Switcher Enhancement

I would like to see the menu on switcher expanded to give control over security and backwards compatibility. (And possibly modify the icon as an indication.)

The sort of things I am thinking of would be turning on or off processor features (or emulation, such as aemulor), Zero page protection and hard drive lock.

Also if an API is modified in a way that breaks things, then the old behavior could be selected there too.

The sort of things I am thinking of would be turning on or off processor features (or emulation, such as aemulor), Zero page protection and hard drive lock.

While the processor features (alignment etc) or environment(like speed, cpu temperature etc) being reflected in an icon change would be useful I don’t think aemulor is really viable. After all aemulor, although currently free to download from the spellings site, is actually a third party software item so it can’t become part of the OS setup.

Environmental display on by default I think.

Drive lock – doesn’t that belong as a modified drive icon?

The sort of things I am thinking of would be turning on or off processor features (or emulation, such as aemulor), Zero page protection and hard drive lock.

Those things are Configuration items rather than the switcher menu.

After all aemulor, although currently free to download from the spellings site, is actually a third party software item so it can’t become part of the OS setup.

I was suggesting it be made the recommended place, with provision to add to the menu easily. Third party apps, would hopefully follow the new style.

Drive lock – doesn’t that belong as a modified drive icon?

I suppose it depends on whether it is regarded as a drive thing, or a simple administrator/user mode.

I’d be happy with either.

Those things are Configuration items rather than the switcher menu.

The startup settings are configuration items, but I’m thinking of controlling things that can be switched on the fly.

What’s wrong with having “Configure…” on the switcher menu that opens up a nice GUI for configuring all sorts of things, which third-party add-ons can extend?

Steve, totally agree why complicate things and have different ways to do the same thing when we have a good way already and one where there is consistency and any updates/changes to RISC OS only has to be done in one place. Anyway I don’t think we ought to replicate Windows and have lots of different options off the switcher icon like it does off the Start button just at the time they are doing away with it and about time too.

The startup settings are configuration items, but I’m thinking of controlling things that can be switched on the fly.

However, configuration changes usually occur immediately (and should warn if they can’t, really) so I’m not sure there’s a distinction.

I would +1 for Steve’s idea of “Configure…” off Switcher. Running !Boot may not be obvious to novices.

I would +1 for Steve’s idea of “Configure…” off Switcher. Running !Boot may not be obvious to novices.

In the current ROM and !Boot just about the only option ON the switcher is “Configure…”

How minimalist would like things? :-)

Since we’re talking about the Switcher, time for me to re-iterate one of my pet peeves… The “Save Desktop” feature is a pain in the neck, as we all know, but it is also the only way to easily save open filer windows (and certain other settings). I’d love to see the Save Desktop feature re-worked to do everything but not:

Save memory sizes (eg. ram disc etc) since that is covered elsewhere in !Boot
Run apps at startup – again this is duplicated in !Boot
Filer_boot stuff – also duplicated

Essentially get rid of duplication, and leave just basic configs (eg. draw$options and edit$options) and filer_opendirs.

It could even run the !Boot configure plugin for good measure ;)

How about “Save Desktop” being removed, and a configure option made to do that at shutdown, so when the user shuts down properly, the service call is issued and the info written to a file in the post-desk startup to restore those things when the system next started?

How about “Save Desktop” being removed, and a configure option made to do that at shutdown, so when the user shuts down properly, the service call is issued and the info written to a file in the post-desk startup to restore those things when the system next started?

At shutdown, if set (but default to set), ask whether the desktop settings should be saved.
Otherwise you risk having an unintended save of a setup that you had tweaked but decided you didn’t like.
Yes, only a noob would do that…

What’s wrong with having “Configure…” on the switcher menu that opens up a nice GUI for configuring all sorts of things, which third-party add-ons can extend?

Nothing at all, but it is not all that really is needed. The analogy would be the RAM disk, initial size set in configure, but it is modified in size in tasks.

I’m thinking that on the fly changes shouldn’t be buried away, as obviously the designers of the RAM disk also though.

Since the icon is called the switcher, having quick access to turn on and off compatibility options from it seems logical to me.

I’m thinking that on the fly changes shouldn’t be buried away, as obviously the designers of the RAM disk also though.

That is not the best example – RAM disc size is already immediately variable from the Tasks manager, raised by a single click on the Switcher icon.

But that is the sort of thing I think would make the system quicker to use, if it was applied to everything that needed switching on the fly.

A similar manager pulled up simply from the switcher icon. (Or even the Task manager being expanded.)

RAM disc size is already immediately variable from the Tasks manager

Does it support dynamic resizing (ie when there is data in it)? Not used RAMdisc in an eternity…

At shutdown, if set (but default to set), ask whether the desktop settings should be saved.

Good idea! Why didn’t it think of that originally?! ;-)

Does it support dynamic resizing (ie when there is data in it)?

No – it never has. I should think that would be a major change, and could be dangerous.

Of dynamic RAMDisc resizing:

No – it never has. I should think that would be a major change, and could be dangerous.

Every bit as dangerous as creating a utility to do exactly that and calling it Memphis.

I know this is reviving an old thread, but as my request is relevant to the switcher…
I would like to see a Reboot or Restart option on the Switcher menu, as well as the others already there. On 5.20 we currently have Info, Configure, Task Window and Shutdown options. When I’ve initiated a shutdown to reboot, I try to click Restart, but the mouse sometimes does not respond in time, and pressing Enter is not always picked up either, so the machine shuts down and I have to reach for the power button to restart. A Menu option to Reboot or Restart would IMO be a useful addition.
Also, perhaps the shutdown option could be a litle less final? I’m thinking that pressing Ctrl/Shift/F12 or choosing Shutdown from the Switcher menu, should give you an “Are you sure you want to shut down? (Yes/No)” type dialogue. I can’t be the only person to do that key combination by mistake, or realise I still had something to do and I don’t actually want or need to shut down right now.
Opinions?

Perhaps there is a module already – that does this warning – about shutting down.
It would be handy – if by clicking adjust on the Switcher icon – a task window came up.

Although I’m not a massive fan of RO4, its Ctrl-Shift-F12 dialogue asking “Are you sure you want to shut the computer down?” with buttons giving the options ‘Cancel’, ‘Shutdown’ ‘Restart’ and ‘Off’ seems to be an ideal solution.

I’d also like to have an officially approved expansion of what happens on Shift/CTRL/F12, so that our PowerControl module on the RaspberryRO & PandaRO can be used without having to have special ROM builds.
I’ve raised this with ROOL but they were less than enthusiastic to include ‘Cancel’, ‘Shutdown’ ‘Restart’ and ‘Off’ and the code that Willi wrote hasn’t been incorporated.
It was pointed out to me that ‘Shutdown’ and ‘Off’ do basically the same and I now accept that having both adds nothing, though it would be nice if those computers capable of doing a Power OFF (Iyonix, Pandora, RaspberryRO & PandaRO had the text ‘OFF’ and other systems had ‘Shutdown’ in addition to the ‘Cancel’ & ‘Restart’ .
So that the ROM builds don’t need to support each of the three power off methods. I’ve suggested we should have an expanded API but not had a response.
What do users want?
Any suggestions as to the best way to implement it?

Isn’t it as simple as claiming the ‘prequit’ message, just like applications do with open and unsaved files? Or responding to the ‘quit’ message? Or hearing the ‘quit’ message, staying active and waiting until the last item in the list (which will probably be predictable) has quit and then powering off.

After all, once the power is off, there won’t be any evidence left to show whether you did it tidily or not, unless you chose the exact time that the CMOS RAM contents are being written to the SD card!

It was pointed out to me that ‘Shutdown’ and ‘Off’ do basically the same and I now accept that having both adds nothing,

Rubbish. Shutdown is not the same as Off, and I’ve had occasion to use both.

I do agree that there shouldn’t be an “off” if the hardware can’t actually do it.

As for the “best method”, I would recommend doing it similarly to ROL’s implementation.

Having said that, it would be good to fix the great shutdown gotcha at the same time. (There’s a hole in the protocol regarding restarting it after saving something)