═══ 1. DeskMan/2 ═══ DeskMan/2 The Desktop Manager for OS/2 2.X Online Help (C) Copyright 1993 Development Technologies, Inc. and Gregory Czaja. All Rights Reserved. DeskMan and DeskMan/2 are trademarks of Development Technologies, Inc. and Gregory Czaja. Presentation Manager and Workplace Shell are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. IBM, Operating System/2, and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.. PKZIP and PKUNZIP are registered trademarks of PKWARE, Inc. ═══ 2. Software License Agreement ═══ Software License Agreement Please read this license agreement carefully and be sure that you accept its terms before you install or use DeskMan/2. By installing or using DeskMan/2, you signify that you consent to be bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. This software is protected by United States copyright law and international treaty provisions. You must treat this software just like a book, except that you may copy it onto a computer to be used and you may make archival copies of the software for the sole purpose of backing up our software and protecting your investment from loss. Just like a book, this software may be used by any number of people, and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at more than one location at the same time. You can, for example, use this software on both your personal computer at home, and on your personal computer at work, so long as you are the only person who uses those systems. Development Technologies, Inc. and Gregory Czaja disclaim all warranties as to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, functionality, data integrity or protection. ═══ 3. Introduction ═══ What will you do in the event of a Workplace Shell (WPS) Crash? Your Workplace Shell desktop represents a substantial investment of time and effort. It may contain hundreds of objects and dozens of folders, and you may have spent hours getting them customized to suit yourself. Now, due to one mishap, you may have to do it all over again! Introducing DeskMan/2, the drag and drop solution to selectively backup, restore, and migrate your Workplace Shell desktop.  The WPS stores information about your objects in .INI files and in Extended Attributes (EAs). This makes it difficult to backup objects or copy them between systems. Also, file backup programs aren't notified to perform incremental backups when only EAs have changed (this may change in OS/2 2.1, but hasn't as of the December CD-ROM). In addition, the internal data formats change between versions of 0S/2 so that programs which work by copying the .INI files and EAs don't insure compatibility. IBM does provide you with forward migration (although not necessarily during beta tests), but not backward migration (something that is sometimes useful during beta tests). Because DeskMan/2 is a WPS extension, it is immune to these problems, providing you with reliable forward and backward migration of your objects.  DeskMan/2 also contains features, such as drive mapping and REXX program generation, to make it easy to exchange objects with other users, or to migrate your customized desktop to other machines. AND THAT'S NOT ALL!  DeskMan/2 has a host of special functions that allow you to manage and learn more about the objects on your desktop.  Occasionally, you may come across WPS objects on your desktop which don't have a Delete option. Once in a while, even the WPS has been known to be a bit flaky, and create undeleteable objects on its own. Whenever you want to be rid of unwanted objects, and your Shredder won't delete them, DeskMan/2 is the solution! Simply select the special Destroy object on drop function to change the DeskMan/2 icon into a flush bowl. You can then drop your unwanted objects into it, and watch them disappear!  One of DeskMan/2's useful features for REXX users is the ability to query an object to learn its class, OBJECTID, and other settings! Simply select the Query object Settings on drop function, and drop your object onto the DeskMan/2 icon to get an instant answer!  Another valuable feature for REXX users is the ability to assign an OBJECTID to any WPS object in order to provide for unique identification of an object. This enables REXX programs to manipulate individual objects using various calls, such as SysCreateObject, SysDestroyObject, or SysSetObjectData. Just select the DeskMan/2 Assign OBJECTID on drop special function, and provide your own unique identifier!  Additional features include easing the assignment of icons to objects (even when you don't have an .ICO file), and much more! DeskMan/2 is also very easy to use. For example, to backup almost any object, just select the object's icon on your desktop, and drop it on the DeskMan/2 icon. DeskMan/2 will use SOM and PM functions to analyze the object you provided, and immediately supply you with almost (See: Limitations) everything required to recreate a duplicate of the original object on any OS/2 2.X desktop. If you drop a folder object on DeskMan/2, it will be saved along with all the objects that it contains. If it contains other folders, those will be saved as well, until everything is resolved. This way, when you drop a Desktop icon on DeskMan/2, your entire desktop contents will be saved in the object description file. Of course, the OS/2 1.3 style program groups are handled in the same way as the OS/2 2.X folders. DeskMan/2 will create a special object description file for you, and optionally a REXX program. You can use them to recreate objects on your system or move objects to another machine - you can also use the generated REXX program on systems not having DeskMan/2 installed. If you would like to get information about a specific subject, please select one of the topics below or use the Index button. o Saving objects or the entire Desktop o Restoring objects o Settings and options ═══ 4. Read Me First ═══ Read Me First ═══ 5. Installing DeskMan/2 ═══ To install DeskMan/2, follow these simple instructions: 1. If you have received the product in a compressed form, decompress it using the appropriate command. For example, if you have received a DESKMAN.ZIP file, copy the file unto your hard drive, and type 'pkunzip -x deskman.zip'. Note: You do not need to do this in the directory within which you plan on installing the product. If you received the product on diskette, either run INSTALL.EXE from the diskette, or copy the files into a directory on your hard disk, and continue with Step 2. 2. Once you have the various DeskMan/2 installation files on your system, simply type 'install' from a command line in that directory. If you have not previously installed DeskMan/2, you can specify the drive that you are running the installation program from, in order to reduce the time spent searching for any previously installed versions. This would be in the form: 'install ?:', where '?' is the drive from you are which you are installing. Note: If you have any questions about how to use the graphical installation program, online help is available. Just select the item for which you need help, and hit F1. If you have any other problems, please read the following installation requirements. Installation Requirements: o REXX must be installed on your OS/2 system. The minimum required REXX level is the one contained in REXX20.ZIP (available on CompuServe). * o The System Object Model (SOM) installed on your OS/2 system must at least match the level available from the file, SOMFIX.ZIP (available on CompuServe). * * If you have installed the OS/2 Service Pak or OS/2 2.1, you already meet or exceed the required levels of REXX and SOM. The installation program will verify that the above requirements are met before proceeding with the installation of DeskMan/2. If there are any problems, the installation program will notify you as to the problems detected. The DeskMan/2 package being electronically distributed is in the form of a PKZIPped file. If you don't have PKZIP you can contact Development Technologies, Inc. to receive the package unpacked on a diskette, or packed using other available programs: OS/2 2.X native PACK format or LHA format. When initially installing DeskMan/2, the installation program defaults to placing its DLL into the \OS2\DLL directory, its Help file into the \OS2\HELP directory, and its online documention into the \OS2\BOOK directory on the system partition. When reinstalling DeskMan/2, the installation program will default to installing the replacement files over any previously used locations. Of course, you do have the option, during the installation process, to choose to install the DLL, HLP, and INF files in directories of your choice. However, if you do choose to do this, you must make sure that the path names you provide are valid. Thus, the directory for the DLL file must be on your LIBPATH; the one used for the HLP file must be among the directories specified for HELP; and the one used for for the INF file must be one of the directories specified in the BOOKSHELF environment variable. Note: The option of specifying a private directory for the DLL seems to work correctly only on systems having Service Pak installed (or better). This looks like a SOM problem in the original release of OS/2 2.0. The initial installation process will, by default, use the current directory to set the path information for the Save, Restore, Log and REXX files. You can also specify a different default directory to use for those files. However, if you had a previous version of DeskMan/2 installed on your system and you did not alter OS2.INI, your previous selections for the locations of those files will be retained. Of course, you can always change the settings at any time by opening up the DeskMan/2 Settings notebook and altering the information contained therein. Note: Values entered for the various DeskMan/2 files can be changed any time after the installation using the object's Settings notebook. Note: If you do not enter a correct registration number, or if you do not have a registerable version of DeskMan/2, you should be aware of the following! The unregistered version of the program has some limitations compared to the registered version: Note: For the special "OS/2 Unleashed" version, the Save Desktop feature is enabled. o The Save Desktop and Restore Desktop features are disabled. o Folders will not be automatically populated; you will have to save the folders and their contents manually. o Generation of REXX programs to restore objects independently of DeskMan/2 is disabled. o the Skip if objects exists option is disabled. o the Map drives function is disabled. o the Save System Settings and Restore System Settings options are disabled Because DeskMan/2 saves its settings in the OS2.INI file, you will need to reinstall DeskMan/2 and reconfigure it if you ever reinstall the operating system and format the system partition. Note also that the current version of DeskMan/2 does NOT allow you to create multiple DeskMan/2 objects. This restriction will be lifted in a future release. If you don't like the DeskMan/2 icon supplied, you can prepare any icon you like and replace the DESKMAN2.ICO before running the install program, or replace the icon for the created object using DeskMan/2's Settings notebook. ═══ 5.1. Location of the DESKMAN.DLL file ═══ The file, DESKMAN.DLL, is DeskMan/2's key component. On OS/2 - GA release systems, it must be placed in a directory listed in the LIBPATH statement in your CONFIG.SYS. On Service Pak, OS/2 2.1, and later versions of the OS, it can be placed in any directory. If DeskMan/2 is already installed on your system, the installation program will detect your current file, and suggest using its directory as the default location for the new file. If an old file is not found, then the installation program will suggest that you use the \OS2\DLL directory on your system partition as the default location. Of course, you can always override the installation program's suggested defaults by typing in different pathnames. ═══ 5.2. Location of the DESKMAN.INF file ═══ The DESKMAN.INF file is DeskMan/2's User's Guide. You can read it using OS/2's VIEW command. It should be placed in a directory specified by the SET BOOKSHELF statement in your CONFIG.SYS file. If DeskMan/2 is already installed on your system, the installation program will detect your current file, and suggest using its directory as the default location for the new file. If an old file is not found, then the installation program will suggest that you use the \OS2\BOOK directory on your system partition as the default location. Of course, you can always override the installation program's suggested defaults by typing in different pathnames. ═══ 5.3. Location of the DESKMAN.HLP file ═══ The DESKMAN.HLP file is DeskMan/2's Help file. It provides context-sensitive help about all of DeskMan/2's functions. It should be placed in a directory located on the HELP path defined in your CONFIG.SYS file. If DeskMan/2 is already installed on your system, the installation program will detect your current file, and suggest using its directory as the default location for the new file. If an old file is not found, then the installation program will suggest that you use the \OS2\HELP directory on your system partition as the default location. Of course, you can always override the installation program's suggested defaults by typing in different pathnames. ═══ 5.4. Object description file for the Save operations ═══ DeskMan/2 stores the information about your objects in a special object description file. By default, DeskMan/2 uses the same filenames for the Save and Restore operations, but this can be altered at the user's discretion. If DeskMan/2 was previously installed, and the information is still available from the .INI files, then the installation program will use the previously selected pathnames for defaults during installation. Otherwise, the installation program will use the installation directory as the default directory. If you specify a pathname with a directory that does not exist, you will be asked if you want to create it. We suggest that you may want to use or create a dedicated directory to keep all the description files together. Note: The default file extension for the object description file should be DRC. ═══ 5.5. Object description file for the Restore operations ═══ DeskMan/2 stores the information about your objects in a special object description file. By default, DeskMan/2 uses the same filenames for the Save and Restore operations, but this can be altered at the user's discretion. If DeskMan/2 was previously installed, and the information is still available from the .INI files, then the installation program will use the previously selected pathnames for defaults during installation. Otherwise, the installation program will use the installation directory as the default directory. If you specify a pathname with a directory that does not exist, you will be asked if you want to create it. We suggest that you may want to use or create a dedicated directory to keep all the description files together. Note: The default file extension for the object description file should be DRC. ═══ 5.6. Generated REXX program name ═══ One of the options that DeskMan/2 provides allows you to generate REXX programs capable of recreating saved objects. The default location for the generated REXX program depends on whether or not DeskMan/2 was previously installed. If previously installed, and its information is still available from the .INI files, then the installation program will use the previously selected pathname by default during installation. Otherwise, the installation program will use the installation directory as the default directory. If you specify a pathname with a directory that does not exist, you will be asked if you want to create it. We suggest that you may want to use or create a dedicated directory to keep all the description files together. Note: The generated REXX program should always have the CMD file extension. ═══ 5.7. Location of the saved ICONs ═══ DeskMan/2 gives you the option of saving your objects' icons. If you choose to do this, they will be saved in .ICO files when you save your objects using DeskMan/2's normal Save procedure. If you later restore your objects, either using the generated REXX program or using DeskMan/2's Restore procedure, then these .ICO files will be used to restore your saved object icons. The default location for the generated .ICO files depends on whether or not DeskMan/2 was previously installed. If previously installed, and its information is still available from the .INI files, then the installation program will use the previously selected pathname by default during installation. Otherwise, the installation program will use the installation directory as the default directory. If you specify a pathname with a directory that does not exist, you will be asked if you want to create it. We suggest that you may want to use or create a dedicated directory within the directory that you use to keep all of your description files together, just to hold your .ICO files. ═══ 5.8. Description file for System settings ═══ The System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved and restored using DeskMan/2. The default location for this file is the installation directory. However, if you have had DeskMan/2 installed on your system and this setting is still available in the INI files, this directory will be used by default. Note: The file should have the IRC file extension. These settings include: o Border Width o Animation o Print Screen o Logo Display Time o Cursor Blink Rate o Key Repeat Rate o Key Repeat Delay o Double Click Speed o Mouse Tracking Speed o Display o Active Border o Active Title o Background o Button Default o Entry Field o Icon Text o Menu o Shadow Text o Window o Window Frame o and many more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. Warning: Do not attempt to restore the color settings unto a system that does not have the same type of video card as they were saved under. ═══ 5.9. REXX program for System settings ═══ The System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved and restored using a REXX program generated by DeskMan/2. The default location for this file is the installation directory. However, if you have had DeskMan/2 installed on your system and this setting is still available in the INI files, this directory will be used by default. Note: The REXX program should always have the CMD file extension. These settings include: o Border Width o Animation o Print Screen o Logo Display Time o Cursor Blink Rate o Key Repeat Rate o Key Repeat Delay o Double Click Speed o Mouse Tracking Speed o Display o Active Border o Active Title o Background o Button Default o Entry Field o Icon Text o Menu o Shadow Text o Window o Window Frame o and many more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. Warning: Do not attempt to restore the color settings unto a system that does not have the same type of video card as they were saved under. ═══ 5.10. Registering DeskMan/2 ═══ If you acquired a registered copy of DeskMan/2, you will be asked to register it either during the installation process (if you check the "Do you want to register DeskMan/2?" box), or any time after installing the product using the online registration procedure available on the DeskMan/2 object menu. ═══ 5.11. Start installation process ═══ The installation process will be started after you push the Install button. You will see messages providing information about the progress of the installation process. In case of an error (incorrect path/file information) you can correct the values in error and restart the process. Note: If you receive error messages about the program not being able to replace the DeskMan/2 files, you should shut down your system and rerun the installation program. ═══ 5.12. File for the debug log ═══ This entry field is used to specify the location and name for the debug log used by the DeskMan/2 debug window. If DeskMan/2 is already installed on your system, the installation program will detect your current file, and suggest using its directory as the default location for the new file. If an old file is not found, then the installation program will suggest that you use the current installation directory as the default location. Of course, you can always override the installation program's suggested defaults by typing in different pathnames. ═══ 5.13. Remove DeskMan/2 files ═══ This button enables you to remove DeskMan/2's files from the computer system, and its entries from the .INI files. It first confirms that you do want to remove DeskMan/2 from your system, and then it removes the .INI entries, and brings up the Remove Dialog box. ═══ 5.14. Default Directory Dialog ═══ This popup dialog appears only on initial installations of DeskMan/2. It allows the user to declare an initial default location/path for the various storage files. ═══ 5.15. Default Directory Field ═══ This is the entry field for the initial default directory within which the various storage files will be placed. If it does not exist, you will be given the option of creating it. ═══ 5.16. Directory Dialog Okay ═══ Required to accept the displayed/entered directory. If the user closes the dialog box without hitting the OK button first, then the current installation directory will be used by default. ═══ 5.17. Remove Dialog Confirmation Box ═══ The Remove Dialog Confirmation box lists those files found and then allows you to selectively choose and remove any of the files listed. Note: This does not remove any object or system settings storage files, only the product files (DESKMAN.DLL, DESKMAN.INF, etc..) Warning: At this time, this option will not delete the DESKMAN.HLP file from within the installation directory. ═══ 5.18. Registration procedure ═══ DeskMan/2 displays the registration dialog during the installation process of a registerable DeskMan/2 version. Enter the customer name. and the registration number in the appropriate fields, and then confirm the entries. The failure to enter the correct registration number (you may try twice), will cause DeskMan/2 to be installed as an unregistered copy with certain limitations. The installation procedure can be repeatedly executed as desired. ═══ 5.18.1. Registration number ═══ A unique registration number is provided for each registered copy of DeskMan/2. Please enter it during the installation procedure if you have a registerable version of the product. ═══ 5.18.2. Customer name ═══ A customer name is recorded for each registered copy of DeskMan/2. It is recorded for you when you order DeskMan/2, or when you register a shareware version of DeskMan/2. It will be used by DeskMan/2's tech support to keep track of your problems. The current customer name can be displayed using the Product information menu item in the restore or debug windows. ═══ 6. Getting Started ═══ Welcome to DeskMan/2! You have obtained the finest Workplace Shell desktop management tool available today. To get you started, we will quickly review the most basic functions of DeskMan/2: o How to Save your entire Desktop o How to Restore your entire Desktop o How to Restore your entire Desktop using REXX o How to Save one or more selected objects o How to Restore one or more selected objects o How to Restore one or more selected objects using REXX o How to Restore your objects onto another system (See Below) o A brief overview of DeskMan/2's special functions Note: When the Templates folder is being saved, it may cause Help for the Data file to be displayed. This is caused by a bug in WPS. The Help can be closed, although it might open itself again if still processing the Templates folder, but there are no known negative side effects of this strange behavior. Additionally, here are a few tricks and tips which we have learned: o If you want to transfer your desktop objects between two (or more) systems, such as between your home and your office, try this: 1. Set up a dedicated directory on each of your systems to hold DeskMan/2's various description files. Set up a second directory within the first, just to hold the various .ICO files. 2. Make sure that the Save and Restore settings pages properly indicate filenames within the dedicated directories. For example, use C:\TRANSFER\DESKMAN.DRC for your Restore and Save .DRC files, and use C:\TRANSFER\ICON for your .ICO directory. You can also disable your REXX Save in order to conserve time and space, at this time. 3. Before leaving home or work, simply run Save Desktop, then copy, or compress and then copy, the files out of the dedicated directories (including all the .ICO files), onto a transportable media, such as a floppy disk. 4. Upon arriving at the other computer, simply replace the files currently on the system with the saved files from the other system, decompressing them if necessary, into the proper directory or directories. 5. Run CLEANUP.CMD to remove all non-used .ICO files from the icon directory. This is done in the form, CLEANUP (description file directory) (icon file directory). For example, in the setup described above, it would be Cleanup C:\TRANSFER C:\TRANSFER\ICON. 6. Run Restore Desktop - Update if exists, or do a selective restore, as described below. o One of the best ways that we've found to do a fast selective restoration of your objects is to open up the Restore container window, display it in Tree view by selecting that option off of the container window's main menu's Window submenu, and use the drag and drop interface to simply drag off the objects that you want restored onto your desktop, placing them where you want them. This has the added feature of recreating all objects, including folders, contained within the object dragged out of the Restore container window. Note: If you try a Restore Desktop using the new OS/2 2.1 beta, and the WPS locks up, try the above method of restoration. o You may have noticed, when bringing up the Restore container window, that some of your objects, particularly your system objects, display a white question mark on a green circle, instead of what you've come to recognize as their normal icons. If ALL your objects are displayed in this fashion, you have not turned on the Save Icon feature. If only some of your objects are being displayed in this way, then there is another reason. Many of your system objects do not have .ICO files associated with them, but rather have what are called Icon Resources, which are stored in various .DLLs in the system. When you perform a normal Save of that object, the information being saved includes a reference to that Icon Resource, rather than to an .ICO file. The Restore container window, when it obtains the icons displayed within it, does so from the .ICO files, and does not access the various DLLs on your system. Of course, objects restored by DeskMan/2 which use Icon Resources will display, after restoration, the correct icon, assuming that the resource is present. o However, if you want to see the actual icons of those objects now displayed by a white question mark on a green circle, and you have the Save Icon feature turned on, then you will need to force the object to use an .ICO file. This can be done quite simply. All you need do is first open the settings on the object whose icon you wish to save, go to the general settings page, and edit the icon image. You need not make any actual changes, just click on a single spot on the image, using the same color, and then tell the window to close. As it starts to do so, it will ask you if the changes should be saved. Say 'yes', and proceed accordingly. When next you save this object, its image will be saved along with it. Of course, when you install a later version of OS/2, this saved image will no longer be in use, as the new object, replacing the old one, will undoubtedly use an Icon Resource, once more. Of course, this procedure can be repeated, as desired. o If you want to see the object, its class, location, settings, and when it was saved, just open up EPM (or any PM editor that supports Drag and Drop protocols), from any OS/2 command prompt, and then open up the DeskMan/2 restore container. Drag the icon of the object for which you want this information from the restore container onto the editor's window, drop it, and the object's information will be imported into your editor! o Please note that this product will not completely save all settings with Printer objects, since they are not handled by the Workplace Shell, but rather by the Printer objects themselves. It will backup the object, and restore it, but you will have to install the drivers yourself. IBM does have a product for remote installation of printer objects over a network, if such is your need. o If you open the DeskMan/2 restore container (double click on the DeskMan/2 icon) and you don't see it open immediately - check the window list. If you can see the DeskMan/2 entry there, it means that the window DID open but that it is positioned outside of the visible desktop area. Select the DeskMan/2 entry in the Window list, bring up the popup menu (right Mouse Button) and select Tile or Cascade. If you now close the window, its position, size, fonts and colors will be saved and remebered from this time now on... The same procedure will work with the DeskMan/2 Debug window. ═══ 7. Saving objects ═══ Saving your objects is easy! You simply select an object and drag it to the DeskMan/2 icon. You will see a dialog box displaying information about objects processed - when it disappears, the save is complete. You can select multiple objects at the same time (Ctrl-MouseButton1 or Ctrl-/ for all objects) and drag them all to DeskMan/2 - they will be saved one after another. The folders will be automagically populated (registered version only!), so there is no need to open folders and save the contents after you saved the folder itself (unless the resolve folders option is not set). If you wondered whether there is a simple way to save your complete Desktop, the answer is: yes.! There are three possible ways of doing that: o DeskMan/2's context menu has a Save Desktop item available. When you select it, all objects existing on your desktop will be saved in the current object description file, o you can open Drives, select the drive with your Desktop on it, find the Desktop's icon, drop it on DeskMan/2. If the Resolve folders option was set, your entire desktop will be saved. o you can select all objects on your Desktop (by pressing Ctrl-/) and drag to DeskMan/2. All of them will be saved one after another. Note: You must be aware that if you perform a "total" save for the entire desktop, some of the saved standard system objects (productivity, games, etc.) will be saved with settings appropriate for the current version of the operating system. Caution is recommended when restoring them on a different version of the operating system. You may want to inspect the setup strings for those objects and modify them if necessary using the Change setup function of the Restore window. If you opened the default DeskMan/2 view by clicking on its icon or selected Open -> DeskMan file from the context menu, and the current object description file is the same as the file selected for the Restore operation, the contents of the view (the container displaying the file) will be updated with the saved objects, using the settings for the Save operation, i.e. objects will be replaced or updated. However, if a Save operation is currently in progress, the restore window will not open until Save finishes. During the processing of dropped objects (Save function), you will see a DeskMan/2 window telling you which object is currently being processed. This window also has a single menu item available - Cancel processing. If you should decide that the Save operation is performing incorrectly, you can select this item to interrupt the processing. Note: DeskMan/2 functions as a Workplace Shell process. This means that the WPS (desktop) will respond very slowly to any user's activities once DeskMan/2 is performing a Save operation. The Save operation requires the desktop to be in stable condition at the moment the operation is performed. Please avoid any actions that may affect it! This especially includes creating, deleting, opening and changing objects. DeskMan/2 is a very resource hungry beast! Please close all running processes before performing complex Save operations. ═══ 8. Restoring objects ═══ When you need to (re)create any object you previously saved, you can do so in one of two different ways: o by running the generated REXX program (if this option was checked at the time of save). o by selecting the Open item from DeskMan/2's context menu and one of the items: DeskMan file or Standard objects. The Standard objects are the objects created on your desktop by the install program when you installed OS/2. Their description is kept in a special system file (INI.RC) located in \OS2 directory. This file may contain objects that were not necessarily created on your system (if you have done a Selective install or installed Preselected features). If you try to create such an object, you may succeed, but the object may not work correctly because the files needed will be missing. Note: If you open DeskMan/2 for the restore function and don't see any window, this means that you closed it the last time (or did a "Shut down") in the minimized/hidden state. To make it visible, display the Window List, select the entry for DeskMan/2, bring up the context menu, select cascade. The window should come back. DeskMan/2 functions as a Workplace Shell process. This means, that WPS (desktop) will respond very slowly to any user's activities once DeskMan/2 is performing a Restore operation. The Restore operation requires the desktop to be in stable condition at the moment the operation is performed. Please avoid any actions that may affect it! This includes especially creating, deleting, opening and changing objects. DeskMan/2 is a very resource hungry beast! Please close all running processes before performing complex Restore operations. ═══ 8.1. Running the REXX program ═══ The generated REXX program allows you to restore your objects without needing to have DeskMan/2 installed on the current system (a specific REXX version is required - see: Installing DeskMan/2). This method, although very simple and sufficient in most cases, offers you very limited options. After you start the program, you will be asked which restore option you want to use: o Replace - will replace objects if they already exist on the desktop, missing objects will be restored. o Update - already existing objects will be updated, missing objects will be restored. o Skip - objects will not be changed if they already exist on the desktop, missing objects will be restored. Note: All of the above options require the setting Assign OBJECTID for each object to be checked for Save. This is set by default during a new installation. If not set, duplicate objects may be created. However, you can safely remove the duplicates and really don't need to worry about OBJECTIDs not being assigned during the Save operation. If you want to keep the restore option that was active when you saved the objects, enter blank. You will see messages telling you about objects that could not be (re)created - those do not necessarily mean an error. If the current option is Skip If Exist, and the object already exists on the desktop, the message is OK. Otherwise, it may point to a potential problem with the WPS... Note: The objects need to be recreated in certain sequence, i.e. the folders before their contents. When you perform Save operations by dropping complete folders or executing Save desktop, this sequence will be automatically created for the REXX program. If you perform a single-object Save operation, you may need to inspect the generated REXX program and eventually to modify it, if required. When you save objects that do not have one of the default WPS classes, i.e. the class name does not start with the letters WP, the following line will be added to the generated REXX program: rc=SysRegisterObjectClass('DMan','C:\OS2\DLL\DESKMAN.DLL'); which will try to register the class (in this example the class name is DMan) prior to creating the object. As you can see, it contains a reference to the class DLL. It is the user's responsibility to assure that this DLL is located in the correct directory, or to modify the program to reflect the current location. The REXX program contains calls to SysCreateObject function, which will (re)create the objects in the sequence they were originally processed by DeskMan/2. It may happen that this sequence will be disturbed (for example you processed the contents of the folder before processing the folder itself) and may not work when restoring objects. It can be necessary to examine the generated program before attempting to run it. Note also that the objects created using the program will be restored properly only if the folder in which they are located already exists on your desktop. If you want to recreate a single object (or a group of objects) without recreating the folder, you will have to edit the program and change the object's location (i.e. the third parameter of the SysCreateObject call). For example, if you have following call in the REXX program: rc=SysCreateObject("DMan","DeskMan/2","",, "OBJECTID=;"||, "HELPPANEL=0;"||, "NOCOPY=YES;"||, "NOPRINT=YES;"||, "ICONFILE=C:\0011FBF6.ICO;"||, '', reply); and the folder My_folder does not exist on your desktop, you can change it to: rc=SysCreateObject("DMan","DeskMan/2","",, "OBJECTID=;"||, "HELPPANEL=0;"||, "NOCOPY=YES;"||, "NOPRINT=YES;"||, "ICONFILE=C:\0011FBF6.ICO;"||, '', reply); to recreate the object on your desktop and then move the object to any folder you want. ═══ 9. The Special Functions ═══ DeskMan/2 offers a number of Special functions which can be very useful.. ═══ 10. Restore window Menus ═══ DeskMan/2's Restore Window, this window (which implements a container window) will be displayed after you: o Double-click on the DeskMan/2 icon. This causes the default action for this object, opening the DeskMan/2 object description file's restore window. o Activate DeskMan/2's context menu (also called a popup menu) by using the right mouse button and select Open -> DeskMan file or Open -> Standard objects The container can be displayed in a variety of views and each of the views (except the tree view) supports the extended selection mechanism. Various actions can be performed using the system menu or the menu bar items or the context menus: o container context menu o objects' context menu, or the o drag and drop interface. ═══ 10.1. System menu ═══ The container's system menu has the following items upon it: o the Open submenu o the DeskMan/2 and System Help submenu, which includes the online registration menu item o the Window submenu with features described below o the Save desktop menu item o the Restore desktop submenu o the Save System settings menu item o the Restore System settings menu item o the Save objects menu item o the Special functions submenu o the Close menu item to close the restore window The container's Window submenu has additional items for the view selection: o icon view o details view o name view o text view o tree icon view o use mini icons changes the icon size used in view having icons displayed. All views provide the same functions - except the tree view which has the Sort and Select all menu items disabled. ═══ 10.1.1. Icon view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the Icon view in a non-grid format. The icons will be located randomly about the screen without any ordered arrangement. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible orders or use the arrange to spread them over the entire window. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. ═══ 10.1.2. Details View ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the Details view. The icons will be arranged in a column across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. The information about the objects will be displayed in the following categories: 1. Icon - shows the icon assigned to this object, or the icon, or the icon. will be displayed for objects having their icons located in private or system DLL's. Since those DLLs can't be loaded by DeskMan/2 (they may require a specific initialization sequence and/or environment), a generic icon is used. The shadows will have a special icon displayed. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings, 2. Title - is object's title. 3. Class - is the object's class. 4. Location - is the OBJECTID of the folder where the object was located at the time of Save or the physical path for objects of the WP*File classes. 5. Date - is the date when the object was saved or updated last time using DeskMan/2, or blank for default objects. 6. Time - the time the object was saved or updated last, or blank for default objects. 7. Folder's title - the parent folder's title, if it could be found in the current object description file. ═══ 10.1.3. Name View ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the name view in a flowed format. The icons will be arranged in columns across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. ═══ 10.1.4. Text View ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the text view in a flowed format. The icons will be arranged in columns across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. This view provides you only with the name of an object. ═══ 10.1.5. Tree icon View ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the tree icon view in a lines format. The icons will be arranged in a tree-like structure reflecting the dependencies between the objects. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. Note: Switching to/from this view from/to any other view requires the container contents to be reloaded, so it may take some time to display the new view selected. ═══ 10.1.6. Icon size selection ═══ The size of the icons used in views having icons displayed can be changed. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. Note: Preparing the view using mini icons takes more time than if using the default size. ═══ 10.2. Container menu bar items ═══ The container's menu bar has the following items available: o the File submenu. o the Objects submenu. o the Help submenu. ═══ 10.2.1. File ═══ The file menubar item gives the choice of: o Open to open another object description file or the OS/2 INI.RC file describing the standard WPS objects. o Save to save the current container contents. o Save As to save the current container contents under a different file name. o Sort to sort the current container contents using one of the provided sort criteria. ═══ 10.2.1.1. File - Open ═══ Open another decription file. A file dialog will allow you to select any object description file in RC file format, including the file containing the description for the standard OS/2 objects - \OS2\INI.RC. ═══ 10.2.1.2. Save ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be saved. The order in which the objects will be written to the object description file depends upon the order in which they were displayed in the container, i.e. if the current view is a tree view, the objects will be saved in their hierarchical order, folders before their contents. This can be the most desirable order. On the other hand, if the current view is any other view (which may have been sorted using any of the sort orders), the objects will be written to the object description file in this established order. Note: This selection is disabled for the standard OS/2 INI.RC file. ═══ 10.2.1.3. Save As ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be saved. You can select a new name for the file. The order in which the objects will be written to the object description file depends upon the order in which they were displayed in the container, i.e. if the current view is a tree view, the objects will be saved in their hierarchical order, folders before their contents. This can be the most desirable order. On the other hand, if the current view is any other view (which may have been sorted using any of the sort orders), the objects will be written to the object description file in this established order. ═══ 10.2.1.4. Sort ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container can be sorted. The following sort criteria can be used: o by object's title, this is the default selection from the sort submenu. o by folder's title, the parent folder's name (i.e. the folder in which the object is located). o by date and time of the save or the last update. o by object's class. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.2.1.4.1. Sort by Title ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be sorted using the object's title as the sort criteria. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.2.1.4.2. Sort by folders's Title ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be sorted using the title of the folder in which the object is located, as the sort criteria. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.2.1.4.3. Sort by date and time ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be sorted using the date and time when the object was saved or last time changed using change setup, as the sort criteria. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.2.1.4.4. Sort by class ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container will be sorted using the class name as the sort criteria. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.2.2. Objects ═══ Various actions can be performed on objects selected (highlighted) in the restore container. Multiple objects can be selected using the mouse and the keyboard. To select multiple objects you can: o press Ctrl and click multiple objects using the mouse, or o press Ctrl and use Space bar to select/deselect the objects. o press Ctrl-/ to select or Ctrl-\ to deselect all the objects. The following submenu items are available: o create object to (re)create selected objects. o create folder to (re)recreate selected folders. o select all for folder to select objects located in the same folder. o find folder to locate the parent folder. o change setup to change the setup string for an object. o map drives to change references to a certain drive letter. o remove description to remove the description of an object from the displayed object description file o generate REXX to generate a REXX program capable of recreating the selected object. ═══ 10.2.2.1. Create object ═══ All selected (highlighted) objects will be recreated. The object's location will be the same as it was when the Save operation was performed. The current restore option will be used: o Replace if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Update if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Skip if object exists if the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before recreating it. Before the object is recreated, DeskMan/2 checks for the existence of the folder in which the object should be placed. If the target folder does not exist, you will be notified, and will have an option of either cancelling the request or requesting that the object be placed on the Desktop. You can move the object to any folder after it is created. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. If multiple objects were selected for this operation, they will be created in their hierarchical order. Their hierarchical order means that the folders will be created before any object that is located in them. ═══ 10.2.2.2. Create folder ═══ Create folder function allows you to create complete folders including all objects located in them. If the selected (highlighted) object is a Folder, all objects from the object description file having this folder as the location, will participate in the create operation. If the selected object is NOT a folder, all objects having the same location as the selected one and the folder holding this object, will participate in the create operation. The current recreate option for the Restore operation (as specified in the Settings) will be used if the object already exists in the target folder. o Replace if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Update if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Skip if object exists if the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before recreating it. You can also select the depth for the restore operation: o this folder only - if selected, will create objects from the selected folder(s) only (default selection). o include subfolders - if selected, will create objects from the selected folder(s) and all subfolders located in it. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. If multiple objects were selected for this operation, they will be created in their hierarchical order. The hierarchical order means that the folders will be created before any object located in them. ═══ 10.2.2.2.1. Create folder - this folder only ═══ The Create folder function allows you to create complete folders including all objects located in them. If the selected (highlighted) object is a Folder, all objects from the object description file having this folder as the location, will participate in the create operation. This function will not recreate automatically the contents of the subfolders located in the selected folder. If the selected object is not a folder, all objects having the same location as the selected one and the folder holding this object itself, will participate in the create operation. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. If multiple objects were selected for this operation, they will be created in their hierarchical order. The hierarchical order means that the folders will be created before any object located in them. ═══ 10.2.2.2.2. Create folder - include subfolders ═══ The Create folder function allows you to create complete folders including all objects located in them. If the selected (highlighted) object is a Folder, all objects from the object description file having this folder as the location, will participate in the create operation. This function will recreate automatically the contents of the subfolders located in the selected folder. If the selected object is NOT a folder, all objects having the same location as the selected one and the folder holding this object itself, will participate in the create operation. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. If multiple objects were selected for this operation, they will be created in their hierarchical order. The hierarchical order means that the folders will be created before any object located in them. ═══ 10.2.2.3. Select all for folder ═══ The Select all for folder function allows you to select complete folders including all objects located in them. It can be used before performing the recreate folder or recreate object operation, or any other operation if you want to customize the set of objects passed to them. Objects can be selected for: o one level only, i.e. the objects located in subfolders will not be selected, or o including subfolders, i.e. the objects located in the subfolders in the folder selected will be selected, too. o parent folders. ═══ 10.2.2.3.1. Select all - one level only ═══ The One level only option selects objects located in the already selected folders or objects having the same location as the selected object. It will not select objects for (sub)folders located in the selected folder. ═══ 10.2.2.3.2. Select all - including subfolders ═══ The including subfolders option selects objects located in the already selected folders or objects having the same location as the selected object. It will select objects for (sub)folders located in the selected folder. ═══ 10.2.2.3.3. Select all - parent folders ═══ The parent folders option selects folders which are necessary to recreate given object in his original location. ═══ 10.2.2.4. Find folder ═══ This function will search for the parent folder for the selected object, i.e. the folder in which the object is located, and put the cursored emphasis on it (a thin continuous border), and highlight it as well. ═══ 10.2.2.5. Change setup ═══ Allows you to change the setup string for the selected object. ═══ 10.2.2.6. Map drives ═══ This function will scan and change the setup string for selected objects. If the setup string contains references to physical drives (.EXE or .CMD files for program names, working directory, etc.) and you recreate the objects on a system with different drive letters, those references will be incorrect. You can either manually change the setup strings for each object or request DeskMan/2 to perform the change for you for all selected objects. After you select this option, a map drives dialog will ask you which drive letter should be substituted (the from value) with a current value (the to value). This function will, upon completion, notify you as to the number of objects's setup strings that had to be changed. Note: This operation has nothing to do with the physical location of the object, i.e. you can not request an object that was located on the desktop in partition C to be placed on the desktop in partition X. The object's location is determined by the folder's location (the desktop in the highest instance). It is designed primarily for changes of Path and Current directory values specified for Program objects. They will have to change if you have moved the directories, in which they were located at the time of the save operation, to another partition. Warning: This function does NOT remap the location of your saved icon files! You must either manually edit and change the pathnames in your .DRC or .CMD files, or place your .ICO files in the same physical location, in order to allow DeskMan/2 to properly access them. ═══ 10.2.2.7. Remove description ═══ Remove description - will remove the description of the selected (highlighted) items from the window (and the object description file, if you save the file). If the object selected is a folder, all objects located in this folder will also be removed. ═══ 10.2.2.8. Generate REXX ═══ This function creates a REXX program capable of recreating the selected object(s). The default .CMD file is used for the initial file name, but can be overridden. REXX code will then be generated for the selected object(s) in hierarchical order, i.e. it will recreate folders before any object located in them. However, if you do not select the parent folders for inclusion within the generated REXX file, then DeskMan/2 will generate the REXX file without those folders being included. When the unmodified REXX code is later executed, the presence of all containing folders is required. Of course, after the REXX code is first generated, it can be modified to change the object's designated recreation location. ═══ 10.2.3. Help Menu ═══ The default helps item are provided. You can select: o the help index, o the general help, o the using help, or o the product information. Note: The Help function is provided on most DeskMan/2 windows (except the Save and Restore processing windows) and for all menus. It is available by pressing the default Help key - F1. ═══ 10.2.3.1. Index ═══ Use Help index to display an alphabetic list of references to the help topics for DeskMan/2. Note: To see all text of the index entries, maximize the Index window. You can select an index entry to display the help topic that is related to that index entry. ═══ 10.2.3.2. General help ═══ General help display information about the active window or menu on which you request help. ═══ 10.2.3.3. Using Help ═══ Use Using help to find out how to use the help facility. ═══ 10.2.3.4. Product information ═══ Use the Product information dialog to display the copyright information and your registered customer name. ═══ 10.3. Restore window context menu ═══ There are context menus in the Restore window that are available by clicking the Mouse Button 2 (usually the right mouse button) over the container or its objects. The container context menu will appear if you activate it over an empty space or the column titles. It has following items available: o View - for the container view selection. o Select - for selecting or deselecting of all the container objects. o Sort - for sorting the container objects. o Arrange - for arranging of the container records. o Restore Desktop - for the restoration to the desktop of the container objects. o Help - for displaying this help information. ═══ 10.3.1. Restore Desktop ═══ When selecting Restore Desktop from the container's context menu, three options are available: o Update if exists o Replace if exists o Skip if exists ═══ 10.3.1.1. Restore Desktop - Update if exists ═══ Locates the WPS Desktop object within the current DeskMan/2 object description file. If the WPS Desktop object is not found, this function can not continue. If it is found, then DeskMan/2 begins to restore, in hierarchical order, those objects saved within the DeskMan/2 object description file. When attempting to restore an object that already exists, the object is updated with the information saved in the object description file. ═══ 10.3.1.2. Restore Desktop - Replace if exists ═══ Locates the WPS Desktop object within the current DeskMan/2 object description file. If the WPS Desktop object is not found, this function can not continue. If it is found, then DeskMan/2 begins to restore, in hierarchical order, those objects saved within the DeskMan/2 object description file. When attempting to restore an object that already exists, the object is replaced with the information saved in the object description file. Note that this means that any containers that are restored will have their contents erased, then replaced with any saved information. Note: This option is ignored with the WPS Desktop object, as replacing this object would cause the loss of all other objects on the WPS desktop. ═══ 10.3.1.3. Restore Desktop - Skip if exists ═══ Locates the WPS Desktop object within the current DeskMan/2 object description file. If the WPS Desktop object is not found, this function can not continue. If it is found, then DeskMan/2 begins to restore, in hierarchical order, those objects saved within the DeskMan/2 object description file. When attempting to restore an object that already exists, the restore skips that object, leaving it unchanged. ═══ 10.3.2. View selection ═══ The container's context menu item has following submenu items for the view selection: o icon view o details view o name view o text view o tree icon view o use mini icons changes the icon size used in view having icons displayed. All views provide the same functions - except the tree view which has the Sort and Select all menu items disabled. ═══ 10.3.3. Select ═══ All container objects can be selected or deselected using the submenu items. ═══ 10.3.3.1. Select all ═══ All container objects will be selected. The key combination Ctrl-/ can be used instead. This is the default selection for the Select submenu. This function is disabled if the container displays the tree view. ═══ 10.3.3.2. Deselect all ═══ All container objects will be deselected. The key combination Ctrl-\ can be used instead. This function is disabled if the container displays the tree view. ═══ 10.3.4. Sort ═══ The current contents of the object description file displayed in the Restore container can be sorted. The following sort criteria can be used: o by object's title, this is the default selection from the sort submenu. o by folder's title, the parent folder's name (i.e. the folder in which the object is located). o by date and time of the save or the last update. o by object's class. This function is disabled if the container displays the tree view. Note: The sort order will be preserved when you save the object description file. ═══ 10.3.5. Arrange ═══ The container objects can be arranged, i.e. spread over the entire window area, if the container is in icon view. If the container displays the details view, only the splitbar between the title and class columns will be repositioned. If the container displays any other view, this function has no effect on it. ═══ 10.4. Restore window objects' context menu ═══ The Restore window supports context menus, available by clicking the right mouse button (or mouse button 2) over the container or its objects. The container objects' context menu will appear if you activate it over any container record. It provides the following choices: o recreate object to create selected objects. o recreate folder to create selected folders including their contents and optionally the contents of subfolders. o select all for folder to select all objects located in a specific folder, optionally including the subfolders. o find folder to find (select) a parent folder for selected objects. o change setup to change the setup string for selected objects. o map drives to change references to certain drives or partitions. o remove description to remove the description of selected objects from the container. o generate REXX to generate a REXX program capable of creating selected objects stand-alone. Note: The following rules are observed for the container record selection when using the record context menu: 1. If the record, for which the context menu was displayed, is selected (highlighted), all selected (highlighted) container objects will have the source emphasis (thin dashed line around them) and participate in the action chosen, 2. If the record, for which the context menu was displayed, is not selected (no highlighting), only this record will have the source emphasis and participate in the action chosen. ═══ 10.4.1. Recreate object ═══ The selected container objects will be recreated in their hierarchical order. The current option for recreating objects will be used by default, unless you select one of the items available on the submenu: o update if exists. o replace if exists. o skip if exists. ═══ 10.4.1.1. Update if exists ═══ If the object you are trying to create already exists on your desktop, it will not be created. However, its setup string will be updated with the current values defined in the object description file. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. ═══ 10.4.1.2. Replace if exists ═══ If the object you are trying to create already exists on your desktop, it will be replaced by the selected object. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. Note: If the object selected is a folder, all objects currently located in it will be deleted. ═══ 10.4.1.3. Skip if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be not created. If the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before an attempt to create it. ═══ 10.4.2. Recreate folder ═══ The Recreate folder function allows you to recreate complete folders, including all objects located in them. If the selected object is a folder, all objects in the object description file which have this folder as their location, will participate in the create operation. If the selected object is not a folder, this selection will recreate the folder containing this object, the object itself, and all other objects within that folder, as well. The current recreate option for the Restore operation (as specified in the DeskMan/2 settings notebook) will be used if the object already exists in the target folder and you do not select an option from the submenu. o Replace if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Update if object exists if the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. o Skip if object exists if the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before recreating it. You can also select the depth for the restore operation: o this folder only - if selected, will create objects from the selected folder(s) only (default selection), o include subfolders - if selected, will create objects from the selected folder(s) and all subfolders located in it. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. If multiple objects were selected for this operation, they will be created in their hierarchical order. The hierarchical order means that the folders will be created before any object located in them. ═══ 10.4.2.1. This folder only ═══ The participating objects will be recreated in their hierarchical order. The current option for recreating objects will be used by default, unless you select one of the items available on the submenu: o update if exists. o replace if exists. o skip if exists. This function will handle one level of the hierarchy. This means that the subfolders will not be recreated. ═══ 10.4.2.1.1. Update if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be not created. However, its setup string will be updated with the current values defined in the object description file. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. ═══ 10.4.2.1.2. Replace if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be replaced by the selected object. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. Note: If the object selected is a folder, all objects currently located in it will be deleted. ═══ 10.4.2.1.3. Skip if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be not created. If the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before an attempt to create it. ═══ 10.4.2.2. Include subfolders ═══ The participating objects will be recreated in their hierarchical order. The current option for recreating objects will be used by default, unless you select one of the items available on the submenu: o update if exists. o replace if exists. o skip if exists. This function will handle all levels of the hierarchy below the current folder. This means that the subfolders will be recreated. ═══ 10.4.2.2.1. Update if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be not created. However, its setup string will be updated with the current values defined in the object description file. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. ═══ 10.4.2.2.2. Replace if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be replaced by the selected object. If the prompt on update option is checked, you will be asked for confirmation. Note: If the object selected is a folder, all objects currently located in it will be deleted. ═══ 10.4.2.2.3. Skip if exists ═══ If the objects you are trying to create already exist on your desktop, it will be not created. If the search everywhere option is checked, DeskMan/2 will search your entire desktop trying to locate the selected object before an attempt to create it. ═══ 10.4.3. Select all for folder ═══ The Select all for folder function allows you to select complete folders including all objects located in them. It can be used before performing the recreate folder or recreate object operation, or any other operation if you want to customize the set of objects passed to them. Objects can be selected for: o one level only, i.e. the objects located in subfolders will not be selected, or o including subfolders, i.e. the objects located in the subfolders in the folder selected will be selected, too. o parent folders. ═══ 10.4.3.1. Select all - this folder only ═══ The One level only option selects objects located in the already selected folders or objects having the same location as the selected object. It will not select objects for subfolders located in the selected folder. ═══ 10.4.3.2. Select all - include subfolders ═══ The including subfolders option selects objects located in the already selected folders or objects having the same location as the selected object. It will select objects for (sub)folders located in the selected folder. ═══ 10.4.3.3. Select all - parent folders ═══ The parent folders option selects folders which are necessary to recreate given object in his original location. ═══ 10.4.4. Find folder ═══ This function will search for the parent folder for the selected object, i.e. the folder in which the object is located, and put the cursored emphasis on it (a thin continuous border), and highlight it as well. ═══ 10.4.5. Change setup ═══ Allows you to change the setup string for the selected objects. ═══ 10.4.6. Map drives ═══ This function will scan and change the setup string for selected objects. If the setup string contains references to physical drives (.EXE or .CMD files for program names, working directory, etc.) and you recreate the objects on a system with different drive letters, those references will be incorrect. You can either manually change the setup strings for each object or request DeskMan/2 to perform the change for you for all selected objects. After you select this option, a map drives dialog will ask you which drive letter should be substituted (the from value) with a current value (the to value). This function will, upon completion, notify you as to the number of objects's setup strings that had to be changed. Note: This operation has nothing to do with the physical location of the object, i.e. you can not request an object that was located on the desktop in partition C to be placed on the desktop in partition X. The object's location is determined by the folder's location (the desktop in the highest instance). It is designed primarily for changes of Path and Current directory values specified for Program objects. They will have to change if you have moved the directories, in which they were located at the time of the save operation, to another partition. Warning: This function does NOT remap the location of your saved icon files! You must either manually edit and change the pathnames in your .DRC or .CMD files, or place your .ICO files in the same physical location, in order to allow DeskMan/2 to properly access them. ═══ 10.4.7. Remove description ═══ Remove description - will remove the description of the selected items from the window (and the object description file, if you save the file). If the object selected is a folder, all objects located in this folder will also be removed. ═══ 10.4.8. Generate REXX ═══ This function creates a REXX program capable of recreating the selected object(s). The default .CMD file is used for the initial file name, but can be overridden. REXX code will then be generated for the selected object(s) in hierarchical order, i.e. it will recreate folders before any object located in them. However, if you do not select the parent folders for inclusion within the generated REXX file, then DeskMan/2 will generate the REXX file without those folders being included. When the unmodified REXX code is later executed, the presence of all containing folders is required. Of course, after the REXX code is first generated, it can be modified to change the object's designated recreation location. ═══ 10.5. Using Drag and Drop ═══ The Restore window (container) implements a standardized Drag and Drop mechanism. By dragging objects (or their graphic representation in form of an icon) out of the window and dropping them on any object or window on your desktop, you are initiating a create operation. The objects participating in the Drag and Drop are selected based on their selection emphasis (highlighted or not), and also depend on what view is displayed by the container. The following rules are observed: 1. if the object being dragged is not in selected state, only this one object will participate in the drag operation. 2. if the object being dragged is in the selected state, all objects being in the selected state will participate in the drag operation and will be recreated in their hierarchical sequence, i.e. folders before their contents. 3. if the container displays the tree icon view, and the object being dragged is a composite object (it is a parent for other objects), all objects having this object as a parent, will participate in the drag operation. The target of the drop operation can be any WPS object or any open view of an object. Windows that do not represent views of WPS objects are not allowed and may cause unexpected results. If the target represents a folder, the dragged objects will be created in this folder - if it represents an object of a different class, the dropped objects will be created in the folder holding the target. The objects dropped will be created using the current restore settings (which are explained in Restore objects settings ). ═══ 11. Assign OBJECTID ═══ The assign OBJECTID special function can be used to assign an OBJECTID to any object located on your desktop. The OBJECTID is a unique identifier which allows you to refer to a specific object from programs executed outside of the Workplace Shell, especially from REXX or Presentation Manager applications. Note: This function may also be used for fixing the problem of the Desktop losing its default OBJECTID - see: Limitations. ═══ 11.1. OBJECTID entry field ═══ This entry field is used to enter the OBJECTID. The character string entered must be enclosed in < and > and should be unique for a given OS/2 2.X system. ═══ 11.2. Assign ═══ Push the Assign button after you have entered the OBJECTID. ═══ 11.3. Cancel ═══ Push this button if you want to cancel the Assign OBJECTID special function. ═══ 12. Map drives ═══ This function will scan and change the setup string for selected objects. If the setup string contains references to physical drives (.EXE or .CMD files for program names, working directory, etc.) and you recreate the objects on a system with different drive letters, those references will be incorrect. You can either manually change the setup strings for each object or request DeskMan/2 to perform the change for you for all selected objects. After you select this option, a map drives dialog will ask you which drive letter should be substituted (the from value) with a current value (the to value). This function will, upon completion, notify you as to the number of objects's setup strings that had to be changed. Note: This operation has nothing to do with the physical location of the object, i.e. you can not request an object that was located on the desktop in partition C to be placed on the desktop in partition X. The object's location is determined by the folder's location (the desktop in the highest instance). It is designed primarily for changes of Path and Current directory values specified for Program objects. They will have to change if you have moved the directories, in which they were located at the time of the save operation, to another partition. Warning: This function does NOT remap the location of your saved icon files! You must either manually edit and change the pathnames in your .DRC or .CMD files, or place your .ICO files in the same physical location, in order to allow DeskMan/2 to properly access them. ═══ 12.1. OK ═══ Push the OK button to perform the map drives operation after you entered the from and to values, or Cancel to cancel the request. ═══ 12.2. Cancel ═══ Use the Cancel button to cancel the map drives operation. ═══ 12.3. Change from ═══ Enter the drive letter which should be replaced by the to value for the map drives operation. ═══ 12.4. Change to ═══ Enter the drive letter which should be used as the substitute for the from value for the map drives operation. ═══ 13. Change Setup ═══ Use Change setup function available on the restore window menu bar or on the object's context menu to modify the setup string objects from the object description file currently displayed in the Restore window. Note: No formal checking is performed at this time on the values entered! ═══ 13.1. Setup string ═══ The setup string is a character string consisting of keyname=value pairs separated by semicolons that change or define the behavior of an WPS object. Each object class defines its specific accepted keynames and the values it expects to see. Some of the keynames and accepted values are documented in OS/2 2.0 Presentation Programming Reference, vol. 2. The most comprehensive description available can be found in CRTOBJ.TXT on CompuServe in OS2USER forum, library 5. ═══ 13.2. OK ═══ Push the OK button to accept any changes to the object's setup string. ═══ 13.3. CANCEL ═══ Push the Cancel button to ignore any changes to the object's setup string. ═══ 14. Debug window ═══ The Debug window will be visible if you perform a Save objects or Save desktop operation and the Debug ON option is checked, or you selected Debug log from the DeskMan/2 object's Open menu. This window, if active, will give you some additional information about objects being processed. This information will be presented in the Processing log window and simultaneously written to the DeskMan/2's log file. Note: The Processing log window has a limited capacity and may overflow if you process a large number of objects. However, the log file will contain all records. The first time the window overflows, you will be notified about this event - unless you checked No warnings during processing on the Save settings page. The debug window offers the following menu selections: o No debug - you can close the debug window and deactivate the Debug function immediately. Closing the window itself (using the Close from window's system menu), does not switch the Debug function off. Note: The Close selection is disabled as long as DeskMan/2 is processing dropped objects for a Save request. o Cancel processing - will interrupt a currently executed Save operation. o Special functions - offers some advanced options. o Help - to access the DeskMan/2 help system. Note: If you open the window and it does not appear on the screen, that means tha you closed it or performed a system Shut down when it was in a minimized state. Select the window from the window list, push Tile or Cascade to bring it back into the visible area. ═══ 14.1. Debug window menu ═══ The debug window offers the following menu selections: o No debug - you can close the debug window and deactivate the Debug function immediately. Closing the window itself (using the Close from window's system menu), does not switch the Debug function off. Note: The Close selection is disabled as long as DeskMan/2 is processing dropped objects for a Save request. o Cancel processing - will interrupt a currently executed Save operation. o Special functions - offers some advanced options. o Help - to access the DeskMan/2 help system. ═══ 14.1.1. No debug ═══ Use No debug menu item to close the debug window and switch the debug function permanently off. ═══ 14.1.2. Cancel processing ═══ Use Cancel processing to interrupt the currently executed Save objects or Save desktop operation. ═══ 14.1.3. Special functions ═══ The Special functions menu offers some advanced options. These options remain in effect until the user selects another option: o Destroy an object on drop - next object dropped on DeskMan/2's icon will be destroyed. o Assign an OBJECTID - you can assign a unique OBJECTID to any WPS object. o Query object Settings - will display the object's class, OBJECTID, and other settings! o Open Default - will open the default view for a dropped object. o Open Settings - will open the Settings notebook for any object. o Assign ICON - this function allows you to attach any icon to any WPS object. o Change Object Style - this function allows you to see and change certain WPS object styles. Note: When you select one of the Special functions, the Save objects function will be suspended - this is made visible by unchecking the Save objects item on the DeskMan/2 context menu. Also, the DeskMan/2 icon will change from the default icon to: o for the Assign icon before the first object is dropped and to as the sign that DeskMan/2 is expecting the second object to be dropped. o for the Query object Settings. o for the Open object. o for the Destroy object. o for the Assign OBJECTID. o for the Change Object Style. When you decide to cancel the special function you just selected, you can open the DeskMan/2 context menu and select Save objects - this will disable the currently selected special function and reenable the default operation. The Special functions are available on the DeskMan/2 context menu, as well. ═══ 14.1.3.1. Destroy an object ═══ Use Destroy object on drop to remove any unwanted objects WPS from your desktop. Even objects which does not have the Delete option can be removed. DeskMan/2 will also remove objects having read only or template attribute set. You are also allowed to remove extra desktops which may have been created as a result of using MAKEINI or Alt-F1 to restore the default desktop. However, some objects (Drives, shadows of thereof, System setup objects) may refuse to be deleted and the only working method then is to create a folder, move the offending objects to it and use RD command to remove the directory corresponding to the created folder. ═══ 14.1.3.2. Query object Settings ═══ Use Query object Settings to learn about the object's class, OBJECTID, and other settings! The window thus brought up is a Read-Only window, but the standard Select and Copy functions will work within it. All you need do is select the text you want to copy, copy it into the clipboard by hitting ctrl-insert on your keyboard, bring up an editor such as EPM, and paste the text into it from the clipboard, by hitting shift-insert or selecting Paste from its menu. Note: If you Query the settings for a container, all objects in that container must be examined, and this can take some time, particularly for WPS Desktop object! ═══ 14.1.3.3. Assign OBJECTID ═══ Use Assign OBJECTID to assign a unique ID to any object. See Assign objectid dialog help for details. ═══ 14.1.3.4. Open an object ═══ Use Open an object to open a view of any WPS object. You can open: o the default view, or o the settings. ═══ 14.1.3.4.1. Open default view ═══ Use Open default view to open the default view of any WPS object. The default view is dependent on the class of the object and the changes you may have made to the primary object's menu, using its Settings. ═══ 14.1.3.4.2. Open Settings ═══ Use Open Settings to open the Settings notebook for any WPS object. ═══ 14.1.3.5. Assign an icon ═══ Use Assign an icon function to attach an icon to any WPS objects. After selecting it, you have to drop an object and an ICO file (the sequence doesn't matter) on the DeskMan/2 icon. If neither of the dropped objects is a WPIcon object (i.e. it must be a real icon file, usually every ICO file edited with the Icon editor is one...) the second dropped object's icon will be assigned to the first object dropped. You will be asked to accept this action. ═══ 14.1.3.6. Change Object Style ═══ This function allows certain object styles to be seen and changed. Warning: Do NOT change the DeskMan/2 object's style settings! Doing so may require the reinstallation of the product. By selecting this option from the menu, an object's various style settings can be brought up in a window, viewed, and changed. These style settings are: o Copy - indicating whether or not the object can be copied. o Move - indicating whether or not the object can be moved. o Shadow - indicating whether or not the object can have a Shadow. o Settings - indicating whether or not the object's Settings notebook can be opened. o Rename - indicating whether or not the object can be renamed. o Delete - indicating whether or not the object can be deleted. o Drag - indicating whether or not the object can be dragged. o Print - indicating whether or not the object can be printed. o Template - indicating whether or not the object is a template o Visible - indicating whether or not the object is visible on the desktop. ═══ 14.1.3.6.1. Change Object Style - Change ═══ Select this button to have DeskMan/2 change the current object's styles as per the current indicators in the Change Object Style window. ═══ 14.1.3.6.2. Change Object Style - Cancel ═══ Select this button to have DeskMan/2 cancel any selected changes to the current object's styles, and to close the Change Object Style window. ═══ 14.1.3.6.3. Change Object Style - Copy ═══ Copy - indicating whether or not the object can be copied. ═══ 14.1.3.6.4. Change Object Style - Move ═══ Move - indicating whether or not the object can be moved. ═══ 14.1.3.6.5. Change Object Style - Shadow ═══ Shadow - indicating whether or not the object can have a Shadow. ═══ 14.1.3.6.6. Change Object Style - Settings ═══ Settings - indicating whether or not the object's Settings notebook can be opened. ═══ 14.1.3.6.7. Change Object Style - Rename ═══ Rename - indicating whether or not the object can be renamed. ═══ 14.1.3.6.8. Change Object Style - Delete ═══ Delete - indicating whether or not the object can be deleted. ═══ 14.1.3.6.9. Change Object Style - Drag ═══ Drag - indicating whether or not the object can be dragged. Warning: If No Drag is set, the object can NOT be dragged anymore. This means that you cannot drag it back to the DeskMan/2 object to undo what you have done! If the object is not inside a container on the desktop, the only way to undo this action is to reinstall the object from either the DeskMan/2 object description file, a REXX program, or from the object's original installation disks. ═══ 14.1.3.6.10. Change Object Style - Print ═══ Print - indicating whether or not the object can be printed. ═══ 14.1.3.6.11. Change Object Style - Template ═══ Template - indicating whether or not the object is a template ═══ 14.1.3.6.12. Change Object Style - Visible ═══ Visible - indicating whether or not the object is visible on the desktop. ═══ 15. DeskMan/2 Settings ═══ The DeskMan/2 settings can be accessed by opening the object's context menu and selecting Open and Settings. The following setting notebook pages can be selected: o Save - three pages of settings for the Save function. o Restore - the Restore function settings. o Debug - the Debug function settings. o System - the Save System function settings. o General - the DeskMan/2 object name and icon. ═══ 15.1. Save (1 of 3) ═══ The first (of 3) page of the save function settings can be used to set following values: o generate the object description file, o object description file name, o DeskMan/2's behavior if the object description file already exists, replace or update can be selected. o prompting on file update. o resolve composite objects like the desktop or folders, ═══ 15.1.1. Object description file name ═══ Use Object description file for Save entry field to specify the location and name of DeskMan/2's object description file. Alternatively the Select push button can be used to display the default OS/2 file selection dialog. ═══ 15.1.2. Selecting an object description file for Save ═══ Use the Select push button to activate the standard OS/2 file open dialog which allows you to select a DeskMan/2 object description file for the Save operation. ═══ 15.1.3. Replace the object description file on Save ═══ Use replace radio button to request DeskMan/2 to overwrite the object description file for the Save operation if it already exists. This option can be preferably used for performing Save desktop operations, since it replaces the object description file for each and every object saved - dropped on DeskMan/2, Warning: If you check replace as the desired behavior for an existing object description file and/or REXX program and perform a multi-object drop (you select more than one object and drop all of them at the same time on DeskMan/2), every object will initiate a separate thread by DeskMan/2, causing the object description file to be overlaid by the final object only. DeskMan/2 will try to notify you in such case and give you the option of cancelling the operation. ═══ 15.1.4. Update the object description file on Save ═══ Use the update radio button to force DeskMan/2 to search the current contents of the object description file and check for the presence of the object it is currently processing. If such an object already exists in the object description file (i.e., an object having the same class, title and location ), its description will be updated with the current one. If the object cannot be found in the object description file, its description will be appended to the file. This option allows you to maintain the complete set of your objects, i.e. only newly created objects will be added to the object description file. The object's description will be updated in the current object description file and/or in the REXX program. ═══ 15.1.5. Resolve composite objects ═══ Use the resolve folders setting to request all composite objects Desktop, folders, program groups, etc. processed by the Save operation, to be automatically populated with their contents and saved along with all objects located in them. ═══ 15.1.6. Prompt on object description file update ═══ Use Prompt if you want DeskMan/2 to notity you when an object's description is about to be updated in the DeskMan/2 object description file. ═══ 15.1.7. Generate the object description file ═══ Use the Generate object description file check box to switch the generation of the DeskMan/2 object description file on or off. ═══ 15.2. Save (2 of 3) ═══ The second (of 3) page of the save function settings can be used to set following values: o generate REXX program on Save, o REXX program name, o DeskMan/2's behavior if the REXX program already exists, replace or update can be selected. o prompting on REXX program update. ═══ 15.2.1. REXX program name ═══ Use Program name entry field to specify the location and name of the generated REXX program. Alternatively the Select push button can be used to display the default OS/2 file selection dialog. ═══ 15.2.2. Replace REXX program on Save ═══ Use replace radio button to request DeskMan/2 to overwrite the REXX program for the Save operation if it already exists. This option can be preferably used for performing Save desktop operations, since it replaces the object description file for each every object saved - dropped on DeskMan/2, Warning: If you check replace as the desired behavior for an existing object description file and/or REXX program and perform a multi-object drop (you select more than one object and drop all of them at the same time on DeskMan/2), every object will initiate a separate thread by DeskMan/2, causing the object description file to be overlaid by the final object only. DeskMan/2 will try to notify you in such case and give you the option of cancelling the operation. ═══ 15.2.3. Update REXX program ═══ Use the update radio button to force DeskMan/2 to search the current contents of the REXX program and check for the presence of the object it is currently processing. If such an object already exists in the object description file (i.e., an object having the same class, title and location ), its description will be updated with the current one. If the object cannot be found in the REXX program, its description will be appended to the file. This option allows you to maintain the complete set of your objects, i.e. only newly created objects will be added to the object description file. The object's description will be updated in the current object description file and/or in the REXX program. ═══ 15.2.4. Prompt on REXX program update ═══ Use Prompt if you want DeskMan/2 to notity you when an object's code is about to be updated in the REXX program generated by DeskMan/2. ═══ 15.2.5. Generate REXX program on Save ═══ Use Generate REXX program check box to switch the generation of the program on or off. ═══ 15.2.6. Select REXX program name ═══ Use the Select push button to activate the standard OS/2 file open dialog which allows you to select the name of the generated REXX program for the Save operation. ═══ 15.3. Save (3 of 3) ═══ The third (of 3) page of the save function settings can be used to set following values: o create icons for saved objects, o icons location, o assign OBJECTID to shadows' orginals, o assign OBJECTID to every object, o suppress warnings during processing, o suppress warnings for invalid settings. ═══ 15.3.1. Icons location ═══ Use the Icons location entry field to specify the location of a directory which will keep the icons for the saved objects. You can also use the Select pushbutton to select a directory using a standard OS/2 open file dialog. Note: The directory must exist at the time of performing the Save operation. It will be validated at the time you enter it, and created if it does not exist. The generated object description file and/or REXX program will contain references to the directory specified. If you restore the objects on another system, be sure to place the icon files in a directory having the same physical location as the one used for the save operation - unless you modify the object description file and/or the REXX program manually. The Map drives function can not be used to change those references. Note also, that there is an OS/2 limit on the number of files you can put into a root directory: o 128 files for a root directory on a diskette. o 512 files for a root directory on a hard disk partition. ═══ 15.3.2. Icon directory selection ═══ Use the Select pushbutton to select a directory as the icons location for the Save operation. Note: Since the standard OS/2 open dialog does not provide a way to select a directory only, you will have to select either a file from a directory you want to use or enter a fake file name into the dialog's file name entry field. ═══ 15.3.3. Create icons for saved objects ═══ Use the Create icons checkbox to request that when saving objects, the objects' icons be saved along with them. This is set by default. ═══ 15.3.4. Assign OBJECTID to shadow's original ═══ Use the Assign OBJECTID for original to control the way DeskMan/2 is handling the shadows of WPS objects. See Limitations for details. Note: If Assign OBJECTID for original is not checked, DeskMan/2 will not be able to restore shadows of the saved objects. ═══ 15.3.5. Assign OBJECTID to each object ═══ Use the Assign OBJECTID to each object to request an OBJECTID to be assigned for each processed object. See Limitations for details. ═══ 15.3.6. Suppress warnings for invalid settings ═══ Sometimes it happens that the DOS or WinOs2 Settings for an object become corrupted, especially when you delete the associated file and WPS is not notified. In this case, DeskMan/2 will get an invalid pointer to those settings and will ignore them. Do not check this option if you want to be notified in such a case. Note: The "invalid" settings can be fixed in most cases by opening settings, changing any setting and saving them. ═══ 15.3.7. Suppress warnings during processing ═══ When the No warnings during processing check box is checked, you will not receive any noncritical warning messages. This includes messages about: o Broken shadows - A broken shadow occurs when the original object of that shadow can no longer be found. When this happens, the shadow's icon changes into the "broken link" icon. These objects can not be resolved/saved/restored by DeskMan/2 and will be ignored. If the No warnings during processing check box is checked, then no warning will be issued. o Objects DeskMan/2 can not resolve (for example shadows of Drives or objects not located on your current desktop). o No confirmation is required when Cancel processing is selected. o Overflowing the Debug window. ═══ 15.4. Restore Settings ═══ The Restore page of the Settings notebook contains a set of controls which affect the operation of online restore (recreate) processing. The following options can be set: o the name and the location of the object description file for the restore function. o the name and the location of the system's INI.RC file, used to recreate the default WPS objects. o options for recreating objects - existing objects can be replaced, updated, or skipped entirely. Note that choosing this last option is functionally equivalent to a Restore Missing Only option. o request to be prompted on object update or replace. o request to look everywhere when checking for an object's existence if existing objects are skipped. o set the default view displayed by the restore container. o set the default icon size used in views displaying icons. ═══ 15.4.1. Object description file name for Restore ═══ Use the Object description file for Restore entry field to enter the location and name of the DeskMan/2 object description file to be displayed in the restore window. You can also use the Open push button to display a standard OS/2 file open dialog. The name of the object description file can be the same as the one used for the Save operation. This will have the advantage of being able to visually control the contents of the object description file (when you open the Restore window before you start the Save). ═══ 15.4.2. File name selection for Restore ═══ Use the Select push button located close to the Description file for Restore: entry field to display a standard OS/2 file open dialog and to select a valid DeskMan/2 object description file. ═══ 15.4.3. System INI.RC file location ═══ Use the Standard OS/2 INI.RC file entry field to enter the name and location of the OS/2 INI.RC file which contains a description of the default WPS objects. Any valid INI.RC file may be used - not necessarily the one from the system you are currently running. However, this will be the default selected by DeskMan/2. ═══ 15.4.4. System INI.RC file selection ═══ Use the Select push button located close to the Standard OS/2 INI.RC file: entry field to display a standard OS/2 file open dialog and to select a valid OS/2 INI.RC file file which contains a description of the default WPS objects. Any valid INI.RC file may be used - not necessarily the one from the system you are currently running. However, this will be the default selected by DeskMan/2. ═══ 15.4.5. Replace object if exists ═══ Use the Replace radio buton if you want objects already existing on your desktop to be replaced when recreating/restoring objects. You may want to use the prompt setting to request a notification when an object is about to be replaced. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. ═══ 15.4.6. Update object if exists ═══ Use the Update radio buton if you want objects already existing on your desktop to be updated when recreating/restoring objects. You may want to use the prompt setting to request a notification when an object is about to be updated. ═══ 15.4.7. Prompt on object update ═══ Use the Prompt check box to request a notification (confirmation) from DeskMan/2 when it is about to replace or update an existing object when performing the restore operation. Note: This setting is also used when the skip if object exists option is checked. If you want DeskMan/2, during the Skip if object exists processing, to assume that if an object with same title and class is found in a folder other than the target folder, then the currently processed object should not be created; and you don't want to see the notification about those objects, then don't check the Prompt option. ═══ 15.4.8. Skip object if exists ═══ Use the Skip radio buton if you want objects already in existence on your desktop to be skipped when recreating/restoring objects. You can also use the search everywhere option to request DeskMan/2 to check the entire desktop for the presence of the object being restored. Normally, DeskMan/2 only searches the object's stored path for the object to be restored, but with this option set, it will check the entire desktop until it either finds it, or has completed its search for the object. If it finds the object, and the prompt checkbox is not set, then it will skip the object. If the prompt checkbox is set, then a notification will be provided asking if the object should be restored to its original location, or if it should be skipped. ═══ 15.4.9. Search everywhere for missing objects ═══ You can use the search everywhere option to request that DeskMan/2 check the entire desktop for the presence of the object being restored. This option may be useful to check for objects you might have moved to another folder after you performed the Save operation. If DeskMan/2 finds such an object in another folder, and if the prompt checkbox is set, then you will be notified as to the names of the folder(s), and have the option of recreating the object in its default location or cancelling the request. If it finds the object, and the prompt checkbox is not set, then it will skip the object. You can use the prompt for the Skip if object exists with search everywhere option. If you want DeskMan/2, during the Skip if object exists processing, to assume that if an object with same title and class is found in a folder different than the target folder, the currently processed object should not be created, and you don't want to see the notification about those objects, don't check the Prompt option. ═══ 15.4.10. Use mini icons ═══ The size of the icons used in views having icons displayed can be changed. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. Note: Preparing the view using mini icons takes more time than if using the default size. ═══ 15.4.11. Icon view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the Icon view in a non-grid format. The icons will be located randomly about the screen without any ordered arrangement. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible orders or use the arrange to spread them over the entire window. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. ═══ 15.4.12. Details view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the Details view. The icons will be arranged in a column across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. The information about the objects will be displayed in the following categories: 1. Icon - shows the icon assigned to this object, or the icon, or the icon. will be displayed for objects having their icons located in private or system DLL's. Since those DLLs can't be loaded by DeskMan/2 (they may require a specific initialization sequence and/or environment), a generic icon is used. The shadows will have a special icon displayed. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings, 2. Title - is object's title. 3. Class - is the object's class. 4. Location - is the OBJECTID of the folder where the object was located at the time of Save or the physical path for objects of the WP*File classes. 5. Date - is the date when the object was saved or updated last time using DeskMan/2, or blank for default objects. 6. Time - the time the object was saved or updated last, or blank for default objects. 7. Folder's title - the parent folder's title, if it could be found in the current object description file. ═══ 15.4.13. Name view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the name view in a flowed format. The icons will be arranged in columns across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. ═══ 15.4.14. Text view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the text view in a flowed format. The icons will be arranged in columns across the screen in the order in which they were found in the object description file. However, you can use the sort function to order them in one of the possible sequences. This view provides you only with the name of an object. ═══ 15.4.15. Tree view ═══ The container contents will be displayed in the tree icon view in a lines format. The icons will be arranged in a tree-like structure reflecting the dependencies between the objects. The icons can be displayed in their default size or in "mini" size - the size can be selected using the window's system menu or by checking Use mini icons on the Restore page of DeskMan/2's settings. This view provides you only with the name and the icon of an object. Note: Switching to/from this view from/to any other view requires the container contents to be reloaded, so it may take some time to display the new view selected. ═══ 15.5. Debug Settings ═══ The Debug page of the DeskMan/2 settings notebook allows you to customize the settings for the Debug function. The debug information will be displayed in the debug window and simultaneously written to the debug LOG file; or, if the PMPRINTF check box is selected, it will be written to PMPRINTF. This information may be usefull for debugging and educational purposes. The following settings can be customized: o the debug function status, o the debug LOG file name. ═══ 15.5.1. Switch Debug ON ═══ Use the On radio button to switch the debug function on. Use the Off radio button to switch the function off. Note: The debug function can be also activated by using the Debug log menu item on the DeskMan/2 object's Open menu. ═══ 15.5.2. Switch Debug OFF ═══ Use the Off radio button to switch the debug function off. Use the On radio button to switch the function on. Note: The debug function can be also deactivated by using the No debug menu item on the Debug window menu. ═══ 15.5.3. Debug .LOG file name ═══ Use the DeskMan/2 .LOG file entry field to specify the name and location of the debug file. Alternatively you can use the Select push button to display the standard OS/2 file open dialog to select the .LOG file. ═══ 15.5.4. Debug .LOG file selection ═══ Use the Select push button to display the standard OS/2 file open dialog to select the name and location of the DeskMan/2 debug file. ═══ 15.5.5. Set DEBUG .LOG to PMPRINTF ═══ If PMPRINTF is checked, all debugging information is sent from DeskMan/2 to PMPRINTF. If PMPRINTF is in use, and either DeskMan/2 or the WPS crashes, PMPRINTF will retain the debugging information up to the point of the crash, where DeskMan/2's native debugger may lose some or all of the most recent information. Warning: If this option is selected, PMPRINTF must be started prior to using DeskMan/2, or the debugging information will be lost. ═══ 15.6. Settings for Save System Settings ═══ The System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved and restored using DeskMan/2. This notebook settings control is used to control what is saved or restored, and to where. The following are controlled from here: o The IRC file name used for the saved System Settings o The Control Panel checkbox that determines if the System Control panel settings are saved. o The PM Colors checkbox that determines if the WPS desktop color settings are saved. o The REXX file name used for the saved System Settings ═══ 15.6.1. File name for settings ═══ If this option is selected, then the System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved and restored using DeskMan/2. This entry field contains the full pathname for the file used to store the saved system settings. If you wish to change the file to be used for this purpose to another file, you can either enter the new file path and name in this field, or use the Select pushbutton to display the default OS/2 file selection dialog. Note: The file should have the IRC file extension. ═══ 15.6.2. Select pushbutton for file name ═══ Use the Select push button to activate the standard OS/2 file open dialog which allows you to select a file within which to store the saved System settings. Note: The file should have the IRC file extension. ═══ 15.6.3. Control panel checkbox ═══ Determines whether or not the PM Control panel settings are backed up. These settings include: o Border Width o Animation o Print Screen o Logo Display Time o Cursor Blink Rate o Key Repeat Rate o Key Repeat Delay o Double Click Speed o Mouse Tracking Speed o and more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. ═══ 15.6.4. PM Colors checkbox ═══ Determines whether or not the PM color settings are backed up. These settings include: o Display o Active Border o Active Title o Background o Button Default o Entry Field o Icon Text o Menu o Shadow Text o Window o Window Frame o and many more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. Warning: Do not attempt to restore these settings unto a system that does not have the same type of video card as they were saved under. ═══ 15.6.5. Generate REXX checkbox ═══ If this checkbox is selected, then REXX file generation is enabled for the saving of the selected System Settings. ═══ 15.6.6. REXX Program Generation for System Settings ═══ If this option is selected, then the System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved into a generated REXX file, which need only be run to restore your saved settings. This entry field contains the full pathname for the file used to store the saved system settings. If you wish to change the file to be used for this purpose to another file, you can either enter the new file path and name in this field, or use the Select pushbutton to display the default OS/2 file selection dialog. Note: The file should have the CMD file extension. ═══ 15.6.7. Select pushbutton for REXX ═══ Use the Select push button to activate the standard OS/2 file open dialog which allows you to select a file within which to store the saved System settings. Note: The file should have the CMD file extension. ═══ 15.6.8. Generate IRC file checkbox ═══ If this checkbox is selected, then IRC file generation is enabled for the online save and restore of the selected System Settings. ═══ 16. DeskMan/2 object Help ═══ The DeskMan/2 object located on your desktop is a very special Workplace Shell object. It is not an executable program, even though it performs online functions. It is not a folder, even though it displays a window containing the objects that it 'holds'. It is not a desktop, even though it easily holds all the objects found on the desktop... It is simply the Desktop Manager. DeskMan/2 has a distinctive icon and it's own object menu - both of them are very important. The icon is used to activate the main DeskMan/2 function: the Save operation. It is started by dragging other objects onto DeskMan/2 - the icon (and the associated DeskMan/2 class DLL) then performs its magic acquiring from the WPS all information available about the dropped objects. Depending on the current Settings, a special object description file, a bunch of icons, and a REXX program will be generated. DeskMan/2's icon has also another important feature: when you double-click on it (i.e. perform the default action on it), a container window will open. This is the window used to launch a variety of functions, the most important being the restore (or create) function. DeskMan/2's context menu (also known as a popup menu) will be available after you press Mouse Button 2 (usually the right button) while pointing at DeskMan/2's icon. This menu allows you to access other important functions: o the Open submenu o the DeskMan/2 and System Help submenu, which includes the online registration menu item o the Save desktop menu item o the Restore desktop submenu o the Save System settings menu item o the Restore System settings menu item o the Save objects menu item o the Special functions submenu ═══ 16.1. Open ═══ You can use the Open submenu off of the DeskMan/2 object's context menu to open the following: o the Settings notebook o the DeskMan file o the Standard objects system file o the Debug log ═══ 16.1.1. Open DeskMan file ═══ Use the DeskMan file menu item to open a restore window displaying the objects saved in DeskMan/2's object description file. The default window format and style can be customized on the Restore page of the Settings notebook. ═══ 16.1.2. Open default objects file ═══ Use the Standard objects menu item to request the description of the default Workplace Shell objects to be displayed. The description is kept in special INI.RC file located in the OS2 directory on your system partition. Since DeskMan/2 supports the format of the INI.RC files, you can perform all the functions available in the restore window the same way you can perform them on the DeskMan/2 object description file. ═══ 16.1.3. Open DeskMan/2 debug window ═══ Use the Debug log menu item to display the DeskMan/2 debug window and to activate debugging. ═══ 16.2. Save objects ═══ DeskMan/2 performs the Save object(s) operation everytime you drop an object on its icon while Save Objects, its default operation, is selected. The characteristic DeskMan/2 icon, displayed here: clearly indicates that the Save Objects option is selected. However, the special functions also use the drop interface. After you select one of the special functions, the Save object(s) function is suspended, the DeskMan/2 icon is changed to the icon appropriate to the particular special function selected, and the Save objects menu item is unchecked.. To return DeskMan/2 to its default Save object(s) operation, select the Save objects menu item. This will restore the original DeskMan/2 desktop icon, place a check next to the menu item, and cause DeskMan/2 to resume its default Save function. This menu item can be also used to cancel a Special function request in the case where it's no longer desired. ═══ 16.3. Register DeskMan ═══ If this copy of DeskMan/2 has not been previously registered, then it can be registered online through this selection off of the DeskMan/2 object's context help menu. Simply select, Register DeskMan, and the registration dialog will pop up, allowing you to complete the product registration. If the product is not properly installed, then it will function with certain limitations. Note: Please make sure that you have a valid customer name and registration number ═══ 16.4. Save Desktop ═══ Use Save desktop to perform a save operation for the entire desktop. If the resolve folders setting is enabled, all composite objects, including the Workplace Shell desktop, folders, program groups, etc., will be populated with their contents and saved. Note: When the Templates folder is being saved, it may cause Help for the Data file to be displayed. This is caused by a bug in WPS. The Help can be closed, although it might open itself again if still processing the Templates folder, but there are no known negative side effects of this strange behavior. ═══ 16.5. Restore Desktop ═══ When selecting Restore Desktop, three options are available: o Update if exists o Replace if exists o Skip if exists ═══ 16.6. Save desktop System Settings ═══ Saves the WPS Desktop System Settings to a IRC file, and optionally generates a REXX program. These settings include: o Border Width o Animation o Print Screen o Logo Display Time o Cursor Blink Rate o Key Repeat Rate o Key Repeat Delay o Double Click Speed o Mouse Tracking Speed o Display o Active Border o Active Title o Background o Button Default o Entry Field o Icon Text o Menu o Shadow Text o Window o Window Frame o and many more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. Warning: Do not attempt to restore the color settings unto a system that does not have the same type of video card as they were saved under. ═══ 16.7. Restore desktop System Settings ═══ Restores the WPS Desktop System Settings from the IRC file. These settings include: o Border Width o Animation o Print Screen o Logo Display Time o Cursor Blink Rate o Key Repeat Rate o Key Repeat Delay o Double Click Speed o Mouse Tracking Speed o Display o Active Border o Active Title o Background o Button Default o Entry Field o Icon Text o Menu o Shadow Text o Window o Window Frame o and many more... Note: If you restore these settings, they will take effect after you reboot the system. Warning: Do not attempt to restore the color settings unto a system that does not have the same type of video card as they were saved under. ═══ 17. What are your options? ═══ Before you start using DeskMan/2, you can customize its behavior. The values set during the installation process will give you a set of "safe" options, and usually it is not necessary to change them. The values entered using Settings are stored in the OS2.INI file and will be preserved across system starts and DeskMan/2 reinstalls, unless you format your system partition. DeskMan/2's settings can be accessed by using the context menu, i.e. by clicking Mouse Button2 (usually the right button...) on DeskMan/2's icon. The Open conditional menu has the item - Settings. To learn more about specific settings select a topic from the list below or use the Index button: o About DeskMan/2's object description file o Settings for Save o Settings for Restore ═══ 17.1. DeskMan/2's object description file ═══ The description of your objects is kept in a special object description file maintained by DeskMan/2. It contains all the information DeskMan/2 could acquire from the WPS about a specific object and which is necessary to recreate it on any OS/2 2.X system. The format of this file is compatible with the format used by OS/2 for the INI.RC file used to create the default WPS objects. So, if you have a set of your private objects that you wold like to be created automatically when you use MAKEINI or Alt-F1 to restore your default desktop objects, you can use the entries from the DeskMan/2's object description file and put them into the INI.RC file. ═══ 17.2. Save objects ═══ If you don't want the object description file to be generated, uncheck the Generate object description file check box. You can specify the name and location of this file using the first page (of 3) of the Save settings. You can use different files or keep everything in one file. This file is used as the basis for DeskMan/2's restore function - so you can have multiple desktop setups and use them selectively, or document the changes to your desktop as they happen, over time, in one file. I'd like to suggest you to keep the objects in the object description file(s) grouped in logical units, i.e. containing the folders with their complete contents. Otherwise, some features available for the Restore function will have to be limited. You can customize DeskMan/2's behavior when the object description file does already exists at the time you perform Save. You have a choice of: o replace - the file will be overwritten and the previous contents will be destroyed. This option should be used for performing Save desktop operations, since it replaces the object description file for each and every object saved - dropped on DeskMan/2, o update - DeskMan/2 will search the current contents of the object description file and check for the presence of the object it is currently processing. If such an object already exists in the object description file (i.e., an object having the same class, title and location ), its description will be updated with the current one. If the object cannot be found in the object description file, its description will be appended to the file. This option allows you to maintain the complete set of your objects, i.e. only newly created objects will be added to the object description file. The object's description will be updated in the current object description file and/or in the REXX program. - if you check Prompt on update in addition to update, DeskMan/2 will notify you about every object already present in the object description file, and ask you for permission to change the description before performing the update operation. o Resolve folders - the composite objects dropped on DeskMan/2's icon (folders, program groups, desktop ) will be automatically populated with their contents. This is the default for the registered version - this setting is not available for the shareware version. Additionally, a REXX program can be generated (by checking Generate REXX program on page 2 of 3), which can be used to recreate objects "standalone" - on a system without DeskMan/2 being installed (in case you would like to pass those objects to a friend or another user in your department...). You can specify the name of the program file and customize the behavior in case the file already exists, the same way you do for the object description file. Note that the update option is based on a specific layout of the generated REXX program - please do NOT change it manually - especially do not remove DeskMan/2's markers from the text! Warning: If you check replace as the desired behavior for an existing object description file and/or REXX program and perform a multi-object drop (you select more than one object and drop all of them at the same time on DeskMan/2), every object will initiate a separate thread by DeskMan/2, causing the object description file to be overlaid by the final object only. DeskMan/2 will try to notify you in such case and give you the option of cancelling the operation. Object descriptions can be saved without their customized icons or can include them (which is the default). This option is selected by checking the Create icons box. The icons can be put in any directory, which allows you to maintain a collection of your ICO files. You can specify the drive and directory for the icon collection on page 3 of 3 for Save. If you use the file dialog (after you push Select on this page), you will have to supply a fake filename in order to be able to select a drive/directory. For example, if you select a directory D:\DMAN\ICONS, you can select any ICO file from this directory, or put any name into the Open filename field of the selection dialog. Be careful if you use the same directory for icons referred to by different object description files; it will be difficult to identify which are needed by which... Of course, you have to copy any saved icons to the system on which you want to recreate your objects. Warning: If you have checked the Update if exists option for Save, the current object description file/REXX program will not contain any changes/additions for the objects affected by the interrupted operation. If Replace if exists was checked, the object description file will contain descriptions for objects processed up to the moment you interrupted the operation. There are additional settings on page 3: o Assign OBJECTID for original - checked by default. It tells DeskMan/2 to assign an OBJECTID to the original of the processed shadow (if it has not one already assigned). If you don't check this option, DeskMan/2 will not be able to process shadows. o Assign OBJECTID to each object - if checked, DeskMan/2 will assign an OBJECTID to each saved object. This setting is NOT required for DeskMan/2 to perform any of its online functions. You may want to use it to have the ability to refer to any object on the Desktop from programs executing outside of WPS (regular .EXE or .CMD processing). But you must be aware of the side effect of this option: every OBJECTID is saved in the OS2.INI file. And since they must be unique, you shouldn't have multiple copies of the same object in different folders because DeskMan/2 uses the object's title for constructing the OBJECTID. Note: DeskMan/2 is assigning an OBJECTID by default, regardless of this setting, to every folder and an original of a shadow (unless Assign OBJECTID for original is not checked). This is required to identify the location of the object. Now you are wondering "What's that OBJECTID stuff?". OBJECTID is an unique identifier the system or the user can assign to an object when it is created. Most default WPS objects have an OBJECTID assigned (look into INI.RC file, if you are curious). It is the only reliable way to refer to a specific object. OBJECTIDs should be unique across a given 2.X system. o No warnings during processing - when checked, you will not receive any messages that are not critical for the processing. This includes messages about: - broken shadows - sometimes it happens that a shadow becomes a broken shadow, i.e. the original of such a shadow cannot be located anymore and you will see the "broken link" icon. These objects can not be resolved/saved/restored by DeskMan/2 and will be ignored - if you check this setting, you will not be notified when it encounters such a shadow. - objects DeskMan/2 can not resolve (for example shadows of Drives or objects not located on your current desktop). - you will be not asked for confirmation when you select Cancel processing. - overflowing Debug window. o No warning for invalid settings - sometimes it happens that the DOS or WinOs2 Settings for an object become corrupted, especially when you delete the associated file and WPS is not notified. In this case, DeskMan/2 will get an invalid pointer to those settings and will ignore them. Do not check this option if you want to be notified in such a case. Note: The "invalid" settings can be fixed in most cases by opening settings, changing any setting and saving them. ═══ 17.3. Restore objects ═══ Whenever you need to recreate your objects, you can use either the REXX program supplied by the Save function, or DeskMan/2's object description file (DeskMan/2 file option), or the default OS/2 INI.RC file. The Restore function is available on DeskMan/2's context menu, which will appear after you press Mouse Button 2 while pointing at DeskMan/2's icon. The Open conditional menu allows you to select the file for the current restore operation. You can also open the restore window by double-clicking on the DeskMan/2 icon - it is the default action for it. You can customize the Restore function on the Restore page of the settings notebook. You can specify the location/name of DeskMan/2's object description file or the standard OS/2 INI.RC file (which is used to rebuild default WPS objects on your desktop). The name of the object description file can be the same as the one used for the Save operation. This will have the advantage of being able to visually control the contents of the object description file (when you open the Restore window). In addition, you can select the size of icons used for the Restore window by checking Use mini icons or leaving it unchecked for the default size (using default size icons will give a little better performance). You can recreate manually-selected single objects, or request DeskMan/2 to recreate all those selected objects that do not exist on your system (when you move objects to another system, or after you install a new version of OS/2). This is controlled by checking the Skip if object exists option. DeskMan/2 is able to check if the object you want to restore using Skip if object exists is already present on your desktop (or any other folder located on the desktop). By default, it only searches the folder in which the object was located at the moment of the save operation (if such folder can be found on the target system). However, if you, for example, moved your object after you performed the save and it is still present on your desktop, DeskMan/2 wouldn't be able to find it and would create a duplicate. If you want to prevent this, you can check search everywhere option, which will force DeskMan/2 to look in every folder in search for the object to be restored. But remember - this search operation will take a considerable amount of time! You can force a Replace or Update for objects already existing on your desktop. You can command DeskMan/2 to ask you for an appropriate action for each processed object by checking Prompt option. Warning: If you use the Replace option for existing objects on your desktop and you recreate a folder which already exists, its entire contents will be deleted as the result of the create operation. And as mentioned previously, you can recreate any default WPS object that you may have destroyed by accident (Standard objects option). The default location of the INI.RC file (which is the \OS2\ directory) can be set to any directory containing a valid INI.RC file. The window style for displaying the current object description file for the Restore operation can be selected by checking one of the choices under the View group. You can select: o the Details view (default) - the object information will be displayed in columns with following titles: 1. Icon - displays the object's icon. 2. Title - is the object's title. 3. Class - is the object's class. 4. Location - it the OBJECTID of the folder in which the object was/will be located. 5. Date - is the day on which the object's description was saved or recently updated. 6. Time - the time at which the description was created or modified. 7. Folder's title - the parent folder's title, if it could be found in the current object description file. o the Icon view - the window will contain the object's icon and the title. This is the Non-grid icon view format. o the Name view - it is the same as above in Flowed format. o the Text view - it is the same as above in Flowed format without icons, i.e. the title only. o the Tree view - the window will contain the objects grouped by folder and including the relationship between the folders, as far as it can be resolved using the contents of the current object description file. ═══ 18. Limitations ═══ At this time, DeskMan/2 has some processing limitations: o A maximum of 2048 objects can be saved in a single .DRC or .CMD file. o A maximum of 512 folders can be selected for a recreate operation. o A maximum of 2048 objects can be selected for a recreate operation. o Objects within the restore container can be selected at a maximum depth of 512 nested folders. The destroy object on drop function will remove almost anything, but not everything. It cannot, at this time, always remove certain WPS objects, including Drives objects and broken shadows. The destroy object on drop function makes its best efforts to remove from your desktop anything dropped into the flush bowl. But it may happen that it fails on specific WPS objects, such as Drives, broken shadows, etc. Sometimes it helps to remove the contents of a folder before trying to get rid of the folder itself. Note: This function may not work correctly if your system has any problems with INI files or Extended Attributes for the desktop. As mentioned before, there are some limitations in the spectrum of information DeskMan/2 can acquire about WPS objects and therefore some manual user intervention may be required when restoring them. The objects affected are those from class WPFolder, shadows of WPDrives and WPPrinter, as well as user defined classes.. DeskMan/2 will NOT save objects that are: o not located on your desktop (i.e. you can not save a directory dragged out of the Drives folder). o objects of class WPTransient or descendents of thereof. Those objects are of a temporary nature and usually created directly by the system or by programs. Examples include printer ports and printer drivers. Another limitation you must be aware of arises from the object's location identification concept, as implemented by WPS. There are two ways to identify (specify) a location for any WPS object: 1. by using the physical path pointing to a folder(directory) or 2. by using unique object's identifier (OBJECTID) assigned either by default (by WPS when installing OS/2) or by the user. Each of the above methods has its drawbacks: 1. the physical path may change when migrating objects to a different file system than the one on which they were originally created. Also, a change in the desktop's name/location by the user would affect the ability to recreate them (by any method). 2. assigning a unique OBJECTID to all WPS objects would have a heavy impact on the WPS - there is a limit to the size and number of entries that are kept in the OS2.INI files. Besides, all those objects would have to be recreated when migrating, and controlling the completeness of the setup file(s) would be a tremendous task. Those are the reasons that DeskMan/2 is using a mixed approach, combining methods 1 and 2, which provides the most flexibility with the least limitations. When resolving an object's structure and looking for its location, DeskMan/2 will assign unique OBJECTIDs for any folder that has not had an OBJECTID assigned yet. This means that: 1. you will have to first create an entry in the object description file for the folder containing the objects you want to save. If you drop an object on DeskMan/2's icon before you drop the folder in which the object is located, the description will not be created, and you'll get a popup notifying you of the reason. 2. when selectively (re)creating objects, you will have to recreate the folders before the objects located in them. If the object is located in a folder that already has a default OBJECTID (like the Desktop = has), you will not have to do anything. More serious limitations concern the saving/(re)creation of shadows: o if the object is a shadow of an object that already has an OBJECTID assigned, its description can be easily created. Otherwise, to satisfy a request to save a description for a shadow, DeskMan/2 will assign an OBJECTID to the original, unless it has a class of WP*File. o if the object is a shadow of a real object (WPFile, WPProgramFile), the real file name is used to establish the shadow - original relationship and the shadow's description can be created. However, it is the user's responsibility to assure that the original exists on the target system before (re)creating the shadow. And last, but not least, a word of caution - it is not a DeskMan/2 limitation! It was discovered that, after mysterious WPS crashes, the default OBJECTID for the desktop may change to a value different than . The visual symptom of this would be the lack of Shut down and Lockup choices for the desktop's popup menu. DeskMan/2 will detect this error situation when you try to process the Desktop or any object located on the desktop - it will notify you and give you a choice to: o continue the operation regardless of the error condition. o abort. o assign a default OBJECTID () to the desktop and continue. The suggested fix for this problem is to start a Save Desktop operation, and when DeskMan/2 alerts you to the corrupted OBJECTID, allow it to assign the default OBJECTID to the desktop and continue the Save operation. Alternatively, you can use the Special Function - Assign OBJECTID on drop, to assign an OBJECTID of to the desktop object. You will find this object located in the OS/2 system partition located in the Drives folder. For example, if you use drive D as your OS/2 system partition, your desktop object will be located at the root level of drive D, in your Drives folder. ═══ Hierarchical order ═══ Hierarchical order means that the objects will be created (restored) in a certain sequence: folders before any object located in them. This sequence is necessary in order to define an object location, a folder identified by an OBJECTID., properly. The OBJECTID is the only way to establish a unique relationship between objects and a folder holding them. ═══ ReadMe document for Beta-5 ═══ From: Noel J. Bergman, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) To: DeskMan/2 Beta Testers REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: When registering this version of DeskMan/2, please enter "Beta-5" for the customer name and "260176" for the registration number. This will register the product to the Beta-5 release. When we ship the final product, each user will be assigned their own individual registration number. If you've any problems, please contact us as soon as possible. WELCOME Welcome to Beta-5! This version contains a number of bug fixes, several enhancements, and additional changes to the documentation. It also improves upon the graphical installation procedure, new with Beta-4. We have tested it with all of the old versions of the OS, as well as the new March release of OS/2 2.1. We hope that you find this version even more reliable and easy to use. Warning: THIS BETA WILL CEASE TO FUNCTION AFTER APRIL 30, 1993! Note: This version is being distributed as an open Beta! This pre-release version is being distributed as a courtesy to support those people who need to convert to the March OS/2 2.1 Beta. This version of DeskMan/2 may be freely distributed and used throughout the months of March and April, 1993. Support will ONLY be provided to those people who have REGISTERED their product, or who are on our internal Beta list. README.001 contains the README file from BETA-1. README.002 contains the README file from BETA-2. README.003 contains the README file from BETA-3. README.004 contains the README file from BETA-4. We will continue to provide the entire series of README files, unless we get complaints, since that gives new testers complete information. FEEDBACK We hope to have only one more beta release, after this one. Your feedback is very valuable to us. Please let us know how you like the program, whether or not you are having any problems, how you like the direction that the documentation is taking, etc.; defect reports are not the only feedback that we have consider valuable. To all of those who have provided feedback, thus far: Many Thanks! INSTALLATION To install this version of DeskMan/2, simply place the uncompressed installation files onto your system in a single directory, and run INSTALL.EXE. This can be done from your hard drive or from a diskette. If you specify a drive letter, as in "INSTALL C:", then the installation program will not search the other drives when looking for files. If you wish to do a clean installation, you can use the Remove command in the new INSTALL.EXE, or you can use the REMOVE.CMD file which is still being provided to you. Either will remove DeskMan/2's object, class registration, and .INI entry for both the alpha and beta levels. ABOUT THIS RELEASE The online help and user's guide are undergoing complete re-writes. This version has been extensively updated, with more yet to come. Please let us know what you think of the documentation and the direction it is taking. Bugs have been fixed in a number of areas, and enhancements added: o Numerous errors in the the online help documents have been rectified o Processing windows should now be positioned in the middle of the screen o Copyright notices have been fixed o Path checking for Install and Settings fixed o Additional diagnostics have been implemented with regard to file i/o errors o Should no longer steal the focus from other PM apps during installation o Cancel Processing in the Debug window will cancel Save and Restore processing o Positioning of the container splitbar outside the visible area fixed o Crashing when executing commands upon the contents of an empty container, fixed o Fixed problem with locating folders during restore operation o Fixed crash if error occurs on writing icons o Removed "in use" emphasis if DeskMan/2 crashes o Checkboxes synchronized in Settings o Confirmations for Save System settings fixed o Fixed loss of '%' out of parameters o Crashes on Save in restore container, due to stack problems, fixed o Change in the generated REXX program to alter the option from 'Fail if Exists' to 'Skip if Exists' o On installation, file system is checked for FAT or HPFS, and if not found, that file system is skipped. This prevents the long search of CD-ROM disks. o Replaced Special Function: Query OBJECTID and Class to Query Object Settings. o Notification upon printer object restoration of installation requirement. o Includes Date Validation code to terminate program effectivity at the end of April, 1993. o The Templates folder's contents are now saved correctly. Note: When the Templates folder is being saved, it may cause Help for the Data file to be displayed. This is caused by a bug in WPS. The Help can be closed, although it might open itself again if still processing the Templates folder, but there are no known negative side effects of this strange behavior. ═══ ReadMe document for Beta-4 ═══ From: Noel J. Bergman, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) To: DeskMan/2 Beta Testers NEW REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: When registering this version of DeskMan/2, please enter "Beta-4" for the customer name and "423269" for the registration number. This will register the product to the Beta-4 release. When we ship the final product, each user will be assigned their own individual registration number. If you've any problems, please contact us as soon as possible. WELCOME Welcome to BETA-4! This version has a number of bug fixes, several enhancements, and additional changes to the documentation. It also has a completely new graphical installation procedure. We have tested it with all of the old versions of the OS, as well as the new March release of OS/2 2.1. We hope that you find it as reliable and easy to use as we have. README.001 contains the README file from BETA-1. README.002 contains the README file from BETA-2. README.003 contains the README file from BETA-3. We will continue to provide the entire series of README files, unless we get complaints, since that gives new testers complete information. FEEDBACK We hope to have only one more beta release, after this one. Your feedback is very valuable to us. Please let us know how you like the program, whether or not you are having any problems, how you like the direction that the documentation is taking, etc.; defect reports are not the only feedback that we have consider valuable. To all of those who have provided feedback, thus far: Many Thanks! INSTALLATION To install this version of DeskMan/2, simply place the uncompressed installation files onto your system in a single directory, and run INSTALL.EXE. This can be done from your hard drive or from a diskette. If you specify a drive letter, as in "INSTALL C:", then the installation program will not search the other drives when looking for files. If you wish to do a clean installation, you can use the Remove command in the new INSTALL.EXE, or you can use the REMOVE.CMD file which is still being provided to you. Either will remove the object, class registration, and .INI entry for both the alpha and beta levels of DeskMan/2. ABOUT THIS RELEASE The online help and user's guide are undergoing complete re-writes. This version has been extensively updated, with more yet to come. Please let us know what you think of the documentation and the direction it is taking. Bugs have been fixed in a number of areas, and enhancements added: o New PM-based graphical installation procedure o New Special function: Change Object Style o Style Changes disabled for the DeskMan/2 object o The System settings and colors of your Desktop can be saved and restored o Save / Restore system settings disabled for unregistered version o New Registration Code to use unique customer name / registration number o Online Registration is enabled for unregistered copies, only o Container sort traps on sort by folder title or date/time - fixed o Crash when removing objects from restore container - fixed o DeskMan/2 object menu added to the container's system menu o Restore missing only renamed to Skip if exists and mutually exclusive with other restore options o Restore desktop added to the object's menu with the same options as in the container o Special functions stick till reset o Private class registration for restore processing fixed o Fixed problem of incorrect OBJECTIDs assigned for folders with multi-line titles o Entry fields for various settings made wider (up to 255 characters) o Errors in Debug log processing fixed o DMANHELP.HLP file renamed to DESKMAN.HLP o This copy licensed to:... messages added to the processing windows. ═══ ReadMe document for Beta-3 ═══ From: Noel J. Bergman, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) To: DeskMan/2 Beta Testers WELCOME Welcome to BETA-3! This version has several bug fixes and additional changes to the documentation. README.001 contains the README file from BETA-1. README.002 contains the README file from BETA-2. We will continue to provide the entire series of README files, unless we get complaints, since that gives new testers complete information. FEEDBACK Your feedback is very valuable to us. Let us know how you like the program, whether or not you are having any problems, how you like the direction that the documentation is taking, etc.; defect reports are not the only feedback that we have consider valuable. To all of those who have provided feedback, thus far: Many Thanks! INSTALLATION Please VIEW DESKMAN, and read the step by step instructions. When asked, please provide DeskMan/2 with your name (it will appear in the Product Information dialog), and the registration number: 000009. If you wish to do a clean installation, REMOVE.CMD has been extended to remove the object, class registration, and .INI entry for both the alpha and beta levels of DeskMan/2. --------------------------- Note: TO EARLY TEST GROUP: We are in the process of changing from the internal name "DMAN" to the formal name "DeskMan". REMOVE.CMD will remove the old stuff from your system (object, class and INI entry), as well as the newer information. You also no longer need to do a manual deletion of the files. Note: TO CD-ROM USERS: Please put a CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive; otherwise, the installation procedure may generate a popup when it scans that drive. Note: TO OS/2 2.0 GA USERS: You must have SOMFIX and REXX20 installed in order for DeskMan/2 to work. --------------------------- VIEW DESKMAN for more information on all of these issues. ABOUT THIS RELEASE The online help and user's guide are undergoing complete re-writes. This version has been extensively updated, with more yet to come. Please let us know what you think of the documentation and the direction it is taking. Bugs have been fixed in a number of areas, and enhancements added: o The README documentation has now been incorporated into the general help system for DeskMan/2. o REMOVE.CMD will remove both Alpha test and Beta test objects. You no longer need to remove the .DLL, .INF, and .HLP files manually, if you want them deleted. o DeskMan/2's Icon's Restore Desktop RESTORES MISSING OBJECTS ONLY! o DeskMan/2's Container Context menu Restore Desktop now has three separate Restore options (update, replace, or fail [skip] if the object exists), which are selected from at runtime. o Directories specified in the Settings notebook have their existence verified when DeskMan/2 is notified of any changes. If any directory is specified but not found, it is optionally created. If not found and not created, the change in directory is not accepted. Note: The directory checking is still a bit kludgy, as DeskMan/2 is not notified of any changes in the Notebook Settings by the WPS until the notebook page is turned, the entry field loses focus, or the dialogue box is closed. o Initial path info for Settings during installation fixed. o Error in handling folder shadows processed prior to the original object and with multiple line names, fixed. o Increased stack size for Save processing. o Temp and/or TMP environment variables no longer required. o The new INSTALL.CMD automatically opens, briefly, a DOS window to get some system specific information for debugging purposes. The information being collected includes: dates for SOM.DLL, REXXUTIL.DLL, DeskMan.DLL, and system ver/internal release. o REMOVE.CMD will remove ALL DeskMan files from all drives or a drive specified as parameter, o Create ICONS setting is by default TRUE now, o Restore desktop will be disabled for the shareware/demo version. o The option to register DeskMan/2 is now available on the object's context menu under Help. It allows a user to register, or reregister, DeskMan/2, without having to reinstall the product. o The Cancel option for the Open dialog that pops up when doing a Restore Desktop is fixed. o INSTALL.CMD's DOS information retrieval now works when INSTALL.CMD is run from an HPFS directory. o NEW SPECIAL FUNCTION! Change Object Style now added. ═══ ReadMe document for Beta-2 ═══ From: Noel J. Bergman, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) To: DeskMan/2 Beta Testers WELCOME Welcome to BETA-2! This version has several bug fixes and additional changes to the documentation. README.001 contains the README file from BETA-1. We will continue to provide the entire series of README files, unless we get complaints, since that gives new testers complete information. FEEDBACK Your feedback is very valuable to us. Let us know how you like the program, whether or not you are having any problems, how you like the direction that the documentation is taking, etc.; defect reports are not the only feedback that we have consider valuable. To all of those who have provided feedback, thus far: Many Thanks! INSTALLATION Please VIEW DESKMAN, and read the step by step instructions. When asked, please provide DeskMan/2 with your name (it will appear in the Product Information dialog), and the registration number: 000009. If you wish to do a clean installation, REMOVE.CMD has been extended to remove the object, class registration, and .INI entry for both the alpha and beta levels of DeskMan/2. --------------------------- Note: TO EARLY TEST GROUP: We are in the process of changing from the internal name "DMAN" to the formal name "DeskMan". REMOVE.CMD will remove the old stuff from your system (object, class & INI entry). After running it, you will still need to remove DMAN.DLL, DMAN.INF & DMANHELP.HLP manually. Note: TO CD-ROM USERS: Please put a CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive; otherwise, the installation procedure may generate a popup when it scans that drive. Note: TO OS/2 2.0 GA USERS: You must have SOMFIX and REXX20 installed in order for DeskMan/2 to work. --------------------------- VIEW DESKMAN for more information on all of these issues. ABOUT THIS RELEASE The online help and user's guide are undergoing complete re-writes. This version has been extensively updated, with more yet to come. Please let us know what you think of the documentation and the direction it is taking. Bugs have been fixed in a number of areas, and enhancements added: o The Help window is resized to 50/90% of the screen, except off of the WPS desktop icon (still 25/25%). o Double quotes (") can be put into the parameter fields of objects and will be correctly recreated using either DeskMan/2 or the generated REXX scripts. o The maximum number of objects and other limits have been raised to match the online documentation. o The install program, when doing a clean install, will ask for a directory for the .DRC, .CMD, .ICO, and .LOG files. If you do not specify a directory, it will default to the current directory. Otherwise, the current .INI settings are preserved. o Fixed the problem where DeskMan/2 crashed when closing the debug window o Fixed problems where a dropped object might be accessed after its SOM pointer was unlocked. o Fixed problem where X:\YYYY (a four character path) was improperly handled (we are checking to see if it was really our bug, or a bug in PrfQueryProfileString). o REMOVE.CMD will remove both Alpha test and Beta test objects. You still need to remove the .DLL, .INF, and .HLP files manually, if you want them deleted. ═══ ReadMe document for Beta-1 ═══ From: Noel J. Bergman, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) To: DeskMan/2 Beta Testers WELCOME Thank you for offering to test DeskMan/2. We look forward to receiving great feedback from you during the beta period. Amongst the things that we hope to hear about are: Reliability - This is our primary concern for this first release. Changes to the User Interface and feature set will probably be postponed until the next version. User Interface - We have plans to change it quite a bit in the future, going to a more independent, icon oriented appearance. Each drag and drop function would be accessed through a different icon, rather than setting a special state, and we'd be able to have multiple copies of each, as appropriate. What do you think? As with all things, feedback from our customers is the real driving force. Feature Set - We have a list of new features that we'd like to see in future versions of DeskMan/2 (including network oriented features), but what would _you_ like added? Beyond that, we would like to continue the dialogue on packaging, pricing, etc. with you. Your initial responses have been very helpful. We aren't a huge, multi-national conglomerate; we are very much geared to low overhead, creative solutions that serve both us and our neighbors in this OS/2 community. Your ideas will always be welcomed here. The entire purpose for the signup form was to raise questions and gather information. We've already been surprised by how many of you are running various revisions of OS/2 2.X. Just to let you know, the vast majority of you favored SOME form of limitation to the "unregistered" version. A few of you questioned the approach, both in terms of effectiveness, and from an ASP perspective. From our perspective, we are interested in providing a useful product to people that still preserves an incentive for them to purchase it. Almost everyone mentioned site licenses. Yes, we are quite willing to talk to companies about site and corporate licensing, as well as possible technology licensing. If IBM wanted to bundle it with OS/2, we'd consider that, too. A JOINT VENTURE Some of you, particularly our early testers, have asked about the relationship between Development Technologies, and Gregory Czaja. The relationship has been in place for some 5 months, but we've been fairly quiet about it, so it appears to have come as something of a surprise. Judging from some of the messages we received, I erred when I sent Gregory the signup letter and beta list, and asked him to send it out; that only added to the confusion. My apologies for the confusion. Late last summer we (DevTech) started work on a tool to generate REXX scripts that would rebuild objects. Since DevTech's primary project is a family of C++ class libraries, the tool wouldn't have been as ambitious as DeskMan/2. In early October, Gregory and I became aware of each other's work; by mid- October, DeskMan/2 began operating as a joint venture; and in early January, we finished all of the paperwork. Early on it was jointly decided that the work would be split, with Gregory focusing on the code for version 1.0, and DevTech handling the other aspects of the project, with an advisory role on the code for version 1.0. We're all very happy with the progress that we've made with DeskMan/2. From bug fixes; to changes in the feature set and UI; to going multi-threaded and adding support for exceptions; to the online help and user's guide, this venture has been mutually beneficial. We've been able to get an early version added to the upcoming "OS/2 Unleashed", what looks to be a great book from the SAMS division of Prentice-Hall. There will be "Show Special" flyers for DeskMan/2 at trade shows (e.g., the OS/2 Technical Interchange in Phoenix). DeskMan/2 is the result of this collaboration, and while we have great plans for its future, we hope that you will be as pleased with its present as we have been. All feedback that we receive from you will be given the utmost consideration for inclusion into the product. INSTALLATION [Yes, Virginia, we will do more work on the installation process.] Completely rewritten installation instructions are available in the new online manual. Please VIEW DESKMAN, and read the step by step instructions. When asked, please provide DeskMan/2 with your name (it will appear in the Product Information dialog), and the registration number: 000009. --------------------------- NOTE TO EARLY TEST GROUP: We are in the process of changing from the internal name "DMAN" to the formal name "DeskMan". REMOVE.CMD will remove the old stuff from your system ( object, class & INI entry). After running it, you will still need to remove DMAN.DLL, DMAN.INF & DMANHELP.HLP manually. NOTE TO CD-ROM USERS: Please put a CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive; otherwise, the installation procedure may generate a popup when it scans that drive. NOTE TO OS/2 2.0 GA USERS: You must have SOMFIX and REXX20 installed in order for DeskMan/2 to work. --------------------------- VIEW DESKMAN for more information on all of these issues. ABOUT THIS RELEASE There are quite a few changes in this release, compared to the last one sent out to our early test group. The online help and user's guide are undergoing complete re-writes. This version has some of the changes, but the documentation does lag behind the software changes; we wanted to get the beta out to you without further delay. Please let us know what you think of the documentation. Bugs have been fixed in a number of areas, and enhancements added: o Exception handling has been added. Please report any exception dialogs that you receive. o Context help has been added for all windows and menus. o The processing window can be minimized. o More debugging information has been added, and the product has been PMPRINTF enabled. Using PMPRINTF is a more reliable way to dealing with debugging messages than maintaining our own debugging log; the old debug log has been left in for those who don't have PMPRINTF. When debugging is turned on, messages either go to the internal debugging log and window, or to PMPRINTF. See the "Use PMPrintf" setting on the Debug page of DeskMan/2's settings notebook. o The Save/Restore processing window is sizable and minimizable. o The Window page was removed from DeskMan/2 settings. o The drag & drop support improved. It now allows a drag to windows accepting the OS2FILE protocol (e.g., EPM) and an object description will be generated as a result of the drop. o DMANINS2.CMD renamed to INSTALL.CMD. o INSTALL.CMD will no longer search removable media (it still errors on CD-ROM drives). o Improved class checking for Save and Restore (accepts descendent and replaced object classes). o Multi-line object titles are recreated correctly. o Save/Restore operations have better synchronization o Restore desktop added to both container and object context menus. Selected from the object context menu, it will perform a selective restore for all objects from the Restore decription file (as specified in the Restore settings) which does NOT exist on the desktop, i.e. if the object is there, it won't be replaced or updated. Only the object's original location is checked unless the "Search everywhere" option is also checked in the restore settings (warning! if checked, it will take forever...). Selected from the container's context menu, a different restore option may be selected, i.e. update, replace or restore if missing only, than the default one. o Cancel processing for Restore operations fixed. If you do a Restore Desktop, and cancel the processing, the restore will be cancelled, but the processing window will continue until it exhausts the list of objects to be restored. o Assign OBJECTID will display current OBJECTID if already there. o CLEANUP.CMD added. This will remove .ICO files not referenced in DeskMan/2's current .DRC or .CMD files. o The format for ICONRESOURCE (default desktop objects) changed. [NOTE: .DRC and .CMD files generated with previous DeskMan/2 versions will not work correctly on OS/2 2.1] o Fixed the registration process for private object classes on restore. o Fixed the object selection for subfolders. ═══ 19. Program support ═══ Technical support is available to registered users of DeskMan/2, only! If you experience problems using DeskMan/2, try to locate the cause of your trouble. If DeskMan/2 is not performing any of its functions correctly, as described in this manual, you probably have found a problem in the code. If it simply crashes, i.e. the desktop disappears and comes back after WPS restarts it, there may be many reasons for this to happen. The most likely are: o your desktop has a problem with one (or more) of the objects. Try to locate it using the Debug function and the DeskMan/2 .LOG file. Check your system partition with CHKDSK. If you can locate the offending object, try to create a copy of it and remove the original. o your system may be running short on resources - make sure SWAPPER.DAT has enough room to grow and close all tasks before performing Save desktop or complex Restore operations. o if your objects start to act strange, i.e. they start to disappear or duplicate itself, this may point to a potential problem with OS2.INI or OS2SYS.INI files or desktop's Extended Attributes. Running CHKDSK may fix it but usually the only definitely working solution is to reinstall OS/2 2.X with system partition formatting. o you may have hit a bug in DeskMan/2's code. Try to gather as much detail on the problem as you can and contact tech support. Please include your name and contact information, your installed customer name (it can be found on any of the Product information panels), a detailed problem description, the generated .DRC, .CMD and .LOG files and the system information (version, fixes installed, etc.). If you want to acquire a registered version of DeskMan/2 or register the shareware version, please contact Development Technologies, Inc. Enjoy! Gregory (Greg) Czaja and Development Technologies, Inc. ═══ 20. To Order DeskMan/2 ═══ To Order DeskMan/2, or to obtain a registration code suitable for use with other than this Beta-release, please send a check for the introductory price of $49.95 (payable in US funds), plus shipping and handling, to Development Technologies, Inc.. Payment may also be made via VISA or MasterCard. Please include your name (under which the product will be registered), company, address, phone number, product name, and product quantity. If you choose to pay via credit card, please provide the card number, expiration date, and name as it appears on the card. For quantity discounts, please contact Development Technologies,Inc.. Credit card payments may be made via electronic mail or by telephone. Note: If possible, please send in your orders via regular or electronic mail, as demand for this product may exceed our capability to take orders for it over the phone on a timely basis, during this new OS/2 beta release period. Note: If you wish the product registered under the company name, please so indicate on your order. Shipping and handling within the continental USA will be via Priority Mail, and will cost $3.75. International shipping will be via Air Mail, and will be charged for on an individual basis. Technical support will be provided primarily via electronic mail, but will also be available via regular mail and via telephone calls to Development Technologies, Inc.. We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but it is the best way of keeping our pricing down and our support level high. You can reach Development Technologies, Inc. by phone: (803) 790-9230 (215) 635-1173 - Available after 4/1/93 (now being activated) by mail: Development Technologies, Inc. 8329 High School Road Elkins Park, PA 19117-2027 or by electronic mail: CompuServe: 73220,1030 Internet: 73220.1030@compuserve.com America Online: DevTech ═══ Technical Support ═══ Technical support will be provided primarily via electronic mail, but will also be available via regular mail and via telephone calls to Development Technologies, Inc.. We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but it is the best way of keeping our pricing down and our support level high. You can reach Development Technologies, Inc. by phone: (803) 790-9230 (215) 635-1173 - Available after 4/1/93 (now being activated) by mail: Development Technologies, Inc. 8329 High School Road Elkins Park, PA 19117-2027 or by electronic mail: CompuServe: 76704,34 Internet: 76704.34@compuserve.com America Online: DevTech ═══ More than 2K objects to backup? ═══ If you have more than 2048 objects, you can still have DeskMan/2 create a .CMD file that will recreate your complete desktop! Simply open the DeskMan/2 settings, and on the first page, under Save, turn off Generate object description file, and on the next page, still under Save, make sure that the Generate REXX program setting is both turned on and set to 'replace if file exists'.