Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/adult_ed/gensecrt/genevsec.txt

Text File | 1995-05-02 | 49KB | 1,020 lines

 S  E  C  R  E  T  S      O  F      G E N E V A
 ===============================================

 P A R T      1



Tips, tricks and things that should be obvious but may not be
in getting the most of of Gribnif's amazing Geneva,
the multitasking environment for Atari ST, TT and Falcon computers



 _________________________

 B Y   A L   F A S O L D T
 -------------------------


Technology Writer, Syracuse Newspapers and Newhouse News Service

Systems Editor, the Herald-Journal, the Herald American and the
Post-Standard

Syracuse, New York


Copyright (C) 1994 by Al Fasoldt. All rights reserved.

Version date: January 24, 1994.


NOTE:

This can be reproduced in electronic form without permission of the
author only if the entire document remains intact. Printed
reproduction requires a prior arrangement. No commercial use of this
document, for any purpose, is allowed.



Geneva, the multitasking operating environment from Gribnif Software,
is perhaps the most powerful application that can be run on an Atari
ST, TT or Falcon. This is impressive enough, but what is even more
unusual is the ease with which Geneva integrates itself into the way
Ataris have always operated. You need not learn anything new to make
use of Geneva, and you don't have to get rid of any old habits.

But Geneva's power runs as deep as it runs wide. Many of the features
of Geneva are not obvious, and some are even obscure. The
documentation that Gribnif supplies with Geneva abounds with
explanations and examples, which, as most of us who write
documentation know, most users will never read. They want to get their
hands on the program right away, intending to look at the
documentation later. And, of course, "later" never comes.

Perhaps companies such as Gribnif should offer enticements for
customers to read and study documentation. Maybe each page should have
a hidden code that holds the key to a discount or a cash reward,
offering a prize on every page. Or maybe computer users, all of us,
should try a little harder to learn how to read.

This essay is an attempt to encourage that. It is not a replacement
for or supplement to the Geneva manual. Much of the information here
will not make sense unless you are able to consult the manual, which
you should do whenever something is not clear.

I must also add that this essay is not in any way intended to help
those who have acquired Geneva illegally. If your copy of Geneva came
without a manual, you do not have a legal copy, and you do not have a
right to keep it. Fortunately, there is an easy way to get the manual,
and a second copy of the software, without pain and trauma: Pick up
the phone, call Gribnif, and order a copy. Then toss out the copy that
you stole. Your mother will love you for it, and Gribnif will respect
you. With love and respect and Geneva to boot, who could ask for
more?




10 BASIC MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT GENEVA


Items 1 to 4


Here's what Geneva is not:


o A new desktop for your computer.

Geneva does not replace the desktop (also called the shell or the
desktop shell). This means when you boot up Geneva, you don't have
icons and windows and a trash can and things like that, unless you
specifically run a separate desktop shell.


o MultiTOS.

MultiTOS is made by Atari; Geneva is made by Gribnif. They are similar
in a couple of ways, because they both support multitasking and they
both take advantage of new code in many programs. This new code
provides fancier displays and better menus, among other things. But
that's where the connection ends. A very big difference is that
Gribnif supports Geneva actively; Atari has all but abandoned customer
support for its computers and computer software.


o A memory hog.

With its support files, Geneva takes up about 5 percent of the memory
of a 4-megabyte Atari computer. This is less RAM than the memory taken
up by a typical word processor. To make the point more dramatically,
if the code in Geneva were written into a displayable graphic form
such as you'd find in a GIF picture, it would do little more than fill
a single screen of a TT.


o Molasses.

Molasses is stuff you make great cookies with. Geneva is stuff you
make great computing with. Many computer users assume that a system
that can do many different things at once must therefore be much
slower than a system that can only do one thing at a time. This is
both true and false. Geneva has almost no overhead, so that all the
basic operations occur at very nearly the same speed as before. (This
is oversimplifying the situation, since what little overhead Geneva
does have is often compensated for by its more efficient code.) On the
other hand, if you run nine programs at once, you can be sure that
each of them will run a lot more slowly than if you ran only one at a
time. Geneva can't overturn the laws of physics.



Items 5 and 6


What Geneva cannot do:


o Turn soot into Shinola.

(I know the saying is usually written another way, but kids and normal
people might be reading this, too.) Geneva cannot turn a poorly
written Atari program into a well written one. It will attempt to make
that program behave, but it can't create a resizeable GEM window in a
program that uses a fake-GEM, single-sized window, for example, nor
can it force renegade TOS programs that assume nothing else is running
from drawing detritus all over the screen. There are MANY poorly
written programs for the Atari; fortunately, most of them aren't worth
running even on a single-tasking system, and at least some of the rest
are being replaced or updated.


o Magically impose order on the chaos of printing.

When an application for the Atari prints a document, it usually grabs
every available ounce of the processor's weight and muscle and refuses
to let it go until the document is printed. To put it kindly, this is
stupid and unnecessary. But it's so, and Geneva cannot change the way
such applications behave. To work properly in a cooperative
environment, a program has to be, first of all, cooperative, and
nearly all word processors and many other printing applications are
completely uncooperative when it comes to sharing the computer with
anything else while they send their little bits and bytes to the
printer. There's a way to alleviate this; it's called a print spooler.
But there is no way for Geneva to get Atari Works, for example, to
print in the background. No way.



Items 7 to 10


What Geneva does not require:


o A 68030 Atari.

That number is the model type of the central processing unit -- the
CPU chip -- in what is called (and pronounced as) the "Sixty-eight
thousand" chip family. The first chip in this family, the oldest
brother, so to speak, is the 68000; it's used in the ST, Mega, STacy,
STe and Mega STe. The middle brother, the 68020, was never used
officially by Atari, but a younger sibling called the 68030 shines in
the TT and Falcon. (And that's why they're actually named the "TT030"
and "Falcon030.") The 68030 handles memory a whole lot better than the
68000 and does other things better, but Geneva does not depend on a
68030 chip to do its stuff. Sure, Geneva works faster with the newer
chip, and some operations are just plain done better, but that's it.


o A humongous hard drive.

C'mon, Ataris don't run stuff like Microsoft Word for Windows, which
takes up 20 megabytes of hard-drive space just for its own software. A
dinky 20-megabyte hard drive can do just fine for many Geneva users. A
bigger hard drive is fine, but not for Geneva's sake.


o A hard drive at all.

Yes, many loyal Atarians never felt the need to add a hard drive to
their systems, and Geneva won't force them to. A second floppy drive
isn't even needed, although life at the keyboard is made a lot easier
with two floppy disks always available instead of one. Even an Atari
user with only one single-sided floppy drive can load and run Geneva;
it fits easily on a single-sided disk (although that disk would have
to remain in the drive if you want to access Geneva's own Help
guide).


o NeoDesk.

Is this heresy or what? Here's the author of the world's best-selling
guide to NeoDesk (OK, I lied a little; it's free) telling you NeoDesk
isn't needed to run Geneva? But that's absolutely true. There is no
connection between Geneva and NeoDesk other than the fact that they
both come from Gribnif. Period. End of story. Except that, like most
tall tales, this one refuses to die. NeoDesk works great as the
desktop on a system that is running Geneva, and in fact there's a
giant, too-big-to-ignore advantage if you use NeoDesk (which we'll get
to later). But Geneva does all its stuff on its own, without requiring
NeoDesk. Full stop. End of paragraph.




10 BIG THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE GENEVA WORK BETTER



1. Add memory to your computer.

One of the most common complaints heard 'round the Atari community
these days is, "Wha' happened to my memory?" Folks aren't complaining
about losing their minds; they're talking about RAM. Since we already
know that Geneva only occupies a smidgen or two of RAM (if you give me
some allowance for smidgen sizes in these days of large applications),
what could be happening to the rest of the computer's memory?

The answer lies in the expectation factor. Once you realize that you
don't need to quit one application before launching another one, the
natural temptation is to keep both of them (or all three or four of
them -- you know what I mean) in memory at the same time. Whoops!
There goes that megabyte of RAM you used to have left over all the
time.

Geneva also lets you load up on desk accessories like a kid pumping
himself another six SoftServes at the Ponderosa dessert bar. There's
no limit to how many desk accessories you can have running at once, so
why not just load a dozen or more and have fun? Nice idea, except for
that slam-bam RAM cram, thank you, ma'am.

There's a way to enjoy those desk accessories and still keep them from
hogging memory, and I'll show you how a little later. As for stuffing
RAM with simultaneous word processors, telecomm programs and other
goodies, the best solution is in the chips. If your Atari has less
than 4 megabytes of RAM, upgrade it now. It won't cost much.


2. Add an accelerator.

Three long-term champions of the Atari cause have been selling
processor-chip accelerators for Ataris in North America for many
years, and others have done it in Europe. Some of them are becoming
hard to get, so this is the best time to shop for one. If your ST runs
at 8 MHz (the standard speed of the original ST), it's time to
consider having a 16-MHz accelerator put in. You can also get faster
CPU chips, at higher prices. (A basic 16-MHz accelerator chip should
sell for about $100, if you can still find one.)

Everything that matters works faster on an accelerated Atari compared
to a standard one.


3. Trade up to a faster machine.

Sure, I know the facts; Atari's not making STs any more, so how are
you going to upgrade to a faster ST -- to a Mega STe, for example? The
used market is a vital source. Join either of the two most active
online services for Atarians, GEnie or CompuServe, and check the
electronic want ads. If you don't see what you want, post a message
telling what you are looking for.

(Modems are really cheap, by the way, so you have no excuse here. A
new 2400-bit-per-second modem sells for $40 by mail-order, and used
ones are a lot less. GEnie has a wonderfully easy automatic connection
thingamabob called Aladdin, so start with GEnie if you want everything
easy.)


4. Buy a Falcon.

Falcons are the butt-ends of a lot of jokes in Ataridom, for no good
reason. (Well, maybe for a lot of semi-good reasons, I'll grant you
that.) Falcons run most of the standard Atari software, they're fast
in many ways, they have gorgeous color displays, they're
self-contained, they've got great audio capabilities and they can
handle a lot of extra memory. Sure, a TT is faster, has a better
keyboard and can drive a melt-your-eyes-out big-screen display, but
TTs are no longer available new. (Atari says more TTs are coming, but
no one believes this.)


5. Upgrade your monitor.

If all you have is a standard Atari color display, you're missing the
picture. Under Geneva, you need all the real estate on the screen that
you can get. (For one thing, having an out-of-the-way place to stick
Geneva's floating Task Manager would be a great idea.) Atari's
monochrome monitor is super-sharp and offers resolution almost as fine
as VGA, the standard in the Rest of the World. Its picture is also
clearer than most fancy-dan color monitors.

So what are you waiting for? Atari dealers (yes, Virginia, there is an
Atari dealer in some locales) still sell new monochrome monitors, and
used ones are readily available, too.


6. Get a graphics card.

Psst! Wanna know why Mega STe computers are so great? They've got VME!
No, that's not some new kind of communicable disease; it's an
adaptor-card slot at the back of the computer. It's normally covered,
but if you take it off you'll see that there's an open slot there
waiting to take the card of your choice.

Graphics cards fit right in, and you just plug a Super VGA monitor
into the connector on the outside panel of the card. Super VGA
monitors are amazingly cheap these days, mostly because the crazy
people who buy MS-DOS computers have been buying zillions of them, and
they use S-VGA monitors. A graphics card will let your Mega STe show
hundreds or even thousands of colors, and, better yet, it will let you
use a display that has three or even four times the resolution of a
standard Atari screen.

Graphics cards aren't cheap, but they are bigger-than-big improvements
to any Mega STe.

If you don't have a Mega STe but have a Mega ST, you still may be able
to find a graphics card for the Mega. Used cards are available now and
then, and some dealers may even be able to get a new one.

(If you have a TT, you have a VME slot, too. In fact, the TT and the
Mega STe are like Boobsie and Bobsie in Las Vegas: twins when it comes
to slots. Adding a graphics card to a TT is a great idea -- but if
you're a TT owner, you probably already knew that.)


7. Add a faster and larger hard drive.

Didn't I just say a while back that you can run Geneva with a tiny
hard drive or even no hard drive at all? Sure. It's not Geneva that
eats up storage space, it's the other applications you'll find
yourself using. Look at it this way: Geneva adds a functionality to
the Atari that has been missing for years, letting you continue to
work on one program while you start another, and encouraging you to
try out new applications without the need to quit what you are doing
just to run something else. When you become accustomed to this kind of
freedom, this sort of power, you tend to DO more with your computer
... and that means you could end up looking for extra floppy disks to
store programs and data on when your hard disk fills up. Life is
simpler, smoother and more enjoyable when your hard disk doesn't fill
up, so consider buying a bigger one.


8. Get a better word processor.

C'mon, the best Atari word processors are a LOT better than you might
think, unless you've already tried the latest versions of the three or
four top programs -- and they shine like never before under Geneva.
Multitasking is only part of the improvement. How about menus that you
can tear off and place off to the side of a document window? Geneva
handles that for you (and for your word processor). How about 3D
buttons in a button bar across the top of the screen? Geneva supplies
those, too, if the word processor's own code has them available. How
about faster-acting scroll bars and smoother mouse action? Geneva does
that, too, by means of its superior code.


9. Buy a multitasking telecommunications program.

Take it from an old hand at telecomm operations: The absolute DUMBEST
thing you can waste your time on is watching your computer screen
while your telecomm program does an upload or a download. Geneva makes
background telecommunications a simple matter. You do, however, have
to make sure your software can work in the background. Some of the
best telecomm applications haven't yet been upgraded to full
multitasking capability, but the list has doubled in recent months,
and it should keep on growing.


10. Get real. Get a fax for your computer.

It's not my intent here to suggest brand-name software in general
(there are many great programs available for your Atari, and I'd be
overlooking some excellent choices if I took sides), but in one area I
must make an exception. An almost essential application for a serious
Atari user is STraight FAX!, the send-and-receive fax program. It
works exceptionally well under Geneva, too, disappearing into the
background while waiting for a fax to come in or while pausing between
scheduled fax transmissions.




10 THINGS MOST GENEVA USERS DON'T KNOW OR HAVE FORGOTTEN:
TIPS, TRICKS AND TRAPS


1. You don't need a mouse to use menus.

Do yourself a favor. Find someone who knows how to use Microsoft
Windows (it can't be THAT hard to find a Windows user, even for
Atarians) and ask that person to run it for a while without using the
mouse. (A tip: If the Windows user says something on the order of
"Huh? Of course you need a mouse," find another Windows user, and pray
for the day that the Gatesian Rays that come out of PCs will be better
shielded.) In just two or three minutes, you should be able to see how
easily anyone can navigate through Windows just by using keyboard
equivalents.

Guess what? Your favorite Atari operating environment does the same
thing. I am NOT referring to the little dialog-box enhancements that
show up under certain characters on the screen; Geneva does that, too,
but that's not what I am talking about. I'm telling you that Geneva
turns any properly written GEM menu bar into a menu that works solely
off the keyboard.

But it doesn't do it by default. Unlike Windows, which is always ready
to trip up your two-fingered typing style if you accidentally hit a
menu hotkey, Geneva leaves it all up to you. If you do nothing to
change things, you get a mouse menu; if you press a single key
combination, you get a hotkey menu.

That key combination is Alt-Spacebar. If you've tried it, you know
that as soon as you press Alt-Spacebar the Desk menu drops down. You
probably thought that was a Neat Thing -- and you may have thought
that was all it did.

No way. That Desk menu is just the start of something grand. Do it
again, but this time look closely at all the other menu items. Each
one will have an underline, usually below the first or second letter
of the menu item. You can cause any of those menu items to drop their
menus down by holding down the Alt key and pressing the underlined
key. If you just want to browse through all the available menus, use
the arrow keys; each time you press the right arrow key once, for
example, the next menu will drop down.

We're not through. Once a menu has dropped down, you'll see that its
own menu items also have underlines. They work the same way. You just
hold down the Alt key and press the letter (or number) that is
underlined in the menu.

It should be obvious that this has a couple of advantages. Anyone who
is distracted by having to reach for the mouse while writing on a word
processor, for example, should find Geneva's hotkey mode a joy to use
-- especially if the application itself does not have keyboard
equivalents for all its menu items. But a hidden advantage only shows
up for those who use a macro utility (a program that performs
keypresses and mouse clicks). A utility such as this cannot handle
mouse movements as well as it deals with keypresses, for a number of
reasons. (Mouse movements in a macro recording usually won't play back
properly if you are not running the same resolution, for example.)
Since Geneva is able to substitute keyboard hotkeys for mouse actions,
you'll be able to create all sorts of powerful macros that duplicate
anything you can do to a set of menus with the mouse. (I'll have more
to say on macros later.)


2. You have a batch-file language right at your fingertips.

It's been said that there are only two kinds of computer users --
those who know about and use batch files, and those who haven't got a
clue. Batch files are lines of commands that are executed, one after
the other, and they're widely used in the MS-DOS world. (But even
MS-DOS PC owners often have no idea what a batch file does or how to
use one, as I am often reminded by the questions readers send in to be
answered in my newspaper columns.)

So why am I mentioning this in an article about Geneva? Look again,
friend; Geneva uses a batch file just like MS-DOS does every time it
starts up. It's called GEM.CNF. You may have thought of GEM.CNF as
some sort of scene-setter for Geneva, a list of little things it
should know when it starts up, and in a way you'd be right. GEM.CNF
does supply vital information to Geneva, such as the location of desk
accessories, the filename extensions of executable programs and the
name of the desktop shell, to list only three items.

But GEM.CNF's power goes far beyond that, because it's not merely a
list; it's a batch file that Geneva executes, line by line, whenever
it comes to a "run" command. (The "run" command actually comes in two
flavors, "run" and "runsleep," but both do the same thing -- run a
program.) You can use the "run" command in a more-or-less standard
way, telling Geneva to execute Program A first, then Program B, then
Program C. If Programs A, B and C are multitasking applications, they
will all be running at the same time when Geneva is finished booting
up.

Big deal. You could do the same thing under later TOS versions by
sticking those programs into the AUTO folder, right?

But suppose each of those programs was a single-tasking application
(with flags in Geneva's Task Manager set to single-tasking)? What
happens then? Geneva allows only one single-tasking application to be
active at any time (which is, of course, the definition of
single-tasking, after all), so something amazing takes place: Geneva
runs Program A, then halts execution of the rest of the GEM.CNF
commands. As long as Program A, a single-tasking application, is
running, Geneva will not execute any other programs listed in "run"
commands in GEM.CNF.

This means that you can work with Program A for as long as you want.
Then, when you finally exit Program A, Geneva immediately runs Program
B. Geneva then suspends execution of GEM.CNF's "run" commands again,
waiting for you to finish with Program B. When you have finally exited
from Program B, it launches Program C.

Anyone who has written complicated batch files for MS-DOS will know
right away that Geneva's simple batch facility lacks a couple of
important features. One that would add greatly to Geneva's power is a
"goto" function, which would be paired with a labeling method. Lines
with "run" commands would be prefaced with labels, and a "goto" at
some point in GEM.CNF would force Geneva to jump directly to a "run"
command that is located somewhere else in the file. (This facility
would require some sort of if-then-else decision making ability,
also.)

But you can achieve the same effect by stacking "run" commands in
GEM.CNF. All you need to do is list the single-tasking programs in
separate "run" lines, in the order you want them executed, listing the
same program more than once if necessary. In other words, if you
always want your Atari to boot up with Aladdin (the software that
handles calls to GEnie), and then always want it to run Flash so you
can call a BBS, and then always want it to rerun Aladdin so you can
send off your replies, just list those programs in A, B, C order in
"run" commands in GEM.CNF.

Keep in mind that this method is not limited to a series of
single-tasking programs. Multitasking programs that are inserted in
"run" statements will be launched all at once, and then will be put to
sleep when Geneva encounters a single-tasking program in a "run"
statement. You'll find that this works well except for the danger of
fragmenting memory; you're usually better off if you run the
single-tasking programs first.


3. You don't need to keep desk accessories active.

Some of the best and worst features of the Atari ST, TT and Falcon
computers center on desk accessories. They contribute an immense power
to the Atari because they are always available whenever you are
running a GEM-based application, or when you are using the desktop.
They are also multitasking, able to do something in the background
while your main program is doing something else. (Few desk accessories
take much advantage of this feature, however.)

But they have some conspicuous drawbacks. Under the standard TOS
system, once a desk accessory is loaded and running, it can't be
unloaded, and this means it takes up memory no matter what. Also, if
you boot up without a certain desk accessory and then discover you
need it, you have to reboot to get it to load (or else you have to use
a desk-accessory manager such as MultiDesk Deluxe). And, of course,
the TOS system limits the number of desk accessories that can be open
at one time; only six are allowed, even if one of them is MultiDesk.
MultiDesk appears as a single desk accessory to the operating system,
but allows you to launch any other desk accessory one at a time from
within MultiDesk. This is ideal in many situations, but the point to
remember is that only one desk accessory within MultiDesk can be
opened at a time.

Under Geneva, desk accessories behave much differently. Most Geneva
users know this well, and make good use of Geneva's removal of the
desk-accessory limit. But too much of a good thing can be just as
harmful as too little, especially when it comes to memory limitations.
Running 12 desk accessories instead of six can knock a big chunk of
available RAM out of your system in one quick bootup. What I am about
to suggest is a way to use any accessory without the RAM penalty.

The answer, in many cases, is to treat desk accessories as transient
programs. This is not a foolproof approach, and it requires a bit of
care. But it could be ideal for those who don't ordinarily have enough
memory in their Ataris to run a full complement of desk accessories
while running their regular programs. You do this by booting up with
only the desk accessories you know you will need during the entire
computing session. Candidates for desk accessories in this category
might include corner clocks, a networking accessory, a text editor and
so on. Then, when you need to use an accessory that is not loaded, run
it from the Geneva Manager menu, from the Task Manager's menu or from
a multitasking shell. When you are finished with that accessory,
delete it from memory.

This has a big drawback if it is not done properly. When you load a
desk accessory while any other program is running, that accessory
takes up the first position in RAM that is large enough to contain it.
Usually, if the desk accessory is loaded early in a session, that spot
in RAM is merely the top of the heap, so to speak. But if memory is
fragmented -- divided up into chunks that are not next to each other
-- the accessory will be placed into the first chunk big enough to
hold it. If it loads on top of everything else, and (just as
importantly) if the main programs that are running do not grab any
extra memory from RAM while the desk accessory is open, you should be
able to get back all the memory it took up when you kill off the desk
accessory. (The easiest way to kill a desk accessory is to do a
Control-click on its entry in the Desk menu, but there are other ways,
described in the manual.)

If the desk accessory you loaded has been placed into a fragment of
RAM, you actually may be better off. If it is indeed small, this
fragment will not be available to standard-size applications no matter
what, so you may be able to use this pigeon hole in RAM as a place to
stick other desk accessories, one by one, after you kill off the first
one. There are many reasons why this may not work, however, and rather
than get into the technical side of this, I'll merely point out that
the succeeding desk accessories must not take up any more RAM than the
size of the fragment used by the first desk accessory, and they must
not allocate any extra memory for buffers and the like. The only way
to find out how well this technique works is to try it.

You will find that some desk accessories behave impeccably when you
kill them. Atari's own XCONTROL.ACC is an example. When you terminate
XCONTROL, it cooperates with Geneva, closes itself up, and leaves not
a trace behind. Others, however, are less kind; Geneva is able to
terminate them, but will warn you that problems could be caused if the
desk accessory has hooked itself into system vectors. These are the
computer equivalents of grab handles that accessories and programs
sometimes use for their own purposes. You can't know beforehand if
killing a desk accessory will cause a problem (often it will not, but
you can't predict these things), so you MUST always save your work in
other applications before terminating an uncooperative desk
accessory.

The issue of handling desk accessories in a limited-memory Atari seems
more complicated than it actually is. Here are some guidelines:

- Desk accessories that you want to have available all the time should
be loaded at bootup.

- Desk accessories that you need for only one task can be run when you
want to use them.

- If you intend to terminate a desk accessory, try to do it before
running any application or any other desk accessory.


4. Sleep is good for you and your computer.

Geneva is able to put any application or desk accessory to sleep. This
can occur either manually or automatically. You put an application to
sleep manually by any of the methods listed in the manual. Geneva puts
a single-tasking application to sleep automatically whenever you run a
multitasking application, and puts all multitasking applications to
sleep whenever you run a single-tasking application.

So far, so good. The concept of a sleeping application is so intuitive
that it needs little explanation. When an application or accessory is
asleep, it's not doing anything, but it's ready to pop out of bed in
an instant. (Unlike humans, Atari software needs no wake-up period
when Geneva's stern taskmaster is in charge.)

But there's more to this concept than meets the pillow. There are many
reasons you should consider putting all applications or accessories to
sleep when you are not using them.

Sleeping programs:

- Are cut off from the central processor, freeing up the CPU so that
the task at hand runs faster.

- Immediately disappear from the screen. This means they take up no
space in your precious screen real estate.

- Can't interfere with such system functions as the keyclick status,
the audio level and the color palette.

- Always return to the same spot you left them when you reawaken
them.

Of course, you should not put an application or desk accessory to
sleep if you need its services. Putting a desktop clock to sleep will
remove it from the screen and won't give you a display of the time,
for example. (But, to the clock, time itself isn't being suspended, as
you'll see when you reawaken the clock; it will still show the right
time.) Putting an accessory such as LittleNet to sleep will cut off
one Atari's access to the other through LittleNet's networking
services. Putting the Extensible Control Panel (XCONTROL) to sleep
should not cause a problem, since Control Panel Extensions (CPXes)
usually are not active in memory. (Even so-called resident CPXes
aren't doing anything in memory, in most cases.)

The second benefit, clearing the screen quickly, can be put to good
use when running NeoDesk. Rather than reducing screen clutter by
manually closing NeoDesk's file and folder windows before you run a
multitasking application, you can sweep NeoDesk's display away
instantly by putting it to sleep; waking it up restores all the
windows. If you are running an application from within NeoDesk, you
obviously cannot put NeoDesk to sleep and then have NeoDesk launch the
program. But a simple technique will let you launch an application
from NeoDesk and then put NeoDesk to sleep, to clear away its windows
and icons.

Before I explain this, keep in mind that you won't need to clear away
NeoDesk's windows and icons if the application you are running fills
the screen; in such cases, NeoDesk's own display isn't visible anyway.
But many applications (when run in multitasking mode) merely replace
NeoDesk's main GEM menu bar with their own, leaving the previous
display on the screen along with their own windows. The technique to
quickly shut down all of NeoDesk's windows and make all its icons
disappear is very simple: First, click on part of the visible NeoDesk
desktop to make it the foreground application. Then press the hotkey
that puts the foreground application to sleep. Then click on the
window for the application you just launched to bring it back to the
foreground. (Note that it may have come back to the foreground
anyway.)

Of course, once an application is asleep, you need a fast way of
popping it back to life. You can do this with NeoDesk or any other
application easily, as we shall see next.


5. Flags are for hotkeys, too.

In the Flags menu of Geneva's Task Manager, you can set more than a
dozen parameters for every application and desk accessory. But you can
also assign the hotkey that brings the application or accessory to the
foreground, or opens it if it is a desk accessory.

But there is one more thing this hotkey does. It's not obvious until
you use it. It wakes up a sleeping application. This means that every
application you run can have at least two important hotkeys -- one
that puts it to sleep and one that wakes it up. The put-to-sleep
hotkey is a universal one, but the hotkey that wakes up an application
must be assigned to each program and accessory through the Task
Manager. The benefit, of course, is that this same hotkey pulls a
non-sleeping application or accessory to the foreground, also.

Assign these hotkeys carefully. Avoid using key combinations that
another application needs to use, such as Alt-S and Control-S
(commonly used as a Save command in many programs). Control-Alt-Shift
combinations are often safe to use, and they can be easy to remember
if they are employed with function keys.

Here's a hot tip: Consider using the keypad number keys as hotkeys.
Geneva uses these itself as hotkeys in window operations, but always
with modifier keys. (Geneva never assigns a hotkey to an unmodified
keyboard key in its default setup.) But you can blithely assign at
least three of these keys safely, if you follow the guidelines here.

The trick is to make sure that all applications and accessories that
require these keys -- which means calculators, in nearly every case --
have the keys listed as reserved keys in the "keyboard settings"
dialog of their "Execution flags" main dialog. My keys of choice are
actually five keys on the keypad -- the open parenthesis, the close
parenthesis, the 7 key, the 8 key and the 9 key. The two parentheses
keys are nearly always safe because they aren't used in typical math
operations (and when they are, you can always use Shift-8 and Shift-9
instead). The three other keys are needed in desk accessory or
application calculators, of course, so you'll need to assign those
three keys as "Reserved" in the Flags for the calculators you normally
use. (Reserved keys are passed through to the program, instead of
being acted on by Geneva.)

Note that both MaxiFile and the Little Green Selector can be
configured to use the keypad keys for keyboard shortcuts. In MaxiFile,
you can turn off the keypad shortcuts by deselecting the "GUIDES"
button in the configuration dialog. LGS has a similar configuration
facility. If you want to use the keypad shortcuts with MaxiFile and
LGS, avoid assigning them as hotkeys in Geneva, or make sure they are
combined with one or more modifier keys.

The advantage of using the two parenthesis keys and the 7, 8 and 9
keys as hotkeys without an Alt, Control or Shift modifier key is that
you can press them with one hand. (If you have a pianist's finger
spread, you may be able to press the right Shift key with your thumb
while pressing one of the keypad keys with a finger, but the Alt and
Control keys are in two-hand territory without a doubt.)

Another hot tip: Use only the number keys on the keypad as your
hotkeys, in eight levels. This will let you assign 80 different
hotkeys, without needing to use any keys from the regular part of the
keyboard. I won't list all the possible combinations, but here are
eight to get you started:

 Keypad 1
 Alt-Kp 1
 Shift-Kp 1
 Control-Kp 1
 Alt-Shift-Kp 1
 Control-Shift-Kp 1
 Control-Alt-Kp 1
 Alt-Control-Shift-Kp 1

A common misconception about Geneva's hotkeys is that they launch
applications. They don't. The application must be running first; the
hotkey brings it to the foreground and wakes it up if necessary.
Another misconception is that they work only with regular programs. In
fact, they work with desk accessories, too. Geneva's ability to pop
open a desk accessory when you press a hotkey is a considerable
asset.


6. Use NeoDesk. Don't use NeoDesk. Use TeraDesk. Use HotWire. Don't
use them.

We all know by now that the built-in desktop that comes with your
Atari won't appear when you are running Geneva. It just plain can't.
So in order to have a desktop sitting there in front of you, you need
to run NeoDesk. Right?

No, that's wrong. You can run TeraDesk instead of NeoDesk. Or you can
run a different kind of desktop, one that is actually a file launcher
and not a graphical interface, such as HotWire. The fact that you
don't need to run NeoDesk has been touched on already, but it's one of
those myths that refuses to die. Let's sort this out.

First, Geneva is what provides multitasking. NeoDesk doesn't, nor do
the other desktops. Second, Geneva's multitasking can't be turned off.
These two facts bring us to a couple of conclusions:

o The desktop either supports Geneva's multitasking or it doesn't.

o No matter what desktop you are running, you can still do
multitasking.

Let's look at them more closely.

Desktops are shells. They are programs that can launch other programs.
Any desktop that runs under Geneva can do this. Repeat: Any desktop
that runs under Geneva will let you launch your favorite programs. The
difference between NeoDesk and the other desktops is simply this:
NeoDesk will let you launch a program and then launch another one
while the first one is running. The other desktops will let you launch
a program and then launch another one after the first one has stopped
running. (This is how single-tasking desktops have always worked.)

In other words, if you run, say, TeraDesk under Geneva, it will act
just like it has always acted. You'll be able to run your word
processor, and, when you have exited the word processor, you'll be
able to run another program. TeraDesk won't be doing any
multitasking.

But Geneva will. This is the point that gets lost. Geneva is
multitasking all the time, even when TeraDesk (or any other
single-tasking desktop) is running. That means you can go to the Desk
menu, select the Geneva Manager or the Task Manager, and launch
another application through Geneva while TeraDesk is running. This
process may work more reliably if you set the desktop's flags to
single-tasking, so that Geneva is forced to put that desktop (and any
applications is has spawned) to sleep when you run another program.
While that other program is running, you can switch back to TeraDesk
through the Task Manager (or through the Desk menu or by a hotkey) and
Geneva will either put that second application to sleep (if the
desktop is set to single-tasking) or will run the two of them at the
same time.

Note that all desktops except NeoDesk never expect to be running at
the same time as other applications, so they may not behave properly
unless they are set to single tasking, as I mentioned above. The only
way to find out is to experiment.

But do you need to use a desktop at all? NeoDesk is ideally suited to
Geneva, but you can recover 150 kilobytes or more of memory and speed
up operations slightly if you run without NeoDesk. Obviously,
launching applications is a simple matter; you merely use the Task
Manager's file-launching menu or switch to the Geneva Manager and use
its menu. (They do the same thing, and there is no advantage of using
one over the other.) Even basic file operations are simple to do
without a desktop, because the Geneva item selector lets you rename,
copy, move, delete and find files and folders. You can also create
folders and check on the free space of any of your disks.

Hot tip: Geneva's item selector can have up to 10 preset paths defined
under its "PATHS" dialog. Make good use of them by defining them (and
making sure you save them with the Task Manager's settings) so that
you can use the shortcut method of switching paths -- by pressing a
function key. You do not need to open the "PATHS" dialog to access
this feature; just press the appropriate function key as soon as the
item selector opens. If you regularly move or copy files to a set
location, save that path in one of the function-key slots and merely
press that function key after clicking on the "Move" button in the
"TOOLS" dialog. (Of course, you don't even need to do any clicking.
Pressing Alt-T will open the "TOOLS" dialog without the need for the
mouse.)

If you have favorite desk accessories that supply most of the
functions of a desktop (disk formatters, file-management utilities and
so on), you should assign hotkeys to those accessories so that they
can be called up with a keypress.

Another hot tip: The CodeHead macro utility, CodeKeys, works
exceptionally well with Geneva, and is perfect for automating Geneva's
's outside the scope of this article), but if I were going to endorse
anything outside of Geneva and NeoDesk, I'd put motherhood, apple pie
and CodeKeys at the top of the list -- and not necessarily in that
order.)


7. It's better to switch than fight.

If you're like me, the first thing you did when you set up Geneva was
to run as many programs as possible, arranging their windows as small
as you could on the screen so you could squeeze 'em all in. Now THAT's
multitasking, folks!

It's impressive enough on the screen, but it's not a very effective
way to work with your Atari. Multitasking doesn't mean doing many
things at once; it means being able to do many things at once,
whenever necessary. There's a big difference.

When you are working with your word processor, you are probably not
doing anything else. (Writing is hard enough on its own; I ought to
know.) When you are extracting files from a ZIP file or an LZH
archive, that's what you want to do at that time, and chances are you
aren't doing anything else at the computer. I know of only one task
that I regularly do on my Atari while simultaneously doing something
else, and that's downloading files. Occasionally, I play MOD files
while working, and sometimes I do image processing in the background.
But for most of my sessions at the keyboard, the computer is doing
only one or two things at a time.

What this means is that I use Geneva more for its task-switching
capabilities than its multitasking abilities. If this is the way you
generally use your Atari, too, you can make things easier by setting
many of your applications to single-tasking status. Geneva will put
all other applications to sleep when you run a single-tasking program,
clearing the screen and speeding up operations within that
application.

Watch out for problems with telecommunications programs (not
accessories) that are online when you switch to a single-tasking
application. Geneva cuts off all its access to the modem when a
program is put to sleep. You may be able to switch to a single-tasking
application safely for a few seconds, but longer timeouts will almost
certainly cause the modem at the other end to let go of the line. You
can prevent this from happening and still safely single-task any
application if you use a desk-accessory telecommunications program.
Even when Geneva puts all applications but the foreground one to
sleep, desk accessories are not affected.


8. You don't need to scroll the desk menu.

When Geneva broke the six-desk-accessory limit, Atari users were at
last able to run as many DAs as they wanted. To accommodate Atari's
oldest type of display, Gribnif added code to Geneva that kept the
Desk menu from getting too long for the screen. Once the Desk menu has
more than a certain number of items -- both accessories and running
programs -- it turns into a scrolling list. The length of the
scrolling list is perfect for an ST medium-resolution screen, but
those with ST high-resolution displays and everyone who owns a TT or
Falcon could make good use of a longer list, one that would extend, if
necessary, right to the bottom of the screen.

That is just what you can get if you load the Submenu CPX into the
Extensible Control Panel (XCONTROL). The "Length" setting in the
Submenu CPX extends the length of the Desk menu (and the Applications
menu, which is what Geneva calls the Desk menu when it is torn off). A
setting of 150 should work fine.

Control Panel Extensions are usually freeware, and are available from
GEnie and other online services as well as many bulletin boards.


9. C'mon baby, let's Undo the Twist

Under Geneva, you never have to twist 'n' twirl to click one of the
buttons in a dialog box. All GEM applications and desk accessories
that are written to follow normal programming rules will show dialog
and alert buttons that can be activated from the keyboard. Keyboard
equivalents are assigned two different ways -- through Alt-key
equivalents, shown as underlines, and through the first three function
keys. The function-key method is easier to use, since it always
follows the same pattern; F1 is always the first button, F2 is always
the second and F3 is always the third, if there are three choices.

An even handier shortcut is Geneva's method of checking dialog boxes,
alert boxes and similar menus for the word "Cancel" or its equivalent.
Pressing the Undo key will always activate the "Cancel" button in
properly written GEM applications. (This feature of Geneva also works
in many non-standard applications, too.) This means that the big Undo
key at last takes on the role it should have had from the start, to
cancel the dialog box that is active on the screen. From this point of
view alone, Geneva makes a significant advance for Atari users.


10. You're a character! Put it there, pal.

Sometimes you find pearls where you'd least expect them. Among all the
adjunct features of Geneva is a utility that is surely little more
than a gift of the programmer. It has nothing to do with multitasking
or interface improvements, and could have been left out of Geneva; no
one would have missed it yet. And yet this feature, the ASCII Table,
is one of those precious stones that shine on their own. Its action is
simplicity itself: Click on any character, and that character will
appear in the foreground application.

What is not obvious is that the ASCII Table will insert any character
into text-entry lines of dialog boxes and other such items as well as
into a word processor. It's easy to tell if the application itself
will accept the character you choose; if you see it appear, it's
usable. (Note, however, that you may not be able to use the entire
character set in such things as filenames.)

Unlike other GEM windows, the one the ASCII Table uses is supposed to
be accessed when untopped -- that is, when another window is in the
foreground. Geneva sends the character you choose to the topped
window, so if the ASCII Table itself is the top window, it ends up
trying to send the character to itself, which it obviously can't do.


(The author is a long-time Atari user. His "Secrets of ..." articles
have covered Flash, NeoDesk, TeraDesk, WordPerfect and LittleNet, with
others scheduled to appear on a regular basis. He can be reached on
GEnie as "a.fasoldt" and through the Internet at the address
"[e-mail]@inet#" or through America Online.)