main page

the "Desk" menu  -  the "File" menu  -  the "View" menu  -  the "Options" menu

The "Options" menu

The "Options" menu lets you change the overall settings, install files and icons and save your system setup.

     



Install Icon...
You can add an icon to any item in any window or the desktop

____________________________________________



Device icons (drives/trash/printer)

Here we will install (or change) icons for any of following items on the desktop:

     


Device icons: installing an icon



	


Device icons: changing an icon





Device icons: removing an icon


or....
(The following only applies to drive icons)..




____________________________________________




Icons for a single file or folder

In the following examples we will install a custom icon for a single file (such as a text-editor which you have a special icon for, representing only that program).

     


Single item: installing an icon


...or






Single item: changing an icon


or....






Single item: removing an icon

      

or...


____________________________________________






Icons for multiple items

We will now install an icon for several files at once, meaning that for example all ASCII text files (they all end with .TXT) will have the same icon.

     


Multiple items: installing an icon







Multiple items: changing an icon

Let's say we've previously installed an icon for all files ending with .TXT using the name (file-mask) "*.TXT" but now we want to use another icon instead...


Multiple items: removing an icon

...we've decided that we no longer want a custom icon representing all ".SND" files and want to remove the icon assignment for this type of file (remembering that we used "*.SND" as the name (file-mask) when we installed it).

____________________________________________



Desktop icons

Any program, file or folder can have its icon on the desktop. Double-clicking this icon will have the same effect as double-clicking it at its original location (on the floppy/hard disk drive) in a window...

     


Desktop icons: installing an icon





Desktop icons: changing an icon





Desktop icons: removing an icon


or....
(The following only applies to drive icons)..





____________________________________________





Desktop/window icons: a summary

We have now covered the different ways of installing, changing and removing any kind of icon...
The actual placement of any icon can be...

____________________________________________





Some notes about window icons

In addition to all of the above there are some additional things about window icons not previously mentioned... (the order of the file-masks (names) are important here. Read more about this in detail by going to Atari TOS desktop survival kit).

____________________________________________



Some notes about desktop icons

Here are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with desktop icons...


____________________________________________


Install Application...
Programs can be installed with various options specific to only that program.

     

The Installation parameters are as follows:



____________________________________________


Install Devices

     



____________________________________________


Remove Desktop Icon

     



____________________________________________


Set Preferences...
Various general settings for the computer..

     

If confirmation is turned on for copying files,
you can choose to give the copy the same date as the original file,
or the current time and date.
If confirmation for file overwrites is turned on you will be warned if you try to copy over an existing file with that same name,
and you can rename the copy to something else.


With confirmation turned on for file deletes you get a chance
to press the "Cancel" button if you change your mind.



____________________________________________


Read .INF File...
TOS 2.06 allows you to save the desktop setup ("NEWDESK.INF") file which can be renamed, making place for another (different) setup file. You can at any time read any of these files for a choice of different desktop configurations.


____________________________________________


Desktop Configuration...
You can change various general settings for the desktop here.

     



____________________________________________


Save Desktop


____________________________________________


Print Screen

     

(Note: The printing options of TOS 2.06 are pretty limited, so read my tips on printing for a summary along with useful tips).



____________________________________________


Blitter
If a "Blitter" (Block Image Transfer) chip is present in your machine you can turn this on to make screen updates a lot faster.
This option is "grayed out" (unselectable) if your machine doesn't have a Blitter chip. Atari STe and Mega STe computers come with Blitter chips already pre-installed.



the "Desk" menu  -  the "File" menu  -  the "View" menu  -  the "Options" menu

main page