LiteStep v. 0.24.6 documentation

written by the LiteStep Documentation Effort, August 2000
Changes.TXT

  .: introduction   .: configuration   .: installation   .: theme installation   .: theme creation   .: development   .: glossary   .: links  
  .: command   .: desktop   .: hotkey   .: litestep   .: lstime   .: popup   .: shortcut   .: systray   .: taskbar   .: vwm   .: wharf  

LiteStep in and of itself does not provide any functionality other than to load modules. However there are some settings that LiteStep configures for you to allow for easier configuration and use.

LiteStep also comes with a recovery menu in case LiteStep is rendered unusable. To reach this menu press Ctrl+Alt+F1 and you will be presented with the most basic of commands; Recycle, Quit, Run and Shutdown. These commands should help you correct any situation you might find yourself in.

Step.RC Syntax for LiteStep
LSThemeFile [FILE] Tells LiteStep to load settings from a secondary file that can include any valid Step.RC commands except LoadModule or *Config lines such as *Popup or *Wharf. This file is usually called Theme.RC because it is intended as a way to keep each theme's configuration separate from the user's Step.RC.

Note: This is replacing the older ThemeFile command, which will be removed in the future.

LSImageFolder [FOLDER] Sets the directory where images are stored for the current theme. With this defined, you won't need to type out the full path each time an image is referenced in the Step.RC.

Note: This is replacing the older PixMapPath command, which will be removed in the future.

Default: $LiteStepDir$images

LSNoShellWarning [BOOL] This command hides the warning message that is displayed when LiteStep is run on top of another shell.
LSSetAsShell [BOOL] This registers LS as the shell. This has nothing to do with registry or system.ini settings, however in some cases it does allow LiteStep to be respawned after a crash, just like the Explorer shell. This setting is not recommended, as it produces irregular results.
Include [FILE] This allows you to include multiple Step.RC files so that settings can be maintained the same between multiple themes.

Note: The Step.RC is parsed from top to bottom. If you define a variable after you include a file, that file may not use that variable.

!Bang Commands for LiteStep
!TileWindowsH Tiles all un-minimized windows horizontally.
!TileWindowsV Tiles all un-minimized windows vertically.
!CascadeWindows Resizes all un-minimized windows to form a "cascade" of windows.
!MinimizeWindows This command minimizes all un-minimized windows.
!RestoreWindows This command restores all minimized windows to their previous state.
!Gather A useful command that moves all windows to the current desktop. This is particularly useful if you lose a window in the VWM "void".
!UnloadModule [MODULE] This will unload [MODULE] from memory for easy upgrading/replacing of modules. [MODULE] specifies the filename and location of the module to be unloaded, using either a full path or Environment Variables.
!ReloadModule [MODULE] This will reload [MODULE] into memory using settings from the Step.RC. This is useful if you want to upgrade a module, but don't want to completely kill LiteStep. [MODULE] specifies the filename and location of the module to be unloaded, using either a full path or Environment Variables.
!Execute [ACTION][ACTION][ACTION],etc. !Execute allows you to run multiple commands from a single !Bang command. This is very useful for "scripting" a number of actions to occur in sequence.
!Run This displays the Windows Run dialog box.

Note: The Run dialog doesn't execute !Bang commands or wharf .app's.

!About Displays the LiteStep About dialog box. You can see all the !Bang commands available, look at the list of Development Team members responsible for your current build, and find some information about your system, LiteStep, and your Loaded Modules.
!None This is a !Bang command that does nothing. It is useful for creating shortcuts, popup, or wharf entries that have no function and are for appearance only.
!Recycle Reloads all settings and modules. This can be paused by holding the Shift key to allow for the replacement of running modules. To un-pause the !Recycle just click on the "OK" button.
!Reload Reloads all settings associated with modules. This command will NOT notify modules to refresh like in !Refresh.
!Refresh Used to "soft-recycle" newer modules by reloading the module's settings from the Step.RC without a full LiteStep !Recycle. This will have no effect on older modules so you may want to use it sparingly.
!Logoff This will log off the current user and take you back to the Microsoft Windows Login Screen without prompting.
!Shutdown This command will display the Windows shutdown dialog box.
!SwitchUser This command was added to give users the option of a "Quick Logout" in Windows XP. This basically is !Logoff without the "Are you sure?" window.

Note: This command is ONLY designed for Windows XP and has caused some buggy things to happen in Windows 95/98.

!Quit Terminates LiteStep. Unless you use some form of "tray saving" application, your tray icons will be lost if you restart LiteStep in the current session, unless they are refreshed by the applications or the applications are restarted.

WARNING!: This !Bang command will leave you without a shell unless you are running a Shell Manager that supports Crash Protection.

!Confirm [STRING] [STRING] [ACTION] [ACTION] Used to create a general-purpose OK/Cancel Windows message box requesting user-input. The first string is the message to display in the message box and the second is an optional [STRING] that defines the text in the titlebar of the confirm window. The two actions define what should occur if the user's answer is Yes, and what should occur if the user's answer is No (in that order).

Note: If your [ACTIONS] contain spaces they must be enclosed in brackets, [ and ].

Example: !Confim "Wanna quit?" "Quit" !Quit !None

!Alert [STRING] [STRING] Used to create a Windows message box with only an OK button. The first [STRING] is the message to display in the message box and the second [STRING] is a optional, defining the text in the titlebar of the message box window.

Example: !Alert "Welcome to LiteStep, Enjoy Your Stay!" "Welcome"

!ClearLog This !Bang command clears a LogFile kept by LiteStep.

Note: This command is only available in IndieStep Builds

Pre-defined Environment Variables
To help users out with referencing Windows Specific features the LiteStep Development Team has added Environment Variables that point to Windows Explorer CLSIDs. CLSIDs reference things such as My Computer, the Control Panel, and Network Neighborhood.

Note: To use an Environment Variable use "explorer $drives$" without the quotes. Our example above will call up My Computer but feel free to use any of the other Environment Variables in its place.

$LitestepDir$ References the directory where the LiteStep executable is found.
$BitBucket$ References the "Recycle Bin", which is normally found on the Explorer Desktop.
$Controls$ References the "Control Panel", which is normally in "My Computer"
$Cookies$ References the directory where your Internet Explorer cookies are stored.
$Desktop$ References the directory in which your files on your Windows 95/98/ME Explorer Desktop are stored.
$DesktopDir$ References the directory in which the current user's files on the Windows 95/98/ME Explorer Desktop icons are stored, if multiple users are configured.
$Dialup$ References the Dial-Up Networking/Connections folder that is found in your Windows 95/98/ME My Computer.
$Documents$ References the directory named "My Documents" on your Hard Drive.
$Drives$ References the "My Computer" folder that is found on your Explorer Desktop.
$Favorites$ References the folder that contains your Internet Explorer Favorites.
$Fonts$ References the folder that contains all of the Fonts installed in Windows.
$History$ References the folder containing your Internet Explorer History.
$InternetCache$ References the folder that contains all of your Temporary Internet Files.
$NetHood$ References the "My Network Places" in Windows 2000.
$Network$ References the Network Neighborhood folder found on the Explorer Desktop.
$Printers$ References the Printers folder that is found in both your "Control Panel" and "My Computer"
$Programs$ References the Programs directory inside the Start Menu. (For those using NT/2K, it is the current user's Programs directory.)
$Recent$ References the Recent Documents directory which is comonly found in the Start Menu.
$Scheduled$ References the folder that contains Scheduled Tasks used by the Windows Task Scheduler.
$SendTo$ References the "Send To" folder that is found in right-click context menus.
$QuickLaunch$ References the icons found within the QuickLaunch folder which is found next to the start menu in the explorer shell.
$StartMenu$ References the Start Menu folder, not to be confused with $Programs$. For NT/2k, it is the current user's Start Menu directory.
$StartUp$ References that StartUp folder in your $Programs$, this is the directory in your Start Menu that auto-runs programs at startup.
$Templates$ References the Templates folder.
$Username$ References the current username.
$AdminTools$ References the Administrative Tools folder in Windows NT/2K via the Windows Explorer interface.

Note: This does not work when used in a Popup, please use $AdminToolsDir$ instead.

$AdminToolsDir$ References the Administrative Tools directory in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonDesktopDir$ References the Desktop folder that is shared with all users in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonDocuments$ References the My Documents directory that is shared with all users in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonFavorites$ References the Internet Explorer Favorites folder shared with all users in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonPrograms$ References the Programs directory in the Start Menu shared with all users in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonStartMenu$ References the Start Menu shared with all users in Windows NT/2K.
$CommonStartUp$ References the Start Up folder in the Start Menu that auto-runs programs at startup for all users.
$CommonAdminToolsDir$ References the Admin Tools for All Users for Windows NT/2K.
$NetworkAndDialup$ References the Network and Dialup folder for Windows 2K.
$UserName$ References the user that has logged into the system.
$ResolutionX$ References the Width of the display in Pixels.
$ResolutionY$ References the Height of the display in Pixels.
$WinME$
$Win98$
$Win95$
$Win9x$

$Win2000$
$WinNT4$
$WinNT$ 		References what Operating System you are using and sets the variable to the [BOOL] value of TRUE.
Command Line Switches
-nostartup This ignores the startup items found in your Start Menu's StartUp folder.
-install Sets LiteStep as the shell. In Windows 95/98/ME this is done in the system.ini file, and in the appropriate registry keys for Windows NT/2k. Refer to the Installation page for further information.
-uninstall This removes LiteStep as the shell and reinstates Windows Explorer as the shell. This command can be executed while LiteStep is running, although the effects will not be seen until you re-logon.
Step.RC Specifies which configuration file to use as the step.rc. If you wish to use a step.rc other than the one in the core LiteStep directory you can specify the full path:

   litestep.exe C:\LiteStep\Themes\NewTheme\step.rc

!Bang Command Gives you the ability to specify bang commands on the command line. The bang has to be the last argument since everything following it is assumed to be the arguments for the !Bang Command.

   litestep.exe !Confirm "Welcome to LiteStep" "Welcome"