                               JBActive
                             Version 1.9
                           (c)JBSoft 1994-7

                                 
                                 Ŀ
                               
                                Ŀ
                                

Overview
--------
This is a program for the S3a/c that lists all running programs (apart
from the background System files that the Psion has to have running).
It will also give some information about those programs and about the
machine such as available system memory, disk space, battery status
and the backlight setup (where fitted). Launching additional programs
is also possible and, where applicable, the backlight can be
controlled automatically.

Installation
------------
The JBACTIVE.OPA program should be copied to any \APP\ directory on
either the Internal drive or any SSD drive. The JBACTIVE.RSC help file
should be copied to any \APP\JBACTIVE\ directory - if the file is
omitted then help will not be available but the program will still
work. If you are unsure how to create this directory then place the
file into the \APP\ directory and the program will move it
appropriately when starting up.

If, at any time in the future, you wish to de-install the program then
you will need to delete the JBACTIVE.OPA file plus any files in any
\APP\JBACTIVE\ directory - you should also delete the JBACTIVE
directory after removing the files. There may be two \APP\JBACTIVE\
directories - one on the same drive as the application and another on
your default drive.

N.B. Because of a change in the configuration file it may be necessary
     to restate the Password and Panel status when using version 1.9
     for the first time.

Operation
---------
Once the program is running a list of all running processes (programs)
- if the name is in lower case this means it is an OPL program that
has not renamed itself (so is actually being controlled by a program
called SYS$PRGO.IMG - this is actually true of all OPL programs but
the SYS$PRGO file is renamed in many cases to the name of the OPL
program).

There are two versions of the right hand window which is toggled using
the Diamond key - the normal window shows System memory, disk space,
battery status and the backlight setup - there are a couple of other
items displayed which are called Password and Panel - these are
internal options and do not relate to the system-wide Psion password -
they will be explained later in this document.

The other window that can be displayed gives additional information on
the running programs - the number in the running order they are, the
Priority they are given, the Process ID number, the type of process
and how much memory they have been allocated. What all this means is
beyond this document but is similar (not the same) as can be displayed
when using SPY.APP (a Psion utility).

There are many options that can be accessed, all of which appear on

the Menu (selectable by the Menu key). I will take the options in the
order they appear on the Menu.

Kill Process  Psion-K
------------
Stops the highlighted program. It will first try to close it down
gracefully, saving any data. If this fails then it will kill the
program dead - it will not save any data but stops the program
instantly.

Close Process  Psion-F
-------------
This will attempt to close down an application gracefully - if it
fails it will not kill it as in Kill Process.

ReRead All Processes  Psion-R
--------------------
Just forces the program to reread the running applications and system
information - if you think the program is lying, try a reread - this
will update the screen.

Toggle Link  Psion-L
-----------
Toggles the Link on and off - It configures itself automatically for
either the S3c (57600 baud) or S3a (19200 baud).

Toggle InfraRed  Psion-T
---------------
Toggles the InfraRed connection on and off. This only appears and
works on an S3c.

Run Process  Psion-J
-----------
Allows launching of a program - you are initially provided with a
dialog displaying the default drive's \APP\ directory, you can
navigate to another in the normal manner using Tab and the cursor
keys. Once the correct program is shown in the dialog, press <Enter>
to accept it. The program will then be analysed to see if data files
are required - if so then a further dialog will appear so that you can
select the appropriate file. On pressing <Enter> after this selection
the program will run (or at the first <Enter> if no files are
required).

The process is not remembered so everything has to be selected each
time. This is designed for littled used items - the main programs that
require running more often are best entered using Shift-Psion-E which
will place them on the menu (see under 'Launch' for more details).

Rename Process  Psion-N
--------------
You can rename any running program (apart from System for obvious
reasons). Just type in the new name and press <Enter>.

Auto Assign Hot Keys  Psion-A
--------------------
To speed going to the individual programs you can set keys that will
allow you to jump directly to the program regardless of whether the
name is highlighted or not by pressing the key shown in the far right
column of the left hand window. You can also jump to the program by
highlighting it and pressing <Enter>. To move to highlight the
appropriate process use <Shift-1st letter of the name>.

Delete Hot Key  Psion-Y
--------------
Deletes the assigned key on the highlighted program.

Delete All Hot Keys  Psion-D
-------------------
Just removes the allocated hot keys from all the running programs.

Set Hot Key  Psion-S
-----------
Allows you to allocate or change the hot key for the highlighted
program. If the key has already been allocated elsewhere then a beep
will sound. You can only set keys that don't require a
Shift/Control/Psion keypress.

Inhibit Hot Key  Psion-U
---------------
Stops a hot key being allocated to the highlighted file.

Change JBActive Hot Key  Psion-C
-----------------------
JBActive has a system-wide hot key assigned to it so that it is only a
keypress away wherever you are in the Psion - by default this is Ctrl-
Esc. The option allows you to change this and the setting will be
remembered if you ever close down JBActive and restart it.

Toggle Password  Psion-P
---------------
This toggles the Internal password on and off. The password works in a
similar way to that of the System password but I found it a bit more
definable for various reasons. It doesn't have to be used and you may
prefer not to.

Edit Password  Psion-Q
-------------
Allows the editing of the password. If one has already been given then
you will be required to enter the old password first before you can
change to another one.

Display Status  Psion-W
--------------
There are times when the Panel is disabled as is most of JBActive
(primarily when Comms are in use) - this option will indicate when
JBActive is disabled.

Panel Status  Psion-O
------------
A startup panel can be displayed whenever the machine is switched on -
there are three options...

     1. Off
     2. On - to remove the panel press <Enter>
     3. Timed - the panel will show for 5 seconds or until a key is
        pressed.

The panel the information given as the Owner Information input from
the System screen.

Toggle Password & Panel  Psion-Z
-----------------------
Both the Panel and Password are toggled together with this option -
they are either both on or both off.

Sundry
======
Extras  Psion-G
------
There is a form of plugin allowed (this isn't a true plugin as
resources need to be limited) but things to run little extra jobs can
be written and run from the program. The extra must be an OPO file and
be situated in any \APP\JBACTIVE\ directory. On pressing Psion-G a
dialog will appear allowing selection of any files so situated.

A sample file is provided called RECLAIM.OPO which will display the
amount recoverable on a Flash SSD if reformatted.

Suspend  Psion-H
-------
The operation of the CPU intensive parts of JBActive can be suspended
using this key toggle. It can be useful when using Comms as this can
require a lot of processor power.

Check Suspend  Psion-I
-------------
Shows the status of Suspend in the bottom right hand corner of the
screen.

Launch Menu  Psion-E
-----------
This key combination is just a quick way of getting to the Launch part
of the Menu.

Configure Backlight  Psion-B
-------------------
If your machine is fitted with a backlight then this option will
appear on the menu. It allows you to set up the backlight in several
ways...

                  Normal means the backlight will behave exactly as
                         Psion intended.
           Between times will mean that the light will be switched on
                         between the specified times given in 'Start
                         time' and 'End time'.
          Sunset/Sunrise will operate the backlight when the machine
                         is switched on if between the hours of Sunset
                         and Sunrise - this information is taken from
                         the Home Town you have set in Time.
         Default time on enables you to alter the amount of time the
                         backlight remains on - this will also update
                         the time shown on the System screen.
  Mains Operation On/Off if set to On then the backlight will remain
                         on whilst power from the battery eliminator
                         is present.

Please note that all these operations only work whilst JBActive is
running - once closed down it will revert to the normal operation
(although any adjustment to the time on will be carried over to the
system setup).

Configure JBActive  Psion-+
------------------
This brings up a dialog with five options...

  1 JBActive              This allows JBActive to be shown or hidden
                          in the running list.
  2 System programs       Enables the System programs (those that
                          start SYS$...) to be shown.
  3 Unused Hotkeys        Allows hotkeys that have been assigned (but
                          the application to which they were assigned
                          is not now running) to be remembered. This
                          allows programs to always be assigned the
                          same hotkeys. It works on the application
                          name and not the filename though.
  4 Hex/Decimal toggle    Toggles between Hexadecimal and Decimal
                          numbers in the extended process data.

  5 Hide processes        It is possible to hide specific processes
                          from the list using this utility.
                          N.B. It is advisable to keep these hidden
                               files to a minimum as they will slow
                               the procedure of gathering the
                               information.

The setup is remembered for future use.

Exit  Psion-X
----
This exists the program. Esc will also give the option of closing - if
you choose No then you will just jump to the System screen by JBActive
will remain running.

About  Psion-V
-----
Displays a dialog with program information.

Launch
======
The only option guaranteed to be listed here is:

Configure  Shift-Psion-E
---------
This allows you to set up programs to be launched from JBActive - up
to 15 can be set in this manner.

The first options given are for Editing or Deleting an existing link
or Creating a new one. If dealing with an existing link then a further
choice is given to select the appropriate file.

Editing and Creating use the same dialog which has several fields -
the ones marked with an asterisk have to be filled in - the others are
optional. The Create option will initially allow you to choose between
a program in the ROM so that programs such as Data or Word can be
chosen or Drive which allows other programs on M:, A: or B: to be
chosen before going to the edit dialog.

Help in the edit dialog is allowed.

       Application: This is the program to be run.
          Datafile: If the program requires a datafile then it should
                    be specified in this field.
             Alias: This field should only be used in unusual
                    circumstances - the only aliases I am aware of
                    relate to Word and Data and the use of this field
                    is beyond the scope of this document. Unless you
                    know what you are doing please leave this field
                    blank as it might confuse the launching procedure.
       Icon Header: The name of the icon under which the running
                    program should appear - this icon header must have
                    been installed on the System screen for this field
                    to operate correctly.
               Key: The key that you wish to use to launch the
                    program. If the key is already in use within the
                    program, on terminating the dialog a warning will
                    appear and you will end up back in the dialog. A
                    key must be defined.
     Name for menu: The name that should appear in the JBActive menu.

Once a file has been specified then it will appear under the Launch
menu with the given name and key - Most of the normal Psion-# keys
have been used by the program and the only ones currently available
are F, G, M and T.

Thanks
------
Many thanks are due to Tom Dolbilin for help in the initial
programming, Richard Press, Chris Farwell and Muppet for extensive
testing, Mark Esposito and Tom for allowing the competition <g>.

Contact
-------
John Boyce
CompuServe: 100014,1240
CIX: jboyce
Internet: john@jbsoft.cix.co.uk

Releases
--------
     1.8  First public release - the previous versions were only used
          by me and are not available anywhere.
     1.8a Bug fix for hot key assignment.
          Possible fix for "Drawable not open" error.
     1.9  Fixed launched programs sometimes showing as "jbactive".
          Fixed a problem with the hotkey not recognising Shift/Psion.
          Improved operation of Suspend key.
          Now includes JBACtive in the list as an option.
          Option to remember used hotkeys for non-running programs.
          Arrows to indicate more items if list longer than the screen
          can handle.
          Auto-select Hotkeys now use the datafile if one exists in
          preference to the application.
          Added separate Close option for those times when you don't
          want to Kill a program.
          Dialog added when Killing applications to stop accidental
          kills.
          Added a temporary display of the number of running
          processes.
          Added option to show extended process data in decimal rather
          than Hex.
          Added number of running processes to Info screen.
1.9.1     Slightly speeded up the rewriting of data.
          Allowed the showing of System programs.
