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Getting the most out of applications
Getting the most out of applications
These are some tips to help you use applications efficiently. They're not essential
reading now, and indeed they'll mean more to you after you've read the next chapter,
so by all means come back to them later.
System applications
If you were writing a letter by hand, you would need to know where to find the
resources to write it (paper, envelope, pen etc). The computer uses different types of
resources, but also needs to know where to find them. They are contained in system
applications.
There are three system applications the computer needs to be able to find: !System, !
Scrap and !Fonts. On computers fitted with a hard disc, these system applications are
supplied in the root directory ($), so that the computer will see them as soon as you
access the hard disc.
Using fonts
There are some fonts already in the computer's memory, and some extra ones in the !
Fonts system application. Bring up a directory display containing !Fonts before you
start any applications that use fonts (like a desktop publishing package). If you buy any
more fonts from your supplier, you'll need to copy them into your existing !Fonts
application.
The chapters entitled Fonts and System applications in the RISC OS 3 User
and Applications Guide tell you more about this.
Memory
Appendix B: Getting the best out of 1MB computers in the RISC OS 3 User and
Applications Guide gives you some hints on how to get the most out of the memory
available on your machine (they are valid even if you have more than 1MB). For
instance:
•
•
Always quit applications if you're not using them — they take up memory. A good
way to make sure there is no memory 'tied up' by an application you've quit is to
restart the computer — see Switching off the computer on page 61.
Choose a screen mode that doesn't use much memory. The RISC OS 3 User and
Applications Guide tells you how much memory each screen mode uses.
MonitorType and screen modes on page 78 tells you which screen modes you can
use with your monitor.
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