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HELP.TXT
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The Costa GUI, version 1.8.0
By Jacob Palm
User's guide and reference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.0 Before you start
1.1 What is Costa?
1.2 System requirements
2.0 Using Costa
2.1 Starting Costa
2.2 Exiting Costa
2.3 Managing desktop icons
2.4 Running DOS commands
2.5 Using without a mouse
3.0 Customizing Costa
3.1 Profiles
3.2 Launching the Configuration program
3.3 The theme selector
3.4 File associations
3.5 Other settings
Before you start
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1 - What is Costa?
Costa is a shell with a graphical user interface, which replaces the
DOS-prompt with a mouse operated environment consisting of windows, buttons,
textboxes and such. The low system requirements make Costa very useful for
for older machines, which are also the machines that typically run the
MS-DOS operating system.
When using Costa, you can use icons to launch programs instead of long and
difficult commands. Launching a program is just a mouse click away, and
Costa even comes with a collection of programs to replace the ones that came
with MS-DOS. All of these programs act and look like Costa itself, which
means better consistency between programs and an easier learning curve for
users.
Costa is developed by Jacob Palm. More info can be found at Costas website:
https://costa.jacobpalm.dk
1.2 - System requirements
Unlike most of the modern interfaces, Costa doesn't require much to run.
Costa is designed for MS-DOS, but tested with PC-DOS, DR-DOS, FreeDOS,
Novell DR Multiuser DOS and DOSBox as well. In theory it should run on any
IBM compatible system with:
- An 8088 or better CPU (386 or better recommended).
- EGA or VGA graphics supporting 640x350 pixels at 16 colors (most newer EGA
or any VGA compatible card should do).
- A recommended minimum of 200 KB available memory while running Costa. When
running external programs or games, Costa will use about 8 KB RAM.
- MS-DOS 4.0 or newer, or a compatible operating system.
- A mouse is optional. If used, a mouse driver must be loaded (DOSBox has a
built-in mouse driver).
Although not required, a 386 or better CPU is recommended, as well as disk
caching software (SmartDrive or similar) when running on older machines -
especially if running Costa from a floppy drive.
Using Costa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 - Starting Costa
Starting Costa is very simple - simply run COSTA.EXE. This will bring you to
Costa's desktop. Individual accessories can be run directly from DOS, but
the desktop must be started by running COSTA.EXE.
2.2 - Exiting Costa
To exit Costa, close any program you have running to return to the desktop.
Once you see the desktop, simply click the "Exit" button and then confirm
that you want to exit.
2.3 - Managing desktop icons
To open a desktop icon using the mouse, simply click it. You can also use
the TAB key on your keyboard to cycle through the icons from left to right,
and then press Enter when the desired icon is highlighted. Use Shift+TAB to
cycle through icons in reverse order.
When you open a desktop icon, you will be presented with a dialog with
information about the icon, as well as a few options.
-Open
Run the program or open the target file specified for this desktop ico.n
-Customize
Opens a dialog where you can change the target filename, path, icon and
more. If the "Pause after execution" checkbox is selected, Costa will wait
for a key press before returning to the desktop once the program ends.
This is useful if you need to see the output of a program before returning
to the desktop.
-Move
Allows you to move the icon freely around the screen. Once the icon is
where you want it to be, click any mouse button. If you don't have a
mouse, use the arrow keys to move the icon and press Enter when done. You
can also move icons to other desktops using the buttons in the top menu,
or by switching to another desktop using the 1-5 keys on your keyboard.
-Remove
Removes the desktop icon permanently. Costa will ask you to confirm this
action, by default.
To close the menu without choosing any options, click Cancel or press the
Escape key.
To add a new desktop icon, click the "Add icon" button in the top right
corner of the desktop. A dialog will appear, allowing you to define the
properties of your new icon If you click "Cancel" in this dialog, no new
icon will be added.
2.4 Running DOS program
You can execute a DOS program directly from the desktop, without having to
open a DOS prompt first or adding an icon. To do so, click the "Execute"
button on the desktop. This will show a dialog where you can select a
program or a file associated with a program.
2.5 Using without a mouse
Costa can be used entirely without a mouse. Even if you do have a mouse, it
can be beneficial to know how to use Costa with the keyboard. Some actions
can be performed faster with the keyboard than the mouse.
All around in Costa, you will see underlined letters. For instance, all
buttons have an underlined letter. Labels above input fields also have an
underlined letter. To use a button, or to activate an input field, simply
press the underlined letter on the keyboard (unlike some other GUIs, you
don't need to hold down the ALT key at the same time).
In some places, you will see buttons with an arrow on them. To use these
buttons, simply press the corresponding arrow key on the keyboard.
While you are using an input field, all pressed keys will be entered into
the field. To finish editing, press the Enter key to save your input, or
press the ESC key to revert the input field to the previous value and finish
editing.
The open file in textviewer can be scrolled up and down using the arrow up
and arrow down keys - you can also use the Page Up and Page Down keys to
scroll entire pages.
In the icon editor, use the arrow keys to select the pixel you want to
paint, and then press the space or Enter key to paint it. If the indicator
is hidden, pressing the space or Enter key will reveal it. Pressing again
will paint the selected pixel.
In Tic Tac Toe, you can use the numeric keypad to place an X or O on the
game board.
In Minesweeper, use the arrow keys to navigate the mine field. Then, use the
Space key to flag or unflag a cell, and the Enter key to clear a cell.
Lastly, the "Select object" dialog in the theme editor can be navigated
using the arrow up and arrow down keys, with the Enter key being used to
confirm the selection.
Customizing Costa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 Desktops
Costa supports five different desktops. Using the arrow buttons on the menu
bar, you can switch back and forth between these (arrow keys can be used as
well).
Each desktop has its own icons. How you use the desktops is up to you - you
can simply use them in order if your icons can't fit on the first, or you
can use one for games, one for apps, and so forth.
3.2 Launching the Configuration program
On the desktop you will find a default icon labeled "Configuration". Open
this to launch the Configuration program. If you don't have the icon, simply
launch CONFIG.EXE in the path where Costa is installed.
3.3 The theme selector
On the right-hand side of the Configuration program, you will find the theme
selector. Use this to switch between a number of predefined themes, some
made by myself and some submitted by users of earlier versions. Your own
themes will also be available here.
To select a theme, click one of the two arrow buttons underneath the preview
or press the left and right keys to cycle through the themes. Once you've
found one you like, simply exit the program to apply the changes
immediately.
If none of the default themes suit your taste, use the included theme editor
to make your own. User submitted teams are always welcome!
3.4 File associations
When enabled, file associations allow you to open files in the right program
automatically. For instance, if .TXT files are associated with EDIT.COM and
you try to open README.TXT, Costa will launch EDIT.COM and tell it to open
README.TXT for you. This way, instead of running:
C:\DOS\EDIT.COM C:\EXAMPLE\README.TXT
you can just run:
C:\EXAMPLE\README.TXT
with the exact same result.
To edit file associations, use the bottom-left panel of the Configuration
program. Here, you can enter a file type, after which Costa will show you
the currently associated command in the "Open with" text box. If the "Open
with" text box remains empty, no command is associated with the file type.
To then assign a command, simply enter it in the "Open with" text box. To
clear an associated command, remove the contents of the "Open with" textbox.
It is not neccessary to save your changes, they take effect right away.
Hint: Press the "..." button, or press the "." key on your keyboard, to
browse your computer for the program you want to associate a file type with.
3.5 Other settings
The top-left panel in the Configuration program, allows you to tweak various
aspects of Costa to your liking.
To toggle a feature on or off, click the checkbox in front of it. An X in a
checkbox indicates an enabled feature, an empty checkbox indicates a
disabled feature. Saving is not neccesary, changes take effect right away.
- Show icon descriptions
Toggles whether or not the title of a lin icon should be displayed on the
desktop.
- Show icon targets
If "Show icon descriptions" is enabled, you can choose to have the
filename the icon points to shown underneath the description.
- Confirm icon removal
When enabled, Costa will prompt for confirmation before removing any icon
on the desktop.
- Confirm before exiting Costa
If enabled you will be asked if you really want to exit Costa when you
click the "Exit" button on the desktop.
- Use file type associations
Toggles wether or not file type associations are used. If not checked,
Costa will only be able to open executable programs, not documents and
other file types directly in their associated programs.