AmigaOS Manual: AmigaDOS Workbench-Related Command Reference

The commands described in this chapter are command line equivalents of running Workbench programs. They are divided into the following functional categories:

• Preferences editors
• Commodities programs
• Other Workbench related tools and programs

These command groupings have been made for documentation purposes only.

Note
A full description for using all of the Workbench editors, tools, and programs can be found in the Workbench User's Guide.

Preferences Editors

The commands listed in this section invoke the Workbench Preferences editors.

The same arguments and switches appear within many of the Preferences Editors command format statements. These have the same meaning for each command that uses them and are described as follows:

Argument	Meaning
[FROM <filename>]	Specifies a Preferences preset file to open. This file must be previously saved with the given editor's Save As menu item. These files normally have the .pre extension and are stored in the Presets drawer.
[EDIT]	Opens the editor. This is the default if you enter the editor name alone.
[USE]	Uses the settings in the FROM file without opening the editor.
[SAVE]	Saves the settings in the FROM file as the default without opening the editor.
[PUBSREEN <public screen name>]	Allows the editor to open its window on a public screen.
[UNIT]	Causes an additional text gadget to appear in the editor for setting the default unit number.
[CLIPUNIT <clipboard unit>]	Determines which Clipboard unit to use during cut and paste operations.
[NOREMAP]	Turn off color mapping so that the system displays picture files using the colors with which they were saved.

Font

Specifies the fonts used by the system.

Format

FONT [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> FONT

Opens the Font editor, the same as double-clicking on the Font icon.

IControl

Specifies parameters used by the operating system.

Format

ICONTROL [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> ICONTROL Prefs/Presets/IControl.pre

Opens the IControl editor and loads the settings saved in the IControl.pre preset file for editing.

Input

Specifies different speeds for the mouse and keyboard and selects a national keyboard.

Format

INPUT [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> INPUT Prefs/Presets/Input.fast USE

loads and sets the settings from the Input.fast preset without opening the editor. If the system is rebooted, the previously saved default settings are used.

Locale

Allows you to choose the languages available on the system.

Format

LOCALE [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVES/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> LOCALE Prefs/Presets/Locale.UK SAVE

Loads the settings from the Locale.UK preset and saves them as the default without opening the editor. The system retains the Locale.UK settings after rebooting.

Overscan

Changes the sizes of the display areas for text and graphics.

Format

OVERSCAN [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> OVERSCAN PUBSCREEN MyBench

Opens the Overscan editor on the public screen named MyBench.

Palette

Changes the color of the Workbench screen.

Format

PALETTE [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Pointer

Changes the appearance of the mouse pointer.

Format

POINTER [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [CLIPUNIT <clipboard unit>] [NOREMAP]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,CLIPUNIT/K/N,NOREMAP/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> POINTER CLIPUNIT 1

Opens the Pointer editor, setting the Clipboard unit to 1. This is useful if the default Clipboard unit (0) is already in use.

Printer

Specifies a printer and print options.

Format

PRINTER [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>] [UNIT]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K,UNIT/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> PRINTER Prefs/Presets/Printer.post UNIT

Opens the Printer editor, loading the Printer.post preset. A text gadget appears in the editor window so that the default printer unit can be specified for the preset.

PrinterGfx

Specifies graphic printing options.

Format

PRINTERGFX [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

PrinterPS

Controls the features of PostScript printers.

Format

PRINTERPS [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

This editor only applies if you have a PostScript printer and if you choose PostScript in the Printer Preferences editor.

ScreenMode

Selects a display mode for the Workbench screen.

Format

SCREENMODE [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> SCREENMODE Prefs/Presets/DTPscreen USE

You are prompted to close all non-drawer windows; the system resets and uses the settings saved in the DTPscreen file. The editor window does not open. When the system is rebooted, the display mode returns to the last selection saved.

Serial

Sets the specifications for communication through the serial port.

Format

SERIAL [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>] [UNIT]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K,UNIT/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> SERIAL Prefs/Presets/Serial.9600 PUBSCREEN MidTerm UNIT

Opens the Serial editor, loading the Serial.9600 preset. The editor opens on the MidTerm public screen and its window contains a Unit gadget.

Sound

Controls the type of sound and sound attributes produced by the Amiga.

Format

SOUND [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Time

Sets the system clock.

Format

TIME [EDIT | SAVE] [PUBSCREEN <public screen name>]

Template

EDIT/S,SAVE/S,PUBSCREEN/K

Location

SYS:Prefs

Since setting the time from the Shell always involves saving, the USE option is omitted for the Time editor.

WBPattern

Creates background patterns for the Workbench and Workbench windows.

Format

WBPATTERN [FROM <filename>] [EDIT | USE | SAVE] [CLIPUNIT <clipboard unit>] [NOREMAP]

Template

FROM,EDIT/S,USE/S,SAVE/S,CLIPUNIT/K/N,NOREMAP/S

Location

SYS:Prefs

Example

1> WBPattern Prefs/Presets/Wallpaper.pattern NOREMAP

Opens the WBPattern editor, loading the Wallpaper.pattern preset. The NOREMAP option prevents the remapping of colors in loaded pictures and patterns.

Commodities Programs

The following commands invoke the Workbench Commodity Exchange utilities. They are located in the Tools/Commodities directory.

The following arguments in Commodities program format statements have the same meaning for each command in which they appear. These are the same as entering the corresponding Tool Type in the icon's Information window.

Argument	Meaning
[CX_PRIORITY <priority>]	Sets the priority of the commodity in relation to all the other Commodity Exchange programs. The default value is 0; values higher than 0 give priority over other commodities in regard to hot keys and other commodity related issues. This does not affect task priorities.
[CX_POPKEY <key>]	Allows you to specify the hot key that opens the program's window, if any. When specifying more than one key, enclose the keys in double quotation marks. (For example, CX_POPKEY="Shift F1").
[CX_POPUP=<yes/no>]	Selects whether the program window opens when the command is given.

AutoPoint

Automatically selects any window the pointer is over.

Format

AUTOPOINT [CX_PRIORITY <priority>]

Template

CX_PRIORITY/N/K

Location

SYS:Tool/Commodities

Press Ctrl+C or use the BREAK command to exit AutoPoint when it is started from a Shell.