System

This section covers System tips for OS/2 Warp.

Changing printing from polling to interrupt driven

Warp

The default mode of printing under OS/2 Warp is now via polling, rather than interrupt-driven, as was the case in previous OS/2 versions. Polling can cause problems with printing on some systems, and can use more system resources.

To change from the polling mode of printing to interrupt-driven printing, edit the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file&colon.

 BASEDEV=PRINT01.SYS

to

 BASEDEV=PRINT01.SYS /IRQ

Note that using the interrupt-driven mode of printing requires the use of IRQ 7.

Recovering a deleted Launchpad

Warp

You can recover a deleted Launchpad by adding the word LAUNCHPAD to your SET AUTOSTART line in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Conversely, to prevent the Launchpad from opening at boot, remove the word LAUNCHPAD from your SET AUTOSTART line.

Related subject(s):

Removing the Launchpad permanently

Keeping the system running, even through traps

Warp

To keep an unattended system, such as a BBS, running despite a TRAP condition, add the following lines to your CONFIG.SYS file:

  REIPL=ON

Setting REIPL to ON will automatically reboot your system when a TRAP occurs.

  SUPPRESSPOPUPS=<drive>

SUPPRESSPOPUPS will prevent TRAP information from popping up and will log the popup information to a log file. <drive> is the drive to which the log file POPUPLOG.OS2 is written.

  DUMPPROCESS=<drive>

DUMPPROCESS causes a process dump file PDUMP.* to be written. <drive> is the drive letter to which PDUMP.* will be written.

Setting the swap file

contributed by Jack Tan

Warp

The swap file in OS/2 Warp will tend to grow larger than in previous versions of OS/2 because certain DLLs are treated differently. Therefore, to prevent excess swapping, you may wish to increase the default size of your swap file from the value which you used in previous versions of OS/2.

Related subject(s):

Adjusting your swap file

Creating OS/2 Warp boot diskettes

Warp

OS/2 Warp has its own facility to create boot diskettes. Simply open the System Setup folder and open the Create Utility Diskettes object.

http://www.os2world.com/gallery2/d/4786-1/1_warp_utildisk.jpg

Screenshot: Create Utility Diskettes object.

Workplace Shell

This section covers Workplace Shell tips for OS/2 Warp.

Tearing off Launchpad drawer

http://www.os2world.com/gallery2/d/4818-1/2_warp_drawer.jpg

Screenshot: Launchpad with drawer "torn off."

Warp

You can "tear" off a drawer from the Launchpad and place it where you wish. Note that the drawer will disappear if the Launchpad is minimized or closed.

Open the desired drawer.
Drag the drawer to the desired location using either mouse button 1 or mouse button 2.
To retrieve the drawer, just close the drawer as usual.

Opening the Settings Notebook

Warp A quick method of opening the Settings notebook for an object:

Highlight the desired object.
Hold the Alt key.
Double click on the object with mouse button 1.

Related subject(s):

Closing the parent folder when opening an object.
Opening a windowed command line in the background

Closing the parent folder when opening an object.

Warp

You can automatically close the parent folder when opening an object:

Highlight the desired object.
Hold the Shift key.
Double click on the desired object with mouse button 1.

Related subject(s):

Opening the Settings notebook
Opening a windowed command line in the background
Closing parent folders automatically

Removing the Launchpad permanently

Warp To remove the Launchpad permanently from your system, drag the Launchpad object to your Shredder. Then, remove the word LAUNCHPAD from the SET AUTOSTART line in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Related subject(s):

Recovering a deleted Launchpad

Editing animated folder icons

Warp

To edit the animated folder icon:

Open the Settings notebook for the desired folder.
Click on the General tab.
Click on the right arrow in the lower right corner of the page.
Edit and save icon as usual, or change icon as usual.

http://www.os2world.com/gallery2/d/4820-1/3_warp_animate.jpg

Screenshot: Animation icon page of Settings notebook.

Bringing the Launchpad to the top

contributed by Jack Tan

Warp

You might know that double-clicking with mouse button 1 on the OS/2 desktop will open the Launchpad, but double-clicking on the desktop is also useful for raising the Launchpad to the top if it is covered by other windows.

Closing parent folders automatically

Warp

You can set all or some parent folders to close automatically when opening a subfolder or all objects.

To set parent folders to close automatically system-wide:

Open the System object. It should be located in the System Setup folder.
Click on the Window tab.
Click once on the right arrow in the lower right hand corner of the page.
Under "Folder Automatic Close," choose either "Subfolders only" or "All Objects."

Individual folders' automatic closure settings can be changed in the same manner through their individual Settings notebooks.

Related subject(s):

Closing the parent folder when opening an object

Setting default folder appearance

http://www.os2world.com/gallery2/d/4822-1/4_warp_default.jpg

Screenshot: Page for setting default folder appearance.

Warp

You can determine whether the folders on your system will default to icon, tree, or details view:

Open the System object. It should be located in the System Setup folder.
Click on the Window tab.
Click twice on the right arrow in the lower right hand corner of the page. You should be on page 3 of the Window tab.
Select Icon, Tree, or Details.
Close the System object.

Customizing the Launchpad

Warp

The Launchpad can be customized to your taste.:

Click on an open area (no buttons) of the Launchpad with mouse button 2 to bring up its popup menu.
Choose Settings to open the Settings notebook.
Pages 1 and 2 of the Options tab contain several different options which change the appearance of the Launchpad. Choose the options you desire.
Close the Settings notebook.

Screenshot: Second page of Launchpad options.

Command Line

This section covers Command Line tips for OS/2 Warp.

Obtaining information about your hardware

Warp

To obtain extensive information about your hardware, use the RMVIEW command at an OS/2 command prompt.

     RMVIEW /?

will provide a list of the different command line switches which can be used with RMVIEW.

Setting video modes in a command line window

contributed by Jack Tan

Warp In previous versions of OS/2, you could not specify non-standard column and row sizes in windowed command lines. In OS/2 Warp, non-standard sizes can be specified. Just use the OS/2 MODE command:

     MODE <columns>, <rows>

where <columns> is the number of columns and <rows> is the number of rows

Related subject(s):

Creating a scroll buffer
Resizing a command line window permanently

BonusPak

This section covers BonusPak tips for OS/2 Warp. Topics in this section&colon. This area needs your favorite BonusPak tips and tricks!

End of Stupid OS/2 Tricks, release #5