HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

To customize the appearance and placement of your icons on the Workspace, choose Icons... from the Workspace Options submenu. The Window Manager displays the Icon Options dialog box.

From the Icon Options dialog box, you can change the following settings:

• Display an icon box
• Icon placement
• Icon size
• Icon decorations

To change your icon colors, choose Icon Colors... from the Workspace Options submenu. The Window Manager displays the Icon Color Options dialog box.

From the Icon Color Options dialog box, you can change the following icon image and icon box color settings.

Foreground

To change the icon foreground color, click on the Foreground button. DECwindows displays the Color Mixing dialog box, which lets you select the icon foreground color you want.

Background

To change the icon background color, click on the Background button. DECwindows displays the Color Mixing dialog box, which lets you select the icon background color you want.

Top Shadow

Icon top and bottom shadow colors have to be well matched to present the three-dimensional look of DECwindows Motif. DECwindows helps you to do this by automatically determining top and bottom shadow border colors when you change the icon background color. This setting is indicated by the shaded Automatic shadow check button.

To choose your own icon shadow colors:

1. Click on the Automatic shadow check button.
   This action disables the setting.
2. Click on the Top Shadow button.
   DECwindows displays the Color Mixing dialog box, which lets you select the top shadow color you want. You should use the HLS model in the Color Mixing dialog box to choose a top shadow color that is lighter and less saturated than the background color.

Bottom Shadow

Icon top and bottom shadow colors have to be well matched to present the three-dimensional look of DECwindows Motif. DECwindows helps you to do this by automatically determining top and bottom shadow colors when you change the icon background color. This setting is indicated by the shaded Automatic shadow check button.

To select your own Bottom shadow colors:

1. Click on the Automatic shadow check button.
   This action disables the setting.
2. Click on the Bottom Shadow button.
   DECwindows displays the Color Mixing dialog box, which lets you select the bottom shadow color you want. You should use the HLS model in the Color Mixing dialog box to choose a bottom shadow color that is darker and more saturated than the background color.

Icon Box Colors

To change the icon box background color:

1. Click on the Automatic color button.
   This action disables the setting.
2. Click on the Background button. DECwindows displays the Color Mixing dialog box, which lets you select the icon background color you want.

To change your matte features, choose Matte... from the Workspace Options submenu. The Window Manager displays the Matte Options dialog box.

From the Matte Options dialog box, you can change your matte size and color settings.

10.8 Running the XUI Window Manager

To use the XUI Window Manager instead of the Motif Window Manager:

1. Choose Automatic Startup... from Session Manager's Options menu.
   Session Manager displays the Automatic Startup dialog box.
2. Select XUI Window Manager from the left-hand list box.
   The XUI Window Manager item will be displayed in the right-hand list box.
3. Click on the up arrow button to move the XUI Window Manager item to the top of your Automatic Startup list.
4. Select Window Manager from the right-hand list box.
5. Click on the left arrow button to remove the Motif Window Manager from your Automatic Startup list.
6. Click on OK.
7. Choose Save Session Manager from Session Manager's Options menu.
8. Choose End Session from Session Manager's Session menu and end your session.
9. When you start a new session, DECwindows will use the XUI Window manager.

For more information about adding and removing items from your automatic startup list, see Chapter 7.

10.9 Advanced Customization

In addition to the menu items available from the Customize submenu, you can change the appearance and behavior of windows by specifying values for elements, known as resources in resource configuration files. The Window Manager gets information from these files each time you start a session, an application, or the Window Manager.

For information about modifying resource files, see Appendix E and the OSF/Motif Programmer's Guide.

• Chapter 11 explains how to use hyperapplications to link information and to follow links.
• Chapter 12 describes how to run applications on remote processors for display on your workstation, and how to run applications on your workstation for display on other workstations.
• Chapter 13 explains the DECwindows startup environment and includes procedures for modifying it.
• Chapter 14 describes how several users can share the same customized files.
• Chapter 15 lists task messages and describes how to use them in menu-item command files to make your custom menu items appear better integrated with Session Manager and FileView. This chapter also contains a sample command file that shows how these task messages are used.

Hyperapplication features allow you to make links between information that is stored and accessed by DECwindows applications. A hyperapplication is an application that, in addition to its regular features (for example, reading online books), allows you to link information and to follow links. You can tell that an application is a hyperapplication if it has the Link menu in its menu bar, as illustrated in the following figure.

This chapter presents a simple example to introduce some basic hyperapplication concepts and techniques. It discusses linkable objects (the pieces of information that you can link). It then discusses the features available from the Link menu, but not in the order that they appear on the menu. Rather, they are presented in an order to make it easy for you to learn and use hyperapplication features:

• Creating links (Start Link, Complete Link...)
• Following links (Visit, Go To, Go Back)
• Adjusting highlighting (Turn Highlight On/Off, Highlight...)
• Showing and deleting links (Show Links...)
• Other features (Show History..., Step Forward)

The chapter concludes with a section on advanced LinkWorks concepts.

Assume that you use DECwindows Mail to send and receive electronic messages, and that you use DECwindows Calendar to keep track of your appointments.

You receive a Mail message notifying you of a meeting two weeks from now. The message contains a detailed agenda and background information about the featured speaker. You make an entry for the meeting in a Calendar timeslot. To identify the timeslot, you simply type in "Project review meeting" rather than trying to paraphrase the agenda and speaker information or to cut and paste the complete message from the Mail window to the timeslot window. However, because you want to remember later why this meeting is important, you also do the following:

1. With the Mail message selected, pull down the Link menu in Mail and choose Start Link.
2. With the timeslot selected, pull down the Link menu in Calendar and choose Complete Link.

Later, when you view the entries for the day of the meeting or when you receive the Calendar alarm --- and you ask yourself, "Why did I want to go to that meeting?" --- you notice that the timeslot entry contains a special indicator (a light bulb icon) that tells you that an information link exists. To see the link, simply do the following:

1. With the timeslot selected, pull down the Link menu in Calendar.
2. Choose one of the following:
   • Visit --- Displays the information to which this timeslot is linked but keeps Calendar on the screen.
   • Go To --- Shrinks Calendar to an icon and displays the information to which the timeslot is linked.
   
   In either case, the appropriate application (in this case, Mail) is automatically invoked and the linked information is displayed. You do not need to remember that the linked information was a Mail message, or who sent the message, or when the message was sent, and so on.

Linkable objects are pieces of information in hyperapplications that you can link together.

Information from any hyperapplication can be linked to information from the same hyperapplication or from any other hyperapplication. For example, a Calendar timeslot for a seminar could be linked to a Bookreader topic for a chapter that covers material to be discussed at the seminar. You can also link the Bookreader topic to a related topic in the same manual or in a different manual.

The linking possibilities are rich, and you can make them as complex as you want: for example, links between a Calendar timeslot and Bookreader topics and Cardfiler cards, with the topics and cards being linked to still other pieces of information. You can allow others to see and follow your links, and you can see and follow links made by others. We'll see later how you can progress from the simple uses of hyperapplication features to more complex and powerful uses.

Each hyperapplication determines which of its objects are linkable objects, based on the importance and granularity of objects. For example, a Cardfiler card is a linkable object, but a part of a word within a card is not. For a listing of the linkable objects for a specific hyperapplication, see its documentation in the DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Applications Guide.

To use the features described in the chapter, you should be familiar with one or more hyperapplications and know how to select objects using those applications. (As a general rule, clicking on an object selects it; however, the method of selection can vary depending on the application and the object. For example, some objects are selected by clicking and dragging.)

11.3 The Link Menu

The presence of the Link menu (see the following figure) indicates that an application is a hyperapplication. You use the Link menu to take advantage of the hyperapplication features described in this chapter.

Each link involves two hyperapplication objects. One of these objects becomes the source for the link, and the other becomes the target.

Do not become confused by these terms, because for any given link it does not matter which object is the source and which is the target --- unless you choose to make it matter. You can selectively enable and disable highlighting (discussed later) for sources and targets, and some displays of link information use these two terms. However, when you select an object and retrieve the information to which it is linked, it does not matter whether the object you select was designated as a source or a target: the linked information is still retrieved.

For each pair of objects to be linked, the object selected for Start Link is made the source and the object selected for Complete Link... is made the target. You might want to make the object you were initially viewing the source and the other object the target. For example, you might make the source a Calendar timeslot about a seminar and the target a Bookreader table of contents entry about the seminar's subject. However, the choice of source and target designations for each link is up to you.

To create a link, do the following:

1. Select an object.
2. Use the Link menu of the hyperapplication for that object to choose Start Link. The selected object becomes the source when you complete the link.
3. Select the second object.
4. Use the Link menu of the hyperapplication for that object to choose either the Complete Link or Complete Link... item. In either case, the selected object becomes the target in the link.
   • The Complete Link item uses LinkWorks default values to create the link.
   • The Complete Link... item displays the following dialog box.

     ---

     
     You can edit the descriptions of the source, the target, and their relationship, and you can enter a word or phrase to describe the relationship. You can enter any text you like in these entry boxes.
     The Retain This Source button allows you to create multiple links to the same object conveniently. By default (button set off), the source is no longer considered pending (for use in the next link) after the link is created; and to create another link you would have to select two objects, one for the Start Link and one for the Complete Link... operation. However, if you want to make another link using the same source, set the Retain This Source button on; then select the target object for the next link and choose Complete Link... item.

11.5 Following Links

When you have selected one end of a link (the source or the target), you can follow the link to see the information at the other end. However, you must first be able to see which objects are linked and which are not. Objects that are linked are highlighted, unless you disable highlighting (as explained later in Section 11.6).

The method of highlighting varies depending on the application. To see how linked objects are highlighted by a specific hyperapplication, see the DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Applications Guide.

When you select an object and want to see what it is linked to, you can choose one of these options:

• Visit
  Visit invokes the appropriate hyperapplication and displays the linked information, but it keeps your current hyperapplication window open and keeps input focus in this window. This menu item is useful if you want to continue working with the current hyperapplication after you finish viewing the linked information.
• Go To
  Go To minimizes (shrinks to an icon) your current hyperapplication window, and then invokes the appropriate hyperapplication and displays the linked information. This menu item is useful if you want to shift your work to the invoked hyperapplication or if you want to reduce clutter on the screen.

To visit or go to the information to which a linkable object is linked, follow these steps:

1. Select a highlighted object.
   If you cannot tell which objects are linked and which are not, enable highlighting (see Section 11.6).
2. Choose the Go To or Visit menu item from the Link menu.
   If the selected object is involved (as source or target) in only one link, then the Visit or Go To operation is performed immediately.
   If the selected object is involved in multiple links, the Links dialog box appears, presenting you with a list of links from which you can make a selection. The following figure illustrates the Links dialog box showing a Bookreader topic linked to two objects: a Calendar timeslot and a Cardfiler card.

   ---

   
   The direction of the arrows indicates whether the object is a source (right arrow) or a target (left arrow). In the preceding figure, a chapter in the Guide to VAX Notes is the target in a link to a Calendar entry for a seminar on advanced Notes topics at Northeastern University, and the chapter is the source in a link to a card with directions for driving to the university.

To follow a link, perform these operations using the Links dialog box:

1. Select one of the links. The first link in the list is selected by default.
2. Choose an operation. The operation that is visible in the Operation options menu is selected by default.
3. Click on Go To or Visit to follow the selected link to the destination object and to perform the specified operation.
   Click on Update to update the display of link information. This choice is useful if you have made or modified any links after you displayed the dialog box.
   Click on Show Link... to display a dialog box with information about the link. You can edit this information, as explained later in Section 11.7.
   Click on Delete to delete the selected link. This action does not delete the object; rather, it simply makes the object no longer the source or target of the link. See Section 11.7 for more information on deleting links.
   Click on Cancel to dismiss the dialog box without following any link.

   Note Double clicking on a link is the same as choosing the default menu item (Visit) with the default destination operation on that link. You can use this shortcut if you want to accept the defaults.

To reverse the effect of the most recent Visit or Go To operation, use the Go Back menu item. Go Back is useful if you "change your mind" after performing a Visit or Go To operation and want to return to where you were. The Go Back operation does not delete or otherwise affect any actual links.

11.6 Adjusting the Highlighting

For each hyperapplication, you can enable or disable the highlighting of linked objects; that is, the fact that these objects are linked can be made visible or not visible, depending on whether or not you want to use the features described in this chapter. You can also control which kinds of linked objects are highlighted when highlighting is enabled.

Use the Turn Highlight On/Off menu item to enable and disable highlighting. The wording of this item depends on the current state: if highlighting is enabled (the initial default), this item says Turn Highlight Off; if highlighting is disabled, this choice says Turn Highlight On. Disabling highlighting does not disable the use of hyperapplication features; however, it makes their use impractical because you are unable to see which objects have links.

The Highlight... menu item allows you to specify the kinds of objects to be highlighted. This item displays the Highlighting dialog box.

Because this dialog box refers to important concepts, you should understand them before you try to set the buttons:

• Source or target
  One end of a link between two objects. You can make either end of a link the source and the other end the target, depending on your personal preferences or conventions.
  The object selected for the Start Link item becomes the source. The object selected for the Complete Link or Complete Link... item becomes the target.
• Orphan
  An object that either (1) was linked to another object but is not linked to that object anymore, or (2) has been selected as a source and a Start Link operation has been performed, but the link has not yet completed.
  For example, assume that a Cardfiler card is the source of a link and a Calendar timeslot is the target. You select the timeslot and delete the link (using the dialog box generated by the Show Links... menu item). The timeslot and the card are now orphans.
  If an object is involved in multiple links, it can be an orphan in some links and a source or target in others. Using the example in the preceding paragraph, if the Calendar timeslot is the source and a Bookreader topic is the target in a separate link, deleting the timeslot's link to the card does not affect its link to the book topic. In this case, the timeslot is both a source (in relation to the topic) and an orphan (in relation to the card).
• Pending source or target
  The source or target that is used when you create a link. (See Section 11.4 earlier in this chapter for more explanation.)
  Only one source and one target can be pending at any one time.
• Navigation destination
  The destination of the most recent Go To or Visit operation. The navigation destination can be a source or target object, because you can follow links in either direction (source to target or target to source).

By default, highlighting is enabled for sources and targets. You can enable or disable all highlighting, and you can specify which kinds of objects are highlighted when highlighting is enabled. Perform the following actions in the Highlighting dialog box (illustrated previously in Section 11.6):

1. Click on the Highlight check button to enable or disable highlighting. If you enable highlighting, you can also specify one or more kinds of objects to highlight. If you disable highlighting, no linked objects are highlighted, and you cannot specify the kinds of objects to highlight (these choices are dimmed).
   The Turn Highlight On/Off menu item performs the same function as toggling the Highlight button.
2. Click on the button for each kind of object (Sources, Targets, and so on), depending on whether you want those linked objects to be highlighted.
   Notice that some kinds of objects include other kinds: for example, Sources includes Pending Source. Thus, if you wanted to see all sources, you only need to set Sources on. However, if you wanted to see only the pending source, you must set only Pending Source on (and not Sources or any other kind of object).
3. Click on OK to apply your selections and dismiss the dialog box.
   Click on Apply to apply your selections and keep the dialog box on your screen.
   Click on Reset to restore the button settings to their state at the last Apply or OK. This "deletes" your recent settings and keeps the dialog box on your screen.
   Click on Cancel to restore the button settings to their state at the last Apply or OK and dismiss the dialog box.