Workbench 3.1 or 1.3 - changing windows

[zygzak]

Hi. Very simple question - is there any possibility to changing windows on workbench using some shortcut key like ALT+TAB in Windows? After opening a few drawers and running some installer it is doing a little messy onscreen.
Greets.

EDIT: is Amiga Forever really worth to buy and which kickstart versions they include in?

[TCD]

Not sure if there's a built-in way to do it (would like to know myself), but for 3.1 you can use CFN to make Left-Amiga-Tab the cycle shortcut.

[meega]

SYS:Tools/Commodities/FKey

[TCD]

Thanks for the info meega What is the format for the keys? I tried 'F1' without any luck.

[meega]

I tried j (for jump) and it worked fine. No qualifiers or anything, just the key. Play with it, see what it can do - it's only been there since Workbench 2.

Ed: I used my A1200, KS3.0, with mostly WB3.1 software - fkey 40.1 (09/02/93).

[TCD]

Needed to change the setting via the menu Now it works like a charm. Thanks again meega

[eLowar]

Just out of curiosity, in case I ever need it, do these act like ALT-TAB (i.e. show a list), or like ALT-ESC (i.e. just go straight to the next window every time)?

[TCD]

Alt-Esc.

[meega]

The function is "Cycle windows" or screens, etc. So it just "rolodexes" through whatever is open on Workbench (or whatever screens are open).

[eLowar]

Right, I was just asking because ALT-TAB was mentioned early on. Thanks for the information.

[zygzak]

Originally Posted by meega

SYS:Tools/Commodities/FKey

It helped. Thanks. Like ALT+ESC. It's a bit sad that this command has only a few modes to set.

[meega]

Cycle Windows
Cycle Screens
Enlarge Window
Shrink Window
Toggle Window Size
Insert Text
Run Program
Run Arexx Script <-- hmm...


Ed: Remember - Windows95 is still two years away.
And ed: if you make "j" do Cycle Windows, you can also make "J" do Cycle Screens (choose whatever keys you are happiest with).

[meega]

And left Amiga + N brings the Workbench screen to the front (from wherever it was).


Ed: just looking through my Workbench 2 manual, the windows/screens functions that are in FKey in 3.x are found in IHelp in 2.04... the old FKey was restricted to the function keys F1-F10 (with shift also, 20 assignments available), and could only "paste" a text string (i.e. Amigados command, if you format it correctly) into the system. Output was generally sent to a Shell. The 3.x version is effectively an improved FKey with integrated IHelp.

[Cammy]

I find the absolutely easiest way of switching back and forth between my windows is with...

MOUSE GESTURES!

Has anyone ever used Opera? You can open a new tab by holding the right mouse button and pulling down on the mouse. You can go back by holding the button and pressing left, or go forward by pressing right. Well, now you can add functionality like this to your Workbench.

With Meridian, you can define and add as many mouse gestures as you like to any application in AmigaOS. I use the middle-click-left, middle-click-right when I'm on Workbench to cycle back and forth between windows. I have added mouse gestures to IBrowse and several other applications. Defining new mouse gestures is as simple as just DOING them, the preferences program will capture your gesture and show a visual representation of it with arrows (from start point to end point).

You can download Meridian here - http://aminet.net/package/util/cdity/meridian

I also have the EXACT solution you requested to begin with, an Alt-Tab solution which looks and works exactly how Windows does it, by opening a small panel in the middle of the screen showing icons of each active program, then tabbing between them until you reach the one you want, then let go. This feature is part of the Workbench 2000 taskbar program.

You can download Workbench 2000 here - http://aminet.net/package/util/wb/WorkBench2000

There are plenty more ways to switch quickly between windows (like just clicking on its button on the task bar when you have Workbench 2000 installed) but these are the methods I use every day on my Amiga, which is my main computer.

[Bamiga2002]

ScreenTab sorta emulates the Winblows ALT-TAB.

[zygzak]

Originally Posted by plankton

Also use Left Amiga + M to move between screens (not windows)

I didn't try this pre 3.0.

Very valuable thanks . I didn't know.

[zygzak]

Originally Posted by TheCyberDruid

Not sure if there's a built-in way to do it (would like to know myself), but for 3.1 you can use CFN to make Left-Amiga-Tab the cycle shortcut.

Works very good, like bash there is names completition and choosing last command in shell. And switching panels like FKey.
It is a little sad that A1000 and first workbench creators made big effort to publish hyper GUI OS and totally forgot to make shell utilities a little more convenient.