Welcome to the Geos FAQ. Here you'll find answers to some questions frequently asked about Geos. This document is also available in an ASCII version of this document compressed with PKZIP.
Archive-name: pcgeos-faq/part1
Last-modified: April 4, 1999
URL: http://webspace.webring.com/people/mr/ravinray/geos/geosfaq1.htm
The most recent version of this file can be found at any news.answers archive site. One such site is rtfm.mit.edu, in the /pub/usenet/comp.os.geos.misc subdirectory. The most recent version of the FAQ is also available from my home page at http://webspace.webring.com/people/mr/ravinray/geos/ in both HTML and ASCII format.
I make no claims about the accuracy of this information. Use it at your own risk. This file is compiled from various sources, including but not limited to USENET, the Web, commercial networks, and electronic mail. The FAQ is mostly targeted towards desktop Geos users, both Ensemble and NewDeal Office. However, there are still many sections devoted to other topics and Geos platforms.
This information may be freely distributed, in whole or in part, in any form, provided that any distributor:
If this file leaves the confines of USENET for any BBS's, web pages, user groups, commercial networks, or other networks (FidoNet, GeoHolics Net, GSMN, etc.) or vendors, please let me know so that I can pass along the information to others.
Please send submissions, comments, suggestions, or corrections to rayancog@pacific.net.ph.
I'd like to give the following folks my thanks:
Geos is a 16-bit, graphical operating system from Geoworks that is generally platform independent. The most common version runs on top of MS-DOS or compatible operating system such as PC DOS, DR-DOS, ROM-DOS, OS/2, or Win95/98, and provides a preemptive multitasking, multithreaded, object-oriented environment for almost any DOS-based computer. (Note though, that other versions of DOS such as PTS-DOS, FreeDOS, and Multiuser DOS or Concurrent DOS do not support Geos.) For more modern versions of Geos, an 80286 based computer with at least 2 Megabytes of memory is strongly recommended. All versions provide built-in memory management, virtual (disk) memory, a single imaging model, outline font technology, automatic scrolling and scaling, complex graphic and management tools, and a flexible, scaleable GUI. Version 3.0 is the current version of Geos, and is currently found on the Nokia 9000/9000i/9110 Communicator, Brother GeoBook, Toshiba Genio and NewDeal Office/SchoolSuite Release 3. (For the rest of this document, I shall use "NewDeal" to refer to both Office and SchoolSuite.)
Geos is also defined by the platform that it is running on. Currently it runs on the Apple, Commodore, IBM PC Compatible, Hewlett Packard OmniGo 100 and 120, several Brother products, Toshiba Genio, Canon StarWriter, Nokia 9000, 9000i, and 9110 Communicator, and three other DOS-based PDA's collectively referred to as the Zoomer. The OmniGo 700 is not a native Geos platform, and for the rest of the FAQ all references to just "OmniGo" refer to the OmniGo 100 or 120. New Geos devices from Ericsson, NEC, Nokia, Toshiba, and Brother are expected soon. The version of Geos that runs on the Toshiba Genio is actually the new RISC based Geos v3.0 version. The IBM PC version, also referred to as the desktop version, started GeoWorks Ensemble 1.0 in November 1990. The current version is now NewDeal Office Release 3. A detailed account of the evolution of desktop Geos is available in my History page. The desktop version contains more software than any other Geos package out of the box. All other versions will still be called Geos.
This FAQ does not contain any information on the Apple and Commodore versions except for the following:
It depends on how you define operating system, but by most standards, it certainly is a real operating system. DOS is only used for the file system support. Many people consider Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95 and 98 to be a real operating systems even though they also use DOS for the filing system. Geos was the first object-oriented operating system (OOOS) for the PC.
That depends on what you mean by alternative. It won't run Windows applications, but it will provide you with a lot of functionality that Windows won't, especially if you have a low-end machine (less than a '386, and/or less than 4 megabytes of RAM). You can run the desktop version from most other operating system like Win95/98, OS/2, or even Linux, in which case it acts like a sophisticated, integrated application suite and environment.
Geoworks is the name of the company that created the Geos operating system. The company was formerly called Berkeley Softworks, and until recently spelled its name GeoWorks. Geoworks is a public company, and Novell, Hewlett Packard, Nokia, Ericsson, and Toshiba have made equity investments in it. Geos doesn't stand for anything legally since you can't trademark an acronym, but in earlier times it was said to be an acronym for "Graphical Environment Operating System." Packaged with each different desktop version is a suite of programs that were developed by Geoworks to run under the Geos operating system, and has changed names almost every time a new version has been released. The more notable names have been Ensemble (v1.0 - v1.2), GeoWorks Pro (v1.2.8), Quick Start (v1.2.9), Ensemble (v2.0 - v2.0.1), NewDeal Office (v2.5+).
Quick Start is basically the same as GeoWorks Pro without the Pro (no Quattro Pro bundled with it). Many folks run Quick Start on their XT and AT compatible machines since it is even less resource intensive than more modern versions. Quick Start can sometimes be found at Surplus Software (US orders 1-800-753-7877, International 541-386-1375, WWW: http://www.surplusdirect.com ). A few copies of Quick Start are available from NewDeal.
Ensemble (v2.01) contained a brand new operating system and applications compared to Quick Start, plus a spreadsheet and a flat file database. NewDeal is basically Ensemble with bug fixes, renamed applications, and some additional new applications. NewDeal does not include Tetris, but some users have copies it from earlier versions, or obtained it by installing the Ensemble 2.01 upgrade patch and then reinstalling NewDeal.
Currently four devices (Nokia 9000/9000i/9110 Communicator, Brother GeoBook, Toshiba Genio, and PC) have different flavors of Geos 3.0. In general though, all Geos 2.x and 3.x applications will run on any Geos 3.x based machine. The most exciting thing about v3.0 is that TCP/IP and fax support has been added to NewWrite, as well as exchange e-mail and browse the web. Version 3.0 also includes a new user interface called NewUI based on the current Industry Standard look and feel.
Steve Main (steve@newdealinc.com) says:
"Geos 3.0 adds new libraries and objects for communications support, in the form of things like a tcp/ip stack, an e-mail library, and pager and fax library. The rest of the Geos system remains the same (except for perhaps the odd bug-fix here and there)."
Geos 3.0 has been available for some time. The initial version of v3.0 was completed in July of 1995, and the Nokia 9000 Communicator was released in September of 1996. The desktop upgrade from NewDeal arrived in January 1999, and forms the kernel of NewDeal Release 3. The Brother GeoBook comes with a CD called BrotherWorks 98, which includes a desktop version of Geos v3.0 and many of the same new applications as NDOr3.
The main feature differences between 1.x and 2.x versions of the desktop are:
NOTE: See section 1.1.5 for differences between 2.x and 3.x versions of Geos. Basically, 2.x software will run on 3.x platforms, and 3.x platforms has much better communications and internet capability. Also, starting with version 2.5 of the desktop, all GeoWhatever programs have been renamed NewWhatever.
NewDeal has made a shareware version (v2.5) available, and previous shareware version (v2.0) called GeoPublish is available on all the major on-line services as well as FTP sites that have Geos content. Both versions include the bare minimum number of files necessary to run GeoManager (aka NewManager, a file manager) and a slightly crippled version of GeoWrite (aka NewWrite, a word processor). The most notable side effects of this is that the shareware versions have no spell checking, thesaurus, or import/export filters. Also, most Geos shareware will not run on the shareware versions. However, some functionality and programs like Tetris and the AOL client can installed by applying the 2.01 patch. If using the NewDeal shareware version, you must then reinstall it.
A shareware version of NDOr3 will be available shortly.
NewDeal Office 98 is available in English and French versions. A German version is almost done and a Spanish version is expected soon. Each of these versions comes with drivers for other language keyboards, so if you can speak one of these languages, you can probably use the software with little difficulty.
All DOS based versions of Geos can use the same fonts. There are font packs available from NewDeal that provide a variety of typefaces. A wide variety of fonts are also available via FTP, networks, and supporting BBS's.
Terri Ferrier sells a collection of over 3400 Geos fonts, over 5400 clip art images, and over 250 Geos programs. The CD costs $50 and can be found at:
Other font CD's are also sold by:
There are many companies and individuals that sell Geos desktop software. The most notable are NewDeal and Breadbox Computer, but there are many more. Not only does this list keep changing, but the products offered by these companies and the places and means to buy them continue to change.
NewDeal can be reached at:
NewDeal, Inc.
P O Box 381089
Cambridge MA 02138
Technical support, call (900) 555-4367 (U.S. only)
Email: support@newdealinc.com
Non-technical customer service (order tracking, replacement parts, etc.),
call (514) 633-6647
Email: newdealrep@newdealinc.com
Sales from North America, call (800) 985-4263 between 9:00am - 8:00pm
EST
Email: sales@newdealinc.com
International sales, call (514) 633-6370
Email: sales@newdealinc.com
International technical support, call (514) 633-6547
Email: newdealrep@newdealinc.com
Breadbox Computer can be reached at:
Breadbox Computer
PO Box 808
Port Richey, FL 34673-0808
Tel/Fax (813) 847-6996
E-mail: Bboxcomp@aol.com
WWW: http://www.breadbox.com
Geoworks wrote several SDK's as Geos evolved. Version 2.0 supported the desktop, Zoomer, and Sharp PT-9000 (a preview of a pen-based tablet). Version 2.1 emulated the HP OmniGo 100/120. With the release of the Nokia 9000, Geoworks created three versions of the Communicator SDK: a DOS-based 9000 version, a DOS-based 9000i version (for the GSM model), and an NT-based 9000 version. The latest version is an NT-based 9110 SDK. The SDK's require Borland C/C++ 3.1 or higher. Geoworks transfered the 2.x SDK's to NewDeal, and has discontinued the 9000 SDK's. Only the 9110 SDK is currently marketed by Geoworks. It might sell the remaining stock of 9000 SDK's to those who are still interested; ask the Geoworks people.
Geoworks Bindery is an application for creating electronic "books" that can be read by a Book Reader on NDO or the OmniGo. It functions very much like Adobe Acrobat or Corel (formerly WordPerfect, then Novell) Envoy, only it is available exclusively on the Geos platform. As with the 2.x SDK's, Geoworks has transfered the Bindery to New Deal.
These can be ordered by contacting Geoworks directly.
Geoworks
960 Atlantic Avenue
Alameda, California 94501
510-814-1660 -- Geoworks main business phone number
510-814-4250 -- Geoworks main business fax line
510-814-5846 -- Local customers
800-436-7735 -- Long distance customers
orders@geoworks.com -- Internet
customers
John Feras' (jferas@netaxs.com) Feras Information Technologies has written an easy to use, powerful Geos scripting language with which you can write entire Geos applications. IZL is available in the desktop version, Zoomer, and OmniGo flavors. The files and documents, including an OmniGo IZL FAQ, can be found at http://www.newdealinc.com/devrel. More information can also be found in the Geos Programmer's FAQ.
While this topic is broad, this section will be brief since there is another entire FAQ devoted to it. For serious Geos programming you need to buy a Geos SDK that is tailored to the Geos platform that you want to write software for. However, you can probably get by with one SDK, hopefully the latest, as long as you don't try to take advantage of any unique features of your platform. The main point to using a SDK is that it is DOS based, although a multitasking environment is recommended for task switching. A second computer is required to use the debugger, and unless you like programming in assembly, you have to use a Borland compiler. However, an NT based SDK is available for the Nokia 9000, which eliminates many of these drawbacks. Please refer to the Geos programming FAQ for more information. The main support for Geos development is through the Geoworks developer relations webpages (http://www.geoworks.com/DevRel/), the usenet newsgroup news:comp.os.geos.programmer, and e-mail to Geoworks. There are at least three visual development environments under development for Geos.
Yes. NewDeal has just released NewBASIC. It has an easy-to-use syntax, and is marketed much as Visual Basic is for Windows. It is available at http://www.newdealinc.com/devrel/. David Given (dg@tao.co.uk) is currently beta testing Metatalk, a Geos visual developement system similar to Smalltalk. Along with other applications, it can be downloaded at his GEOS downloads page.
The list of Geos shareware is large and growing. Too much, in fact, to list here.
For a more complete listing of Geos related FTP sites, check out http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbearden/gfiles.htm. Some of the bigger ones are:
The following BBS's are the only ones I know that have Geos related content:
As usual, the list is always growing.
For the desktop version there is GeoComm (aka NewComm), AOL, and CompuServe software. For the Zoomer there is ZCommLite, AOL, and CompuServe software. For the OmniGo there is CompuServe and OmniCom. The CompuServe software, CIM4GEOS, requires a patch for it to work correctly for the desktop and the OmniGo. There are also several more shareware Zoomer and OmniGo communications programs and connectivity packs that work more or less on all Geos platforms. Check out the Zoomer homepage (http://www.grot.com/zoomer/) for more details. A variety of file transfer software is available for a variety of platforms (including UNIX and Macintosh), and there are also several communications programs under development. As far as the Internet is concerned, two browsers are available. GeoBrowser is included in the GeoBook and BrotherWorks for the desktop. A version named NewBrowser was available as part of a beta testing program of NDOr3. Breadbox developed Skipper and Skipper Pro for NDOr3. Future version will support SSL and cookies. Breadbox also wrote the Meeting Room IRC client software for the GeoBook and NDO. A more advanced IRC app, Breadbox Chat, has been released. A newsreader and New mail client are also in the works.
With version 3.0, it does. A BYTE article (1995) reported that the TCP/IP stack is derived from BSD Unix. Version 3.0 includes much better communications support, bug fixes, and new features like the system mailbox.
The number of generic DOS communications programs is huge. There are basically four DOS based Internet suites that people have reported using with Geos: Minuet, Net-Tamer, Terminate, and DosLynx. After listening to more than a few people, it seems that Net-Tamer provides the best internet access.
The GeoInfo database is an excellent source of compatibility information, and much of that information is now being updated and integrated into the Technical Support Documents and Hot Tips on NewDeal's web site.
Make sure that you have FILES=120 or more. DR-DOS uses files differently and needs more available. NWDOS usually works with about 50 files open.
The desktop versions currently only supports DR-DOS TaskMax switching. Dormant tasks will appear in the Express Menu to be picked. Switching is nearly instantaneous.
Pensey (pensey@ozemail.com.au) says:
Windows 3.1 can be installed on DR-DOS, but you will need the DR-DOS upgrade patches. Also, don't let Windows modify your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Do it yourself. Otherwise it will try and put in HIMEM.SYS, change your EMM386.SYS and add SMARTDRV.
Yes. Caldera purchased DR-DOS and the rest of the Digital Research technology from Novell. The current versions, 7.03, can be found at http://www.calderathin.com/.
Pensey (pensey@ozemail.com.au) says:
Nope! Try Novell DOS 7.0. Patches are also available for Novell DOS. The newer versions of Caldera's DR-DOS include all the patches.
Novell DOS has been purchased by Caldera (http://www.calderathin.com) and renamed back to DR-DOS. The Multitasker and Geos doesn't work together at all on most systems, although a few people have had good luck with it. You can get the task switcher to work with Geos by making sure that it uses the correct key combination. Select the DR-DOS TaskMax switcher in Geos preferences and it should work, although cutting and pasting between DOS and Geos will not work.
Obtain and figure out the shareware DOS emulator DosEmu. Michael Hirsch (hirsch@mathcs.emory.edu) writes:
"Geos can run quite well under the Linux DOS emulator but you need to set up the /etc/dosemu.conf file correctly. The important thing is that DOSEMU must have full partition access (or even full disk access) to whatever partition contains Geos. You can't give partition access to a mounted partition, so you may have to unmount the DOS partition before running DOSEMU. Of course, you could write a script that does this automatically."
Ross J. Reedstrom ( ross@repressor.pharmacy.wisc.edu )writes:
I got Geos to recognize my lredired \\linux\dos drive as drive C: and start up off of it. This allows me to leave my DOS partition mounted, and access files safely from both Geos and Linux. I can even access all my Linux files (with mangled names, however, if their not 8.3). The trick was to grep though my SDK documentation and discover the msnet.geo file system driver, and how to force Geos to recognize a net drive. The key is the following lines in GEOS.INI:
[system]
fs = {
msnet.geo
cdrom.geo
}"According to the SDK documentation, this section loads 'secondary file system drivers' if they are not automatically recognized properly. I load both the msnet.geo, described as being for generic drive redirectors, and the cdrom.geo, for mscdex CD-ROM access, of course, since I have a CD-ROM and use the DOSEMU CD-ROM driver."
Some folks have reported success running Geos on a Macintosh using SoftPC, a PC emulation program. I would really appreciate more information on this!
Creative Digital Publishing has released a shareware program called MacPCCOM (TM) available at:
Look for the Stuffit archive MacPCCOM.sit.
MacPCCOM lets Macintosh users upload and download files to and from Geos devices, like the HP OmniGo and the Casio Zoomer, and navigate the Geos file system from the Mac. It requires a serial cable connecting the Geos device to the Mac's modem port.
MacPCCOM has been tested with an OmniGo and a Centris 610 running System 7.3d0. Although it should work with other Macs, Mac OS versions, and Geos devices, it has not been tested on other configurations.
Edward Di Geronimo Jr. (edwdig@bergen.gov) reports success getting this to work , once he set the mouse to PS/2.
Pensey (pensey@ozemail.com.au) says:
You can change the default document directory Geoworks uses for one directory for all copies of Geoworks running to keep a common pool of letters or databases etc. Set up an identical directory structure on the server where you want to store documents and add a paths section to GEOS.INI
[paths]
top = n:\geos20 (where n: is the network drive)"Alternatively specify an additional document directory:
[paths]
document = n:\docs"Geos will add the two directories together. Documents on the network drive will appear with their names underlined."
Note that this is only for Geos 2.0 or higher; it doesn't work with Geos 1.x.
NewDeal offers a network version that can be run from the network server. Novell, LANtastic, and LanManager networks are officially supported and reports from the field indicate that Windows NT and Windows 95/98 also work, along with many lesser-known networks. The stand-alone version of NewDeal is network aware and will recognize and interact with drives and printers on most networks.
It has been reported that with a bit of tinkering, Geos 3.0 will run under Windows NT. The Nokia SDK also comes with a version of Geos 3.0 that requires Windows NT to run.
Yes, people have reported good performance running the desktop version on these computers. However, there are some problems. First of all this requires a flash disk. Geos is a GUI OS, so a mouse is highly recommended. The ALPS Glidepoint has been reported to work with these computers and Geos. Perhaps the worst problem running Geos on these computers is that Geos takes over the keyboard and prevents the use of the suspend feature until exiting from Geos.
The Iomega Zip drive will work well with all versions of Geoworks/NewDeal. When using the GeoManager or NewManager, the Zip drive appears currently as a 3.5" floppy drive, but does contain its own drive letter. The earlier Bernouilli Box drives made by Iomega as well as Syquest removable drives like the EZFlyer will also work with all versions of Geoworks/NewDeal. Those drives are iconed with 5.25" drives. It is possible to run entire versions of Geoworks Ensemble from a these drives, but be careful when doing this because you're only supposed to use Geoworks/NewDeal on one machine at a time.
Yes! PC/Geos provides an excellent integrated software package for Windows 95/98. However, versions before 2.5 require a bit of tweaking before they will seamlessly integrate. Please consult the GeoInfo Database for more information on this topic. In a few cases where a lot of errors are encountered, running LOADER.EXE with the /s switch is the solution.
As of this writing, typing the keyword GEOS now takes you to the forum for the German Geos User Club. It can still be accessed by the keywords GEOSDK and Geos, but at some point the forum will go away completely. The GeoRep program was sunsetted completely (there are no longer any SDK GeoReps), though many of the former GeoReps participate in the newsgroup or elsewhere in the Geos user community.
The DOS forum did not take over the libraries, AOL abandoned the libraries, even though the file names still show up in the system-wide software search feature (as of this writing. but choosing one of the files results in a "file not found" error).
It is still being verified whether Geoworks is still active in the PALMB forum. Peer support for the desktop version is available in the PCAPP forum. As HP has discontinued the OmniGo 100/120 in favor of Windows CE-based HPC's, it is unlikely that the OmniGo is supported by Team HP in the HPHAND forum.
There is an active FidoNet Echo for Geos. Bug your local FidoNet SysOp.
Yes, it is named comp.os.geos.misc. There is also a moderated newsgroup for binaries called comp.binaries.geos. A newsgroup called comp.os.geos.programmer for Geos development discussions just came on line..
No. There's a special group for Geos binaries called comp.binaries.geos. It's moderated, though, so don't expect your postings to show up right away. Send submissions to comp-binaries-geos@pilot.njin.net. The moderator is Dan "Shag" Birchall (shag@emanon.net). If your site isn't carrying comp.binaries.geos, don't worry too much. Some sites refuse to carry binary groups.
First, check with your system news administrator or USENET news supplier to find out why you're not getting the group. If they won't or can't supply it, you can try ftp://ftp.lab.kdd.co.jp/Usenet/comp.binaries.geos/. If all else fails, you can search through the many Geos FTP sites, or post a request to news://comp.os.geos.misc.
The Geos Information Database started out in life as a FAQ similar to this one many years ago. It eventually grew too large to properly maintain, so it was converted to an on-line AOL database. It currently has over a thousand entries detailing every Geos related problem, hint, and tip imaginable. Occasionally plain text versions of the GeoInfo Database is made available to the general public. Recently Steve Main made an E-book version, and Jon Frisby (logical@ix.netcom.com) has made a copy available via several VBBS networks. I have made a WWW version available at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbearden/gidindex.htm, and both the text and E-book versions are available via FTP at ftp://members.aol.com/geoinfo. With the demise of the Geoworks Forum on AOL, the GeoInfo is now assimilated into the NewDeal website.
The Geoworks text Fax-On-Demand files contain a lot of Geos information. The original versions are current as of "March 7, 1994", (which is circa v2.0), and are available via FTP in both text and GeoWrite versions from ftp://ftp.geoworks.com/pub/fod/, and from http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbearden/geosinfo.htm. The FOD files are now maintained by NewDeal. As usual, they have renamed them and are now known as Technical Support Documents, and are available on the Support section of their website at http://www.newdealinc.com. They are also available for sale on floppy disk.
Yes, there are several Geos related publications.
There are many WWW pages dedicated to Geos. A few good places to start are:
Yes, and the most current version can be found on Ronald Pike's WWW page below. Also below are a few of the excellent WWW pages devoted to the Hewlett Packard OmniGo:
No, but there are several great WWW pages devoted to it:
The GSMN is a Geos users group, originally started in the US, that is now expanding with international regions. GSMN collects and distributes files and information to its users in the form of a monthly ground mailing consisting of (3) 3.5 inch HD floppies. The mailing contains a wide variety of Geos 2.x files, newsletters, technical information, Geoworks News, etc.
The Network is run by volunteers and the only cost to each member is the disks, mailer and postage to and from their assigned hub each month.
For more information and an application, send a self-addressed stamped #10 envelope to:
Contact Lynn Montelauro (GSMLynn@aol.com) for more information about GSMN.
4.10.1 Are there mailing lists available for Geos?
The NewDeal Mailing List has just come up on-line. It is maintained by Byron Collins (NewDeal-owner@onelist.com). The purpose of the list, as written by Collins, is as follows:
"This mail list is a forum for Users of NewDeal's Office 98, SchoolView 98, Geoworks Ensemble, Geoworks Bindery, GeoPublish, NewPublish, BrotherWorks 98, Brother GEOS based Word Processors, Brother GeoBook, Canon StarWriter. Discussions of the Operating System behind them known as NewDOS / GEOS and the products developed for NewDeal by Breadbox Computer and others Vendors is also welcome. Discussion of programming for NewDeal should be carry else where."
It is hosted by ONElist, a service for creating free mailing lists. To subscribe to the list, send a message to NewDeal-subscribe@onelist.com, leaving the body of the message empty.
Another mailing list is the GEOS-to-go mailing list, from the Zoomer PDA Resources. This focuses on Geos- and GEOS SC-based PDA's such as the Zoomer and OmniGo. To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@grot.com with the command subscribe geos-to-go in the body of the message.
Finally there is the OGO mailing list specific to the OmniGo. To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@lifelike.com with the command subscribe ogo in the body of the message.
The desktop version offers four levels of interface complexity, and fine tuning options within each level, so you can customize each application to present you with as few or as many functions as you desire. Look for this feature in the Option Menu of applications that support it.
Geos also supports a Generic/Specific UI concept. This means that applications are written for a very powerful dynamically bound object oriented generic user interface. At runtime the system 'binds' the Generic UI to a Specific UI, and all output is presented through that Specific UI. A CUA-based Specific UI surfaced briefly for the desktop version 1.x (It was part of America Online's now-defunct Promenade service.), but due to legal questions, it was voluntarily removed from most FTP sites. Eduquest, a division of IBM, released a program called SchoolView that uses Geos 2.01 with a Presentation Manager (PM) interface and a different file manager (WorkPlace Shell). It's intended primarily for Network use and is not available for stand-alone systems. It has since been discontinued by IBM.
The SDK does have the PM interface for testing purposes. Copy PM.GEO to your system directory and add the line "specific = pm.geo" to the UI section of your GEOS.INI. Note that, due to UI extensions developed by Breadbox and incorporated by NewDeal into the 3.0 kernel, the PM UI can no longer be used with NDOr3.
With NewDeal Release 3, NewDeal has created an alternative Specific UI. The Industry Standard UI (ISUI) is intended to provide a more familiar user interface, so users of other software would feel more immediately at home. It looks similar to Windows 95/98, with a taskbar that allows easy switching between running applications, and the Express menu (bearing the NewDeal logo) has been moved to the left of the taskbar and given Documents, Help, Run, and Shut Down items. It works in conjunction with the new NewDesk file manager. During installation, the user is given a choice of user interfaces and file managers. The user can change the UI and file manager anytime by selecting "Change UI" from Preferences.
Geos has quite a large available character set. For instance, all the vowels can be given acute, dieresis, grave, and circumflex accents in both upper- and lower-case. You can also use the Spanish ñ (as in señor), Danish ø, the German ß (double s), and many other special language characters. You also have a choice of various typographical, punctuation, currency, and mathematical symbols. These are all documented in the manual, or you can bring up a floating keyboard if you are willing to modify your GEOS.INI file. With New Deal Office 98 and higher, you can use the Character Map to view the entire character set in different fonts. Geoworks produced a double-byte character set (DBCS) version based on Unicode in late 1994, along with front-end text processors to support Japanese and Korean languages. This is known as Geos-J (http://www.geoworks.com/htmpages/geosj.htm), but unfortunately no products that I know of have been developed to use it.
As of this writing, the euro symbol (it looks like a lower-case c with a = sign through it), the new monetary standard of 11 states of the European Union, has not yet been included as a standard character.
The Preferences application in the desktop versions 2.0 and greater allows you to select which fonts you wish to have appear in your font menu, and their order. Alternatively you can use a disk defragger which sorts files.
Enter Geos and start up GeoDraw or the Scrapbook. Use the Import option (on the File menu) to import your file into GeoDraw. Make sure that the imported image is selected and then use the Edit menu to either Cut or Copy it to the clipboard. Next, start up Preferences and select the Background option. Once there, click on the "Get background from clipboard" button, give it a name, and your image magically appears as a background.
Steve Main (steve@newdealinc.com) writes:
"You can keep it from showing by:"
Use the /log parameter when starting NewDeal Office 97, or Use the individual file tool to install LOADERHG.EXE, then rename LOADERHG.EXE to LOADER.EXE. This only works if you have a VGA monitor.
The GEOS.INI file is a plain text file residing in your home Geos directory, and it specifies to a large degree how your system behaves. Geoworks and New Deal do not recommend modifying the GEOS.INI file. It's generally a bad idea to change your GEOS.INI file unless you know what you're doing. However, if you do try to edit it, do it in DOS before you load Geos and make a backup copy in case something goes wrong. There is a page on my Geos WWW site that explains all the public settings.
Yes. There is a utility called GeoCon v2.0 that automatically adjusts your GEOS.INI file for you. GeoCon enables you to easily change the color scheme and behavior of the Express Menu. Preference 4 Pack also allows you to change certain system characteristics. It was added to the desktop in NDO98, and was redone as a Preferences module for the most part for Release 3.
Kenda Gee (kendagee@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca) writes about his ZIP example:
"The pkunzip is not a problem at all--just use a dosAssociation line in your GEOS.INI file and a double-click on your zip files...it is a breeze... :-) For pkzipping, there is a way to make sure you don't zip up your @DIRNAME.000 and PKZIP.EXE files. Create a folder, say "Zipper" in your \DOCUMENT directory... toss two files into it--your PKZIP.EXE and another file, called PKLIST. In PKLIST, type the files you don't want zipped up each time: PKZIP.EXE and DIRNAME.000. Then create a launcher for the PKZIP.EXE in your DOSROOM, or WORLD directory, and add the following command:
-X@PKLIST C:\GEOS20\DOCUMENT\ZIPPER\1.ZIP
"The only shortcoming of this recipe is that you will have to rename your output zipped file from 1.ZIP to whatever you want (I chose 1.ZIP, so that it will, generally. appear on the top left hand corner of the \ZIPPER screen, but you could easily call it 0.ZIP, or whatever you want...). Just make sure you don't accidentally delete the PKLIST, or PKZIP.EXE file from your \ZIPPER folder.
"To use the PKZIP, throw your files in the \ZIPPER folder, and use the Launcher to zip up your files in that folder."
This tip works only for Geos 2.x or higher. Add or edit the system section of your GEOS.INI file like so:
[system]
drive x = 0
where x is the drive you want to make disappear.
Lee Bailey (offsite@crl.com) writes:
"To get rid of the link button in GeoManager, comment out the features line in the FileManager section of your GEOS.INI, like this:"
[fileManager]
;features = 32768
GWRepMark (gwrepmark@aol.com) writes:
"In order to use the Floating Keyboard you must insert two lines into your INI file: "
[input]
noKeyboard = true[expressMenuControl]
floatingKeyboard = true
This could be any of several things, but it usually means that Geos is unable to find a suitable file system driver. Geos interacts with the hardware at a very low level, and doesn't work well with anything that redirects the drives. Specifically:
This is known as the fast CPU bug, and afflicts only Geoworks Ensemble 2.x. This has been eliminated in all versions of NDO. The best fix is to edit your GEOS.INI file and change the line
continueSetup = true
to
continueSetup = false
Geos needs a lot of files open at once. If you're using SHARE, try adding the switch /f:4096 or /f:6144. On some systems, /L:40 seems to help. If you are not on a network, you might not need SHARE at all.
Check the volume labels for drives C, D, and E. If they're identical, then use GeoManager to edit the volume labels so that each drive has its own distinct label. On some computers, you may have to exit to DOS to change the drive label (use the LABEL command).
Geos 2.0 normally works fine on compressed drives, although there is sometimes a decrease in performance if the swap file is on the compressed drive, particularly if you are using DoubleSpace (the compression included with MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2.) Geos 1.x frequently had problems if the swap file was on a compressed drive, and users of these versions should make sure (through Preferences) that their swap file is on an uncompressed drive. Problems with Stacker not recognizing your compressed HD(s) correctly can usually be solved by adding lines to the [system] section of your GEOS.INI file to specifically define the drives as fixed disks:
drive c = 65536
where c is your compressed Stacker drive.
End of the Geos FAQ
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Updated April 4, 1999
Copyright © 199?-1999 James Bearden. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999 Raymond Thaddeus C. Ancog. All rights reserved.
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