How can I make a public screen?

[Ral-Clan]

Is there any way for the average end-user (i.e. non programmer type) to have AmigaOS create a "blank" public screen in a specified screenmode that is available to Workbench?

I'm trying to do a work-around.  I have an application that for some reason won't allow me to choose the screenmode of 1920x1080, even though this screenmode is available to Workbench and many other apps.  Normally this app can "see" all available screenmodes, but not this time for some quirky reason.

However, this app will open on the Workbench screen in 1920x1080 just fine.  But I don't want it to open on Workbench.  I want it on its own screen.

Since this app also gives me the option to open on any available public screen, I was thinking that if there was some way for me to create a vacant public screen at 1920x1080, I could just tell the app to open on that screen.  

A bit of a work-around.

[Thomas]

With ModePro you can define public screens which automatically open when a program requests the name.

[Piru]

Is there any way for the average end-user (i.e. non programmer type) to have AmigaOS create a "blank" public screen in a specified screenmode that is available to Workbench?

Most users have MUI installed. See the included PSI tool.

[Thomas]

PSI only works for MUI programs.

[Golem!dk]

PSI only works for MUI programs.

I don't think it prevents other applications from opening on the public screens it creates... as I recall it allows you to open/close the screens you define.

[Piru]

I don't think it prevents other applications from opening on the public screens it creates... as I recall it allows you to open/close the screens you define.

Excactly.

[Thomas]

newshell "con:////AmigaShell/CLOSE/SCREEN TEST"

does not work with a screen defined in PSI unless a MUI program has opened the screen already.

I talk about opening the screen *automatically*, not by running PSI and clicking on "open" first.

[Ral-Clan]

With ModePro you can define public screens which automatically open when a program requests the name.

I'd rather not do it this way (force the app to run on a public screen via screen-promotion).  The app is smart enough to open on a specified public screen that already exists (there is an option in the app's settings to open on an available public screen).  So I'd rather open the public screen, THEN start the app and tell it to go over to the public screen.

[Thomas]

ModePro does not mode promote if you don't tell it to. It can automatically create non-existing public screens by name. For example if you tell the application to open on a public screen named TEST (as I did in my newshell example) and no such screen exists yet, it opens it with the definitions you made in the database. That's the same what PSI does, but PSI needs manual intervention while ModePro does it automatically.

[Cammy]

I really wish I had known about ModePro before I spent nearly all year trying to program something that does the same thing.

[Gulliver]

As a sidenote, NewMode is an alternative to ModePro. Available from http://aminet.net/util/cdity/NewMode_V39.lha
Just in case.

[Thomas]

No, it's not an alternative in regard to this thread. It is is a pure mode promoter, it cannot create new public screens.

[eb15]

Way back when public screens were new I wrote an app and uploaded it to ab20 amiga software ftp site, that would default to creating a public screen  with the same specs as workbench was running at, and have a backdrop window with menu options to shanghai, pop a shell window on it, close down the screen, etc.  I don't remember if I ever put in a screenmode requester option.  It was called pscreen or something like that.  I lost my old Amiga stuff over the years because of disinterest and moving.  I presume the binary is out there some where on the net or on a cdrom of the old archive site.  I could probably recreate the program source with updates if I found the binary to look at under an emulator to refresh my memory of what all it did.  Now I'm looking at AROS so it could be useful again...

[Gulliver]

No, it's not an alternative in regard to this thread. It is is a pure mode promoter, it cannot create new public screens.

Oh, yes you are right. My mistake.

[Ball000]

@eb15:

I don't think it's lost: http://aminet.net/package/util/misc/pscreen128