Using The REBOL/IOS Desktop

REBOL Technologies

Contents:

1. Overview
      1.1 Files and Apps
      1.2 Arenas
      1.3 Services
      1.4 Description
      1.5 Connection Info
      1.6 Red Icons
      1.7 Shortcut Keys
2. Folders
      2.1 Publishing a Folder
      2.2 Deleting a Folder
3. Files
      3.1 Publishing A File
      3.2 Deleting a File
      3.3 Modifying a File
      3.4 Restoring Older Files

1. Overview

The IOS desktop provides an intuitive method for users to execute applications and view files. The desktop is divided into a few areas:

Each of these areas is described below.

The desktop can be moved or resized by dragging the edges of the window in the normal way. The position and size of the desktop will be remembered between sessions.

1.1 Files and Apps

The central area of the desktop displays the icons for the current folder. The default folder is Applications. A single click on any icon will start it or view it (the single click is similar to web page links).

The top of the area shows the name of the current folder. If you click on the folder name or the back arrow, the desktop will return to the previous folder (if there is one).

If there are more icons than can be shown in the window, a scrollbar will appear to the right of the icons.

1.2 Arenas

The buttons in the left column are shortcut links to Arenas. An Arena is a top level folder which contains applications, files, links, and other folders.

IOS comes configured with a standard set of arenas, but arenas can be deleted or added at any time by the IOS administrator.

	Applications	Contains the most commonly used applications. The default folder.
	Documents	For documents shared by all users. Currently, it holds the REBOL/IOS manuals and other related documentation.
	Projects	For holding project folders for various development, marketing, or business projects.
	Users	For individual users and groups to create their own public and private folders.
	Utilities	Useful utility applications.

There is also an Admin arena that is seen only by users who have IOS administrative privileges.

1.3 Services

Within the services bar at the top of the window provides shortcuts to a few primary applications. The purpose is to give users an easy way to reach these application regardless of what folder is being viewed.

A single click on a service button will start its associated application.

The IOS administrator can add or delete services from the service bar.

1.4 Description

The lower bar provides help information about folders, icons, arenas, and services.

When you position your mouse over an object, you will see help information in this display. Note however, that not all icons include help information.

1.5 Connection Info

The lower right corner contains information about Internet connection and data transfers. It includes a progress bar and status indicator.

By clicking on the status indicator, you can control your connection. If you are running in local mode, clicking on the status will initiate a new connection. If you are already connected or attempting to make a connection, clicking on the status will disconnect.

1.6 Red Icons

When an icon is out-of-sync, it will turn red.

If you right click on the icon, the dialog box will tell you why the icon is red.

This can happen when:

• The file is missing locally. Either it has not been downloaded yet or it has been deleted locally. (Restarting the desktop will force the file to automatically download again.)
• The file has been modified locally and needs to be published again for other users to see. (See "Modifying a File" directions below.)

1.7 Shortcut Keys

The desktop provides these default shortcut keys:

	Backspace	Go back to the previously opened folder.
	CTRL-E	Open the editor. Opens to the last file edited or none.
	CTRL-L	Launch a REBOL program by selecting it from a file list.
	CTRL-N	Open the new file dialog box.
	CTRL-Q	Quit REBOL immediately.

2. Folders

2.1 Publishing a Folder

To create a new folder on all user desktops, follow these steps:

1. Open the folder where you want to create your new folder.
2. Click on the ! in the upper right, or right click your mouse anywhere on the folder backdrop, but not on an icon. You will see a menu appear.
3. Click on New Folder.
4. Provide a name for your new folder. Keep it short.
5. If desired, enter a short description for the folder.
6. Click on the publish button.

The folder will be created and will appear on all Link clients.

If you do not see your new folder appear, you may not have the administrative permissions necessary to create folders. Contact the IOS administrator.

2.2 Deleting a Folder

To delete a folder, follow these steps:

1. Right click on the folder icon.
2. Click on the delete button.

The folder will be deleted from all Link clients.

If you do not see your new folder vanish after a couple minutes, then you do not have the administrative permissions necessary to create folders. Contact the user administrator.

Note that deleting a folder does not delete the folder's files from your local hard disk. It just stops sharing them.

3. Files

3.1 Publishing A File

To publish a file on all user desktops, follow these steps:

1. Open the folder where you want to add your file.
2. Click on the ! in the upper right, or right click your mouse anywhere on the folder backdrop, but not on an icon. You will see a menu appear.
3. Select New File from the menu.
4. Click on the file field and select a file in the file requestor.
5. The name of the file will appear in the name field. This is the name that will appear on the Link desktop. You can change the name if you desire. However, keep the name relatively short; long names will overflow the icon label when it appears on the desktop.
6. Provide a description for the icon. Make it useful.
7. Click on the publish button.

If it is a large file, and you are running on a slow connection, you may need to wait for a few minutes while the file uploads.

3.2 Deleting a File

To delete a file from all user desktops, follow these steps:

1. Right click on the file's icon.
2. Click the Delete button.

The file will be removed from all desktops within a short period of time. If you do not see your new file appear after several minutes, then you may not have the administrative permissions necessary to create files. Contact the administrator.

Note that deleting a file from the desktop does not delete the file from user's hard drive. It simply removes the file from the desktop view. The file is still present on all Link user systems. Thus, you can add the file back to the desktop by following the icon creation instructions above.

3.3 Modifying a File

You can modify files locally using any of your normal applications such as Word, Excel, text editor, etc. When you modify a local file, the desktop will flag it by turning its icon red. This is an important indicator that your copy of the file is not the same as everyone else's.

To update the file on all other user desktops, follow these steps:

1. Right click on the icon for your modified file.
2. Click on the Publish button.

If it is a large file, and you are running on a slow connection, you may need to wait for a few minutes while the file uploads.

The file will be uploaded on all Link clients within a short period of time. If this does not happen, then you may not have the administrative permissions necessary to create files. Contact the administrator.

3.4 Restoring Older Files

Each time you publish a file, a copy of its previous version is made and stored on the IOS server.

You can obtain any of those previous files by following these steps:

1. Right click on the icon.
2. Click on the history button.
3. Select the version you want.
4. Click the Save button.
5. Provide the name for the file. The default name overwrites the local file.

If you want to restore this version of the file for all users, click on the Publish button.