Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!mit-amt!mit-atrp!ralph
From: ralph@mit-atrp.UUCP (Ralph L. Vinciguerra)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Talking to Workbench
Message-ID: <3374@mit-amt>
Date: 8 Dec 88 17:30:03 GMT
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Reply-To: ralph@atrp.media.mit.edu (Ralph L. Vinciguerra)
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Organization: MIT Amiga Users Group c/o MIT Cognitive Info. Processing Group
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In the interest of making the workbench useful for all functions
(so that even normal users of the machine can get things done) I have
done several things:

(1) I created a "visible" workbench disk. I essentially created and attached
  an icon to every file and directory on the workbench.

(2) I created a set of workbench tools which let you manipulate icons
     fairly easily. Their names are:
  - FloatIcon      - (makes an icon have no "snapshotted location")
  - CopyIconImage  - Yep, one icon to many icons. This if my favorite !
  - CopyDefTool    - Copies the default tool from one icon to many icons.
  - BecomeTool     - Yep.
  - BecomeProject  - You bet.

  After a little more testing, I'll send them to comp.{binaries,sources}.amiga
  if folks are interested. My current hurdle is that you are forced to
  close the workbench window containing the altered icons to get the
  changed represented. Any ideas net-folks ?

(3) I wrote a little ARexx program, with an icon, which reads a directory
   and attaches an icon to all files which have none. Then using the above
   tools I can fix things.

Although all these steps are somewhat painful, they do make it possible
for a person to use an amiga and even do system management type stuff
and not use a CLI. Gee, what a concept ! :-).

I'm hoping, praying, begging, that CBM's newer workbench will support
some more advance functionality.

My next project: The info workbench function doesn't even show the DATE
of the file it gives info on. Come on guys !
I'll just have to write another little workbench tool I guess....

P.S.: If all this is being addressed in the next workbench, let me know!