Topic       : User Manual for TeraDesk
Author      : Wout Klaren, Henk Robbers, Djordje Vukovic
Version     : February 2017
Subject     : Documentation/Utilities
Nodes       : 87
Index Size  : 2746
HCP-Version : 3
Compiled on : Atari
@charset    : atarist
@lang       : en
@default    : Main
@help       : 
@options    : -i -t4 +z
@width      : 75
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   Contents
      Conventions and background

3.3  Running a program                                        TeraDesk

There  are  several  ways  in  which  you  can invoke (run, execute) a
program both from the standard desktop and from Tera Desktop.

1.  Perhaps the most common method of starting a program is to open it
by double clicking on its name or icon in one of  Directory windows. A
parameter dialog box is displayed for GTP and TTP files.

2.  Another method is to set up an icon for the program on the desktop
so that it is started when you double click on it.

3.  The third method  is to install the program as an application, and
to set up a function key (in the  Set applications...  dialog) so that
the program is started when the key is pressed.

4.  The fourth  method is to install the program as an application and
to set it as 'boot' or (in TeraDesk) as 'autostart';  in TeraDesk, all
programs  so  marked  will be automatically started sequentially after
TeraDesk is started (see Set applications...).

5.  Yet   another  method  is  to   double  click   on  an  associated
'Application  Document' file (see Set applications...). The program is
started  and  the  name  of  the  application  document is passed as a
parameter.

6.  Finally,  you can  drag  an application document  (see above) to a
program  icon.  As  long as the application document file name matches
one  of  the program's application masks (see Set applications...), it
will be as if you had double clicked on the file as in method 5.

Note  that  Accessory  programs  cannot be started from the desktop in
single-TOS  in  any  of  these  ways;  they  can  only  be  started at
boot time and activated by selecting their appropriate menu item.

However, it makes sense in single-TOS to install  an accessory program
as the application  for some document types,  if that  accessory knows
of VA_START message (see The AV Protocol), and if the desktop can send
this message.  Such an application is  e.g. ST-Guide  (when run as  an
accessory),  which may be  installed  as the application  for the .HYP
files.

In a multi-tasking environment a question arises of  whether or not to
start multiple instances of the same program/application. Tera Desktop
resolves this issue in the following way:

- If the selected program is not running, it is, of course, started.

- If the selected program/application  is already running, then:
  . If a document is selected, as in methods #5 and #6 above, its name
    is always sent to the already-running application.
  . In all other cases,  and also if a document  has been dragged to a
    program icon (as in method #6 above) while holding the [Alternate]
    key pressed, Tera Desktop asks  whether to start  another instance
    of the same application.  If a confirmatory response  is given,  a
    new instance of the application will be started and any parameters
    present  will be sent to it.  If a negative response is given, any
    parameters existing will be passed to the running application.

See also  Set applications...