
if not stated otherwise, all the files referred to in (and including)
this !Help file are located in the !Filer-.PinBrdMenu directory


Format of the Devices file
==========================

the Devices file is used by Maker to build Filer-'s pinboard menu
'database' (the Data file)

for each menu item, Devices must provide two lines
- 'device specification' of the device associated with the item
- a sprite name


example: you want to be able to access the ADFS floppy disc drive 0
         from Filer-'s pinboard menu

Devices must contain the two lines

ADFS::0
f-floppy

this 'associates' a pinboard menu item with the ADFS floppy disc drive 0.
if you click upon the item, the ADFS::0.$ directory will be opened.
when the pointer is over it and you go , a Filer- menu for the ADFS::0.$
directory will pop up

when the pointer is NOT over this item, the sprite f-floppy
will be displayed in the pinboard menu.

when the pointer IS over the item, the sprite f-floppy'
will be displayed instead.

both sprites should exist in the Sprites file
if the 1st doesn't, you won't see the device at all in Filer-'s PinBoard menu
if the 2nd doesn't, you won't see that the device is 'selected'

the sequence of items in the Devices file determines
the sequence of items in Filer-'s pinboard menu

empty lines in Devices are ignored and so are leading
characters with codes <= 32 (ASC" ")

a device specification is of the form:

        <filing system name>::<drive number or name>

:<drive number or name> is optional

if you omit it (you can for eg. RAMFS, do not for eg. hard disc),
Filer- will access the root directory ($) on the *Configure'd drive
for the given filing system

a valid specification must not contain certain characters (see User Guide).
this is not checked for rigorously, but the string is scanned only up to
the first character <= " " and any stuff after it is ignored and can be left
there as a comment. sprite names are scanned the same way

a line must not be longer than 255 characters

to create Data, 2click on !Make

--

you can create Data by hand. it's plain text, typed as 'data'

the format is:
                                       - this line does not belong to Data
number of items (say N)
device spec 1
.
...
.
device spec N
Ssprite name 1,sprite name 1'
.
...
.
Ssprite name N,sprite name N'

the list must not contain empty lines before the 1st line and the last one
each line is terminated by a line feed char (ASCII 10)

Ssprite name i,sprite name i' is nothing else but the validation
string for the pinboard menu item i
