************************************* * * * MultiDesk Release Notes * * Version 1.6 * * Release date: December 13, 1988 * * * ************************************* Holding Control toggles the 'Names' option ------------------------------------------ The MultiDesk manual states that you can turn off the display of accessory names during the loading of a setup file (when the 'Names' button in the Configuration Editor is selected), by holding down the Alternate key or the right Shift key. You can also turn the name display ON when 'Names' is not selected, again by holding down Alternate or right Shift. Load Acc -------- When you use the 'Load Acc' option, MultiDesk always returns to the file selector after loading an accessory, to let you quickly load several single accessories in a row. In MultiDesk 1.5 and higher, you can hold down the Alternate key when you load an accessory, and you will return to the MultiDesk dialog box instead of to the file selector. (Saving you a click on the file selector's 'Cancel' button.) Key commands ------------ In version 1.6, all of the options in MultiDesk's main dialog box can be selected with a single keypress while MultiDesk is open. The command keys are: A - Load Acc L - Load Setup S - Save Setup Clr Home - Clear All C - Configure Return - Exit In addition to these keys, the up and down arrows will scroll up and down through a list of accessories (when you have more than 16 loaded.) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a list of desk accessories that may require special handling when used with MultiDesk: Accessories reserving two slots: -------------------------------- MINOS.ACC - Reserves two slots for itself in the 'Desk' menu. Only the first name will appear in the MultiDesk menu. (Luckily, the game is still playable...only the "Minos Finder" name will not appear.) TI59.ACC - Reserves two slots. The calculator itself will not appear in the MultiDesk menu. CONTROL.ACC - Early versions of the Atari Control Panel also reserve two slots. If you wish to use the Control Panel with MultiDesk, you should use the version which is included in the folder named ACCS on your MultiDesk master disk. EMULATOR.ACC - Once again, the early versions of Atari's VT52 terminal emulator reserve two slots in the 'Desk' menu. The most recent version (also included in the ACCS folder) is more considerate. Other stuff: ------------ THUNDER.ACC - The real-time spell-checking feature of this accessory does not work when it's loaded into MultiDesk. It's best to use this one in a regular drop-down slot. DESKCART.ACC - QMI's Deskcart cartridge uses a desk accessory which installs the code from the cartridge. This accessory will not work when loaded into MultiDesk. You should install it as an ordinary desk accessory. DIABLO.ACC - The latest version (as of this date) of Atari's Diablo 630 Emulator has problems with lots of other programs. We have installed special code to allow it to function properly with MultiDesk. However, you still may encounter problems if you load certain accessories into MultiDesk before loading SETUP630.ACC (the Diablo emulator accessory). The rule to follow (using MultiDesk or not) is to make sure DIAB630.PRG is the LAST program to run in your AUTO folder and SETUP630.ACC runs as soon as possible after that. TECHNICAL NOTE: The Diablo emulator breaks if any other program steals trap #13 between the running of the AUTO program and the selecting of the ACC. Accessories that don't register themselves: ------------------------------------------- Desk accessories are supposed to follow certain programming rules, one of which is to "register" themselves in the drop-down menu. If a desk accessory breaks this rule, it will not work properly when loaded into MultiDesk. MultiDesk will load it and put its _filename_ in the menu, but when you click on it you'll see a dialog box telling you that the accessory is disabled. Please note that any accessory that fails to register itself will still work fine when installed in a regular accessory slot. The only accessory we're aware of that breaks the "menu_register" rule at this time is a public domain caps-lock indicator called CAPS.ACC. (Note: CAPS.ACC is another example of an accessory that uses the buggy evnt_timer call. If you *must* use CAPS.ACC, turn the "Timers" button on in the Configuration box.) Memory considerations --------------------- It's important to realize that when you run a program or accessory that reports the amount of free RAM in your computer, it will report NOT the total amount of free memory, but the size of the LARGEST block of free memory. (This is the case with the "Free RAM" display in MultiDesk's Configuration box too.) There may be other blocks of free RAM scattered throughout your computer's memory, but only the largest one will show up. The reason we're bringing this up is that there may be times when you use MultiDesk that you notice what seems to be a loss of free RAM, particularly if you load certain accessories into MultiDesk while a program is running. Here's a possible scenario: You run your favorite word processor, which uses quite a bit of memory. (Say, 200K or so.) While using the word processor, you realize that you need a RAMdisk for some temporary file storage -- so you load a RAMdisk accessory into MultiDesk and continue on with your work. When the RAMdisk allocated memory for itself, however, the allocated memory was put ABOVE the 200K used by the word processor, possibly leaving another free block above that. Now when you quit the word processor, its memory is released, but the memory used by the RAMdisk accessory remains allocated. Essentially, this leaves you with two large free blocks of RAM (the 200K that was used by the running program, and the RAM that was left above the memory that the accessory allocated), divided by the accessory's allocated block. A "free RAM" program will report only the largest of these two blocks. But if you run a program that needs to allocate some memory, TOS will find both free blocks and allocate memory wherever possible. In other words, the memory is not lost to you....it will be used by a program if necessary. This condition is called "memory fragmentation." It just means that your available RAM is split up into several blocks of varying sizes; TOS is smart enough to use whatever free blocks it can find. Memory fragmentation is the reason why MultiDesk won't let you resize the accessory buffer while you're running a program. If you're technically inclined, you can use SHOWMEM3.ACC to show the exact state of all free and allocated blocks of memory. SHOWMEM3.ACC is included on the MultiDesk master disk in the folder called "ACCS," along with full documentation in a file called SHOWMEM3.TXT. If all else fails: ------------------ The most important thing to remember if you have a problem loading a desk accessory into MultiDesk is that it will almost certainly still work fine when installed as a normal desk accessory in one of the other five menu slots. As stated in the MultiDesk manual, there may be some AUTO programs or other desk accessories that cause problems with MultiDesk. If you're having trouble getting MultiDesk to work at all, the first thing to try is removing all AUTO programs and accessories from your boot disk to see if MultiDesk will work by itself. (It probably will - if not, you may have a bad disk and you should either return it to the store you bought it from, or send it back to CodeHead Software for a replacement.) If MultiDesk works fine by itself, then try adding the AUTO programs and accessories back one at a time (rebooting each time), to find the one that is interfering. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy MultiDesk! - Charles F. Johnson, John Eidsvoog CodeHead Software P.O. Box 4336 N. Hollywood, CA 91607 P.S. Please, remember that software theft hurts EVERYONE. If you have a legitimate copy of MultiDesk, please accept our sincere thanks for purchasing our product. If you're reading this file from an illegal copy of MultiDesk (you know if you are), you might want to give some thought to the consequences of your actions. We will not continue to produce software for the ST if we can't make a living at it. If you steal a copy of MultiDesk, or any of our programs, you're quite literally stealing the food right out of our families' mouths. Think about it.