Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!pprg.unm.edu!hc!lll-winken!uunet!portal!atari!kbad
From: kbad@atari.UUCP (Ken Badertscher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: desktop.inf
Message-ID: <1409@atari.UUCP>
Date: 27 Mar 89 00:49:05 GMT
References: <435@electro.UUCP>
Reply-To: kbad@atari.UUCP (Ken Badertscher)
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 37

In article <435@electro.UUCP> ignac@electro.UUCP (Ignac Kolenko) writes:
|
|is there a ** legal ** way of obtaining the current desktop.inf information
|in memory.

As someone mentioned, there is the shel_get call.  However, it only
returns the address of the AES internal buffer which is sometimes used
to store DESKTOP.INF data, ***AND*** the format of that buffer is
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
  In other words, don't try to use what you find there, or your software
will surely break in the future.

|what i am wondering if it is possible to get the current window
|search mask information in memory, and being able to alter it at will. This
|would allow the window to search not only *.*, but also *.c, *.o, or anything
|that your heart desires. [...]

While that is an admirable goal, it is NOT a good idea to go peeking
around in the AES' private variable space.  The AES and Desktop are a
very tangled intertwining convoluted piece of work, and you stand a very
good chance of breaking something before you would add a useful
enhancement if you tried to modify the way the Desktop handles window
templates.  This feature is, in fact, on the slate for the next revision
of the Desktop!  In the mean time, might I recommend that you try
NeoDesk from Gribnif Software.  It has the "window template" feature,
and a host of other enhancements that Atari just didn't have room for in
192K worth of ROM space.

|Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)          watmath!watcgl!electro!ignac      
|
|"Those who can't, criticize" (author unknown)
|"ain't it ironic that according to Rushton, Suzuki is right!" 

-- 
 Ken Badertscher                 | #include <disclaimer>
 Atari R&D Software Engine       | GEMDOS LIVES! ...or is that Frodo?
 {portal,ames,imagen}!atari!kbad | I can never remember these things...