Abode stands for Another Bunch of Desktop Enhancements. It is a Swiss-Army-knife type of application. It combines several utilities, all meant to make life on the desktop a bit easier. At each moment, only one utility is active, depending on the mode Abode is in. These are the modes:
1) Basic edit -- To start the BASIC editor, and load files into it.
2) Set type -- To set the type of one or more files.
3) Kill module -- To RMKill modules loaded in RAM.
4) Access -- To set or clear the delete-protection (and other
attributes) of files and directories.
5) Command -- To excute CLI commands
In addition, Abode has some smaller features:
* A caret blinker, to make it easier to find on a crowded screen.
* A PullFront key. Pressing this key opens the window that the mouse pointer
is over, to the front, making it fully visible.
For most of these functions there already are (Public Domain) utilities. This one is written as a single application, so that the icon bar won't get too crowded. It also saves some memory.
This file describes how you can get Abode to do all these things. However, if you're familiar with this kind of utility, you'll probably only need to read the ultra-short manual in the !Help file.
!Abode is FreeWare. For conditions of use, read the copyright notice at the end of this manual.
Starting the program
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As usual, the program is started by double-clicking on its icon in a filer window. It will install itself on the icon bar. You can bring up the main menu in the normal way, by clicking the Menu mouse button over the icon on the icon bar.
Switching between modes
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The main menu contains, besides the normal "Info" and "Quit" options, all the modes. The mode that is currently active is indicated by a tick. You can change to another mode by selecting one from the main menu. The icon on the icon bar will also change. A faster way to change mode is by clicking on the icon with the Select button. The program will then "cycle" through the modes.
Mode 1: Basic edit
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When you drag a file from a filer window onto the Abode icon, the program loads this file into the BASIC editor. You can only do this with files of type Basic. If you click on the icon with Select, Basic is started without loading a file.
If you hold down the Shift key when dragging, the file is loaded into Basic, but the editor is not started.
The Abode !Run file defines a couple of function keys, so that you can enter much-used BASIC commands like RUN, EDIT, etc. with one keypress. You can change these to your liking.
Mode 2: Set type
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In this mode, you can change the type of files. First you choose the new file type, by selecting one from the "Set type" submenu (the default is Text). The menu of types has two levels. The first is user-configurable, and contains the types that are most used. A submenu leads to the second level menu, which contains all known types. Its last menu entry is writable: useful for entering the type as a hexadecimal value, in case it was not listed.
The type of a file is changed when you drag its file icon from a filer window onto the Abode icon. Dragging multiple files also works.
Mode 3: Kill module
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This can be useful when you want to free some memory by removing relocatable modules that are no longer needed. The modules that are loaded in RAM can be seen in the "RMKill" submenu. Clicking on an entry will issue an RMKill command. When Abode is in another mode, you can view the submenu, but will not be able select a module.
Be careful with killing a module: if it is still used by another application, that application will probably crash. To prevent this, in the standard setup you are asked to confirm each RMKill; it can be switched off in the Options window.
Mode 4: Access
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When in this mode, dragging an object onto the Abode icon will clear or set the attributes of that object. You can also do this from the Filer menu, but Abode works recursively. That is, if the object is a directory, the attributes are also changed for every file in that directory (and for its subdirectories, and for files in those, etc.). This also works for applications. Whether the delete-protection will be set or cleared is shown by the icon. You can toggle this by clicking on the icon with the Select button. The other attributes (read and write access) can be set from a submenu.
Abode can also be configured to never delete-protect files that contain the setup (i.e. user preferences) for an application.
Mode 5: Command
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This mode allows you to execute a command. This can be handy when you want to execute it repeatedly; you only have to type it in once. It is also useful when you want to execute a command on a lot of files; for example to set the timestamp of a number of files, first enter the command 'Stamp' in the submenu, then drag the files onto the Abode icon.
Optionally, the command can be run in a Task window.
Options
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In the "Options" window you can set a number of preferences:
1) *Dir before BASIC edit
If this option is on, the current directory will be set before a Basic
file is loaded into the editor. In this way, when you save your file
with only a leafname, it will be stored in the directory where it came
from.
2) Don't lock setup files
Prevents Abode from setting the "Lock against deletion" bit of setup
files. This can be handy when you want to lock applications on your
discs. The setup file in the application directory should not be
locked, because it may change during use. With this option on, you
don't have to open the directory and unlock the setup file. Abode
recognizes a setup file by its name (e.g. "Status", "Choices" etc.)
3) Confirm RMKill
When on, this forces Abode to ask you to confirm the RMKilling of a
module (just to keep on the safe side).
4) Blink caret
This gives you a blinking caret, not just in Abode itself, but
anywhere on the screen. You can change the blink frequency with the
up/down arrows.
5) "Pull Front" key
If this is on, pressing a hotkey will pull the window that the pointer
is currently over, to the front. This can be handy when your screen is
filled with lots of windows, and you want to view a window that is
covered by other windows. Sometimes you can't click on the title bar,
because that part is also covered. With this option, you can move the
pointer over any part of the window, and press the hotkey. If the
window is already in front, it will be pushed to the back.
You can set the hotkey in the writable icon by pressing the hotkey
when the caret is in the icon.
6) Run Command in a task window
If this option is on, the command is run in a Task window, so that it
multitasks, and output is sent to !Edit (or !Zap, or whatever editor
you are using).
The window contains two more buttons. One button saves the current setup in a file in the !Abode application directory. This file is loaded when Abode is started. The second button simply closes the options window.
Credits and copyright notice
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I wrote this application for my own use. Thanks are due to Ferdinand Oeinck, Joris Roling, Majid Anwar, and Emmet Spier, for writing utilities that I borrwoed ideas from. (Also copied some sprites, sorry guys! Wrote the program myself though.)
This program is FreeWare. This means that I retain the copyright. You may freely copy and distribute it, provided that it is complete with all original files, and that you do not sell it. PD libraries may c
