Workbench ARexx Port

Workbench acts as an ARexx host under the name of WORKBENCH. It supports a number of commands as will be described below. Note that for the ARexx interface to work, rexxsyslib.library must be installed (this library is part of a regular Workbench installation) and the RexxMast program must have been started.

ACTIVATEWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will attempt to make a window the active one.
  • Format:
    • ACTIVATEWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|Drawer name>
  • Template:
    • ACTIVATEWINDOW WINDOW
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Either ROOT to activate the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live) or the fully qualified name of a drawer window to activate. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be activated. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window activated that is not the root window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Activate the root window. */
      ADDRESS workbench
      ACTIVATEWINDOW root
       
      /* Activate the "Work:" partition's window. */
      ACTIVATEWINDOW 'Work:' 

CHANGEWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will attempt to change the size and the position of a window.
  • Format:
    • CHANGEWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name> [[LEFTEDGE] <new left edge position>][[TOPEDGE] <new top edge position>][[WIDTH] <new window width>][[HEIGHT] <new window height>]
  • Template:
    • CHANGEWINDOW WINDOW,LEFTEDGE/N,TOPEDGE/N,WIDTH/N,HEIGHT/N
  • Parameter:
    • WINDOW
      • Either ROOT to resize/move the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to change the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window to change. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • LEFTEDGE
    • New left edge window position.
  • TOPEDGE
    • New top edge window position.
  • WIDTH
    • New window width.
  • HEIGHT
    • New window height.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be changed; this can also happen if you specified ACTIVE as the window name and none of the Workbench windows is currently active. The error code will be placed in the WORBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window changed that is neither the root nor the active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Change the root window; move it to position 10,30 and change its size to 200x100 pixels. */
      ADDRESS workbench
      CHANGEWINDOW root LEFTEDGE 10 TOPEDGE 30 WIDTH 200 HEIGHT 100
       
      /* Change the currently active window. */
      CHANGEWINDOW active 20 40 200 100

DELETE command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for deleting files and drawers (and their contents).
  • Format:
    • DELETE [NAME] <File or drawer name> [ALL]
  • Template:
    • DELETE NAME/A,ALL/S
  • Parameters:
    • NAME
      • Name of the file or drawer or volume to delete.
  • ALL
    • If the object in question is a drawer, attempt to delete the contents of the drawer as well as the drawer itself. If this option is not specified, the DELETE command will only attempt to delete the drawer itself, which may fail if the drawer is not yet empty.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named file, drawer or volume could not be found or could not be deleted.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • The file name given must be an absolute path, such as in RAM:Empty. A relative path, such as /fred/barney will not work.
  • Example:
    • /* Delete the contents of the drawer RAM:Empty". */
       
      ADDRESS workbench
      DELETE 'RAM:Empty' ALL 

FAULT command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will return a human readable explanation corresponding to an error code.
  • Format:
    • FAULT [CODE] <Error code>
  • Template:
    • FAULT CODE/A/N
  • Parameters:
    • CODE
      • Error code to return a human readable explanation for.
  • Errors:
    • -
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Query the error message corresponding to error code #205. */
      ADDRESS workbench
      OPTIONS RESULTS
      FAULT 205
      SAY result 

GETATTR command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will retrieve information from the Workbench database, such the names of the drawers currently open and the icons currently selected.
  • Format:
    • GETATTR [OBJECT] <Object name> [NAME <Item name>][STEM <Name of stem variable>] [VAR <Variable name>]
  • Template:
    • GETATTR OBJECT/A,NAME/K,STEM/K,VAR/K
  • Parameters:
    • OBJECT
      • Name of the database entry to retrieve. For a list of valid entries see below.
  • NAME
    • For some datatabase entries further information is required to identify the data to retrieve. This is when you will need to provide a name.
  • STEM
    • If you request more than one database entry you will need to provide a variable to store the information in. For an example of its use, see below.
  • VAR
    • If you want the queried information to be stored in a specific variable (other than the RESULT variable), this is where you provide its name.
  • Attributes:
    • You can obtain information on the following attributes:
    • APPLICATION.VERSION
      • Version number of workbench.library.
  • APPLICATION.SCREEN
    • Name of the public screen Workbench uses.
  • APPLICATION.AREXX
    • Name of the Workbench ARexx port.
  • APPLICATION.LASTERROR
    • Number of the last error caused by the ARexx interface.
  • APPLICATION.ICONBORDER
    • Sizes of the icon borders, returned as four numbers separated by blank spaces, e.g. 6 26 12 6. The four numbers represent the left border width, the top border height, the right border width and the bottom border height (in exactly that order).
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SCREEN.NAME
    • Name of the Workbench screen font.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SCREEN.WIDTH APPLICATION.FONT.SCREEN.HEIGHT
    • Size of a single character of the Workbench screen font. Please note that since the font in question may be proportionally spaced the width information may be of little value. To measure the accurate pixel width of a text in reference to the font, use the .SIZE attribute.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SCREEN.SIZE
    • Size of a text, measured in pixels, in reference to the screen font. The text to measure must be provided with the NAME parameter of the GETATTR command.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.ICON.NAME
    • Name of the Workbench icon font.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.ICON.WIDTH APPLICATION.FONT.ICON.HEIGHT
    • Size of a single character of the Workbench icon font. Please note that since the font in question may be proportionally spaced the width information may be of little value. To measure the accurate pixel width of a text in reference to the font, use the .SIZE attribute.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.ICON.SIZE
    • Size of a text, measured in pixels, in reference to the icon font. The text to measure must be provided with the NAME parameter of the GETATTR command.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SYSTEM.NAME
    • Name of the system font.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SYSTEM.WIDTH
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SYSTEM.HEIGHT
    • Size of a single character of the system font.
  • APPLICATION.FONT.SYSTEM.SIZE
    • Size of a text, measured in pixels, in reference to the system font. The text to measure must be provided with the NAME parameter of the GETATTR command.
  • WINDOWS.COUNT
    • Number of the drawer windows currently open. This can be 0.
  • WINDOWS.0 .. WINDOWS.N
    • Names of the windows currently open.
  • WINDOWS.ACTIVE
    • Name of the currently active Workbench window; this will be ' ' if none of Workbench's windows is currently active.
  • KEYCOMMANDS.COUNT
    • Number of keyboard commands assigned. This can be 0.
  • KEYCOMMANDS.0 .. KEYCOMMANDS.N
    • Information on all the keyboard commands assigned.
  • KEYCOMMANDS.<n>.NAME
    • Name of the keyboard command.
  • KEYCOMMANDS.<n>.KEY
    • The key combination assigned to this keyboard command.
  • KEYCOMMANDS.<n>.COMMAND
    • The ARexx command assigned to this key combination.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.COUNT
    • Number of menu commands assigned (through the MENU ADD .. command). This can be 0.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.0 .. MENUCOMMANDS.N
    • Information on all the menu commands assigned.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.<n>.NAME
    • Name of this menu item.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.<n>.TITLE
    • Title of this menu item.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.<n>.SHORTCUT
    • The keyboard shortcut assigned to this menu item.
  • MENUCOMMANDS.<n>.COMMAND
    • The ARexx command assigned to this menu item.
  • The following attributes require the name of the window to obtain information.
  • WINDOW.LEFT
    • Left edge of the window.
  • WINDOW.TOP
    • Top edge of the window.
  • WINDOW.WIDTH
    • Width of the window.
  • WINDOW.HEIGHT
    • Height of the window.
  • WINDOW.MIN.WIDTH
    • Minimum width of the window.
  • WINDOW.MIN.HEIGHT
    • Minimum height of the window.
  • WINDOW.MAX.WIDTH
    • Maximum width of the window.
  • WINDOW.MAX.HEIGHT
    • Maximum height of the window.
  • WINDOW.VIEW.LEFT
    • Horizontal offset of the drawer contents; this value corresponds to the horizontal window scroller position.
  • WINDOW.VIEW.TOP
    • Vertical offset of the drawer contents; this value corresponds to the vertical window scroller position.
  • WINDOW.SCREEN.NAME
    • Name of the public screen the window was opened on.
  • WINDOW.SCREEN.WIDTH WINDOW.SCREEN.HEIGHT
    • Size of the public screen the window was opened on.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.COUNT
    • Number of the icons displayed in the window. This can be 0.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.0 .. WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.N
    • Information on all the icons displayed in the window:
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.NAME
    • Name of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.LEFT WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.TOP
    • Position of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.WIDTH WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.HEIGHT
    • Size of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.TYPE
    • Type of the icon; one of DISK, DRAWER, TOOL, PROJECT, GARBAGE, DEVICE, KICK or APPICON.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.ALL.<n>.STATUS
    • Whether the icon is selected and (if the icon is a drawer-like object, such as a disk, drawer or trashcan icon) whether the corresponding drawer is currently open or closed. This attribute is returned in the form of a string, such as SELECTED OPEN which means that the icon is selected and the corresponding drawer is currently open. The other options include UNSELECTED and CLOSED.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.COUNT
    • Number of the selected icons displayed in the window. This can be 0.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.0 .. WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.N
    • Information on all selected the icons in the window:
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.NAME
    • Name of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.LEFT WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.TOP
    • Position of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.WIDTH WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.HEIGHT
    • Size of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.TYPE
    • Type of the icon; one of DISK, DRAWER, TOOL, PROJECT,GARBAGE, DEVICE, KICK or APPICON.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED.<n>.STATUS
    • Whether the icon is selected and (if the icon is a drawer-like object, such as a disk, drawer or trashcan icon) whether the corresponding drawer is currently open or closed. This attribute is returned in the form of a string, such as SELECTED OPEN which means that the icon is selected and the corresponding drawer is currently open. The other options include UNSELECTED and CLOSED. Of course, for the WINDOW.ICONS.SELECTED stem the icon status will always be reported as SELECTED.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.COUNT
    • Number of the unselected icons displayed in the window. This can be 0.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.0 .. WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.N
    • Information on all selected the icons in the window:
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.NAME
    • Name of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.LEFT WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.TOP
    • Position of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.WIDTH WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.HEIGHT
    • Size of the icon in question.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.TYPE
    • Type of the icon; one of DISK, DRAWER, TOOL, PROJECT, GARBAGE, DEVICE, KICK or APPICON.
  • WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED.<n>.STATUS
    • Whether the icon is selected and (if the icon is a drawer-like object, such as a disk, drawer or trashcan icon) whether the corresponding drawer is currently open or closed. This attribute is returned in the form of a string, such as UNSELECTED OPEN which means that the icon is selected and the corresponding drawer is currently open. The other options include SELECTED and CLOSED. Of course, for the WINDOW.ICONS.UNSELECTED stem the icon status will always be reported as UNSELECTED.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the requester information could not be retrieved, you requested more than one database entry and did not provide a stem variable or if you provided a stem variable but did not request more than one database entry. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • RESULT - The information retrieved from the database.
  • Example:
    • /* Query the Workbench version. */
      ADDRESS workbench
      OPTIONS RESULTS
       
      GETATTR application.version
      SAY result
       
      /* Query the Workbench version and store it in the * variable 'version_number'. */
      GETATTR application.version
      VAR version_number
      SAY version_number
       
      /* Query the names of all currently open windows, * then print them. */
      GETATTR windows
      STEM window_list
       
      DO i = 0 TO window_list.count-1
      SAY window_list.i;
      END;
       
      /* Query name, position and size of the first icon * shown in the root window. */
      GETATTR window.icons.all.0
      NAME root
      STEM root
       
      SAY root.name
      SAY root.left
      SAY root.top
      SAY root.width
      SAY root.height
      SAY root.type
       
      /* Query the width and height of the root window. */
      GETATTR window.width
      NAME root
      SAY result
       
      GETATTR window.height
      NAME root
      SAY result
       
      /* Query the length of a text (in pixels) with reference * to the icon font. */
      GETATTR application.font.icon.size
      NAME 'Text to measure'
      SAY result 

HELP command

  • Purpose:
    • This command can be used to open the online help and to obtain information on the supported menus, commands and command parameters.
  • Format:
    • HELP [COMMAND <Command name>] [MENUS] [PROMPT]
  • Template:
    • HELP COMMAND/K,MENUS/S,PROMPT/S
  • Parameters:
    • COMMAND
      • Name of the command whose command template should be retrieved.
  • MENUS
    • Specify this parameter to retrieve a list of menu items currently available.
  • PROMPT
    • Specify this parameter to invoke the online help system.
    • If no parameter is provided, a list of supported commands will be returned.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named command is not supported by the ARexx interface. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • RESULT
    • The command template, list of menu items or commands, as specified in the command parameters.
  • Example:
    • /* Retrieve the list of supported commands. */
      ADDRESS workbench
      OPTIONS results
       
      HELP
      SAY result
       
      /* Retrieve the command template of the 'GETATTR' command. */
      HELP COMMAND getattr
      SAY result
       
      /* Retrieve the list of available menu items. */
      HELP MENUS
      SAY result 

ICON command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for manipulating the icons displayed in a window.
  • Format:
    • ICON [WINDOW] <Window name> <Icon name> .. <Icon name> [OPEN] [MAKEVISIBLE] [SELECT] [UNSELECT] [UP <Pixels>] [DOWN <Pixels>] [LEFT <Pixels>] [RIGHT <Pixels>] [X <Horizontal position>] [Y <Vertical position>] [ACTIVATE UP|DOWN|LEFT|RIGHT] [CYCLE PREVIOUS|NEXT] [MOVE IN|OUT]
  • Template:
    • ICON WINDOW,NAMES/M,OPEN/S,MAKEVISIBLE/S,SELECT/S,UNSELECT/S, UP/N,DOWN/N,LEFT/N,RIGHT/N,X/N,Y/N,ACTIVATE/K,CYCLE/K, MOVE/K
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Name of the window whose icons should be manipulated. This can be ROOT to work on the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to work on the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • NAMES
    • Names of the icons to manipulate.
  • OPEN
    • Specifies that the named icons should be opened.
  • MAKEVISIBLE
    • Specifies that the named icons should be made visible. This generally works well for the first icon in a list but does not always work for a whole list.
  • SELECT
    • Select the named icons.
  • UNSELECT
    • Unselect the named icons.
  • UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT
    • Move the named icons by the specified number of pixels.
  • X, Y
    • Move the named icons to the specified position.
  • ACTIVATE
    • This command is for activating the icon closest to the currently selected icon in the window. "Activating" in this context means selecting an icon, whilst at the same time unselecting all others. Thus, the "active" icon is the only selected icon in the window.
  • You can indicate which direction the next icon to be activated should be searched for, relative to the currently active icon. UP searches upwards, DOWN searches downwards, LEFT searches to the left and RIGHT searches to the right.
  • CYCLE
    • This command is for cycling through all icons in a window, making each one the active one in turn (for a description of what "active" means in this context, see the ACTIVATE description above). You must indicate in which direction you want to cycle through the icons: you can either specify PREVIOUS or NEXT.
  • MOVE
    • This command is not for moving icons but for moving through a file system hierarchy. Thus, moving "in" will open a drawer and moving "out" will open the drawer's parent directory. The IN parameter will cause the drawer represented by the active icon to be opened. Please note that an icon must be selected and it must be a drawer. The OUT parameter will open the drawer's parent directory, and it also requires that in the drawer there is an icon selected. This may sound strange, but this feature is not meant as a replacement for the Open Parent menu item.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found, none of the Workbench windows are currently active and the command was set to work on the currently active Workbench window. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Select the icons of the "Workbench" and "Work" volumes displayed in the root window. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      ICON WINDOW root
      NAMES Workbench Work SELECT
       
      /* Open the "Workbench" volume icon displayed in the root window. */
      ICON WINDOW root
      NAMES Workbench OPEN 

INFO command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for opening the Workbench icon information requester.
  • Format:
    • INFO [NAME] <File, drawer or volume name>
  • Template:
    • INFO NAME/A
  • Parameters :
    • NAME
      • Name of the file, drawer or volume to open the information window for.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named file, drawer or volume could not be found. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Open the information window for SYS:". */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      INFO NAME 'SYS:' 

KEYBOARD command

  • Purpose:
    • This command can be used to bind ARexx commands to key combinations.
  • Format:
    • KEYBOARD [NAME] <Name of key combination> ADD|REMOVE [KEY <Key combination>] [CMD <ARexx command>]
  • Template:
    • KEYBOARD NAME/A,ADD/S,REMOVE/S,KEY,CMD/F
  • Parameters:
    • NAME
      • Name of the key combination to add or remove. Each key combination must have a name with which it is associated. The name must be unique.
  • ADD
    • This tells the KEYBOARD command to add a new keyboard combination. You will also need to specify the KEY and CMD parameters.
  • REMOVE
    • This tells the KEYBOARD command to remove an existing keyboard combination.
  • KEY
    • The keyboard combination to add; this must be in the same format as used by the Commodities programs.
  • CMD
    • This is the ARexx command to bind to the keyboard combination. The command can either be the name of an ARexx script to execute or a short ARexx program in a single line.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - The command will fail if you tried to add a duplicate of an existing key combination or if the key combination to remove does not exist. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Bind an ARexx script to the [Control]+A key combination.
       * When pressed, this will cause the ARexx script by the name 
       * "test.wb" to be executed. ARexx will search for that program 
       * in the "REXX:" directory. If no "test.wb" file can be found, ARexx will attempt to execute a script 
       * by the name of "test.rexx". */
       
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      KEYBOARD ADD NAME test1 KEY ,"ctrl a", CMD ,'test'
       
      /* Bind an ARexx script to the [Alt]+[F1] key combination. 
       * When pressed, this will cause a short inline program to be 
       * executed. */
      KEYBOARD ADD NAME test2 KEY ,"alt f1", CMD "say 42"
       
      /* Bind an ARexx script to the [Shift]+[Help] key combination. 
       * When pressed, this will cause the "Workbench About" menu item to be invoked. */
      KEYBOARD ADD NAME test3 KEY ,"shift help", CMD "MENU INVOKE WORKBENCH.ABOUT"
       
      /* Remove the first key combination we added above. */
      KEYBOARD REMOVE NAME test1 

LOCKGUI command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will block access to all Workbench drawer windows.
  • Format:
    • LOCKGUI
  • Template:
    • LOCKGUI
  • Parameters:
    • -
  • Errors:
    • -
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • It takes as many UNLOCKGUI commands as there were LOCKGUI commands to make the Workbench drawer windows usable again. In other words, the LOCKGUI command "nests".
  • Example:
    • /* Block access to all Workbench drawer windows. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      LOCKGUI 

MENU command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for invoking items of the Workbench menu, as if the user had selected them with the mouse and for adding/removing user menus.
  • Format:
    • MENU [WINDOW <Window name>] [INVOKE] <Menu name> [NAME <Menu name>] [TITLE <Menu title>] [SHORTCUT <Menu shortcut>] [ADD|REMOVE] [CMD <ARexx command>]
  • Template:
    • MENU WINDOW/K,INVOKE,NAME/K,TITLE/K,SHORTCUT/K,ADD/S,REMOVE/S,CMD/K/F
  • Parameters:
    • The following set of parameters can be used solely for invoking menu items.
    • WINDOW
      • Name of the window whose menu should be invoked. This can be ROOT to work on the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to work on the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • INVOKE
    • Name of the menu to invoke. See below for a list of available menu items.
  • The following set of parameters are for adding and removing menu items.
  • NAME
    • Name of the menu item to add or remove. Each menu item must have a name with which it is associated. The name must be unique and has nothing to do with the title of the item, as shown in the Tools menu.
  • TITLE
    • This is the text that will be used as the menu item title, as it will appear in the Tools menu. This parameter is required if you ADD a new menu item.
  • SHORTCUT
    • When adding a new menu item, this will be the menu shortcut associated with the item. Please note that the shortcut cannot be longer than a single character and that it will be ignored if there already is an item in any of the menus which uses this shortcut. This parameter is optional.
  • ADD
    • This tells the MENU command to add a new item to the Tools menu. When adding a menu item you will also need to specify the NAME, TITLE and CMD parameters.
  • REMOVE
    • This tells the MENU command to remove a menu item previously added via the ARexx interface. When removing a menu item you will also need to specify the NAME parameter.
  • CMD
    • This is the ARexx command to bind to the new menu item. The command can either be the name of an ARexx script to execute or a short ARexx program in a single line.
  • Menu items:
  • WORKBENCH.BACKDROP
    • Toggles the Workbench Backdrop window switch.
  • WORKBENCH.EXECUTE
    • Invokes the Workbench Execute Command requester. The user will be prompted to enter the command to be executed.
  • WORKBENCH.REDRAWALL
    • Invokes the Workbench Redraw All function.
  • WORKBENCH.UPDATEALL
    • Invokes the Workbench Update All function.
  • WORKBENCH.LASTMESSAGE
    • Redisplays the last Workbench error message.
  • WORKBENCH.ABOUT
    • Displays the Workbench About… requester.
  • WORKBENCH.QUIT
    • Attempts to close Workbench; this may bring up a requester the user will have to answer.
  • WINDOW.NEWDRAWER
    • Prompts the user to enter the name of a new drawer to be created.
  • WINDOW.OPENPARENT
    • If possible, this will open the parent directory of the drawer the command operates on.
  • WINDOW.CLOSE
    • If possible, this will close the drawer the command operates on.
  • WINDOW.UPDATE
    • This will update the drawer the command operates on, i.e. the contents will be reread.
  • WINDOW.SELECTCONTENTS
    • This will select the contents of the drawer the command operates on.
  • WINDOW.CLEARSELECTION
    • This unselects all icons selected in the drawer the command operates on.
  • WINDOW.CLEANUPBY.COLUMN
    • This will sort the contents of the drawer and place the icons in columns.
  • WINDOW.CLEANUPBY.NAME
    • This will sort the contents of the drawer by name and place the icons in rows.
  • WINDOW.CLEANUPBY.DATE
    • This will sort the contents of the drawer by date and place the icons in rows.
  • WINDOW.CLEANUPBY.SIZE
    • This will sort the contents of the drawer by size and place the icons in rows.
  • WINDOW.CLEANUPBY.TYPE
    • This will sort the contents of the drawer by type and place the icons in rows.
  • WINDOW.RESIZETOFIT
    • This will resize the drawer window, trying to make it just as large as to allow all its icons to fit.
  • WINDOW.SNAPSHOT.WINDOW
    • This will snapshot the drawer window, but none of its contents.
  • WINDOW.SNAPSHOT.ALL
    • This will snapshot the drawer window and its contents.
  • WINDOW.SHOW.ONLYICONS
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show only files and drawers which have icons attached.
  • WINDOW.SHOW.ALLFILES
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show all files and drawers, regardless of whether they have icons attached or not.
  • WINDOW.VIEWBY.ICON
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show its contents as icons.
  • WINDOW.VIEWBY.NAME
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show its contents in textual format, sorted by name.
  • WINDOW.VIEWBY.DATE
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show its contents in textual format, sorted by date.
  • WINDOW.VIEWBY.SIZE
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show its contents in textual format, sorted by size.
  • WINDOW.VIEWBY.TYPE
    • This will change the display mode of the drawer to show its contents in textual format, sorted by type.
  • ICONS.OPEN
    • This will open the currently selected icons. Workbench may bring up a requester in case project icons are found which lack a default tool.
  • ICONS.COPY
    • This will duplicate the currently selected icons.
  • ICONS.RENAME
    • This will prompt the user to choose a new name for each currently selected icon.
  • ICONS.INFORMATION
    • This will open the information window for every currently selected icon.
  • ICONS.SNAPSHOT
    • This will lock the position of every currently selected icon.
  • ICONS.UNSNAPSHOT
    • This will unlock the position of every currently selected icon.
  • ICONS.LEAVEOUT
    • This will permanently put all currently selected icons on the Workbench root window.
  • ICONS.PUTAWAY
    • This will move all currently selected icons out of the root window and put them back into the drawers they belong.
  • ICONS.DELETE
    • This will cause all currently selected files to be deleted, provided the user confirms this action first.
  • ICONS.FORMATDISK
    • This will invoke the Format command on every currently selected disk icon. This will not format the disks immediately. The user will have to confirm this action first.
  • ICONS.EMPTYTRASH
    • With a trashcan icon selected, this will empty it.
  • TOOLS.RESETWB
    • This will close and reopen all Workbench windows.
  • The HELP command will provide a complete list of menu items that can be invoked. Depending on the state of each menu item (e.g. the Open menu item will be disabled if no icon is currently selected) the MENU command can silently fail to invoke the item you had in mind.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found, none of the Workbench windows is currently active and the command was set to work on the currently active Workbench window. The command can also fail if you tried to add a duplicate of an existing menu item or if the menu item to remove does not exist. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Invoke the "About" menu. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      MENU WINDOW root INVOKE WORKBENCH.ABOUT
       
      /* Add an item to the "Tools" menu; selecting it
       * will cause the ARexx script by the name "test.wb"
       * to be executed. ARexx will search for that program
       * in the "REXX:" directory. If no "test.wb" file can
       * be found, ARexx will attempt to execute a script
       * by the name of "test.rexx". */
      MENU ADD NAME test1 TITLE ,"Execute a script", SHORTCUT ,'!' CMD ,'test'
       
      /* Add an item to the "Tools" menu; selecting it
       * will cause a short inline program to be executed. */
      MENU ADD NAME test2 TITLE ,"Short inline program", CMD "say 42"
       
      /* Add an item to the "Tools" menu; selecting it
       * will cause the Workbench "About" menu item to be invoked. */
      MENU ADD NAME test3 TITLE ,"About...", CMD "MENU INVOKE WORKBENCH.ABOUT"
       
      /* Remove the first menu item we added above. */
      MENU REMOVE NAME test1 

MOVEWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will attempt to change the position of a window.
  • Format:
    • MOVEWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name> [[LEFTEDGE] <new left edge position>] [[TOPEDGE] <new top edge position>]
  • Template:
    • MOVEWINDOW WINDOW,LEFTEDGE/N,TOPEDGE/N
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Either ROOT to move the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to move the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window to change. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • LEFTEDGE
    • New left edge window position.
  • TOPEDGE
    • New top edge window position.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be moved; this can also happen if you specified ACTIVE as the window name and none of the Workbench windows is currently active. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window changed that is neither the root nor the active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Move the root window to position 10,30. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      MOVEWINDOW root LEFTEDGE 10 TOPEDGE 30
       
      /* Move the currently active window. */
      MOVEWINDOW active 20 40 

NEWDRAWER command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for creating new drawers.
  • Format:
    • NEWDRAWER [NAME] <Name of drawer to create>
  • Template:
    • NEWDRAWER NAME/A
  • Parameters:
    • NAME
      • Name of the drawer to be created.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named drawer could not be created.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • The drawer name given must be an absolute path, such as in RAM:Empty. A relative path, such as /fred/barney will not work.
  • Example :
    • /* Create a drawer by the name of "Empty" in the RAM disk. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      NEWDRAWER 'RAM:Empty'

RENAME command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for renaming files, drawers and volumes.
  • Format:
    • RENAME [OLDNAME] <Name of file/drawer/volume to rename> [NEWNAME] <New name of the file/drawer/volume>
  • Template:
    • RENAME OLDNAME/A,NEWNAME/A
  • Parameters:
    • OLDNAME
      • Name of the file/drawer/volume to be renamed. This must be an absolute path, such as in RAM:Empty. A relative path, such as /fred/barney, will not work.
  • NEWNAME
    • The new name to assign to the file/drawer/volume. This must not be an absolute or relative path. For example, wilma is valid new name, /wilma or wilma: would be invalid names.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the object cannot be renamed.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • The RENAME command does not work like for example the AmigaDOS Rename command. For example,
      RENAME 'ram:empty' ,'newname'

      will rename the file RAM:empty to RAM:newname.

  • Example:
    • /* Rename a drawer by the name of "Old" in the RAM disk to "New". */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      RENAME 'RAM:Old' 'New'

RX command

  • Purpose:
    • This command is for executing ARexx scripts and commands.
  • Format:
    • RX [CONSOLE] [ASYNC] [CMD] <Command to execute>
  • Template:
    • RX CONSOLE/S,ASYNC/S,CMD/A/F
  • Parameters:
    • CONSOLE
      • This switch indicates that a console (for default I/O) is needed.
  • ASYNC
    • This switch indicates that the command should be run asynchronously, i.e. the RX command will return as soon as ARexx has been instructed to run the command you specified. Otherwise, the RX command will wait for the specified ARexx command to complete execution.
  • COMMAND
    • This is the name of the ARexx program to execute.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the given ARexx program could not be executed.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Execute an ARexx program by the name of 'test.wb';
       * its output should be sent to a console window. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      RX CONSOLE CMD 'test.wb' 

SIZEWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will attempt to change the size of a window.
  • Format:
    • SIZEWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name> [[WIDTH] <new window width>] [[HEIGHT] <new window height>]
  • Template:
    • SIZEWINDOW WINDOW,WIDTH/N,HEIGHT/N
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Either ROOT to resize the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to resize the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window to change. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • WIDTH
    • New window width.
  • HEIGHT
    • New window height.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be resized; this can also happen if you specified ACTIVE as the window name and none of the Workbench windows is currently active. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window resized that is neither the root nor the active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Change the root window size to 200x100 pixels. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      SIZEWINDOW root 30 WIDTH 200 HEIGHT 100
       
      /* Resize the currently active window. */
      SIZEWINDOW active 200 100 

UNLOCKGUI command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will allow access to all Workbench drawer windows locked with the LOCKGUI command.
  • Format:
    • UNLOCKGUI
  • Template:
    • UNLOCKGUI
  • Parameters:
    • -
  • Errors:
    • -
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • It takes as many UNLOCKGUI commands as there were LOCKGUI commands to make the Workbench drawer windows usable again. In other words, the LOCKGUI command "nests".
  • Example:
    • /* Reallow access to all Workbench drawer windows. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      UNLOCKGUI

UNZOOMWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will attempt to return a window to its original position and dimensions.
  • Format:
    • UNZOOMWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name>
  • Template:
    • UNZOOMWINDOW WINDOW
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Name of the window to operate on. ROOT will use the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE will use the currently active Workbench window. Any other fully qualified path name will use the drawer window corresponding to the path.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Change the root window. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      UNZOOMWINDOW root

VIEW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will change the position of the viewable display area of a window.
  • Format:
    • VIEW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name> [PAGE|PIXEL] [UP|DOWN|LEFT|RIGHT]
  • Template:
    • VIEW WINDOW,PAGE/S,PIXEL/S,UP/S,DOWN/S,LEFT/S,RIGHT/S
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Either ROOT to change the Workbench root window view (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE to change the currently active Workbench window view or the fully qualified name of a drawer window to change. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • UP
    • Moves the view up by about 1/8 of the window height. If PAGE is specified, moves the view up by a whole page. If PIXEL is specified, moves the view up by a single pixel.
  • DOWN
    • Moves the view down by about 1/8 of the window height. If PAGE is specified, moves the view down by a whole page. If PIXEL is specified, moves the view down by a single pixel.
  • LEFT
    • Moves the view left by about 1/8 of the window width. If PAGE is specified, moves the view left by a whole page. If PIXEL is specified, moves the view left by a single pixel.
  • RIGHT
    • Moves the view right by about 1/8 of the window width. If PAGE is specified, moves the view right by a whole page. If PIXEL is specified, moves the view right by a single pixel.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window view cannot be changed; this can also happen if you specified ACTIVE as the window name and none of the Workbench windows is currently active. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window view changed that is neither the root nor the active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • To find out about a window's current view position, use the GETATTR command and query the window's WINDOW.VIEW.LEFT and WINDOW.VIEW.TOP attributes.
  • Example:
    • /* Change the root window view; move it up by a whole page. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      VIEW root PAGE UP 

WINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will change, open, close or snapshot windows.
  • Format:
    • WINDOW [WINDOWS] <Window name> .. <Window name> [OPEN|CLOSE] [SNAPSHOT] [ACTIVATE] [MIN|MAX] [FRONT|BACK] [CYCLE PREVIOUS|NEXT]
  • Template:
    • WINDOW WINDOWS/M/A,OPEN/S,CLOSE/S,SNAPSHOT/S,ACTIVATE/S,MIN/S,MAX/S, FRONT/S,BACK/S,CYCLE/K
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOWS
      • Names of the windows to operate on. This can be ROOT for the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE for the currently active Workbench window or the fully qualified name of a drawer window.
  • OPEN
    • Attempt to open the specified windows.
  • CLOSE
    • Close the specified windows. Note that if a window is closed no further operations (such as SNAPSHOT, ACTIVATE, etc.) can be performed on it.
  • SNAPSHOT
    • Snapshot the sizes and positions of the specified windows.
  • ACTIVATE
    • Activate the specified windows. With multiple windows to activate, only one window will wind up as the active one. Commonly, this will be the last window in the list.
  • MIN
    • Resize the windows to their minimum dimensions.
  • MAX
    • Resize the windows to their maximum dimensions.
  • FRONT
    • Move the windows into the foreground.
  • BACK
    • Move the windows into the background.
  • CYCLE
    • This command operates on the currently active drawer window. You can specify either PREVIOUS, to activate the previous drawer window in the list, or NEXT, to activate the next following drawer window in the list.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named windows cannot be opened or operated on; this can also happen if you specified ACTIVE as a window name and none of the Workbench windows is currently active. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window operated on that is neither the root nor the active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Open the "Work:" drawer. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      WINDOW 'Work:' OPEN
       
      /* Activate the root window. */
      WINDOW root ACTIVATE 

WINDOWTOBACK command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will push a window into the background.
  • Format:
    • WINDOWTOBACK [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name>
  • Template:
    • WINDOWTOBACK WINDOW
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • ROOT to push the the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live) into to the background, ACTIVE to push the currently active Workbench window into the background or the fully qualified name of a drawer window. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window pushed into the background that is not the root window or the currently active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Push the root window into the background. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      WINDOWTOBACK root 

WINDOWTOFRONT command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will bring a window to the foreground.
  • Format:
    • WINDOWTOFRONT [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name>
  • Template:
    • WINDOWTOFRONT WINDOW
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • ROOT to bring the the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live) to the foreground, ACTIVE to bring the currently active Workbench window to the foreground or the fully qualified name of a drawer window. Note that the drawer window must already be open.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Notes:
    • If you choose to have a window brought to the foreground that is not the root window or the currently active window you must make sure that the window name is given as a fully qualified path name. For example Work: is a fully qualified name, and so is SYS:Utilities. Devs/Printers would not be a fully qualified name. A fully qualified name always contains the name of an assignment, a volume or a device.
  • Example:
    • /* Bring the root window to the foreground. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      WINDOWTOFRONT root 

ZOOMWINDOW command

  • Purpose:
    • This command will change a window to alternate position and dimensions.
  • Format:
    • ZOOMWINDOW [WINDOW] <ROOT|ACTIVE|Drawer name>
  • Template:
    • ZOOMWINDOW WINDOW
  • Parameters:
    • WINDOW
      • Name of the window to operate on. ROOT will use the Workbench root window (where volume icons and AppIcons live), ACTIVE will use the currently active Workbench window. Any other fully qualified path name will use the drawer window corresponding to the path.
      • If no WINDOW parameter is specified, this command will try to operate on the currently active Workbench window.
  • Errors:
    • 10 - If the named window cannot be found. The error code will be placed in the WORKBENCH.LASTERROR variable.
  • Result:
    • -
  • Example:
    • /* Change the root window. */
      ADDRESS workbench
       
      ZOOMWINDOW root 

Index


fuss/amiga/arexx/manual/workbench_arexx_port.txt · Last modified: 2022/04/19 08:28 by 127.0.0.1

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