This article is intended as some sort of “blog within a blog” in as much as it is a run down of some of the treasures of RISC OS that have been forgotten by many in the mists of time. Periodically, I’ll add new software here so it’ might be worth popping back every now and then.

TopTen
TopTen was written by Benoit Gilon, way back in 1998, with the last update I can find being dated from 2003. That said, it still works admirably on newer machines.

At first glance, TopTen appears to be a simple application with a simple task to achieve, and one that is readily available on other OSes. It creates and maintains a list of recently opened documents, much like Recent Documents did in Windows until a few versions ago.

However, TopTen is a bit more complicated than that, and the list of “recents” can be filtered and saved, if necessary. You can choose to include and exclude certain “locations” from the list, such as files on removable media, or Applications or Directories themselves.

Its name is also very slightly misleading, inasmuch as it can save a configurable number of entries in the list of “recents” – the default is eight, but I’ve set it to 20 without issue. I guess Top Eight to Twenty doesn’t really have a ring to it though, does it!

It also displays a textual reference to the filetype, that is also configurable from the Choices menu, choosing between the number of letters or none at all.

Sadly, you have to work out a lot of this for yourself, because, even though Interactive Help is supported, ot isn’t particularly accurate. The help file within the application is more of a changelog than a set of instructions for use.

The source code, and version 0.6.9 of TopTen can be downloaded from http://bgilon.free.fr/RISCOS/inettopten/UK/TTHTMLE.htm but it’s worth noting that the documentation on that page is slightly out of sync with the downloadable version of the application.

Whilst this is a nice, functional application as is, it could be enhanced to perhaps display the file icon instead of a textual label, or even as a faked Filer window? The source code is available should any other readers wish to undertake the challenge!

WinSnap
WinSnap is a little utility application that brings functionality from other OSes to RISC OS – it even says so in the Help file.

WinSnap very simply “snaps” the edges of windows to the edge of the screen and the icon bar. Windows 10 will do this to allow to windows to share the screen space equally (try it if you don’t believe me – drag a window to the left hand side of the desktop on Windows 10, and release it to see it “snap” to take up the left half on the screen!), whereas WinSnap doesn’t try to be overly clever with it. It just snaps the window, regardless of size, to the edge of the screen. It will happily snap Filer windows, application windows, and pretty much any kind of window you throw at it!

Configuration is a slightly more complicated affair than some users will be happy with – it involves the editing of the !Run file. That said, the options aren’t that complicated, and doing it this way allows the application to remain largely invisible – that is, there is no iconbar icon to contend with.

WinSnap is available from Tony Houghton’s software page at http://www.snowstone.org.uk/riscos/realh/ – which is hosted on Adam Richardson’s SnowStone website.

WinSnap is one of those natty little applications that you don’t realise how it affects your use, until it’s no longer there. In this case, you then suddenly realise how higgeldy-piggeldy the windows are, when you were used to nice tidy edges.

LockDir
There are two apps called LockDir in circulation. Somewhere along the lines, there’s either been a failure of the Allocate scheme, or one of the developers hasn’t registered their version. Having both on your system can therefore create a bit of confusion.

One of the said applications has been created by Chris Bell, which locks files inside directories to prevent accidental deletion, and the one we’ll look at here, by the late Paul Vigay.

The LockDir we’re interested in was originally released as Shareware by Paul way back in the late 1990s, and has sat patiently on his website ever since his death in 2009. With a £5 shareware licence, it’s unclear whether anyone could have registered it in the last decade or so.

However, sterling work by Andrew Conroy means that LockDir (amongst some other of Paul’s software gems, such as NextBar) has been released as Freeware and is now available via !Store.

I had discovered LockDir by accident shortly before its new lease of life and, as I knew Andrew was overseeing Paul’s websites and software, asked about it. Subsequently, its release into the wild again, as freeware, is a boon to me, and possibly others.

LockDir does one thing, and does it very well. It “allows you to lock specific directories on your hard disc to stop the casual observer from opening them without entering a password”, according to the Vigay.com website.

By loading LockDir on to the iconbar, it is simply a case of dragging the directory to icon, then setting and confirming a password. Next time you (or someone else!) attempts to open the directory, a window will pop up, requesting the password. Failure to supply the right password means that the contents of the directory remain hidden.

The !Run file has to be tweaked to make the icon appear, with instructions contained in the !Help file. This is useful, as being able to invisibly run LockDir can be useful, and deter all but the most determined “spy” especially given the obscurity of RISC OS to most people these days! As the !Help file says, having the iconbar icon present should only really be necessary when setting or changing passwords.

Directories can also be unlocked by redragging the directory to the iconbar icon, and using the Adjust mouse button to delete the password protection.

Once directories have been set up, it’s merely a case of adding LockDir to the boot sequence so that it loads automatically every time the machine is booted up.

In use, users may notice a small pause when opening password-protected directories, but it’s not significant enough to render it burdensome.

In environments where RISC OS used to excel (schools and the like) it’s easy to see how useful LockDir could have been, but for today’s casual RISC OS user, it still has useful advantages to keep things hidden. You can now safely leave your Pinebook on the table of the train while you nip to the buffet car, and rest easy that your data is safe from prying eyes. But probably not from the grabby hands of the opportunist thief, so don’t do this ever!

LockDir can be downloaded from !Store, and the original web page can be found at: http://www.vigay.com/software/index.html