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Announcing
PC/2 - Programm Commander/2 Version 1.60 for
IBM OS/2 2.x Presentation Manager
Copyright (C) by Stangl Roman 06, 1993
Version 1.60 Draft
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Dear Users!
PC/2 is an addon or replacement (!) for the WPS (Work Place Shell) that adds a
feature, that OS/2 definitly is missing! After PC/2 is loaded you may click
mouse button 1 anywhere on the Desktop to display a user-configurable
Popup-Menu, where you can select an application to start. This simplyfies
starting any application very much - you don't have to click on folders/icons
anymore to launch it - no more messed up Desktop full of folders/icons. You
even don't need to install the memory consuming WPS!
Even more, PC/2 allows you to expand your Desktop 9-fold. Just move the mouse
pointer over the surrounding rows and/or columns of your screen, and you will
be able to scroll your Desktop up to 1 screen-width and 1 screen-height in
all directions. Just imagine the virtual Desktop as a further screen available
left, left and lower, lower,... to your physical display.
PC/2 also allows you to switch into a sliding focus mode, similar to
X-Windows.
Now PC/2 has also limited seamless WIN-OS2 support, even without the WPS
running.
For every application you start, a configuration file contains:
*) Program Data: Title, Path and Filename, working directory and
parameters. For DOS programs you can enter the required DOS
Settings in an entryfield. You may also configure PC/2 to
request commandline parameters before an application is
started. You can also add WPS Objects to be started.
*) Program Style: Default, Maximized, Minimized, Invisible, no autoclose
background execution
*) Program Size & Position: User selectable size and position. You may
even start an application on an virtual Desktop, if the
application doesn't overwrite your choices.
*) Program type: WPS default, OS/2 and DOS Window or FullScreen,
Presentation Manager, WPS Object and seamless WIN-OS2.
Seamless WIN-OS2 without a WPS Object that corresponds to this
seamless WIN-OS2 session is fully supported. Seamless WIN-OS2
without a corresponding WPS Object is limited to seperate
sessions.
If you know how to start all possible seamless WIN-OS2 sessions
with an OS/2 API directly, p l e a s e let me know.
Full help is implemented, so I would suggest to read the help panels to get a
impression on how you can customize PC/2 to your needs.
Installation:
*) First unpack the archive with UNZIP.
*) Then use the REXX installation script to install PC/2:
Syntax: INSTALL <Destination>
PC/2's files will be copied into the drive, path and filename
pointed to with <Destination>. An object is then created on the
Desktop and PC/2 is then started displaying the help panels.
*) PC/2 should be started upon bootup. You can either click on the PC/2
icon and OS/2 will start PC/2 for you the next time you boot. This
holds not true if you have used the statement SET RESTARTOBJECTS=
STARTUPFOLDERSONLY in your CONFIG.SYS, then you must create an
PC/2 object/shadow in the startup folder.
*) PC/2 may be used instead of the WPS, you need either to copy
PC2HOOK.DLL into a path pointed by LIBPATH in the CONFIG.SYS and
to copy PC2.HLP into a path pointed by HELP in the CONFIG.SYS, or
both PC2HOOK.DLL and PC2.HLP must be in the directory where PC/2
is installed. Then edit your CONFIG.SYS to
SET RUNWORKPLACE=[path]PC2.EXE. The next time you boot, PC/2 has
replaced your WPS. (Of course you can then start the WPS from a
OS/2 command prompt by typing START PMSHELL).
*) The syntax of PC/2 is:
PC2 [-Profile Filename.ext] [-[Double|Single]Click] or
PC2 [/Profile Filename.ext] [/[Double|Single]Click]
where Filename.ext may be any filename for FAT or HPFS filname
convention.
If you omit the optional profile name, the default profile
PC2.CFG is selected.
Specifying the option DoubleClick selects that the Popup-Menu
appears after a double-click on the Desktop instead of a single
click. By default double-click is assumed, if you don't specify
any click option.
Version 1.xx Hints:
*) PC/2 is currently under test, so there will be some misspells/
inconsitencies/bugs. PC/2 will NOT destroy any data under no
circumstances!
*) PC/2 only supports all seamless WIN-OS2 type sessions, if WPS Objects
that correspond the this sessions are created with MAKEOBJ.CMD, a
small REXX-utility supplied with PC/2.
Without a corresponding WPS Object defined, seamless WIN-OS2
support is limited to seperate sessions.
*) PC/2 was developed and tested on two different PS/2s under OS/2 2.0 GA
(internal release 6.307) and OS/2 2.1 GA (internal release 6.514).
PC/2 also works under the December 2.1 beta and March 2.1 beta.
You may contact me via (E-)Mail, if you have problems/suggestions/questions at:
*) 8650533@awiwuw11.wu-wien.ac.at (this address may become invalid in the
second half of 1993, try finger 8650533@wu-wien.ac.at to check)
*) Roman Stangl @ IBM Austria National Support BBS Tel. Number:
((0043) 0222 21145 6600)
*) Roman Stangl on LA BAMBA BBS ((0043) 0222 688971) (You may try to
mail me on this BBS at 2:310/14@fidonet.org but I don't know if and
how it works.)
*) Roman Stangl
Strebersdorferstr. 46
2103 Langenzersdorf, Austria
As our law forces me into slavery (some call it army) by July 1993, for at
least 6 months, please be patient if you contact me, but I'll try my best to
support PC/2 then, too.
If you find this utility useful and want to honor seven weeks of work, you are
welcome to send me 50 to 150 Austrian Schilling (about 5 to 15 US Dollar) to
my home address. Please send any donations in CASH, because its much easier
for me to exchange foreign currency, than money orders, checks,...
Of course, you don't need to pay again, if a new realease comes out.
History:
Version 1.00รก: *) First public release
Version 1.10: *) Installation improved
*) IDLE_SECONDS=10 and IDLE_SENSITIVITY=100 added for DOS
sessions
*) Source code now included
Version 1.20: *) All DOS Settings now configurable
*) Standard file dialog can be used to find the application
you want to install to PC/2
*) PC/2 may now be used with or without the WPS - it may even
replace the WPS.
*) I know the bug occuring occasionally when deleting entries
is not removed, but other things have a higher priority.
Version 1.30: *) CR, LF added to DOS Settings, if missing.
*) DoubleClick command line option added, installation prompts
the user, if he wants to install this option into the PC/2
object. PC/2 now pops up after a double-click, if no click
option or the option [-|/]DoubleClick is specified.
*) ShutDown OS/2 entry and dialog box added.
*) PC2.HLP may also be in the directory of PC/2 instead in a
directory pointed by the HELP environment variable. The
same applys for PC2HOOK.HLP and the LIBPATH environment
variable. PC/2 first attempts to find these files, where
it is started from, then in the paths included in the
environment variables.
*) Popup-Menu now don't select an entry, if button 1 is
clicked at the bottom of the screen.
*) PC2.c V1.20: 257, 564: File close of unopened files removed.
Utility.c V1.20: 399, 457: Free of unallocated memory
removed.
*) DOS and OS/2 batch files automatically added as parameters
to their command processors (HPFS names with spaces under
two double-quotes).
*) FAQ list added.
*) Entry-removing bug solved.
*) Directory changed to root if only drive is entered as the
working directory.
*) User enterable commandline-parameter at run-time added.
Now you may enter commandline-parameters immediately before
an application is launched.
Version 1.40: *) WPS Objects may now be started too by PC/2, even if they are
seamless WIN-OS2 session.
*) PC/2 changes to the root of each non-removable media
attached to your system, except for the defined working
directory.
*) Drag & Drop is not supported.
*) PC/2 checks every 2.5 if the Desktop window handle changes,
so if you run PC/2 as a WPS replacement you can start
PMSHELL without needing to close PC/2 once after PMSHELL
is ready.
*) You can now resort (Sub)menus manually.
Version 1.50: *) PC/2 configuration file completely rewritten. Should avoid
redundant storage and increase fault tolerance. Downwards
compatible, so old files can be read, but will be written
in the improved format. Some more useful demos, that you
may incorporate in your configuration by using an editor,
added.
*) Optional sliding focus a-la X-Windows added (thanks to
Markus Hof and Roman Fischer for providing their source
code of XFEEL as a valueable basis).
*) Optional virtual Desktop added, that expands your physical
Desktop to a 9-fold virtual Desktop (thanks to Carrick von
Schoultz for giving me the tip to use the flag
SWP_NOADJUST).
*) Code that handled priority settings completely removed,
because applications can't be started as parent process/
child process which would be required to change the
priority of processes.
*) PC/2 now traces clicks both on the WPS and/or PM, so
you can move the WPS into the virtual Desktop and click
on the PM.
*) PC/2 now maps the coordinates on the window, where you
clicked, to the coordinates of the display. This should
avoid bad positioning of the Popup-Menu (PC/2 now
works together with 9LIVES).
*) Code that changed to the root directories now should also
work, if a removable media is inserted, but not a valid
file system (f.e. a CD-ROM with a music-CD inserted)
(thanks to Mario Semo for his assistance with DosDevIOCtl).
Version 1.60: *) Seamless WIN-OS2 support added, only seperate sessions
and under 2.0 GA with WPS installed though. Thanks to
Alex Stewart (stewarta@netcom.com) for pointing me out how
to do this.
*) Fixed not moving minimized windows (icons) when Desktop
is moved.
*) For sliding Focus added a flag to preserve Z-order of
the windows.
*) ShutDown message now changes if ShutDown completed.
*) Enhanced MakeObj utility, thanks to Ingo Pflanz for his
work on this.
*) Now PC/2 should also work with networked drives, at least
it works with NFS-mounted drived with IBM's TCPIP 1.2.1.
Planned enhancements:
*) Complete seamless WIN-OS2 support. Please email me, if you know how to
implement this (no seperate sessions, working w/ or w/o WPS under all
OS/2 2.x versions)! - Thanks!
Please read the help panels and enjoy! Roman Stangl