Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!UICVM.BITNET!U46050
From: U46050@UICVM.BITNET ("JOHN ZAFIRIS 543-0971")
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: how to kill a mouse cursor
Message-ID: <8904040255.AA19491@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 4 Apr 89 02:57:45 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 27

I am in the process of, well, almost finished writing a shell to run
programs from obscure corners of my hardrive by just clicking on a
square on the screen as in like a GEM button but much faster.  Anyway,
suffice it to say it is a shell.  I have run into two annoying problms.

One: The mouse cursor is not handled properly by some programs most
notably STWRITER.  It cannot be shut off after the offensive program is
run and control is back to the shell.  It makes a mess of the screen.
Has anybody run accross this problem and do you know how to solve it?  I
am working entirely in machine language so please translate any 'C'
lingo into something I could understand.

TWO: Some programs also seem to mishandle window closing.  After the
program is run the windows that it uses sometimes do not get erased.
The next GEM program that is run magically inherits the former's
windows.  This makes a mess of the screen and usually confuses the
program that does not know what to do with the extra windows.  Again, I
am very interested in solutions.  I'm all ears.

Neither of the above problems occur when the programs are executed from
and return to the desktop.  What is it doing that I can also do to cure
my ills?

I am using the TOS exec command directly with a null environment string
(whatever that is).

Thanks for any info...                                ...John