www.riscos.com Technical Support:
RISC OS 3 User Guide
RISC OS 3.7 User Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction
About this guide
The RISC OS operating system
Conventions used in this manual
Important tips
Getting help
Additional products and documentation
Documentation roadmap
1 - The desktop
Manipulating windows
Directory displays
The Filer
Desktop colour and resolution
The Pinboard
Advanced Filer operations
2 - Changing the computer's configuration
Introduction
Changing configuration settings with !Boot
Discs
Floppies
Network
Screen
Mouse
Keyboard
Memory
Sound
System
Fonts
Windows
Lock
3 - Customising the desktop start-up procedure
Desktop boot files
Saving all of !Boot
Inside the !Boot application
4 - Managing the desktop
Introducing the Task manager
Controlling tasks and memory
Forcing tasks and applications to quit
Controlling tasks from the command line
Shutting the computer down
Managing memory
5 - Troubleshooting
6 - Using floppy and hard discs
Floppy and hard discs
Naming discs
Mounting and dismounting discs
Formatting discs
Backing up discs
Checking for disc defects (verifying)
Checking the amount of free space on a disc
Adding more applications to a hard disc
Using several floppy discs
What to do if something goes wrong
7 - Other storage devices and filing systems
Types of filing systems
Using DOS and Windows discs
Using CD-ROMs
Using PCMCIA memory cards
RAM discs
8 - Networking
Networking
Disc sharing on a network
Sharing other drives
To access a shared disc
Sharing private data
Printing over an Acorn Access network
File sharing on an Acorn Level 4 Fileserver network
Networking with non-Acorn computers
Types of network
Network errors
9 - Setting up printers
Setting up the printer
Loading the printer manager
Configuring the printer
Configuring the printer connection
Activating the printer
Saving your choices
Editing paper sizes
Creating your own Printer definition file
10 - Printing your files
Starting !Printers
Printing a file
Things you can't print
Using more than one printer
Print queue control
Text printing and graphics printing
Using PostScript printers
Hints and tips
11 - PrintEdit
Starting the application
The PrintEdit window
Graphics mode
Text modes
Saving and quitting
12 - FontPrint
Starting the application
Mapping
Downloading
Advanced information
Mapping symbol fonts
13 - T1ToFont
Converting a font
Using Macintosh and MS-DOS type 1 fonts
14 - RISC OS applications
Where to look for applications
Starting applications
Loading any file into Edit
Transferring data between applications
Setting application options in Boot files
15 - Using colour in applications
Colour models
Using colour in Draw
Colour and the desktop
16 - Using fonts in applications
RISC OS fonts
Choosing and using fonts in applications
How the Font manager works
Matching font performance to your needs
Printing with fonts
PostScript printers
Converting PostScript fonts to outline fonts
Changing the desktop font
Troubleshooting
17 - Draw
Starting Draw
Basic ideas
Draw tutorial
Draw reference section
Undoing and redoing operations
Using the Grid to place objects accurately
Zooming in and out of your drawing
Displaying two views of the same file
Creating objects (Enter mode)
Manipulating objects (Select mode)
Creating special effects in Draw (interpolation and grading)
Defining a path object's style
Defining text style
Superimposing text on a coloured background
Editing Draw objects (Path edit mode)
Importing (loading) files into Draw
Exporting (saving) files from Draw
Printing Draw files
Text areas
DXF files
JPEGs (photo-quality images)
Working with multiple Draw files
Saving Draw features in a Desktop boot file
Keystroke equivalents
18 - Edit
Starting Edit
Typing in text
Editing text
Formatting text
Changing the display font
Exporting (saving) text
Printing Edit files
Other features of Edit
Writing and editing BASIC programs
Quitting Edit
Saving Edit features in a Desktop boot file
Keystroke equivalents
19 - Paint
Starting Paint
Basic ideas
Paint tutorial
Painting with a sprite
Painting with the mask of a sprite
Paint reference section
Creating a new sprite
Handling sprite files
Manipulating sprites within a sprite file
Handling JPEG images
Choosing and using colours
Zooming in and out (scaling a sprite window)
Using a grid
Using Paint's tools
Changing a sprite's size, shape and orientation
Taking screen snapshots
Printing a sprite
Saving Paint features in a Desktop boot file
Types of sprite that can be created by Paint
20 - Alarm
Starting Alarm
Setting the time
Setting an alarm
When an alarm goes off
Configuring the Alarm setup options
Browsing through your alarms
Quitting Alarm
Alarm files
Saving Alarm configuration features
Time and date display formats
21 - ARPlayer
Starting ARPlayer
Playing Replay movie clips
Configuration options and information
Icon bar menu
Playing movies without using ARPlayer
Compressing Replay movies
22 - CDPlayer
Starting CDPlayer
Playing an audio compact disc
CDPlayer window
Keypad window
Setup window
Quitting CDPlayer
23 - ChangeFSI
Starting ChangeFSI
Using ChangeFSI
Icon bar menu options
Image menu options
Image file conversion
24 - Chars
Starting Chars
Inserting a character
Using fonts with Chars
25 - CloseUp
Starting CloseUp
CloseUp options
26 - Help
Starting Help
What's in the Help window
Other help information
27 - HForm
Formatting your existing hard disc
28 - Maestro
Starting Maestro
Playing a tune
Editing the score
The Maestro menu
Setting up your own score
Maestro's use of memory
29 - Patience
Starting Patience
The rules
Playing Patience
30 - PhotoView
Starting PhotoView
Loading a contact sheet
Loading an image
Displaying an image
Saving images to disc
Quitting PhotoView
Troubleshooting
31 - Puzzle
Starting the application
32 - SciCalc
Starting SciCalc
Entering numbers
Arithmetic functions
Memory functions
Advanced functions
Trigonometric functions
Changing the number base
Degrees, radians and gradians
Keyboard short-cuts
Technical notes
Saving features in a Desktop boot file
33 - Squash
Starting Squash
Compressing a file
Decompressing a file
Compressing a directory or application
Decompressing a directory or application
Icon bar menu
Checking your archive
Exceptions
Appendix A: - The command line
Accessing the command line
Using the Task window
Getting Help
Using the command line
Command line syntax
System devices
!Run and !Boot files within applications
System variables
Command and application options and other variables
Command scripts
Using GS formats in scripts
Appendix B: - Useful star commands
Command syntax
Useful star commands
Appendix C: - Configuring applications
Alarm configuration
Paint configuration
SciCalc configuration
Pinboard configuration
Edit configuration
Draw configuration
Saving display features
Appendix D: - BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC V and VI
Entering BASIC
Leaving BASIC
Features in BASIC VI
Writing and editing BASIC files
Command line syntax for BASIC
Features available in RISC OS 3 Version 3.50 or later
Appendix E: - RISC OS file types
Acorn file types
Industry standard file types
Acorn Advance file types
BBC ROM file type
Acornsoft file types
Appendix F: - Old-type screen modes
Display manager
Backward compatible screen modes
Appendix G: - Removing a disc defect
What is a defect?
Removing a defect
Technical details
Appendix H: - Character sets
Loading an alphabet
How alphabets are initially set up
Keyboard short-cuts
Typing special characters
Latin1 alphabet (ISO 8859/1)
Latin2 alphabet (ISO 8859/2)
Latin3 alphabet (ISO 8859/3)
Latin4 alphabet (ISO 8859/4)
Cyrillic alphabet (ISO 8859/5)
Greek alphabet (ISO 8859/7)
Hebrew alphabet (ISO 8859/8)
Cyrillic2 alphabet (DOS code page 866)
BFont characters
Appendix I: - Error messages
Error messages
RISC OS 3.7 User Guide - 21 JAN 1997
This edition Copyright © 3QD Developments Ltd 2015
Last Edit: Tue,03 Nov 2015