Apple II Desktop 1.3 Released

Posted by: A.P.P.L.E. Date: July 3, 2023 0 Likes 820 Views

Joshua Bell has announced the release of Version 1.3 of the community curated Apple II Desktop project. Apple II Desktop, originally known as Mouse Desk, is a fully graphical user interface for the Apple II series computers. The program is available in eight languages and includes support for a number of peripherals in the Apple II as well as Integer and Applesoft BASIC.

You can download the latest version of the Apple II Desktop from the Release page at:
https://github.com/a2stuff/a2d/releases/tag/v1.3

You can also try the Apple II Desktop online.

The Apple II Desktop project page contains the full documentation for the project at:
https://a2desktop.com/docs

Changes in this release include the following items:

General

  • File picker dialogs no longer show paths. (#699)
  • File picker dialogs show drives list. (#599)
  • Language-specific time separators added.
  • IIgs and Laser 128: Fix alert sound playback speed.
  • A generic ProDOS clock driver is included in disk images.
  • The default double-click speed is now the middle setting.
  • Button appearance simplified. Showing shortcuts can be enabled with an option.
  • Reset text window correctly when exiting/launching other programs.
  • Visually center window title bar text. (#744)
  • Menu separators more vertically centered.
  • Prevent erratic behavior if keys pressed during menu selection.
  • Allow keyboard control of menus even when initiated with the mouse. (#754)
  • Prevent keyboard cursor movement within disabled menus.
  • Don’t move cursor when controlling menu with keyboard. (#756)
  • Turn off mouse firmware when exiting the desktop.

Launcher

  • Ensure DeskTop is correctly detected on RAMCard when re-launched.
  • Allow pressing Escape to cancel copy to RAMCard.
  • Handle launching with PREFIX not set to DeskTop’s directory.

DeskTop

Enhanced Features

  • Support selection in list views. (#28)
  • Simplify list views by omitting directory file sizes.
  • Show file sizes right aligned in list views.
  • Show file sizes under 10K as “#.5K” if an odd number of blocks. (#758)
  • Show “Today” for date for files modified on the current date.
  • Apple Menu > About This Apple II command added – invokes This Apple DA.
  • File > Copy a File… is now File > Copy To… and operates on current selection.
  • File > Delete a File… is now File > Delete and operates on current selection.
  • File > Get Info now shows total size/file count for folders/volumes.
  • View > as Small Icons added.
  • View > by Type sort order improved.
  • View > by Size sort order improved.
  • View > by Date sort order now includes times.
  • Special > Get Size command is now redundant with File > Get Info, so was removed.
  • Special > Make Alias command added – creates a Link file to the selected icon, placed in the LINKS/ folder.
  • Shortcuts > Add a Shortcut… defaults to currently selected file.
  • Shortcuts > Edit/Delete/Run a Shortcut: OK button is now disabled if there is no selection.
  • Format/Erase: Default device to selected volume.
  • Format/Erase: Show volume’s previous name with adjusted case. (#426, #427)
  • Format/Erase: OK button is now disabled if there is no selection.
  • Format/Erase: Show format location when prompting for new volume name.
  • The OK button is now disabled in name input dialogs (New Folder, Rename, Duplicate, Format, Erase) if the name is empty.
  • Show keyboard shortcut for File > Delete in menu.
  • View style for windows is saved/restored across restarts.
  • Scroll position for windows is saved/restored across restarts.
  • Show NON, ANM, S16, and SND type names in list views.
  • Simplify New Folder dialog by not showing full path. (#466)
  • Filetype and support opening BINSCII files (.BSC and .BSQ).
  • Filetype and support for Integer BASIC (INT) files, c/o https://github.com/a2stuff/intbasic
  • Improve progress and alert dialogs shown during copy/move, lock/unlock and delete operations.
  • Escape key cancels operations (Copy/Move, Delete, Lock/Unlock)
  • Support for launching AppleWorks files.
    • AppleWorks 5.1 must be on same volume as DeskTop, in AW5/ directory.
  • Default window view style to parent window’s view style.
  • Show open/close animation for windows without visible folder icons.
  • Show open/close animation for desk accessories and previews.
  • Show open animation when launching external applications.

Disks & Files

  • Supports up to 14 devices. (#712)
  • CD-ROM drives now shown with a CD icon.
  • Treat files with .A2LC, .A2HR, and .A2FM extensions as images.
  • Icon for audio files (.BTC and .ZC, $D8/SND), video files ($5B/ANM)
  • Icon for Applesoft and IntBASIC variable files (VAR, IVR)
  • Add Link file type support ($E1/LNK)
  • “Invisible” files are now hidden.
  • Prompt to format unreadable disks when inserted.

Performance & Fixes

  • Fix corruption/crash after closing a window.
  • Unhighlight more correctly when dragging icons over folders.
  • Improve scrolling in directory windows. (#711)
  • Don’t clamp drag highlight to screen bounds.
  • Dimmed icons in inactive windows now render correctly. (#613)
  • Enable dropping files onto folders in inactive windows. (#418)
  • Pressing the Esc key cancels an in-progress drag. (#719)
  • Don’t move icons when dragged over source window’s non-content area.
  • Make sure scrollbars activate/deactivate if needed when an icon is renamed.
  • Don’t poll drives multiple times on startup when restoring windows.
  • File > Rename… is now disabled if multiple icons are selected.
  • Improve label spacing in several dialogs.
  • Ensure newly created SELECTOR.LIST file is completely empty.
  • Draw header before entries when refreshing window contents.
  • Update header values only when window is activated to avoid visual artifacts.
  • Improve double-click responsiveness when updating icons.
  • Fix numerous crashes with long pathnames.
  • Fix crash in File > Get Info is target is not available.
  • Make OA+SA+O and OA+SA+W shortcuts work when Caps Lock is off.
  • Improve layout of window header counts/labels. (#493)
  • Improve mouse responsiveness during I/O operations.
  • Show watch cursor during Copy/Move/Delete/Lock/Unlock operations.
  • Improve performance of Copy/Move, Delete, and Lock/Unlock commands.
  • Special > Lock and Special > Unlock now work on folders.
  • Allow continuing a copy of nested files if one file is too large to fit.
  • Ensure correct paths are visible when displaying alerts during operations.
  • Fix “Files remaining” count for volume after failed shortcut / copy to RAMCard.
  • Improve performance of moving files on the same volume by relinking rather than copying/deleting. (#350)
  • Allow any file type in Apple Menu (except disabled DAs)
  • Improve animation shown when opening/closing a window for an icon.

Selector

  • Fix clearing the text screen when launching programs.
  • Allow pressing Escape to cancel copy to RAMCard.
  • Change “DeskTop” button shortcut to ‘D’ in EN builds; corresponding changes in other languages.
  • OK button is now disabled if there is no selection.

Disk Copy

  • Supports up to 14 devices. (#712)
  • Show Pascal volume names more consistently.
  • Ensure a confirmation prompt is shown before overwriting, unless destination is not formatted.
  • Change “Read Drives” button shortcut to ‘R’ in EN builds; corresponding changes in other languages.
  • Improve mouse responsiveness during I/O operations.
  • Update block count display continuously during copy.
  • OK button is now disabled if there is no selection.

Desk Accessories

New Accessories

  • International: A new control panel for setting international options – date/time/number separators, date format and clock style.
  • Digital Clock: A new screen saver that shows the current time. (#590)
  • Analog Clock: A new screen saver that shows the current time. (#590)
  • Rod’s Color Pattern: A new screen saver based on the classic demo. c/o @frankmilliron
  • Neko: Provides a playful cat desk toy. (In Extras)
  • Print Catalog: Dumps a recursive catalog of filenames to a printer in Slot 1.

Updates

  • The DESK.ACC folder has been renamed to APPLE.MENU.
  • New Toys directory for Eyes, Neko and Puzzle.
  • Apple+W can be used to close windowed accessories.
  • Date & Time
    • Show shortcut key for OK button.
    • Support Tab key for changing fields.
    • Better translations for 12/24-hour buttons.
  • Sounds
    • New sounds from Gorgon, Apple Panic, and more, c/o @frankmilliron
    • Play current selection if clicked again. (#715)
    • Fix label translation.
  • Calc/Sci.Calc
    • Show leading zero before decimal in results.
    • Don’t repaint on title bar click. (#746)
  • Sci.Calc
    • Fix intermediate calculations with functions (SIN, etc). (#741)
    • Do trig functions (SIN, COS, etc) in degrees rather than radians.
  • Find Files
    • Double-click a result to open the containing widow and select the file icon. (#255)
    • If no window is open, all on-line volumes are searched. (#255)
  • Joystick: Visualize second joystick (paddles 2/3) if active.
  • Flying Toasters: Improve animation speed and reduce flicker.
  • Text Preview: Handle rendering long text files more intelligently.
  • Image Preview
    • Show .A2HR and .A2FM files in B&W.
    • Fix HR image display glitches on palette bit transitions.
    • Right/Left Arrow keys preview next/previous image file. Hold Apple key for last/first.
    • Super Hi-Res PIC files ($C1/$0000) can be previewed on Apple IIgs.
  • Electric Duet Preview: Add alternate players: during playback, press 3 for Mockingboard, 4 for Cricket!
  • Puzzle
    • Added keyboard support – arrow keys move a tile into the hole.
    • Don’t repaint on title bar click. (#746)
    • Allow moving and closing the window before scrambling. (#752)
    • Allow re-scrambling once the puzzle has been completed.
    • Flash window on victory.
    • Don’t mispaint onto the desktop if the window is obscured.
  • Options
    • Add option to show shortcuts in dialogs.
    • Add keyboard shortcuts for checkboxes.
  • Map: Position indicator now blinks.
  • Control Panel: Add more obvious button to apply desktop pattern change.
  • This Apple
    • Identify and show Tiger Learning Computer.
    • Moved into MODULES/ directory, dedicated command added.
    • Include IIgs banks E0/E1 in total memory count.
    • Identify Rockwell R65C02.
    • Identify The Cricket! sound/speech/clock device attached to SSC in Slot 2.
  • Screen Dump: Do nothing unless an SSC is in Slot 1.
  • Key Caps: Detect IIe and Laser 128 layout correctly.
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