AOL bugs and oddities

starnet!apple!trantor.harris-atd.com!chuck (Chuck Musciano)
Message-id: <9310251859.AA05053@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 93 14:59:24 EDT
From: starnet!apple!trantor.harris-atd.com!chuck (Chuck Musciano)
To: zoomer-list-1993@grot.starconn.com
Subject: AOL bugs and oddities
X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
Content-Length: 4443
Status: OR

     I have discovered a way to modify the GEOS.INI file on the Zoomer to
customize the Zoomer even more than that available with the included apps.

     First, this is not for the faint of heart.  You could lose your data,
and possible completely screw up your machine.  For all I know, even a hard
reset won't fix things.

     Now that I have your attention... :-)
     
     If you use the File Manager to look in B:\GEOWORKS, you'll see a file
called GEOS.INI.  This contains a bunch of configuration switches for GEOS
and the Zoomer.  It also chains to another INI, A:\NET.INI for lots of
stuff that is configured in the ROM.  What is important is that the 
chaining occurs at the start of GEOS.INI, so that anything you put in
the GEOS.INI will override the system defaults programmed in by Casio and
GeoWorks and everybody else.

     You can use the little text editor in AOL (start AOL, skip the connect
stuff, and pull down the File menu to open or create new files) to edit
files.  However, GEOS locks the GEOS.INI file while GEOS is running, so you
can't even open it from AOL.

     So, use the file manager to copy GEOS.INI to B:\GEOS.INI.  You can then
use AOL to edit this file and change things.  However, the file manager will
not let you copy the new version back while GEOS is running.

     By some fluke, GEOS on the Zoomer is configured to allow a batch file
named ZDRIVER.BAT to be executed directly from the file manager.  (It also
likes SDISK.EXE, ZDRIVER.COM, and ZDRIVER.EXE, and PENRIGHT.BAT).  The
batch files are executed by exiting GEOS, invoking DOS, and when the file
finishes, restarting GEOS (and all the other Zoomer stuff).

     To copy your new INI file into the right spot, create a file named
ZDRIVER.BAT at the top level of your B: drive.  In that file, put:

	COPY B:\GEOWORKS\GEOS.INI B:\GEOS.OLD
	COPY B:\GEOS.NEW B:\GEOWORKS\GEOS.INI

Now, when you make changes to the GEOS.NEW file in B:\, you can execute the
ZDRIVER.BAT file to copy the new INI into the Geoworks directory.  When
the batch file exits, GEOS restarts, reading the new batch file and modifying
itself accordingly.

     I would suggest making an archival copy of the original GEOS.INI file
somewhere safe on your B: drive, and backing everything up to another machine
if you have a connection kit.

     Now, what should you change in the GEOS.INI file.  The first thing I did
was update the files that the file manager recognizes, so I can execute any
DOS app or batch file.  To do this, add

	[file manager]
	filenameTokens = {
		PENRIGHT.BAT = "gDOS",0
		SDISK.EXE = "gDOS",0
		ZDRIVER.EXE = "gDOS",0
		ZDRIVER.COM = "gDOS",0
		ZDRIVER.BAT = "gDOS",0
		*.BAT = "gDOS",0
		*.COM = "gDOS",0
		*.EXE = "gDOS",0
	}

The first five entries in the filenameTokens are taken from A:\NET.INI, and
are included to keep the original settings alive.  The last three make all
BAT, COM, and EXE files executable from the file manager.  If you make this
change, you can verify that it works by looking at A:\ with the file manager.
Lots of files should now have the DOS icon.

     After making this change, you can rename the ZDRIVER.BAT file to
something like NEW-INI.BAT, to make it easier to remember what it does.
You can also write all sorts of DOS batch files that *don't require input*
to run from the file manager.

     Another good change is to rebind the applications started by the
fixed icons at the bottom of the screen.  Add this to your INI file at
the bottom:

	[hardIconBar]
	app0 = Main\Address Book
	app1 = Main\Date Book
	app2 = Main\Note Book
	app3 = Main\Pocket Quicken
	app4 = Main\World CLock
	app5 = Utilities\File Manager

This replaces the calculator (which is still reachable from the Launcher menu)
with the file manager, so the file manager is just a tap away.

     This list of apps can be found in A:\NET.INI.  I'd suggest copying it
into your new INI to avoid errors.  Since it has no tabs, AOL will let you
copy and paste it :-)  The apps are all referenced from the B:\GEOWORKS\WORLD
directory, using the "file manager" names.  You can bind anything you want,
to make life easiest for you.


Chuck Musciano				ARPA  : chuck@trantor.harris-atd.com
Harris Corporation 			Usenet: ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!chuck
PO Box 37, MS 16/1912			AT&T  : (407) 727-6131
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