OR options.
Let's try a more practical example using the Workbench disk you booted
with. Let's copy all the files from the root directory that end with t or e.
The command is:
COpy FROM S:#?(tle) TO RAM:
The format, as with all wildcards, is free form and so it is possible to
include it as the start of a filename. Thus to copy all the files that begin
with E or P use:
COPY FROM DFO:(EIP)#? TO RAM:
Advanced Pattern Matching
Now that you know what the wildcards do, we'll look at how they work.
We've said, ? matches any single character and #? matches any group of
characters. Why? It works like this:
#X matches any repeating sequence of character X
? matches any character.
therefore:
#? matches any sequence of any character (anything)
Pattern matching stops when any non-wildcard character string is
encountered - just about anything in other words - but can be restarted
at any point. This means that you can specify patterns like:
This Matches These
AB#?D ABCD,ABCCD,ABxQvD
Mast#?l.#? Mastering DOS2.l.DOC
A??B#?D AeeBxxxxD, AAABzD, A12B3456D
Using parentheses, you can group patterns or wildcards together:
A(BIC)D ABD, acd

----11-----
 Amiga Insider Guide

A(#BIC)D ABD,ABBD,ABBBBD,AbbbbbD,ACD
A(BIC?)D ABD, ACD, Ac1d, ACaD
But what if you wanted to get at a file which includes a pattern match-
ing character? This is achieved using the tick symbol (') which disables
the wildcard which follows it. If you need to get at a file with more
than one wildcard, you must use a tick for each. Tick itself can be
matched using two ticks!
A'?B A?B
A'#B A#B
A'#'?B A#?B
A"B A'B
There is also a special pattern matching character called NOT. The
tilde symbol (-) is used for this and just reverses the action of the pat-
tern. Strange at first, sure, but incredibly useful once you get used to
it:
-#? Nothing!
-(#?.info) Everything but dot-info files
-(.infol.pat) Everything except dot-info and
dot-pat files.

When a new directory or file is created,

or indeed when a file is updated,
AmigaDOS saves various bits of infor-
mation about it and these bits of information are referred to as its
attributes. The easiest way to see the attributes of some files is to use
the command LIST. Try this using your Workbench disk. Make your
AmigaShell window as wide as possible first of all as the information
supplied uses the full width of the screen. The information listed pro-
vides the following information:
<Filename><length><flags><date created> <time created>
<Filenote ........... >
Consider the following two sample files displayed with LIST:
Letters Dir - - rwed 01-Jan-91 17:02:00
Memo 405 - - rwed 01-Jan-91 17: 12:23

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Amiga Insider Guide

Letters is a directory signified by the fact that it has Dir in the second
column. The third column (--rwed) is a list of flags and these signify
more advanced information about the file. The date and time follow
and show that the Letters directory was created on 1st January 1991 at
5:02pm.
Memo is a file (as opposed to a Dir) which is 405 bytes long. It has the
same flags status as Letters and was created on the same day at
5:12:23pm.
If you list the contents of a disk and find that the date is not given - it
gives day names and terms such as Future then it is likely that you
have not set the date on your system. This is done with the DATE com-
mand which has the following syntax:
DATE [DD-MMM-YY] [HH:MM:SS]
As you can see both the date and time are entirely optional and typing
DATE on its own returns the current date and time being used by the
system. Unless you have a battery backed clock installed this is likely
to be incorrect. Here are some legal examples of DATE:
DATE 01-Jan-90 17:00:00
DATE 01-Dec-91
DATE 12:00:00
DATE 12:34:56
Note that the inclusion of a seconds value is optional. If you do not
have a battery backed clock system then setting the DATE will still
work and be available while the machine is switched on. Like the Ram
Disk the contents of the internal clock will be lost, however, when the
machine is switched off.
The last item of information that might be supplied is <Filenote>. This
is a comment which can be saved with the file or directory, and which
is displayed with LIST. The note itself can be up to 79 characters in
length and if used sensibly can save a lot of time when you are trying
to locate a particular file or directory. The command FILENOTE
attaches the comment to the file/directory and it has the following syn-
tax:
FILENOTE <filename> COMMENT '<filenote>'
For example, copy the Shell from the Workbench disk into the Ram
Disk and then add a filenote to it thus:
 Amiga Insider Guide

FILENOTE RAM:Shell.info COMMENT 'The Shell'

On a subsequent LIST this might be displayed thus:
Shell. info Dir - - rwed 01 -Jan - 90 12: 34 : 50
: The Shell
The filenote is distinguished by being preceded with a colon.

----11----
 Printers are one of the first add-ons you are
likely to buy for your Amiga. But just getting the
two to talk to each other can be a real pain.

See how to select a printer driver and use the

Amiga's printer preferences to get access to your
own printed word.

rying to deal with printers within a chapter or two of a

book about the Workbench and AmigaDOS is a thank-
less task. No, perhaps that's the wrong phrase - it's a dif-
ficult task. The bottom line is that there is so much to write
about that printers need a book on their own. Indeed,
Mastering Amiga Printers is a sister volume available to meet
just that requirement. So for the purposes of this book we'll
limit ourselves to the bare necessities of printer usage and how
to set a printer up from the Workbench using the various
Preference editors available for that purpose. For a more com-
plete guide to using, choosing and troubleshooting I'll refer you
once again to Robin Burton's wonderful tome (see Appendix C).
One point to bear in mind at the very off here is that while solv-
ing printer problems may be infuriating, do remember that one
of the best ways of solving them is to experiment. By obtaining
printed output at each stage you should be able to see what
actions have what effect.
 Amiga Insider Guide

While there are quite literally hundreds

of printers to choose from, it is impor-
tant to remember that there are also dif-
ferent types of printers from which you can make your selection. The
distinction is important because the type of printer determines the
way in which the printer produces its final printed output. At the time
of writing these are the most common printer technologies:
Daisywheel
Dot-matrix 9-pin
Dot-matrix 24-pin
Inkjet
Laser
Thermal
Of these the dot-matrix technology is certainly the most popular, not
least because of its versatility but also because of its cost effectiveness.
Certainly from the Amiga point of view it is probably the type that is
connected 99% of the time and generally it is the printer type the
Amiga is geared towards when it comes to use the Preferences editor
PrinterGFX.
You connect your printer to your Amiga via a cable that is connected
at the printer port. This can be either a parallel port or a serial port.
Again, both are available but 99% of the time, and with a dot-matrix
printer 99.9% of the time, it will be through the parallel printer port.
Within the Amiga these ports are referred to by the volume names
PAR: and SER:. These two volume names represent the lowest (crud-
est if you like) level you can address your printer manually. Normally
when working directly through the Desktop you will have little need to
reference these unless you are using the AmigaShell interface.
In addition to PAR: and SER: there is another nominal device called
PRT:, a contraction of the word printer. Normally, this would be the
lowest level at which you would address the printer because it will
normally be aligned with PAR: or SER: as appropriate. PRT: should
know to what printer port your printer is connected if you have
defined your Workbench preferences correctly.
The Amiga, and that includes Workbench and every other program or
application you may run, knows how to talk to your printer because it
follows a predefined set of rules for operation. This is more complex

----11....---
Amiga Insider Guide

than it might seem at first sight because there are so many different
models and types of printer and each differs from the other, not only in
physical shape but also in the facilities they have to offer you as the
user. Trying to write a single piece of software for the Amiga that can
take into account these differences and also cater for all eventualities
would be nigh on'impossible. Therefore, it is common for separate
printer driving programs to be supplied, each of which is custom writ-
ten to do the right job for the right printer. This is called the printer
driver and several are supplied with the Workbench, many more are
available from a variety of sources - such as PD Libraries - and you
just install the correct one for your printer as part of printer prefer-
ences.
Now that we have got a few of the basics out of the way, and we'll
assume that you have connected your printer to your Amiga at the rele-
vant point, let's see how we get it up and running. Assuming you are
using a dot-matrix printer, there are three essential steps to take:
1. Choose and install the correct printer driver.
2. Define the system defaults.
3. Define graphics defaults.
We'll look at each of these in tum.

As always you should be working with a

backup copy of your Workbench disk.
The main task is to select a printer dri-
ver or drivers from those that are supplied on the Storage disk and
copy this to the relevant point on the Workbench disk. That relevant
point is the Printers drawer which is itself located in the Devs drawer
on the Workbench disk.
If you have bought a popular make of printer and have taken advice
from a friend or dealer then you may already be pretty sure as to the
identity of the printer driver you are going to use.
Chances are its name will stand out for you. If at the end of the day
you're stuck, you probably need to experiment using the various printer
drivers to hand. For instance, Star, Panasonic, Taxan, Citizen,
Mannesman and many others are all highly Epson compatible so an
Epson driver will do the job. The bottom line is to buy a printer which
you have a printer driver available for - or a combination you know

............11·..........·
 Amiga Insider Guide

works. Common sense really. Here is a list of the more common print-
er drivers which are supplied with the A1200 on the Storage disk:

Cal Comp_ ColorMaster CalComp _ ColorMaster2

CanonBJlO CBM_MPSlOOO
Diablo_630 EpsonQ
EpsonX EpsonXOld
Howtek_ Pixelrnaster HP_DeskJet
HP_DeskJetOld HP_LaserJet
HP_PaintJet HP_ThinkJet
ImagewriterII NEC_Pinwriter
Okidata_293 Okidata_92
Okimate_20 PostScript
Seiko_5300 Seiko_5300a
Sharp---1X-730 Tektronix_4693D
Tektronix_4696 Toshiba_P351 C
Toshiba_ P351 SX Xerox_4020

Once you have identified the printer driver you need (you can install
more than one if you want) you should copy it or them from the
Storage disk into the DEVS/PRINTERS drawer on the Workbench
disk.
Copying should be straightforward simply open the windows so that
the Printers window on the Storage disk and the Printers window in
the Devs drawer of the Workbench disk are displayed, then scroll the
former until you locate the files you want and then drag them into the
latter. Incidentally, this will already have a printer driver called gener-
ic in place.
If you get a message displayed in a system requester box that your
Workbench disk is full then you will need to make some room for the
new file or files by deleting something that you do not use that often.
For example, the Clock or MultiView. Remember that you should only
delete such objects from your working copy of the Workbench disk-
not the original. If you then need them you can copy them from the
original into the Ram Disk or onto another backup copy of the
Workbench disk itself.
Amiga Insider Guide

The Printer Preferences editor is easy to

use. It is located in the Prefs drawer on
the Extras3.0 disk. When double-clicked a
standard Preferences editor window is displayed.
The top righthand comer of the editor window displays the printer dri-
vers available for you to use. By default there is a single printer driver
called generic. If you have copied across a printer driver from the
Extras disk as outlined above, this should also be listed. The generic
printer driver is a general all-purpose interface. In most cases it will
allow you to do standard text printing but without too many special
effects. Generally you won't use it. You can have numerous printer dri-
vers available to you simply by copying them into the DEVS/PRINTERS
directory on your Workbench disk. However, do bear in mind that there
is not a lot of spare space on your Workbench disk and every additional
printer driver you copy eats into this. As a rule of thumb just limit your-
self to the driver you are actually going to use.
The printer driver window is a scrollable window and you can locate the
one you need by using the scroll gadgets should the list extend beyond
the bands of the window itself. Click on the driver name of your choice
once and its name will be displayed in the small window underneath the
printer driver list window. This is now the selected driver. Incidentally,
you can use this small text string to enter the full path name of a differ-
ent driver which can be used at that point - it doesn't have to be located
in the DEVS/PRINTERS directory.
The Printer Preferences editor window is then divided into three
regions, each of which has three further options to make a selection.
These mostly use simple cycle gadgets onto which you click to cycle
through the available options.
Printer Port allows you to select where the Amiga sends the information
to the printer - as outlined at the start of this chapter this will be set to
Parallel nine times out of ten, but it can also be set to Serial. PRT: will
be set to this.
Paper Type can be either Single of Fan-fold. The former is single sheets
of paper whereas the latter is more commonly called continuous com-
puter stationary. The Paper Size option is rather misleading, because it
actually refers to the maximum length of the line you will be allowed to
print. The default is suitable for most printers which offer an 80-column
width. You may need to change this to wide tractor if you are using a
 Amiga Insider Guide

wide carriage printer - 132 column for instance. As with many of the
settings available here there is nothing to be lost, and indeed a great
deal of experience to be gained, simply by trying each option out for
yourself and seeing what the result is. The worst you can do is waste a
few sheets of paper and if you use the same sheet all the time ...
At the top righthand side of the window are three more settings. These
are numeric values which you click on to highlight the text gadget and
then enter a new value or edit an existing one. The first of these is
Paper Length (Lines) which has a default value of 66. For a standard
sheet of paper, single sheet or continuous, 66 lines is generally ideal
but this is provided you don't change other options - as I said a lot of
experimentation to suit your own needs!. Left Margin (Chars) is the
number of characters in from the left where the printer will start
printing. Similarly Right Margin (Chars) is the position of the right-
hand margin of the text, calculated as the number of characters that
will be sent to that particular line. Thus for anyone line the actual
number of characters printed is the Right Margin minus the Left
Margin.
Again these figures are always slightly arbitrary, because in the first
place it depends where you feed the paper through the printer. You
can for instance vary the lefthand margin simply by feeding the paper
through the printer further to the left or right. As I keep saying it's all
down to you really. Fix a point in your mind's eye where you will feed
the paper through - make a mark or set one of the paper guides that
some printers have and use this as a reference point. Then if you pre-
fer a wide lefthand margin increase this value to suit.
A finer point to bear in mind with regards to margin settings is that in
Printer Preferences the left and right margin positions are specified in
absolute character numbers starting from character position number
one, however character positions in printers always start from zero.
This should not be a problem but if you want to be totally accurate
you should remember to add one to whatever value the printer manual
indicates if you need to transfer printer command settings into
Preferences. In other words in an 80 column printer character posi-
tions go from 0 to 79, but in Printer Preferences they go from 1 to 80.
Print Pitch has three possible settings, 10, 12 and 15, though only 24-
pin printers are likely to offer the latter. Old 9-pin dot matrix printers
won't be able to handle it. The values refer to the number of characters
printed in one inch of horizontal space. Thus in 10 pitch, there are 10
characters printed per inch across the page. Print Spacing refers to the

............11............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #47: Printer Driver Installation.

First open the Printers
drawer found on the
Storage disk. This will
show the various icons
relating to each
printer driver.

Insider Guide #48: Printer Installation.

When the Printer
Preferences
window is
displayed it will
list any printer
drivers that have
already been
copied into the
Devs directory.
You can copy
as many as
you wish.
To select a printer driver just click on its name in the
scroll window so that it is highlighted.
You can use the other gadgets to select specific
settings relating to your own requirements
as described in the text.
Before you use your settings you must initialise
the printer by double-clicking on the InitPrinter
icon to be found in the Tools drawer.
 Amiga Insider Guide

number of lines printed per vertical inch of space - the default is 6lpi -
that's 6 lines per inch. The higher the number here the less space there
is between each line of text. Setting this to say 3 produces well spaced
out lines.
Finally, there is Print Quality and there are two options here Draft and
Letter. Draft is a lower quality print output but is very much faster to
produce and creates less wear and tear on your printer ribbon. Letter
is a higher quality more dense output which takes longer to produce
and has a wearing effect on the printer ribbon. For general purpose
output use Draft and switch to Letter as and when you need it.
Backtracking a bit to the subject of spacing. When we talk of spaces
we refer to the width of printed spaces, but the actual size of the space
depends on the character size currently being used. A space is bigger
in 10 pitch than it is in 12 pitch. If you set your printer's margins in
Printer Preferences they're actually the real printer margins, but their
physical positions will always depend on the typesize you have set in
Printer Preferences.

The offshoot of this is that if you later

change the printer's character size and
reinitialise the printer to force the
changes into effect, unless you have adjusted the left and right margin
values accordingly too, the printer's physical margins will move!
Once you have set the Printer Preferences to meet your requirements
that is not the end of the story. All that has happened at this point is
that the settings you chose have been saved on the Workbench disk as
part of your preferences setup. The printer hasn't got the foggiest idea
about what you have done - yet! To send this setting to the printer
requires the use of InitPrinter, which is located in the Tools drawer.
Its use is ultra simple. Firstly turn on your printer and ensure that it is
on-line. This is usually signified by a small light being illuminated on
the front panel of the printer and basically means that the printer is
listening out for information from the computer it is connected to.
Secondly double-click on the InitPrinter icon. And that's it. All being
well your printer is now set up as you defined in your Printer
Preferences.
A couple of points to bear in mind here. If you change any of the set-
tings in Printer Preferences you have to send them to your printer. The
best way to do this is to rest the printer - turn it off for a few seconds

----11----
Amiga Insider Guide

and then switch it back on before running InitPrinter again. Also,

many modem printers have a control panel now which allows you to
make specific changes at the printer itself - these will override any
previous values sent by InitPrinter.

Primarily we have dealt with the use of a

parallel printer - this will be the case
most of the time - but it is possible to
use a serial printer with the Amiga. For the most part the Printer
Preferences will stay the same with the exception of the fact that
Printer Port will need to be set to Serial.
It is important that your Serial Preferences settings are correct for
your printer. A typical setting for a fairly standard serial printer would
go like this:
Handshaking DTR and RTS/CTS
Data Word
1 start bit
8 data bits
Odd, even or no parity
1 or more stop bits
The exact information for your serial printer will be supplied in the
printer manual. As always don't be afraid to experiment a bit if you
find yourself lacking a bit of information. The combinations aren't
endless!

In the Tools drawer you will find a tool

called PrintFiles. This provides a most
convenient way of sending a series of
files to the printer for printing.
If you have a printer attached to your Amiga then you might want to
try sending a file to it. For a test run I would suggest that you use a
simple text file created using ED and with an icon attached to it using
IconX as previously described.
To send a file first depress and keep depressed the Shift key. Next click
on the icon you wish to print, and keeping the Shift key depressed

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

double-click on the PrintFiles icon. The file will now be sent to the
printer. Note that Workbench does not inform you of the fact - it just
gets on and does it! If there is a problem, Workbench will inform you
by displaying a System requester.
Note that you can print a whole succession of files at one time should
you so wish. To do this locate the files to be printed and copy them to
a common location along with the PrintFiles utility. Then select all the
files to be printed as outlined above, simply press and keep depressed
the Shift key and then select each file in turn. When all files are select-
ed, and with the Shift key still depressed, double-click on the
PrintFiles icon.
 The Amiga is world famous for its superb graphics
capabilities. Quite naturally, if you have a priuter
attached you will want to put screen to paper.

Well you can, by making full use of the Amiga

priuter graphic preferences.

n the last chapter we examined the use of the Printer

Preferences editor to control how the Amiga interfaces to a
connected printer. Many of the settings in the Printer
Preferences are fundamental to successful printer operation
and in that respect are essential. There is a further Printer
Preferences editor, PrinterGfx, and this is used to control the
way in which a suitable printer - such as a standard dot-matrix
printer - produces graphic dumps. A graphic dump is a print-
out of part of or all of a screen image. If you thought that pro-
ducing a carbon copy of a screen from your Amiga was a sim-
ple matter, think again. The Amiga Workbench can make it a
simple matter but there is an awful lot going on in the back-
ground!
The PrinterGfx Preferences editor is located in the Prefs drawer
of the Extras3.0 disk. When double-clicked it displays a rela-
tively straightforward screen but for a first time user the range
and, in particular, the naming of some of the options can be
more than a little off-putting.
 Amiga Insider Guide

However, the same basic principle that was laid down in the last chap-
ter - and indeed the basic philosophy of using your Amiga in general-
still remains. Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings and
see what the results are. Experimentation is the key to getting the very
best from your Amiga.

Being American in origin this is actually

labelled Color Correction in the
Graphics Printer Preferences window.
This option is only of relevance if you have a colour printer and are
looking to produce a colour screen dump. What this tries to do is to
produce a better match of the screen colours to those on the final
printed output. You should bear in mind however that the end results
are not going to be perfect. Colour perception is a personal thing and
can be affected by monitor brightness, contrast and so forth.
There are three check boxes, R, G and B which stand for the Red,
Green and Blue colours. To turn on colour correction you simply
check the box of the colour you wish to try and correct. So if you
decide that the red in the printed copy doesn't look right, you can
check this box. You can check one, two or all three of the boxes but for
each box you check there is a reduction in the number of colours the
Amiga can actually try and print on your printer. Of course, the result
of this might be that the colour is even more off the mark than before,
but that's for you to decide! By default and with no corrections, the
Amiga should be capable of producing some 4096 different colours -
this figure is displayed below the three Color Correction check boxes.
For each colour you enable for correction there is a reduction of 308
in the total number of colours available to you - such is the price of
perfection! Of course, this entire option is only available for colour
printers!

Dithering is one of a handful of cycle

gadgets available as a block in the
PrinterGfx preferences editor. The
option can have one of three settings - Ordered, Halftone and Floyd-
Steinberg.
Dithering is a technique which only applies to colour printing, and it
plays an important role in the correct representation of colours. In
ordered dithering the coloured dots that compose the picture are

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #49: PrinterGfx Preferences.

The PrinterGfx
Preferences
editor allows
you to define
the way in
which your
Amiga uses
the attached
printer to
produce
graphics
dumps.

printed in simple, straight rows and columns. Using this method there
is a very noticeable regularity to the printing of colour shades. Printing
using this setting is the quickest of the three, the penalty for this speed
is that the final results can look a bit false.
Halftone dithering is a method of varying both the density and the pre-
cise position of the individual coloured dots when mixed colour shades
are required. Halftone images therefore appear a little softer and are
easier on the eye.
Floyd-Steinberg or F-S dithering, employs a quite complex algorithm to
manipulate the physical pixel data from the screen, so that in effect
screen colours are slightly smeared before being translated into printer
dots. This method of dithering takes time and hence should be limited
to final printouts of images.
Sometimes when printing diagonal lines their edges can look jagged.
One way to work around this is to check the Smoothing gadget in the
PrinterGfx Preferences editor. With this enabled the-printing software
attempts to reduce the effect by algorithmically manipulating the data
before it is translated into printer graphics. This takes some time and
therefore with Smoothing enabled print speed is greatly decr~ased.

The final size of your printed image can

be affected by the setting of Scaling.
There are two options, Fraction and
Integer. The final size of the printed image depends on this setting and
 Amiga Insider Guide

the printer's line length. This means that you are not just restricted to
prints which are in a one-to-one ratio with the screen image.
Fraction, as its name suggests, allows the height and width of the
image to be fractionally adjusted so as to maintain the correct overall
proportions. This means that, depending on the values set by Limits
(see later), individual screen pixels in either plane might be expanded
or omitted altogether, so as to preserve the required image propor-
tions.
Integer is the converse of Fraction. In other words every pixel on the
screen is guaranteed to be reproduced in the printed output by an even
number of dots, and the number will be in the same proportion as the
adjustments made to all the other pixels in the printed area.

This gadget allows you to control the

overall size and shape of your printed
image. Used in conjunction with Scaling
described above, you can create special effects, range the print size
and even distort the final output. There are also two text string gadgets
which allow you to define the Width and Height of the image to be
printed. Click in either of these and delete, edit and enter new numeric
values. The units of measurement are tenths of an inch and therefore a
setting of:
Width 60
and:
Height 40
would give an image of six inches wide by four inches high, subject to
the cycle gadget selections under which there are five options available
- Bounded, Absolute, Pixels, Multiply and Ignore.
Bounded means that the size of the printed image will not be greater
than the Height and Width values defined in the Limits settings (see
below). Images may be smaller but not any larger when Bounded is
selected.
Absolute can be used in anyone of three different ways. If both Height
and Width values are supplied the final printed image will be precisely
the size specified, regardless of the screen image's true aspect ratio. If
only one of the limits is set, either Height or Width, entering zero for
the other, the printed image will have the correct aspect ratio while at
the same time precisely matching the dimension specified. Thus if 60
Amiga Insider Guide

is specified as the Width then the width will be six inches and the height
will be the correct Height to match the width. The final Absolute option
is when both Height and Width are set to zero. In this circumstance the
width will be the maximum possible - based on your Printer
Preferences - and the height will be in proportion to this.
Pixels works in exactly the same way as Absolute except that the Height
and Width values are taken as numbers of pixels rather than tenths of
an inch.
Multiply is misleading in that it doesn't allow you to magnify the size of
an image in the way you might think. Multiply allows the height and
width of the printed image to be adjusted, in proportion to each other if
required but based on a ratio. The units used in this case are simple
number values, but represent pixels. For instance, if the Width is speci-
fied as two and the Height four, then the printed image will be twice the
screen's image in width (in pixels) and the printed height will be based
on four times the number of pixels on the screen.
With Ignore selected the Width and Height limits are totally ignored
and the printed image's size is the size determined by the application
that should now be responsible for printing the image.

Image can be set to Positive or Negative

and you can think of the difference
between the two like being the difference
between a photographic positive and negative. Positive produces a (nor-
mal) printer dump while negative swaps the blacks and whites over. It
only applies to monochrome images though.
The Aspect setting effectively defines the orientation of the image on the
paper. When set to Horizontal the image is printed across the paper as
it appears on the screen of the monitor. When set to Vertical the image
is printed sideways with what appears at the top of the screen running
down the righthand side of the paper. This can be useful when you want
to print images that are quite wide so that you can use the full length of
the paper.
The Left Offset gadget allows you to define the number of inches to shift
(or offset) the image. This is much the same as the Left Margin option
in Printer Preferences really. The offset can be defined in steps of tenths
of inches, thus a value of 1.5 would be one and one half inches. The
Centre Picture gadget allows you to ensure that the printed image is
produced centrally on the page. With this gadget checked the Left Offset
 Amiga Insider Guide

gadget is inoperative and any values entered will be ignored until

Centre Picture is disabled.

The last of the cycle gadgets, this one

has four options which allow you to
define what colours to print, or perhaps
more correctly, how colours are printed. This option, like many oth-
ers, is rather dependent on your printer being able to support it. The
four options available are Black & White, Grey Scale 1, Grey Scale 2,
and Color.
The first option Black & White, when selected, means literally what it
says - the image printed will be limited to black and white with no
colours being used (this does assume that you are using a ribbon that
has a black component in it). This is a useful option to select if you
simply want to print out a trial image to check on the picture itself,
plus its other components such as size and position.
In contrast to Black & White prints, Grey Scale 1 allows each of the
colours on the screen to be printed in a particular shade of grey which
best represents the colours on screen. This is achieved by varying the
dot-patterns printed. Grey Scale 2 offers a more restricted form of grey
scaling, such that only a maximum of four dot-patterns are used for
any image in any printer graphics mode. This option is in fact
designed to match the A2024 monitor display.
Color is only applicable if you have a colour printer. If selected,
instead of varying the dot-patterns to reproduce a screen image in
shades of grey, colour commands are sent to the printer to change the
colour of the ink used.

This option is only applicable to black

and white printing and as a rule seems
to be ignored if you are printing either
in colour or grey scales. The Threshold setting determines which
colours on the screen are printed as white and which as black. The set-
ting is made using a slider gadget which can be dragged to give set-
tings from 1 to 15. The higher the Threshold setting the more colours
are printed in black assuming that Image is set to Positive. Therefore
with a low Threshold setting (say 1 or 2) only the darkest colours on
the screen are printed as black.
If Image is set to negative then the reverse is the case.
Amiga Insider Guide

Density, works on a scale of 1 to 7 and

effectively sets how dark your printed
image will be when printed. The lower
the density setting, the faster the image will print as less dots are used,
resulting in a lighter image. The higher the density setting, the more
dots are used to create the image, the longer it takes to print and the
darker - more dense - the image appears.
Note that there are many factors involved in using Density. For exam-
ple, the EpsonX printer driver only supports six densities - therefore
you can't use all seven settings! These and other subjects are more
fully covered in Mastering Amiga Printers.

If you are looking to produce screen

dumps from the Workbench then the eas-
iest option is to use GraphicDump which
can be found in the Tools drawer on the Extras disk. This program
will print the front-most image on the screen, ie the window at the
front, to the printer when you double-click on the icon. However, as
the window at the front of the screen when you double-click on the
GraphicDump icon will almost certainly be the one containing
GraphicDump there is about a 10 second delay before the program
seeks the front window to allow you to bring it to the front.
The print to the printer takes place in real-time. That is, GraphicDump
does not, at the allocated time, take a look at the front most screen
and record it to memory for subsequent downloading to the printer,
instead it looks at the screen and prints a line at a time.
This basically means that, unless you want to get some weird and
wonderful effects, you should leave the screen well alone until the
image has been printed.
The type of image produced by GraphicDump is affected by the set-
tings of the Printer and PrinterGfx Preference editors. Equally it is
possible to define the size of the dump produced by assigning the cor-
rect Tool Type to the GraphicDump information window.

----11------
 Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #50: Using GraphicDump.

The size ofa
graphic dump
can be set to four
predetermined
sizes called TINY,
SMALL, MEDIUM
and LARGE.

To set a size,
select the
GraphicDump
icon by clicking
on it once and
then select the
Information option from the /cons menu. This will display the
Information screen.
Click on the New gadget to ungrey the string gadget.
Click in the gadget and then at the keyboard enter: SIZE=
Follow this by the option required. In the above example SIZE is set so
that SIZE=MEDIUM. Select Save to preserve your setting.
 The Amiga can display text on the screen in a
whole number of ways. Just experimenting can be
fun but also highly informative.

It also throws up a new library of jargon to learn.

Do just that and have a fontastic time as well
playing with the editors!

ne of the major areas where the Amiga has developed

considerably with the most recent software release is
the important one of fonts - the various ways in which
you can display typed characters on the screen and on printer
output. This is a vast and complicated subject and an impor-
tant one. But I can only begin to touch the surface of this huge
topic here.
The study of fonts is a science in itself and comes under the
heading of typography. With the increasing use of computers
such as the Amiga in publishing, especially in the application
of programs such as desktop publishing, typographical terms
have wormed their way into the ever expanding world of com-
puter jargon. More terms for you to learn!
Unless you are into typography you have probably never paid
much attention to the style of the text (type) that you read. In
fact, there are many hundreds (and probably thousands) of
styles of type and these are called fonts. For instance, the very
text you are reading now is typeset in a font called New Aster.
For shorthand we might normally say: the text is set in New
 Amiga Insider Guide

Aster. The two most common fonts in use are called Times and
Helvetica and these are often seen in newspapers. Check out your
daily! By default the Amiga uses a font called Topaz.
One thing you will have noticed is that the printed word comes in
many sizes - type sizes are normally measured in their own system
called points. A point is very fractionally over lI72nd of an inch,
although it is normally referred to as being lI72nd of an inch.
Therefore a font that is one inch high is said to be 72 points high.
Although there are many different fonts to choose from they can all be
divided into two basic categories which are called serif and sans serif
fonts.
A serif font is one that is adorned with fancy edges, the most famous
of which is Times. Helvetica does not have these extra bits and is an
example of a sans (without) serif font. Although there are no hard and
fast rules, by convention sans serif fonts are used for headlines and
serif fonts for main text because they are easier on the eye. So, how do
you know what fonts are serif and which are sans serif? Look at them!
The appearance of a font on your Amiga screen might well look very
different to that which you get when you print out hard copy contain-
ing the same fonts. This is especially the case when printing from DTP
style programs which have specialist printer drivers rather than those
that simply dump the screen. The reason for this difference is that the
Amiga's screen display does not correspond in a 1: 1 ratio with the
equivalent area on a printed page. The bottom line is that fonts on
screen will appear about twice as high on the screen as they do in the
printed copy.
In addition the resolution of your screen is about 25% that of a dot-
matrix printer. As such the appearance of the font on screen looks very
jagged and on larger type sizes takes on an almost pyramidic look. The
printed font looks infinitely better. Bear these points in mind when
you use fonts initially, with some experience you will get used to this.

Your Amiga is supplied with a Fonts

disk and this contains additional fonts -
in fact it contains all your fonts except
those built into the Amiga system, ie the font called Topaz. The origi-
nal Commodore fonts are all named after semi-precious stones,
Emerald, Diamond and Gamet. These are all bitmapped fonts, that is

..............111..............
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #51: Font types and Font sizes.

There are many types and styles of
fonts. The way in which a font looks This font is New Aster
is called its typeface and there are
many hundreds of different styles. This font is Lucida
The main text in this book is set in This font is Bodoni Bold
New Aster.
The size of text is defined by a unit This font is Palatino
of measurement called a point.
This is 10 point text Generally text is normally set
either in 10 point or 12 point.
This is 12 point text
Fonts can be broadly
categorised as serif or
This is 14 point text sans serif. Serif fonts such
as Times have ornate edges
This is Times a serif Font while sans serif ones do not.
Sans serif means
This is Helvetica a sans serif font without serifs.

to say, they are stored on disk in the form of pixels which are literally
dumped to the printer when they are needed. This is efficient in the
fact that it is relatively quick but it does not result in a nice looking
font. This is especially the case when the font is scaled up. The soft-
ware simply fills in the gaps which leads to a very jagged edged font -
all the bits of the bitmap simply get bigger!
A new technology (to the Amiga) has been the introduction of outline
fonts from Compugraphic called Intellifont. The data for these fonts are
stored in the form of sets of coordinates which plot out the characters
of each letter - a mathematical representation of the font if you like.
The great thing about this is that they can be printed in any size with-
out loss of quality. The outline mathematics are simply scaled accord-
ingly. While the final output is massively improved, the overhead is
that the fonts take longer to produce. The trade-off is your's to decide
upon. Outline fonts on the Fonts disk include CGTimes, CG
Triumvirant and LetterGothic
You can use any of the standard Commodore fonts right away as they
are already in position on the A1200 Fonts disk. If you are using a hard
disk system then you will find that the fonts will be located in the
Fonts drawer.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Because the Amiga uses bitmap fonts for the screen display you can-
not use the Intellifonts straight off - you must create a bitmap set first
using the Intellifont Tool in the Extras3.0 System drawer..
Once you have installed a new set of fonts you must first run the
FixFonts utility to ensure that the Amiga knows about them - more on
this shortly.
If you anticipate using fonts on a regular basis them you should make
a backup working copy of your Fonts disk and use this on a day-to-day
basis.

In the Prefs drawer (Extras 3.0) you will

find a preferences editor called Font.
The Font editor has a simple role to
play. It allows you to select the fonts that you wish to use on the
Amiga, mor,@ specifically the font that is used to produce the menus,
window names, icon names and so forth. Having said that, the results
that can occur if you decide to change the system font can be pretty
awful. Topaz was designed for the job it does and it does it very well.
When the Font Preferences editor window opens, it displays a simple
screen that defines the current settings and provides three button gad-
gets from which you can select either:
Workbench Icon Text
System Default Text
Screen Text
When one of these is selected a further window appears showing a list
of the fonts installed in your system along with some text showing
how the selected font looks.
The actual text affected by each of the three font window options is as
follows:
Workbench icon text:
This is the text below the icons in Workbench windows.
Screen text:
This is the text that appears in menus, title bars, requesters and
so forth.
System default text:
The text'that is displayed in output windows .

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AmigQ Insider Guide

Insider Guide #52: Using Font Preferences.

The Font Preferences
editor displays current
system settings and
gives access to the three
regions where you can
edit the Amiga's font use
to suit your own needs.
Use the scrolling
windows to select
the font you wish to
use and the size.

It is possible to change both the

colour of the text and also the
background colour for icon text
using the palettes provided.
Use the menus to save your
selections as preset options.

So, for example, to set the Workbench icon text to Emerald 17, first
select the Workbench text icon button and then locate and click on
Emerald from the list of installed fonts. Finally select the size from the
second list. Once you have selected these items from the lists you
should get a preview of the text in the alphabet box. If you are happy
select the OK button. You can use the menus provided to save font
selections as Presets in the normal way.
When dealing with Workbench icon text you can specify the colour of
the text and also of the field, ie the space in which the text is displayed.
You can then use the Text and Field colour palettes which are dis-
played with the font list to select the colours required.
Of course, it should go without saying that it's not a good idea to use
text and field colours that are the same. Then again, if you want to con-
fuse a friend who has an Amiga ...

----1....- - -
 AmigQ Insider Guide

On a practical note - if you change any of the text settings on your

Amiga from the system standard of Topaz then you will need to have
the Fonts disk available each time you boot your Amiga so that it can
read the font information when it needs it.
 There are a number of highly useful tools which
you are yet to encounter.

You can read, write and format MS-DOS disks as

though they were Amiga disks, adjust how sweet
your Al200 sounds and check your chips!

n this chapter we'll look at some of the utilities that are

available on your Amiga A1200, that are of use and
which we haven't encountered yet.
If you have any trouble finding some of the utilities scattered
around the disks then make use of our File Locator Appendix B
to search them out. It can get a bit confusing as you swap disks
in and out!

ShowConfig is located in the

Tools drawer on the Extras disk
and, when double-clicked, it
opens a window which displays information about the Amiga
you are using. This information is generally called the configu-
ration - thus the term Show Configuration.
The details are banded under five headings. Processor lists the
type of CPU you have installed and this is followed by the
names of the major microchips. These chips are called custom
 Amiga Insider Guide

chips because they were developed especially by Commodore for the

Amiga and they have been given girls names - Alice and Lisa.
As you may be aware Commodore regularly updates its software such
as Workbench and you can get information about the versions of the
various files you are using from the Vers line. This is followed by
details on the RAM memory you are using and finally any boards that
you have fitted (such as memory upgrades) are listed.
If you ever experienced any problems with your Amiga, always run
this tool first and make a note of the configuration before seeking
expert advice from your dealer. Chances are it may help him solve a
problem for you!

CrossDOS is a commodity which allows

you to use your Amiga to read and write
MS-DOS format disks. Thus you could,
for example, use your Amiga at home as a wordprocessing station and
copy the information onto a PC disk for use in school or office. Of
course, you are not only limited to pes. Virtually all computers now
available have the ability to read and write PC disks, therefore it can
also be used as a transfer platform to exchange information between
any two computer systems.
A point to bear in mind though is that CrossDOS offers only minimal
file exchange capabilities and it is therefore up to you to ensure that
the source and destination software are compatible. For example, if
exchanging text you should save in ASCII format unless using a simi-
lar wordprocessor such as Protext on the Amiga and Protext on the
PC.
Before you can use CrossDOS you must first install it and this involves
a simple decision - what floppy disk drive are you going to use. The
decision may be made for you if you only have an internal drive. If you
have an extra external drive you could use this. At the end of the day
your choice is only one of convenience because even after you have
designated a disk drive as the MS-DOS disk drive you can still use it as
an Amiga disk drive.
You will need to have your Workbench 3.0 and Extras 3.0 disks avail-
able. Copy the DOS Driver from the Storage3.0/DOSDrivers drawer to
the Workbench3.0:Devs/DOSDrivers drawe:r. Once there, every time
your Amiga is booted it will automatically allow the disk drive to be
used to read a MS-DOS disk.

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Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #53: Installing CrossDOS.

Open the DOSDrivers
drawers in the Devs
drawer of the
Workbench3.0 disk and
on the Storage disk.
To set the internal disk
drive to read MS-DOS
disks copy the PCO
icon across.

To set an external disk drive (DFl) to read

MS-DOS disks copy the PC 1 file across.
When the Amiga is rebooted it will be able to
read MS-DOS disks in the designated drive.
Alternatively double-click on the icon required
to give you instant access to CrossDOS.

Clicking on the CrossDOS

commodity icon displays its
window where some basic
text filtering and translation
is possible by clicking on the
relevant gadgets.

When a MS-DOS disk is inserted into the drive it will first appear as a
bad disk icon but will then be duplicated on the Workbench showing its
volume name.
MS-DOS format disks can be accessed from the AmigaShell using most
of the standard AmigaDOS commands. The disk may be referred to by
its volume name using the normal convention or by use of the device
name.
For example, if the internal disk drive was made MS-DOS compatible
and a disk called PCDISK was inserted you could catalogue its directory
in one of two ways:
DIR PCDISK:
or:
DIR pco:
The Commodities drawer contains the CrossDOS icon which when run
will display the CrossDOS commodities window .

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

In an earlier chapter I introduced the

subject of keymaps and how it was pos-
sible for your Amiga to be a multi-lin-
gual computer by taking advantage of country specific keyboards. For
instance the £ symbol is very specific to the UK while a $ symbol is
more important in the USA. Equally, a German would expect a
German keyboard to generate characters such as a while a Frenchman
would equally expect to be able to get an e.
This is possible using the correct keymap. To install and use a keymap
of your own choice you need to copy the correct keymap from the
Keymaps drawer on the Storage disk into the Keymaps drawer in the
the Devs drawer on your Workbench disk.
To select the keymap you actually need to use at anyone moment
(remember you may want more than one keymap in place) open the
Prefs drawer on the Extras disk and then double click on the Input
icon to display the Input Preferences Editor. A scrolling list to the
right of the window will list all the currently installed keymaps - sim-
ply click on the one you wish to use and then click on the Save button
to install this as the default keymap.
The Input Preferences editor allows you to alter the settings of the var-
ious components associated with you using the mouse and keyboard
and how quickly they interact.

The Sound Preferences editor allows you

to define what sort of noise your Amiga
makes by default and also allows you to
use sampled sound as well. Sampled sound is sound that you might
have recorded using the Amiga.
Some software uses the sound capabilities of the Amiga to signal cer-
tain stages in an operation. For example, disk copying programs will
normally make the Amiga beep and perhaps flash the screen when
they have completed their task. Equally, the system itself will occa-
sionally throw up a beep when an error occurs. The sound of the beep
can be defined using the Sound Preferences editor.
The editor is easy to use and by this stage you should feel quite happy
with its layout and to experiment with it. By default most of the gad-
gets are greyed out and to access the full range you will need to check
the Make Sound gadget.

- - -..11----
Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #54: Setting the Keymap.

The keymap
in use can
be selected
through the
Input
Preferences
editor.

When opened
the editor
displays a list
of keymaps available. To make a keymap available it must be copied
from the Keymaps drawer on the Storage3.0 disk into the Keymaps
drawer of the Devs drawer on the Workbench3.0 disk.
Simply click on the keymap required and then use Save to make
the keymap selected available at all times or select Use to
make it available until the next reboot.

Dragging the various slider gadgets allows you to define Volume, Pitch
and Length while clicking on Test Sound will allow you to hear what
effect your fiddling has had.
As with WBPattem preferences you can save Sounds in the same way
using the menus provided. Ensure that the Create Icons? option is
ticked in the Settings Menu and then select the Save As option from the
Project menu. This will display a standard File Requester screen which,
by default, puts saved Sounds in the Presets drawer.
Sampled sounds saved in IFF format can also be used and played in
place of a beep. To utilise this click on the cycle gadget to move Beep on
to Sample Sound and then double-click on the Sampled Sound button.
This will display a file requester window through which you can locate
the sampled sound you require.
A sound can be brought into immediate use by closing the editor win-
dow using the Use button. If the Save button is used the sound becomes
the default one and will be used until changed again. Any sound saved
in the Presets drawer can be invoked simply by double-clicking on its
icon.

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 Amiga Insider Guide

Insider Guide #55: Using the Sound editor.

To set a new
sound first
ensure that
the Make
Sound gadget
is ticked.
Drag the
sliders to set
the Volume,
Pitch and
Length
required.
Click on the Sound Type gadget to set Sampled Sound. Double-click
on the Select Sample button to display the Select IFF Sampled Sound
file requester to locate
the desired sample.
A sound can be tested at any
point by clicking on the Test
Sound button.
Sounds can be saved using the
Save As option present in the
Project menu .

............·11............·
Juggling more than one ball at a time is difficult,
but rewarding when mastered!

Your A1200 can juggle programs and processes

like a natural.

Here's how.

ne of the major features of the Amiga is that it has

multi-tasking capabilities. Multi-tasking is the ability to
run several programs at once - where each program is
seen by the Amiga as a task to do - hence the terminology. A
task needn't be a commercial program or indeed one that you
have written, a task can be any process that can be carried out
by the Amiga, for instance, the formatting of a disk, or the run-
ning of two Shells.
Tasks started by AmigaDOS are called processes. This distinc-
tion may seem trivial, but it is vital that you understand at least
the naming conventions at this point. The ability of your Amiga
to multi-task effectively will depend, to some extent, on the
amount of memory installed. Each process is, by nature, going
to require a certain amount of memory, therefore the more
processes that are started the more memory is required. For
instance, a 2Mb Amiga is capable of running several lOOK pro-
grams, but clearly an Amiga that has, say, 4Mb of memory will
 Amiga Insider Guide

be able to double the amount of similar sized processes that it can run.
Simple math really!
Although it may seem as though AmigaDOS is running several pro-
grams at once, it would be more correct to say that it is running them
together. The microprocessor inside the Amiga is only capable of car-
rying one instruction at a time. However, the illusion of being able to
run several at once is created by employing the speed of the micro-
processor to run a bit of each process one after the other. For example,
if three processes were running, the Amiga would run a bit of process
one, then a bit of process two and then a bit of process three. Having
serviced all three processes it would start the loop again by running a
bit of process one. And all of this is happening at a staggeringly fast
speed in order to provide the illusion.
Of course when a large number of processes are running, the time it
takes for the operating system to get back to the first process becomes
perceptible, and the computer seems to slow down.
However, this only applies when you run processes that require to be
continually run by the operating system and, in particular, games and
graphic demonstrations. Some programs are more docile in operation
- they go to sleep, as it were, and don't use any processor time until
something wakes them up. For example, memory permitting, running
five or six wordprocessors at once would not have any apparent drag
on the system.
The usefulness of multi-tasking will become more apparent as you use
it. Being able to print a long file on an attached printer and to contin-
ue working at the computer is something many systems are unable to
achieve. To your A1200 it comes naturally!

You may have already discovered that it

is possible to start several programs at
once from Workbench. If you haven't
already tried this, now would be a good time! Open the Utilities draw-
er on your Workbench disk. You should find MultiView and Clock.
Double-click on each of these in turn and, hey-presto, they both
appear! You can even type text into the MultiView file requester while
the clock is running.
In a programming environment it is normally better to run the pro-
grams directly from the Shell window itself. This can be done simply

-------~II-------·
Amigll Insider Guide

by typing the name of the program to be run as an AmigaDOS com-

mand.
CD Utili ties
Clock
The program will run but the Shell window will not respond to any fur-
ther commands typed. The command RUN is used to overcome this
obstacle, allowing programs to be set into motion and then returning
the Shell prompt allowing the command line interface to be used as per
normal. The syntax of the command is:
RUN <program>
Try running the Clock program once again using the RUN command as
follows:
RUN Clock
The Clock program is set in motion and the prompt returns to the Shell
window. The other programs can be launched in the same way - but
don't do this just yet.
At this stage you will still be able to type in the Shell window with the
Clock running in the background. A special feature designed into the
Amiga allows this to happen. However, it is more common for a pro-
gram to switch to its own window when it's launched.
If this were not done, you'd end up having to activate the window (by
clicking in it) before you could interact with it. Clock is a special case
which normally doesn't require any help from you. The other two pro-
grams mentioned need something from you - so they switch their win-
dows on when they start. This means that as soon as the window for
say, Calculator, opens, the Shell window becomes deactivated and you
get stuck in the middle of a sentence.
The Commodity AutoPoint provides an answer, but it can cause as
many problems as it solves. At this stage, therefore, don't use AutoPoint
just yet. Now type the following:
RUN Extras3.0:Tools/Calculator
The Shell window title bar changes colour from blue (selected) to grey
(unselected). Just click back in the Shell window again to get control
back.
Note that each time a new process is run a number is printed within
square brackets. This is called the process number and AmigaDOS uses

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 Amiga Insider Guide

it to keep track of the programs it has running. There is no limit to the

number of processes you can have running at anyone time other than
those constraints impo~ed by speed and memory.

Now, if you have several or many

processes running together it is useful to
be able to keep track of them.
AmigaDOS provides the STATUS command for this purpose and when
typed this will provide information about the process currently run-
ning from a Shell window. If you open a Shell window and run the
SAY and CLOCK programs, typing the command STATUS will pro-
duce the following output (the order may be different):
Process 1: Loaded as command: Clock
Process 2: Loaded as command: C:ConClip
Process 3: Loaded as command: Workbench
Process 4: Loaded as command: status
Process 5: Loaded as command: Extras3.0:Tools/
Calculator
This lists the various processes that are running from that particular
Shell window. The process number is the number allocated to the
process when it was launched.
If you want to find out the status of a particular command you can do
so by specifying the option COMMAND and the name of the command
itself. For instance if CLOCK was running then typing the following
AmigaDOS:
STATUS COMMAND CLOCK
would print the number of the process to which Workbench was
assigned when it was run.

To be able to quit a process rather relies

on the software running the process
recognising the fact that you want to.
This is not as daft as it may first seem as many programs are written
in such a way that means that they cannot be interrupted at all. If a
program is running in its own Shell window, and is written to allow

----1-----
Amiga Insider Guide

interruption, then selecting the window and typing one of the following
will halt the program:
<CTRL-C>
<CTRL-O>
<CTRL-E>
<CTRL-F>
For programs running from one window the command BREAK can be
used. The syntax for BREAK is:
BREAK <process> <option>
For example to stop process number three use:
BREAK 3 ALL

Running several programs at once is fine,

so long as the majority of them can get on
with the job without requiring continual
input from you. Remember that your Amiga has just the one keyboard
and all processes have to share this. Having to supply keyboard input
continually to various programs can become a pain. If you need to,
remember to select the window running the process first.
It is dangerous to use multi-tasking programs which require continual
access to disks, and in single drive systems it can be suicidal. A situation
will invariably arise where a process requests a disk, which is supplied,
only to have another process request a second disk. Even without the
wrist pain created, the disks will invariably become corrupted. On dual
drive systems two processes can be made to use respective drives but
the process of reading the information from the disk surfaces can, in
certain circumstances, become slow and laborious.
 Amiga Insider Guide

----1-----
 From the malicious to the mundane, viruses are
both fascinating and painful.

Only a very fortunate A1200 user will never

encounter a virus. Are you that lucky or should you
take out the insurance of reading this chapter?

ith the computer has come the computer virus, and

with the Amiga has come its own specific viruses. A
is something that your Amiga can catch and,
just like the multitude of viruses that you and I might catch,
their severity ranges from annoying to software lethal. They are
a very real threat but provided you follow a set of basic princi-
ples you can avoid catching them. And if you do fall foul of one
or more, you should be able to find a cure.
The word virus derives from the 16th Century Latin for slime
or a poisonous liquid. In modern terms, it belongs to any of a
vast group of sub-microscopic DNA nuclei dressed in a protein
coat. These simple organisms are one of the most basic forms
of life, only capable of living and reproducing within the cells
of other animals and plants. Many are pathogenic, creating
symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to death. Computer
viruses ape their protein-coated namesakes very closely. So
closely in fact, some pundits have speculated that they consti-
tute a simple form of life. Indeed a recommended read is
 Amiga Insider Guide

Trojan by James Follett which exploits this topic in a thoroughly

enjoyable novel. However, that is a philosophical avenue best explored
during a late night discussion over several glasses of an intoxicating
substance.
As I have already said computer viruses are like human viruses, in the
sense that they infest the host and pass themselves on through a point
of contact. On the computer the point of contact is disks, so when a
disk comes from an external source (a friend, a magazine, a PD house,
a software company), there is a risk that there will be a virus on that
disk. Having said that, magazines, PD houses and software companies
are very, very conscientious about their disk production and it is
extremely unlikely that you will catch a virus in this way - though the
possibility remains. Dodgy sources are the more likely culprits. A disk
from a friend of a friend's brother's sister is a dodgy source!
A computer virus is nothing more than a computer program written
by a devious mind. The problem is the devious mind of the writer can
be quite brilliant and you may not know you have a virus for some
time. Some are time coded so that they openly appear at certain times
or dates and some might only appear when you try to do a certain task
- such as print a file or copy a file. Some are mega awful and go as far
as erasing the contents of your disk. Some are simply mischievous and
say they are wiping your hard disk only to return a few minutes later
saying fooled you!
Of course this can all lead to an unmitigated state of paranoia. Your
Amiga might well crash for a host of other reasons - out of memory, a
poor piece of software, incompatibility - not for just playing host.
Once you put the infected disk into your computer, the virus spreads
into the system, in other words the virus program jumps ship and
copies itself into your machine and then infects any other disk you put
into the computer by copying itself onto it. If you pass any disks onto
your friends then they put the virus on their machine, and so it goes
on. Do not underestimate the potential of viruses. Some can even sur-
vive soft-resets so that you need to turn your Amiga off before you can
sort things out.
So you need to be vigilant. Every time you get a disk, check it using
one of the many virus detection programs available and detailed later
on.

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Amiga Insider Guide

There are several distinct strains of com-

puter virus - variants of the way the
infection (replication) code is written
and each has a name. As can be seen from this, viruses are ostensibly
simple to write, which is why there are so many around:

Limpet
Often called the bootblock or boot sector virus. The term Limpet
derives from the way the virus adheres to the bootblock of infected
disks. These are the simplest viruses of them all- and usually the easi-
est to catch. These were also the first viruses to appear on the Amiga.
The very first Amiga Limpet came courtesy of Swiss Crackers
Association or SCA - no prizes for guessing: pirates! Bootblock viruses
consist of a small section of code which loads a disk's boot sectors
when the computer is booted from an infected disk. Every time a new
(write-enabled) disk is inserted, the virus writes itself back to the new
disk thus infecting it. Depending on the type of Limpet, some write
themselves back during soft resets, others to every uninfected disk
inserted.
Doppleganger
This works by replacing the code of an original program completely
with its own. Next it moves the code of the original program some-
where else on the same disk and gives it a blank name. When the origi-
nal program is called, the virus runs (doing its dirty work) then exits
by launching the real program. Sounds complex? Not at all - three
simple AmigaDOS calls can be used to do this. BSG9 was an early
example of this type and can be identified by the tell-tale blank file it
leaves in the DEVS directory of the infected disk. The AmigaDOS'
LIST command shows it up - DIR does not. If found, BSG9 is usually
the first command in the S:Startup-sequence and has a bytesize of
2608 when listed.
Trojan Horse
Sometimes just called a Trojan, this type has yet to crop up on the
Amiga in large numbers for reasons which will shortly be revealed.
Trojans get their name from the Greek fable of the Trojan (or wooden)
horse.
As the story goes, the Greeks bluffed the Trojans by leaving a wooden
horse outside the gates of Troy. The Trojans dragged the horse inside,

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

and at nightfall the Greeks hidden inside the beast crept in under
cover of darkness and murdered the Trojans in their beds.
In the same way, a Trojan virus is a computer program, usually placed
in the Public Domain not by Greeks, but still with a very sharp sting in
its belly. The reason why real Trojans are rare is because they take
some skill to implement. The only way they will spread is if the pro-
gram hiding the stinger is useful enough for lots of people to use. And
once the Trojan is uncovered, everyone stops using it. For this reason
Trojans use a time-bomb technique whereby they only activate after
they have been used a set number of times or, sometimes, on a certain
date. Most Amiga Trojans are genuine programs infected by a Parasite
- see below.
Parasite or Linkvirus
Also called Worm, Zombie, Lycanthrope, and Vampire. These blood-
suckers are the scourge of utility software and generally a real pain in
the Startup-sequence. Like real vampires they duplicate by attaching
themselves to other programs. The problem with parasites is they tum
genuine software into Trojans by locking onto their code and transfer-
ring across onto all and sundry. Like Trojans, Parasites are tricky to
implement so there are less around. Unlike the Limpets, they multiply
between disks and across directories at an alarming rate. Also they're
very tricky to catch without software specifically designed for the pur-
pose - Peter Cushing never had it this tough.

There are two mainstream effects of

virus infection: destructive and nui-
sance. Neither are very pleasant - some
viruses exhibit both.
Silly messages Software piracy is theft ... , AmigaDOS presents: The
IRQ Virus, Something wonderful has happened and so
on. The only wonderful thing that could happen to the
persons responsible for these gems would be the spon-
taneous combustion of their Amigas.
Reversed keys The two Amiga keys, for example, suddenly become
transposed.
Lock outs The whole machine stops accepting keyboard input -
but everything else appears to be working normally.

- - -..11.....- - -
Amiga Insider Guide

Obscene mouse Pointers

I kid you not - is nothing sacred?
Random trashing of files
Has the effect of causing programs to suddenly crash
without warning, corrupts data in pictures, music and
text. Lamer Exterminator is known to have this effect.
Random trashing of disk files
Difficult one to pin to a virus because it can also hap-
pen through wear and tear, badly stored disks and a
whole host of other things. Likely sign of a virus if it
starts suddenly.

It only takes one slip to catch a virus

because once the little beggars get onto a
disk, they spread very quickly. This
checklist covers the most important points.
1. No known virus can get past the write protection notch on a
floppy. Never insert a write enabled disk unless something has
to write to it. Better still keep data disks separate from program
disks. If a virus gets into memory it can only spread to disks
which are either (a) never booted or (b) don't contain anyexe-
cutable files.
2. Keep a Canary disk. This is a freshly formatted disk with a cou-
ple of commands and a Startup-sequence. If a Limpet tries to
attach itself this disk will suddenly become bootable. A suite of
programs to make Canary disks (and a lot more) is included
with our sister book Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume One.
3. Get a disk of Virus killers from your friendly PD library and
check every file and bootblock of every disk you get before
attempting to boot them or run any of the programs contained
therein.
4. Never, ever, use pirated software. This includes games, utilities
and applications - it's a sure-fire way to catch a virus.

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 Amiga Insider Guide

The only sure way to be virus free in this

day of over 100 known viruses is to use a
virus killer program. If you don't have a
virus killer (and I strongly urge you to get one) then there is something
you can do, although it is a little fiddly and doesn't help with all types
of virus.
For the most part a virus will die if you switch the machine off.
Obviously it still lives on the disks you have infected, but it won't
linger in your machine if you switch off. And if you write protect a
disk (put the little tab up so you can see a hole through the comer of
the disk) the virus can't get onto it. Once you have switched off for
about 30 seconds, tum back on and boot with your master Workbench
disk (with its write protect tab on). Open a Shell, and insert the virus
infected disk. Then install the bootblock (the area on the disk where
the virus will normally linger) by typing:
Install dfn:
where n is the drive you want to install. This prints a healthy boot-
block over the infected one, so curing the problem. But when you
inserted the infected disk to install it, the virus has infected your sys-
tem again. But don't panic. Switch off the machine again, wait 30 sec-
onds, and then reboot. You will now be virus free. Unless, that is, the
virus you have is more sophisticated.
This method of killing viruses is only any good for viruses which live
in the bootblock. Certain viruses, a type called the link virus, attach
themselves to a healthy file and lie in wait, immune from being
Installed. So, as I said at the start, the only certain way to catch these
little beggars is to use a reputable virus killer. And choosing the right
killer can be as important as having one at all.
For example there is a new kind of virus now, one called a Disk-
Validator virus. There is only one type of this new virus at the
moment, although there will probably be more by the time you read
this, as it doesn't take long for people to rewrite these things. The
thing is there is only one virus killer that detects and rubs out this par-
ticular new strain! So you have to choose wisely, if you want to be
safe.
Warning: Some of your commercial software will have slightly out of
the ordinary bootblocks on them. This is for copy protection, and if
you kill them off with your virus killer, the program will not load. This
is obviously undesirable as the program could be quite valuable, and

- - -..1.....- - -
Amiga Insider Guide

although most software houses will replace a damaged disk with no

questions, the fault is yours so they might not. Some virus killers
recognise benign bootblocks, like those on a game disk, but some
don't. Use a killer that knows about some of the more common benign
bootblocks like the Electronic Arts variety for example. If in doubt,
don't kill a block, especially on software you've bought.

There are a great many virus killers on

the market, and all of them are freely
distributable. PD houses stock them, and
usually you can guarantee that a virus killer disk at least will be free of
viruses. (Obviously the guy who programmed the killer would take the
trouble to kill the viruses on his own system!) There are many differ-
ent types, and all of them are pretty good by now, having undergone
many different revisions since the virus problem became apparent on
the Amiga in around 1987.
However, at the time of writing two of the best available are ZeroVirus
and Master Virus Killer, which both cover over 100 viruses and seem
to be the most intelligent about which bootblocks and files they kill. As
well as these programs to detect and kill a virus, if you think you have
a problem, I'd recommend having a small killer in the C directory on
your bootdisk, with a command to run it in your startup-sequence. I'd
suggest CV, because it seems small enough to fit on a floppy as well as
a hard drive.
Note: Most of the above killers are available on 17 Bit Software PD
disk number 949. Master Virus Killer v2.1 is on 17 Bit disk 894.
 Amiga Insider Guide

..............111·..............
 The end of the road is nigh! But there is still so
much to learn - what a wonderful world it is.

In this imal chapter a brief introduction to just a

few of the areas we have not covered in any
depth. Then it's all up to you.

he final chapter in this book has arrived and by now, if

you have followed all of the examples, you should have
got inside your Amiga and have a base knowledge of
how to use its facilities both via the Workbench and through
AmigaDOS.
However, there is still an awful lot I have not covered, but
much of this you should now be able to explore with confi-
dence. This final chapter is a very brief overview of some of the
drawers and files we have not looked at. In particular:
The System Drawer
The Expansion Drawer
The Storage Disk
The Preferences Drawer
The Locale Disk
 Amiga Insider Guide

The System drawer holds within it tools

that, in general, have a direct effect on
the way the Amiga system (ie the bit of
the Amiga that makes it tick) works or are fundamental to the Amiga's
operation - such as the Shell which we have already examined in some
considerable depth.
Equally, several of the facilities provided are advanced in operation
and for that reason you may wish to ignore them until you actually
come to need to use them.
In addition to the Shell the function of FixFonts has been covered in
Chapter 20. You run this when new fonts have been added and it
informs the Amiga that they are there and can be used. This is often
after the use of Intellifont which allows you to create bitmap versions
of Intellifonts for display on screen.
NoFastMem allows older Amiga programs to run on new machines.
The early Amigas came with limited amounts of memory, therefore
some very old programs work in a very limited way. However, as
Amigas got better and their memory capabilities extended, programs
got bigger and better. Except for those very old programs - when they
are run they get upset with the extra memory as they don't expect to
see it! The memory present in those long lost days was only graphics
memory and this is in what those older programs expect to run. When
NoFastMem is run it forces the Amiga to use only the available graph-
ics memory. Running NoFastMem again re-enables all other memory.
I can't believe anybody is still using such old programs. So, with that
in mind, you can pretty much ignore this program.
In addition to AmigaDOS you can also program you Amiga in a num-
ber of different programming languages. In recent years ARexx has
become increasingly popular as it allows you to customise existing
programs (which use ARexx). RexxMast provides an interface that
allows the ARexx language to be used. This is run as part of the
Amiga's starting up process and is normally active, so if you should
run it again it would be turned off.

The Expansion drawer is a utility drawer

and can be likened in a more limited
respect to the operation of the
WBStartup Drawer. The drawer is normally used to support the addi-
tion of peripheral devices - that is hardware that you plug into your
Amiga Insider Guide

Amiga - for example, a scanner or a digitiser perhaps. You simply

copy the software into the Expansion drawer and it does the rest. If
you need to copy software here as part of installing a new purchase it
will tell you to do so. Otherwise don't!

The Storage Disk is a storehouse for

handy data. It is here that files you are
likely to need are kept to enable you to
find and locate them readily. The Storage Drawer itself contains four
drawers. DOSDrivers contains files relating to CrossDOS and other
disk emulations; Keymaps contains the various international keyboard
drivers; Monitors has files which allow you to add the software to run
more advanced display systems; Datatypes are support files to other
programs; and Printers houses the various printer drivers. To use any
of the files you simply copy them into the corresponding drawers in
the Devs drawer on your Workbench startup disk.

We have only looked at a few of the

many Preference editors available to
you. These really are great fun to explore
and experiment with so don't hold back! The windows that they open
should all be very familiar to you.
The IControl Preferences editor allows you to change and define vari-
ous settings such as what command keys are used for certain opera-
tions and how long your Amiga will wait for a certain operation to
happen before it gets fed up.
The Input Preferences editor allows you to fine tune the manner in
which your mouse and keyboard operate. This basically boils down to
the speed at which the Pointer moves across the screen in relation to
movement of the mouse, how quick a double-click can be and how
responsive keypresses on the keyboard are.
Sometimes when you use a monitor there is a small area around the
edge of the screen that is unused - a border if you like. This region is
called the overscan area and the purpose of the Overscan Preferences
screen editor is to allow you to enlarge the size of your screen so that
you can actually use this unused space!
The ScreenMode Preferences editor window allows you to select an
appropriate screen mode for your Amiga. The modes available to you
 Amiga Insider Guide

are listed in the scrollable Display Mode scroll gadget and the items
listed here will depend on the monitor you are using and the monitor
drivers you might have copied across from the Storage disk.

The Locale disk is supplied for setting

up the computer for use worldwide, and
there's a Prefs drawer on the Extras disk
which contains an additional complementary editor - the Locale
Preferences editor.
The Locale disk contains the information needed to support the new
international localisation offered by the Amiga from the launch of
Workbench 3. Essentially it provides an easy way for applications to
support various languages in the international markets that
Commodore supports - the idea being that a software developer can
write a single program that runs in any of the languages supported
according to the user's preference.
The languages supported by Locale are:
• English • Spanish
• German • Portuguese
• French • Swedish
• Italian • Norwegian
• Danish • Dutch
So, provided the application supports localisation, you can use it in
any of the supported languages just by modifying the settings through
the Locale Preferences editor.
 Commodore may keep moving the location of
their mes but we keep keeping up with them!

Wherever a particular tool, font or data me may

be on your disks, this guide will give you instant
alphabetical access.

he Al200 comes with a five disk set packed with soft-

ware and we've seen during the course of this book that
it is almost all very useful, at least once. So you've got to
be able to lay your hands on the right disk with the right file on
it, and without too much disk swapping and searching. After
all, when you choose the Show All Files option from the
Workbench Window menu, there is often an overwhelming
amount of information to deal with.
To enable you to locate a particular tool or project this appen-
dix lists all of the files supplied on your Amiga Workbench 3.0
disk set, on your Extras3.0 disk and the main directories on the
Storage3.0, Fonts and Locale disks.
Each file is listed in alphabetical order and is followed by its
directory location. This should enable you to locate a particular
file quickly and efficiently. Note that all files are listed, not just
those with icons. Access to these files can be via the
Workbench Show All Files option or through the Shell itself.
 Amiga Insider Guide

For example, if you wished to locate the file Startup-sequence, locate

the name in the list and see that it can be found in the S directory.
Files that are listed without a directory name next to them can be
found in the root of the Workbench3.0 disk. File names that have (Dir)
next to them are in fact directories.

Workbench 3.0/Extras3.0/Storage
3.0/Locale 3.0/Fonts3.0 Disk Set

8SVX .................................... Workbench3.0:DevslDataTypes

8svx.datatype ..................... Workbench3.0:Classes/DataTypes
8SVX.info .............................. Workbench3.0:Devs/DataTypes
_bullet ..................................................................... Fonts:
_bulleCoutlines (Dir) ................................................ Fonts:

A
A2024 ............................................................ storage3.0:Monitors
A2024.info .................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
AddBuffers .......................................................... Workbench3 .o:c
AddDataTypes ..................................................... Workbench3.0:C
AmigaGuide ................................. Workbench3.0:Devs/DataTypes
amigaguide.datatype .............. Workbench3.0:Classes/DataTypes
AmigaGuide.info ......................... Workbench3.0:Devs/DataTypes
amigaguide.library ......................................... Workbench3 .O:Libs
asciLdatatype .......................... Workbench3 .O:Classes/DataTypes
asl.library ...................................................... Workbench3.0:Libs
Assign ..................................................................Workbench3.0:C
AutoPoint ....................................... Extras3 .O:Tools/Commodities
AutoPoint.info ............................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
AUX .......................................................... Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
aux-handler ......................................................... Workbench3.0:L
AUX.info .................................................. Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
Avail ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:C

8
Amiga Insider Guide

BindDrivers ......................................................... Workbench3.0:C

Blanker........................................... Extras3 .0:Tools/Commodities
Blanker.info ................................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
Break ..........................................Workbench3.0:Workbench3.0:C
bullet.library ................................................... Workbench3 .0:Libs

c
C (Dir) .................................................................... Workbench3.0:
CalComp_ColorMaster .................................. Storage3.0:Printers
CaIComp_ColorMaster.info ........................... Storage3.0:Printers
CalComp_ColorMaster2 ................................ Storage3.0:Printers
CaIComp_ColorMaster2.info ......................... Storage3.0:Printers
Calculator .............................................................. Extras3. O:Tools
Calculator.info ..................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
CanonBJIO ..................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
CanonBJ1 O.info .............................................. Storage3.0:Printers
Catalogs (Dir) ..................................................................... Locale:
CBM_MPS I 000 .............................................. Storage3 .0: Printers
CBM_MPS I OOO.info ..................................... Storage3.0:Printers
cdn ................................................................ Storage3.0:Keymaps
cdn.info ......................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
chI ................................................................ Storage3.0:Keymaps
chI.info ......................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
ch2 ................................................................ Storage3.0:Keymaps
ch2.info ......................................................... Storage3 .0:Keymaps
ChangeTaskPri ....................................................Workbench3.0:C
Classes (Dir) .......................................................... Workbench3.0:
CLI ............................................................. Workbench3.0:System
ClickToFront .................................. Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
ClickToFrontinfo .......................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
clipboard. device ........................................... Workbench3. O:Devs
Clock ......................................................... Workbench3.0:Utilities
Clock.info ................................................. Workbench3. 0: Utilities
CMD ...................................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
CMD.info ............................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
colorwheel.gadget ....................... Workbench3.0:ClassesIGadgets
 Amiga Insider Guide

Commodities (Dir) ................................................ Extras3.0:Tools

Commodities.info ................................................. Extras3.0:TooIs
commodities.library ...................................... Workbench3.0:Libs
ConClip .............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Copy .................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Countries (Dir) ................................................................... Locale:
courier (Dir) ......................................................................... Fonts:
courier.font ........................................................................... Fonts:
CPU .....................................................................Workbench3.0:C
CrossDOS ...................................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
CrossDOS.info ............................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
CrossDOSFileSystem .......................................... Workbench3 .O:L

D
d ................................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
d.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
DANSK.crossdos .................. Workbench3 .0:LlFileSystem_Trans
DataTypes (Dir) ............................................................ Storage3.0:
DataTypes (Dir) ......................................... Workbench3.0:Classes
DataTypes (Dir) ............................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
DataTypes.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:
DataTypes.info .............................................. Workbench3.O:Devs
datatypes.library ...........................................Workbench3.0:Libs
Date .................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
DblNTSC ....................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
DblNTSC.info ............................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
DblPAL .......................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
DblPAL.info .................................................. Storage3.0:Monitors
Delete .................................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Devs (Dir) ..............................................................Workbench3.0:
Devs.info ................................................................ Workbench3.0:
Diablo_630 ...................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Diablo_630.info .............................................. Storage3.0:Printers
diamond (Dir) ...................................................................... Fonts:
Amiga Insider Guide

diamond.font ....................................................................... Fonts:

Dir ....................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Disk.info ......................................................................... Extras3 .0:
Disk.info ................................................................ Workbench3.0:
DiskChange ........................................................ Workbench3.0:C
DiskCopy ................................................... Workbench3.0:System
diskfont.library ............................................. Workbench3. O:Libs
dk .................................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
dk.info ........................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
DOSDrivers (Dir) ......................................................... Storage3.0:
DOSDrivers (Dir) ........................................... Workbench3 .0:Devs
DOSDrivers.info ........................... '" ............................ Storage3 .0:
DOSDrivers.info ............................................ Workbench3. O:Devs
DPat ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:S

E
e ......................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
e.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
Ed ....................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Ed-startup ........................................................... Workbench3.0:S
Edit ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
emerald (Dir) ........................................................................ Fonts:
emerald.font3 ....................................................................... Fonts:
Env-Archive ................................................... Workbench3 .0:Prefs
EpsonQ ........................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
EpsonQ.info .................................................. Storage3.0:Printers
EpsonX .......................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
EpsonX.info .................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
EpsonXOld .................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
EpsonXOld.info .............................................. Storage3 .0:Printers
Euro36 .......................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
Euro36.info .................................................. Storage3.0:Monitors
Euro 72 .......................................................... Storage3 .0:Monitors
Euro72.info .................................................. Storage3.O:Monitors
Eval ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Exchange ....................................... Extra:s3.0:Tools/Commo dities
 Amilia Insider Guide

Exchange.info ................................ Extras3 .0:Tools/Commodities

Execute ............................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Expansion (Dir) ..................................................... Workbench3.0:
Expansion.info ......................................................Workbench3.0:

F
f .................................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
f.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
Filenote ............................................................... Workbench3.0:C
FileSystem_Trans (Dir) ....................................... Workbench3 .O:L
FixFonts .....................................................Workbench3.0:System
FixFonts.info ............................................. Workbench3.0:System
FKey ............................................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
FKey.info ........................................ Extras3 .0:Tools/Commodities
Font. ....................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Font.info ................................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs
Format ....................................................... Workbench3 .0:System
Format.info ..............................................Workbench3.0: System
FTXT ............................................ Workbench3 .0:Devs/DataTypes
FTXT.info .................................... Workbench3. O:Devs/DataTypes

G
Gadgets (Dir) ............................................. Workbench3.0:Classes
garnet (Dir) ........................................................................... Fonts:
garnet. font .............................................. '" ........................... Fonts:
gb .................................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
gb.info ........................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
Generic ............................................ Workbench3.0:Devs/Printers
Generic.info ..................................... Workbench3. O:Devs/Printers
gradientslider.gadget .................. Workbench3.0:Classes/Gadgets
GraphicDump ....................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
GraphicDump.info ............................................... Extras3.O:Tools

H
Help (Dir) ............................................................................ Locale:
helvetica (Dir) ...................................................................... Fonts:
helvetica.font ............................................................ ;........... Fonts:
Amiga Insider Guide

HI ................................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
Howtek_Pixelmaster ......................................Storage3.0:Printers
Howtek_Pixelmaster.info ............................... Storage3 .0:Printers
HP_DeskJet ..................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_DeskJet.info ............................................ Storage3.0:Printers
HP_DeskJetOld ............................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_DeskJetOld.info ...................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_LaserJet. ................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_PaintJet .................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_PaintJet.info ............................................ Storage3.0: Printers
HP_ThinkJet ................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
HP_ThinkJetinfo ........................................... Storage3.0:Printers

I
i ..................................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
i.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
IconEdit ................................................................ Extras3.0:Tools
IconEditinfo ......................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
IControl ................................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs
IControl.info .......................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
IconX ................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
iffparse.library ............................................... Workbench3 .0:Libs
ILBM ............................................ Workbench3.0:Devs/DataTypes
ilbm.datatype .......................... Workbench3.0:Classes/DataTypes
ILBM.info .................................... Workbench3.0:DevslDataTypes
ImagewriterII ................................................. Storage3.0:Printers
ImagewriterII.info .......................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Info ...................................................................... Workbench3. O:C
InitPrinter ............................................................. Extras3.0:Tools
InitPrinter.info ...................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
Input ...................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Input.info .............................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs
Install ..................................................................Workbench3.0:C
Intellifont .......................................................... Extras3.0:System
Intellifont.info ................................................... Extras3. 0: System
INTL.crossdos ...................... Workbench3 .0:L1FileSystem_Trans
 Amiga Insider Guide

IPrefs ..................................................................Workbench3.0:C

J
Join ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:C

K
Keymaps (Dir) ............................................................. Storage3.0:
Keymaps (Dir) ............................................... Workbench3.0:Devs
Keymaps ........................................................ Workbench3.0:Devs
Keymaps.info ............................................................... Storage3.0:
Keymaps.info ............................................... Workbench3.0:Devs
KeyShow .............................................................. Extras3.0:Tools
KeyShow.info ........................................................ Extras3.0:Tools

L
L (Dir) .................................................................... Workbench3.0:
Lacer ...................................................................... Extras 3 .O:Tools
Lacer.info ......................................................... , .... Extras3.0:Tools
Languages (Dir) .................................................................. Locale:
Libs (Dir) ............................................................... Workbench3.0:
List ...................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
LoadWB ............................................................ ,.Workbench3.0:C
Locale .................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Locale.info ............................................................. Extras 3.O:Prefs
locale.library ................................................. Workbench3.0:Libs
Lock .................................................................... Workbench3.0:C

M
MagTape ............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
MakeDir .............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
MakeLink .......................................................... Workbench3.0:C
mathieeedoubbas.library .............................. Workbench3.0:Libs
mathieeedoubtrans.library ............................ Workbench3.0:Libs
mathieeesingtrans.library ............................. Workbench3 .O:Libs
mathtrans.library .......................................... Workbench3.0:Libs
MEmacs ................................................................ Extras3.0:Tools
MEmacs.info ......................................................... Extras3.0:Tools

--------11--------
Amiga Insider Guide

mfm.device ................................................... Workbench3.0:Devs

Monitors (Dir) ............................................................. Storage3.0:
Monitors (Dir) .............................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
Monitors ........................................................Workbench3.0:Devs
Monitors.info ............................................................... Storage3.0:
Monitors.info ................................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
More ......................................................... Workbench3.0:Utilities
Mount .................................................................. Workbench3.0:C
MouseBlanker ............................... Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
MouseBlanker.info ........................ Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
Multiscan ........................................... ,.......... Storage3.0:Monitors
Multiscan.info ....... :...................................... Storage3.O:Monitors
MultiView ................................................. Workbench3.0:Utilities
MultiView.info .......................................... Workbench3 .0: Utilities

N
n .................................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
n.info ........................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
NEC_Pinwriter ............................................... Storage3.0:Printers
NEC_Pinwriter.info ........................................ Storage3.0:Printers
NoCapsLock .................................. Extras3.0:Tools/Commodities
NoCapsLock.info ........................... Extras3 .0:Tools/Commodities
NoFastMem ............................................... Workbench3.0:System
NoFastMem.info ....................................... Workbench3 .0:System
NTSC ............................................................. Storage3.0:Monitors
NTSC.info ..................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors

o
Okidata_92 ..................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Okidata_92.info ............................................. Storage3.0:Printers
Okidata_2931 .................................................. Storage3.0:Printers
Okidata_293I.info .......................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Okimate_20 .................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Okimate_20 .info ............................................. Storage3 .0: Printers
opal (Dir) .............................................................................. Fonts:
opal.font ............................................................................... Fonts:
 Amiga Insider Guide

Overscan ................................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs

Overscan.info ........................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs
p
PAL.info ........................................................ Storage3.0:Monitors
PAL3 .............................................................. Storage3.0:Monitors
Palette .................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Palette.info ............................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs
parallel.device ................................................ Workbench3.0:Devs
PCO ........................................................... Storage3.O:DOSDrivers
PCO.info .................................................... Storage3.O:DOSDrivers
PCl ........................................................... Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
PC l.info .................................................... Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
PCD ...................................................................... Workbench3.0:S
picture.datatype ...................... Workbench3.0:ClasseslDataTypes
PIPE .......................................... Workbench3 .O:Devs/DOSDrivers
PIPE.info .................................. Workbench3 .O:Devs/DOSDrivers
po ................................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
po.info ......................................................... .storage3.0:Keymaps
Pointer ................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Pointer.info ............................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs
port-handler ........................................................ Workbench3.0:L
PostScript ....................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
PostScript.info ................................................ Storage3.0:Printers
postscripCinit. ps .......................................... Workbench3 .O:Devs
Prefs (Dir) ...................................................................... Extras3.0:
Prefs (Dir) .............................................................. Workbench3.0:
Prefs.info ........................................................................ Extras3.0:
Prefs.info ............................................................... Workbench3.0:
PrepCard .............................................................. Extras3.0:Tools
PrepCard.info ........................................................ Extras3.0:Tools
Presets ........................................................... Workbench3.0:Prefs
Presets ........................................................... Workbench3.0:Prefs
Presets.info ................................................... Workbench3.0:Prefs
Printer .................................................................... Extras3 .O:Prefs
printer. device ................................................ Workbench3.O:Devs
Printer.info ............................................................ Extras3.0:Prefs
Amiga Insider Guide

PrinterGfx .............................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs

PrinterGfx.info ...................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
PrinterPS ............................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
PrinterPS.info ....................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Printers (Dir) ............................................................... Storage3.0:
Printers (Dir) ................................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
Printers.info ................................................................. Storage3.0:
Printers.info .................................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
PrintFiles ............................................................... Extras3 .0:Tools
PrintFiles.info ....................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
Protect ................................................................. Workbench3 .O:C

Q
queue-handler .................................................... Workbench3.0:L

R
RAD .......................................................... Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
RAD.info .................................................. Storage3.0:DOSDrivers
RelabeL ................................................................ Workbench3 .O:C
RemRAD ............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Rename ............................................................... Workbench3.0:C
RequestChoice .................................................... Workbench3.0:C
RequestFile ......................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Rexxc (Dir) ............................................................ Workbench3.0:
RexxMast ................................................... Workbench3.0:System
RexxMast.info ........................................... Workbench3.0:System
rexxsupport.library ........................................ Workbench3.0:Libs
rexxsyslib.library ........................................... Workbench3.0:Libs
ruby (Dir) ............................................................................. Fonts:
ruby.font ............................................................................... Fonts:
RX ................................................................ Workbench3.0:Rexxc
RXC .............................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
RXLIB .......................................................... Workbench3.0:Rexxc
RXSET ......................................................... Workbench3.0:Rexxc

s
S (Dir) .................................................................... Workbench3.0:
 Amiga Insider Guide

s ..................................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
s.info ............................................................. Storage3.0:Keymaps
sapphire (Dir) ....................................................................... Fonts:
sapphire.font ........................................................................ Fonts:
ScreenMode .......................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
ScreenMode.info ................................................... Extras3 .0:Prefs
Search ................................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Seiko_5300 ..................................................... Storage3. 0: Printers
Seiko_5300.info .............................................. Storage 3.0:Printers
Seiko_5300a ................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Seiko_5300a.info ............................................ Storage3 .0:Printers
Serial ...................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
serial.device .................................................. Workbench3.0:Devs
Serial.info .............................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs
SetClock .............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
SetDate ................................................................ Workbench3.0:C
SetFont ................................................................ Workbench3.0:C
SetKeyboard ...................................................... Workbench3.0:C
Set Patch .............................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Sharp_IX-730 ................................................. Storage3.0: Printers
Sharp_IX-730.info ......................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Shell-Startup ....................................................... Workbench3.0:S
Shell.info ................................................... Workbench3.0:System
ShowConfig ........................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
ShowConfig.info ................................................... Extras3.0:Tools
Sort ...................................................................... Workbench3 .o:c
Sound .................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
sound.datatype ........................ Workbench3.0:Classes/DataTypes
Sound.info ............................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs
SPat ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:S
Startup-Sequence ............................................... Workbench3.0:S
Status ................................................................. Workbench3.0:C
Super72 ......................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
Super72.info ................................................. Storage3.0:Monitors
Sys (Dir) ................................... Workbench3.0:Prefs/Env-Archive
System (Dir) ................................................................... Extras3.0:
Amiga Insider Guide

System (Dir) .......................................................... Workbench3.0:

system-configuration ................................... Workbench3.0:Devs
System.info .................................................................... Extras3.0:
System.info ............................................................ Workbench3 .0:

T
T (Dir) .................................................................... Workbench3.0:
TCC .............................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
TCO .............................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
TE ................................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
Tektronix_4693D ............................................ Storage3.0:Printers
Tektronix_4693D.info .................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Tektronix_4696 .............................................. Storage3.0:Printers
Tektronix_4696.info ....................................... Storage3.0:Printers
text.datatype ............................ Workbench3.0:Classes/DataTypes
Time ....................................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
Time.info ............................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
times (Dir) ............................................................................ Fonts:
times.font ............................................................................. Fonts:
Tools (Dir) ...................................................................... Extras3.0:
Tools.info ....................................................................... Extras3.0:
topaz (Dir) ............................................................................ Fonts:
topaz.font ............................................................................. Fonts:
Toshiba_P351 C ............................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Toshiba_P351 C.info ....................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Toshiba_P351 SX ............................................ Storage3.0:Printers
Toshiba_P351SX.info ..................................... Storage3.0:Printers
TS ................................................................. Workbench3.0:Rexxc
Type ..................................................................... Workbench3.0:C

U
usa2 ............................................................... Storage3 .0:Keymaps
usa2.info ....................................................... Storage3.0:Keymaps
Utilities (Dir) ......................................................... Workbench3.0:
Utilities.info ........................................................... Workbench3.0:
 Amiga Insider Guide

V
Version ...............................................................Workbench3.0:C
version.library ............................................... Workbench3.0:Libs
VGAOnly ....................................................... Storage3.0:Monitors
VGAOnly.info ................................................ Storage3.0:Monitors

W
Wait .................................................................... Workbench3.0:C
WaitForPort .................................................Workbench3.0:Rexxc
wbconfig. prefs .................. Workbench3 .0:Prefs/Env-Archive/Sys
WBPattem ............................................................. Extras3.0:Prefs
WBPattem.info ..................................................... Extras3.0:Prefs
WBStartup (Dir) .................................................... Workbench3.0:
WBStartup ............................................................. Workbench3.0:
WBStartup.info ..................................................... Workbench3.0:
Which ................................................................. Workbench3.0:C

X
Xerox_4020 ..................................................... Storage3.0:Printers
Xerox_4020.info ............................................. Storage3.0:Printers

-----11----
 It is possible to interrupt the normal startup
procedure of your Amiga to make some, possibly
vital, adjustments to get older software to run
with your A1200.

Up with the bonnet!

he normal sequence of events which take place when

turning on your Amiga can be interrupted by holding
down the two mouse buttons when switching on the
computer. After a short delay, the screen clears and, instead of
the normal disk prompt, you are presented with a grey screen
with three main options on it. This is the Amiga Early Startup
Control. This program has seemingly come from nowhere and
is in fact permanently inside your computer ready to be called
up by the genie of the mouse!
The three options given are Boot Options, Display Options and
Expansion Board Diagnostics. We'll leave this last one to the
dealer!
The first two options could help you run software if you have
encountered a problem. Commodore estimate a high propor-
tion of software produced prior to the A1200 will work without
a hiccup but that means that some won't!
The simple procedure to follow is to try the different settings
possible in these two Options screens. When you click on Boot
 Amiga Insider Guide

Options, look at Disable CPU Caches, which is a gadget situated under

the Control Active Devices window. If empty, selecting this box will
put a tick into it and tum the CPU caches off. If ticked, selecting the
box will remove the tick and tum the CPU caches on. You don't need
to know what this means, only that it could make a difference.
Back to the Amiga Early Startup screen and Display Options. This
brings up five gadgets in two groups, Display Type and Chip Type. We
are interested in the Chip Type buttons. Only one of these buttons can
be selected at anyone time. Selection is indicated by the button turn-
ing blue from background grey, and you can choose from Original,
Enhanced and Best Available. Best Available should be selected as
your default (ie factory) setting.
Now it's a matter of experimentation. Deal with the Display and Boot
Options separately and try changing the Chip Type settings before
moving on to turning CPU Caches on and off (through Display
Options).
This is the sequence of actions you should carry out to try out differ-
ent settings with a troublesome piece of software. We'll change the
CPU setting as an example:
1. Hold down both mouse buttons and tum on the A1200.
2. Select Boot Options.
3. Select Disable CPU Caches.
4. Select Use.
S. Select Boot.
The A1200 will boot from its Workbench disk as normal with the new
settings in place.
You can select Boot With No Startup-Sequence to boot from the
Workbench disk into a Shell window.

----11"'---
We've taken you inside your A1200, now comes
the opportunity to take your computing a serious
step further with our Mastering Series.

You'll be getting an idea by now where your

interests lie and our interest is in providing the
book to help you with your hobby.

ruce Smith Books is dedicated to producing quality

Amiga publications which are both comprehensive and
easy to read. Our Amiga titles are being written by some
of the best known names in the marvellous world of Amiga
computing. If you have found that your Insider Guide has
proved informative and want to delve deeper into your Amiga
then why not try one of our highly rated Mastering Amiga
guides? In other words - if you enjoyed getting insider your
Amiga, now is the time to master it!
Below you will find details of all our books in the Mastering
Amiga range that are either currently available or due for publi-
cation. As an ideal follow-on to this title we would recommend
Mastering AmigaDOS Volume One which delves deep inside
AmigaDOS, far beyond what you have already learnt. Some of
the material will be familiar to you, but much more will come
to life from this text which is the most comprehensive avail-
able. And there will be more books specifically on the A1200
and Workbench 3.0 and AmigaDOS 3.0 so keep in touch!
 Amiga Insider Guide

Beginners will enjoy a wider look at the world of Amiga in Mastering

Amiga Beginners which introduces the computer and everything it can
do, from comms to 3D graphics, from MIDI music to image process-
ing. Beginners to programming should look to AMOS and our wonder-
ful new guide. ARexx is part of the software you receive with your
A1200 so programming in ARexx is just a book away! And when you
get serious, C, System and Assembler programming guides are waiting
to help you meet the challenge.

Compatibility
We endeavour to ensure that all Mastering Amiga books are fully com-
patible with all Amiga models and all releases of AmigaDOS and
Workbench. The Mastering AmigaDOS books are constantly updated
to reflect Commodore's evolving Amiga operating system so you can
be sure that these bibles of Amiga computing will keep up to date with
you and your computer.
Titles Currently Available:
• Mastering Amiga Beginners
• Mastering AmigaDOS Volume One
• Mastering AmigaDOS Volume Two
• Mastering Amiga C
• Mastering Amiga Printers
• Mastering Amiga System
• Mastering Amiga Assembler
• Mastering Amiga AMOS
• Mastering Amiga ARexx
• Amiga Gamer - Volume One
Brief details of these guides along with review segments are given
below. If you would like a free copy of our catalogue Mastering Amiga
News and to be placed on our mailing list then phone or write to the
address below.
You can order a book simply by writing or using the simple tear our
form to be found towards the end of this book.
Our mailing list is used exclusively to inform readers of forthcoming
Bruce Smith Books publications along with special introductory offers
which normally take the form of a free software disk when ordering
the publication direct from us.

------..1-------
Amiga Insider Guide

Bruce Smith Books, PO Box 382, St. Albans, Herts, AU 3JD

Telephone: (0923) 894355 - Fax: (0923) 894366
Note that we offer a 24-hour telephone answer system so that you can
place your order direct by 'phone at a time to suit yourself. When
ordering by 'phone please:
• Speak clearly and slowly
• Leave your full name and full address
• Leave a day-time contact phone number
• Give your credit card number and expiry date
• Spell out any unusual names
Note that we do not charge for P&P in the UK and we endeavour to
dispatch all books within 24-hours.

Buying at your Bookshop

All our books can be obtained via your local bookshops - this includes
WH Smiths which will be keeping a stock of some of our titles - just
enquire at their counter. If you wish to order via your local High
Street bookshop you will need to supply the book name, author, pub-
lisher, price and ISBN number - these are all summarised at the very
end of this appendix.

Overseas Orders
Please add £3 per book (Europe) or £6 per book (outside Europe) to
cover postage and packing. Pay by sterling cheque or by Access, Visa
or Mastercard. Post, Fax or Phone your order to us.

Dealer Enquiries
Our distributor is Computer Bookshops Ltd who keep a good stock of
all our titles. Call their Customer Services Department for best terms
on 021-706-1188.

----1----
 Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering AmigaDOS 2
Our 700-page plus dual volume set covers all versions of AmigaDOS
from 1.2, including 1.2, 1.3, 1.3.2 and 2.x. Volume One is a complete
tutorial for AmigaDOS users, both beginners and experts alike.
Volume Two is a detailed and comprehensive reference to all
AmigaDOS commands.
Here's what the press said:
"If you're a complete beginner or unsure of a few areas, this book is an
amazingly informative read." Amiga Format on Volume One
"As a reference book it's very useful. So far as I know there isn't any
similar book .. .If you need to know how every AmigaDOS command
works get this book .. .it is a definitive reference" Amiga Format on
Volume Two.
"The Reference book that Commodore forgot to commission" Keith
Pomfret of New Computer Express on Volume Two.
"The book can be strongly recommended ... and even more strongly to
those having difficulty getting to grips with its various commands.
You won't find a better guide to, or a more useful book on, the Amiga
than this" Micronet AmigaBASE.
"No other authors have investigated AmigaDOS with the thoroughness
of Smith and Smiddy and every page provides useful information. Put
off getting that new game, and buy this instead. You won't regret it."
Micronet AmigaBASE.
And if you don't know if you need either or both books here is what
Amiga Format suggested: "If Volume 1 is so good what is the point of
having Volume 2? Volume 1 is a tutorial, it teaches you how to use
AmigaDOS. Volume 2 is more of a manual."
A1200 owners should note that Mastering AmigaDOS will be updated
to take account of AmigaDOS 3. You are welcome to call us about
availability.

- - -..1....---
Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga Beginners

The Amiga has enjoyed a phenomenal success over recent years and is
now recognised as one of the most powerful and sophisticated person-
al computers available. The appeal of the Amiga, along with the vast
range of programs available for it, has made it the ideal machine for
the beginner.
If you have recently purchased an Amiga of any type, or have had one
for some time but now feel you are still not getting to grips with what
lies behind that keyboard then this is definitely the book for you!
This book will take you step by step through every aspect of its use,
from disks and disk drives to AmigaDOS and the many extras avail-
able to it. It does so in a logical manner, introducing items as and
when they are needed so as to become a powerful torchlight through
the fog of computer jargon.
The first section of the book holds your hand as you tackle file copy-
ing, running programs, configuring your computer, setting up your
printer, managing your floppy disks and hard drive. Preferences,
Commodities Exchange, utilities, fonts, CrossDOS and all the vital
functions for day to day computing with the Amiga are covered.
There's even an AmigaDOS primer and an introduction to what pro-
gramming is all about. The second section of the book deals with the
wider world of the Amiga, with graphics, paint programs, desktop
video, CDs, sound and music, comms, databases, wordprocessing
spreadsheets, desktop publishing, viruses, monitor and printer types,
hard drives, scanners, digitisers, input devices, In short, everything
you need to get you up to speed on your new Amiga.
This book will not make you an expert in anyone particular subject
but it will provide you with a solid grounding to allow you to investi-
gate those areas which appeal to you.
Added to this, if you order direct from us you can choose a free disk of
PD software. Choose from a Wordprocessor (including spell check) or
a Games Compendium. State which when you order.
 Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga C
C is without doubt one of the most powerful programming languages
ever created, and it has a very special relationship with the
Commodore Amiga. Much of the Amiga's operating system software
was written using C and almost all of the Amiga technical reference
books assume some proficiency in the language.
Paul Overaa has been writing about C and the Amiga for as long as the
machine has been in existence. He knows the Amiga-specific pitfalls
that can plague the beginner, knows how to avoid them, and above all
he knows about C. Best of all he's prepared to share that experience.
The result is a book which is guaranteed to get the Amiga owner pro-
gramming in C as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
This introductory text assumes no prior knowledge of C and covers all
the major compilers, including Lattice/SAS and Aztec. What is more it
also covers NorthC - the Charityware compiler - so that anyone who is
interested in learning C can do so for just a few pounds. This book
assumes no prior knowledge of C and features:
• Easy to follow tutorials
• All major C compilers
• Explanations of special Amiga C features
• Amiga problem areas
• Debugging and testing
Here's what CU Amiga thought of Mastering Amiga C: "This book has
been written with the absolute novice in mind. It doesn't baffle with
jargon and slang".
Writing in Amiga User International, Mike Nelson called Mastering
Amiga C: "Very thorough, Paul Overaa has gone to considerable
lengths to keep up to date with developments in the real world of C
and the ANSI Standards ... this book will go a long way to help you
master C on your Amiga".

----1-----
Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga Printers

Next to the Amiga itself, your printer is the largest and most important
purchase you're likely to make. It's surprising then, that so little help is
available for those about to take this step, whether it be for the first
time, or for the purpose of upgrading from an old, trusted but limited
model to one of today's much more versatile and complex machines.
The problem of course is that you can't take one home on trial to find
out what it does.
Today's printers are extremely sophisticated and complex devices,
with a wide range of capabilities, so it's all too easy to make a mistake
at the stage of buying if you don't know what to look for, the right
questions to ask and the sort of comparisons to make between similar-
ly priced models from different manufacturers. Since a printer is such
a large investment, quite possibly more expensive than the micro
itself, choosing the right type and model for your needs is doubly
important, because you'll have to live with your decision for a long
time.
Unfortunately for the user, neither computer nor printer manufactur-
ers see it as their responsibility to offer guidance or assistance to users
in this important purchase.
Mastering Amiga Printers fills this gap perfectly. Making no assump-
tions about previous printer experience, the explanations begin with
the basic principles of how printers work, including a run-down of the
different types most commonly used with home and business micros.
After a comprehensive grounding in the abilities and methods of the
different types of printer hardware you'll then learn how to install
them in the Amiga. Preference selections and printer drivers are thor-
oughly explained for both Workbench One and Two, so you'll know
not only which choices to make, but what they mean. There's also a
thorough grounding in the direct use of printers from the command
line, which you'll need if you want to write your own programs.
Additional chapters take a logical approach to trouble-shooting and
routine maintenance, vital to the newcomer. These chapters include
the sort of information and knowledge which is normally only avail-
able after long experience, the very thing the new user lacks.
Mastering Amiga Printers is a must for every user who wants to get
the best out of their Amiga and its printer .

............11............
 Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga System

A complete tutorial to Amiga System programming with copious
examples. A basic knowledge of C is required but the book begins with
short examples which only later build into full-scale programs, all of
which are on the accompanying disk.
In dealing with a difficult subject, the author has avoided merely
duplicating standard documentation. Instead he has entered on a jour-
ney through the different aspects of the Amiga's system, finding the
safest and most effective routes to practical programs. Mastering
Amiga System is an invaluable purchase for the Amiga programmer
who wants to master the system software. Free disk.

Mastering Amiga Assembler

Although the 68000 processor series is well-documented, the use of
assembly language to write efficient code within the unique environ-
ment of the Amiga is only now explained in this hands-on tutorial.
Working with the Amiga's custom chips and system software are only
two of the areas which will be appreciated by programmers wanting to
generate machine code from the popular Amiga Assemblers, all of
which are supported by the many code examples in this 416 page
book.

Mastering Amiga AMOS

AMOS has revolutionised all forms of programming on the Amiga.
What is more it has made it possible for every Amiga owner to create
stunning sound and graphics with the absolute minimum of fuss.
This book covers all versions of AMOS, and includes chapters on Easy
AMOS and AMOS Professional. Just some of the topics covered
include Windows, Text and Menus, Screens, Sprites and Bobs, Sprite
X, CText and TOME, AMOS Compiler and 3D graphics, Music and
Sound and much more. There are many example listings to type in so
you learn the language by practising your programming and seeing
how things really work.
Author Phil South hosts his own regular column on AMOS in one of
the top Amiga magazines and his experience of readers' concerns
when learning the language has resulted in a highly readable text for
beginners to programming .

..........-11--........-
Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga ARexx

Another great programming introduction from the wordprocessor of
Paul Overaa - this book is a complete programming guide to the
ARexx language. The ARexx port for the Amiga has long been admired
and used by programmers of the machine and now you can get to
grips with it too!
ARexx is now bundled as part of the standard operating software of
the Amiga and so you can begin programming in this fascinating lan-
guage without further outlay. ARexx is an important part of interappli-
cation data transfer and is therefore of interest to database and graph-
ics application programmers too.
Mastering Amiga ARexx is another practical guide to programming
with plenty of examples and a step by step approach which brings the
beginner through to expert status through a hands-on approach.

Amiga Gamer - Volume One

Everyone enjoys the challenge of a good game. From sports simula-
tions, to arcade adventure with strategy in between, Amiga Gamer cov-
ers the latest - check out Streetfighter 2 and Indiana Jones, the most
popular, and some of the most difficult games on the Amiga. Gamer
takes in classics of the genre and recent top ten hits alike. Many are
featured in spectacular full colour.
Written by Dan Slingsby, the lavishly illustrated pages are packed with
full games solutions and tricks and tips. There's an A to Z of hints and
a comprehensive joystick roundup to complete this most rounded of
Amiga games books. So enjoy your leisure as we show you how to play
to win with Amiga Gamer - Volume One.

-------1-------
 Amiga Insider Guide

Summary Book Details

Mastering Amiga Beginners by Bruce Smith and Mark Webb
ISBN: 1-873308-17-5 Price £19.95 320 pages. Now available.
FREE Wordprocessor or Games disk - please state preference.
Mastering Amiga Beginners is the book for the growing number of
novice computer users who tum to the Amiga as the natural computer
for home entertainment and self-education.
The authors have built up a wide experience of beginners' require-
ments and the problems they encounter and now this vast knowledge
of the subject has been distilled into 320 pages of sensible advice and
exciting ideas for using the Amiga.
Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume One - Revised Edition
by Bruce Smith and Mark Smiddy
ISBN: 1-873308-10-8 Price £21.95 416 pages. Now available.
FREE Utilities disk.
Volume One of the Mastering AmigaDOS dual volume is a complete
tutorial to AmigaDOS, designed to help the beginner become the
expert. From formatting a disk to multi-user operation, over 400 pages
spans every aspect of the Amiga's operation. The book is packed with
DOS one-liners and scripts.
Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume Two - Revised Edition
by Bruce Smith and Mark Smiddy
ISBN: 1-873308-09-4 Price £19.95 368 pages. Now Available.
Mastering Amiga DOS 2, Volume Two is a complete A to Z reference
to DOS commands and the current version has full details up to ver-
sion 2.04. The action of each command is explained and examples to
try are provided. Chapters on AmigaDOS error codes, viruses, the
Interchange File Format (IFF) and the Mountlist complete this valu-
able guide.
Mastering Amiga C by Paul Overaa
ISBN: 1-873308-04-6 Price £19.95 320 pages. Now available.
FREE Programs Disk and NorthC Public Domain compiler.
Learn C for fun or profit with this easy to use guide to the language
which is the natural language for Amiga programming. Ideal for any-
one using their Amiga to catch up on computer studies!

----1-----
Amiga Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga Printers by Robin Burton

ISBN: 1-873308-05-1 Price £19.95 336 pages. Now Available.
FREE Programs disk
After reading Mastering Amiga Printers, any Amiga owner will be able
to choose effectively the ideal printer for his or her requirements. The
Amiga's own printer control software is pulled apart and explained
from all points of view, from the Workbench to the operating system
routines. Individual printer drivers are assessed and screen-dumping
techniques explained.
Mastering Amiga System by Paul Overaa
ISBN: 1-873308-06-X Price £29.95 398 pages. Now Available.
FREE disk.
Serious Amiga programmers need to use the Amiga's operating system
to write legal, portable and efficient programs. But it's not easy! Paul
Overaa shares his experience in this introduction to system program-
ming in the C language. The author keeps it specific and presents
skeleton programs which are fully documented so that they can be fol-
lowed by the newcomer to Amiga programming. The larger programs
are fully-fledged examples which can serve as templates for the read-
er's own ideas as confidence is gained.
Mastering Amiga Assembler by Paul Overaa
ISBN: 1-873308-11-6 Price £24.95 416 pages. Now Available.
FREE disk.
This book explains the use of assembly language to write efficient code
within the unique environment of the Amiga, doing so without dupli-
cating standard 68000 material. Instruction is achieved by short code
examples amidst discussion of the issues involved in using machine
code for various purposes. Subjects covered in over 400 pages include
cooperation with the System software, custom chips and the C lan-
guage. All the popular Amiga assemblers are supported by the many
code examples in this book.
Mastering Amiga AMOS by Phil South
ISBN: 1-873308-13-2 Price £19.95 320 pages. Available Now.
Ideal for anyone investing in AMOS, EasyAMOS or AMOS
Professional. Full of hints, tips and shortcuts to effective and spectacu-
lar AMOS programming, the book also contains many useful routines
and program design ideas.
 Amilia Insider Guide

Mastering Amiga ARexx by Paul Overaa

ISBN: 1-873308-13-2 Price £21.95 336 pages. Available April 1993.
FREE disk.
Now a standard part of Commodore's software strategy, ARexx has
been much admired by the programming community and is now avail-
able to all. This book is anddeal companion to the ARexx documenta-
tion, explaining the important concepts and providing a hands-on
introduction to programming.

NEW! Great value! 368 pages for £14.95.

Amiga Gamer's Guide by Dan Slingsby
ISBN: 1-873308-16-7 Price £14.95 368 pages. Available NOW
Everyone loves games and Amiga games are growing in sophistication,
always setting new playing challenges while introducing ever more
gasp-producing graphics and sound effects. Even the techies at Bruce
Smith Books are, it seems, not immune to the games phenomenon.
This latest book for the discerning Amiga owner, is a highly illustrat-
ed guide to your favourite Amiga games, including classics like
Shadow of the Beast and recent top ten hits like Putty, Formula One
Grand Prix, Streetfighter 2 and Indiana Jones.
From sports sims to arcade adventures, Amiga Gamer's Guide gives
you the hints and tips, hidden screens and puzzle solutions which you
are looking for. Completed by a massive A to Z of tips and tricks for
over 300 games, Amiga Gamer's Guide is the most masterful of games
guides yet published.
Written by CU Amiga editor Dan Slingsby, Amiga Gamer's Guide con-
tains a wealth of background information to the most popular Amiga
games. The graphically appealing layout with hundreds of pictures
used to illustrate the games and their storylines, makes this one of the
most attactive Amiga books to be found on the bookshelves.

Note: Disks where indicated are supplied free only when ordered
direct from Bruce Smith Books.
E&OE.

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Amiga Insider Guide

liThe Mastering Amiga series provides top quality

guidance for Amiga users. "

... but don't just take our word for it!

"Beginners Bible"
"1he first book a new user should buy - essential!"
CU Amiga Review on Mastering Amiga Beginners.

"This book has been written with the absolute novice in mind.
It doesn't patronise, yet neither does it baffle with jargon and
slang"
Chris Lee, CU Amiga Review on Mastering Amiga C.

"I have to say that the best hands-on tutorial that I've
seen is Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume One."
Pat McDonald, Amiga Fonnat on Mastering AmigaDOS
Volume 1.

"The definitive book on the subject, don't leave your

Workbench without it!"
Neil Jackson, Amiga Fonnat on Mastering AmigaDOS
Volume 2.

"... it's well worth buying a decent book on the subject-

I personally recommend you get Mastering Amiga
Printers."
Jason Holborn, Amiga Fonnat on Mastering Amiga
Printers.

"The latest in the excellent range of specialist Amiga

Books ... covers every aspect of the complex Commodore
Amiga system"
Damien Noonan, Amiga Fonnat on Mastering Amiga
System.
AmigR Insider Guide
$................................................................................................. 152, 153
.info file ............................................................................................. 10 1

A
A1200HD ............................................................................................. 19
About ................................................................................................... 79
Alarm ............................................................................................. 62, 63
ALIAS ......................................................................................... 159-161
All Files ..................................................................................... 163,164
alpha keys ......................................................................................... 122
Alt ...................................................................................................... 122
AmigaDOS ............................................................................ 77, 85,157
ASCII ................................................................................................. 124
ASSIGN ............................................................................................. 162
AutoPoint .......................................................................................... 128

B
Backdrop .......................................................................... .22, 34, 35, 66
background ......................................................................................... 6 7
Backup ...................................................................... 42, 43, 44, 46,100
bitmaps ..................................................................................... 190, 191
Blank disks .................................................................................... 38, 39
Blanker....................................................................................... 128-130
Booting .................................................................. 19, 20,127,130,233
Bum-in .............................................................................................. 129
byte ..................................................................................................... .47

C
Calculator. ................................................................................. 120, 121
cataloguing ......................................................................... 82, 103, 104
CD .............................................................................................. 102, 103
child directory .................................................................................... 95
CLEAR ................................................................................................ 88
ClickToFront. .................................................................................... 128
Clock ................................................................................. 59, 60, 61, 62
Close ............................................................................................. .26, 27
colour palette ................................................................................. 68-72
colour printing .......................................................................... 182, 183
COMMAND ....................................................................................... 206
Commodities ..................................................................................... 127
COpY ................................................................................... 78, 101, 102
copying disks ........................................................................ 43, 99, 100
copying files ............................. .49, 50, 51, 52, 53,54,55,78,101, 102
 Amiga Insider Guide

corrupted disks ............................................................................ .42, 46

CrossDOS ................................................................................... 198-200
Ctrl. ............................................................................................. .45, 121
current directory ................................................................................ 94

D
daisywheel printer ............................................................................ 172
datatypes ........................................................................................... 221
Date ................................................................................... 61, 62, 63, 64
DELAY .............................................................................................. 150
Delete .......................................................................... 52, 53, 54, 56, 57
Desktop ................................................................................... 21, 27, 67
destination disk ........................................................................... .42, 43
DIR .................................................................................... 80, 82, 85, 86
Dir List ................................................................................................ 80
directory .................................. 80, 83, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 100, 101, 102
Disk ........................................................................................... 138, 139
Disk space ........................................................................................... 47
DiskCopy ............................................................................................ .43
DISKCOPY .......................................................................................... 99
dithering .................................................................................... 182, 182
dot matrix printer ............................................................................. 172
double clicking ............................................................................. 25, 27
dragging ............................................................................ 28, 31,51,53
drawers ...................................... 31, 33, 80, 83, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 102,
................................................................................... 103, 104, 138, 139
dual disk drive ...................................................................... 98, 99, 101

E
ECHO ................................................................................................ 108
ED ...................................................................................... 106-117, 149
Empty .................................................................................................. 97
ENDCLI ............................................................................................ 162
ESC ................................................................................................ 88, 89
Exchange ................................................................................... 128-133
EXECUTE ......................................................................................... 107
Execute Command ................................................................. 78, 79, 87
Expansion ........................................................................................... 31
Expansion Drawer ............................................................................ 216
external disk drive ................................................................ 98, 99, 101

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Amiga Insider Guide

Extras Disk .............................................................................. 19,59,82

F
file extensions ................................................................................... 166
FILES ................................................................................................ 104
Files ................................................................................. 31, 91, 92, 223
filing .................................................................... 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 101
FKey ........................................................................................... 133-135
Fixfonts ............................................................................................. 192
floppy disk drive ..................................................................... 17, 18, 38
floppy disks ............................................................................. 19, 37, 38
Font Prefs .......................................................................................... 193
fonts ........................................................................................... 189-194
Fonts Disk ........................................................................................... 19
Format .......................................... 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 78,97,98,99
FORMAT ........................................................................... 78, 97, 98, 99
Free Space ........................................................................................... 28
front/back ................................................................................ 26, 27, 29

G
gadgets ........................................................... ,.............................. 26, 27

H
hard disk ................................................................. 17, 42, 83,102,119
Helvetica .................................................................................... 190-191
hierarchy ....................................................................................... 92, 93
hot keys ........................................................................................ .34, 35

I
IconEdit ............................................................................. 141,140-146
icons ......................... 21, 22, 25, 27, 31, 32, 33,137,138,139,140-146
ICONX ............................................................................................... 147
IFF ..................................................................................................... 201
ILBM ................................................................................................. 125
InitPrinter ......................................................................................... 178
ink-jet printer. ................................................................................... 172
Intellifont .......................................................................................... 191
Intellifont Tool. ................................................................................. 192
inverted ............................................................................................... 89
 Amiga Insider Guide

K
Kb (kilobyte) ...................................................................................... .47
key combinations ................................................................... 86, 88, 89
Key Show ................................................................................... 120-122
key variables ...................................................................... 151, 152-156
KeyMapselection ........................................... 19,20,45,121,198,199
Kickstart .................................................................. 19, 20, 78,127,130

I.
laser printer ...................................................................................... 172
LIST ..................................................................................................... 86
Locale disk .................................................................................. 19, 218

At
MAKEDIR ......................................................................................... 102
marqueeing ................................................................................... 54, 55
master disks ............................................................................ 19, 20, 42
Master Virus Killer ........................................................................... 215
Mb (Megabyte) ................................................................................... 47
memory, available .............................................................................. 21
Menu Bar .......................................................................... 21, 22, 34, 60
menus .......................................................................... 21, 23, 33, 34, 35
monitors .............................................................................................. 31
mounting Files ............................................... .49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55
mouse ............................................................................................ 22, 23
mouse mat .................................................................................... 22, 23
mouse Menu button ........................................................................... 23
mouse Select button .......................................................................... .23
MS-DOS .................................................................................... 196, 197
multi-tasking ..................................................................................... 203
multiple copies ............................................................................. 54, 55
MultiView ........................................................................... 119,123-125

N
nesting ................................................................................................. 93
NEWSHELL ..................................................................................... 161
NoCapsLock ...................................................................................... 136
NOLINE ............................................................................................ 110
null string .......................................................................................... 152
Amiga Insider Guide

o
only icons .................................................................................. 163, 164
options .......................................................................................... 22, 33
outline fonts ...................................................................................... 191
overwrite ................................. ,.......................................................... .43

p
palette .......................................................................... 68, 69, 70, 71, 76
parallel port ...................................................................................... 172
parameter .......................................................................................... 151
parent directory ............................................................................ 93, 95
pathname ............................................................................................ 94
patterns ......................................................................................... 68, 69
PD Libraries ...................................................................................... 173
phoneme ............................................................................................. 64
piracy ................................................................................................. .42
pixels ............................................................................................. 68, 69
point sizes ................................................................................. 190, 191
Pointer preferences ................................................................ 71, 72, 73
pointer ..................................................................................... 21, 25, 26
Preferences ......................................................... 62, 63, 64, 67, 73, 217
presets ......................................................................... 68, 69, 74, 75, 76
printer drivers ............................................................................ 173-177
printer preferences .................................................................... 175-180
PrinterGFX ....................................................................................... 181
printer installation ........................................................................... 177
printers ...................................................................................... 171-188
PrintFiles ........................................................................................... 179
programs ............................................................................................ .31
projects .................................................................. 31, 32,119,138,139
PROMPT ........................................................................................... 159
prompt .......................................................................................... 79, 81
PRT: ................................................................................................... 175

Q
Quick Format. .............................................................................. .40, 41

R
RAM .................................................................................................... 50
 AmigR Insider Guide

Ram Disk .............................................. 31, 33, 50, 51, 52, 53, 101, 102
REMOVE .......................................................................................... 158
Rename ................................................................................ .44, 78, 100
RENAME ............................................................................................ 78
ResetWB .............................................................................................. 32
RESIDENT ....................................................................................... 158
restart .................................................................................................. 45
RGB ............................................................................................... 70, 71
root directory .......................................................................... 93, 94, 95
RUN ................................................................................................... 108

5
Safety Net ............................................................................................ 40
sans serif ................................................................................... 190, 191
Save ......................................................................................... 70, 74, 75
Save As .......................................................................................... 74, 75
scaling ....................................................................................... 183, 184
screens ................................................................................................. 34
script file ........................................................................................... 105
scripts ........................................................................................ 105, 147
scroll .................................................................................. 26, 27, 30, 31
self boot .............................................................................................. .45
serial port ......................................................................... .l72, 178, 179
serif............................................................................................ 190, 191
Shell .................................................................... 33, 79, 81, 85, 87, 161
Shell commands ................................................................................. 87
Shift ................................................................................... 121, 122, 133
ShowConfig ...................................................................................... 195
sizing ....................................................................................... 26, 27, 30
soft reset .................................................................................... 210, 211
sound preferences ..................................................................... 199-20 1
source disk ................................................................................... .42, 43
start up .......................................................................... 19, 20,127,130
STATUS ............................................................................................. 206
Storage disk .............................................................................. 174, 217
sub-directory ................................................................................. 93, 94
syntax .................................................................................................. 98
System ..................................................................................... 22, 25, 31
System drawer .................................................................................. 216
System requests ............................................................................ 39, 41
Amiga Insider Guide

T
TAB .................................................................................................... 110
text editor .......................................................................................... l 05
thermal printer ................................................................................. 172
tilde ................................................................................................... 122
Time .................................. :............................................... 61, 62, 63, 64
Title/Move bar ......................................................................... 26, 27, 28
toggle ................................................................................................... 29
Tools .................................................................. 22, 31, 32, 59,119,138
TOOLTYPE ....................................................................................... 150
Topaz ................................................................................................. 190
track .................................................................................................... 40
transient commands ........................................................................... 82
Trashcan ........................................................... 32, 33, 56, 57, 138, 139
tree directory ...................................................................................... 94

u
unformatted disks ........................................................................ 38, 39
use ....................................................................................................... 70
utilities .................................................................................... 29, 31, 59

V
Verify .................................................................................................. .40
VERSION ................................................................................ 78, 80, 81
Versions .................................................................................. 18, 78, 80
virus ................................................................................................... 209
virus killers ................................................................................ 213-215
volatile ................................................................................................. 50
volume ..................................................................................... 40, 41, 83

W
WBPattern .................................................................. 68, 69, 73, 74, 75
WBStartup ........................................................................ 127, 130, 131
wildcards ................................................................................... 164-1 70
WIMP ............................................................................................ 21, 25
windows ...................................................................... 21, 22, 25, 27, 32
Work .................................................................................................... 22
Workbench .......................................... 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27,32,34,78
Workbench disk ........................................ 19, 25,26,31,33,42,46,82

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 AmigQ Insider Guide

working copy ............................................................................... .44, 46

write protection ........................................................................... .42, 43

z
Zero virus .......................................................................................... 213
zoom ........................................................................................ 26, 27, 29

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