Help file for Start
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Program:  !Start
Version:  v0.68 beta (3/4/97)
 Author:  Tim Wiser


About this program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This application tries to provide an implementation of the Start button as seen
in Windows 95 and the Apple Macintosh (claims exist that MS nicked the idea off
the Mac, but who am I to argue?).


Features
~~~~~~~~
Launch applications one by one.
Launch multiple applications via script files.
Recall recently-used directories.
Run configuration programs.
Find files.
Run interactive help.
Shut down the computer.
Desktop command line interface.

Start is also very configurable.  Refer to the appropriate section for info on
how to set it up for your personal taste and own machine.


How it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Start requires you to edit a file called 'Menu' which lives inside its own
directory. Load this file into a text editor and you should be able to see how
to create a menu structure. Bear in mind that menus cannot be nested inside
eachother.

Example:

           #Graphics
           IDEFS::4.$.Apps.!ArtWorks
           IDEFS::4.$.Apps.!ChangeFSI
           IDEFS::4.$.Apps.!ImageFS
           Resources:$.Apps.!Paint

           #DTP
           IDEFS::4.$.Apps.!Style
           IDEFS::4.$.Apps.!WordWorks

These lines would create two menus in the structure; Graphics and DTP.  As you
can see, a new menu is defined by putting a hash sign followed by the name of
the menu. Currently menu items and titles can only be 12 characters long. You
have to define the menu title, whereas Start works out the name of the file or
application that you include IN your menu.  Thus the following menu would
appear:

        Programs->  Graphics->  Graphics
                                !Artworks
                                !ChangeFSI
                                !ImageFS
                                !Paint

                    DTP     ->  DTP
                                !Style
                                !WordWorks



If you don't want the plings ('!') to appear in the menu you can tell Start to
leave them out by putting @ on a single line at the top of the menu file.

You can place comments in the Menu file by making the first character in the
line a '|', the same way as you would if editing an obey file. Any comments are
ignored by Start.  If you put a % on it's own line, Start will check that the
entry exists before adding it to the menu structure. This doesn't always work
though, so don't rely on it.

You can insert commands to be executed when the Menu file is read or updated
by putting a + before the command in Menu. Thus:

+Filer_OpenDir idefs::4.$.Apps.MyProgs

will open the directory $.Apps.MyProgs when the Menu is read (usually when
Start is run).

If you want a more descriptive name to appear in the menu structure you can
specify an alias for an entry by using curly braces:

IDEFS::Squelch.$.Apps.This.Is.Cool.!Style {Impression}

This would make Start put 'Impression' in the menu instead of 'Style'. Aliases
can only be up to 12 characters long, so watch out.


Script files
~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are files of type &101 and can be stored anywhere on your hard disc. If
you reference them in the Menu file, Start will treat these files in a special
way. Scripts can be used to launch many applications in a single click. If you
had one for graphics work, you could have it containing:

Filer_Run idefs::4.$.!ArtWorks
Filer_Run idefs::4.$.!ChangeFSI
Filer_Run idefs::4.$.!WebGIF
Filer_OpenDir idefs::4.$.Work.WebWork
Copy thisfile thatfile ~c~vfr

All these commands would be carried out when you run the script file from the
menu structure. Note that you cannot (at the moment) simply run script files
from a directory display (settype them as obey files if you want to do that).

Script files are coloured red in the menu structure if you have colours enabled
in the configuration file for Start.


Directory recalling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Start remembers recently-opened directories. It can remember up to 20 such
directories. It's up to you how many you actually WANT remembering. I recommend
5 directories. The directories are stored inside '!Start.Resources.Filestore'
and this is the file to edit if you want to change the number of dirs stored.
If you want more directories stored, simply put any character on a new line -
one new line per additional directory. So, if you had a list of five dirs at
the moment and you wanted it to store eight, you'd add three new lines:

 $.Dir1
 $.Dir2
 $.Dir3
 $.Dir4
 $.Dir5
 *
 *
 *

Now QUIT THE START PROGRAM and save the Filestore file. You MUST quit the
Start program before saving the file. Now re-run !Start and open a few new
directories. Those additional lines that originally held just a * will soon
fill up with directory pathnames. The list of directories is stored when
Start quits or you shut down the computer.


Settings
~~~~~~~~
My Computer:  On a RISCPC this runs !Boot, on others !Configure
Desktop:      On a RISCPC this runs !Boot, on others !Configure

Not very exciting. However, if you have better applications for defining how
the computer acts (My Computer) or looks (Desktop) then you can change the
applications that are loaded by editing the !Run file.


Configuring
~~~~~~~~~~~
Load the !Start.Resources.Configure file into a text editor.

Lines 1 to 7 refer to the seven entries in the Start menu, working from the
top down. If you have, say, line one set to a 1, the Programs entry will be
enabled and people can run applications. Set this to a 0 and the entry will be
greyed out and unuseable. Only values 0 and 1 are valid.

Line 8 defines whether the splash banner appears when you load the program. Set
this to a 0 or 1 accordingly (0=no, 1=yes).

Line 9 defines whether colours are used. Applications appear blue, script files
in red. Set it to 0 or 1.

Line 10 should hold either QUIT or NOQUIT depending on whether you want a 'Quit'
option in the Start menu or not. I'd recommend NOQUIT, as it's safer for schools
and you can quit the program from the Task Manager if you really want to
anyway.

Line 11 contains the time in milliseconds that the splash banner remains on the
screen for. A recommended value is 600. A setting of 0 will make the banner not
appear (though it's better to use line 8 to define this).

Line 12 should be either 0 or 1 depending on whether you want some helpful
warnings. Leave it on 1 to be safe.

Line 13 should be either 0 or 1 depending on whether you want a little window
to appear when executing script files. Leave it on 1.

Line 14 decides how applications that find their way into the directory list
(by dragging their icon onto the Start icon) are dealt with in the directory
list. If this is set to 0 then they are run. If set to 1 their directory is
opened.

Line 15 is 0 or 1 depending on whether you want the version number of the
program to be printed in the bottom right corner of the splash banner. If you
have to contact the author about anything, try to use this to let him know
what version you are using.

Line 16 decides whether applications should be booted before running. This
stops naughty applications from appearing without an icon on the iconbar. Set
to 1 and leave it at that value.

Finally, line 17 decides whether you want 'Start' to be printed underneath
the Start icon.


Problems
~~~~~~~~
If you experience any problems then please contact me.  The most likely way
to track them down would be to put a reference in the Menu file to a disc that
does not exist, and then try and run the file/application.


Contact details
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can write to me until the end of June 1997 at:

Tim Wiser
18 James Street
Off Cowley Road
Oxford OX4 1ET
United Kingdom

Or permanently at:

Tim Wiser
Cowgate Cottage
Lea Road
Lea Bridge
Derbyshire DE4 5JL
United Kingdom

Electronic mail:   mit@thepentagon.com
 World wide web:   http://www.cowgate.demon.co.uk/mit/


Legal
~~~~~
You may copy this application and distribute it as you wish, as long as the
main program code, !Run and !Sprites/!Sprites22 files remain intact and
unchanged. This !Help text may be altered if you feel that it would be
helpful to the receipient. I accept no responsibility for any loss of data due
to the direct and/or indirect use of this software.

