ModeSwap  -  Quick desktop mode changer

by Graham Crow

This program is for the Risc PC (RISC OS 3.5 and later)

With the Risc PC, the screen mode can be changed using the Display
Manager: clicking on the 'monitor' icon on the icon bar opens a
window from which pop-up menus allow you to select separately the
number of colours and the screen resolution. A final click on
Change invokes the new mode. If you need to change mode frequently
this can be an irksome process involving up to 6 mouse clicks.

ModeSwap was written to simplify this process. It allows you to
pre-set up to five modes and to change to any one of them with a
single mouse click or the press of a 'hot key'.

ModeSwap can be run in the usual way from the RISC User menu system or by double-clicking on its icon in a directory viewer. An icon is installed on the icon bar to the immediate left of the Display
Manager. Clicking Select or Adjust on the icon opens the main
window. This has space for up to five modes which are initially
unspecified. Each mode has its own numbered action button on the
left and pop-up menu button on the right.

Specifying modes
To specify a mode, click on one of the pop-up menu buttons, open the submenu for
the required resolution and click on the required number of colours. 
Note that the menu shows only those resolutions which are available
with your particular monitor, and that any colours which cannot be
used in conjunction with the chosen resolution are greyed out. You
can thus easily see which combinations are available on your machine
by moving the pointer up and down the submenu arrows on the
Resolution menu.

Choosing an option from the Colours submenu enters the mode details onto the
relevant line in the window. The X and Y columns show the horizontal and vertical
pixel resolution, and the C column shows the maximum number of
colours.

Alternatively, you can select one of the old-type mode numbers by moving the pointer across Number in the Resolution menu and entering the mode number in the writable submenu.
If the number you choose is invalid then an error message is issued,
otherwise the chosen number appears in the No. column.

If the specified mode is also the current mode then its button
number is highlighted in red.

To clear a specification, click Menu over it and choose Clear.

Changing mode
ModeSwap offers three separate ways of changing mode. Note that, in
all cases, if no mode has been specified, or the specification is
for the current mode, then a beep sounds and no action is taken.

The three methods are as follows:
1. Click on one of the left buttons (numbered 1 to 5) with Select
or Adjust to change to the specified mode.

2. Change mode from the icon bar menu by moving the pointer onto the Quick mode submenu
and choosing a number from 1 to 5. That way, you don't even need to
open the main window. The menu item itself leads to a further submenu which reveals the mode
specifier string, clicking on which also changes the mode. Note
that if a specified mode is also the current mode its number will be
ticked, and that any unspecified modes will be greyed-out.

3. An even quicker way of changing mode which does not require the
window or the menu is to use a 'hot key'. ModeSwap uses the Ctrl
key in conjunction with the numeric keypad. <Ctrl-1> changes to your
first specification, and so on, up to <Ctrl-5>. Note however, that this facility will not work if the input focus is currently with an application that claims these keypresses for itself.

Saving choices
Click Menu on the icon bar icon and choose Save choices. The
mode specifications are saved as a text file Choices in the
application directory, and will become the defaults next time the
program is run.

Further information
More information about desktop colours and resolutions are given in
the RISC OS 3 User Guide, Chapter 5, pp 79-86.

Also see the RISC OS 3 PRM (5-78 to 5-92 and 5-104 to 5-116).

Copyright  Graham Crow 1996