>
>OK, I finally had some time to spend on working on Expert mode -- and I
spent
>
>it, about 10 hours so far today (I know, I'm compulsive). It took me a while
>because I've really been getting into the intricacies of the Zoomer and
GEOS.
>
>I've got everything going, and am annoyed by the interface provided by the
>Expert mode. It seems that the windows look messed up with the
>Maximize/Minimize
>buttons if the windows are maximized. But if the windows aren't maximized
>(full
>screen) then they display the name of the window and thus cut off info at
the
>
>bottom. Either way, the resulting display has problems.
>
>Has anyone gotten around this (what mode do you use?) I've come to the
>conclusion that it might be best to have the windows maximized, put the menu
>bar
>at the top instead of the name of the window (to save space)... But I wonder
>is
>there any more memory being used if the windows aren't iconized (and you
have
>
>several open)?
>
>Finally, anyone know how to change the NET.INI or GEOS.INI file so that the
>expertmode icon does not show (I know I can set the expert option to 0) but
>still have the rocket launcher display its menu? I've only been able to turn
>the
>icon off or on (if it's on, the rocket launcher activates the express menu
>icon,
>if it's off the rocket launcher doesn't work).
>
>Thanks, Steve
>
>
Wow, I did the EXACT SAME THING THIS WEEKEND. I was sick and thought I'd try
to take mind off things by tinkering with the Zoomer and Expert Mode. I
agreed with you at first with Expert+ Mode; maximized, the Express menu makes
everything sloppy, the Launcher icon doesn't work but the Express icon floats
in the upper left corner of the screen taking up valuable space (and covering
menus in applications' menu bars), and all the sloppy junk at the top pushes
down the screen so you can't see the bottom of some applications (like IZL's
Run button and the tabs in Address Book and Date Book).
I figured out the Express menu is easy to fix; you just have to know what
line to edit. In NET.INI there's a line in the [ui features] section called
expressOptions. Add one to whatever number is on that line. That will put
the Express menu just off the bottom left of the screen (that's
GeoWorks-speak for it will put the Express menu back on the Launcher icon
where it belongs). Doing this also cleans up the top of applications'
windows (the Express menu doesn't hide parts of the menu bar), and also turns
GEOS into a document-centric interface like Windows 95 is trying to be. In
other words, when a document is loaded, only the document's name shows in the
title bar, while the application's name disappears. Oh yeah, if you don't
want a list of currently running apps in the Launcher menu (if you can see
all the apps, why have another list?) menu, subtract 1024 from the number you
just added 1 to.
Editing GEOS.INI and NET.INI is more tricky than editing Windows WIN.INI and
SYSTEM.INI. Most of the lines in Windows INI files are true/false, pathnames
to files, or something halfway intelligible. GEOS INI files have a lot of
mysterious, seemly arbitrary numbers that the system can decode. It seems
that a particular number can only mean one set of options, and GEOS knows
that and sets up the system accordingly.
I figured this out by installing Expert+, becoming disgusted by the results
onscreen, and searching the GeoWorks Support Center on America Online for
GEOS.INI information. I pulled up a GeoWrite file called INI Tweaks. If
anybody wants this file, I think I can give it to you, since there's no
copyright info on it anywhere. I don't want to post it to the Zoomer list,
though; it's over 20 pages long (in GeoWrite format). Since I'm on AOL, I
don't have any uuencoding or anything like that so I'd have to send it in a
text-only e-mail message. You'll lose the pictures and the color text (no
big loss). Or, I might could upload it to an FTP site or somewhere, if
someone would tell me where (I lost the address to the Zoomer FTP site, a
similar file might already be there).
Oh yeah, after reading INI Tweaks and comparing the stock and Expert+
GEOS.INIs, I still have several questions. Does anybody know the answers?
1) Is there anyway to keep the Close box and get rid of the crazy push pins?
I hate those things and have never used them.
2) Why do you have to triple-tap minimized icons to restore them? Is there
a way to change this?
3) Does anybody know how to get the IZL Interpreter window to resize?
Although putting the Express menu on the Launcher icon cures the cut-off
tabs in Address Book and Date Book, IZL Interpreter's buttons (including the
all-important Run button) are completely cut-off, and you can't move or
resize the window enough to see them. One of the enhancements of Expert+ was
supposed to double-tap on an IZl file to load IZL, but that's all that
happens; IZL loads, but doesn't proceed to run the IZL file. I think there
was a way to pass parameters to a program in INI Tweaks, but remember, I was
sick this weekend and GEOS.INI is not WIN.INI; things get complicated
quickly.
Zoomin,
Andy Johnson
lajandy@aol.com